The Giants
History of the Giants
The Father of All Giants
In the Age of the Ancients, Arrax would travel upon the face of the Material Plane. He was the tallest and strongest of all beings, eager to face any who would challenge him in a contest of arms. Only the Elemental Primordials were truly able to match him, and for this he would fall in love with them. From this union, nine children were born of Arrax and the primordials, who would become the progenitor for each of the kinds of true giant.
Once all his children were grown, Arrax chose for them a place in the far north of the Mortal Realm where he built them an enormous city. Before they were granted access to it however, Arrax decreed that his children must create an Ordning between them. A fair contest of arms should be held between each of the giants to determine who held power over the other. This ranking would become known as the First Ordning and determined that the Storm Giant stood strongest, the Hill Giant weakest, and the Ettin who cheated would be banished. The city that Arrax created would span from the cavernous depths of the world to plains, hills, and mountains, and reaching both into the sea and into the clouds. Each of his children were given a portion of the city to rule as their own and to populate with their children in turn. Thus the storm giants ruled the seas, the hills giants ruled the hills and plains, the frost giants ruled the frozen tundra, the fire giants ruled the volcanoes, the stone giants ruled the mountains, the cloud giants ruled the sky, and the storm giants ruled the seas. From this city, the giants would in time form the largest kingdom to have ever existed in the Material Plane.
War of the Giants and Dragons
The giants would not be the only race to make their mark on the world. Just as the kingdom of the giants reached its peak, it was met by the first Draconic Empire. At a time following the Splintering, while Bahamut and Tiamat were occupied fighting eachother, a Conclave had united many of the world's dragons into an empire. They now met the giants and war began. The war lasted for a thousand years and devastated both the giants and the dragons. It only grew into a stalemate as both sides were diminished and both kingdoms lie in ruins. As the dragons were drawn into the conflict between Bahamut and Tiamat, which would divide the metallic and chromatic dragons, the giants retreated to their only remaining city, the capital built by Arrax.
The Giants Disowned
With the Giant-Dragon war having ended in a stalemate, there was an eagerness in the giants to reaffirm their strength to Arrax the All-Father. Many giants would seek this through feats of arms or craft, but one would take it further.
Ymir, the First Frost Giant, was the strongest and largest of the his kind, a titan among them. Yet even he could not defeat the dragons. To deal a finishing blow, Ymir instead hatched a plot to defeat them. In the war he had learnt the secret magics of the ice dragons and the fire dragons. Together with his son Thrym and the Fire Giant Surtr, Ymir now planned to create a powerful spell that first freeze the world, killing half its dragons, then burn it to finish the rest, leaving the giants as the victor with him to rule them.
Arrax would learn of this dishonourable plot however, a plan that stood in stark violation of his rules of war. Unwilling to let this stand, Arrax sought out Ymir in the capital of the giants and confronted him about his plans. There, in the great city, a fight broke out between Arrax and plotting giants. Ymir was severely wounded by Arrax in what would have been a killing blow. Instead, however, Ymir unleashed the first part of his spell in an effort to shield himself. Ice mixed with his blood on the ground and began to spread. Further and further. In the confusion, Ymir then fled, pursued by Arrax all the way into Acheron. There, Arrax the All-Father would slay his son and from his body create his domain. Meanwhile, Surtr and Thrym fled the Material Plane, reaching Ysgard and creating their own realms, those of Muspelheim and Jotunheim. They would swear their vengeance on Arrax and vowed to burn the world and to freeze it.
The ice that Ymir had unleashed did not stop to spread and began to cover the capital of the giants. Arrax had gone to pursue Ymir and would not return to contain the ice, and so the other giant progenitors gathered to find a way to stop it. For a long time they quarrelled over any plan, none seeing eye-to-eye. Some wished to combat it with force, others to seek out magic. Some hoped to seek the aid of Arrax, while others cursed him for abandoning them. In the end, it is believed the Children of Arrax quarrelled so long they were in time all encased in the ice. While this happened, the other giants fought amongst themselves, seeing betrayal in the others, as ever more of the city was lost to the ice. After a century of this constant infighting, Arrax had had enough. He banished the giants from the city, forcing them south as he destroyed the lands behind them, turning it into the White Sea. Arrax the All-Father then disowned the giants, saying he would not grant them his favour again until one of their kin had reunited all giants and called his name.
In the ages since, the giants have lived without the grace of the All-Father. While the first of their number had been immortal, each new generation now lived shorter lives. Many giants now curse the All-Father, while others live in hope that one day his favour will grace them once more.
Life-Span
Longevity: Semi-mortal
Wean: 0-50
Adult: 50-200
Elder: 200-400
Jotun: 400-1500
Titan: 1500+
Common Faiths
Sect of Arrax the All-Father
Types of Giants:
Lesser Giants
Cyclops
Ettin
Fomorian
Troll
Ogre
Types of Giantkin:
Firbolg
Fensir