Hrokentorm

The Hrokentorm stood as giants among giantkin, towering eighteen feet in height.
They were masters of magic. From mountaintop citadels, they ruled an empire that spanned the world.
The Rimeon, giants immune to cold that stand nine feet tall, were assigned by the Hrokentorm to be governors. From cloud estates, they ruled over their domains with militant legions.
The Rimeon domains lorded over the Ignaro, eleven foot tall giants immune to fire who were master smiths craftsmen.
They also ruled over the Grinannti, ten foot tall, four-armed giants who were mostly farmers and huntsmen.

by Dazzlinkat

IMPERIAL SOCIETY

The Hrokentorm developed a class-based society assigning status not only by giantkin, but also by individual rank. All giants were raised to know who was superior and inferior to them. When there was a doubt, a contest of might, wits, or skills judged by a yempire was held to settle the matter.
Every giant had an occupation and a purpose that required skills and qualities to achieve rank within that occupation. They spent thier whole lives striving to perfect these qualities and hone their skills.

The Ordering

The first occupations belonged only to the Hrokentorm: Pij'Ning, or noble rule, and Nytox, or wizard.
The second occupations were Governor and Legionaire and mostly held by Rimeon.
All other dignified occupations were ranked against each other and every giantkin knew the ordering of these occupations.
Any other occupations not listed were filled by small folk forced to do the work. The giantkin called them livestock.

1) Nopuj or Miller

the most important tradesman as the purchasing of flour was a sacred rite for all giantkin

2) Twyq'groch or Blacksmith

all-around engineer who also made weapons and even cut logs into planks

3) Yj'nij or Armorer

made and fit armor

4) Dyg'thym or Watchman

keepers of order. These were considered warriors within their own giantkin

5) Yempire

presented the rules and conditions for all contests and challenges and judged whether both participants complied

6) Crimnyhim or Stonemason

made buildings and structures that could accommodate giants

7) Nomcrup or Minstrel

entertainers and spreader of gossips/news

8) Vyjnu or Farmer

grew crops and raised livestock (these often consisted of the smaller folk)

9) Xyj'lumge or Carpenter

maker of utensils, furniture, and instruments

10) Dufuj or Weaver

maker of textiles

11) Xizpuj or Shoemaker

made and repaired footwear

12) Jivu or Roofer

made and replaced slate or clay roof tiles

13) Zyq'uj or Baker

baked the bread in their special ovens then sold it on the streets

14) Semguj or Huntsmen

giants ate lots of meat whether four-legged or two-legged or no legged. These were also considered inferior warriors within their own giantkin

15) Dycu or Candlemaker

produced candles

16) Yj'gorc or Artist

made paintings, sculptures and tapestries

Ranking Of Giantkin

HROKENTORM

First Rank

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RIMEON

Second Rank

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IGNATO

Third Rank

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GRINANNTI

Fourth Rank

by Dazzlinkat

Rank between the giantkin was more strict than the ranking of occupations. Whatever rank of giantkin a giant was born into was where they always remained. An Ignaro could be the finest smith among all giantkin but would always remain inferior to the average Rimeon shoemaker.

Advancement

To gain rank was to challenge a superior and every occupation had its own intricate rules for challenges. These challenges were conducted by an Yempire who knew every rule and condition for every challenge or contest.
No matter who won, it did not matter unless the Yempire declared that neither had violated the constraints of the challenge or contest.
Mistakes were expected and each contender was permitted one. Cheating was severely punished by exile from the occupation, town, or even their own giantkin. It was not severe enough to be ni'yt, but very close.
Some of the Hrokentorm, those not privileged enough to rule, turned to finding other ways to attain prestige within their empire. They finally came up with a way, Golem Craft.
Humans, dwarves, and other 'small' folk were seen as nothing more than fodder, livestock, and playthings for all giantkin and only survived as independant communities in the few places giantkin could not comfortably traverse.

NI'YT

The most grievous crime, and the most evil act, that could be committed was ni'yt. To show disrespect to a superior within their own kin of giantkin was ni'yt. Things like mocking, betrayal and outright disobedience to a giant within their own giantkin were also ni'yt.
A journeyman giant of a higher ranked giantkin would cause great insult by treating a master giant of a lower ranked giantkin as inferior. This was not ni'yt.
It was considered rude to betray a giant of another giantkin but that also was not ni'yt.
Rivalries between governors was not ni'yt and even accepted. These rivalries often led to raids and warfare.
When these conflicts left devastation and scarcity that ignited the citizens of these regions to rebel, that was ni'yt. Governors who brought the regions they assaulted to such states were severely punished with public torment before their public execution

SILU

The Imperial Legionaire was the one occupation that permitted giants of all giantkin to join. This was silu.
It was also the only occupation where rank of the giantkin they were born into did not matter. The only ranks recognized within the Legions were militant ranks earned, even amongst the officers. This, too, was silu.
The only exception were the Hrokentorm who were always officers and always outranked all other officers even if they did held the lowest military rank. This was not silu.

LEGACY

Rimeon -> Human

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Grinannti. -> Human

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Ignato -> Human

by Dazzlinkat

Though the Hrokentorm are all long gone, The Ordering and Ni'yt lives on amongst the Grinannti, Ignato, and Rimeon. Gone is the ranking between each type of giantkins that had once forged a means of rigid peace. Now each claims its own homeland and competes in bloody conflicts for the riches in the lands between them.

THE LITTLES LEGACY

Drogu

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Gnome

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Brahnie

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The Gnomes, Brahnies, and Drogu of the Amura Isles also adhere to the Ordering and a variant of Ni'yt, even using the same words. In fact Gnomish, which Brahnies and Drogu also speak as their own native languages, is very similar to Hrokentorsh, the language of giants. How this is possible, is a mystery of history.

HISTORY

Rise of the Hrokentorm

-6800 to -6300

Dawn of Progress

The Hrokentorm were the biggest of the four giantkin, easily towering over all others. As all giants did, they led mostly solitary lives where they fiercely defended and terrorized what ever domain they claimed while coming together for trade at the gatherings. Eventually, more than goods were exchanged. Ideas were traded and the gathering places turned into settlements inspiring the start of a new society.

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Hrokentorm Learn Magic

-6300

Wizarding Magic Begins

Thyrm, the god who made the giants, brought wizarding to the Hrokentorm. They took to it so well, magic surpassed their love for the might of arms in their hearts. As they learned more and more magic, their society changed until they were beyond any other giantkin. And so, their towns grew into cities.

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Bringing the 'Kin To Heel

-5800 to -5600

Bow To The Hrokentorm

Already fiercely powerful in combat, with their magic added the Hrokentorm began to expand the reach of their domains. They invaded the territories of other giantkin, forcing them to join them as secondary citizens or die. This expansion was slow as the Hrokentorm established their conquered giantkin into a new society, often having to build settlements and teaching the other giantkin how to behave. These expansions continued until they reached the expanding territory of another Hrokentorm city. Borders between Hrokentorm domains formed and, being giants, there was always the testing of a border's strength to see if they could take more land.

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Forming The Empire

-5600 to -5100

Conquering The World

The Dragons were far from pleased with this new aligning of giants. Their lairs, far apart from each other as dragons prefer solitary lives, made them vulnerable to organized raids upon their troves that often led to death. In answer to this, the elder dragons of all the dragonkinds came together for the first time in dragon history. There they discussed what was quickly becoming a threat to the very existence of all dragons. It was decided that the dragons had to go to war. The first attack came upon Relem'tor. All giantkin towns and villages were razed and any giant they found slaughtered. Once these lesser settlements were dealt with, the dragons fell upon the city of Relem'tor itself. In a battle of breath, magics (dragons cast magic as well), and the rending of flesh, the great city was reduced to smoldering ruins with every giant dead, dying, or hidden. News of the devastation of Relem'tor spread through the Hrokentorm realms. Talks between realms to build alliances happened but this was slow and two more realms fell to dragon slaughter before one Hrokentorm, Ojim'Dym the Mighty, suggested that alliances be damned. If a neighboring realm was under attack, it was best to charge in to their aid. "Vog gituchu ij wo ypim!" <Fight together or die alone!> He roared. His words were heeded and, during the very next dragon attack, the neighbors of that realm rushed in without needing to be asked. For the first time, the dragons were forced to withdraw before reaching the main city and destroyed only half of the lesser settlements. For the next 500 years the Dragon-Giant Wars raged. At the end, the numbers of both dragons and giants were greatly reduced, but the Hrokentorm had managed to form an empire that spanned the world.

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Ranking The Giants

-5100

Rank Matters

With the end of the dragon wars, giant life once again returned to normal. However, the long tradition of fighting, often to the death, for respect and dominance was decimating their numbers at a time when they needed every giant alive. And so, a ranking for giantkin and occupations was established. Contests and challenges was such a deeply ingrained trait, that rules were made for every contest, challenge, or disagreement. The occupation of Yempire was created to oversee these things. This greatly reduced the number of giant deaths but the populations of giantkin were still low to grow. There was also much work that needed doing that did not fall into the honored occupations. So, the Empire turned to the smaller folks. Hunting them as fodder and playthings was still done but now there was an even bigger need to force them to do all the other work as well. The smaller folk became valued livestock.

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Golden Age

-5099 to -761

Prosperity

As the giants learned this new way of ranks, they embraced it with great fervor. A time of relative peace and prosperity, built upon the backs of smaller folk lasted for millenia. There were the occassional battles between regions and dragon swarms but, for the most part, it was only the smaller folk who truly suffered.

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Golem Craft

-761

Dawn of Golems

The briliant Hrokentorm Styva'Toym created the first golem, a mechanical creature power by magic that could obey simple commands. It could do the work of four livestock, freeing the livestock up for more ... entertaining uses. They became amazingly popular and soon other Hrokentorm began to make their own golems.

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The Golem Wars

-261 to 239

War Machines

As the crafting of golems advanced, they discovered a way to make golems capable of understanding more complex commands. This, however, required a soul trapped inside a crystal or gem. This crystal then compelled the trapped soul to obey whatever orders it could comprehend. The golems grew in power and size, requiring more souls to power it. The golems became terrible machines of war as the govenors were as eager as ever to take over the domain of a rival. Whole cities could be destroyed in a single battle with civilians killed along with warriors. The Hrokentorm, as consumed with battle fervor as the governors they controlled, reveled in the destruction and called for more and more souls to be harvested from their livestock, whose numbers were rapidly dwindling.

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End Of the Empire

239

Goodbye Hrokentorm

The harvesting of the smaller folk to meet the demands for golem crafting reached terrible heights. The number of souls going to Godsheim slowed to a point it greatly concerned the gods. Souls, after all, were key to their powers. Outraged, the gods left Godsheim and descended down onto the world. Golems were shredded and the souls trapped within the gems released and taken to the Bridge in Clouds where they journeyed to Godsheim as souls were meant to do. This was not enough for the gods. To ensure such terrible things would never be made again, they wiped all knowledge from the minds of living mortals. The giantkin were further altered so that the very thought of crafting anything with magic beyond what they could use in hand or wear caused great pain. The great Hrokentorm cities were broken and sunk deep into the world to be forgotten. All the Rimeon were removed from their cloud estates and set upon the world with no memory of their once grand estates. The towns and villages throughout the empire where shorn of all things sized for Hrokentorm as well as anything associated with them. As for the Hrokentorm, they were changed as a species. Every living Hrokentorm was changed into one three new species. Gnomes who stand three feet tall and dedicated to being civilized, Brahnie who stand two feet tall and dedicated to preserving nature, and Drogu a foot tall dragonfly creature full of curiosity. All three new species retained the Hrokentorm spoken language but had to create their own written languages. Thus, the Horkentorm and their Empire was lost to the world.