Goliath Uprisings

The Goliath Uprisings were a series of bloody conflicts staged throughout the eastern coast of the Lords Alliance. A small Goliath-led army raided, ransacked, and pillaged slave cities such as Kartenheim after freeing their slaves. The Uprisings saw the creation of the first organized Goliath Council and would eventually be one of many factors that lead to the Seven Year War.

Early History

In the first days of the Human and Elvish Kingdoms, Viking pioneers and explorers crossed the vast oceanic body of the Fordvern Advance and discovered the outer lands of early day Jotunrath. Before the days of Noble Goliath houses and cities, Jotunrath was called the Frostback Basin, a winding tundra of colossal mountains and valleys. The largest mountain range, the Frostback Mountains protected miles of untouched land home to undiscovered ecosystems of wildlife, raw minerals, and the Goliaths. The first human settlers cautiously attempted to make first contact with the large, blue-skinned natives that inhabited this new land. Strange, small pale men cutting down their trees and erecting flagpoles didn't do well with the first Goliaths who immediately took up arms and attacked any pioneers that got too close. This was met with greater resistance from the Vikings who treated the Goliaths as wild savages. The first conflicts paved the snow thick with blood. The Vikings eventually overpowered the weaker tribes of Goliaths and began to settle the land they had supposedly discovered. Conflicts like these preceded years of abuse, enslavement, and genocide.

Slavery and Genocide

The enslavement of Goliaths began with the need for manual labor for the expansion of the kingdoms overseas. The Alliance was expanding faster than it could construct, build, and maintain these transforming cities. The Goliaths were added to the rotation of indentured servitude and slavery in Viking territories similar to the early Drow and Orcs. A Goliath slave was capable of carrying twice the load a normal Orc could and for a significantly longer amount of time. The high-altitude physical activity that the Goliaths performed back home, made them physically superior slaves. Back at the Frostback Mountains, the remaining Goliath Clans put aside their differences to combat the foreign invaders that had all but squeezed the life out of their homeland. But the Vikings had the numbers to squash any resistance and raze villages at a moments notice. The surviving Goliaths retreated to the Frostback Mountains, and prayed for a miracle. They would eventually get Ygrid Ironborn.

The Uprisings

From the Ashes

The story goes that Ygrid Ironborn was a Goliath exile turned Alliance officer. Early records show a stunning military history with the Krakenrock Mountain Division. What they don't show is why Ygrid had been dishonorable discharged, and ultimately sent to die in the Kartenheim Arena of Ancestors. At first, Ygrid refused to fight until the arena-guards began executing slaves until she did. If spectators wanted blood, they sure got it. Ygrid was a force to be reckoned with in the ring and was showered with weapons, armor, and other gifts from nobles and avid fans. Behind the scenes however, Ygrid was slowly building a resistance. The strongest survived, and that's who Ygrid panned to. Decade old rivalries between long-disbanded tribes were thrown aside for a chance at freedom. It was Ygrid and three former Goliath-Chiefs that would go on to lead the uprising. They were Aela Stormcaller, Gremala Drathos, and Boudeca Warborn.

We, Forsaken and Alone

The undisputed champion of the Kartenheim Arena was Boudeca Warborn, who had done very well for herself as a ruthless, blood-thirsty warrior in the ring. But the crowd could only be impressed so much with the same bloody roars, decapitations, and disembowelments that Boudeca was known for. The arena's owners decided that single greatest event of the decade, would be Boudeca facing off against Ygrid. The feud between Clan Ironborn and Warborn went back to the days of the first Goliaths. Ygrid and Boudeca ancestors were killing each other for years. This fight wouldn't be any different... or so the audience thought. In the weeks leading up to the fight, Ygrid and Boudeca went to their separate training camps and recruited anyone who would listen. The stable-hands, cooks, washers, tailors, anybody who was working in chains or in-debt to the bank was called on in secret. Messages were passed between all the servants and slaves of various camps, and even between some of the guards. If you had ever lived with a boot on your neck or chains on your wrists, you had a place with the Forsaken.

On a hot summer day, when the rings reeked of sweat, shit, rotten flesh, and ale, Boudeca and Ygrid strode out to an arena of over 11,000 spectators. When the bell sounded, the two wasted no time in selling the little show and went right to pummeling one another. They kneed slammed one another into the dirty for twenty minutes before finally picking up their weapons and clashing steel under the bright summer sun. The crowd was loving every minute of it and showered the ring in gold coins and blunt objects for the two Goliaths to beat one another with. But the strangest thing was, there was no blood. Except for the occasional bruise or bloodied nose, Ygrid and Boudeca made sure that when it mattered, they would save their strength for what was to come next. On a seemingly debilitating right elbow, Boudeca was thrown to the ground and left vulnerable with her shield hanging from one hand. The crowed roared as Ygrid ran to finish Boudeca off...when at the last second, Boudeca raised her shield, and launched Ygrid into the master's rafters above. That's when from the underbelly of the arena, the indentured warriors, hundreds of Goliath champions, all overpowered the guards and stormed the arena. As the heads of the masters rained down from Ygrid's position, she watched as the entire arena turned into one bloody, screaming pit.

We, Forsaken and Together

The newly freed Goliaths had taken the arena and quickly made their escape. For every three guards in Kartenheim, there was one Goliath that could break them with a single swing of their axe. While the Vikings were busy drinking and fattening themselves up over hearty meals and stories of their ancestors, the Goliaths were training, fighting, and adapting in the pits. Hundreds joined the uprising at Kartenheim and quickly carved through the city guard, joining the Goliath's march to freedom outside the walls.

The Hunt for the Goliath Chieftains

When word spread that Goliaths slaves had "ransacked and pillaged" the city of Kartenheim, Alliance citizens descended into a panic. Some towns reported massive spikes in violence against Goliaths, Drow, and even Dragonborn for some strange reason. Mass hysteria took over the eastern territories where some town exiled any non-human, Elf, or Dwarf from their homes. The Alliance was ready to send in their full force to trap the Goliath rebels, but the city of Kartenheim's leaders wanted a chance to redeem themselves for this embarrassing display. So, stupidly, the Alliance gave the Vikings chance to fix this problem on their own. And the Vikings royally messed it up. For the better part of 4-5 months, Ygrid and her Goliath sisters made a mockery of Viking high-command and the Alliance as they struck city after city, amassing an army well over 4,000 strong made up of Goliaths, Drow, Orcs, Duergar, anyone who had been treated differently or stepped on. By the end of the Uprisings, the Alliance had finally had enough and had sent Edgar Castille and the Human Army of Meadowcraft to deal with them. But by the time Edgar's forces reached the coast, Ygrid and the Goliaths had already taken ships back to Jotunrath. Leaving a shore of burning farms and cities.

Aftermath

Once the Goliaths and their allies made it to Jotunrath, they quickly began establishing small settlements and cities. The natives who had avoided capture were allowed to keep their land if they did not want to join this new coalition. The Goliath Leaders would go on to form a larger Goliath Council and begin construction of the greater city of Jotunrath. But, as you can already guess, this peace only lasted so long before this expansion began making its way onto Alliance-owned settlements. The Uprisings were only the first of many offenses that would lead to the deadliest, bloodiest conflict the realm had ever seen.