How I despised the court’s dance, the performance that required a subtle balance of learned disdain, affected fragility, feminine manipulation, and false modesty. I had never mastered the art. Or rather, I never cared to try.
Excellent chapter! The old bitch with the upturned bucket headdress was a nice touch! I also like the way you describe the sweet spot for shooting an arrow being the point when all the horse’s feet would be in the air. That makes so much sense!
When you described her firing the arrow over her mount’s tail, it reminded me of a passage I once read in a book that I’ve long forgotten the title of. It was an explanation of the term “parting shot,” which everyone thinks derives from a final salvo someone makes before storming out of a room. Now the author of this forgotten book claimed that the term actually derives from the “Parthians” and it was originally a “Parthian shot” which was explained the exact same way you explained it here, when the rider turned around on his mount and fired over the mount’s tail. It’s depicted in a lot of ancient Parthian and Sassanian art. The writer went on to explain that the Persian calvary was lethal with this technique. They would surround the enemy on their horses and just keep circling as they fired their arrows.
Excellent chapter! The old bitch with the upturned bucket headdress was a nice touch! I also like the way you describe the sweet spot for shooting an arrow being the point when all the horse’s feet would be in the air. That makes so much sense!
When you described her firing the arrow over her mount’s tail, it reminded me of a passage I once read in a book that I’ve long forgotten the title of. It was an explanation of the term “parting shot,” which everyone thinks derives from a final salvo someone makes before storming out of a room. Now the author of this forgotten book claimed that the term actually derives from the “Parthians” and it was originally a “Parthian shot” which was explained the exact same way you explained it here, when the rider turned around on his mount and fired over the mount’s tail. It’s depicted in a lot of ancient Parthian and Sassanian art. The writer went on to explain that the Persian calvary was lethal with this technique. They would surround the enemy on their horses and just keep circling as they fired their arrows.