Magna Hiemsvir

Mountain Predators

"Far north of the human cities dotting Allegri there are savage creatures who thrive in the frozen mountains. No settlers have ever survived a full season further north than the tree line of the Reidsole Mountain Range without drawing down the wild rage of the magna hiemsvir."

— Gidma Silverstring, renowned storyteller

Humans have called them magna hiemsvir aptly meaning 'large, cold man' - but they are certainly not related to modern humans. The typical magna hiemsvir easily stands twelve feet tall, with proportions matching a broad, well-muscled human and thick elongated forearms with three-fingered hands. Due to their preferred distance from civilization, magna hiemsvir are rarely encountered under ideal circumstances.

These solitary creatures are mostly nomadic, roaming the icy northern wastes and settle seasonally where they find food or shelter. Intelligent enough to scavenge for food when hunting is lean, they are omnivorous, but they not only prefer meat - they will consume any creature that is not one their own kind. Though they do not build permanent settlements, it is common for them to excavate ice caverns when staying in an area for any length of time. This is usually for recovery or mating purposes. When a lone magna hiemsvir is too injured to care for themselves they will often attract other magna hiemsvir for assistance by subtly marking the landscape, or even prey animals who might travel far with their signal. Despite being aggressive, violent, and isolationist, any magna hiemsvir will risk their life if they see a call for aid from another magna hiemsvir.

Magna hiemsvir are inured to the freezing cold and thin mountain air of their preferred habitat. With an almost instinctual knowledge of how to shape ice and snow, parents teach their offspring how to build shelter, weapons, and even crude armour from their environment since they don't project body heat and the northern temperatures never rise above freezing.

Anatomy & Appearance

Not related to true giants, magna hiemsvir are large humanoid creatures ranging between 10-15 feet tall and weighing over two thousand pounds. Their skin is easily mistaken for stone frozen over with a layer of ice, and often the creatures actually wear armour or protective items made from frozen materials. Without a need for warmth they don't often wear furs or garments designed to guard against the cold, however they wear battle gear.

Their bodies, like their skin, seems to be carved from the frigid landscape they hail from. Muscular, broad, and lean, magna hiemsvir could be considered by many to be aesthetically pleasing under the correct circumstances. Wide faces and square jaws are common and their eyes are heavy-lidded and angular, almost always a solid shade of white or pale blue. As humanoids they have two arms, two legs, and are bipedal, but there are two major anatomical differences, aside from size, that differentiate a magna hiemsvir from humans;

Firstly, their forearms are proportionally twice as long as that of a human, heavily muscled and nearly as thick as their thighs. Though other species might consider this an ape-like trait, magna hiemsvir stand tall and move more like humans, not monkeys. With such long forearms they must bend strangely to feed themselves or hold items close to their body, often using crude tools to make such tasks easier.
The second, and most obvious difference in anatomy from humans is the four large horn-like protrusions that grow from their skulls. Usually all four horns face forward, extending from the peak of the brow up to 6 inches before curving around. Many different kinds of bony growth have been observed with the most common seeing the horns follow the curve of the skull closely, creating a menacing sort of helmet.

Average Intelligence

Despite being crude and uncivilized, magna hiemsvir frequently display a bestial type of ingenuity that can surprise those who don't know what to expect and allows the large humanoids to hunt and survive in harsh environments among other predators and prey well adapted to their habitat. Although they are humanoid, their capacity to learn is much less than an average dwanar or human and they don't typically have the incentive or patience to learn anything elaborate.