Willow Shortbow

As the dead rose in greater and greater numbers, the villagers needed stronger weapons to defeat them. Their ash and oak longbows failed to unleash sufficient force needed to stem the relentless tide of the undead. They needed a stronger material, that was also flexible enough to deliver arrows of great enough force.

Willow was their solution. It is said that the first willow shortbow was gifted to a villager by a spirit that dwelled within the grove. Legends say that the spirit had an unnatural beauty, and would lure foolish villagers into the waters where they would be drowned. Yet, somehow, one villager earned not the spirits ire, but their admiration.

The spirit gave up their immortal life, to court the villager. They brought gifts of flowers, fish and finally they gifted a shortbow made from the willow trees in the spirits grove. The validity of this tale is hotly debated, with most assuming it is little more than myth, yet willow groves are still considered spiritual places, where one must be careful who they talk to.