Jane:
>
> I found this while searching for something entirely different, read
> it, and went "wow!".
>
> http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/kveng/kvrune44.htm
>
> An ancient hero musician has lost his magical harp, last seen at the
> bottom of the sea. First he commissions some magical sea-searching
> equipment, then when that fails, goes on a quest to make a new harp
> (though to be picky, it only has 5 strings, and I reckon it's a lyre).
A kantele to be specific.
The Kalevala is full of excellent heroquests. Ilmarinen's
heroic deeds to win the daughter of Pohjola for example.
There is even a failed quest, when Lemmink�inen sets out
to kill Hiisi's moose, but dies trying (but is resurrected
by his mother who retrieves the pieces of his body from
the river that separates the land of the dead from the
land of the living).
Nils Weinander
We sail on a ship made of dreams