Fabricants are the biomechanical[1]:316 (part organic, part inorganic) constructs created by Sotha Sil and are designed to emulate the form and behavior of their Tamrielic counterparts. They are constructed from an amalgam of grown flesh and metallic grafts and are powered by a soul gem,[2][3] in factories known as Incarnatoriums. They are then stored in fabrication tanks from which they will eventually emerge. They usually dwell in the Clockwork City, and can resemble the creatures of the land, air, and sea. The majority of Fabricants were created to emulate predatory animals since the synthetic realm was inhospitable to most forms of organic plant life prior to introduction of the Mechanical Heart. Sometimes they might not resemble anything known to Nirn, such as the Verminous Fabricant[4][5] and the Hulking Fabricant. Early fabricants had issues with the deterioration of their mechanical parts. They were made capable of self-repair, which was how the early fabricants created in Kemel-Ze were able to persist centuries after their creation.[6][7]
Fabricants are rumored to have existed since before the disappearance of the Dwemer[8] and survived past the demise of Sotha Sil.[9] To the Clockwork Apostles, they are also known as the Fabri'siraynosim ("the merged-ones")[10] and are rumored to be the first step towards the convergence of nature and engineering,[11] and the creation of the perfect lifeform.[12]
At an unknown time, fabricants that resemble birds were created. Their creation was likely sometime after the Vestige's journey in the Clockwork city in the 2E 582. During this journey, crow daedra accompanied Nocturnal's invasion of the Clockwork City. The crows surprised the people of the Brass Fortress, as the winged creatures seemed foreign to them. No living birds up to that point are believed to have set foot in Clockwork City.[13]
Abominations are similar to fabricants, but are a perversion of Sotha Sil's goal of creating a perfect lifeform. They were created by the Clockwork Apostle, Mecinar.[12]
Similar to fabricants are the constructs Sotha Sil created known as factotums, but they differ in that they are completely synthetic and are usually more humanoid in appearance.
It is unknown if Clockwork Dreugh are fabricants, but they follow a similar naming pattern to other fabricants. They were constructs created by Sotha Sil before the disappearance of the Dwemer. It is said that Vivec asked Sotha Sil to come up with some plan to help stop the Dwemer's Automatons from slaughtering the Chimer during the Battle of Red Mountain.[14] Out of necessity, Sotha Sil created an army of Clockwork Dreugh that were inspired by Dwemeri war machines, to be used against the Dwemer. They were said to have risen up from the seas and took their counterparts to the water beneath to be swallowed by the sea. [8]
VarietiesEdit
There are many different kinds of fabricants. Reptiles, aquatic animals, mammals and more are all fabricated within the Clockwork City. Fabricants are diverse, and while many resemble creatures commonly seen on Nirn, more still are completely alien.
Aquatic CreaturesEdit
Copperclaw Crayfish,[15] Clockerfish[16], Clicking Travally,[17] Coppery Cucumbers,[18] and Operant Eels[19] can all be found in the oily waters of the Clockwork City. Barilzar's Grenadier is a fish named after former clockwork apostle Barilzar.[20]
Beetle FabricantEdit
Beetle Fabricants (or Thunderbug Fabricants) are fabricants that resemble Thunderbugs. Their legs are metal limbs, and it uses strong lightning attacks. It is aggressive and will attack on sight. It is not to be confused with similar fabricants such as the shalk fabricant.
Brass MudcrabEdit
Brass Mudcrabs are fabricants resembling Mudcrabs. They have a brass rust-resistant coating and can enter into water but are likely to sink.[21]
BrassiliskEdit
Brassilisks are fabricants resembling snakes. They are created from interconnected metallic squares, with exposed copper wiring that allow for their snakelike movements. Some are created with wings to mimic the Sep Adder. They are a popular choice as pets among the denizens of the Clockwork City. They can be powered by either soul gems, animo cores, or steam power.
Custom FabricantsEdit
Custom Fabricants are of Mecinar's design. The Clockwork Apostles believe that introducing a foreign species to Sotha Sil's creation could result in all kinds of unforeseen errors and deviations.[13]
Firepot SpiderEdit
Firepot Spiders are fabricants that resemble spiders. They are usually hostile but can be programmed to be passive and repurposed to be used as a walking barbecue by chefs.[22] Firepot spiders are known to attack by lunging at a target and exploding the pot on their back, losing it as their shell and becoming a "dancing spider".
Early prototypes of the firepot spiders contained the same flammable liquid usually contained within the creatures, but their propulsion method differed from the final version. They were also significantly larger than the final versions, and could not reliably pull off the kinds of acrobatic maneuvers that the final version can.[23]
Hulking FabricantEdit
Hulking Fabricants do not appear to be crafted to closely resemble any existing creature of Nirn. They have wide jaws, a crest of horns or growths on their heads, two organic forelimbs, a metal scorpion-like tail, and four metal legs. They were seen near the end of the Third Era attacking Mournhold.
Kagouti FabricantEdit
Kagouti Fabricants resemble their organic counterparts, except with mechanical legs, jaws, and metal-capped tusks.
Nix-Hound FabricantEdit
Nix-Hound Fabricants resemble Nix-Hounds. They have glassy eyes with brass abdomens, as well as spring-loaded hind legs. Their snouts have blade-like edges from which they can shoot energy.
Nix-Ox FabricantEdit
Nix-Ox Fabricants are programmed for obedience and designed for endurance. Similar to organic Nix-Oxen, they are used as mounts in the Brass Fortress and in the Radius.[24]
The Lustrous Nix-Ox Fabricant is a variety of this construct, noted for its darker coloration in contrast with the usual brassy look. Before Saints Llothis and Saint Olms had to be confined in the Asylum Sanctorium, they used to ride through the Brass Fortress on holy days on these mounts. However, these parades eventually came to an end with the deterioration of the saints' sanity, and the Lustrous Nix-Ox Fabricant was repurposed.[25]
Scorpion FabricantEdit
Scorpion Fabricants, sometimes called Clockwork Scorpions, are fabricants created to resemble scorpions. They are the most popular pet among the denizens of the Clockwork City and have the potential to grow massive in size.[26]
Seht's Dovah-FlyEdit
Seht's Dovah-Flies are fabricants that were created to imitate dovah-flies (more commonly known as dragonflies). They are harmless, and are known to make loyal pets.[27] A variant known as the Scintillant Dovah-Fly is black with gold trimmings and is a common sight in the oil-slick ravines of the Clockwork City.[28] They are rumored to have been a collaboration between two ill-fated lovers. These mechanical dovah-flies were created to serve as a messenger, delivering communications between them. So impressed were their masters by this creation that they set their feud aside and allowed the apprentices to collaborate on future projects.[29]
Shalk FabricantEdit
Shalk Fabricants (or Tunnel-Bore Fabricants) have organic bodies while all three sets of legs are mechanical. They have been observed jumping short distances like Assassin Beetles and, much like their organic counterparts, they can manipulate fire.
SkeevatonEdit
Skeevatons are fabricant creatures that, despite their name, resemble mice or small rats moreso than skeevers. They can be found all across the Clockwork City and inside the Brass Fortress. They were created to serve as couriers of information to and from the archives, as well as for probing tiny, inaccessible areas of the Clockwork City. To this end, they contain a sensory tool that sends out pulses of detection magic to survey objects of interest and search within specific parameters. At some point, skeevatons were over-produced, and the denizens of the Brass Fortress had a skeevaton infestation on their hands. The series of events that followed the infestation was a mess that ended in many fabricants becoming scrap. Wind-up Bears and Motorized Tigers were produced to stop the Clockwork Hounds, which were fabricated to stop the Clockwork Cats that were created to stop the mass-produced skeevatons. Sotha Sil destroyed all these fabricants, with the execption of the excess Skeevatons, which one of his followers chalked up to the God's sense of humor. The skeevaton, resembling a copper mouse, lacks legs and moves using a rotating ball housed within its center. Legend has it that its inventor designed the skeevaton to clandestinely observe fellow scholars.
Verminous FabricantEdit
Verminous Fabricants are Fabricants created by Sotha Sil that resemble lean bipedal reptiles. They have long necks, long tails, a horn on their noses, and various metallic limbs and spikes, which they utilize to attack their prey. Sotha Sil created them as imitations of extinct creatures of the same name that once roamed across Velothi lands, to serve as a reminder of a thing that once was. He sought to perfect them (in his eyes) with an amalgam of flesh and metal. Aside from being quick, agile, and being able to fit into small spaces, they also are capable of spinning into their target, generating shockwaves, and as a last resort, self-destructing. They are powered by an animo core, and can be contained within fabrication tanks. Verminous Fabricants dwell in Clockwork City, but have in occasion made it to Tamriel.
GalleryEdit
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Hulking Fabricant (Legends)
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Fabricant Birds (Legends)
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Foxbat Brassilisk (ESO)
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Dancing Spider (ESO)
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Giant Scorpion Fabricant (Legends)
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Custom Fabricant (Legends)
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Custom Fabricant (Legends)
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Lustrous Nix-Ox Fabricant Steed (ESO)
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A group of Fabricants surrounding an Argonian (Legends)
See AlsoEdit
- For game-specific information, see the Tribunal, Elder Scrolls Online
, and Legends articles.
BooksEdit
- A Study of Fabricants by Endilaril, Naturalist — A naturalist's research notes on the Fabricant
- The Fabricated Fauna of Clockwork by Endilaril, Naturalist — A naturalist's research notes on the Clockwork City's artificial wildlife
- Realms of the Clockwork City: The Radius by Provost Varil Arvel — Excerpt from a series describing the regions of the Clockwork City
- Skeevaton Modification and Operation by Associate Zanon — Excerpts from a thesis about Skeevatons with commentary
ReferencesEdit
- ^ The Morrowind Prophecies: Game of the Year Edition — Peter Olafson
- ^ Realms of the Clockwork City: The Radius — Provost Varil Arvel
- ^ Forging the Future, Divayth's dialogue
- ^ A Study of Fabricants — Endilaril, Naturalist
- ^ The Fabricated Fauna of Clockwork — Endilaril, Naturalist
- ^ Sotha Sil's dialogue in ESO
- ^ Protus' dialogue in ESO
- ^ a b 36 Lessons of Vivec, Sermon 36 — Vivec
- ^ Presence of Fabricants in Legends
- ^ The Truth in Sequence: Volume 6 — Deldrise Morvayn
- ^ What is the Clockwork City? on the official ESO website
- ^ a b Sotha Sil's dialogue in the mission The Betrayal in Return to Clockwork City
- ^ a b Provost Varuni Arvel's dialogue
- ^ Dialogue of various Stars in the Mnemonic Planisphere
- ^ Copperclaw Crayfish in ESO
- ^ Clockerfish in ESO
- ^ Clicking Travally in ESO
- ^ Coppery Cucumber in ESO
- ^ Operant Eel in ESO
- ^ Barilzar's Grenadier in ESO
- ^ Prodigious Brass Mudcrab pet description in ESO
- ^ Firepet Spider pet description in ESO
- ^ Beasts of the Gallery — the Ciphers of the Eye
- ^ Nix-Ox Fabricant Steed mount description in ESO
- ^ Lustrous Nix-Ox Fabricant Steed mount description in ESO
- ^ Scorpion Fabricant pet description in ESO
- ^ Seht's Dovah-Fly pet description in ESO
- ^ Scintillant Dovah-Fly pet description in ESO
- ^ The Fabricated Fauna of Clockwork — Endilaril, Naturalist