The Jotunn

The ground rumbles...

The Jotunn are a complex race that existed eons ago. Jotunn are massive in scale and come in countless shapes and sizes. There are few similarities that bind them together, each member of the race being unique. Many believe the jotunn are a blend of many races of giant, like The Tablin and The Verdant Races. Many believe the Jotunn to be primordial gods, usually due to the fact that each possesses their own unique set of abilities. This is not the case. The jotunn do not possess any unique control over elements of the universe, and would take great offense to being called or treated as a god. Their society was notably atheistic in nature, one of the only atheistic societies in the history of the world. Many of the jotunn in the present-day hold true to that belief and refuse to bow before any divinity.

They are a proud species with an excellent memory. They remember the world as it was during their peak. They know they can never achieve what they had before again, but are still unwilling to adapt to what the world has become. Another strange feature of this race is its insufficient ethnic and cultural differentiation across the species. While each member of the race is unique in looks and personality, they are the same culturally, philosophically, and those who study them even notice similarities in artistic tendencies and food preferences. Unlike most races which can differ from region to region, the Giants are notably stagnant and don't appear to evolve or diffuse culture.

The Jotunn and The Nocturna

The Nocturna have many stories regarding the jotunn and the giants' time as the dominant species on the planet. Several tell of societies that all banded together in unison, actively diffusing their cultures together to create a unified culture across the planet.

Other stories tell of how the nocturna waged war against the giants though the lesser giants do not remember this. The Giants referred to the nocturna as spiritual cousins and are unusually friendly to them.

Some believe this is because they see a form of kinship in the nocturna, being a race that existed during their time and a fellow endangered species in the present day. Others believe this attitude comes from some unspoken crime the jotunn committed against the Nocturna, and their friendliness is more of an apology than kinship.

Lifestyles and living conditions

The Giants often choose their home for the location's physical characteristics. In the present day the jotunn are scattered across the world usually living in the most remote locations they can find. The more inaccessible their home is the better.

They prefer to keep their isolation intact and tend to be upset when the smaller races stumble upon them. Few are automatically hostile, but there is always a hint of distrust on both sides of the exchange.

Many of the smaller races distrust the Giants not just through their imposing size, but also due to the fact that so little is known about them. They do not exchange much of their history and culture with the smaller races.

Serathiem

The first giant ever encountered by Estoya lived in The Harrows. It made its home on the highest peak of the mountain range, which is nearly impossible to reach without some form of Arcane assistance. The giant was named Sarathiem, and took the form of a massive white bat.

The giant built a large complex on top of the mountain that weaved in and out of Mountain's structure. It is composed of massive statues that often depicted the greatest heroes of the world below, including past kings and noble warriors of all races.

The giant claimed he could see everything that happened on the surface of the planet from its perch, and chose to immortalize the greatest of the smallest beings the world has ever known. The jotunn still lives atop the mountain, named Jotunn's Perch.

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Comments

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Kendallonian

Dec 8, 2019 07:01

It's spelled 'ancestors'. As for the giants not having a diverse culture; I guess for folks as large as them, it's a small world.

Dylonishere123

Dec 8, 2019 08:42 by R. Dylon Elder

i really laughed out loud XD but your not too far off base. when crossing a continent can take the better part of a week on foot, the world is considerably smaller. I may have to rework this simply due to the fact that the point i was going for is how void they were. They had no effect on the world, no element of distinct culture that could legitimately be studied. As big as many of them are, they ended up meaning absolutely nothing. I mean one of the few alive spends their days making statues of heroes a fraction of her size.