Giants

The Giants, or Takkru (Old Sainic for "Large Men") are a sapient humanoid species related to the Siarru and Cavers. Compared to the former, they are often considered less intelligent, although this claim is debatable. Unlike the culturally highly diverse humans, most Giant cultures are rather similar to each other, often nomadic or pastoralist, and in any case very tribal. They have developed different languages and some tribes even have simple writing systems, and some of them are capable of simple metallurgy, mostly bronze, although flintstone weapons are still common among them. A small number of individual Giants or Half-Giants have become part of civilizations, most notably the Astarikan general Thu'Grazak in the 3rd century AKF. However, as Giants generally avoid contact with Men, they have never been seen by the majority of the population, and are therefore considered legendary beings, often with supernatural powers.

Significant Giant populations exist in several mountain ranges on Aviir, including the Tralk Mountains and the Skywall, as well as on the Bram Archipelago.

## Biology

As the name suggests, giants are significantly larger than Men, with an average height of 2.5 to 3.5 meters depending on tribe, sex and age. Male Giants are mostly larger and heavier than females. Due to their larger height, their bodily proportions are quite different than those of Siarru, with proportionally long, stocky legs with rounded feet, and a wide torso. They weight between 300 and 800 kg, with a higher proportion of muscle mass than Siarru and Cavers, as well as larger and denser bones especially in their legs. Their arms are muscular and, while long compared to their torsos, rather short next to their legs.

Their heads are wider than those of Siarru, with a square jaw, flat nose, protruding brows and a sloped forehead. Just as with Siarru, male Giants can grow beards, and many giant tribes have traditions of growing beards out very long. Both sexes have more prominent body hair than Siarru.

According to some accounts, giants can procreate with Siarru and, sometimes, even produce fertile offspring, making "Quarter-Giants" possible. A few clans, such as House Garramon from Astarikaz, even take pride in the claim of having Giant blood in their veins.

Giants are very resistent to cold climate.

## Culture

### Way of Life

#### Nomadic Giants

Nomadic Giants usually live in encampments of varying size, often lead by an Elder male, in rarer cases by a female. These camps usually consist of a large central fireplace and simple tents made of animal furs and hides. They are usually hunters and gatherers.

#### Pastoral Giants

Pastoral Giants are mostly semi-nomadic, and known for domesticating and herding megafauna like mammoths, woolly rhinos and giant horses for milk, meat and hide. Very often, they travel through highlands and lower-lying steppes with a small herd of their animals between different camps, and occasionally barter with other Giants and, rarely, with Siarru tribes living in these regions, trading animal products like meat and cheese with metals. Some of these pastoral tribes have stationary settlements higher up in the mountains, where they occasionally return to look after their offspring.

#### "Civilized" Giants

A few individual giants have become part of Siarru civilizations, especially in cultures around the Pearl Sea like the Nerthans, or among the Kumun culture south of the Sea of Shells. On the Bram Archipelago, the Vradic settlers have established diplomatic relations with the native Giant population.

The number of actually urban giants is extremely low however.

### Traditions

#### Gender roles

The roles of the two sexes are generally strictly separated, but none is considered more important than the other. Males are generally hunters, builders, animal herders or warriors, whereas women are gatherers, farmers, medicine women or shamans.

### Technology

#### Metallurgy

Several Giant tribes have developed metallurgy on their own, primarily using copper. Some tribes have taken this a step further and added tin or arsenic to create bronze, which is hard enough to create reliable blades for long knives, short swords (taking their size into account) and spear tips. The Giants of the Bram archipelago seem to have some knowledge in working with iron as well, and through bartering, some of the tribes on Aviir also gained access to iron metallurgy over time.