Once, in a land once known as Alkeonet, there was a family of giants. They were part of a tribe known as the Tekkathan, who stood three times the height of a normal man, with brown hair and silvery eyes. The Tekkathan were a group known for their passivity, they took pride in knowing the earth around them rather than getting caught up in wars and fighting. They went so long without conflict, however, that they did not know how to fight anymore. They had no interest in it. They lived in peace with the humans that lived neighboring their forests, trading handmade wooden objects for items like furs and skins to sew together for clothing. They were very talented woodworkers, and often built boats and canoes. They lived in harmony with the plants and animals that occupied their land, some even said they could communicate with the animals. They made friends with crows who would bring them gifts, and eventually the Tekkathan moved away from eating animals altogether.
The humans in the neighboring village did not yearn for the passivity that these giants had, however. They were often at war with other villages, fighting for supplies and resources. The Tekkathan did not know why these humans longed for bloodshed when they could make do with what they had. Eventually, these humans started a fight they could not finish. They asked the giants for help, seeing as they have had a good rapport for years. When the giants refused the humans became angry, slandering the Tekkathan’s names to all who would listen. Eventually, stories erupted, claiming the giants to be cannibals, thieves, and criminals, using crows to steal for them.
Our story starts with Fasor and Aglais, two members of the Tekkathan tribe who have married and had a baby, Ayla. Fasor stood about seventeen feet tall, and Aglais stood at fifteen feet. Aglais was one of the shortest giants, but she was known for her connection to butterflies. She often thought of these small insects in connection to herself, tiny but beautiful. The butterflies made such a difference in the nature around them, it wouldn’t be the same with them gone. She would often be seen holding them on her fingertips and lifting them to her cheek to feel the softness of their wings, helping the injured ones and healing them so they could rejoin their flock. When Ayla was born, it was like all of the butterflies knew. They all came and perched on their straw hut, making it look like a half circle of tiny wings sticking out of the ground. Fasor had a special connection to the crows. He would often talk more to them than any other member of the Tekkathan, and they seemed to favor him too. In respect to Fasor and his wife, the crows had stopped eating butterflies altogether. The crows would listen to the humans and their plans, and report back to Fasor.
On this particular day, Fasor was talking to his wife about the humans in the neighboring village. He described how they have been conjuring up stories about the giants, and were planning on invading. The humans had been fearing the giants would start a war with them, a war they could not win. They feared the Tekkathan had turned their backs on the humans. Aglais urged Fasor to go and talk to them, to make peace, and Fasor agreed, however he decided that the tribe’s leader, Indignium, should talk to them instead. It was getting late, so he decided to talk to Indignium first thing in the morning. Fasor slept soundly that night, however Aglais lay awake, staring at the beige ceiling of their hut. She kept looking at Ayla's face, wondering what would happen with the humans. She was worried that they would come for them, worried that her baby would lose her mother and father, or worse, she would lose her baby. She kept looking at that beautiful face, sleeping soundly, as the worst possible outcomes raced through her mind.
In the morning, Fasor went straight to Indignium to talk to him about what the crows were telling him. Indignium listened intently, and decided that he should, in fact, make first contact with the human tribe. He started the trek through the forest and headed towards the trading spot that hasn’t been used in weeks. No one seemed to want to trade with the giants anymore, what once was a bustling trading spot was now dead, hardly any souls in sight. He had almost reached the post when he was stopped by men with long silver weapons that glinted in the sun. As soon as Indignium was within reach, the men pointed their weapons at him and told him to stop where he stood. Indignium looked intently at the human faces with his hands in the air. He exclaimed that he just wanted to talk to the human leader, he meant no harm to anyone, but the terrified humans did not listen. They looked at Indignium, then at each other, then back. They were convinced this giant was here to steal their children, rape their wives, and eat their men. They started cutting Indignium’s feet, his ankles, chopping at his tendons and toes until he finally fell, and then they continued beating him and slicing into him until the grass soaked red with his blood and his silvery eyes gazed without focus at the sky. The great giant leader was dead. The men immediately went to their king, telling him of the wicked giant they slain that was here to kill them all, and their king without hesitation ordered an army to attack the forest. This king knew without doubt that these giants were going to come and kill them all if he didn’t put a stop to this madness right then. The crows heard this and immediately flew to Fasor to tell him.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Aglais had been concerned with how this meeting between leaders would go, but Fasor convinced her that Indignium would handle it with grace as he did everything else. Fasor was playing with his child while his wife was cooking vegetables over the fire outside of their hut. A crow flew towards him and landed with its sharp claws directly at Fasor’s side. The crow immediately told him what happened, what the humans are planning. Fasor scooped his child up in his arms and handed her off to Aglais, who asked him what was wrong. Fasor yelled for everyone to gather and listen, and repeated what the crow had told him. Gasps and shocked faces resonated back with his, and he told them that they should run. The peaceful, serene sunny day soon turned to chaos. Everyone was scrambling for their children and meaningful personal items and turning to run in the opposite direction of the human’s village. Fasor and Aglais stayed just behind everyone else, making sure that they had gotten safe passage out and no one had gotten hurt during the chaos. They were running too when Aglais sniffed the air, she smelled something burning. She looked at Fasor, he smelled it too. They still ran, what other choice did they have? The humans were coming for them, with their sharp metal sticks and they outnumbered the giants twenty to one.
Everyone in the human’s town had heard of the great beast slain at the edge of the forest by midday. They were fed up with living in fear of these giants. They were fed up with keeping their children away from the woods. They all grabbed torches and pitchforks and headed towards the edge of the woods. The humans made a circle around the forests, and one by one they dropped their torches. The small army that the king sent in after the beastly giants was already in the woods, but the townspeople had no hope that they would actually slay all the beasts. They didn’t even know how many actually occupied the forest, it was a vast space with lots of places to hide. It was better, they thought, to sacrifice a few of their own to make sure all of the giants were dead.
Fasor and Aglais were running behind the rest of the giants when all of a sudden shouts of men ring from behind them. Aglais stops in her tracks and looks to her husband. He heard it too. He gives his wife and baby a final kiss goodbye, and shouts at them to go. He then disappears in the direction of the voices. Aglais, for one moment, considers going after him. She could die with the love of her life. But then she looks to Ayla, this tiny babe. Without her protection Ayla will die. She runs faster than she has ever ran to catch up with the rest of her tribe, only to see they have come to a complete stop. She can hear her husband trying and failing to fight the humans, and she can see the great wall of flames in front of her. The heat it produced was unmatched. Her people stared at it similarly, realization that there was no hope sinking in. A few decided to run north, try to find a way out, and a few south, and Aglais was thinking of following. But a butterfly then landed on her shoulder and whispered in her ear the dark truth. There was no way out. Silently tears started streaming down her face. She looked at Ayla’s beautiful face, her brown curls flopping over her head, her silver eyes looking back at her, the perfect shapes and angles that made her daughter hers. She sat, and stared, and butterflies came and one by one landed on every inch of exposed skin. Her husband, beaten and bloodied, stumbled up beside her and sat with her. He draped his arms around her and sighed a heavy, rattling sigh. She took one look at him and knew he was not long for this world. They would die here, together, as a family. She knew this. It made her heart break for her child to never grow up. A crow landed in front of Fasor, saying his goodbyes and wishing him more luck in the next life. Then the butterflies and crows departed, their wings being able to take them to safety. It was just the three of them, here at the end. Memories came and went, swallowed by the flames.
Once the flames of the forest had died down, the human townspeople went in to collect their fallen’s bodies. As soon as they would get ten feet into the forest’s edge, however, they were attacked by crows. Legend has it that to this day, the bodies of the giants and the bodies of the king’s soldiers are still there, in those woods.
