A Village Burned

Shirley

Three knocks. No response. Strange. The oil lamps are lit on the other side of the window. Why would the hunts master waste oil? He of all people should know how hard lamp oil is to come by as he is the one who has to hunt for it. Just like he is responsible for the guard schedule of our village. The hunters don't just hunt for the village. All the hunters that are not needed to hunt usually spent their on duty time standing guard or practicing with either the sword or bow, depending on what they are most needing training with. But now... I already was at the training fields earlier and they were locked. Impatient I knock again, now a lot louder. Finally I get an answer.

The hunts master opens the door looking like he hasn't slept in a week. His hair is a mess, his clothing messy and tattered and his beard unkept. I've seen beggars looking better than him. 'Hunts master?'

The guy rumbles. 'Yes. Now what is it? I got stuff to do as well, you know. I'm a busy man.'

I take a deep breath. 'I've come for the job opening you had. The one for hunter apprentice. I got a bow and quiver...'

As I say it I hold up a piece of worn parchment where the hunts master had scribbled a quick request for a new hunter on and nailed it to the village notice board. It didn't specify a lot but since I'm not the traditional type to sit at home and knit clothing I gave it a go. You can't tie me down with a husband. The hunts master looks at the paper and then at me. 'Hmm... not what I did expect but since I haven't had any responses so far and the last three guys ran off... I'll give you a shot. Payment is four silver coins a month, housing is in the barracks at the back. You'll learn to make arrows from your master, who will introduce himself in the morning. You are his assistant until he deems you ready to go on yourself. Here is a uniform and here are the keys to the barracks and the training field.'

He hands over a small pile of clothing and a keyring and then closes the door. With that I walk around the house to the barracks. When I try to open the closest door I discover that one of the keys has a number stamped into it, though it is a bit worn down. Looking around I discover every door has a number next to it, and soon I find my own room. Its small and barren, with just a chest, a set of bedside drawers, a rough wooden desk with a chair and a bed. Looking around the room, opening the chest, drawers and the drawers of the desk I find a quill, a small pot of ink and hidden at the back of the bedside drawers a small, rough forged knife. The last occupant must have left in a hurry. I put my bow and quiver in the chest and then go to sleep.

The next morning I wake up to someone banging his fist on my door. 'Wake up greenhorn. It is time for your first lessons.'

I roll out of bed sleepily and open the door. 'Its still early... couldn't you wait a bit longer?'

The man in front of me is bulky and dressed in the uniform of the huntsman. Well, that is what it looks like initially anyway. Instead of a deer hide cuirass he is wearing a drakeskin cuirass. This guy has killed a dragon. He also has a heavy sword on his left hip and a somewhat ornate bow in his quiver. His quiver is partially covered by his green cape with dark spots blotched all over it, though the hood is lowered to his back to reveal his face with a scar on it. This hunter has seen his share of battles. When he sees me he growls softly. 'Hunters must get up early to catch the best food. Now get dressed in your uniform. I never want to see you outside your uniform during work hours again.'

I'm astounded. 'I didn't even know this was my work time. If you have a moment I'll get dressed...'

He rumbles. 'You got a minute'

I quickly run inside, closing the door with my foot behind me, and get dressed quickly. The uniform isn't the most comfortable but it will do the job. With only a few seconds to spare I open the door. The senior hunter grumbles. 'First up, get your quiver and put it on. No hunter is ever unarmed. Next up, hunting knife. Today you will learn to skin, gut and get the meat off of animals and you will need a proper knife for that. Lastly, until you made a name for yourself, you won't show your face. So put that hood up.'

I do as he says. He then notices I don't have arrows. He grabs several out of his own quiver and puts them in mine. 'Take care of those arrows. I'll have the Hunts Master dock it from your pay.'

In the following weeks it is all I'm doing. Getting carcasses from the hunters, cutting them up and handing the meat over to my master. This isn't the job I expected to get. After weeks I'm not disgusted by it any more, just bored from doing it. I understand now why the previous three ran away, as my master has lost my respect. Well lost... he never had much of it in the first place. Well, time to confront him I guess. Not my original plan but it seems he just wanted a worker...

I decide to take matters in my own hand. After five weeks I grab the filleting knife when he comes to inspect my work. When he has his back turned to me I grab him by the shoulder and place the knife at his throat. 'I think it is time for a change. I've learned how to cut up animals, now it is time for a promotion.'

He seems shocked for a moment. 'It seems I was wrong and you do have teeth. Very well, I will teach you how to use your bow and how to make arrows. Be prepared for a lot of muscle ache while you are building up your muscles and make a lot of arrows because the early arrows will break a lot.'

When he says that I take the knife from his throat. 'Thank you. I will not disappoint you.'

He walks out without another word. I take that as a sign I'm done for the day and go back to my barracks where I take my bow out of the quiver. After the first week I had unstrung my bow, thinking I'd be better off to keep it relaxed while I'm not using it anyway. After taking off all the oily rags I take a look at it again. It still looks good, not rusted or worn in any way. I string the bow again and hold it as if I'm about to shoot it, just without an arrow knocked on. It feels light, though the draw is heavy. It feels... weird. I do like it but at the same time it does feel wrong. In my hands I hold something that gives me the power over life and death. A tool for killing. A construction of death. It is up to me to use it responsibly. Use it like all the other hunters without a face, whom I learned are just called the faceless until they made a name for themselves.

When I finally put my bow away in the quiver I sit down on my bed and pull down the hood. I'm alone now and I don't need to hide my identity. My master may be cruel, but even he can't take my identity from me. I am who I am and today I showed that to him. He knows he can make my life difficult but he cannot admit to anyone he got owned by his own student. A woman most of all. He would be humiliated beyond reckoning, even though he killed a dragon. Or supposedly so. I heard him brag about it before, to other hunters. Usually when they brought their days catch to the hut where I was working. How he killed an adult dragon all by himself. Tall tales if you ask me as a dragon can lay waste to an entire army according to the legends. Not that I am keen to discover how true that is...

I open one of the bedside table drawers and pull out a book I found in the hut. It is about different creatures a hunter can encounter on travels beyond the border. While looking through it something troubles me. The book seems to be incomplete as there is nothin on dragons. Why? Why would anyone hide information about dragons from the public, as the legends about them are so prevalent? Even my master apparently fought one. Yet the information about them... it isn't there. I will have to do some research on it. Then I hear a banging on my door. I instantly have my knife drawn as I pull the door open on a small gap. I see my master behind the door. 'Come. And pull that hood up. You haven't made a name for yourself yet.'

I put the knife back in the sheet and pull my hood up. 'I think Shirley the Dragonslayer-beater sounds really good though.'

He turns around. 'Not a word to anyone about this. I got a reputation to uphold to. If it concerns the others I just decided you would be a useless hunter if you can't use your bow. Any other answer I won't support. Now. Listen well as I will only say this once. I'm going to tell you how to use that piece of wooden decoration in your quiver as a weapon and from this day forth, every day while I'm out hunting, I want you to be doing target practice on the shooting gallery. If you are hitting targets bulls eye every shot, you move up in distance. You'll learn the effects of distance and wind soon enough. When I return from my hunt I'll check on your progress. Let's see if you truly are as good as you think you are.'

The next day I'm at the range. I got my quiver with me and I see several other Faceless practicing with their bows. On a field some several hundred yards from the shooting gallery several are also training with swords under the guidance of a sword wielding senior hunter. No one even acknowledges my existence so after a short while I walk to one of the shooting galleries that's not in use and grab my bow. I still feel awkward when holding it and that feeling grows when I don't hear any more bows being drawn or arrows hitting targets. They all seem to be looking to me. With a bit of tension in my heart I knock an arrow on the bow and draw it, holding the bow horizontally to make it easier to aim. When I release it I close my eyes. That is when laughing reaches my ears. I look to see the arrow half a feet short of the target in the mud.

The laughing seems to go louder as some people mock me for not hitting the target. I knock another arrow on and fire again. This time I keep my eyes open and see the arrow fly over the target. One of the hunters points at me. 'You shoot like a girl!'

With that I get to my feet and pull my hood back. 'I am a woman. And if you are so good then tell me how you did the first time.'

All the others fall silent. I then throw everything my master told me yesterday overboard and find my own position, with the bow vertical. I'll show them. My master set me up to fail but I will succeed. I take a deep breath and during the breathing out I release the arrow. This time it goes where I aimed, though still slightly up. It hits the target just above the bulls eye. All the hunters gasp and return to their own practice. With that I put my hood back up, though now I let some of my blond hair show from underneath it. They cannot humiliate me. With that I return to practice.

Days turn into weeks, and weeks into months as I train my archery. My master apparently discovered what I did on the first day and gave me a galactic scale speech on keeping to tradition and especially keeping my identity annominous. He was seriously mad. However, because he never checks on me I get to practice for myself, he never discovered I found my own way to use the bow and that I seem to get the hang of it. He also doesn't know I'm trying something new every day, to find more ways to humiliate the other Faceless. I will better them even if it is the last thing I'll do. Its several months after my first day when, during practice, someone speaks to me. 'You aren't the Dragonslayers student by any chance?'

I turn my face towards the guy speaking and while answering release the arrow from my bow. I know I hit bulls eye from the look on the guys face. He is a younger hunter but definitely past the Faceless stage. 'What if I told you I am his apprentice?'

The guy looks at the target and then at me. 'Could you try to not humiliate the others? It isn't a competition. You've been at this for two months now, trying to tower above the others. Find something better to do will you?'

I retrieve my arrows and then turn to him. 'Like what? In case you didn't notice, I got an assignment from my master. He wanted me to master the bow and arrow, so I am mastering the bow and arrow. If he isn't showing up, then I'm apparently not good enough yet so I have to improve my skills. Even if I have to become the best bowman or whatever you want to call me of the seven kingdoms I will do just that. In the end I'll make even my master respect me.'

He sighs. 'Your master hates you. He sees in you someone who can rival him and he doesn't want that. He wants someone he can belittle and keep low. He sometimes asks the hunters that do truly train their apprentices here what your progress is. Every time he hears it, he goes to his own quarters and rages. The Hunts Master is pressing him to push your limits further but he refuses.'

I chuckle. 'Like I thought. My master is more a load of hot air than a real dragon hunter. Should have known when I caught him by surprise. No one who can kill a beast that lays low armies lets some human catch him off guard. Especially his own apprentice.'

He seems unamused. 'Wether or not he killed the dragon himself is a discussion that is not your business. However I will tell you some of the other hunters are getting sick of their apprentices returning from training with worse results every day because a single person keeps showing off and distracting them. It seems archery is no longer challenging you, even with the moving targets. So instead I'll offer you this: what about you learning to fight with the sword?'

I nod slowly. 'If only my master doesn't kill me for this. He hates it when I disobey him.'

The next day the hunter already wants to give me the first lesson in sword fighting. He hands me a dull blade while he tests the balance of a second one. 'The sword is a long distance away from the bow. The bow is an elegant way to kill. A good bowman can kill a target while the sword fighter is still putting his pants on. However once a sword fighter gets in range of the bowman the bowman will not be able to defend himself. This is why it is smart to also learn how to use a sword. You never know when you get ambushed. A rusty sword can save your life where a good bow can fail.'

He stands next to me and gets in what I learned to recognize as a strong position that he and a couple of other hunters try to teach to all their students. I try to copy his stance immediately. When I stand in the stands he starts poking me with the blunt blade. 'Right foot to the left, left foot more turned outwards, knees straighter and back straight. This is no time to show off, but a time to learn something new. Now sword pointing forward.'

This teacher really is hands on. Every point he sees me make a mistake he pokes me with the blade. I guess I had that one coming. When I finally got my stance right he nods. 'Now this is the base stance. By moving from here you can move into offensive by stepping forward with the left foot and turning your right foot to the outside, or defensive by doing it the other way around. Now first for blocking...'

Hours fly by as the teacher pushes more and more information into my brain and then asks me to train what he just told me. And boy do I fail hardcore at it. For some reason I can't seem to move the sword even halfway fast enough for the blocking and my strikes seem slow and sluggish. If my life depends on it I would rather grab my knife and just use that than go through the effort of spending years learning how to swing a metal rod around like a drunk bear. It is really hard to find a balance between speed, strength and balance and I have no clue where to start.

During that night I wake up from a thunderous sound. Like always I expect it is my master but when I get out of the barracks fully dressed in the uniform I don't see him anywhere. Looking around I see all the other Faceless standing there as well, all dressed. The thunderous sound keeps getting closer and soon the source comes into view. A giant red and orange, winged beast flies closer and closer to the village. I see the real hunters rush towards the archery towers to meet the attack with arrows. I cannot believe my eyes. The scene in front of me belongs to the legends. We are under attack. Attack from a dragon. Without a single thought I check my arrows and move towards the town. Maybe this is my chance to make a name for myself.

In the town it is chaos. Almost instantly the dragon belches out a flame setting the thatch roofs of several buildings on fire while the hunters shoot arrow after arrow. The dragon answers the threat by turning towards the arrow towers one by one and setting them on fire. All around me are the screams of the dying and the roar of fire. However, my focus is razor sharp. I knock an arrow on my bow and fire it to the dragon. Immediately after that I dive for cover. This must be the way to beat him. Just make sure he doesn't see me. Switching positions all the time. I run through the alleys to another position I can get a clear shot from. From behind a wall I shoot again. This time I wait just long enough to see my arrow hit the dragon at the hip, but not going through the armor. It isn't heavy enough it seems. I have to find a weak spot.

While running for my third position I notice a lone figure standing on a nearby hill, on the far side of the town. From my position I cannot see any weapons or armor, but the person seems to not be afraid. However, that point I realize I'm getting distracted. And that distraction is just enough. One of the burning building collapses, knocking my bow out of my hand in the process. I dive after my bow to retrieve it but when I pick it up I see the bow snapped in two. Then the horror reaches me. The building that just collapsed was an archery tower. The one with my master on top, who is badly injured. I rush over to him. 'Master, are you all right?'

He weakly holds his bow up. 'No... the beast has broken me... Finish the job... save the...'

When I softly grab the bow his fingers slip off. I guess it is up to me now. With newfound aggression I knock another arrow on and let it fly to the dragon. Now he does notice me and makes an attack run towards me...

Reynold

From the hilly crest I look at the village. When I heard the thunder of the dragon wings that wasn't from my own dragon I knew what time it was. The dragon of Emerald Mountain did indeed lost his mind. Well, it was to be expected. That stupid hunter that went in to kill the dragons only kid... what was the guy thinking? Now the entire village is paying the price for his insolence... a dragon does not forgive. A dragon doesn't forget. And this dragon does not let go unpunished. He is smart, sneaky and vicious. Cunning as well. He goes for the towers despite the arrows not hurting him.

While I'm looking at it I convey my observations to my dragon. I send him out to get some more Dragon Guards. While we cannot save this village as my dragon, Silvarius, is to small, we can make the dragon pay. However we can use all the information we can get on him and how he works, as even with dragons of your own catching or killing a dragon is a feat only few in history have ever accomplished. One I do not expect to accomplish myself especially as a Guard in training.

My thoughts return to the here and now when I see a single archer move through the burning village. Something is odd about him. Unlike the real hunters, who stay still when they fire, he moves around. Curious. I move my hand up and stroke my beard as I observe the hunter. He moves to gracious to be a true fully trained hunter. Those just blunder through the forrest and sneak up to their preys. No. This hunter dares stalk his prey. And he is relentless. He uses the buildings to conceal his position. When a tower collapses next to him I see him rush to the aid of another hunter who was standing on top of the tower. What is it? Compassion? I cannot tell from my distance. The fallen hunter seems to hand over something to the hunter before the hunter continues to attack the dragon with what seems more fury. The hunter is careless now and a flame nearly hits him. Well, when I say him...

The cape actually did get hit and catches fire. The hunter gets rid of it and I can see blond hairs dropping past her shoulder. It was a woman all along! Even after nearly getting killed she keeps fighting. This one has spirit! Soon her luck does run out. The fire burns through support posts of a building she uses as cover and the building collapses on top of her. Hmm... the oath of the dragon riders doesn't say we should protect every halfwit that dares to fight a dragon but this person... no. I cannot let her die. She was the last living soul in this village. If she is still alive I will have to save her. But not while the dragon is still here...