Irda

The irda, or high ogres, are one of the rarest species on Erah, being all-but extinct. They are the ancestors of most giants and giant-kin.

Irda reach maturity at the age of 100, and can live for 600 years.

## Myths

The irda were the first great civilisation of the northern continent, back when humanity was still living in caves. They originally believed they were the chosen people of Nezu, and that they had a right to dominate all other creatures of the world. As proof of them being Nezu's chosen people, they merely had to show their innate magical talents and great beauty, which puts even the drow to shame.

Over time, their practices caused them to change physically, gaining darker, greyer skin and hair, and eyes that tended towards red and purple. These changes were accepted as proof that they were doing Nezu's will, since he was rewarding their devotion by moulding them closer to his ideal.

The irda believe that their first king was Irix the Devout, a draconic irda who used his draconic heritage to become the first great irda spellcaster. He united the irda clans, and forged his empire which lasted ten-thousand years. During the empire's height, it started launching raids on Alvheim, taking many of the first elves captive. Many of these elven slaves were altered using the Shard of Arcane Endowment, granting them access to magic. Those who weren't altered with the shard were subject to irda-elf hybridisation experiments aimed at creating the perfect slaves: the result was the Gof'nn Hupadgh, the first goblinoids. These raids led to a series of wars between the irda and the elves that lasted until the end of the irda civilisation.

One day, a nobleman called Igraine learned that his daughter was seeing one of her slaves, and so he had the slave imprisoned. Soon afterwards, Igraine's home was attacked by elves as part of the ongoing war between the irda and alvheim. During the battle, the slave managed to escape his cell, but instead of trying to get his freedom, he instead went to find his mistress. Igraine witnessed the slave saving his daughter's life from elven arrows, which left him badly wounded. Once Igraine and his fellow irda fought off the elves, he had the slave taken away for medical treatment, while he himself went to his cousin, the king of the irda, to give his report. The king, in line with irda law regarding the "lesser races", demanded the slave be executed and, as the king's representative in that region, Igraine was to perform the execution himself. As the slave had his neck on the chopping block, Igraine decided to show him clemency, and refused to go through with the execution of the man who loved his daughter enough to sacrifice himself for her. Igraine then pronounced an end to slavery in his domain, and that all slaves were henceforth to be freed of their chains. He also turned his back on the worship of Nezu, instead worshipping Mercia. Igraine's actions led to a civil war between him and the king. Ultimately, while many of his allies were killed and only a few hundred of Igraine's followers managed to escape to the Eastern Continent, the slave uprising Igraine started led to the fall of the irda nation on the northern continent, with many of the survivors, now calling themselves nzunta, fleeing to the as-of-yet uninhabited plane of Gigaheim. Once on the eastern continent, Igraine abdicated his position as leader of the irda to his daughter and went on a journey deep into the mountains. There, he became a hermit, living in a cave and writing a book of great wisdom. Centuries later, he left his cave and returned to his people, bestowing on them his *Irda Nåde*, before dying soon afterwards. By following the teachings of this book, the irda were untouched by the curse of the nzunta, Following these rules also caused the irda, after just a handful of generations, to return to their original blue colouring

Within a handful of generations of Igraine, the irda numbers started to dwindle due to their habit of living in relative isolation, only coming together for important occasions. This led to a population crisis. The council of irda elders that had taken over the governance of the irda after the death of Igraine, led by the first Bestemmer, performed a great magical ritual that placed a curse on all irda women: roughly every century and a half after they came of age, they would be compelled to find a mate and give birth to a child, becoming barren if they did not. They also proclaimed that all irda women, once they came of age, would be married to the first man to see their eyes. Through these two means, they managed to cause the irda to narrowly avoid extinction for millennia.

## Lands

While their people originally came from the Northern Continent, Igraine led them to the Eastern Continent, to what would later become the Lung Empire. While the emperor of the Lung Empire found the hidden irda stronghold roughly 1,200 years ago and killed everyone he could find, it is possible that some survived using their shapeshifting abilities and integrated into wider Lung society.

Keisara, a descendant of the house of Igraine, founded the Kolshet Empire in the Frontier, on the Western Continent. Keisara and her descendants are the only known irda open about their identity, and so many who know of them consider the Kolshet Empire to be the current home of the irda.

## Culture

Before its fall, the ancient irda civilisation was very much like the culture of the modern nzunta. Most irda live in warded locations known as strongholds. In the past, a stronghold consisted of hundreds of irda living separately from each other within a larger warded area. Today though, irda strongholds rarely consist of more than a single household, which often contains members of other races. Irda are generally isolationists, preferring to keep to themselves. Many study magic, in fact those who do not practice some form of arcane magic are generally looked down on, and their shapeshifting abilities are amongst the strongest in the world, though few see the need to focus on these, preventing them from reaching their potential as shapeshifters.

Since the death of Igraine, irda are generally given a personal name in childhood, and when they come of age are expected to select a new name that fits their role in society. Some official positions, such as protector (Beskytter) and decider (Bestemmer) have names linked to their office, and those who take those offices abandon their former name and adopt the name for that office. Other irda who change their roles in life have also been known to adopt a new name. Rarely, an irda will continue using their childhood name into adulthood, but such individuals are considered unusual. Those who blend into other societies often have a name that fits their identity in that society, typically from the species they are shapeshifted into to avoid drawing attention to their presence. The name "Keisara", for example, signifies the societal role of "Empress".

One irda cultural tradition that often horrifies outsiders (and a good number of irda women) is the practice of women being married to the first man to see her eyes once she reaches adulthood.

## Evolution

The irda are descended from the grruuk, and are closely related to the mewling trolls. They and the nzunta diverged during the irda civil war, and the mischta diverged soon afterwards from the irda. Through the nzunta, they are the ancestors of just about every species of giant, hag, and other giantkin, as well as doppelganger-kin, lamias, minotaurs, and likely even the mind flayers. Ancient irda cross-breeding experiments with elves also produced the first goblinoids, making the irda the ancestors of them as well. It is thought that roughly 70% of all intelligent species are descended from the irda, not to mention a good number of individuals from the other 30% also having at least one irda ancestor.

The irda are on the verge of extinction, having evolved into many other peoples and struggling to continue in the present day.