>>713217469
I haven't heard it phrased that way, but it fits perfectly! The Hornsent are imitating some from Rauh and their coexistence with ancestor spirits and sprites, spirit magic. And flowing water, such as the Blind Swordsman and the Dancer in Blue, the spirit of a river who helped him. The Hornsent revere the Swordsman, their warriors armor is likely modeled after him

While Rauh could create more spirits, similar to the Ancestral Followers, the Hornsent evidently couldn't or didn't care too, preferring instead to cultivate their own divinity by trying to channel these spirits into their horns, to invoke old school style incantations, just plain ask a god or spirit to do it for you

>>713217586
Likely so, I always figured it was Radagon's influence, but the Carians may indeed have giant blood. It's never stated though. Rennala is freaking huge for being a 'normal', though possibly numen woman.
The Sword of Night and Flame also implies an old alliance. I envision the Carians as the leaders of the human side of the group, and the Giants as the other. Old forge golems in the DLC have red glintstone on their backs as a power source, indicating knowledge of glintstone existed for manufacturing purposes

>>713217676
This is my favorite tinfoil theory! The entire land is artificial. I reckon a meteor impact or volcanic eruption, possibly both wiped out the old titans, and buried most of the Divine Tower builders culture.
The Lands Between were Eden, burned by a sword of fire and flooded with magma in some cataclysm of the past