The Wintry North

[quantumsaint]

Once upon a time in the world of Hydaelyn, on the continent that some of its denizens had named Aldenard, there lived a tribe of towering gigas, brutal beastmen that stood several feet taller than the tallest Roegadyn. They made their home in the remotest parts of the northernmost province of the land, mountainous country that was full of hills and crags covered in perpetual snow. Inside the caverns of those snow-capped peaks, the gigas lived together in a simple village, and lived life through simple means. The mountains in which they lived were near the river that flowed through Dravania, from the mouth of their cave they could hear the river whether it was rushing in the spring or trickling in the summer, but the sound that was loudest was the absence of its movement in the winter when it was frozen, and the gigas sat huddled together listening to the sound of the wind howling through the canyons. Here was a home, here some of the larger gigas grow as nearly as tall as some of the pine trees that took root along the banks. For warmth they dressed themselves in the mismatched furs and hides of the most resilient creatures that dwelt within the region, the goats and mighty elk that made snowy Dravania their home.

Although lacking in what most of the other races called intellectual intelligence, the gigas possessed a certain kind of cunning, and bartered using crude coins for currency with each other which they forged themselves. Some of the other beastmen were on good terms with the gigas and traded with them whenever it was allowed, such as the goblins who came clanking up or down the coast from time to time, although they refused the gigas' coin, they still traded with them for pelts and other things in exchange for some of the larger game that the gigas were able to take down that they were unable to. The goblins pulled carts with them loaded with junk, pots, pants, fishing gear, pans, crude weapons and armor made of iron, plants and exotic herbs and spices that they traded for afar: cinnamon, saffron, sages, salts and peppers and a million other various potions, powders, and sundries.

They still weren't the brightest when it came to discourse, and if a goblin were to pose one a question, he would scratch the unkempt, uncut, uneven hair atop his head, or poke one finger up his nostril of his bulbous nose, as if the answer lay somewhere therein, digging around for several minutes before eventually giving up and shrugging his shoulders, asking in a dull monotone that shook the tops of the trees if he could repeat the question. That is, if he decided not to just crush him with his club (which he might), or at the very least, swat him away with the back of a massive hand.

In the summer, the gigas fished trout from the river with crude spears and poles that they procured from the goblins. Their life was simple for the most part, when there was a confrontation it was usually decided by death, either with their wooden clubs (most, at one point, living as pine trees in their past) or giant boulders. It wasn't an uncommon sight to see a gigas with his brains dashed out amongst the snow strolling through the rocky Dravania countryside. Speaking of the snow, it proved endless, even in the summers. The sun could be at its highest, and everywhere else in Eorzea could be as hot as a bomb ready to explode, but in Dravania even the tallest buck went around all year with at least a light dust of snow upon its back.

Besides hunting and fishing, the gigas kept a number of goats year round, some for milk, some for meat, and some for hides just in case the rags they wore tore one too many holes in them, which they frequently did. They slept together in piles at night, and weren't prone to bathing, despite having the river right at their disposal. Although the smell would be worse than chocobo offal to you or I, they do not notice it, or if they do, they do not speak of it.

Although monstrous, the gigas were not monsters. They weren't without their spirituality. The cold was what they knew, and so it was to the cold they turned their devotion. Every year when their queen of ice kissed the river and turned it frozen, they chose one goat to be more special than the rest. They would drag it bleating from the cavern to the freshly frozen river. The first deep frost is said to be the a mark of their goddess, and a sign of blessing. To please her they will spill its blood onto the frozen ice, where it is said she stood for a moment before passing back into the aetherial realm to pass the rest of winter. She still sends her kisses along the wind, but it will be next year before she is back again.

The gigas do not usually favor sharp instruments, so for this they must trade with the goblins too. A ceremonial dagger is acquired, although we would call it a longsword, it is but a pin inside their hands. Also from the goblins, they trade drums, and the goblins have taught the gigas how to beat them. At first the gigas were amused by the noises the goblins made, but when they tried to mimic the goblins' actions they smashed their drums flat. This made the gigas quite cross with the goblins, but when the goblins came back next year, they had made new drums built to scale for gigas hands. The gigas were ecstatic with their new toys, and traded the goblins many more goat skins and elk hides and fish than was their usual agreement. After that, it fell into tradition to beat the drums during the time of the first frost. They did so now. Boom BOOM, Boom BOOM, Boom BOOM, a steady back and forth rhythm worked its way into the hands of the gigas that beat their drums as their leader, an enormous gigas with the rack of a large buck protruding from his helmet, lead the goat across the river. He stood on the bank, There he drew the longsword from the leather sheathe at his side. The crowd started to chant alongside the beat of the drums, “Shi-va, Shi-va, Shi-va...” more and more gigas join in until it is a unified thunderstorm of chanting.

Their leader drew the longsword across the neck of the goat and blood sprayed out across the fresh ice as the pitiable creature gave a dying cry before buckling over. A cheer goes up amongst the gigas that causes a nearby tree full of magpies to disperse to the heavens, cawing in such a manner it is almost as if they were deriding the gigas for their actions by saying: Worship here if you must, but don't disturb our rest!
---
Constructive criticism appreciated, but if you just want to tell me how much I suck, feel free to do that as well.

Link if you want to like it: http://lodestone.finalfantasyxiv.com...cicuid=8269423

[Meow_Zedong]

tldr

aka isn't this what the lodestone blogs are for? not the forums.

[AceofRains]

I enjoyed that. I love when people make lore. I've been pondering what beast tribe will see to have shiva, and poof here you post this.

[quantumsaint]

tldr

aka isn't this what the lodestone blogs are for? not the forums.

Someone said something similar last time I posted a story. Not everyone visits the blogs, and general discussion has way more traffic. If only one person likes it, then it was worth it to post it here. Furthermore, I will never understand why people feel the need to post in topics they don't agree with or feel like they don't belong on the boards. If you don't like at topic, let it die. Thanks for bumping it so AceofRains could read it though. Oh dear, now I've went and made this reply too long and it's unlikely you'll read it. Oh well.

[BruceyBruceyBangBang]

tldr

aka isn't this what the lodestone blogs are for? not the forums.

This thread isn't hurting anyone. Mind your biz. Carry on, quantum.

[Zetsumei_Tsunarashi]

They really ought to make an RP forum for these things to go in. Lodestone blogs show up in peoples profile for like a day and then it's gone. I doubt many people even look at their profiles enough to notice most blogs.

I for one would really enjoy both reading and writing in the RP forum if one were created.

[KingZeus]

Winter is coming

[Meow_Zedong]

Sorry, my previous post probably came off more maliciously than I intended it to.

I only meant that instead of posting on the forums, you should post stories like this on the lodestone blog feature. If more people used it, maybe more people would read them. I myself have a continuous RP involving my whole LS on my blog.

Basically, try and show support for the blog feature instead of ignoring it, then maybe it will be used more often by everyone. Hopefully.

[quantumsaint]

I posted the link to my lodestone blog (where I had originally posted it) at the bottom of my post. I'm not ignoring anything. Also, sorry for the snark.

[Kailok]

Good read ^^