Morninglark

The Morninglark was a magical elven harp that could only be operated through spellsong.

Description
The Morninglark a 20-stringed harp was made of dark wood marked with carvings of elven origin. Of particular note was a carving of a morninglark, which moved to the music played on the harp.

History
Some time during or prior to 1364 DR, the Morninglark was in the hands of an elven bard named Ingrival who was in the village of Taskerleigh near Waterdeep when it was attacked by the green dragon Grimnoshtadrano, who carried the harp to his lair. Ingrival was the sole survivor of the attack, but went mad in the process.

Soon thereafter, the harp was sought by the half-elven sorceress Iriador Wintermist ("Garnet"), who used it to place a curse intended to take revenge on the Harpers. The curse consisted of the following elements: 1) Changing the songs of bards without their awareness, 2) causing crops to wither and die, 3) controlling monsters who used music for a weapon, and 4) influencing crowds through song.

That same year, Elaith Craulnober was assigned by Evindal Duirsar to retrieve the Morninglark in order to restore his honor and reactivate his dormant moonblade for his daughter Azariah. He was joined by Danilo Thann and his companions, who were independently seeking Garnet and the Morninglark on behalf of the Harpers. Elaith eventually retrieved the harp and Danilo used it to reverse the curse. In the process, Elaith was badly injured defending Danilo, and the harp was consumed. In that way, Elaith failed his task; however, his moonblade recognized his honorable act and reactivated itself, so his journey was not in vain.

Appearances

 * Elfsong