Alaundo's Library

Bard's Rumours

The work contained on the following pages is the property and copyright of Wizards of the Coast\TSR inc. and is quotted directly from their site.  It has been formatted for viewing on this site by the Scribes of Candlekeep.  The article is available for viewing in its original state from the Forgotten Realms Features page on the WotC site: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/main.asp?x=fr/features,3.


Mintiper's Chapbook - Part 1
Moonlight's Triumph

By Eric L. Boyd

Moonlight’s Triumph

Along Selûne’s path they did walk,
Leaving no stone unturned.
A battle fought, all but six were lost,
A final triumph earned.

A nether tide swept down the pass,
In search of silver plunder.
Two hundred strong the mists did cloak,
Ready with waiting thunder.

Arching shafts flew aloft in flocks,
And boulders rained down on the field.
The tuskers’ blood ran red and hot,
While nary a blade did they wield.

From yonder bluffs did lightning strike,
Reaving a scarlet furrow.
By Art lived, by reflection lost,
Freestaves laid forever low.

With cries of rage the orcs did charge,
The battle joined at last.
The waves were dashed upon the rocks,
And none did ever pass.

Five score did fall upon each blade,
Ere the nether tide receded.
And of the rocks that stood so firm,
Only bloody sand postceded.

Along Selûne’s path they did walk,
Leaving no stone unturned.
A battle fought, all but six were lost,
A final triumph earned.

Excerpt from "Moonlight Paean"
Composed by Mintiper Moonsilver
Year of the Moonfall (1344 DR)

Keeper’s Annotations

The valiant sacrifice of the Moonlight Men in the Battle of Turnstone Pass in defense of the Gem of the North and neighboring Everlund is justly celebrated in song and tales throughout the Moonlands. After eight splendid seasons spent roaming the North, all but six men of Mintiper’s legendary company of mercenaries gave up their lives battling the orcs of the Nethertide Horde in the Year of the Boot (1343 DR). The Moonlight Paean is perhaps Mintiper’s most poignant work, for it speaks of a commander’s anguish as those loyal to him fight desperately for a noble cause, yet die nonetheless.

In this excerpt from the beginning of the ballad, the reference to Our Lady of Silver in the first and last stanzas suggests that Selûne in some way guided the Moonlight Men (and she may still guide Mintiper’s wanderings even today). [1] The reference to "no stone unturned" is an apparent allusion to both the company’s success in treasure-hunting in ruins across the North as well as the site of their last battle. Some have suggested that taken together, these two lines hint at the location of the Cairn of Moonlight, believed to lie somewhere along the length Turnstone Pass. According to such theories, the location of this barrow is revealed on certain nights when the moon is full. However, at least a score or more of treasure-seekers have failed to uncover such a site, casting doubt on any such claims. [2]

It is from the second stanza that the Nethertide horde destroyed by the Moonlight Men earned its moniker. Here "nether" has multiple connotations, suggesting the orcs’ origin in the Nether Mountains, the region’s ties to ancient Netheril, and the perception among humans and demihumans that orcs are a lesser species. "Tide" connotes both the overwhelming numbers faced by the Moonlight Men and the nigh endless supply of orcs that endlessly plague our land. "Silver plunder" suggests the target of the horde was Silverymoon and, to a lesser extent, Everlund. "Mists" is often used to suggest the goddess Leira, and a mantle or cloak of mist is often an allusion to the use of magical invisibility. [1] Finally, "ready with waiting thunder" matches accounts that the Moonlight Men had in their possession one or more horns of blasting, although no such devices were ever recovered or accounted for. [2]

The third stanza recounts the initial ambush launched by the Moonlight Men, as archers let fly thousands of arrows and prearranged rockslides were triggered. [3]

The next stanza suggests that the wizards of the company stood on bluffs above the pass and rained lightning bolts and other evocations down on the orcs below. "Freestaves" is a common term for mercenary wizards suggestive of trees, and the metaphorical imagery suggests that the mage corps was toppled like a forest felled by a woodsman’s axe. "By reflection lost" is a curious turn of phrase considered by most scholars to be either a lament for knowledge lost or an acknowledgment that mercenary spellhurlers forego the opportunities for scholarship afforded to their more introspective colleagues. Despite common belief that the company’s wizards eventually fell to a series of suicidal charges by the orcs, it is my belief that Mintiper was alluding here to a heretofore unknown battle tactic of the orcs that enabled them to hurl spells back at their caster. [4]

The following two stanzas recount the bloody battle that ensued between the orcs and the Moonlight Men, said to have outnumbered them twenty-to-one. [5] Mintiper’s imagery suggests a pounding surf gradually beating rocks into sand, a metaphor that can be taken in two different ways. On one hand he is obviously celebrating the valor of the Moonlight Men, to have prevailed against such odds. On the other hand he seems to be suggesting the futility of pitting armies against the endless hordes of orcs emerging from the wastelands of the North, for no matter how strong their defenses or valiant their efforts, they will eventually be worn down. Perhaps there is a better way?

The stanzas that follow this excerpt record the entire roster of the Moonlight Men and their fates, and they are only rarely sung in full. Some of the more prominent names from these stanzas include Lord Laerlos Silmerhelve II [6], Tsaelynos of Everlund [7], and Barundar "Firebeard" Battlehammer, son of Arn, of Kelvin’s Cairn [8]. A full recounting of the individual exploits of the Moonlight Men is beyond the scope of this annotation, but rest assured that their deeds are the source of countless fireside tales.


Chronicler’s Footnotes


References

Introduction

Moonlight’s Triumph


Read the other articles of Mintiper's Chapbook:


Return to Realms Lore

Return to Alaundo's Library