Grannoch: Hierarchy

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The Kerekk of Grannoch is a church in decline. Once powerful with the prayers of the giant kind, it is shrinking as the chaotic nature of the giants and their slow slide into savagery take their attention away from their goddess. Though there is no current hierarchy for all of the giant races, this was not always so. In each race of giants, there are shamans of Grannoch called the Son and Daughter of the element that race attunes with (Son of Earth, Daughter of Fire, etc.). This is carried down from the beginnings of the kerekk when there was the Four. The Four were the first clergy of Grannoch; each a powerful shaman of one of the four elements and called the Son or Daughter of that element. They were elected every fourth year during the season of Flower Blooms (spring) at a gathering in what is now Corax Lake. The Four traveled the continents to each community teaching the tribe's shaman, renewing the faith, and sharing the sacred texts that existed to bring Grannoch into every giant home. They traveled together and presented the worship of Grannoch as a totality of the Four with none surpassing the other. Over time, the nature of chaos came to the forefront of the giants. Grannoch embraced a lawful view of the world; yet, her people could not resist the opportunity to wage war against each other. The Four continued to spread the word until a day that is called Four's End. On this day, sometime in the second age of the world, the Four came to a forested giant village preparing for war against an outpost of humans who had been mining the giant's land. The leader of the humans was a half-giant named Vassi the Bear. He held a strong grudge against the giants for their slights against him when he tried to join their community. When Vassi heard that the Four were at the giant village, he sent his best assassins to slaughter them in their sleep. Three of the Four were killed that night; one escaped with the help of the local shaman. The giants went to war with rage in their hearts for the death of their clergy, and the remaining of the Four, Levka Son of Air, made his way back to his temple alone. That marked the end of the Four for there was no gathering the next year due to a tribal dispute over the forest west of Corax Lake'nor the year after or after. However, the naming practice carries on.

Elections and Organizations

Election of a Son or Daughter is done at the death of a previous Son or Daughter. Formerly this was done by gathering and popular vote, more recently, the successor is chosen prior to death by the Son or Daughter in question. The title is for life. Local shaman of Grannoch do not carry titles, and more and more, they do not have the voice they did in their community. With chaos raging around them, their adherence to the old laws and edicts are frowned upon or ignored. Fewer and fewer giants are born or raised with the temperament to be shaman of Grannoch, and there are a small but growing number of giant communities with no shaman to the Mother of Giants at all.

Ranks of the Faithful: Sons and Daughters of Grannoch

  • Sons and Daughters of Air tend to be the most lawful and the most inflexible. The old ways still hold strong in the communities high in the mountains.
    • Daughter of Air Domeneka of the Stonethrow Clan has just ascended to the post following the death of her mother Alifak. She is bright for a giant, friendly, and good-natured. She is currently organizing the Eight with the intent of re-introducing worship of the Mother and reclaiming all the giant races for her goddess. She resides in a giant community high in the Brech Mountains.
    • Son of Air Hauk of the Iron Halls is over 100 years old. He is bitter about the divisions of giantfolk, refusing to acknowledge the Water and Earth giants as his kin. His memory is astounding for things past; although, his recollections of current events can be spotty. He supports what the current Daughter of Air is doing, however, and assists her in whatever way he can. He lives in a mountain tribe in the Ire Mountains and keeps in close contact with Domeneka.
  • Sons and Daughters of Fire, living primarily in secluded areas near volcanic or thermal activity, also keep the word of Grannoch alive to their people with better success.
    • Daughter of Fire Maglikan is in her 70's, and she follows the edicts and texts of Grannoch exactly. She is also the only living giant who can translate the ancient writing of her people. She lives with a large tribe inside the Thunder Peaks.
    • Son of Fire Gruenbert Caskwick is a giant even by giant standards. A lifetime of having to duck through doorways made for giants has brought his sense of humor to the fore. He is devout and funny, sincere in his worship but not ambitious, and tends to his small clan inside the Mountains of Madness almost exclusively.
  • Sons and Daughters of Earth and Water (in competition with each other and other races for prime living space, resources, and potable water) are the most affected by the slide to barbarianism. Wars are frequent and the power of the Son and Daughter to stop it is close to none; if indeed they even try. There is currently no Daughter of Earth since she was found murdered and no one has yet been elected to take her place.
    • Daughter of Water Brunhild of the Corax Clan is sour and angry when first met, but after getting to know her, she reveals herself to be... sour and angry. Despite her prickly personality, she is a competent shaman. Her clan has been forced slowly back by the humans to the Forest of Fog. She has advised war with the city of Prantz, intending to take back the lands for the giants all the way to Lor. She was attempting to build an alliance with all the giant clans in the Forest of Fog to this end. However, recent invasions of giants from under the earth and the tremendous military power of the Lord of Rael have set her plans back considerably.
    • Son of Water Sherivat of Fog Dawn Clan is a young man full of fire and bloodthirsty ambition. Although he can barely cast spells granted by Grannoch, his warlike nature fits with the Daughter of Water's plans, so she arranged to have him elected. He resides with Brunhild.
    • Son of Earth Ignist Caveborn of Rikart presents himself as a warm and friendly follower of Grannoch. He tends to the sick and speaks endlessly of Grannoch's plans for her people. What is not known, except to a select few, is that Ignist actually worships Pyrtechon. He has plans to convert the giants of Belinara to his god and has been secretly supporting a large clan of Pyrtechon-worshiping giants.
The Eight

Just after her mother's death, Domeneka traveled the continents and saw a desperate need for missionaries. Worship of the Mother of Giants was fading, but she felt her goddess alive and strong within her and wanted to share that with all her kin. Knowing she would soon be confined to tribal and kerekk duties, she gathered her closest allies to find candidates and began a group to spread the word of the Mother of Giants. The organization consists of eight passionate followers of Grannoch. They call themselves lehrr (teacher). Learning from the lessons of the past, the number of followers was doubled to provide better protection. Shaman powers are not required'only the desire to rekindle the fires of Grannoch in her children.

The Eight can consist of giants of any ability with a male and a female for each element of the Mother. Domeneka is choosing them, but she put in place the means for future elections; a popular vote from a gathering not unlike the ones that elected the Four. She has found five of the eight and sends them traveling while she fills the other positions.

  • Lehrr of Earth Shant of Shifting Sands Tribe is from the Wandering Dunes. He met Domeneka on her wanderings and was pulled to Grannoch through her. He is a skilled warrior who prefers to use the falchion when fighting.
  • Lehrr of Water Keren is a shaman from a clan in central Mistone that was destroyed by a neighboring tribe. She was one of a handful of survivors and turned to her faith to sustain her. She is quiet, serious, and dedicated.
  • Lehrr of Fire Azeramn of Tunnelscout Clan is a young female giant who was turned out by her parents for her rejection of the husband they chose for her. She is a fighter with the ability to blend into shadows at will. She views Domeneka as a surrogate mother and is especially devoted to her.
  • Lehrr of Fire Zharg of Tunnelscout Clan weaves songs to tell stories of Grannoch. He also raises the spirits of his colleagues and plays several instruments. He is playful and young for his position. He followed his sister Azeramn when she was told to leave and has stayed with her since.
  • Lehrr of Air Friedg is a rare half-giant. She is smaller than her kind and much weaker. She looks like a large, bald human female. She was raised by her giant father until it was clear she was not able to handle day-to-day tribal life due to her diminished size. Sent to live with humans, her intelligence shone through, and she learned the ways of the arcane. Since becoming fully adult, she's returned to her clan and her roots and rediscovered Grannoch. She is currently learning the ways of divine magic as well as her arcane studies.