The Golden Arrow Archers
By: Brandon Lin
There was a 15 year-old boy named Snipe. His skills with a bow were incredible. He could shoot a moving mouse or cut a thin silk strand. He could even do both of these from over 40 feet away. Last winter, his dad died from drinking a sip of poisonous water. It was really sad and heartbreaking to watch his dad slowly pass away. He was one of several people who died from that water last year. After his dad’s death, he received his dad’s special hunting bow.
Right now, Snipe was out hunting for game with his father’s bow to feed his tribe, The Golden Arrow Archers. So far, all he had found was a small skinny rabbit that was also trying finding food in the cool, windy breeze of autumn. Suddenly, at the exact moment he was thinking everything had already started hibernating, a big boar came out from right behind a tree. The boar charged straight towards Snipe, but quicker than lightning, he shot the boar in the head with a killing blow. As Snipe was walking back with his kills, he met his younger brother, Catch. Catch was setting out traps to snare some game like Snipe. Snipe and Catch were both very competitive boys and liked to see who could get more game. Today, Catch won.
Back at the village, both boys cooked the food that they caught along with what the others caught. When the meat was fully cooked, the two boys shared the food among the villagers which included their mother and younger sister. Their mother was named Sharp, and their sister was named Sip. They took care of their small wooden shelter at the edge of the village. While Snipe and Catch ate, they watched the younger kids battle with fake wooden swords and skip rocks on the small pond. One kid was especially good at using his blade. He was quick and agile. He blocked. He attacked. He was everywhere.
Later, the two boys talked to two neighbors about the poisonous water supply. Snipe said, “We need to move from this poisonous area.” One neighbor responded by saying, “But we have stayed here for decades. Nobody will want to have to leave.” The other neighbor commented to the first neighbor, “It would also be hard for the elderly to travel.” Catch, who was on Sharp’s side argued, “Soon none of us will be free from the chains of poison if we stay.” They continued arguing from one reason to the next and having more people join in on the argument. Finally, everyone agreed to leave.
In the next few days, everyone had packed up everything they could possibly carry including several days of food, clothes, and memories of the past. As they were about to leave, there was a wave of wonder that spread through the group of people on where they would go. Snipe remembered passing a nice flat plain near a lake that was about 100 miles west from here. Snipe, as one of the leaders of The Golden Arrow Archers, suggested this idea to the others. Since there was no better idea, everyone agreed.
As they headed off to that new mysterious plain, they were confronted by a big bear. There were good and bad things about this news. As for the good news, the bear would replenish their food supply if they killed it, but the bad news was that the bear might kill some of their people. Since everyone was starving and they were running really low on food, the group decided they would confront the bear with five experienced hunters. This would allow them to shoot the bear without anyone having to get too close, until one of the kids who didn’t know the plan decided to charge forward to touch the “fluffy” bear.
Snipe went into action. He had to save this helpless kid from death. As he raced forward, the bear got angered when the kid got too near. At the reaction of the bear, Snipe fired an arrow at the huge bear. The arrow soared through the air piercing the skin of the bear but only making it angrier. The four other archers also responded to Snipe’s charge and fired at the bear. Those arrows only harmlessly bounced off the skin of the bear since they were too far away. Snipe only had few more seconds to stop the ferocious bear. He grabbed another arrow, pulled back his string, and fired at the bear with all his strength. Everyone watched this arrow soar through the air, and then at the end there was a loud roar. The bear’s painful roar gave light to the success of the sharp arrow.
Then, the bear fell over onto the kid. All the people were in shock thinking, “Was the little kid okay?” Snipe rushed over and tried to push the huge bear off the tiny kid, but it was too heavy. Others helped. When they finally got the bear off the kid, the kid had a major concussion and a lot of bruises. Snipe realized that this was the kid who was extremely good at sword fighting. The kid’s name was Sky, and he was eight years old. When Sky’s mother came, she was so grateful. She was telling the leaders how this was her last family member left after the wave of poison. The leaders of The Golden Arrow Archers gave a lecture to her about keeping an eye on her kid. Everyone kept asking two questions to Sky for the rest of the day. They were “Are you okay?” and “Why in the world did you do that?” Sky always responded with a “Yes” or “I was starving” or “It was fluffy”.
Several days later, they met a tribe called the Invincible Tribe. They were a violent tribe known by all nearby tribes. The Golden Arrow Archers needed to get through the Invincible Tribe’s territory to get to their destination, but the Invincible Tribe would not let them through. The Golden Arrow Archers could not go around because the Invincible Tribe’s territory stretched for miles in both direction and everybody was already weary from travel. They also could not go back. They had come too far and could not go back to the poisonous water from the river.
Snipe decided to have a meeting with the Invincible Tribe’s neighbor called the Gentle Warriors. The Gentle Warriors were really annoyed by the constant attacks from the Invincible Tribe. They talked about the matter for hours. When they finished, they came up with a solution to either talk it out with the Invincible Tribe or go to war. The Golden Arrow Archers had lots of skilled fighters including several archers and swordsmen. They met with the Invincible Tribe. The three tribes argued and argued until it ended with the Invincible Tribe refusing to let The Golden Arrow Archers through and rejecting the Gentle Warriors’ demands to stop the attacks on their territory.
The battle started on a simple snowy day. Each tribe brought about thirty warriors each, but since The Golden Arrow Archers and the Gentle Warriors were allies, the Invincible Tribe was at a huge disadvantage. Snipe, holding his father’s bow, watched the battle start. As swordsmen from all tribes clashed, Snipe shot arrows at the opposing warriors striking flesh. In the fierce battle, Catch and young Sky fought side by side protecting each other from the swinging blades. It was chaos.
When the battle was winding to an end, Snipe noticed a huge warrior from the Invincible Tribe charge at his brother. The huge warrior had noticed Catch’s killing streak. Snipe did not want to watch another family member die so with his father’s bow Snipe fired an arrow at the incoming warrior. The arrow just bounced off leaving the warrior unhurt. Snipe realized that the huge warrior must be wearing a rare piece of armor. This must be why the Gentle Warriors usually lose to the Invincible Tribe.
Sky, however, was right next to Catch and blocked the huge warrior’s attack. The powerful attack was too intense for the young boy and knocked him into a tall oak tree, but this allowed Catch to finish off the guy he was fighting and swing at the huge warrior causing him to fall in pain. The fall left a patch of bare skin open for Snipe and the other archers to shoot and make a deadly strike. The battle only continued for a few more quick minutes until the last of the Invincible Tribe’s warriors were killed. Both The Golden Arrow Archers and their allies only lost about 15 warriors all together.
In the end, the Invincible Tribe surrendered. They were forced to give a lot of their territory to the Gentle Warriors. Later, Snipe found Sky’s mother crying next to Sky’s limp body and a huge puddle of blood. “The hit against the tree must have caused Sky’s head to swell up and bleed until he died of blood loss,” thought Snipe. Everyone from The Golden Arrow Archers tribe thanked Sky and the rest who died for their sacrifice. The leaders of The Golden Arrow Archers asked the Gentle Warriors if there was a place nearby to settle so both tribes could stay together and protect each other. The Gentle Warriors’ leaders said, “Yes.” The Golden Arrow Archers settled there, and the two tribes have protected each other ever since.