THE TROLL IN ALL MEN STORY:
It was the dawn of the Twelfth Era. Teil prospered - its people happy and safe behind its walls. The village of Gwenth did not heed the warning. The drumming on the South Wall was growing…
The village of Gwenth was always alive with laughter and conversation. Festivals and gatherings were a part of daily routine. They ran about, played and frolicked in the crisp morning air, oblivious to the drumming on the South Wall. The people continued to live as if nothing could possibly go wrong.
In the dark swamps beyond the South Wall, Marenteil had received a prophecy entailing the demise of the trolls by the hand of one man. However, the prince of the trolls had not learned the name of this man. With his ancestral anger and fear for his people, Marenteil took all of his minions to breach the South Wall and make rid of the entire race of man. Brick by brick the South Wall came down, and with Gwenth being the nearest target, the destruction of the village commenced.
The breach left Gwenth in ruins, all of its people murdered on sight. The livestock had been stolen and all of the houses burnt, rendering the once lively village a charred and lifeless plain.
Two years had passed. Marenteil and his brutish onslaught had overrun almost all of Teil. Only two million men and women were left in the Ledylyo Range, a remote northern region of Teil. Not yet convinced he had found the prophesized man, Marenteil pushed northward.
With the loss of loved ones and anger toward the trolls, Gethardy’s brotherhood council had banded together to destroy the trolls once and for all. But Gethardy, the prince of Teil, felt this revenge would not correct anything and refused to take part in it.
Unsatisfied with Gethardy’s excuse for morality, his own council banished him from Sormond forever.
Gethardy ventured westward until he found the Vein River. With little hope for a future, he decided to trek the river in a makeshift wooden craft. The Vein River proved difficult for Gethardy, giving him a sense of uselessness in such a large and powerful world.
Gethardy’s journey takes a turn when his craft is destroyed. He is knocked unconscious and he continues to float down the river. He eventually reaches Rakestone Lake, a pool of eerie nature, full of the shrieks and calls of foreign creatures. The currents force him into Lesser Rakestone, the southern backwaters of the main water. Now conscious on the shores of Lesser Rakestone, Gethardy is approached by the ghost of his dead father, the past King of Teil. His father speaks of the mutual possibilities between man and troll, and how the war - murder - lacks purpose. His father asks Gethardy to follow him o’er the Great Plains of Teil to the Forest of Henidae. Gethardy dismisses his unhappy feelings toward the inattentive father of his childhood and agrees to follow him.
After seeing the destruction of Teil first hand, Gethardy’s attitude toward the trolls differs. The two reach Henidae and make a long journey through forested wilderness. They reach their destination, that being a mysterious wooden shack. Crude tools and homemade blades line its walls. These are the tools of a manipulative and seductive witch, who teaches Gethardy of a solution to Teil’s problem in return for his torture.
The witch’s demented teachings reveal word of a love potion to be found in the heart of Marenteil. The potion is an amalgamation of any compassion the trolls had ever felt. If this potion were to be taken and poured into the Bitter Swamp beyond the South Wall, only then could the trolls be truly destroyed.
Now debating between the possibility of committing genocide against the trolls and trying to find another direction, Gethardy spends many sleepless nights in Henidae, the only sleep he finds plagued with a recurring nightmare. His nightmare features the screams of his brotherhood, leaving him for dead, and his people, yearning for a saviour. Gethardy finally submits to the haunting and promises himself to fight for his people.
Meanwhile, the trolls of Teil still march northward, ridding of any man, woman, boy or girl in their path.
Gethardy returns home, changed and quiet about his discoveries. Only shortly after arriving, he departs from his wife and home once more, and sets off to meet Marenteil. Gethardy’s past father was of assistance in arranging this meeting.
Gethardy sets the stars and makes his way through cold and dark. O’er mountains and down through marsh, Gethardy bears the sporadic heat and waves of winter harsh. After visiting the witch, Gethardy is persuaded to do what is best for his own people.
Gethardy eventually meets Marenteil, who has also agreed to come unarmed and negotiate. Now the day before the battle, their armies have already massed and are ready for attack with or without the princes’ order. Gethardy and Marenteil figure they could have been brothers, but the pressure and anger of their people would result in battle and death either way.
On the horizon the day of battle, Gethardy watches what may be his last sunrise, and prays that it would warm their cold blood. He realizes the loss and severity of the battle to come, yet draws his sword and prepares to fight. He begs for Marenteil’s forgiveness, for he senses his fate.
Gethardy rejoins his army and makes a compelling speech of victory and glory, not revealing his hesitant state. His army charges as does Marenteil’s and the race of man and troll become a steady shrieking sound of steel and flesh. The battle lasts overnight, ending just before sunrise.
Morning reveals what is left from the battle before. Gethardy’s men gather the wounded and dying. Marenteil is found lying in the grass alone and bleeding. Gethardy orders his men to take care of Marenteil, but he hasn’t much time. Marenteil manages to speak few words to Gethardy:
“We tried. Tell them…â€
Gethardy stares into his friend’s lifeless eyes and Marenteil is carefully laid back onto the grass.
The people of Teil celebrate their victory while Gethardy secludes himself with his regret. The love potion in his hand, he wonders what it is worth. His people all see a bright future, yet Gethardy can never escape his remorse. He feels like an immoral traitor to Marenteil and the optimism of his father.
The rebuilding of the South Wall begins as a symbol of man’s triumph over the trolls. Alone, Gethardy ventures west once more to pour the love potion into the Vein River. From here, it would flow into Rakestone Lake and seep into the Bitter Swamp, ridding of any remaining trolls.
Gethardy leaves the world of man behind to find himself and ascend mount Bindrin, an innocent and sacred place untouched by man. This would be Gethardy’s greatest personal journey.
At the summit, Gethardy discovers a prophecy engraved in ancient stone:
“The Fingers of Lord Teil will scar the land...â€
Gethardy turns his back to Teil, his face to the rising sun, and heads east…
“We tried. Tell them…â€..
