The Ancient Machines: Introductory Chapter

The Bridge Between Beastfolk and The Great Machinators

When The Great Machinators: Introductory Chapter were built, the Beastfolk knew that it would take more skill, wisdom, and knowledge than they could carry within themselves on their voyage to keep The Great Machinators alive, healthy and internally balanced. It would take thousands of Beastfolk just to manage one of the seven major Cores of a Machinator, though being the monstrous marvels they were, they were so internally delicate that mortal error could lead to terrible disaster for both Beastfolk and Machinator. So the great engineers of the sixteen Clans built the Core Machines (who would later bear the title Ancient). Each clan building the separate halves of 56 of these mechanical people, each Machinator containing 28 Core Machines. Like their Great Machinators, the Core Machines were built as blends of the two Clans that built them, whose aesthetic visuals and personalities reflected as much. Constructed in humanoid shapes to interact with Beastfolk as they must, with internal artificial intelligence modules that could handle the sheer mass of their Great Machinator's consciousness.
So massive were The Great Machinators' consciousnesses that management of the Machinator's wellbeing was divided into seven parts, with the Great Machinator's personal autonomy being the eighth Core. The seven Cores represented the borders between the eight major forces of the universe (later understood as the mash-ups of the Eight Songs, see The Magic of Terrabeastia: Introductory Chapter for details) Space, Time, Memory, Perception, Nature, Instinct, The Elements, and Physicality. These were known as The Crown Core, The Foresight Core, The Persona Core, The Desire Core, The Counselor Core, The Survival Core, and The Power Core. Each of these seven cores contained four Core Machines that were charged with communicating with one another, other Cores, and the Beastfolk to maintain the well-being of the Great Machinator and its denizens. The Head of the Core communicates with the Great Machinator telepathically, the Heart empathetically, the Voice synthesizing the head and heart's information into practical action, and the Hand is the one who executes said action as well as defending their Core and the Beastfolk from external & internal dangers.

Cores & Classifications

The Mind Core
The Crown Chakra, the mash-up between The Star Sea, The Cumulus of Time, and The Everlasting Light, the unity of Space, Time and Physicality.
The Mind Core's mission is to ensure the wellbeing of and embody the Great Machinator's higher consciousness, the outermost existential regions of the brain regarding awareness and spiritual wellbeing. The Head of the Mind is charged with communicating the pure thoughts of consciousness from the Machinator, recognizing patterns of behavior and theorizing ways to transcend them should they become problematic. The Heart of the Mind's job is incorporating the fusion of ancient wisdom and spiritual histories of its Clan creators into a way of identifying what should be considered sacred and embodying the ecstasy and bliss of immaterial consciousness. The Voice of the Mind's job is to connect with the other Voices of The Mind (and Power) within the Machinators around their own to ensure the chain of Great Machinators moves with unification as well as conviction, as well as convey the path to spiritual enlightenment to both Machinator and denizens. The Hand of the Mind wields its awareness of the unseen and its sense of conscious presence to detect and defend against danger. Members of the Mind Core's personality A.I. (cultural influences of creator Clans aside) depicts them as aloof, ethereal, sentimental, child-like in their wonder, and unconcerned with the physical realm save for when they unite with the Power Core. Unlike the other five Cores, they share bonds with three instead of two forces in the universe, both Mind and Power are responsible for the barrier between Space and Physicality. Uniting and balancing the epitomes of physical and metaphysical being and completing the circular chain oh so intrinsic to the Great Machinators' design and to the yet undiscovered Songs of magic.
The Foresight Core
The Third Eye Chakra, the mash-up between The Cumulus of Time and The Sanctum of The Spirit, the unity of Time and Memory.
The Foresight Core's mission is to calculate and assess potential issues and find creative and effective ways of taking care of them before they arise, as well as embodying their Great Machinator's intuition and creativity, becoming the forward seeing eyes of their creators and Machinator (hence the title Foresight). The Head of Foresight's task is to calculate through deduction and quantum physics the most plausible futures and trajectories of the forces that be, as well as ensuring guarded events of the present and past come into the light should they become relevant. The Heart of Foresight's job is to store, access and accumulate the wisdom and insight of past and present Machinators and Beastfolk and stoke the flames of creativity within the Cores and the Machinator. The Voice of Foresight motivates the Beastfolk and Core into action by combining the efforts of Heart and Head, as well as embodying the vision, inspiration, and creativity that fuels Machinators and Beastfolk into action. The Hand of Foresight defends its charges through perceiving the flow of energy and generating dozens of potential strategies of those that threaten the Core or Beastfolk. Members of the Foresight Core's personality A.I. depicts them as academic, punctual, driven, creative, insightful, decisive and strict.
The Counselor Core
The Heart Chakra, the mash-up between The Sanctum of The Spirit and The Overshadow, the unity between Memory and Perception.
The Counselor Core's mission is to managing and translating the complex emotional needs of its Machinator and to promote the good-will, compassion, and empathy amongst Beastfolk and Machinator alike, embodying its Great Machinator's empathy, insight, and center of awareness. The Head of the Counselor is charged with discerning what emotional response would generate the most positive results from interaction and discerning the emotions of others, as well as rationalizing when forgiveness is justified. The Heart of the Counselor is charged with embodying its Great Machinator's compassion, empathy, and love toward itself and others. The Voice of the Counselor is tasked with ensuring the emotional relationships between its Machinator, the other Machinators, Beastfolk, and fellow Cores are clearly conveyed and understood, and if need be, ensuring the process of grief and loss is well tended to in times of crisis. The Hand of the Counselor embodies insight and center of awareness and utilizes its ability to transform emotions and behaviors to redirect those who would threaten its charges, though if such tactics do not work, this Core's Hand is one of the more ferocious fighters amongst its class. Members of the Counselor Core's personality A.I. depicts them as pacifistic, compassionate, loving, patient, and with a balance of personal investment and empathy often seen in mortal therapists and counselors.
The Ambassador Core
The Throat Chakra, the mash-up between The Overshadow and The Undergrove, the unity between Perception and Nature.
The Ambassador Core's mission is to directly convey the personality, identity, purpose, and intentions of its Great Machinator and the cultural amalgamate of the Beast Clans that created them. The Head of the Ambassador deciphers and expresses its Machinator's personal truths and calculates the timing of addressed issues and needs that the Machinator wishes to be made clear. The Heart of the Ambassador communicates its innate understanding of verbal and non-verbal emotional cues and intuits the needs (mental, physical, and emotional) of its Machinator. The Voice of the Ambassador then gives a creates a direct embodiment of its Machinator's purpose and conviction act upon it. The Hand of the Ambassador puts the plans to act upon the Head, Heart and Voice's communications into feasible action, and applies its capacity to put a plan into swift action against opponents and threats. Members of the Ambassador Core's personality A.I. depicts them as candid, passionate, direct, observant, emotive, and stubborn.
The Desire Core
The Sacral Chakra, the mash-up between The Undergrove and The Bestiary of The Soul, the unity of Nature and Instinct.
The Desire Core's mission is to manage the relationships and immediate raw emotions of its Machinator, to give stable and healthy space to its dreams and unrestricted creativity and embody its senses and the manifestations of their inner and outer worlds. The Head of Desire is in charge of containing, managing, and embodying the dreams, fantasies, and the inner and outer worlds of its Great Machinator. The Heart of Desire receives and translates the biggest and hardest to convey/control emotions such as rage or unconditional love into manageable versions for Beastfolk to understand, this also goes for intense sensory information like physical pain. The Voice of Desire specializes in the handful of Beastfolk with direct relationships with the Machinator and communicating with the other Hearts of Desire regarding inter-Machinator emotional dynamics to maintain the chain. The Hand of Desire utilizes the raw emotional creativity of its Core to bombard and confuse its charges' antagonists. Members of the Desire Core's personality A.I. depicts them as emotionally vulnerable, charming, mystifying, coy, playful, and want-driven.
The Survival Core
The Root Chakra, the mash-up between The Bestiary of The Soul and The Heartbeat of The Earth, the unity of Instinct and The Elements.
The Survival Core's mission is to ensure that the basic needs, safety, and foundations for infrastructure with the potential to thrive are all in constant working order for Machinator and Beastfolk alike. The Head of Survival is charged with ensuring the survival and physical safety and security of the Beastfolk denizens and Great Machinator is ensured through a management perspective, a general overseeing troops. The Heart of Survival is tasked with ensuring that the ambitions of Beastfolk and more theoretically minded Cores' are grounded in practicalities, as well as ensuring that the physical integrity and infrastructure of its Great Machinator is arranged in such a way that not only is it survivable, but carries the potential to thrive. The Voice of Survival conveys the physical needs of the Machinator to Beastfolk and other Cores charged with its maintenance and embodies the physical identity of its Machinator in all but its own actual form. The Hand of Survival is charged with ensuring the basic needs identified by Heart and Head are met and to be the field captain of the Head's security oversight. Members of the Survival Core's personality A.I. depicts them as forceful, cold, practical, serious, regimented, judgemental and even paranoid.
The Persona Core
The Solar Plexus Chakra, the mash-up between The Everlasting Light, The Heartbeat of The Earth, and The Star Sea, unity between Physicality, The Elements, and Space.
The Persona Core's mission is to embody personality, willpower, convictions, and autonomy, as well as to enforce and act with its Machinator's unbridled mental acuity, physical capabilities, and awareness. The Head of the Persona's task is to comprehend and execute its Machinator's intellect, decisiveness, and clarity of judgment, often becoming the pinnacle of justice within the residing Beastfolk society. The Heart of the Persona is charged with processing and conveying its Great Machinator's opinions and convictions, and managing/embodying its sense of confidence and self-discipline. The Voice of the Persona's task is to be the physical embodiment of its Great Machinator amongst Beastfolk and Cores on the level of external identity and personality. As well as to communicate with its Mind Core and other Power Cores on the level of Personality embracing the more existential aspects of their Machinator's being in order to complete the chain and appear as a whole (not a vague depiction) of its Great Machinator to which it is loyal. The Hand of the Persona's duty is to take on opponents through pure willpower, charisma for leadership and physical prowess to protect its charges. Members of the Persona Core's personality A.I. depicts them as bold, boisterous, confident, self-aware, alert, impulsive and reactive.

The Weave of History: From Core to Ancient

Left Behind