Yvonne

“Back straight. Stance solid. Arm steady,” she instructs Tupul, the young elf still getting used to a bow of any variety, much less the dwellerbow Thedeim gave him. “You have two arms, so use them both to draw. Usually the hardest part is aiming, you know,” she continues as he draws it far enough for the unique design to lessen the force needed to keep it drawn.

“Because of learning how the arrow flies?” Tupul asks, sticking out his tongue as he tries to sight down the arrow.

“That’s partially it, but the main trouble most new archers have is keeping the draw steady enough to even be able to aim. You’re under a lot less strain to keep it like that than with a normal bow, so aiming is a lot easier. Now, a simple method to help aim is to line a fletching with the arrow head. Make them intersect and that is roughly where the arrow will land.”

Tupul does as instructed, and Yvonne speaks up one more time before letting him fire. “And mind your forearm. Many archers wear bracers more to protect their arms from the bow string than from attackers.”

He looks confused at the advice before taking a closer look at how he’s holding his bow. She watches his eyes trace the path of the string, and sees them widen when he notices it would strike along his arm. His grip shifts, and though it’s less stable now, at least he won’t hurt himself.

Yvonne nods at her student and he lets the arrow fly, hitting the tree they’re using as a target. It’s well off the centerline of the tree, but Yvonne still smiles. “Not bad. You didn’t hurt yourself and you still hit the target.”

Tupul doesn’t look especially happy at the result, though, and spends a few seconds adjusting his grip. “How bad is it to hit your arm?”

Yvonne laughs. “A little accuracy loss is better than making it hard to use your hand for an hour. And it’s harder on the bow to let it constantly hit your arm or bracer. A snapped string is something to avoid.”

Her student still doesn’t look happy, but he diligently nocks, holds, aims, and fires another arrow into the tree. “How long have you been an archer, Miss Yvonne?”

“Longer than you’ve been alive,” she tells him. “I always knew I wanted to use a bow, no matter what class I ended up with, so I started as soon as I could pick one up.” She smiles at the memories of pestering everyone with a quiver on their back for advice. Most told her to go away, but a few gave her actual pointers.

She happily indulges in some nostalgia as Tupul practices, getting to repeat some of the advice she had been given. “An archer has two main roles in a party: awareness and damage. An arrow in the right spot can either end the fight on its own, or provide the opening for a melee companion to end it. And, being further from the direct fighting, archers have a better view of what’s happening. A shouted warning can be even more vital than the perfect shot.”

Tupul nods. “Thedeim says I need to keep an eye on as much as possible in a fight. Since I slip in and out, always moving, I also get to see more, and need to see more to be able to move around without being reckless.”

“In the Rangers, you’d be called a skirmisher. Not many people enjoy the role. It takes a lot of focus, and most parties prefer to have two dedicated people to individual roles, instead of a single generalist.”

“I’ve seen a lot of other parties plan the same. But I think, with my main party being four people, I kinda have the room to react and adapt to whatever needs to be done.”

Yvonne hums as she considers that, Tupul going to the tree to collect the arrows. “With Aranya, we also have four, but we’ve all taken the opportunity to further focus on our roles. Aelara used to have to split her attention between support and attacks, but with Aranya on support, she can focus on controlling the field with her earth affinity.”

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“I think my affinities also help me to be versatile. Shadow makes it easy to slip in and out, gravity lets me shift the battle, and life lets me know where to hit, and to be able to help my friends, too.”

“You have life affinity?” Yvonne asks, surprised, and Tupul nods.

“I haven’t figured out too much with it yet. Thedeim showed me pressure points, special areas that let me influence what I hit, but that’s about all. It’s pretty versatile, though. I know where to hit a foe to cripple it, and if I use it on my friends with my hands, I can speed their recovery. It’s slower than a potion, though, and Rhonda always has some on hand, so I don’t have much practice.”

“Hmm. I’ve heard of life mages being able to do some nasty things with the affinity, but I’ve never seen it first hand, thankfully. I have seen a few tricks with your other affinities you might want to practice, though.”

Tupul perks up as he gets the last arrow free from the tree, eagerly returning to hear what she has to suggest. “The first is to use your gravity to manipulate the arrow in the air. Even just making it not drop as quickly, or even not at all, will make it a lot easier for you to hit your target. And sometimes a foe will move just as you fire, making the shot wasted. But if you can direct it even after you fire, it’ll be a lot easier for you to hit what you need to hit. And avoid what you need to avoid.”

She smirks over at Ragnar, the dwarf relaxing against a tree trunk as the group takes a bit of a break. “He’s had to pull arrows out before after moving unexpectedly. It’s been a while, at least.”

Tupul winces at the idea of shooting one of his friends. “At least he seems ok.”

Yvonne smirks at a few memories. “I think he did it on purpose at least twice. He says a bit of blood helps get the battle pumping. Anyway, back to tricks for you. I’ve also seen an interesting ability from archers with shadow affinity. They call it Shadow Pin. Instead of firing at the foe directly, you aim at their shadow and pin it in place. I don’t know exactly how it works, but I’ve seen beasts immobilized with arrows all around them, their shadow fully restricted, and them entangled because of it.”

Tupul’s eyes widen at the suggestion, and he even takes one of the arrows and jabs it at his own shadow, at his feet.

“What do you think?” asks Yvonne.

“I think it’s going to be hard to do, but I also think Onyx will have fun helping me figure it out.”

Yvonne smiles. “And what do you think of archery in general?”

He looks uncomfortable for a few moments, but eventually answers truthfully. “It’s a good option to have, but I don’t think I’m going to focus on it. Thedeim said I don’t need to change to specialize in it… so I don’t think I will. Though I do like the sound of that Shadow Pin technique. It could be a great way to start a fight, before swapping back to my knives.”

Yvonne nods. “That’s fair. The bow is still the best weapon, of course,” she says with a joking smile, “but it’s not for everyone. A lot of people prefer melee over range, if they have the option.”

“Yeah. Maybe if I had started with a bow, I’d prefer it… but I like my knives. The karambit for the precise strikes, and the cleaver for the heavy hits. And they both work well to let me butcher things afterwards.”

“I’ve never seen someone butcher a kill out in the field before,” she admits, remembering how strange it was to see him quickly prepare the goose Vernew had brought in last night. “Cleaning a kill is one thing. Getting valuable parts is another. But seeing it turned into something I’d expect to see in a shop window was something else.”

Tupul blushes at the praise. “My parents are butchers, and I always wanted to be like them.”

“I’m sure they’re proud of you, then. Not only for your butchering skill, but for your adventuring skill, too.”

“They’re proud about the butchering, yeah. The adventuring, though… makes them worry.”

Yvonne smiles. “It’s the nature of parents to worry. But they’re wise enough to not try to keep you in the nest forever, it seems.”

Tupul snorts. “It was pretty close. Dad really doesn’t like me delving. I think Mom pretends it’s just not happening. I can see it in their eyes, them wanting to keep me safe at home. But they’re smart. They know I can handle delving, and that I’ll be ready if something like the theives guild happens again.”

Yvonne nods, remembering one of the teachings of the Goldenwings. “It’s a parent’s deepest joy and greatest sorrow to see their hatchlings soar in the stormy skies that they themselves cannot follow.”

“Heh, yeah, that’s what it looks like. I don’t get it, but I probably will, some day,” Tupul admits, before taking his archery stance once more. “I’m gonna practice a bit more.”

Yvonne nods and watches him, occasionally giving him advice as he works. It’s difficult for her to imagine him soaring through stormier skies than she has… but then again, maybe he already has. He didn’t take a sword to the chest like she did, but he did help take down the thieves guild. If he’s going to find stormier skies still, she’ll do what she can to ensure he can navigate them, too.