Evolved Giants

Evolved Giants

Evolved Giants were the horrific remnants of the ancient Giants who were caught in a catastrophic explosion caused by an infernal device that poured vile chemicals across their land. Once men who roamed the land thirty feet tall or taller—whose footsteps caused the earth to shake and whose machinery made clockwork and steam engines look like children's toys—they were transformed by this disaster into bulbous, jelly-skinned creatures of immense size. Their brains remained intact but morphed, granting them powerful psychic abilities. Rumored to never die barring accident and to keep growing for eternity, Evolved Giants became objects of worship for many tribes, who delivered human sacrifices to them as if they were gods.

The explosion responsible for their transformation is associated with the event known as the The Great Sundering. The ancient Giants themselves are documented separately on the The Giants page.

Physical Characteristics

Evolved Giants appeared as massive blue glowing blobs, filling entire chambers hundreds of feet across. Their skin was gelatinous and semi-corporeal, with large veins thicker than a person that pulsed visibly. Bubbles formed continuously across their skin, each pulsing like a chest taking a breath before descending back into the main mass. They were entirely blue and bright, projecting blue light throughout whatever chamber they inhabited. They possessed no recognizable humanoid features, having become formless masses over time.

In The Fight for Rislandia, the specimen discovered at the mine near Plainsroad Village was described as follows: "Inside lay a bubbling blob, with several veins at the surface of its gooey skin. Bright blue liquid coursed through it." The creature glowed, radiating light that illuminated the cavern around it.

According to visions projected by the Devil's Mountain specimen in For Steam and Country, the transformation was gradual: over a millennium, the Giants ran across continents and oceans, their legs ground down into bulbs, their skin expanded and became rubbery and throbbing, and they eventually became immobile, sensing the world through their pulsing skin.

The waste produced by an Evolved Giant was capable of eating through the ground beneath it, creating large hollow tunnels extending outward from its resting place. Evolved Giants also appeared to cause earthquakes, or at least seemed to be associated with seismic activity.

Abilities

• Psychic Projection: Evolved Giants could project thoughts, feelings, visions, and spoken commands into the minds of those nearby or otherwise connected to them. Their presence could seep into a person's head for hours at a time.
• Mind Control: They could take over a person's faculties directly, compelling physical action against the subject's will. The mine specimen pushed Marina du Willet's actions toward violence for weeks during the events of The Fight for Rislandia.
• Emotional Feeding: Beyond simple flesh, they craved emotions—particularly violence, fear, and anger—and could send emotions such as rage and commands such as KILL KILL into human minds to provoke the sustenance they desired.
• Sustenance Gathering: Through psychic projection, they could convince people to bring them physical sustenance. Many tribes historically delivered human sacrifices for this purpose; body parts found in crates near the Devil's Mountain specimen constituted its physical sustenance.
• Vitality Ether Production: Evolved Giants produced a blue goo known as Vitality Ether, also referred to as giant's blood, which could be harvested and used to extend their psychic influence over individuals at a distance. This blood was also the source of the Wyranth serum and Rhys's anti-serum.
• Serum Bonding: The serum developed from an Evolved Giant's blood may create a psychic bond between the imbiber and the specific giant from which the blood was drawn. Zaira von Monocle felt the mine specimen tugging at her mind when she had previously ingested the serum, but felt nothing upon encountering it after the serum's effects had passed.
• Regeneration: Evolved Giants were rumored to heal from physical damage over time.
• Mutation Induction: Ingesting an Evolved Giant's blood caused Wyranth soldiers to become what Sergeant Lansing described as "mutants."

Known Specimens

By the events of The Fight for Rislandia, multiple Evolved Giants had been identified or suspected across the world:

• One beneath Devil's Mountain, near the Wyranth capital (destroyed during For Steam and Country).
• One in a mine near Plainsroad Village (destroyed during The Fight for Rislandia).
• A third suspected to be in the Old Forest near Rislandia City.
• The crew of The Liliana (Airship) encountered at least one additional specimen prior to the events described in The Fight for Rislandia.

The Devil's Mountain Specimen

In For Steam and Country, a single Evolved Giant was discovered living in the pit at the center of Devil's Mountain, housed within a large underground chamber. It appeared as a giant blob with bubbles forming across its skin, entirely blue and bright, with large veins thicker than a person pulsing throughout its mass. It pulsed rather than breathed, and through that pulsing it perceived the world around it.

The specimen had been feeding off people for some time, with body parts stored in crates serving as its physical sustenance. Beyond flesh, it craved emotions. It had been projecting a male voice into the mind of Zaira von Monocle, giving commands and pushing her toward violence. Zaira's father identified the creature as one of the ancient Giants and theorized it may have been driving Wyranth aggression. Zaira herself theorized it might be driving the endless war between Rislandia and the Wyranth Empire.

The creature was linked to Commander Willet via the Vitality Ether it produced, which was pumped from it to supply the Wyranth Military. Through this connection it exerted an incredible amount of control over Wyranth forces, and was able to alert Wyranth soldiers near the capital when Commander Willet lost consciousness.

The specimen projected its life history to Zaira in visions: it originated in a rocky land among blue-skinned people, traveled across continents and oceans over a millennium, and gradually became the immobile mass she encountered. It was surrounded by Wyranth soldiers at the time of discovery.

The creature was destroyed by an explosive detonated by the landing party. Its destruction caused an ear-piercing high-pitched noise and excruciating pain in Zaira's head, followed by flashing lights and her collapse. In the aftermath, many Wyranth soldiers refused to fight, consistent with the loss of the psychic control it had exerted over their forces.

The Mine Specimen

In The Fight for Rislandia, a second Evolved Giant was discovered kept in a pit at a mine near Plainsroad Village. The pit had no rails and appeared freshly formed. The creature matched the general description of the Devil's Mountain specimen: a bubbling blob with veins at the surface of its gooey skin, bright blue liquid coursing through it, glowing and radiating light that illuminated the surrounding cavern.

The Wyranth Military had been extracting blood from this specimen to produce their serum. Its psychic presence seeped into Zaira's head for several hours upon her proximity to it. It had also pushed Marina du Willet's actions toward violence for weeks prior to its destruction. Because Zaira had previously ingested the serum derived from this specimen's blood, she felt the creature tugging at her mind during that earlier period; upon encountering it directly, after the serum's effects had passed, she felt nothing.

The specimen was destroyed in a mine explosion rigged by First Sergeant Bartholomew Wright. Marina du Willet expressed no regret at its destruction, stating: "I can't say I'm sad to blow that disgusting creature to bits."

The Walking Giant

A mobile variant of the Evolved Giant was encountered during the Battle of Rislandia City in The Fight for Rislandia. Standing over twenty feet tall with a humanoid shape and jelly-like skin pulsing with blue light, it emerged from the Old Forest during the battle. Its arms waved and its legs stomped; Ethan von Lantern was nearly trampled by it before Cid pulled him clear.

The creature was immune to conventional weapons. Zaira von Monocle caused The Liliana (Airship) to crash into it, destroying it.

Wyranth scientists had inadvertently discovered ways to morph an Evolved Giant back into something closer to its prior humanoid form. Ivan, the Iron Emperor had wanted the experiment to proceed, hoping the giants might tilt the scales of the war in Wyranth's favor. This project is documented further on the Project Walking Monster page.

Weaknesses

• Massive explosions could destroy them entirely, as demonstrated at both Devil's Mountain and the mine near Plainsroad Village.
• Counter-Serum (Rhys's anti-serum), derived from the giant's own blood, could break their psychic influence over individuals.
• Standard Evolved Giants were immobile, with the Walking Giant being a noted exception.
• They depended on feeding for sustenance.

In A History of Rislandia

A History of Rislandia treats Evolved Giants as a subject of both ancient history and living threat, drawing on scholarly sources, indigenous oral tradition, and military records to build a picture that largely corroborates the novels while adding several details not found in them.

Origins and the Convergence Engine

According to A History of Rislandia, Evolved Giants are explicitly identified as the product of the Convergence Engine explosion during The Great Sundering. The sourcebook uses this framing to anchor the creatures firmly within the world's creation-adjacent catastrophe mythology, treating their transformation not as an incidental disaster but as a defining rupture in the history of the continent.

The Tayzwif: Indigenous Recognition

The sourcebook records that Zenwey shamans refer to Evolved Giants by the name Tayzwif, and cite them as living proof that ancient stories are true. The relevant passage reads: "They point to the Tayzwif (evolved giants) as proof that the old stories are true." This represents the only known indigenous name for the creatures documented in the bible, and connects Evolved Giants to the broader oral traditions of the Tribes of Zenwey.

Discovery by Emperor Eisenherz

According to A History of Rislandia, the Devil's Mountain specimen was discovered by Emperor Eisenherz, and it was this discovery that led directly to the development of the Giant's Blood Serum program. The novel-based account on this page does not attribute the initial discovery to any named historical figure; this is new information supplied solely by the sourcebook.

Marina du Willet's Role

The sourcebook credits Marina du Willet as among those who helped defeat the Evolved Giant at Devil's Mountain, framing her contribution in historical terms alongside Zaira von Monocle's crew. The novel-based account on this page records Marina's involvement primarily as a victim of the mine specimen's psychic influence; the sourcebook's framing of her as an active participant in the defeat of the Devil's Mountain specimen is an addition not contradicted by but not explicit in the novels.

Psychic Awakening and Crystal Attraction

A History of Rislandia adds two capabilities not described on the novel-based account on this page. First, Nightmen shamans are stated to be capable of awakening dormant Evolved Giants. Second, the sourcebook notes that Evolved Giants are attracted by the use of crystal magic, suggesting that crystal activity may draw them toward populated areas or rouse inactive specimens. Soldiers near an old iron mine are also reported to have heard voices, which the sourcebook implies may indicate an Evolved Giant in the process of awakening at that location.

Destruction of the Devil's Mountain Specimen: Earthquake

According to A History of Rislandia, the destruction of the Devil's Mountain specimen caused a massive earthquake. The novel-based account on this page records that its destruction caused an ear-piercing noise and Zaira's collapse, but does not mention a resulting earthquake. The sourcebook's account of a major seismic event following the explosion is an addition to the record.

The Walking Giant: Additional Details

The sourcebook provides several physical and behavioral details about the Walking Giant not present on the novel-based account on this page:

• Its arms functioned as bludgeons and it possessed no fingers or toes.
• It was capable of jumping high enough to reach airships in flight.
• It grabbed the underside of The Liliana when the crew attempted to slow it using anti-serum coated cannonballs; the anti-serum weapons slowed but did not stop it.
• Its destruction was ultimately achieved when The Liliana crashed directly onto it, with the forward turbine blades shredding it to pieces.
• Destroying it severed the giant's psychic influence.

The novel-based account on this page states that Zaira caused The Liliana to crash into the Walking Giant, destroying it, which is consistent with the sourcebook's account. The additional detail that the turbine blades specifically did the shredding, and that the creature had grabbed the airship before the crash, is new.

Evolved Giants as Ongoing Threat and Game Element

A History of Rislandia frames Evolved Giants not only as historical actors but as a continuing danger, noting that a walking giant rampaging through the countryside is presented as an example of an active monster threat. This suggests the sourcebook envisions dormant specimens as a persistent hazard beyond the events of the novels.