• Closed • [Training Grounds]The Past coming for a Bite

[Franz Messer]

88th trial of Ashan of the Arc 716.

Training never ends, it was a universal truth for all warriors worth their salt and Franz liked to think he was one of those salty bastards….. actually he probably should withhold the salt. Point of the matter is; skill was like metal, you had to keep working at it otherwise it would just rust away. Granted you never really forgot the experiences but it did take time to return to former glory.

As such, Franz was back on the training grounds and this time his foe was the dreaded target rings. This many ringed targets were an eternal foe yet also a stalwart wall against the endless projectiles thrown against them ands simply wait for the inevitable day where they were replaced by a younger and fresh comrade, allowing them to finally die in peace as some kindling for a fire.

It was a tad silly he knew, but that was how he chose to see them especially this early in the morning. It was a frequent habit for him by now to awake this early to try and improve the skills he felt deficient in. His armaments a crossbow pistol, small and compact yet useful to mid ranges of which Franz found himself frequently in. Oh he probably should invest in a larger crossbow, but what he had now did its job and again he was often too close for a larger crossbow to matter.

In addition; a pistol crossbow was a half times easier to load compared to a crossbow. With a regular crossbow, it required a bit to load as the bowman put the bow to the ground and a leg through the stirrup, then pull the string back evenly with both hands over to the nut. A pistol crossbow didn’t have nearly the same type of pull at the cost of less power, but for Franz’s purposes it worked in wounding the target even if it didn’t hit anything vital.

Oh he didn’t expect it to pierce plate or even leather from a far off distance, but in the necessary rangers he did expect it to hurt and if he worked hard he could perhaps aim at the vital unarmored points to make up for the lack of lethality.

With that in mind he loaded the bow with his left hand, a still tedious affair that still took a very small amount of time not too much longer than one with a shortbow. It was a tricky affair too as he had to make sure the string was even other he overstressed one limb and also risk a wildshot. He then loaded a bolt and took aim, his leading eye taking aim behind the small sight of the crossbow, then squeezed the lever like trigger and watched as the bolt travelled the distance between him and the target ring.

He frowned a bit as he saw where it had landed…. Nowhere near close to the cinter ring and actually a bit off target then where he pointed; meaning other than his aim being shoddy his string was misaligned.

He supposed he should be happy that he actually hit the target; he also supposed he should be happy that he wasn’t relied upon to be a great marksman of sort knowing that some squads of knights had a dependency on the skilled archers in their squad in situations where it mattered.

To distract himself for but a moment, he looked around in wonder at where Elyna is, considering that she was often his training partner in these things. Especially considering that decent morning weather such as this was eventually going to end now that they were more than halfway through Ashan.

Then he shook his head and reloaded his crossbow and fired another bolt, thinking that it was still quite early yet and she’ll show up soon…. Though there was no hiding that hint of concern on his face.

[Elyna]

It was another one of those days, where nothing was going right. She hadn’t wanted to get out of bed, but she’d dragged herself up anyway, dressed and stomped down to the training yard with bad grace. Bootlaces flapping because she hadn’t been bothered to do them up, shirt untucked and loose over her trousers and a scowl that seemed fixed on her features.

Franz had already arrived. She’d lost count of the number of mornings they’d trained together, the pints of ale they’d shared together. The Skyrider should have expected he would be here. She raised a hand in greeting and went to collect the borrowed gear from the shed, a whole quiver full of arrows that she slung over her shoulder and a bow in its linen case.

Back on the field she concentrated on stringing the bow, hooking the end under the sole of her boot and pulling the wood to bend it and slid the string over the top, setting it in its nook. The case lay discarded at her feet and she kicked it to one side.

“Thanks for setting up the targets,” Elyna remembered her manners and looked up as she pulled the first arrow from the quiver. She took up her stance, feet sideways onto the target and fit the arrow to the string with a click. Glove in place she raised her hand on the bow and settled it correctly, thumb flat to provide a surface for the arrow to rest on. She drew the string back to her cheek, touched her thumb to the underside of her jaw and watched as the arrow whistled off into the distance, thudding into the wooden door of an adjacent building. She swore under her breathe and pulled out the next arrow. The Skyrider had thought she was getting better throughout Ashan, that had to be the worst shot she’d made all cycle.

She fitted the second arrow on the string, but lowered the bow, glancing across at the man she considered a friend, “how was your night?” None of it was his fault.

[Kingdom]

[columns=2]

Franz Messer

Knowledge:
Basic
Elyna: A good training partner
Specific
Crossbow: Using sights correctly

Loot: n/a
Injuries: n/a
Fame: n/a

Story: 2/5
Collaboration: 1/5
Structure: 5/5

Elyna

Knowledge:
Specific
Bow: Correct draw

Loot: n/a
Injuries: n/a
Fame: n/a

Story: 2/5
Collaboration: 1/5
Structure: 5/5[/columns]

Comment: Abandoned clearly, but with no attempt made to finish it I couldn't award much here, sorry.