Ren’Kyreth Tribe
The Origins
You’ve heard the tall tales of Damun, Hammerhand Slaughtergutt, and Valkyr Soulrend. But there is another ancient troll whose legendary deeds rival the aforementioned, but her purpose was not to be known, to be adored. It was to purify. Ren’skall The Eternal believed creation cannot just spawn from nothingness, that the aether was once part of The Void itself, just reshaped, changed, and evolved. She believed that the world itself was just one large shard of The Void, and such that every soul that resides in this universe is simply a void shard waiting to be purified and returned to The Void.
Ren’skall carried no weapons, nor armor or shield. Yet she could walk through a battlefield unscathed. Taking lives of her opponents and purifying their souls, without ever wielding her own sword.
She made many enemies of all kinds. Other trolls, other monsters and even griks wanted her dead. So they began to band together, fighting her on the field 2 against one, and then 5 against one, then a hundred. It took 1000 fighters to subdue Ren’skall. The trolls who took part in that battle spanned all races, and so the Ice Trolls took her heart, and buried it in the depths of their frozen caverns. The Mountain Trolls took her head and hung it at the highest peak, as a warning to not follow in her footsteps. The Forest Trolls took her legs, and they sprouted into giant trees, to undo some of the damage she had caused. The Hat Trolls took her arms, the females took the right and the males took the left, so that her hands may never cause harm to another again. Finally, The Void Trolls took her legacy, and made sure in the future that none would know the name Ren’skall The Eternal.
The Toll of Purification
Purifying these souls takes a feat of great strength and willpower. Eventually the toll of this process will start to show. Many followers of the Ren’Kyreth Tribe mark down every soul they purify by marking a tally somewhere on their garb. These signify to other trolls a sign of great strength, but those with more tallies are often less than sane.
Who are the Alvo'kyr?
The members of the Ren’kyreth Tribe act as heralds of Ren’skalls return. Oftentimes they are considered heretics, traitors, and villains. This great opposition creates obstacles in our quest to bring about her resurrection. Those who believe their strength to be worthy of this quest may declare themselves a Alvo’kyr Acolyte, and may attempt a set of challenges to liberate the different pieces of Ren’skall. A series of 5 challenges, one for each piece that has been guarded through the ages. Upon completion of all 5 trials, the acolytes are granted the title of Alvo’kyr.
Trial of The Heart
Take your blade, and strike them down. Their ice cannot protect them
Trial of The Head
Give them no warning. Make these fools know to fear you…
Trial of The Hands
Show your enemies the only safe direction is away from you…
Trial of The Legs
Their roots cannot help them here, cut them down to size!
Trial of The Legacy
Ren’skall was erased from history, make sure they cannot do the same to you
(The specifics of these challenges are still being adjusted and worked on. Only flavor text for now)
Known Members
These records have been stricken from history
The Battle Against Ren'skall The Eternal
The Prologue
These accounts were compiled by Banjax, The Chronicler from the descendants of the survivors of this battle, in an attempt to understand all that took place. By assembling the pieces of this ancient archeological puzzle, we have a vague idea of the story. However, time warps the memory of those who find themselves on the wrong side of history so there is no telling if these stories are the full truth.
The story always goes that the Kulpa was composed of two diametrically opposed entities, The Void and The Aether. These entities were locked in a constant fight for control, lasting for all time, before time itself even came to be. It's been told that The Aether grew separate from The Void. But The Void was supposed to be the one, the all, the only. The Aether grew, and its radiant light shined into The Void. But the void grew disdainful. It did not want to share the proverbial spotlight. So it began to consume. It swirled its darkness into The Aether, but its radiant light pierced through. The Aether chose to fight back. Thus in one fell swoop, it shattered The Void into millions of shards.
As the skies of The Aether opened up and death began falling from the heavens, The now shattered Void’s jealousy, anger, and resentment rained across the land. In the wake of The Void, The Aether created heat, light and souls. Creating world after world all lying in wait for the future, awaiting what comes next. Across these worlds life began to appear, and it spread unencumbered. Growing through everywhere like a parasite ripping through its host, growing itself to be more powerful, but stripping the world to nothing. All of these beings from varying races and civilizations, independently reducing their own worlds to ash. Returning these planets to The Void.
But if The Void was once all that existed, if it was truly one cohesive entity, then The Aether originated from The Void. The separate destruction of so many worlds at the hand of The Aether’s creation, shows that The Void’s influence lies dormant within everything. So these souls, born of Aether, can be purified into Void Shards and returned to The Void. This idea is widely considered impossible by most people in existence who ever know of this ancient and everlasting battle. Scholars across both sides of this cosmic feud refuse to believe this theory. They call it blasphemy or heresy. They are unable to accept the universe as it truly is. But there are those who still know the ancient stories of the first one to be successful in the attempts to purify The Aether. She sought to usher in a new era of The Void. She wanted to be the single being responsible for the destruction of The Aether. Though the universe seems to have forgotten her. There are those who still fear the name Ren’skall The Eternal.
She was the first to discover this power of purification. Her natural attunement to the void made her incredibly powerful. Her mastery over The Void’s power with her own body was something never before seen. Her combat prowess was the first thing people began to notice. She did not fight like a monster. She was not brutal, savage, or barbarous. She was elegant, concise, and deadly. Her skill with a blade began to turn the heads of knights and kings. So much so, that she began to fight completely unarmed. Ren’skall routinely would stare down the cold edge of death without so much as blinking. Then quickly she would show her opponent that same sight. But they would crumble. Her killings were not without intent. She was not driven by hunger or fear, like so many of her monster brethren. She knew what she was doing, and she knew why. From a very early age, her connection to The Void was incredible. She could do things that most thought were never possible. So when she killed people, she took pleasure in it. She knew that she was returning them to The Void. She was feeding its insatiable hunger, one life at a time. As she was sending these Aether born souls to The Void, she began to feel something within them. A small fragment of dark energy in every single being. Her killings continued and with every sacrifice she came closer and closer to figuring out a way to extract that energy. A way to purify a soul into a shard of the void.
She began to amass a following. A group of radical devotees who worshipped her as the incarnation of The Void. Word of her power spread across the Fields of Armageddon, and the numbers of her followers quickly began to grow. After years, the influence of The Void spread beyond her control, so she began sending her most trusted advisors across the world to spread the word of Ren’skall The Eternal. They were called the Order of The Alvo’kyr, which was comprised of five trolls, the most loyal to her cause. The first hailed from the mountains, and he was feared across the realms. His cries of war echoed through the peaks and canyons, sending a message to the doubters. His presence lets them know their end is near. The second hailed from the frozen wastes, and was as heartless and unforgiving as the tundra. Her acts of pure malice showed those who defied her, just why they should be afraid. The third hailed from the forests, and was as immovable as the world tree. His constitution showed those who chose to resist, that their greatest efforts would fail. He showed them they had no hope. The fourth and fifth were both nomads, as striking as the moon. Moving swiftly through the darkness, showing the innocent and uninvolved that not even their beds provide sanctuary from them. Ren’skall and the Alvo’kyr were the only people in existence to learn this power of true purification. They guarded this secret till the end and anyone who questioned them met a swift and merciless end. They dispersed across the Fields of Armageddon leaving nothing but ash in their wake. The embers of innocent and ambivalent lives left to slowly turn to charcoal. Entire villages razed to a smoldering pile of memories and heaps of burning flesh. Whole empires crumbled into silence and rubble. If you saw the army approaching, your fate was already sealed. But you’d always hear them before you saw them. As they made their way through the fields, you could hear only the pounding of drums, and the battle cries of the truly wicked. Yet the silence was deafening as they left these settlements behind.
The Alvo'kyr led these warbands for years. This Army of The Void became a force to be reckoned with. The devout disciples of Ren’skall The Eternal began to be known as the Ren’kyreth Tribe. This name became synonymous with death, it became a scary story mothers would tell their children to make them behave. But this was no story. The threat of their destruction was very real. This colossal army of the most brutal monsters from across the Fields of Armageddon seemed like an unstoppable wall of death. The mere sight of them would make the meek pray, and attempt to make peace with their gods. There appeared to be nothing that could stop their destruction. Every attempt to fight back was quashed in an instant.
Across the universe, there were those who cannot see Ren’skall’s vision of unity. They do not understand the crimes of The Aether. They still held on to their attachment to a failing universe. Dormant armies who refused to go gentle into that good night. They silently, yet steadfastly, stood against Ren’skall and the Alvo’kyr. Each army individually would be no challenge for them. They all knew that. But correspondence began to fly between these armies. These warriors from across the realms gathered. These armies set aside petty squabbles and pointless wars to unite against the only threat that mattered. With this newfound unity they took up arms against Ren’skall. They made one final stand against her forces. Each of these armies knew their role, and knew any deviation from the plan could be their downfall.
The battle was persistent. It lasted for days. The fallen warriors of both sides became trampled into terrain to be fought on. The clash of steel and screams were all that echoed throughout the world. The essence of the dead soaked into the ground, and for the first time ever; the world itself bled. The fight raged on, and as forces dwindled it all led to the final blow; the strike heard around the world.
What you are about to read are first hand accounts of the battle collected from many of the armies that participated in it. Their stories are told by a handful of survivors, and are meant to document the experiences of those who are not around to tell their own stories. These are the tales of why these armies joined this fight, and how they fared in the aftermath of this war. May this knowledge never be forgotten. May none ever follow in the footsteps of Ren’skall The Eternal.