[Location] The Archery Range

[Growl]

The Archery Range The Archery Range is a large, dark wood building that is situated next to the Icewatch Barracks. The building is 200 feet long, and 50 wide. The ceilings are high, maybe forty feet up, and are supported by a series of long wooden beams. Several glass windows line the building. They are spaced approximately three feet apart, and continue down the building in a straight line. The windows are about three feet wide, and five feet high. They are the only source of light into the building, other than the occasional lit torch which hangs between them. This makes it nearly impossible for anyone to practice late at night, or on days with inclement weather. The only way to get to the range, is through a small door that is situated behind the shooting lines. The door leads from the range into a small hallway lined with several paintings of Vantha archers, mounted on their polar bear Kelvics. They are illuminated by the pale light cast by a series of torches. The hall leads from the range to the far left hand side of the Icewatch Barracks. The range itself is simple. A traditional floor has never been made, which means that if one were to shoot there, they would be standing on cold, hard earth. Darkened mud. The archers will stand behind a strip of wood, that has been nailed into the floor. The wood stretches horizontally, from one side of the building to the other, and is situated seven feet in front of the door. There are four targets to shoot at, and they are each spaced 11 feet from each other. They are all stationed at different distances from the long wooden board, where everyone is supposed to shoot from. The first target is set at ten yards, the next twenty, the one after that thirty, and the final one that rests at the far right, is stationed at fifty yards from the shooting line. The targets are relatively large and appear to be perfect circles. They are about three feet wide, and three feet high, and are resting against a wooden frame that reminds anyone who looks at them of a painter's easel. The targets themselves are made out of a thin cloth that had been tied tightly around a large circular bundle of hay. Each target is painted with nine larger rings surrounding a central bulls-eye. The bulls-eye and the ring directly outside it are a bright yellow. The two just outside those rings are bright red. The next two a dark blue; like the bottom of the ocean. The next two are white, and the two outermost rings are black. The outermost rings of the targets are the most worn- they tend to have the most arrow holes at any given time anyway. Every few weeks, when the targets begin to sag, a member of the Icewatch will change them up. They may also replace the hay that the targets are tied to, although this happens far less often. (NPC) Maenes Frostfawn : Name: Maenes Frostfawn Race: Vantha DoB: Fall 15, 491 AV PoB: Avanthal Title: Archer Skills: Shortbow 53, Teaching 35, Bowing and Fletching 45 Gnosis: 1 Mark of Morwen Maenes isn't a member of the Icewatch, per se, as much as she is one who is employed by them. She may often be found in the Frostfawn Hold at night, and at the archery range during the day, before it gets too dark to shoot. She is employed as one of the two archery teachers for the Icewatch, but unlike Ceruven, she teaches the shortbow, and from time to time, will make a custom bow for some of her students. Also, unlike Ceruven, she is far more traveled. She is said to have left to city in order to practice her skill at the age of 17, she returned in the Fall of 510 AV, when she was only 19. She is currently twenty years old. No one knows for sure where she went during this time, although, based off her methods, it is believed that she has studied under Ildin in Mura, although this has never been confirmed. Her teaching method differs from others in the sense that she is quite tough, and only takes on a few students at a time. Never more than three. Maenes hand picks her students, often based off their current level of skill, and what she calls their "heart," essentially, their desire to learn. She is a tough teacher, and expects her students to practice on their own, so that they may grow by leaps and bounds. She will work her students to the end of their limits, doing her best to break their bodies but not their spirits. It is in this way that she teaches them obedience; and how to follow orders. She does not tolerate those who complain for long or those who slack off. If Maenes views her students as too lazy, she is likely to drop them, and search for someone she deems more worthy of her time and effort. The only exception to this rule is if one of her students becomes seriously injured. She also loathes quitters, and will often make those who choose to give up on their learning look like utter and complete fools. How she accomplishes this depends on the person who quit. (NPC) Ceruven Coolwater : Name: Ceruven Coolwater Race: Vantha DoB: Winter 16, 486 AV PoB: Avanthal Title: Archery Teacher Skills: Longbow 40, Seduction 30, Fishing 21, Hunting 30, Teaching 51 Gnosis: 1 Mark of Morwen Much like Maenes, Ceruven isn't a true member of the Icewatch, he is merely employed by them. He spends a longer period of time at the range than Maenes, and sometimes, has been known to clean up after the other archers, retrieving lost arrows, and switching out over-used targets. Unlike Maenes, he teaches longbow. He is no where near as talented, although, he has been known to have a far nicer approach to teaching than his counterpart. He also never turns students down. He is rather patient, and willing to work into the night if he has to. The 25 year old has never traveled, and is unlikely to do so as well due to his strong attachment to the city of snow. Thus, he only speaks a few languages, making it difficult for any outsiders to learn from him. When he is not working, he may be found fishing or hunting walruses, or at his Hold.

[Kota Cirian]

After a few minutes of walking, he finally found the archery range. He gave the area a quick look around, noticing the lack of people, other than a few amateurs trying the twenty yard target. He also noticed the familiar lack lanterns and other light sources other than the windows. That would make training nearly impossible at night. He wondered why they hadn't installed more over the years he was away. It could help the archers here he supposed. Hitting targets in little to no lighting would help assassins or snipers get better at hitting targets. He Looked down and noticed the cold mud beneath his feet, which he still found odd. He noticed the four targets and the colors each section were. He let out a small sigh of relief. The range had not changed much since he was here last, all those years ago. He shook his head again. Now was not the time for nostalgia.

Being a little rusty, he decided to start on the 10 yard target for some warm up practice. He had not shot a bow in awhile, so he expected to be a little off. He grabbed the newly bought pinewood longbow from the slot on the back of his armor. He tested various aspects of the bow. Making sure to test the string, making sure it was not frayed, and making sure that the bow was not cracked in any area. He should have done it before he bought it, but he found it rather uncomfortable checking the bow in the store he was going to buy it in. Maybe he didn't want to be discourteous to the people who made it. He pulled an arrow from his quiver. He knocked the arrow on the bow, he was nervous, it had been much longer than he thought since he used the bow as a weapon. He brought the longbow up to the proper position and pulled back the string. His arms complained about pulling the string. It had been much longer than he thought. His arms shouldn't have been complaining that much. He took a deep breath and focused, ignoring his complaining arms. There was nothing but him and the target 10 yards away from him. He aimed right for the center of the target, he thought he did anyway, and let go of the string. His eyes followed the arrow as it sped through the air. It hit the target on the farthest out black ring. He let out a sigh of disdain as he knocked another arrow. He took a deep breath then exhaled, focusing on the target again. His arms complained again, and he promptly ignored them. "I shouldn't have let myself get this out of practice..." he said in a low voice, as to only he could hear it. He let go of the bow string and it hit the area in between the two black circles. He let out another annoyed sigh. He drew another arrow from his quiver and knocked it.

[Kota Cirian]

Kota's aim had not improved much, his best shot just barely grazing the third ring. He had used up 10 of his newly bought arrows. The bow and arrow's together had cost him nearly all of his money, which, perhaps wasn't the best of ideas. He should have started out with a short bow. His arms had stopped complaining at least he could pull the string back with relative ease now. He knocked another arrow and pulled back the string. Of course, his arms also could have stopped hurting and that was replaced with a numbness or a soreness. He couldn't really tell, maybe a little of both? "Focus Kota....just one, and I'll be done for the day." he said to himself as he took aim a little above the center of the target. He let the string go. The arrow whizzed through the air, hitting the target right in the center of the fifth ring. He let out another disappointed sigh. "Feh...I did better than this when i was a kid being nagged by my parents or Nera." He said as he put the bow back on the slot on his leather armor. "Well thats enough for today i guess. im not going to get any better by just shooting arrows. maybe i need a bit of live practice?" he pondered the thought for a few moments before letting it pass. "Nah...i need to focus on getting a steady flow of Miza's for now." He could hunt well enough on his own. But he would need arrows and other things, and possibly some better armor as well. The leather armor served him well over the years, but it had been patched, mended, and remade several times. Anyone who saw him in it could see that it had been used for a long time, and had seen a few battles. He left the range without another thought, back into the snowy, frigid streets of Avanthal.