Craggen
A hollow shell of armour, a Craggen is intended to house a soul either as punishment or to offer a fallen warrior the chance to keep fighting.
CREATION
Craggen can take any form. The Mesitorian Empire mass produces them using a template resulting in scores of identical shells. Elsewhere, they are created with the care of a fine art piece with great time and effort put into making them ornate and grand. Invariably they are always humanoid, a empty shell resembling a suit of armour. The metal used in their construction matters little, though of course the quality will result in a more durable shell. What is of paramount importance is the wards and spells woven into the shell as they must be precise and strong enough to contain the soul when it is transferred. Until it houses a soul, a Craggen is no different from any suit of armour without a wearer.
SOUL TRANSFERANCE
Whether as punishment or preservation, a skilled magic user or Dewyn with a particular gift may transfer a soul from a living being and cast it into the waiting Craggen. Providing the spells and wards are up to the task of containing the soul the Craggen will awaken, host to an imprisoned soul. If something is wrong, if a spell fails then the Craggen will likely explode and the soul often obliterated.
PURPOSE
The origins of the Craggen are lost in the mists of time. The art of creating them has been handed down for generations and there are prominent artisan families who have perfected the art of their creation. It was a common practice in some kingdoms for criminals who had been convicted of various crimes to be sentenced to serve as Craggen, their souls imprisoned in the shell for a duration to pay back their debt to society. Craggen do not tire and are incredibly strong and durable, making them ideal labourers. Most souls transferred to a Craggen lose their personality, becoming little more than automata. This is deliberate as it would be highly dangerous to transfer a killer into a powerful armoured shell without some form of control.
Not all Craggen lose their personalities however. Particularly great warriors and generals mortally wounded may be interred within a Craggen so their skills are not lost when needed most. This is a more laborious process and requires specific spells and a longer, more difficult soul transferal. It is worth the effort though as the fallen warrior can once more serve their kingdom. Their skills, tactical acumen and knowledge are intact, though often at a cost of emotion. They will lose all sense of taste and touch and that which once brought them pleasure will feel empty. Thus, whilst it is considered an honour to be given a second chance at life within a Craggen, for many it is a fate worse than death. Some choose this fate however, especially if they have failed in some great manner and honour demands they atone. The great Dewyn General Maris is a prime example of this. He choose internment within a Craggen following his lapse in judgement in trusting the Mesitorian Emperor, an error that saw an entire city wiped out. To stone, the General choose penance within a Craggen so that he could atone for his failure and continue the fight against the tyrant.
THE IRON GUARD
In the time of the Mesitorian Empire however, the process has become industrialised. The Emperor saw the great potential in having a legion of Craggen. Thus the Emperor turned the immense military-industrial might of Mettigar toward the creation of the Craggen Legion, the Iron Guard. Hundreds of Craggen are forged in secretive factories, ready to become the containers of the damned. These unfortunates are criminals, political enemies of the Emperor, or merely those caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.In an effort to streamline the process, the Emperor pioneered a quicker but far more painful Soul Extraction method working with several Dewyn and Wizards. What once was a laborious process is now swift and efficient and horrific as a soul is literally torn from its body and thrown into the waiting Craggen. Many prisoners will attempt to end their lives before the Soul Extraction, seeing death as a far more appealing option.
The Iron Guard are an implacable and dangerous force, a relentless horde of identical shells crushing all in their path. Just one of the many dire weapons in the arsenal of the Mesitorian Emperor. Another tool in his great plan to conquer all realms and rule over them as the supreme monarch.
RHUWN (roon)
Rhuwn are a rare kind of Craggen. Here a recently deceased body may be interred within an empty Craggen and given a new lease on life, providing a powerful and gifted magic user knows how to bind the soul and shell together. Rhuwn are rare and it takes a unique soul able to return from the afterlife and reclaim their body. It is also difficult as Craggen are not an abundant resource. For the process to work the deceased must be recently passed and there must be a waiting, empty and intact Craggen waiting. The Mesitorian Iron Guard Craggen are abundant and whilst the Empire seeks to gather up all fallen, some are missed though they are not suitable as they are invariably tainted with the cruel extraction process.
The most important factor in determining whether the process of binding a soul to a Craggen and the creation of a Rhuwn is successful is that the soul must wish it, that it must complete some great task before it can move on. The soul must have a great yearning, one that will allow it to cheat death if only for a time.
Comments