While I'll stick to my impression that wielding a sword competently requires more training for a modicum of skill upkeep than shooting a bow (the hard part of swinging the long stick is to hit even though the opponent doesn't keep still, whereas in military archery you don't loose your arrow at the individual target, but rather at the advancing mob - much easier) I'll have to add something about darts in Glorantha.
First though, I'll have to agree with Richard Crawley's comment on the consequences of neglecting longbow training. In March this year I participated in a clout tournament after a winter without ever touching my light recurve bow, and I chose to use my 70 lbs longbow rather than the 40 lbs recurve bow. Apart from the bad result due to strong opposing wind (9 beaufort, more in gusts of wind, which forced us to approach to only 140 yards in order for people with weaker bows to get there at all), I had no serious problem with the first thirty-six shots at the distance, in fairly rapid succession. The second thirty showed me my lack of training, though... However, the ordinary English archer's ammunition was two dozen arrows in the quiver, and only for special engagements two quivers. And early in the campaign there would be opportunities to rebuild stamina.
Now, if I were to take up my shinai (bamboo sword for kendo) and take up my training after a similar break, I would make a much more miserly figure.
Darts:
Darts were one of several strange customs which sprang into existance at the spread of the Empire of Wyrms Friends. (Skin paints and certain designs as well, IIRC.)
I'm not sure how the more traditional (i.e. anti-EWF) Yelmies and Carmanians view the wide-spread return of this evil draconic weapon into Lunar politics. Perhaps the euphemism "dart competition" (never dart _war_, 'cause that would be illegal) is a play on EWF connections, though. Opinions?
Re: Origin of the Lunar Army: it is Dara Happan in the sense that it is made up of various elements from local cultures - more like the Persian armies defeated by Alexander the Great than the Roman Empire, really.
The core of the Lunar army was made up from Rinliddic peasants armoured with Carmanian chivalric armour, fighting on foot, and for a first time in a long history of suppression getting even with the horse nomads. Some scholar (Irrippi O?) had dug up the Daxdarian manuals for phalangists, and now the tradition which had been quite forgotten during the Carmanian and semi-Carmanian reigns (3 Generations of Peace/War) was revived. The alliance with Yelmgatha provided sovereignty rather than military power IMO.
The standard Pelorian warrior is the Lodril / Turos / <pick your favourite squarehead earthfire deity> spearman. They make surprisingly competent militia warriors if they are followers of the secret spear. This competence often is mitigated by their Yelmite superiors, though.
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