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Golem


Plural: Golems
Group: Host
Offspring: N/A
Natural Allies: None known
Natural Enemies: None known

The Empyrean, an ancient people inhabiting Dereth long before the Devastation, counted the sorcerer Asheron Realaidain among its members. Knowledgeable in the magic arts, the Empyrean are also credited with the invention of Golems.

Golems are magically animated bodies of matter. Over ninety percent of a Golem's mass is undifferentiated, inert material. Only two "organs" exist. The first is the Heart, the core object around which the rest of the Golem is assembled. The second is the Mind, a mote of magically forged pyreal alloy. Instructions for the Golem were magically imprinted upon this pyreal mote.

The Empyrean originally used Golems as simply, expendable laborers. Golems were found in mines, kitchens, and storehouses, performing menial and difficult labor their creators considered beneath them. Golem labor was used to help construct the great lighthouse near the ruins of Tou-Tou, for example. While the ancients did take Golems with them to war, they were not heavily relied upon. Golems are held together purely by the application of patterned magic, so it was easy enough for an enemy sorcerer to fell hundreds with a single Area Dispel. Thus Golems were never used as combatants, and only appeared in well-protected supply trains.

Created from the ready materials at hand, the variety of Golems reflected the diverse environments they were meant to inhabit. Coral Golems, for instance, were used to dredge harbor channels, scrape marine growth from the keels of wooden sailing vessels without careening, and maintain artificial fisheries. Magma Golems were used as workers in forges built within active volcanoes. The ancients' children even amused themselves by making Mud Golems—their equivalent of mud pies. Mud Golems would be used for large-scale games of "toy soldiers," or for help with chores. Some materials, however, were more for prestige than utility. The ownership of Diamond, Gold, and Pyreal Golems, for example, was a symbol of wealth, similar to owning an overpriced suit of ceremonial armor.

In the years after their arrival, the Humans and Lugians had limited success in creating Golems of their own. The Lugians had the greatest success due to their insights into the material world. Skilled Lugian mages can gather and shape sand into a Minion to command in battle. Humans could never completely replicate the Empyrean or Lugian techniques, but their experimentation did result in the Gear Knights. These creations consist of a series of clockwork gears infused with magic. As for the Tumeroks, they took no interest in the creation of Golems. They prefer to rely for their strength on the natural forces found in the world.