Pif the True Arrow

## Overview

Pif the True Arrow was a foreign hunter chosen by Mother to serve as Lieutenant in her army. Though he was never accepted into the culture of the kingdom, because he was the only foreigner that had been allowed in since Mother and Father arrived, his prowess with a bow and tactical skills were good enough to keep him in the army for more than a decade before he died in battle on an unknown date.

Pif is generally known for two feats: Introducing the Pif Cat, a foreign creature, to the lands of Cribdahl, and killing seven charging swordsmen in a row with his short bow at close range on the battlefield. Very little is known about Pif. Though his existence is not in question--his remains are interred in the royal cemetery in the city of Kabbah (Cribdahl)--his true name, appearance, country of origin and skills in battle remain unconfirmed. Kabbah was the capital city during Pif's lifetime, so most archival documents about him were kept there. However, during The Purification, a foreign army invaded Kabbah and burned the archives, destroying most historical documents about Pif and many other important people and events in Cribdahl's history.

## Introducing Pif Cats to Cribdahl

Multiple incomplete primary sources list Pif as the first to ever ride a Pif Cat into battle, however no primary sources describe him as the first person to introduce the animal to the people of Cribdahl, or even the first to domesticate the animal. Furthermore, it has been argued by historians that it would have been a massive logistical challenge to transport enough of the large cats from another area of the continent to Cribdahl to be used in combat.

Biologists argue from another angle, saying the Pif Cat is a natural predator for countless small animals in the region and even serves as natural prey for a few different species. It seems unlikely that an exotic animal could be introduced to a new environment and fit in so comfortably.

Despite this, there is no proof whatsoever that Cribdahlians domesticated, ate or even interacted with Pif Cats before Pif's arrival.

#### Etymology of "Pif Cat"

The name Pif Cat has obvious implications, though etymologists struggle to figure out exactly when the term came into use. The oldest available documents that use the term Pif Cat, paradoxically, are not the documents that describe Pif's battlefield exploits, but rather incomplete casualty reports dating decades after the most recent documents describing Pif. This seems to imply that the term was coined long after Pif first used the cats, likely after his death since no primary sources list him as serving under Mother for more than roughly ten years.

The exact language used in the charred remains of Lord Galliver's *Decades of Death Volume 3: The Bow, The Blade, The Bird and The Boy* is:

> The foreign soldiers retreated from the city of Spindalah, rushing South toward the dried out riverbed where they had killed Mother's defensive force earlier that day. The people of the town, who had been held in the city hall since morning, had somehow banded together and broke free of the men watching guard over them, and now they rushed through the streets looking for foreigners with such ferocity and making such a racket as to have the enemy believe reinforcements had arrived. They fled. The moment the foreigners escaped the city gates, however, they were met with a horrifying sight: Pif the True Arrow, whose right leg was still shattered and wrapped tightly in bandages, rode on the back of a large cat who bounded toward the foreign forces with its jaw agape and its fangs bared and its shoulders bouncing up and down with each gallop. The enemy routed at the sight of this one man, and so were crushed between the rushing mob and the lightning-quick volley of arrows Pif fired into their backs and sides.
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## Archery Skills

It has long been theorized that Pif was born in a kingdom far to the north, however his archery skills undermine this theory. No northern kingdom has ever in history been famed for its talented archers. Least of all their short bows. Pif's speed has very rarely been called into question. Modern archers can fire ten arrows in less than twelve seconds. It's believable, then, that a master archer might do much better.

But the standard use of a bow is typically at a range of ten meters of more. This presents problems in the credibility of Pif's legend, because he is generally described as having used his bow in close range combat and at blistering speeds.

*Weapons of the Gods* by Kemen the Scholar, one of the few thick books kept mostly intact from the period, describes with hyperbolic language the abilities of Mother and Father's army, and the characteristics of the foreigners. Because of its sensationalist bent, the book has been criticized as a primary source on Pif or any other historical figure. Its most controversial section is a short description of a fight between Pif and two men in a bar:

> Pif never took both hands off of his bow for long, so the men knew he held it in his lap under the table. They sat opposite him, sipping their alcohol and waiting for him to make a move. They were far, far beyond words now. Only blood could make right what manners had made wrong. The men leapt to their feet, revealing their long, rusted knives. Pif kept a small bundle of arrows in a long leather pocket in the thigh of his pants. He yanked two out and slapped them against his bow and, before the men could exhale a breath, fired one arrow into one man's throat, and another into the other man's chest.
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