THE GIANT'S STAIR
The Giant's Stair, the last known major dwelling place of the giant-kin. The heroes of Eyru's Golden Age pushed these beasts into this aptly named mountain range centuries ago. There they lived, biding their time and waiting to reclaim what was theirs. What lies in these mountains now is anyone's guess as it has been centuries since an Eyrian has laid eyes upon them. Clarabaan and his army were the last, and none of them returned home.
The land is harsh and unrelenting. Winds from off the seas pummel the high cliffs of the range which drops off sharply into the sea at its northern most point. Numerous caves dot the mountains, making ideal homes for the Giants and whatever else may lie there. However, if it coexists or worse yet, preys on the Giant-kin; it is best left un-described.
Little vegetation clings to the dizzying cliffs and high plateaus. With the ferocious winds that strike the heights, it isn't a wonder that little can survive. Storms also frequent these heights coming in the form of dense packed snow in the winter and terrible thunderstorms during the summer months. Avalanches of snow and rock are common and safe passes have never been known. It was always assumed by the humans of the Golden Age that the giant-kin had created a network of tunnels throughout the range for travel.
Deep within the heart of the range, miles below the earth, presumably dwells the Manterlaug. He is the seven armed giant who crafted the isle the humans refer to as Eyru on his potter's wheel. At one time, a time lost to legend, his children, the giants, owned the whole of Eyru, sharing it with none. Then, the Manterlaug was content and the giants enjoyed the full bounty of the land he had made for them.
As the seas began to swell around Eyru, the Fomorians begin to show up along the north eastern shores. At first, the giants sought to destroy these people. However, these strange beings wielded fearsome magic and consistently outsmarted the dim witted giants. Slowly, uneasy pacts came to exist between these two people though brutal skirmishes were common.
The Manterlaug's anger grew over his children's inability to deal with the trespassers. The most powerful King, Gamesh the Drinker of Blood, was visited by the Manterlaug in the form of a pillar of flame. As the Manterlaug spoke, the heat from his body seared the very flesh off of Gamesh's bones though he did not die. He lived to hear the message: to remove the invaders or else he should face worse torment for eternity and his kingdom shall be crushed. As the Manterlaug left, Gamesh's flesh was restored and he set to create a plan to dispose of the Fomorians. He began to commit his troops from the south to pin the Fomorians in while he struck with the bulk of his army in a devastating frontal assault.
Then the Tuatha De Danaan came to settle. Settle among the southern lands.
The Giants were slow to respond to this unexpected threat and while the King's army marched North, they slowly lost their lands behind them. The Manterlaug, furious at the King's further loss of the very land he had created for his children, followed through on his promise. He crushed the King's empire, literally, with his seven massive clubs. Tales have it that this is the origin of the Broken Lands of the North.
As time passed, these newcomers, the Tuatha De Danaan, proved an even greater threat than the Fomorians. They eventually forced the Fomorians back into the sea and pushed the Giants into the treacherous ranges of the Giant's Stair.
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