Clay People

"Clay People" is perhaps a misnomer, since these sentient creatures need not be made from clay. Indeed, they can be made of a variety of materials including clay, wood, metal and even plastics. Tens of thousands of years ago, they were created by a lost ancient race for an unknown purpose. They are the dominant race of this world, since unlike the Fae they are bound to this physical reality.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Physically, they are humanoid creatures averaging around 1.60 m tall, although their exact dimensions do not seem to be set in stone, excuse the pun. Their basic body plan includes two legs, two arms, a head with several sensory organs and a speech organ, and a component on their back meant as their major energy source. These parts seem to be pre-programmed into the eggs, and are present in all individuals of the species. Beyond that, exact physical appearance is very variable, since an important part of their gestation involves one or multiple artisans carefully crafting their body, meaning that the body a Clay child is given is as much dependent on the artisans' skills, culture, religious beliefs or even the fashion at the place and time as it is on genetics in organic creatures. The clay parts of their bodies remain malleable throughout their lives, although the basic skeletal structure cannot be changed.
They do not need to eat. However, they need a constant way to receive energy from the component on their backs. This can be done in one of three ways: they can convert sunlight into energy, burn fuel inside the component or, in modern times, directly plug into an electricity source to charge. Additionally, they need to keep moist to prevent their bodies from drying out and becoming rigid.
A Clay Person cannot truly die unless the Soul, a sphere usually located inside their head or chest, is damaged, meaning that they can theoretically continue to live after limbs or even the head is removed. However, a Soul goes into a catatonic state after losing contact with the power source on the back. A Soul can get irreversibly damaged during this process, so decapitation nevertheless often leads to the Clay Person's death. A catatonic Soul can be placed into a new body, but transplantation of a Soul is a very difficult and involved surgical procedure, if possible for sufficiently advanced civilisations. However, a catatonic Soul will quickly deteriorate and be damaged by the weather and can only be preserved if special conservation measures are taken. A properly preserved or even mummified Soul can be reactivated after thousands of years. The upper limit of a Clay Person's lifespan is unknown, but usually the Soul starts displaying irreversible damage from regular wear after about 50 to 60 years, although average lifespans in peaceful conditions with good medical care may be double that number.

Genetics and Reproduction

The reproductive cycle of the Clay People is rather involved. At any point, a Clay Person can decide to produce an "egg", a process that takes several days and takes place inside the component on the Clay Person's back. This egg is then dispensed and usually buried inside a husk that has been prepared by one or, more commonly, multiple artisans. This husk is most commonly made of clay rather than wood or metal, since clay seems to contain a lot of the minerals the egg needs to grow, and the fact that the material is pliable aids the gradual forming of the body and the guiding of the egg's growth. Wood, metal, stone, plastic, even ice have all been recorded as materials to successfully craft a child, but clay remains the most popular, even into the modern day, as it is by far the easiest and remains malleable throughout life. After being placed inside the husk and possibly being provided with a source of appropriate minerals, the egg starts growing, spreading out tendrils into the various parts of the husk. Eventually, the egg becomes the Clay Person's Soul, a sphere usually located within the head or chest, functioning analogously to a brain. When the gestation process is done, the Clay child Awakens, physically fully formed but mentally still an infant.

Growth Rate & Stages

The Clay People do not physically grow after they have been crafted. Rather, they only learn, at a similar rate as an earth human. This means they are fully mature somewhere between 15 and 20 years of age, although the exact number where one can be considered an adult varies between individuals and cultures.

Additional Information

Facial characteristics

Their faces include two eyes, two ears and a speech organ, although the exact arrangement and shape of those is dependent on an individual's Artisans and dependent on culture and fashion. There are cultures that prefer a single eye on the centre of the forehead for religious reasons, a higher number of ears or eyes than two is not possible. Several peoples elect to sculpt their children's faces on their chests rather than on a separate head instead.

Average Intelligence

Highly intelligent, sapient.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

The Clay People have excellent sight and hearing. However, they lack the chemical senses of smell and taste, since they do not need to eat.
Clay People can, rarely, become a Witch and achieve magical powers by making a contract with the Fae or Eldritch Glitch. These powers vary by the Court the Fae in question belongs to, or the exact nature of the Glitch entity in question.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

Names vary considerably between peoples. Some common patterns include blessings, especially in peoples that inscribe blessings onto the skin of the children they are crafting. Full names can be several paragraphs long, being the entire body of text inscribed on their body. Alternatively, they may be named after a specific physical characteristic they were crafted with, or named after one of their Artisans.

Beauty Ideals

Vary considerably between cultures, since bodies are entirely crafted. Usually, a smooth surface and details indicating an Artisan's skill are highly valued. Additionally, wear, indicating old age, is seen as unattractive. Chipped off details are especially unsightly and are often covered.

Average Technological Level

The Clay People have advanced to the modern day, having access to technologies such as electricity and computers. However, since the Ancients used up most fossil fuels before their creation, they needed the help of extraterrestrials to effectively bypass the industrial revolution.

Major Language Groups and Dialects

Curiously, from archaeological records, it appears that the modern Clay speech organs are "incomplete" in the sense that the original generations that lived together with the Ancients had a more elaborate mechanism that involved plastic parts that in modern times cannot be reproduced. Therefore, as far as consonants go, the Clay People are largely limited to a single place of articulation, usually rendered as labial - /p b m/ - since it seems to be the closest acoustic equivalent. This is not entirely accurate, since the entire speech organ is closed off, not the lips. Therefore, /t d n/ would be as valid a transcription of the same sounds, if a tad confusing. Nevertheless, they are able to produce taps, trills, laterals, semivowels, and, curiously, an array of sibilant sounds. The transcription of sibilant affricates is the most variable among scholars - the convention is to render the affricates with fricative release [s z] as /ps bz/ and all others such as those ending in [ʃ ʒ] with a dental onset /tʃ dʒ/, but this convention is purely a consequence of /tʃ dʒ/ being phonemic in English. Technically, Clay [p ] is as close to human [p ] as to human [t] so the exact representation does not truly matter much, and /ts dz/ and /pʃ bʒ/ are indeed both found among the literature. The argument in favour of the former is that it renders the nature of the sounds as affricates more accurately, the argument in favour of the former is that it shows the relationship to the stops most clearly.
As for vowels, Clay vowels can vary among most of the dimensions that human vowels can, although they cannot be distinguished by rounding, so usually all Clay vowels are rendered as unrounded.

Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals

Major customs revolve around the crafting and awakening of children. From a young age, children are supposed to learn artistic skills, especially in forming clay.

History

They were created as self-replicating sentient automatons during the height of the @Ancients' civilisation, several tens of thousands of years ago. Little information remains from this time, other than that the Ancients went extinct under a thousand years since the first Clay People were created. Remains indicate that the earliest Clay People were actually made of metal and plastic, and that they only started using clay as a major component in their physical composition until after the Ancients disappeared.
For several millenia, the Clay People lived relatively simple existences as nomadic peoples. About six thousand years ago, they started building cities of their own, and rapidly advanced in their technological capabilities. In this process, they were frequently aided but at times also opposed by highly advanced extraterrestrials.

Genetic Ancestor(s)

• Ancients

Lifespan

Varies considerably, since death only sets in if the Soul is damaged. Usually around 50 years outside of major civilisations, around 100 years within major civilisations in peacetime and with good medical resources, nearly unlimited in modern times.

Average Height

Tends to be around 1.60m. Records indicate that the original plastic ancestors of modern Clay People averaged around 1.80 m. An upper limit is unknown, but limited to Clay People made of lighter materials such as wood.

Average Weight

120 kg

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

Usually unpainted clay. The patterns made on the skin can be very intricate. Some cultures prefer geometric shapes, a few inscribe blessings on the child that is being crafted.