Giant

Giants (巨人, Kyojin^?, alt. 'Titan') are a humanoid Phantasmal Species which lived during the Age of Gods.

Characteristics

Differing traits are attributed to giants between mythologies, but the most common trait ascribed to them is that they are typically large in size.

Scandinavia

Giants feature prominently in Norse mythology^WP and were present in Scandinavia^WP during its Age of Gods.

In Norse mythology and the Age of Gods, Scandinavia was comprised of nine realms, two of which where the ice realm Niflheim and the fire realm Muspelheim. The clash of these two created frost and eventually a river of poison from which the original giant, Ymir^WP was formed. Countless frost giants, known as Jötunn^WP (ヨトゥン, Yotoun^?) (plural Jötnar), were subsequently born from Ymir's body. Many of these would perish in the flood of blood following Ymir's death at the hands of Odin and his brothers, though the giant Bergelmir^WP survived clinging to a tree trunk and begot a new generation. Aside from the frost giants, who resided in the realm of Jotunnheim^WP, there were also fire giants, the Muspel (ムスペル, Musuperu^?) (also called the Eldjötnar^WP), who dwelled in Muspelheim and were led by Surtr, who was born from the remnants of Ymir's wrath and is also the realm of Muspelheim itself.

An unmasked Jotunn (frost giant) of the Norse Lostbelt

Though they were often in conflict, at times members of the Jötnar would couple with the gods of Scandinavia, the Aesir and the Vanir, giving birth to new gods and giants. Some of them, such as Loki^WP and Skaði, were even accepted as members of the Aesir themselves. The surviving Jötnar fell from mythology in time and some have been said to have transformed into the trolls of later lore. At Ragnarök^WP, the gods and giants clashed in a final battle with many perishing and both ultimately vanishing from the world as the Texture of the Scandinavian Age of Gods was burned away by the flames of Surtr's sword. In the world of the Greater History of Man, giants are virtually non-existent in the 21st century.

The size of the Norse giants varies - some such as Skadi were human-sized while others such as Surtr are much larger. The common variety found within the Norse Lostbelt were around five meters tall. The types which were present in the Norse Lostbelt included the Jotunn (ヨトゥン種, Yotoun-shu^?) (frost giants (霜の巨人, Shimo no Kyojin^?)), the Bergriese (ベルグリシ種, Berugurishi-shu^?) (mountain giants (山の巨人, Yama no Kyojin^?)) and Muspel (ムスペル種, Musuperu-shu^?) (fire giants (火の巨人, Hi no Kyojin^?)).

Other

Aside from the Norse variety, there are giants in other mythologies and regions, such as the Gigantes^WP (and in various cases, the Titans^WP) of Greek mythology. Atalanta has mentioned having fought giants during her life. In Beowulf's time, giants in his home country were at most up to 10 meters tall.

After the Age of Gods ended, the majority of the Phantasmal Species went to the Reverse Side of the World. However giants weren't able to access to the Reverse Side of the World because the Reverse Side only allows spiritual bodies or souls there - giants are bound to their flesh so they can't get in. The giant race would dwindle around the world, though the remaining giant race would linger in Britain as the Mystery was relatively high. By the time of King Arthur era, the giants were extinct.

As well as the actual species of giants, there are various individuals and entities who have been called giants (or alternatively titans) because of their immense size. Some individuals and entities who have been referred to as giants (巨人, Kyojin^?, alt. 'Titan') (though for a number of them, it isn't certain if they are specifically members of the Giant species):

• Caligorante^WP, who was captured and paraded by Astolfo
• Goliath^WP, the giant Philistine defeated by David
• Grendel, the protean monster slain by Beowulf
• Velber 02, the White Titan (白い巨人, Shiroi Kyojin^?)

Role

Fate/Grand Order: Cosmos in the Lostbelt

Götterdämmerung: Eternal Ice-Flame Century

In the Norse Lostbelt's Ragnarok, Surtr absorbed Fenrir and went on a rampage, killing most of the gods and the leaders of the giants, before being sealed through Odin's sacrifice. Skadi was the sole surviving goddess, whom Odin fused with Scáthach using a karmic bond to hide her from Surtr's rampage and to whim he bequeathed power and authority. Scáthach-Skadi became the ruler of the Norse Lostbelt and its denizens, using the masks she had the remaining giants wear to control them and preventing them from attacking human settlements. However as the majority of her power was being used to maintain the seal on Surtr, she couldn't completely control them. As they needed sustenance and there was a limit on how many people the villages could sustain in the ruined world, she had humans sacrificed to the giants at the age of twenty-five or if they couldn't reproduce at fifteen - an arrangement to ensure their overall survival, but something which still brought her grief.

When Surtr broke free of his seal and absorbed the Fantasy Tree, usurping the position of King of the Lostbelt, the giants broke free of their masks. After Surtr's death, Skadi's defeat and the fall of Fantasy Tree Sombrero, they were wiped out along with the Norse Lostbelt.

Known Giants

• Ymir^WP: The original giant of Norse Mythology.
• Surtr: King of Fire Giants and Muspelheim, who set the nine realms ablaze with his flaming sword and burned away the Texture of the Scandinavian Age of Gods at Ragnarok.
• Thrym^WP: A prominent Jotunn who once stole Thor's hammer, Mjölnir.
• Skaði: Daughter of Þjazi^WP and a Jotunn associated with hunting and skiing, who is said to have married the Vanir god Njörðr (and later in some stories, Odin), and became a member of the Aesir. Last surviving goddess and Queen of the Norse Lostbelt as Scáthach-Skaði.
• Járnsaxa^WP: Mother of Thor's son, Magni.