Shapers

The Shapers are an ancient race of elemental constructs and automata who created the spheres themselves. Manufactured by the Forger to assist him in his gargantuan task of giving birth to the New World, the Shapers followed his will unquestionably carving out mountains, seas, clouds, and all other manner of geographical features among the spheres. Shapers are as varied in shape and size as the lands found in the spheres themselves, some as diminutive as rodents and others standing as tall as mountains.
As The Forge fell into decay, the Shapers broke away from their intended purpose, wandering wild throughout Jotun's northern hemisphere. Occasionally, Geit travelers may find the remains of a shaper frozen in the ice and rarely may find a living one.

History

All Shapers trace their origin to The Forge, a massive tower on Jotun's North Pole and home of the spheres' creator, the Forger. Giving them form and powering them through The Forge's reserves, the Forger left his creations to do the heavy manual labor of creating planets and moons over many millenia. During this phase of their existence, the Shapers lacked free will and simply carried out the Forger's will either through direct orders or broader directives passed on over generations.
Eventually, their work neared completion and the spheres became habitable by organic life. However, when the first organic civilization emerged on the Spheres, the Geit, the Forger did not greet them with open arms. He saw them as parasites, destroying his creations by cutting down forests and damning rivers rather than inhabiting them as he intended.
To combat this problem, the Forger refitted his Shaper to deal with the problem. They put down their shovels and took up rifles and axes, forming an army of powerful automata to wipe out organic life. In their new role as soldiers, the Shapers marched across Jotun, destroying any Geit they came across.
However, their quarry proved more elusive and resilient than the Forger anticipated. The Geit struck back against the Shapers in a conflict known as The Saints' War. With help from a Progenitor warrior, Olaf, they rallied against the Shapers, imprisoned the Forger, and seized The Forge. Under Olaf's regime, the Shapers returned to their original function, in a sense, using their powers to shape the spheres once again--but this time to make them more suited toward organic life.
Olaf installed his lieutenants, known as the Saints, in positions of power over the Shapers. They shed their organic bodies for mechanical ones. Saint Raina took control of the aquatic shapers, Saint Tormund took control of the terrestrial ones, and Saint Shrike took control of the skyborn shapers. Together, they administered a system of laws that came to be known as the Old Ways. Geit who wished to call upon the Shapers' powers would perform a rite involving a sacrifice, ensuring The Forge's power would not be overused while still allowing them to carve a life for themselves in the spheres' hostile climes.
For a time, the system brought balance to the spheres, but Shrike grew frustrated with the limitations his kin had placed on The Forge's power. He rebelled against Olaf in an attempt to seize The Forge's power for himself and free the Forger. In the conflict, Shrike created the Shrikevind, which scattered the Geit people across time.
With The Forge's halls empty and battered by conflict, it fell into disrepair over the millenia. Having had their directives rewriteen so many times and now without masters to direct them, some Shapers gained some semblance of free will. They broke off from The Forge's power source, relying on Nectar as a substitute power source. The "nectar drinkers" lacked the intelligence or organization to form a true civilization of their own, but nevertheless pursued their own designs on an individual basis, claiming parts of The Forge as their territory and attacking any who dared enter.
While faced with calamitous failure, Shrike's plan came to fruition many centuries later when the Party visited The Forge. Together, they ascended its steps and freed the Forger, once again returning a master to the Shapers. While most of the Forger's construct thralls have fallen into disrepair or become "nectar drinkers" The Forge is slowly being rebuilt in hopes of using its power to restore decayed spheres like Mong Bal--or perhaps even create new ones altogether.

Technology

The Shapers did not have their own technology so much as tools created for them by the Forger. Most Shaper artifacts found today take the form of terraforming tools converted into weapons during The Saints' War. Many shaper weapons have the power to harness the power of the elements or shift the nature of the terrain around them to leverage an advantage in combat.
In many ways, the Shapers themselves are the greatest technology they left behind on the spheres. Great and small, Shapers each had specialized functions in their tasks for creating the spheres. Some shaper constructs, like the North Wind and his brothers created to cool the spheres, possess great ethereal bodies that stretch across multiple spheres and have wide-reaching effects on the areas they tread upon.
Beneath these types were the shaper titans, responsible for molding terrain on geographic scales. Few if any remain alive today, but their massive bodies can often be found frozen in glaciers in Jotun's north sea and harvested for their powerful components. Others, like the powerful Tide Fish responsible for changing the directions of the tides, can still be found today and called upon for those who know how.
At the bottom of the Shaper hierarchy were myriad lesser constructs. Built to shape the earth on more human scales, they engaged in more mundane activities like seeding forests or creating a single breeze. These smaller constructs make up the vast majority of the Shaper population, especially those who still walk the spheres today.

Artifacts and Legacy

The Shapers main legacy can be found in the terrain and geography of the spheres themselves. Their labors sustained hundreds if not thousands of civilizations, many of whom never appreciated their efforts due to their imprisonment. The more direct remnants of the Shapers are mostly found on Jotun where their mechanical bodies have frozen over. The closer one travels to their home on the North Pole, the more Shaper remnants one is likely to find. Also, due to their mechanical nature, occasionally adventurers may encounter "living" Shaper constructs. Though due to the decay of The Forge such encounters are rarely amicable.
Artifacts and Schema-- Armor Ivey, Angler Spear, Ember Rifle, Forge Hammer, Gale Spear, Ice Beam, Naiad Plate, Nami the Wave, Thunder Pods, Tordnado Blade, Twig the Bounty, Wave Smasher
Ship Fixtures-- Wave Beam
Enemies--Grim Angler, Garden Overseer, Reaver, Tide Fish, Wave Sentinel, Zephyr Sentry
Crew Members-- Felix, Gust, Grimmy
Dungeons and Ruins- The Forge, Frozen Shaper Titans, Hidden Forest, Imprisoned Tide Fish,