A tale of Elemental
Giants.
Introduction
Back in time, back before the
Giants were sent upon Aelyria, a group of
Giants on their own plane of existence that was created as their home by the
Aetherians were able to tap into the magical essence of the elemental plane. For hundreds of patterns they studied and practiced their art and became Archmages in the art of
Elementalism. When
Meephos cast down the giants in his plot to toil with
Diana’s perfect Aelyria, four Giant Arch mage Elementalists were sent down along with them. They were the main front of the giant invasion as they used their omnipotent powers of
Elementalism against the little folk. They soon formed their own cult, claiming to be “The Storm Giants”. In Giant society, they were considered to be the most powerful
Mages to walk Telath. The Storm Giants served the Giant race, and the giant raced served them. Soon the Cult of the Storm Giants had gathered giant followers from around the
Medonian Continent. Many giants had begun practicing the art of
Elementalism and soon the four arch
Mages had a large number of initiate and journeymen Elementalists.
The Four Giants
There were four original Giant Archmages in the beginning that were coined, “The Storm Giants”. According to ancient texts, each one specialized in a certain element, and it is told that each giant storm mage that walked Telath wore a magical pendant that gave them extreme power in the elemental sphere that they dominated. Each pendant actually only was made out of a simple crystal casing, but the real power lay on the inside. The pendants themselves encased a magical essence, elemental in nature, from their own plane back before
Meephos released them upon Telath. They were able to harness that essence, which in turn increased their power dramatically, giving them the opportunity to be some of the most powerful
Mages ever to walk Telath.
These mages were not nameless, in fact their names were rather well known and passed down from generation to generation, told upon in great stories and tales of their deeds. All of the Storm Giants had insignias or symbols that represented themselves in their own fashion. Each one was unique and could not be forged as they were magically carved into stone, made into seals on parchment or wherever the mages deemed necessary to mark their presence.
The first Giant Storm Mage, Kor Firemane, specialized in the element of Fire. He stood at a solid eighteen feet and was bald except for a long, red ponytail, which reflected his voracity and fierceness. Stories depict Kor as a warrior mage than anything else, as he lusted for blood more than the other three Storm Giants. Kor was renowned for his temper and his ignorance, as well as his stupidity, as Kor was the most foolish of the Storm Mages and usually acted before thinking things through. An upturned palm face with one enormous flame coming out of it and into the air represented Kor Firemane.
The Storm Giant that controlled the element of air was none other than Traegar Windraker. Traegar was probably the least hostile of the Storm Mages, if less hostile could be considered to be ruthless and somewhat merciless. Traegar ruled the skies and used his control over the air to decimate other cities and armies with humungous tornadoes and lightning storms, throwing debris and other living beings over several kilometres, eventually ending in a horrific death. Traegar was a little smaller than the other mages, as he only stood at a mere eleven feet tall and sported a long grey beard that reached his stomach. Traegar was depicted as more of a silent enforcer in pictographs and in other small myths because of his sneakiness, always having a lightning bolt ready to throw at someone or something. Two lightning bolts that make an “X” formation with a swirling
Vortex of air behind it represent Traegar and his beliefs.
The third Storm Giant that mastered the element of water carried the name of So’kar Hydredaen. So’kar had different beliefs, much the opposite of Kor, who believed fire ruled the sphere of Elementalism, which usually ended up in these two usually clashing, always being broken up by Rao’khan or Traegar. So’kar stood at fifteen feet, and was completely bald and had a black goatee. The giant preferred logic to a lot of other things, and had an affinity for philosophy as well, but nothing compared to his mastery of the water and its power that laid below the calm surface of the ocean. So’kar was mainly responsible for the severe tsunamis and floods that areas experienced at his own expense and entertainment. Three single blue droplets of water formed in the shape of a triangle represent So’kar in cave etchings and ancient texts.
Last but not least, the Giant who controlled and manipulated the element of the earth all over Telath was none other than Rao’khan Terraex. This giant was the tallest and some would say most powerful of the Storm Giants, standing at a massive twenty two feet. His specialty was the creation of earthquakes and tremors that surpassed any force known to anyone on Telath. Rao’khan was usually the one that restored balance to the other three mages, and was the brains behind every operation they conducted. Even though there was no official leader of the Storm Mage council, it was commonplace to see Rao’khan officiating its actions, mainly because he was the largest and strongest of them all. It was true that height gained respect and admiration, and Rao’khan was once living proof of that. A large fist smashing downwards into the ground opening up a large fissure is the symbol that Rao’khan used to mark his accomplishments.
The Cult of the Storm Giants
Many centuries ago, the giant race prospered, and a new cult was established; The Storm Giants. With Giant civilization based in the
Khardran Mountains and expanding outwards at a large rate, rumour grew that the Storm Giants held a keep deep within the mountainside where they kept their secrets. The threat of giant intrusion onto the surrounding people’s land was growing greater and greater with each coming era, and with the Storm Giant’s help, the giant race was conquering new lands, new resources and one brightening, it was put to an end.
Their reign was put to an end swiftly and justly, but luckily in the end, the Storm Giants had the last laugh. With local uprisings and the massing of an army outside the giant lands, the Storm Giants prepared for the worst. The surrounding governments and nations around the mountainous area had come to an agreement to drive the giants out for good. With the giants striving to eradicate the presence of
Diana and her influence, the remaining forces that opposed them joined forces and prepared for a final strike against the Titan Army that raped and pillaged the countryside daily.
Legions upon legions of troops invaded the continent, pressing hard against the defences of the giants. Every battle that occurred on the way to the capital of the giant empire was like a huge storm, as all the elementalists that were involved in the battles did their best to fend off the incoming rush of attacks, all believed to be the work of
Diana. With the strength of her holy light, the troops managed to break through and march to the Giant city and siege it. It took over four months just to break the outer perimeter of the giant defences as they entered the continent, now the forces truly had a challenge in front of them.
Lightning streaked across the sky, meteors rained from the heavens, earthquakes shook the ground and massive spiralling tornadoes littered the surrounding city as the Storm Giants took their chance to claim victory for themselves. Thousands upon thousands of human, dwarf, elven and other races were slaughtered in a matter of minutes as the pure force of nature slammed into her lines. With her divine powers, Diana called upon her own spell of blessing as a tremendous beam of light was cast upon the battlefield, influencing the tide of the battle from her false throne. The light soothed and healed and troops began to recover from their mortal wounds, even bringing them back to life. The now countless amounts of troops that the giants had thought to have destroyed were now being resurrected to fight back against the tyrant mages. Suddenly another burst of light emanated from the sky, as a hole opened from within all the storm clouds and swirling air masses. A massive beam of light encompassed the giant city as if the wrath of the
Aetherians was being used against the Storm Giants. Buildings crumbled, flesh was burned and melted away as the unending beam of light shone down on the city.
Meanwhile, the Titan army of the giants was unleashed on the legions just outside the city. Fearsome giant warriors ranging from ten to thirty feet tall charged the front lines craving blood and vengeance, as Diana nor the armies were welcome upon their land. Covered from head to toe in battle armour, wielding massive battle axes, swords and other weapons of unimaginable gore, the Titans of the giant army easily broke through the lines, as bodies and blood flew everywhere. Total chaos had erupted as the two armies battled it out on the field. The giants may have had the size, but the invading forces had the numbers as they easily outnumbered the giants by a ratio of ten to one. Soon, the giant army began to weaken and its defences crumble. The gates to the city were shut and the rest of the Titan army was left to fend for itself as the city itself was to be protected. Siege weapons started to fire, as massive boulders were hurled towards the walls and the city innards.
It started to seem that the aggressors were winning until a massive meteor emerged from the limitless confines of the sky. The four-archmage storm giants had managed to combine their power and channel it through a sacred stone obelisk. They mixed and combined their magical essence into the obelisk, which shot up into the sky in a massive beam of energy, which penetrated the clouds. Their raw, untamed power summoned forth a meteor that even
Jalat himself would've feared. The meteor was over a quarter of a kilometre in width and as it hit the ground, the impact forced most of the air out of the area, sending the battlefield into complete silence. A brief second later, a massive shockwave erupted from the ground, sending giants and Diana’s forces scattering. Dust and debris flew into the air, impaling men and women, covering the sky in total darkness. Mounds of flaming bodies littered the ground, cries and moans of pain and suffering could be heard from all over. Over half of of the attacking forces were completely decimated as the meteor struck just outside the city. The shockwave of the meteor just didn’t decimate the army, but the city as well. Walls fell and buildings crumpled as people were buried alive under tonnes upon tonnes of stone and rubble. All that was left standing were some buildings on the far outskirts of the city and the Storm Magi Tower, which was embedded in the mountainside on the far side of the giant city in which the Storm Giants kept to themselves.
Now with only a quarter of the original army of over five hundred thousand troops, they slaved on, sending troops into certain peril as they rushed over the rubble and into the demolished city. Now it was just the Four Arch magi, plotting as to what to do next in their tower sanctuary. The time of judgement was upon the Magi.
The Conclusion
Realizing that it was foolish to put up a fight against Diana, an Aetherian, they opened a portal and escaped into the wilderness of the now current province,
Centripax. There they hid deep in the mountain wilderness, keeping their secrets hidden from the little folk. It is said in myth that the four Arch mages of the Storm Giants had managed to channel their remaining elemental essence into their crystal pendants, which is rumoured to have unimaginable power and stored it in a secret location deep within
The Abyss of caverns and tunnels of the mountains in the
Centripax province. Legend has it that if a person were to get a hold of these Elemental Crystal Pendants, their soul and essence would be absorbed into the crystal, allowing them full access to the raw power of the elements that the Giant Archmage Elementalists had access to. No one really knows why the Storm Giants decided to study Elementalism, maybe it was the pure raw power that it possessed and they realized that potential, but now their secrets remain hidden, waiting for their power to be released once again.
Credit
Veleraen