In a Sanctum built for angels and mages lives a boy of secrets who carries a cracked halo, and a girl with a hidden past who's seeking answers...
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Apollo James, 19 years old, and freshly released of the bonds of an angel is seeking a way to get h...
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I hefted my foot into the Archer's foot of the bow, pulling the string back into the notch. I loaded the bow with an arrow and unhooked my foot, placing the bow by my face, my bangs brushed against the cheek rest, I aimed, and fired straight into the bullseye. Natalia, the leader of the club cheered, I felt my cheeks redden with pride. "You're a natural!" She beamed. Not exactly. I had watched my father load crossbows and guns alike plenty times in my childhood, even loaded them a few times myself. While the model was newer, the basic mechanics remained the same. I shrugged, "I'm alright."
"For a beginner, you're pretty good. We'll have to work on your posture, so you're safer but you did good." She smiled, taking the weapon from me. I chewed on my inner cheek, adjusting the quiver that was strapped against my back. I took another arrow from the bag, and loaded the second crossbow Natalia handed me. This one was different, it had a scope for more efficient shots. I shut my left eye, looking through the scope with my right. I positioned the crossbow and pulled the trigger. The bow had a bit more recoil than I was expecting so the arrow shot a little further into the air, just barely missing the bullseye but Natalia cheered regardless.
"Maybe when you get more skilled you can enter contests." She suggested, taking the bow from my hands. I grimaced, unstrapping the quiver, "Absolutely not, that's entirely too much stress." Natalia shrugged, as I handed her the half-full quiver. "Nice shots today regardless. Make sure you mark those down before heading to your next activity." She instructed. Natalia was nineteen, she could've left by now but hadn't found a prodigy yet to take her place when she was gone, so she stuck around an extra year. I headed over to the clipboard by the edge of the fence, marking on my name how many shots I'd fired, missed, and hit. I smiled at the results. A loud, excited scream came from the archery field. I spun around, one of the year tens was using their magic to shoot the arrows instead of the crossbows. I cocked my head in amusement, walking back over to Natalia who shook her head disapprovingly. "We're allowed to do that?"
"Technically it's within bounds but it's not safe." She sighed. Her face lit up, "What will you be doing next?"
I scanned the arena, on the far right was the shooting range, the center was the archery field, and the far left, the throwing knives and axes. Throwing knives would be fun to try, maybe, but my arms were already sore from spending half the day on archery. I was having fun here, but Emerson hadn't even showed up yet, and the whole reason I came was for her. I yawned, "I think I'm gonna head out now."
