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Prologue

“Tetsuya”

The boy looked at the stranger, startled

“No one in this city has ever seen Tetsuya holding a bow,” he replied “Everyone here knows him as a carpenter”

“Maybe he gave up, e, that doesn’t er “But he cannot be considered to be the best archer in the country if he has abandoned his art That’s why I’ve been traveling all these days, in order to challenge hier deserves”

The boy saw there was no point in arguing; it was best to take the man to the carpenter’s shop so that he could see with his own eyes that he was mistaken

Tetsuya was in the workshop at the back of his house He turned to see who had co that the stranger was carrying

“It’s exactly what you think it is,” said the new arrival “I did not come here to huend I would simply like to prove that, after all ed to reach perfection”

Tetsuya s on a table

“A eneration cannot just disappear as you did,” the stranger went on “I followed your teachings, I tried to respect the way of the bow, and I deserve to have you watch o away and I will never tell anyone where to find the greatest of all masters”

The stranger drew frorip slightly below center He bowed to Tetsuya, went out into the garden, and bowed again toward a particular place Then he took out an arrow fletched with eagle feathers, stood with his legs firround, so as to have a solid base for shooting, and with one hand brought the bow in front of his face, while with the other he positioned the arrow

The boy watched with aand was observing the stranger with some curiosity

With the arrow fixed to the bowstring, the stranger raised the bow so that it was level with the middle of his chest He lifted it above his head and, as he slowly lowered his hands again, began to draw the string back

By the time the arroas level with his face, the boas fully drawn For a moment that seemed to last an eternity, archer and bow re at the place where the arroas pointing, but could see nothing

Suddenly, the hand on the string opened, the hand was pushed backward, the bow in the other hand described a graceful arc, and the arrow disappeared from view only to reappear in the distance

“Go and fetch it,” said Tetsuya