Back at the mud hut the girls seem impressed that I managed to kill a fully grown wyvern. I mention that it was kind of easy, it wasn't very tough. Nothing like other fights I have had. The old elf quickly corrects me. "If you had not hit the nerves near the shoulder it would have continued on its way ignoring you looking for a weaker target. The same would have happened if you had not attacked it soon enough when it hit the ground. It would have gotten up and taken to the air in moments if you delayed."

I got too much respect for the old elf to try to disagree with him, and I guess I should be grateful he is keeping me humble. Too many hunter die because they overestimate their own abilities. "You should join the next wyvern culling." Nadi seems to have ignored the elf's critic of my bravado. "The guild is always looking for capable hunters who can both kill a grown wyvern and use a bow. It is not common to be able to do both." Nadi provides an interesting bit of information. Am I really that unusual? True, most hunters specialize in some form, but surely a higher ranked archers would be able to handle a close quarter combat weapon with adequate skill.

I leave my questions unanswered as the girls have moved on to plan the coming days. The mud hut will be our base and the elves will stay with us until the old elf is in good shape. Come to think of it his injury must be why he wasn't able to keep up with me, but he still managed to catch up pretty quickly. "Are you sure you are still injured?" The old elf smiles thanks to you and your wife's basic healing magic I am about half way there, but my strength is only about half of what it was before my injury." Really? There must be more to it. My analyze skill reveals what I suspect. The old elf has the same regeneration skill as me.

"Well, don't let Nadi delay your recovery." The old elf looks lost for words for once, and I leave with the girls before he can recover. From her last stay here Kira knows all the best foraging places near my hut. While Nadi, Rin and Kira forage I go hunting. I hunt much more efficiently alone, as I can move quicker and I worry less about the safety of the girls. I guess I always worry a bit, but I trust Nadi to tank any opponent until I can get back to help.

Towards evening after a very successful hunt I head back to the girls. As I see Kira in the distance I can feel my lust flaring up. We did get interrupted last night and I suspect the young female elf will not want to be staying with her mentor if Nadi pays him a visit tonight. Kira meets me, looks at me knowingly and drags me off to a rocky hilltop not unlike the one I shot the wyvern from. I am starting to get used to the way Kira seems to read my mind.

As we lay naked on the rocky surface looking up at the sky, I notice the sun is finally gone. I barely noticed the sunset while we were undressing, but I am noticing the clear sky now. I didn't see much of the night sky when I first got to this world. I was mostly hiding the trees and leaves blocked my vision. With my limited knowledge of star signs and astronomy, I would not have seen anything out of the ordinary. One moon not unlike the one I grew up with. The rest of the sky is covered with stars. Unlike modern artificial light sources, the florescent flora does not seem to affect the visibility of the stars. The sky is littered with small lights.

Kira tells me about star signs. I guess that is a thing here as well. Looking at the sky and wondering what the spots of light might be. Imagining lines between clusters of them to take the shapes of creatures, items or imaginary characters. We head back to the hut together. Nadi is nowhere to be seen and Rin is busy making friends with the young female elf. Don't injury the old elf Nadi. I still want to learn more from him.

The next morning I wake up to a strange sound. The old elf singing. All the words are lost to me, but like a sixth sense I feel something else. A nearby branch is changing, and not naturally. It moves and expands as if all the cells in the branch move and twist. The dead outer bark cracks and falls away giving way to fluid living layer. The branch stops twisting, but starts to take shape. Clearly the shape the elf is looking for. His song continues monotonously, but with intricate detail it seems to guide the magic he is using to bend the branch to his will.

Eventually the branch has formed into a bow. It has stopped visibly moving, but inside the branch I can sense more changes taking place. Not just the outer appearance is being molded into a bow, but the inner structure is changing to optimize the effect of the bow. As an expert bow maker myself I can tell that this will be a true amazing bow. If only I could learn this magic. No doubt the song is instrumental.

"Would you like to learn?" The old elf has clearly seen my interest. "Can I?" I genuine doubt I will be able to pick up the complex song he has just finished. "Who knows, I have never heard of a human mastering elven magic songs." Sounds like a challenge worth trying.

The next days I spend mornings and evenings trying to learn the elf's tree singing. The days are spent hunting all the animals that have settled near the lake in my months of absence. The day before we plan to leave I have achieved a very basic grasp of elvish, but the song is still far beyond my reach. My frustration is growing. Elven way of things is not something that can be rushed and I am already spoiled by how quickly I am learning everything else.

I have studied every bow made by the elf. All excellent quality. Just the right level of resistance and toughness. Their draw strength is nothing to scoff at. Every time I can sense the elf's mana shaping the living wood, but the song is still a mystery. "It is not surprising that you struggle with the song, the song is old elvish and can be difficult for even elves to learn." Now you tell me.

In frustration I send my mana into the branch currently being shaped by the elf. I half expect the elf to tell me off. My mana is likely to upset his work as the only thing that can influence mana is other mana. My mana shadows his inside the piece of wood. Suddenly the elf's mana is gone. "Try continuing my work." I guess the elf realized how desperate I am to find a shortcut. He does not seem confident that I will succeed, but he still gives up completing his latest bow and lets me try.

I still remember the feeling of the mana flows and try to replicate them with my own mana. The wood responds. Despite not using the elvish song I am bending and shaping the wood. The only problem is that I don't know what to do next. The song acts as a manual for how to make a bow. Even if I can now influence the wood I lack the instructions. I guess I will have the learn as I go along.

Unsurprisingly my first bow snaps when I try to bend it. I resolve to dedicate time to experiment with how to make a good bow. In time I might be able to make something as good as the elf, but without the song it will take me some time to get there. Finally a challenge without a quick resolution.