Giant's Rest
"It is here he shall rest, never stirring nor sounding. His crown lay bare on cold, blood-lettened stone. Helig, Last of the Giant Kings, Eye of the Watcher, Madman."Giant's Rest is a funerary barrow and cave located in the Kingdom of Morcaenan. It is located in the mountains of the Great Spine and can be only be reached safely by a forested trail that leads to St. Westal's Monestary and the village of Redkirk to the south. Historians and scholars alike agree that it was here that Morcar declared himself the new king of the realm following his slaying of Helig the Vast, and thus ending the age of Giants forever. While a lonely place, it is considered one of the great historical locations in Morcaenan and is protected by the Monestary of St. Westal.
Geography
History
Myth of Bàs Helig
"Death. It was all that ran through Helig's mind. His vision, dreams, and thoughts all showed death. His death. The death of his people. The death of everything. He had become a husk of the Giant who was once called king. When Morcar stood before his mighty form, there was no hatred. There was only sorrow, and a want for mercy."Following the burning of Dolorous and Helig's crushing defeat, the Giant Army divided and scattered. With no real holds in the land, many sought to escape the continent by sea. Though scholars still question why, Helig headed for the Great Spine with seven of his Torvalken. During, two fell, one starved, and one abandoned the group entirely. By the time they reached the mountain cave, Helig only possessed three Torvalken and was on the verge of starvation himself. In some tellings, the cave was chosen as a hideaway from a winter storm while others claim the Torvalken lured Helig into the cave. In all stories though, Helig along his surviving followers entered the cave where they ate the last of their rations and rested. In the middle of the night, the Torvalken betrayed Helig. They bound his hands and feet, beating his legs and knees useless with their clubs. They then took their obsidian knives and cut through soft flesh, feasting on his legs. They left him for dead deeper in the cave. When Morcar arrived at the cave, he possessed a force of thousands of warriors and tribals. However, despite this advantage, he chose to enter the cave alone. Morcar crossed the deep crags and canyons of the cave and found the waiting form of the trapped Helig sitting in a thick pool of his own blood. Driven mad by his own divine visions and starvation, he used his final breaths to plead for death.
"Though I shall rest, I shall not pass. I shall remain until my time at last."
Modern Day
In the years following, Westal the Knowing, one of Morcar's follower, settled a small sanctuary near the cave. He spent much of his life recording Morcar's life, achievements and disappearance. In his final years, he lead to the creation of a funerary barrow honoring both Helig and Morcar. Much of the standing stones that form the henge were raised by St. Westal himself in his elder years and carved by skilled stonemasons from the nearby monestary he headed. However, as scholars grew more knowledgable on giantkind and more ruins were discovered, the once common pilgrimages to this site became more of an annual tradition followed only by the elder members of the monestary as well as the Monestaral Guard.The Giant's Grave
This was a nice read! It tells the story of the location and I didn't feel lost without knowing the full context of the conflict.
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Thank you so much for the comment!
Whoa... just read your edit and I'm loving the additions!
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