Ancestral Guardians and Immortals
GUTS AND GEARS — THE BEASTS AND MACHINES OF THE IRON KINGDOMS
Guardians: Vessels of the Great ones
Translated by Viktor Pendrake from The Vivakios, a treatise by Extoller Jushk of House Kursorik, written at the request of the Vinter Raelthorne IV during the period in which he acted as the supreme archdominar of the Skorne Empire.
Date of Origin: 599 AR (approximately)
Date of Transcription: 607 AR
Translator’s Note: For ease of reading, I have replaced all dates in this manuscript with corresponding dates from the standard calendar. These dates should be considered approximate.
At the request of the supreme archdominar, I, Extoller Jushk of House Kursorik, have been tasked with compiling what knowledge exists regarding the use of the exalted ones who walk as living statues alongside our armies. I am honored that the mighty Supreme Archdominar has taken an interest in my life’s work, and I shall endeavor to elucidate for him all that I can on the subject.
I have personally overseen both the physical creation of many ancestral guardians and the fitting and awakening of the sacral stones that give them motion and strength. I will, however, endeavor to summarize this information, painstakingly gathered over many decades, in a way that can be comprehended by those who have not spent a lifetime in such studies.
History
Before I expound upon the creation and role of the ancestral guardians and the lesser exalted known as immortals, I hope the Supreme Archdominar will indulge me a short foray into the annals of history so that he might better understand how and when these vessels of the exalted came to be.
It is well established that Master Voskune was not only the first mortitheurge but also the first to discern what awaited the skorne beyond death. In the course of his occult studies, he was dissatisfied with the limits of mortal vision and so undertook a ritual wherein he plucked out one of his eyes and replaced it with a crystalline oculus. Through this oculus, he perceived the spirit realm, witnessing the wispy ephemera of spiritual energy that leaves a body after death. He watched in horror as these shrieking spirits were swallowed by the Void, there to experience an eternity of pain and madness.
Knowledge of this terrible fate might have broken the will of a lesser skorne, but Voskune was a visionary. He learned how to shape and manipulate spiritual energy, and he theorized there might be a way to keep it from vanishing into the Void. He was the first to suggest the possibility of exaltation, but he did not live to see this mystery solved. On his death his spirit was lost, a great sorrow for all future generations.
Masters Ishoul and Kaleed expanded upon Voskune’s work and after many decades at last achieved the breakthrough to make exaltation a reality. They discovered certain crystals had a special resonance with spiritual energy. If properly carved and purified, such a crystal would attract a recently freed spirit into itself and then preserve the essence of the slain eternally within its faceted depths. This would be referred to as a sacral stone, while those who were saved from the Void became exalted. Dominar Vuxoris, he who established the code of hoksune, was to be the First Exalted in the hopes his wisdom and courage would be saved to benefit those who came after him.
The earliest extollers — being those who followed in the footsteps of Ishoul and Kaleed by sacrificing an eye for an oculus to see and manipulate spirits — worked to preserve the greatest and most worthy skorne leaders, each becoming an exalted ancestor. These sacral stones became prized relics of their houses, but their value was more than symbolic. Extollers could speak with the ancestors to gain the benefit of their wisdom. But it was soon discovered these stones also emanated great mystical energy, power that could be harnessed to empower weapons and armor. The greatest of sacral stones could even be shaved and divided, and each chip and fragment contained a portion of the power of the original stone. By this method, the elite warriors of a house could be armed and protected by the strength of the ancestors.
Some of the earliest extollers were incautious with the stones left in their charge, too intent on empowering the armies of their houses. Eventually a divided sacral stone would be whittled down to nothing, the ancestor ultimately divided so badly that his mind would be lost, his wisdom sacrificed. Before the founding of the first city of Malphas, many of the eldest sacral stones, including that of Vuxoris himself, suffered this fate. This lesson has not been lost on the extollers of today, and strict limits have been imposed on the degree to which a sacral stone can be reduced to create relics of power for house leaders.
Some seven hundred years after the founding of Malphas, the cities of Kalvat, Kaleed, and Halak were founded. As skorne civilization expanded, so too did the use of sacral stones. In this era, around 3100 BR, we find the first mention of ancestral guardians. An extoller named Iskeel briefly described the process of fitting a sacral stone to a stone body, accompanied by his theory that a body carved of the right stone would be animated by the sacral energies of the enshrined ancestor. He writes: “Dominar Hashaak’s sacral stone was placed within the vessel, a body carved for him from stone receptive to spiritual energies. As I suspected, once the stone was in place, the dominar’s powerful will animated his new body, allowing our great lord to walk among us once more. All who saw him were awed by an ancestor given a semblance of life through once unyielding stone.”
Although Iskeel writes of his lord “walking among” them, it is clear ancestral guardians during this period were used most often to guard shrines and treasuries of the powerful families to which they belonged.
The number of ancestral guardians grew slowly but steadily in the many wars during the following millennia. Although the process of creating a guardian was extremely expensive and time consuming, in any given war, a few great warriors — usually only the greatest leaders of a house who fell in battle — were seen as worthy by the extollers of exaltation. The most alert and war-ready of these were chosen to inhabit a statue and possibly become an ancestral guardian.
It should be noted that during this era, ancestral guardians lacked the ability to gather the spiritual essence of worthy skorne warriors and store them in sacral stones. This was solely the role of the extoller and only done during battle. The greatest and most worthy tyrants would be selected to become an ancestral guardian. Others, such as the elite bodyguards of these tyrants, were also preserved to honor their final sacrifice and to serve as companions for the exalted in death. This way they would be forever connected to their liege, often found set into immobile stone bodies, watching the tombs of the house.
In 707 BR, during the great conflict known as the War of the Exalted, the number of great leaders transformed into ancestral guardians rose significantly. During this conflict the extollers discovered the process whereby a guardian could be empowered to collect the spirits of the worthy slain, and the body of each guardian was set with receptive and empty sacral stones for just this purpose. This changed the way great houses viewed their guardians, who were taken from the shrines and treasuries and sent out onto the battlefield alongside house armies to preserve the worthy.
Since 707 BR, the form and function of the guardians has largely been unchanged, and there have been countless battles in which they have played a pivotal role. Entire dynasties have been preserved from the Void by their efforts. During the War of Unification, more ancestral guardians were seen on the battlefield than ever before. Your wisdom, Supreme Archdominar, in using these great ancestors, who clearly support your cause, to defeat the armies of Archdominar Narkuuru was unprecedented and masterful. This can only be seen as further testament that you are truly the Reborn.
Construction
From the earliest times, ancestral guardians have been carved from stones sensitive to sacral energies. To date, the stone that has proven to have the best combination of qualities required for this task, as well as durability to serve in battle, is obsidian. This black stone is found only in areas where there is or has been volcanic activity. The stone is fairly plentiful, but it can be dangerous to handle. When chipped, it produces an edge as sharp as any blade, a useful trait when constructing the weapons wielded by the ancestral guardians, but more than one quarry worker has been fatally cut by the razor-edged pieces.
The body of an ancestral guardian is carved by only the most gifted stonemasons and then only under the direct supervision of an extoller. Every detail must be flawless, and the stone must be kept in one solid piece. Chips, cracks, and other imperfection are a great insult to the ancestor who will inhabit the guardian. The forms of the ancestral guardian have changed over the millennia, although they often bear similarities depending upon the noble house that they serve. Although aesthetics are important in honoring the ancestor, efficiency and utility in combat are seen as important as well.
Significant ancestors, the greatest warriors the empire has known, have often been provided with unique vessels that better utilize their particular skills. The most prominent example is the mighty vessel of Lord Tyrant Hakaar, the Destroyer. Hakaar was one of the most gifted swordsmen in the history of the Skorne Empire, and his mighty deeds and heroic death in the War of the Exalted earned him exaltation. Hakaar’s ancestral guardian was created to reflect his peerless skill with twin blades and thus is armed with two great swords instead of the standard halberd.
It should be noted that, above all, ancestral guardians are created to honor the great warriors whose essences they contain. In fact, some ancestors rarely if ever animate the statues into which they have been placed. This is especially true of the most ancient of ancestors, who have moved deeper into contemplation and have largely left this world behind. Such is the case with the aforementioned Hakaar. While he was once active and frequently sent into battle, in time he awakened less and less, and now it has been over a thousand years since he strode the battlefield. Perhaps one day, when the empire has need of him, Hakaar will walk again.
Role
Ancestral guardians have always served as vessels for the most important of the exalted, giving them mobility, should they wish it. Considered far too valuable to risk on the field of battle, the first and most ancient ancestral guardians guarded tombs, sacred sites, and household estates. When they were used in times of war, they were carefully deployed so as not to risk the priceless sacral stones.
When it was learned that guardians could be imbued with the ability to preserve worthy skorne after death on the battlefield — previously the exclusive role of extollers — the role of the ancestral guardian expanded. Ancestral guardians, although not indestructible, are mighty combatants and can withstand much punishment before their stone bodies succumb. It became common for the most recently exalted, those still eager for battle, to march into combat alongside the cohorts of their house, fighting not only to achieve victory but to preserve other worthy warriors to become revered companions.
Combat
Each ancestral guardian houses the spirit of a mighty warrior, one who has proven himself on countless battlefields; as such, guardians fight with superlative skill. The vast majority are armed with a halberd or glaive also constructed of obsidian. This weapon is constructed separately from the main body of the guardian. The power of the ancestor inhabiting a guardian flows through its weapon, investing the halberd with sacral energy.
An ancestral guardian fights in a style reminiscent of the warrior whose essence is enshrined within it. Certain abilities, however, are developed as the warrior within adapts to his new form. All guardians are expert at drawing an enemy close then striking with blinding speed before the enemy can launch an attack against them.
Beyond their extreme skill at arms, guardians can use the collected energy from the spirits of slain skorne warriors to augment their attacks and speed. Tales of ancestral guardians striking with supernatural accuracy and force or momentarily gaining the speed of the living abound.
Immortals: Revered Companions
The information you have requested about the ancestral guardians, Archdominar, would be incomplete without mention of the more numerous stone soldiers known as immortals.
History
Even before ancestral guardians gained the ability, extollers of houses would follow behind an army in battle and seek to preserve warriors who distinguished themselves with their prowess and dedication to hoksune. Those below the status necessary to earn true exaltation were nonetheless saved from the Void and interred in lesser sacral stones as revered companions. The sacral stones of these warriors would then be fitted to stone bodies within the tombs of their exalted rulers.
It was once rare that these lesser exalted were given forms expected to rouse to movement. But in time the statues afforded the revered companions were improved, and extollers sought to awaken them as well, allowing these warriors to also contribute to the wars of their houses. During the War of the Exalted, the first great conflict in which ancestral guardians were used to collect the spirits of the worthy, the number of revered companions grew. It was discovered that proximity to an ancestral guardian quickened the will of these companions, and more of them joined the fray as the war continued.
Shortly after the War of the Exalted, those revered companions who could animate their stone bodies became known as immortals. Noble houses with large numbers of immortals deployed them alongside their ancestral guardians, where they could shield the guardian from enemy attacks and gain strength from its presence. The chance of losing the sacral stones of these lesser exalted was considered well worth the risk when weighed against their combat effectiveness.
Today, all the great houses can field a sizable force of immortals, as their numbers have swelled with the many conflicts and wars over the centuries.
Construction
Immortals, like ancestral guardians, are largely constructed of obsidian, but lesser stones that are nonetheless reactive to spiritual energies may also be used in the crafting of an immortal. This allows immortals to be created far more quickly than guardians.
The exact form of the immortal is less important than that of the ancestral guardian, and less precision is needed in their construction. Still, a gifted stonemason is needed to carve the bodies, and an extoller must be present to awaken the skorne ancestor within the sacral stones. Most immortals resemble skorne warriors of ancient times, although there are slight variations from house to house.
The bodies of immortals are often destroyed in battle, but if the sacral stone can be recovered, a new body can be constructed for the revered companion. In some cases, when an immortal has fought and survived numerous battles, it is gifted with a more elaborate form to reflect its greater status.
Role
Like the ancestral guardian, the role of the immortal has changed over the centuries, although not as dramatically. At first, revered companions who could animate their stone forms were used to protect sacred sites and noble estates. When they became more common after the War of the Exalted, immortals were deployed on the battlefield to fight the enemy and protect ancestral guardians.
At first, immortals were deployed in small numbers, usually no more than a datha, to serve as an honor guard to an ancestral guardian. Often, these immortals were the same spirits as those warriors who served the ancestors of the guardian in life. As the ranks of immortals grew, they were deployed in larger numbers, as many as might comprise a taberna. Such a force would include two or three ancestral guardians acting as commanding officers and lending the immortals speed and battle vigor. In modern times, the number of immortals deployed with each ancestral guardian has increased. Dozens or even hundreds of immortals might be led in battle by a single guardian. Some houses have enough immortals to field an entire decurium of the stone soldiers — a daunting sight to any enemy.
Some venerable ancestral guardians have been fighting alongside the same immortals for centuries. In such cases, the immortals act as a kind of honor guard to these revered ancestors, and they are never separated from one another.
Combat
Immortals are armed with a great stone blade made of any stone that can channel sacral energies, similar to — although sometimes using lesser grades of stone than — those employed in constructing the weapons of ancestral guardians. These weapons are far heavier than living skorne could wield, and they kill more by crushing than by cutting the flesh of an enemy. Immortals are deployed in small units and fight in formation, presenting an impenetrable wall of stone bodies and blades.
Although powerful and skilled with their weapons, immortals are slow moving and can sometimes be outflanked by a more nimble foe. This flaw can be mitigated by the presence of an ancestral guardian, whose sacral stone augments the immortals’ own spiritual energies, giving them greater speed and agility.
