Ancient Warforged

Meeting a Warforged is a rare occurrence in today's world. The Ancient Order could create them in abundance. Why the Ancients have done this is a debated topic.

— Alicia Ravenwood, Historian.

Overview

One of the most curious aspects of the The Ancient Order is what many scholars have come to define as "warforged" due to their unusual suitability for warfare. The warforged appear to be a race of mechanical humanoids. Not much is known about them as it is rare to find intact remains.
It is believed they were designed for war due to the variety of bladed and strange weapons embedded in one of more of their limbs. That, and their armor is far tougher than anything made today.

Life Source

Being an artificial species, they must have been given life through magic. However, no recovered Warforged remains had a crystal in them or any other apparent source of magical energy. This has puzzled scholars and mages alike. Is it possible that the Ancient Warforged were created without the aid of magic? If so, how was this accomplished? We may never know this answer, though it may lie out there in some undiscovered ruin. Perhaps it resides in the The Ancient Archive, a common myth describing a vault that houses a collection of all Ancient Order knowledge.

Unanswered Questions

Why a unified world would need an artificial species designed for war is a mystery. Perhaps the Ancients were fighting some external threat? Maybe they waged war across the planes against unimaginable horrors? Or were they not has unified as many believe?
Continued study of Ancient Ruins is needed if an answer to these questions is to be found. The answer may help illuminate the nature of the The Great Collapse.

A Waiting Remnant

Some posit that an ancient underground ark houses Ancient Warforged that have survived the collapse and are ready to serve a new master. If such a fortress exists and is discovered it could tip the balance of power in any region.
There is a growing theory among fringe scholars that multiple arks of surviving Warforged exist and that they still serve an Ancient master. Should anyone awaken them, they may revive the Ancient Order through force. This is an unpopular notion as it would imply that the Ancient Order is more warlike than the evidence has so far suggested.

Warforged of Today

There doesn't seem to be a close relationship between the Ancient Warforged and the Warforged of today beyond their metal construction. Perhaps one of the rumored Arks was opened long ago and the Warforged there set about a new less war-like destiny for their species.

Note(s) from the Archivists:

I think they were sentient and had aspirations beyond war. - Archivist Enna 
Maybe, but maybe why would the Ancients produce an artificial species with thoughts beyond their intended role? - Archivist Savitri
I guess it depends on the kind of people they really were. If you're right, then it would imply that the Ancients were not an enlightened people as so many people believe them to have been. - Archivist Enna