Lore:Long-Launcher

Long-Launcher was the legendary longbow artifact of Ysgramor. He used it during many hunts and battles throughout the course of his life in both the Atmoran Frostwood and in Skyrim. During his time in Atmora, the bow once needed to be re-strung, so Ysgramor collected the laments of the Giant-Wives and brought them to individuals known as Froa and Grosta who twisted them into the Woeful Bowstring. When the bow made use of this new bowstring, it took on a form of sentience, sighing when Ysgramor held it and moaning whenever it was shot.

Ysgramor then used this restrung bow to hunt the White Stag of Forelgrim. It proved near impossible for Ysgramor to land a shot on the stag, as it was quiet and elusive. A hare appeared before Ysgramor and told him that it knew the location of the stag because of its long ears, and that if Ysgramor also had long ears he could hear and successfully track the stag. The hare granted Ysgramor long ears upon his request, but a fox then emerged from the coppice and slew the hare, revealing himself to be Shor. Shor the Fox reverted Ysgramor's ears back to normal and then revealed to Ysgramor that the hare was in fact Herma Mora and nearly tricked him into becoming an elf. He bid him to henceforth rely only on the methods of man and not the tricks of elf lest he become one, and encouraged him to continue his pursuit of the White Stag.

Ysgramor once again used the Long-Launcher with the Woeful Bowsting to slay Faldrosta the great Snow-Goose. He then plucked a great quill from her corpse and proceeded to use it to develop a runic alphabet based on Elvish principles, which enabled the written transcription of Atmoran speech. Ysgramor's first work in this new form of writing was a chronicle of his own life and its events, solidifying him as the first human historian.

The bow saw further use during the infamous Night of Tears where the Snow Elves and Nords fought over the razing of Saarthal. Ysgramor, with swift and accurate aim, fell an ancient Snow Elf wizard named Serenarth with the bow. As Serenarth lay dying, he made a bargain with unknown but malevolent forces to swap his spirit with that of a Frost Atronach. His host form still persists to this day with the threat of thawing out and exacting vengeance upon Ysgramor's heirs.