Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.

This Is My Bow

This is my bow.

I wake up.

There are many like it, but this one is mine.

It is early. The sun has not yet risen, but I do. I check my bow, my strings, my quiver. I run my hands over every inch, looking for any sign of imperfection, making any necessary repairs or adjustments. None are needed.

My bow is my best friend.

Satisfied, I string my bow. I gear up and go for a run with my squad.

It is my life.

After running, I wash and dress. I sit with my squad at breakfast. Meals are the only times we are allowed to converse, to chatter inanely about anything we wish. We do not speak.

I must master it as I must master my life.

After breakfast, I again check my equipment. I sit and fletch arrows. Each must be flawless. The slightest imbalance or imperfection is amplified with distance and can ruin a shot. Each must be flawless.

My bow, without me, is useless.

I store the arrows and head to the practice range.

Without my bow, I am useless.

This is the most important part of the day. The reason I exist.

I must fire my bow true.

I stand at 100 paces, staring at the target downrange. It is very small, but to me it seems large.

I must shoot straighter than my enemy who is trying to kill me.

I take an arrow from my quiver.

I must kill him before he kills me.

Nock. Draw. Half-breath and hold. Aim. Release.

I will...

The arrow flies true. Nock. Draw. Half-breath and hold. Aim. Release.

My bow and myself know that what counts in this war is not the arrows we fire, the noise of our string, nor the panic we make.

I fire two shots in the space of a heartbeat. It is too slow.

We know that it is the hits that count.

I will continue to train. I will get faster.

We will hit...

Nock. Draw. Half-breath and hold. Aim. Release.

My bow is human, even as I, because it is my life.

Soon I will fire three times within a heartbeat, and eventually four.

Thus, I will learn it as a brother.

Nock. Draw. Half-breath and hold. Aim. Release.

I will learn its weaknesses, its strengths, its parts, its accessories, its sights and its string.

I continue to practice.

I will ever guard it against the ravages of weather and damage as I will ever guard my legs, my arms, my eyes and my heart against damage.

I shoot standing and kneeling and prone. I shoot on the run and from horseback. I shoot from trees, from towers, from walls. I shoot one arrow and many arrows.

I will keep my bow clean and ready.

I hit still targets and moving targets. I hit small targets and large targets. I hit close targets and far targets. I hit single targets and multiple targets.

We will become part of each other.

It is all the same. Nock. Draw. Half-breath and hold. Aim. Release

We will...

My arms and shoulders burn. I practice through the afternoon and into the evening, continuing to shoot in the darkness.

Before the Spirits, I swear this creed.

The order comes to stop. I lower my bow and check the string. I brace my bow against the ground and unstring it. I check my bow for damage and polish it.

My bow and myself are the defenders of my country.

I retrieve arrows from targets, carefully removing them. I check them over, discarding those that are damaged. Each must be flawless.

We are the masters of our enemy.

I go to dinner with my squad. I sit silently as I eat, reflecting on the day, on the shots that were not perfect, the shots that must be improved.

We are the saviors of my life...

I return to the barracks, knowing that I will do it again tomorrow. I will do it again, only better.

So be it, until victory is the Fire Nation's and there is no enemy, but peace!

I am Yu Yan.

A/N: By far the shortest thing that I have written, but I like it. The part in italics is the Rifleman's Creed as taught by the U.S. Marines (for whom I have the utmost respect and hope I didn't offend by using it in a silly fanfic), I just made a few slight modifications for it to work with bow and arrow. I read the creed for the first time a few days ago, and thought it was very cool, and then I saw the Avatar episode with the Yu Yan archers again. It seemed like a natural fit.

I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading.

Coeus