Bim the Bard

(a.k.a. Greencap, Blue bird, The bard in green, Rosewood rouser, The leader of the band, The undying song.)

"Oh softer than a lovers touch
and like the break of spring.
How rosewood quivers in the clutch,
as the bard doth pluck the string."
- Royal Chronicler Asterio Barbas, on Bim the Bards visit in Stillwater.

There are few who now live that have not heard of Bim the Bard. An almost universal folk hero in the realms of men, dwarven and elven kin alike. Everyone knows the stories, celebrate the great deeds and reenact the songs of Bim and "the band of many". The companions of this near mythical figure.

Go to any town or village with a decent enough mead hall, inn or longhouse and you are bound to encounter at least one musician ready to don a green cap with a blue feater and proclaim themselves to be "The real Bim". In fact, the classic outfit of the green cap with the feather have become such a cultural icon that no decent enough musician, poet or performer would be found without at least one of these things in their pack when performing.
The suspension of disbelief that Bim the bard might be real and that the half decent flautist performing in your tavern this evening just might be him or her has kept many struggling musicians fed, clothed and housed.
Every few years a great king or queen will invite Bim the bard to their feast or wedding. And every now and then a musician will appear, dressed in the green and blue, with the rosewood lute in hand and a voice soft as honey. People will leave the festivities, gossiping and quarreling about the nature of the musician and whether or not it in fact was the real Bim or not. And so the myth will be reinvigorated, and every hall in the realm will suddenly claim to feature "The Bard". Bands of many will spring up everywhere, like snowdrops in the spring. Bim's songs and stories will be told. New ones will be added, woven together from the gossip, rumors and bits of melody claimed to have been performed originally at the palace or castle.
The legend of the bard goes through the population like ripples in water.
And just as the ripples are about to settle, another stone is dropped into the well,

and the realm is filled with music.

The Band of many
One of the oldest and most popular legends about Bim the Bard is the story of the battle of Keerons cliff, and the creation of the band of many. The story is told very differently depending on where you are or who is doing the telling, since it tries to explain the events leading up to the battle of the mountain pass seperating the roaring highlands from the then expanding Sirian empire.
The story begins in the village of Foothold. At the time a small outpost centered around a stone fort in the foothills leading to the highland pass. In this time of war the pass was instrumental to the empires plan of conquering the highland clans and enveloping the north. But to win access to the path the emperor, Gerrard Sirius, knew he needed help from the mercenaries of the land. With their knowledge and manpower he planned to take Foothold and march his armies north, ending his year long campaign in the north.

A few nights before the armies arrived at the southern end of the pass, the leaders of the many mercenary companies were meeting in the town of Foothold. They were there discussing the emperor's proposal and spending his bribes on food, wine and any pleasures the value of his gold could bestow upon them. It was during one such meeting in the community hall, when just as a particularly drunk mercenary leader was about to start harassing the townsfolk, a chord rang through the hall. One clear chord. A perfect chord, from a rosewood lute. There in the middle of the hall stood a minstrel, dressed in siple garbs of brown leather and green wool. On its head it wore a simple green cap, fashioned like the hats of the Redwood kin with a single blue feather in the brim.
As the chord rang it is said that all else fell quiet, as if muted by some spell. And then...

... the minstrel sang.

The first song was a heartwarming rendition of "the lion and the lamb". It was followed a raunchy version of "Cobblers reel", with new verses that had half the audience bending over in laughter and then came a jig so lively it had both mercenaries and townsfolk dancing together in merryment. And so the evening went on. The bard, with each song taking its audience from untethered joy to welling up with tears and when the night came to its inevitable end the mercenaries went back to their camps and hold outs without a thought of the battles to come.

But the next night, the sellswords were back at Foothold, causing trouble and roughing up the locals. This time they seemed more aggrevated than ever before. Perhaps they felt the war approaching and that anxiety showed itself in ruthless and ugly ways. But just as the soldiers were getting a bit too violent in their delights, another chord rang through the hall. Once again things quieted down. But before the spell had lulled everyone into listening, the great mercenary leader Og-Lars broke the silence, crying out;
"Not today, Bard. We are not here for your songs. Take you music elsewere!"
"Such a shame, dear friends. For I brought my friend the drummer, and he beats such a lovely rat-a-tat on his skins, that not even the statues can stand still." answered the bard.
Hearing this the other patrons all cried for Og-Lars to stand down and let them play. And so they did. The bard and the drummer.
And that night even the statues moved to the beat of the drums.
On the third night, when trouble stirred and the chord once again rang out, another leader tried to stop the fun. And the Bard said;
"But let me first introduce you all to my friend the piper. For when Pip blows the reeds you can hear the riverland waters run. When Pip hugs the sackpipes, you can close your eyes and see the sun rise over the highland hills." And so they let Pip the piper play, while the bard and the drummer accompanied with harmony and beat.

And so it went on. Night after night. Whenever the soldiers would get too rough or too loud, the bard would appear. And when someone protested, artist would be added to the band. After many nights there was a whole orchestra, capable of playing from dusk til' dawn.

When Gerrard Sirius marched his troops towards Keerons cliff to take the fort in the highland pass, he was left wanting. For the mercenary legions of the land where nowhere to be found. It turned out they were all attending an impromptu music festival with the greatest group of musicians that had ever walked the realm.

The telling of the story of the band of many changes with every telling and the band members vary from time to time. But most storytellers seem to agree on the following performers:
Bim the bard (the leader of the band)
Drax the drummer
Pip the piper
Fin the fiddler
Hanna the harper
Mark "master of Rythm"
Deanna the dancer
Tarren the tambourine man
Tom-tom and Yenna (The twins of harmony)

Who is/was Bim the Bard?
Being a well known folk hero and recurring character throughout the realm there are many stories about Bim. However this also means that there are a lot of contradicting accouts determining the nationality, ethnicity and even gender of Bim the Bard. Everyone seems to agree that Bim the Bard is (or at least once was) a real person, or possibly a goblin*. However, heated drunken discussion often arise over any details beyond that fact. In the riverlands and northern Sirius, most agree that Bim is a man and lived and operated during the time of the Sirian expansion, often citing the story of the band of many taking place at close to the end of that war. In the knightingdales and marshlands to the north Bim is often portrayed as a woman, sometimes of Elven kin, and believed to be alive and operating. In the highlands Bim is often regarded as the saviour of the realm. In their stories Bim led the mercenary legion known as the band of many swords against the Sirian armies. They also believe Bim to still be alive there, saying that since Bim is of Redwood kin his lifespan stretches over hundreds of years.
And unsuprisingly, in Anturin, Bim was an anturian musician and loyal to whatever family holds the capitol at the time.



" 'Who is Bim the bard?'  you say! They are the rhyme of your poets, the melody of your folk songs. They are the minstrel in your taproom and the humming mother by the crib. Bim is the cultural canon of your country m'lord. But for all this, Bim is me, and I am Bim. And tonight I shall fill your halls with music, you will fill my pockets with gold, and the merryment we both will experience from this will light up the gloom of these dark times."
- Overheard in the Citadel of Xenit during prince Joels wedding feast.

Current Status

Wandering

Age

Unknown (In their prime)

Family

Alvari beings

Pronouns

They

Gender

Varies

Eyes

Unknown

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Depends on culture.

Height

Varies

Weight

Varies

Belief/Deity

The old Gods, disciple of Maru.