Forest Giant
Forest giants are an extinct race of true giants and supposedly the chosen people of the Ordning goddess Vaynera. It is unclear why this species of giants went extinct, many within the faith of the Ordning claim their disappearance is linked to the death of their patron goddess. Whatever the reasoning, it appears that a large number of these giants survived and evolved into three distinct species within the mirror realm of the Feywild. Those three species then each made their way back to the Material Realm independently of one another and became the firbolgs, trolls, and trulladons as we know them today.
Basic Information
Ecology and Habitats
As their name suggests, forest giants were most at home in temperate and tropical woodlands, rainforests, and cold taiga environments. This affinity for wooded wild areas allowed them to locate and pass between the fey crossings that led to the enchanted Fair Realm. Here, the forest giants flourished and even diversified into three subspecies. Little evidence of the forest giants remains within the Feywild and none but the Lavender Queen, the Scarlet Prince and the other Elder Fey know what happened to the forest giants before their descendants split off from them.
Additional Information
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Where the forest giants dwelt in the Material Realm is a mystery, though many parts of southern Auloa have landmarks with place names that seem to reflect forest giant habitation at some point. They most clearly diversified and thrived within the forested regions of the Feywild.
Civilization and Culture
History
Little is known of the history or even biology of the forest giants but according to supplemental religious commentaries within the Ordning faith, all the forest giants living in the Material Plane died the moment the Hill Creature Gronnar killed Vaynera, the patroness of the forest giants, as he was being born. However, some of these forest giants survived for they had journeyed into the Feywild before the loss of their goddess, where time works differently and their bodies were unaffected by her death. And while it is clear that the genetic ancestors of the forest giants became the firbolgs, the trolls, and the trulladons, none know if these races exists before Vaynera's death or if the forest giants in the Feywild survived the initial loss of their patron and then evolved into three distinct species. Regardless, upon returning to the Material Plane over the course of several independent migrations, the firbolgs, trolls, and trulladons we so removed from their giant predecessors that they no long appeared in the social structure of the Ordning and were no longer tethered to the cosmology of the giant religion.
Common Myths and Legends
When forest giants appear in mortal texts, they are often described as terrifying and mysterious natural forces and often conflated with Ókan and other dark nature spirits of the Haunted Wood. Sometimes they are presented as children of Acien Tali and incorporated in druidic imagery. Regardless, they appear to have had no historical or actual religious connection between these other faiths during the time that they were alive.
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