Giants

Giants are one of the oldest species in the universe, rivaling the seniority of the Fey, Dragons, and Elves, with have a long and bloody history with the universes’ inhabitants.   Giants, as a species, are all descended from the Titans, the Children of the Goddess Gaia. There are many creatures of Giant ancestry throughout the universe, but they are not all treated equally, and can be categorised into two distinct groups, True Giants and Giantkin.   When people think of Giants, they are usually thinking of True Giants. True Giants are incredibly large, usually far taller than other Giantkin, towering between 20 and 25 feet tall, with the potential to continue to grow in size as they mature, with no sign of a limit to their potential height outside of death. True Giants are humanoid in appearance with earthy, rock-like skin and are favoured by the Goddess Gaia, maintaining a strong, devoted connection to their patron deity and their ancestral mother.   True Giants are believed to be descended from the Gigantes, the most powerful children of Gaia. When the Gigantes were defeated at the end of the Gigantonomy, it is believed that their spilled blood spawned the first True Giants from the earth.   True Giants are categorised into five distinct subspecies, Fire, Frost, Sea, Sky and Stone, and can be found all across Exorsia and the Planes. It is widely believed that the elemental qualities found in the Giants reflect the magical qualities of the Gigantes, who were designed to replace the gods, and that Gaia drew on the other elemental planes in their creation. Though other scholars argue that the Giant’s elemental connection is actually down to environmental adaptation to the land in which they live, that due to their connection to the earth, they reflect its climate, though they are unable to convincingly account for the existence of Sky Giants.   While there is historical precedent for a unity between all the subspecies of Giant living and working together, such as in the ancient and lost city of Forvarkan, after its fall the majority of Giants now live in separate clans, consisting of only their species, and rarely interacting with other clans or even other species outside of trade or conflict. These clans are usually incredibly matriarchal, and they commonly worship the Earth Mother Gaia and the Gigantes.

Maturity:

  True Giants live on average between 300 and 400 years, though there are records of them living for centuries longer. Giants mature slower than humans do, reaching adulthood by the age of 30.

Biology:

  True Giants will continuously and gradually grow in size as they age, but with this size comes the need for more food to sustain themselves, with a large number of the Giant population dying from starvation rather than any other factor. This usually occurs when a Giant exceeds 300 years of age.   It is speculated by some scholars that if a Giant had an abundance of food they could theoretically continue to grow. This theory is supported by a myth commonly told by the Giant clans. It claims that every mounting is a sleeping Giant, that some giants can keep growing and growing until they fall into a deep sleep, transforming into mountains. Another version of the story claims that Exorsia itself is a sleeping Giant. Whether this story has any grain of truth or that it’s just a children's fable is still highly debated.

Reproduction:

  Giants reproduce similarly to humans, though unlike humans, Giants become stronger and healthier during pregnancy at the cost of requiring more food. The gestation period for a Giant is around 12 months.