[Eldrew Whiteone]

Morning came early to the halfling. He had spent the better part of evening wandering. The Hall was enormous. He had found the Dinning Room, ate a good meal, and then retired to his cot. The excitement of the day caused his sleep to be restless. However, with the light breaking through the windows, Eldrew dressed in his tan breeches and white shirt. Slipping on his boots, he tied them tight. Walking out the barracks, he stopped turned around and retrieved his bow. Great the morning has started bad already.


“Good morning, Mr. Whiteone.” Owaten Aspenpath was already waiting at the archery range. “I trust you are ready to begin.” Eldrew nodded. “I am Rangermistress.” “Good then let us begin.” The elven woman motioned him next to her. “I believe you to be of the right hand.” She held up an ornately decorated long bow. “We are the same then.” Eldrew held his short bow tightly. His sudden nervousness caused his palms to sweat.


“We will start with the proper stance and balance of a bowman.” Aspenpath turned her body, so that the left shoulder was pointing down the range. “Imagine a line drawn on the ground. That line is your shooting line. An archer stands in an upright, comfortable, relaxed position with one foot to each side of the shooting line. Your feet should be about shoulder width apart with an even amount of weight spread across each foot. You also need an even amount of weight between the ball and heel of each foot. This will maintain balance and help keep the body steady.”


Eldrew positioned his body to mirror his teacher. Owaten continued, “During your shooting sequence, your body position must remain as steady as possible with no shifting of weight or leaning of the body.” She drew an arrow from the quiver at her hip. Nocking it in place, she fired down range. The arrow struck true center. The halfling’s eyes showed amazement. “Sometimes there is a problem with bowstring clearance to the arm,” she demonstrated the lack of pull on the string, “then a open stance may be required.” She moved her left foot out so the toes were at a slight angle to her body. “Once your stance has been established, then it must be consistent from shot to shot.”