The Kingdom of Hith, outskirts
The outskirts of Hith are defined on one side by mountains, and on the other side by the coast lands. Toukouko is not a near neighbor, and the mountains are empty save for the giants. The inability to cross the mountains safely are what split Hith from its neighbors and give a boundary to the international system in Iuvenis.

Giants war parties were growing more and more frequent and Verdant, Squire of Rognir, was called out again and again to the edge of Hith. He would prepare ambushes that struck down his enemies. He build mighty walls and channeled rivers to block the giants ways. He released strong beasts into the mountains near their cave-holes that devoured the giants and small beasts that ate their food.

He made war and battle, his Leviathan shield and Wave blade serving him well. He slowly gathered a new picture of these war proceedings, interrogating many giants personally. His guard was fierce in his service, and it grew in skill daily. Soon enough, he was sending them off to collect a real guard for the tree. He had no need of them here, and the battle ahead would be more terrible than this.

He recruited from the experts amidst the king's court to be his direct helpers and for his aide he drafted a old spy that had retired to tavern-keeping. And day by day, the giants grew fiercer and bolder, though Verdant's efforts turned them back at every turn. And he could not help but wonder... Why?

One night, he and his force made camp in the wilderness and Verdant took his turn at sleep in the early evening, as was his way. When he awoke, he found himself alone in the woods, terribly unarmed. He looked about in desperation for his enemies, and heard the thud, thud of heavy footsteps guided by a single smaller set.

So. Here they came. Giants, lead by whatever traitor had drugged him and dragged him out into the middle of the woods. The voices began to carry, the simpering sound of Verdant's aide's voice reached him, and he silently cursed his own neglectfulness. His aide had been a spy for the king, many years prior, and Verdant had had to draft him to get his information. It was clear now that the reason why the spy had retired to being a tavern keeper was plainly that he was the blackwing from his quarter of the kingdom.

"Remember the deal," the spy said, "I give you the squire and his weaponry, you give me the spells we talked about."
"We remember, stupid little one," a giant's voice mumbled, "Did you use the drugs you use on giants?"
"Yes, in full dose, just like you said. But even a squire of Rognir is just a man, don't blame me if he's dead."
"Oh, I doubt that'll be a problem," Verdant said, lunging outward and twisting off the spy's head in one smooth motion.
The giant leader was an intimidating individual. If you saw him, the first thing you noticed would likely be the strange, red paint that covered his right hand. It wasn't blood, it smelled like ashes, and when he move his hand, the paint shifted like it was water in a bowl instead of paint on a hand. Next you would notice the hand shaped burn-scar along his face, that would fit his own hand perfectly. Then the ram's horns that circled just above his ears. He looked sharp and threatening, not at all like some kind of commoner giant, and at his right side was a sword readily available to his left hand.

The lesser giants were marked by their clean cuts, their fitted armor and their cunning eyes as expert warriors. And Verdant was terribly unarmed. He was not at all afraid of course, not of some expert giant warriors. He was the more skilled, the more adept, his eyes were the more cunning and his god-like skin was harder and better fitting than any of their armors. The strange giant and his red hand, they caused him some trepidation but besides that... No.

The battle was a swift one, with Verdant's brutal fists busting open one giant's skull and taking his weapons. He broke that blade and shield the way he did all mortal-craft weapons, by crashing them against the head of his foes. Shards and of the shield went everywhere in sharp points and he grasped one after another, piercing through skulls with the remains. Soon, the enemy giants thinned and it was just the Red Hand and two or three others.

Grasping one sharp, lethal pointed shard of a sword, Verdant hurled it at the giant and it stuck in his right eye. Verdant was shocked it did not pierce, but the angry giant turned and shouted for a retreat, leaving him alone in the woods.

The Kingdom of Hith, Inner Range, three weeks later.
Verdant had been forced into a retreat to the core of the kingdom, as a flanking force had poured out of the sea and was making its way to the capital. He began to make his latest sword and shield, with finest steel. It took many days, but he crafted a fine blade and a superb shield beneath the eyes of his lover.

The blade was sharper than any blade forged with mortal-craft, it was firmer than any made before it, save the craft of Eridi, the sword of Kyfla-Madur, and the work of Rognir. The shield was stronger and braver than any predecessor, and Verdant was confident in it. And the princess smiled on them, and marked the shield with sigils of firmness and protection and etched the blade with words of might and destruction.

And it was truly said, that from the day that the sons and daughters of Rognir made their first forays into the craft to that day, there was never an equal. And both lovers were satisfied in the work. Wonder, Awe, Glory. They were almost gods, they felt as if they could taste it beneath their tongues, like they could hear the whispers of its kindling, like they could smell its scent, like they could see its shadow cast on the ground before it.

"Where did you learn such skill?" Verdant whispered to his lover, as they gazed upon their works.
"I learned it from my father Shen Shi Zhu, when he taught me every secret word, and you?"
"I learned it from my father Orgo, when he shaped me like a blade."
There was soft laughter that did not betray a loyalty to their kingdom or an anxiousness about the coming battle. And then they went to bed.

Two days later the enemy forces arrived from the sea. The skins of these giants were tainted a faint blue, their force was strong, and Verdant led the forces, directing them to the left and to the right. The battle was long and harsh, but in the later half of the first day, Verdant led the charge and decapitated the leadership of the enemy army. Then it was simply a matter of clean up.

But there were still more forces, still an army in the mountains and coming down. And prayers go to every god, and people lie and hide in terror and Verdant and his lover meet.
"This is it," she says to Verdant, her smile cunning and bright, "We can best these giants alone, just the two of us. We'll be the giant-slayers, we'll be gods."
And Verdant smiled by way of reply, "Of course, dear lady, of course. Tomorrow, we will march out and kill their leaders."
But their words were heard by the last lieutenant, and warning was carried to the giants, though even Rognir does not know why, or what purchase the lieutenant sought to gain. Whatever the case, he was killed by the giants, and ambush was laid up for Verdant and his lover.

Captured
Verdant and the princess marched to the mountains under cover of a shadow-spell weaved by the princess. They moved silent amidst the plains and woods, till at last they came upon the camp of the giants. And then, without warning the Red Hand and thirty of his best men set upon them, and battle was joined. But the Red Hand, with his one terrible eye and the waves for his weapon and with the Leviathan for a shield, met and bested Verdant, for Verdant was distracted defending the princess (who, for all her skill with the magical arts, was no great warrior).

They were both knocked unconscious and the rest of this story, I think, is better left for another time.