Bronze Crossbow

The members of the Wild Knights who trained with melee weapons, generally found themselves the victors in friendly sparring matches against their companions. The reasoning was simple - shields. A shield could turn aside blade, arrow and spell, with equal skill and it left their enemy vulnerable to counterattack. This sense of superiority began to change from friendly competition, into a sense of smugness capable of souring many friendships.

Roliker Hallister was particularly obnoxious. His skill with sword and shield was admittedly impressive. At the age of twenty he could best even some of the commanders of the Wild Knights in single combat. Healthy pride twisted into smug egoism, which then rotted down into unpleasant superiority. He was rude. He was dismissive. He was pretty much an obnoxious nightmare to be around.

Which is why he was very surprised by the bolt in his shoulder, and why no one else seemed too inclined to help him out. Vanida Mox was a skilled archer and inventor. She was quick to learn, quick to study and she had the enviable ability to see when something was wrong and work to find a solution. Popular with the other knights, because she would work with them, share accolades, and stand for what the order truly meant - a barrier between the world and the wild.

As Roliker's ego grew and grew, she realised that the archers in the order were at a significant disadvantage in close combat. At range, they were obviously superior, but as all the sparring matches were held in the courtyard, there was precious little distance available. So she began working on a device that would deliver the power of an arrow but allowing one hand free to hold a shield.

It was very effective.

She named it a "cross-bow", because she was very very angry when she unloaded it into the cloud of smugness known as Roliker. Later that name would be attributes to the mechanical structure of the device, but now you know better.