Golem

An automaton created by infusing an artificial body with the essence of a living creature.

Utility

Potential Applications

The main purpose of golems is to serve as tireless, expendable workers or fighters. This would reduce the need to expose real people or animals to danger.
Since their bodies are entirely artificial, they are not limited to mimicking existing lifeforms. This opens up the possibility to create entirely new anatomies that are not achievable through selective breeding. Such golems could be more practical, for example by using a second pair of arms, or simply allow for artistic expression with unnatural shapes.
Finally, one very attractive application might be to create duplicates of specific people. Much like ancient trees or statues that remain intact through many generations, this carries the promise of immortality beyond the limits of a person's flesh.

Limitations

Today's golems are still far away from those goals.
So far, they have no healing abilities of their own, so they require regular maintenance by a wielder of the base material. There is also a trade-off between the ease of manufacturing a golem and its durability. This rarely makes them profitable for real-world applications.
To further complicate matters, golems have negligible sentience and therefore no self preservation instinct. This lack of intelligence also limits the tasks they can actually be trusted with. They require constant supervision because they are prone to mindlessly crashing into obstacles or breaking valuable equipment.

Experimental Usage

A few industries have been testing the prototypes, but so far, the golems are not efficient enough to replace actual people. And since the Werewolf minority already serves as cheap and strong workforce, employing those is far more profitable than investing in golems.
The military sometimes uses golems to spring traps, but rats or other animals are still the preferred method. Likewise, they occasionally send massive, lumbering stone golems into battle, but otherwise the frontlines mainly consist of Werewolf soldiers or heavily-armored war camels.

Manufacturing

Forming the Body

The body is made from solid materials by a craftsperson who often combines their mundane skills with their Elemental magic.

Wooden golems are made by carpenters or wood carvers, who usually have Plant as their primary or secondary attunement. Occasionally, they are created directly by the alchemist who is responsible for animating them.

Stone or clay golems are made by stonemasons, sculptors or potters. Those tend to be attuned to Ground.

Metal golems are forged by blacksmiths or sometimes by more artistically inclined metalworkers. The relevant attunement for this is Lava.

Giving it Life

The key ingredient is the essence of a living being.
Said essence is harvested, destilled and refined by a skilled alchemist, who then infuses the raw body with this substance. Special additives improve its bond to the base material, and finding the ideal mixture for this is one of the most active research areas.
Finally, the dormant essence is "ignited" by transferring energy into it. Ideally, this is done directly by an Energy wielder, but heat or electricity are viable mundane alternatives.

Social Impact

Golems have little to no impact on everyday life, because few people know about them in the first place and even fewer people actually use them.

Inventor(s)

Dabi Haran

Access & Availability

research prototypes
expensive artworks

Discovery

research project at the University of Siraina

Related Culture(s)

Desert Elves

Prestigious Artworks

by Kathrin Janowski

Living sculptures are only affordable for exceptionally wealthy people, so they are rising in popularity among the elite of Norume.
The most expensive golem to date is a tall dragon that is exhibited in the Royal Gardens. Its body is made of polished rock from the Hashkisa Taibun mountains. It has goldleaf accents, eyes of turquoise, and wings of fine silk.

Recent Progress

During the last decade, Grandmaster Dabi Haran mentored two excellent Plant wielder students.
They introduced the idea of using living plants instead of dead wood, which makes the golems significantly more receptive to life essence. This new generation of golems does have access to the plants' abilities, such as self-repair, basic awareness of their surroundings, and primitive reasoning.
One of those students was nobody lesser than Princess Lahita of Ki'orun, who went on to marry the Crown Prince of Norume after her graduation. She used her political influence to direct more funds towards her mentor's golem research, and it seems likely that this technology will see major improvements soon.

by Kathrin Janowski