Re: Long shots and misfires (attn: Lysira Gaidin)
Posted: September 4th, 2020, 3:32 am
Malcym tilted his head slightly, pondering the Gaidin's question. He understood it perfectly. Even in the thick of battle, awareness was key, even if it was chaos and bodies throwing themselves at one another amongst the loud clangs of steel and the flying mud sent up by horses around them.
"The ground is level," he said after a few seconds, "as if this part of the archery range was built for direct eye-to-eye confrontation and line of sight. The air is clear, no smoke, no haze, no dirt kicked up from the wind. Barely a breeze now, and despite it being early morning, there's still enough of a hint of darkness to provide some advantage if some idiot was carrying a torch. With no torch, my prey would be slightly harder to see at a distance."
He paused. "Those three factors would give me a solid opportunity if I were in cover and actually could fire the blasted thing enough.
He looked around him, his silver-blue eyes picking out as much detail as he could. "I see the targets ahead of us, beyond that a ranged tower probably used for sniping or higher range shooting. There's clouds in the horizon, indicating an overcast day, but they're not grey, at least not yet. There's you, holding your bow. I hear your breathing, my breathing, the sound of steel in the air, faint but present as some Warders are sparring early enough before trainees are there to bug them for tips and advice."
" ... as to how I feel Gaidin, frustration is past and I should shoot somewhat straighter with just the basics you've taught me. But emotions change, feelings change, depending on the scenario. The Yards may train us trainees the technique you Warders call "The Flame and Void" or "The Oneness" or whatever other clever names the technique holds, but unless you're skilled enough to embrace it, an archer could feel anxious or steeled or ready to puke their guts out from one second to the next -- some will cause them to hesitate, others fire, before the order is given or too soon to be effective -- others, will fire straight ahead with perfect clarity."
He wrinkled his nose and murmured, "But you forgot smell, Gaidin. A person's who has gone days without bathing or gone through battle will likely stand out if their downwind ... and a hunter smart enough to mask their scent will be harder yet to consider. And then there's those who ... "
"... ones who smell like you, Gaidin," he murmured. "You're out of place, hard to pick up. You're there, human flesh and everything, but it's just something not right ... enough to put someone off."
"The ground is level," he said after a few seconds, "as if this part of the archery range was built for direct eye-to-eye confrontation and line of sight. The air is clear, no smoke, no haze, no dirt kicked up from the wind. Barely a breeze now, and despite it being early morning, there's still enough of a hint of darkness to provide some advantage if some idiot was carrying a torch. With no torch, my prey would be slightly harder to see at a distance."
He paused. "Those three factors would give me a solid opportunity if I were in cover and actually could fire the blasted thing enough.
He looked around him, his silver-blue eyes picking out as much detail as he could. "I see the targets ahead of us, beyond that a ranged tower probably used for sniping or higher range shooting. There's clouds in the horizon, indicating an overcast day, but they're not grey, at least not yet. There's you, holding your bow. I hear your breathing, my breathing, the sound of steel in the air, faint but present as some Warders are sparring early enough before trainees are there to bug them for tips and advice."
" ... as to how I feel Gaidin, frustration is past and I should shoot somewhat straighter with just the basics you've taught me. But emotions change, feelings change, depending on the scenario. The Yards may train us trainees the technique you Warders call "The Flame and Void" or "The Oneness" or whatever other clever names the technique holds, but unless you're skilled enough to embrace it, an archer could feel anxious or steeled or ready to puke their guts out from one second to the next -- some will cause them to hesitate, others fire, before the order is given or too soon to be effective -- others, will fire straight ahead with perfect clarity."
He wrinkled his nose and murmured, "But you forgot smell, Gaidin. A person's who has gone days without bathing or gone through battle will likely stand out if their downwind ... and a hunter smart enough to mask their scent will be harder yet to consider. And then there's those who ... "
"... ones who smell like you, Gaidin," he murmured. "You're out of place, hard to pick up. You're there, human flesh and everything, but it's just something not right ... enough to put someone off."