Storm giant aerie of Lake Woe mountain

The storm giant aerie of Mount Woe was the home of a small tribe of storm giants who played a significant role in the War of the Hart.

Description
The aerie was located at the summit of Mount Woe, which itself grew out of the center of Lake Woe. It was almost always covered in storm clouds; when it was clear, thousands of birds tended to gather there.

The aerie consisted of a fortress palace of spired buildings interconnected by elevated walkways, a few other structures, and a large garden park. The buildings were of course enormous, beings sized for giants. The spires were silver-plated and had alabaster roofs. The entryways to several of the buildings were covered in elaborate, many-colored frescoes and mosaics. Many stone statues of gargoyles decorated the curtain walls. It was said to be one of the most magnificent palace complexes in all of Faerûn.

Four manor buildings connected to each other by catwalks formed the bulk of the palace structure, and this was where the storm giants lived and socialized. They were relatively simple inside compared to the elaborate exteriors of the buildings.

Two smaller structures housed the giant's servants. These buildings were smaller than the structures of the palace, yet they were otherwise equal in quality to the housing of the storm giants.

The aerie included a large chapel to the goddess Hiatea. When it was not being used for worship, thousands of tiny birds covered the floor and ceiling of the chapel. The birds would vacate the building whenever any giant came to worship.

The ruler of the giants was intended to live in a large manor building separate from the palace. However, after the War of the Hart, no giant was permitted to sleep in the building.

At the opposite end of the aerie from the gatehouse was a large garden and arboretum, which at one time was one of the most beautiful gardens in northern Faerûn.

By 1366 DR, the palace and the garden were beginning to show signs of decay.

In addition to nests for thousands of birds, the aerie also had several roc nests, and the storm giants sometimes used them as steeds.

A mooring bay had been established in the aerie, where visiting cloud giants could anchor their cloud palaces and visit with the giants of the tribe. Massive, two-foot-thick rope for tying down cloud palaces was stored in a smaller shed nearby.

Defenses
To creatures unable to fly, there was only one safe path down into the aerie from the steep ledges at the peak of Mount Woe. A massive gatehouse towered over a path leading from this passage in the rock toward the palace, but it was never guarded.

The palace complex also included two watchtowers, which were so high that one could see over the clouds and down into the valley below.

Culture
After the War of the Hart, the giants of the aerie were somber and brooding, living lives of self-punishment for their perceived crimes against Annam All-Father during the final battle of the war. Some of them turned to art and poetry as a means to expressed their deep emotions about the event; others kept their emotions pent up inside, and it was this that magically caused so many storm clouds to persistently cover the mountain for so many hundreds of years.

The giants had come up with several activities with which to punish themselves, including forcing themselves to go without sleep for several days, howling at the moon during the thunderstorms, or creating magical illusions of beauty to remind themselves of their losses.

There was not much food on the aerie, and the giants were relatively weak&mdash;for storm giants&mdash;because of this.

Government
The tribe of the aerie was ruled by a paramount, who was the most powerful giant in the local ordning. Otherwise, the giants there paid little attention to matters of rank, in stark contrast to their other kin.

Because they believed so strongly in predestination, they did not make challenges to assume the role of paramount, and they thought that coveting such a position was a useless ambition. Instead, they relied on the appearance of sacred omens to determine when it was time for a paramount to step down and a new one to lead.

History
During the War of the Hart, Hartkiller came to this aerie and challenged the then paramount to single combat. The paramount and Annam's final son engaged in epic combat for 100 days before ultimately each slew the other, ending the war.

After the end of the battle, the tribe of the aerie realized that they had betrayed Annam All-Father. The new paramount issued a decree that none of the giants of the aerie was permitted to set foot on the surface world again until Annam redeemed them for their great sin.

In 1354 DR, the reigning paramount stepped down when a dove landed on another giant's shoulder during the beginning of a large feast. This second giant became the next paramount.

In 1364 DR, a feast was held in honor of one of the storm giants named Ramos, who was of second rank in the ordning at the time. During the festival, the sun shone for the first time in ten years, and this was seen as a sign that Ramos was to replace the current paramount&mdash;the one who had been "chosen" by the dove&mdash;as the new leader.

Inhabitants
By 1366 DR, only twelve storm giants and their servants occupied the aerie, unless they were being visited by cloud giants.