Stone Giants: The Bones of the World
“They do not bend. They do not break. They remember when mountains were soft.”
Overview
The Stone Giants are one of the oldest known origin races in the world of The Ember Dream—colossal beings formed of earth, ore, and sacred memory. Said to have been awakened during the shaping of the continents by the breath of Namsae herself, they were never mortal in the way other races understand life. They are the bones of the world given purpose, the first sentinels of stability, endurance, and time.
Stone Giants are not extinct, but they are slumbering, forgotten, or bound. Some say they have become the mountains themselves, while others believe they exist in hidden ranges beyond the known world, guarding ancient vaults or elemental seals.
Their descendants—the Stoneborn—walk the world in much smaller, mortal form, but still carry the immense will and memory of their towering ancestors.
Physical Traits
- Height: 20–30 meters tall at maturity; elder giants may be even larger.
- Skin: Resembles stone, obsidian, or quartz—cracked with glowing seams of mineral light.
- Eyes: Deep-set and luminous; often amber, emerald, or granite-gray.
- Hair: Rare; some grow moss, crystals, or vein-like vines instead.
- Voice: Deep, resonant, and often slow—as though echoing from a cavern.
Their steps reshape terrain. Their touch leaves impressions in rock. Their presence alters gravity in subtle, strange ways.
Society & Culture
Stone Giant culture is built on memory, stability, and stewardship. They are not numerous, nor are they swift to act—but they hold knowledge stretching back millennia, stored in carved runes, spoken chants, and living stone archives.
- Time is sacred. They speak in measures of centuries.
- Silence is language. A minute’s pause in conversation may hold meaning.
- They do not conquer. They anchor. Their role has always been to keep the world still enough for others to thrive.
Many believe that Stone Giants were once keepers of leyline intersections—living pylons of elemental order.
Abilities
- Earthbinding – Direct connection to stone and soil, allowing movement through or communion with earth.
- Tectonic Strength – Capable of feats that rival the movement of glaciers or quakes.
- Stone Memory – Ability to recall events witnessed by the land itself.
- Runemarking – They carve runes that persist for millennia and channel ancient magic.
Some are said to sleep with their eyes open, their minds watching even as their bodies become part of the terrain.
Relationship to Other Races
- Mortals: Often mistaken for statues, gods, or elemental spirits.
- Stoneborn: Treated as kin—echoes of themselves in smaller, quicker form. Some Stone Giants guide them in dreams or through subterranean visions.
- Druids & Seers: Treated with awe. It is said a Stone Giant’s word, once spoken, becomes law within sacred groves.
- Noctari: Deeply distrusted. Vampires have tried to harness the bones of sleeping giants to fuel necromantic machines.
Mythic Lore
- Some Stone Giants carry keystones within their hearts—runes that stabilize world energies.
- It is believed one such giant sleeps beneath Ironspire, and its breath still warms the forge winds of the city.
- The First Sundering was marked by the fall of twelve Stone Giants—each shattering into a mountain range.
Legacy
The Stone Giants are not gone. They are waiting.
Waiting for the world to shake too far, for the balance to tip, for Namsae to whisper through stone once more.
And when they rise again, it will not be to speak. It will be to hold the world together with their hands.
See also: Stoneborn, Namsae (Deity), Leylines, The First Sundering