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Athreeren
Learned Scribe
144 Posts |
 Posted - 10 Nov 2022 : 15:36:33
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In the Year of the Marching Moon (1330 DR), the Bard Halindar Droon of Beregost wrote the ballad ‘Tears Never Cease’:
“In the name of a kingdom / Many fell things are done / In the name of a love / Fairer things are won”. [Elminster, The Making of a Mage, chapter 17]
In the Year of Moonfall (1344 DR), Thalloviir Vaundruth, also from Beregost, composed the ballad ‘Ever a Hero Be’:
“But deep in halls dark and haunted / Even heroes bold, high-vaunted / Twice and thrice, to end up daunted / Think of loved ones deeply wanted / And much safer places to be.” [Swords of Eveningstar, chapter 13]
There is also the half-elf female Larsheena “Larshee” Taruvel, who wrote the infamous song ‘The Knights of Dragon Down’ in the 1270’s, a ballad telling of the fate of seven dragon-slaying knights who were cursed with undeath. The song has been banned in Elturel since 1366 DR, when an evil mage cast a spell that curses anyone around the city who sings the whole song to be cursed with summoned undead. The lyrics can be found here. [from Volo’s Guide to the Sword Coast. The mention of the author and her origin comes from Ed Greenwood's twitter.].
The video game Baldur’s Gate introduces two bards in the town: the insane Silke Rosena, and Garrick, who is recruitable. Let’s also mention Poe, who composed the epic poem ‘The Knights of Days Hence’ about the tragedy of Firewine (lyrics)
Finally, there’s Sharwyn from Neverwinter Nights who mentions that she and her mentor Dannen were on tour when the Lady Onaris of Athkatla charmed Dannen in Beregost.
Beregost is a small town, with fewer than 3,000 people. It is infamous for its haunted wizarding school, and famous for its temple of Lathander and its smithy. But there is no bard college there. In fact, it is located between Candlekeep and Nashkel, which both have a shrine to Milil (even though in the case Nashkel's Abbey of High Song, it was quickly destroyed), so it seems strange that bards would not prefer those more obvious venues. I am wondering if the examples above are the result of sampling bias, or if Beregost actually has an extraordinary cultural life for a town this size. Possible explanations I can think of:
- Kelddath Ormlyr of Lathander is a sponsor of the arts.
- The owner of Feldpost inn makes sure to stay ahead of the competition by sending for the best bards in the Sword Coast.
- Bards of Beregost make a living by selling songs to petitioners headed to Candlekeep, which they can in turn give to the Gatewarden as their entrance fee.
Further examples artists from Beregost are welcome, as well as discussions of Faerűn's cultural life.
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TheIriaeban
Master of Realmslore
USA
1289 Posts |
Posted - 10 Nov 2022 : 16:24:15
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| Could some of those be errors and they meant Berdusk? That would make more sense than Beregost. |
"Iriaebor is a fine city. So what if you can have violence between merchant groups break out at any moment. Not every city can offer dinner AND a show."
My FR writeups - http://www.mediafire.com/folder/um3liz6tqsf5n/Documents
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Athreeren
Learned Scribe
144 Posts |
Posted - 10 Nov 2022 : 16:29:46
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quote:
Originally posted by TheIriaeban
Could some of those be errors and they meant Berdusk? That would make more sense than Beregost.
That would make more sense, but the Baldur's Gate ones are clearly about Beregost, and the importance of Beregost in Baldur's Gate is probably why it's that town that is chosen for Sharwyn's history (Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 were probably the FR product that the writers of NWN were most familiar with).
Everything else is from Ed Greenwood himself, and if there's one man who wouldn't confuse Beregost with Berdusk... |
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TheIriaeban
Master of Realmslore
USA
1289 Posts |
Posted - 10 Nov 2022 : 16:38:08
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| Well, that leads to another reason: The Harpers have a manned presence there for whatever reason and when bards get bored, they write songs. |
"Iriaebor is a fine city. So what if you can have violence between merchant groups break out at any moment. Not every city can offer dinner AND a show."
My FR writeups - http://www.mediafire.com/folder/um3liz6tqsf5n/Documents
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Athreeren
Learned Scribe
144 Posts |
Posted - 10 Nov 2022 : 17:10:29
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quote:
Originally posted by TheIriaeban
Well, that leads to another reason: The Harpers have a manned presence there for whatever reason and when bards get bored, they write songs.
The Code of the Harpers mentions that there is a local office of the Heralds, with a gate that leads to the Heralds' Hall of Swordsmere (I've never been clear on the relations between the Harpers and the Heralds; would the Harpers know and be allowed to use that gate?). Since the name of the office is the Red Sword, I thought the gate would be located in the Red Sheath inn, but that inn is actually called the Red sheaf (if there's no canon contradiction, I'm keeping that anyway).
The Heralds' office is the only mention of Beregost in that book, although I'm sure that Harpers often visit the town, if they don't have a permanent presence there. |
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The Masked Mage
Great Reader
USA
2420 Posts |
Posted - 11 Nov 2022 : 00:24:55
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I wouldn't so much call Beregost small, as I would call it rural. Its a farming town. Those don't get very big. When you include all the farms, its probably - size wise - easily as large as many of the bigger cities of the region. It is positioned along the biggest trade route on the sword coast, which automatically makes it a convenient stop for caravans. That alone makes it a likely place for bards.
It also had a school of Wizardry. That gives it both a bump in importance, and another reason for spellcasters to gather near. Later it got Thalantyr (I've always wondered if he was once a student of the school long ago) and the temple of Lathander. Sun god in a farming town makes perfect sense too. Add to all this its close proximity to Candlekeep (another reason for bards to come) and it seems reasonable for bards to be common there.
Then, when you think about it, it is pretty darn close to Berdusk. Only Baldur's Gate is close as far as major cities go. This tells me that Berdusk and Baldur's together likely receive the vast majority of the crops farmed in Beregost. One more reason for it to be a place bard go to - Berdusk Harpers settling down in the quieter neighbor (with a Herald's office as noted above). I'd bet on a strong permanent Harper presence. |
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Athreeren
Learned Scribe
144 Posts |
Posted - 02 Nov 2024 : 15:44:34
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| Another famous author from Beregost: although she had abandoned her shrine a long time ago when she wrote her magnum opus, Raethra Nuenna lived in Beregost for a long time before she wrote Duth Lavarranka (“On Living Well”), Sharess' version of the Kama Sutra. Also, said shrine is said to have been active from 732 DR through the 760s DR; I don't think I had seen such ancient mentions of Beregost, and this does confirm that the town was not founded as a response to Ulcaster starting his school of magic in Year of Crimson Magics. |
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The bards of Beregost
