Taglock
Arnulf stopped, his rant tapering off as he stared at the screen. Instead of cards, the screen was black and there was small, white font displaying letters.
hello-Arnulf.asm
og 0x10
ov dx, msg
mov ah, 9 int 0x21
mov ah, 0xc
int 0x21
msg db ‘Hello, Arnulf!', 0x0d, 0x0a, '$'
A Taglock is the machine, appliance, or device which contained the original consciousness of a machine before moving into a humanoid body. They are made into colorful decorations that can resist fire, often resembling candies or childlike decals and charms. This allows them to blend in with jewelery, making it harder to detect and locate the very magically sensitive item. However, mundane decorative taglocks also exist and are given as courtship items or souvenirs.
The Fundamental Components of a Taglock
There are three components to a traditional, functional taglock: the core, the mantle, and the crust.
Aelwen took something out of the bag. Wrapped in blood-stained fabric was an odd device Silas had rarely seen up close, the key piece of an old motor. Her hands gripped it protectively.
The Core
The core is almost always made of an electroconductive metal, typically falling into the Heavy Metal element. As analog machines are far more common to come across in the forests, a governor or patchboard is often used.
Prior to being made into a taglock, the metal quality is assessed, and then melted before being poured into a pendant-sized mould. Any remnants are then ceremonially destroyed and the core is consecrated and given a name.
What's in a name?
The name assigned to the taglock is often written in hexadecimal language but not always, however, regardless of the notation it is always encoded. If the Resurrectionist has a target in mind, they will assign them a similar name. For example, the taglock of Ava1ach Abe1lion was given the name "0x6176616C616368" Avalach.
The Mantle
The most visually creative component of the taglock is the mantle. These are almost always made with Citron materials such as benjoin or formalin, creating a hardened plastic design with the core (the part of the machine or device) captured inside. These are often visual representations of the machine, or the products of the machine, and allows the resurrectionist to add their personal artistic signature.
The Crust
The crust of the taglock is a fire-resistant and waterproof layer of varnish which is applied to ensure that the taglock is close as can be to indestructible.
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