RE: Re: Bows and Aldryami

From: Peter Metcalfe <metcalph_at_...>
Date: Mon, 09 Sep 2002 19:25:11 +1200


Me:

> > IIRC, Peter once said that Rathori learned long bows from aldryami.

         The Rathori alone in Glorantha use longbows that can go
         entirely through a tree at a hundred paces.  They learned
         how to make these when they accepted the refugee Aldryami
         of Eirigia who would otherwise have perished without a land
         to live on.
                         Glorantha: Intro p79.

Although the "alone in glorantha" is fairly damning for the Umathelan and Exile Bows, it's not my sentiment.

I should point out that IMO only the Rathori of the eastern forest (the Last Wakeup) actually have these bows. That way Harrek the Berserk doesn't sully his hands with a undignified weapon.

Terra:

>I haven't confirmed my guess that Tarsh Exiles learned it from
>Dragonewts during the Twin Dynasty.

It's fairly plausible IMO since a Dragonewt Road passes up in the Earthshaker's Temple. Instead of wood, I suspect the Exile Bows are made from the horns of the Quakebeasts. That way, we preserve the similarity with Dragonewt Bows, which is made from bone and explain why nobody else has duplicated it.

Andrew Solovay:

>Seriously, though, I thought elves used short bows?

They use elf bows. What Elves teach and how Humans use those teachings are different things. For example, the Yggite Longboat derives (in part) from a leafy gallegas invented by the Elf Admiral Errinoru.

>And their "bowmaking" technology would be completely useless
>for non-salads, who have to carve and cure bows, instead of growing
>them...

Perhaps they do, perhaps they don't.

--Peter Metcalfe

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