Myrmidons

Magic, while bearing incredible potential, lacks applicability and safety. The required study to adjust the very laws of nature without unforeseen effects demands such an effort as to render it impractical for daily use. To attempt to fix a portion of an object in place leads to immediate effects as the movement of the world tears past, or indeed sometimes a too-precise working can cause an enormous explosion within an entire area.

The alternative, however, has been in place for a brief yet powerful period that has changed the very face of the civilized world. Myrmidons, a seed of creation that is grown and shaped into tailor made tools, infinitely adaptable given time and stimulus.

Properly, the Myrmidon refers to the seed, a singular collection of cells that works outwards into a guided shape. The initial growth proves rapid, though it slows considerably as the construct reaches larger sizes or more focused and difficult levels of specificity.

Once a seed has been established for a time, a craftsman is able to separate the seed from the growth, allowing another construct to be started from the seed. The seeds themselves, when carefully husbanded, can themselves be divided, though the process is traumatic to the Myrmidon, each portion will regenerate itself into a full seed. A skilled craftsman with a Myrmidon of sufficient hardiness and age can split a seed as many as three times at a stroke, multiplying the capacity of the Myrmidon for the future.

The attentive student witnesses, then, that generations of Myrmidons are, in fact, identical clones closer related than siblings. In spite of this, generations of Myrmidons depart from each other to greater and greater degrees, as a Myrmidon separated from its growth forever after displays a strong tendency to grow similarly. Thus, those Myrmidons dedicated to lighting the streets of Bran Tessen grow more specialized to give off a consistent light, while those employed in giving off flame and gas for military purposes put out more powerful and directed bursts, and those dedicated to covering great distances grow leaner and more efficient in their movement.

The crowning achievement of the Myrmidons and their craftsmen is the full suit; such a construct is an astounding display of mastery and dedication, creating a second creature that mimics the movements of the master until it surpasses them in skill and power. Indeed, Bran Tessen has begun to field the Westround Cavalry which, rather than being mounted as the other Cavaliers, each are outfitted with a Myrmidon. The constructs learn rapidly, and are put through their paces by Bran Tessens finest. Bran Tessen hopes to witness the impact of a Cavalier that can cover more ground on foot than his mounted brethren, demand fewer resources to maintain, and prove a formidable opponent should they have to prove their mettle.

The Posterli Myrmidon

The Posterli Junta – granted a monopoly by order of the previous Udor crown, though the grant is in danger of being rescinded by the newly ascended government of the Collective of Udor – stands out as a group that bears high hopes for the Myrmidons applicability to the trade of paper and spices (the two specific branches their monopoly covers, save for the exception of cinnamon, due to an adviser in the Crowns ear more interested in maintaining a competitive market than supporting the Posterli Junta). In spite of frequent experimentation, they have yet to discover a profound use for Myrmidons outside of lighting for travel in the darker hours, or the pack mules that load the cargo with more ease. The breeding of a Myrmidon to transport large quantities of cargo across great distances of water at a more efficient rate than that already provided by boats has proven to be a wall preventing the absolute use of Myrmidons throughout.

Even so, they have established the creation of a small warehousing center on the far side of the Whitening Sea, as well as a more central stock headquarters in an outpost of Udor, a quiet area taking in the shipments from across the Whitening Sea. The Posterli Junta maintains a tight hold on its secrets, allowing only the most cursory of inspections and largely demanding control over their own world without challenge. Even so, reports have filtered out of a Myrmidon in the employ of the Posterli Junta, used in the headquarters center.

Duke Arthur Tennenbaum, of Bran Tessen, authored a report after an inspection of the Posterli Junta for the purpose of expanding the Juntas monopoly to Bran Tessen.