The Fall of the Kidranen

"And so he found the Circle and wept, for naught was it a Circle, but a wall of Stones."

Summary

Verinoth is a vast maze of innumerable trees, but if one happens upon the right path, it is said that they will find a wall of carven figures concealing a secret glen. Most figures look inward, but one faces the outside with a colossal sword wrought of stone. Legend tells that this figure guards a treasure hidden within the Circle, and he shall let only the pure of heart pass. Few have found the circle, but each testifies that the story held true and that despite their efforts, they could not glimpse past the towering statues.

Historical Basis

The War of the Races was one of the bloodiest wars in the history of Eainor, and its toll was by far the heaviest. The Trolls, a normally peaceful race, were driven unwillingly to war, but no Clan payed more dearly than the Forest Trolls, the Clan Kidranen. All perished. All but Mornad, the Guardian of the Circle. And when the chipped stone-corpses of his kinsmen were pulled from the piles of enemies' slain bodies, Mornad placed them round the Circle of Verinoth, and he joined them in eternal sleep. But the Circle was no longer like any other, for it had become a wall made of such a number of corpses that there were no gaps to be found, and the glen within was sealed from both body and eye. After more than two centuries passed, a Dark Moon came and thus, a meeting of all the Clans. Few words were spoken in the circle, but at the insistence and wondering of young Ibrahim, a troll younger even than the Fall of the Kidranen, the Clans journeyed together to Verinoth to see and honor the Fallen. Ibrahim, upon seeing that the Circle was a Circle no more, wept. And all the other Trolls wept with him, for his grief brought theirs back afresh. Their tears flowed long into the night, and they watered the feet of the Kidranen. When the Sun's light reached into the very edge of the sky, their tears were spent. However, they were not spent only on grief; by magic unknown, life returned to the limbs of the Dead. They arose from their posts and greeted their friends with sad smiles. As the Fallen wiped away the tears of their brethren, they said the farewells never said, and they remade the Circle of Verinoth. But the Circle was not now one but two; the center one the original Circle, and the outer one made of those that had fallen in the War, and in the center of all, Kidranen himself took place, and he bade the Living to carve him anew. All stood still, and when the sun kissed the heads of the trolls, the Fallen were stone once more. The Living chiseled at Kidranen's stone for many days and nights, and when the last Moon of Spring reached its crux, the Heir of Kidranen sprung to life, and they named him Kiduin, sapling of spring.

Spread

The tale is told in little place else than the elders of the small human dwelling near Verinoth.

Cultural Reception

Most Men view it as a delightful tale to be told to wandering forest-crossers, but Trolls know the truth of the legend, though they rarely have the heart to correct those who believe the myth.

Date of Setting

3795

Related Ethnicities

• Trolls

Related Species

• Troll

Related Locations

• The Circle of Verinoth
• Verinoth

Related People

• Mornad Kidranen

Related Organizations

• Clan Kidranen