Soulforged, Shrine Guardian

The shrine guardians, along with their counterparts the steelborn, are the youngest lineage of Quartus. In the wake of the Fourth Wish approximately 50 years ago, magically-animated wood-and-stone shrine guardian golems started to wake up, becoming ensouled living beings made of wood and stone. Only a tiny fraction of the shrine guardians have awoken. No one knows why this is happening, or how long they will live. Or how to cause one to awaken. Unlike most, they do not visibly change over time. Their appearance at the time of their awakening is how they will look throughout their lives unless they modify their own appearance, although shrine guardians tend to be less free with this than the steelborn.

The steelborn are varied, but generally human-size or smaller. Their shape is humanoid, but the details vary and their faces are often carved into frightening masks. How they talk and why they need rest is entirely unknown. Their connection to the nature spirits is real, and they are very difficult to pick out of a forest as long as they don’t move.