Cyclops History and Notable Figures for My World

This document is to provide further detail on the race of Cyclopses in my personal fantasy world, name pending.

Appearance:  Cyclopses are one-eyed humanoids who can reach up to 23 feet in height.  They have a set of small tusks protruding from their lower lip, but this set is not used in any way.  Other than that, there are no physical differences from humans.  They, however, are magical beings, and are dependent on magic to survive as they do.  Their one eye is extremely magical, supplying excellent vision that is not only binocular, but also much better than a human's naturally.  Their size is also supported by magic.  This magic relating to size reduces the amount of food needed for a full-grown cyclops than for a similarly sized being in a non-magical world without slowing down the metabolism.  They also have tougher bodies, allowing them to jump or fall as if they were the size of ordinary humans.  Cyclopses are also long-lived.  They can reach a hundred easily, and can die from old age at 150 years old.

Origin and Mythology:  It is not known how cyclopses arrived on this world, though it is speculated they were created by a god instead of chosen, like humans were.  Their religion also supports this claim, as they say their god, Monod, created the Cyclopses.

As for their mythology, only one Cyclops god is known to exist, Monod.  The cyclopses' religious texts, conveniently in song, say that Monod created the world, all beings in it, and then created the cyclopses to rule over it.  Monod gave them one eye, supposedly, so that they couldn't be fooled, like those beings with two eyes.  Monod is typically depicted as a single eye, all-seeing, therefore all-knowing, therefore all-powerful.  However, since the fall of the cyclops empire (see below), there have been fewer and fewer references to Monod, making some scholars believe that the cyclopses have given up Monod.

History:  The earliest known cyclops history comes from the cyclops empire.  No-one knows how big it was, nor do they know how strong it was.  It is only preserved in cyclops song and in a few scattered, but gigantic, ruins, some placed in truly surprising places.  It is reckoned that the cyclopses existed before then, but to what capacity, no-one knows.  They've certainly survived to today, and can be found in many places, though there are not that many cyclopses left.  

But the empire is guessed to have existed for maybe 1000 years.  The dates are unclear, as the ruins do not hold sufficient dates, and cyclops history does not include dates.  The end of the empire is the most well-known song of the cyclopses, and it is known as a truly extraordinary epic of the power, madness, and destruction of King Gorfere, last of the cyclops emperors.  The song, though a classic, is hard to comprehend.  From it, there is apparently an unexpected accession to the throne, a civil war, several cursings of Monod, and an assault by the dragons, who apparently got tired of an organized body of beings who could threaten them.

Important Cyclopses:  Because of the mystery of cyclops history, there are not that many well-known cyclopses.  However, there are a few notable ones, including one who still lives today, despite some rather major setbacks.

Sorhoom:  Found occasionally within cyclops legends.  His mentions are scattered, but wide.  From a few clues, it is guessed that Sorhoom was present for the entire history of the cyclopses!  This has led for some to believe that Sorhoom is immortal, a demigod, or an actual god.  His feats include the entire construction of a city by himself, the sundering of Mount Borogon, capital city of the dragons, and the decapitation of several bad cyclops leaders.

Gorfere: Last emperor of the cyclops empire.  From legend, it is stated that he was born without a hand, but which one is never specified.  He was apparently dangerously smart, but more than a little bit crazy.  When he saw his empire crumbling before him, it is said he toppled his own palace to prevent the cyclopses from ever becoming rulers ever again.

Siylon: A post-empire cyclops of great note, he was a powerful wizard who could see anything, and could cause a great deal to happen by focusing.  He earned his place in history by conquering a human kingdom to rule.  He ruled it for 80 years, but died from a mysterious disease that made him go blind.  From his (massive) notebooks, there is a good deal of magic that can be performed with just a glance and a thought, and the last couple of pages were dedicated towards achieving immortality, though the spells there are very fatal towards the user.

Polifex: A cyclops hero of sorts who is still alive.  He journeyed around for quite some time, gaining power and skill, and was the most powerful cyclops warrior that ever lived.  However, his ego grew with his skill, and his overconfidence let a human trick him and blinded him permanently.  That was ten years ago, and Polifex still has not fully adjusted to being blind.  On top of that, he's getting old.  He may have done a dozen things in his youth that may have enhanced him, but he's made a lot of enemies, and being both blind and old means the crows are circling for him.


That is the history of the cyclopses!  I wanted to do an update for my world, but have not fully established everything.  I think I need to make another map.