It is widely known that elves have no souls but the elf who performs Lisbet’s Lament in Treebrush (20.08) does not even have a spirit in his chest, only instinct and vicious cunning to drive him. He enjoys hunting as the Wild Hunt of old and has struck a bargain with the King of Salt and Brine (00.06) so that those who carry the annual jewel to the Rockery (31.07) are met atop the great cairn by the empty-hearted elf and told that he will hunt and kill anyone whose name they care to speak.
They usually regret this. Last year a pirate out of the Cross carried a jewel into the Rockery and asked the elf to kill his daughter’s lover, a great brutish thug. The elf accomplished this by driving the girl mad so that her lover became only the first of her many victims. The pirate now spends his night weeping into the grog knowing that his beloved daughter is behind the skinscratch murders but lacking the heart to stop her.
Connection:
- The hollow-hearted elf also slew Cameron Steadfast (21.21) after the former Count bored the elf with constant requests to help him get revenge for his cuckolding.
- If asked the Weeper (43.08) that the reason that this elf has no spirit is that he is the last avatar of Unnath the Unborn (29.14.54) and that when the god was imprisoned his earthly vessel was left empty of any soul or spirit.
Hooks:
- Why does this elf sing about Lisbet?
- What is the King of Salt and Brine’s side of the bargain?
- How can he live without any soul or spirit? Is the Weeper right about the source of this lack?
- What form does the madness that inspired the skinscratch murders take?