Titanic Orden

The Orden was the social order of Titanis, dividing and categorising the immortal Titans in a model of perfect harmony. It was the flawless balance of the World rendered as a society, even as the cities of Titanis and their keystones modelled it in stone, wood and flesh. Each Ord - as the divisions of the Orden were known - mirrored one of the aspects of harmony represented by the Elemental Runes.

Meya, the essence of right action, was represented by the Aesit, a ruling body composed of the Hilding and the rest of the Imperial House, and the Ayet, a council of resentatives from all of the cities and all of the Ordai. It was, uniquely, associated with only one city, Titania, where the Ayet sat and the Hilding ruled. The Aesit never truly recovered from its transformation into a military structure.

Var, the essence of prophecy, fate and magic, was embodied within the Kaldr, the wise elders of Titanis. This included prophets, as well as the arcanotechnologists, whose work surpassed either craft or artifice. There were members of the Kaldr on every sky city, but those of Thosis enjoyed a special bond with the keystone of that city, and the doom of Thosis was the death knell of the Kaldr.

Skai, the essence of language and persuasion, was embodied in the Skaldr, rune speakers, who wielded the language of creation - or one of them, at least - as a tool and as a weapon. As their names suggest, the Kaldr and the Skaldr were closely related, distinguished philosophically in that the former saw reality, while the latter shaped it. The Skaldr were especially lauded on Eurosia, in its days as a diplomatic centre, but during the Colossus War were broken in mind and spirit by the terrors they witnessed and performed.

Flam, the essence of creation and destruction, was represented by the Skapari, those who made things by the skill of their hands, but only if those things had a practical purpose. In the Orden, art and craft were distinct. Strongest in the workshops of Aenion, mundane artisans, artificers and arcanotechnicians all belonged to the Ord Skapari. During the War, the constant demand for newer, deadlier weapons, with fewer and fewer safeguards, took its toll on the Skapari, who became insular and angry.

Eis, the essence of strength and endurance, was embodied by the Kerik, the Titanic military, a dreadful, but long idle group. The Kerik were most fearfully armed and armoured, but were never tested in battle. Their mere presence disuaded any opposition, until the coming of an enemy impossibly beyond them. Their greatest number marched under the banner of Mecheri, and designed the Forgeborn proxies to save titanic lives. Creating something that mimicked the nature of a titan did something too them, however, and terrible pride consumed the city.

Stjoern, the essence of inquiry, was associated with the Varum, a kind of philosophical police force responsible for maintaining the correct adherence to Meya. Like the Kerik, they were much feared, but utterly helpless before the ontological horror of the Colossi. Most of them fell into madness or death when the astrologers of Xandias first beheld the approach of the Colossi and the keystone of the city split.

Hav, the essence of transformation, was embodied by the Eskal, the medical caste of Titanis, who were also associated with alchemy. They held a large amount of 'quiet power' as custodians of public health. Most common on Caldaea, the Eskal went all across the Empire and even ventured onto the surface sometimes.

Stern, the essence of memory, was embodied by the Sidr, the Titanic sages. As scholars, they were conservators rather than pioneers, seeing all true knowledge as lying in the legacy of their creators. Many lived and worked in Astraea, among other academics. Appalled by the horror wrought in the search for deeper understanding, in Thosis and other cities, they became hidebound, calcifying their knowledge as dogmatic truth and then burying it to keep it from prying eyes.

Tor, the essence of community and plenty was embodied by the Taril, the agricultural class. They were at the bottom of the social order, but still accorded the dignity due to a Titan. Most associated with the fields of Atrea, the Taril were hard-working and mostly accepted their place as a vital keystone in the Orden.
The Giant social order, although called The Orden, is but a pale imitation of the original Orden, its Ordai merely representing the elemental subdivisions of the giant Lineage. After the Colossus War, the giants assumed the role of the Titans, and pretended that they were the continuance of the Order.
Creations of the titans, or perhaps their offspring, the giants were bred for war, shaped to fight the Colossi and to uphold the principles of harmony. Unfortunately, the titans were working under circumstances they had no precedent for. The giants were intended to fulfil the same roles as the titans, but they lacked not only the power, but the perspective and the absence of ego. Besides this, the Ordensma (little order) was never complete.
The Orden comprised nine parts; the Ordensma only had seven. By order of the Hilding, no giant was ever bound to the Triad of Crowns; they were not made to rule. Nor was it possible to bind an ord of peacekeepers with the Stjoern Keystone destroyed. With these two missing, any structure built on the model of the Orden could not function as it should.
The high­est Ord of the giants was the Ordenvar, the Storm Giants. Invested with the virtues and power of the storm rune, Var, they were an order of advisers with no-one to advise; viziers with no accountability. When the titans were gone, they saw themselves as natural heirs, but bred and taught to push against an emperor's guiding will, their ambition was excessive and their designs over-reaching.
Next in precedence was the Ordenskai, the Cloud Giants, but unlike the skaldr, they had no runes of true power to speak. Instead, they became a mercantile people, skilled in negotiation and diplomacy. After them stand Ordenflam, the Fire Giants. Unlike many ordai, their primary role - that of artisans and weaponsmiths - is largely the same as that of their titanic predecessors. Likewise, the Frost Giants of the Ordeneis, forming the backbone of the military, mirror the role of the ancient Kerik.
Next would be the Ordenstjoern, but that never was, and then the Ordenhav. The Oceanic Giants were an oddity, always separated from the other ordai. It was never entirely clear of they ought to be healers or alchemists, and ultimately their separation from Titanis bred too much frustration from their 'betters', who fought the Oceanics over treasures and lost lore that the latter never actually had. The few survivors slipped into the deep, and Ordenhavr was no more.
The Stone Giants of Ordenstern are scholars and contemplatives, but despite their extensive training and specialised know­ledge, they hold the lowest status of my giant on the sky cities. The lowest status - not including grant-kin - belongs to the Ordentor. The Hill Giants are restricted to the Orden's terrestrial territories, and have a reputation as the yokel cousins of the lineage which is mostly due to prejudice from the traditional city dwellers and limited access to education.
The majority of the giants live in the remains of the sky cities, both those that remain aloft and in the crashed remains of Eurosia and Titania. Notably, they live in what were once the outer suburbs of the sky cries. Palatial as they are, these were added to the cities to house the giants. The central precincts, while much grander, were never designed for residents of a purely humanoid form.
The truth was that the Titanic Orden was a representation of harmony, but that of the giants was just a stubborn maintenance of the illusion of control.