Longbow of Light

Arantha, lord of the forest elves of Ellesae, commissioned a mighty weapon to be made for the coming of age of his son and heir, Anlara. Elriada Torla; Elriada, greatest craftsman of the realm of Ellesae, was summoned for the task and commanded to produce a mighty weapon, a true weapon of Light, worthy of the glory of Ellesae.

For thirteen long months Elriada worked, striving to create an offering worthy of his craft. Binding together the woods of yew and mallorn he lovingly crafted a mighty longbow, all the while chanting spells and incantations over his work.

Finally, the work was done and Elriada beheld the greatest work of his life: the Longbow of Light, true weapon of Light against the darkness. Standing almost 6ft tall and made of the finest yew and mallorn, the Longbow of Light, true weapon of Light, glowed with its own soft radiance. In the hands of a skilled archer this bow would fire arrows sure and true; moreover, Elriada, through his craft, had imbued the bow with a mighty power: each arrow would fall amidst a bright burst of pure light.

With Elriada at his side, Arantha proudly presented the Longbow of Light, true weapon of Light, to his son and heir, Anlara. But Anlara, proud, youthful, impetuous Anlara, rejected the gift. 'What need have we of Ellesae of such a weapon?' he demanded. 'We are rangers; our craft lies in stealth and subtlety. How could one stay hidden using such a bow?' And so the Longbow of Light, ture weapon of Light, was cast ignominously in to the armouries, there to reamin for many a long decade. But Elriada, as he left, cursed the weapon so that those who had rejected the greatest work of his hands would learn to truly value it.

Many decades later, Anlara, now lord and mellowed by time in to a wise and strong ruler, received word of an orcish host marching upon the forest realm of Ellesae. Remembering the gift of Elriada, he put aside his youthful folly and retrieved the Longbow of Light, true weapon of Light against the darkness, from the armouries.

Anlara led his thrice-outnumbered army out to meet the orcish invaders. They struck the dark horde at midnight. As the elves rushed down upon the invading orcs, Anlara fired arrow after arrow in to the midst of the orcish host, dazzling the dismaying the orcs, no lovers of light, with the bright radiance of each arrow's fall. As night was turned in to day, Anlara's elves rushed upon the dismayed orcs and routed them, driving them forth and slaying many, as the elves took courage from the very light that was dismaying their foes.

Returning at the head of his victorious army, Anlara gave thanks to the power of the Longbow of Light, true weapon of Light, and reverently placed it in a place of honour within the armouries, there to be ready if Ellesae once again stood in dire need.

As Anlara left the armouries and closed the door behind him, his world was plunged in to darkness. He was blind.

Magical Properties:

The Longbow of Light is a longbow, almost 6ft tall, crafted out of yew and mallorn. It glows with its own light. The longbow has a small bonus to accuracy and damage compared with a normal longbow; however, its major power is that when each arrow lands it will produce a bright light (bright enough to dazzle someone near by) which illuminates about a 30ft radius. This light will gradually fade and after a minute it will be gone; a fast archer can, therefore, illuminate quite a large area.

The curse of the Longbow is that anyone who fires an arrow from it will be immediately be stricken blind. Providing the person is close enough to the Longbow's own glow (within a few feet of it) he can see normally (i.e. as if he was not blind: not just as much as the glow lights up); he can also see by the light of the arrows. At all other times, however, he is blind: thus is fulfilled the curse of Elriada that his weapon would be truly valued.