Giants

### Defining Traits

Tall, muscular, immensely strong; two large horns. Boisterous, quick tempered, and very practical.

## Giants

> *"Never argue with a giant. It is a sure way to lose your head, either to senselessness or to an axe."* -- Rīkvôr, Captain of the Drakør
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### Intro

Giants are a race of Jørþejm. In their own language, Iú Moíradh, they call themselves Phiaruákasha. In Rīkljanar they're known as Lomizaken, and in Avasaun they are known as the Fareuxo.

### History

If someone were to ask a Giant where it was they came from, the Giant would likely respond that they come from Iú Moiníra, or the False Place. Giants quickly adapted to the situation they found themselves in after the Collision, many of them feeling that the Collision was a blessing given to them, a chosen number among their race. Understanding Iúrh Ophaín is crucial to understanding the giants' immediate acceptance of the Collision. It was the understanding of many Giants that, in their home realm, they had to abide by a strict code of behavior and conduct in order to gain favor with the spirits of their realm. It was their belief that they themselves would, with sufficient piety, be rewarded with life in Iúrh Aíphnira, the True Place. To them, this meant that they would become spirits themselves, and be free of the constraints imposed on them in their previous existence. In many cases, this meant freedom to destroy, pillage, and plunder. Those Giants who found themselves in Jørþejm after the Collision immediately interpreted their new surroundings as being Iúrh Aíphnira. The sudden sprouting of horns on the head of every Giant in the Collision did nothing but confirm this belief.

When the Giants first began to interact with the other races, they were met with aggression and fear. It wasn't until the language barrier was breached by some more level-headed members of the Giant race who wished to speak with the Humans and Dwarves, who already had begun to speak to each other in Rīkljanar, that a better understanding was reached. Given their appearance, it was the initial assumption of the other races that Giants were native to the realm, and in those early days, this meant danger. Once it became clear to the other races that the Giants were also victims of the Collision, although they did not see it this way, there was a greater effort to cooperate with them.

Very quickly, the Giants and Elves were at each other's throats, each trying to establish dominance over the other. It wasn't until the humans, lead by Katrīk Støžak, stepped in to mediate that the tensions began to ease. As the Giants continued to interact with the other races, a rift began to form in their number. Many began to question that they were truly in Iúrh Aíphnira. A Giant priestess called Moíra, one with a great deal of influence, power, and elven backing, began to teach that they were not, in fact, in Iúrh Aíphnira but rather in a different realm altogether. Iú Sehuínira, as she called it, or the Middle Place, was a realm between Iú Moínira and Iúrh Aíphnira where the Giants are given a taste of Iúrh Ophaín, the Spiritual Life as a testing ground for life in Iúrh Aíphnira. This idea spread quickly among the Giants, helping them to make sense of their continued mortality, and the immediate rivalry of the other races. Beneficial for the other races, the spread of this belief aided in the pacification of the Giants and finally, the Elven God-King Emer Sireu Talejir Euqorva Ademau was able to persuade Moíra to bring the Giants into the Accord as it was proposed by Katrīk Støžak.

The Giants agreed to the Accord, however there were a number among them, those who did not follow Moíra, who were not in favor of the Accord. Despite this, they understood that it was in the interest of their self preservation to maintain the peace. As the races began to spread out across the continent and set up settlements of their own, the Giants who did not follow Moíra grew more vocal about their dissent from beliefs she espoused. When she died in 34 A.C. there was immediately a contest for power that resulted in a fracturing of Giant society into two main groups. Those Giants who had disagreed with the majority position of those who followed Moíra departed for the hills to the south of the Dividing Range, where most of the Giants had made their home. These would become known as the Phiaruákasha Arpheír (Plains Giants), and those who remained in the mountains are known as the Phiaruákasha Kiómen (Mountain Giants). As a result of this disagreement, even many Giant tribes, Iétxenna, were torn apart.

In the year 128 A.C. a Giant by the name of Íncadhail became the spiritual leader of an Iétxe in the Eastern Plains, Iétxe Diérmuibh. He was a powerful wielder of magic, an Ádrisord, who was hailed as a spirit of knowledge and wisdom. He foretold of many events and made great prophecies, he foresaw the Shattering and the plague of Iétxe Shudhiú. He foretold of a great Giant yet to come, who would lead the Giants in the cleansing of Iúrh Aíphnira. In 135 A.C. Íncadhail, having called all Giants to an end of the Accord, led a Giant war party to attack a large caravan of Dwarves. In this caravan were a number of the dwarves present in Iétxe Shudhiú when it was struck by the mysterious illness. The Giants slaughtered nearly every dwarf they could find, and the Black River ran red with Dwarven blood.

Centuries have passed and the Giants are no closer to unity than they were when Moíra died. The Iétxe fight among themselves constantly, and when they aren't fighting one another they are engaged in petty squabbles with their other neighbors. The Plains Giants still roam the grasslands of the Continent awaiting the Promise of Íncadhial, and the Mountain Giants have build fortress cities, strongholds against attacks from their neighbors. The Giants are regarded warily by most, the elves being a notable exception, as they're known for their aggression and brutality. Elves often look at the Giants with disdain, seeing them more as creatures than intelligent sentient beings to be feared. Even within their race, the Mountain Giants view the Plains Giants as backwards and barbaric.

**Notable Events**
 The Razing of Romerua | 389 A.C.
 Completion of the construction of Iú Shabhaírmuin | 673 A.C.

### Culture

Giant culture can be separated into two distinct groups, the Phiaruákasha Arpheír (Plains Giants) and the Phiaruákasha Kiómen (Mountain Giants). These distinct groups formed initially as a result of a schism in spiritual belief and practice, known to them as Iúrh Ophaín, or the Spirit Life. Before the Giants came to Jørþejm, they inhabited a realm known to them as Iú Moiníra, the False Place. In Giant belief, they lived in a world that was not truly real, it was a shadow or form of Iúrh Aíphnira, the True Place. Giants believed everything to have a spirit, and that living in a way that accorded with the spirits and gained their favor would enable a Giant to be reborn into Iúrh Aíphnira and exist as a spirit themselves, no longer spiritually bound to live by any code of conduct. When the Collision happened, the Giants who arrived in Jørþejm immediately became aware of the magical energy in the realm and they all sprouted horns, something that had never happened before. Immediately, this event was interpreted as a mass movement of Giants into Iúrh Aíphnira. Very quickly the Giants began to do each as they saw fit, believing themselves untethered from the moral codes that once bound them, leading to all sorts of conflict. Soon, the Giants became disillusioned and over time, two streams of thought appeared within their spiritual practice. The dominant stream of thought, introduced by Moíra, was the idea that they had indeed progressed toward Iúrh Aíphnira, but that Jørþejm is a third realm that was previously unknown to them, Iú Sehuínira. An existence between the False and True realms that was a testing ground of spiritual existence for the Giant race. According to this teaching, those Giants now existing in Iú Sehuínira were being tested by the spirits with a semi-spiritual existence to determine their fitness for full spiritual life. The other stream of thought, most notably developed by Íncadhail Diérmuibh, rejects the concept of Iú Sehuínira, maintaining that Jørþejm is indeed Iúrh Aíphnira, but corrupted. Íncadhail argued that the presence of the other races in Iúrh Aíphnira was evidence of a deep spiritual evil that had corrupted the realm, and that the true spirits brought the Giants there in such unusual fashion so that they could cleanse it from impurity. Those Giants who rejected the introduction of Iú Sehuínira became what are now known as Phiaruákasha Arpheír.

These Plains Giants are known to be far more brutal and barbaric than their mountain-dwelling cousins. Plains clans roam, semi-nomadically, from place to place, following the herds of Continental Buffalo. A few larger settlements of Plains Giants exist, and these are areas held as sacred, where the Giants are not to spill one another's blood for any reason, to do so would be to invite one's own death and banishment from Iúrh Aíphnira. It is believed by the Plains Giants that, as long as Iúrh Aíphnira is corrupted, their mortality is temporary, and those who have died since the Collision will be born anew once the realm has been cleansed. Plains Giants are hunters, getting food, clothing, and useful materials such as bone and hides from the buffalo they follow. It is also common for them to have small herds of sheep and goats that they bring along with them whenever they move. It is even said that some Plains Giants have even discovered ways to tame the lions that live in the grasslands of the Continent. Plains Giant clothing is very simple and practical, usually made from animal hides and furs. Metal weaponry and armor is not uncommon, but aside from hunting spears and arrows, there is not a daily need for these things. Plains Giant art is largely made from materials sourced from animals.

The Phiaruákasha Kiómen are considered by most to be far more civilized and reasonable than their lowland counterparts. Where the Giants on the plains roam and live in tents, the Kiómen Giants build towns and live sedentary lives. While they have not fully embraced their violent urges, they are definitely more prone to aggression than the average inhabitant of Jørþejm. As is also the case with the Plains Giants, their hierarchy of leadership is determined by prowess in combat. Where the two differ is that the Mountain Giants will often accept the surrender of an opponent as opposed to insistence upon their death. The Mountain Giants also have a great deal of ceremony and fanfare around the challenge of a leader by an inferior. The duels are public spectacles and the victor is celebrated in a festive and raucous manner. Mountain Giants take pride in their masonry and stonework as a form of art, achieving large feats of engineering and building walls and fortresses where the other races would see it as too difficult or impossible. An example of this is the fortress stronghold of Iétxe Cuínin, the stone bridges of which span large mountain ravines thought impossible to build across.