I could hear the massive limbs of his ornately etched bow creak as he drew them back. The tension was palpable. As he let loose the arrow a gust of wind burst forth blowing my hair back as I looked on in awe. ‘Bullseye…’
“Your turn.” He said, slowly rubbing the creases of his fingers as he leaned against his massive bow, his own weight not enough to make it bend in the slightest.
“Right…” I felt like a mouse holding a string compared to him. Still, the game was a competition of accuracy, not strength, so there was no reason for me to be intimidated. I took a deep breath and looked towards the target… ‘His arrow was… Bigger than the bullseye?’
I aimed just to the side of the arrow, managing to get the inner ring for 8 points instead of 10, but it was still disappointing. I didn't even have a chance to match him.
“Good shot.” He said getting ready to take the next one.
“Uhm… Airsidh?”
He paused, looking back at me.
“Can I maybe go first… It's just that your arrows are so large that if you hit the bullseye I actually can't even see it anymore so…”
He looked back at the other target. “Wow. I guess you're right. Sure, let's change it up.”
Of everyone in my family, he was by far the most reasonable. He was the only person I would ever expect to listen to my request aside from my father.
I walked up to the next target, hitting a perfect bullseye. Then he did the same. That pattern repeated with little exception. Every arrow he loosed from his bow either split mine or shattered mine into pieces. Each one made a loud thud that echoed through the whole castle as it burrowed its way through the target, splitting the wood that held them together.
twelve targets later and I was in the lead by 2. He had shot off center twice, and that was all I needed.
“You're up.” He said, gesturing to the next firing line. He must have known that the next target was the one that would surely net him the win, but his face stayed the same. I couldn't remember a time when he didn't have that ominous smile.
I walked up, drew my arrow, and let it loose. By some miracle, I hit the inner ring at 105 yards.
He stepped up after and just as he had been doing that whole time, he drew his bow and aimed it straight at the target. When he let go a gust of air came from the bow's string and the arrow flew in a straight path down the field. “Bullseye.” He said with a smirk as he tied the score.
‘I figured it out… I'm not actually that weak at all… They just aren't human.’
There was only one target left, 125 yards down range it hung on the wall, that would be our tiebreaker, and ultimately the reason why I was hesitant to accept the competition.
The problem was simple. There were two or three targets that were at least a hundred yards from the shooting line. My accuracy wasn't so much the problem, it was my strength. If I was strong enough to use a war bow I would probably be able to still hit the targets, but the chance of me just hurting myself instead was also far higher.
As I stepped up to the lane, I began to focus as hard as I could and time felt as though it had begun too slow. It was a feeling all too familiar, the same one that I had when I fought the giant bitterweed. I could see every possible trajectory that my arrow could take, even taking into account the subtle breeze.
‘This must be the power Agis said was awakening.’
With a deep breath, I pulled back on my bowstring and carefully calculated the arrow's path to the target. I couldn't help but smile as I let go, knowing it was headed straight for the bullseye. “I win…” I muttered as the arrow took a giant arc through the air.
It flew and spun, catching a small gust of wind that redirected it straight for the mark. Finally, it hit, gently tapping the target before bouncing off and clinking against the ground.
Airsidh burst out laughing as my grin slowly turned to a grimace.
“What was that? I thought you said you won?”
“Shut up…” I said turning away, trying to hide my face so he wouldn't tease me any further.
He continued laughing, but thankfully left it at that, taking a minute to finally calm down enough to shoot.
His shot was the same as all the others, dramatic and impressive. The awe had worn off though, so instead all I felt was the letdown of an anticlimactic end to what was otherwise an intense competition.
He unstrung his bow and placed it back on its pedestal, folding his hands and bowing before turning around and walking back over to me. “Thanks for the match.” He said, patting me on the head.
His cold and distant persona was suddenly replaced with a warm and gentle one and he gently rustled my dirty hair.
I was too confused for it to bother me. Not only did his entire demeanor suddenly shift, but I still had no idea why he wanted to shoot together in the first place. “Sure… But why did you want to do this?”
He paused just before he walked out the door. “A bow measures the strength of an archer's spirit, and the arrows its aim…” He closed the door again, hesitating to continue. “I did this to say goodbye, but now I see that you might not be going anywhere after all.”
With those final words and a soft smile, he left.
I could hear the massive limbs of his ornately etched bow creak as he drew them back. The tension was palpable. As he let loose the arrow a gust of wind burst forth blowing my hair back as I looked on in awe. ‘Bullseye…’
“Your turn.” He said, slowly rubbing the creases of his fingers as he leaned against his massive bow, his own weight not enough to make it bend in the slightest.
“Right…” I felt like a mouse holding a string compared to him. Still, the game was a competition of accuracy, not strength, so there was no reason for me to be intimidated. I took a deep breath and looked towards the target… ‘His arrow was… Bigger than the bullseye?’
I aimed just to the side of the arrow, managing to get the inner ring for 8 points instead of 10, but it was still disappointing. I didn't even have a chance to match him.
“Good shot.” He said getting ready to take the next one.
“Uhm… Airsidh?”
He paused, looking back at me.
“Can I maybe go first… It's just that your arrows are so large that if you hit the bullseye I actually can't even see it anymore so…”
He looked back at the other target. “Wow. I guess you're right. Sure, let's change it up.”
Of everyone in my family, he was by far the most reasonable. He was the only person I would ever expect to listen to my request aside from my father.
I walked up to the next target, hitting a perfect bullseye. Then he did the same. That pattern repeated with little exception. Every arrow he loosed from his bow either split mine or shattered mine into pieces. Each one made a loud thud that echoed through the whole castle as it burrowed its way through the target, splitting the wood that held them together.
twelve targets later and I was in the lead by 2. He had shot off center twice, and that was all I needed.
“You're up.” He said, gesturing to the next firing line. He must have known that the next target was the one that would surely net him the win, but his face stayed the same. I couldn't remember a time when he didn't have that ominous smile.
I walked up, drew my arrow, and let it loose. By some miracle, I hit the inner ring at 105 yards.
He stepped up after and just as he had been doing that whole time, he drew his bow and aimed it straight at the target. When he let go a gust of air came from the bow's string and the arrow flew in a straight path down the field. “Bullseye.” He said with a smirk as he tied the score.
‘I figured it out… I'm not actually that weak at all… They just aren't human.’
There was only one target left, 125 yards down range it hung on the wall, that would be our tiebreaker, and ultimately the reason why I was hesitant to accept the competition.
The problem was simple. There were two or three targets that were at least a hundred yards from the shooting line. My accuracy wasn't so much the problem, it was my strength. If I was strong enough to use a war bow I would probably be able to still hit the targets, but the chance of me just hurting myself instead was also far higher.
As I stepped up to the lane, I began to focus as hard as I could and time felt as though it had begun too slow. It was a feeling all too familiar, the same one that I had when I fought the giant bitterweed. I could see every possible trajectory that my arrow could take, even taking into account the subtle breeze.
‘This must be the power Agis said was awakening.’
With a deep breath, I pulled back on my bowstring and carefully calculated the arrow's path to the target. I couldn't help but smile as I let go, knowing it was headed straight for the bullseye. “I win…” I muttered as the arrow took a giant arc through the air.
It flew and spun, catching a small gust of wind that redirected it straight for the mark. Finally, it hit, gently tapping the target before bouncing off and clinking against the ground.
Airsidh burst out laughing as my grin slowly turned to a grimace.
“What was that? I thought you said you won?”
“Shut up…” I said turning away, trying to hide my face so he wouldn't tease me any further.
He continued laughing, but thankfully left it at that, taking a minute to finally calm down enough to shoot.
His shot was the same as all the others, dramatic and impressive. The awe had worn off though, so instead all I felt was the letdown of an anticlimactic end to what was otherwise an intense competition.
He unstrung his bow and placed it back on its pedestal, folding his hands and bowing before turning around and walking back over to me. “Thanks for the match.” He said, patting me on the head.
His cold and distant persona was suddenly replaced with a warm and gentle one and he gently rustled my dirty hair.
I was too confused for it to bother me. Not only did his entire demeanor suddenly shift, but I still had no idea why he wanted to shoot together in the first place. “Sure… But why did you want to do this?”
He paused just before he walked out the door. “A bow measures the strength of an archer's spirit, and the arrows its aim…” He closed the door again, hesitating to continue. “I did this to say goodbye, but now I see that you might not be going anywhere after all.”
With those final words and a soft smile, he left.
