Caryatid
Caryatids are one of the eight known sentient races that inhabit Aedes. Originally created in the River Kingdoms as hulking stone guards, and later by Patria to supplement their legions, they have since attained volition in addition to their sentience, and have collectively emigrated south and east to settle in the city of Caryatis.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Caryatids are large, hulking humanoids made entirely from stone and clay.
The mind of a caryatid is spread evenly throughout its body, not concentrated in the brain as it is in other species. While it is difficult for a caryatid to take a physical injury, such injuries are just as damaging to the mind as to the body. In the case of small injuries, anything lost or forgotten will return with time, but injuries such as losing a limb can cause permanent alterations to memory and personality.
Biological Traits
There are two primary varieties of caryatids: those made in the River Kingdoms and those made in Patria. The vast majority were created in Patria; only about one in ten was created in the River Kingdoms.
Caryatids of Patrian make tend toward a more uniform size and shape; roughly 6 feet tall and as close in form as possible to that of an average human. Their material composition—a mixture of granite, limestone, and clay from the River Kingdoms—is also largely uniform.
By contrast, caryatids made in the River Kingdoms are substantially more diverse than the Patrian variety in both size and shape; though they stand an average of 12-15 feet tall, some are as tall as 20 feet, and though all of them are humanoid, they depart considerably from simply resembling stone Therians. They are also made with River Kingdoms clay, but the stone varies considerably, and they are commonly ornamented with paint and carvings.
No caryatids are capable of performing even the slightest bit of magic.
Genetics and Reproduction
Caryatids have no natural means of reproduction; they are created, not born. The ritual to create a caryatid takes a day to perform, but requires two to three months of construction and preparation. The created caryatid will not possess free will until exposed to a volitional caryatid, after which it will fully develop free will over the course of about a day.
Since the caryatids gained volition, neither Patria nor the River Kingdoms have created any more. On very rare occasion, caryatids will create a new caryatid with the help of a friendly magic user. They take this responsibility very seriously given their long lives and the lack of a biological directive to reproduce, and as such, only a handful of new caryatids have been created since the Age of Light began.
Growth Rate & Stages
A newly created caryatid has the faculties of speech and mobility, as well as rudimentary intelligence; mentally, it is roughly equivalent to a 9yo human. Caryatids that lived for years (or even centuries) prior to attaining volition retain all of their memories, and are therefore well beyond the level of a newly created caryatid mentally.
Caryatids neither grow nor change physically. When damaged, they can patch themselves up with similar materials to that with which they were created.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Caryatids do not require physical sustenance of any kind.
Additional Information
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Caryatids have humanlike senses of sight, hearing, and smell. They have a very dull and unrefined sense of touch, and are—as they lack a digestive tract—incapable of taste.
Civilization and Culture
Naming Traditions
Many caryatids maintained the names they were given by their creators, particularly those who were older when they attained volition; as such, their names are Patrian or Therian in origin. Those who changed their names typically stayed in the same linguistic family, although some took on dwarven names out of respect for the role that the dwarves played in their freedom.
Caryatid names likely have Egyptian or Grecoroman influences; younger caryatids might instead have Sumerian names.
Beauty Ideals
Body modification and decoration is popular among caryatids, particularly Patrian caryatids, as a means of self-expression and of differentiating oneself from the other, nearly-identical caryatids. These modifications can range from paint or engraved patterns all the way to "repairing" oneself with gemstones or visually distinctive varieties of stone.
Gender Ideals
There is no such thing as biological sex for caryatids. However, the gender role conceptions of their sculptors have to some extent seeped into caryatid society, as the sculptors determined whether a caryatid built for a specific purpose would be coded masculine or feminine, which in turn determined what that caryatid knew and experienced.
Fully volitional caryatids are largely apathetic toward the concept of gender. Some identify with the gender they were assigned at creation, others reject it and define a new identity, and the rest pay the concept no heed altogether.
Relationship Ideals
Certain caryatids choose to live together in pairs (or on rare occasions, groups). These partnerships range from the platonic to the romantic. There is no ideal for what such a relationship should look like; as with all other things, caryatids value the right to self-expression and self-determination in this regard.
Culture and Cultural Heritage
After spending centuries as a servant class, caryatids value self-determination and free will more highly than any other species in Aedes. The lack of basic needs such as food or self-defense only strengthens this, for where other species have no choice but to prioritize these, caryatids are relatively free to indulge their whims. These whims often seem nonsensical to non-caryatids, or even to other caryatids, but are respected nonetheless.
Maintenance and governance of Caryatis is one of the few responsibilities held by caryatids, and has thus far been a volunteer position. Caryatid leaders and diplomats are there because they have a passion for the work; if this passion fades, they resign their position and move on to something new.
History
The first caryatids were created circa 500 BR in the River Kingdoms. These caryatids were seen as sacred, and served primarily in religious roles such as temple guards.
The mass-production of caryatids began around 110 BR, when Patria started augmenting their legions with them. This, in turn, was what enabled the rapid expansion of the Patrian Empire across much of Aedes.
The first caryatid to attain volition—free will—did so around 20BR; stationed near the Ashultum Mountains, it defected from the Legions and sought refuge with the dwarves. The dwarves discovered after considerable study and experimentation that, while it was well beyond their abilities to grant volition to a caryatid directly, they could create a ritual to make the effect transmissible between caryatids. Over the following decade, an exponentially-growing number of volitional caryatids stealthily forayed into the Patrian Empire and the River Kingdoms to awaken their kin; by 4 BR, there were sufficiently many to peacefully drive the humans out of the city that became Caryatis.
Historical Figures
Meges, a caryatid of Patrian make who infiltrated deep into the heart of the River Kingdoms and spread volition to the caryatids imprisoned therein.
Interspecies Relations and Assumptions
As caryatids cannot perform magic, and do not require sustenance, it is common for them to develop symbiotic relationships with other species, feeding and protecting them in exchange for assistance with repairs and, sparingly, reproduction. In the case of Caryatis, this partnership exists with the humans and Therians that have remained in the city. They are free to leave whenever they choose, but the security inherent in the relationship leads many to stay. Humans outside the city view this with derision, and refer to those within the city as "pets", or "kept humans."
There's a strong trade relationship between caryatids and kobolds: caryatids provide kobolds with some of the food that they desperately need, and kobolds provide the caryatids with stone and gems for self-decoration and, to a lesser extent, construction. A handful of Patrian caryatids—a dozen, at most—are survivors of Telemon's Deliverance, but other than these few, caryatids have no experience whatsoever with dragons.
Caryatids hold dwarves in the highest esteem for the role the dwarves played in liberating them from Patria. There is a dwarven embassy in Caryatis, and the ambassadors therein are treated with respect and honor.
Lifespan
(unknown, seemingly unlimited)
Average Height
6 feet (Patrian) / 14 feet (River Kingdoms)
Average Weight
600 lbs (Patrian) / 4000 lbs (River Kingdoms)
Geographic Distribution
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