Moving Up the Ranks

As of last night, the average of my top 3 Royal Round scores is now above 80 -- shot an 86, 85, and 80 (all three being my top scores) so now I've moved up from Bowman (60-80 average if I recall correctly) to Master Bowman. I'm going to see if I can reach the coveted Grand Master Bowman, which is a 100 or above. Given the way a Royal Round is structured, that's a pretty tall order. There's 3 untimed rounds with 6 arrows and a maximum possible score of 30. The fourth round is a timed round and the most arrows I can shoot in 30 seconds is 9, which would make my theoretical maximum 45 points if I could even fit all those arrows in the bull's-eye. I'd have to average 25 points per round, which is a pretty tough goal with wood arrows but it's not out of the question. Who knows, maybe one day Trimaris will produce five or six Grand Master Bowmen!

I also got a personal high on my IKAC score -- 215. I've yet to beat Sir Erika's record high (250-something I think) but I think I might have a shot at it and maybe put a bit more of a dent on those guys from An Tir and Aethelmaerc. I also suspect that there's a core group of five or six of us from the An Croisaire barony will bump things up nicely for Trimaris...

More FAA State Championship Pictures

These are courtesy of one of my fellow shooters, there should be another few posts coming as pictures roll on in.

FAA State / NFAA Sectional Championship

As always, click on the title for the entire collection of photographs.
I shot at the FAA/NFAA State/Sectional Championship at Gator Bowmen this weekend and went uncontested in the adult female traditional division. My score was by far the lowest score out of anyone on the range and I had the slowest setup out of all the people there, but heck, that 571/1400 (224/560 field, 161/280 animal, 186/560 hunter) is going to be my tournament baseline. According to other shooters, it was a pretty strong score given that I (in their eyes) shot with every possible handicap: longbow, heavy hunting arrows, feathers in the rain, and shooting directly off the shelf. A lot of people did comment on me having a lot of courage for shooting what I shot and staying with the entire shoot. Overall it was a real blast and I'd happily shoot another field round with my longbow! Now if I can only get my other half to also appreciate these shoots...

Swan-Song FAQ 1/n et al

I really don't appreciate being woken up by the local yahoos making insane amounts of noise, not too different from what I sometimes hear the nights of football victories. I don't know what it is but some noises really, really, really make me wish I either could cast disintegration or lightning bolt or even magic missile, with disintegration being my first choice because of its more permanent effects. Heck, a sphere of annihilation wouldn't be too bad either, provided I have full control of the blasted thing. In any event, I'm up and am having trouble going back to sleep so time to do a few things.

First, click on the title or here for a really funny video that improved my mood a bit and reassured me that there's still some tasteful music out there. Don't know what it is, but rap, hip-hop, and a lot of jazz and lite rock make me think about the effects of Vogon potery on non-Vogons. Just to give you an idea of the video, it's a live performance of "Mein Teil" by Rammstein, which translates to "My Part" or "My Male Thingy".

On to the Swan-Song FAQ...

Q: Which stories should I have read before-hand, if any?
A: Definitely Family Secrets (in the Palindor section), but the other Dunheasa stories are also helpful, particularly The Lay of Imladrien and Tinuvion

Q: What the heck inspired this story?
A: Lots of things. The main sources though were D&D campaigns while I was still in SoCal and South Park. I also gave a bit of a nod to the Knights of Solamnia in the Dragonlance series as well as to a lot of hero-story stereotypes.

Q: Why so much flatulence in the story?
A: Because it's funny and amusing to write about.

Q: Will there be more Rusvalki and/or S'vartalf in future stories?
A: Nearly certain. They're too interesting for a one story appearance.

Q: When will the Crossroad get cleaned up?
A: I have no clue. It'll reveal itself when the time comes and no sooner.

I'll post a second one later on when I get more feedback and/or questions :) Hopefully now I can curl up happily and actually get some rest.

Draft 2 of Swan-Song

Click on the title of the post to see the second draft of Swan-Song. If that doesn't work, click here.

Basically I re-added a few parts I had omitted earlier to give a better sense of a couple of the characters as well as cleaning up some details. As always, the story will continue to evolve.

Gratuitous IKAC Pictures

These pictures are courtesy of Wurmund.
Wurmund and Sir Erika Bjornstottir on the line.

Aesa, Guenhwyvar (me), Jochi, and someone being obscured by Jochi (can't tell who) on the line. Aesa is the one closest to the photographer, Jochi is the furthest whole person visible, I'm in the middle.

Another shot of Aesa, Guenhwyvar, and Jochi.