Basooč Ošin, Golem Technicians
Golem technicians, in imperial language basooč ošin, are a highly specialized military unit of mages in the army of the Orkozar Edro Šizu, the Arkadhian New Empire. They pilot and handle the prototypes of a new, powerful machine.
The term includes both the actual pilot mages who are in the machines during battles and the engineers who fix and tune the equipment mostly out of battle. To become golem pilots, the mages must attend a one-year long training, learning how to channel their magic energies into the machine in the proper way. The engineers are specialized researchers at the @Ark who dedicated their entire career in studying ancient artefacts from the first era to recover the lost mysteries of magical automata.
The main obstacle in the golems developing is the lack of what is called circuitation of energy: a way of physically make magical energy circuit inside a machine to power it, thus making it completely autonomous.
Composition
Manpower
Since the necessary equipment has not entered the experimental phase until very recently, there are only fourteen operative machines. To safely operate each golem, a team of twenty people is necessary, four of which are pilot mages and the other engineers, for a total of two hundred and eighty people.
Equipment
Each golem requires some additional equipment.
The machine itself is a three-meter tall humanoid golem, with a wooden skeleton, metal armour and precious gems to enhance magical capabilities. The wood ensures durability, is easy to repair and substitute when damaged; it forms most parts of the golem, including arms, legs and the ribcage, where the pilot is. The steel armour protects the machine during combat and is just like the one used by regular infantry, but much larger and slightly thicker, in particular on the upper body and head, to better shield the pilot. The feet are filled with clay, to lower the centre of gravity and avoid being knocked over easily. The overall weight is over one hundred kilos.
Since moving the golem from the inside, despite the gems, relies heavily on the magical energies of the pilot, the machine is pulled on a wagon, tightly secured and with the armour off.
Another wagon transport the charging arch. It a wooden frame properly covered with magic-treated metal and equipped with catalytic diamonds on the summit. It is essential to quickly recharge the magical potential of the gems in the machine between uses.
Weaponry
Even without additions, the golems are powerful tools, able to trample and disrupt enemy formations. In the simple prototypes, the arms are just shapeless long trunks, still useful to crush enemies. In the late, more advanced, prototypes, an actual hand is provided at the end of one arm to hold some heavy weapon: a long polearm seems to be a good choice, thanks to the added reach.
Researchers are studying how to add a magical gun in the middle of the chest, close enough to the pilot to be used efficiently, but work is still needed: the failure in developing a proper inner circuit for magical energies holds most enhancement and additions in a halt.
Tactics
The prototypes need some work to become truly magnificent. As of now, manoeuvring the golem requires a lot of magical energy, mostly taken from the pilot and enhanced by the gems in the machine body. Since golem technicians are elite mages specifically trained for this task, they can operate a golem for almost an hour, before being tired.
The basic tactic is to rush against the goal with the other soldier, let the enemy panic while crushing and smashing, and then immediately retire to the charging arch to change pilot. Since the pilots are four, a golem can usually keep going for the whole battle. If necessary, once the last pilot comes back tired, the first can re-enter the machine, but he will not last long.
The fourteen golems together are also extremely useful to hold a good position, waiting for reinforces to arrive. In this case, they need to move less, so a single pilot can last a little longer.
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