Batirine

Batirines (pronounced /ˈbætᵻriːn/) are artificial creatures made of pure dreamstuff as servants and agents of the onirarchs. Batirines are not mindless automata; while some are more intelligent than others, they are all self-willed and capable of acting on their own initiative. For the most part, however, batirines are loyal and reliable servitors, though it does occasionally happen that one may go rogue and betray its master.

Etymology

The word "batirine" comes from the Lilmi word bathirinya ([ᵐbæʈiˈɹiɲ̟a]) meaning "ghost" or "devil". This term certainly was not initially used by the onirarchs themselves, but by their subjects, and it reflects the dread with which these creatures were initially (and to some degree still are) regarded.

The inventors of the batirines originally called their creations gesinde (/gəˈzɪndə/), singular "gesind" (/gəˈzɪnd/), after an Old Drithidian word for servant—a cognate of the English word "gesith", a historical term for a companion of an Anglo-Saxon king. Perhaps mindful of the pejorative origins of the word "batirine", some onirarchs still prefer this word instead, and try to encourage its revival. Others have more recently drawn upon the name given by etorists to the taxonomic order of batirines, "Zabulastra", to coin the word "zabulaster" (/ˈzæbjuːlæstɚ/) that they hope will supplant "batirine". However, the connotations of this word are little more positive, though the onirarchs promoting it may not be aware of the fact; inspired by the etymology of "batirine", the name "Zabulastra" means very roughly "artificial devils" (from the Latin zabulus, an alternate spelling of the more common diabolus, meaning devil, and the neuter plural of the suffix -aster, to signify an imperfect semblance). In any case, neither "gesind" nor "zabulaster" has widely caught on, and "batirine" remains by far the most commonly used term for these beings.

Creation

Batirines are produced through a complicated and time-consuming process in which, however, the direct involvement of the onirarchs or other dream wizards is necessary only during the first stages. Unlike in that of most scafts made of dreamstuff, in the manufacture of batirines the infusion of life happens in the early part of the procedure. The creation of a batirine begins with the weaving of an illusion of the batirine that will ultimately be made. The illusion must be three-dimensional and complete in every detail, including its interior structure. This phase of the process, called patterning, is the most difficult and exacting, though it takes up only a fraction of the time.

Once the patterning is complete and tested, the illusion is brought to life, though not usually to consciousness, a step called inspiration. Once that is complete, the illusion is gradually overlaid with dreamstuff, until this material permeates every part of the original illusion. This part of the process is called the setting. If the batirine has any special powers that must be separately conferred, the next step is the invirtuation, in which these powers are granted, by similar means to the investment of a talisman. After the invirtuation, or directly after the inspiration if invirtuation is unnecessary, the final step is the quickening, when the finished batirine is awakened to full consciousness.

Generally, once the inspiration is complete and the setting has begun, the direct involvement of a mage is no longer necessary; once started, the setting will continue on its own, though it may take several weeks to conclude. After the setting is complete, a mage's intervention is necessary again for the invirtuation and the quickening, but these are much faster procedures. Some of the onirarchies have found ways to automate even these steps, and have constructed batirine mills that are capable of churning out batirines without any direct effort from the onirarchs, though the mills do require occasional maintenance—and can be tempting targets of sabotage by rebel forces.

Structure and appearance

Though batirines may look like solid and seamless blocks of dreamstuff, they are not as consemblable as they appear. Their internal structures are not as complex as that of a similarly sized biological organism, but certainly much more so than that of an animated statue. Most batirines are covered in a hard integument with a slick, marmoreal texture, its thickness varying by the type of batirine. In most cases, this external layer is indeed of a piece and jointless, moving and flexing not by mechanical means but by magical transfigurement. Within this outer investment, however, most of the internal dreamstuff is still solid, but slightly lighter and more brittle, and honeycombed with channels and cavities. This interior substrate is called the pumex.

The cavities in the pumex hold various organs that contribute to the batirine's functionality. Not all types of batirines have exactly the same complement of organs, but there are some specific organs that are found in most types. The processor is the seat of the batirine's consciousness and thought processes, somewhat analogous to an organism's brain. The condenser—of which large batirines may have more than one—collects ambient dream energy and makes it available for the batirine's use. The actuator is responsible for the transfigurement of the batirine's integument. Moving through the smaller channels in the pumex are filiform fibers called scolecia. These carry dream energy between the organs, and are often likened to the blood of an animal. They are directed by small organs throughout the body called governors.

Often the appearance of the batirine's integument is left unaltered from raw dreamstuff, giving the batirine a shimmering, opalescent appearance. Some onirarchs, however, prefer to alter their batirines' hues and lusters, giving them a uniform color or pattern or placing symbols or insignia upon them to show their allegiance. Another fairly common practice is to add frills, horns, and other appendages that serve no purpose except the aesthetic, and perhaps to make the batirine more imposing.

Abilities

There are no especial powers or abilities common to all batirines, save perhaps their durability. The integuments of most batirines are about as hard as granite, and about as difficult to damage. Furthermore, as abiotic beings, they are of course insusceptible to diseases, poisons, and parasites that could inflict biotic organisms.

However, many kinds of batirines are given additional powers. Common powers of batirines include augabole, noödoche, invisibility, and dispection. While established varieties of batirines have associated suites of powers they are usually given, there is no requirement that all batirines of a given type conform with this standard, and it's common for individual batirines to have powers different from or additional to the usual complement.

Weaknesses

While batirines may not be vulnerable to many of the maladies that can beset humans and other biological organisms, there are other disorders to which they are subject. Among the vitia that can affect batirines are quickworm, in which the scolecia seem to gain independent life; hyperallage, in which the actuator becomes uncontrolled and the batirine's shape continually changes unpredictably; ectexis, in which the outer layer of the batirine's integument liquefies; and apostenosis, in which the channels of the pumex narrow, making it difficult for the scolecia to move through it.

The fact that batirines are made of dreamstuff means that they are pregnable to spells and paracarminical magics that act upon the material. The dreamstuff detection spell can help casters identify batirines disguised as human; the forcefull dissolution and dreamstuff distortion spells can damage their forms. The batirine disruption spell was designed specifically as a weapon to use against batirines, and is capable of destroying them completely.

Varieties

There is no limit to the forms that batirines can take, and there are many types of batirine that are unique to a particular nation, or even to the household of a particular onirarch. Even without counting the one-of-a-kind batirines that may be created for some special purpose or on some megrim, there are hundreds of different types of batirine, and the number may run into the thousands. Still, below is a list of some of the most common and widespread varieties.

Caretaker

As the name implies, caretaker batirines are designed to look after people or places and tend to their needs.

Dread

Dread batirines are specialized in instilling fear, and are used when onirarchs think terror is the best tool for a task.

Enforcer

These stocky, roughly cylindrical batirines serve as the primary agents of law enforcement in many onirarchies.

Eye

The small, winged eye batirines act as spies and monitors for the onirarchs.

Fabricator

Fabricators produce talismans and other goods for the onirarchs, sometimes including other batirines.

Gargoyle

Gargoyle batirines both watch for trouble and dive in to handle it if they see it.

Guardian

Resembling larger, stouter versions of enforcers, guardian batirines generally guard specific objects or locations.

Healer

These conical, tentacled batirines tend to the ill and the injured (that is, the ill and the injured among the onirarchs and their agents).

Jailor

Living prisons, jailor batirines hold captives inside their own bodies devinctively.

Master

Though their primary duty is to coördinate the actions of other batirines, master batirines are fairly formidable on their own.

Menial

Menial batirines serve as domestic servants in onirarchs' households, though they may have potent combat abilities they can bring to bear if called upon to defend their masters.

Pleasure

The only common batirine to have a fully human form, the pleasure batirine can fulfill its nominal duty in various ways.

Possessor

Small and innocuous on their own, possessor batirines can take over the bodies of humans and other living creatures.

Sea

Not as common as the xastrine batirines that crawl over the pelagic reefs, the graceful sea batirines flit over the surface of the water on the onirarchs' business, often carrying human or batirine passengers on their broad backs.

Seeker

Protean and chameleonic, seeker batirines are sent by the onirarchs to infiltrate rebel headquarters and other important but inaccessible locations.

Tabulator

Frequently (but not always) immobile, the tabulator batirine primarily serves to perform complex calculations and simulations that would be too involved for a human mind to easily handle.

Tower

The size of a building, a tower batirine is an immobile but powerful sentry with magical powers to enforce the onirarchs' will.

Warden

The warden batirine controls the building or vehicle it's built into, effectively making it into a living structure.

Xastrine

Named after the spiderlike xastres they resemble, xastrine batirines are the onirarchs' primary aquatic agents.

History

The first batirines were apparently created in the year 351 in what is now Xhenda, but was then claimed by Drithidiach. Most of the original batirines were similar to today's enforcers, though some other kinds were created. A woman named Ja-Rai Ajja is usually named as the principal architect of the batirine, but it's unclear to what extent she was personally responsible for their design and to what extent she merely took credit for the work of subordinates and less figuresome colleagues. In any case, whether or not the development of the batirine was really all her doing, she managed to parley the deed and her increased eminence into considerable political puissance. While Ja-Rai never officially held a high office in the government of Drithidiach, she exercised an enormous amount of behind-the-scenes influence, and by the end of her life may have actually had more say over the nation's governance than the High Magistrate who nominally ruled it.

Undoubtedly the use of batirines would have spread beyond Drithidiach in time in any case, but there were three factors that accelerated the process. First, not content with her power in Drithidiach, Ja-Rai shared her creations with other onirarchies as well, in exchange for favors and influence there. Some Drithidian officials saw this as a betrayal, but Ja-Rai had too firmly entrenched herself in the power structure by then to fear any reprisals. Second, a K'engan mage named Tsuai Hieh reverse-engineered a captured batirine and figured out how to emulate Ja-Rai's procedure for creating them. Finally, the rise of the Drithidian Empire exposed other lands to batirines that were previously unfamiliar with them. In any case, by about the year 800, nearly every extant onirarchy had numerous batirines in its service.

See also

• List of batirines