A Summoner's Journey
VG: War of the Clerics
I will never not be tired from Voting Gauntlets. Every time, I dreaded the six days away from Askr to participate in a competition I didn't even enjoy. Oh well, I needed the Hero Feathers, so I sucked it up and went anyways. I found Katarina and Robin sleeping together on the couch when I entered the library. I smiled, silently celebrating Robin's quick success with the wayward tactician.
"What are you doing here so early Lucian?" Alfonse asked beside me. He was cleaning his chalkboard in preparation for daily lessons about Askr with the other heroes. It kinda became his usual duty at this point. Alfonse only went out to fight on his free days.
"I woke up early this morning, so I'm waiting for Catria to wake up so we can go to the voting gauntlet" I glanced at the two tacticians snoozing contently nearby "I intended to take Katarina there, just to get to know her better but I'm guessing those two are occupied at the moment"
"Yeah I took a peek at Robin's planner since it fell on the ground and he wrote that he was tutoring Katarina to be a tactician today" Alfonse replied as he organized a stack of papers on his desk.
"Good for them. We could use another tactician in our squad"
"Good morning Mr Alfonse!" I heard Nino from the library's entrance.
"Ah, looks like my first student has arrived. I'll see you around Lucian" Alfonse left to greet Nino, along with the ever growing group of other heroes showing up to his class. That left me alone to find my favourite rocking chair in the far corner, with the morning sunlight beaming down through the window. I pulled a fictional book from my robe and began to read until late morning.
"Were you here the entire time, Lucian?" Priscilla interrupted me from my reading. She had a tray of food in one hand and her staff in the other "I didn't spot you at breakfast today"
"How long was I here anyways?" I mused as I bookmarked my book and stared out the window "Whoa it's almost noontime"
"Here, take this then" Priscilla set down her tray onto the table beside me "Always good to be on a full stomach before heading off to fight"
"And I'm not even the one fighting. I'm just yelling orders" I took the chocolate muffin the bit into it, savoring the sweet, sugary taste "Thank you, by the way"
"You're welcome. If you're wondering, Catria patrolling with Cordelia, Minerva and Palla. They should be back in three hours or so"
"How do you know that?"
"I passed by them in the barracks this morning and Catria asked me to pass the message to you. I guess she knew you were taking her to the voting gauntlet"
"She reads me like a book sometimes" I took a sip of orange juice "Thank you for passing the message. How've you been lately?"
"Honestly, I've been feeling much stronger than usual nowadays. I hardly recognize myself in the mirror anymore" Priscilla brought her staff down onto her gloved free hand "Back then, I knew nothing of the world-or worlds- before all this and especially not battle. I've changed so much for the better and I believe you deserve the credit for it"
"Well, I wasn't expecting to hear that today, but I'm glad you told me this" I smiled "It always feels so good to hear people openly express their thankfulness towards you"
"I wholeheartedly agree. So if it's okay with you, I'll be staying here for the time being. I believe me and you make a good team" Priscilla smiled warmly at me before glancing out the window "Ah, I think it's time to meet with Olivia, Celica and Lachesis. The three of us have been learning to play instruments, you know"
"Really now? What are you playing?"
"The flute. One of my comrades from my world played it. His name was Nils" Priscilla stared out the window distantly, reminiscing on old memories "His song was so relaxing and beautiful. It's like his notes rode the wind. I want to be able to play like that someday"
"I'm sure you will given practice and time" I pulled the troubadour away from the window "But I think you should be going now. Wouldn't want to keep your friends waiting"
"Of course. Thanks for reminding me" Priscilla nodded "See you around and have fun at the voting gauntlet!"
"I'm sure I will" I muttered sarcastically and Priscilla giggled as she left the library. I finished the rest of my breakfast and tucked my book into my robe. I handed my tray to a passing maid to bring back to the kitchen and ran towards the main gates to await Catria's return. The four fliers arrived once the afternoon hours struck and after they gave me their reports on the patrol, Minerva, Cordelia and Palla flew to the stables to dismount. Catria stayed behind, staring at me expectantly.
"So I'm guessing we're departing to southern Askr to attend this voting gauntlet?" The pegasus knight asked as she wiped some blood off her Killer Lance with a washcloth. I suspected the four fliers had some bandit trouble while on their patrol.
"Yeah. The competitors are Priscilla, Elise, Sakura, Lachesis, Maria, Mist, Lissa and Clarine" I replied "We're taking the side of Priscilla in this gauntlet"
"I see. Would you like to fly with me on my pegasus? We can get there faster if we do" Catria suggested "If you don't mind, that is"
"Of course I don't mind. But are you sure your pegasus would be fine with me being on? I heard they don't like men" I said and the Whitewing's pegasus nickered in protest.
"That's a misconception. Pegasi are fine with men, but they only accept women as their riders" Catria rubbed her pegasus's head affectionately "That's because only a female's blood can bond with a pegasus and link their lives together… you know what, I'll just explain while we're flying. Best not to waste time"
"Right" I nodded and climbed onto the saddle after Catria, holding her waist to hang on. Catria nodded to her pegasus and it kicked its wings into flight, galloping an invisible trail in the sky.
"Whoa, this is incredible! I flew with Minerva once while in the World of Mystery, but I was too focused on the battle to admire the sight!" I marvelled as I gazed down at the regal white Askran castle and vast fields of grass, with farms and forests dotting the landscape. If this was what fliers saw everyday, I would happily do anything to become one. Sadly, Catria told me that pegasi don't accept male riders, but maybe I could find myself a wyvern?
"The sight is gorgeous. Whenever I arrive to a new area in my world or Askr, I always get a bird's eye view first" Catria grinned "Flying is truly a gift and I'm so thankful pegasi and wyverns are there for us"
Catria's pegasus smiled in response.
"So what were you talking about with the whole blood link thing with pegasi and riders?" I asked as loud as I could over the roar of the wind.
"Basically, only female blood can bond with a pegasus for them to accept you and allow you to ride with them. Because of the blood bond, the rider and pegasus's lives are linked together!" Catria shouted back "If one of them dies, the other does too. It's the price us fliers have to pay to be able to do this!"
"But since we're in Askr, that condition doesn't apply, right?! I mean, all the heroes I summoned never died or disappeared unless I will them so!" My voice was getting strained by yelling through the loud gale.
"Yeah, that's true! I remember Cordelia shooting me down back during the bridal brawl. Just an hour later, I reappeared back in my room and my pegasus was fine" The flier replied, her short blue hair whipping me in the face due to how close I was to her "That means there's no risk of blood bonding with a pegasus or wyvern. Still though, I don't think they accept male riders!"
"Subaki rides a pegasus and he's a guy!"
"Well, pegasus in his home world probably work differently then. Subaki looks KINDA feminine, so maybe that's why!"
"Shouting over the wind is making my voice hurt" I cleared my throat "Let's talk when we reached the voting gauntlet"
"Sounds good" Catria narrowed her eyes down "Is that it?"
I followed her gaze and saw a tall starlight blue portal nearly below us. Inside the portal was the usual interdimensional tunnel along with the voting gauntlet arena.
"Yep, that's it. Fly straight into it" I nodded and Catria directed her pegasus in a smooth downward curve straight into the portal, travelling between dimensions at light speed. Just as quick as we entered, we arrived in the voting gauntlet pocket dimension. I dismounted and Catria did the same, looking around for any stables to keep her pegasus in.
"I remember seeing one next to the hotel. Let's see if we can get your pegasus in there" I said and Catria nodded, gesturing to her mount to follow us to the stables, where a man in typical farmer's clothing was giving some sort of card to each hero riding a mount, be in a horse, pegasus or dragon. The line was long unfortunately, so we were going to be here for a long time.
"Heeyyy! Good to see you again Lucian!" Saria tapped me on the back playfully and I turned, noticing that the hero she decided to bring was one of the recent Grand Hero Battle heroes: Camus.
"Nice to see you again too Saria. It's been a while, hasn't it?" I greeted as me and Catria moved up the line "How have you been lately?"
"I've been alright, thanks for asking" Saria replied, glancing at Camus every once in a while "Which team are you backing up for this gauntlet? I'm with Sakura since she's been my top healer since I came to Askr"
"I'm backing up Priscilla for the same reason" I replied, sliding my hands into my pant pockets "Technically, Maria was my prime healer until the Blazing Shadows banner, but Priscilla took over that spot recently"
"I see. So that means you're up against Clarine while I'm against Elise first" Saria pursed her lips "I have a feeling I'll be joining Priscilla's team soon considering Elise's popularity"
"Care to explain?"
"Elise is a troubadour and therefore, has the advantage over every infantry healer, including Sakura" Saria explained "And I believe Elise is on the top when it comes to magical prowess and speed. She can put out a lot of force with her staff surprisingly"
"Interesting. But you never know. Maybe Sakura has a lot of hidden fans partaking in the gauntlet" I shrugged "It's admirable that you're supporting someone, even if you know they're going to lose"
"Sakura was a lifesaver in my early days since she was my only healer. I want to at least try to repay that debt by fighting on her side in this gauntlet" The summoner nodded, then looked in front of me "The line's moving up"
"Ah right" We made it to the front of the line, where the farm hand nodded at me, holding out his hand for payment.
"1000 gold and we'll keep stable space for your hero's mount for the entire duration of the gauntlet" The farmer informed me "Come on, pay up"
I fished out my pouch of gold out of my orb bag and gave a handful of gold Askrian coins to the farmer and he handed me a grey plastic card and key in return, with a floor and stable stall number written in black.
"Whenever your hero needs their mount, show me your card and key and I'll let you in" The farmer explained as he pressed the two items in my hands "If you happen to lose the card or key, you'll have to pay a 2000 gold fee for our smiths to replicate the stuff. So take good care of them"
"Got it. Thank you" I nodded and headed into the stables alongside Catria, who led her pegasus through the tall and wide doors. The floor of the stables was made of dusty and dirty wood while the stalls had hay ground and bales like traditional farms. Two clerics, one armed with a Warp staff while the other had a Hammerne, transported the rider and their mount to the upper floors while a ladder was nearby to get the rider back down. I checked the card and saw that our stall was number 76 on the fourth floor.
"How many floors are in this place…?" I looked up the ceiling and saw an uncountable amount of floors to the point I swore the top floor was above the clouds. Catria looked similarly shocked.
"I'd say that's a bit overkill, but considering how many summoners are participating in this event, it's good planning to have this much stable space" Catria noted "But by Naga, what is this place's budget…?"
"The hotel we're staying in is similarly built. Each floor is built to house roughly 100 rooms and there are 20 floors" I said as we approached the two service clerics "Whoever built this place either has a mountain-ton of money or is simply a creation god"
"It's hard to believe either scenario honestly…" Catria muttered as the Warp cleric raised her staff and warped up to the fourth floor "Say the first scenario was true. Who would invest this much money into an event like this? Is he even making a reasonable profit out of it?"
"Who knows? The stable, hotel and buffet prices are fairly low, so I think he just gets his profit out of the sheer amount of summoners participating" I counted the stall numbers nearby until we got to 76. I used the key to unlock the stall door and gestured to Catria to let her pegasus in.
"I'll be back soon. I promise" Catria told her pegasus and it nickered in response, nuzzling the Whitewing's face. Catria smiled and patted it's head before goading it into the stall and closing the door behind it. I locked the door and stored the key and card into my orb bag before leaving the stables.
"On your flights and patrols around Askr, have you spotted any wild wyverns flying around?" I asked Catria as we walked down the street leading towards the hotel and general store "Since pegasi can't blood bond with a male rider, I just wanted to see if I could learn how to ride a wyvern"
"First of all, if you want to learn how to ride a wyvern, you'll need to ask Commander Minerva and Cherche for that. I wouldn't mind teaching you the basics of flying however" Catria replied "And no, I sadly didn't spot any wyverns around Askr. I DID spot a lot of pegasi, so maybe wyverns flock around Embla?"
"I didn't spot any wyvern riders in Embla's army besides their summoned heroes like Minerva and Camilla" I frowned "And even if wyverns populated Embla, it's enemy territory. It would be hard to get in there to capture a dragon before I get peppered with arrows"
"Oh… that's a shame" Catria slumped "If you were to find a wyvern to blood bond with though, what weapon would you try first?"
"I was thinking of lances, but it would be hard to direct the team around if I'm in the thick of the fray" I replied, sitting down on a nearby bench to rest "I'm not entirely sure yet if I have the ability to wield magic, so I might try bows"
"A flying archer… you do know that pegasi and wyverns alike hate arrows with an absolute passion. The last person they'll want as a rider is an archer" Catria frowned, sitting down next to me and setting her Killer Lance on her lap "But if you summon anyone who's a flying archer, you could ask them about it"
"I'm sure they're out there. I remember Subaki and Hana talking to Klein and Jeorge about flying archers. Kinshi Knights, they called them" I recalled "Hm. Pegasi in the World of Birthright sure are different. They accept male riders and aren't afraid of archer riders"
"Let's try magic first, assuming you'll actually find a wyvern to bond with" Catria glanced at the voting gauntlet arena "Shouldn't we go register for the gauntlet? That's what we came for after all"
"Oh right. Guess that shows how little I actually care for this" I laughed "Come on. Let's get your pegasus from the stables and grind some battle flags from the training tower"
A day later, I was staring at the gauntlet arena from atop the balcony while Catria slept blissfully behind me, clearly fatigued from the near-constantly fighting in the arena. Priscilla vs Clarine was uneventful to say the most, with both teams one-upping each other by a couple ten thousand points every once in a while. None of us held a giant advantage like Camilla and Lucina did over Minerva and Ephraim in past gauntlets. I sighed, not feeling very sleepy. I decided to go take a walk to get some fresh air.
"I'll be back. Just need to walk a little" I whispered to Catria and she murmured in her sleep listlessly, turning over on the mattress. I smiled and left the room, letting the Warp cleric nearby warp me to the first floor. I walked the regal and expensive-looking road for a while, watching the maids nearby constantly keep it clean while the warm summer wind brushed past me. I wasn't looking where I was going and ended up bumping into Saria along the way.
"Oh! Sorry about that Saria" I apologized "I wasn't looking where I was going"
"It's okay. What are you doing up so late?" Saria asked. I noticed a sketch pad and a case of pencil crayons under her arm.
"Couldn't sleep, so I decided to take a walk to get some fresh air. You?"
"Same reason. Although, I'm trying to find a good place to sit down and draw for a little" Saria pursed her lips "You wouldn't mind sitting with me for a little, would you? I mean, it's not you like you have something to do either"
"Yeah, I'm fine with it. Maybe I'll get tired talking with you, so I can fall asleep" I joked and Saria giggled "There should be an empty bench around the quest fountain. Let's go there"
"So how's Elise vs Sakura doing for you?" I asked once we made it to the bench. Shopkeepers and other service workers in the gauntlet were closing up for the day and most of the summoners left to their rooms, leaving me and Saria alone with the soothing gurgle of the quest fountain.
"Not as lopsided as I thought it would be honestly. Elise is ahead at the moment, but Sakura's fairly close behind" Saria replied as she pulled out a pencil and continued an unfinished sketch of a knight on his horse. Even if it was unfinished, I could guess she was drawing Camus.
"Priscilla vs Clarine was pretty boring for the most part. Neither of us have a giant advantage over each other, so everything's up to the last hour" I said, fidgeting with my hands. Both of us were silent after. I suspected both of us could sense the tension between us.
"Saria, I think we should clear something-"
"Lucian, we need to talk about-"
"Oh" I paused, slightly in awe that both of us brought up the topic at the same time "You want to go first?"
"Uhm sure…" Saria looked uneasy "Lucian, I need to ask you something. If you had a crush on two people and you spent much more time with one than the other, who would you pick?"
"Well, that largely depends on who you like more. If you like them both equally, then I'd go for the person you see more often. Gives you more time to get together" I replied easily and Saria nodded, slowly relaxing.
"Okay so… you would be okay if I "abandoned" or "dumped" you for Camus?" Saria blushed "Ah, I'm wording this so wrong. We aren't even a couple"
"No, no, I get your meaning" I smiled lightly "And of course I'm okay with it. I firmly believe that the lady gets the first choice in their relationships. No man should control her life like that"
"You can be such a white knight sometimes" Saria teased "So I'm guessing you're having the same situation between me and Catria?"
"You can say that" I admitted "Frankly, I was afraid we would have some friction because of this "issue", but I didn't expect you to be the same"
"We'll remain friends then. No need for tension between us" Saria smiled as she squeezed my hand "So how are you and Catria going so far?"
"Oh no. You're telling me about you and Camus first" I replied teasingly and Saria sighed, relenting with a smile. We spent the rest of the night talking and teasing each other over our favored heroes, departing once the sun rose since neither of us got any sleep. I got back to our room right as Catria began to stir and crashed on the bed, falling asleep instantly.
"Lucian! Lucian!" Catria's voice echoed in my slumbering head "Lucian, wake up. It's almost noon"
"Ugh… staying up all night talking with Saria wasn't a good idea…" I groaned, forcing myself to rise out of bed. I let Catria comb my hair while I went through the battle flags we had. Since there was no discernable advantage Clarine and Priscilla had over one another, I conserved flags for a little while, but now I just shrugged and decided to blow all of them. We were going to get at least 1000 more battle flags in the next series of quests tomorrow anyways.
After midnight struck, the results of the first battle were in and Priscilla defeated Clarine by 200 million points. Lissa beat Mist, Elise beat Sakura and Lachesis beat Maria. Saria, though saddened by Sakura's defeat, sided with Priscilla against Lissa while Elise fought Lachesis. We eventually found ourselves in the same team of three with a Boey on our side while Team Lissa had a Luke, Effie and Cherche on the opposing end. Cherche was going to be a challenge for us since both Catria and Camus were lance users and Boey doesn't have the strongest magical power if I recalled properly. We're going to need some strategy.
"Camus, bait out Luke and…" Saria turned to the other summoner "Can you direct Boey to help cover Camus in case Cherche gets close?"
"Sure thing. Boey, cover Camus's advance"
"Catria, help out in distracting Cherche. That hammer has to be hard to swing around, so use hit and run tactics to strike and get out of her swinging range" I ordered and the Whitewing nodded. Camus rode ahead first, his Gradivus gleaming with light and Luke charged, his summoner yelling at him to get back to avoid the triangle disadvantage. Luke, being the reckless cavalier he was, ignored his summoner's orders and swung his Brave Sword in two quick and heavy strikes at Camus, the red aura of Fire Boost burning under Luke's legs. Camus deflected the strikes with minimal effort and struck back just as quickly, taking out Luke with a stab to the chest. As the blood red line of Fury shot through Camus, Cherche came in fast with her hammer over her head.
"Out of the way!" Boey fired a sea of green spiritual birds with Gronnowl, disrupting Cherche long enough for Catria and Camus to double team her into oblivion. The enemy Effie thrust her Silver Lance towards Camus, but the Grustian cavalier dodged and Saria called him to fall back and launch attacks from a distance. I ordered Catria to take to the sky and launch hit and run attacks while while Boey went ahead to face-tank Effie. Surprisingly, the green mage was exceptionally stocky for a mage and he took hit after hit like a wall of iron, backing up to cast Gronnowl and dodge whenever he could. With Camus's ranged support and Catria's ambush attack from above, Effie fell and the battle was over. I threw in 200 battle flags before leaving the arena.
Again, the battle between Priscilla and Lissa was as uneventful as Priscilla vs Clarine. Neither side held a giant advantage, so it was just fight after fight every half an hour for the points. After a while, even Catria groaned whenever I told her it was time to go into the arena again.
"I hate it too, but it's for the feathers. More Hero Feathers means more five star heroes and that'll really bolster our army's strength against Embla" I said as we walked the path back to the arena "That said, I really wish they lowered the days in the gauntlet to three or something. Six is too long"
"Agreed. I'm already starting to miss Commander Minerva and my sisters" Catria slumped "That and some of the other heroes I met in Askr like Cordelia and Cherche. Something about them seems strangely futuristic, don't they?"
"Well, they came from the World of Awakening, which is your world in the future" I caught Catria's look of surprise "Oh right, I forgot you aren't the Robin twins or Katarina. You don't read a lot"
"Yeah, it was never in me personally. Whenever I have free time, I get my lance and mount my steed to train" The Whitewing scratched her pegasus's chin "I'm not as talented as Palla or Est, so I have to make up for it in effort"
"Ah, the famous "middle child syndrome" I've heard about before" I smiled "Catria, you're plenty strong enough and one of our best fliers thus far. I don't want you thinking yourself as inferior simply because of your sister's talent"
"Of course. But I use Palla and Est's abilities as a goal for me to reach. It spurs me onwards to become stronger"
"Right. Keep that aspect about you. I was just worried that you were having some self-esteem issues like Minerva did"
Catria grit her teeth "I've been sensing some downtrodden behavior from the commander ever since King Michalis showed up. She's constantly trying to reach the king's level of power, you know"
"I can tell. Although I hope she's aware I consider her the stronger wyvern rider between the two. She's faster than Michalis and Hauteclere's ability to activate special attacks quickly patches up Minerva's lower striking power compared to Michalis" I stopped in front of the arena entrance "Oh jolly, we're here. Guess we'll resume the conversation later"
"A shame, but that's what we gotta do" Catria sighed and we entered the arena.
Priscilla vs Lissa ended with Priscilla's victory by 100 million points, while Elise demolished Lachesis by a whole billion points. The final match was up and I was ever so glad it was almost over.
"Well, looks like Elise won this one. Anything from the World of Fates or Awakening wins the voting gauntlet" I noted dryly as me, Saria and our respective heroes watched the arena scoreboard from the buffet's front patio "If they really want to interest me in the gauntlet, make all the contestants be from anywhere not the World of Fates or Awakening"
"Well, it isn't really their fault for being so popular. After all, Awakening and Fates sold incredibly well in the real world and they are what introduced so many people to the world of Fire Emblem" Saria replied, with Camus and Catria listening to the conversation with clear confusion "And these FatesAwakening fans were chosen as summoners for Askr and now, here we are"
"Still, considering Awakening and Fates's large and apparent flaws, I'd say the older Fire Emblem games are better" I regarded Catria and Camus with sympathy "Why don't you two go take a walk for a while? It's clear both of you don't have any idea what we're talking about"
"I was waiting for that" Catria smiled while Camus mouthed 'thank you' before both of them left, leaving me and Saria alone.
"Anyways, I haven't played Awakening or Fates myself, so I probably have no right to judge if it's good or not" I absently traced my finger on the table "I heard both of their stories are notoriously poor though"
"They are, though it's intriguing to think that these heroes believe the events of their world is real life while us summoners know that it's a video game. This is probably how the gods see things, don't they?"
"Maybe so. It wouldn't be a good thing to tell this to our heroes though. It'll probably throw their entire existence into chaos"
"There is no better example than "My entire life was a lie" than this" Saria joked and I laughed, glancing over at the arena for any changes in the score.
"I think half an hour has passed. Let's find our heroes and get back in there" I said as I sat up from my chair. Saria nodded and we left the buffet in search of Catria and Camus.
"Finally this is over. I'll never not be tired of this" I sighed with relief when midnight struck and the points between Elise and Priscilla were being calculated. Everyone participating in the gauntlet was up and about, waiting for the results to be in. As I expected, Elise beat Priscilla by 500 million points, with a significant portion of the crowd cheering in celebration. I was just waiting for the staff's announcement that the dimension tunnels were open to bring us back to Askr.
"Whenever you want something to happen, waiting for it takes twice as long I swear" I said and Catria nodded in agreement, weary from the entire gauntlet. After the cheering of Team Elise died down, an announcement echoed all over the town via wind magic, announcing that the tunnels were open to take us back to Askr and our Hero Feather reward would be sent to our mailboxes the next morning. After saying goodbye and good luck to Saria and Camus, me and Catria took off and went home. At last, this god-forsaken gauntlet was over.
An Archer's First Step: Lucian, Jeorge, Klein and Gordin's Conversation
A day after the gauntlet ended, I found Jeorge, Klein and Gordin at the castle's archery range as usual.
"Good morning Lucian. What are you here for?" Jeorge greeted me as I picked up an Iron Bow lying on the wall, picking at the bowstring "Here to practice archery, I assume?"
"Yeah, I've been thinking of learning how to use a bow to be more effective on the battlefield aside from barking orders" I replied "So you three wouldn't mind tutoring me, right?"
"Of course. We've already been teaching Gordin here for a while, so an extra student wouldn't hurt" Klein gestured to a metal cylinder filled with arrows next to him "Go ahead and take some shots. We'll correct your stance, posture and aim whenever we see something wrong"
"Suit up with these first" Jeorge tossed me a left hand archery glove and a forearm guard "They'll stop the bowstring from slapping your arm red and keep your fingers from going raw. Both are practically required for prolonged shooting"
"Good to know" After I strapped on the equipment, I took my spot next to the chalk line, indicating the range I was allowed to fire from. I noticed the others taking a sideways stance depending on what hand held their bow, so I emulated it, turning my back to Gordin and holding my bow in my left hand as I drew the arrow and bowstring back.
"Keep your elbow up" Klein advised "Up to your ear at least"
We fired our shots together and while Klein and Jeorge's perfectly landed on the bullseye, Gordin and mine especially landed wildly off course, striking the white "dead zone" outside of the circle.
"Both eyes open Lucian. Contrary to popular belief, shooting a bow with one eye closed lowers your overall view of the target and makes you misinterpret where you're aiming at" Jeorge corrected my stance and posture as I lined up another shot. I started gaining a new appreciation for archers. Pulling back a bow was really hard on my back.
"Actually Jeorge, you can shoot with one eye closed as long as your dominant eye is the one that's aiming" Klein said "Of course, that only applies to casual shooting like this. In combat, keep both eyes open at all times to make use of your peripheral vision"
"Right. Being an archer is a dangerous profession on the battlefield. You have to be constantly aware of your surroundings at all times so you won't be snuck up on when you're nocking another arrow" Jeorge watched my arrow fly to the target with a dry look "Shoddy. Aim a little above the target if you want to strike the bullseye. Your arrow falls as it flies through the air, so where you aim isn't exactly where the arrow goes"
I shot a couple more arrows until I ran out and Klein called an arrow collection. As I walked to collect my arrows, I stared at the sky with Jeorge beside me.
"Hey Jeorge. Do you think it'll be possible to fire a bow while atop a mount like a pegasus or wyvern?" I asked and Jeorge crossed his arms, deep in thought.
"... It's possible. But the archer in question will have to have keen and absolute precision in their shots while flying. The constant moving of the mount will disrupt their aim" The blond archer tugged on his leather gloves "The same goes for archers on cavalry. Why do you ask?"
"Well, I flew to the voting gauntlet arena with Catria a week ago and it really opened my eyes to the sheer amazement of flying" I replied as we walked back to the chalk line "Because pegasi don't accept men as riders, I want to try capturing a wyvern"
"And? What's wrong with using a sword, lance or axe?"
"It would be hard to command the team if I'm deep in the fray with a physical weapon. Either I delegate my tactician role to the Robin twins or Katarina or I pick up a ranged weapon and still be able to command from the backlines while fighting. I chose the latter"
"What about magic? Didn't you fight a mage on a wyvern back during the Spring Festival?" Gordin asked while Klein corrected his form.
"I was thinking about it, but I'm not one hundred percent sure I have the aptitude to use magic" I replied "Maybe I could ask the Robin twins or Katarina to teach me magic, but I want to try archery first"
"Can't blame you. Magic is hard on the body and mind for newcomers. Magic requires years of practice to not completely fall over after a few spells" Klein said and Jeorge nodded in agreement.
"Magic takes a long time to grow and develop within a person's body apparently. It's a source of incredible power made through years of long, hard work" The blond archer said "Much less effort to try and learn archery"
"And that's why I wanted to learn it first" I nocked my arrow into my bow "But I'll try my hand at magic too before I decide what to use. Shall we continue?"
"Yes, of course. Fire when ready"
So because Voting Gauntlets are as boring as they are, I'm using this chapter to develop Catria and Lucian's relationship while resolving the "love triangle" issues between Saria and Lucian. Also hinting at Lucian's debut onto the battlefield with his archery practice. Coming up next is the Ylissean Summer paralogue, so if you want to be notified of when a new chapter comes out, favorite and follow. If you want to leave constructive criticism or praise, leave a review. Until next time, fellow summoners!