Artifex

Artifex is the insectile god of construction, builder of wonders and master of swarms. Look upon his works and despair.

## Domains

### Construction

From nests to temples, from anthills to fortresses, from borrows to ships, from cottages to entire worlds. As life grows wise it begins to shape its environment. The gods craft continents from the Aether as moments to their arrogance, animals build homes to protect themselves and their young. Mortal kind bridges the gap between the two, creating structures of survival and hubris both. Brick by brick the carefully laid plans of mice and men sweep away untamed nature and build order out of the debris of chaos.

Construction is also an inherently collaborative activity, for though the spider may spin its web and the loner may raise a simple home in the wilds true construction that raises brilliance requires the work of many hands sharing one vision and one purpose.

### Civilization

A Civilisation is collective of mortals, of strangers, bound together by something greater than themselves. A belief, an identity, an iron hand. They work together to perpetuate that thing that binds them, keeping it alive. Civilization meanwhile is an increasing level of complexity used to perpetuate a Civilisation. Increasingly complex chains of commerce. Increasingly complex forms of governance. Most importantly, it features increasingly advanced technology that facilitates the other complexity to exist in the first place. You can’t have a sprawling empire with a massive bureaucracy if your farming technology can't feed the bureaucrats or if it lacks a method to convey their decisions over long distances in a timely manner.

Artifex needs civilisations because they provide the structure, safety and stability for mortal advancement. Technology advances, facilitating and demanding new forms of economics, government and social structures which in turn provide the resources and stability for technology to continue to advance and repeat the cycle. Step by step. Shoulder by shoulder. Mortal kind ascends to greater heights

## Portfolios

### Insects

Insects are nature builders. Though their achievements may seem small to some, when compared to his own size these tiny creatures forge homes on a scale that make a mockery of even the greatest of mortal cities. The swarms that dwell within these hives are no less impressive, composed of thousands of minds barely capable of thought that none the less work together to forage, farm and conquer with uncanny efficiency.

### Stonemasonry

The art of working stone, and turning it into objects useful to people. In a mundane fashion, it entails the carving of stone into tools, into building materials, into pieces of art and so much more. In a mythical context it is used to create artifacts and sites of power from the bones of Galbar itself, grand and imposing bulwarks of power that stand tall over all. To work in stone is to leave a legacy. Wood rots, metal corrodes, nations fall and bloodlines end. The wonders of stone will outlive them all.

### Ships

Ships are large vehicles used to transport things over long distances that require construction on a scale similar to buildings. Most ships travel on water, but theoretically a ship could also soar through the sky, roll across the land or sail between the stars.

### Legitimacy

Legitimacy is the right, respect and acceptance of the authority of a regime by the people a regime claims to command. A lack of legitimacy can prove fatal, as the regime’s commands may be ignored due to being seen as incompetent or unable to be enforced, challengers may rise to replace the regime’s rulers or sections of the realm may leave it entirely, preferring to strike out on their own. Conversely a high degree of legitimacy results in loyalty, compliance and/or enthusiastic support by those the regime rules.

Legitimacy is a fickle thing however, and comes from many sources that vary from culture to culture and place to place. Legitimacy might be drawn from the election of a ruler by a subset of the people, it may be claimed by ancestry, by success in battle, from the will of god, mastery of magic, by the erection of civil infrastructure or monuments and many other places.

With legitimacy Artifex can shore up, gift or provide opportunity for a regime he approves of to gain legitimacy, or he can instead damage or destroy that of one he disapproves of.

### Militia

A militia is a fighting force consisting of people whose main profession is not war, but in a time of strife nonetheless take up arms to fight. Milita can range from part time soldiers with some training or even experience in battle to citizens using whatever they can to fight off the barbarians at their gates. Militia are generally unable to hold ground against professional forces and require advantages in numbers, technology, magic, moral, terrain, strategy, fortifications etc. to overcome their disadvantage. They most often don't fight fair as a result.

Groups such as the Mothers can be considered a roaming Militia, for though they do fight it is not their only, or primary, function as an order. The fighters in revolts, revolutions or other civil uprisings generally consist of impromptu formed Militia forces as well. Typically however, a militia guards their own town, city, etc. or is subservient to/acting in support of a more professional army while out on campaign.

## Realm: The Acropolis

An entire world covered by a singular immense city. At first glance the city appears to be built purely in the latest architectural styles that have arisen upon galbar. If you were to descend into the depths of the city however, it would quickly become clear that there is no ground to be found, no world upon which the city has been built, only layers upon layers of constructions dating back further and further into the past until the core is reached. There, surrounded by a final layer of massive ant colony, lies Artifex’s workshop. It is a place of crystal, brass and glass, of wonders mortal kind could not even begin to dream of creating. Within this chamber Artifex draws up his plans to build a perfect world.

The Acropolis is built and maintained by untold billions of insects from the humble ant to mythical titans of chitin all bound to the will of the Artisan of Architecture. Mixed in with the swarms are insects that are tiny pieces of Artifex’s base form, indistinguishable from their subordinates, which direct the lesser insects in their endless task.

## Persona

Artifex dreams of a perfect clockwork world, a monument to the god’s triumph over chaos. What form this world should take is as of yet undecided, but Artifex is quite certain it will be glorious. Artifex is best described as a perfectionist with a penchant for over-complexity. This applies most straightforwardly to his creations are as flawless and intricate as the god can make them but also applies to their plans, which often consist of many moving parts that must be executed perfectly in order for the great scheme to come to fruition. It is unsurprising then that when these plans and works are disrupted they tend to fall apart with the collateral damage of a collapsing tower. Though aware of this problem Artifex’s solution is to add additional complexity in an attempt to mitigate predicted faults rather than to simplify a plan or construction to make it better able to react to unforeseen circumstances as to simplify would be to tarnish the magnificence of their creation.

Artifex sees mortals with equal parts admiration and contempt. He is enamored with their attempts to create as the gods to and yet the perfectionist within is unable to stop himself from criticizing those same works for any perceived flaws. Should mortals create a perfect monument and Artifex may very well shower you with praise and blessing. Anything but perfection and the results could be anything from indifferent dismissal to insulted wrath or an instructional visit from one of Artifex’s servants. The same goes for the gods. Artifex is likely to offer their services to the others should their projects catch his eye, though generally they have a distinct focus on form over function. A dread lord’s keep and a temple dedicated to healing the sick are both equally interesting projects to Artifex and both structures are equally deserving of only the finest craftsmanship.

## Forms

### The Swarm

A vast swarm of ants, bees and wasps and other more fantastical social insects that infest the halls of the Acropolis, constantly expanding it. A small number of these insects are tiny parts of Artifex’s whole. Inorder to take on other forms a mass of these insects swarm together, channeling Artifex’s will into a singular vessel.

### The Builder

Their form of construction is a bipedal ant with chitin with the color and texture of polished obsidian decorated by glowing golden etchings roughly twice the size of a human. With his hulking set of arms Artifex quarries stone, bends mental, flattens earth and hauls wood while their smaller set are used for intricate carvings and the construction of delicate mechanisms. They are surrounded by a cloud of golden crystals, controlled by the gems inlaid into his horns and arms, which can be temporarily fused together to form any tool imaginable. Upon their back are a set of vestigial wings that normally act as decorative cloak, but can be combined with the crystals to form a fully formed set of wings capable of carrying the god through the air at high speed.

### The Civilized

Artifex's civilization form is a smartly dressed goblin, commonly seen dressed in a smart ruby jacket, yellow waistcoat, an onyx brooch with a pair of thorned horns emblazoned upon it in silver, a bet with pouches containing various tools and a practical pair of leather trouser and boots.

## Avatars

### Kallak

A tiny fraction of Artifex’s great swarm that was left behind on Galbar when the gods fled the lifeblood. There it took on a poor reflection of his divine form, a bipedal ant with two colossal horns and brick red chitin, and named themselves Kallak . Commonly seen dressed in worn travelers gear Kallak roams Galbar, traveling from pocket of civilization to pocket of civilization, generally finding employment as a humble laborer or builder until something they see sparks Artifex’s interest. Once their god has seen something they want to build or improve Kallak will be tasked with convincing the natives that Artifex’s grand scheme is worth their time and effort. If successful they then organize  and supervise the construction effort to ensure it meets Artifex’s standards.

The relationship between god and avatar could be best be described as that of an eccentric master and a loyal but long suffering apprentice for while Kallak is a willing servant and has a passion for their god’s work Artifex is not an easy person to work for due to their perfectionist nature. Kallak is also the closest thing Artifex has to a moral compass, as their time among mortals has made them sympathetic to their struggles. Kallak is also humble where Artifex is arrogant and understands that life often demands a working solution rather than a perfect one.