Sunday Archery

---->New Weapon>
Hehehe. We've acquired a new skill! That of an archer.

Our love for the medieval era was born in elementary school. We were fascinated by the simple life they had. We envied, and still do envy the ease at how they lived. There was always work to be done, skills to harness, and royalty to impress. It was up to oneself to hone their talents. Our hands were moreso relied on than our brains. School wasn't required to make a living. Perhaps apprenticeships were a way of learning, but still, qualifications were more often proven than written... At least, that's how we've dreamt of it.

When we were less than 10, our eyes glittered at the sight of combat weapons. Especially swords. That is still our weapon of choice. However, we were also intrigued by bows. We saw a silver and black toy one. We still remember the day that our father bought it for us, and the bargains we had to plea. We think that we offered to practice the piano more. Ah, how we detested practicing the piano back then... But our want was greater than our detest. That's how we were able to attain it. Although it was a toy, it was fun. We were able to add a little bit of reality to our imaginations; our world of joy and laughter. We find the most comfort in our dreams... But moreso in knowing that there are others that wish to share and partake in the same adventure.

Now that we think about it... We always played those kinds of games with our friends. It was always 1+1 roleplaying though. We don't remember a time when we roleplayed in a group. We enjoyed being with just one other person the best. We still do. There would always be some kind of quest for us and our roleplay companions to venture on; obstacles to overcome. Solving problems was fun, especially when it involved jumping over pits of sand and fire, crawling between boulders, climbing up vines and swimming into underwater caves.

Our basement was small, and the arrows were flimsy in the wind... So we were never able to draw out its full potential. Bwah, the item was shortlived either way. It broke because we drew the string too hard... But the memories of joy still remain. Actually, we may still have remenants of its arrows somewhere though... Hmm... We shall look for it.

Ah... So that brings us to today. We were using loaner gear; wooden bows and arrows. None of the fancy metal, plastic or fibreglass stuff. It's generally not allowed anyways. The goal set by all is to try and be as medieval as possible. We were definitely down to the basics... But at least our shots flew in the direction we wanted, and even hit the targets a fair amount of times. =) We are definitely excited for the next time!

What's more, is that we made friends. =) The archery was all free, thanks to the Medieval Society at our university. The correct term is actually: The Society for Creative Anachronism. Ben Dunfirth is the name that represents the Hamilton and Brant county. We reside within the kingdom of Ealdormere.
"The Kingdom of Ealdormere is comprised of many diverse groups over a large geographic location. We are comprised of most of Ontario, Canada, with the exceptions of Essex County (Windsor) and Thunder Bay." - sca.org

Ah, so we fletched for about 2-3 hours. We were given a quick lesson and pointers. Archery really isn't hard to learn... It's the aiming that one must to practice on, and one definitely needs to build up strength to use certain kinds of bows. We only used a shortbow, but we witnessed others use longbows and crossbows. Around 5 pm we ceased to feast. We ate at a British pub, Winchester Arms. Personally, we ordered the special of the day: a hearty Roast Beef dinner. It complemented our medieval activities well. Yum. There was enough left over for another meal; we definitely packed that home. Hehe. We'd have definitely made more of an effort to come out last year, if we had known that it was to be so much fun. Overall, it was an excellent day. Our souls were highly satisfied.

---->Links>
Society of Creative Anachronism: http://www.sca.org/