Old Folk (ōld fōk)

Introduction

The engineered Formedfolk of Hallus.

Origin

Most Old Folk were created near the end of Third Blazing. Through cosmically heretical science, the engineer's of Spire discovered a method that allowed them to detach the Sophontic Soul from a creature and house it in a mechanical container through pure science rather than Faith. These detached Souls would quickly fade away without a constant charge of pyrolectrical energy. To keep the cost down, the engineers focused their efforts on taking smaller portions of the Soul.

To house these slivers of Soul, the Old Folk were created. Autonomous, untiring machines constructed with self-maintaining engines to keep their stolen Souls stable. Many were used in service around Spire before the SunFade and still remember their intended Purpose.

SunFade

Like most machines during the start of the SunFade, the inner workings of the Old Folk failed to survive the realm-wide explosion. But with a bit of tinkering here, and a few replacement parts, the Old Folk can be awoken again. With their creators long dead and their city dying, many Old Folk have decided to find purpose elsewhere in Hallus.

Components

All Old Folk have a large engine built into their chassis, powerful enough to keep their Soul Shards from destabalizing. Alongside this engine, most have advanced Old Ways technology that allows them to draw in ambient heat to keep their engine running. Some were even engineered to allow for heat creation through bio-mechanical consumption of carbon-based materials such as coal, wood, or meat.

General Information

Geographic Distribution

• Hallus

Related Ethnicities

• Formedfolk

Related Technologies

• Reliquarium

Related Materials

• Machine Blood

Old Folk Classifiction

Through intentional design, not all Old Folk are created equal. While it is not common, an Old Folk can raise its classification through dedicated upgrading of its chassis. This is most commonly done through dismantling other Old Folk, living or dead.

Slave

The lowest tier of Old Folk, primarily used as automated hauling devices. They are to be considered non-Sophontic.

Specalist

With little to no agency, these Old Folk excel at pre-programmed tasks and falter under any change in environment or task.

Servitor

The most common tier of Old Folk, they are fully Sophont and are able to learn and adapt. All Player Characters are Servitors.

Savant

Thought of as Old Folk perfection, Savants are able to excel at complex tasks while able to still function as fully formed Sophonts, including the use of Faith magic.

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