We need little reminder as to the advancement of the Empyrean people. One need only look at the world around us for evidence of their power and grandeur: The silent and imposing ruins of Ithaenc Cathedral, the great dams of Marae Lassel, and the portal network spanning not only this world but others as well. However, one of the most impressive and prevalent symbols of this advancement can be seen in the countless titans roaming the countryside that we call Golems, creatures called from the very body and blood of the world to serve the whims of their masters.
Though the finer details of demiurgy, the art of creating and controlling Golems, differ among the various Empyrean races, the basic mechanics remain the same. The creation of a Golem appears to require two main components: A “heart” enchanted with various magics and around which the rest of the creature is constructed, and a mote of pyreal upon which commands to be carried out by the Golem are imprinted. For nearly any substance that can be found in nature, you will find a corresponding Golem constructed from it. Golems dripping with magma roam the lava tubes deep beneath Aerlinthe Island, Golems crafted of living wood rest within the forests of Dereth, and Golems made from ice sit atop the tallest mountains in the land. In the last few years, we have even discovered Golems of apparent Falatacot origin, their bodies drawn from the very blood of their creators–or their enemies.
We know very little about the Golems created by the Falatacot, and no records exist of the Dericost practicing demiurgy, but we do know a great deal about those used by the Haebrous and Yalain. Haebran and Yalaini Golems were most often used to perform manual labor, especially in situations in which a living individual would be placed in too much danger. Magma Golems, for instance, worked in the deepest depths of Yalaini pyreal forges, in temperatures far too great for any man or Empyrean to endure, forging bars, coins, and other items of the mystical alloy. Yalaini children often created golems of their own, using mud and other common materials to create living toys that they would pit against one another in mock combat. One area in which Golems were rarely if ever used, however, was real combat. No accounts can be found of a Golem being used as part of an organized military campaign. Some scholars believe that this was because the Yalain did not wish to separate themselves too much from combat, fearing that such distance would lessen the fear or horror their people felt towards war. Other scholars contend that lack of military application was more a matter of practicality than morality, pointing to area dispels and other magic-canceling techniques that would render any Golem useless in combat.
It is a testament to the skill and abilities of the various Empyrean peoples that, centuries and even millennia after their departure, their creations endure. Though the enchantments that once guided their actions have long since faded, the Golems remain a fixture here on Dereth, often still tending the same halls and guarding the same corridors that they have for time immemorial. It is the hope of many that we Derethians advance to the point that our own skills, abilities, and culture may one day stand up to those of the Empyrean, but even after years of study by the greatest minds among our kind, we are only recently able to perform the crudest imitation of demiurgy. Perhaps one day we might create with out own arts creatures that will persist as long and as well as the likes of Arikas of Knorr or the Blood Golems of the Falatacot. On that day, we will take our first step towards joining the Empyrean as a truly enlightened society, and as masters of this strange, enchanted world.
