Inspired by: On the Ecology of the Troll
The Unifying Theory of Blood
Professor Westwright is surprisingly young - perhaps 17 or 18 years old - and his appointment to the Universities Two and One in Jahur is controversial. Some say it is a deliberate snub to the Sanguine Lords; others that his findings are genuinely original and startling.
Westwright’s only publication to date is a thin monograph titled The Unifying Theory of Blood. Compiled from his lectures - for Westwright is illiterate - it supposes that the blood of the Tarrasque represents an elemental mixture. The fall of Bergolast disturbed this delicate balance, and powerfully transformed those who supped the Tarrasque’s blood.
The Bergolasti became trolls. Infected by elemental air, their bodies became malleable and they expanded. Upon exposure to sunlight (itself an elemental mixture), their bodies slowly correct by turning to stone. Likewise, vampires were infected with elemental water and draw power from the life fluids of others. In sunlight, they burn as fire re-enters their bodies.
Westwright assumes that there exist people or animals infected by elemental earth and fire, that would turn to air and water respectively in the sun. He supposes that the Medusa or Basilisk may have been infected, but is yet to test his theory.
Hooks
- Two universities? Does this have anything to do with Iano, the two-faced god?
- Where’s Westwright from? The name doesn’t sound Jahuri.
- Does Westwright consider the Sanguine Lords to be vampires? Surely they go about in the sun!