Matt Latimer

Matt Latimer

Archery purist, arrow maker, poet, artist, and it's not ginger hair, it's phoenix fire red.
  • Joined: 21/04/2024
  • Articles: 49

Bowhunter – Prologue

Archers! A new fictional fantasy serial has just begun.

Bowhunter -

The deathly binds keeping a gigantic sea snake, the Vainglory Typhon, at bay have been broken.

Thriving upon its territory for over a century, the citizens of Fohalin, their land, their cities, and their lives are devastated in the wake of the beast's return.

Yet, as the great beast reclaims its territory, it brings with it more than just obliteration.

Fohalin leadership shatters. Left in their stead is an excommunicated Pastoral from a foreign state, an unlucky and ungrateful hunter, and a pirate captain with a conscience who is bound to the will of his ship.

In seeking to cull the titanic creature they are pitting themselves against something that does not need to adapt to its environment, but rather forces the environment to adapt to its presence.

Zombie Huntin’ League

Whilst it is close to Halloween, I would remind the reader, and archer, that zombies, the undead, however you refer to them, are not a seasonal problem. Just as much as a dog is just not for Christmas, a zombie…

Bowhunters in the North

Once a year, Ballyvally Archers hosts a singular type of competition that exemplifies the enjoyment found in the sport: the Mulligan Hunting Trail. Whilst hunting Frank Mulligan is not the aim of the competition – and just as well as,…

Artistry In Arrows

For many of the past eleven years, I have been making my own arrows. This skill has developed little by little over time, as I read various articles, and listened to what other traditional archers had to say. Whilst it…

War of the Feathers Part 7

V It was too warm for Evander, the searing aftershock of heat from the exertion of battle engulfing him. “That’s a deep wound, I’d say,” Xiphos stated quietly, feline blood still glistening upon his armour. They stood before the slain…

Colum Cille 3D 2025

I was excited to be back at Ballywalter for a couple of reasons, one of which was because of the new species of pheasant introduced to the estate. This species is known as Reeve’s Pheasant and comes from China. And…

Bluebell Shoot 2025

It is now summer, which in Ireland means the weather likes to behave in more of a bipolar manner. Summer in Ireland is different from the other two seasons – I’m convinced we don’t really get Spring, just a mildish…

The Case for Greater Archery

This is an updated version of an article I published a few years ago, about how badly the Olympics and World Archery need to diversify the representation of shooting styles. Given the inclusion of compound, I felt it was appropriate to not only republish it but update it too.

Justice, of a Sort

Aeker Murdock had been invited to a major archery event held in the Kingdom of Xellcarr. As the archery guild’s Master of Crows, he was often called upon to guest inspect private, or national, competitions. His title, a hangover from…

War of the Feathers – Part I

The beginning of a war, the arrows of one nation against the griffin worshiping ideology of another nation.

Following on from the prologue published last month, Evander Penrose must endure against the surrealist nature of this conflict and build a defence to repel vast odds.

Chanjion

Animosity between Tevaller and Chanjion began when a Tevaller King had a vision of a serpent people putting nations in chains, believed to be the Chanjion. The Tevaller began occupying Chanjion land thereafter. Chanjion had no army, and at the…

War of the Feathers

When a holy beast is slain by a rogue and so-called Maytoni prince retribution comes fast for the Maytoni nation. Their neighbours, the Xellcarrians, once bonded allies, are seeking blood as recompense.

Royalism is akin to heresy within Maytoni, going against their values of equality and equity - but this hardly stops families with bloodlines rooted in lost riches and prestige.

As the prelude to total war plays out on the Mayne Peninsula, Evander Penrose of the Maytoni Summiteers, elite archers, finds himself in unofficial command. He understands the contrived origins of the conflict, and wants the so-called prince handed over. Yet with the preparator in flight, and thirty thousand Xellcarrians on the horizon, Evander must hold off annexation, against six to one odds, whilst doing everything he can to prevent further escalation.

Yet the Xellcarrians are not his true enemy, as the Maytoni pro-royalist elements seek to ensure bloody total war erupts to ensure the resurgence of their own power.

For anyone who has read The Phoenix Archer, the name Evander Penrose and the War of the Feathers will be recognisable. This is his story about a defining event which has a profound effect on his character in The Phoenix Archer follow up, Orion's Legacy.