Talon Bow

The Talon Bow was the longbow of Atreus, carved for him by his mother Faye and carried at his side through the Norse realms as he travelled with his father Kratos. Unlike the inherently magical weapons of Kratos, the bow held no power of its own when it was made. It became a weapon of light and lightning only through enchantment and long use, growing in strength as the boy who wielded it grew in confidence.

Origin#

Faye told Atreus that an old friend of hers had once taught her how to craft a longbow, and she chose to pass that craft on to her son by making one for him. She carved it from a yew tree and made it larger than was usual, so that the boy could grow into the weapon over time. When the bow was finished it was Atreus who bestowed its name, calling it the Talon Bow, and it became one of his first true weapons. He began to practise with it at once, learning to hunt at his mother's side during their time in the woods. Strong enough to serve as a blunt weapon as well as a bow, it remained with him after Faye's death.

Enchantments and powers#

Though the Talon Bow was not magical by nature, its bowstring could be infused with magic, which in turn lent new properties to the arrows Atreus loosed from it. He learned to empower his shots and to switch between their elements by speaking or whispering incantations, the words varying with the power he called upon. During the journey Freya, the witch who dwelt in the woods, granted the string the light of Alfheim. With it Atreus could imbue his arrows with that light and kindle the light crystals of the elves, raising solid bridges of light where there had been none. Later Sindri set a tooth of the recently slain dragon Hraezlyr into the string, lending the arrows the beast's lightning, which could shatter walls of crystallised World Tree sap that blocked the way. From a distance Atreus could distract and weaken his foes with these magic arrows, while up close he used the bow itself to bludgeon, trip and strangle them. As his skill grew he learned to summon spectral animals into battle to aid his father.

In the time of Ragnarok#

By the time of Ragnarok the Talon Bow had taken on a changed appearance, and the long winter of Fimbulwinter had worn at its older enchantments. Having lost both its light and its lightning, the bow instead fired sigil and sonic arrows in their place. Atreus had grown far more capable with the weapon, able not only to strike from afar and to fight in close quarters with it but also to charge his shots for greater force and to fire grappling shots that carried him across difficult ground or pulled him toward a distant enemy. The Talon Bow was not the only bow offered to him in those days, for both the Jotnar of Ironwood and the Aesir held bows of their own to give, yet it remained the weapon of his mother's making.