Flying 81

Pyro took the proper stringing position with one part of the bow behind the calf of his left leg, having put the bottom end of the string on the bottom notches of the bow. With his right hand, he applied pressure to bend the bow down against his leg and body to meet the end of the bowstring that he was holding in his left hand. The muscles popped out against his armor on his arms, along his back and through his legs. His mouth turned from pleasantness to that of extreme strain; Kinesis thought that she could even hear his teeth grind from the effort. Strong as he was, his try did not bring the bowstring close to being notched and the bow strung.

Terra gave Noesis a slight push to catch his attention. �Well, I guess that settles that. If Pyro can�t even sting the bow, Kinesis doesn�t have a chance. I wonder how the old Keep Queen was able to do it? She must have had great strength or technique, probably both to get that bow ready.�

Noesis nodded in agreement. �Yeah, if Pyro can�t do it, no one can. But, you�re right. I wonder how Arete strung the bow?� He turned to look at Terra, who was staring at Kinesis and rubbing her chin.

�What?� asked Noesis.

�Nothing, but�. No, nothing, can�t be,� replied Terra rubbing her chin vigorously.

�Out with it Terra. Can�t be what?� said Noesis with a loud whisper that seemed to catch the ear of Yare, for she turned towards him with a questioning look.

(to be continued)

Flying 82

�Well. Something is going on between Kinesis and the bow. I don�t know what, but let�s wait and see what happens,� said Terra, looking back and forth from Kinesis to the bow. She thought to herself that Kinesis knew more about archery than she admitted. But, of course, that was true of all Elven, at least of the world of the Keep. But, the Elven of the Keep world had all but disappeared. No one had seen any of them for centuries. It was thought that they had become extinct.

Kinesis walked over to Pyro. �May I give it a try?� asked Kinesis.

�Hmmm. Certainly, Kinesis, but do not hurt yourself. The torque of the bow is so strong that I wonder if it was really used. I could not string it. If I can�t, no archer can.� Pyro handed her the bow with a shake of his head. He stretched out his left leg to ease the cramp that had started there.

Kinesis felt the bow pulse in her left hand. It felt warm to her grip. It almost felt alive. She thought to her right hand glove, �I need bare skin.� It peeled back to reveal her bare hand. She took her right hand and rubbed it over her face. Then she massaged the bow from top to bottom, stopping every third of the way to rub her face with her hands and then start again on the bow. As she worked, the sweat from her forehead became profuse and she swept it away with her hand and fed it to the bow, which soaked it in with relish.

The others, especially Terra, watched with the concentration a cat does when it stalks a mouse. Terra and Noesis looked at each other at the same time with the same questioning look, �What in the world is she doing?�

When Kinesis had finished the last bit of �grooming,� her glove went back into place without disturbing her grip. Terra and Noesis looked on puzzled, watching something that seemed to be totally incomprehensible.

Terra turned to Noesis. �Have you ever seen that before? Either she�s crazy, weird or knows a lot about things that we don�t.� Terra was watching the careful stroking motions that Kinesis used to smooth the sweat from her head into the wood. The more she rubbed, the darker, yet more golden the bow became.

�No. If you ask me, she�s weird, putting all that sweat on a bow. Besides, it�s a wooden bow. Why waste your time on something that would be no good in combat?� asked Noesis. He shook his head, pressed some buttons on his neck, pulled off his helmet for a quick moment, ran his hands quickly through his hair and returned his helmet with a fast, but precise move. Terra caught a glimpse of Noesis� profile, his hair pulled back in his fingers, raven feathers in the wind. She felt a flash of heat across her face flipped down her visor and turned away to do a combat sweep of the room. When the heat flush had left her face, she flipped her visor up and turned to watch Kinesis. �Hope Noesis didn�t catch that,� she murmured to herself.

It was done before anyone knew that it had happened. To Kinesis, it was merely putting together something that belonged to her armor. But, what was a simple, easy, slow maneuver to Kinesis was to the others one quick ballet of arms and legs. No strain, no groaning, no gritting of teeth. She strung the bow as fast and with the same sort of skill that Phora had mounted Fire, one handed. She held out the bow in front of her. She could feel the power it had, the enormous hidden power. Power that could be unleashed the way a tidal wave would rise to a great height from a simple bulge on the surface of a calm ocean, then strike the beach with untold force.

The rest of the group stood there in awe.

�Uh huh, just as I thought,� said Terra to herself, but it came out a spoken whisper. Noesis heard it.

Noesis turned and looked Terra squarely in the eyes. �All right, Terra. What do you know about Kinesis that I don�t? How did you know that she would be able to string the bow? And so easily, too. Something is strange here and you know what it is. So, give it up.� Noesis had Terra by her right shoulder and had pressed his face close to hers.

Terra wrenched her shoulder away from Noesis. �Hey,� she quipped. �I don�t know any more than you do. Listen up, hot shot, the next time you grab me that way, better watch out. You�ll end up on the floor gasping for breath.� Terra�s eyes were glaring at Noesis, but turned to Kinesis. They took on a different appearance, one of competition. Noesis knew better than to say or do anything; he merely backed off.

�She did string the bow, but let�s see how good she is,� said Terra. She walked over to Kinesis

�You have great skill with that bow Kinesis. Would you like to see how it shoots?� said Terra, her eyes dancing with expected competition.

(to be continued)

Flying 83

Pyro gave Terra a shake of his head and Yare said, �Terra, I am sure that Kinesis is exhausted by all that she has been through. Perhaps, another time.�

�No, that�s quite all right,� replied Kinesis. �I would very much like to try the bow.� She put the upper bend against her nose and rubbed the bow against it. Something seemed to transfer back and forth from the bow to Kinesis, at least that�s what Terra thought happened.

�Are you sure, Kinesis? There is always time. I think that Terra just wants to try your abilities. Let me warn you, that she is our top archer among the youth, and, in fact, can best all but one of our combat archers. In fact, that competition was last year; she may be able to beat him today.� Yare spoke in the same matter of fact voice that she had heard Pyro use, but there was a hint, the slightest hint, of pride hidden in inflection of the word �best.�

Kinesis was about to smile, but held back. She merely said, �I would be honored to let Terra set the pace and show me how to shoot a Keep bow.�

Terra nodded. Pyro said, �Then, let us to the target room.� He walked them over to a small door beside the cases of bows, pressed some code buttons and led them in.

(to be continued)

Flying 82

The room had a very high arched ceiling �arched from front to back, not side to side-- that was entirely made of smooth, granite grey stones, fitted closely together, almost seamless. The room was very, very long, but not that wide. It was cool with a dry smell of stone that was well used. Kinesis could see that there were targets set up at various distances from wooden and steel shooter�s stands. On second survey, there was a strange object at the far end that looked remarkably familiar. But, she went on to look at the rest of the objects and the overall bend of the remarkably long curved ceiling. Other than the targets and the shooter�s stands ahead of them, the room was empty, save for some wooden storage lockers by the door.

They walked up to a shooter�s stand numbered 1. Terra looked at Kinesis� bow and then said, �Kinesis, your bow has a very long draw and will need special arrows. Hold here for a moment, while I go to the specialty lockers and get them.� She turned and hurried off to one of the wooden lockers alongside the door opening. Noesis was at her heels.

�Terra, what are you doing? You�re going to give her the extra length, crafted arrows, aren�t you? Just so that you can win. That�s not fair. You know that even our top archer has difficulty using those arrows.� Noesis had a confused look on his face. �At least compete fairly.�

Terra spun around and whacked Noesis on the forehead with the mid section of her bow. �I am competing fairly, Noesis. Her bow requires those arrows. To give her shorter arrows and ones not made as well, now that would be unfair. And as for meeting me later tonight to talk about combat strategies and getting to the outside, forget it. You don�t deserve my company, seeing as how you do not trust me to be fair. Trust is important in combat, if you didn�t know by now.� She turned back quickly to the locker to sort through the many arrows that were placed feathered end up, the feathers having different colors according to their properties. It was a garden of flowers of death.

Noesis reached up and held his head. It was still sore on the right side above his ear from the thumping that Yare had given it. Now, he had a blossoming egg above his right eye to rival the other pain.

(to be continued)

Flying 84

�Terra, you�ve got me all wrong. I wasn�t questioning your fairness, just that those long arrows are almost impossible to shoot. The draw pull requires incredible strength. Kinesis strung the bow, but it is another thing to shoot it. And, as for our meeting up later on, maybe you�re the one who will miss out on needed strategies. Who got blindsided by her mother, huh?� Terra spun faster than a cat chasing a leaf in the wind. Noesis couldn�t move fast enough to avoid a second whack to his forehead which made his head throb even more. He would probably have two �shiners� tomorrow.

�You don�t seem to move very fast either mentally or physically, do you Noesis?� They were about to get into another face-off, but Pyro gave a deep, �Ahem!� which brought Terra back to her purpose. She selected the arrows that she thought would be the right length for Kinesis, adding one extra length ultra range arrow just for a complete diversity of options.

Returning to shooter�s stand 1 where Kinesis was looking at the targets, she gave Kinesis the arrows. �Most of them are the same length, for we will be dong standard to long range shooting, but I put in an ultra range arrow for you to use if you want to try some real distance,� she said, with a small inflection on the word �distance.�

Kinesis could see that Terra wanted to go the �distance,� and she replied, �That was thoughtful of you, Terra. Perhaps, I shall give it a try if I can manage the bow at all.�

�Let�s try the 50 yard targets first,� said Terra, in a �This is what I do for fun� voice.

Pyro gave Terra a frown. Fifty yard targets were at the end of first year combat training. Just to hit a target at fifty yards required a great deal of skill.

�Uh, Terra,� said Pyro. �Don�t you think that 25 yard targets would be a better start? After all, the old bow hasn�t been drawn for maybe hundreds of years, probably much longer. We wouldn�t want it to snap on Kinesis from too great an initial strain.� Pyro lowered his head, peaked his eyebrows in a way that said, �Do what I tell you to do.�

But Kinesis jumped in before Terra could reply. �That is all right, Pyro. I think the bow will be fine. Fifty yard targets will be a very good start.� She looked over to Terra, gave a nod. Terra gave a nod back, then gave Noesis a sideways, half lidded, �Watch me,� glance.

(to be continued)

Flying 85

Noesis had seen that look before. She had given it to him at the last contest when a young combat archer complained that he should not be �forced to compete against a teenager who obviously couldn�t stand tall enough to see the targets over the protective bunkers that would be in the field.� To his astonishment, he was trounced by Terra when he could not reach the 125 yard target and she bulls eyed it.

Terra stepped up to the shooter�s stand, fixed an arrow in place, drew the arrow back in perfect position with the smoothness of draw that comes from practice to perfection, and released the arrow. It flew with a gentle rise then down to center the target with a resounding thump. She stepped back, giving a nod to Kinesis who returned the nod and stepped to the stand.

With one easy motion she took an arrow from her quiver, drew and fired at her target. She centered it. A similar resounding thump.

Terra looked towards Noesis who merely shrugged his shoulders.

�Excellent Kinesis,� said Terra. �You have a real gift with a bow. Let�s try the 125 yard targets, why don�t we?� Terra stepped up to the shooter�s stand, put an arrow to the string, drew back more slowly this time, raise her bow angle a bit more, took a deep breath, held it and released it as she let the arrow fly. It seared the air to hit with a bang, more than a thump. Pyro got out a telescope from under a shelf at the edge of the shooter�s stand and viewed the target.

�Good shot,� he said. �Though it was maybe half an inch to the right of center.� He handed the scope to Terra who took a look.

�You are right,� said Terra. �I must have started my breath release just a bit too early. Your turn, Kinesis.� Of course, Terra knew that to be off only half an inch at that distance was master�s level.

(to be continued)

Flying 86

Kinesis repeated her procedure, moving swiftly to the stand, drawing, taking aim and releasing the arrow all in one movement. The arrow struck the target. Pyro got out the telescope and viewed the result.

�Kinesis has hit the exact same spot that you did, Terra. She must have released her breath a bit early, too,� said Pyro.

Terra looked at Pyro, then at Noesis, who again shrugged his shoulders, and finally at Kinesis. Usually, Terra could read the faces of her competitors, but Kinesis seemed to only be concerned for her bow. She was massaging it as if it were a favorite pet, indeed, a live animal. To be off a half an inch put Kinesis in the master�s category. But, to hit the exact same spot that she had struck was another matter. Terra did not believe in coincidences and for Kinesis to have hit where she did, that was not luck. She bit the bottom of her lip, but with her back turned so that no one could see. She thought to herself, �Let�s see if she is really as good as she seems to be.�

Terra got out an ultra range arrow from her quiver. �Kinesis, do you see that figure at the back of the wall? It is the figure of a dragon, full size. But, it looks small from this great a distance. It is poised to attack as if there were soldiers in front of it. It is an impossible shot to make, though legend has it that it has been done, but it is good practice just to see how close we can come and how accurate our aim is. I�m going to give it a try. I can hit the dragon if I ricochet my arrow off the floor. Well, sometimes I can do that. Not always.� Terra smoothed her bow string and got out the ultra arrow. But, Terra had been practicing on the sly. She was ready.

Noesis had seen Terra do the ricochet feat once or twice. No one else, not even the top archer could do this, and she was the talk of the first and second floor of this side of the Keep when she did it.

Terra took out the ultra arrow and sighted down it to check its straightness. She checked the guide feathers carefully preening them with the forefinger of her right hand. Then, she notched the arrow, drew it back, raised her bow to what she considered the right degree, sighted the dragon, took a deep breath, held it, held it a second longer, and then released the arrow and breath at exactly the same time. The arrow arched up almost to the ceiling, then shot down towards the dragon. It didn�t ricochet of the floor but hit the dragon, though in its hindquarters, which Pyro announced immediately, as he was watching the dragon through the telescope.

Noesis exclaimed, �Wow, what a shot! What a shot! No one has ever hit the dragon with a full flight arrow. Terra, that was fantastic.� His eyes were wide open and he kept looking back and forth from Terra to the small spot at the back of the room that was the dragon.

�Excellent, Terra,� said Kinesis. �That was an amazing shot. Perhaps, we should end now with it,� she said and backed away from the shooter�s stand.

(to be continued)

Flying 87

�Well, we could,� said Terra. �But you have an ultra range arrow in your quiver. Why don�t you just give it a try to see what the old bow will do,� said Terra with a beam in her eye.

Which did not go unnoticed to Kinesis. �Could there be a hint of pride or conceit here?� she asked to herself. I must be wary of bringing out feelings in these youths.

�Thank you, but no Terra. I am afraid that I have seen too fierce a dragon recently and I am hardly ready to face even a mock one now. I am certain that there are more pressing matters to be considered. In fact, there is one that I would very much like to get to, right away.� Kinesis looked at Terra in a way that conceded the �would be� match.

�Yes, I heard that you had a run in with Jarz. A bow would have proven useful to you, especially the one you have,� said Terra. �Why don�t you just give the target a shot and make believe that it is Jarz. Get in some practice for a next time. It�s sort of like falling off a horse; if you don�t get back on right away, you may never because the memory of the fall will haunt you.� Terra spoke as if she were giving a lesson to a newly recruited archer.

Kinesis took a long look at Terra, studying her carefully to try to determine the underlying intentions. Then her eyes went back at the target. �Maybe, you are right Terra. I�ll give it a try.� As she looked at the dragon target, it seemed to grow larger and larger. From a small grayish green bump against the wall, to something more and more real. Suddenly, she saw Jarz with her teeth and claws coming, slobber, fire and dragon slit eyes bearing down on her with the force of impending doom. She could hear the pounding of the great feet and the scraping of the swing tail. Terrifying!

In one swift step (a blur to the others), she rushed to her place on the shooter�s stand, notched the ultra arrow, drew back the great bow, which seemed to expand in length, sighted directly at the target, and let the arrow fly. In her mind, she heard the desperate words, almost as if they came from the bow: �As Thunder.�

The arrow did not rise or sail towards the target; it flashed there. Pyro, who was watching through the telescope, saw the arrow as a steak of straight light that entered the dragon�s body at the heart. Then, there was an explosion, but not just any kind of explosion. There was an earsplitting CRACK and then KABOOOM. The concussion of the blast knocked all of them off their feet, with the exception of Kinesis, and sent them rolling with an accompanying dust cloud towards the wall that had the entrance door. All of them were being banged and bruised from the tumbling. When they came to a scattered stop, they were holding the sides of their helmets, for the helmets were not strong enough to muffle the terrible sound. They were in pain and dizzy. Pieces of the target smashed into the sides of the wall, scattered around them in the crazed whirlwinds of dust. Some dropped, smoking from the ceiling. Some of the closer targets that had blown towards them were on fire giving off a dark grey smoke. Parts of the overhead rock where the dragon target had been fell to the floor in loud thuds. The air smelled of burning wood and straw. Dust and throat closing smoke began to fill the room, making everyone cough.

The door burst open and ten guards ran in with their swords or bows drawn. The lead guard, Crito, scanned the situation, located Pyro and ran over to him. The other soldiers began to form a combat wedge with Pyro�s group in it. Crito spoke to Pyro, but Pyro gestured that he could not hear. But, he did sign to Crito that the fires should be put out. Crito nodded and commanded two guards to retrieve buckets of water from the main armor room, which they did immediately. While the two guards were putting out the minor fires, he and the other guards did a fast combat patrol sweep up towards where the dragon target had been. One guard who circled the dragon target�s location was almost hit by a piece of falling rock.

Crito and his guards returned. Crito edged his way warily up to Kinesis. �What has happened here?� he asked her.

(to be continued)

Flying 88

Kinesis flipped her visor up and replied with a quizzical look on her face. �I was trying an old bow that must have some sort of magic in it. The arrow that I used hit the target and exploded.�

�What target was that?� asked Crito, puzzled. He looked around for an explosion point and saw only the damage at the far end of the room.

�The dragon target that was at the end of the room,� replied Kinesis.

�You hit that target from here?� asked Crito. �Ah, there must be some other explanation. Perhaps, there is some new form of creature in here that is capable of producing fire and explosion. It may be invisible or, looking hard at Kinesis, maybe not. You must hold your position while we do another search, using some of our detection instruments. Would you mind if I checked you out first?� Kinesis knew that what he said was not a question, but a command, for his sword and shield were in combat position, ready to strike.

�No, no that is quite all right,� replied Kinesis. She was joined by Pyro, Terra, Yare and Noesis, all of whom were trying to get pieces of target straw and smoke grime off their armor.

�Pyro sir,� said Crito. �I am going to run a quick aura sensor over this woman and your group. It is standard procedure, as you know.� The guards had surrounded Pyro and the rest of the group, forming an armed circle. Every few seconds, one of the guards turned to scan the room.

�Go ahead, Crito,� said Pyro. �That is fine, especially given the unusual circumstances.�

Crito brought out from a hidden pocket in his armor a small flat, blue square that looked to Kinesis to have pearls embedded in a row on its top. He pushed two buttons on the side and then began to sweep the front edge of the box back and forth pointing it at the group. All that Kinesis could see was a series of flashes from the pearls on the box. They seemed to be random in the way they flashed.

�Red, three!� Crito exclaimed and Pyro, Yare, Terra and Noesis dropped to the floor. Kinesis stood looking at Crito. Confusion was written across her face.

�Whoever or whatever you are, do not move or even blink if you wish to live,� said Crito. �I want you to hand me the bow with your right hand. The bow only. If you go for any other weapon or region on your armor, you will die.� Crito had his shield up and his sword in preparation to strike. The other guards quickly closed in around her, ready to strike on command.

(to be continued)

Flying 89

Kinesis was about to speak when she heard a great crash at the door. New guards in armor came running in. But, they seemed familiar to her. She recognized the armor of Ergon, Telos, and Hyle. And, and there was another soldier that she could not see very much of behind the three. Yet, there was something about, something about the way she felt. The feeling was just a flash. She was back to the other three. They were combat ready with shields up and swords drawn.

�Assessment,� shouted Ergon to Crito.

�Red, three,� came the immediate response.

�Where?� shouted Ergon.

�The one with the long, ancient bow,� said Crito pointing to Kinesis.

Kinesis� visor was down; it had shut itself when the door crashed open. She willed the thought, and her visor flipped up to reveal her face. �It is I, Kinesis,� she said. When she finished her statement, the hidden figure came immediately out from behind the others. There was no mistake. It was Phora.

(to be continued)

Flying 90

�Crito,� said Phora. �Put your aura on Z3 and rescan.�

Crito immediately pushed some small square buttons on the aura�s side and the small machine sparkled to life again, its pearl lights giving off twinkling series of star blinks. Crito turned to Phora when the lights stopped blinking.

�There is a stranger, but the aura says that the stranger is safe,� said Crito. �Is she from this world?�

�No,� replied Phora. �That is why the first reading was not entirely correct. It registered a stranger, but not the extra quality of being one who belongs in the Keep. Nevertheless, continue your inspection of the room, especially where there was the explosion. Look for any breeches in the walls. There could be other things that could have come through a crack from the explosion. If all is clear, remain and guard the repair crew.�

�Done,� replied Crito and signaled his men to follow him. All assumed combat positions and began a search of the room. Crito made a brief stop to stamp out a bit of smoldering straw, probing it with his sword as he finished.

Phora raised his visor and turned towards Kinesis. Kinesis could see that he had suffered terribly from the shock of returning from the cold of near death. His face was drawn and his eyes, though clear and shining, were sunken in almost purple, black surroundings. She noticed that he leaned slightly, almost imperceptibly, every few moments against Ergon for support. But as weak as his eyes betrayed his strength, he rushed forward to Kinesis� side.

�Kinesis, Kinesis. Are you all right? I have been concerned, so concerned. No, that is the old words that I would have used. I have been worried and afraid,� said Phora, his voice now almost a whisper. �Telos, Ergon and my physician insisted that I rest at least a day or two before I saw you, but when I heard the explosion, I thought something may have happened to you and could not stay in my quarters without knowing that you were safe.� He seemed to choke slightly on the last sentence, which he covered by feigning a cough, but Kinesis could see right away that he was close to tears.

�Phora. I am well. I can say that those who brought me through my encounter with the rejuvenation machine were wonderful and saved my life. In fact, I think that I am stronger than when I entered your world. Perhaps, I am adapting to it.�

Phora seemed to melt into relief when Kinesis spoke those words. In fact, Ergon and Telos came up quickly when they saw the quiver in his legs and stood closely to either side of Phora to prop him up until he regained his posture.

�Oh, Kinesis�,� Phora began, but before he could finish his sentence Kinesis had moved even closer to him so that their helmets were almost together.

�Phora, I am well, but you need rest. I, I want to thank you for coming to my rescue, but there was no threat. Something strange happened when I used an old bow; the target that I hit exploded.� Phora�s eyebrows frowned in a questioning attitude, accentuating the deep purple around his eyes. �I think that it would be best for you to let Ergon, Hyle, Telos and me take you back to your quarters, now.� She leaned quickly to his left side as if to inspect his visor and remove some debris from it. She spoke slowly, softly and quietly. �My heart is moved, and you know how much. In such a short time we have lived a lifetime of trials which we have survived,� she whispered, barely moving her lips so that only Phora would hear. She pulled back to face him straight on. She looked deeply into his soft brown eyes, saw them glisten, then pulled down his visor before he could reply.

�Telos,� she said. �Phora may have something in his eyes, some straw and smoke grit from the targets that were destroyed. I think it best that we take him back to his quarters and have a look.� She turned to Telos. Telos gave her a responding affirmation and acknowledgement with a shift of her eyes indicating that she knew that Kinesis was saying more than the words meant.

�You are right, Kinesis. I thought that I saw some bits of straw go underneath his visor when he raised it. We shall take him back and use the eye cleansing drops in his quarters.� Telos nodded to Kinesis. She turned to speak to Phora.

�Phora we must go back to your quarters. Ergon will lead Kinesis and me. Hyle will guard the rear.� Phora only nodded his assent.

In that pattern they exited the room. Just before they left, Kinesis shot a glance over her shoulder and saw Terra and Noesis strain to catch a glimpse of her as she went through the door.