Golemancer

There is no action without consequence. You all gathered here before me because you displayed an incredible talent at sensing the lifeforce known as Aether in others, something we call Aetherseering. So, your first lecture is - remember that there is no life without Aether. Before you start constructing Golems of your own, you need to learn to shape your own Aether, and grow accustomed to its flow within you or it will destroy you.

— Rox, Senior Golemancer

Career

Qualifications

Each Golemancer needs to be able to sense Aether, an ability that only one in a hundred Jungle dragons displays, and to an even lesser degree, may also manifest within Water dragons, male Mud dragons and Nocturnal Gryphons during adolescence.
For other races, the rate would be closer to 1/200

Career Progression

For anyone with traits of Aetherseering, they have two career paths to take. They can either become a Purveyor Artificer and thus specialize in crafting weaponry and imbuing them with the Dreams of their ancestors or can pursue Golemancy and shape objects at the cost of their own Aether.

• Apprentice Golemancers are only ever allowed to practice their Aetherseering abilities and study the theory of their craft. At this stage, they are little more than helpers for the more experienced Seniors of their craft. After 2 cycles of apprenticeship, they become Juniors.
• Junior Golemancers, on the other hand, start with simple tasks - such as establishing boundaries for Golems or simple stoneshaping and can without supervision complete these tasks. After 4-10 cycles, Juniors will become Seniors through rigorous testing of their abilities by their supervisors.
• Senior Golemancers are well-equipped to realize some of the more ambitious projects, not only can they assist in construction of large-scale buildings, smooth out stone or cut it in half, but also are able to utilize their own  to breathe life into Golems. The latter is performed rarely, as such a process is lengthy, requires the Golemancer's full attention and can take anywhere between a few days or several cycles to complete, depending on the complexity of the Golem's programming.
• Master Golemancers are only present in Jungle dragon territories, as the mastery of this craft is dangerous and only few know the intricate secrets of life enough to make something greater than a mere construct. Many Seniors in the past have accidentally lost their lives pursuing the mastery of their craft, as creating Golems can cause its creator to accidentally pour too much of their Aether essence away and never recover from this loss.

Payment & Reimbursement

Golemancers can either be funded by day for their work or only after their projects are complete with a sum of gems. Regardless of which, Golemancy tends to be one of the wealthier profession.

Other Benefits

Golemancers of Jungles are never required to participate in the evening feasting activities. In fact, many of them decide to live in seclusion from their brethren and dedicate lives to studying and quenching their insatiable thirst for mastering their craft.
Very long downtime. Golemancer's profession is dangerous to perform for too long and too often, and as such, Golemancers tend to have entire days to recuperate after performing their work.

Perception

Purpose

The main purpose of Golemancers is to dedicate their life to Engineering/Architecture. There are often cases of Golemancers being brought in as mere architects for great buildings, rather than being used for their ability to shape stone and minerals. Still, the stoneshaping ability is oftentimes made use of in quarries for easier extraction of Sheetstone and other ores without damaging them. Juniors can even optionally work as miners just to earn some extra gems during their studies.
Of course, the namesake of their profession involves Golems too, but to a much lesser degree than one would expect. Golems are very expensive to make, and in some cases, even dangerous. It was not uncommon for Golemancers to lose their will to live while creating Golems through expending too much of their Aether, and these have died shortly after.

• Golems are constructs made out of any material that conducts Aether. As such, they must have some biological component within their bodies - most commonly, animal bones are used for this purpose so as to prevent deterioration and malfunctions over time.
• Golems can only be awakened when the conditions set by their creator are met. Same goes for deactivation. In some cases, Golems may be created without a condition for deactivation.
• Golems can generally only follow simple commands that have been pre-established by their maker. It is usually too expensive and difficult, if not impossible to make a golem be able to respond to everything.

Master Golemancers are rumored to be pursuing an ultimate goal - creating Chimeras. Chimeras are living organisms, created artificially. This process is shrouded in secrets but was possible in the distant past. No-one has created a Chimera for centuries, however, with recent incursions of Ember and Ember Wielders, many eyes are set to study this new phenomena.

Social Status

Senior Golemancers are amongst the top of the social pyramid in Jungle dragon territories and are equal parts feared and revered. Perhaps, a little more feared than respected.

Demographics

<1%

History

In the distant past, during Age of Strife (80BA - 0AA) Golemancers were able to create Chimeras - creatures made from flesh and breathed new life. The process of which is not currently known, but likely involved two or more parent species somehow mixing into one individual. Some historians even suggest that it is how Mud dragons, Water dragons, Fire dragons and Jungle dragons were created. Though currently, there is no proof to suggest this theory can be true.
In the century that followed, dubbed Age of Loneliness (1AA - 112AA), the knowledge of how to create Chimeras was lost, and in a desperate pursuit to reverse engineer what their ancestors did, many Golemancers lost their lives, yet unsuccessfully. It is currently not certain what caused the knowledge to disappear from the world, but the events coincide with the disappearance of Moon dragons in 23AA.

Operations

Workplace

Seclusion and the ability to concentrate without being interrupted is amongst the top priority for Golemancers at work. As such, their workplaces generally tend to be underground or on the outskirts of settlements.

Provided Services

Architecture, Masonry, Golemancy, Aetherseering, Mining, Excavations, Research, Jewelry-making

Dangers & Hazards

Golemancers are the only profession that absolutely cannot over-extend their own abilities. Patience is not only a virtue, but also a life-death scenario. After each Aether expended upon their works, Golemancers must rest and let their body naturally replenish the lost Aether, the process of which can be sped up by proper rest, entertainment or any activity said individual would find fulfilling.
Too much expended Aether (especially during Golemancy) can cause Golemancers to lose their will to live, and within an hour after that, their body stops working altogether. Only very close relatives, friends or mates have been able to revive such an individual before they die - if they also happen to be Golemancers.

Alternative Names

Stoneshapers

Type

Arcane

Demand

Luxury

Legality

It is illegal for Golemancers to experiment on dragons, the only exception being that said individual is a criminal sentenced to death.

Glossary

• Aether - Fundamental power of shaping their own destiny and influencing others. Present in all living things to varying degrees.
• Aetherseering - Activity which enables an individual to sense Aether in living things around them.
• Dreams - The main driving force behind the life of Midrastians. Pursuing and fulfilling one's Dreams makes them grow. 
• Golems - Artificial automatons built around a simple purpose. The more complex the Golem, the more taxing on Aether its construction is.
• Chimera - Artificially created organism
• Ember - Ore that has fallen from the sky on 13th Fertilan 896. Ember grants whoever wields it immense supernatural powers at the cost of their own physical health.