Chimera

"Creating life is easy enough nowadays, But to alter it takes a true master. And to sustain it? Well..."

~Grand Arcanist Azarus in regards to the discrepancies between a Chimera and a Golem.

Nomenclature

A Chimera is a blanket terminology for a variety of artificially created mutant life forms. Generally any living construct that still retains its flesh is considered a Chimera regardless of any other distinguishing variables. The traditional Chimera however is identifiable by having the physical features of at least three different creatures in some way or another. If a creature were to perhaps contain the features of only two different creatures it would also be acceptable to call it a hybrid. Important to note is that the 'base creature' or 'foundation creature' is important to the categorization of a Chimera, these terms refer to the initial creature that has had its artificial transmutations of flesh upon it to form the final product. Other subsects of Chimera a Chimancer may create are Mutants, which contain no additional features from other creatures but will have alchemical altercations that imbue the creature with more power. A prominent example of this is a Frost Dragon, a heavily alchemically altered version of the Hulnyl Ground Drake capable of flight while bolstering additional limbs and a fearsome elemental breath attack. Finally, any Chimera that uses a humanoid as its base foundation can be correctly referred to as a Homonculus.

Summary

A Chimera is an amalgamation of three or more creatures, though not initially a magical creature the alchemical processes it goes endures imbues its body with magical essence. This make the creature magical but not necessarily capable of invoking spells. Chimeras are a class of construct, created by a Chimancer, they are the hardest construct to create by a large margin. This is due to a slew of reasons ranging from the breadth and depth of knowledge required, the unwieldy nature of having to handle animals and the expensive of having to acquire and preserve a multitude of components. Due to the highly specialised nature of Chimancy those who create them have almost always dedicated their lives to such an activity, usually having been chosen by another Chimancer.

A Chimera can be any combination of any amount of any other creatures, though it almost always starts with a single foundation creature in which the properties of others are grafted onto. The changes can range from something as simple as replacing the teeth to changing the chemical composition of the creatures blood, the only limiting factor is the cost and potential medical complications involved. As such, Chimeras will usually posses the traits of no more than ten separate creatures. While a Chimera is a living creature the procedures can still be applied to a dead creature, while this is of little use, it can still be used as practice for those training.

Chimeras are used as beasts of war or burden almost exclusively. As a Chimera is frequently lobotomised as standard procedure it makes them poor companions or for complex tasks such as problem solving or tracking. This is further exacerbated by the complications that occur during their creation. Becoming a Chimera is acutely psychologically and physiologically demanding, the subject will endure immense pain from live operation and alchemical burns. The result is often a furious creature that will only obey orders if lobotomised, the initial biology of the creature may fail due to imperfect creation or incompatible features. For example giving a hawk acidic blood has a high likelihood of causing the creature to go blind as the corrosive properties will slowly burn the inside of the eye where it cannot be repaired.

Creation

The skills involved in creating a Chimera are vast but the primary two are medical and alchemical knowhow. For a Chimancer to be successful they must be both adept physiologists and alchemists; simply stitching a pair of wings onto a creature will do no good and will likely just cause a multitude of health issues. For a Chimancer to properly integrate alien tissue they must alchemically alter the foundation creature, usually with the essence of the newly introduced creature. This is not the extent of trials the creature must undergo however, as subjects are usually unwilling they will be paralysed but not sedated. Any kind of tranquilisation will lower the creatures vitals and metabolism and make the process unachievable. For effective transmutation of tissue the subject will be lucid, often given stimulants and having been paralysed with electrical shock or physically restrained depending on the nature of the current procedure. Additionally, in order to weaken a creature it may be starved to reduce its mental and physical capacities.

While almost any alteration can be made to a creature there are a few common procedures taken to make any future Chimera fit for purpose. Widely regarded as the easiest change is to give a creature gills, allowing them to breathe in water. While this is incredibly situational being able to introduce a new creature into an entirely new environment has historically proven effective in dealing with the sea beasts intelligent aquatic life have employ in combat. Another useful procedure is to increase the muscle density, this is used moderately for herbivorous beasts of burden as it effectively increases their maximum load but will increase their calorie requirement. This is however of little concern for any Chimancer looking to create a beast of war, the lifespan of a Chimera is usually reduced unless expensive efforts are made to increase its longevity. This is especially true in a battlefield and so an already potent war beast such as a Ribwalker will become unparalleled with an obscene increase in muscle gain, in most cases the creature will end up having starved to death by the end of the battle before having succumbed to its wounds. Finally, one of the most extravagant gifts a Chimancer can bestow a subject is the means to fly. This procedures varies greatly depending on the foundation creature, a particularly massive subject will prove difficult and efforts would have to be made to either modify the wings or artificially create new ones. Alternatively the creature could be altered to reduce its weight by either lower muscle mass or amputating and/or replacing parts of the body that are deemed non-essential to its purpose.

As mentioned previously a chimera will be lobotomised to ensure its subservience to its master. A Chimera that has not been lobotomised is almost always immensely hostile, primarily towards its creators for seemingly understandable reasons. There are few cases of a Chimera that has managed to either escape or otherwise avoid its lobotomy though these are often of little concern to any order producing Chimeras. Because basic chemical agents used in all Chimancy procedures renders them not only infertile but entirely hormonally incapable of any sexual function. The only known exception of this is the dragon, which have been observed laying eggs though none have ever recorded being hatched nor has a fledgling dragon ever been sighted. The few attempts to retrieve dragon eggs have almost always resulted in disaster with loss of life in such numbers that it has been deemed illogical to continue pursuing them. Dragon eggs are still one of the most coveted resources to researchers as very little is still known about them or their potential fertility.

Another unique element of using flesh for a construct is preservation. artifice, golems and revenants mostly will not use biodegradable material but in the case of chimeras almost all of the components used are susceptible to spoilage. There are a myriad of methods to prolong the effective time of a creature or its desirable parts though as these elements can vary greatly so too do the required methodology of preservation. Easily the most widespread form of preserving components is simply freezing the entire creature or part in a block of ice via incantation, this is of course incredibly useful and requires little effort or materials but it has several downsides. For one, the ice will eventually of course melt and require re-freezing. Additionally, the produced corpse water that melts off requires that the storage method has some form of plumbing involved in order to not flood. More importantly however the process of blasting flesh with frost can cause considerable damage to the product not to mention that this will outright kill any living creature meaning this process cannot be used to prolong life as is required for the foundation creature. Finally, Chimancy does not require a magically attuned creator meaning you do not need any innate magical capability to cast in order to create a chimera though this does make an already difficult job even harder. This ultimately means that a Chimancer simply may not be able to use freezing incantations as an option.
Another commonly employed method of preservation is via alchemical means, this is divided into two primary groups, apoptotic alchemical preservation (AAP) and symbiotic alchemical preservation (SAP). Apoptotic alchemical preservation is to preserve individual organs or parts inside an alchemical fluid medium which can significantly slow the degradation of biological matter. The reagents used to create such a medium differ depending on the quality and type of material it is preserving and are expensive to acquire and manufacture. This leaves AAP as an expensive but more permanent solution to preserving and is thus reserved for especially rare or otherwise difficult to procure components. Aside from being expensive the manufacturing of these alchemical compounds is notoriously dangerous to anything living, essentially petrifying any biological matter it comes into contact with. The process is reversible by simply waiting out the duration of the petrification. However, if ingested or otherwise generally applied to the body it can cause death before the petrification fades as this can take several days. Obviously this makes AAP only applicable to unliving parts and cannot be used to preserve a foundation creature. AAP mediums are stored with the component in fluid vessels such as jars or ceramic vessels to ensure minimal contact is made with the atmosphere as it will slowly degrade the efficacy of the medium. Once the medium has become ineffective it will instead accelerate the rotting process meaning despite the longevity of AAP reaching into the centuries it is still good practice to monitor and test the fluids of each AAP jar, usually annually.

SAP is by far the most complex and expensive form of preservation available to a Chimancer. It is similar to AAP in the sense that a fluid medium is used to preserve components inside of vessels but the major discerning feature is that it can be used to keep a live creature in stasis without killing it. By using the same alchemical medium in AAP and introducing altered manalynths into the environment they will slowly metabolise the AAP and produce an alchemical soup known as mutandis capable of not only neutralising the petrification elements of AAP but halting all biological processes without killing the organism. This process is very difficult and tedious for several reasons. The specific altered manalynths are awkward to produce and most attempts to culture them fail which is further exacerbated because their sole form of nutrition is the AAP medium making simply the manalynths alone an already expensive endeavor. Also, the act of the manalynths metabolising the AAP fluid to create the soup means that the AAP fluid must be continuously replaced, not to mention that the produced soup has an extremely limited lifespan and will be integrated by the manalynths immediately into the AAP fluid. This ultimately means that in order to properly make any use out of SAP all the alchemical reagents involved must be continuously replaced and monitored daily at least. SAP is used sparingly and only for the most extreme of circumstances where a single biological life form must remain alive no matter the cost.

A more uncommon form of preservation is mummification or just the general process of ensuring that a specific organ or part is stored in a generally cool and clean environment. This is mostly effective for practice or as spare parts to be used in reinforcing the structure of a Chimera as the biological tissue involved will be left in a degraded state and be generally unfit for proper use. However, mummification is a solid method to preserve body parts that do not degrade quickly such as teeth, fur/hair, tusks or bones. As this process involves only a location and a vessel it is by far the cheapest form of preservation if you could consider it a form of preservation at all.

A foundation creature must be kept alive for the entire process. Technically, knowing how to keep a creature alive is a form of preservation in itself and thus methodologies for ensuring the survival of alien creatures is undertaken. Usually a creature is starved to reduce its overall strength and capability to fight back. There is a sweet spot for a Chimancer to keep a creature in where it is just emaciated enough to be incapable of fighting back but also being alive. The art of perfectly starving a creature is difficult as it requires knowledge specific to that creature which can be difficult if you are using a less documented base creature and are unsure of its dietary requirements or physiological tolerance to low calorie intake. Aside from the SAP method keeping a pacified creature alive can be ensured by having multiple successive procedures. By incrementally introducing the procedures to a chimera you can reduce the overall strain induced onto the base creature and lessen the risk of it becoming physically non viable. This however must be balanced by the mental toll taken upon a Chimera as each procedure is, aforementioned, mentally taxing and painful and can result in an insanity that cannot be mediated by lobotomy.

Chimancers

Chimeras are by far the most difficult Construct to assemble; only in the last millennia have any been created and for good reason. As previously mentioned a Chimancer must posses a respectable breadth and depth of knowledge in physiology, alchemy and veterinary knowledge. Being masterful at a single one of these skills is already an impressive feat but in order to master all three and integrate the knowledge of such requires a lifetime. The most prolific Chimancers known to the world are that of the Chimancy sect, located in the buried tower of the Grand Arcanist. Here, unlike other Constructors an apprentice Chimancer is selected by the Grand Arcanist himself to be put under the tutelage of a master Chimancer. These apprentices are selected from already existing Constructor students discretely chosen after being observed performing their works in their respective sects. The oldest a Chimancer will be before selection and training is twelve years old, the time they are expected to complete their studies and being working independently is thirty.