According to the giants themselves, Annam was one of the very first gods to take an

interest in Toril.
Shortly after he was attracted to Toril, Annam married a lesser demigoddess who
manifested herself as a vast mountain located on the edge of the region now known as The
Cold Lands. Known variously as Sonnhild (in ancient Thorass), Deronain (in Auld Dwarvish),
and Othea (in the common tongue of the giants), the demigoddess soon bore Annam several
sons.
When the last of his terrestrial sons came of age, Annam favored them all by
establishing a great kingdom in their honor. This kingdom, ultimately known as Ostoria (father​s
seat in the language of the giants), stretched across Faerûn from the Cold Lands to the Vilhon
Reach.
As Ostoria grew, Annam subdivided the kingdom into several regions, one for each of
his favorite sons: Vilmos claimed dominion over the seas and lakes, Nicias was ceded the skies,
Ruk claimed the kingdom​s rolling hills, Ottar was granted the cold wastes to the north, Masud
received the fiery peaks to the south, and Obadai claimed the cold caverns of the Underdark.
Lanaxis, the eldest son of Annam and Othea, claimed the cold, vast plains as his own and was
accepted as a natural leader by the others due to his great size and strength. Shortly after the
kingdom was subdivided, Lanaxis constructed Voninheim (also known as the Bleak Palace), a
sturdy citadel that served as the Ostorian capital for the next thousand years.
Over the course of the next several centuries, Annam​s sons founded the dynasties that
became the hill giants (Ruk), stone giants (Obadai), frost giants (Ottar), fire giants (Masud),
cloud giants (Nicias), storm giants (Vilmos), wood giants (Dunmore) and titans (Lanaxis). The
twisted brood of Annam​s twoheaded son, Arno/Julian, were ultimately known as ettin (runt in
the ancient form of the giant tongue).
War With the Dragons
At almost the same time Ostoria was founded or so say the giants the first dragons
started hatching all across Faerûn. Of course, no one knows the exact origins of dragonkind, but
the venerable legends of the giants speak of dragon eggs raining down upon Toril like meteors.
To this day, some of the less enlightened giant tribes believe the stars in the sky are dragon
queens preparing to scatter their eggs across the heavens.
Annam Betrayed
Shortly before the giants​ war with dragonkind came to its bitter conclusion, Othea,
Annam​s wife, developed an interest in a minor sea god known as Ulutiu. (This was hardly her
first adulterous foray; long before this, she had betrayed Annam with Vaprak resulting in the
creation of the ogre race.) During the last few years of the war, while Annam was preoccupied,
the pair carried on a passionate affair they hoped to conceal from the jealous All-Father.
Ultimately, the union of Othea and Ulutiu produced four sons, who later founded the four
giant-kin dynasties: firbolg, verbeeg, voadkyn, and fomorian.
Despite Othea​s best efforts, Annam eventually discovered her dalliance and sought
revenge upon Ulutiu.
The Fall of Voninheim
After Annam slew Ulutiu and cast his body down into the Cold Sea, the sea god​s
enchanted amulet started to freeze the waters around him, eventually forming the Great Glacier
and the Endless Ice Sea. From this point on, the legends of the giants dovetail well with those of
the Innugaakalikurit, the tribe of arctic dwarves who now inhabit the glacier and its surroundings.
Although Annam​s sons quickly uncovered the secret of the creeping ice and learned
how they might halt its progress, Othea forbade her children to set foot upon the glacier. To her,
the ice was Ulutiu​s just revenge upon a coldblooded murderer. Though the ice doomed Ostoria,
Othea loved Ulutiu​s children better than Annam​s. All the ice really threatened was Annam​s
dream of a Toril ruled entirely by giantkind.
But Lanaxis, de facto leader of the giants, was so devoted to his father and Ostoria that
he refused to accept his mother​s will. As the glacier drew uncomfortably close to Voninheim, he
summoned all of Annam​s sons to his citadel and urged them to help mount an expedition after
Ulutiu​s amulet in defiance of Othea. When Dunmore, progenitor of the wood giants and Othea​s
final son (born of Ulutiu, not Annam, though Annam believed he fathered the wood giant),
refused to disobey the demigoddess and threw the meeting into chaos, Lanaxis was forced to
modify his plan. This time, he resolved to poison Othea, removing the only obstacle to Ostoria​s
salvation. Unfortunately, his plans went awry. Lanaxis poisoned not only Othea, but all his
brothers (save Dunmore and Arno/Julian) as well. Just after she drank his poison, Othea cursed
Lanaxis and the ettin, saying that should Lanaxis leave her shadow, he would lose his
immortality. Seeing this measure as the probable end of Ostoria, Lanaxis​ progeny, the titans,
fled Toril altogether for the plane of Arborea. Exactly what happened to Lanaxis himself remains
something of a mystery.
The War of the Hart
Several weeks after the Great Glacier swallowed Voninheim, Annam​s last son finally
freed himself from Othea​s lifeless womb caves. Somehow, the instant he emerged, he
immediately understood his destiny and set about reviving Ostoria. Known as Hartkiller (his first
action was killing and eating a deer), the young king parlayed with the giant tribes descended
from each of his brothers in turn, asking for their assistance. To his amazement, he was rejected
by them all. Born a runt (only 12 feet tall), Hartkiller had a difficult time convincing his brothers
that he was Annam​s chosen ruler.
Unwilling to turn his back on his destiny, Hartkiller turned to each of the scattered
segments of humans that lived on the fringe of the Endless Ice Sea. If the giants were unwilling
to help rebuild his father​s kingdom, then perhaps mankind would oblige. In exchange for their
fealty, Hartkiller promised to help the humans drive the giants out of the valley known as
Hartsvale to establish a glorious kingdom free from the threat of the giants and their pillage.
The Legend of the Twilight Spirit
Hartkiller was killed at the conclusion of the War of the Hart. In fact, the war ended in an
epic personal combat between Hartkiller and the paramount of the storm giants. This battle was
said to have raged for 100 days, and it ended in death for both combatants. The first true king of
Hartsvale was Brun, Hartkiller​s half-human son.
Just after the War of the Hart ended, all the giants in the vicinity of Hartsvale were visited
by a mysterious being of purple mist. The presence told each of the giants that by refusing to
accept Hartkiller as their king, they rejected the will of Annam. The new kingdom of humans
would serve as their punishment and a constant reminder of their insolence. According to the
presence, however, the punishment would not last forever. Eventually, a young king born of
Hartsvale​s royal line would claim Hartkiller​s legacy and re-establish Ostoria, paving the way for
Annam​s return.