Steven Schend
Forgotten Realms Designer & Author
USA
1714 Posts |
Posted - 19 May 2022 : 03:19:33
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quote: Originally posted by George Krashos
I think that's absolutely correct TBeholder, and moreover, why would the elves broadcast the secrets of their ancient magic? Given the time of Myth Drannor was the likely first time any non-elves had ever seen a Moonblade, it was just as easy to say that they had been forged there rather than risk giving away the secrets of Elven Court and other places of power around Faerűn where their magic was actually instilled.
-- George Krashos
"Outright lies? I wouldn't say that. Expect wizards to obfuscate, prevaricate, and overcomplicate any explanation or statement. Expect elves to do the same while taking thirty times as long to do the same." Eleakin Sardervaar, sage of Uluvin, 1399 DR
As George sagely noted above, the elves won't give up the least scraps of information they don't have to; some tel'quessir find that questioners, especially humans and halflings, will fill in any blanks of conversation because they don't have the patience to wait for an elf to answer at their preferrred pace.
Thus, when folk ask about things the elves don't want to fully reveal if discuss at all, there have been many times that a scholar guessed in haste or limited understanding and no elf chose to correct any assumptions made.
After all, one of the things that isn't always remembered by non-elves is that the Fair Folk were within a few short generations of the Fall of Netheril when Cormanthyr rose, and they still had far to go to reach the levels of trust that Eltargrim built with nonelves in Myth Drannor.
So, any time a n'tel'quess asked about great elven magics they heard of, they often associated it with the most notable or then well-known place of elven magic.
The fact that many sources attribute things to Myth Drannor even though tighter research would reveal that many things some folk linked to that realm were vastly older than that more familiar place. Moonblades are definitely among such things.
In short, it's less that elves have lied about moonblade lore and more that they let others cloud the waters with their own guesses, assumptions, and jumped-to-conclusions.
In short, if people want to assume things came from Myth Drannor, that's fine; they can find that place…and it keeps them from muddying the doorsteps of other elven places they'd rather not mention.
Clear as mud? Glad I could help.
Steven who knows Khelben collected more than a handful of tomes (many of which are held in high regard by revered sages) that have serious lore issues in terms of attribution of origins to Myth Drannor or Cormanthyr…and he kept his own counsel rather than correct the longstanding errors, as it suited his plans to do just that. |
For current projects and general natter, see www.steveneschend.com
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