Classic Monsters In Eden 2: Golems

In the last article, I looked at what Vampires (and liches) were like in Eden. Today we’ll look at Golems. Classically, the Golem is a being created by people, out of mud. There are varying legends about them, such as their inability to speak, and the incredible imperfection they carry due to being creations of Humans rather than Gods. There’s the story of the Golem of Prague that was used to defend the jews. In The Spirits of Eden campaign setting, Golems are magical creations often intended for labor – or to provide hardpoints for putting a battering ram or other large weapon.

The Golems

During the Adelian Age of the Discovery, as knowledge of the Pre-World and its ancient magic accumulated, and safe derivatives were developed that became the magic system of the Adelians, the Adelians first came into contact with the Angels. These metallic insect beasts attacked with incredible ferocity, and despite their inorganic bodies, had a malevolent intellect and an ability to move under their own power. Adelians studied the angels and found a way, through Kinesis and Transformation magic, to produce their own inorganic beings that moved under their own power.

Fearful of what might happen if they created more Angel-like creatures, the Adelians decided to limit the creation of such beings. A Golem in Adel is a long, arduous project undertaken to produce either a weapon platform or a tool for labor. It might take a year of daily rituals and obeisances, slowly and carefully preparing and consecrating the parts to finally build the golem. If the holy processes are not observed, it is believed that the machine will rebel like the Angels do. Once the hollow outer shell is completed, veins and runes are etched into the interior and exterior of the golem, and it is filled out with more steel or otherwise rendered more solid. This allows a Wizard to “push” his or her magic into the Golem and move it as easily as he or she might move a body part.

Golems do not think and cannot move wholly under their own power. Most Golems are as simple as an arm on a pedestal, that when commanded by a mage can pick up a heavy crate and load it on a boat. They are thought of as mage’s tools – a Golem gives a Mage the ability to pick up heavy objects the Mage couldn’t pick up normally. Another common golem is a spider-like machine that can ride inside of a wagon. When its heavily articulated legs are attached to the wagon’s wheels, the machine, under a Wizard’s observation, will turn the wheels and move the wagon. The speed is comparable to horses, and the machine never tires – though the Wizard will, but making simple Kinetic motions is less exhausting than running. Any machine that performs kinetic labor with a Wizard is a Golem.

Golems with full bodies, including articulated arms and legs, are extremely rare. It is unnecessary for a Golem to have a humanoid shape. Most mobile golems are a metal box with two, symmetrical pairs of legs for balance. Atop the box, which is just large enough to hold the controlling Mage inside, a Golem arm or some kind of cannon can be stacked. In the battlefield, shoulder “pauldrons” and a beast-like “head” are added to the golem as shields for the cannon and its operator, and as extra armor on the box. The Mage sits inside the box for protection and comfort, and carefully regulates the flow of his or her magic throughout the Golem. Proper amounts must be kept flowing, or one of the Golem’s sides, or the swivel on the cannon (if one is present) or other parts might become dormant. If one leg suddenly goes limp, the whole golem could fall over to devastating effect.

Being a Golem operator used to be a terrible job – Mages would end short (10-15 year) careers wholly exhausted, spent of life, and dying vulnerable and drained. This was due to how poorly understood Kinetics magic was. It was thought that magic was wholly a mental act, and that scholarly intellect expanded it. Now, it is known that not any Mage is fit to be a Kinetic. The Mage must not only be smart and disciplined, he or she must regularly exercise and drink nutritional solutions designed to counteract the ravages of operation. In short, physical health was recognized as a factor in magic. Now, Golem operation is thought to be part of a well-rounded mage’s education, and no more dangerous than other work. Children in Magic schools are given simple Golems to command as a kinetic exercise. Young men and women are given jobs in shipyards, mines, and on the battlefield controlling Golems, as part of their “growing up” to fully capable magician adults.

Golems can also be exploited, however. Constructing a Golem is an arduous process, but it is also one that a scholarly or driven person can perform alone, if supplies allow – and golems can be built from nearly anything. The important bit are the runes, which a Wizard would easily know. Golems can be deadly weapons in the wrong hands. Even something as simple as a tree trunk base on wheels with weapons attached as makeshift arms can trample through a village before being put down. All golems have to be registered with a magical academy that can keep track of them.