at a marker indicating the range he or she was shooting at. Sasha saw Elves firing rounds at speeds she never before thought possible. she didn’t even see the arrows fly down the range. In one instant an Elf was drawing the bow and in the next the arrow was somewhere far down range, sticking out of a target.
Legon was standing in front of a sign that read “One hundred yards.” he knocked an arrow and drew back, then hesitated and spoke.
“Iselin, is this the right bow? I can shoot a 200 pounder, I promise.”
She chuckled. “I would hope so. remember, you’re stronger now and I’ve been doing research on humans that translates into Elves.”
“What have you found out?” Sasha asked. she was curious; there were only a few documented cases in history of humans becoming Elves.
“Well there’s not a lot, but one thing that I have figured out is that your translation continues for a few weeks,” Iselin said.
“What do you mean?” Legon asked, dropping the bow to his side.
“Well, when you first changed, Keither said he picked you up and you were around 110 pounds, which is average for Elves. We just don’t need the muscle mass humans do.”
“Ok…”
“But here’s the thing: you are much, much larger than most, if not all, Elves,” Iselin went on.
“I don’t know. I seem to be pretty average,” Legon said.
“Your height is average, but not your muscle mass. you see, the only documented people who have changed said that they kept all their muscle mass but they weighed less. this doesn’t make any sense.”
Sasha thought she knew where this was going.
“These people reported that they continued to gain weight after they changed until they were closer to their old weight,” Iselin explained.
“But Arkin said that you Elves were made of different stuff than humans,” Sasha remarked.
“We are, and it is more lightweight, but Legon was very large before and it’s safe to assume that his weight will go up to 160 or 170 before long, and his strength should follow close behind.”
“160 isn’t that heavy for me,” Legon said.
“But it is for an Elf. you will be able to overpower any Elves and Iumenta you fight. they may be faster, but you will always be stronger, which is a big help in magic.”
“How big?” Legon asked.
“Big enough that you may never test your strength enough to ascend,” Iselin said.
Legon shook his head. “Ok, I don’t want to think about this now. Can I get a real bow please?”
Sasha started when she heard Sydin start to talk. she hadn’t even noticed him enter the room. he sounded amused. “Legon, she’s saying you’re stronger now. That bow is close to seven hundred pounds. It just doesn’t feel that way. you don’t know your strength yet.”
“It’s what?” Legon said
“Here, give it to Sasha. if it’s a hunting bow then she will be able to fire it without issue,” Sydin said.
Legon gave her the bow. if Legon said it was a hunting bow then that’s what it was. It was light. There was no way it was 700 pounds. she knocked an arrow and tried to pull back. The string didn’t move. she pulled harder. Nothing. It was 700 pounds. She felt her jaw drop.
“So, Sasha?” Iselin asked, smiling.
Sasha handed Legon the bow. “It’s 700 pounds.”
Sydin spoke to Legon. “Come, Un Prosa. I wish to test you myself. Iselin, if you will, Sasha.”
“Of course. Sasha, come with me; we will need to change before we begin,” Iselin said, gesturing her to follow.
Sasha felt trepidation at this but followed Iselin anyway. They changed into pants and regular shoes. Iselin took her to a large room which she had requested be stocked with weapons. Iselin asked Sasha if she remembered to bring her Faloon.
“No, I’m sorry. I didn’t know I needed it,” Sasha said.
“That’s fine, we have others.” Iselin walked to a bench and picked up two swords, handing one to Sasha.
“Ise, there’s no way I can beat you. I’m terrible at this.” Sasha felt embarrassed. she saw Iselin as a friend and she didn’t want to look like a fool in front of her. She saw how fast Legon was, and even with magic she was no match.
Iselin spoke gently. “Sash, I’m not trying to embarrass you. This is just to see where you are at. don’t try and use magic; it won’t help you.”
* * * * *
Iselin took in Sasha’s stance, studying her and feeling bad. this one was so kind and gentle; the last