As I watched the encounter between the two giants, I was once again struck by a profound sense of cognitive dissonance. Should I consider these creatures intelligent to the point that I could apply the same standards I would use for humans and similar beings, or should I consider them beasts and apply the standards of an animal? For a moment, I looked over to the spot where Silva and Sasha had curled up together, resting comfortably, and I had to ask myself, did I think less of these two simply because they were moving on four legs instead of two?

Did I see them as primitive because they had fur, instead of using the fur of other animals to provide cover? If so, what would happen if we ever came across something like a hermit crab, animals that didn’t grow their protective shells but utilised what they found, similar to humans? And, similarly, what would happen if I ever came across a civilisation akin to some of those in tropical climates, where clothing had never been as necessary to protect from the environment as it had been in colder climates, meaning the social norms regarding nudity had never developed as they had in the Western world. Would I automatically discard them and their culture simply because it didn’t fit with my preconceptions?

Shaking off those thoughts, I decided to stop overthinking things and simply follow my instincts. In this case, my instincts told me to intervene in the encounter between the male and female giant, depending on how it ultimately developed.

At first, the encounter had been violent, with both giants attacking one another, trying to beat the other senseless or even kill them. It was hard to tell when two massive beings were fighting each other. Amusingly, if that were all they were trying to do, I would be less bothered by it, because as horrific as such killings were, they were pretty standard. Fights for territory had been part of nature since the beginning of time, and human progress had only made those fights worse, until the Change had reset a lot of standards.

However, as the fight progressed and the male managed to get the upper hand thanks to his superior size and apparent strength, the encounter also changed in a way that made me profoundly uncomfortable, especially as the male didn’t even have a loincloth to mask that progression. Or anything else that was going on in that part of his body.

Soon, it became clear that the female had essentially lost and was just delaying the inevitable conclusion, a conclusion I decided I wasn’t willing to allow. Regardless of how bestial and animalistic the giants were on an intellectual level, I wasn’t about to allow a being looking so similar to Sigmir to be violently raped if I could prevent it. No matter how ‘natural’ something like that might be in the animal kingdom, no matter how often it happened all over the world, I could intervene here, and that was precisely what I did.

Using the scrying construct to get directions, I pushed myself through the Realm of Shadows, emerging in the comforting shadow cast by a tree near their confrontation. Immediately, an undescribably foul odour struck me. Giants, as a whole, were not all that hygienic, and the roaming giant was even worse than the average one. That, in combination with their brutal fight, had saturated the area with an odour that made me want to retch, though I managed to keep it to a few coughs.

Those coughs were enough to alert the male giant to my presence, making it bellow in anger and charge in my general direction. By the time I had appeared, the female giant was essentially down for the count, barely hanging on to her consciousness and now holding on to a tree to stay standing and not simply fall over. From her, there would be no assistance coming, meaning I had to deal with the giant on my own.

Bridging the creature down physically would be somewhat difficult, requiring a large amount of Astral Power, as the giants had an incredible endurance and vitality, in addition to a surprising resistance to all kinds of magic. Throwing magic at their bodies, especially Ice Magic, would be an exercise in futility. Sure, if I overpowered my attacks enough, I would likely be able to eventually break through the thick hide of the giant and inflict lethal wounds, but it would take time and a lot of power.

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So, instead of trying to strike against the giant’s strength, I aimed for its weakness, namely, its pitiful mind. With speed born from experience, I twisted a subtle strand of Mind Magic into the shadows all around us, weaving the two together and using the giant’s very senses against it. Instead of allowing it to see me where I was, I shifted its perception just a little, making it see me where I wasn’t, making it strike the air and pummel the ground.

It was almost comical to watch the giant try to beat me senseless, and if it hadn’t made things a lot harder, I might have laughed at its futile attempts. In the meantime, as the giant was performing an impromptu and involuntary comedy skit for me, I wove together a secondary strand of Mind Magic, this one containing more power but held in a weave just as subtle as the first one.

Once that weave was done, I let it seep into the giant’s mind, using its very instincts against the beast and making it flee in abject terror, its mind haunted by the worst visions of horror its simple mind could conjure. This was one of the things I had been working on, to use the very fears of my target against it, even if I wasn’t yet able to read my target’s mind to ascertain its fears. Instead, the magic I used literally turned the mind and imagination of my target against them, which worked just as well and was a whole lot easier.

In this case, it resulted in a giant frantically fleeing through the forest, and I briefly wondered if I should take the opportunity to strike and end this wretched creature’s life, but before I could make a firm decision, a loud, thudding sound broke me out of my considerations.

The sound had come from the female giant and signalled that the giantess had lost her fight to remain standing and was now splayed out on the ground. While I had the opportunity to see giants up close while remaining concealed, this was the first time I had the chance to get a good look at one without the need to remain hidden or ascertain that I wouldn’t disturb the creature. So, curious what I would find, I made my way over, absentmindedly watching the other giant and its continued flight through my constructs. That beast would likely stay away from this area for a long, long time.

Standing over the downed giantess, I let my eyes roam over her beaten form, cataloguing the numerous wounds and growing bruises. Given that some of those wounds, though made with blunt force, looked to be quite problematic, I reached down, touching one of her legs while making sure I remained far from the reach of her arms, just in case she retained enough awareness and strength to strike out.

After making contact, I sent my Blood Magic into her body, getting a much better idea of her state than before, causing me to shake my head in disbelief. While the beating from the other giant wasn’t enough to kill her, it was a close thing, her survival being up to chance if I didn’t step in and help. My disbelief stemmed from the fact that the male giant hadn’t fought to kill, at least I didn’t think it had; it had fought to force a submission from the female so he could breed her, which would only work if the female survived the situation, reasonably intact. Just another mark against the giants and their intellect, though I had to admit their bodies were quite impressive.

Softly humming to myself, I decided to step in and help this one recover. Given the widespread damage she had suffered, I flooded her system with Blood Magic, making sure that she wouldn’t wake up unexpectedly. Then, I started to deal with the numerous bruises and injuries as I encountered them, working my way down in severity. There were a lot of them, individually, almost all of them were harmless, but the sheer number was what might have killed her in the end.

Eventually, her body was in a decent state, and I mentally sat back, wondering if I should just leave, but after contemplating my decision for a moment, I didn’t walk away. Instead, I decided to try something entirely different. I wove together a small package of information, centred around a few simple ways a smaller and weaker fighter could deal with a stronger opponent. Additionally, I took a few of my memories of Sigmir and her fighting style, trying to show this giantess just what was possible if the fighter was capable.

Once the package was transmitted and the giantess started to stir, I stepped back into the shadows, leaving a raven sitting on top of a nearby tree, watching the female giant claw her way back into consciousness.