Mizzen

"Biology"
A fairly standard inorganic race, the Mizzen are comprised of metallic endoskeletons and wires, with another layer of steel serving as their skin. They are able to observe the world through red, typically circular, lenses, and the tips of their limbs are capable of detecting when they are touching something. Their entire body acts as an ear, detecting sound waves in the air. They cannot smell or taste.

Though unable to feel pain, a Mizzen will naturally be quite concerned when they take serious damage. If enough of their body is destroyed, they will die.

All Mizzen are powered and granted sentience by a Spark, essentially a bit of magic lightning fused with their body. This allows them to communicate telepathically with their fellows, effectively forming a hive-mind when enough of them are gathered. They can also commune with other intelligent species, but only if they allot most of their focus to the task.

They require a few hours of rest every couple days or so, in order to give both their bodies and minds time to cool down. Working without cease for too long will only hasten their eventual descent.

Though the stereotypical Mizzen is roughly humanoid in appearance, they are capable of altering their bodies so long as they have the proper tools and materials. This includes altering their size (ranging from a small dog to a bear) and shape, adding or removing limbs or eyes, and changing their color.

Life Cycle
A Mizzen is "born" when their Spark bonds with their body. Upon birth, they are granted a significant amount of common knowledge by their elders (how to speak, how to walk, how to operate everyday tools and devices, etc.) but are otherwise left to develop on their own. They are encouraged to explore their home city and experience several different fields, to try and find something that interests them.

As they grow and learn, they will almost certainly choose to specialize in a single area, though there are a few that prefer to adopt a jack-of-all-trades mentality.

Once they reach 15 years of age, they will slowly begin to deteriorate. Their finesse will worsen and their minds will start to decay. At this stage, they have one of two choices: they can either be "reborn", erasing all of their knowledge and personality and being implanted into a new body, or they can propagate by splitting their Spark into two pieces. These pieces are entirely blank and are given their own bodies.

Propagation, while necessary for the Mizzen to expand, suffers from a poor cultural stigma; it is (incorrectly) believed that the two new Sparks will be inferior to the old. As such, rebirth is more often used.

A Spark can be erased if the body is destroyed. Such a fate is viewed as beyond horrible by the Mizzen; anyone who dares attempt such an act, regardless of their species or reasons, is universally despised and will meet with harsh punishment.

Inclinations and Culture
While each Mizzen will have their own personality and habits, there are a few traits that they all possess. They are all driven by an intense curiosity; they need to learn or innovate in the same way that other species need to eat and breathe. As such, the Mizzen typically devote their entire existence to study, almost always in a single field or specialty. Status is not determined by wealth or strength, but by how much they have discovered or advanced.

They tend to reside in large cities, though they have a few smaller settlements meant for studying certain subjects.

Though they possess knowledge of all the gods, it is rare for a Mizzen to actually worship any of them. The gods are divine creatures that cannot be accurately studied or fully understood; there is rarely any sense in devoting themselves to such bizarre entities. Even Nivix hardly receives any prayers or praise.

Obviously the Mizzen have a healthy appreciation for technology. Being made of metal, studying machinery is akin to studying medicine. However, there is also a sizable minority that are fascinated by organic life and structures, ranging from plants to other species. It is not rare for a Mizzen to leave their home to live among other races, though such a trip is almost always temporary.

As each Mizzen possesses an almost unique set of talents or studies, they operate on a barter system, exchanging goods and services. They have no concept of money.

They are not particularly violent, and will most likely seek to understand why somebody wants to harm them before responding in kind. If they feel that their lives are in danger, however, they will lash out with all of their might.

<h3 style="outline:none;line-height:18px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Lato,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Guilds <span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Lato,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;line-height:18px;">By their very nature, Mizzen are independent creatures. They flourish best under their own guidance, without any outsiders telling them how to work or what to do. As such, instead of adopting a standard government or ruling party, they developed a number of Guilds, loose organizations with a small set of guidelines that helped to maintain some semblance of order. Much like Ven leads the rest of the Mizzen, each Guild is headed by an immortal synthetic, one who's backed by an ever shifting support group.

<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Lato,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;line-height:18px;">There are 5 Guilds that are spread across the Mizzen empire:

<p style="outline:none;line-height:18px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Lato,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Builders: Comprised of Mizzen whose work lends itself to construction, reinforcement, and transportation, the Builders are directly responsible for the founding and maintenance of every Mizzen city across Evalon. They are also viewed as doctors and repairmen, as they have the greatest understanding of how a Mizzen body functions. The oldest and most constant of the Guilds, the Builders are seen as the pillars that support Nexus and the rest of the empire; their unflinching mannerisms and habits have helped lead the Mizzen through many a possible tragedy.

<p style="outline:none;line-height:18px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Lato,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Their head is Hez, the Builder. Over the course of her life, Hez has constantly enhanced and improved her body; she now stands at nearly two stories high and is made out of only the finest and most resilient of materials. She prides herself and her Guild on being the Mizzens' first, and thus far only, line of defense, and has made it her life's goal to protect each and every one of her brethren from outside harm.

<p style="outline:none;line-height:18px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Lato,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Breakers: A Guild dedicated to destruction in its countless forms, the Breakers serve an essential role in Mizzen society. Its members are experts in acquiring resources and raw materials, either by mining ore, melting down scrap metal, chopping down lumber, or harvesting crops. In addition, the Breakers are typically tasked with handling or disposing of dangerous materials and chemicals. When it comes to civic duties, the Breakers pass down judgement on criminals and law-breakers.

<p style="outline:none;line-height:18px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Lato,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">They are led by Saz, the Breaker. Manic and more than a little impulsive, Saz prefers to leave the boring, everyday work to his subordinates, instead locking himself in his personal lab for days at time. However, when duty calls, he is more than prepared to do what is required of him; he is personally responsible for stamping out almost all crime within Nexus.

<p style="outline:none;line-height:18px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Lato,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Burners: Fire is among the oldest of technologies in any race, and the Mizzen are no different. The Burners are dedicated to fully exploring the power and applications of flame; even after centuries of study, they're still finding new ways to use it. Together with the Blitzers, they are responsible for providing power to the Mizzen cities, as well as helping in the Builders' forges and the Breakers' smelters.

<p style="outline:none;line-height:18px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Lato,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The leader of the Burners is Nul, the Burner. Despite the incredible haste and pyromania that typically dominates his fellow members, Nul is one of the slowest and most methodical Mizzen in recorded history. He is very rarely stirred to action, but when he is you can rest assured that his plans will succeed. To show his dedication to his guild, Nul once set his entire body aflame. The flames have yet to die out, nearly 400 years after the act.

<p style="outline:none;line-height:18px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Lato,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Blitzers: The closest thing the Mizzen have to priests, the Blitzers are obsessed with studying the nature of the Mizzen Spark and, by extension, electricity. The few Mizzen that actively worship any of the gods are almost always members of this Guild. They work with the Burners to bring power and light to the Mizzen cities, although they also focus on understanding the sentience and hive-mind exhibited by the Mizzen. They have had some amount of success with rehabilitating insane Mizzen.

<p style="outline:none;line-height:18px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Lato,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Their head is Lyn, the Blitzer. Even among other Mizzen, Lyn is viewed as dangerously unhinged; her methods lack even the slightest shred of planning and often cause as much harm as they do good. Nevertheless, it is impossible to deny her brilliance or ability. She is known as one of the few Mizzen capable of communicating with her frenzied brethren, and has pulled back hundreds of her fellows from the brink of madness. She's also sent hundreds over the brink, however, but let's focus on the positives here. According to rumor, she can summon a thunderstorm at will.

<p style="outline:none;line-height:18px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Lato,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Benders: The Benders are dedicated to studying natural forces and occurrences, such as gravity, magnetism, and, occasionally, biology. Unlike all the other Guilds, they do not have any assigned duties or responsibilities; instead they assist the others in any way they can.

<p style="outline:none;line-height:18px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Lato,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">They are lead by Nak, the Bender. Out of all the Guild heads, Nak is by far the closest to an average Mizzen, both in form and in temperament. However, do not be fooled by his seeming lack of talents; Nak possesses more knowledge than almost any other mortal alive, and is able to put all of it to good use. To go against him is to go against the forces that govern Evalon itself.

History
<p style="outline:none;line-height:18px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Lato,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">At the Second Age's closing, the Mizzen were little more than a small tribe, numbering barely 5,000, living in crude structures and bearing only the most basic of technologies.

<p style="outline:none;line-height:18px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Lato,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Over the course of the next millennium, they crafted an empire, over a billion strong, that possessed some of the greatest scientific marvels known to all of history.

<p style="outline:none;line-height:18px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Lato,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Although no one can claim to know the exact date the growth first started, it is common knowledge that the Mizzen first began their rapid expansion shortly after the appearance of Ven. Ven, through some glitch or divine providence, did not suffer from the madness and decay that always claimed Mizzen in the later stages of their life. In fact, he only seemed to gain strength as he aged, learning more and more with each passing day.

<p style="outline:none;line-height:18px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Lato,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A mere fifty years after his appearance, he was unrivaled in terms of knowledge and achievements. Though records indicate that his initially resisted the title, Ven was eventually considered by all to be the de facto leader of the Mizzen, a role that he has continued to maintain until this very day. Under his (perhaps reluctant?) leadership, the Mizzen developed and expanded at a rapid rate, making themselves known throughout all of Evalon.

<p style="outline:none;line-height:18px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Lato,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Originally, the Mizzen were isolated in the northern part of Almia, in the sole stretch of land that connected the Dwarven and Rowan/Changeling lands. Though the environment was far from hospitable, with freezing temperatures and scarce resources, the Mizzen were able to survive without trouble; sometimes being made of metal can be a true blessing. At first, they lived and worked in small, crude structures but it wasn't long before they managed to master the arts of mining and tunneling.

<p style="outline:none;line-height:18px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Lato,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Twenty years after the end of the Second Age, Nexus, the underground capital of the Mizzen, was founded.

<p style="outline:none;line-height:18px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Lato,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Initially Nexus was little more than a collection of small caverns that the Mizzen had converted into workhouses and storage rooms. However, after finding a few rich veins of ore and precious materials, the synthetics continued to tunnel lower down and further out, spreading their ever-increasing network of caves and tunnels across a vast distance. Never ones to waste resources, the Mizzen continued to use the sprawling tunnels of Nexus as their homes and workshops, turning the mines into a fully functioning metropolis.

<p style="outline:none;line-height:18px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Lato,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Though the exact size of Nexus is unknown, as most records disagree on its countless twists and turns, it is known that the tunnels reach low enough to tap into the lava in Evalon's core and hold almost 50% of the current Mizzen population.

<p style="outline:none;line-height:18px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Lato,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Nexus is certainly the largest and best known of the Mizzen cities, but it is far from the only one. Smaller settlements have been established, after some negotiation with other races, across Alima and Olegard; even a few islands in the Maroe Archipelago boast a small Mizzen population. Cael, Iso, and the controversially named Ven are each called home by no fewer than 10,000 Mizzen, in addition to hosting numerous Rowan, Changeling, and Dwarven scholars and scientists.

<p style="outline:none;line-height:18px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Lato,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Mizzen have two settlements not on Evalon, a pair of small cities on Coellus and Sagitarius where they work side by side with some of the most brilliant Girigori and Deus Filli minds. Though they are on friendly terms with the local Girigori, the Mizzen are still treated with distrust by most of the Deus Filli.

Relations with other Species
<p style="outline:none;line-height:18px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Lato,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Used as they are to their fellows, it is difficult, but not impossible, for a Mizzen to communicate with other species. However, as such conversations are much, much slower than they are accustomed to, a Mizzen will often come across as scatter-brained, if not downright crazy, to other races.

<p style="outline:none;line-height:18px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Lato,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Though not hostile to others, Mizzen will often unintentionally invade someone else's territory or break some taboo in the course of their studies and expansion. These misunderstandings can almost always be resolved by a simple discussion, however, and the Mizzen will back off or offer some form of payment for their error.

<p style="outline:none;line-height:18px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Lato,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">They typically view other races as hopelessly slow or droll.

<p style="outline:none;line-height:18px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Lato,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As a whole, the Mizzen are on friendly terms with the Dwarves and Girigori, and share cities with both of these races where power and authority is fairly divided. They welcome Changlings, Rowan, and the Verr into their cities, but these species are treated as guests.

<p style="outline:none;line-height:18px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Lato,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Though there are individual exceptions, the Mizzen do not care for the Lainir and are enemies of the Ekiruru. They will not launch hostile action against either of these races, but desire nothing to do with either of them.