The War of Nióhöggr and Jötunn
Early in the world's prehistory (at least by Human standards) an ancient war was waged. The Nióhöggr and Jötunn fought for supremacy in the millions of years leading up to the arrival of the First Men, and the Hyperborean Age. These fell creatures were the Dragons and Giants of old. Recorded deep in the Scandes Mountains lies the remains of old Frost Giant & Fire Giant records, along with the mystical writings in the lairs of truly ancient mythic Dragons scattered throughout the world. A number of details can be gleaned from these records if one were to ever view them. Unfortunately, they may be some of the best preserved records, but getting there & surviving the trials & encounters in such ruins is another thing entirely.
The Conflict
Prelude
The arrival of the Giants after the Dragons had lived for millions of years led to the start. The Giants had a thirst to expand and started to seize control of many areas Dragons controlled. These would flare up and subside quickly. Both used a number of tactics including exceptionally powerful weapons long lost, and magics that changed & marked the world ever after.
Deployment
The Giants entered at different points in different regions of the world instead of a single mass or body, and attacked pretty much anywhere they found Dragons. The latter attached using the knowledge they had built up over the time they lived on the world, using every advantage they could.
Giants used many different formations geared to distract and confuse the Dragons, while the Dragons attacked simultaneously from the earth, air, and water causing disruption on Giant formations.
Outcome
The devastation of caused by many of the lesser conflicts scarred the land but eventually were worn away by time. The changing of the tectonic plates, the weathering of the damage and the effects of other species has covered up the worst of the conflict.
Aftermath
Mutations in the Dragons & Giants caused by magic, including the odd form of 'improving' the base bodies of the two beings, led to many of the Giant-kin & Dragon-kin that now plague the world.
Many of the Dragons now rest deep in secure sites awaiting to be awoken again to look for global domination again. While they do, the Giants have been more active but regularly avoid the younger races knowing they view the Giants as a threat.
Many adventurers, explorers, mages and scholars hunt out rumours & lairs of both Dragon & Giant hunting for their treasures, magic, and treasures. So far only a few have been found and usually with all matter of outcomes. Rarely a full grown Dragon or Giant is found, and this has led to terrifying outcomes.
The only region where the Dragons still interact, but viewed with both fear & awe is in the Asian regions. Here they are viewed as aspects of the gods, or their avatars. Other regions fear the full return of both, and heroes are dispatched to deal with any rumour hinting at the return of these fear inducing creatures of yore.
Historical Significance
The Dragons and the Star Gods were the first to appear on Earth, either falling from the sky or being 'born' in the primordial early stages of it. They had their skirmishes, but the Star Gods eventually withdrew to regions unclaimed by the Dragons and both started to build their respective empires .
A few millions of years later, Giants found their way to Earth from different worlds using what is rumoured to have used the Great World Tree. By doing so, they brought conflict.
Both are naturally aggressive and expansionist by nature, with the first few encounters resulting in bloodshed on both sides. The Dragons refused to give up space or leave their holdings, while the Giants forcibly took what they could & dug in.
Conflicts erupted in many theatres, the majority on land, though a few took place in the sea deep below the surface, and a few high in the air above the clouds. The Dragons had superiority in the air but unable to fully stop the onslaught. The Giants managed to plough deep into the sea and as far as deep into the Underdark.
The Giants immediately seen to building settlements wherever they could, especially on top of Dragon lairs using magical Runes to block off or divert the entrances & exits of the lairs. Not all had this happen allowing for a fair number of the Dragons to still use the lairs they occupied. The Giants plundered the ancient treasures of the Dragons where possible to add to their own collections, and magical expertise. The Dragons in kind deliberately left cursed items for the Giants to find or traps & monsters to make life difficult for them,
Many on both sides were killed, sometimes in their hundreds. Many Dragon eggs were destroyed or corrupted by magic in the process leading to many Dragon-kin rising. The magic used by the Dragons interacted with the Giants magic causing many mutations in the Giants causing many Giant-kin to be born over time.
After the First Men arrived, the war eventually reached a stalemate and petered out. Many Dragons & Giants retreated from the world seeing a change come over it. Eventually Pangea split apart into the world we now know, and the younger races took over in time looking upon the Dragons & Giants as myths & legends at best, and terrifying discoveries at worse.
Legacy
It is seen as a time of terror from beyond the memories of most species. They view both the Dragons & Giants as overly aggressive, vicious, and domineering, sending out their best to overcome both when one appears or even at the rumour of one in an area. Along with doing so, the thought of ancient knowledge, power & treasure also leads to many looking into the lairs of both.
In Literature
Many a story was passed down word-of-mouth describing the wars, and eventually wrote down. Many more still exist to be recorded, and new stories constantly arise telling of encounters involving the Dragons & Giants. Over time, many these take on the trope of the hero or heroes riding out to deal with such creatures and preventing either from wreaking havoc on the surface world, along with the wars starting up again.
A highly accurate tale of the times comes from the stories recorded in stone deep in the Scandes Mountains, and those who have the means will travel there to learn what they can. The tale mentions that the Dragons were well established by the time the Giants travelled along the World Tree to Earth, with specific mentions of Yggdrasil thee World Tree, Midgard or Earth / Terra, and Jötunheim world of the Giants.
The latter is mentioned as coming as a great primordial force of chaos, and striking from the north in many directions. They surprised the Dragons who could not see into the spaces beyond, and being of magic bound in the Material Plane could not scry into Jötunheim due to the mystical nature of Yggdrasil.
Whole wars raged across the frozen north of the world and whole kingdoms of Dragons fell, while others hunkered down letting their minions take the brunt of the attacks. Of these times the Dragons created many of the Dragon-kin and many of their servants & other bloodlines. The Giants tampered with their own creating many of the Giant-Kin that exist today, as well as a few Dragon-kin to act as spies & assassins in Dragon Lairs.
Creatures such as Drakes, Wyverns, Draconians, Dragonborn and their ilk came about this way, while Trolls, Ettin, Cyclopes and others were created to act in the armies of the Giants. The latter also brough selectively bred monstrosities grown from reptilian lineages that eventually escaped and started to breed.
Such devastation led to other species to evolve in the wake of the wars, and leading to one in particular becoming the First Men. The magic released caused these people to rise in number and split, learning from both sides and taking over whole regions for themselves. They created kingdoms, and took no side over another. They created the ancient kingdoms such as Lemuria, Mu, and Atlantis. Eventually they learned magic themselves and eventually turned against the Dragons & Giants.
With wars on three sides the world started to buckle and Pangea split up drowning many of the kingdoms of the three sides, and ending the Hyperborean Age, although the Wars of Dragons and Giants had ground down to skirmishes by this point. The world changed evermore. The three species entered legend then myth, and most species who appeared later thought they were allegorical. The remaining Dragons & Giants retreated into hidden kingdoms throughout the world and the First Men eventually followed hiding in the darkest regions where they avoid other intelligent species afraid they will go the same way.
One mention is a name of a First Man empire that took to worshipping Dragons and other serpentine creatures , taking the name of Yuan-Ti and the casting of their black magic seems to have caused the destruction of the Hyperborean Age. They mentions an avatar of a Dragon unrelated to Bahamut and Tiamat. Referred to as the Void Dragon it is mentioned that it stayed out of the wars and followed another deity, one that craved Order on Flesh and Painfully Pleasurable Domination. This deity is described as a monstrous sea serpent with a mouth that leads straight to Hell, and named Leviathan.
"Those were terrifying times by all accounts. I have seen records in my own lair, at least little parts. Nobody could predict the outcome, as both were determined, strong and intelligent. Both may have had differing bodies but both couldn't win outright. They also think creatures like the Trolls, Wyverns, Draconians, and Ogres were created at those times. to fill in blanks in the two sides.
Hundreds died. I mean hundreds. Your looking at beings who lived long long times, especially my kind. When one fell, it left a massive hole in the history of each people, and someone capable of becoming more, much more. Maybe both us Dragons and the Giants would have stayed united under the relevant leadership, but no... Ever since both sides are fractured, and even more dangerous than what we would have been."
Birgin, the Winter Storm speaking to Emon Kanis outside of Aachen.
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