Troll

In Scandinavian folklore, including Norse mythology, trolls are beings described as dwelling in isolated rocks, mountains, or caves, living together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human beings. In later Scandinavian folklore, trolls became beings in their own right, where they live far from human habitation, are not Christianized, and are considered dangerous to human beings. Depending on the source, their appearance varies greatly; trolls may be ugly and slow-witted, or look and behave exactly like human beings, with no particularly grotesque characteristic about them. Later in Scandinavian folklore, trolls become defined as a particular type of being. Numerous tales are recorded about trolls in which they are frequently described as being extremely old, very strong, but slow and dim-witted, and are at times described as man-eaters and as turning to stone upon contact with sunlight. In reality, trolls are massive creatures with generally terrible dispositions that tend to lord over goblin-kin. Unless carburized or cut with the rare metal, adamantine, troll wounds will heal by themselves. In many cases, entire limbs or even the head can grow back. There are even tales of a troll’s skull being sliced down the middle and the fiend regenerating both halves of the cranium, resulting in trolls with multiple heads.

Trolls can grow as large as a mountain or be as small as a tall man. Like most monsters, they are all male and can only reproduce by converting women into trolls as well. In the Age of Myths, this was relatively easy, as troll origins are based on goblin-kin that were exposed to Nergalian plagues. However, as each generation bred, their sons would be smaller in stature and have weaker potency in their corruptive abilities. All trolls, as their goblin-kin relatives, have innate magical powers. For trolls, they have powerful earth magicks. With thoughts, words, or gestures, they can carve tunnels and caverns or seal them as easily. Once sealed, the paths appear to be natural. This is how the troll that took Selena Santana’s family was able to keep the local authorities and search parties from finding the victims. Absinthe Van Gothen fought the troll Stenhållare in the Marble Halls National Park just outside Portland, Oregon, saving Selena from a terrible fate and acquiring the magical artifact known as an Adder Stone. She managed to slay him using the fire-sword, Dyrnwyn.