Age of Giants
The Age of Giants was one of the most ancient eras recorded in the history of Areth, a period defined by the dominion of thirty-foot beings over the known world. According to A History of Rislandia, it preceded the Great Sundering and stands as a foundational chapter in the deep history of civilization on the continent.
Overview
According to A History of Rislandia, the Age of Giants was an era in which the Giants held supreme rule across the world. These beings stood approximately thirty feet in height and wielded considerable power, both political and magical. Humans also possessed the ability to perform magic during this period, a capacity that would later diminish or transform in subsequent ages. The Giants were not without allies: A History of Rislandia records that they maintained bonds with the great dragons of the volcanic islands, suggesting a broad coalition of powerful beings that shaped the world of the age.
Geography and Settlements
Not all regions were equally touched by Giant civilization. According to A History of Rislandia, the Western Peninsula remained largely empty during the Age of Giants, indicating that Giant dominion, while sweeping, was not uniformly distributed across the world's geography. By contrast, other regions bear clear marks of Giant habitation and construction that have persisted into later eras.
Legacy and Remnants
The Age of Giants left a substantial material legacy. Among the most prominent surviving structures is the Crystal Spire, which A History of Rislandia describes as dating back to this age. The Old Forest contains ruins from the Age of Giants, described in A History of Rislandia as mostly overgrown and dangerous. Artifacts recovered from this era are housed in the Imperial Museum in Capital City, preserving physical evidence of the Giants' civilization for later scholarly study.
Living Witnesses
Volcareth is recorded in A History of Rislandia as having lived through both the Age of Giants and the Sundering, making Volcareth one of the few known beings to have experienced the transition between these epochs firsthand. The existence of such a witness underscores the immense age of certain creatures still present in the world during the novels' era.
Relationship to the Sundering
The Age of Giants directly preceded the Great Sundering. A History of Rislandia does not elaborate within the extracted notes on the precise causal relationship between the two events, but the sequential placement implies that the end of Giant dominion and the Sundering were closely linked chapters in Areth's ancient history.