Originally published in On Target, Volume 1, Issue 1, Winter 1996.
I have been a heavy fighter since Ursalmas 1995, and played around with light combat in one-on-one tournaments with some success. I was talking to some of our fellow archers on how frustrating it was to shoot a heavy fighter only to see them look around and keep on going. I was able to participate both as a light and a heavy in the same war down in Blatha An Oir. They were doing their Guards War and had three field battles then broke for lunch and then had three castle battles. I fought heavy in the first three then switched to light and fought the second three. The thoughts and emotions experienced during these battles were so totally different words may not be able to explain them. During the field battles they were resurrection battles so I was able to die a dozens of times. I was advancing with a shield wall ten feet from the enemy when an arrow hit me square in the chest. I died and fell over but the feeling inside me was of anger and frustration. I did not see who shot me. I did not get to engage the enemy. The rest of the field battles I was so preoccupied with looking for archers and light fighters I was ineffective as a heavy. I was killed twice by light fighters and both times it was frustrating.
During lunch I switched to light as our side had no lights or pole-arms. During the castle battles I had a totally different view of the light fighter in a battle situation. I stood back twenty to thirty yards and shot for the enemy's pike men and better fighters. During the third battle I actually took out seven heavies and the feeling was totally different from when I was fighting heavy; I felt I was helping my side. I was very excited to hit my targets and never once thought about dishonor or disgrace of not facing my enemy. Not to say I did not feel frustration as a light fighter. There were three or four times when I would hit the enemy with what looked like a good shot and they would look around briefly or say it was a glancing shot and continue on. I am not sure how other heavy fighters feel when killed by a light but if they could only participate as a light in a war or two they might appreciate how Agincourt was won.
