Giantkin began as the mindless obedient thralls of giants that lived north of The Reach, in the lands later covered by inhospitable permanent ice and chilling blizzards. They were created by giants in their own image and represented the height of giants' mastery over shard manipulation and what they called soul magic. Giantkin populated much of the north of Aedelor where they had their own societies as well as integrated into primarily human ones. For many, giantkin were a reminder that giants once dominated much of the world.

Giantkin were very distinctive and stood apart from other ancestries in Aedelor. Their skin was pale blue, pale grey, or off-white with distinguishing blue or brown striations that covered their body, typically asymmetrically. Giantkin were completely hairless both on their heads and bodies. They stood between seven and eight feet tall and had naturally muscular builds. Their eyes were reminiscent of marbles, with one primary colour and a secondary colour marbled throughout. Giantkin were well suited for the frigid north or high altitudes as they were more resistant to cold weather than humans.

Although they rarely died from natural causes, especially in giantkin-dominated cultures, they could live up to 100 years. Around 70 years old, giantkin would begin to experience diminished mental faculties, and at 80 years old they would slowly begin showing signs of cracking along their striations and weakened physical strength.

Giantkin were carved from stone and granted life in a process called soulforging. This process was a carefully kept secret of giantkin, which they learnt from their creator. A giantkin did not need a partner to perform the process; single or same-sex giantkin parents were not uncommon, or a giantkin might have had a giantkin child while partnered with a non-giantkin person. The process had to begin with a piece of stone a few inches in diameter, into which specific giant runes were carved. When the process was completed, the stone was granted life, and its surface crumbled, leaving behind a giantkin infant. While incredibly small and helpless initially, giantkin would then physically mature in 15-20 years.

Giants long sought the secrets of shard manipulation and developed many techniques and forms of soul magic based on their discoveries. The ultimate form of mastery over shards was considered to be the creation of new life, much like Sarasaamun had done as a result of the Shattering. Far in the north of Aedelor in a region eventually called the Reach, a giant named Fjellskjaerer culminated this research by successfully bestowing life to small quantities of stone. Northern giants considered this an invaluable breakthrough and kept the complicated details of the process, involving intricate giant runes, from their kin elsewhere in the world.

Dragons considered giants' continued mastery of shard manipulation to be one of the greatest threats facing their kind. In an attempt to hinder or even destroy giants' efforts, dragons coordinated wars in the northern reaches of Aedelor. Over centuries, dragons created a permanent magical frost which made the region inhospitably cold. Only a few dozen giants, including Fjellskjaerer, escaped the region alive, resettling in the Icecrowned Peaks. They continued to create giantkin in smaller numbers to not draw attention to themselves.

For over a thousand years, giantkin were mindless thralls that were made exclusively by giants and served them loyally. In the years leading up to the Withering, Fjellskjaerer was the final giant remaining in the region. Fearing that her death would mean the end of soulforging new giantkin, she felt pity for her creation and endeavoured to teach them the process. When Fjellskjaerer died as a result of the Withering, Vitalinus granted her godhood and commanded her to grant sentience to her giantkin creation. Upon doing so, giantkin gathered and wept so loudly that the mountains shook. Giantkin migrated south and populated many of the cold lands that humans found too difficult to regularly settle. While nomadic at first, by 500 DCplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigDC

An abbreviation of Diminished Callisae. One of the two time periods tracked by the common Aedelorian calendar. This is a dating method which counts the number of years after the Withering. giantkin had settled permanently in many regions in the north and held dominion over three of the four Northern Kingdoms. They had also integrated into many human societies even further south in Westmark, Tordrym, and Anacori.