The Ancient Race
Ruins and remains on the Islands and in the lowlands provide solid evidence that an ancient race of malformed giants once inhabited the world. Legends and stories for children spin tales of the vast and incomprehensible civilization of the Ancient Race, the ancient masters of the arcane and magical who left their dangerous detritus to resist human understanding. These myths form a vague and mystical common knowledge known as the Heirolastic Lore, the more obscure parts of which are the domain of Arcanists and the one universal "faith" among humanity's diverse Islands.
Their moldered skeletal remains, often found encased in once-elaborate full plate armor now rusted to a paper-thin shell, indicate that they would have stood 15 feet tall with horned protrusions on their arms, small wing bones articulated from their dorsal ribs, reverse jointed legs, and over-large eye sockets. These days the bones of these giants have all been removed from the settled and explored areas, although on some Islands they are on display in monuments or museums.