Custodian

"Arcanima, the science of creation." Helix said as he held aloft the blue glowing prism in his hand.
Into the cold body of the heartless golem he inserted the Arcanima Core, as it's blue light spread through veins of magical streams that worked their way through the body of the angelical construct. Mere seconds later the newborn custodian spread her wings and held the blade aloft as a cold glimmer formed from her icy eyes and a frostcoated halo.
"Now soar true my dear one, fly through the demon infested skies and bring glory to Basaltbury, to all of Dawnshire." Helix said as a dropplet of water ran down his mudcaked cheek.

Utility

The usage of custodians is more than widespread within Peregon. They exist in every city and major town both as guards, street cleaners and in some case personal stewards. Some smaller ones even exist for a single purpose to stand somewhere and look cool. Mayhaps glow with crimson eyes to spring fear in potential thieves, spray fire out of their hands as they remain firm as a cool statue, or travel up and down a hill to coat it in artifical snow.
Sadly having a multipurpose core run on Mystral Forces has allowed a good few of them to be used for pure horror. The illicitly stolen ones are not that much of a problem, as they can either be reclaimed or broken fairly easy, but the armies of the Heartclutch Harbingers which run on sentient souls has caused the kingdoms no shortage of grief.

Manufacturing

The process of creating a custodian goes into three different phases. The first being the golem, otherwise known as the hulk. The hulk is usually a carefully formed body, often representing something already anatomically functioning in nature, which is why they often represent larger humanoids.
The second phase involves the creation of the crystal. As a base any essentia crystal could be used to grant it a specific element, like fire or ice. It's then carved to fit as a core within a silver, copper or gold inlaid glass canister. Usually the shape of a square, sphere or hex which is inscribed with a behavioural pattern.
The third phase is to install the core and ensure everything functions as it should. Normally, this isn't a problem and the runecode does not require to be pitch perfect tapestries, though sometimes a sloppy job leaves the construct to crumble before it even had time to live.

Social Impact

From the very dawn of it's modern creation, the custodian has been a symbol of status for the wealthy and influential. Who needs daemon slaves to wash and cook when a much more beautiful stone or clay construct could do that instead. Who needs guards, when far stronger and immortal warriors guard the gates both day and night. Neither have been completly abolished from Peregon, though the custodians are important for a proper manor.
It's common that an estate may have a unique style on their custodians, often represented by the family values accompanied with the kingdoms. At such, lions and angels are a common sight of sculpted constructs in Dawnshire, while gargoyles and monstrosities are popular within the more warlike Nightbridge, or the scandalously nude marble consorts in Goldwick city.

Inventor(s)

While the idea for Arcanima constructs go back far and wide among different cultures, the Arcanima Core was first invented by Sir Helix of Basaltbury. He was also first with overseeing the construction of the Custodians, which is why he is considered the revolutionary father of Arcanima.

Access & Availability

Custodians are not that rare on a wide spectrum. Their access to the public all depend on the type of Arcanima Core, where builders or so called servitors are used to a wide array with at least one or two common to every village.

Complexity

For it's base a golem is formed either through alchemy or golemancy, a simple procedure that doesn't require perfection. The tricky details comes to the Arcanima Core being highly sensitive and complex to inscribe. The shapes also range from childrens sculptures to world class artworks.

Discovery

The custodian derives back to the arts of Arcanima, and links into the golem family tree of magical constructs. Recently it was found that the carving of Essentia Crystals into an Arcanima Core allows the golem to become specialized and thus gave birth to custodians.