The land of Stormwater, story, concepts and ideas
Jul 19, 2017 21:37:33 GMT
Post by celegon on Jul 19, 2017 21:37:33 GMT
this is the original back story i wrote for my sword entry, but it needs to be edited and condesned a bit to better fit the new fantasy world.
"Long ago the race of man ventured into the area which is now known as Stormwater. The lands there were rich and fertile from the many rivers that were fed from the glaciers and snowy peaks to the north. The crops they planted exploded with life like they had never seen before but little did they know that the land was a winter home of the giants.
The giant-kin stood twice the height of the tallest of men and were quick to anger and when they returned were not welcoming to the new comers.Most often these disputes resulted in slaughter at the giants hand.
Word of the giant attacks spread and it was agreed that the settlers would retreat and take refuge on the island within the loch to the south.
For it was well known that giants did not like water and would not cross a body of water that their feet could not reach the bottom.
The fact that the dense structure of their bodies did not allow for the abilty to swim or even keep themselves afloat made them suspicious of water.
And so the men were safe on that island but it quickly became cramped and the food stores were dwindling. A group was sent north to negotiate with the giants for farm land and in return would aid the giants. At first the talks seemed to be pointless and the giants were becoming more and more hostile to the intruders.
Then a giant named Krowg stepped forward and stood between the two races.
He urged both sides to sit and listen to the other and there the seeds of peace were sown.
Man and giant shared the lands and there grew a respect between them.
The men taught the giant-kin agricultural knowledge and the giants returned this gift with the ways they knew as well as the game they hunted and oxen they were a shepherds too.
Over the next years most giants would leave the land of stormwater and dwell beyond the west pass and there they built a town for their own kind and it was unanimously decided that Krowg would be their chief.
He was respected on both sides ,even the nearby kings of men would seek his council. For four generations of men ,both races prospered and were at peace until the day that the king died.
Now, among the giants they were those who preferred the old ways and those who felt it was wrong to turn away from their culture.
And on the day of Krowgs death the talk of a revolt spread like fire.
Wicked kings of other nearby realms heard of this and sought to use it use it to their advantage, promising the giants that they could have the whole of Stormwater to themselves again if they would ally with them to fight their enemies.The Giants agreed to this and allied to the fell men.
And so began the war of giants. It was a short brutal war that nearly erased all of giant kind.Towns and villages of men were leveled ,and if any giant stood against the force their families of were killed.
Giant warfare under the command of the evil men was truly horrific. The smiths had forged great glaives and axes for them to weld in battle,blades that would cleave man and steed in half with a stroke.
The followers of Krowg were not so grand in arms, many of them welded clubs and used atlatls to launch massive spears toward their enemies but they had the larger force and in time they would prove victorious.
When it became clearer that the revolting giants could not win they abandoned the kings of men to flee far away.
The war had ended and very few giant-kin returned to Stormwater.
The majority of the followers of Krowg went to live in the south ,far away from where so much blood was spilled.
Due to the decline of the giants force the northern mountains and forrest became more dangerous. The were-wolves and great ice serpents feared the giants but now since they were so few in number their fear began to wane and they began to creep ever southwards following the river lands into the village and farms.
That was when the river-guard was formed, whose purpose it was to protect the territories from the wolves and serpents.
They were a militia gathered from all the villages and towns in the realm,made up of farmers and craftsmen of all kinds.
The ones who had knowledge of fighting and warfare taught the others. Axes were hafted and swords were forged.
The first task was to build an outpost at the edge of the forrest which the were-wolves crept from. When the outpost was finished and fortified the guard then set to chop and burn down every tree within a certain radius of the fort so the ones on guard could watch the forrests edge from their towers and from then on the forrest was called " the moon woods",for they had created a large crescent shape on the forests edge. Fitting for those who dwelled there.
The next task of the river guard was to protect the northern pass, this was the chief location of the ice serpents, a magical and ancient enemy that crawled into the green-lands on occasion and they were the utter most threat to the lands to the south.
It was during this time, these early years of the river-guard that a sword came into their service. Some claim it was a gift from the gods.Other stories claimed that a smith of men forged it ,never the less this sword was said to be swift as hail fall and when it was swung in battle the blade crashed like thunder and flashed like the lightning of a summer storm.The wolves of the moon woods as well the ice serpents came to fear it as much as they did the grand giants of old.Always passed down from the Chief of the River-guard to the next. The once bright bronze fittings have aged to a dark patina, the blade however is as sharp as the day it was born .When the sword passes to a new welder the words are spoken
Born of ore.
Raised in war.
Lord of storms.
In battle i sing.
Swift death i bring.
The serpents bane."
To this day the serpents bane and the guard is all that protects the innocents from the dangers of the foul creatures beyond their border. Among those that are protected is the last family of giants left in the realm , simple farmers and herders of oxen that are said to be the direct bloodline to Krowg."
"Long ago the race of man ventured into the area which is now known as Stormwater. The lands there were rich and fertile from the many rivers that were fed from the glaciers and snowy peaks to the north. The crops they planted exploded with life like they had never seen before but little did they know that the land was a winter home of the giants.
The giant-kin stood twice the height of the tallest of men and were quick to anger and when they returned were not welcoming to the new comers.Most often these disputes resulted in slaughter at the giants hand.
Word of the giant attacks spread and it was agreed that the settlers would retreat and take refuge on the island within the loch to the south.
For it was well known that giants did not like water and would not cross a body of water that their feet could not reach the bottom.
The fact that the dense structure of their bodies did not allow for the abilty to swim or even keep themselves afloat made them suspicious of water.
And so the men were safe on that island but it quickly became cramped and the food stores were dwindling. A group was sent north to negotiate with the giants for farm land and in return would aid the giants. At first the talks seemed to be pointless and the giants were becoming more and more hostile to the intruders.
Then a giant named Krowg stepped forward and stood between the two races.
He urged both sides to sit and listen to the other and there the seeds of peace were sown.
Man and giant shared the lands and there grew a respect between them.
The men taught the giant-kin agricultural knowledge and the giants returned this gift with the ways they knew as well as the game they hunted and oxen they were a shepherds too.
Over the next years most giants would leave the land of stormwater and dwell beyond the west pass and there they built a town for their own kind and it was unanimously decided that Krowg would be their chief.
He was respected on both sides ,even the nearby kings of men would seek his council. For four generations of men ,both races prospered and were at peace until the day that the king died.
Now, among the giants they were those who preferred the old ways and those who felt it was wrong to turn away from their culture.
And on the day of Krowgs death the talk of a revolt spread like fire.
Wicked kings of other nearby realms heard of this and sought to use it use it to their advantage, promising the giants that they could have the whole of Stormwater to themselves again if they would ally with them to fight their enemies.The Giants agreed to this and allied to the fell men.
And so began the war of giants. It was a short brutal war that nearly erased all of giant kind.Towns and villages of men were leveled ,and if any giant stood against the force their families of were killed.
Giant warfare under the command of the evil men was truly horrific. The smiths had forged great glaives and axes for them to weld in battle,blades that would cleave man and steed in half with a stroke.
The followers of Krowg were not so grand in arms, many of them welded clubs and used atlatls to launch massive spears toward their enemies but they had the larger force and in time they would prove victorious.
When it became clearer that the revolting giants could not win they abandoned the kings of men to flee far away.
The war had ended and very few giant-kin returned to Stormwater.
The majority of the followers of Krowg went to live in the south ,far away from where so much blood was spilled.
Due to the decline of the giants force the northern mountains and forrest became more dangerous. The were-wolves and great ice serpents feared the giants but now since they were so few in number their fear began to wane and they began to creep ever southwards following the river lands into the village and farms.
That was when the river-guard was formed, whose purpose it was to protect the territories from the wolves and serpents.
They were a militia gathered from all the villages and towns in the realm,made up of farmers and craftsmen of all kinds.
The ones who had knowledge of fighting and warfare taught the others. Axes were hafted and swords were forged.
The first task was to build an outpost at the edge of the forrest which the were-wolves crept from. When the outpost was finished and fortified the guard then set to chop and burn down every tree within a certain radius of the fort so the ones on guard could watch the forrests edge from their towers and from then on the forrest was called " the moon woods",for they had created a large crescent shape on the forests edge. Fitting for those who dwelled there.
The next task of the river guard was to protect the northern pass, this was the chief location of the ice serpents, a magical and ancient enemy that crawled into the green-lands on occasion and they were the utter most threat to the lands to the south.
It was during this time, these early years of the river-guard that a sword came into their service. Some claim it was a gift from the gods.Other stories claimed that a smith of men forged it ,never the less this sword was said to be swift as hail fall and when it was swung in battle the blade crashed like thunder and flashed like the lightning of a summer storm.The wolves of the moon woods as well the ice serpents came to fear it as much as they did the grand giants of old.Always passed down from the Chief of the River-guard to the next. The once bright bronze fittings have aged to a dark patina, the blade however is as sharp as the day it was born .When the sword passes to a new welder the words are spoken
Born of ore.
Raised in war.
Lord of storms.
In battle i sing.
Swift death i bring.
The serpents bane."
To this day the serpents bane and the guard is all that protects the innocents from the dangers of the foul creatures beyond their border. Among those that are protected is the last family of giants left in the realm , simple farmers and herders of oxen that are said to be the direct bloodline to Krowg."