Vaas
Vaas
Vaas is a Stone Giant that frequents the region around the Ry Valley to the west of Nyallshold in Colo. Vaas is of indeterminate age (most Stone Giants look ancient, whether they are or not) and no one is quite sure why he shows so much interest in the Ry Valley and its inhabitants, but he makes a regular appearance at many of the towns and villages of the valley at least once every two years, and sometimes more often. He has been making these visits for no less than 67 years, and is quite happy to share his memories of townsfolk and villagers from generations back that he remembers so vividly.
Vaas is a large creature, standing more than 22' tall and weighing close to 5,800 lbs. He has the rough, palid skin typical of most Stone Giants and has a white beard and hair. He wears a strange iron helm with what appear to be the tusks of an immature Mastodon (or perhaps the teeth of a Leviathan) fastened to it. He has been noted to wear a variety of loose-fitting robes and cloaks over the decades, but the one item he always wears (besides the iron helm) is a wide heavy leather belt fastnened with a large buckle made from what appears to be an ancient guilded bronze shield. Whenever he has been asked about the helm and the belt, he always smiles and says they are his "horns of power and is golden buckler". To date, no one has determined what is meant by this, exactly.
Vaas is presumed by all that meet him to be very ancient, though he has never stated his actual age. He readily speaks of people he met in the very villages and towns he visits several generations back that have been dead for decades, and his recountings are always found to be acurate to the most minute detail. He has offered sage advice on many varied topics over the years, and his counsel has always been sound and wise.
Physical Description
Body Features
Rough palid skin over a strong, muscular frame with (proportionally) long arms, large hands and huge feet.
Facial Features
Short, dirty white hair, thick white beard, pale blue eyes and large ears.
Apparel & Accessories
An odd iron helm or hat with four short, oddly sized horns or tusks attached (his "horns of power") and an ancient-looking guilded bronze shield on a wide leather belt (his "golden buckler"). Some people suspect the belt is actually made from the hide of a large Leviathan.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Over the course of the last 67 years, the Stone Giant Vaas has made a tour of the settlements around the Ry Valley no fewer than 65 times. He typically stays at one village for a few days before saying his goodbyes and moving on to the next settlement on his route. He has never adequately stated why he makes these visits, and he does not seen to ever visit any one particular person or group, but is clearly able to recognize and remember nearly everyone he meets at every village year after year.
Some of the residents have noticed that Vaas does not seem to sleep... ever. He finds a quiet place with a good view of the surrounding countryside and sits there all day talking, visiting, telling stories and answering questions of all kinds. Then, after the sun has set and people go back to their homes, he continues to sit and watches the sky all night, regardless if the night is clear or cloudy, warm or cold. When people return the next morning, he is still sitting there, watching the sky. He does not eat or drink, but seems to truly enjoy the visits.
Personality Characteristics
Hygiene
There is a tale told often of one visit by Vaas to the village of Dunry on the edge of the Ry Valley where a local blind woman of great age was led to the meadow where Vaas was meeting with the villagers. Upon arriving and taking her seat, she loudly proclaimed that she didn't want to stay because of the strong odor that eminated from the Giant. Vaas stopped speaking and seemed visibly upset that he had offended the woman with his smell. Ever since that time, whenever Vaas visits the village of Dunry, he wears a shawl of woven spruce branches in the hopes that the smell of spruce bows will mask the orders that offended the old blind woman all those years earlier.
Social
Contacts & Relations
Vaas seems to have a distinct affinity for the area immediately surrounding the Ry Valley in central Colo. He makes frequent, almost regular visits to many of the towns and villages there and maintains more than a few active friendships with the residents.
Speech
One of Vaas's many amazing characteristics is his ability to speak more than a dozen languages and half again as many distinct dialects. His own voice is deep and sonorous, at once commanding and soothing at the same time. He tells stories and tales from cultures all over the world as if he had been there himself, and speaks of his friendships and companions in places many hundreds of miles away.
The Stone Giant Vaas, arriving at the Colian village of Dunry
