Stonegiants

The **Stonegiants** were legendary creatures of enormous size that wandered the northwestern valleys of Vindikfill. Other names for the Stonegiants include **Titans**, **Kings of Rock and Stone**, the **Groundborn**, and **Eldest**.

## Origin

It isn't entirely known how the Stonegiants first came into being, but the legends of the Magruza tell us that it was Titanos, the first Stonegiant who arose from the Earth, who broke off shards of his own body to form the other Titans.

### The Awakening of the Titans

They are the Kings of Rock and Stone, the Groundborn, the Eldest. It was Titanos, Lord of the Earth, who awoke from the ground first of all beings. In his awakening he tore open the earth itself and created the world as we now know it. His feet stomped the ground, forming the peaks and valleys. He cried for he was alone, and his tears flowed in rivers to form the seas. In his lonesomeness he broke off pieces of his own body, creating sons and daughters of stone.
Together the Titans roamed the earth, in search of beauty and purpose. It was in the north of the world where they found it. Within the mountains they delved, and found there gems of purest light. Deeper and deeper they burrowed, until they made a most curious discovery. In the deep places of the earth lived small creatures, hacking the stone and melting ores. They called themselves the Magruza, the Delvers. Never before had they seen the sky and sun, so when Titanos lifted them from the deepest caverns and showed them the world above, they were more than grateful. The Magruza searched for gems and jewels, to which the Titans had taken a liking, and gifted them as tokens of gratitude. A trustful relationship was established between the Titans and the Delvers, who quickly expanded their subterranean kingdoms above ground.

Many ages they lived in harmony, the Delvers protecting their cities in the mountains with horn and beacon. Even when the first men came to the northern continent, the Titans still roamed. All was well, until a thousand years ago, during the Great Exploration.

Men came once more, this time with ships and swords and war and politics. The Titans built the Neck of the Stonegiants, as a warning to those ignorant enough to be traveling up the river Ysdan into the domain of Giants. It was of no use. The Titans, Kings of Rock and Stone, were lost. It is said they hid in the mountains as far north as north goes, into the wintry Fjordlands, beyond the reach of Men and Delvers. One thing is certain, the Titans have not been seen ever since.

It is said that in the most ancient times Titanos, the Firstborn, Lord of the Earth, awoke from the ground first of all beings. In his awakening he tore open the earth itself and created the world as we now know it. His feet stomped the ground, forming the peaks and valleys. He cried for he was alone, and his tears flowed in rivers to form the seas. In his lonesomeness he broke off pieces of his own body, creating sons and daughters of stone. Together the Titans roamed the earth, in search of beauty and purpose.

## Dissapearance

During the Great Exploration, Men rediscovered the lands of Vindikfill, and quickly explored the continent. They sailed up the river Ysden to explore further north than any dwarf had ever done. They could not understand the reason the Delvers would not enter this plentiful valley. Lush hills, fresh water, shelter from the winds. But the Delvers knew, they warned them not to enter here. For the Valley of the Giants was not named after its towering mountains. Be it stubbornness or not fully understanding the language of the dwarves, men came with pick and ax, building camp and outpost wherever they pleased. It wasn't long before the first Titan came wandering from the far north. A walking mountain, shaking the earth with every step, who does not watch what scurries beneath.

Both towns and lives were lost, yet in their stupidity, men refused to leave. They kept building, further hidden in-between the hills, hurling rocks and firing arrows at any Titan that dared come too close. The Stonegiants meant no harm. After all, a man does not see the ants that crawl within the grass underfoot. So, to guard both man and Titan from grief, the Giants erected seven gigantic arches. An unmistakable warning to any man sailing further north up the river that this here is the land of the Titans. Those who enter here should know their end is nigh.

It's not that Men were able to damage the Titans, it's that they did not understand the goodness of a Titan's heart. They came with anger, war and greed, and built houses wherever they liked, even in the lands of the Titans, where no Delver would dare build. A Titan does not always know what he steps on, so many villages were lost, only due to the ignorance of Men. The Men blamed the Titans, but the Delvers swiftly put them in their place. The Delvers forbade all Men to ever build again in the domain of Titans. But the Titans were sad, they did not mean to crush innocent women and children, so their hearts of stone were broken. That is presumably why they left, they did not want to be hated. It has now been almost a thousand years since anyone has built anything in the Valley of Giants. It is a sacred place, only to come and look upon the wonder of the Neck of the Stonegiants. The Giants retreated further north, where the cold wind bites and the glaciers gnaw at the earth. It has been a thousand years since the last Titans were seen, heard or felt roaming the valleys in the north of Vindikfill. Where they went is not known, perhaps they still walk somewhere, in the far snowy reaches of the continent. Or perhaps they have all been lost, either dead or in a deep slumber amid the rocks. Again one with the earth, as they once were.