Chimeras

"You see, these Corpse Crawlers are extremely efficient in a lethal ambush, but they lack any loyalty towards me, their master. Replace the caudate nucleus with that of a canine, however, and they shall love and protect me as well as any guard dog worth their bones. Add in something that adds range -- let's say, the venom glands of an Archerius Viper, and now they are nearly perfect. Now if only we could do all of this and still make them aquatic..."

- Notes From an Anonymous Flesh Sculptor

An Amalgamation of Flesh

Renowned magi have become synonymous with their towers and labyrinths built to ward off spies and would-be raiders. Elaborate constructions, magickal wards, mundane traps, and more all adorn their halls and twisting staircases. The addition of magickal beasts into their repertoire of defenses has completely changed the design and needs of these towers to accommodate their new guests but also has added a new layer of complications and danger for intruders. Of these living guardians, none have attracted more curiosity and fear than the Chimeras.
Chimeras are those living monstrosities created by a combination of both mundane and magickal beasts. Each one is designed with an intended purpose in mind typically governed by their locale. Ambush predators, moat guardians, anti-magi defenses, et cetera. The hope with a Chimera is to create a guardian from a desired base while removing any unattractive traits or replacing them with enhancements from another species. This is all to create an ideal specimen for their intended purpose; a perfect organism. Of course, this is not always the result.
Creating a Chimera is an inherently complex process only possible with the work of a gifted Flesh Sculptor. These Flesh Sculptors are a combination of themselves; masters of anatomy, accomplished arcane magick users, as well as Magismiths of at least apprentice quality. The practice requires an extreme level of knowledge and intelligence as well as a fair bit of artistic ingenuity. Not every beast is compatible with one another and magickal beasts only add to the complexity with their magick stones. Chimerification also requires keeping the base species alive throughout the process, which alone is an incredible feat.
Given the wide variety of bestial combinations that are possible, their appearances vary extremely from one Chimera to the next. Lesser Chimeras, often made by apprentice sculptors or failed combinations that actually survive the process, display only nude skin on their form. No fur, scales, or chitin to speak of. These are the most common due to the inherent difficulties in the process and are often treated akin to failed forge pieces that are still usable in some capacity. Greater or Perfected Chimeras display most of the features of their base species along with traits of those added into the base. These can present varied colors and patterns unseen in either species throughout the natural world which, along with the value of their traits as guardians, leads these Perfected Chimeras to be priceless in their worth.

Risen Chimera

The topic of Chimera construction has of course caused more twisted individuals to request Flesh Sculptors to create Chimeras made with Risen as their base. This has been widely declared illegal due to the implications of heresy or how the individual Risen could possibly volunteer for such an insane process. Moral implications aside, the process is nearly impossible.
Nearly impossible, but not entirely. The grand majority of Risen going through the Chimerification process will die either during the process or shortly after due to the physical and mental shock inflicted. Only a handful of Risen-based Chimeras have been confirmed to be successful and these have all lost their minds and wills, becoming utterly savage yet deadly creations.
A Perfected Risen Chimera has yet to be achieved and has been treated as a dream for evil fools. Yet, some Flesh Sculptors still dedicate their life in pursuit of this dream.