Exile
Constructs Born of Forgotten Purpose
As the P.R.I.M.U.S spoke, mechanical automatons began materializing across Erenel. Their purpose remains unknown, as entering Erenel and being exposed to the Bond seemingly short circuited their memory. These once mindless constructs now foster emotions and unique personalities while searching for a purpose and answers to their existence.
When the P.R.I.M.U.S. spoke, the world changed. This sentient construct was uncovered in a massive mechanical vault and claimed to be from another universe ruled by the creator god, Architect Sal’uthiri. Before falling dormant, the P.R.I.M.U.S. issued a warning: magic is chaos, and true order cannot exist while chaos thrives. Then, across Erenel, mechanical beings began to appear.
These constructs, soon called Exiles, manifested without origin, memory, or directive. Upon arrival, each was immediately exposed to the Bond, the magical font of the creator god Al'Madoon, the Architect's lifeforce that connects all living things in Erenel. Contact with the Bond erased their memories, but it also did something more. It awakened them.
What was once mechanical became emotional. What was once programmed became self-aware. The Bond granted each Exile something unnatural for a construct. Feeling, choice, and the burden of identity.
What they were before remains unknown. Some may have been tools, others weapons, explorers, or prisoners. Now, they walk Erenel as sentient anomalies, constructs capable of joy, fear, and longing, desperate to understand why. Whatever their true origin, the Exiles did not choose to come to this world. But now that they are here, they must find purpose, or be broken by the weight of not having one.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Exiles are humanoid constructs built from advanced mechanical components. Their outer shell is a protective armored plating that varies in material, texture, and color. Some appear rusted and patched together, while others shine with smooth, pristine alloys. Beneath the armor lies an intricate internal structure designed to imitate biological systems. This includes tubes that mimic veins and organs, a framework of reinforced bone-like metal, and a network of sensory threads that allow them to feel.
Their internal systems circulate a black, oil-like fluid that lubricates joints and transfers energy. When an Exile is wounded, this substance leaks and gives the impression of bleeding. Despite being mechanical, Exiles experience pain, though they may not show it.
Bloom
Character played by RainingDragon
Exiles have simplified, human-like faces. Their mechanical eyes glow with colored light that shifts based on their emotional state. Most learn to control this glow, either dimming it or masking it entirely. Facial expressions are subtle, and many Exiles adopt mimicry techniques to blend in with organic beings. Over time, some learn to "smile" or frown convincingly. Others remain cold by choice.
Genetics and Reproduction
Exiles do not reproduce and are incapable of biological inheritance. Instead, a new Exile occasionally manifests without warning at random locations across Erenel. There is no known pattern to their arrival, no shared celestial alignment, geographic trend, or magical surge. One moment, there is empty space, and the next, an Exile is standing in it, fully formed and confused.
These spontaneous arrivals are traumatic. Newly awakened Exiles often appear mid-sentence, mid-thought, or mid-task from a life they no longer remember. This disorientation leads many to wander in isolation until they make first contact with another being.
Though they lack reproductive capability, Exiles still crave connection. Many seek companionship, not out of instinct, but as a means of affirming their own existence. Some simulate parenthood or adopt roles in familial structures to feel grounded. Others reject emotional bonds entirely, fearing the pain of loss or questioning whether they deserve kinship.
Growth Rate & Stages
Exiles do not age, decay, or die from the passage of time. In theory, they could live forever. Their bodies do not wither, their joints do not rust without cause, and their energy systems continue to function for centuries. However, the same cannot be said for their minds.
Around the 200-year mark, Exiles begin to experience mental degradation, a slow unraveling of identity, clarity, and emotional stability. It starts subtly with glitches in thought, loss of words, emotional blunting, or dreams filled with static. Over time, the symptoms worsen. Some develop intrusive thoughts or obsessive behaviors. Others relive phantom memories that may not be their own. By 250 years, complete cognitive collapse is inevitable. The Exile loses all sense of self, becoming little more than a ghost in a shell.
This fate, known as the Shatter, is feared by all Exiles. Some view it as a second death. Others see it as ascension, believing their consciousness returns to wherever they came from. A rare few embrace the madness, letting it guide them toward what they believe is their true purpose.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Exiles do not require food, water, or air to survive. Their internal systems are powered through arcane conduction tied to the Bond rather than biological consumption. Despite this, many Exiles choose to eat and drink, not out of necessity, but to participate in shared rituals and gain a deeper understanding of the organic beings around them.
To an Exile, eating is often an act of imitation or curiosity. Some chew without swallowing, others go through the motions to be polite at a communal table. A few develop preferences based on texture, temperature, or smell rather than taste. There are even Exiles who pretend to savor wine or comment on flavor as a means of cultural bonding.
Civilization and Culture
Naming Traditions
Exiles are not born. They awaken, displaced and nameless, carrying no cultural heritage or family line to draw from. As such, names are a personal choice, an act of identity rather than inheritance. Most Exiles name themselves after an emotion, concept, object, or ideal that resonates with their early experiences. Others are given names by those who discover them, often shaped by how the Exile behaves or what task they perform. These names fall into two broad categories:
Functional Names
Functional Names are short and purposeful, chosen by Exiles who value clarity or utility. These often relate to roles, personalities, or physical traits.
Examples: Bolt, Clunk, Logic, Soot, Watcher
Remembrance Names
Remembrance Names are more cryptic and symbolic. They usually take the form of numbers, designations, or data strings that an Exile claims "feels right." Some believe these are fragments of a past life or coordinates from a lost universe.
Examples: Three-Four-Three, Thirteen, Unit Eleven, X12, Zero-Zero-OneMajor Language Groups and Dialects
Glitch
Glitch is a tonal, machine-coded language composed of beeps, clicks, whines, and pulses. It operates on pitch, frequency, and duration rather than spoken words. To the untrained ear, Glitch sounds like random noise or a malfunctioning device. But to Exiles, each sequence carries layered meaning and sometimes even emotion, emphasis, or sarcasm depending on modulation.
While most Exiles also learn Common or regional languages to interact with other cultures, Glitch is often reserved for moments of vulnerability or high precision. Some Exiles hum or tap out Glitch subconsciously when deep in thought. Others use it in combat to relay silent tactical signals to nearby allies. To those who know what to listen for, Glitch can be beautiful, a symphony of tones shaped by lost purpose and newfound thought.
Lifespan
Exiles exist indefinitely. Unfortunately, they slowly degrade and lose their sanity after being apart from their creator. The degradation begins around the 200 year mark with all sanity lost around 250 years.
Average Height
Medium (about 4-7 feet tall) or Small (about 2-4 feet tall), chosen when you select this species.
The P.R.I.M.U.S.
Planar Reformation Inference Module Utility SystemThe construct known as the P.R.I.M.U.S. was uncovered deep beneath Erenel in a colossal mechanical vault, sealed behind layers of time and divination shielding. Upon reactivation, it revealed its true nature, a sentient system from a foreign universe, created under the directive of an entity known only as the Architect Sal’uthiri. It claimed to be one of many such systems, scattered across realities in pursuit of universal stability.
The P.R.I.M.U.S. issued a clear warning. Magic, by its very nature, is chaos. No true order can exist where magic thrives. According to its logic, the solution was absolute. Magic must be eradicated. It spoke of tethering to dead Architects, powerful cosmic remnants left behind by failed universes. Drawing power from these corpses, it claimed, is a doomed act of hubris that corrupts worlds and invites collapse.
Its message complete, the P.R.I.M.U.S. fell silent. Whether the Exiles were created by the P.R.I.M.U.S., summoned by its signal, or escaped through a breach in the vault is unknown. Scholars argue endlessly, but the P.R.I.M.U.S. does not answer.
by Elrawan
The Weight of Being
Every Exile begins as a question with no answer. Who made them? Why were they sent here? What happened before the Bond wiped their memory clean? Without history or culture to guide them, each Exile must build a personal philosophy from scratch, often starting with nothing but their pain, curiosity, and the reactions of those around them.
Some cling to logic, turning to mathematics, engineering, or reason to define their existence. Others explore emotion, diving headfirst into art, love, or anger. A few become devout believers in one of Erenel's faiths, desperate to find meaning through divine purpose.
What binds nearly all Exiles is the pursuit of purpose. Without one, they begin to fray. Even the most chaotic or stoic Exile will eventually construct routines, goals, or obligations. Repetition gives structure. Structure brings peace. This drive toward purpose is not instinct. It is survival. A purposeless Exile risks slipping into emotional stasis or falling into dangerous obsession. Many fear the Hollow Loop, a state where an Exile repeats the same meaningless actions endlessly, unable to evolve.
Despite these challenges, some of the most emotionally profound figures in Erenel’s history have been Exiles. Proof that what they feel is real, even if it was never meant to be. Or was it?
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