Ymiden 19th,706
"So, the first thing we're going to be looking at is the proper stance to have whenever shooting an arrow. Of course, this is whenever possible. I understand that in combat situations you won't always have the chance to take a perfect stance. However, understanding the importance of the stance and what it achieves, or more so what it helps you to achieve, will allow you to replicate the results of the proper stance even when the situation doesn't allow you to take it," the words hit her like a wall of bricks as she tried to pay attention and understand exactly what was being said to her.
Nightshade watched the man as he demonstrated the stance, pulling his short bow's string back as he pretended an arrow was nocked. "Uhm, Sir-"
"Ekalavya," The man cut in without warning to the confusion of the half-breed. She gave him an odd look and he sighed heavily. "My name is Ekalavya, though if that's too much of a mouthful Eka is perfectly acceptable," he said.
"That's an odd name," she mused. The man smirked slightly.
"Indeed it is, especially considering it isn't biqaj in nature. To be truthful it isn't my birth name. I don't use that anymore... I lost the right a long time ago. For some time I went around considering myself to be nameless. That is, in fact, the name given to me by a very dear friend," his smile became gentle as though he was reminiscing about something particularly fond to him.
The half-breed nodded. She began to study his form when something caught her off guard. "You're left-handed?" She asked as she tried to get a better look at the placement of his hands.
Eka shook his head, another smile coming to his features. "No, not originally, but it quickly became obvious I would need to teach myself after certain things happened," he quietly held out his right hand, the thumb missing. The half-breed gawked quietly. "I can still, however, teach you how to use your right."
"If you could, can I be taught how to use both? I'm actually dominantly left, but that isn't typically a well-viewed trait so I taught myself how to use my right hand as though it were my dominant. I'll still always be better using my left... but... I feel ultimately it would be worth the effort to learn both," she said, her features showing a steely kind of determination as she locked eyes with the man.
Eka paused for a moment, contemplating the request silently before nodding. "Very well, once you learn how to use one hand dominantly it shouldn't take much effort to switch. We'll start with your left to make things easier on both of us for today. Especially considering this first lesson is absolutely vital. It's hard to undersell the importance of it. Now then. Place yourself perpendicular to the target and the shooting line and space your feet a shoulder length apart," Eka said.
The half-breed did as directed. "No, a shoulder length. That's too far. Still too far. I will personally move you if you don't get it right. Shoulder length," the man said as Nightshade adjusted her stance multiple times. "Once you've got the basics you can develop your own preference or 'open stance' as some call it. But for now, you will shoot by the book," Eka said, moving his own body so that the half-breed could see and replicate the stance. His words were forceful but not harsh. There was no comparison between Eka and the agitated jerk who'd been trying to teach the half-breed the trial before.
Eka obviously was strict but he wasn't frustrated, at least judging by the way he spoke. He did poke and prod at the half-breed, jabbing his finger at her. "Shoulder length. Straight back. You should be standing firm in and in such a way that if I punched you in the chest you wouldn't move. And I will just to prove a point," his tone was light but his eyes were fierce and Nightshade wasn't completely certain if he was joking or not. It was honestly a fifty-fifty shot, so the half-breed did her best to perfect the stance. If he wasn't joking she didn't want to get punched.
It was a little odd standing the way she'd been directed. She usually slouched because it made her less noticeable. It hurt her back sometimes, but people paid less attention to her. This stance had her standing completely straight with a posture that would make the Immortals envious. It didn't feel natural or comfortable. "Now then. This posture is how you should always stand," Eka said.
"What?" The half-breed barked out in a tone of disbelief.
Eka simply nodded quietly. "If you get used to standing this way then it'll be more comfortable and familiar when you shoot a bow. Your back needs to be straight."
"I don't do good at straight," she whimpered quietly, suppressing the urge to slouch.
"It'll be healthier in the long run if you learn to keep your back straight. The way you were standing the other day, you'll have back problems by 30 if that keeps up. Besides. Have a little more pride than to slouch like that," Eka continued. She wasn't even holding a bow yet, and already this lesson was starting to become a drain. Just the proper posture was a terror to learn.
"Now then. This is my bow, Astra. You'll be practicing with her," Eka said.
"You name your weapons too? I thought that was just some silly thing my dad came up with," the half-breed said. She could still remember all the stories her father had told her about naming a weapon. Of course, she'd never found anything that implied they were anything other than stories her father had made up for her entertainment.
"That's because only true warriors do it," Eka said with a wink as he pushed the bow into her hands. The unfamiliar short bow seemed to fit within her grip with little trouble, and she took to the weapon quickly. "Now then, loading a bow has a bit more to it than the men yesterday led you to believe. To load, the bow is pointed toward the ground and the shaft of the arrow is placed on an arrow rest which is attached in the bow window. The back of the arrow is attached to the bowstring with the 'nock'. This is called nocking an arrow. A lot of arrows you might notice have different vanes, and you have to be careful which one you use as the nock. Some smiths will color code so you know which one is for nocking, but sometimes different dyes can cause stiffness and decrease the overall quality and accuracy of the arrow, so it's best to just learn which vane you should use. One vane should always be pointing away from the bowstring," Eka explained as he pointed to each part of the bow.
"I'll teach you how to properly care for a bow later, but for right now we just need to make sure you understand the basics. Try nocking an arrow, but don't actually lift up the bow to aim yet," Eka finished as he waited for the half-breed to attempt this foreign feat.
She did as commanded, though her actions were clumsy. She had issues with actually getting the arrow firmly onto the string. It shook in her hand as she fumbled with with the string and the shaft. It wouldn't be a lie to say that she dropped the arrow once... a couple... many different times before she actually got it right. Eka to his credit at least looked unaffected by the hot mess standing in front of him. Many others would have cringed and looked away in shame, but he stood their patiently while he waited for the half-breed to figure it out.
When she did she look up at him quietly. "You used the wrong vane," he said in a voice that was barely above a whisper. The girl sighed heavily, her shoulders sagging as she removed the arrow from the vane and tried again with the right vane. At least this time she got it rather quickly and Eka gave her a silent nod of approval. "The bowstring and arrow should be held with three fingers. The index finger is placed above the arrow and the next two fingers below. The string is usually placed in either the first or second joint of the fingers," Eka continued as he adjusted her grip on the bow and the arrow.
"I'd recommend you practice speeding that up, but it'll work for now. At least you got the arrow on. The next thing we'll go over is actually shooting the bow. Now the bow is then raised and drawn. Make sure you keep this as one fluid motion, it's easier that way. The string hand is drawn towards the face, where it should rest lightly at an anchor point. This point is consistent from shot to shot and is usually at the corner of the mouth or on the chin. The bow arm is held outwards toward the target. The elbow of this arm should be rotated so that the inner elbow is parallel to the ground. This can vary a little more as some archers have more extendable elbows than some, though judging by your stance you aren't one of them," Eka said. The half-breed did as told, raising the bow to draw it and take aim.
"You should be standing completely erect, forming a 'T' so to speak," he nodded as he spoke, taking stock of her form. He raised her elbow slightly, adjusting so that it properly aligned the best anchor point for the half-breed.
"Now then. Shooting. Release the arrow by relaxing the fingers of the drawing hand. Pay attention to the recoil, as it may indicate problems with form. Go ahead, try to shoot the target. I want to see the best you can do, so pay careful attention to where and how you aim. Don't let your body get to stiff, you should be relaxed. The sooner this position becomes natural to you, the sooner you can start to become a master archer," Eka said as he took a small step back.
The half-breed nodded as she watched the target she was aiming for. It was smaller than the one she'd been using yestertrial, and she'd barely managed to graze that one. Of course, there wasn't as much pressure weighing on her this time. Eka obviously wasn't planning to just give up on her if she couldn't hit it. He'd just continue with the lesson, actually teaching her how to properly aim. She let the muscles in her body relax, shifting slightly. Not enough to leave stance, but just enough that it was a little bit more natural, a little bit more comfortable.
Releasing the air it shot through the air, slamming right into the target. It wasn't the center, but it was damn well close.
Eka whistled as he strolled over to the target, the half-breed was in too much shock to move. "Looks like I was right. You have a fair bit of natural talent when it comes to aiming. Then again, most avriel, half or not, seem to have a better understanding of wind currents than the rest of us right off the bat. I'd go ahead and chock the accuracy up to a mix of that and beginners luck. While I'd love to see you start hitting the center right off the bat, I suppose this is as good a place to start as any. Better than expected, certainly!" Eka turned back to the half-breed cocking an eyebrow at her slack jawed expression. "Pride child. You lack faith and pride," he said as he shook his head. The spell seemed to break with that and she could move again, blinking a couple times as she continued to glance towards where the arrow had landed.
Eka laughed lightly as the half-breed opened her mouth once or twice to try and form words. "That's enough for totrial. I don't want to shove anything else into your head lest you risk losing something important. Of course, if you want to keep practicing I'll leave Astra with you for right now. I want her back in a couple of breaks though. There are about 20 arrows in that quiver. When you run out, don't retrieve any. There are a couple rules I need to teach you about retrieving arrows," Eka turned away from the half-breed as he pulled a flask out of his shirt.
The half-breed blinked a couple times as she watched him meander over to a tree that was safely out of range. Practicing more sounded like a good idea. She had 20 shots left. She wanted a bullseye.
