Cortosi Trolls

Basic Information

Alternative name(s) Southern Coast Trolls Origin The Cortosi Swamps Lifespan 65-75 years naturally; lifespan for males is typically 20-35. Diet Fungi, fish, mushrooms, amphibians, lichens, mosses, mineral-rich mud dredged from deep ponds, and occasionally birds. Predation on sentient species is recorded but rare. Subspecies N/A

Physical description

Height Does are 9-11’; Bulls are 14-17’ in height. Distinctive features Long, sweeping tusks similar to that of elephants. Lanky limbs, narrow frame.

Cultural

Organisations Individuals are sorted into family groups led by a single dominant bull. Females group for life, and stray females are often ‘adopted’. Bulls may form bachelor groups until they find a harem of their own. Languages Trollish, Common Locations Corrosion Coast

Out-of-character information

Image source Source of the image used in the info

Cortosi trolls are long and lanky in appearance. They are muscular but not bulky, having narrow rib cages, waists, and shoulders. Their limbs are long, with elbows hitting just above mid-thigh. Their legs are powerful, and their backs are reinforced to aid them in using their heavy tusks.

A female troll or doe has small tusks roughly the length of a human forearm, used for foraging. These erupt from the upper jaw replacing the canines, and are rooted so deeply the roots of the tusk may be equivalent to the length in does. The tusk roots also function as a bit of a crash helmet; by bracing the temple and ocular bones, a Cortosi troll can take quite the beating about the head. Female trolls have breasts and lactate but lack nipples; milk is excreted through pores in the skin.

Male trolls are much larger, with the largest bull on record being a 19’ foot (5.7m) alpha by the name of Malus. Their tusks may exceed seven feet, and are about as thick around as a human forearm. This ivory is coveted by craftsmen across Arethil, particularly in Vel Anir. Among trolls these impressive tusks are used for combat with other males and the preparation of spawning pools. They also seem to play a critical role in dredging up mineral rich mud.

Cortosi Trolls are found in the deep marshes along the southern Cortos coastline. The deep brackish water is rife with amphibian and insect life, and the temperate region encourages the growth of mosses and lichens. Large cypress trees dot the landscape, fostering squirrels, birds and cranes. Trolls construct their homes from these huge trees, usually using the stumps themselves as a base to keep the homes above water.

Trolls modify their environment in two distinct ways. Bull trolls will dredge deep holes into the swamp and clear it of all life, using mud and rock to shore up the walls of their creations. These carefully cleaned pools appear as clear and clean as any man-made well, as bull trolls will defend them from any plant or animal incursion. Once the prepared spawning pool has been used and the young hatched, it is usually abandoned until the next doe is ready to lay.

The other way is by the construction of massive homes. Trees are felled and the stumps cleaned and polished with rock. These provide protection from the sun during the summer months, and during adverse events such as invasions. That said, some Cortosi trolls are perfectly happy just sleeping in family groups in the water.

The life cycle of a troll begins in a pool of clear water prepared by a bull. The eggs are roughly the size of a tangerine, jelly-like, and sensitive to heat. The eggs hatch after about a week into a primitive larval stage. This stage looks similar to that of an ent, and the baby primarily feeds on algae and insects. The ingestion of algae is most critical; this begins the colony of symbiotic organisms that allow trolls their unique healing power. Without algae at this critical stage, a troll would emerge white and without the ability to heal.

In three months a form most would recognize as a child of around nine years old emerges. By this time the young troll is independent of the water, and leaves the spawning pool to join the family. The child learns and grows, but it’s diet relies heavily on algae, lichens and mosses until roughly fifteen years of age. By this time, tusks begin to erupt in both sexes coinciding with the ingestion of animal proteins.

Sexual maturity occurs at twenty years old. Females remain with the group for life, or until they select a bull of their own. Males are driven out by the dominant bull, and may form bachelor groups for protection. Males gather females through ritual combat with other bachelors, impressing young females and luring them away from their birth families.

An alpha bull may lose his breeding rights if challenged and killed by a rival.

Strength and Dexterity: Trolls, particularly males, are incredibly strong. A pair of trolls can collapse a castle wall, and enslaved trolls can build entire compounds in half the time it would take their human masters.

Weakness to Fire: Trolls are heavily dependent on humid, cool environments. They are incredibly flammable, and will die quickly in environments of excessive heat or dryness. They are also sensitive to salt; a troll submerged in salt water will die a horrible, withering death.

Psychadelia: The blood, saliva, sweat and semen of a troll is incredibly psychoactive. Ingesting only a few milliliters of a troll’s secretions will result in heavy hallucination, sweating, vomiting, and increased sex drive. Exceeding ten milliliters results in death.

Gifted Waters: Trolls, being a keystone species for much of the Cortos swamp ecology, are gifted in magic related to water and plant life.

Regeneration: Trolls in good health can regenerate any part of the body, including wounds considered fatal like limb removal. The symbiotic algae in their systems allows for stem cell regeneration at an astonishing rate. However, there are two exceptions. Any limb burned off with fire or wound made with fire cannot be repaired, and if the troll is beheaded. A beheaded troll will attempt to regenerate a brain and skull, but often succumbs to infection and blood loss before the regeneration is complete.

The Strong Shall Lead

Troll culture emphasizes physical strength as a virtue. Since only the strongest males become alphas, the attitude is that young men must become as large as possible in as short a time frame. Young trolls often engage in sparring with each other or their father, learning to use their tusks. The men die quite young, often less than half of a normal lifespan, due to the pressure to find and maintain a harem of women.

Old male trolls can be found leading bachelor groups and take on a distinctive mentorship role; while they may never breed, they find value in preparing others for the short and brutal life. These older trolls, called anaxi, are treasured. Instead of simply kicking his young sons out, an alpha bull may seek out an anaxi’s leadership. There seems to be a demonstrated benefit; researchers from Volta discovered trolls under the tutelage of an anaxi not only were more likely to become alphas but had healthier symbiotic algae.

Unfortunately, if a bull loses a fight and is killed, his rival will find and destroy all of his offspring too young to reproduce. Females on the cusp of womanhood will be ferociously protected by the abaxi, but sons are killed outright if they do not run. If the sons are lucky, an anaxi will offer to take them in.

A Matriarch Enduring

Female trolls, called does or ulyk, never leave their birth group unless it is to become the founding female of another harem. Younger females look up to the founding female, known as abaxi, for guidance and knowledge. This founding female may endure several dozen alpha bulls throughout her lifetime, and in some harems outranks him by sheer virtue of her accrued knowledge. While a young bull may be strong, he relies on the abaxi for experience. She may remember where the best food is to be found, areas to avoid, and the location of the Ancestor Tree.

For this reason, while the harem follows the alpha, the abaxi strictly controls who is pregnant and when. It isn’t unknown for an abaxi to simply murder an overly-aggressive bull and take charge of the harem herself until another is found. This is of particular importance, since the abaxi of a harem never changes until the current one dies of old age. When she does, her oldest daughter takes the title.

Honor Those Who Came Before

Despite the often nomadic nature of a family group or tenoch, there is a singular place to which they all return: their Ancestor Tree. The location of this tree is kept by the abaxi and her oldest daughter, and is generally kept secret from the men.

The Ancestor Tree, or Ilikakuyi, is given a name as though part of the family by the first abaxi of a family line. All the skulls of dead trolls belonging to that family line are lashed to the tree with catgut or fishing line, so that the descendants of a tenoch may visit and pay respects.

Usually the tree is a cypress or cottonwood, massive, old and scarred. Around the older parts of the trunk, sections of tusks poking out like thorns can be spotted that identify the oldest bulls of a tenoch. The trees grow over and around the skulls, effectively making them part of the tree. Sadly, poachers from Vel Anir target these trees to saw off the valuable ivory from the skulls. This is quite a ballsy undertaking, as any troll will ferociously protect Ilikakuyi even if it isn’t their tenoch’s tree.

The highest honor an anaxi can achieve is dying protecting such a tree.

Cooperate to Survive

Troll families are cooperative. All members of a tenoch ensure everyone has adequate food and shelter. This is where the abaxi becomes truly critical; she knows how to read the swamps and patterns in weather to find the best food. If another tenoch shows up and there isn’t enough to share, the alpha bulls fight for control of the feeding grounds.

Strangely it’s within these conflicts that an incredible event occurs. The abaxi of either family group approach each other, and exchange daughters. This ensures genetic health for both tenochs while the males are kept ignorant of the practice. If an abaxi notices her male becoming old or weak, she may entreat the other abaxi to take her daughters for protection. Information about feeding grounds, breeding areas, and current events are shared between families.

If two alpha bulls know each other or are related, they may approach each other and strike their tusks against the other’s. This is effectively a truce, and the two tenochs may travel together for a significant period of time.

Humans: Trolls views on humans can be summed up in their word for them, catl, which is the same word for ant. Humans are not dangerous by themselves or in small groups, and trolls generally ignore them. In a swarm they are pathologically avoided. Vel Anirans are referred to as vejin, the word for ‘disease’, owing to their destructive nature and poaching.

Elves: Elves are viewed with ambivalence. Since elves aren’t typically destructive and keep to themselves, elven researchers have had the best traction with trollish tenochs.

Orcs: Orcs are viewed with some amount of respect and kinship, though due to their heavy reliance on flesh tend to be stereotyped as vicious warriors by trolls. An orc can expect a respectful, if suspicious, welcome among trolls.

Dragons: As natural beings of arrogance and fire, dragons are heavily disliked. Being one of the few creatures able to match a dragon in sheer physical prowess, there are some old trollish weapons adorned with dragon teeth and claws.

Other: Other races are treated with caution. Trolls protect their families and ivory, particularly their ancestral trees, from interlopers. If travelers are open and submissive, they may be accepted or at the very least strongly escorted out of the swamps.

NOTE: Corrupting a spawning pool is met with overwhelming physical force by the alpha bull. There is very little chance to negotiate. Most scholars recommend running.

Describe the history of the species. Feel free to leave for now and add more details over time