A month later, under a clear blue sky with the sun high overhead—Outside Whispering Hall, at the Thorn Legion's training ground.
Before Aemparo's astonished eyes, Gawen effortlessly drew the bowstring to its limit.
The longbow in his hands was a specially crafted weapon with a draw weight of roughly two hundred pounds.
Whsst!
The arrow Gawen loosed sliced through the air with a vicious hiss that made the scalp prickle and the heart pound.
Raina's eyes flew wide, her expression frozen in shock. Her mouth ford a perfect O, leaving her standing stiff as a wooden figurine.
Over the past month, Gawen had set aside ti every day for archery practice.
The body he had inherited already possessed excellent skill with the bow; combined with the steady, all-around improvent in his physical condition since crossing over, Gawen felt the day was drawing nearer when he would beco a true beyond-visual-range marksman.
This custom longbow had been made to his specifications by the craftsn—at two hundred pounds draw weight, it could deliver lethal force at up to three hundred ters. Beyond that, the arrow's penetration would drop off sharply.
After this shot, Gawen felt so of the deep-seated anxiety he held toward dragons ease.
He knew all too well how terrifying a dragon's fire would be in the years to co. The last thing he wanted was to see the soldiers he had painstakingly trained reduced to ash in a few breaths.
A thorough search of the Crabb family's lineage had confird they held no trace of Targaryen blood—there would be no taming of dragons for him.
And since he could not beco a dragonrider, he would have to beco a dragonslayer.
A rational Gawen would always try to avoid a direct clash between his legions and a dragon. But if that clash proved unavoidable, beyond the cumberso anti-dragon ballistae, he would be the most dangerous dragonslayer of all.
He could tolerate the existence of dragons—until they threatened him. Then, he would be ready to destroy them.
Preparations began now.
The carpenters would continue making bows with even greater draw weights. So long as he could wield them single-handedly with ease, the greater the power, the better.
Clap! Clap! Clap!Woooh!
Cheers and applause rose from the n for their lord's display of archery.
Gawen told the bowyer, "Make another of roughly the sa strength… and see if you can dress it up a bit."
The two-hundred-pound longbow would be his public weapon. Anything heavier would remain a private tool, practiced with in secret.
The standard Crabb longbows were too plain in appearance, and when Gawen traveled to King's Landing, he ant to bring a bow with him.
His personal longbow, without compromising performance, would be adorned—enough to look fine and noble.
Everything he used represented the face of House Crabb, and in a world where noble appearances mattered, it was easier to play along than to invite needless conflict.
He was preparing to contend for the realm; petty distractions had no place in his path.
Raina bounded over. "Lord! My lord! You were born with godlike strength!
"And—oh!—following your training thod, the sisters have all grown much stronger. Drawing the bow is easier for them now! Only I… haven't improved much."
"Raina, you need patience. You're still young—don't rush it. Besides, you're a commander now. Your voice carries far higher than others', which is a rare gift and a great help in leading troops."
In the Thorn Legion, Raina was easily the loudest voice. In a world where battles were driven by shouted orders, such a trait was a commander's weapon.
"Yes, my lord! Just watch—I'll work hard. United, we stand!"
Gawen smiled and nodded. "I'm watching. United, we stand."
Aemparo's voice cut across the training ground: "Raina! Form the ranks!"
Once Raina had gone, Aemparo approached.
"My lord, shall I arrange a place for you to rest?"
"No need. I'll be leaving shortly."
He patted her firmly on the upper arm. "You've done well. You've been diligent. Training soldiers is repetitive and tedious—you must grow used to it. Endure the tedium, and more of them will survive the battlefield."
"I have never forgotten, my lord, what you told us—sweat more in training, bleed less in war."
In their last battle, the Thorn Legion had made a na for itself. Building on that, they quickly recruited another 180 spear-won from the original domain, plus 200 more from among the captured mountain clanswon. Now the Legion stood at 500 strong.
As commander, Aemparo knew the next war—the reclamation of House Crabb's ancestral lands—was approaching. She drilled the Thorn Legion with unrelenting focus.
After the war, Gawen imdiately founded a new corps, this one composed mainly of n and ard with longbows as standard issue: the Crabb Longbow Corps.
From among his Crabb retainers, he chose several to serve as officers. The first levy brought their numbers to over a hundred.
The Longbow Corps would, in ti, encompass the widest swath of the populace. As the armory produced more longbows, nearly every able person in the domain would take longbow training as their second profession, serving as reservists for the corps.
Under Gawen's new laws, every subject of the Crabb lands was required to dedicate one day in every ten to longbow training. The content and standards of that training were precisely set out. Those absent, disobedient, or failing to et the mark would face penalties.
Every three months, Gawen planned to host an archery competition across the whole domain, with divisions for different skill levels and rich prizes to stoke enthusiasm.
This was his vision of an army of archers.
Alongside the Longbow Corps, Gawen established the Crabb Pike Corps, ard with three-ter pikes.
The Crabb household troops were loyal, battle-hardened veterans; Gawen made them his reserve officers.
The Pike Corps' commanders were likewise chosen personally from these n. After recruitnt and equipping, the corps numbered around two hundred.
With no warhorses in the domain, he could not yet form a cavalry, but the pike formations would serve to shield the archers in field battles—especially against cavalry charges.
With every other branch now accounted for, and with daily training and strict discipline, the Crabb army's overall strength continued to grow.
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