Peter:
> Difficulty of manufacture is easily dealt with by noting that
> the Rathori learned how to make them from the elves. And the
> Elves grow their bows. I do not believe that the Rathori
> make their longbows by RW methods.
Well, I do. The real world method of making a longbow is:
- grow a suitable tree
- cut it after some 80 years it needed to produce a 2 m long, 0.1 m
thick straight trunk with few branches attached (anything growing much
faster won't be of much use)
- let the timber dry carefully over a long time (a year minimum) under
controlled conditions (the Rathori _do_ build permanent shelters)
- cut away everything which doesn't look like a bow, and attach a
string.
The elf assistance comes in handily mainly in steps 1 and 2, possibly 3.
I'm fairly adamant on step four for human-used bows, though. Humans take
elf-grown lumber (especially in Fronela), but they work it with human
tools, be they flint, brass, or iron.