VonDwight Laboratory, Faldrass
14th Saun, 718
14th Saun, 718
One of the greatest strengths a necromancer possessed was the variety of thralls they could bring into a battle. Combining troops with different abilities and strengths into a unit allowed them to cover each other's weaknesses, and create some impressive combination attacks that could overwhelm any single opponent. Since he'd become a necromancer Tio hadn't exactly branched out in the variety of thralls he used; he almost exclusively stuck to using marrows and the occasional fetch, and rarely used them in actual combat due to his desire to keep his necromancy a secret. But with a laboratory full of secrets in need of guarding and a handful of wells at his disposal it seemed like the ideal time for him to expand his repertoire by adding a new thrall to his command: a golem.
“So what exactly is a golem? And what does it have to do with all these rocks I had to heave down here?” Tasha asked him with a pout on her lips, trying her best to be annoyed by the menial labour he'd had her perform but unable to fully hide her excitement at learning something new. As always anything that had to do with necromancy caught her like a fish on a hook.
Tio replied with a grin as he lifted the last of the rocks she'd brought him up onto the table in the middle of his laboratory. “A golem is one of the rare cases of necromancy that doesn't involve anything dead. What we call necromancy is, at a basic level, an understanding and manipulation of biomechanics. We use our magic to puppet the corpses of the dead into moving in a human-like manner. However while corpses are the easiest vessels to manipulate since they're biologically designed to move in the way we're familiar with, they aren't the only things necromancy can take control over. With a little bit of planning and care other materials like stone, wood and metal can be crafted into a suitable shape, and the spark of necromancy can move these creatures just as they would a body. They can be a bit… clumsy… but their raw strength and endurance makes them one of the hardest hitters in a necromancer’s army.”
“And so that's what we are assembling here? A stone golem?” Tasha asked.
“Not just a stone golem: a giant stone golem. At the level I'm at now I should be strong enough to make a being bigger than the average man. Combining the weight and toughness of stone with the size of a giant will make this guy one heck of a powerhouse. Now come on, help me organise these rocks into the right places.”
They began rolling the rocks across the table, putting the biggest in the centre and the smaller ones out at the sides like stunted limbs. By connecting to his defiance spark Tio was able to smooth the rocks out slightly, form them into a more fitting shape and connect them together with awkward, grinding joints. It was a crude attempt, but by the end the two of them had managed to form a suitably puppetable shape.
“Is… is this really going to work?” Tasha asked sceptically, eyeing the construct before them with obvious doubt. The chest was disproportionately larger than the head and limbs by a ridiculous degree, and the creature would clearly struggle to move. But at the same time the sheer weight of its fingerless fists would be enough to smash it's way through a building.
The witchmark bellow Tio’s eye appeared as he called upon the power of his necromancy spark. “There's only one way to find out isn't there. Come on big guy, it's time to wake up.”
He held out one arm towards the golem, directing the strings of ether into its body, and smirked as the rocky creation began to stir. The golem’s head and body raised as it brought itself to sit up…
And promptly fell right off the table.
Tio facepalmed with the hand he'd raised to cast his magic. Of course it wouldn't work, the golem’s right side was far heavier than its left and its legs were too stunted to properly balance on. There was no way this thing was going to stand!
But while he was focused on chastising himself Tasha kept her eyes on golem, studying it with scientific curiosity. She chewed on the bottom of her lip for a moment as thoughts swam past her head.
“What about clay?”
Tio looked up at her and frowned. “What was that?”
“Could we not use clay to even out the disproportion in weight? By sculpting wet clay around the rocks we should be able to make a more suitably shaped golem.”
Tio considered the idea for a moment. Corpses were made of both flesh and bone, so he could see no reason why making this golem out of two materials should not work. “I can't see why that should be an issue. Let's give it a shot.”
Tasha dug some clay out of the storeroom, and Tio mixed it with a bucket of water to make it malleable and soppy. They started with the joints; piling the clay over them to keep them covered up whilst still allowing them room to move. From those points they slapped the clay around the rock body to form it into a more proportional shape.
On the right arm and chest, which had used the bigger rocks as a base, the clay only ran like veins across the surface to form it into a roughly smoother shape, leaving the arm looking more like an oversized hammer than a functional limb. The left arm and legs by contrast were made mainly of clay, with visible bits of rock sticking out nearer to the torso and fading away into pure clay towards the fingers and toes. The neckless head was tucked away deep into the bulked up chest, with an amalgamation of rock and clay bound together into a melted parody of a human face.
Tio and Tasha were by no means sculptors, and so it came as no surprise that the finished result looked like a crude monstrosity. Still it was big and solid, and hopefully now balanced enough to stand without falling over so easily. Once again Tio dug down inside for the spark of necromancy, and raised an arm out as he commanded his creation to rise.
The golem shuddered as the ether took root in the unusual body for the first time. The left hand reached upwards as vague shadow of life inhabited the vessel, and then thwacked down on the side of the table and gripped. Slowly, like a lumbering bear awakening from hibernation, the golem pulled itself up to a sitting position and swung its feet around to the side. Little by little it slid off the table to its feet, and despite swaying slightly remained standing. It put one foot before the other and stomped its way towards Tio, keeping the heavier right arm dragging behind itself to account for the extra weight, and then when it stood directly in front of him fell to its knees and remained motionless.
Tio put a hand inside his domain bag and withdrew an Ezymite well. With his other hand he pushed aside a wad of clay in the naval area and placed the well inside, then moved the clay back to where it had been in order to cover it up and keep it inside. He thought about shaping the rock with his defiance to make the well sit in it better, but decided it was best to not make it too difficult to remove in case his newest thrall went on a rampage.
For the final step Tio connected the threads of necromancy up to the well, giving the golem the ability to stay active independently of him, and implanted the golem with the instructions it needed to ensure it did its duty. It was basic stuff really: don't attack him or anyone else unless instructed to, don't wander off unless told to, don't break anything… the classic stuff.
When it was finished Tio slowly let go of his grasp over the golem, and grinned when it didn't immediately start rampaging around and trying to kill him. It was an ugly blighter, but by the spirits was it strong!
“I think I'm gonna call him Craggy!” Tio said proudly, patting its head as if it was a dog instead of a giant mass of stone and death. “Okay Craggy listen up: your job is to guard this laboratory. Nobody except for myself and Tasha is allowed to be here. The first time someone intrudes throw them out without causing too much damage, but if they come back a second time kill them. Do not leave the laboratory unless specifically told otherwise.”
Craggy was unable to make any sort of sound to show that it understood, but Tio was pretty sure the instructions were easy to follow. As Craggy stomped off to stand guard in the corner the necromancer pivoted on his heel and smiled at his apprentice.
“Well that was fun wasn't it? Alright, pop quiz to see how much you learnt from that project! Question one: what was the additional thrall classification that applies to the golem…”
“So what exactly is a golem? And what does it have to do with all these rocks I had to heave down here?” Tasha asked him with a pout on her lips, trying her best to be annoyed by the menial labour he'd had her perform but unable to fully hide her excitement at learning something new. As always anything that had to do with necromancy caught her like a fish on a hook.
Tio replied with a grin as he lifted the last of the rocks she'd brought him up onto the table in the middle of his laboratory. “A golem is one of the rare cases of necromancy that doesn't involve anything dead. What we call necromancy is, at a basic level, an understanding and manipulation of biomechanics. We use our magic to puppet the corpses of the dead into moving in a human-like manner. However while corpses are the easiest vessels to manipulate since they're biologically designed to move in the way we're familiar with, they aren't the only things necromancy can take control over. With a little bit of planning and care other materials like stone, wood and metal can be crafted into a suitable shape, and the spark of necromancy can move these creatures just as they would a body. They can be a bit… clumsy… but their raw strength and endurance makes them one of the hardest hitters in a necromancer’s army.”
“And so that's what we are assembling here? A stone golem?” Tasha asked.
“Not just a stone golem: a giant stone golem. At the level I'm at now I should be strong enough to make a being bigger than the average man. Combining the weight and toughness of stone with the size of a giant will make this guy one heck of a powerhouse. Now come on, help me organise these rocks into the right places.”
They began rolling the rocks across the table, putting the biggest in the centre and the smaller ones out at the sides like stunted limbs. By connecting to his defiance spark Tio was able to smooth the rocks out slightly, form them into a more fitting shape and connect them together with awkward, grinding joints. It was a crude attempt, but by the end the two of them had managed to form a suitably puppetable shape.
“Is… is this really going to work?” Tasha asked sceptically, eyeing the construct before them with obvious doubt. The chest was disproportionately larger than the head and limbs by a ridiculous degree, and the creature would clearly struggle to move. But at the same time the sheer weight of its fingerless fists would be enough to smash it's way through a building.
The witchmark bellow Tio’s eye appeared as he called upon the power of his necromancy spark. “There's only one way to find out isn't there. Come on big guy, it's time to wake up.”
He held out one arm towards the golem, directing the strings of ether into its body, and smirked as the rocky creation began to stir. The golem’s head and body raised as it brought itself to sit up…
And promptly fell right off the table.
Tio facepalmed with the hand he'd raised to cast his magic. Of course it wouldn't work, the golem’s right side was far heavier than its left and its legs were too stunted to properly balance on. There was no way this thing was going to stand!
But while he was focused on chastising himself Tasha kept her eyes on golem, studying it with scientific curiosity. She chewed on the bottom of her lip for a moment as thoughts swam past her head.
“What about clay?”
Tio looked up at her and frowned. “What was that?”
“Could we not use clay to even out the disproportion in weight? By sculpting wet clay around the rocks we should be able to make a more suitably shaped golem.”
Tio considered the idea for a moment. Corpses were made of both flesh and bone, so he could see no reason why making this golem out of two materials should not work. “I can't see why that should be an issue. Let's give it a shot.”
Tasha dug some clay out of the storeroom, and Tio mixed it with a bucket of water to make it malleable and soppy. They started with the joints; piling the clay over them to keep them covered up whilst still allowing them room to move. From those points they slapped the clay around the rock body to form it into a more proportional shape.
On the right arm and chest, which had used the bigger rocks as a base, the clay only ran like veins across the surface to form it into a roughly smoother shape, leaving the arm looking more like an oversized hammer than a functional limb. The left arm and legs by contrast were made mainly of clay, with visible bits of rock sticking out nearer to the torso and fading away into pure clay towards the fingers and toes. The neckless head was tucked away deep into the bulked up chest, with an amalgamation of rock and clay bound together into a melted parody of a human face.
Tio and Tasha were by no means sculptors, and so it came as no surprise that the finished result looked like a crude monstrosity. Still it was big and solid, and hopefully now balanced enough to stand without falling over so easily. Once again Tio dug down inside for the spark of necromancy, and raised an arm out as he commanded his creation to rise.
The golem shuddered as the ether took root in the unusual body for the first time. The left hand reached upwards as vague shadow of life inhabited the vessel, and then thwacked down on the side of the table and gripped. Slowly, like a lumbering bear awakening from hibernation, the golem pulled itself up to a sitting position and swung its feet around to the side. Little by little it slid off the table to its feet, and despite swaying slightly remained standing. It put one foot before the other and stomped its way towards Tio, keeping the heavier right arm dragging behind itself to account for the extra weight, and then when it stood directly in front of him fell to its knees and remained motionless.
Tio put a hand inside his domain bag and withdrew an Ezymite well. With his other hand he pushed aside a wad of clay in the naval area and placed the well inside, then moved the clay back to where it had been in order to cover it up and keep it inside. He thought about shaping the rock with his defiance to make the well sit in it better, but decided it was best to not make it too difficult to remove in case his newest thrall went on a rampage.
For the final step Tio connected the threads of necromancy up to the well, giving the golem the ability to stay active independently of him, and implanted the golem with the instructions it needed to ensure it did its duty. It was basic stuff really: don't attack him or anyone else unless instructed to, don't wander off unless told to, don't break anything… the classic stuff.
When it was finished Tio slowly let go of his grasp over the golem, and grinned when it didn't immediately start rampaging around and trying to kill him. It was an ugly blighter, but by the spirits was it strong!
“I think I'm gonna call him Craggy!” Tio said proudly, patting its head as if it was a dog instead of a giant mass of stone and death. “Okay Craggy listen up: your job is to guard this laboratory. Nobody except for myself and Tasha is allowed to be here. The first time someone intrudes throw them out without causing too much damage, but if they come back a second time kill them. Do not leave the laboratory unless specifically told otherwise.”
Craggy was unable to make any sort of sound to show that it understood, but Tio was pretty sure the instructions were easy to follow. As Craggy stomped off to stand guard in the corner the necromancer pivoted on his heel and smiled at his apprentice.
“Well that was fun wasn't it? Alright, pop quiz to see how much you learnt from that project! Question one: what was the additional thrall classification that applies to the golem…”
