Giants in Shadar | World Anvil

Giants

Colossal in size and believed to have been constantly levitating, surrounded by mist and wearing ornate golden jewelry the size of small buildings - Giants are an ancient race of beings that have long been lost to this realm. During the Age of Antiquity, celestial Giants of both clouds and storms called this realm home and were the original native rulers of this plane. Organized in a collective of kingdoms known as the Courts of Divia, all that remains of these beings are the ruins that they left behind and the Giantkin people who are their ancestral descendants.   The modern knowledge of Giants is often inferred from traits of the Giantkin that are witnessed today - specifically their innate connection to Primal Magic through a runic language that is unique to their kind, and a graceful elegance that pervades both how they move and how they dress. Despite this connection to Primal Magic and Druid practices, Giants were also devoutly religious to a God they referred to as The All-Father - a faith that can sometimes still be seen today carried by individual Giantkin.   Another collective relic that has passed down through descendents of Giants is their hatred of Dragons. While they were known to come into conflict with the Harpies, the other native race of this realm, they have a specific and violent hatred towards Dragons that can still be felt today.  

THE FALL OF GIANTS

The hatred of Dragons that Giants and Giantkin harbor can be traced to the War of the World Tree, which is believed to be the ultimate downfall of the Courts of Divia and Giants as they were known. While the specifics have not survived the thousands of years since this great conflict - what is known is that there was fighting across multiple realms that included this plane.   Legends tell that this bloody conflict became too much for The All-Father and the Dragon God, and they decided to play a game of Nine Men’s Morris for the fate of their races - but the Dragon God cheated and The All-Father banished him from this plane, but not before a great cost was paid by the Giants. However much truth there is to the legend, what is true is that after the Age of Antiquity, Giants had completely vanished from the realm - leaving behind little more than hints of their once-grand civilization.


Cover image: by Daryl Mandryk