The Giant (G/T)

Part 6

When we got back to Chester's house, he started to prepare dinner early, since he told me it would take a while to cook. As I sat on the counter watching his every move, I noticed how skilled he was with a knife as he chopped and peeled some giant carrots. I had to admit he was a talented cook. The food he had prepared for me always tasted amazing. I supposed such a characteristic was in line with his gluttonous inclination. I wondered to myself, with a twinge of anxiety, if he would want to eat me tonight. Although I wasn't as afraid of him as I had been before, the prospect of being inside his gigantic maw again still made me nervous. I was uncomfortably reminded that he was still a predator, and I was still his prey.

I pushed those feelings to the side and tried to keep myself composed. The giant mixed all his food ingredients together in a big pot and left it to simmer on the stovetop. He grasped me in his hand and went to his study to write. I watched him type for a while and wandered the desk again until I got bored.

"Chester?" I asked. "Can you open up one of those books for me so I can read?"

"I'd be my pleasure, darling." Chester paused his typing for a moment to get me set up with a book of my choosing. Naturally, wanting to know more about the world I found myself in, I chose a history textbook. Chester opened the book flat on the desk to the first chapter and occasionally helped me turn a page, although I was technically able to move the cumbersome pages on my own. Reading took me longer than usual since the book was so large, I had to physically traverse the page to read the whole thing.

I read about how the giants had once lived in the human world, in the days when both humans and giants were less numerous. The giants made their homes on the fringes of society, since they were not welcome with the humans, primarily in secluded mountainous regions that were too difficult or inhospitable for humans for access. Due to limited food resources, however, they had to regularly make their way to coastal areas to hunt for sea monsters, which were large enough to adequately feed them. Apparently other giant species of mammals lived in the mountains that they could dine on as well, but these creatures were eventually hunted to extinction. As food sources dwindled the giants fed more and more on human societies, despite the danger that humans posed.

According to the history text, humans in these times possessed potent magic that could even rival the power of a hungry giant. Human civilizations were protected by magical barriers and other spells, but giants would still eat stray travelers who passed through unprotected areas. Eventually, humans declared war on the giants and used their most powerful spells to slay many of them. The giants retaliated brutally and wrought devastation on human settlements. The cycle of slaughter continued for a long time until both parties begrudgingly accepted a truce. The human wizards would use their strongest spells to create a realm for the giants to live in, away from humans, which became the Land of Giants. However, this compromise came with huge costs for both parties involved. The giants would be banished from their homes, and forced to live where they could no longer partake in their favorite food, humans. The humans, for their part, would lose all their magic and their best wizards. The magic required to create the Land of Giants and transport all the giants there drained all the magical reserves of the human realm to virtually nothing. Furthermore, the only spell strong enough to transport all the giants required the wizards to go with them, essentially forcing the wizards to sacrifice themselves for the sake of humanity. Nevertheless, the solution was vital to prevent the eventual destruction of both sides.

Interestingly, the history book delved into the religious beliefs of the giants as well. The giants had been created by God to act as stewards of the earth, and to keep the human population under control. They had betrayed their purpose when decimating the human cities and hunting the other giant animals, both the mountain and sea monsters, to extinction. Thus, their banishment, and their constant cravings for human meat which would be denied to them, were just punishments for their gluttony ordained by God. This belief was an important reason why the giants had accepted their fate in the first place, rather than continuing to fight the humans.