A very good and complete writeup of an uncommon piece of equipment. Does the Kellerhadrin Plant fiber ever wear out or degrade? I'm sure the suits are broken far before then, but it seems a releveant qestion. If the plants are still alive when they are used you might even have to water your armor. 

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Good composition, consistent material, interesting read. Well done.

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A note: with its strong foundation in dealing with knowledge, archives etc., the Ark will have a very strong handle on noblemen. Why?

*You need to legitimate your claim to a title. Of course there are documents to prove your right. Kept by an Archivist. Of the Ark.

*You need novel weaponry to defeat your foe. It was invented recently. By a scholar of the Ark.

*You need religious support to motivate your troops. Priests of the Ark can do that. (just look at the Investiture Controversy in the 11th-12th century for a conflict between priesthood and nobility).

*You need competent magistrates to run your realm properly. Of course they are members of the Ark.

Simply denying services will calm many an uppity noble quite swiftly. If the Ark withdraws its members from a realm, it will soon become a hillbilly backwater - especially considering that intellectuals will drain from there to realms where the Ark maintains presence.

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Indeed. Hence, as long as the Ark will not bend over and take it like a good... girl, there will be all sorts of interesting conflicts. Even though they are but humble scholars, they are not toothless.

Another point: Ark scholars will be the main writers of history - offend them, and for all times to come, you shall be known as a drunkard and buffoon, and your daughters as harlots of satanic bent.
They may also have bards and entertainers, who will make sure to paint any uncouth lord-ling blacker than pitch.

Anyways, I like it. Conflict makes for good tales. Go to Comment

One of these days I'm gonna earn a 5/5 from you Scras ;)
Thank you for the compliments - I try hard to be consistent. Go to Comment

These are all very valid points. However, as it was true during the days of the investiture controversy, so it is true in this scenario; dynamic and powerful personalities rule the world. The potency of any institution, whether it be a monarchy, theocracy, oligarchy or what have you, is determined by just how far a person will go to enforce their policies. Take Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, who's personality was so strong, that he broke a lot of clergy AWAY from the opposing Papacy. And there is no doubt that the Ark, in this situation, supplies the academics of Greatland, which is a force of it's own. Go to Comment

Wow. I have only read this and the Biv (it might be nice if you used inline links) but I already have a very very clear picture of your world. Good work. 

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Wow. I have only read this and the Biv (it might be nice if you used inline links) but I already have a very very clear picture of your world. Good work. 

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A rather long and complicated read, it has a sense of history and bears a certain sense of ponderance and antiquity that a massive archaic book should have. Nicely done Go to Comment

This is mighty impressive to me. And what Scras said. Go to Comment

Well, like you said, it's a very complex piece. The closest thing you have to radicals is the Fluxers vs Purist conflict. It's not religious extremism as we see it today - in fact, it's more akin to hyper-progressives (Fluxers) and stoic conservatives (Purists) The religious sects of New Terra have their own holy scriptures that may or may not coincide with the Biv, depending on the personal beliefs set in place by the religious institution. With that being said, conflict concerning the Biv are usually political in nature, if not scholarly.

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A wonderful take on a critical piece of literature. I love how comprehensive it is, both the contents of the Biv and the contents of the submission. I also like how its circulation and treatment are a reflection of societal values. So we have society changing the Biv, but the one thing I feel this piece lacks is how the Biv influenced the people (other than obvious literacy). Does it actually lead people to better lives? I don't get the sense it actually had a strong impact on leading people out of the Age of Night. Are there Biv radicals of obscure versions and interpretations? I understand it is not a religion by some definitions, but it is by others and that is why I am trying to precieve it through that lense of experience. 

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Backstory is good, but the mechanics are dubious. If I am reading this right, the bowstrings fire the bolt down a rifled barrel, but I see this as adding more drag to the projectile, lessening its range and penetration value. The standard crossbow and its all steel arbalest brother seldom lacked for penetration power, and their accuracy was indeed less than that of the longbow, but it was a work in progress. The area where the crossbow fell short, was that it had a slow rate of fire. The bowstring and its potential energy had to be drawn back by hand. The arbalest traditionally had a hand crank to draw the string back since a typical soldier didnt have the upper body strength to do it by hand. A conventional crossbow could be secured with a foot loop and the string drawn back by hand. Two bowstrings doubles this, meaning a big mechanical device to draw both back at one time, or drawing the two seperately.

Rather than being revolutionary, I can see the Sigurdian Bowgun being an anomaly in weapon design, intimidating and powerful at short range, but complicated and difficult to make.

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Genuine question: Would two strings with a pull of 150 lbs each combine to make a combined 300 lb pull, or would the force transferred from the strings remain 150 lbs? I saw and episode of Mythbusters where it was debated two cars hitting each other at 30 mph each was equivalent to one car hit a stationary object at 60 mph. The answer was no, the cars only carried 30 mph of kinetic energy each. Go to Comment

You could go with a spring mechanism, with a winch to draw back a hideously strong metal coil... or you could make it a Gauss crossbow, propelling the bolt along the barrel with whatever technobabble strieks your fancy.

Also, I don't think fletching per se has to impart a spin on the arrow, it ensures that the arrow does not tumble.

As it is, the technological solution does not make too much sense.

On a different note - you can really go way out there: what if the bolts are magnetic - and coincidentally, the magic used to enhance the armors of the cavalry improves all the properties of the metal, including attracting magnets, disproportionately so?

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Ok, so no magic then.
The two bows are still more of an image thing, though. Because: you are aware that bows do come with various amounts of pull? The weak ones can be bent with little force, and likewise exert as little force on the arrow. The strong bows exert over 200 pounds of pull.

Only, exceedingly strong pull becomes difficult with crossbows as they require more and more elaborate mechanisms to cock them. Hence, perhaps you could come up with a clever and inventive solution for winding up hideously strong crossbows? Go to Comment

Actually, yes they would combine their strength in this case. When a car hits a wall at 30 mph, the wall hits paradoxically back with the same force. Hence, it's as if two cars collided. (damn you, Newton!)

In the case of the bows, it's very much like trying to bend two sticks at once - they're more difficult to bend than one stick. By their powers combined, the bow-handgun is the bow-handgun.
What I am worried about is the homogenous transduction of force from two bows to one arrow. And also the consideration: why the hell would I use two bows when I can simply use a stronger one?
The problem is not one bow being too weak, rather it's in bending such a strong bow. Go to Comment

I think the use of two bows instead of 1 better bow could result from not having bow material suitable - for whatever reason - strong enough to handle the necessary stress.

Also, being able to crank each bow individually would be very helpful in allowing a higher than normal power level, though I'm not sure the mechanical complexity would be worth it.



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The physics may be suspect, but I like the coolness factor. A creative twist to an old weapon.

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