Knightress

Chapter 8

Laura gazed out at the sea of Legion members further away outside the legion training hall. She then turned to the relatively small cluster of archers. Only 94. It seemed a paltry number compared to the hundreds gathered before her.

A sigh of disappointment left her lips. To her, archery wasn't just a tool for war, it was an art form, a symphony of movement and focus. It was a dance between the archer, the bow, and the target. But few seemed to share her passion. For most, archery was merely a means to an end – a way to defeat the enemy. They didn't understand that archery wasn't just about precision, but about harmony with nature, with oneself. If they did, there would have been way more archers than there was now.

The 94 of them stood in a grassy plane in a little crowd all bearing their respective bows and quivers, there were targets lined before them. Some were close while others were metres and kilometres back barely even visible to the eye.

"Archers." Said a raspy voice of a woman, their archery coach

She stood before them with her hands on her hips, surveying the archers at her front, she looked to be in her late 40's having waist long healthy brunette hair, heterochromia eyes of brown and green and a slim, healthy body. She wore ripped denim shorts and a black tank top tucked into the shorts, her eyes were sharp and her voice laced with authority.

"New recruits, I want you on the field." She said

The other archers backed away and sat on the grass, leaving the woman to study the new recruits. Her eyes lingered on Laura, her expression was neutral, Laura couldn't tell whether she was surprised to see a girl or just unimpressed. Coach stepped out of their way and pointed at the targets.

"Shoot." She ordered

The new recruits pulled out their arrows from their quiver and tested their strings, Coach blew her whistle.

"Return the arrow and do it again." She instructed

They did as they were told, and pulled out the arrow again and readied themselves and their bow to aim. Coach blew her whistle. The recruits stared at her with confusion.

"Do you see your problem?" She asked coming up towards them

A legion helper followed behind her and handed her a quiver bearing only one arrow and a bow.

"Watch," she told them

In less than a second she pulled out the arrow and flung it, they heard a thunk and saw the arrow in a perfect bullseye. They clapped meekly. She came forward again and faced them.

"You will get yourself killed being that slow, your opponents won't wait for you to pull out your arrow, test your string, and get into position. You have to be quick, you test your string with your fingers before stepping into battle lines." She told and waited, giving them a pointed look. "Well...aren't you gonna test your strings?"

There were murmers and oh's as they tested their strings with their fingers ensuring it was tight and in place. Coach moved out of the way and blew her whistle, as fast they could they pulled out their arrow and released, only a few hit the target while the rest landed on the grass. Coach sighed heavily and tsked, she turned her attention to the other archers.

"Archers, you can commence with your usual practice drills while we work on this bunch." She told

The archery legion helps which were all men, came up to each new recruit while Coach came up to Laura.

"Show me your form." She ordered

Laura parted her legs and stood tall with her arms extended, two fingers pulling the string and lined with her eyes.