Chapter 11: Arrows and Stories
"I am sorry for making you wait, but we may now begin the next event of the day" The announcer voice rang around the arena, at the center of it four rows of targets had been placed at different distances.
"Two groups of archers at will, have a shot at each one of the targets. Each arrow that hits the target will earn the shooter points, the closer the shot to the center, the more points it will provide. As the targets are placed at different distances, that would also affect the number of points given" most people were used to jousting and the way points were measured, the announcer still gave enough time for anyone to process what he had just explained "From each group the best two archers, will advance for the final round" the announcer continued.
"It was a nice touch, not letting your brother compete at this event" Pan told Frey "He is very well regarded inside the Empire, particularly in fey lands" The fey had always been known for their rangers, truth be told they were not as renowned as the fey in the south, but still they had a knack for archery.
"Without further ado, let me present to you the first group of contestants" the announcer gave a small pause for dramatic purpose "from Loire, ESTELLE MAGNIER" the crowd erupted in applause, she was the crown Scout Master, and incredible hunter. A slender woman with a confident pace, entered the arena saluting to both sides, before heading for the last row at the arena.
"From Fey Danan, RADIM JUNKU" the crowd gave the man a cordial applause, he was rather tall, and had a curious brown tabard, he went directly for the row next to the scout master.
"From Loire, SIR ALFRED AUBERT" once more the crowd broke into applause. Sir Aubert was older, his dark hair neatly tied, he entered the arena with an elegant walk, as he went for his row.
"And last, from Frey Danan, FASTI ASTUR" the crowd offered a cordial applause as well, but from the Fey Danan tent, cheers and whistles accompanied a very young woman, with a fiery mane, as she went for her the last row of targets, she was by far the youngest competitor, Frey was not sure the girl was over 16.
Every competitor had been given, the standard short bow the Loire army used, the short bort was similar to the Empire compound bow, and each contestant had only four arrows to use. Each contestant would have a shot, in the order they had entered the arena, after each one had finished their four shots, the two shooters with the highest score, would advance to the final round. The arena fell silent as the first contestant Estelle Magnier, prepared her arrow.
Estelle Magnier readied her shot, without giving it much thought, she had become the scout master by merit, and ever since she had only one true rival on any tournament, but lord Luka Lunebleau was sitting as the stands this time. She was the first of the contestants to fire an arrow, and much like her personality, it was a steady and accurate shot.
The arrow landed fast and true, at the center of the first target, if you had been chosen to be part of this contest, it was expected of you to land the first arrow, for the target was only a hundred meters away from the line of shot. The Kingdom of Loire truly brought their best, not considering Luka.
"Who do you expect will win?" Percy asked Luka as he was the best judge for this contest.
"Estelle, is the best in Loire. This event is ideal for her, she is very accurate at three hundred meters, but most of all, she is steady" Luka, was an excellent archer, many thought of him as the best in Loire.
"Is there anyone of note from the Fey Danan delegation, Pan?" Noelle asked curious
"Fasti is pretty good, but she is too young. Aedrik, wanted her to use this opportunity and ear some experience, and... well, for her to be a little more serious" Pan paused mid explanation as the girl in question, was juggling her bow as she waited for her turn.
"Why would you decide to bring her with the delegation?" Frey wondered. Fasti was way too young, for all she was a good archer, there was no point in bringing her to a foreign country on a diplomatic mission.
"That should be in part my fault" Pan said awkwardly "She is currently doing ranger training, in the Londen Woods, when she heard, I was going to meet with the delegation, she jumped on the chance, and begged to come. She is kind of a protege of Siv and Aedrik"
"Is she perhaps, one of the children from your last story?" Pan was startled by Frey's comment, she knew she had hit the mark.
"Look, I should not have said so much. She is, one of them. But please Frey, let us change the subject" Pan pleaded.
"Look, it is the little girl turn now " Anne said happily to Lea, the other contestants had already made their shots, both hitting the center of the target.
Fasti was petite girl, but her big fiery hair somehow added to her height, but she was very short. Her jolly personality disappeared as she readied her bow. The arrow, hit the target just at the center's edge, but enough to count with the highest score.
"Tell me another story then…" Frey asked with puppy eyes to Pan "A funny story, one from where he was little" Pan looked at Frey, as if she was interrupting something really important, but he smiled at her after considering it for a moment.
"But you will have to tell me one of yours in return" the fey replied with a grin from ear to ear.
"Deal, I'll tell you one of Frey's but let's hear yours first" Noelle cut in, Frey just rolled her eyes.
"When Aedrik was little, and still being raised in Danan, he always wanted to play with his older siblings, naturally they did not want to" as Pan began telling his story to Noelle and Frey, but René and Danielle were paying him attention as well, the last had not find an interest in any of the contestants "Aedrik followed his siblings everywhere, until the second prince, Nika, finally decided to give a him chance. Prince Nika said, Aedrik could play with them, only if he brought a feather plucked from one of the roosters from the castle hen houses" Noelle and Danielle but laughed at the idea.
"Aedrik instantly agreed, he and Nika went straight for the hen houses. Danan roosters are known for being fierce, cockfighting is a very common activity much to my displeasure" Pan added "The rooster Nika chose for Aedrik to pluck a feather from, was the biggest and meanest of all, he was hoping to scare Aedrik, but my cousin was adamant on doing it, and on he went" Pan stopped for a moment, as he saw it was Fasti's turn, the other contestants had all hit the second target at the center. Fasti however, was aiming for the third row of targets, three hundred meters, that was the distance the separated the good archers from the rest.
The ladies turned to watch the young girl shot as they noticed Pan's attention. The petite girl released her arrow and landed it just off the center, on the third target. She made a curious gesture to the Fey Danan tent, prompting her companions to applaud and laugh with her. The tent could not be seen from where they were, so Frey could not see how Aedrik had reacted.
"What happened then?" Danielle asked curious to Pan.
"I am not experienced in the subject myself, but from what I have seen, it is not an easy feat to catch a rooster, but Aedrik has always been impossibly fast" Pan continued his tale clearly welcoming the attention "He managed to pluck a feather on his second try, much to Nika's surprise. The problem was that now the rooster was chasing Aedrik inside the hen house, and he was adamant in giving the feather to his brother. Nika had been laughing on the floor, when he noticed Aedrik was going straight for him" Noelle let out a not so lady snort.
"Nika at least had the correct idea of waiting by the door, he was waiting for Aedrik to pass through and trapped the mad rooster in the hen house, but after he noticed, flames were trying to burn Aedrik's back, he started running as well" by now almost the entire group was paying attention to Pan's tale.
"The rooster was a cockatrice?" Frey with her eyes wide open, Pan nodded.
"What's a cockatrice?" Danielle asked confused
"A breathing fire rooster, that is also immune to poison" Frey explained fascinated at idea "They are born when a hen hatches a basilisk egg"
"They are one of Danan lovely creatures, for the most part they are as harmless as any other rooster, but tend to be extremely territorial, and from what I've been told, you can't tell one apart until it starts breathing fire" Pan continued with the explanation "And so, Aedrik and Nika, were now running full speed, with a cockatrice behind them"
"They were chased all the way inside the castle, Nika and Aedrik had the same destination in mind, the castle baths. The castle was in an uproar, several guards were trying to catch the cockatrice, with little success, retelling this story I am honestly impressed no one got hurt during the frantic chase"
"You where there?" Percy asked as he could not keep away from the tale.
"I was, but I did not witness the chase, I was helping my aunt the empress at the castle greenhouse, when a couple of guards notified her of what was happening" Pan's grin could not hide his true feeling about it.
"As the chase continued, a lieutenant who was part of chase finally understood where the princes were heading, and authorized weapon use to try and stop the cockatrice. You see at that moment the castle was hosting envoys form Ran Ur, who were supposed to be enjoying the castle bath house" most of the audience stopped smiling, but Percy, who was choking with his saliva.
"Aedrik and Nika, ignored the lieutenant pleads, opened the bath doors, and jumped straight for the water. The envoys from Ran Ur were veteran diplomats, and somehow remained unperturbed by the sudden rush of two princes, and in an incredible show of decisiveness, jumped behind the princes once they saw the fire breathing thing that was following them " Noelle was snorting loudly, much to the displeasure of the neighboring nobles who were still watching the contest.
"The guards finally subdued the cockatrice as it tried to boil the water inside the bat house. The emperor had been let on the situation at one time along the chase and had made his way into the bath house. When he entered the bath, he saw the leader of the envoys and old grand mage, laughing like a little boy as both princes apologized awkwardly to him and his companions" Pan's tale was interrupted by applause, as Estelle had hit the last target with a perfect shot to the center.
"What happened then?" Danielle urged Pan to continue, as the applause calmed down.
"No one had been harmed along the chase, and the old mage had been so amused about what had happened, that he asked the emperor for the princes to accompany them while they were staying at the castle, which the emperor happily obliged. The old mage was delighted with the princes, and went his group was going to return to Ran Ur, the emperor decided to gift them with the cockatrice as a parting gift. The emperor had the princes clean the hen houses, and assisting the keepers for a whole year"
"I can't imagine Aedrik cleaning chicken poop" Percy added.
"Was something like this normal, for the imperial family?" Ide asked Pan, surprising everyone, she was the youngest of the group and for the most part was very shy.
"That's a tough question, I guess you could say it was, but to be honest it was always Nika, Vania or Aedrik, who got into trouble, and later it would also be Lucy, but she was influenced by Aedrik" Pan replied smiling at Ide, who blushed with how much attention the fey paid her.
At the arena, Fasti made the last shot of the first round. She hit the target but just off the center. The crowd applauded as Fasti celebrated doing a cartwheel, she had earned the public attention, and from the Fey Danan tent, cheers and whistles celebrated as well.
Fasti had skipped the first target, and repeated a shot at the third target, with both arrows hitting the center, she had managed the second highest score, after scout master Estelle, among the first round of shooters, she would pass to the final round.
"She is not used to this kind of bow, is she?" Luka said after the last shot "Does she use a fey bow?" he asked Pan who was surprised by the comment.
"She prefers a longbow; fey bows are hard to master" Pan replied.
"She is charismatic, already won the crowds attention" Percy commented.
"Estelle has already classified for next round, no surprises there, but Fasti is a nice surprise" Luka sighed, René gave him a small kiss on the cheek "The pressure will be on Fasti on the final round"
"I don't think she is troubled by it" Danielle commented as she pointed at a dancing Fasti, she was celebrating passing to the final round. The other contestants were trading salutes, while the young girl cartwheeled towards the Fey Danan Tent, Pan just smiled at the display.
Frey wondered how Aedrik response to this was, if Pan was right, he had hoped for this contest to make Fasti earn some experience, was this was he was expecting… she wondered.
The crowd kept cheering and applauding at the young girl, at the arena scout master Estelle sighed visibly, as she and the other contestants left the arena, for the next group of archers to enter.
"I like Fasti, she is making the competition fun, and friendly" René told Luka.
"She will force Estelle, for more ambitious shots, in the final round, that is always welcomed" Luka replied.
"As you all have witnessed, scout master Estelle classifies for the final round and in a surprising manner so does Fasti Astur from the Fey Danan delegation" the announcer was more continued "What a magnificent display of archery, but now it is time for the next round of shooters to pass to the arena" as the announcer continued four people were already moving to the center of the arena.
"From Loire, Sir Henry Renais and Lord Leon Lalande" the crowd broke into cheers and applause, both were very respected archers "From the Fey Danan Empire, Janik Fleiss and Norbert Svar" like it had happened before only cordial applause accompanied at the last contestants.
"Well, I've already told you a story about Aedrik, now is time for you tell me one of Frey's" Frey sighed, as she hoped Pan had forgotten, but he was already asking Noelle, and knowing ger sister she would not pass on the chance.
"Mmm, true, now what story about my sweet little sister should I tell you about…" Noelle, was touching her chin as if she was pondering something deep.
"Tell the one, where Frey hid in the kitchen to read" Danielle quickly added.
"No, the one where she hid inside an armor to spy on a meeting, between my father and uncle Damian" Percy intervened as well, much to Frey's dismay.
"The one when she read about and old recipe, and mistook the salt with sugar" Lea suggested, and Frey was getting a bad feeling about this, she was surrounded by people who knew everything about her.
"Hey, you helped me with the cooking"
"You made me help you" Lea replied laughing
"No, tell the one when she 'borrowed' the entire collection of tales of Lord Dorand from the Ciel Rouge Library" Frey turned to find that even Luka was offering assistance. Noelle nodded at each proposition but was still not satisfied. Frey was starting to get anxious.
"Now, everyone, stop bothering Frey" René intervened as more and more propositions were thrown around, Frey smiled at her sister-in-law grateful, 'Thank you René, my brother does not deserve you' or so was Frey thinking "The best one, is when she brought the book about demi human species to the dinner table" at that everyone began laughing and giggling, Frey went completely red.
"Good choice René, that is the one" Noelle said snorting, much to Frey's disbelieve, she wanted to be somewhere else.
"Does everyone one of your stories, involve books, and hiding?" Pan asked fascinated
"No…" Frey replied without much conviction.
"So, a few years ago, just after René and Luka had married, we were having a big family dinner, nothing formal, but almost everyone present here was there that day as well" everyone began nodding at the tale. Frey suddenly found the archery event fascinating, but it seemed no one else was paying attention to it, even her father and mother were listening discreetly to Noelle's tale.
"Frey had been at the library, and Danielle had gone for her"
"Frey was beaming since Mrs. Ferlin, had allowed Frey to borrow the book she had been reading all day, and she talked about it all the way back to the state" Danielle intervened.
"Mother had called everyone for dinner, by now she had already given up on Frey reading at the table" Noelle continued "She had been talking about how detailed the book was on demi humans, and why the term itself should be revised, it was used only because it had been made by a human historian or something like that" Noelle explained imitating, Frey scholarly tone, much to the later embarrassment, as it had earned a few laughs from the group.
"Hey, Frey has a point there, there is a great discussion among the fey on how to properly generalize species, demi human is a poor term for it" Pan said, frowning, surprising Frey.
"You want to hear the story or not?" Noelle asked crossing her arms. The fey closed his mouth and nodded.
"As I was saying, the table was full, everyone was minding their own business, and then aunt Liliane asked Frey about her book" Frey was trying her best to keep her attention at the arena, but she could feel everyone's eyes on her "My sister, began explaining dear aunt Liliane about how detailed the book was, and began turning pages to show an illustration from the book, a few pages later she found one. Everyone at the table stop what they were doing as the most realistic and anatomically correct drawing of a pair of Kobolds appeared on her book…" Frey felt her ears burning, she dared not look at Pan or anyone else.
"Giving credit to my sister, she passed to the next page, explaining as fast as she could blurt out words, about the medical importance of drawings like the one we had seen, but just as she moved for the next page, we reached a chapter about troll anatomy…"
"If I close my eyes, I can't still remember how aunt Margaux teapot scaped her hand, as Frey kept gifting us with the entire troll family" Percy was laughing his ass off at the stands, Frey heard some other lords snorting, as they listened as discreetly as they could to Noelle's tale.
"It took a few different races, before Luka reacted and closed the book, but the damage was done" Noelle continued "Everyone around the table was dead quiet, until Frey started explaining how the Illustrator was a renowned artist or something of the sort, but no one dare say anything"
"And then what" Pan asked laughing "You all just kept eating…"
"I think that would have been better, but Frey kept trying to justify what had happened, she kept going on how the author had been working with new medical treatments and whatnot, but she was failing miserably, after what had seen like an eternity, my father finally broke her rambling, and in the most strange voice I have ever heard from him just said 'Frey, put the book away, and perhaps refrain yourself for bringing any other illustrated books for dinner, my dear'" Frey dared not look at anyone, but from what she heard, she was certain Pan was choking from laughter, and so was everyone around their group.
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
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