Gotran Harp

I have never heard anything like it. I was honored that Elias and his family invited me to their son's Akranash, or Coming of Age, but the music was divine, all stemming from a single strange instrument. A cross between a sea shell, a lute, and a lyre. I could swear that the crashing waves were against my ears, not outside on the cliff.

I would never be able to travel with such a large instrument, but if I were, its music would run sweet throughout the realms. Songs of the sea, travelling across them with the sounds trailing behind it.

O' I am giddy with excitement of hearing such sweet music.

— Erethas the Bard's experience with a Gotran Harp.

The Gotran Harp is a musical instrument known for its use within the Coming of Age ceremony for those of Branish descent within the Tylathoram Coalition. It is also known to followers of Akorvis who hear the music once each year during the Festival of the Ocean in Port Zan.

Gotran Harp

General Information

Type	Musical Instrument (Stringed)

Historical Information

Created	703 AR
Created by	Tyenra Gotran

Geographical Information

Plane	Material Plane (Nonvyrox)
Continent	Heimter
Region	Tylathoram Coalition

Description

The Gotran Harp is a stringed instrument that is laid flat when played. It is designed around a large shell that can be found in the coast. Somewhere between 10 and 30 strings are strung along the edges at different lengths, each designed to produce a different sound. When struck, each string resonates with not only the note it is designed to play, but also a strange washing resonance that is said to sound between waves crashing and water gently trickling.

The strings of the instrument are made out of a sea kelp strung together and worked like fibres, each to a different thickness that helps define the note of the string. The process of making the strings alone takes somewhere between 20 and 30 years to master, with obtaining the knowledge to create a full Gotran Harp taking at least 20 more.

History

The idea of the Gotran Harp came from a communion between Tyenra Gotran, a devout cleric of Akorvis, and her god. The instrument was designed to pay homage to the Branish people, an ancient group who were devout worshipers of Akorvis but were almost entirely killed out during The Shatter. Tyenra was one of the last few remaining Branish descendents, and Akorvis gave her insight into the crafts of her ancestors to create the first Gotran Harp.

The Harp became recognised for its cultral purposes as the Branish people began to expand into the coast, new people learning of their Branish descent as they were able to trace families back. As a result, the Harp, named for both its creator and the Branish word for ocean, were integrated into the Akranash or Coming of Age ceremonies for the Branish descendants, as was discussed in one of the few ancient texts about them.

Arcane Power

The Harp is said to have arcane power beyond what people expect. At first the resonances that sound like the ocean appear to be natural, however, they are most commonly understood to be a blessing from Akorvis onto the instrument itself.

It has been noted that should they be tuned and played by a bard of significant enough skill, the Gotran Harp may act like an amplifier for magical energy. Some who have witnessed the Harp used to cast spells have noted that if used correctly, the Harp could become a weapon of war, able to shatter buildings and part oceans. But it would take a skilled hand not to get lost in the music and driven to complete madness.

Notable Players

Name	Pronouns	Description
Tyenra Gotran	She/Her	Human Artisan. As the creator of the instrument, some claim that she was the best player of the instrument ever. Tyenra was humble about her skill with the Harp as she was not skilled in other musical instruments. There are tales of her using the Harp to produce illusory images that would dazzle those that heard her play.
Elesha Rennazh	She/Her	Drakin Performer and Devout. Elesha has stayed locale to her home, having been born to a dying mother in a temple of Akorvis. She started playing the Gotran Harp that had been stored in the temple to celebrate local Branish Akranash. She was discouraged at first by the temple leader, until she proved through intense practice that she could play the instrument. She still plays the instrument in the temple, having sworn an oath to protect the temple and the small village of Branish people around it, should they ever come under attack.
Gonnish Tal'vanesh	He/They	Half-Elf Bard. Gonnish worked tirelessly to learn both how to create and play the Gothran Harp. Possessing a skill to formulate the arcane from music, he has used it to amplify his magic during shows to engage the audience in his work. Some say that they have learned to enchant people using the sounds of the oceans to take extra coin from their purses and place them into their pocket, but no one has yet had a bad word to say about their performances yet!