One of the most sought after instruments in all of musical history, is the fabled Horn of the Heavens. Said to have been crafted by the gods themselves, this heavenly horn supposedly has a magical sound that is matched by no other. Lost entirely, all that lingers of this horn are strands of legend passed down through myth. Recently uncovered scriptures and glyphs however, tell a different tale. They state that the Horn of the Heavens is more fact than fiction and still remains intact, buried deep beneath Sarvonian sands. This theory has come under fierce debate, particularly amongst the Masterbards of Bardavos.

Picture description. The legendary Horn of the Heavens as interpreted by one of Santharia's most finest artists. Image drawn by Seeker.

Description. There are only a handful of artworks that show the Horn of the Heavens, but there are many ancient tales that tell us of its beauty. It is said that the conical horn was made up of four conjoined but distinct sections:

• The mouthpiece was forged from purest glass. Gifting it with the most refined tones of any instrument, this shining section was bestowed by the wind gods.

• The chest of the horn was forged from ice of a frosty azure hue, which was divinely warm to the touch. Minuscule fish were said to be seen swimming round the rotation. This gave the Horn of Heavens note fluidity that could only have been bestowed by the water gods.

• The belly was forged from the toughest of stone, encased in tiny living flowering vines. Punctured in this section are the tone-holes, allowing the horn's notes to be punctual and precise, with accuracy that is matched by no other. This solid section was Bestowed by the earth gods.

• The bell was forged from godly lava. Black crusty segments that perpetually shift upon a bed of fiery liquid, glowing light and sparks flying from within the slender crevasses. This allowed the horn's grace to be as vibrant as the sun and to resonate in any environment. This gleaming section was bestowed by the fire gods.

Each section was said to overlap the next, so that it appeared as if winds were blowing from the mouthpiece onto the chest's Icelands, whose glaciers thinned onto the belly's land, while the land’s earth dissipated into the bell's burning lava.

Usage. Again, no one really knows precisely what the horn's purpose was, but it is said that it was hidden from mortals, for when it was kindly bestowed upon them by the gods, they used it only for evil and corruption. It was said that the music of the horn was so powerful and in such harmony with the universe that it is able to grant your most deepest desires. Numerous parables say that the horn was used to: lull rich aristocrats to sleep and make off with all their valubles while they dozed; fill people with the deepest of anger; heighten morale to such an extent that a mediocre army would become a blood-thirsty brawl; which often resulted in the deaths of innocents or serious damage to property or fill people with the heaviest of sorrows which often made them take their own life.

On a lighter note, the horn was also noted to be capable of: Quelling fire; freezing water; calming winds and parting earth; healing the deaf; submerging people in the utmost happiness and it could even heal the wounds of nature.

Myth/Lore. Legend states that before the horn was gifted to mankind, it was used by the divine twelve to further their own needs. Eyasha would shine its graceful tones upon a battlefield, calming hearts and ending wars, Arvins used it to call upon the animals and plants of Caelereth and signal the hunt, Grothar used it to alter the weather and it was even used by Queprur, to summon the spirits of the dead.

Once mortals had developed a suitable level of society, the now pleased gods gifted an ancient ancient tribe of Sarvonian elves with their divine horn. The Aellenrhim elves are speculated to be said tribe. The elves used the horn well, and treated it like a sacred power that was best left for the most serious occasions. Sadly during a raid, the Horn of the heavens found its way into the hands of men. Not as wise and peaceful as their elven counterparts, greedy and selfish men used this musical weapon to further their own malevolent needs. The young world had turned into chaos because of the misuse of a horn. Coór laughed upon the predicament, but the gods, they wept, vowing never to bestow something so powerful on mortals until all malevolence inside them vanished. And so they thrust the horn deep into the desert earth which surrounded the newly sprung hamlet Thaehavos (which later grew and was renamed to become the city of Bardavos). The horn became untouchable to mortal hands.

Fanfare of the Horn of Heavens for Horn and Resonance Organ was the final piece ever written by the famed composer Allegro Aninas before his untimely death. The recent discovery of his journal, mysteriously hidden under a floorboard in his Bardavos home, has sparked a new dispute amongst scholars of the School of Tunes regarding the existence of the Horn of the Heavens.

This is just an extract from the hordes of information regarding the Horn of the Heavens that lay hidden deep within Allegro's journal. He depicted that an ancestor of his stumbled across the Horn when lost in the desert and nearing death. The Gods then appeared to him in a vision, and urged him to hide the horn where it will never be found. Out of fear he carried out their wishes, however he wanted a member of the Aninas family to be the first holder of the Horn of Heavens, so its whereabouts were apparently passed down through the first sons and daughters of each generation. Allegro, with no siblings and no heirs, is suspected to have hidden the location of the horn deep within his composition "Fanfare of the Horn of Heavens" using a strange format of musical code. As his age advanced, Aninas became ever more eccentric, and in the year before his death was regarded as mad even by many of his friends, therefore the credibility of his journal is generally considered to be very weak. The original manuscript is said to remain behind the closed doors of the School of Tunes archives, and its analysis by the Masterbards and Music Theory scholars is being treated as highly classified.

Take note however that the vast majority of the infomation stated in this entry has been extracted from the most ancient of legends, and in fact the masterbards, further to numerous archaeological excavations around Bardavos, have come to the consensus that the horn never existed, and that it is just an old wifes tale, although they may not be singing us the whole tune.

"Fanfare of the Horn of Heavens", composed and performed by Petros Greenvale Format: MP3, Length: 2:41, Original Santharian work. Click here to download the song, use right-click and "Save as..." (2.46 MB).

5th Rising Sun 1670 a.S. Information provided by Petros Greenvale