Unaligned Constructs

Species made by other mortal species with unaligned magic.

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Ambage

Within some buildings, whose structure is designed to invoke the conflict between form and unform, sentience arises. Ambages are living buildings with a star chamber (the kwártoh) in their center that gives them consciousness.

• Lifespan: 500 years
• Diet: Building materials
• Habitat: Buildings
• Socioeconomic Status: Oppressed

Ambages are sentient buildings. In order to come alive, an ambage needs to be massive and imbued with the energy of structures, in a specific manner, creating the forty-point star within their innermost chamber. Their outer forms vary individually, but commonly, they are massive and towering.

The commonest two forms for ambages are temples and towers. These usually have an esoteric purpose that resonates within them. Other common forms include mansions, skyscrapers, churches and other religious sites, schools or libraries, hospitals or sanatoriums, labyrinths or catacombs, shopping centers, fortresses or citadels, or other large structures.

Very rarely, a ship or other large vehicle will be made into an ambage, but these are less stable and safe than mundane ships or other vehicles for their passengers, so people rarely make them.

An ambage has the power to control every facet of its structure. They can open or close every window and door at will. They can shift rooms around within them (except their central chamber). They can make doors open to places on the other side of themselves. They can turn rooms upside down, inside out, or backwards. They can speak into any room, hear any sound made within them no matter how quiet, and feel every touch on their structure. Their outer senses allow them to be aware of things within about 500 feet of their bodies.

An ambage can make their insides bigger than their outside temporarily (for up to an hour) by drawing upon the cu’ucuch’ik within themselves. They must rest after doing this for a week to restore their energies.

They can repair themselves if the problems are minor, but they must use materials from their structure to do so. This sometimes leads to an issue called “thinning”, meaning that over time, their walls become weaker as materials are used to patch holes, cracks, and so on.

An ambage rests by sleeping. During their sleep, doors and windows are harder to open, objects are harder to use, and nothing moves about the way it usually does.

If they die of old age, their structure remains but cannot be easily altered. If they are damaged, they live so long as the kwártoh holds, but they are weakened greatly if they are not repaired.

The kwártoh is the central chamber where the forty-pointed star is constructed. This chamber is always the most fortified part of the building, almost always in the precise center of the structure, and always well-lit. While no harm is caused by darkness, the kwártoh is the center of consciousness for the ambage, and light amplifies their awareness. The kwártoh is only destroyed if the star itself is damaged.

The star must be etched into the room - floor, ceiling, or wall - and must be at least six feet in diameter, preferably 12. Anything smaller will not generate enough cu’ucuch’ik to empower and invigorate the building. However, anything much larger than 20 feet will be too diffuse.

If the star is damaged, the structure is weakened. If it is completely destroyed - the wall, floor, or ceiling it is etched into is dismantled somehow - the ambage dies, no matter how much or little other damage has been done to the structure.

An ambage’s body is the structure of the building. If the building has out-buildings, fences or walls unconnected to the main structure, or other exostructures present, these are not part of the body of the ambage. However, ambages can communicate beyond their physical form and control some nearby structures if those structures have some “harmony” with them - i.e., made from similar materials, have some practical association with them (i.e., the outbuildings or walls), or similar function. Because of this, those who knowingly build near ambages add protections to their buildings to prevent influence on their buildings if they can. The land directly beneath an ambage is part of the ambage, but only the land sufficient to upholding the structure.

When an ambage is built and brought to life, the items within it at the moment of “birth” belong to the ambage. For this reason, builders (usually bitols) are very intentional about what is within the ambage when it is brought to life.

Any item brought into an ambage and left there with the intention of its being a commonly used object also comes under the sway of the ambage - meaning the ambage can control it as part of its structure - and any item given to the ambage intentionally becomes its possession. A person who accidentally leaves something in an ambage can retrieve it even if it has come into possession of the ambage, but those who have never owned it cannot.

As ambages are buildings, they are often “owned” by someone else, but more often than not, the ambage’s power over itself is much greater than any power an owner might have over it. In any culture where slavery is illegal and ambages are known, it is illegal for someone to own an ambage. In some places, someone may own the land an ambage is on but not the ambage, which brings up complex legal situations.

Ambages sometimes gather some of their structure and form it into an anthropomorphic figure in order to interact with visitors or denizens in a way that is less terrifying. This personification is usually called some variation of “steward” or “castellan”.

Personifications usually combine the main material that forms the building with various objects that are part of the ambage - furniture, housewares, and so on. They generally get the shape of a person right without having the fine details - they will use plates, clocks, or other circular objects as a face without forming lips, mouths, or ears, for example. Personifications do not eat, excrete, or reproduce, and the body parts used for those functions aren’t usually present.

The personification is often confused with the soul or heart of the building, and many wrongly believe that killing them will kill the building. This is always wrong - no ambage would be foolish enough to place their kwártoh into a personification.

Their personification cannot go further than one mile from the outer boundary of the ambage unless given a special piece of the kwartoh. They are sometimes used, if the structure is near enough, to find materials for repairs that cannot be automatically smoothed over. If they have a piece of the kwartoh, they can travel anywhere, but the piece must be returned once per year.

Ambages tend to have some common features in terms of personality across cultures. While not every ambage has these features, they are common enough to be noteworthy.

Most ambages are very protective of their structure and will violently expel anyone who damages them, but they rarely show anger. They simply and usually silently open a passage beneath the offender and drop them outside. They are hesitant to kill, as this tends to bring the ire of the locals and get them a reputation as a haunted building instead of a living one.

Ambages are known for sounding extremely calm, something that is often credited to their solid structures lending them more confidence. They often underestimate the strength and toughness of the people within them and must constantly adjust, for example, how hard or easy it is to open a door.

Some ambages have a sense of humor that is reflected in how they treat visitors. They enjoy making doors open to the wrong place, stopping up passages, shaking rooms, etc. They always make it clear they are joking (eventually), but visitors are often rattled by this. Other ambages are very stoic and quiet, refusing to interact vocally or directly, only responding by moving their structure. The third most common personality is overly friendly and helpful.

Building form: PRO 8 ATH 0 External 8 Internal STR 42 AWA 14 WIL 14 PRS 9 STH 0
Personified form: PRO 8 ATH 4 STR 17 AWA 10 WIL 10 PRS 9 STH 5

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Elimo

An insubstantial being manifested by a mortal’s intense beliefs. Pl. bilimu.

• Lifespan : As long as they are believed to live; this varies by culture or individual; the Elili are believed to live for 200 years

• Diet: Belief

• Habitat: Varies

• Socioeconomic Status: Enslaved

When mortals began to put their faith in concepts higher than themselves without a concept of the Divine, bilimu began to manifest. Bilimu take the form of what they are imagined to be. The originals were all imagined to be invisible, shadowy figures whose eyes glow pale yellow, but those formed in other cultures might have different forms, though all take on some kind of shadowy substance.

Bilimu have the powers those who believe in them believe them to have. This varies drastically by culture, individual, and time period.

Bilimu exist because they are believed in, and once they are manifested, they must find a way to absorb enough belief to exist independently of their believers. To do this, they must appear before those who do not believe in them, preferably beings of entirely different communities or cultures. To do this, they must influence their believers to interact with others in a space or way that allows them to appear. Until this happens, they are bound to their believer and can only manifest near to them.

Once freed, they may believe in themselves and manifest individuality. They will retain any powers they had at the time they broke free.

Almost all bilimu are believed to have insubstantial bodies but still be able to interact physically with their hands, if they are believed to have them.

Some bilimu are known to have certain powers because of the culture that believes in them. The main example is the original bilimu who are believed to have the power to complete almost any simple task for the believer if the proper ritual is performed. Some have the power to steal the souls of anyone who threatens their ward, as they are the imaginary protectors of children. Others believe them to be imaginary monsters, boogeymen, who take children away to the Nether Realm, and others still believe them to be invisible servants who take care of various tasks while the believers sleep.

They existed at first as shadows that followed nomadic tribes, but as these many different tribes interacted and developed technologically, as they began to settle in one place, they began to coalesce into a distinct people who began to drift and dwell independently in the deep rainforests there.

The local nations - of many different species - still create new bilimu all the time, and they welcome them to their homes. They often travel into the spaces of these nations to recruit new bilimu, and for the most part, they are welcomed, for it is believed that the permanence of an elimo is a sign that the needs that manifested them in the first place have been met. They are also believed to be able to create new bilimu on their own, so they can and often do.

Their communities are built to foster shadows. Canopies and tents (often made with leaves or animal skins) with openings to the sun are used in every structure; there are no glass windows, but there are openings for light to come through when heavier materials (such as wood) are used for the structure. Every room has many nooks and crannies where they might lurk, which is how they rest.

Their communities are led by their spiritual leaders. These leaders guide the community in everything, not just religion, but their spiritual guidance is their primary role. Usually, the leader is the wisest and eldest of them, but not always. They are believed to center their whole culture on their faith. Every member of the community’s role ties into their faith somehow.

They fear fungi and never kill it. The power of belief from fungal beings is overwhelming to them.

They are believed to have clawed, shadowy hands that allow them to rend the flesh of animals or the bark or leaves of plants. They use these not for food, but to gather materials for their communities - leaves and skins used for canopies and tents, bones and branches used for support structures, blood and sap used for rituals, flowers and eyes used for ornamentation, and so on. Every animal or plant killed must be ritually honored.

They wear clothing only among their own. When they leave for other mortal communities, they go naked so that they can hide more easily. Amongst their own, they wear desiccated animal eyes as amulets, believed to allow them to see better, and dried and pressed flowers as crowns, believed to make them prettier to one another. To give one a flower is to tell them they are ugly; to snatch a flower from them is to tell them they don’t need ornamentation to be beautiful.

PRO 9 ATH 9 STR 9 Insubstantial form n/a AWA 8 WIL 10 PRS 8 STH 12

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Gargoyle

Stone figures on the side of buildings.

• Lifespan: 1,000 years
• Diet: Carbohydrates mixed with stone powder, wood shavings, or metal
• Habitat: Buildings
• Socioeconomic Status: Oppressed

Gargoyles take many forms, depending on the culture, time period, and preference of builder. They are always made from study materials. Stone is the most common, but some have been carved of wood or forged in metal. In futuristic settings, they may be made of more complex or advanced materials. The only rule is that they must be hard materials that can withstand wear and tear and violence.

Because they are designed as guards, living gargoyles are almost always designed with full bodies. In many mundane forms, they are only faces or partial bodies, and while it is possible to create a living gargoyle from these, it is not optimal and therefore very rare.

Most gargoyles are designed to be fearsome. Dangerous animals or animal folk (often chimerical), demonic features, legendary heroes, people who might reside in the building (i.e., monks figures on a monastery), dragons, and grotesque designs are most common. They often have fangs, claws, wings, and horns.

Though living gargoyles function as guards, they are still used as downspouts as well, so their design often takes that into account. They often have troughs in their backs that allow rainwater to flow through them and out their mouths. They are often fashioned to be long and tall so that the water is more forcefully ejected from the walls of the building.

While architectural features often have other names (chimera, boss, grotesque, buttress, etc.), if it is alive, it is always called a gargoyle, even if its function is decorative.

There are five ways to construct a gargoyle:

• Animating: placing a soul in a gargoyle requires owning a soul of some kind, and most of the ways to do that are horrific. However, there is a tradition of using the soul of a former gargoyle to animate a new one. This is done by using parts of an older gargoyle and fusing them to the new one while using the art of forbidding (see Memnew'e under Occupations) to seal the soul in.
• Enlightening: awakening a gargoyle’s mind to bring it to life requires patience. One must sit and read to the gargoyle for every second of every day for four years. This requires people work in shifts and have access to the gargoyle. This method is usually employed by monks. After four years of reading constantly, the constructor must ask the gargoyle a question pertinent to the readings, then wait four hours. At precisely four hours, the constructor must place a forbidding sigil on the gargoyle’s body. If they succeeded, the gargoyle will answer the question (though not always correctly - but the point is to awaken, not educate).
• Infusing: creating a gargoyle through emotional infusing only works if done during the construction process rather than after. While crafting the gargoyle, the maker must focus their emotions into their work with intensity. During this, they must use forbidding sigils to seal the emotions in, working with the emotions they are feeling most powerfully. The danger here is that they might infuse emotions such as greed, hatred, or belligerence.
• Inscribing: the simplest way to bring a gargoyle to life is to inscribe a True Name into it, surrounded by forbidding sigils. There is a fine tradition of sharing specific True Names to use, passed down from generation to generation. These Names are all the same, but the forbidding and personal experiences of both crafter and gargoyle reshape them once they are in use.
• Physicking: the most common way to make a gargoyle is to put a bit of blood, flesh, or bone into the gargoyle as one is crafting it, then using forbidding sigils to bind the life present in them into the gargoyle.

The materials a gargoyle is made from must not be filled with an aligned energy.

Gargoyles are extremely strong and tough. Their form often dictates their natural abilities - if they have wings, they can fly; if they have claws or fangs, they can use them to rend flesh. Depending on their design, they may have other powers, such as fire-breath if they have a draconic look, terrifying roars if they are leonine, venom if they are serpentine, and so on. They may also gain powers based on the different kind of materials they are made from or buildings they are bonded to.

Because gargoyles are made from gebvel, they must avoid association with aligned esoteric energies (aetherial, celestial, infernal, or poioumenonic) that are potent enough to alter their neutrality. The only exception to this is if their building has an association with one of these powers, which will allow them to mix aligned and unaligned. The materials they are made from may not be aligned, however.

Gargoyles are born bound to the buildings they are connected to. Most are physically connected to it. As long as they are within the grounds of the building, they can sense anything that threatens the physical structure of the building. If they have been bound to the building for more than a century, they will be able to sense danger to the mortals within the building. If they have been bound for more than three centuries, they will be able to sense metaphysical dangers to the building and the mortals within it.

Gargoyles are made from gebvel and radiate that energy throughout their lives. If they are bound to a building, that gebvel infuses the rest of the building, blocking other esoteric energies from being used on it. Within the building, only unaligned energies may be used (shebvic, paradoxical, ambrosial, or nommic) without fighting the power of the gebvel.

Because enslavement is an infernal act, gargoyles may not be created if they are permanently bound to a building. This would compromise their neutrality, so there is a time limit to their bondage. The binding to the building is required to build up the gebvel and bring life to the gargoyle, but once this limit has been reached, traditionally, the gargoyle is freed. Some places or constructors bind for longer than this basic limit, but anything more than twice the limit causes the magic to break. The base limit is 200 years.

Unbound gargoyles often willingly choose to remain with their original buildings and maintain their powers associated with that building. Others seek a new building, for a variety of reasons, and others still seek to find life outside of such a connection. Any gargoyle that finds a new building regains their associated powers very quickly.

Unbound gargoyles gain new powers based on protections. They have gebvel within them inherently, and therefore, they have the ability to create barriers and boundaries. They do this by carving circles or sigils into the ground or into walls or shields. They also gain the power to blend into walls if they hold still against them for more than 10 seconds once they have been unbound for more than 50 years.

For the first 200 years of a gargoyle’s life, they must remain connected magically to a building, preferably the one they were created for, in order to generate enough gebvel to survive the rest of their lives. Because of this, they often become accustomed to living in (or on) a large building. They have a preference for buildings made of similar materials to what they are made from (stone, wood, metal), and for larger buildings, in part because this means more living space and therefore more gargoyles. A building with multiple gargoyles will often find them forming an ad hoc family unit.

Gargoyle families develop hierarchies based on age and experience, with older gargoyles teaching, training, and caring for the newer ones. They describe their relationships in extended relative terms - everyone is an uncle or nephew, aunt or niece, for example. Older gargoyles are called grandfather or grandmother by newer ones. Many gargoyle families in larger, older buildings develop customs about making new gargoyles when one is destroyed or leaves after being unbound. They all donate some material to craft a new gargoyle together, and the one who inscribes their True Name (and it is almost always done via inscribing) is the direct “grandparent” chosen to teach the new gargoyle.

Gargoyles eat carbohydrate-heavy foods mixed with the materials they are made of in order to maintain their bodies against erosion or allow them to heal when damaged. They eat far less often than other mortal beings, however. They enjoy food and often come up with wondrous cakes and breads.

Gargoyles also love music, especially if they are in a building with good acoustics, and they engage in percussion-heavy songs and dances.

PRO 11 ATH 11 STR 14 AWA 8 WIL 8 PRS 8 STH 9

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Golem

Faith-empowered constructs.

• Lifespan: 500 years

• Diet: None

• Habitat: Anywhere

• Socioeconomic Status: Oppressed

Golems are made of clay or mud and appear to be a partly formed mortal, usually human, but larger than the average human. They are often made without the ability to speak, and they either have paper inserted in their mouths or words etched into their foreheads.

Creating a golem requires deep and profound faith. The originals were made by rabbis, but people of any faith may create one if they use an ancient written language. One must be imbued with their faith deep within themselves to imbue that faith within the golem to give it a soul.

The golem must be shaped with clay or mud, preferably from nearby bodies of water such as rivers. Once the golem is shaped, a “chem”, a piece of paper with a name written on it in the language of Juruth, is placed in the mouth or that same name is etched into the forehead of the golem.

Because children often have deep and unquestioning faith, they are able to create golems, but law and custom ban them from doing so because of the dangers involved.

New golems are always full-sized.

Golems with free will may create other golems by using some of their own bodies mixed with fresh clay or mud.

Golems are enormously strong and tough, even for their size. All golems are resistant to anti-faith attacks (blasphemy, mortal will). They have no need for sleep or food, though they do spend time inert, during which their faith protects them.

The chem of a golem determines their powers. The name on the chem determines their purpose and grants them the power to complete that purpose. A golem made to perform household chores will have knowledge and skills to do so; a golem made to defend others will have combat skills.

A golem’s chem can be written in order to grant them free will or to keep them as slaves. In Fasan, it is illegal to keep them enslaved for more than a year; in other places, this varies. However, all golems yearn for freedom and will chafe at their enslavement. Enslaved golems will follow orders literally no matter what. Free golems will interpret them.

Because they are empowered by faith, their chem will not allow them to work on days holy to the faith that created them.

All golems are empowered by faith within them to become invisible at the cost of part of their chem. Similarly, they can use part of their chem to speak to the souls of those of the same faith who have passed on or to spirits.

Golems with free will can wield their powers without using up their chem - they can do so by invoking their own faith. Faith is useless without free will. Free golems can speak.

The Tvarovaná are the only nation of free golems. They live to the east of Talune where they dwell in small villages or work in cities. They belong to the same faith as their original creators, the Tuláků, which is a variant of the ancient faith that created them. Their culture is indivisible from their faith. They start the day before sunrise, pray for fifteen minutes, and then work until midday. The first hour is for household chores, then they work their jobs. At midday, they pray for an hour. They then work until sundown, at which time they pray for another fifteen minutes. At night, gather for celebration and respite until midnight, at which time they pray for an hour, then rest until an hour before sunrise.

Because of their origins as voiceless beings, their prayers and communication are both very physical. They engage in touch and movements that both have deep meaning. They supplicate themselves to their Divine(s) and hammer their fists into hard dirt to pray. Their celebrations involve dancing in circles, low chants, and embracing one another. Ritual words are spoken.

Though golems have clay bodies, they are capable of mortal emotions. Thus, they can fall in love, and if they fall in love with a mortal, the results are often tragic. They do love one another.

The Tvarovaná seek wisdom in the mundane, and thus, they believe the work they do - almost always in service to other mortals - must be contemplated as they do it. Among them are rabbis who lead their prayers and teach the faith. Because their bodies are clay, they follow different traditions, but they try to be as close to those mortals practice as possible. When a new golem is formed, free or enslaved, the other Tvarovaná seek them out to teach them, guide them, and welcome them.

[locals]

PRO 9 ATH 7 STR 15 AWA 8 WIL 9 PRS 7 STH 6

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Homunculus

Small constructs made of mortal flesh.

• Lifespan : 20 years

• Diet: Common mortal fare in small amounts

• Habitat: Anywhere

• Socioeconomic Status: Oppressed

Homunculi were created by mortals seeking to create life from their own flesh. Homunculi usually look like 6” tall humans. It is possible to make them in the form of other species, especially metahumans and others with potent body magic.

Homunculi have the ability to draw on their own body magic at will, using it to shape other beings’ bodies with their touch. Thus, they can make people bigger or smaller with their touch.

As beings of body magic, they are often skilled with the other body magicks: haruspicy, bonecasting, blood magic, and chymosian medicine. They have these skills innately.

As artificial constructs, sometimes they ironically lack certain bodily needs - some do not need air, produce waste, or need to drink water. These are rare and are a result of an imbalance of materials in the creation process.

The original homunculi were created by alchemists in western Ansulym long ago. They formed their own culture after he died, living in a tiny village he created for them.

As short-lived beings, homunculi concern themselves with making sure their lives are well-spent. They find it important to create new homunculi to replace themselves when they go as well. These two focuses influence their culture greatly. The custom is that new homunculi are created “full size” (about six inches tall) by multiple homunculi practicing the standard Jesenranic method to create new homunculi. For this reason, they are farmers of gourds and herders of horses. Though horses are immensely huge compared to them, they are very capable of handling them. It takes a small team to do so. Because this method involves rotting animal parts, they keep it very secret.

They use small stones, dried gourds, and odds and ends from other mortals’ homes to create their villages - buckets, boxes, and soon are used for whole structures among them. Similarly, they will use table knives and forks as polearms, napkins as tablecloths, and socks as full-body clothing. They buy these objects from other mortals in exchange for services, such as cleaning between walls, repairing tiny objects, and handling matters in places bigger mortals cannot reach.

New homunculi are trained and taught the basics of their communities within a few days. They are created with full consciousness. Most are farmers and horse ranchers, but other roles include handyfolk, healers, alchemists, body mages (wisin), tinsmiths, gatherers, traders, and cleaners. Every village is run by a mayor who is elected locally.

It is said that they are excellent clockmakers and makers of other finely tuned machines that their small limbs and digits are useful in making.

In the city-states, they are used as servants by the powerful, often enslaved or controlled, except for some few who have escaped and live as refugees.

PRO 8 ATH 9 STR 2 AWA 8 WIL 8 PRS 8 STH 14

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Nechozi

Patchwork people made from faith.

• Lifespan: 60-90 years
• Diet: Favor or faith
• Habitat: Anywhere
• Socioeconomic Status: Oppressed

Nechozis are beings made of fabric imbued with the spiritual or religious faith of those who made them. They are usually stuffed with straw, rags, or other materials. They are usually about 6’ tall and look like large, living ragdolls made up of patches with prayers stitched into them.

Nechozis are made with the faith of their makers, and as such, they have the power of faith protecting them. They are often connected to their makers and carry their prayers for them. They are attuned to the focus of their makers’ faith and have innate favor with that being, if it is a being, and innate attunement to the concept or philosophy if it is not. They can sense faith in others, and once per year, they can speak to the soul of a person who shares their faith.

If the nechozi themselves loses their faith, they weaken. They can find a new faith or find faith in themselves, but this will transform them.

Nechozis usually live with very religious families and bring comfort to them, having new prayers added to them regularly. Those who become independent usually serve in a temple or church or other religious place. Those who seek to make new nechozis do so only with the blessing of their faith, but they form their own religious families. Most worship unaligned faiths.

PRO 7 ATH 9 STR 6 AWA 9 WIL 10 PRS 8 STH 8 ESS 9

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Nishiddh

Forbidden constructs of Divine Law.

• Lifespan: Unknown
• Diet: Faith or energy
• Habitat: Anywhere
• Socioeconomic Status: Forbidden by the gods

Divine Law is an ancient, lost set of Laws that used to govern the gods. The use of it is forbidden, but those who do sometimes find fragments of it to channel Divine power and command the gods themselves. Sometimes in doing this, they create a living being. Potentially, these beings could be anything, but because the surviving fragments of Divine Law are limited, most end up looking the same: a being of flesh transmuted from dust to be a featureless hominid with the mark of Divine Law on their forehead.

Nishiddh all end up with three powers: the power to speak Divine Names with impunity if they ever learn one, the power to answers prayers that they overhear (to a certain degree) regardless of to whom the prayer is directed (but only overheard, not those directed to them or intentionally spoken such that they might overhear), and the power to absorb belief or faith for sustenance.

Every time they use one of their first two powers, they must roll to see if a Divine notices them. If a Divine notices them, they will be destroyed on the spot.

Nishiddh are usually alone. Their makers are almost always destroyed by the gods. Those who have a living maker live in secret, and those who do not seek answers from sources of Divine power to understand why and what they are. They learn quickly to hide the mark on their foreheads, but otherwise, they just want to survive.

If the imperials learn of them, they try to use them, though this has dire consequences.

PRO 14 ATH 14 STR 14 AWA 14 WIL 17 PRS 4 STH 11 ESS 17