The Sleeping Giants of Velebit
Reading time: 6 min
About this story: The Sleeping Giants of Velebit is a Legend from Croatia set in the Contemporary. This Dramatic tale explores themes of Nature and is suitable for Adults. It offers Cultural insights. Ancient legends whisper of giants buried beneath Velebit—now, they are waking.
The Velebit Mountains stretch like an unbroken spine along Croatia’s Adriatic coast, their jagged peaks and dense forests veiled in mist and legend. For centuries, locals have whispered tales of the “Sleeping Giants”—colossal beings of rock and spirit who once roamed the land freely but were cursed into an eternal slumber beneath the mountains.
Most dismiss these stories as folklore, echoes of a time when people explained the unexplainable with myth. But some—hunters, old shepherds, and those who listen closely to the whispers of the wind—claim the giants are real. And worse, they are waking.
When a team of scientists, archaeologists, and adventurers set out to explore the mysterious seismic activity shaking Velebit, they expect to find nothing more than shifting rock. Luka Radović, a skeptical archaeologist, is among them. He has spent his life debunking myths, tracing their origins to natural phenomena, and proving that history is built on facts—not superstition.
But as their journey takes them deeper into the mountain’s heart, Luka begins to question everything he thought he knew. Strange tremors rattle the land, eerie whispers float through the valleys, and ancient carvings reveal cryptic warnings.
Something beneath Velebit is stirring.
And soon, the world will know the truth.
The Call of the Mountain
Luka adjusted the straps of his backpack, inhaling the crisp mountain air. The sun was just beginning to rise over the peaks, casting long shadows across the rugged landscape. Around him, his team was gathering their equipment, checking supplies, and preparing for the days ahead.
Professor Ivan Marković, a historian whose obsession with Croatian mythology bordered on religious fervor, was at the center of it all. He clutched a worn leather notebook filled with sketches, notes, and transcriptions of old legends. His eyes gleamed with the excitement of a man on the verge of discovery.
“We are standing at the doorstep of an ancient mystery,” Ivan announced, his voice brimming with reverence. “The old stories speak of giants who once walked this land before they were cursed into stone. But what if—” he paused for dramatic effect, “—what if there is some truth to the legend?”
Luka sighed. “You mean, what if a natural geological phenomenon inspired a story that got twisted over the centuries?”
Ivan smirked. “Ah, Luka. Always the rationalist.”
Beside them, Anja Petrović, a geologist with sharp eyes and an even sharper mind, studied a set of seismic readings. “Rational or not, something unusual is happening in this region,” she said. “The tremors don’t follow any known fault lines. It’s almost as if… something is shifting beneath the surface.”
Marko Lenić, their resident documentarian, grinned as he adjusted his camera. “Sounds like a setup for a horror movie,” he said. “A group of explorers ignores an ancient warning and wakes up something that should have stayed buried.”
Luka rolled his eyes. “Except that’s not how the real world works.”
None of them knew just how wrong he was.
The Whispers in the Wind
By the second day of their trek, the mountains began to feel different. The forests grew denser, the air heavier, the silence deeper. Even the usual sounds of nature—the chirping of birds, the rustling of leaves—seemed muffled, as if the land itself was holding its breath.
They reached the first set of carvings at dusk. The symbols were etched into a towering rock face, their shapes eerily humanoid. Enormous figures loomed above rows of smaller, kneeling ones. Their hollow eyes seemed to follow the team as they moved.
Ivan ran his fingers across the carvings with a mixture of awe and excitement. “These predate any known civilization in this region,” he murmured. “We’re talking thousands of years, at least.”
Luka examined them closely, looking for signs of weathering, erosion—anything to explain how they had survived the centuries. “This could be a depiction of an ancient creation myth,” he said, though even he wasn’t entirely convinced.
Anja frowned. “These lines here,” she pointed to jagged markings beneath the giant figures. “They resemble fault lines… Almost as if the people who made these knew something about the mountain’s seismic activity.”
Marko adjusted his camera. “The locals say you can hear voices in the wind at night,” he said. “Whispers in a language no one understands.”
That night, as they camped beneath the stars, Luka lay awake listening to the wind. It moved through the trees like a living thing, shifting, whispering.
And beneath it all, he thought he heard something else.
A voice.
Calling his name.
The Awakening
The next morning, the team stumbled upon something extraordinary.
A cave had been revealed by a recent rockslide, its entrance yawning like the mouth of some ancient beast. Inside, deep within the darkness, they found what should not have been possible.
A massive stone figure, half-buried in the earth, its body covered in intricate runes. It was not a statue. It was something else.
Luka ran his hand over the smooth surface, a shiver running through him. The rock felt… warm.
“This isn’t just a geological formation,” Anja whispered. “The composition of this stone—it’s different. Almost… organic.”
Ivan knelt beside it, brushing away layers of dust. More symbols emerged, ones that had been hidden for centuries. Luka traced them carefully, piecing together their meaning.
And then he froze.
_"Do not wake them."_
A deep rumble shook the cave. Dust rained from the ceiling. The stone beneath their feet trembled.
And somewhere in the distance, a sound like thunder echoed through the mountains.
But it wasn’t thunder.
It was breathing.
The Giants Rise
The tremors grew stronger, the mountain itself seeming to shift and groan. Cracks splintered across the cave walls.
“Move!” Anja shouted.
They scrambled into the open air just as a deafening roar split the sky. Trees swayed violently. Rocks tumbled down the mountainside.
And then, before their very eyes, the figure inside the cave stirred.
Stone cracked and crumbled as an enormous hand pushed through the layers of earth. A deep, guttural sound rumbled from beneath the ground.
Then, slowly, the giant opened its eyes.
Marko, still recording, whispered, “This… is impossible.”
But it wasn’t.
From the depths of the mountains, more figures began to move. The Sleeping Giants of Velebit were waking.
Ivan, pale and trembling, whispered, “The curse wasn’t meant to protect us from them. It was meant to protect them from us.”
But it was too late.
Humanity had disturbed something ancient.
And the giants were no longer sleeping.
Epilogue: A World Changed Forever
The Croatian government sealed off the area, calling it a geological hazard. Official reports cited an unprecedented seismic event.
But those who had been there—Luka, Anja, Ivan, Marko—they knew the truth.
The giants were real.
And they were watching.
Luka stood at the edge of the mountains, staring at the towering figures in the distance. They had retreated, for now. But he knew they would not stay hidden forever.
One day, the world would have to face the truth.
And when that day came…
The giants would rise again.
