The Vuduvakkle

In Year 15 BE, the Sandsouls attempted to raid a powerful Holfolken clan using a sneak attack maneuver they call a Vakkle—a strategy in which six scouts independently sneak into the settlement and draw attention inward, thus allowing the attackers to claim ideal positions.

Fortunately for the Holfolken, the Sandsouls had previously angered the native fairy population in the neighboring forest by capturing and torturing a dryad. The moment the six scouts entered the camp, deafening otherworldly music began playing.

This, of course, instantly alerted the Dha Holfulken, and the Sandsouls were quickly surrounded by a much larger force. With no way out for the raiders, the battle was one of the bloodiest in Sandsoul history.

Eventually, a small bandit party already allied with the Sandsouls stumbled upon the battle and was able to buy the Sandsouls a chance to escape. Even so, not a single one of the six scouts made it out alive. It was a humiliating defeat for the mercenary company, and one they would never fully recover from.

This battle had two notable consequences: First, it crippled the Sandsouls, forcing them to lose much of the territory they had previously claimed.

Second, it marked a change in the way the Sandsouls had treated the Old Ones of the forest. Now, the fairies were no longer sport. They were an enemy, and one the Sandsouls would offer no quarter to. The Sandsouls began growing pumpkins in earnest, carving out lanterns to ward off magical beings. These jack o' lanterns would soon be studded with the teeth of dead Fair Folk.

The end of the short war with the Hölt had started a new war. A war that may never end.