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Dergaii
 
PostPosted: Sun, Dec 06 2015, 12:41 PM 

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A copy of the following book is offered to the libraries of the Delta Mage Academy, Cordor, the Seven Stars Academy and Belenoth to be reviewed and hopefully added to their collection.


Treatise on troll regeneration

Foreword

This work shall explore the regenerative capabilities of the troll and formulate on a theory of the mechanics behind this ability. Before expanding on the topic I wish to express my gratitude to those that have assisted during this research. Rosary, Kathrynn and Thomas and in particular the primary test subject Rania.

Trolls are tall, green creatures with sharp claws that attack without any hesitation or fear. Their most defining trait is their ability to regenerate almost any form of damage. A troll's limbs or even head can be cut of and within twenty minutes per appendage the creature has recovered itself fully. Faster even if the lost appendage is recuperated and attached to the wound upon which the healing is almost instantaneous. However, this remarkable ability fails to work when the creatures is injured by fire or acid.

The research that led to this treatise has been undertaken in order to understand how this regeneration works, what drives the extraordinary ability and more importantly why it has the specific weakness to fire and acid. In order to analyse this complex regenerative ability, it was divided into several main questions or specific topics to study.

The first is the restorative power itself. “What is different in trolls in regards to humanoids that make their healing not only much faster but also able to regrow body parts?” The second question handles on the why trolls regenerate from the body outwards. “Why does the cut off arm of a troll not regrow into a new, full troll itself since the creature has such regenerative powers.” The third part is why trolls are specifically weak to fire and acid. “What other caveats might there be that their regeneration does not protect them from?”

Regeneration

When considering regeneration, a primary assumption might be that trolls have an innate connection to the positive energy plane. Study and experimentation show no specific connection to this plane. Nor is it noted in existing works known to the author. A surplus of positive energy causes wounds to trolls similar as to any humanoid, with the difference that they restore much faster. A second assumption might be that troll healing is a magical ability. This has been tested by keeping a troll inside an anti-magic zone upon which the regenerative abilities were still present. The conclusion is that this ability is a natural one and the source of it must be searched in the troll’s body.

A dissection of a dead troll reveals little aberrant physiology. They share the anatomy of other giant humanoids with the note that they have an enlarged spine. Their outward appearance shows the signs of their ability to regrow in the form of skin blemishes and growths. These can be considered an unwanted result of the ability and are a sign that this ability does not always work perfectly. The warts, lumps and other growths are areas where the regeneration grew back too much flesh. A note of interest is that troll's hair are very thin flesh tubes; they have no regular hair on their bodies. It does explain why troll ‘hair’ regrows while regular hair, which is in essence dead matter, does not.

Troll blood is often used in the creation of antidotes or curative items. This made the author consider this as the possible source of their regenerative abilities. The blood would then contain an extraordinary amount of the components that heal one's body. As it is near impossible to blood let a troll, the wounds would heal, a different approach was necessary.

Blood left to stand in a glass vial it will break down in two parts, a clear plasma on top and a red, heavier part on the bottom. The red part is considered what carries air to the different parts of the body. Blood drawn from an artery, coming from the heart, is bright red and as a result is richer in air to transport. The dark blood of the veins has given away the air already. This is similar in trolls yet the blood is coloured green.

The clear plasma is said to carry the dissolved food nutrients to the body together with any fluid the body needs. It also carries the parts that compose the body which are used to restore it. Because of this understanding, the clear plasma was identified as the active part for the regeneration. This was tested by using only the plasma in a general recipe of a healing potion. The result was equal to, possibly even better than the potion created with full troll blood and both reacted with a much greater effect than the potion created without troll components and the potion made with small parts of dead troll flesh. These results confirm the blood and more specific the plasma as the source of the regeneration.

Body-centric

The second topic of study is why the troll only regrows a lost limb or even a head from the torso out. It must be said that there exist several myths on this topic. According to some tales trolls can regrow from a mere finger. So far, such has not been confirmed and the author beliefs such to be tell-tales from boasting adventurers.

Continuing from the importance of blood in regeneration, the red coloured, or more precisely green coloured for our subject, part of the blood will be taken into account. In order to rebuild itself, the body does not only need the components and nutrients inside the plasma but also air. It is the green part of the troll blood that will provide the needed air. Since blood is pumped from the heart towards the entire body, this explains why the regeneration works from the body outwards. Following the same reasoning it explains why a severed hand, head or chunk does not regenerate, it lacks the supply of enough blood. Similarly when a troll is chopped into small enough pieces, it wil not be able to regenerate as it quickly runs out of the restorative components.

Note that a troll with a severed head can still regrow its entire head, which indicates that this ability requires not conscious thought but is autonomous. The ability to regenerate is lost upon death as the heart no longer pumps blood. Suffocation is also possible as air needed as a resource for this ability.

The enlarged spine of the troll was briefly mentioned before. The basic anatomy manual by Lucius Blackwater teaches that blood is produced in the bone marrow. Since the troll needs substantive amounts of blood to survive its injuries, this enlarged spine does not only give added support to the body but essentially supports troll regeneration by creating large amounts of blood. In order to have enough of the necessary components and nutrients in their blood, trolls need to eat a lot and regularly. Combine a ravenous appetite with enhanced restorative powers and you have an explanation for the fearlessness of these creatures. Note as well that flesh is rich in the components needed and that red meats increases the blood production which explains their taste for humanoids and cattle.

Weaknesses
Despite their healing capabilities, trolls are not invincible. A few methods to kill them have been mentioned before such as asphyxiation and butchering them into small pieces. Trolls have no specific to magic and death spells affect them well enough. They are also susceptible to poison, though resistant to weak doses and poisons that cause direct damage to the body. Poisons that cause harm by adding substance the body cannot expel are equally effective.

Trolls have a distinct weakness against fire and acid, the last being less commonly known. The weakness is that they do not regenerate wounds from said sources. The most common theory to explain this weakness is that fire and acid cauterize a wound which seals it so there is no wound to restore. The author has formulated a rivalling theory following his unwillingness to believe that a cauterised fire or acid wound is no longer seen as damage by the body.

In order to study fire and acid wounds in detail, information was gather in the burn ward at the Salandran temple. Burned skin becomes much thinner than regular skin and a common problem for burn patients is the loss of fluids. The clear plasma part of the blood is assumed to be among these fluids, there is an extensive amount of plasma present at the area of the burn wound. Since plasma holds the key to troll regeneration, an over-extensive amount of it would cause a wound to heal far quicker than other wounds where the plasma is lost with any spilt blood.

This theory states that fire and acid wounds not –not- heal at all, but heal too quickly. The regular rate of healing makes sure that the wound or lost limb is restored inch by inch. Due to the excessive plasma, the wound heals straight away. The skin knits close before the flesh can regrow. Even the skin created has developed too fast, resulting in an overgrown thick layer equalling humanoid scar tissue. This also explains why electrical ‘burns’ and frost ‘burns’ do not have the same effect. Here the damage is internal and the plasma balance remains unchanged, and thusly regular regeneration can occur.

The most difficult to explain is why trolls regrow damaged, scarred parts of their body as scarred and not as uninjured. A troll that lost a finger to fire and later loses the arm, will restore the entire arm, but not the finger. Note that this is common in regeneration, and the same can be observed in humanoids where regenerative magic is used.

The author follows the pattern theory. In this it is stated that the body regrows in the form of the subconscious mental pattern that the creature has of itself. For example, a normal person that regrows an arm will do so with five fingers. While someone that has four fingers will only restore four fingers. Note that if the person recently lost the fifth finger and has never accepted the loss of said finger they will restore the finger on regenerating the arm.

Similarly trolls adapt to their new body pattern when it is altered by fire and/or acid damage. Furthermore, they will adapt to this pattern far quicker for this form of damage. The reason is believed to be in the idea that in the troll mind-set fire and acid are recognised as immediately damaging and form altering. For a race that has so little to fear in bodily harm, the impact of such damage is much greater than for general humanoids that will go through a stage of denial. The troll cultural fear of fire and acid is justified, but also might hold them back from alternative cures. A troll not embedded in their cultural mind-set, or surpassing it, might be able to cut off the arm that lost a finger to fire and regrow a new one with five fingers as it keeps the body pattern as whole.

Implications

In this last part a few implications and thoughts on troll regeneration and this theory are put forward. They have not all been put to the test and are mostly mere reflections. The first implication is a valid one however, putting forward that full troll blood is not needed for restorative potions. Using only the clear plasma should result in more effective results and will lead to more pure and less diluted potions.

A second it the thought that trolls could sustain themselves temporarily on their own flesh. It would run out of nutrients at some time, but could ward off famine for a period of time.
A third thought is that the troll life span could be much longer. Most trolls have the same lifespan as a human and are said to lose their regenerative capabilities at old age, likewise to how venerable humans are less adept at recovering from injury. Should trolls not live such a violent lifestyle, this regenerative ability might keep their body alive for a longer time than their current lifespan instead of being used to cure wounds. Trolls might rival the lifespan of the Tel’Quessir if this would occur.

A fourth thought is that there are many varieties of trolls. Considering their durability, there could be a myriad of different species that exist, each with unique capabilities. Stories even exists of trolls immune to fire. This leads to a fifth implication which is the possibility to experiment with the race to either creature new variety or transplant the ability to other creatures. Of the latter the author found records of a troll flesh graft, which destroyed the host body. Such experimentation is not advised.

M. Rindrsen


 
      
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