Gorath was born in a goliath tribe that lived in the shadow of the Crystalmist Mountains, where the frost giants held dominion over everything they could see from their glacial fortresses. His people existed in a state of grudging servitude — not quite slaves, but subject to the giants' demands for tribute, labor, and warriors whenever the Jarl required them. Gorath's mother was killed when a frost giant overseer struck her for moving too slowly during a forced march to the Jarl's hall. The boy was eight years old. He spent the next twelve years nursing a cold fury, training in secret with stolen weapons, and studying the giants' weaknesses from within their own strongholds. When a hill giant raiding party descended on a human farming community near the mountains, Gorath broke ranks from the goliath auxiliaries, turned his axe against the giants, and single-handedly held a bridge long enough for the villagers to evacuate. Branded a traitor by his own tribe's elders — who feared giant reprisal — Gorath was exiled. Now he wanders the lowlands, seeking allies strong enough to join his war against the giant lords. The rumors of a coordinated giant uprising, with hill, frost, and fire giants working in concert for the first time in centuries, have given his crusade a terrifying new urgency.