Thargrim Valevoice, Dwarven Bard, Historian and Chronicler of Merilrond
Thargrim Valevoice is a Dwarven bard, historian and one of the longstanding companions of Dîmeril Laeghartha. He came to Merilrond during its earliest years, when the Hall of the Roses was still largely a collection of repaired rooms amongst the ruins of an abandoned woodland keep. Already an experienced traveller and scholar, Thargrim originally intended to remain only long enough to investigate the history of the place and record some of the increasingly curious events occurring around its new inhabitants. He never quite left.
Thargrim was not a young Dwarf when he first encountered Dîmeril. He had already travelled widely, collected histories and songs from several lands and developed the scholarly habits that would eventually make him Merilrond's unofficial archivist. He was interested in old places, forgotten stories and, particularly, the uncomfortable gap between what actually happened and what people later claimed had happened. The ruined keep immediately interested him. Its new inhabitants interested him considerably more.
Here was Dîmeril Laeghartha, formerly Border Lord of Ardenfell, now living amongst the ruins with an extraordinary assortment of companions. Around her were Elves, Half-Elves, priests, warriors, Fey and others who had somehow accumulated during years of adventuring. Nearby stood the great oak of the dryad Glovanna. The pixie Énglantine had been rescued from the green hag who previously occupied the keep. Local woodland folk were beginning to appear at the gates asking Dîmeril for help with problems that nobody else seemed willing or able to solve. And Dîmeril herself appeared to regard all of this as perfectly ordinary. For a historian, it was irresistible.
The Coming to Merilrond
Thargrim arrived when Dîmeril was around thirty-nine, while Merilrond was still in its formative years. There was no grand court, no established Sisterhood and certainly nothing resembling the later political importance of the Hall of the Roses. Parts of the old keep remained unsafe. Repairs were conducted whenever somebody possessed sufficient money, materials and enthusiasm. Trees and climbing plants still occupied substantial portions of the ruins, and the distinction between courtyard, garden and woodland was sometimes largely theoretical. Thargrim initially came as a visitor. He stayed as an observer. Then he began helping. Exactly when Thargrim ceased being a guest and became one of Dîmeril's companions is difficult to determine. Thargrim himself has been unable to provide a satisfactory date, which irritates him considerably. There was simply no moment when Dîmeril formally asked him to remain. Nor did Thargrim ever announce that he intended to. One season became another. A room acquired shelves for his books. Then more shelves. His travelling chest somehow ceased being packed. Somebody began referring visitors with historical questions to “the Dwarf.” Eventually Thargrim realised he lived at Merilrond. By then everyone else had known for years.
The Chronicler of Merilrond
Thargrim became the principal historian of the growing community. He witnessed many of the incidents that established Dîmeril's early reputation amongst the people of the surrounding woods. He was present during the period when frightened families, woodcutters, travellers and isolated communities increasingly began coming to the old keep for assistance. A redcap was killed. A displacer beast was hunted down. The annis hag Old Nan Crookbone was destroyed, although too late to save the child she had taken. Meenlocks preying upon local woodcutters were exterminated. Other incidents followed. Dîmeril rarely considered these events particularly remarkable. Someone came asking for help; she possessed the ability to help them; therefore she did. Thargrim noticed something Dîmeril did not. People were beginning to remember. A family protected by Dîmeril told another family. A woodcutter told a village. Travellers carried stories beyond the immediate woods. The ruined keep gradually became somewhere people went when something dangerous was prowling beyond the firelight. Thargrim recorded the change as it happened. He was also amongst the first of Dîmeril's companions to recognise the political implications. When woodland folk began addressing her as Heryn, Dîmeril regarded the title largely as an affectionate courtesy. Thargrim knew better.
The Flight of the Violet Hart
Thargrim was present during the confrontation with Lord Vaeroth Amaranthine, the Sidhe Lord of the Violet Hart who regarded Merilrond's growing influence as an intrusion upon the traditional order of the Fey. Vaeroth came expecting submission. He received considerably less than he anticipated. His attack upon Merilrond ended in defeat, and the Fey lord was forced to flee, abandoning his violet banner bearing the Silver Hart beneath the Crescent Moon. Dîmeril kept it. The incident subsequently became known amongst the local Fey as the Flight of the Violet Hart, although Thargrim has repeatedly attempted to determine who first coined the phrase and has so far failed. For him, Vaeroth's defeat marks an important point in Merilrond's history. Before the Violet Hart, Dîmeril had largely been a local protector. Afterwards, other powers in the Golden Woods had to begin taking her seriously. Dîmeril herself did not necessarily appreciate the distinction. Thargrim did. He wrote it down.
The Archives of Merilrond
Over the decades, Thargrim accumulated an extensive collection of material concerning Merilrond and its inhabitants. His archives contain histories, maps, letters, genealogies, copies of agreements, accounts of expeditions, descriptions of creatures encountered within the Golden Woods and testimony collected from those involved in important events. He also preserves material relating to Dîmeril's life before Merilrond wherever reliable information can be obtained. Thargrim distinguishes carefully between fact, testimony, tradition and conjecture. This can make his writing considerably less exciting than some readers would prefer. He considers that their problem. He has an almost obsessive respect for historical accuracy and an equally strong suspicion of stories that become neater with repeated telling. Heroes rarely remember their mistakes accurately. Survivors unconsciously improve their decisions. Witnesses contradict one another. Victories acquire speeches nobody remembers hearing at the time. Thargrim records these contradictions rather than eliminating them. Even Dîmeril is not exempt. On one occasion she objected to his account of an event on the entirely reasonable grounds that she had personally been there. “I was there, Thargrim.” “So was I.” “It happened to me.” “Which is apparently why you remember it so badly.” Dîmeril stared at him. Thargrim continued writing.
Thargrim and Dîmeril
Thargrim has never been Dîmeril's servant or retainer.He is her companion and old friend. Their friendship developed gradually, without either of them apparently noticing when professional curiosity became personal affection. Thargrim respects Dîmeril enormously, but decades of familiarity have rendered him largely immune to the aura surrounding the Heryn of Merilrond. He remembers her before much of it existed. He remembers the unfinished rooms. He remembers leaking roofs. He remembers when being Heryn meant that three frightened woodcutters had decided Dîmeril was the person most likely to prevent something horrible from eating them. Consequently, Thargrim possesses very little patience for excessive ceremony around her. A nervous visitor once arrived at Merilrond and asked where he might find the celebrated Heryn Dîmeril Laeghartha, Lady of the Hall of Roses. Thargrim barely looked up from his manuscript. “Stable.” Then he returned to writing. Dîmeril values him for precisely the same reason. Thargrim tells her the truth. Not necessarily the truth as Dîmeril would prefer it remembered, but the truth as he understands it from the available evidence. That distinction has occasionally produced arguments. It has never damaged their friendship.
Poppy Fenwick
Thargrim was already an established member of the Merilrond household when Poppy Fenwick was born to Luin and Mara. Consequently, he has known the woman now calling herself Seraphine Valecourt for literally her entire life. He remembers Poppy as a child. Seraphine would generally prefer that he did not. Thargrim remembers embarrassing incidents she has subsequently forgotten, early musical performances of extremely variable quality and several childhood declarations concerning what she intended to become when she grew up, none of which involved becoming Seraphine Valecourt. He also remembers when she first began showing genuine musical talent. For all their later disagreements, Thargrim encouraged it. He taught her old songs, explained the histories behind them and introduced her to musical traditions considerably older than either of them. Seraphine eventually developed into a very different sort of bard from Thargrim, but she remains one of the few musicians whose ability he genuinely respects. Unfortunately, she also became a songwriter.
The Ballads of Seraphine Valecourt
Thargrim and Seraphine possess fundamentally incompatible philosophies concerning history. Thargrim believes that if an event is worth remembering, it is worth remembering correctly. Seraphine believes that if an event is worth remembering, it ought at least to have a decent chorus. Their most famous disagreement concerns The Redcap's Run, Seraphine's enormously popular ballad concerning one of Dîmeril's early adventures. Thargrim was there. This has proven unfortunate for everyone. Seraphine's version has become increasingly elaborate over the years, accumulating danger, drama and occasionally additional enemies whenever she considers the original events insufficiently entertaining. Thargrim objects. Constantly. “The Redcap came roaring from the darkness with twenty of its blood-soaked kin—” “One.” Seraphine stops playing. “What?” “There was one redcap.” “Thargrim, nobody is buying ale to hear a song about one redcap.” Seraphine once summarised their disagreement rather neatly: “It's a ballad, Thargrim, not a witness statement.” Thargrim considers this precisely the problem.
The Dwarven Bard
It is easy to forget amongst Thargrim's books and archives that he is also an accomplished bard. He possesses a deep bass voice and plays a traditional Dwarven harp, favouring old historical songs, laments, marching pieces and long narrative compositions. His musical style is considerably less flamboyant than Seraphine's but technically excellent and backed by an enormous repertoire accumulated over decades of travelling. The two perform remarkably well together. Thargrim's bass and harp provide a rich foundation beneath Seraphine's voice and lute, and their appearances together at the Bashful Brownie are extremely popular. Thargrim insists that these performances occur only occasionally. The staff of the Bashful Brownie might dispute his definition of occasionally. Seraphine certainly does.
The Question of Luin
There is one subject upon which Seraphine has been unable to extract useful information from Thargrim. Luin and Dîmeril. Seraphine has long suspected that the history between her father and the Heryn is rather more complicated than either of them admits. Thargrim knows. Or Seraphine believes he knows. Which, from her perspective, amounts to the same thing. Attempts to acquire information have included charm, flattery, wine, appeals to historical scholarship and suspiciously casual requests for access to particular portions of Thargrim's archives. All have failed. Thargrim neither confirms nor denies that there is anything worth discovering. This makes Seraphine considerably more certain that there is. Thargrim is enjoying the situation far more than he admits.
The Wards
Thargrim has lived at Merilrond long enough to witness perhaps its greatest transformation. He remembers the Hall before there were Wards. When Megilindir arrived as a little girl and what should have been a stay of several days became weeks, months and eventually a permanent place in Dîmeril's life, Thargrim recorded that too. He watched the First Ward grow up. Then another child came. And another. What had begun as Dîmeril simply caring for one child who needed her gradually became one of Merilrond's defining institutions. Thargrim knows the histories of the Wards, including those who later left Merilrond to make lives elsewhere. He also remembers Eleneth. Her death is recorded in his histories without embellishment, including Dîmeril's subsequent destruction of the ettercap colony responsible. Thargrim neither excuses nor condemns what Dîmeril did. He records it. That matters. The histories of Merilrond do not consist only of its victories. Its dead belong to its history too.
The Old Dwarf of Merilrond
Thargrim has now lived at the Hall of the Roses for more than three decades. The ruined keep he first encountered has become almost unrecognisable. Merilrond has grown around him. Children he remembers being born are now adults. Megilindir, whom he knew as a little girl, has become an accomplished ranger. Poppy Fenwick became Seraphine Valecourt. Dîmeril became the Heryn everyone else apparently always assumed she was going to become. Thargrim kept writing. His relationship with Merilrond has therefore undergone a transformation of its own. He arrived as a historian. Then he became its chronicler. Then one of Dîmeril's companions. Eventually he became something more difficult to define. Family.
Thargrim would probably object that family is an imprecise historical classification. Nobody at Merilrond cares. He has occupied the same rooms for decades. His books fill shelves throughout his part of the Hall. Younger inhabitants come to him with questions. Older inhabitants come to argue about things he has written. Seraphine comes to annoy him. Dîmeril occasionally appears with some ancient object she has found and deposits it on his desk with the words: “Thought you'd like this.” Usually he does. Thargrim originally remained at Merilrond because he believed he was witnessing the beginning of something historically important. He was correct. He simply failed to anticipate that he would become part of it. And perhaps that is why his histories of Merilrond are so valuable. They were not written by a court historian commissioned to glorify the Heryn, nor by some later scholar attempting to reconstruct events from legend. They were written by a Dwarf who was actually there. A Dwarf who saw the arguments, mistakes, ridiculous incidents, grief, marriages, births, victories and failures that the songs sometimes leave out. Thargrim came to Merilrond to record history. He stayed long enough to discover that history was simply what happened while his friends were getting on with their lives.