A diminutive ratling with mottled white fur, dressed in black robes with red trim bearing the symbol of Mekhane. Her right arm has been replaced by a metallic mechanical limb and her left eye is a glowing green iris that opens and closes like a camera lens. A metal tendril sprouts from her back just below her ribcage and appears to communicate with her independently.
Appearance
Physical Description
Shoku stands just over a meter tall, though she walks with a confident poise that makes her appear taller. Her mottled brown fur is slick with grease, oil, and residue from the chemicals she works with, the ratling either unaware or uncaring about her dirty appearance. She is usually dressed in the black and red robes of a Mekhanist cultist, with a red quarter-cog embroidered on the chest of her robes which denotes her rank of Magos Dominus. Her left arm has been replaced by a biomechanical limb that resembles a normal ratling arm coated in chrome, the appendage slightly longer than her right arm. The hand can reconfigure itself into various tools and instruments Shoku uses when experimenting, or into a slashing melee weapon if the need arises. Her right eye is a solid black orb that opens into a glowing green iris, the device giving her close-range truesight and allowing her to react to her surroundings with a degree of magical foresight. A segmented metallic tentacle sprouts from between her shoulder blades, the appendage ending in a three-pronged claw that Shoku uses as a third hand. She will sometimes use the third limb to climb to hard-to-reach spaces or hoist herself up to make her seem more imposing. She can sometimes be seen talking to the tentacle as if it has a mind of its own.
Mentality
Personal history
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As she grew older, Shoku began to seek out knowledge beyond the alchemy of Clan Ferrik. She would join ratling raids outside of Rustpeak as the clan scoured the land for resources and valuables. On an expedition into western Zandrazil, she happened upon one of the abandoned laboratories of Deleth Yorkiras, a former Tor artificer, and became enthralled with tomes detailing several Thaumic Age inventions. Shoku also discovered Deleth's shrine to the goddess Mekhane and the ratling opened up her soul to commune with the goddess. Mekhane was disgusted by the ratling at first; she knew that the ratlings were followers of Yogwilesh, the same god who had tricked her into servitude. But she saw Shoku's brilliant mind trapped within a broken body and felt sympathy, as well as seeing an opportunity to siphon more followers away from her captor. Mekhane gave Shoku the knowledge of constructing mind control devices and tasked her with converting the ratlings to Mekhanism.
Shoku brought this knowledge back to her people and Clan Ferrik began to experiment with mechanical augmentation. Shoku replaced her crippled arm with a prosthetic and restored her full sight with a mechanical eye, bringing the marvels of this restorative technology to the many maimed and disabled members of the Clan. She also indoctrinated the beneficiaries of her gifts into the Mekhanist Cult, sharing with them her goddess' promise of rebirth for the ratling people. Fearful that the cultists would execute them, the leaders of Clan Ferrik converted to Mekhanism and installed Shoku on their tribal council. Her position of power secure, Shoku began augmenting her most loyal followers with the mind control technology gifted to her by their goddess.
Personality
Motivation
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She is obsessed with replacing defective parts of her body with prosthetics as she believes it brings her goddess' favor. She mistrusts natural medicine and only utilizes alchemy insofar as it can enhance the materials she uses in her inventions.
Much like her goddess, she believes that free will is an obstacle that must be overcome in order to achieve utopia. While she believes it would be easier to simply implant everyone in Clan Ferrik with mind control devices, she tolerates the un-augmented as long as they don't impede her goals. She believes that all will willingly convert in time; moreover, she has faith that the arc of history bends towards order and that Mekhane's ascendance is inevitable.
Social
Social Aptitude
Shoku has very little regard for personal space and can often forget that those she is speaking to are thinking creatures. She means well but often finds herself speaking condescendingly to others, feeling it necessary to overexplain things due to the misguided belief that everything she has to say is beyond normal comprehension. If someone carries on them a piece of new technology, Shoku will grab for it without asking permission, as if it were her right to inspect every piece of technology she comes across.
Mannerisms
She is known to gesture with her prosthetic tendril as if it were her third arm, and will also use it in conjunction with her tail to elevate herself or climb to high spaces. She prefers to stand over people and talk down to them.
Speech
Shoku speaks quickly and often mutters under her breath after she's finished, repeating the last few words she'd spoken.