Synthoids

Population: About 100,000 worldwide; only some 10,000 on Aropria
Lifespan: Around 1,000 years, with reports up to 1,500
Origin: Unknown. Nothing that survives records when the first was made
Reproduction: A husk is imbued with sapience roughly every 50 years, by an unexplained force
Makers: Artisans who spend centuries learning to build husks ready for the Gift

Synthoid population hovers around 100,000 on the planet, a vanishing fraction of the world's people. On Aropria, however, there are only around 10,000 known Synthoids currently living. Their average lifespan is around 1000 years, with some Synthoids being reported to live up to 1500 years. Their origins are completely unknown. Nothing that survives records when the first of them was made, and Synthoids themselves do not claim to know.

Why the continent knows what year it is

A Synthoid can outlive any archive, and once did.

The Great Literary Purge burned every written record on the continent. The reckoning still in use — counted from the fall of the Empire of Iron — survived it in the memory of a single Synthoid, Kalweldin, who had been awake before the Empire fell and who ruled Rowlem for several hundred years afterwards.

Every date on the continent traces to that one testimony. See Dating and Records.

Reproduction

The “Reproduction” in question is quite odd. Roughly once every fifty years, a seemingly random force imbues one readily made Synthoid “husk” with sapience. It was once far more frequent; what has slowed is not the Gift but the supply of husks worth giving it to. The origin of the Gift is unknown, and because of this, Synthoid artisans will often dedicate their whole lives to creating Husks that are ready for the Gift. Since the materials to create a Husk are so rare and valuable, and the creation of Husks takes so long, an artisan may make anywhere between 3 and 10 Husks within their lifetime. These artisans train for centuries to hone their craft, and it is a great honor to have a Husk be animated with the Gift. Because of the enormous amount of time and expertise it takes to create a Husk, artisans will often have a distinctive flair to their design that visually sets their Husks apart from other artisans. One who is particularly well versed in Synthoid culture would be able to tell where some Synthoids came from just by the style of their construction.

When a Husk is imbued with the Gift, they start their lives with some basic knowledge. They know how to walk and use their bodies, but they lack any knowledge of their surroundings or of language. That being said, Synthoid “babies” are much more cognizant than human babies and pick up on learning extremely fast. Other Synthoids of the group will teach these newly Gifted ones until they are ready to learn for themselves.

Gender

The Synthoid anatomy is one completely without gender. Since “reproduction” happens seemingly at random every fifty years or so, there is no need for traditional gender conformity. In fact, Synthoid societies often omit any gendered language from their lexicons, not by choice, rather they have no need of a delineation between genders. Some Synthoids may express some semblance of gender, but this is more ascribed gender from outsiders rather than making a specific choice to present as a gender.

Synthoid Construction

Synthoids are constructed of extremely rare materials. The heart of their being is a Core of calcified Congruence. These Cores are pure crystalized/calcified Congruence, and are therefore extremely valuable as trading materials. However, once a Core is animated within a Synthoid body, that Core is now completely unusable, making it worthless on the market.

Cores for Synthoids are generally pearl-sized, though a rare few carry cores far larger, adding to the difficulty and rarity of Synthoids being born.

Surrounding that core are limbs and body parts made from metal that has been infused with Congruence . This metal makes up the vast majority of their bodies, and is sought after for its strength and versatility. There are even whisperings of a black market for Synthoid parts.

Because Synthoids are made of metal, they do not age as Humans do. When a Synthoid is Gifted, the color of their radiating energy starts out a very light Blue. As they age, along with the occasional nick and scar they pick up, their light slowly fades from a bright blue youth, down to a dark amber.

Connecting the limbs of the Synthoids is seemingly nothing. Synthoids’ limbs seem to float, with slight gaps between each part where joints would be. If you look very closely, this gap is spanned by some extremely thin vines. These vines are particularly good at carrying Congruence from the core to the outer extremities. Even though these vines are thin, they have a certain elasticity, making them unexpectedly strong.

As stated before, a Synthoid’s core and joints emit a glow.

Death

When a Synthoid dies, it is an event of great importance. Since synthoids are so rare and live so long, the death of a Synthoid is an extremely sad and momentous occasion. During the death process, the visible Congruence within the Synthoid’s body seems to drain down into the ground, as if their bodies are no longer able to hold the Congruence it once did. Since the average lifespan of a Synthoid is around 1000 years, and the average time between Gifts is at least 500 years, the Synthoid species is one of consistently decaying numbers.

Also, they do not need to eat or breathe, so they have no need to farm, cook, or any of that. They live off of the latent Congruence in nature. If a Synthoid were to be cut off from Congruence, their life force would slowly drain away and they would die.

Attempts to Rebuild the Population

There is a movement within the Synthoid culture (and without) to discover the source of the seemingly-random Gift, in order to reverse the slow destruction of the Synthoid population. Experiments and theories exist to test Husk craftsmanship, proximity to Congruence hotspots, geographical saturation over time, core origin, and more. To date, no theories have panned out.

Synthoid Culture and Communities

Seeing as Synthoids are so rare, they tend to settle in very small communities. Most of the time, communities will settle around areas of mid- to high-congruence activity. These communities often congregate around an artisan, with one of the purposes of the community being the building of future Synthoids and the collection of the materials to do so. That being said, Synthoids have as much free will as any other species, and therefore can choose to leave these communities.

Within the community, there may be an average of 15 or 20 Synthoids. Under the artisan, there are often one or two apprentices who help with the creation of new Husks. There are also those who go out and explore surrounding areas looking for materials and bringing them back to the artisan. Those who do not fall into those categories tend to build and maintain the settlement they have created.

Synthoids Beyond Their Communities

For those who move away from Synthoid communities, there are essentially two options. One is to be a traveling nomad. These lone wolves travel the land in search of knowledge and experiences. Other Synthoids will find more diverse communities in multi-species towns and cities and settle there. Synthoids are very sought after in all sorts of communities for their skills in metal working and engineering. Synthoids in modern cities tend to find themselves rising to high status as city planners and engineers, as they are experts in building and creating building plans. Unfortunately, Synthoids also fetch a large sum of money in the slave trade. You don’t have to feed them, and since they live for so long, the amount of work you get from a Synthoid for the money is actually quite good.

Synthoid Temperment

Synthoids tend to be purposeful and methodical. They don’t move particularly fast or slow. The long lives lend to a more grounded perspective. Their freedom from the needs of the biological bodies means they can do, build, create, think, teach, etc without the time spent on simply surviving (such as farming or tending a shop for an income).