Magical Beings
- Location
- Great Khanate of Scotland
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Elementals, Constructs, and Familiars
Elementals are the physical embodiment of one of the Four Basic Elements that make up creation. Alchemists create Elementals by summoning elemental forces into a physical form. Slyphs are made of air, Undines from water, Gnomes from earth, and Salamanders from fire. Slyphs and Undines appear as human women, Gnomes as earthy-looking folk about three feet tall, and Salamanders take the form of small reptiles with many legs. Elementals do not have souls and though they have minds of their own, they have little in the way of personalities, although generally Undines are flirty and capricious, Sylphs are curious, Gnomes are meddlesome, and Salamanders are aggressive. Upon being banished or killed, an Elemental returns to the fundamental forces. Very old Elementals may take on different forms and develop personality quirks. It takes a skilled alchemist to command an Elemental once summoned.
Elementals are most often used to exert control over their assoicated element. Slyphs can alter wind currents and air density, Undines can manipulate water, Gnomes can work any sort of earth or metal as if it were clay, and Salamanders provide an unfailing source of flame. The uses of Elementals are varied and new inventions that incorporate Elemental power are constantly being created.
Homunculi are an artificial form of life created by alchemists from human tissue incubated in alchemical solutions. A homunculus does not have a soul and they are very short lived, the oldest lasting only a few years. They are diminutive, rarely standing over three feet high, and often possess some form of deformity. A homunculus will view its creator as its parent, and if abused will seek to run away or kill their creator. For the most part alchemists use them as helpers in the lab and to study human physiology and behavior. Efforts to create longer-lived and more powerful homunculi have been attempted, but the creation of a homunculus consumes too much time and resources for any but court alchemists to attempt their construction.
Golems are another type of magical construct, created by Jewish magicians. A golem is a humanoid figure formed of clay and animated by a magical scroll placed inside the goelm's head. This scroll contains the golem's instructions - a golem will always do whatever the scroll tells them to, meaning that if the instructions are too complex or poorly worded the golem will do exactly as it's told, with sometimes destructive results. Those who craft golems are careful with their wording and typically employ golems to do simple tasks such as pump water, turn mills, pull carts, or work bellows. Some rabbis believe that a series of golems working together, each doing an individual step of a more complex task, could work around this problem.
Many magicians keep familiars, a kind of magically-bonded animal companion. Their most common uses are as messengers and guards. Some alchemists may use an Elemental or Homunculus as their familiar, while others use magical animals, but the most common familiars cats, toads, rats, birds, and bats.
Imps are small animals, looking something like a cross between a lizard and a monkey. They are one of the more intelligent animals and are able to cause much destruction with their teeth and hands. Many cities have Imp infestations and they are considered pests. They breed quickly, are skilled climbers, and nest in attics and abandoned houses, feed on garbage or steal food, and will break into homes, boxes, and carts to look for food or shiny items. In the wild Imps live in burrows or the hollows of trees and are scavengers. Due to their intelligence and agility, Imps are prized as familiars for magicians.
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