MEAREDES HAS THE VIGOR and musculature of a youth, combined with the age-lined face of an older goliath. The giants of Shault love and respect her, calling her “Little Grandmother” and rushing to her aid if anyone attempts to do her harm.
Mearedes and her three apprentices—the stone giants Shakka and Shola, and Hippolexes the dwarf— take the safety and secrecy of the isle seriously. Trespassers who intrude upon Shault must agree to undergo a ritual that ensures they can never speak of the island’s existence to others. Anyone who refuses the ritual is attacked. Those who help fight for the island’s safety against raiders or giants of rival tribes find the druids to be potent allies.
The Isle of Shault, hidden within the reaches of the Sea of Silt, is one of the greenest areas remaining in or near the Tyr Region, and it has not stayed that way by accident. Few people have heard of the island, fewer still know how to find it, and only a fraction of those who do find it ever return. The forests and jungles of Shault are not only surrounded by the Sea of Silt but are also protected by native giants and a cabal of druids led by the goliath Mearedes.