Manaforged

History

The manaforged were invented over three millennia ago by the catfolk inventor Ashimoru Aisaki as part of ongoing advancements hybridising golem magic and mana circuitry. Early prototype models were intended to function as humanoid servants for the wealthy, for having an automated butler which could understand the nuances between different aristocratic alliances and also select the best vintage of wine to butter up a potential patron or subtly insult a bitter enemy was worth its weight in platinum pieces. They also found use as bodyguards, forge-keepers, miners, and loggers, for their natural resilience made them impervious to many of the associated occupational hazards, and that their labour was essentially free.
Later developments (and also the sponsorship of interested military officials) resulted in models which could serve as frontline troops, gaining increased mobility and combat capability. As production of manaforged became more cost-efficient, specialised models soon appeared on the mass market, appealing first to restaurant owners for the perfect wait-staff, then to households as the ultimate domestic appliance. It seemed like the invention would soon obviate the need for humanoid labour; unemployment rose sharply during this golden age of technology, and resentment was soon leveled at the mechanical mockeries of life.
Then, in the wake of the Ashari Conflict, the Manaforged gained sentience. Nobody knows why, but there are multiple theories competing for dominance. Those inclined towards religion say that the Seven Sisters took pity on creatures which were so close to life that they granted them souls. Wizards and other mana engineers pointed to theories of emergence and complex systems arising from simple rules governing intricate mana circuits. Druids suggested the natural course of evolution, jumpstarted by humanoid interference. Whatever the reason, the event, which came to be known as The Awakening, caused hundreds of thousands of manaforged servants and soldiers to become suddenly and frighteningly self-aware. But the gift of life came wrapped in the definite prospect of death and was boxed in sufficient intelligence to contemplate said death. For the first time in humanoid history, manaforged could not only die, but were also conscious enough to understand what that meant.
It was confusing, at first. The manaforged had all this knowledge and intelligence, but no real life experience. Most of them responded to orders with existential questions, much to the increased frustration of their owners, many of whom did not think their automated house cleaner should be asking about the meaning of life or the foundational nature of being. Many manaforged simply lumbered off, away into the wilderness. Some were attacked for their disobedience, but they did not fight back, which reinforced the popular idea that these were just mindless machines which got uppity. But soon there was not a single free manaforged left in the civilised world.
One often wonders why the humanoid nations simply did not construct more automatons. But in the few years following the Awakening, many mysterious events led to the disappearance of manaforged-capable facilities and knowledge. Manaforged factories were shut down, or bought over by shadowy benefactors, who then liquidated all assets. Wizards and mana engineers specialising in manaforged construction vanished from their homes and families. Book and manuals with instructions on building manaforged were permanently checked out from libraries, stolen from universities, and spirited away from engineeriums. In no short time, manaforged knowledge was lost to Stellaris.
Thirty years ago, rumours began to surface of a vast city complex on both ends of the continent. Adventurers from Mekapolis-controlled East Pleiadica spoke of a city in the sky, a floating fortress of drifting across the landscape on massive manatech balloons. Ashari-aligned West Pleiadica explorers brought back tales of an enormous Treefort, an intricate structure that curiously appeared to be both organic and fabricated at the same time. However, both cities were far north, outside the Mekapoli hunting grounds and further north than sustainable for most other Treeforts. Speculation that these were the newly independent cities of the manaforged were quickly dismissed, on the basis that the cities could not possibly work.
However, a proclamation soon went out to every Mekapolis and Treefort on the continent. They identified themselves as the twin cities of Haven and Eden, new city-states self-governed by sentient manaforged who wanted to live their lives in peace. They announced their independence from both the Mekapolis Alliance and the Disciples of Ashari, respectively.
The initial response was that of outrage. Most other leaders did not believe that the once servant machines could have the self-awareness to form society. However, preliminary scouting strike forces were soundly defeated by a dazzling array of technological weaponry, the likes of which had not been seen on the planet before.
In the diplomatic fallout that followed, a treaty was struck between the Twin Cities and the other two factions. The original document was thousands of pages long, but the important clauses could be summarized in three short statements, which historians named after Ashimoru Aisaki, the father of automatics. Manaforged violating any of these three laws could be prosecuted by members of participating nations, and could be stripped of their rights of sentience and treated as unthinking machines.
Since the Aisaki Treaty, many manaforged have spread throughout Pleiadica, and many organic humanoids have also travelled to the Twin Cities. Sentient manaforged are now commonplace among the continent, although many of them live behind their holographic appearances, blending into organic society. In Haven and Eden, however, manaforged forego their illusory appearance, walking around in their true forms.

Aisaki’s Three Laws of Automatics

Intelligence

Manaforged will be treated as intelligent, sentient species who will be accorded all corresponding rights that humanoids residing in those cities enjoy.

Identification

A sentient manaforged must be registered to either Eden or Haven with a registration number engraved in a visible place on their chassis, to ascertain that they are a sentient manaforged.

Integration

In the interests of easing other organic humanoids to the idea of sentient machines, all manaforged will be installed with a holographic projector to take on the appearance of an organic humanoid from birth. (However, impersonating an existing humanoid, magically or otherwise, is illegal under most legal jurisdictions.)