Stone Giant

Stone giants are reclusive creatures preferring to hide away in caverns than to venture into the great outdoors among all of its hustle and bustle. They are gentle beings when not provoked who prefer the pursuit of artistry over all other endeavours respecting most those who demonstrate incredible, artistic flair.

Stone Giant Description

Stone giants tend to be about 18 feet tall and although they’re skinnier, their heavier and thicker flesh means that they weigh about 9,000 pounds (more than most other giants). Their skin tends to be gray with hair that’s gray or bluish gray. Their clothing tends to be simple, made from skins and furs and resembling a similar colour to the rocks in their environment (allowing them to blend in and remain unnoticed).

Place in The Ordning

Like with other true giants, stone giants follow the hierarchical status known as the ordning. This is a measure of the seniority and capability of a giant within their social structure. All giants have different criteria by which the ordning is measured and for stone giants, it’s their artistic ability that determines their position in the ordning. Artistry of stone is considered particularly favourable with the leaders and shamans of stone giants being picked from the greatest artisans of the society. Some of the master artisans may spend years finding the right stone before beginning working on their masterpiece.

Those that show little artistic ability are shunned to the fringes of stone giant society serving as guards and hunters. In such instances, the ordning among the lower classes is generally determined by other endeavours such as rock hurling, though even this has a grace and a finesse to it from a stone giant’s point of view.

The works of art produced by stone giants are often incredibly nuanced. The greatest of work will play tricks with light and shadow, creating complex patterns and shapes. Some particularly exquisite pieces of artwork will tell one story when viewed with light a certain way, and another when viewed in a different light.

Stone Giant Culture

Stone giants keep runic records and histories of their people through the use of speaking stones. These are large stones that can be held in the hand of a stone giant (but not a person of human size) with engraved words on them. The wording will wrap around the speaking stone relaying the account or the desired message. It is considered the height of poor artistry to either leave unused space on a speaking stone, or to have too many words to fit on the stone. If this occurs, the stone is crushed to gravel and the message must be started again.

To many outsiders, stone giants may appear peaceful with their artistic and reclusive nature, and this is generally true within their own group, but they do not take kindly to strangers trespassing on their grounds. Typically, anyone entering their land will have a boulder launched at them, seemingly out of nowhere, smashing nearby. This is a warning shot as stone giants rarely miss. If ignored, they will launch a barrage of boulders at the trespassers to prevent their entry into their lands.

On occasion, stone giants have been known to be negotiated with, particularly if someone can speak giant. A gift will often gain a group entry onto their lands but not necessarily to pass through them and they will typically require a task of some kind that stone giants prefer not to bother with themselves.

Those entering stone giant lands may view them as primitive due to their simple clothing, lack of jewellery and the fact that the giants they encounter are typically low in the ordning having little in the way of artistic or leadership skills (which is why they’ve been tasked with guard duty). This is far from the truth and stone giants are actually quite philosophical and considered in their approach to life.

Stone Giant Religion

When stone giants die or are dying, they join the Linjenstein. This is both a term to refer to their forebears as well as one that refers to an upright stone sarcophagus which, over decades, will turn itself and the dead giant into a form of stalagmite. Stone giants will visit these burial areas with elderly stone giants sometimes spending weeks or even months in these caverns to prepare themselves for Linjenstein.

Stone giants tend to worship Skoraeus Stonebones, second only to Annam and master of artistry. Skoraeus rules in his father’s absence and is often depicted with a chisel and hammer in his hands.

Skoraeus is seen as the most knowledgeable of the giant gods about magic, runes, wards, banes, hidden treasures and secrets. It was him that gave the knowledge of smelting to Surtur, he showed Thrym how to carve magical runes into his weapons, he crafted spears for Hiatea so she could complete her 10 tasks of valor and he used his hammer under the sea to to help Stronmaus find the chain-tunnels that allowed him to pull the tarrasque down into the ocean caves where it would drown.