Hope you enjoy my first 1000 plus chapter. Review and tell me where I went wrong.
The arrow flew towards the target faster than Leif's eyes could follow. It flew past the target about a foot to the right thudding into a tree five yards behind the target. Leif looked at his master disappointed.
"That was a good shot." Horgold told him smiling "Go retrieve the arrow and shoot at that target until you hit it."
Leif continued to shoot arrows at the blue target for the remainder of the day. By the end of the day he was able to hit the target relatively consistently. He was still disappointed at how slowly he was learning the main skill of a ranger. He never knew that it could be that hard to learn to shoot a bow.
The next day Leif was up early again, ready for another day of training. Today, however, was not a day for weapons training. Today Horgold had arranged a ranger's history lesson for him.
"So, do you know how the ranger corps began?" Horgold asked his disappointed apprentice
"No sir, I don't really know." Leif replied.
"The ranger corps was introduced here in Andera in 1293 by King Nolan. He introduced them to counter the threat of the warriors from the northern tribes. At that time, the tribes had not yet united to form the 50 realms we have today. At that time the king had no true power, but King Nolan wanted the tribes to unite so he formed an army and sent the rangers to gather information and to sabotage the efforts of the North to break away. They succeeded in capturing the leaders and the war was over before it began thanks to the ranger corps. Not a single life was lost, but the argument was compromised. Instead of everyone being under the direct control of the king, each realm would have its own baron, like the one you know from the castle. In each region there are two rangers and two apprentices. Here, Bardon and I are the two rangers and you are one of the apprentices." Horgold explained to his apprentice
"Where do all the apprentices that have been trained go?" Leif asked his Master
"All the apprentices that have been through the three year training program go to the annual meeting of the ranger corps. There, they host a competition known as the ranger games. The winners will go to a realm in need of a ranger as an assistant to the main ranger. The losers go to the castle and serve the king directly, going out on missions and reconnaissance for him to other countries." Horgold answered
"How many rangers are there at any time and what are the ranger games like?" Leif asked
"Well, there are usually anywhere from two-hundred to three-hundred rangers at any given time. Of those, one-hundred are full rangers in their own realm, while the others work at the castle. The ranger games are tough. In the first part you have to sneak past full rangers like Bardon and I to get to a prize or target. The second part is archery on horseback. The third part is the toughest of all, hand to hand combat. Horgold said gravely.
They continued their history lessons for the rest of the morning until lunch. After lunch the two rangers, apprentice and master, went outside to continue training with weapons. Today's lesson was about learning the weapons of a ranger.
"The first weapon of the rangers is the bow. It is important for the long range fighting that we often do. A ranger must be able to hit his target 99 out of 100 times. The next weapon that a ranger always keeps at his side is a throwing knife. You also must be able to hit a small target consistently with this. The last tangible weapon that a ranger apprentice uses is a combat knife. This is used when you're enemy gets to a close range. If you're a good ranger, this shouldn't ever be needed, but in emergency situations, you must be able to defend yourself. Another use for this knife is to throw it hilt first and stun the enemy." Horgold lectured, "The final two weapons you will be using are not actual weapons, but they are just as important as any of the others. The first is your mind and the second is your hands. Both are part of you, but you must learn to control them if you are to become a ranger."
"What about a sword, don't ranger's use a sword too?" Leif asked somewhat confused
"Only full rangers can wear a sword and they only do that when they are on a mission against very powerful enemies." Horgold replied
"Oh, okay" Leif said somewhat disappointed.
"Now, I need to show you how you would normally wear your weapons on a mission or training exercise." Horgold got his cloak and put it on strapping a belt with a knife scabbard on each side. Then he took the bow and removed the string putting it in a pouch on his belt then he tied his bow to a backpack before putting the backpack on. "This is the standard pack and weapons that you will be carrying on our missions. Now you try putting it on."
After struggling with the belt and knives for several minutes, Horgold leaned over and helped him attach it. After getting his backpack on with the bow strapped to it, Horgold told him to take it all off and restring the bow. He did it and then was told to put it back on. They continued this exercise for several more hours until he could put the gear on and take it off quicker than he thought possible. Horgold also taught him the fighting stances to shoot a bow or throw a knife.
Leif was really tired that night when he went to his room. He thought that he would be farther along in his ranger training. He was also surprised that rangers did not normally use swords. All the rumors he had heard were that they used them always. He stayed up thinking about how his life had changed since he became a ranger. He fell asleep wondering how much more it would change.