Khentauree

Khentauree are mechanical beings first created by the Meergevenis military for battle situations that would prove too dangerous for human personnel. Military scientists named them after the mythological creatures with human torsos and horse bodies that they used as a basis for their design. The tech transitioned to the business sector, where thousands of machines were built for industry. They were produced until the Taangis Empire fell six hundred years ago, after which businesses struggled to keep them functional.
Eventually, the machines broke, and scientists and historians believed them relics of the past.
Then Markweza Elderkaasen rediscovered them in the Ambercaast Mines in Jilvayna after his scientists found diary excerpts from Gedaavik's assistants.

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Appearance

Khentauree have a silver alloy and aquatheerdaal exterior, though, depending on the work they were designed to do, tougher materials might form the exterior. In general, their human heads have mirror eyes, a smooth nose, and a mouth with a hint of lips. Their human torso is slick, with a hint of muscle, and their horse torso is sleek, with thin legs and a stub for a tail.

Interior

In the center of their chest, or, depending on the model, their eyes or forehead, they have concealed cavities that hold scanning tech, allowing them to understand their environment. The equipment can identify materials, shapes, colors, and in advanced models, behave like extraordinary eyes.
Despite a delicate appearance, the khentauree are strong. Larger ones could lift buildings if programmed to do so.
They possess an intricate circulatory system that runs sponoil through their body and keeps all in working order.
They have sophisticated AI, and their learning algorithms are exceptional.
At present, the only human that appears to understand their inner workings is Jhor, and he spent years with the Ambercaast khentauree before the markweza showed up. While the markweza's scientists delved into the mechanical beings and managed to figure out enough about their workings to resurrect those who had gone to silence, they were still years behind the modder.

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Vladimir from Pexels

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Gedaavik

Ambercaast mine owners hired a Meergeven scientist by the name of Brade Gedaavik to work with the mine khentauree and improve their programming. He did far more than that, and hid the results from the owners.
His research into AI and other things khentauree led him to eventually create special machines that could think and act for themselves. He praised them and claimed he had discovered how to program true intelligence into a non-living entity. He believed himself so successful, that he told the special group he worked with to hide their abilities from the mine owners, because he could not predict their reaction.
His grand achievement was Ghost's sprites, and while proud of his accomplishments, he did not trust the mine owners nor his assistants with the knowledge. He secreted his research away in hidden rooms throughout the mines. When he passed, the khentauree he worked with went back to their previous duties and pretended to be typical khentauree.

Modern Times

Gedaavik's khentauree remained awake throughout the centuries. They cared for other khentauree who did not wish to go to silence, and had only rare interactions with adventurers and treasure hunters until Jhor appeared on their doorstep, looking for Gedaavik's research in an attempt to create better mods for people with physical disabilities.
The markweza is interested in creating an army of mechanical beings, and now that his endeavor has been exposed in Ambercaast, he is looking elsewhere for khentauree remains to research.
Bov Caardinva is also interested in resurrecting khentauree, but his purpose for doing so remains shrouded in mystery. Jhor knows that Gedaavik visited other mines, and is afraid that Caardinva has gone to ground in one of them, looking for beings as sophisticated as Ghost, Sanna, Chiddle, and the other Ambercaast khentauree.