Quote:The Ritual upon Giantkind
Questions, Answers, and Purpose
The legacy of Giantkind is one to which we are acquainted with as a whole, even if without in-depth education upon details of the historical events which comprise it.
The scars, of course, stand as the most obvious reminders.
But more than mere historical recollections detailed ad nauseam on this paper, which can be dismissed -- if foolishly, for those who care not to repeat history -- as "the past" and thus wholly disconnected -- again, naively -- from what the future may hold; this pamphlet is intended to provide a brief overview of the planned ritual's effects and purpose, and to answer common questions of it.
Upon Mount Pavonis, where the veil between Meranthe and its Pantheon is thinner, the blessing of Amier is to redistributed across all under the Pantheon's care within Meranthe; granting a portion of its strength to each, irrespective of what blessings they may already hold, or not hold.
This naturally includes giantkind of today, which would find themselves as any non-giant, albeit with the boon of Amier's dispersed blessing, as anyone else.
This does not preclude a more concentrated form of the blessing continuing to exist thereafter, nor will it, as the oversight of Amier's blessing shall enter the hands of one of his 'children' of the Pantheon; Vinaska, successor to Vdali, shall see to the care of giantkind where Amier no longer can, due to his 'death' in splitting apart to form the Pantheon.
Giantkind will continue to be, as a blessing to strive for and put to good use, rather than merely a circumstance of birth.
Detailing the Ritual's Reason for Being
In depth, if far from exhaustive
The reason to which this rite is pursued is not for sole and mere benefit spread across humanity, though it is to be noted that such is the purposefully endeavored outcome rather than, for example, simply removing the blessing and doing nothing more.
It is, primarily, to end a centuries-long cycle of violence, conquest, and corruption.
Giantkind rests beneath the shadow of what, I am sure all can acknowledge, have been its 'worst'; Vdalion, Glufdor, Jokul, and the countless leagues of those who seek to imitate them - such that there is typically a resurgence every generation or two of a Giant ethnostate formed of those who would seek to repeat that history in the misguided belief that conquest for conquest's sake is a virtue, or to enact vengeance for defeated instances of prior such movements; all and each inevitably resulting in wanton bloodshed and loss for both giantkind and the victims of these states, all the amusement and benefit of the truer enemies of all mankind - such as, in recent history, the now-fallen Enos' furthering of Ilumitar's efforts to destabilize Meranthe in destroying the institutions which saved the peninsula from the Atrellyan invasion.
This is to say nothing of the individuals, rather than mass gatherings, which arise with even greater frequency to repeat that legacy.
Just as this is a matter of record for centuries' past, so too are the attempts to prevent it from repeating.
Within each instance of the past century, to this writer's own witness, each gathering of giantkind had expressly been met with greater outreach from nations across Meranthe - and most predominantly those to have faced the consequences of prior such giant-states; particularly the Realm of Delphina, despite the attempted genocide of their own people by giantkind, and being the primary target of resurgent cases.
This can most strongly, and most recently, be seen with the now-fallen Enos, whereupon those of the Realm of Delphina, and the Republic of Paritas, saw to assisting in its halls' construction, the recovery of their relics, the furthering of its people's goals, and the very protection of its grounds from those who sought vengeance of them.
... Only for, despite every possible measure of goodwill and aid given, Enos to turn against those who had placed faith in them, to pursue the legacy of those as Jokul in 'righteous conquest' against the nations which saved Meranthe from the Atrellyan invasion, and which led the Crusade to have finally purged open Fel activity from the face of the peninsula - if only for a brief time, due to the efforts of Ilumitar, and those who aided his goals, as Enos.
This is, ultimately, no more than the most recent example in a long record of such.
All has been tried, from tolerance, to clemency, to concerted and persistent assistance and pursuit of allyship to bury the so-often-recurring wrongs of the past.
The worst has come to blot out the legacy and futures of giantkind, for centuries, in overwhelming concert. A shadow looming over them, and while certainly far from all fall victim to it, it is a legacy perpetually calling for some to repeat - and repeat it does, as it has for centuries, as it will for centuries more if nothing is done.
With all else failed, as per Enos and its predecessors, the next most merciful step to resolution is free them from that shadow.
So it is achieved in one fell swoop, when the dispensement of that concentrated blessing falls within the direct ministration and oversight of a living member of the Pantheon, and is overnight transformed into a thing of aspiration and achievement, of wisdom and well-use, to those who earn and wield it.
Rather than a simple gift of bloodlines sat beneath a dark legacy.
The very changed course to which proponents of our present status quo argue a wish to see - once all else had failed.
A blessing to the giants of the future as much, or more, as it is to all upon Meranthe who will benefit from that blessing's sharing - and an end to centuries of bloodshed.
Questions and Answers
In briefer format
Q: Will this kill the giants?
A: No.
Q: What will happen to the giants of today?
A: They will be non-giants, as any other, albeit gifted with their share of the blessing of Amier distributed across all of the Pantheon.
Q: Will there still be giants?
A: Yes. The concentrated blessing can be bestowed again, to more than just those who were formerly giants, under the oversight of the Titan of the Pantheon, Vinaska.
Q: Why Vinaska?
A: As Vdali's successor, and a Goddess born of humanity who may personally oversee and guide the people of Meranthe, she is the most fit member of the Pantheon to hold dominion over this blessing, following Amier's death in making in said Pantheon.
Q: Why not leave things as they are?
A: More than five hundred years of a cycle of bloodshed and suffering for all, including giantkind, would repeat otherwise. This is resorted to only after centuries of trying other means, to no avail. This will liberate them and all Meranthe from that cycle, and grant a new future for giantkind freed from the shadows of the past - while providing a boon to all under the Pantheon's care, regardless of whether they carry a specific God's blessing or are absent of one.
Q: Will Sirenians benefit?
A: We wish, but their blessings are derived from beyond the Pantheon.