Half Giants

Half-Giants often speak of their genesis during the Age of the Dragon, far to the north on the continent of Trandalar. There, the Half-Giants had established a thriving civilization based on strength and honor. In order to survive the harsh winters in the distant north, only the heartiest of stock would survive.

While it is entirely possible that the Half-Giants might trace their heredity through the legendary race of beings known as Giants, it is also possible that they simply are the product of their harsh environment.

Historians speak of half-giants infrequently and only in combination with ships or war.

For millennia, the Half-Giants of the distant north were great raiders and pillagers, sailing down from their distant lands in the longships, raiding coastal villages for food, women and prestige.

Only in the last few centuries have half-giants abandoned their warlike ways and settled down into a more mundane and peaceful lifestyle.

But their warrior instincts and their belief in strength and a "might-makes-right" attitude still remain buried deep within the essence of their being.

Half-Giant society stresses the judicious use of their tremendous physical powers, especially in regards to other races; this, coupled with their relative safe distance from the besieging of Aradoth by the Withered Aegis, has given the Half-Giants a pivotal role in the politics of the Living Races today.

They very much represent a vast, untapped power that a unified Istaria might draw from to put down the rise of the Withered Aegis.

Physically, Half-Giants resemble large Humans. The typical Half-Giant can stand in excess of 1.5 times the standard height of a Human, and just as broad. The physical prowess of a Half-Giant is nearly unmatched amongst all the Living Races in Istaria.

A Half-Giant’s fair skin is thicker and more resilient than most of the other Living Races, as they are well-acclimated against the harsh climate of the winters of Northern Aradoth. Needless to say, the role of a Warrior is well suited to the likes of the standard Half-Giant.

Half-Giants on average tend to focus more on physical endeavors rather than pure mental pursuits, but this does not mean that Half-Giant society is without their noted arcanists and scholars. Half-Giants are creatures of reason, patience, and focus; they seldom raise their dander, but when they do anger, they are quire formidable opponents.

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A serene homestead of stone and metal set against the frigid lands of the north, Mahagra has served as the racial home of the Half-Giants of Istaria for hundreds of years. Mahagra was founded during the end of the Age of the Dragon as a refuge from a great cataclysm in the north, and its size and look has remained relatively the same since.

Mahagra’s remote location high in the mountains of Northern Aradoth has not only given the Half-Giants seclusion and isolation amongst the Living Races, but has kept them relatively out of harm’s way during the Age of Lamentations.

With the recent Half-Giant contributions to the war effort against the Withered Aegis, and with many of the Half-Giants having been affected by the Ritual of Life Everlasting, modern-day Mahagra is now a hub of activity set against the seeming timelessness of the snowy timberlands.