Karrigan'Xalda
Daughter of the Karishzar
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Intent: Expand on a story element introduced in rp ages ago.
Image Credit: Here.
Canon: N/A.
Permissions: N/A.
Links: Twilight of the Goddess, Liavondra, Karrigan'Xalda, Into Darkness, Seekers of the Sky, After Darkness, Tygara, Siobhan Kerrigan, Firemane, Xioquo, Tlaxqui, Qadiri.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Name: Hadean Titan. Also called Colossus of Xlantza.
Designation: Semi-sentient.
Origins: Tygara.
Average Lifespan: Has a limited active lifespan. Theoretical life span is about a 1000 - 1500 years, but each day active reduces it by 1 year. This can be 'topped' up with additional rituals.
Estimated Population: Semi-Unique
Description: Humanoid in shape, it resembles vast statue made of stone. The massive golem looks weathered and somewhat misshapen. It is a good ten metres tall, making it slightly taller than an AT-ST. This gives it a lot of strength to smash foes and hurl heavy objects at them, though it also means that the golem is an easy target to spot. It has a thick, stony hide of alchemised rock, which is often reinforced by armour. The animated statue is powered by alchemy and magic used by Xioquo sorceresses. In that regard, it is equivalent to the Sithspawn created by the ancient Sith to be used as servitors. Similarly, the Colossi have been created by the Xioquo of old to serve as guardians. Because they have been animated by the Force, they radiate a Force presence that can be sensed by Forcewielders.
PHYSICAL INFORMATION
Breathes: Does not need to breathe.
Average Height of Adults: 10 metres
Average Length of Adults: N/A.
Skin color: Pale shade of grey.
Hair color: No hair.
Distinctions: The Titans were created using alchemy which requires a powerful ritual to animate and also an item used during the forging, usually a rod or staff. This item is required to be in a certain distance, namely half a kilometre, in order to activate a Titan. The inner parts of the golem are beautifully intricate as there is a network of 'veins' running through it. When animated the statue will start to heat up from the insides as the pathways turn almost into a molten metal which makes it able to move. The ancient Xioquo created it using a blood ritual and bound it with spirits, but today lightside Xioquo mystics affiliated with the Seekers of the Sky are devising less harmful creation rituals since sacrificing people is kind of evil.
Races: Due to the golems' very low numbers, no subspecies exist at present. The animated golem has been artificially engineered and is not truly 'alive', which means it cannot reproduce.
Force Sensitivity: All
Strengths:
- Huge and strong. It is a true colossus. The massive golem possesses incredible strength, able to smash trees and light vehicles aside and hurl huge boulders at gunships and other targets. Can stomp on people unlucky enough to get beneath its feet. Same applies to small vehicles like speeder bikes.
- Extremely resilient against small arms fire, blasters, conventional melee weapons and slugthrowers. It is resilient against lightsabres, though these can penetrate if it is struck repeatedly in the same area or the attacker strikes a weak spot, such as joints. However, there is no brain to stab. Stone is a poor conductor for lightning, which grants it a measure of protection against electrical attacks.
- Disciplined, focused and relentless.
- Cannot use the Force directly, but can unleash some of its inner fire as a sort of fire breath. This is a powerful close range weapon. However, it cannot do it too often without weakening itself. Likewise, serious damage causes this molten metal to leak out. Indeed perhaps the most damaging part of it is when it dies the remnants of this molten metal will spill out, potentially melting things around it. The colossus is able to absorb energy attacks, heat and lightning in a manner akin to Tutaminis, using the stolen energy to strengthen itself or augment its fire breath.
- Its colossal size means it is quite loud when it moves. Enemies will hear and most likely see it coming. It is an obvious target for air and artillery strikes.
- Its size also makes it slow and lacking in agility. Given its cumbersome movements, more agile foes could evade and outmanoeuvre it.
- While not really evil itself since it's like a magitech robot, it is a creation of dark alchemy, and thus susceptible to powerful blasts of Force Light. These could theoretically damage it, or at least diminish the inner power. It'd take a lot of Force energy to do this though.
- The spill of molten metal that results from a dying golem can obviously also hurt allies, since it does not discriminate.
- The golem is Force-Sensitive, but unlike some Sithspawn it cannot directly use the Force itself, aside from its telepathic and boosting abilities. It can hurl boulders, trees and the like, but even then its range will be inferior to that of the main weapon of a battle tank.
Diet: Does not require sustenance.
Communication: Can understand Xio, the language of the Xioquo people, enabling it to follow commands from its handlers. Does at present not understand Basic or other common galactic languages. It is able to communicate via telepathy to receive or respond to commands, but only in a simplistic manner. Basically it can only convey basic impressions, simplistic thoughts and warnings, and not over long distances.
Technology level: N/A - does not utilise technology itself. Throwing rocks and other weapons and hitting things are as technical as it gets.
Religion/Beliefs: N/A.
General behavior: The ancient Xioquo designed the Titans to be living weapons that could be relied upon to obey without question. They were supposed to strike fear into the hearts of their Qadiri foes...and their own under class. As a result they did not intend for them to have much of an independent personality. One might consider it the alchemised version of an enormous war droid. In terms of personality, the Titans is obedient to its controllers and a bit robotic. It does not feel hatred or malice, and it does not angrily lash out or murder people for no apparent reason. Nor does it take joy in killing or toy with its foes. It simply follows its programming.
While not sentient, the Titans does have some degree of self-awareness and semi-sentience. The new Xioquo administration is at pains at to distance itself from the old ways, having done away with the dark side slaveocracy that used to hold sway in the Underealm. Some lightsided Xio sorceresses want to teach the Titans to become more autonomous, though there are also Lightsiders who argue against this. It is pertinent to note that the golems spend most of their time dormant because being active for a long period of time reduces their overall life span. Combined with their inability to reproduce, this means they do not have much of a conception of family. However, they do feel loyalty to each other and will come to each others' aid if one of their own is in danger.
The Titan cannot speak, but understands the language of its creators. This allows its handlers to direct it via commands in Xio. It does not understand Basic. While primarily designed for war, the few surviving Titans were used for clean-up duties following the fall of the Underealm. In this capacity, they helped rebuild the fortresses that used to guard the subterranean realm but had been destroyed during Firemane's assault.
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
When Firemane's forces assaulted the Underealm in the final stage of their campaign against the Xioquo, the drows unleashed the Dark Sentinel of Tlaxla. This was an enormous golem that was virtually impervious to small arms fire. It ploughed through their infantry and was even to bring down a gunship by tossing a huge boulder at it. It took effort and powerful Force adepts to take the golem down. The colossus had been created by the Xioquo a long time ago. When the dark queen of the Xioquo, Mystra, led them to the Underealm following their defeat at the hands of the Vashyada, the drows adapted to life in a subterranean environment. Ruled by a cabal of matriarchal oligarchs, they created a society built upon despotism, slavery and the dark side.
By the standards of Tygara, they became technologically advanced, achieving something akin to an industrial revolution, with steam-powered vehicles and even primitive aircraft. However, they did not advance into the space age and were hamstrung by the fact that a large portion of their people was being permanently held in bondage and oppressed. But they also made great strides in the fields of sorcery and alchemy, using techniques comparable to those of the ancient Sith. It helped that there were always malcontents, heretics and 'saboteurs' to sacrifice or experiment on.
The Titans were the greatest of the golems fashioned by their sorceresses. They were created using alchemy, which required a powerful ritual to animate and also an enchanted item used during the forging, usually a rod or staff. The Xioquo created it using a blood ritual and bound it with spirits. A large number of 'uppity' slaves and captives were sacrificed to power the golem. The colossus was a powerful weapon against the Xioquo's Qadiri foes, especially before they developed gunpowder. Even then it was strong enough to almost single-handedly turn the tide in a great battle. Rebellious slaves soon learned to fear the stone behemoth.
However, as so often, the true danger came from within. One of the Xioquo sorceresses responsible for creating the colossi had fallen out of favour with an important member of the Council of Ten. Treachery was the way of the dark side, so she had put a magical 'backdoor' in place to hijack control over her design. However, the Council retained control over some of the stone titans. When they were pit against each other, one of the creatures rebelled, experiencing a sort of logic loop after being given conflicting commands. This golem had been active for an extended period and used the chance to learn. Somehow it had acquired enough awareness to be unwilling to fight its kin. The destruction caused by the Dance of Titans was catastrophic.
Thereafter, the new Council put protocols in place to ensure the golems remained obedient weapons and control over them could not be usurped again. Moreover, it was decreed that they would only be activated in times of national crisis. Power politics aside, there was a practical reason for this, since being active for too long without pause diminished the golems' life span. In addition, they feared that their creations would otherwise become too intelligent to control. The largest and most powerful of the golems were called the Dark Sentinel. By the Xioquo clashed with Firemane, only a few of the Colossi remained.
In the aftermath of the final battle, the new Xioquo government was faced with many challenges. The most pressing included prosecuting and sentencing war criminals, breaking up the old patronage networks and emancipating the slaves. The question of what to do with the Titans was tabled at first, but soon came up. Being led by a committed Lightsider, the new regime did not want to continue carrying out blood sacrifices to build war machines. But light side did not mean pacifist. So the government decided to explore less harmful ways to make golems that did not require murder and dark rituals. In the meantime, the Titans would serve as guardians and protectors for the Underealm as a whole.
Last edited:
