Tribal Data

• Life span: 200+
• Height: 10'+, women slightly shorter.
• Body Type: Lean and powerful.
• Eyes: can be any colour.
• Hair: Males short, well kempt; females shoulder length hair.
• Powers: The Ring of the True Heart.
• Heart: On the right.
 

Lifestyle:

• Food: They are omnivores and eat anything.

• Drink: Fruit juices, beer, and spirits.
 

Traditional Dress:

Casual and functional for both sexes. The men prefer sleeveless tunic tops, often made from leather.

The women wear sleeved blouses and may wear trousers or long skirts.

Everyone wears furs in winter.
 

Jewellery

They wear very little jewellery, except for rings to indicate matrimony, or rank.
 

Weapons

Weapons:
Broadsword and daggers in battle.

Once returned to their Homeland, they regain use of Ancestral weapons and protective shields.
 

Language

They speak their own language, and are fluent in the language of the Ancestors. Unfortunately but few understand the deeper meanings, but their Master of Tongues, Gangling Shortfalls is master of all languages spoken by the Tribes.

Telepathy is an important part of everyday life, an ability they share with the Eleventh, and enlightened other individuals. .
 

Creations

The Twelfth worked with the Ancestors to create several of the other tribes, in order: The Ninth, The Eighth, The Seventh (Also with the Eleventh).
 

Hibernation Sickness

When the Ogres invaded their homeland, many Giants were killed, and others lost to Hibernation sickness.

Jack questioned this, as the bodies remained warm to touch, but with no pulse.

Matron attended, finding false death was a survival instinct. They were not dead but comatose, and many were buried alive.

Go to Characters: Rambling Longshanks 
 

Creation
The Twelfth were the first Tribe of humanity created by the Ancestors. The Twelfth Ancestor, and second in command, Vela, imbued them with her powers of husbandry and caring.

Apart from her work, Vela was also interested in technology, and especially flying ancient spacecraft. Thus she also passed on her love of sciences, and the intelligence to understand.

Others assisted Team Leader Vela of course, with Oma in overall control. It was Oma who added a gift for languages to the Twelfth's DNA mix.

Introduction
The Twelfth are tall and hardy, well suited to living on Gaia, and capable of great deeds. However, their size was also a problem, because their fingers were too large for intricate work. This explains why the next Tribe, the Eleventh, were made smaller and slight of build.
 

Rambling Longshanks

King of the Twelfth

The Ancestors wanted to give their creations a good start in life, so shielded a valley adjoining Mount Kailash, where the Earth Power was very strong. The outer shield resembled mountain foothills, which could be climbed. Beneath they formed a large, underworld expanse hidden from view, and devoid of predators. Thus the Giants had the perfect start in life, and the area became the homeland.

Homeland
The Twelfth built their first home, later their capital city, from stone, which originally centred around the transporter cavern. As numbers grew, the city extended south, and nearer to the river that ran through the central valley. People prospered, and numbers grew, leading first to agriculture, and later, areas for assorted trades, mining and foundry, and artisans of craft wares.

One day the river flooded, and many lost their homes or industry. The overall damage was slight, but the disruption was great. This precipitated a move across the river to higher ground. Thus the lands below the transporter became wasteland, and the city regenerated on the opposite bank. The first slabs of a temple were laid, in order to give thanks and venerate Gaia for their survival.

Over generations, the city of two halves came back together in most ways, but in the meantime, the industrious city of the people, was developed one mile away from the transporter. Outside of the real power of their Tribe, a palace grew, and with it, quarters for servants, and support facilities like cooking, and barracks for troops. All were built on higher ground, except for others who offered additional, ancillary services, and quartered down near the river.

One day, an Ancestor appeared to check on their progress as a Tribe, and after completing his duty, created a 'King's Keepsafe' within the Temple. This was modeled from rock plasma, and with motif access that could only be opened by the Ring of the King, personally; there was also a genetic code reader built into the lock.

One may ask, 'So how did Junior manage to retrieve the Ring of the True Heart?'

Well, it was not hidden within the vault; the first and only place most seekers would look, and find they were locked-out of. It was not hidden within the temple either, but outside where a seldom visited , but original shrine to Gaia had been erected. The remains of the edifice were smooth, except of one brick that protruded slightly. The loose, but time-matted stone, bore a barely visible mark. Junior worked on the stone brick, and once removed, discovered the ring behind. With this act, the power of the twelfth was returned to them.
 

Society and Family
The Twelfth are a patriarchal society, and whilst theoretically possible, they have never had a female ruler. Women are seen as equal, but different; their role in life is to nurture young and make the home a place to enjoy. This is not because males dominate society and social interplay, but because Giants do not reproduce easily, and it is common for them to only have one child, after years of trying.

After the Ogre invasion of their lands, Jack is the first to wonder if the dead Giants are comatose, and not dead. This odd occurrence happens rarely, but is similar to the Last whom may freeze in situations where the fight or flight response is undecided. The Giants when faced with this phenomena, go into instant hibernation. These two facts explain their slowly declining numbers.

Giants marry, and believe in monogamy. One of their gravest crimes is infidelity, which they view as tantamount to treason. This crime is punishable by death, but usually banishment suffices.

Other Information
The Twelfth are gentle giants, philosophical and deferent by nature.They are attuned to nature and love animals and plants. They also craft their environment to their liking and enjoy grand buildings.
 

History of the Giants
After the trickery leading to the heinous death of Furlong, his wife, unborn child, and court, Footsure returned to their homeland, and discovered a serving girl, Temerity Shortfalls barely alive. All others were dead. He nursed her, and cursed the Ogres, making plans to retrench, and start anew.

Fortunately, not all Giants lived within their homelands, and the pair found succour with distant relatives, who ensured the race's, and Royal line's survival.

From that time on, the Giants lived in scattered communities, ever watchful for the Ogres. Footsure restored the royal household in new territory, married Temerity, and they began the new line, from which both Rambling and Fleetfoot are directly descended.
 

Naming Convention
The author relates:

"The name Rambling Longshanks just came to me, unbidden as I was introducing them to the plot. I soon added the twist his name referred to his storytelling prowess, and not his physical endurance. However, this started a notion of naming Giants by physical, and later climactic characteristics: Gangling Shortfalls, Temerity Shortfalls, and Constance Merryweather; these names always make me smile."

Apart from the Giants' names conjuring humour and an elusive, esthetic quality, the characters all have one thing in common, they have two names, each of two syllables.
 

Location

The Twelfth live under a false mountain, their shield looks like rock, and the outside can be climbed.

Their's is no ordinary mountain, but Mount Kailash, a deeply revered place in Buddhist and Bon tradition.
 

Earth Power

The Twelfth live at the world centre of Male power, which is channeled and used in higher sciences, and to aid prescience and divination.
 

Notable Twelfth

• King Rambling Longshanks
• Queen Fleetfoot Fourgay.
• Prince Rambling Longshanks Junior.
• Junior marries Constance Merryweather in Book Two.
• Gangling Shortfalls, learned sage and a master translator.

Forebearers
• Furlong Fourgay – Ancient King of the Giants.
• Footsure Fourgay, son of Furlong.
• Temerity Shortfalls, Footsure's wife.
 

Technology

The Ancestors taught them many things about their own technology, which they are relearning. There are exceptions, such as the shields and transportation rings; and advanced sciences several steps further advanced that those proposed by Albert Einstein.

To this end they still understand how to power intergalactic spacecraft - they simply never saw the need to try it themselves.
 

The Ægus

This was created by the Ancestors, and given to the Eleventh in prehistory. They in turn gave it to the Twelfth.

Sometimes called The Golden Fleece, the cloak protects the wearer from harm, and was used by Ræm to defeat the Great Ogre.
 

Does God
guide your life?

The Trilogy, and especially Book Three, questions the existence of God. The question posed is, "What if, a race of Aliens from outer space created us instead?

The Shaman poses a slightly different question, by her actions as revealed overall. People tend to regard God as directing their lives, but in the trilogy, that work is done by the Shaman.

So, can peoples lives be governed by an elemental being? It appears so, and this is mirrored, if in fun, by the Three Sisters of Destiny, Ladies: Luck, Fate, and Serendipity.