GIGANAA POWER IN ABSENTIA.
To the diligent observer, this planet’s history is a constellation unto itself. Kingdoms sprout, blossom and spread, blooms that sway on the winds of change. They rise and roar, beckoning the challenger come and find them. Yet dominant powers of the world have one master over them all, whether mortal or divine: time.
Time brings all reigns to an end.
These transitional moments may come as jagged rocks beneath the tumultuous sea, tearing into the exposed underbelly of an otherwise sturdy vessel. Yet others fall much more slowly, as one generation exchanges a seat near the pinnacle of power for a place ever so slightly removed. For these powers the retreat is glacial and imperceptible from year to year, decade to decade. Yet when the pages of their history are bound one on top of another, an unmistakable descent is clear.
Such is the case with the Giants of Terminus (also known as the Giganaa). While the dusk of their dominion fell millenia past, the reasons for their demise are astonishingly difficult to uncover. Despite leaving vast monuments of their former power, and on many counts still living in them, Giants remain a hulking mystery to the modern world. The first hindrance is the Giganaa themselves. Whether cordial (of which there are precious few) or grotesquely brutal (of which there are far too many), the race demonstrates little interest in sharing their past with the world that has grown up around them. Either from reverence or ignorance, the secrets of the world of Giants are mostly kept locked away from inquisitive eyes. Mostly.
THE UNMISTAKABLE SIGHT. Giganaa are quite clearly of immense stature, often growing to heights 3-4 times that of a human. Physically they are of varied body type and mass, some staying slender to nearly gaunt (such as the Elvonnen of Kingsreach); others maintaining a more proportionate shape (such as the Hisarrii of Reignfall); still others hold girth of prodigious portliness, such as the various seaside Giganaa who wade into the oceans depths in search of beasts to feed their monstrous appetite. (These last Giganaa have even been known to attack unsuspecting vessels in times of great hunger, graciously devouring members of the crew rather than permit them suffer the horrible fate of drowning).
In addition to their exceptional size, Giants are known for lifespans far longer than the average mortal, with 2-300 years of age being not altogether unheard of. At times this has caused mortals of fewer years to conclude that these titanic creatures are actually made from rock, wood or barnacle (elements that are known to be embedded into the feet and limbs of Giants). Despite an imaginative attractiveness, such myth is considered baseless by scholars, mere folklore aimed to solve the dilemma of their age and appearance. “If it appears to be a mountain, perhaps it came from one?” Perhaps not.
In addition to size, or perhaps due to it, Giants have a natural resistance to harsh climates. As they age their skin thickens into something more akin to a hide, dulling surface sensitivities but protecting their inner body from extreme temperatures. In time this may even become as dense as some armors, easily brushing off arrow strikes or weak blows by the sword. Coupled with a preference for locations so remote no ordinary mortal could survive at length, the link between Giants and nature as a literal mother look even more promising. (However, it is believed that Giants do not handle temperature change well in the short term. Thus a Giant in the Roans would not be expected to fair easily if moved to the desert of Khaga Sands).
The strength of Giganaa is as self-evident as their size, once again lending credence to their mythical origins. A scant two Giants have been known to shake the foundations of large buildings or fortifications by themselves, either with the force of their fists on the ground or by taking turns leaping into the air.
A Giant’s bellow has no equal short of Dragons, an understated but deadly force of nature. More than one group of would-be giant slayers have been lured into a cave, only to find themselves caught in a bit of old Giganaa sport. A sort of gamesmanship has been noted by terrified but nonetheless intrigued observers, as pairs of Giants team up to entrap the larger group of adventurers and hemorrhage their brains with a volley of earth-shaking screams. The highest body count is declared the victor.
Unlike their origins, this bellow is believed to have some native, mystical enchantment to it. To this end some Giants have been slain to discover — and harvest — the secret of the bellow. No records of success have been circulated however. Nonetheless, Giant hunting is a profitable business for a brave, insane, bloodthirsty and callous few. If pity is to be found for Giants, that is a starting point.
SCATTERED AND SCARCE. Another well documented fact is that Giants have a presence on multiple continents and regions throughout the world. Yet whatever ancient lineage the disparate groups share, a birthplace or home realm has yet to be discovered. If such a place existed, many of the Giant population do not seem to know of it themselves (though it is important to remind the reader that the inquisitions of “smaller” creatures do not seem of great concern them). This again presents a barrier to truly knowing the monolithic race, forcing historians to find supplementary evidences where available.
While Giganaa are found in many locations throughout Terminus, their number within those specific locations is at first underwhelming, and second of great concern (unless your fears cause you to desire the whole race perish). In many cases there are less than 10-15 Giganaa on a single continent, with a regional expectation of 3-5 total. To that end it is important to note that the term “Giant population” is considered a misnomer by some scholars, as so few sites hold groups of a size worth calling a population. (For these historians the term is broadened to the singular “Global Giganaa Population”.)
Yet the counterpoint in this debate is that the aforementioned architecture and scale of their structures suggests that at one time many more Giants roamed this world, and their presence was nearly without equal. That their influence as warriors, seafarers and rulers is merely buried beneath the leaves of time, a hidden pathway marked by bloodshed, mystery and neglect.
SCALES OF WAR. One of the oldest pages in Giant history is so tattered and frail it is almost indecipherable. This page speaks of a war between the Giganaa and another great power, a conflict that wrought disorder and death on a scale that dwarfed the Revenant and the Deicide War. This conflict, which they call The War of the Outsiders, was waged against an enemy unknown to modern historians. Yet for the combatants the effect of this struggle was quite clear: widespread cultural devastation, with each side emerging as perilously weakened.
It is perhaps the War of the Outsiders that sent the Giganaa into their hereditary retreat. That era of conflict creases through their history like a fault line, bifurcating a legacy as rulers and adventurers and pulling them into an increasingly narrow existence. Yet this fault line required countless ages to winnow their numbers to their current state, where the long term survivability of the race is at last in question.
A curious feature of Giganaa iconography is the erasure of the unknown enemy. They appear to have been removed, though at one time must have been prominently featured. It lends to the theory that some of the leaves of time obscuring Giant history were added by their own hand. Even the Elvonnen, still considered a worthy ally of Humans and Elves, refuse to divulge any significant details on The War of the Outsiders. The most they will confess is that certain members of their race were “unfaithful” in the conflict, a betrayal that hints at something more than their own people. Yet attempts to uncover the nature of that accusation quickly descend into speculation, for “unfaithful” is not the word they use to describe other, less sinister brethren.
FORSAKEN FRATERNITY. If ever there existed a unifying bond between the disparate populations of Giants, it no longer endures in any meaningful way. An illuminating study of this fracture can be made on the continent of Kingsreach, where the largely peaceful Elvonnen Giants speak of a fraternal conflict brought on by their Woevarren counterparts. The Elvonnen are reluctant to speak in great detail on the nature of the strife, a feature of Giganaa culture that ought be familiar by now. Yet what is clear is that the Elvonnen have retained a measure of their ancient presence high up in the Roan mountains, while the Woevarren have all but died out or abandoned the continent entirely.
The Elvonnen say this was not always the state of their relationship. At one time they and the Woevarren dwelt in harmony, the latter a warrior caste who often embarked on adventuring voyages across the seas, living in scant dwellings in the hills or near the water. Even in those ancient days the Elvonnen preferred the hostile chain of Roan mountains, as the ferocious climate was of little inconvenience to them. There they studied sacred wisdom languages and communed with their matriarchal deity, preferring the rigorous solitude of soaring peaks and endless winter to the lush populations below. They harnessed and mastered an arcane-influenced martial discipline — but never intended to use it on their own kind. The era was peaceful, bountiful for both groups of titans.
Yet centuries before the arrival of the Elves this brotherly bond was riven with strife. From Elvonnen accounts the conflict was precipitated by disagreement, instigated by Woevarran requests for some kind of aid. The Elvonnen refused, on more than one occasion, and the Woevarran persisted unto bloodshed. The nature of this aid is not known, but Elvonnen reluctance to discuss the conflict appears to be tinged not with guilt, but sorrow. Even young Giants bear the ache of that ancient schism, despite not being alive to witness its fury.
While it is unclear if what took place between the Elvonnen and Woevarren was caused by a larger global rift within the Giganaa, the broad unity of their peoples has undoubtedly atrophied. Where dozens or hundreds stood shoulder to shoulder, casting a shadow over every nation on Terminus, a lonely silhouette now comes to mind at the thought of Giants. Of the towering forest there remains but one tree, as the influence of this race falls like leaves across the face of this world.