Olmekhanikal Spirit Goat
I really hope that this being an entrance in the The Codices of Istralar and Beyond doesn't mean there are more of these things out there.When faced with an impending draconic threat, sometimes drastic actions are needed. The Olmekhanikal Spirit Goat is one such drastic action. The goat, or vessel as it is sometimes referred, was constructed in the year 5523 as a last-ditch effort to combat the red dragon Belekgozor the Burning, out of combined efforts across the various facets of the Olmekh Makers. Nowadays, Olmekhanikal spirit goats are sentient, sapient clockwork beings in the shape of goats that are present throughout Fjolkandr and work largely in agricultural communities. They live in close-knit communities and all remain in regular contact and association with craftspeople so as not to let their clockwork bodies fall into misrepair. The most famous of the goats, their progenitor, was never named whilst they lived. Their name lives on in the hearts of their kin as the Kingspirit, and his crypt stands in Ukhursgard on the cliffside, overlooking the fields in which their kin now dwell.
Ley Surfboard by Hanhula (via Midjourney)
The Drill by Hanhula (via Midjourney)
Water Cannon by Hanhula (via Midjourney)
Initial Design by Hanhula (via Midjourney)
Origin/Ancestry
Mechanical
Conservation Status
Somehow Not Extinct
Geographic Distribution
Creation
Wait is it actually alive?The components used to create the goat were already constructed prior to the goat's base form even being conceptualised. The Makers had, in prior years, constructed a series of drills to harness ambient magic - or potentially even ley magic - more efficiently, making ever-careful adjustments to their schematics to ensure nothing upset the greater balance. The largest of these was largely understood to be somewhat unstable, and the Makers had already been considering decommissioning it. The drill, in many ways, was what inspired the goat's creation. A small voice had suggested using it to drain the dragon's magic, and that had gotten cogs whirring. It would be perfect, they thought, to use it as such. If the drill's instability blew it up, then that would only serve as more damage against the evil foe. A perfect use of an imperfect creation.
Belekgozor the Burning by Hanhula (via Midjourney)
The goat came second, for the drill would need some manner of being piloted, and a series of clockwork goats had recently been constructed to aid with lawn care in the fields. The schematics were still very much available, and the Makers quickly set about scaling them up. Though, someone then pointed out that the dragon could breathe fire. Metal burned in fire.
Thankfully, one of the Makers knew of a recently-completed project for fire control carried out by the Firetamers (the fire brigade): water cannons, designed to prevent fires like the one that had caused the creation of the Tradeswheel. These were quickly repurposed, too, and were mounted atop the goat's shoulders. As a bonus, red dragons are historically known to be weak to cold - the antithesis of flame - and the cannons would serve them well in battle.
Mobility proved to be the next issue, and yet again, an existing invention served the purpose here. This time, however, it was not from the Makers entirely. A passing adventuring group had wished for a method to surf through the air, so that they could more easily carry friends with little ability to walk around. This was very much a magic-based request, and their mages had been assisting the Makers in a design. When they heard of the dragon, they enthusiastically volunteered not only the magical surfboard for the goat to be mounted atop, but also offered the suggestion that would prove the goat victorious overall: the spirit box.
The spirit box was an artifact they had encountered in a twisted fey mansion full of horrors in the west, during their adventures across Valathe. It could reach into the Ethereal Plane and converse with spirits there, if one knew how to use it. And, if one were truly skilled with it, they could use it to extend possessions from the box into the Material Plane - allowing the wicked to use the simple box to take control of unwilling others.
The adventurers had been looking for someone to help them dispose of the box or repurpose it properly, they explained, and this seemed to be the perfect use of it. Perhaps with the box, someone could control the goat from afar!
Reawakening
...How?The goat was quickly memorialised and secured within a crypt of its own in the wake of its defeat, and the dragon's body was properly utilised in many crafts through the city - dragonhide was a rare and useful resource, after all. However, the goat's tale would not end there. Somehow, the spirit box had broken its confines, and every other clockwork goat created throughout Fjolkandr attracted its own spirits. These were not always good in nature, but then, neither were humans. They also didn't seem to be particularly undead. Somehow, the strange confluence of events had birthed a new species of sentient spiritual clockwork goats throughout Fjolkandr. Despite the new sentience, most were content to continue working their same jobs - the only difference now was that some of them wanted pay for it. Today, Olmekhanikal spirit goats are considered sapient citizens of Fjolkandr and are readily welcomed into the Olmekh Makers. They are a complete oddity to the rest of the world, and most do not leave their country for fear of what will happen - indeed, some worry that the magic tethering their spirits to their clockwork form only lingers in Fjolkandr. New goats can still be created by the same schematics of the first few, and regularly are, but following the schematics to do so outside of the Makers influence births only empty shells. And indeed, they can still speak through telepathy - a lingering gift from the spirit boxes that birthed them. With their dialogue otherwise limited to goatlike screeching, this is a definite boon.
These are everything I hoped they would be.