The Testament of Tall Eagle by John R. Fultz

Author:John R. Fultz [Fultz, John R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: fantasy
Publisher: Crossroad Press
Published: 2017-12-02T00:00:00+00:00

11. Arrows

The next day I asked Thu to show me the bows and arrows of the Myktu. Aketra came along as we entered the practice field of the gray warriors. White flames burned in bowls about the yard for those who lingered into the evening to practice their war skills. Thu brought me to a range where three archers shot arrows at a row of wooden blocks. Tall trees of yellow bark encircled the field, which lay on the northern edge of the palace grounds.

I watched the Myktu and saw that they had much skill. Each of the three bowmen placed shaft after shaft inside the center ring of a wooden block. The heads of the arrows gleamed golden in the moonlight, and I knew they were made of the yaitha metal. Thu handed me an arrow from a warrior’s quiver, and I examined it closely. The barbed head was indeed forged of bright yaitha, but its shaft was a pale, resilient wood that I did not recognize. The feathers at its other end were unmistakably those of Opyds. I recalled the Keepers in the Tower of Wings gathering baskets full of loose feathers.

“It is khaba wood,” said Thu. “The great trees have many uses.”

I studied the balance and weight of the arrow. It was perfect. The Myktu were superb craftsmen. Yet it would not do.

“This wood will not burn the Vothgirr,” I said.

Thu nodded.

“Then we must gather wood that will,” said Aketra. She blinked her golden eyes.

My heart swelled as I stood beside her, yet I hid my pleasure. “You think like a warrior,” I told her.

A smile warmed her face. “I am the queen’s daughter,” she said.

I turned to Thu. “How many new arrows can your warriors make in a day?”

Thu blinked. “We do not make our own arrows,” he said. “Not unless we are very desperate.”

I could scarcely believe this. Among the People, each man made his own weapons. Then I remembered the muskets sold by the Aldoneq traders, and I realized this was no longer true. “Who does your arrowcraft?”

“The Dreamers,” said Thu. “They have skill to bend the elements to their will: earth, fire, water, and air. Their Dreaming also weaves the yaitha and the khaba flesh into these shafts. In previous Ages, when there were not so many Dreamers among us, we had forges and weaponsmiths. Perhaps we were more like your own people.”

I did not tell him that the People had no forges or metal craft of their own. I took a bow from a standing rack near the shooters. The wood was also khaba yet reinforced with a plating of yaitha, etched with sigils and curling designs that revealed the wood beneath in many places. The effect was a likeness of white leaves, branches, and thorns peeking through the gold. Thu told me the bowstring was made from the sinews of cattle. This brought a smile to my lips. The Myktu were good at using every part of the buffalo-kin they killed. This was a quality they shared with my own people even if they did not hunt their meat like we did.

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