Avg. Height: N/A

Avg. Weight: N/A

Avg. Life Expectancy: 78 y/o (Oldest Recorded 153)

 

Description:

The majority of the Keristine do not have their own uniform features. Some may be as small as a house cat while others can reach the height of a standard house. However, the traits they tend to share is a metallic sheen, always appearing a polished green. Due to this, people often mistake them as being made of bronze. The reason for this bizarre coloration comes from the metal that composes them. This metal, referred to by the Kerstine as Keristite, makes up every member of their species. Even more bizarre than its coloration, Keristite possesses an ability to self-repair itself on a level equal to most organic species. Despite this extraordinary ability, blacksmiths consider the metal too soft and brittle to make arms and armor out of. In attempts to make the metal more useful for other purposes, people began attempting to combine it with other metals to strengthen it. The resulting compounds were more of a disaster than the original. Because of this natural weakness, Keristines outfit themselves with armors and arms designed for their forms.

Keristines lack physical genders, differing subspecies, and children. Their people consider themselves adults from the first day they come into existence. A secondary flaw of Kerstite rears its face as the construct-like species ages, becoming far more brittle to the point they eventually fall apart into dust. To ensure the species continues, Keristines engage in a form of reproduction unique to their kind. This act functions by removing parts of their own body to create a new Keristine. This process requires two or more Keristine, as well as Keristite Ingots that are freshly forged. Upon this successful “fusion”, a new Keristine is formed and the old ones regenerate their missing pieces as best they can until they can no longer sustain themselves and die.

 

Culture:

Due to the rarity of the metal, Keristines lack a vast population.  Due to this, Keristines very rarely begin new settlements unless a new deposit of Keristite is discovered. Their low need lifestyle allows them to focus their attention on advancing the sciences. Because of the bizarre nature of each individual personality of the Keristine, these technologies vary to whatever thing they fancy. Whenever they discover a technology made by another and unknown to their people, their culture encourages them to bring it back to their settlements to reverse engineer and catalog. If they can, they improve on the technology.

This need to find and improve upon new technologies has led to many too focused on the desire to understand and advance their technology that they fail to respect the laws and cultures in the area they are taking the items. Because of this, Keristines are notorious for stealing technology and, in some rare cases, attempt to strip entire areas of unknown technology. Yet when it comes to interacting with other species of little to no complex technical ability, the metalloid species usually grows bored and ignores them. Unless there is some outstanding crime upon a visitors head,  the Keristine welcome them into their settlements, even if the people in question do not have the so called technological prowess that they seek. Very rarely are other species able to stay in these settlements, as there is next to no inns, food markets, or other essentials that the other species may need. The Keristine are fully aware of economic needs however and are often seen as blacksmiths, mechanics, and other mechanically labor based occupations.

 

Adaptations:

Due to being a golem-like race, they do not often have a need for food, water, even air. They do require to consume at least a chunk of keristite about once a month (generally costs the same amount of money as a month’s worth of food). They also do not interact with healing methods the same way as most races do, and tend to require more specific means that could also mend an object. While they tend to have a strong resistance or even immunity to many poisons and diseases, there are still afflictions that assail even them. Even though they do not need to breathe, airborne afflictions can still affect them.

 

Other Info:

• Despite how often they do not display the traits for one, Keristines are sometimes confused as having a hive-mind due to the majority of them having the same set of goals and methods of achieving those goals.

• Keristine inventors are often recognized by Non-Keristine cultures due to a universal oath that they tend to follow, in which every inventor strives to contribute to ways to improve upon Keristite designs. Some Keristine inventors often make it their life goal to find a way to create new bodies capable of holding old Keristine minds. As far as anyone is aware, however, no Keristine has been successful in such an endeavor.