Tooth diadem

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, or so the old Tyr saying goes. But the Tooth diadem is a work of spectacular marvel.

Every species in the universe has their own views on beauty, and sometimes that view grows and evolves. What started as painting of dyes and inks upon the surface of the tusks that most Trolls sport, over time became a way of showing status and history. Complex designs, marking the history of a troll became the way to show off a troll's deeds and the deeds of their family. Over time, these deeds became more important to record, to keep safe, and so a permanent solution became necessary.

Moulded from many colourful substances, the troll families built a way to carry down the stories of their lineages and people. The diadem are usually constructed from crushed and soaked shell or river reed, mixed into a concoction with a binding agent and sculpted around a mould. The diadem is then dried and into its surface is carved markings displaying the story of the specific troll's ancestors, with a hope that one day their descendants will do the same for them.

The ever growing History:

The diadem of a family are passed around, with the troll with the largest tusks carrying the diadem of the family, while smaller tusked family members pass their diadem between themselves, so that the stories can be continued on. The diadem are often added to over time, the stories of those that wore the diadem added down the length.

When families welcome in enough new blood, new diadem are crafted, soon gaining new space to add new stories to collect. When family separate or the younger generation seek their own path, this is a chance to expand the story of the line without forgetting the past. Death simply means a resort, with diadem that do not fit any member of the family stored in a family chest, their stories set aside till the various days of remembrance that spot the year.

Over the generations, diadem have been lost, or chipped. When this happens, the diadem is either mended, recreated from memory, or one of the stored diadem taken out to make fit for the troll in need.

From Trolls to Demons:

While the demons have their own tradition, it is a strange parallel evolution that occurred between the trolls in the forests near the mangroves, the trolls trading with Hublesstone, and the troll captains of Oceanus and Dorsal Island. Each of these groups, of their own volition made nice with the demons of the regions, showing them how they live their lives. And the demons, with all the iron spikes on their bodies, and the horns curling their heads, heard and fell for the idea of the diadem, bringing it into their own communities with the respect and love it needed.

While some might consider it a theft of culture, it was the continual cultural check in, and deference the demons showed the trolls around them that made this a continuation of this practice and not something obscene.

Customisation:

The tusk/horn caps are either stained or painted, in addition to the carving. The colours used generally fit the culture of the area, patterns mixed over the carvings and around them to add extra complexity and style to the stories.

While the Oceanus trolls stick to colours and patterns that suit their Kiroll (and thus their demon peers match the colours of the sea-bound clans), the forest trolls have a much more pearlescent green colouring, while the Hubblesstone demons find that the reds of their magma and skin come out in their diadem - often highlighted with poured metal into the scored stories