Zephyr

The elves weren't really prepared for the Daelzhar returning with an all out war, and while they could deal with the lesser Daelzhar, it was the commanders that put up the real threat, as they had returned wielding magic that the elves had never seen before, such as barriers that their magic could simply not penetrate. Due to this, several high ranked elves, such as Ysildea, sought to make a deal with the Daelzhar. Their idea was to combine the knowledge of one of their best craftsmen with the forbidden magic of the Daelzhar to create a weapon powerful enough to deal with their enemy. This was an act of high treason, as forging a pact with the enemy was forbidden by elven law.

Zephyr was a fine piece of crafting skill, created by one of the best and most skilled crafters among the elves. Even without help of the Daelzhar, this bow was already the most powerful bow made. Yet, it was not strong enough. Part of their temporary alliance led to the bow being imbued permanently with the soul of a powerful fallen ancient Daelzhar.

Just like any other weapon, in order to be able to wield the true power of Zephyr, an elf needs to embed their gemstone into its socket. Given Zephyr's wind affinity, which is determined by the method and process of crafting, this is best done with an emerald. However, Zephyr was also imbued with the soul of a fallen ancient Daelzhar, which means that any gemstone embedded into it is at risk of corruption. Using the bow regularly, where the wielder calls upon their own magic, is no issue. Only when the wielder calls upon the Daelzhar magic, does corruption play a role.

Zephyr was created during the second Great War in order to be able to deal with the threat of the Daelzhar, as taking down their commanders was key in winning the war. Ysildea was chosen to wield the bow, as she was by far the best archer within the kingdom at that time, able to take aim from great distances and still hit her mark. In secret, the elves formed a small group that'd make their way around the battlefield, taking down these key targets one by one. Every single arrow fired was so powerful that it not only breached the barrier, but also instantly put an end to the target. Unfortunately, every time Ysildea called upon the true power of the bow, corruption spread, and this eventually led to her demise, causing her gemstone to be corrupted to the point where it simply shattered.

When the war ended, the group of elves responsible for crafting Zephyr had to flee. Their acts of treason had been discovered and they were banished from the Kingdom of Elarinor almost instantly. They had even tried to destroy the bow after Ysildea had lost her life to it, however, it turned out the bow was pretty much indestructible. For many years they kept the bow hidden, but ultimately decided a new owner had to be found in order to protect the bow from ending up in the wrong hands. After a lot of training, the most prominent archer among their now banished tribe was chosen, Arien.

It was no easy feat for Arien to take control of the bow, as it initially tries to overpower the gemstone embedded into it. She succeeded, however, and decided to leave the secluded village behind, so those who seek the bow would not end up putting anyone else in danger. While she hasn't quite discovered its true powers yet, she knows this is not a weapon to take lightly.

There are various things that make Zephyr stand out from any regular bow. First of all, while regular bows often imbue the arrows they fire with magic, Zephyr is capable of firing arrows that consist of concentrated magic, meaning its wielder does not require physical arrows. Another trait is that the bow seems indestructible as of yet. The elves had tried various things, going as far as breaking the bow in half, yet, within a matter of seconds the bow instantly restored itself. It is quite unknown why this happens, though various theories make the elves believe that it is due to the power of the Daelzhar soul within the bow.