Warriors of the Heavens
Chapter 11
Getsuei led Ayano to a courtyard near the room where she had chosen her bow. About one hundred meters down the lawn rested a single target with a bulls eye the size of a pin prick. Halting, she turned to Ayano, “By the time you leave me, you will be able to strike that bulls eye with every arrow. Your precision with a bow will be unmatched by any and the deadly skill with which you weild it will slaughter any who get in your way.”
Absent mindedly Ayano picked up a quiver of arrows near her feet and slung it over her back. She nodded at Getsuei when she finished speaking and drew her first arrow, knocking it on the bow string. She pulled back and sighted down the shaft of the arrow. With a steady intake of breath, she released her arrow and watched as it flew gracefully through the air. She had aimed at a slight angle causing the arrow to arc into the arrow and then speed into the target. She missed the bulls eye by almost a foot. She dashed to the target and yanked out the arrow and peered at the shaft expecting to see some deformity that would cause the arrow to veer off the path of her perfect aim. She refused to believe that she had made an error when she felt so confident and assured that her aim was flawless.
Getsuei watched her trudging back to her with a slight frown on her face and already knew the question the girl was about to ask just as she was asking it, “Why did I miss? My aim was perfect! There’s no way I missed!”
The mistress waited patiently for her to finish before replying, “You missed because you were too confident. You didn’t take the air resistance, air currents and how high to angle your shot into account.”
She nodded and absorbed all of this information. Several days of shooting, missing and outbursts of anger followed until she finally managed to hit the bulls eye. Her last arrow was graceful as it flew off the string with a sharp twang and whistled through the air. It arced beautifully over the pasture and slammed directly into the center of the target. Ayano refused to believe it until she had seen it up close and she stumbled towards the target, exhausted from days of practice without sleep or food. She stared in amazement at the arrow and let her jaw hang loose.
Getsuei approached, lifted her jaw back to where it should be and removed the arrow handing it to the girl, “Do not forget the feeling as you shot that arrow. The key to hitting your target every time without fail is that feeling. You may rest now. I have a room set up for you in the manor.” As the lady was getting ready to lead Ayano to her room she discovered the girl curled up on the grass with her bow nestled to her chest breathing heavily already sleeping deeply. This was only the beginning of many sleepless days of training and Ayano had no idea how difficult her next lesson was going to be...
Absent mindedly Ayano picked up a quiver of arrows near her feet and slung it over her back. She nodded at Getsuei when she finished speaking and drew her first arrow, knocking it on the bow string. She pulled back and sighted down the shaft of the arrow. With a steady intake of breath, she released her arrow and watched as it flew gracefully through the air. She had aimed at a slight angle causing the arrow to arc into the arrow and then speed into the target. She missed the bulls eye by almost a foot. She dashed to the target and yanked out the arrow and peered at the shaft expecting to see some deformity that would cause the arrow to veer off the path of her perfect aim. She refused to believe that she had made an error when she felt so confident and assured that her aim was flawless.
Getsuei watched her trudging back to her with a slight frown on her face and already knew the question the girl was about to ask just as she was asking it, “Why did I miss? My aim was perfect! There’s no way I missed!”
The mistress waited patiently for her to finish before replying, “You missed because you were too confident. You didn’t take the air resistance, air currents and how high to angle your shot into account.”
She nodded and absorbed all of this information. Several days of shooting, missing and outbursts of anger followed until she finally managed to hit the bulls eye. Her last arrow was graceful as it flew off the string with a sharp twang and whistled through the air. It arced beautifully over the pasture and slammed directly into the center of the target. Ayano refused to believe it until she had seen it up close and she stumbled towards the target, exhausted from days of practice without sleep or food. She stared in amazement at the arrow and let her jaw hang loose.
Getsuei approached, lifted her jaw back to where it should be and removed the arrow handing it to the girl, “Do not forget the feeling as you shot that arrow. The key to hitting your target every time without fail is that feeling. You may rest now. I have a room set up for you in the manor.” As the lady was getting ready to lead Ayano to her room she discovered the girl curled up on the grass with her bow nestled to her chest breathing heavily already sleeping deeply. This was only the beginning of many sleepless days of training and Ayano had no idea how difficult her next lesson was going to be...