Jōtun

Giants

Resembling the Jȳar before them in all but dimensions, the Jōtun are an elemental race of giants known for their legendary strength. Tales gathered throughout the World of Teréth End paint the picture of a savage race able to beat down city walls with their great fists, heave ships through the sky, smash dams into splinters, and direct winter storms from the mountains to the farmlands below.

Some naturalists (e.g., druids, shamans) believe that the Jōtun are manifestations of the world’s will, formed to serve as its representatives or defenders. Others believe that the Jōtun are great spirits which are summoned by the Eylfāe to wreak havoc on the works of the Mortal Races.

Physiology

Legends are filled with accounts of mighty Jōtun being composed of every natural substance. One Dwürden tale recalled how a Stone Jōtun stepped from a mountainside and smashed a Mordür mining caravan to pieces in ancient Thirüne. Another tale told by the Sha’al of Tassèrus recalled how a Forest Jōtun stepped from the jungles to level a community built on the forest’s edge. The fishermen of the Mar Kìrydi have long told of the Water Jōtun that arrived on a wave that touched two horizons, stormed up a nearby river, and sundered a large wooden dam so that the river would once again feed the sea. In each of these stories, the Jōtun appear not only to be giants, but elemental forces set on avenging “injuries” to the land and sea.

It is debatable whether each manifestation of Jōtun is a different type of creature, or if all are spirits that choose their form based upon the environment from which they emerge. For the purposes of this bestiary, each Jōtun form will be discussed as a separate Immortal sub-race.

The Jōtun are big, very, very big. Accounts of these beasts have described them towering over city walls, ripping the tops from towers and dragging them to ground, and pulling ships underwater and dashing them onto the seabed far below. None of these reports however give a specific size. This is probably due to there being a large degree of volume variability. About the only safe measurement that can be made (based on ancient accounts) is that the Jōtun are dwarves compared to the Jȳar of legend.

Are the Jōtun mortal or immortal? Truthfully, not much is known about the life of the Jōtun. No one is positive whether the giants live for only one day or thousands of years. It is not even clear whether the same giant has been seen on more than one occasion. The categorization of the Jōtun as an Immortal Race is based on the interpretation that they are spirits, similar to the Feyri (albeit much more powerful) and therefore long-lived.

Psychology

There is little evidence from Jōtun appearances, that the giants possess any ability to reason. Most accounts of these beings are told from the viewpoint of survivors who witnessed widespread destruction and slaughter at the hands and feet of the Jōtun. In almost all cases, the Jōtun seem to have appeared for a single purpose, accomplished that one goal, and returned from whence they came. In no accounts have more than one Jōtun appeared concurrently at any one location.

Culture

No more than one Jōtun has ever been observed at one time.

Language

Magic

It is abundantly apparent that the Jōtun are very magical creatures. The nature of their powers is not as obvious. The following is what can be deduced from the surviving accounts of Jōtun activities.

Jōtun appearances occur primarily along leyha lines, rarely straying far from these invisible channels of power. It is believed by those who support the elemental spirit theory that the leyha are necessary to maintain the Jōtun form. Though some historical accounts place the appearance of Jōtun in areas not crossed by leyha, it is understood that the Skein lines reorient themselves from time to time; the absence of leyha at a given point today has no bearing on whether the area was a crossroads in the past. In addition to the apparent need for ambient magic, there are accounts of magic levels plummeting in areas surrounding the Jōtun. The speculation is that the Jōtun siphon magic from their environment to power and maintain their massive forms. It is not known whether magic levels are immediately restored following a Jōtun appearance.

In addition to using magic to maintain their form, the Jōtun seem to have an almost god-like influence over elemental forces. The Jōtun do not cast spells as they are understood by sapient races, instead bending the natural energies around them to their “will”. The examples of the Jōtun riding to the shore on a tsunami or the Jōtun that is able to channel wintry weather from the mountaintops illustrates this point. Either the Jotun have an awesome power and control over natural energies, or are in fact a manifestation of those same energies.

Another possibility used to explain the intermittent existence of these giants, is that they are summoned by the Eylfāe (or another group). There are many hurdles to cross before accepting this theory. The foremost problem with this theory is that the Jōtun represent a magnitude of power beyond that which is typical of Eylfāe magics. The Eylfāe have no shortage of magical constructs to their credit, but most of those were created in past Ages using large rituals. Many of the Jōtun targets do not seem to be reasonable for Eylfāe concern, taking into account the vast resources it would likely require to summon or create the beasts. The Kirydian dam is an example of this; there are easier ways to destroy a dam than to summon a mammoth creature from the sea to smash it into toothpicks. The magic required to raise the tsunami alone would have burned out countless foci.

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Nomenclature: Jotun Dekàlic: Jōtun (race), Jōtùni (pertaining to), Jōtùnyn (individual), Jōtùnyr (people)