Tal Harrenfel is more lie than legend.
This is my conclusion regarding "the Man of a Thousand Names," and by the flagrant dishonesty of Falcon Sunstring, Harrenfel's minstrel, I must doubt all of the infamous adventurer's purported exploits.
Sunstring's opening ballad would have you believe:
He stole the Impervious Ring from the Queen of Goblins
He killed Yuldor's Demon and saved the Sanguine City of Elendol
He protected the Northern Shores and plumbed the depths of the dwarven mines
He stole the heart of a princess and the tongue from a bard
Ringthief — Devil Killer — Defender of the Westreach
His name harkens back to the deeds of his youth
His legend rings out from every throat in the West...
Yet Sunstring fails to mention the darker stories also attributed to Harrenfel. Magebutcher. Red Reaver. Khuldanaam'defarnaam — or, translated from the Clantongue of the Hardrog Dwarves, "He Who Does Not Fear Death, For He Is Death's Hand."
The story is at best incomplete, at worst impossible. That one man could be a swordsman, sorcerer, and mercenary as well as an accomplished poet, diplomat — and, if the rumors hold true, lover — stretches the limits of belief.
And how could any of the legend be believed, when Harrenfel himself was recorded saying to His Majesty, Aldric Rexall the Fourth:
"I've never claimed to be more than a man."
As a historian and a scholar, I will gather the witnesses, collect the accounts, and piece together the true story behind this modern fable. Then, fraud or impossibly true, I will expose Tal Harrenfel for the charlatan I suspect — nay, I know him to be.
- Brother Causticus of the Order of Ataraxis
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A King's Bargain (Legend of Tal #1)
FantasyThe legend of Tal Harrenfel is sung across the Westreach - and with each telling, the tales grow taller. But though he's declared a hero by his King, Tal has never claimed to be more than a man... After three decades of fighting warlocks, killing my...
