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 circa -28000 DR, 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
Ostoria was founded by Annam All-Father circa -30000 DR to celebrate the last of his sons coming of age. 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 Vonhimheim.

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.

Waning Years
Legends say that when Ostoria was still a young kingdom, a cataclysm occurred in which meteors fell from the sky and caused some damage where they landed. When examined by the giants they were found to be eggs, which hatched the first dragons. In the few centuries that followed their arrival to Toril, dragons generally kept aloof of the giants and ignored them. But they 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.

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. 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, and Ostoria was reduced greatly when the end of the war came, restricted to the north of Faerûn.

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. Osteria 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.

Inhabitants
Cloud giants within the kingdom often acted as the strong right hands of storm giants, helping them to devise the battle strategies that were utilized by fire giants.

Ettins tended to gardens within the kingdom, which featured pools that were said to reflect only the faces of those gazing at another pool.

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
 * Video Games
 * Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance
 * Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance
 * Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance