Solo [Antinous Training Grounds] Target Practice

Recent experiances have shone Balian he needs better Aim.

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This shining population center is considered the jewel of The Sylira Region. Home of the vast majority of Mizahar's population, Syliras is nestled in a quiet, sprawling valley on the shores of the Suvan Sea. [Lore]

[Antinous Training Grounds] Target Practice

Postby Balian Martell on August 28th, 2014, 6:44 pm

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Day 32 of Summer, 514
Antinous Training Grounds

Balian stared down the shaft of his arrow as he aimed at the target. A few arrows could already be seen laying around the target, and a few sticking out of the hay, though none had found the center of the target. He arrived that day to the training grounds determined to improve himself even if it took him till nightfall. The encounter with the strange pycon a week before had left a somewhat bitter taste in his mouth, one that he wished to wash out. It bothered him how easily beaten he was, and by a rodent no less! If he only he had managed to shoot the squirrel before it had gotten off the tree, he would have been able to avoid that entire mess. Not that he wanted to kill Squire Achailist, knowing now that he too was a member of the order, but he did recognize that had he managed to keep the engagement at range, he would have fared much better.

Balian was already somewhat familiar with the feel of his bow. He had picked up some skill with in the few times his father had taken him hunting outside the outpost, but now he had the time and the necessity to improve his skill. He understood that he also needed to work on his close quarter combat as well, however he was much more adept at this. In truth, he was much more comfortable with his bow than with his sword, preferring the concept of keeping your enemies at range and in control. What little experience he had in close quarter combat had imparted a sense of chaos that he would much rather prefer avoid.

Syna had not reached her zenith yet, however she had already climbed a good portion into the sky. Her light filled the training grounds, and already the day’s heat could be felt. Balian concentrated on his target, attempting to keep his bow as steady as possible, while he held the arrow in place, string pulled back and ready to be released. One tick went by. Then a second. Balian waited. He waited for a moment when the shot felt right, when he felt that his arrow would fly true. When he thought he felt it he released the string and with a soft whistle the arrow flew forward. The second he released it he already knew that it was going to miss. At the last moment, when he released the string, his left arm, which held the bow, had jumped to the side. As it were the arrow flew harmlessly off the side, embedding itself into the ground.

"Petch!" With a frustrated sigh, he picked up his quiver, which he had placed on the ground and went over to the target to collect his arrows.
Last edited by Balian Martell on October 1st, 2014, 9:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Balian Martell
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[Antinous Training Grounds] Target Practice

Postby Balian Martell on October 1st, 2014, 9:13 pm

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It would seem that he had the ranges to himself today. There were others in the training grounds that day; Squires and Knights filled the yard with their activity, yet none at the ranges. That suited Balian just fine. When his was back in position, he placed his quiver back down on the ground, giving him easy access to his stock of arrows. He looked at the target, standing there motionless in thought. He remembered his training with Ser Quinten, and how he had tought him the importance of form when it came to sword play. I wonder if I can apply that to this as well…

He took a deep breath as he came out of his trance, still looking at the target. He reached over a plucked one of the arrows from his quiver, and carefully fitted it onto the bow. As he did, he changed his stance, remembering as best he could the things that his father had taught him. Feet shoulder width apart. Lead your shot with your front foot pointing towards your target. Back foot angled for balance and support. Back straight, chest out. Balian followed these instructions as if his father were next to him, speaking the words himself. With the arrow already placed, he brought up the bow and pulled back the string, aiming once more at the target. Keep both eyes open.

Balian once again looked down the shaft of his arrow, seeing the target on the far side and tried to envision of where he wanted the arrow to land. The target was made out of hay, two bundles stacked on top of each other and with a red and white bull’s-eye painted on. It was several paces away, about mid range of what his short bow could reach, yet it was a fine foe for Balian, who needed to work on his accuracy.

He took a deep breath, trying to calm his mind, and on the exhale he released. His arm had wavered once again on the moment of release, however it was not as severe as the last time. His arrow flew into the air streaking past some of the closer targets until it made contact. The jump in his arm had caused it to veer off to the left, yet this time he had managed to land it within the outer circle of the target. Consoling himself that the shot had been an improvement compared to the rest of the day, he reached down once again and grasped another arrow
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[Antinous Training Grounds] Target Practice

Postby Balian Martell on October 8th, 2014, 4:12 pm

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With the new arrow in his hand, Balian took stock of his current skill. He had the range just fine, and he was able to aim at least in the general direction. His main issue seemed to be his accuracy; namely keeping his bow steady throughout the shot. His arm had a tendency to jump or twitch or otherwise cause his shot to veer off somehow. He needed to get a handle on that, and continuing his practice was the only way to do it. Letting out another sigh, Balian nocked the arrow once more and got into stance.

Feet shoulder width apart. Front foot leads. Back foot supports. Keep eyes open. The snippets of instructions raced through his mind as he pulled back the string. He held it in place for several ticks, making sure to keep his posture and stance correct, focusing primarily on keeping his left arm, the one which held the bow, steady. On an exhale, he released the string from his fingertips, and fired his arrow. Almost instantly he let out a short yelp of pain, as the string grazed the underside of his forearm. He had been so preoccupied on keeping it steady that he forgot to position it directly. His shot of course, flew to the left of the target, missing the hay completely.

Fighting back a string of curses, Balian gently rubbed his arm where the string had struck him. Not for the first time he wondered if he should buy himself an archer’s glove, if only for this very reason. Once the irritated skin calmed, he again picked up another arrow; he had to keep training if he ever hoped to get better. Taking in a big breath, he ignored the lingering ache of his forearm and again prepared to shoot, repeating the mantra that he had developed in his head.

He again focused on keeping his arm steady, this time taking care to positioning It correctly as too avoid last times accident. He kept his breathing calm, an attempt to give himself a rythem. On another exhale he released the string, and this time his arm only moved a little. The arrow seemed to fly true, towards its intended target, but about halfway the distance his accuracy seemed to give; it veered again slightly to the left. At least the arrow struck hay this time, even if it was outside the target area.
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Balian Martell
The young hunter
 
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[Antinous Training Grounds] Target Practice

Postby Balian Martell on October 9th, 2014, 3:19 pm

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Several bells had passed, and Balian could still be found at the range. As Syna passed overhead, he saw his aim get better; there were now less arrows laying in the ground as the majority had found themselves embedded into the hay in some way or another. However his arms were tired, and his eyes grew wary, and his accuracy once again begin to slip. He had gone through most of the arrows in his quiver, and would soon have to go retrieve them. Only three remained, and he was determined to make them count.

One of the three was already notched, and the string was held back between Balians fingers. He blinked a few times to dispel the fatigue that he was seeing, and for the seemingly millionth time, he repeated his mantra to himself; Feet shoulder width apart. Front foot leads. Back foot supports. Keep eyes open. During the course of the day, he had learned that he shot the best in those moments between breaths, that brief span of time where he neither inhaled nor exhaled, and so he kept to this trick. Unfortuently he had been struggling to hold up his tired arm and when he released, his arm had dropped ever so slightly, causing the arrow to veer downward, hitting the dirt infront of the target.

Balian stood speechless. His frustration was starting to well up as he couldn’t seem to get the shot he wanted. In an effort to work past it, he picked up the second to last arrow and nocked it, aiming the dead center of the target as he pulled back the string. As he aimed, he felt his arm grow tired once more, and it was getting more difficult to hold in place. He let the string slack some in frustration. Whats the point? He thought to himself, I cant even hold my bloody arm up to aim it right. Anger at his inability and failure thoughout the day welled up inside him. Without even thinking he quickly raised his bow, pulled back on the string as far as it would go and released it, taking only tick to actually aim. He wanted to release his frustration, to vent it out and strike at something. This shot was just that, an attempt to release. He did not expect it to hit; he was sure that it would fly off over the target or something similar.

The arrow flew true. It sped towards its target, whistling as it pieced the air. To Balian surprise, it hit the target. Not dead center, however close enough to the bulls-eye to warrant an accurate shot. He stood there, unsure of how react. He had shot that arrow in frustration, yet that was his best shot of the day. Is that the secret? Must I be angry? He asked himself, No, I can’t go around being angry all the time just to be a good shot…maybe it was the way I shot it…what did I do differently? He racked his brain for the answer, trying to analyze what he had done. His largest issue that day had been keeping his arm steady till the last tick, when he shot. It begin to dawn on him that the longer he kept the bow drawn and his arm up, the more tired it got, in turn making it harder to keep it steady. In that last shot, he had only drawn the bow when he was about to shoot, limiting the time his arm had to hold the drawn bow. Could that be it?
To hunt, you need to know your prey just as well as you know yourself
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Balian Martell
The young hunter
 
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[Antinous Training Grounds] Target Practice

Postby Balian Martell on October 9th, 2014, 3:43 pm

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He wanted to test his theory. He had only one arrow left in his quiver, and he intended to make the best use of it before retiring; in his current state, pushing himself further might do more harm than good. He took his stance, and reached down to his quiver and plucked the last arrow. The success of the previous shot had invigorated him, giving him energy enough for this last shot at least. He nocked the arrow, but refrained from drawing back the string. He let the bow hang by his waist, as he focused on the target. He took a deep breath in order to level his head and heartbeat, and triad to visualize hitting that center of that damnable red dot.

In one quick motion he raised the bow and pulled back on the string. He took only span of 2 ticks to make the slight adjustments to his aim before pulling the string all the way back until his fingers brushed his cheek and releasing. Surprisingly, his arm held, despite the fatigue he felt. The arrow flew through the air as it sailed towards the target. Moments later it struck. It had landed within the bulls-eye, not directly in its center but still within the radius. A grin could be seen adorning Balians face, a smile that belonged to the realm of those who had just managed to accomplish the thing that had alluded them. He theory had been correct. It boiled down to not giving his arm enough time to grow tired. He still had to work on it however, as he was sure that this new trick will require practice to perfect, but at least he now had the building blocks to something he could do, and that was enough for him.

Deciding to end the day on that high note, Balian moved to retrieve his arrows from down the range. It was past mid-day and he was hungry, not to mention covered in sweat from the heat. He resolved to take a bath before heading to the kitchens to see if he could find some food, but for the time being he was at least content with his progress.
To hunt, you need to know your prey just as well as you know yourself
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Balian Martell
The young hunter
 
Posts: 193
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Joined roleplay: November 12th, 2013, 2:35 am
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[Antinous Training Grounds] Target Practice

Postby Katelyn Marks on November 15th, 2014, 5:17 pm

Due Rewards


“After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.”
― Philip Pullman


Balian

Skill EXP
Observation +5
Weapon: Shortbow +5
Tactics +2
Endurance +2

Lores

➢ Archailist: Resented Rodent
➢ A Preference for Ranged Combat
➢ Shortbow: Developing a Stance
➢ Shortbow: The Concept of Aiming and Shooting Quickly
➢ Shortbow: The Concept of Aiming and Shooting Fluidly
➢ Shortbow: The Pain of a Bowstring

Shield Points: +5 for training

Comments

Note :
I found this to be a very wonderful thread. It was easy to read and well-written, but more importantly you gave your character a learning curve a stuck with it. You didn't hit the target every time, and even when you did you never hit the bulls-eye. For these reasons I am awarding you full experience for every post, and I also gave you some tactics for evolving and practicing a different stance throughout your posts. I personally think this is an excellent example of a training thread. Keep up the good work!

If you have any concerns about your grade please feel free to message me.
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Katelyn Marks
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