Basic Archery: Paul and Gareth

[O'Brien]

4th of Melora

With two newcomers to archery both being trained, Sal decided it would be nice to have the two finish their class together. Sal, for one, always enjoyed the brotherhood that can exist between archers, and hoped these two would as well. It would also make the training a bit easier on him, so he wouldn't have to just go through the same dull process with both of them. The two could probably help each other out too, for each had a distinct weakness and a distinct strength.

Paul was a half-elf, an ideal race for bowmanship. He had plenty of potential to be a good archer. Gareth, on the other hand, was a sprite, and Fae just didn't do armed combat in general well. However, Paul was a bit rash and impatient while Gareth was very understanding in those respects and generally could remain calm. Sal could see tremendous results that could come from these two working together.

Quietly, Sal ran his hands over Crescent nice and early in the morning, seated in one of his chairs, as he waited for his two pupils to arrive to continue their training.

[Gareth Gruven]

Gareth had awoken long before dawn, and had readied himself for another day of archery. He took his standard eight arrows in his quiver, along with his ridiculous orange bow. 'Some day people will learn not to laught at the weapon the man uses, but the skill the man possesses...' Gareth thought to himself as he flew towards Sal's Archery range. That was true, one day when he, a simple Sprite, was one of the best archers on Telath, they would learn not to laugh at his small demeanor or minimized size. But for now, he had to learn to become that Master Ranger he was striving for. As he left his house and flew towards the Archery Range, another thought crossed the threshold of his mind. What if he could make his bow, magical? What if he could get a Druid to imbue a spell of some sorts on it! Perhaps a spell that wrapped him in defense as long as he held onto the bow, or maybe one that would help his accuracy! This idea excited Gareth, and he immediatly began to think over all the spells he had seen his Grandfather cast and how they would suit the purpose of his bow.

Before he knew it though, he was at the Archery Range. Hovering in midair for a second, his dark green almond-like eyes quickly located Sal, and he glided over to the man. "Morning," Gareth spoke with a cheerful tone, glad to be on a fresh start of a new day. He had done what Sal had asked him to do, practice. The small Sprite had taken this to heart, practicing through the entire night, using the lamps and candles to help him hit the target. Afterall, who needed to sleep in Arios? Gareth had figured while the others were out partying, he was getting ten times the amount of practice he normally would have gotten. Smiling at the thought of this, he knew he had grown proficient in two things. One, he grew more confident in himself and his shooting. The other, he was growing to become a decent archer, having hit near the bullseye tons of times, and only hitting the real thign once. But even then, a more impressive feat remained. He had sharpened his accuracy, to where he almost always hit the target somewhere, whether the bullseye or the outter ring.

Hovering near Sal's shoulder, he spoke in a gentle voice, "That's a nice bow you got there...how'd you make it? I would love to have my bow modified like that!" His voice was dreamy, and he doubted that Sal could do a thing like that...men were usually greedy, even if this one was a nice person. After Sal had explained, if he ever did explain, Gareth would then quietly ask, "What's this other student like?"

[Paul Tyndal]

Paul had set up camp right outside the forest, not yet wanting to sleep in it for fear of the wild animals that he was not yet accustommed too. He had once been a city boy, and his prejudices and fears were only just starting to wear off.

He slept a full nights sleep, and dreamed of the wonders that were to come. He also thought about his little sprite aquaintance, and wondered what he should do about him. They were so alike.. but that could wait. Tomorrow, more training!

He awoke as he usually did, sluggish and still half asleep. However, even though he was not a nice person in the morning, these effects wore off after he took a co-o-o-old bath in a nearby stream. Emerging from the water freezing and wet, he quickly dried himself and rolled up his camping material, stowing it in the hollow of a tree he had found earlier. He hoped that the bear that had once lived there did not anymore, but he could not worry about that.

Setting off for the archery range, he did not take long to get there.

As he neared, he saw that the sprite was there to! He must be also getting lessons, Paul though, for he is trying to be a ranger as well, and Sal is the best person to get them from, around here. In a sudden moment of mischief, Paul attempted to sneak up on the talking couple, and he silently crawled around to Sal's storage shed, sneaking closer until he could hear what the two were saying.

After listening to the small talk that was being exchanged between the two, Paul showed himself.

OOC: Paul did not overhear the last question put to Sal by Gareth here.

[O'Brien]

OOC: Come on guys, remember you don't sleep on Arios. *whack*

G-Money

As if on cue, Sal slammed an arrow straight into the bull's eye as Gareth fluttered over, and he gave a cocky little nod at his achievement before turning around to greet his pupil. "Serale there, student," he called out to him, "how are you?" Sal began walking about to prepare for the class a bit and set Crescent against the side of the shed right as Gareth inquired about it. Ever happy to brag about his bow, he picked up the weapon again and came to show it to Gareth.

"You have a good eye, Gareth," he said with a smile as he flaunted the composite longbow, "for Crescent is a very special bow. First of all, it's a composite longbow, which is certainly the best class you can get, though I hear they're sold out at Wild River. Anyway, you can see the extra curves on this one, they're mostly aesthetic...but the real special thing about Crescent is its makeup. She was given to me by an elven friend of mine, about six patterns ago, because the elf appreciated my skill and love for archery. He told me some of the wood came from a great Treant from Trelore, that it was more durable and effective than normal woods. I soon came to find that it shot harder, farther, and quicker than any ordinary bow I had ever seen. I still practice on regular bows occasionally so I don't become dependent on it or anything."

Too caught up in his speech to allow time for questions, Sal continued right on in to answer the two questions the sprite had gotten in. "So unless you know of a powerful old Treant who's about to die," he said with a chuckle, "there's probably not much I can do for you. And your new classmate is a half-elf, he has a lot of potential, but he's terribly impatient and clumsy. Your weaknesses are his strengths and vice versa, so I hope you can help each other out as well." Quietly they waited for Paul to show up before continuing the training.

P-Diddy

With a wry smile, Sal received Paul. For obvious reasons he wasn't terribly excited to see the half-elf. "Hello Paul," he said begrudgingly, "I want you to meet your new classmate, Gareth. Gareth, Paul." He gave the two a moment to meet each other, unaware that they were already friends.

Both...back to the training!

After the two had finished their conversation, Sal nodded. "Okay people," he said, "save your conversation because it's time for some archery now. We're going to start off the brightening with a little bit of instruction, some shooting, some more instruction during lunch, and we'll finish off with some more practice, then you can go home. It'll be a full brightening today so I hope you're ready. Any questions at this point before we begin?" Sal looked specifically at Paul. If the half-elf didn't have any questions, they were probably doomed to repeat yesterday.

[Gareth Gruven]

Gareth smiled politely and nodded at Sal, paying the closest bit of attention to the man. If he wanted to be a good archer, he would have to learn to pick up on things from his superiors. He found what Sal said quite interesting, the curves on the bow, the gift from an elf, the wood made of a Treant. "I see.." he spoke in a somewhat dissapointed voice, sad to learn that chances are he wouldn't be able to find a dying Treant anytime soon. Shrugging, he saved Sal's information for later, knowing he would have plenty of time to brood over it. But for now, Archery!

Gareth smiled when Paul came into their sight, oblivious that the man had been sneaking around. "Vedui Paul...it's nice to see you again," he spoke cheerful with a merry wink thrown in to go along. He spun in mid-air to Sal, and quickly explained. "I've met Paul before, he came by my house for dinner one night...we found out that we both wanted to be Rangers, and we've been the best of friends ever since!" he spoke quickly, the words flying smoothely off his tongue so he would not be wasting Sal's time. He waited for Paul to say anything, before turning back to Sal and listening to their instructor's directions. Smiling, he nodded his head at the day's plan. "Everything sounds good to me! No questions here!" he said cheerfully as he turned his attention to his new partner to see if Paul had any questions.

[Paul Tyndal]

Paul approached laughing, for he could see that Gareth had known of his presence. "Oh well," he thought, "one can only fool a fool." This was one of the many quotes of his father that he carried about with him, all offering some sort of worldly advice or help. However, his face tensed up and his manner got serious, as he asked his question.

Paul did indeed have many questions, but he thought that many of them might be addressed in the coming session, so he asked one, simple question. "After reflection during the night, for no sleep is an extremely foreign concept to me, I have seen that there was much error in my shooting yesterday. He chose his words carefully, weighing each one before speaking, with the end result that his sentences seemed fragmented, though easy to follow. He continued with his confession, saying, "So, I was wondering if you had any observations as to how to improve?" He directed this question at Sal.

[O'Brien]

Ah, so the students were no strangers to each other...but how could two people who were so very different be best friends? "Best friends," Sal said slowly, "...ah. I never would have guessed. Anyway, Paul, I'm glad you've calmed down. Some folks take troubling things to bed with them, hoping to 'sleep them off,' but I think it's much more effective in Arios, staying up all night and actually thinking about it. But enough of that. It's time for some instruction." The Paxian human went to his shed and brought out the two expensive chairs, allowing the two students to have a seat as he stood and lectured.

"Now then," he began, "today we will be doing a lot of shooting, as I have mentioned, but first I'd like to answer your questions. Gareth, you may have none, but your classmate wanted to know how to improve. I'd like you to knock and shoot an arrow or two and explain the process to Paul."

With a polite smile, Sal elaborated on the purpose of the instruction. "This will help in many ways," he began, "for first of all, you should both know that in anything, teaching a less experienced person helps you as well. Gareth, it will be a good way for you to prove yourself and gain such experience. Paul, obviously you will benefit from this because it's instruction. Now pay attention while Mister Gruven demonstrates." To finally put the sprite on the spot, Sal gave an acknowleding nod to him. Class with Sal was anything but orthodox.

[Gareth Gruven]

Gareth blushed as Sal mentioned him teaching Gareth. 'I don't think I want to be teaching someone if I'm not entirely used to doing this myself...' he silently thought to himself. But another probing voice filled his mind. 'Ah...but you forget, you are entirely sure of this, you spent all afternoon and all night doing it anyways.' Gareth sighed, and glided over to one the dirt rings where a target stood a bit of a way in front of him. He turned back to Sal and Paul and raised his voice so that they would hear him.

"Now, first of all, you must have the stance correct," he started, then assumed the proper stance, turning so that the target was on his left and his neck was turned towards it, not his chest. He silently hovered in mid-air, but knew that the stance was almost the exact same as Paul and Sal performed. "Remember to keep your target on the left side, and to only tilt or turn your neck so you can see it, never turn your chest towards the victim unless you intend to take an arrow in the heart yourself," Gareth squeeked with a slight chuckle. Silently he drew the atricious orange bow out and swiftly pulled an arrow out of the quiver. "Now, hold the bow firmly in your hand, like I am now. Withy our right hand, take the arrow and rest it on the bow, that way you're not worried about having to put pressure on the arrow to balance it," he said as he silently placed the arrow on top of his bow where the arrowhead rested near the handle. "The next, and probably most important step is to nock your arrow correctly. The notch that has been made in the end of the arrow must be fitted snugly against the bow-string, otherwise you won't have as strong as a shot," Gareth said, actually enjoying this instructing a slight bit.

He silently nocked the arrow until he felt that it was snug and tight against the bowstring. "Now once you have nocked your arrow, tilt your bow up into the upright position. Aim the arrow head along with your target, throw caution to the wind and how far you pull back the bowstring. If the wind is blowing against you, the harder you would pull. However, it's always better to pull back with as much strength as you can for a straight shot, rather than lobbing the arrow so that it hits the target," Gareth spoke with a grin, knowing he had learned this the previous brightening with Sal. "Remember to allign the target's bullseye with the arrowhead, aim, and...fire!" he almost yelled the last word as he took aim and pulled back with the proper amount of strength, and fired his arrow at the target. He then lowered his bow, checked to see if his arrow hit or not, then turned to Sal. "Still want me to instruct or can I fetch the arrow back?" he asked with a polite tone.

[Paul Tyndal]

Paul watched Gareth intently, and even though his newly-aquired friend did it far better than he, he felt no jealousy, just happiness. After all, as partners, who better to have watching your back than someone you know is going to do a damned good job at it?

Paul stood up, and stretching, he told Gareth, "I wouldn't get that arrow if I were you. Let me try and shoot one off before you do, and I wouldn't want to hit you." Relazing his muscles, he walked loosely to his dirt circle, aligning himself with his target. Placing his body in the proper stance, he looked at his target. Raising his bow, he took an arrow from his quiver.

Placing the arrow in the notch, and resting it on his hand, he grasped the end of the arrow, right after the fletching, and set the end tip to the taunt string. He then pulled back on the string with as much strength as he could, and was pleasantly suprised at the amount of force he was able to put into pulling the string. He hadn't thought he was that strong, though he knew he was above average for a half-elf.

He checked his aim and , giving the arrow a final pull backwards, he let it loose.

He looked back at Sal, and watched the facial expression that registered on his face, checking his shot by that.

[O'Brien]

Gareth watched his arrow fly firmly downrange, keeping a much straighter course this time, unlike the arc shot from the previous brightening. There was enough power and the shot was good, but the arrow didn't land anywhere too impressive. The shot was in the target, close to the outer red ring, not notably close too nor far away from the bull's eye. "Not bad," Sal commented, "that was a good shot, Gareth. In the future, though, take a bit more time to aim. Basic archery focuses on still targets like this where you can take that time. Should you decide to persue higher levels, you will learn to shoot moving targets, and therefore learn to shoot with less time spent aiming. Until then, though, it will only help to concentrate and really think out your shot before you let one fly."

Before the instructor could tell the sprite to retrieve his arrow, though, Paul was already in a circle and taking aim, which immediately prompted the response in Sal of a slap on the forehead. He was behaving just as he had yesterday, had he learned nothing? Nevertheless, for one reason or another Sal decided not to interfere with the shot. Paul soon fired his next arrow and kept his eyes open for the result, which, in its own way, was both bad and good.

First of all, Paul's arrow had struck a bull's eye. The problem, however, was that it was not the bull's eye directly downrange from Paul's circle, but one target to the right of that one. With a blank stare, Sal looked at the arrow as though he was almost suspicious - and he would have been, if the arrow was one target to the left. "Riiiight," was his only response, "you two may retrieve your arrows." The sprite and half-elf made their way downrange and returned with their respective arrows.

Once they were seated again, Sal began his lecture. "Students," he began, "you both are showing some natural talent with archery, and I'm impressed that you've been able to hit the target so soon, though I cannot say whether or not luck has played a part. Ah, but I am here to teach you how to shoot lucky...but without luck." Sal went over to the shed and picked up Crescent. Quickly he grabbed and knocked an arrow and then fired it downrange. The shot was close to the middle, but worse than any either student had seen of Sal so far. Sal took another arrow and knocked it, this time taking careful aim before letting go of the bow - for an entire minute he just stood there like a statue, eyeing the target. The second shot hit the bull's eye dead-on.

"As you can see, gentlemen," he said turning back to them, "and as I mentioned briefly to Gareth, taking the time to aim can make all the difference in your shots. I'd like you both to emulate the exercise I just did: shoot one arrow quickly and another after taking time to place your shot. We're going to see what differences we can notice between the two shots. Okay, go to it."

The students got up, and Sal had a seat in one of the chairs while he watched the two shoot.

[Paul Tyndal]

Paul turned to observe his shot, the suspicious and suprised look on Sal's face boding well for him, or so he thought. As he did turn around, he was both suprised and disappointed that he did not see his arrow at the target in front of him. Looking around for his arrow on the ground, he did not see it there either. Baffled, he began to look into the other ranges, and he spotted his arrow.

"What are the odds?" he thought as he walked downrange to retrieve his arrow, amused at his perfect shot, but on another range. "Now, we just need to get that shot a bit straighter.." he continued thinking, as he openly chuckled. No explanation would be needed as to his laughter, he was sure it was quite obvious as to what he was laughing at. Indeed, he would have been suprised it his two companions did not share his lighthearted amusement. "A man who can laugh at his own mistakes, as long as they are not harmful," his father had always said, "is a true man indeed." Paul had taken this to heart, and always laughed off his mistakes and failures, but never failed to learn from them. That was another piece of wisdom his father had instilled in him.
___

Paul watched as Sal shot off his first shot, and was amazed at the poor marksmanship of it. "That's the worst shot I've seen Sal take.. well, ever!" Paul thought, a bit disappointed at his teacher. However, after the second shot, and Sal's quick explanation, Paul saw the wisdom of what Sal said, and took that to heart too. Getting off of his chair, he walked up to his customary circle, for he had, though not purposely, chosen one to claim as his own, and raised his bow. As quick as he could, he took out an arrow, nocked it poorly, pulled back the string in a half-hearted effort, and let the arrow fly.

Well, maybe not fly.

Because of the poor, slopshod method in which he prepared his arrow, it simply fell off of his bow, as he had seen the ameteur children's arrows do at the ranges of his childhood.

Laughing appreciatively at his horrendous error, he leaned down to pick up the arrow and then assumed the proper stance and drew the arrow from his quiver. Passing it behind his head and over his right shoulder, he carefully nocked it, placing it with the upmost care into the notch formed by his fingers. Paying extra attention to detail, he leveled the arrow, parallel to the ground, on the string, and pulled back on it with the full force of his right arm - his strongest arm. He drew the arrow and string past his head, and he took a moment to marvel at how well his bow bent under the force. However, now was not the time to notice things like that, he he shook his mind of such thoughts. Carefully aiming, he let loose his arrow, and had to steady himself from the force of the arrow's being let fly.

This time, the arrow once again did not fly through the air either.

It cut through it.

[Gareth Gruven]

The shot grinned from ear to ear as he saw his arrow fly and hit the near the outer ring of the target. His practice over night had paid off, and he realized this, even though when he practiced he had been practicing with a target much closer. He grinned from ear to ear as he listened to Sal's praise, glad he could be of service. Right when he was about to zoom down over to the target and retrieve the arrow though, Paul recklessly stood up and began walking to the ring. Gareth's jaw dropped slightly and he quickly glided out of range, and rised a few feet in the air above Sal and Paul, just in case. He was prepared to fly for his life if he needed to, and he was certainly more than capable of doing so should the occasion arise.

He bursted out laughing as he saw Paul's arrow hit a bullseye on the next target. "Paul! How did you do it? That's a perfect bullseye, now if it was only straighter!" he gaped in amazement at his friend's lucky abilities. Well maybe not lucky if Paul couldn't get his arrows to fly straighter. He was silently amused at his friend's luck, yet silently envying Paul for his un-professionalism, the man seemed so light-hearted, it would seem nothing could dampen the Half-elf's spirits.

With a slight smirk Gareth shot off to retrieve his arrow. Taking it out of the target, he quickly determined if it was in the target firmly or not, for his own benefit, before slipping it back into his quiver. He studied the target for a second, as if looking to see where the best place to improve would be at, and then rocketed off back to Sal, waiting patiently for his friend to arrive as well. After all, Paul had to cover a bit more distance, and didn't have the ability of flight at his fingertips. Well, more like connected to his back.

~~~

Gareth gaped when he saw Sal's shot. "Sir.." he muttered as he stared in dis-belief at the location of the arrow. Sal, one of the best archers he had seen in his life, the best archer he had seen in his life, had just shot one of the poorest shots he could have imagined from an expert. He was shooting like Paul and Gareth!

However, Gareth quickly saw, more like heard, the logic from Sal's devious plan, and he nodded silently, catching on quickly. He silently glided forward towards the circle next to Paul's on the left hand side, and swiftly took an arrow out from his quiver. Nocking it to the best of his abilities, he rose his bow half-heartedly and aimed for a brief second, just to make sure the arrow would head in the direction of the target, before letting the arrow go, hoping for it to fly throug the air for a reasonable time. Even if it wasn't his best shot, he at least wanted to make it count a bit.

Following through once more, this time he rose to a height level to the target, and took the proper stance, turning his neck sideways to look at the target that was situated on his left. Taking an arrow out of his quiver, he nocked it carefully until he was sure it was in a snug fit with the bowstring...he would be taking no chances here. After nocking it he pulled back on the bowstring, wanting to make sure the arrow would be able to cut through the air at a fast rate. He then turned the bow upright and took aim. He stood there, his wings beating steadily in the air to keep him at the right altitude, for several minutes he simply aimed his arrowhead towards the bullseye to the best of his abilities. He took time, precaution, and care into his shot, and with outstanding patience with himself, he gradualyl felt he was ready. Making sure his arrow was still alligned with the bullseye. He let go of the string and arrow altogethor, letting it rocket off towards the target.

[O'Brien]

Sal laughed in his seat at Paul's first shot. He hadn't been expecting that much failure, but it proved the point well enough. Gareth's sloppy shot, on the other hand, actually did fire decently, but missed the board downrange a bit and planted itself in the hill behind the facility. "As you can both see," Sal noted, "those hasty shots were quite unimpressive. Concentrate on your next shot, make this one count." And indeed they did.

Paul's good shot took off swiftly through the air, zooming towards the target downrange and this time headed for the correct one. It landed impressively a few inches from the center target. Similarly, Gareth's shot landed an inch from the bull's eye, finding its home in one of the red circles outside of the middle. "Not bad, not bad," Sal commented from his seat, "as you can see the aiming made a huge difference. I'd like you to both go and retrieve both of your arrows, come back and have a seat. Ask questions if you have them, and otherwise I will continue the lesson." The instructor stood up from the chair and went back to his lecturing position as he waited for his pupils to return.

[Gareth Gruven]

Gareth beamed with his shot, only a few inches from the bullseye! It wouldn't be too long before he could make it hit the direct target, and then he'll be able to shoot the arrow wherever he wanted to, in someone's head, in a tree trunk, in Sal's archery target...so much fun! With a swift nod and a huge grin that spread from ear to ear, Gareth quickly glided across the dirt path that led up to the target. Retrieving the arrow that hit the ground first, he silently slid it back inside the quiver before inspecting the next one. He tried to take notice of how firmly it stuck, and if it was tilted downwards or if it was head-on. After this, he swiftly flew back to Sal's side.

"I have one question. If the wind is blowing from a direction, say the east for instance, would you aim a bit slighter to the east or just as you normally would," the Sprite asked in a cautious voice, trying hard not to make a full of himself. He himself would usually have to go against the wind, but with the force that fired the arrow, maybe the shaft would not.

[Paul Tyndal]

Paul felt a large sense of accomplishment at the wonderful shot he had just taken - this shot might even rival his perfect bull's eye on the target next to him! He knew he was getting better, he had been practicing on various trees, as well as larger animals in the forest, but he had not know exactly how much better until now. Since there was no way to paint a bull's eye on a tree without paint, and there was definitely no way to do it on a deer, he had to gauge his shots within rough areas. He saw that Gareth's had landed near the place where his had landed as well, and shouted a congratulation to his friend. Walking to the target to remove the arrow, Paul had some difficulty getting it out of the wood - all the force he had put on the arrow to make it fly forward had paid off. After he had removed the arrow, he walked over to Sal, and listened to Gareth ask a question, which he had been wondering about himself. He listened patiently to the answer.