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.

Gender and Other Characteristics

Unbeknownst to anyone at the time of Expedition Demeter, the jotunn have five distinctive genders, involving combinations of 3 distinct gender archetypes. The Giants choose their own gender and often find themselves shifting between the 9 genders over the course of their life. Numia and Anumia are the two archetypes that are most like male and female respectively. Numia gendered giants tend to be heavily built, with deep booming voices that sound like explosions or thunder to those far away. Alumina is a gender that features more sleek or smooth characteristics. They tend to be smaller than numias and speak much softer, often in a musical cadence. Their bodies are far less bulky and built for speed and dexterity.

by Dong Geon Son

Neutrum

This gender archetype does not favor one side or the other when it comes to physical characteristics. These Giants tend to be more surreal in their appearance, lack sexual characteristics, but can feature any combination of characteristic present in other genders. Usually these characteristics are absent from other forms of life.

Some do not have faces, legs, hands, or arms. Some possess limbs that make little sense or possess the facsimile of limbs previously listed, but these limbs often have features that make it difficult to understand how it could function. A giant without a face may well have no head but it could also have a head with a single hole in the center that emits a mist.

This vapor serves as the giant's breath. It may glow faintly in various colors or the hole in its head may be completely void. The arms may not be arms at all and simply look like tendrils, with hands invisible to the naked eye.

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Jotunn of the following 3 archetypes are are the progenitors of the lesser giants and thought to be the ancesters of Dragons

Numina Neutrum/Alumina Neutrum

By combining the characteristics of the male and female equivalent with the neutral gender, the jotunn developed two other genders. They adopt features that are commonly seen in animals, blending their physical characteristics. A serpent with feathers or a giant bat with a remarkably humanoid face are examples. Numia and anumia jotunn add their own characteristics to the form.

This is why the jotunn are so unique and diverse. They transform slowly over the course of their lives from one gender to another. Exactly how these changes come about is unknown but it appears to be a choice on their part.

The physical characteristics themselves are chosen on preference but it is not an active choice so much as a subconscious one, instinct. The transformation from one to another can be a quick event that happens overnight or can centeries, changing slowly over time.

Vumia

There are a select few among the Jotunn that have no true gender. By combining the male and female counterpart, they become void of gender. This is often the end of the life cycle for the Giant, and only appears after a considerably old age has been achieved. Several Millennia may have passed for the giant to develop this gender, which made it a remarkable achievement for their culture. To blend the genders so perfectly is considered an art to them and a symbol of wisdom. If two Giants are ever to meet it is likely that if one of them is a vumian jotunn the other will simply bow before them in respect before any other action is taken.

Fun Fact: The Lesser Giants

There are two races of giants in the world, The Jotunn and their descendants, who are the most common form of giant. These descendants usually hail from specific cultures and the people of the world have often given them specific names from their physical characteristics like Fire Giants, Frost Giants, and Hill Giants. These descendants are uncommon and are often hunted by the smaller races. They once lived all over the world but left, living in isolated communities scattered about the Weir lands. Most wont differentiate these two types, but there are considerable differences between them. The Lesser Giants are restricted to two physical genders, male and female, and are unable to change those genders over time. They also possess shorter life spans and are also shorter than their progenitors.

The Jotunn Civilization

The Jotunn had a sprawling civilization all over the world. This was the time when the trees touched the stars. There is nothing known of this civilization other than its peculiar architecture. Buildings tended to be massive but what stands out is their design. These buildings are smooth and angular, with no carvings or artwork adorning the walls. The buildings are carved from dense Gray stone. The architecture is often described as vacant of expression, appearing as nothing more than massive stone boxes.

This architecture has been compared to the stone structures of The Sentinels, the mythical first race considered the ultimate enemy by many among the nocturna. The Sentinels were not unlike the jotunn, the key differences being that their race was carved entirely from stone and the race was free from death.

by sebastianwagner