> There are two basic thrusts to the Troll(Elf) Woods argument. The
>first is that it is ecologically necessary, the second is that it is just
>barely plausible.
This isn't quite the basis for my Troll/Elf Kitori arguement. I don't think Trolls are ecological monsters that would destroy the environment, OR that forests need elves to remain ecologically viable. But that my Kitori simply prefer to live in woods partially tended by elves, as the balancing of eaters with producers allows the Kitori a more lush & shadey environment with less need for strict control of eating habits (although trollkin are still strictly controlled, so that the beetles may have more leeway). I imagined that both groups "know their place" in the wood, and avoid each other because of longstanding taboos rather than strict Theocratic control.
> The second half is a stretch (that all the trolls
>tolerate the elves through either ignorance of whatever) but is just
>plausible, if very unusual and at odds with a lot of common ideas about
>troll society.
Maybe a bit of a stretch. But they don't have to tolerate much what they can't see. If the elves don't attack as such, but only harass individual taboo-breaking Kitori who chop any-old-tree they like, in the manner of RW 'traditional' sprites and such. I'm not suggesting that the Kitori Trolls are ignorant of the bad-blood between their peoples, nor that their acceptance of their unusual relation to these particular elves is the same as tolerance. However, all of this supposes that the Kitori have a local darkearth pantheon, otherwise I don't see any of this as viable.
game for another round,
- -Carolyn
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