#41
Adam is an incredibly sound hunter. He is of royal blood and is in the process of grooming, so when the day comes, he will rule eloquently. He carries with him a bow and a quiver of immaculate arrows that appear transparent and weightless. His bow has an enchantment with abilities that enable the wielder to achieve amazing success in the art of hunting animals. However, the bow’s ability is only available to those who are worthy of the bow’s powers. The bow will determine if its wielder is worthy for the power because it is connected to all hunting grounds. All lifeforms in the forests are a part of the bow and it behaves as if it has a mind of its own—capable of calculating the most lethal and precise shots.
Adam’s brother Mat is not of royal blood and is an adopted child found by his parents as an infant. Mat is a fisherman and always feels like he and the oceans are one. Mat frequently goes far out to sea so he is alone and may cherish its vastness. Mat has with him a golden-lace net that he uses to reel in fish and other marine life that can be consumed for nourishment.
This net, like Adam’s bow, is a part of bodies of water. The net will deem the wielder of the net worthy for its use and if it did not, nothing would be caught. The two brothers are prodigies in their chosen fields and Adam seeks competition and seeks a challenge. Adam grows tiresome because of his inept ability to always find his mark during a hunt. He tells Mat, “I am dreading hunting in these chosen forests where my arrow will always find the heart of my target.” Adam proposes to Mat that perhaps they can switch tools and see who is the worthiest. Mat agrees and takes the bow and quiver of arrows from Adam and hands Adam his net and sets out on a journey to the forests.
Mat averages two deer a day and is feeling more confident as each day passes. He likes how the bow is almost guiding his shots and eliminating any sort of error. Adam, on the other hand, does not receive an ounce of success at sea. He grows angry at the net as each day passes because he thinks it is the gold lacing that frightens the fish. Adam does not catch a single fish and just as he wakes up on his last day he sees Mat travelling home in the distance.
Adam sees Mat's incredibly lucrative trip and proceeds to set out one last time. Adam thinks about Mat's success and is irate. Adam tosses the net into the ocean, never to see the surface again and sets back to the docks. Several days pass and Mat is a successful hunter worthy of using Adam’s bow. He returns to Adam by the docks only to find Adam possessing no fish. Not only does Adam not have any fish, but Mat’s net is missing as well. Adam has an ego and thinks himself above the connection Mat has with the oceans and is upset because he is not catching any fish. The bow gives Mat a vision and shows him the truth. Mat uncovers that he is the worthiest to rule and is to wield both the net and bow. It also reveals how Adam will act as a king and it is unacceptable. The bow tells Mat he must kill Adam and prevent him from being king. Adam intercepts this information because of the faint amount of his connection he still has. However, Adam does not know the bow's instructions for Mat to kill him. The bow only reveals to Adam that Mat is a worthier wielder. Adam banishes him from the kingdom and Mat obeys because he does not want to start a conflict and feels the time is not right.
Years pass and Adam is now a day away from being sworn in as king. Mat confronts Adam and realizes he is not the same person he remembers. He is worn and evil, his eyes bloodshot and his face looks weary and dark despite his last bit of youth remaining. Mat remembers his duty to the bow and, overarchingly, to the kingdom. Mat grabs the bow from Adam’s quarters and brings it to Adam and tells him he should wield it for his inauguration. Adam thinks it is a good idea and motions for Mat to come closer. Mat draws an arrow and compliments Adam on how well kempt he keeps his equipment. Mat proceeds to nock the arrow and draw back the bow and then aims it directly at Adam. Before Adam even says a word, Mat releases the tension and the arrow pierces through Adam’s chest. The bow’s enchantment keeps the altercation quiet so no one in the surrounding quarters senses Adam’s death. Mat takes the bow and swiftly leaves his old brother’s quarters and the kingdom.
*seagulls cry overhead*
Mat wakes up in his boat rocking in open water. He must have fallen asleep after setting traps for crab and took a nap. He looks back to shore to see his brother Adam waving for him to come back to the docks.
Mat dreamt the entire story, but even though it was over he could still hear a faint calling from the shore…the bow calling for him.
Author's Note: The original story is a romance story between a goddess and a fisherman. In the original story, there are two brothers and one of them is a fisherman and the other a skilled hunter. They end up switching professions and the they both do not do well outside of their normal fields of operation. The fisherman's net is thrown into the deep sea by his brother and he has to go there to try and retrieve it and when he arrives he sees a beautiful woman. The rest goes into a lengthy romance story, but I had what I needed after I read about the two brothers having the conflict.
I decided to stay in line with the plot for most of the story. I ended up deciding to take out the romance by not including a princess at all in my rendition of this story. I also took out the fact that the two brothers were not actually biological brothers in this story. By doing so, I hope the reader could understand that they were very close growing up and later in life because of the fact Mat was an adopted sibling. I kept the bow and arrows from the original story and decided to replace the fishhook with a fishing net. As I was writing I got an idea which led to the abrupt end to my story. It was weird because I had originally intended for the two brothers to be able to rekindle their relationship. I also wanted it to be a short story and thought that envy, jealousy, or even power would be the demise of Adam and Mat’s relationship. To some degree it was, but my addition of the dream at the end kind of takes away from it all and makes it sort of interesting. I could not decide on an ending so I am kind of keeping this story in mind for an alternate ending.
Story Source: Romance of Old Japan, Part I: Mythology and Legend by E. W. Champney and F. Champney (1917).
Story - Fortunate Fish-hook