Jotnar

The jotnar (sing. jotun) are the mortal gaints, descended from the Alderen and the Atharen. They claim to be the inheritors and upholders of the authority and the precepts of the Orthnar, and still order their society into the six orthen laid down by the divine Alderen: Hill and Mountain, Ice and Fire, Sky and Storm.   A giant's life is defined in five stages. Neun (sing. nenar), kindun (kindnar), hafun (hafnar), jotun (jotnar) and gerun (gernar).   A neun is an infant of less than five years, still learning to walk and speak. Kindnar are children, expected to attend to their education and obey their parents, but otherwise without real responsibilities. That changes at the age of twenty-five, when they become hafnar, a late adolescent stage in which they begin their apprenticeship in the orthen. A giant spends twenty-five to thirty years as a hafun, with ten-to-fifteen years spent exploring the options of the various orthen, before narrowing their focus and finally committing to an orthu of their choice. They are considered a full adult, with all the right and responsibilities of their society, at around the age of fifty-five, the transition marked by the swearing in ceremony for their chosen orthu. At this point, they are correctly referred to as jotun, orthun, or by the orthken of their orthu. Sometime in their third millennium, a giant's eyes begin to turn silver, marking their transition into the status of gerun, an elder of the Orthnar, which they will hold until death.  

The Orthen

The orthen are, in theory, the only meaningful division of jotnar society. The oaths sworn at a jotun's coming of age are supposed to replace all familial and civic ties with the bonds of the calthu, the local association of the orthu's members, and the calthen to be part of the wider orthu's grand network.  

Orthu	Orthken	Exonym	Precepts
Ordrost	Drostnar (Drostun)	Storm Giants	Leadership, Prophecy, Guidance, Justice; executive and advisory office, judiciary, seer.
Ordskai	Skainar (Skaiun)	Sky Giants	Law, Arithmetic, Persuasion, Deception; legislature, trade, scholarship, diplomacy.
Ordeld	Eldnar (Eldun)	Fire Giants	Forgecraft, Command, Instruction, Order; craft, education, strategic and logistical military command.
Ordhrim	Hrimnar (Hrimun)	Ice Giants	Battle, Hunting, Defence, Training; warfare, health and physical training, supply.
Ordberg	Bergnar (Bergun)	Mountain Giants	Structure, Aesthetics, Contemplation, Philosophy; architechture, ethical and moral guidance, transport.
Ordoet	Oetnar (Oetnu)	Hill Giants	Growing, Gathering, Delving, Stonecraft; agriculture, construction, mining, storage.
Oralo	Alonar (Aloun)	Outcasts	None
Orva	Vanar (Vaun)	Bale Giants	None

  In practice, familial loyalties and in particular a sort of class structure built on claims of Alderen heritage have assumed an increasing importance over time, and many find advantage in loyalty to their city or town. This means that the perfect machine of the Orthnar breaks down. Jotnar society is divided between those who devote themselves to the work and the traditional roles of their orthu, but others focus on family business or personal power. Increasingly, the orthen insist that the orthken are reserved for the former, while the latter are simply jotnar, not orthnar.   While this is generally accepted as the regrettable way of the world, there are also those who never swear to an orthu at all. These alonar are social pariahs, deemed shiftless and unproductive. Worse yet are the vanar. The term Orva is used, and suggests that there is an organisation of these bale giants, but that is not the case. Those jotnar who dedicated themselves to the Hunger and the gods of Otherfire are terifying forces of destruction and chaos. Legend has it that the first Vanar, and the ones who coined the name of the 'seventh orthu' were giants who recklessly tried to steal the immense power of the Fire Dragons during the Earth War.  

The Striae

The Striae is the class structure which has emerged over the millennia. Each Stria is defined by a combination of wealth and ancestral power, the latter often linked to claims of Alderen heritage.   The calastra (landed) are families with generations old power and wealth in the form of land held for generations. Invariably claiming descent from the Third Order and often willing to pay good money for anything that can be used as evidence of this. They hold prominent positions in civic government and the few states where the jotnar still hold power.   The vastra (worthy) are a seeming contradiction, those elevated above the Orthnar for their devotion to the work of the Orthnar. Vastra families are usually associated with a specific orthen and groom their scions for that orthu above all others.   The namistra (coined) are those considered 'new money', having wealth without the status of blood or land. It is usually in achieving this status that jotnar move away from the Orthnar in search of personal and familial elevation to the calastra.   The dystra (workers) lack family status, and are most likely to still hew to the egalitarian ideals of the Orthnar. Many hold authority thorugh their orthen, but are unlikely to seek to parlay this into hereditary advancement for their kin.   The alostra (outsiders) are those giants who, regardless of their interactions with the Orthnar, take no part in the temporal society of the jotnar. This includes many giants who live outside of larger social groups.   The malstra (criminals) are those giants who embrace crime. This includes those who reject the Orthnar, as well as murderers, thieves and charlatans.