Ostoria

Ostoria (meaning "father's seat" in Jotun), also called The Colossal Kingdom, was the original kingdom of the giants.

Geography
At the peak of its power, Ostoria occupied an area of Faerûn stretching from the Vilhon Reach in the south to the lands now covered by the Great Glacier in the north, and from the Savage Frontier in the west to the Cold Lands in the east.

Founding
Giant records and legends differed on when exactly Ostoria was founded. Some sources claimed it occurred prior to the Tearfall, a period in which the titans waged war with a people known as the batrachi. Others stated it occurred at almost the same time as the Tearfall, in circa -31000 DR. Still others recounted Annam as having founded Ostoria a thousand years later, circa -30000 DR, to celebrate the last of his sons coming of age, with the kingdom being a gift for all of Annam's sons and their offspring as a sign of his favor.

As the kingdom grew, Annam split it up so that each of his favored sons could acquire part of it and go on to found their own dynasties:


 * Vilmos received the seas and lakes, and would found the dynasty of the storm giants.
 * Nicias received the skies, and would found the dynasty of the cloud giants.
 * Ruk received the hills, and would found the dynasty of the hill giants.
 * Ottar received the northern tundras, and would found the dynasty of the frost giants.
 * Masud received the southern volcanoes, and would found the dynasty of the fire giants.
 * Obadai received the caverns below ground, and would found the dynasty of the stone giants.
 * Lanaxis, the eldest, received the plains, and would found the dynasty of the titans. From him the capital of Ostoria would be built, known as Voninheim.

The exception to this was Arno and Julian, the two-headed runt of the All-Father's litter and the progenitor of ettins. He and all the giant-kin races were never granted a portion of land by Annam from which to found their own "dynasty" inside the kingdom. Though the voadkyn would lay claim to the forests of the kingdom, as Annam had not given them to any of his sons.

Great Age
For much of Ostoria's history the resident giants competed among themselves to create practical and artistic wonders, each working in the unique manner of their kind. The hill giants for example, constructed a great stone circle which acted as both a calendar and oracle, casting shadows that took the forms of hunters and animals. Though the greatest works of giant art and craftsmanship came from the stone and fire giants respectively.

The cloud giants would construct castles and immense floating cities within the clouds. The stone and fire giants settled atop mountains and in the sprawling caverns beneath them. The latter also tamed the volcanoes of the southern territories, building cities of adamantine and mithral. But the greatest of cities within Ostoria were constructed by the storm giants and titans, which featured mechanical conveyances and galleries housing artistic tributes to all of giantkind. The storm giants also built great castles in the sky and mighty fortresses beneath the seas.

In circa -28000 DR, Ostoria reached the peak of its power, beginning the age known as the "Reign of Giants."

The Warring Years
In the few centuries that followed their arrival to Toril, dragons generally kept aloof of the giants and ignored them, maintaining a relative peace with the nation of Ostoria.

The dragons regularly preyed upon the herds of animals the giants founded and tended, such as elk and rothé. This led to many minor conflicts with the giants, as they felt slaying these poachers was not only desirable, but worthy of great honor or "bragging rights." Though such conflicts were always personal, not tribal or regional. With most being settled by contests of might, skill, or wits rather than outright murder.

Circa -26000 DR, the dragon god Garyx sent an avatar to lead a flight of red dragons to attack the giant nation, an assault that led to the burning and destruction of a cloud giant city. According to giants, Garyx had inflamed them with thoughts of greed and envy over Ostoria's prosperity. With this act of aggression the giants finally felt that dragonkind posed a serious threat to them and Ostoria went to war.

This war would last over a thousand years, during which the giants were forced to throw aside their artistic pursuits, such as music and sculpture, in order to become more militaristic than ever. By the war's end, the kingdom of Ostoria was reduced in size, losing all its southern territory to the dragons and became restricted to the north of Faerûn.

The Waning Years
In -2550 DR, the death of the god Ulutiu caused a large region of Faerûn's north (present-day Pelvuria) to freeze, which led Ostoria to be slowly swallowed by the Great Glacier. Ostoria ceased to exist 75 years later in -2475 DR with the deaths of most of Annam's sons, despite Lanaxis's efforts to save the kingdom.

When Ostoria finally fell a great deal of knowledge was lost, including the knowledge of how to construct cities in the clouds. And Annam would disown the giants, swearing to never again regard them until they returned Ostoria to the prominence it once had.

True Giants
Within the kingdom of Ostoria the giant races all lived according to their station in the Ordning (social structure). Cloud giants often acted as the strong right hands of storm giants, helping them to devise the battle strategies that were utilized by fire giants. The fire giants acted as officers, engineers, and craftsmen. The frost giants acted as the bulk of its armed forces, defending it on every frontier. And the hill giants were spread out all over, using their brute force to subjugate lesser creatures.

Giant-Kin
Ettins tended to gardens within the kingdom, which featured pools that were said to reflect only the faces of those gazing at another pool. The voadkyn, by their own accord, largely had no relations with the giants and giant-kin of the kingdom.

Others
Besides giants, the empire of Ostoria included elves and goblinoids, who lived as either subjects or slaves. Some parts of the kingdom even kept them to specific territories.

Notable Locations

 * Voninheim, the ancient capital in the Ice Spires
 * Eye of the All-Father, an ancient temple to Annam in the Spine of the World
 * Ironslag, an adamantine forge in the Ice Spires
 * Svardborg, a whaling village in the Sea of Moving Ice
 * Kultaakarr, a sub-kingdom in the Cold Lands
 * Jhothûn, a city in the Endless Ice Sea
 * Gharreil, a city in Alpuk

Appearances

 * Adventures
 * Storm King's Thunder • Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden
 * Video Games
 * • Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance
 * • Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance
 * • Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance