Creating a Bow Too Powerful To Use

It's amazing when you see Railius Aurellion in battle these days.

The precise orders, the almost legendary skill at arms, the schemes and strategies that even the most influential and talented people cannot see through.

It was not always this way.

I still remember how he struggled to swing a sword at first.

How he tried his best to escape his tutors only to fail again and again.

How people laughed at him when he first drew his bow.

How he became the legendary general and hero who alone could hold a nation together.

Jordis Mantelon, successor to the Grandmaster of Loyalty and 4th wing of Athurus.

…..

Thunk!

A sharp steel arrow whizzed through the air like a rocket, hitting a tree 70 meters to the left of the intended target.

While it was not a particularly wooded area like the great forests that dominate the east of the southern continent or the Kingdom of Nathia, it did not mean that there were no woods in other areas. It's just that compared to the other much larger forests and jungles of the world, they were truly too small.

The part of the road where Railius was travelling was in one of these small forests that would usually only appear on local maps compared to the maps that show the entire expanse of a nation's border.

Railius sighed when he saw where the arrow had struck. Even the freshly fired ironwood bow seemed to be laughing at him for his lack of skill as he suppressed the urge to snap it, not that he could with his strength alone, for this was one of the strongest woods in the game, but Norfaelor with his inhuman size and strength could have a good crack at it.

Before leaving Detarnor with his friends to set up his company, Railius made sure to take his custom weapons with him even if he could not take his customised armour as its ornate and opulent look would scream his true identity to everyone as soon as he wore it which at the moment was not something the exiled Chavarian noble wanted.

Compared to his weapons, which were some of the best available to the current player base and could even be comparable to those of the powerful landed nobility, the young lord of Aurellion could only despair slightly when he looked at the stats of the light mail that he now wore which was nowhere near as comfortable or form-fitting as the armour made specially for him.

….

Generic Light Mail:

Description: Providing more protection than leather, light mail is a popular choice amongst up-and-coming mercenaries or ranged units serving in a lord's or country's army due to its lightness and cheap cost to manufacture. It allows the wearer to be somewhat protected from attacks while still maintaining their moveability, which can be compromised by wearing heavier and more protective armour.

The armour comprises a light mail shirt to protect the body and a pair of mail chaussures for the feet; leather gloves provide a small amount of protection for the hands; however, unlike armour of better quality, there were no pauldrons or special guards for the knees or elbows that are common amongst high cost and quality armours.

Defence: 25

Special Features: none.

….

Compared to Railius' customised armour, which has a defence of 50-60, being stronger than even the customised armour worn by Lucius during his extended military career, this set of armour can only be seen as inferior trash to Railius, who, even when playing strategy games on the computer preferred to have an elite and well-equipped force than a bunch of peasants who had never held a weapon in their lives. Only dwarven-made specialised armour or weapons were better or more expensive than the gear on Railius and his Pelican Guards, which already cost much more than most units, making them far more deadly than most when combined with Leon's meticulous training and the main reason why they can go up against the renowned Chavarian imperial guards and win.

Even with professional armies becoming more common in Dynasties Online, their high cost has led to militia still being used, especially in defensive situations where they are more motivated to protect their homes.

Some lords who have a large number of hunters in their realm, like the lords of old, use them as archers on the battlefield as their use of the bow in their civilian job means they have a basic expertise with the weapon outclassing at times even the professional archers of others who have less experience traversing or firing in the woods and with objects in the way.

"Remind me never to be in your line of sight when you fire a bow captain."

"I don't fancy becoming a porcupine before I have even experienced the comfort a woman has to offer."

Vegrif, the young 16-year-old said only half-jokingly when he saw his lord's abysmal marksmanship make the young lord's shot go way wide of its intended target.

"Yeah, stick to the sword when we're in battle my lord, okay? Far less chance of us ending up as collateral damage as a result of your efforts."

"We even had to put the training cart at the front of our small caravan because you nearly killed Declan by accident with your first shot."

Norfaelor said, adding insult to injury and stifling a laugh when he remembered the old man's reaction to nearly being skewered by one of Railius' errant arrows and cursed at Railius for a good hour afterwards, saying the young lord didn't need to go too far if he wanted the old man dead.

The training cart was an idea that Railius came up with on his ride to the Nathian capital of Narthonia as a way to not only train up some of his appalling combat skills while travelling but also as a way to keep himself occupied on his long travels with the caravan which would likely last for at least a year of in-game time as there were no radios, phones or other modern devices to entertain you on a long journey.

A target was attached to a moving cart that led the caravan. The other carts, of which there were three were left over from Railius bringing the wine from Detarnor, were now filled with goods to be traded in the kingdom's south as there were some things that could only be found in the royal capital that would draw the ire of people throughout the kingdom even nobles and will provide a nice profit if not as big as trading internationally.

The only comfort for the young noble was that apart from Declan and his family, only the loyal Pelican Protectors were around to see his terrible mounted archery, preventing him from becoming a public disgrace, not that Railius was especially known for his skill at arms in or had any fame for martial skill in the first place.

Railius did not participate in any active part of the business's affairs; instead, he only acted as a bodyguard for Kaila as she picked out one thing after another and ensured that she was not embezzling any of his funds. Luckily, she was accompanied by her father, who helped ensure she was not scammed and got only goods that he knew would sell well in the south of the kingdom.

Railius had no high expectations of her in the first few years she spent doing business, as he knew she needed to gain experience before being able to turn a large profit. The only thing she would have is a book where Declan noted his own experience of trading throughout the world, giving her a basic guidebook which the loving father had been writing since deciding that he would stay with Alice Kaila's sister in Detarnor to bring her up in peace there.

Railius also had Kaila contact some of her mother's old loyal subordinates to see if they wanted to help her out, which would not only help to cement her power over the company but give Railius a batch of talented, trustworthy people for his business as long as he can keep the loyalty of the young girl of which Railius was confident of doing at least in the short term.

Later, he would send some of the talented children learning from Malwin into the company to ensure that if Kailia ever wanted to part ways with him and set up her own thing, Railius would have a replacement for her. This was all in an effort to distance himself as much as possible from the company; however, once Leon's identity is inevitably exposed to the world, keeping the connection between Quintens Quality Wares and House Aurellion a secret will be much more challenging.

It would be fine if people forgot about Quinten, but some would remember that Quinten came with Leon under his guardianship into Nathia and that his age suspiciously aligns well with Railius', and from there, only a person with room temperature IQ would be unable to see the connection between this company's founder and the lord of House Aurellion.

The only thing Railius could do was try to minimize his overt interactions with them, hoping that, in the end, people only remember Kailia and not Quinten as the true owner of the company, and try to keep the secret for as long as possible.

This was the problem with lies and false identities, as the truth usually emerges sooner or later. All one needs to do is follow the trail that is inevitably left for them to find out the truth behind Quinten and the fact that he was actually the lord of House Aurellion in disguise.

While Vegrif and Norfaelor were enjoying watching Railius fail and laughing at his feeble attempts at archery, Jordis remained vigilant and ever watchful of his surroundings as Railius had stressed time and time again for them to be on guard against retaliation from Declan's family as the cunning young player predicted that they would be attacked on the road by some mercenaries disguising themselves as bandits.

Currently, ten armed men openly accompany the caravan alongside Declan's family, with many more in hiding or close by them, ready to jump in and help Railius in any conflict he comes across at a moment's notice.

Amongst these people was Aldorus, entrusted by the Grand Commander of the Pelican Guards, Leon Mantelon, to protect their young lord in his absence and was there to stop any skilled expert from killing Railius, even grandmasters as he had been taught a tactic specialised to deal with these world-class powerhouses alongside the Pelican Protectors and 100 Pelican Guards this will be increased once they travel outside of Nathia as House Aurellion has set up a strong support network within the Kingdom of Nathia where they can get reinforcements if necessary which was not present in other DO nations.

If it were an emergency, then Darius and Sigismond's Security service, consisting of most of Railius's current military power, would take action and help out.

Railius has decided to take up a new façade as the captain of a newly created small band of mercenaries whose first job was to be hired by Kalia to defend the caravan, a rather elaborate setup designed to allow Railius and his friends to accompany the caravan while keeping their identities secret. The others who made up the 10 were five raw Pelican Guard recruits whom Railius hoped to bloody and gain experience led by a veteran to look after them and guide them during the chaos of battle.

Except for Reginald, the player behind Railius, who had personally fought and nearly died at the Battle of Brunag, the veteran and Norfaelor, who beat up the thugs while they were staying in the royal capital of Narthonia. None of them had any real life-and-death battle experience, so they would gain much, even from minor skirmishes like this, where their lives would be in danger and get them used to killing people, something they would inevitably have to do as soldiers in service to House Aurellion so the quicker they could overcome any sort of guilt the better.

Though to call Norfaelor's beatdown of the thugs a battle was stretching the definition of a battle a little too much for Railius, who did not see it as a battle and more of a one-sided slaughter.

Even now, when Railius thought back to that time, he could still hear the loud shriek of pain of an unfortunate thug who had his spine broken by the overeager half-elf giant, making Railius shudder as he imagined each bone cracking one by one.

Without serious care and a very skilled magical healer who knows a thing or two about the anatomy of the human body and able to repair and reconnect the bones, the poor lad will be paralysed for life, which in a crime-ridden place like Depravia is no different from a death sentence.

"What are you two laughing at? Do you want to have a go?"

Railius asked, offering his two laughing friends the mighty ironwood bow that lay loosely in his hands to them. The quiver of arrows was attached to the right side of his saddle, ready for anyone to take and use them.

"No, my lord. How could we dare to interrupt you when you are training so diligently for once in your life?"

Honestly, I'm starting to wonder if you are the same lazy lord I have known for the past eight years."

"Is there something wrong? Did you suddenly get blessed by the god of diligence?"

Vegrif said, maintaining a semi-serious tone, knowing how rare it was for Railius to be so committed to training as neither man took the bow, knowing that their own skill with the bow was just as bad as Railius' as even Jordis, the best fighter amongst the four friends, would not be any better as he focused more on his close combat abilities than his ranged capabilities, and so would embarrass themselves as much as Railius was.

The only difference between them and Railius is that they would struggle less to draw the great Ironwood bow back, and so, would be slightly less shaky when they shot.

'Note to self. Get a shitter bow to practice with, as this customised one is just too hard to draw back!'

Railius complained internally as he once again strained his muscles to draw the bow back, aiming the shaking mighty weapon at his target, strain and pain shooting through his entire body.

The result?

Well, it is precisely what you would expect from a beginner shooting his few shots from horseback.

To say that it was a miss was an understatement. The arrow once again flew way off the mark, hitting a wooden sign that informed them that they were entering the lands of the Duke of Detarnor, which was a good 50 meters wide of his intended target.

"Well, at least I hit something."

Railius said, sighing as he put the bow back into its sheath, which was a long leather bag attached to the back of his large warhorse's saddle, making sure to take his future warhorse on his travels so that he could build a strong bond with it that may save his life one day in the future as animals can be very loyal if the relationship was built correctly. After a few days of practising on the road from the Nathian royal capital Railius knew that he would learn little with his ironwood bow when it took him a monumental effort just to draw the damn thing.

'May make for a good way to train up my arm strength, though.'

Railius thought, trying to console himself, as with every catastrophe that happened, there is usually a silver lining somewhere, deciding that he would test that later as attributes are the foundation of any character as when two men are equally skilled, it is usually the attributes that decide victory over anything else.

There were many reasons why Railius' skill with the bow was so poor. The first is that apart from a few times during scouts back in the real world, he had never really done archery, so his experience with the weapon, especially on horseback, was nearly non-existent and unlike his swordsmanship skill, which was at the intermediate level and only needed him to get battle experience to unlock some active skills his archery skill which has not even been created yet and gave him no such advantages.

Skills in Dynasties Online must be gained from experience, much like in the real world, where one practices for years to learn how to read and write legibly. The skills in DO were similar. You, of course, could try something without having the skill, but expecting any sort of successful results is nothing short of delusion.

It must be remembered that without unlocking his powerful active skills and upgrading his swordsmanship to a more specialised and unique style, Railius would have struggled to beat even one of the young disciples of Leon in the tournament that he fought as only those with a higher skill level usually have experience dealing with Railius more analytical style. So many of his victories were because the students in the dojo had little experience dealing with a specialised sword style like Railius.'

The second reason is that his ironwood bow is a mighty weapon, even able to pierce plate if the right arrow was used. The magic runes meticulously carved into the bow's ribs, when not suppressed by anti-magic crystals, can even increase the range and power of the bow many times over. The cost of this power was that the bow required great strength to use effectively, with Norfaelor being the only one amongst them who was not a veteran from House Aurellions Chavarian days able to draw it with few problems.

Railius never expected to use his starter kit to create such a powerful bow, one he couldn't even use in the early game as he looked at its stats.

....

Railius' Customised Ironwood Bow:

Recommended Requirements for use: 

10 Strength 

Archery skill, at least at the intermediate level.

Description: A customised Ironwood bow made for the young lord of House Aurellion, it is made of the strongest wood known to the world and is a weapon of the finest quality, able to bend easily while still maintaining a domineering strength. Along its ribs are runes to increase its strength when Antimagic Crystals are not present, and it is light and compact, perfect for use from horseback; however, to allow it to have its devastating power, the strength required to use and draw the bow is very high. 

Damage: 50 

Special Features: 

Wind Rune (Active): Spend 5 mana to imbue your arrow with the wind rune, increasing your attack's speed and damage by 50%.

This feature can only be used if magic is not suppressed by one means or another. 

Fire Rune(Passive): You may use the fire rune to create a fire arrow without the use of outside substances. Each arrow costs 1 mana to turn into a fire arrow and deals 5 points of extra fire damage to the target.

The wielder of this weapon may turn this rune on and off as they wish, but by default, it is always on.

This feature can only be used if magic is not suppressed by one means or another. 

Darkness Rune (Active): You may use the Darkness Rune to fire a stealthy arrow that is hard to sense and see by manipulating the light, you can turn it invisible to all except for yourself.

Those who are above the master rank will be able to sense attacks imbued by this rune unless they are distracted. 

This feature can only be used if magic is not suppressed by one means or another. 

....

In Dynasties Online, you could, in theory, use any weapon even if you don't meet its recommended requirements, but it would be like someone who had never fired a machine gun before and didn't have the strength to deal with the recoil trying to kill an enemy something that is not likely to happen as the weapon will spray bullets everywhere likely even killing your allies which is why it is best for you to keep to weapons that you can use even if they are worse as a powerful weapon that can't hit anything is useless anyway.