Rian Gergauge

Rian is attributed as the Creator of the Forgeborn (link will exist one day, new ancestry coming), for presenting the beginning of the paths of study that would eventually see their birth. They are the rarest ancestry across Valerick however for the conditions within the Aether itself must be just right to birth one. They are so rare they are statistically insignificant in any census of any population in any nation or city. But they do exist. They are known about. They are not myth or legend they are just....a strange people whom most do not really know how to view. They have no individual cultural traditions for they are born from the shell of a golem. Their intelligence is that of the Aether itself, a small spark, a soul simply inhabiting a shell, and they do not grow up with any real racial traits or traditions or ethnic norms of their own but instead are generally raised by the engineer whom built them. This commonly makes them technologically savvy individuals and they oft inherit linguistic and cultural behaviors from this relationship, as well as the nation they were made. There are Susman Forgeborn, Suranthi Forgeborn, Wastonian Forgeborn and even the rare Morian Forgeborn and they generally have just adopted the cultural norms of that society.

All this born from the creation of the first Automotans.

The Forgeborn however do have one shared thing. They recognize the date of Rian's passing, the 11th of Agun, as a holy day, seeing it as the day of their species birth. It is believed that perhaps the most inventive souls whom follow Cormaq Thunderhand can perhaps be reborn from his celestial realm if they so wish, living another life as a Forgeborn, and perhaps that is where their souls come from. No one truly knows however.

Rian was a brilliant inventor and was obsessed with early magitech all their life. The truth of this science is that Waston had it for centuries before letting it out into the wild of the wider world and only because their biggest competitors for influence on the global stage in modern times, the birthplace of steam and chymtech, The Kingdom of Suranth would have overtaken them for global prominence if they did not take such drastic measures. As such, the current era of industrialization that has begun after the tail end of the Era of Revitalization was kick started in part by a shadow conflict of sorts between two world powers, fought not with armies and arms, but influence and technological advancement.

Rian's story however, begins and directly ends just before and as this change of eras occurs. They were one of the founders of Magitech, one of its initial believers and dreamers that its capabilities in the early days, were far greater than tiny little handheld devices for the simplest of enhancments and tasks. Little more than trinkets to slightly improve the abilities of a mortal being. Rian did not believe the simplest form, using just manna gems and manna scaffold of copper and obsidian alloys to control the flow of the manna from the gems were the limits. No, Rian theorized with many of their contemporaries that it could be taken further and eventually, one of them did it. One of them created the first Magne-core Reactor and subsequently the first Magnecore Engine.

Whilst others would take this technology to the skies and to great devices, machines and otherwise, and others still would take it to weaponry or armor, Rian had a far bigger dream. One they would spend the latter century of their life chasing and eventually reaching. In 1353 the first generation of Automotans began being produced in Rydan and moved about Waston over the coming months and years. These were no ordinary golems, for the idea of constructs was not a new one.

No these did not require the aide and abilities of a magister in any way. No arcane magick needed to be handled by a person directly in any way to form these, no tainted manna had to be risked by a living mortal being, no Void corruption risked by any soul to build these. An additional benefit, these entities since they were not truly alive, but constructs, set to purpose via runes of commanding and by direct control by skilled pilots through a scry stone, they had no soul. Meaning the Void corruption of the manna that had to be utilized and drawn in to make the energy that allowed the Magicore engine to power the constructs had nothing to taint, warp or corrupt. Without a soul, without the remnants of or active presence of life directly in an object, it could not be corrupted. It could be destroyed by enough Void taint and energy all at once, as can be seen with the burns and scarring of soil and stone near some regions of great incursions. But if no true essence of something 'alive' exists, there is nothing to corrupt and grab a hold of. Interestingly this also prevented any form of direct possession as well.

These were the first generation, a test generation of soldiers, of warriors to reinforce and perhaps even one day take over, fighting back the Void, the Realm of Nightmares, and the monsters at the frontiers of society on a scarred and traumatized world. At the time of their death, Rian had high hopes for this exact outcome, leaving their wishes in no uncertain terms.

However upon their death and their soul arriving at the Evershift Workshop the mythos of the church of Cormaq Thunderhand's faithful paint quite the story and change. But such myths do not belong in a direct reference to the character and life history and legacies left behind of a living person. Rian's achievements of life get over-shone by this bit and it is unfortunate, however it is worth noting that Rian Gergauge was the progenitor of the Automotave Sciences, the progenitor of the field of study and the creation of Automotans. This means every single such generation of machine, all of them, owe their existence directly unto Rian's initial works. In that way, they left not just a mark, or an entire legacy. No Rian literally changed the history of Valerick on a scale reserved for the Ascended, the leaders of Reclamation whom founded the nine great nations of the world today, and the founders of the Ascended Churches and the Magisterium. Elite company would be an understatement.

Yet it is unavoidable, and so we must mention the beliefs that come after Rian's death. The beginning of the Forgeborn are inevitably and unavoidably linked to Rian, especially since many, the first words they speak, with no reason to know them, and in gnomish, even if they go on to learn no further gnomish in their existence, are;

Forge Founder's blessing, I thank you for this vessel and this life.

The Forgeborn are still amazingly rare, it is unknown how many exist worldwide, or what conditions exactly must exist within the Aether for their construction. There are methods shared amongst a few select craftsfolk in some places but no real evidence exists to confirm that these increase or alter the odds of the birth of a Forgeborn.

Rian was well known through their life for having no gender preference and they never married nor had any children. It is confirmed they were born male, by the individual themself, and did not generally care if one referred to them that way. Rian however saw themselves as less binary in the sense of a person that way. Less and more than those confines equally, uncaring of their identity, being of the view that;



To say Rian was in love with their work is an understatement, in many ways they identified as their work. Wholly and entirely.

This does not mean Rian was without emotions of course and in their life though they never married they had their share of lovers and partners. They were described as a caring lover, kind, sweet, romantic even, however with a clear hierarchy which perhaps is why they never married or had a family of their own genetics. They were married to the work. It was an open marriage, they were allowed to have lovers and relationships, however it was clear the science, the infatuation of discovery and forging into unknown frontiers was their first love, the primary holder of their affection, and a marriage by any other name, even if one could not truly marry an idea.