Stenza Longbow
The longbow is the hunting weapon of choice in the Frozen Wastes (the lack of solar energy for half the year means that more advanced hunting weapons never fully caught on). A well-made bow can shoot an arrow a great distance, and the greatest archers are said to be able to take down a prey animal without ever being detected by the herd.
Manufacturing process
Bow Stave
Most longbow staves are made of antler, bone, sinew, and other materials laminated together, constructed in such a way that the finished product can curve along its entire length, allowing the archer to adjust their grip due to changing conditions. Wood bows are considerably rarer, but like English longbows from EarthString
Sinew and fiber are the most commonly used materials for manufacturing bowstrings (and as fiber is concerned, the preference is for the longest fibers off of the coat of a Basket Horns). Interestingly, there is a broad cultural idea that all components of a bow should come from the same animal (for instance, spinning the string from the fiber of the same animal whose bones and antlers will go into the stave), although this cannot always be achieved.Arrows
Arrows may be made of stone or wood, and are almost universally fletched with feathers (saved, for example, from a Kʉrdeneχ). The arrowhead may be cut into the shaft, or a separate part made of stone. Metal is used sparingly on account of cultural attitudes toward mining for it overall.Significance
The unstrung longbow is represented alongside a pair of Basket Horns antlers as the glyph for the Snow Pup Hunter.
Item type
Weapon, Ranged
Manufacturer
Owning Organization
Dimensions
2-2.5m
I love the description of how to make the bows. I am also mentally adjusting my inner vision of basket horns - they must be a lot bigger than I was picturing :D
Explore Etrea | Summer Camp 2025
Think of them like moose but much larger.