Giants
"Hard as mountains, colder than death, and loyal to the last breath."
The Giants are towering figures born of storm and hardship, frames too great for most doors and strength too great for most to face alone; Born of Omendahl, the northern coastal nation of old Tarmahc, before these lands were lost forever to The Great Schism's ravenous hatred. Though often viewed as brutish remnants of a violent past, the truth is far more complex. These 10-15-foot-tall beings are a blend of human adaptability and stone-like resilience, carrying with them the weight of ancestral bloodlines and half-forgotten rituals. Their forebears are said to have been shaped by the sky itself, baptized by thunder, tempered by frost, and bound to the stone of the northern cliffs, giving them their thick skin like weathered bark, and bones said to ring like iron when struck. Once known for their soul-rattling war chants, death-defying shamanic runes, and terrifying raids across the frozen coasts, the Giants were feared and revered in equal measure. Their warrior-priests, the Skycallers, would mark the flesh of the dying with sacred ink that told stories to the gods, part prayer, part warning. Today, in post-Schism Everwealth, they are fewer in number but still respected for their tenacity, stone-thick hides, and quiet strength. People steeped in survival, community, and oral legacy, with echoes of their shamanic past still whispering in how they honor death, endure hardship, and bind their clans. Songs are sung not just to remember the dead, but to weigh their worth; stories are not told, but carved into tusk, stone, and skin. Folk today may dismiss them as slow or somber, those who know the Giants understand, they are not a people who speak often, but when they do, the world listens. As-mentioned they are much fewer in number now that their land of Omendahl lies beneath the sea; Yet Giants remain woven into Everwealth’s harsher truths. Their strength makes them both coveted and condemned, fetching fortunes in chains, yet in lean winters even their own clans have bartered flesh for survival. It is the cruel paradox of their people, born of storm and stone, yet too often measured by the weight they can carry, whether in freedom or in fetters.
Naming Traditions
Feminine names
- 'Brynja'.
- 'Sigrun'.
- 'Yrsa'.
Masculine names
- 'Sten'.
- 'Halvar'.
- 'Varric'.
Unisex names
- 'Alfdis'.
- 'Toril'.
- 'Eirik'.
Family names
- 'Breaker-of-Oaths'
- 'Son of Ironholm'
- 'Daughter of the Frostshore'
Other names
- 'Stonebloods' - referencing their size and tenacity.
- 'Fellborn' - a term used by others, implying they descend from old, terrible magicks.
- 'Tidebreakers' - a coastal nickname for their resilience and origin.
- 'Grimkin' - a pejorative used by some humans, inaccurately suggesting brutishness or simple-mindedness.
- 'Oathborn' - among themselves, a title of honor for those who uphold their ancestral pacts and values.
Culture
Major language groups and dialects
- Varrat: “Honor.”
- Thurask: “To die with pride.”
- Halldan: “Clan” or “home-blood.”
Culture and cultural heritage
Shared customary codes and values
- Never turn away kin.
- Speak plain. Lie rarely.
- Earn respect through deed.
- Never forget the land from which you bled.
Average technological level
Common Etiquette rules
- Never interrupt a song or story.
- Share warmth, fire, or shelter without being asked.
- Never draw a weapon unless you intend to use it.
- When speaking with elders, stand lower than them as a sign of humility.
Common Dress code
Art & Architecture
Foods & Cuisine
Common Customs, traditions and rituals
- Storm Vigils: Gatherings during storms where tales of old are told and lightning is honored.
- Wound-Binding: Formal apology or allegiance, where a cut is made and then healed together with salve or magick.
- Gravehowls: Mourning cries sung from mountaintops to honor the dead.
Birth & Baptismal Rites
Coming of Age Rites
Funerary and Memorial customs
Common Taboos
- Abandoning a comrade in need.
- Lying about lineage.
- Desecrating a fallen foe’s corpse.
- Wearing the colors of another clan without permission.
Common Myths and Legends
- The Howling Nine: Nine Giants who refused to die, howling into the storm until the storm howled back.
- The Bone-Storm Pact: A tale of ancient war-shamans who could resurrect themselves with sacred carvings in their bones.
- Frostmother’s Bargain: The tale of an ancient ancestor who married a glacier spirit to grant her people protection.
Historical figures
- Halvarr Bone-Singer: A war-shaman said to have crafted runes that summoned storms.
- Skari Ash-Eater: The last known wielder of the Giant’s Crown, a helm lost during the Schism.
- Eydir the Unshaken: A matron-giafntess who held a canyon pass for three days alone, refusing retreat.
Ideals
Beauty Ideals
- Scars are sacred, symbols of survival.
- Calloused hands, heavy brows, wide jaws, and powerful frames are admired.
- Some clans pierce their ears, lips, or brows to mark passage through certain rituals.
Gender Ideals
Courtship Ideals
Relationship Ideals
- Bone-Bound Resilience: Old tales claim the bones of Giants were carved from the roots of the world tree, giving them unnatural endurance and vitality.
- Sigil-Blooded Ancients: Pre-Schism Giants bore ritual tattoos and embedded sigils that could trigger regenerative bursts or moments of berserker clarity, now considered lost magicks.
- Shield-Kin of Omendahl: Giants once served as living shields during the coastal sieges of Tarmahc, standing in the surf with spears raised while archers fired between their shoulders.
- Frost-Blood Rumors: Some believe Giants possess diluted elemental ancestry, with blood that slows in heat but runs wild in cold, accounting for their dominance in northern climes.
- Cairn Slumber: In the oldest barrows of Omendahl, it is whispered that some Giants do not rot, but petrify, resting upright, weapons in hand, waiting for another call to war.
- Some Giants freed from slavery wear shackles hammered into rings or torcs, mocking the chains once meant for them. To outsiders it seems like ornament, but to the Giants it is both defiance and warning, a reminder that even mountains may be broken and sold.
- "The storm sleeps in your bones." A saying meant to imply untapped potential or wrath kept in check, often used as both a compliment and a warning.
- "Strike like stone, wait like glacier." Advice passed between warriors on patience and ferocity, a lesson in knowing when to act and when to endure.
- "Built from grief and granite." A poetic way to describe someone forged by hardship, resilient and unmoving, as most Giants are believed to be.
- "When the blood calls north." A metaphor for instinct, especially a dangerous or ancestral one, often used when someone seems drawn to a path they can’t explain.
- "Even mountains kneel to time." A grim reminder that no matter how mighty one stands, age, fate, or the world itself can still bring them low.
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