Soulrend Tribe
“But… why?” The broken elf said in almost a whisper. Standing triumphant above the elf’s slender form, the Valkyr Soulrend cracked a wicked smile. The stagnant air of her breath wafted over the elf as she replied: “Because you were almost worthy.” Pausing and reaching down, she tugged at something almost wafting off the fallen warrior; with a yank, she snatched it up. Grabbing a sprig of the evergreen Yew from her satchel, she carefully passed her prize into it. “Your meat might be sweet now, but it will grow sweeter. Triumph, grow your legacy, fight your causes, I don’t care… Become stronger.” “And then… You will come back for me? To claim your meal?” The Valkyr lets out a short snort. “‘Be a waste, to eat the meat half-cooked?’ Such arrogance. You are thinking of my race’s simpler side.” Turning away from the fallen, she strides off into the night, her voice the only thing left in the still air: “No, you are my bait; One of many. Your smell will grow intoxicating, and some day, someone or something will come to take from you what I have already claimed. I leave you alive today so that your conqueror comes for me next.” - Oral account of one of the many feats of the Female Hat Troll founder of the Tribe.
“Really, it's pretty simple loo’gik: Others Have Souls, You take because you’re Bigger, Now you have Souls, Now other-others want your Souls and think they Bigger (ha!), Now you have THEIR Souls too, Repeat Forever! Souls go Up!” - Soulrend Male Hat Troll
Membership Requirements: A Collection containing at least 5 Totems containing verifiably unclaimed Souls, which all have been properly recorded in a Book of Souls.
Lore
A Soul is a valuable thing.
At least, that's what they say. If it wasn’t, Witchdoktor’s wouldn’t be after them. All races wouldn’t have stories on what their soul is and isn’t, and how important it is to them. They wouldn’t need Warbraids to hide them, or to hate Baulk’s bite; to seek strength to avoid the Great Devourer, or to fear the Koracle’s crucible. All races live to fear their loss, consumption, or corruption.
All but one.
Hat Trolls have no souls. No creators, no Gods. We Just Are. And Have been. And Will Be. For this reason, most Hat Trolls aren't very interested in them. Sure, a Hag may barter in them, but it is in a disinterested, dispassionate way; a good akin to flesh and bone. Something to trade, but not to keep or use. Trolls are a bit removed from it all. Some believe we have a Shard of The Void in us akin to a soul, but to many Hat Trolls that is just foolish superstition. Regardless of what we may be, we are definitely Separate. Aloof.
But even as Hat Trolls are the exception, there exists an exception within Hat Trolldom: a Tribe of Hat Trolls that has come to see their worth, not as tools for dark rituals or to lord direct power over their victims, but as a challenge. Members of the Soulrend Tribe learned the wrong lesson from stories about would-be looters raiding a Dragon’s Hoard: Why sit atop such a valuable mound, if not to attract worthy foes? And so members of the Tribe find themselves pitted against stronger and stronger foes, without having to seek them out.
They come to us. And should one of us happen to lose, and they take our collection, we always get it back. Either through the Hunt or cruel passage of time, we will get them back. We always do.
Totems
Soulrend Hat Trolls keep their collection of souls in totems that represent the soul contained within. A feisty Kobold’s soul might be contained within a brilliant Opal. A Goblyn’s soul might be in a sliver of bone. A relentless human’s soul within a chunk of unbending ironwood. Even though the collection might seem macabre to other races, Soulrend members are always thoughtful, intentional, and (as hard as it is to believe) respectful when choosing a totem to house a soul in, using temporary totems if no suitable vessel is on hand. The totem also serves to remind them of the relative strength and importance of the soul within, for bragging rights and record keeping. Totems are generally kept all together around the neck as necklaces or in satchels kept close to the body under the coat. Void Troll members of the Tribe might even imbue a Void Shard into a totem to add to their collections, using rituals to keep the antagonistic Hat Troll they belong to from regenerating. Although not all members put faith in such things, a Void Shard totem is treated with as much respect and renown as a totem containing a soul, and the Tribe generally uses the terms Soul and Void shard interchangeably when discussing totems and Tribal business.
Friends with (soul) Benefits
Although most Soulrend Hat Trolls choose to take souls by force or trickery, it is also not uncommon for them to offer themselves as a free protection agency for the souls of their friends. It’s a simple proposition: why risk having your soul taken by a malicious agent, possibly dooming your soul to an eternity of pain, total annihilation, or something worse, when you can entrust it to a Soulrend friend? If your soul is taken, fret naught; Your trusted guardian has just made it the goal of their entire, eternal existence to hunt down the thief. When you die and your wish was to pass on, your totem is destroyed in a special ceremony honoring your life. Afterlife promised to you not so good? We will simply hold on to it forever.
Books of Souls
Working to overcome the limitations of (some) of their race, the Soulrend Tribe keeps careful records of every Totem in the possession of its members. A Soulrend Book of Souls contains drawings of each Totem, who’s soul it is (in Hat Troll pictographs), how it was obtained (“force”, “wit”, trade, and “given” are the four typical categories), and occasionally notes such as “partial soul” or “possibly empty”, or previous owners. They must have a lock or clasp of some sort to prevent accidental leaking of information, although admittedly, most non-hat trolls would find it hard to understand what is contained within, and most non Soulrend hat trolls wouldn’t care to look. These books are guarded as closely as individual collections are, but due to the impermanent and destructible nature of books, multiple copies of records of any one totem are kept across several books. As a general rule, each obtained Totem should be recorded in at least 3 different Books. Any time members of the tribe come across a keeper of a Book of Souls it is customary to record any new totems and souls into the book, just in case. At Soulrend Tribe Moots records are vigorously compared for accuracy and completion.
Moots
Moots are a time of feasting, bragging, chastising, and recording. There is no specific timeline for a Moot being called, but they typically occur every 50 years or so, roughly coinciding with the average lifespan of the majority of other races. Other race’s lifespans are used as the basis to ensure a thief doesn’t get away with harboring a stolen soul for their entire natural life and ‘recently’ departed friends don’t have to stay trapped in a totem for too long should their guardian be out of contact at the time of their passing. Moots are agreed upon by the collective Tribe in general, as Hat Trolls are known to do, but this typically means a group of influential Female Soulrend members decide it is time for a Moot, also as Hat Trolls do. On occasion a momentous event will lead to a Moot being called early. Typically only a mass, coordinated assault on members leading to multiple Collections to be taken in a short span requiring an equal coordinated, Family-Tribe response would trigger this.
Collections, not attracting challengers to gain strength, take center stage during Moots. Collections are compared and gloated over, and records are double checked and updated. Most importantly, members who had Totems, or worse, their entire Collection stolen are admonished but also given collective Tribal support to hunt down the perpetrator. Lost Totems cease to be the property of individual Soulrend Hat Trolls when a Moot is called and become the collective property of the Tribe, up for grabs from anyone who reclaims them. That being said, it is not uncommon for Tribe members to work alongside the Troll who lost a totem to hunt it down, or for a fellow member to return a lost Totem that they have recovered. Because of the reputational importance of Moots, there is often a large rush of effort to reclaim lost Totems just before it seems like a Moot is going to be called. Ferocity and desperation are a dangerous combination for thieves, and the collective backing of the Tribe means only the strongest contenders attempt to make off with a Totem or Collection. As it should be.
A warning to all who are foolish enough to think they or any force in the world is strong enough to rob a collective Soulrend Moot. Some have tried. And now they are no more. And not even their Gods are allowed to utter their names.
