Giants

Backstory
The giants of Ad Meliora originally kept their home in the remote city of Manuk. Here they lived their secluded lives, still a mystery to humans, until an excavation team stumbled upon this marvel of a town. Their primary interest was the strange formations of crystal that seemed to grow naturally in that area, and while the researchers closed in, the giants withdrew from the city grounds out of shyness, taking to the surrounding woodland until they could be sure of the humans’ intentions.

When they felt assured they would be of no particular interest to the explorers, the giants slowly approached with diplomacy and hospitality in mind. However, they had misjudged this team of enthused explorers, and were soon taken prisoners, becoming livestock specimens themselves for observation and research.

All this is evident, and upon visiting Manuk today one can still find the large, torn cages that were used to contain the native people – but certainly not anymore. Exactly what happened, no one but a minority of giants would live to tell. Nothing was left in Manuk, both the giants and the excavation team disappeared.

The happenings of the following bit can be assumed by anyone, but only giants know for certain.

''It had been almost a year, Bairn could tell from the slight gust of wind that would mislead itself indoors whenever a human walked in or out the door. A year, of course, was not a significant period of time to the giants, but when spent as a prisoner in your own home, watching your captors with their notes and their instruments, watching them unknowingly (he hoped) torment your elders, your friends, your children… A year had become a long, long time, and this year had been painful.''

''To the dismay of their keepers, many of them had died. Their old ones, without their needed nutrients, without fresh air, without the sun and the soil, strong as they were they gave up in the end, and too many of them had fallen into an irredeemable slumber. The young ones were restless, they screamed at their captors, or sobbed at them, even begged. How such pleads could fall on deaf ears, Bairn did not understand. He saw them though, their executioners. Saw them rubbing their hands with glee when they thought they had nailed some new piece of information, irrelevant information. They had shocked sweet Vikril to her death, and enthused about the finalized readings of her heart rate. Yes, we have hearts, Bairn had thought, and they were of much greater capacity than yours.'' Thirteen months after the occupation of the town and the imprisoning of its people, the rebellion rose. With their old advisors and leaders dead, Bairn, as already much admired for his strength of mind and body, rose to his task. It was a great upheaval, and from the breaking of the cages to the swift processing of their captors, almost no time at all seemed to go by.

''The bodies were buried deep in the thawed ground. Their equipment was shattered and smashed with axes and hammers, and the giants fled north, into the mountains. They no longer felt safe of their homeland, and with Bairn as their decision maker, they withdrew to confer in peace. And so they have been, for many, many years. Slowly, here and there, some giants have begun to resurface and made themselves known of again to all creatures, even humans. However, the Long Year left its marks on every giant who was old enough to be conscious of it, and a profound distrust of humans has settled in many of their roots.''

Appearence and traits
True to their name, these creatures are recognizable by their enormous stature. Your average Giant is easily twice the size of any ordinary adult human, sporting similar proportions and even features. You can still tell a Giant apart from your general oversized bloke by their skin, which is of a wooden quality, ranging in tones from the lightest birch to the darkest pine. Their heads are crowned with leaves, resembling hair – ranging from bright green to honey golden and auburn red, they are believed to tell of a Giant’s age. It is often guessed that Giants are made up of solid wood all the way through, brought to life by earthly magic – but of course, no one can be certain of this. Giants are believed to not consume food, but nourish themselves on rich soil and fresh water. They have a deep respect for most forms of natural life, but will not hesitate to pick up their axes and clubs if they feel threatened – and with a massive body comes massive strength. For all of their gentle and shy nature, they are excellent warriors, able to travel across enormous distances without tiring in the least. They are rugged and sturdy and able to cope with most weather, though they are weakened in environments lacking nutrition, such as the desert. Besides this, Giants can be as diverse as any other creature. They can be cruel and vicious or they can be outright saintly, but most of them are deeply loyal and protective, both of their friends and families and of the Earth from which they originated. Giants show an uncanny talent for crafting woods and metals, and they are stronger than they are quick. Giants typically look to their elders for advice and leadership.

Current leader
Bairn (played by: Chaestro

A nine hundred year old giant who led the upheaval against the human captors after the Long Year. Although he was coincidentally mostly left alone during the occupation, he saw his friends and family be maimed, tortured and killed for a year. He took his people North after their captors had been dealt with, and have been leading the conference between the remaining giants since. Although he's not the oldest, which would typically be the leadership criteria, this giant has proven himself to his people time and time again and though some are starting to think they should give the world and the humans another chance, the vast majority of the giants show grat respect and loyalty to him.