Trollum vexātor

(Troublemaker troll)

Common names: sock-nicking nixies, trickster gnome, brawling goblin, annoying pixie, mischievous puck, sweet-tooth hellion, candy conniver, perky demon, swash-less puckle, sniggering devil, four-pit, grinning goblin, reddish rascal, chattering pest, meddling gremlin, lovable scamp, bothersome bugger, nimble scalawag, among others.

Basic info

Habits & Culture

Trollum vexātor are tricksters and anarchists, which makes any discussion of their habits and culture challenging. Several scholars have published lengthy studies about Trollum vexātor culture (often supported by extensive field work and interviews with Trollum vexātor), only to discover that the trolls changed their supposed old cherished traditions with the blink of an eye immediately after publication. If we learned one thing from all these studies, it is that Trollum vexātor are very invested in their pranks and will run with them as long as needed to fool their prey. They rarely play their pranks with true malice, but do not seem to care much if things go badly. However, they are not bullies, they do not tend to “rub it in” or “hit a person when they’re down”, and seem to enjoy the process of their mischief more than its result. In fact, they are often not even around to see the results of their jokes.

Trollum vexātor seem to live in small groups, usually including 4 to 7 trolls, but it is hard to speak of any social structure as these groups are in constant change. Groups will often meet up and stay together for a while, and members of different groups will exchange regularly. It is very rare to find a Trollum vexātor alone. If they somehow lose their group, a lone Trollum vexātor will quickly join another group of Trollum vexātor, or, in rare cases, will find a home with a group of magions of a different species, generally to the dismay of said group.

It is suspected that the well documented animosity of Gnomus muscus towards Trollum vexātor, began when a lonely Trollum vexātor decided to keep company with a Gnomus muscus, and repeatedly disturbed its naps. Of course, this theory was suggested by a Trollum vexātor, so cannot be taken at face value.

Trollum vexātor go by many, many names (some not really fitting to mention here), but they seem to like them all. Two more commonly used nicknames are Sock nicking nixie and grinning goblin. Both are favored by the Trollum vexātor themselves, not in the least because they cause confusion and mix-ups with other species. Some nixies are irritated by the association, but not enough to act against it, and goblins generally find it just as funny as the Trollum vexātor.

The sock-nicking part does have some truth to it, however, as Trollum vexātor enjoy collecting socks from humans. Some of them use the socks for clothing, others like to pad their beds with them, while some enjoy just making large piles of socks, hidden somewhere, and wait to see the reaction of a human that happens to find it. It is unclear when this fascination with socks began, but evidence suggest that it originates in one of the Trollum vexātor “long-cons” with magiontologist Freja Pedersen (1883-1979), who published a treatise about the sock-wearing traditions of the Trollum vexātor in 1906, only to discover that it was completely bogus, and her bathroom filled to the brim with socks. Luckily, Pederson had a good sense of humor and continued to write about the Trollum vexātor fascination with socks, publishing her work as “fictional studies”. Her 1953 paper, titled “The Sock of it all: the Trollum vexātor and the devil’s sock puppet”, is the most popular magiontology piece of writing in history.

Trollum vexātor are creatures of chaos without spite, which is why most magions don’t harbor any hard feelings toward them. They are unpredictable, and have been known to show kindness as well, even if it was only to cause shock and surprise.