As promised, a little on murder ballads. The Sartarites (and lets be fair, the Tarshites as well) love their murder ballads, where they describe the events of a murder or feud, often lingering on the cruel aftermath. Many are told from the perspective of the killer, although the subgenre of Assassination Ballads are told from the perspective of the victim (most commonly one of the children of Prince Terasarin, although there are a few about the poisoning of Prince Jarosar). In general, the protagonists of these ballads are not good people (and often pretty awful), but they are often presented in a sympathetic light.But the ballads around Harrek the Berserk emphasize the White Bear as a murderous force of nature. There is sometimes some explanation for his rampages, but they always seem out of proportion to his crimes. And yet… and yet, Harrek almost always comes out looking like a Bad M*th** F****r.
