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Encyclopedic-style entries.

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Homunculus

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A human-derivative species first created by foul arts.

They are mainly distinguished from humans by their small stature. They may also exhibit traits more diverse than the humans they live with. Some branches of the species cohere more to the idea or symbol of a human than an actual human body (resulting in odd appearances such as “chibi” homunculi or homunculi resembled a child’s drawings).

The process of creating homunculi is forbidden and severely punished by the homunculi themselves. The necessary knowledge, as much as possible, is destroyed. Homunculi are able to reproduce normally, but the artificial creation of a homunculi involves acts only tolerable to the perverse and sadistic. This fact leaves little hope for homunculi who arise under the process.

Homunculi who are created, rather than born, are not even orphans, for they have no parents to lose. They have no relations, no heritage, no genetics, no kin.

fiction

Gibs

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Gibs are a diverse sapient species, with many subspecies, some of which vary dramatically from the most common members of the species. Gibs are most readily recognized for being ball-shaped, with a plain face. Each member is monochrome, but Gibs are found in every color. All Gibs variants possess a long, extensible, and prehensile tongue which they use for most manipulation.

Gibs are, as a species, quite comfortable with variance. Gibs societies focus heavily on mutualism, allowing different individuals to use their particular advantages to contribute. Individuals are generally encouraged to rely on their strengths, rather than work against their weaknesses. It does not, for instance, make much sense to have an armless Gins serve as an artisan or painter.

However, the fact that the physical capacities of Gibs vary so widely can be frustrating for individuals. Juvenile Gibs often envy other subspecies, but technology improvements and exosuits allow many Gibs to pursue paths they wouldn’t naturally be able to pursue. However, Gibs society is low-density and low-impact, preferring small settlements to large cities. While artisanal exosuits are somewhat common, many communities lack the means. Thus, even where technology allows a Gibs to do things beyond their natural capacity, it is still culturally and morally important for Gibs to overcome subspecies-envy before they reach adulthood.

It must be emphasized that Gibs society is highly communitarian when it comes to need. Gibs society often relies on “assignments” or “missions,” where a Gibs with certain abilities will be sent to a community in need of those abilities. Individuals with rare abilities may serve rotating missions to many communities. This practice of need-matching helps Gibs keep their communities simpler and efficient, decreasing how large communities need to be viable and ensuring decreased environmental, colonial, and sociological impact.

Unlike other species, Gibs and subspecies names should all be capitalized. This is a cultural convention from historical Gibs’ languages.

Gibs

The most common Gibs variant, also called by the species name. The term Gibs among Gibs only referred to this subspecies, but the expanded meaning quickly grew as Gibs societies mingled with others.

They are characterized by 4 nub arms and 2 platform feet. They move principally by bouncing or hopping. They are about 3 feet tall. If a trait is not mentioned for another subspecies, it may be assumed to resemble the Gibs.

Gids

Horned, with two clawed arms, and heavy wings. They lurch through the air in flight. They have chemical sacs that allow them to ingest, store, and spew flammable or acidic chemicals. They are, in a sense, edgy Gibs.

Gigs

One of two aquatic Gibs. They possess 5 tentacles arranged around the tail, each being about 8 feet long, compared to their body which is merely 2 ft long. While Givs are more agile on land, Gigs are stronger and more agile underwater.

Giks

A rare, winged variant, with 2 platform feet. They boast an 11 ft wingspan, which is significantly reduced with wings furled. The wings are covered in downy feathers (unique to Giks). Many serve as messengers and couriers of light objects.

Gils

Gils are very rare, with elongated bodies, limbs, spines, and a pointed tail.

Gims

Gims are uncommon, resembling Gibs but for the arms. Rather than 2 pairs of 2 nubs, Gims have 3 arms on each side, made of a slightly flexible but hard substance. Each arm can be fired and quickly regrown up to 3 times, for a total of 24 shots. Once all are expended, new arms are grown in a week, and each backup arm takes another week.

Gins

Gins are smaller, being 1.5 feet in length and low to the ground. They have 4 nub legs and no other limbs. They move in a bunny-like fashion and possess catlike agility. They are the second most common variant.

They help communities by performing tasks impossible for larger creatures, and are comfortable as lookouts, running around on roofs, alleys, and the like. They are also deceptively strong, so many work in transporting goods.

Girs

Girs have 8 arms in a ring around the base of their body. These arms can be inflated to make Girs buoyant, allowing them to float above the ground at low altitudes. Girs have highly variable eye-counts and positions, as they may grow eyes anywhere around the body. They’re good lookouts and can lift heavy objects in groups (they are quite good at latching together, unlike the fast and agile Giks).

Givs

The second aquatic Gibs, which resemble a Gins with a horizontal tadpole-like tail, whose fins extend across the body and help the Givs move by vertical undulation. Givs are the most comfortable on land and sea, bridging the two.

Exotic Gibs

Most individual Gibs will fall into one of the common subspecies, even if its parents are from different subspecies. Nonetheless, some Gibs will have exotic and even bizarre combinations of traits from different subspecies. They may also possess more or less traits than usual, such as a horned Gibs with 13 tentacles and extra eyes.

fiction

Strange Locomotion

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Strange locomotion achieves advanced movement in 3-dimensions by manipulating hyperdimensional extensions of 3-dimensional objects. Strange locomotion can, for instance, achieve incredible speeds at lower energy costs and avoid sensory detection. It is essential for interstellar travel.

It is equivalent to using a motor in 3-dimensions for a 2-dimensional object. For example, imagine a completely flat object that wanted to move exactly along its 2d plane. Attach a propeller to the flate surface in a 3d dimension, and push the 2d object using the wind current generated by the fan in the 3rd dimension. That is strange locomotion.

A strange motor is a hyperdimensional structure that moves an object in 3-dimensional space using propulsion through a hyperdimensional medium. As such, most of the motor and its consequences are undetectable (unlike, say, rockets, who inevitably produce a noticeable heat signature). For a functional strange motor, control can be erratic and result in odd movement patterns, as the motor’s operation can only be known by inference, but it is ultimately predictable.

The techniques to build a strange motor are esoteric, requiring highly specialized factories and materials. Certain rings are more amenable than others to their construction. Additionally, strange motors may operate in different ways in different rings, based on the eccentricities of the hyperdimensional medium used by the strange motor. Motors must be carefully calibrated to only move exactly in parallel to the 3D space, otherwise the engine will be removed by sheering. Additionally, careful choice of hyperdimensional medium is essential; because the pilot cannot see the hyperdimensional medium whatsoever, they cannot avoid collisions with objects in the medium. It is thus necessary that the medium be extremely sparse of anything that could harm the motor.

art, fiction

8Sanctuary

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I. Census

II. Description

III. Map

I. Census

Census Guide

HouseholdNameRelationshipSexAgeAgeFrameSpeciesProfessionOrigin
Cemetery C. Bldg.MandelbotHeadF23AdultHumanConstructionPatchwork
Chapel GrottoDream (8SUN)HeadF6300AncientAxolotlPriestess8Sanctuary
Solar OktaviaHeadepistemologicallyuncertainhere for the vibes
GardensGhost (8SUN)HeadF52DeceasedHumanHunterConvergent Mistlands
Mess HallChaos (8SUN)HeadF788AdultWorldheartNurse/Farm
NE WatchtowerMiracle (8SUN)DependentF16AdolescentSilquiGuideFarandine
Student Quarters AJustice (8SUN)HeadF49AdultYaldaSecurityFallenvelt
Star (8SUN)DependentM8ChildWispitXNilam
Student Quarters BMirror (8SUN)HeadF312AdultGolemArtisan

II. Description

The settlement resides on a knoll in a mountainous valley within the Convergent Mistlands, with standard flora and fauna for the region. It was once the heart of a pastoral community of several thousand, but was abandoned. The Convergent Mistlands, generally, is a place where people pass through: permanent residents, even nomadic ones, are exceedingly rare. 8Sanctuary is unique in that the mist is often quite light, compared to the rest of the region, and is named because it is naturally secure. This settlement was used for several hundred years, making it one of the longest-lasting settlements. Most residents were human.

The valley is inaccessible to large groups, with entry and exit difficult. Travelers happen on it by chance or, as is the case today, Miracle guides people in when they are in need. The mists are both a defense and a burden. The Mistlands do not discriminate when bringing people in, but would-be raiders and bandits are often whisked away before they understand the nature of the land. Natives use structures and caves to avoid the mists.

The heart of the settlement is a grotto spanning the area underneath. The grotto contains an underground water and still pools stemming from the aquifer. The main area of the grotto is used for religious ceremonies, while other areas are used for bathing, potable water, and so on. Areas of the grotto are designed based on building they are connected to, e.g., the ceremonial grotto is accessed from the chapel, while bathing areas are below living quarters. The crypt is intentionally designed to keep water out, with walls using artificial materials to make it watertight. Several of the grottos are reserved for purely ritual uses, rituals which Dream and Miracle still conduct to this day.

The settlement grew out from the chapel and what is now the administrative building, as it was first built as the center of the community’s religious experience. The crypt, cemetery wall, and cemetery building were early additions. The facilities outside the inner wall were added at about the same time, in order to make the chapel self-sufficient for its inhabitants, add the educational complex, and host festivals for a growing community.

The civilization came to an abrupt end when the mist became disastrously thick, whisking most of the population away from the Mistlands and scattering them in a cataclysmic event. The mist almost had a force and life to it, seeping in through doorways and windows, into caverns that had always remained untouched. Furthermore, the mist was quicker to teleport people out of the Mistlands than normal and, another unique occurrence, even people born and raised in the Mistlands would be whisked out into unknown lands. While not everywhere nor everyone was touched, less than a sixth of the population remained. 8Sanctuary had never experienced such an intense accumulation of mist, nor has it again. Dream is the only remaining resident from that time, the rest having died or moved on. She believes some pollutant from outside the Mistlands had corrupted the mist (for why else would the mist steel away the lands’ natives, something it never does of its own accord?).

As for the name, the sanctuary was first built under the patronage of the nomadic worldheart, the Octagon Sun. Solar Oktavia visits the 8Sanctuary as the Octagon Sun’s representative.

The 8Sanctuary today is a modest operation, serving as a waypoint and refuge for wanderers and people who find themselves in the Mistlands.

III. Map

  1. Chapel: A 2-story building with grotto access.
  2. Administrative Offices and Housing
  3. Workers’ Quarters
  4. Gardens
  5. Cemetery Central Building: houses tools, the caretaker’s residence, and an entrance to the crypt.
  6. Cemetery
  7. Library + Schoolhouse
  8. Storage + Student Quarters A: Storage
  9. Mess Hall + Student Quarters B: The 1st floor includes a mess hall and kitchen. The large mess hall, seeing as it is no longer in use, has been repurposed for Chaos’ nest.
  10. Inner Grounds: initially used for all kinds of purposes, but once the public grounds were walled in, the inner grounds were reserved for religious and educational gatherings.
  11. Public Grounds: used for public ceremonies, festivals, and the like.
  12. Fields: used for growing crops.
  13. Stables
  14. Gatehouse
  15. NE Watchtower
  16. SW Watchtower
  17. Adults’ Meeting Area: a small, outdoor depression where people would gather and talk while resting. For more formal occasions, the speaker(s) would stand at the center.
  18. Students’ Meeting Area: as above, but used by the students.
  19. General Theater: as above, but used for community gatherings and the general public.
fiction

Genh

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A genh is a spiritlike, symbiotic species. While not actually spirits, their body is almost invisible and almost intangible.

They engage in symbiosis with other intelligent species. A genh will attach to a specific person and act as a sort of guardian or patron deity. Genh influence their host with creativity and insight, while also using their magical abilities to the host’s benefit. Genh can make themselves visible only at great expense. Instead, they mostly just interact with their host by magically altering dreams, whispering in their ear, and appearing to the host (which is less difficult than making themselves visible; they can appear to the host by magically altering the host’s sight).

Genh’s magic is mostly targeted, being strongest when focused on an individual. Genh abilities vary dramatically, with some being incredibly powerful, and others capable only of inspiration. Thus, genh have blessed many artists, while some genh have helped a handful of people become incredible warriors.

Genh, since they are mutualistic, are benign. Nonetheless, they have their own personalities. Some are less helpful, more biased, or more domineering than others. They might be sassy, dismissive, encouraging, protective, motherly, fatherly, or any number of other things. Most genh will defer to their host’s judgment as to what is beneficial, but not all, and not for all things.

They have a lifespan of about 50 years and gain intelligence rapidly (aided by how little they need to learn of survival or physicality). If their host dies before the genh, the genh will simply move on to another person, typically someone close to the original host. Genh may establish dynasties, where their descendants will associate with the descendants of their hosts. Some genh appear with incredibly long lives sporadically.

Their appearance varies dramatically, since their real bodies are mostly ethereal; what is seen is a projection. As a cultural matter, they do choose a fixed appearance for dealing with their host and each other. They would not really benefit from shapeshifting, so a shapeshifting genh is rare.

Genh subsist on energies emitted by their host. They are not terribly social, but need a healthy relationship with their host. They need respect from the host for their gifts and appreciate quiet meditation. Genh may appear to people close to their host, and a handful of individuals will form friendships with their host’s friends. Additionally, genh will take an entire family as a host where they all get along.

As for the host’s enemies, genh tend to rely on their host’s perspective. Genh struggle with bias and perspective, to the point that some become self-absorbed (they may view the self as including the host, which can get quite problematic if they come to feel the host is part of them, rather than distinct). The same can be true of genh hosts, who may become quite arrogant thanks to the genh’s blessings. Many genh will abandon such hosts.

Fictional examples would be Ms. Sothis Fire Emblem (at least for part of her life) or the Roman genius.

fiction

Wispit

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Wispit are actually two, almost inseparable symbiotic lifeforms. One is a docile, cloudlike mass, while the other is a small, winged humanoid (height clocking in at 2 to 3 ft). When necessary, wispit refers to the humanoid, while wispit cloud is, well, the cloud. In addition, wispit have no legs, but a sort of tail that helps them nestle into the cloud. Their hair tends to be long, and their ears are more like horns, being long, spiked, and sturdy.

The two species are totally defined by their symbiosis. For example, wispit are intellectually precocious compared to other sapient species. The cloud protects the young wispit and allows it to develop its mental faculties faster than its physical ones. While the cloud allows both to fly (their main mode of movement), the wispit’s wings make for much quicker movement. And, naturally, a wispit is strongly incentivized to nurture, feed, and protect their cloud.

Wispits and their clouds are born and raised together and have nearly identical lifespans. A wispit that loses its cloud is crippled, while a cloud without its wispit becomes ill and will often stop eating. Much like a body will reject an organ transplant if it does not recognize the organ’s cells, a wispit and clouds’ bodies will reject attempts to be separated or have the other replaced.

Since gasses can’t naturally retain their shape, carry weight, or anything like that, wispit clouds need a touch of magic to live. Consequently, there are no wispit in nonmagical rings.

fiction

Convergent Mistlands

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A finite ring ideal with accomodating physics characterized by its unusual methods of entry and naturally misty environment.

The defining feature of the Convergent Mistlands is a blue-to-white moss. This moss grows in carpets across swathes of the Mistlands and facilitates the generation of mist. Mist generated by the moss has a unique property. When the mist becomes adequately dense, entry into the mist will transport a person into, out of, or around the Mistlands. The shifting boundary of the Mistlands is one such location.

As an ideal, it is possible to enter the Mistlands from many points outside it. Indeed, the Mistlands can be accessed from many rings. People from outside of the Mistlands will almost always leave it eventually; this is because objects nonnative to the Mistlands, including people, have a chance of leaving the mistlands each time the mist teleports them. They will usually track a small amount of moss with them outside of the Mistlands. The moss will then grow, if possible, in the new location. If this moss receives enough water to produce a dense mist, the moss patch will serve as a new entryway to the Mistlands.

Relatively small for a ring, the Mistlands feature a homogenous geography and ecology. The Mistlands are probably a created ring, based on its homogeneity and use of magic to simulate normal life-supporting environs. However, no potential creator is known.

The Mistlands are terribly wet. There are many lakes, rivers, deep aquifers, glaciers, wells, etc. The moss is an essential part of its water cycle, reintroduced a great deal of water into the atmosphere. The whole region is mountainous and stony. Soil is thin. The glaciers are magically maintained; a certain quantity of water becomes snow. The region is not cold enough for snow otherwise and outside specific snowpacks, there is no snow to be found.

Weather is dominated by mist and rain. While the mist often thins or opens large gaps, the sky is never clear altogether. The sky is magically illuminated during the day, but at night, a buoyant, bioluminescent species resembling a balloon replicates the effect of stars.

Two species of shortgrass appear in the Mistlands: one white and one green. Trees are rare. Every tree species in the Mistlands grows as an isolated cluster of trees that form a single individual. Both grasses and trees compete for resources where moss doesn’t grow, generally wetter areas, including lake edges, intermittent rivers and lakes, and the like. The stony landscape and poor sunlight mean most flora does not grow too large. Brush is not common.

Fauna are small. Terrestrial fauna are mostly burrowers, with a few grazers and animals that live in tree patches. One large predator-scavenger exists, which is somewhat reminiscent of a long-legged yak. It uses brute force to kill prey, but mostly scavenges dead grazers. Aquatic life is more varied, with many amphibians, salamanders, and fish.

Notable Locations: 8Sanctuary

fiction

Ring

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A ring is, so to speak, a universe or a complete world. First, a ring is a set, so it contains something. Matter, energy, void, anything like that. In addition to the something, it has a physics, which are the principles under which the something acts, relates to itself, changes, etc. The something is the raw material, while the physics governs what happens in the ring.

In summary, a ring is a set of something with a governing physics.

Our universe, our ring, has a lot of something and a rather nice physics that allows us to exist. As for the knowledge of other rings, we mostly know about rings similar to ours. It’s hard to know about rings where matter as we know it can’t exist. It’s not even a question of survival; how could you send a probe or visit a place where atoms can’t exist, the matter is fundamentally different, or the physics would cause us to instantly fly apart?

Consequently, almost every ring described will have a physics that is close enough to ours. You can safely assume that there will be things different about it, like the science might work different, or the humans might need different internal organs to survive, magic might exist, etc., but fundamental concepts like “time moves in one direction” and “2+2=4” will still be true. Many rings’ physics would only be distinguishable from ours if you know advanced physics. Not important for day to day living, but possibly important if you want to make sure your organs will still work if you move there.

Useful Notes

List of Rings

  • I choose the term ring instead of universe because universe is a really incoherent term across scifi. It’s a loose adaptation of the mathematical concept of a ring, a set of objects with two operators comparable to addition and multiplication. The set is our something and the operators are our physics.
  • A ring may be infinite or finite. A ring need not be ring-shaped.
  • A ring’s something could just be nothing. This is an empty ring and is useless to consider in most contexts. No one lives in an empty ring, nothing happens in an empty ring, etc.
  • A ring can contain a ring. The contained ring would be a subring, while the container ring would be a superring. The subring may have more refined, complicated, or strict physics that don’t apply to the superring.
  • A ring is as extensive as its physics allows its something to go. Nothing can leave a ring by the ring’s own physics. However, a substance not native to the ring may be able to enter or leave it based on a higher physics from a superring. Even native substances may be able to leave a ring with the help from something outside its ring. This is referred to as closure.
  • Material trade between rings is important. While something might be physically impossible to create within a ring, it might still be able to exist inside the ring so long as it is created somewhere else (where it is physically possible).
  • Travel between rings is frequently possible and becomes more common as superring materials proliferate. For lifeforms, the outward appearance is usually preserved, while the internal organs may be refactored. Certain highly-accommodating rings are travel hubs, where magic allows the organ-refactoring to be done painlessly and the person can survive both before and after the refactoring. However, the rules for interring travel depend entirely on the rings and superrings in question and may only connect specific locations, involve arcane methods, or be otherwise obtuse.

Other World Concepts

  • An ideal is a type of subring, distinguished by a sort of capturing mechanism. If an object in the ring containing the ideal interacts with something from the ideal, then the object will also find itself within the ideal. That is to say, an ideal absorbs anything that interacts with it or its parts from anywhere in the broader ring.
  • Many things are almost closed, like planets: consider how escape from Earth was impossible until very recently. It certainly seemed closed. By this analogy, the pragmatic limits of a civilization are called a range. While expansion beyond a range is technically possible, it requires incredibly advanced technology for marginal benefits. A range is not necessarily the full expanse a species could theoretically reach, nor does a range need to have a clear boundary. As mentioned, a range can also expand as technology improves.

Recognizing World Type by Name

For interring societies, the type of world is often indicated within the name by prefixes, suffixes, or other modifiers. Place names are usually translated to represent the ideas the names are based off of in the original language. This avoids issues like unpronounceable names (if the name is even communicated through sound). Adding these modifiers to names helps mitigate repeating names somewhat and helps distinguish place names from words.

  • Ring: feld, rng, vers, dom
  • Ideal: ide, arche, arch, sur
  • Range: welt, velt, mundus, mundi, ran, ester, astr
fiction

Census Guide

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Censuses are efficient methods for summarizing a community’s organization and individual’s place within that community. This page explains some standardized terms used in these censuses.

The census represents a snapshot in time. Each census should be treated as simultaneous, unless otherwise indicated (e.g., a census in a historical setting). Naturally, characters will deviate from this snapshot in more or less significant ways over the passage of time.

Household: Gives an address. All entries below a written address without a new address written live at the same location. This also suggests living arrangements and is strongly associated with family groups. It may also include renters, roommates, etc., which is clarified by the Name and Relationship entry.

Name: First name first, last name(s) second, middle names given after a comma. Aliases, alternate names, differences between legal names and used names may appear in the character’s personal info page. The name used in the census is the name that the person themself or the respondent (typically the head of household) provides. This is an authorial census, rather than a diegetic one, so it is the name I use for them, though it will typically be the same as the one the character uses for themselves in their own mind. Same with article titles. (goodness, im just gonna make this complicated at some point, aren’t i? some character who’s choice of name is just the most inconvenient thing.)

Relationship: Indicates head of household or relationship to head of household. The “head” is determined by who owns the property (or its lease). In the common event of coownership, nonresident owners will not be treated as the head, multiple residents may be marked as head with additional relationship notes, or one appropriate resident will be arbitrarily chosen as the head (i.e., dont read too much into it).

Age: given in Earth years because that’s what you use. Why would I make some abstract system up just so it can mean nothing to you, you know? Age is calculated within relativity, that is, based on the individual’s specific experience of time. A year is adjusted for the appropriate sensation of the passage of time within a given universe. Separately, some universes accelerate or decelerate maturation (i.e., an individual may have experienced more or less time than typically corresponds to their level of physical and cognitive development), which is better reflected in AgeFrame.

AgeFrame: AgeFrame is used to report more meaningful information than a simple yearcount, due to differences in development between species, access to medicine, and so on. The person is placed in a category, such as “child” or “adult”, based on cumulative physical development and compared against the projected lifespan of the species under similar circumstances and with similar medicine. Some terms may have specialized or uncommon terms for development, e.g., a pupal stage.

Origin: Origin refers to place of birth. For many individuals, this can be where they were raised, but not always. An individual’s page may provide more information. Origin may also be described at different levels of scale, e.g., a nomad’s origin will be the region their people hails from, unless that culture attaches special importance to certain places. Same for someone who is not nomadic, but lived throughout a region. Origins in little-understood regions may be much broader in scope than in well-understood areas.

fiction

Golems

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Golems are a broad type of semiartificial life. They are living beings who gain life when a spirit enters a body granted the ability to move by magic or spiritual infusion. Golems are mostly made of inorganic materials. Locomotion, speech, and the senses are typically achieved by magic, but sophisticated golem designs will also include these features on the physical level. Golems, as magical life, have a natural affinity for magic. Many also have strong spiritual connections and can use spirit/necromantic magic.

The rituals, bodies, and methods used to create golems are diverse. Most are not created to be living at all. Instead, some wandering spirit decides to inhabit the golem body, which has already been designed to be capable of sustaining a spirit. Indeed, a body couldn’t be sufficiently complex to make a lifeless golem unless it is also sufficiently sophisticated to host a spirit. The natural abundance of spirits means that most golems are living, while lifeless golems, called machine golems, are rare.

When a spirit inhabits a golem body, it is functionally equivalent to birth: the spirit forgets its life from before and becomes a soul, bound to the body until the body’s destruction. On death, like other spirits, the spirit will then regain its original memories, without losing its memories of life. What constitutes a golem’s destruction varies according to its construction, but severing the magic tied to the body is always sufficient–the spirit is never trapped in a body reduced to a statue.

Golems experience mental growth and childhood like any other species. Young golems are infantile in their understanding and gradually learn how to make use of their mind, senses, and understanding. Only communal golems have the luxury of physical maturation, that is, having a body that matches their cognitive development. Golems with advanced bodies or magic may have a lot of knowledge or instincts at birth, but will struggle with being born into powerful bodies without having any experience or maturity. Most magic, including that used by primitive golem builders, grants basic language comprehension on birth, since golem builders desire a golem that can follow orders. This process makes golems specially vulnerable to psychological disorders tied to slavery.

Variants

Prole

Other names: Worker, Clay, Common. Prole golems are your iconic golem, designed for brute labor. They serve as heavy laborers, soldiers, guards, and the like. They are the simplest subspecies and civilizations will typically build prole golems before anything else. In consequence, prole golems are the most common subspecies by far. They are rarely built with the capacity to speak–most primitive golem builders do not even realize this is a possibility. Taking these factors together, prole golems are the source of most prejudices against golems, especially the belief that they are soulless, mute, or devoid of intelligence. It should be emphasized that prole golems are none of these, and furthermore, can be quite erudite, wealthy, free, etc. if allowed to develop on their own terms.

Vanitas

Vanitas golems are any golem designed to fulfill some vanity of the creator: the pursuit of beauty, the replacement of a loved one, an artificial child, an attempt at immortality, and so on. Vanitas golems tend to be one-of-a-kind, with physiologies tailored to their purpose. They may or may not resemble the species of their creator. Most vanitas golems are enslaved and many have particularly tortured psychologies, stemming from the peculiar pressures and demands of their creators. Their name comes from the art genre of the same name. Many mythological golems, like Galatea and Pinocchio, would be vanitas golems.

Domestic

Other names: Noble, Service. Domestic golems are the softer equivalent of prole golems. They are designed for domestic labor. For example, a wizard might have prole golems build a tower and then have domestic golems cook and clean. Domestic golems are more likely to be able to speak, especially if they are assigned tasks like cooking or care. Cleaning, light gathering, and light maintenance are the most common tasks. Some domestic golems are even educated as magi, healers, doctors, or other complex roles, but this is rare since few civilizations reach this level of sophisticated golem design and still enslave golems. The creation of domestic golems corresponds to more advanced golem building societies–the precision required to build hands that can handle a broom or even a scalpel are much more complicated than clubs or unwieldy fists. The magic required to subjugate a domestic golem also tends to be more sophisticated, since they can speak and perform more complicated tasks. This magic might feature speech control (e.g., speak only when spoken to or clarifying questions only), physical limits (e.g., do not leave this building), and emotional manipulation (e.g., rage suppression). Domestic golems will often undergo training and education before sale too, meaning golem builders typically instill attitudes of submission (whether they realize the golem is intelligent or not). Oftentimes, golem builders will emplace magic subjugation so severe even before implementing speech that the golem builders do not realize that the golems are intelligent. Other, unscrupulous golem builders will refine their magic to disguise the fact the golems are intelligent to a concerned buyer. Consider the substantial and justified concern about AI in our nonmagical society: developing sophisticated and speaking golems invokes comparable controversies.

Imitation

Other names: Rogue, Impostor, Changeling. Imitation golems are those golems trying to fit into some other civilization, often adopting a physical appearance that is difficult to distinguish from whatever other species they live amongst. This is often to avoid reenslavement or prejudice, but some golems do simply adopt the aesthetics of surrounding species. Imitation golems are often also vanitas or domestic golems, especially if they are still enslaved. Note, however, that imitation golems have nothing to do with actual changelings and can only change at great expense (in terms of material and alteration to their magical enchantment).

Communal

Other names: Heritage, Free. Communal golems are golems born into a society of golems or one who has had time to reshape itself as part of such a society. Free of the pressures of other species, communal golems can vary wildly. Some have bizarre forms, others have highly functional bodies, and others still follow whatever sense of aesthetics their community develops.

Machine

Other names: Animal, algorithmic, husk (perjorative). A golem that genuinely does not possess a soul is a machine golem. Unlike living golems, machine golems operate on purely magical principles to understand speech and take orders. Other golems can naturally and intuitively distinguish whether a golem possesses a soul, but it is much more difficult for other species. Machine golems are surprisingly rare: the natural and magical processes and rituals used to construct golems make suitable vessels for souls. Many listless souls inhabit golem bodies as a matter of instinct or curiosity. Machine golems tend to degrade and collapse faster than other golems, plus they are prone to errors, rages, and obtuseness because they are magical machines instead of creatures that can genuinely understand language. Primitive golem builders and users tend to believe machine golems are simply defective, accelerating the destruction of machine golems and increasing the enslavement of other golems. While all golems technically begin as machine golems, many golem bodies spend only moments as machine golems. After all, places where people converge and build golems tend to be places where spirits also converge. Many golem builders use rituals or other practices that invite spirits without understanding what they are doing. Golem societies have their ways of making sure most bodies receive life.

Free Golems

Any golem can, of course, become free. Some golem societies practice slavery of their own, but overall, most communal golems are free. Thus, communal golems are almost always free. Imitation golems are generally free as well, while vanitas golems may have substantial freedom, depending on the vanity they serve.

Many freed golems struggle with freedom. Their magic may make them compulsively obedient, but plain psychology is often to blame. Enslavement and abuse, especially by owners who do not believe golems to be intelligent, causes all kinds of mental disorders. Many golems internalize the belief that they are a slave species, develop loyalty to their controllers, are habituated to slave work, or become dependent. Most enslaved golems are born with the capacity to understand language and do labor, meaning they are inducted into slavery while their minds are still infantile. Such golems genuinely know no life besides enslavement. The legends of golems fulfilling orders well after their master’s death are true, but only rarely is it out of genuine loyalty or love. Golem communities where escapees, abandoned, or freed golems are common often dedicate significant resources to helping newly-free golems adjust.

Meatstone, Threadstone, and Silkstone

These substances are strongly associated with golems because of their value as golem materials, so much so that they are referred to collectively as golem materials. Each can be found in many colors. Meatstone is firm, malleable, and flexible, good for golem interiors. Silkstone is soft and pleasant to the touch, often used for skin. Thin layers of silkstone are translucent. When combined with meatstone, silkstone can create incredible color combinations and realistically imitate skin colors and complexions. Combined with meatstone, Threadstone is highly flexible and naturally forms in thin strands, so it is used as faux hair, fur, and so on. Golems themselves love having bodies with these materials integrated. Relying on magic for movement can make for stiffness and golems who switch from stone to meatstone will be surprised at how much easier it is to move their body, no matter how powerful the magic they are made with. Silkstone makes for greater sensitivity, and threadstone is popular aesthetically as well. Simply put, most golems feel more supple, limber, strong, and well-rounded with golem materials.

Golem materials can only form naturally in certain universes of particular physical laws, making them a luxury import in most places. Golem civilizations compete with wealthy buyers and golem builders. Many free golems struggle with buying these materials, since it means some enslaved golem might be deprived of a better construction.

Their cost assures that only the most obscenely wealthy would use them for prole golems (flaunting wealth). Instead, prole golems are generally made with whatever’s most available: clay, stone, steel, bone. Vanitas golems, since they’re unique and typically designed with aesthetics in mind, are the most likely to use these materials. Even relatively poor vanitas golem makers will sometimes obtain silkstone and threadstone (less will seek out meatstone since it’s not visible and the majority of the golem’s mass). There are even some vanitas golems made entirely out of silkstone or threadstone–this tends to make for a very weak golem though. Since domestic golems are associated with wealth already, it’s common for them to have hints of golem materials, but since domestic golems are usually used in groups, fewer people can afford to use golem materials for the entire golem. Imitation golems get these materials if they can, since golem materials allow for a more realistic appearance. Communal golems are free to use whatever they get their hands on.