Coghearts

1095AG (Third-Generation)

Coghearts, known also as Warforged for their involvement in the military campaigns that faciliated the Astedian Ascension, are a race of constructs first created by the Gnomish Tinkerer Kevmorn Milltall.

## History

Following prior investigations and research into the Ever-Changing Chaos of Limbo, spurned by the provision of Wayfinder Stones by his position as part of the Inner Sanctum of the College of Claxinns, Kevmorn Milltall found himself deeply enamoured by the potential for inspiration that came from the curiosities found throughout the Outer Planes. During a not entirely intended visit to the Clockword Nirvana of Mechanus, Kevmorn spent nearly a year in isolation, before emerging to unveil his newest creation - an automaton of metal, stone and wood powered by clockwork pieces warded from tampering by magical wards and glyphs. Milltall claimed that an eidolon of Gaityas had been breathed into the construct, granting it intelligence and some level of sentience.

The creation was put into mass production immediately, with Kevmorn Milltall's intention being primarily focused on usage in mundane and otherwise intensive processes better suited for entities that required not food, drink or rest. With provision of proper inspections, servicing and repairs, he proclaimed that they could continue in these roles for a lifetime, if not several. Despite it, few of the first and second generation Coghearts survived for more than a few years, repurposed as they were into weapons of war. The Siege of Iron involved extensive deployment of Coghearts, now colloquially known as the Warforged, predominately in front-line positions or as shocktroops but also as patrols in the Imperial Capital of Esterving and guardians in noble households at risk of hostage-taking or assassination attempts.

Since the Astedian Ascension however, the purposes for which the Coghearts have been utilised have diversified significantly. Near every aspect of life under the banner of the Emperor and the Increscent Six had Cogheart Modifications dedicated to its purpose, although as Kevmorn Milltall had intended, they particularly flourished in roles unsustainable for most of the Principal Races for long durations - manual labour such as agriculture, assembly, construction and mining.

## Research

### Completed by Fafnir Lutgehr

Spending time sprawling over notes, reports, recovered fragments and component pieces, the understanding of the Coghearts was furthered significantly, revealing new complexities and complications to the inorganic race.

#### Categorisation & Generations

Coghearts, during their time of active production, have existed under three generations of production.

The First-Generations were the true pioneers of the race, the very first of which was created by Kevmorn Milltall within his laboratory at the High College of Claxinns. Simplistic in their design, when they were eventually put into initial production the Coghearts of the First-Generation were granted designations starting with v1, followed by their year of production and then a unique designation code of letters and numbers. The First-Generation group of Coghearts were arguably the most mechanically complex, though largely devoid of arcane interference, instead relying on gears, servos and other machinery to facilitate their assigned tasks. As such, all First-Generation Coghearts emit a faint humming noise when active, with further creaks and strains common in states of exertion. It is estimated that the cost of the first Coghearts were in excess of fifty-thousand Helias per model, though through mass production this would in time would be reduced. Due to their mechanical nature, stress-related fatigue was quickly established as a likely cause of imminent and/or sudden failure, as was made particularly clear during trials in the jungles of Tviatin, in which other minor damages that breached the delicate mechanical machinery within would result in catastrophic failure. Nonetheless, the First-Generation models were popular amongst the Astedian nobility, who used them extensively as servants, sentries and companions for their children on carriage and airship journeys. In most instances, remaining v1. models were destroyed and replaced, though a few amongst those with wealth sufficient to own a personal Cogheart instead opted to retrofit and upgrade their current models, despite this voiding any warranty placed upon their purchase. Of particular note was the Liatumal family, whom at the behest of the then nine-year old Alamaria, whom threw herself in front of the wagon that had come to collect up their v1. model, of whom she had grown quite fond - and so subsequently was augmented and upgraded instead of being destined for the incinerator.

The Second-Generations served as the building blocks upon which the majority of the Astedian Empire was constructed. Building upon the strengths of the v1. models and seeking to rectify their flaws, it was the Second-Generation that Kevmorn Milltall considered his true creation, remarking frequently that while the v1. models were simply a first draft, the v2. models were the finalised product. Augmenting the simple clockwork design with the inclusion of a docent, a spheroid contraption that served as a nerve-centre and brain for the constructs. While their heart had been made of cogs and gears and had given the Coghearts a semblance of life, it was the inclusion of a docent that would seem to give them a sense of sentiency. Kevmorn Milltall consistently kept the creation of the docents a closely guarded secret, but all signs seem to point to a combination of a core of condensed Iviniuum, neuro-inorganic bundles woven to mimic biological axonic function and use of a variation on the *Awaken* spell woven and integrated with beseeching by a Priest of Gaityas to give the docent a spirit.

It was the Second-Generations that would give the Coghearts the other name by which they are commonly known, the Warforged. Following modifications made by the Dwarven Artificer Germyr Grithammer of Mol Boramm, they were outfitted as weapons of battle, provisioned with a wide range of weaponry ranging from lithe scouts with plate made of enchanted mithral capable of rendering them invisible to the common eye, skirmish and scavenger groups armed with long-ranged weaponry, as well as adamantine-infused crusaders that acted as bulwarks on the battlefield. Greater still were those of the Titans and Colossuses, although the former of which were more truly mechanical constructs with the outward appearance of a Cogheart but operated from within by a conventional v2. model interconnected by means of a docent-to-docent nexus. While Titans were mass-produced for the conquest of Atralran, only three Colossuses were ever made, and unlike the Titans, these were fully autonomous and given individual names - Argen, Cresse, Unsung. It was their deployment that would arguably bring the Siege of Iron to a close, and only existed in active service for a matter of weeks before their destruction and scattering through the Ashenvale.

After the Astedian Ascension reached its conclusion and the new era of Imperial rule from Esterving, vast numbers of Coghearts were sequestered away into hidden vaults shielded from *Divination* magic to serve as shocktroops in the case of uprisings, with only a few high-ranking Astedian officials being aware of their location, or the means through which the legions could be summoned onto a battlefield - be it the grassland plains along the borders between the former Realms, or a city's streets. A few however, returned to the households of those they had fought alongside, others still were purchased by noble families to act as bodyguards, or secretly by criminal guilds to serve as assassins or enforcers. In time, as the civilian market grew further, v2. models designed for day-to-day operation were created, though it was in roles of sustained and menial labour that the Coghearts flourished, operating farms, mines and manufactories. Many struggled to find a place within common 'organic' society however, especially as they fell outside of those of definitive Imperial Citizenship as per the *Shapetress's Clause*, and so this line of work proved particularly popular in the far-flung locales used by the Astedians for manual labour, such as Desir, Lerance & Ambis in the plane of Bytopia.

The Third-Generations represented a further artificial evolution of the v2. models made en masse by the Milltall Manufacturing Guild, targeting and refining models that had proven notably popular with nobility, guilds, business owners and landowners. Though truly bespoke models existed, the v3. models offered upgrade packages that could be installed into pre-existing interchangeable models, facilitating a greater breath of specialisation. The Salvatory package provided healing capabilities, the Sentinel package improved perception and tracking abilities, whereas the Chamberlain package bolstered courtship and diplomatic prowess.

#### Integrated Tools & Armament

Though one might assume that the process of replacing model components would be as simple as unbolting a wagon's wheel, the artificial sentiency imbued within the Coghearts perceives the process as a gruelling experience akin to the loss of a limb or the flaying of skin in a humanoid, for the perception of self extends to all aspects of their physical construction. As such, following designation and assignment, it is rare for a Cogheart to freely swap out major components, although they can more readily alternate between different integrated weaponry and tools.

The martially-minded Coghearts created by Grithammer were appropriately equipped with hidden blades and bows, and following further training, the firearms first drafted by Kevmorn Milltall in 951AG. The larger of these rifles, named Knightfall for their creation specifically to counter the heavy-plate worn by the soldiers of many of the Realms, were capable of throwing ballistic bolts of near-molten metal hundreds of feet, were later augmented so better to integrate with Cogheart appendage design, the constructs quickly becoming their primary users.

After the war, utility grew increasingly important, and so internal compartments capable of storing and cycling through all manner of artisan tools were shaped into the forearm and chestpieces of the Coghearts. Some specialist models went a step further still, with use of enchanted metal that could actively transmute their shape and form to create the tool at hand, at the expense of further energy usage. Such models were subsequently rare, distinguished by their light-weight and minimalist frames to reduce passive power consumption, as well as arcane fuel cells thrumming with an azure glow and ozone-like scent.