The Origin of Trolls and Barbarians

Swords of Fire: Traitor makes mention of Trolls and Barbarians. They become important again in Book IV, which currently has no working title. I thought I would give a short background where Trolls and Barbarians came from.

After The Great War, which nearly destroyed The Great Sea, the Children of Fire were bound to repair as much damage as they could. Part of this restoration process involved close interaction with the Free Peoples, of which there were five: Figgits, Dwarfs, Men, Pennans, and Nomads. The Pennan and Nomad numbers were few, but the other races still existed in huge numbers. This was especially so with the race of Men.

In order to facilitate interaction between the Free People and the Children of Fire, certain members of the Children of Fire took on mortal form, meaning they would share the fate of whichever race they chose to emulate. They were granted long lifespans, but ultimately they would die. Lacking anything creative, the Free People called these Mortals.

Unfortunately, Zenophone encouraged a good number of his followers to also take on mortal form. These did not act in accordance with the rules set forth by the High King. Instead, they used their superior strength to overcome those they were to help and set up kingdoms. Hence they were called Overlords.

The Overlords went further than just seek dominion. They forced members of the races to become to become concubines and sexual slaves. The children born to these unions were deformed in varying degrees. They were known as The Accursed Races.

Accursed Races:

• Goblins: from Figgits
• Gnomes: from Dwarfs
• Barbarians: from Men
• Gargoyles: from Pennans
• Renegades: from Nomads

The Free People shunned these offspring, creating a population of outcasts who learned to hate those who blamed them without cause. Many were hunted and killed. All were tormented to one degree or another. And when the Overlords began dying (or being killed), the surviving mothers took their children to the mountains to hide. And there, in the mountains, in order to fulfill the maturing desires of their sons, mothers committed unthinkable acts. The children from these unions became even more deformed than their fathers, and were shunned even by the outcasts. In time they became known as Trolls.

Trolls from Renegades were the largest. Next in size were Trolls from Barbarians. These are the Trolls of Swords of Fire: Traitor.

Sick? Yeah. It is. That's the point. People - any people - are capable of incredible acts when put in certain circumstances. The harder we deny this, the more likely we would be victims.