Folk Legends and Heroes
Common Telvan Folk Heroes:
Beren the Half-Elf
Foremost of the various Telvan Folk Heroes and folk Legend is Beren the Half-Elf. Born to an Elven Mother of surpassing loveliness and a human father who died before he was Born, Beren is the prototypical ‘Bardic Hero’. He is trained in the art of Bardic Magic by his mother, and yet is shunned by both the community of elves and the community of men. So he sets to wandering and has a series of adventures.
Beren is a figure of tricks and fun. He is usually set upon by more powerful foes, often in stories Evil Knights or Robber Bandits or some great Monster like an Ogre or Giant, and than he uses a combination of his magic, his music, and his wits to escape, outwit and over-come.
Many of his Ballads also include romantic contexts. Some are classical in terms of courtly love. He admires a woman from afar, but in the end doesn’t consumate his love, moving on before that can happen and leaving a broken heart behind him. Others are Bawdy, relaying his conquests, or the trouble he gets himself into.
The Classic Tales include; Beren and the Ogre; Beren and the Red Countess; The Half-Elf and the Half-Wit; Beren and the Ghostly Maiden Faire
The Three Knights
The Three Knights are historical figures of some degree, but have well passed into legend and are a frequent topic of Bardic sons and courtly poems alike.
The Three Knights are Sir Kaspars the Green, Sir Ludis the Red, and Sir Toms the Hollow-Knight. The last so called because he took as his ‘Standard’ an empty shield. Each of the three are friends and sworn companions, though they have many adventures on their own. Sir Kaspars the Green is Thoughtful, Clever and Pious, Sir Ludis the Red is Strong of Arm and Kind-Hearted, and the Hollow-Knight is Humble fair. In this way they serve Archetypes as the Clever Scholar, the Gentle Strong-man, and the Humble man whose common wisdom grants him luck.
Besides representing three complementary virtues and abilities, the Three Knights are often used in morality plays in which the complementariness of their skills are demonstrated. A common formula is for two of them to fall for some trap or rouse, and for the third to be able to defeat it. This formula might be repeated three times, each saving the others.
Most of their stories are of classic Chivalry, fighting Black Knights, rescuing Maidens, protecting peasants from ignoble lords and so forth.
A few of the more common Ballads include; The Black Knight; The Hag, the Troll and the Imp; A Journey down the Midden Road
Andirs Luckfellow is the near universal Bandit Hero. Almost certainly Ahistorical there are dozens of ballads about him and his fellows. In most of the tales Andris is a poor weavers son, who family home is destroyed by an Evil and Tyrannical Lord(which one varies with the region, each has their particular Blackguard favourite). He turns to banditry and robs the tyranical local lords, corrupt clergy, and up-tight merchants, and turns his goods over to the pious monk, the local poor, and so forth.
He is portrayed usually as a wicked Staff Fighter; able to hold his own against multiple opponents or much larger men. He is usually described as being surprisingly strong, such that a common theme in many of the stories is a challenge of strength where the smaller man unexpectedly wins.
His stories often cross with a few others, and the cast of characters associated with him also varies by region. A Pious Monk who acts as his spiritual guide is the most common. Another is a Beautiful woman who is the daughter/wife/servant of his direst enemy. In this last case he is often saved by this woman’s quick thinking or timely assistance.