Forces of Convergente of Cyriss
Forces of Convergente of Cyriss
®
                                                                                      ®
                                                                              ®
will let none stand in their way.
Devote yourself to mechanikal perfection and transcend the flesh
with Forces of WARMACHINE: Convergence of Cyriss, featuring:
• Complete faction rules and profiles for
  fielding the Convergence of Cyriss
  in WARMACHINE Mk II, including
  Unbound formations.
• An in-depth look at the history
  and science of the Convergence of
  Cyriss and its enigmatic goddess.
• A painting guide to help you ready your
  forces for battle.
• Convergence Theme Force lists and rules, which
  allow you to create armies based on specialized forces
  from the Convergence.
                       ™
                                                                       PIP 1053
OF OUR IMMORTALITY.
                                 SPINE
    THE WORLD BECOME
    Ross Grams
                              Development              David Lima
                                                                                Charles Foster III
                              Bill French                                       Matt Goetz
    Anthony Jones                                      Jared Mattern
                                                                                Michelle Horton
                                                       Christopher Matthews
    Nicholas Kay              Convention Coordinator                            William Hungerford
    Raphael Lübke             Michael Plummer                                   William Shick
    Susan Luo                                          Caitlyn McKenna
                                                                                Stuart Spengler
    Justin Oaksford           Community Manager &      Mike McIntosh
                                                                                Jason Soles
    Néstor Ossandón                                    Aaron Milligan-Green
                                                                                Brent Waldher
    Andrea Uderzo             Simon Berman             Antonio Mora
2
EMBRACE THE PERFECTION OF THE MACHINE
FACTION BACKGROUND                                                                       PLAYING THE CONVERGENCE
The faithful of Cyriss, the Maiden of Gears, have lived                                  A Convergence army operates like a machine: each piece
among the people of western Immoren for centuries,                                       serves its role, and the parts work together to accomplish a
quietly working to uncover the laws of the universe.                                     greater goal. The faction’s pragmatic and calculating nature
They have long been tolerated as an enigmatic cult of                                    plays out in the form of widespread synergy, enhancing
mathematicians, engineers, and stargazers, but in remote                                 their own abilities and hindering those of enemies.
temples and facilities the inner circle of the faith were
advancing their agenda. There they constructed massive
                                                                                         others to create a machine of destruction. Reciprocators and
machines with which they intend to complete their Great
                                                                                         Obstructors lock shields and advance, then slide apart to
Work and transform the very face of Caen to bring about the
                                                                                         allow aggressive Eradicators to charge into enemy lines, all
manifestation of their goddess.
                                                                                         while Perforators at the rear launch protean javelins.
As the forces of the Convergence enter the Phase of Alignment,
                                                                                         Even more than any other WARMACHINE faction, the
they must march to war against other powers of western
                                                                                         warcasters of the Convergence dramatically change the
Immoren over sites of geomantic potency. Their leaders and
                                                                                         nature of play. Vectors take on the stats of their warcaster
clockwork vessels. Immune to pain or doubt and armed with
                                                                                         The same army seems to transform and become an entirely
resolve. The clockwork state is itself their afterlife on Caen,
                                                                                         wealth of game possibilities.
and so they have no fear of death.
                                                                                         With so many exciting tactical options and interesting
Because the Nine Harmonics of Cyriss proscribe the “false
                                                                                         combinations of abilities to experiment with, the
minds” of warjacks, Convergence warcasters bring complex
vectors to battle. These imposing machines function not
of their own unpredictable imperative but solely as pure
                                                                                         your calculations, and…
extensions of a warcaster’s formidable will. With an arsenal
centuries in the making, the Convergence of Cyriss is                                                    Let none imperil the Great Work!
prepared to carry out the Great Work no matter its cost.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ITERATIONS OF                                                                            CONVERGENCE WARCASTERS . . .42
TRANSFIGURATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
                                                                                         CONVERGENCE VECTORS . . . . . . . . . 56
REFINEMENT
                                                                                         SOLDIERS OF THE
TOWARD PERFECTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
                                                                                         CONVERGENCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
MACHINERY OF THE
                                                                                         PAINTING CONVERGENCE . . . . . . . . . 92
CONVERGENCE OF CYRISS . . . . . . . .30
                                                                                         GALLERY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .96
CONVERGENCE RULES
& THEME FORCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
                           Visit: www.privateerpress.com
                           Privateer Press, Inc. 13434 NE 16th St. Suite 120 • Bellevue, WA 98005
                           Tel (425) 643-5900 • Fax (425) 643-5902
                           prohibited. In the event that permissions are granted, such duplications shall be intended solely for personal, noncommercial use and must maintain all
                           copyrights, trademarks, or other notices contained therein or preserve all marks associated thereof. Don’t steal our copyrighted material (including ditital
copyright violators into giant awesome robots or clockwork vessels. Oh no. Copyright violators get plugged into our automated fecal matter disposal systems.
Forces of WARMACHINE: Convergence of Cyriss (digital version) . . . . . . . . ISBN: 978-1-939480-30-9 . . . . PIP 1053e
                                                                                                                                                                                                 3
    ITERATIONS OF TRANSFIGURATION
    TEMPLE OF THE PRIME HARMONIC, NORTHERN WYRMWALL MOUNTAINS, 606 AR
    Hundreds had gathered within the vaulted central receiving       Some of her followers claimed that looking on Directrix’s
    chamber, a vast circular room that thrummed with the             visage was akin to gazing on Cyriss herself. Rivals felt her
                                                                     vessel’s form bordered on the blasphemous—her headdress
    countless pieces of interlocking machinery. The attendees        resembled the symbol of the goddess. For his part, Lucant
                                                                     acknowledged some vanity in her chosen aspect but saw
    joined to clockwork vessels, which gleamed in chromed            mostly devotion. There was no denying well-engineered
    steel. Father Lucant stood atop a raised dais attached           perfection. The housings for her servitors, the ingenious
    to the great dome of massive gears and rotating metal            way interior geomantic drives adjusted her center of
    rings making up the Constellation. This was not simply a         gravity so she was not unbalanced by the massive housing
    mechanism but a council of minds—a great and intricate           for the multiple arms of her bladed cloak—there was much
    orrery within which orbited hundreds of souls—hosting
    the essences of priests and thinkers linked into a greater       the vessel were of less interest than the mind within.
    consciousness. All those assembled faced the Constellation.
                                                                     The Constellation spoke again. “Iron Mother Directrix is
    The spiderlike construct that was Lucant’s metal body was        chosen. May Cyriss guide her. Henceforth it is she who
    surrounded by a radiance that shone through slats in the         commands your obedience.” Rows upon rows of steel
4
                                                                 enclosed metal helmet with its thick optical lenses protecting
to lead; only a handful remained from that time. Lucant was      his face and eyes. He inclined his head and lowered his right
surprised to feel a strange emotion stir in the cold recesses    hand. Lucant engaged the levers. First he pulled the one that
where his soul was preserved. Was it exhilaration? Fear?         would deliver Pelcior a carefully measured dose of a lethal
                                                                 solution through a slender tube inserted into his wrists. For
His thoughts traced back to the beginning, twenty-four           a moment the optifex’s body strained against its straps as his
decades earlier. To the origin of things, when everything he     muscles seized. Lucant’s hands clenched in sympathy until
knew had been transformed.                                       the priest slumped and lay still, his head falling listlessly
                                                                 to the side. Immediately Lucant engaged the reactor. The
FOUNDRY OF ENUMERATION,
SOUTHERN WYRMWALL MOUNTAINS,
                                                                 churning sound followed by a higher-pitched sizzling and
360 AR
                                                                 thrumming. Arcs of electricity shot from the upper apparatus
It was within a similar vaulted chamber thrumming with
power that Enumerator Ghil Lucant had stood awaiting
                                                                 Pelcior’s body in bluish-white light.
the signal to engage the machinery that was his charge.
There were many technicians in attendance, but he was
responsible for the most critical station. The levers he
                                                                   ARCS OF ELECTRICITY SHOT FROM
held connected to an acceleration reactor primed to send
                                                                   THE UPPER APPARATUS TO RUN
geomantic energy through massive shielded conduits.
These empowered the fusing apparatus hanging from the              ALONG GLEAMING CONDUITS,
ceiling over the central platform, where a volunteer lay           MOMENTARILY ENGULFING PELCIOR’S
strapped into the transference station, the thick metal bier       BODY IN BLUISH-WHITE LIGHT.
bent to accommodate him.
The man’s face was in stark relief beneath the bright lights,
                                                                 The thrumming intensified and blazing light filled the
his eyes closed, his lips moving in constant prayer to the
                                                                 central apparatus. A twisted array of conduits connected
goddess. He knew his life was about to end. He was a
                                                                 the body to a glass and steel cylinder set within an
priest, like Lucant himself, someone who had devoted
                                                                 insulated aperture. Topped with a detailed cast relief of
himself to Cyriss. The proof of the man’s piety was never
                                                                 the face of the goddess, this was the essence chamber
more evident than now. Lucant felt small and cowardly in
                                                                 prototype, whose crystalline lattice would receive the
                                                                 noumenon, the soul. The container filled with light that
                                                                 pulsed with an irregular rhythm. The fluxion peered at
one with the machine.
                                                                 his gauges and then nodded to Forge Master Lucidia,
Lucant had felt similar shame on the three previous              who stood nearby. She quickly and efficiently disengaged
occasions he had assisted identical procedures. Many more        the cylinder from its housing using long-handled tongs.
attempts had been made, stretching back decades before           Lucidia was an elderly woman now, perhaps in her
he had been awakened to the inner mysteries. It had been         seventies, but her hands did not tremble. Her slender
humbling, his process of immersion, realizing how far he         face was heavily wrinkled and her hair white and thin,
had been from a true understanding of Cyriss. Now he felt        cut short so as not to interfere with her work.
he was in his proper place, that he had come to know the
                                                                 She walked with her burden to the inert clockwork vessel
goddess. But the man on the bier humbled him anew.
                                                                 waiting on the opposite side of the platform and slid the
It was impossible not to feel dread as power accumulated         cylinder into a round opening in its chest. The face of the
                                                                 goddess atop the cylinder aligned with the outer toothed ring
                                                                 on the vessel to create the symbol of Cyriss as it slid home.
but admiration for Optifex Pelcior and did not begrudge          The clockwork vessel came to life, its eyes lighting as its head
him the fear that caused him to quicken his prayers, his pale    raised and its limbs animated. What had been an empty
face breaking out in sweat. It was one thing to weigh the        machine was now alive. Lucant had seen this before, and it
                                                                 prompted the same awe each time—but also apprehension.
quite another to lie on that bier and feel the building energy
                                                                 There was a brief burst of excited conversation among the
of the Foundry of Enumeration, knowing it would soon
                                                                 priests and engineers in the chamber. Quickly they shifted
pour into your body.
                                                                 their attention to the dozens of technical tasks required to
Fluxion Helicratus, the master of the foundry, turned to         wind down the machinery safely. Lucant saw to his own
Lucant. His expression was impossible to perceive beneath his    responsibilities, powering down the central reactor and
                                                                                                                                    5
    ITERATIONS OF TRANSFIGURATION
    adjusting peripheral apparatus. These tasks had become           “An additional seven minutes and thirteen seconds,” he
    rote and required little thought, so his attention stayed        said, noting the results in his ledger. He nodded to Lucant,
    mainly on the central platform where Fluxion Helicratus
    and Forge Master Lucidia attended the clockwork vessel,          Excellent work, Forge Master Lucidia, Enumerator Lucant.
    now inhabited by the soul and mind of Optifex Pelcior.           Convey my compliments to the teams.”
    Several junior priests quietly carried away his corpse,
                                                                     “Thank you, Fluxion,” Lucant replied without enthusiasm,
    which would be tended to by another priest who would see
                                                                     knowing it was his hand that had pulled the lever that had
    it disposed of with due respect.
                                                                     ended Pelcior’s life.
    As soon as the transfer was complete, Helicratus had started
                                                                     Forge Master Lucidia was more open about her feelings.
    a clock, a precise instrument whose ticking arm would serve
    as the measure of their success or failure. Lucidia had begun
                                                                     wore, glowering. She asked, “How is this a success? We
    an interrogation to gauge how well Pelcior had weathered
                                                                     achieved nothing.” Lucant stepped aside as they began a
                                                                     familiar row.
    implemented, no one present dared to hope. The transfer
    of a soul into its essence chamber always seemed successful
                                                                     “Progress is progress, Forge Master. This project will not be
                                                                     completed in a day, a week, or a year.”
“You need not remind me,” she snapped. “I have given this
    “THIS IS THE HOLY WORK DIRECTED                                  with Lucidia had given him cause to see her as a kind and
         BY THE MAIDEN OF GEARS. THIS
        WORK MAY OUTLAST US BOTH, IF                                 work had placed considerable strain on the relationship
                               THAT IS HER WILL.”                    between the two leaders. In the last two years Lucidia had
                                                                     grown increasingly outspoken about her dissatisfaction
                                                                     with their progress.
6
Helicratus’ eyes narrowed. “Irrelevant, as I told you before.”         On recognizing this he had sought her out to learn some of
                                                                       the more advanced fabrication methods employed by her
“How can you assert that without examining the evidence?”
                                                                       team. She had seemed pleased at his interest and they had
                                                                       developed a good rapport. Approaching her had meant
any pretense of calm.                                                  crossing an unspoken divide between the facility’s clergy
                                                                       and lay engineers. Although she was the second-highest
“Allow me to formally assert that you are wrong and this
                                                                       ranking leader in the temple, responsible for materials
                                                                       fabrication, Lucidia was not ordained. This in itself was
free will in the post-transfer state. I suggest a drastic revision.”
                                                                       not unusual, as the duties of forge master required highly
“No! No more major revisions. Our principles are sound. I              technical skills and a pragmatic approach often at odds
will hear no more on this.”                                            with the theoretical studies many priests preferred.
Lucant did not ordinarily interrupt their arguments, but he            The animosity between Fluxion Helicratus and Forge
could not repress the thought that came to him. He said,
“Might it not be that what you perceive as a reduction in              subterranean temple complex. Those who labored in its
free will is simply the guiding hand of the goddess?”                  sterile metal halls and slept in its unadorned monastic
                                                                       dormitories were divided into two camps. Lucant had
They both turned to him, startled. Fluxion Helicratus
                                                                       walked a line between them, hoping to learn from both.
seemed to grasp the content of the words and his scowl
                                                                       The technologies and machinery of the Foundry of
became a smile. Nodding, he said, “Yes, good point.
                                                                       Enumeration were still awe-inspiring. Although he had
Enumerator Lucant speaks wisdom. We are answering a
                                                                       proven to be a quick study, he was far from mastery. He
divine imperative to become closer to the goddess. It is her
                                                                       had made a positive impression on the engineers, who saw
hand at play. You lack the proper training to apprehend.”
                                                                       he was adroit at repairing their intricate machines—it was
Lucidia sighed, seeming to have lost her enthusiasm for the
argument. She said, “Although you are priests, you are also            disassembling oiled gears and pistons in the innards of
scientists. We must neither ignore the facts nor manipulate            servitors, vectors, and geomantic converters.
them to suit a hypothesis.” She turned on her heel and left.
                                                                       Several days after the failed procedure he was doing just
Helicratus simply shook his head.
                                                                       this sort of work alongside several temple engineers when
                                                                       he was interrupted by a summons from the forge master.
                                                                       He put down his spanner and went to meet her at once,
words. Before he had become a priest of Cyriss he had been             not bothering to change his soiled vestments. He found
a mathematician, an astronomer. He would never have                    her down in the armory, where the sect stored battle-ready
discovered the planet that was now his namesake if he                  vectors to defend the facility.
had accepted easy explanations. It had been his scrutiny of
                                                                       She smiled in greeting and waved for him to approach.
previously established data that had led to his breakthrough.
                                                                       She wore similar protective garb as most engineers, with
That discovery had brought him in turn to the attention of
                                                                       no insignia of rank. Nevertheless her posture suggested
the inner circle and earned him an invitation to the Foundry
                                                                       authority, as did her appraising eyes. She said, “Enumerator
of Enumeration. It had been the careful analysis of data that
                                                                       Lucant, I am glad to see you.”
had guided him to his life’s purpose.
                                                                       “Of course, Forge Master.” He inclined his head respectfully.
What if Lucidia was right?
                                                                       Behind her, a pair of Galvanizers moved in response to
                                                                       her thoughts, striding forward on a trio of rugged legs.
                                                                       The machines looked distinct from the steamjacks that
Lucant had initially been pleased with the degree to                   were their equivalent outside the cult. They hummed
which Fluxion Helicratus had come to rely upon him.                    with voltaic power, which also flickered into blue light
Given it had been only four years since his days as an                 along their power coils, and he could hear the clattering
outsider, he had risen in rank quickly, a fact he knew was             of their internal mechanisms. Additionally, there was no
resented by older priests who had failed to distinguish                noxious smoke pouring from exhaust pipes, as they did
themselves. As his work on the Anima Corpus Procedure                  not use coal-fed steam engines. Instead, they relied on an
had expanded, he had begun to see that Helicratus,                     energy field generated by geomantic accumulators deep
although wise, was more of an efficient administrator                  within the facility.
than a brilliant thinker. The innovative work at the
Foundry originated with Forge Master Lucidia.
                                                                                                                                       7
    ITERATIONS OF TRANSFIGURATION
    She followed his gaze and asked, “Do I remember correctly         not pressure you into an immediate decision, but we leave
    that you can control vectors?”                                    tonight. The trap is set, but the perilous part lies ahead. I
                                                                      would appreciate your help to safeguard my team. If you
    He stood straighter. “That is correct.” He felt some pride in
                                                                      decide to join us, come to the lower exit before midnight. If
    having been found to possess the warcaster ability, a facility
                                                                      you are not there, I will speak of this no more.”
    as rare among the inner circle as elsewhere.
                                                                      Lucant swallowed and nodded. “Very well.”
    “Have you seen battle?”
                                                                      He had turned to go but paused as she spoke again. “Lucant,
    She was clearly appraising him for something. Lucant
                                                                      as a favor to me, please exercise discretion. I would prefer to
    answered, “Only once, which you may recall; you were
                                                                      involve as few people as possible, to minimize interference.”
                                                                      She did not say the name aloud, but he understood she
    upper entrance two years ago.”
                                                                      referred to Fluxion Helicratus, Lucant’s superior.
    “Ah yes, of course. I remember now.” He had a feeling she
    had known all along. “Some combat experience is better
    than none. I have prepared an expedition, one that could
    use your expertise. It will be dangerous, but it could provide    To consider Lucidia’s proposal Lucant did not return to his
    us certain answers.”                                              own living quarters but went to the holy chambers housing
                                                                      the sprawling machinery of the Cipher Engine. He lingered
    Lucant considered this. “What sort of expedition?”
                                                                      on his way through the calculation vault, nodding
    She looked at him levelly and said, “I intend to capture an       respectfully to the priests in attendance. The racket of
    iron lich, one of the sentient dead serving Cryx. The bait has    piston rods and churning gears was deafening. The noise
    been placed.”                                                     served to cast out other thoughts and clear his mind.
                                                                      Although the sound was initially chaotic and
    He was so startled he blurted, “What? Why?”
                                                                      overwhelming, soon there would come a sense of rhythm,
    She chuckled and said, “It occurred to me years ago that          a harmony. He could discern amid that sound how every
    there are others more adept in manipulating the human             element of this apparatus relied on every other—thousands
    soul than we. Given the importance of our work it seemed          of tiny gears, rods, latches, and weights. It was the largest
    short-sighted to abandon any chain of legitimate inquiry.         and most intricate clockwork ever designed.
    We have reached the limits of our technology.”
                                                                      The Cipher Engine was central to the construction of the
    As a priest he had been taught to put aside the preconceptions
                                                                      for the temple’s existence. The machine’s creators had been
    Maiden of Gears directed them to transcend the chaos              content to prove that a machine could be made to perform
                                                                      mathematical operations. Its very assembly had served as
    machine. Necromancy involved raw entropy. Its power               an act of devotion, faith, and proof of the triumph of reason.
    arose from extinction, rot, and decay. It was the antithesis of   Little had they known that in this accomplishment, they
    the philosophies of Cyriss.                                       would extend a hand toward the distant goddess, who
                                                                      would answer their ingenuity with another challenge and
    “The thought troubles you,” she said kindly. “This is a
                                                                      establish a dialogue.
    radical notion, I know. And yet, consider . . . What is an iron
    lich, except a soul transferred into a machine body? Cryx
    has clearly managed to integrate their necromantic lore           as he walked from the calculation vault into the numeric
                                                                      aggregation chamber. The great presses here were also
    claim there is nothing we could learn from this process?”         attended by optifex, those who received the output of the
                                                                      machine’s ongoing and continuous calculations. Several
    There was an undeniable logic in her words, but Lucant felt
                                                                      stations were manned by those transforming the numerals
    apprehension—if he had been speaking to a senior priest,
                                                                      generated by the enormous device into a form that could be
    he would have thought he was being tested. He answered
                                                                      read and distributed to analysts here and at other temples.
    honestly, “We must derive a system true to our principles.”
                                                                      The priests bowed respectfully to Lucant as he passed, then
    “Absolutely,” she agreed. “But to create that system we may       resumed their work.
    need to gain a better understanding of the subject matter.
                                                                      He silently continued to the lit tables where isolated metal
    Necromancy has a proven record of demonstrable success
                                                                      sheets of screened output had been separated for detailed
    in preserving souls.” She paused, perhaps aware that
                                                                      examination. They contained the essence of holiness. The
    pursuing the topic would be fruitless at this time. “I will
                                                                      long strings of numbers they bore contained apparently
8
anomalous data within which was the encoded will of             Not wanting the others to hear, he said quietly to her, “I
Cyriss. Lucant breathed deeply and let his eyes trace across    expected a larger force.” He knew there were heavy vectors
them, trying to absorb and interpret them, to see a pattern     in the temple’s arsenal, ones better suited to battle than the
                                                                light Galvanizer.
plate in turn, knowing he was in contact with the words of
                                                                Lucidia was not bothered by his statement. “This is all I
the Maiden of Gears.
Understanding still eluded him. At last Lucant returned         Now, let us be on the move. It would not do for us to miss
his thoughts to Lucidia’s invitation. She had every right       our appointment.”
to ask him to join her expedition, and it was not his place
                                                                She stepped to the outer vault and adjusted a sequence of
to comprehend her process. At the same time, protocol
                                                                levers and switches to release its bolts. The guardian soldiers
required him to inform Fluxion Helicratus if he accepted. All
                                                                standing at attention nodded their respects and promised to
priests working for the forge master did so under the tacit
                                                                seal the interlocking steel doors after them. Almost at once
                                                                the group was assaulted by the cold wind of the Wyrmwall
the ongoing work.
                                                                Mountains, a shock after the sheltered environment of the
If he spoke to Helicratus there was every possibility           temple halls. After becoming accustomed to the sterile
the senior priest would put a stop Lucidia’s expedition.        light of their temple even the moonlight and starlight
Ultimately all personnel in the temple facility were his to     felt strange to his eyes. He recognized this thought with
                                                                regret, given he had spent so much of his early life staring
should be clear? He had never been rebellious, and he knew      at the stars through a telescope. He vowed that after their
the inner circle was where he belonged. Lucidia knew this       return he would volunteer for astronomical shifts with the
as well but had trusted him.                                    facility’s upper staff.
                                                                                                                                  9
     ITERATIONS OF TRANSFIGURATION
     They quickly snapped the alchemical ampoules they had            deadly motion as they engaged, smashing a group of thralls
     brought for illumination and slipped them into chromed
                                                                      of the undead. Other thralls delivered bone-crushing blows
     emit cool blue light into the natural cave, which quickly
     widened. They heard scraping and clattering ahead,               crippling another by shattering his shoulder, and sending a
     ominous was the sudden cessation of that sound, a pregnant       Lucant avenged them with his Galvanizers, which tore
     pause that suggested their target had heard its pursuers.        through the nearest undead to position their bulk in order
                                                                      to protect the remaining guardians.
     The ranking prefect of the guardians held up a gauntleted
                                                                      Lucidia was engaged on the far side of the chamber. Her
     sloping down to the left but otherwise clear. Lucant glanced     could discern she had used her arcane power to augment
     at Lucidia. He knew her to be a formidable arcanist—in           their attacks, allowing them to saw through the nearest
     battle she relied on her magic and her control of her vectors,   thralls in rapid sequence.
     gauging threats, maximizing his motions and those of his         Lucant realized they faced a Cryxian helljack, although he
     vectors, attempting to predict the actions of both allies and    had never seen one with his own eyes. The terrifying thing
     enemies—he had an aptitude for it.                               was bipedal with black curved plates of armor and wide
                                                                      rounded shoulders, each topped by a spike. Its arms ended
     The guardians at the fore had already stepped up side by
                                                                      in long bladed claws, and its head was adorned with long,
                                                                      wicked bone tusks. Green light gleamed through the slats of
                                                                      its metal ribs, and it emitted a choking smoke that smelled
     regretted not having earlier sent his vectors to the fore. He
     signaled for the servitors to attack. Their visual apparatus
     recognized him as a priest, and they initiated their attack      Behind the helljack and presumably controlling it strode
                                                                      the iron lich, a smaller but no less fearsome form. Its metal
     javelins at the advancing thralls. Lucant gathered his power     body evidenced an undeniable twisted artistry, its every
     and unleashed a bolt of arcane energy into the next thrall.      component created to inspire terror or imply the ability to
     It fell, as did several others, but the remainder crashed into
     the line of temple guardians.
10
Like the helljack, the lich’s hands were clawed, and jagged
runes manifested around them as it summoned an orb of
                                                               prepared apparatus unfamiliar to Lucant, including what
blaze with a Galvanizer. He stepped forward, preparing         used to adjust the temple power core. These long metal
to send his own magic at the enemy. The movement drew          poles boasted spiked prongs at the fore, each connected by
the attention of the helljack, which jumped toward him,        a thick coil of wire to equipment on their backs.
but Lucidia maneuvered one of her vectors into its path.
                                                               Seeing them approach, the iron lich focused on Lucidia and
The helljack howled and raked the Cyrissist machine with
                                                               swept forward, reaching out with a clawed hand toward
                                                               her neck. Lucidia summoned her power and her body was
before ripping open its central chassis and shattering its
                                                               surrounded by the blazing runes of complex arcane formulae.
interface node. Lucant stepped back out of harm’s way
and gave Lucidia a thankful look. She ordered, “The lich is
                                                               on her foe, searing into its black metal and wrapping tight
mine! Deal with the Cryxian machine!”
                                                               like a mystical net. Its claws stopped inches from her throat.
He maneuvered his three Galvanizers to converge on the         Her assistants closed and jabbed it with their pronged rods,
helljack before it could spring for him again. When the        sending blue arcs of voltaic energy across it. The frozen lich
nearest guardians made ready to advance, he ordered,           cursed at them in an incomprehensible tongue.
the living soldiers, toppling two to die screaming amid the and crushed one of its gleaming eyes. It managed to wreck
                                                                                                                                11
     ITERATIONS OF TRANSFIGURATION
     another Galvanizer and disemboweled one of the men                cylinders dangling from its waist. She picked up one of
     attacking it before it stopped thrashing.                         its removed arms and looked at the rods connecting the
                                                                       intricate mechanism of its clawed hand. Her eyes gleamed
     After checking to be sure it was truly down, Lucant
                                                                       with a hungry expression. “Where do you suppose its
     looked over to see Lucidia had the lich paralyzed while
                                                                       essence is preserved?” she asked, although she did not
     her technicians assemble a caged apparatus around it. She
                                                                       appear to expect him to answer.
     stared intently at the creature, her hand extended, no doubt
     exerting her will to empower whatever magic held it in            “What is your plan, Forge Master?” Lucant asked abruptly.
     place. Lucant saw there was an unfamiliar device in that
                                                                       His words seemed to break her from the trance of her
                                                                       thoughts. She looked back and seemed to take in the rest of the
     had to admire her skill and capability, even as he wondered
                                                                       chamber, including the battered guardians. “I have a hidden
     how she had managed to create such equipment.
                                                                       laboratory near here,” she said. “It was designed to contain
     Lucant checked with the prefect on the status of his              this creature and has the equipment I require to analyze its
     men. There was not much they could do for several, but            components. We shall interrogate it. I doubt it will cooperate,
     two looked like they might pull through. Lucant spoke             but I have means to extract what I require.” Turning to her
     a brief blessing and thanked them for their bravery, then         subordinates, she ordered, “Reduce the helljack into portable
                                                                       components.” They immediately set to work.
     two badly wounded. A heavy toll.”
                                                                       Lucant looked between the toppled helljack and the
                                                                       baleful lich and considered the notion of dissecting them
                                                                       to examine their component parts. While the process for
                “WE SHALL INTERROGATE IT.                              this was similar to disassembling any machine, it made his
                I DOUBT IT WILL COOPERATE,                             bile rise. An icy chill emanated from the lich in its cage,
          BUT I HAVE MEANS TO EXTRACT                                  prickling his skin, while his throat and lungs felt raw
                                   WHAT I REQUIRE.”                    from necrotite smoke. Even the blackened metal of the
                                                                       lich’s frame seemed unclean, far from the perfection of the
                                                                       goddess. Lucidia’s clinical detachment troubled him. He
     Lucidia did not answer at first, still staring at the iron lich   seemed alone in this, as the others Lucidia had brought
     while her subordinates took apart its shoulder assemblies
     and removed its arms, placing them to the side for later
                                                                       He considered an accumulation of details—the mention
     examination. Even with its body partially disassembled,
                                                                       of a secret facility nearby, the unusual apparatus by which
     the lich’s eyes conveyed malevolence. The technicians
                                                                       she had caged the iron lich, the knowledgeable way her
     connected their improvised cage by conduits to portable
                                                                       assistants tore down the helljack. He wondered how much
     accumulators while an additional length of conduit
                                                                       time she had spent broadening her knowledge of Cryxian
     was hooked into an aperture on the last of the forge
                                                                       technology. The familiarity that had facilitated their success
     master ’s Galvanizers, apparently borrowing its energy
                                                                       suggested an extensive conspiracy.
     output. This completed, Lucidia sighed and slumped as
     if releasing a heavy burden. She gave Lucant a grim look          Despite his thick, protective goggles and high armored
     and said, “Five dead is a weighty toll indeed. I grieve for       collar, something in his face must have betrayed his
     them, but at least we succeeded. I lament we have not             thoughts. Lucidia gave him an appraising look and
     achieved our greater goal. If our work was done, no one           stepped closer, placing a hand on his arm. “Thank you for
     would have died today.”                                           your help, Enumerator. I believe we can manage the next
                                                                       part of the work. Would you be so kind as to return to
     The iron lich’s eyes blazed with renewed intensity and its
                                                                       the Foundry with the dead and wounded? I expect your
     hissing voice spoke. “You will all perish soon, and I will
                                                                       absence may be noted.”
     feast on your souls—”
                                                                       “Are you certain?” Lucant asked. “I promised to assist. I
     “Silence,” Lucidia said. She extracted a long slender tool
                                                                       anticipate the real work has yet to begin.” He knew she
     from her armored apron and inserted it into a mechanism at
                                                                       intended to extract technology and had thought he was to
     the base of the lich’s skull. With a sharp twist she disabled
                                                                       participate in that. He had the sense that he had failed some
     whatever mechanism let it speak. She addressed it again,
                                                                       test, but he felt more relief than disappointment.
     saying, “I will make you talk soon enough, to answer my
     questions.” It could only hiss in response. Lucidia circled       “Your presence has already been a great service,” she said.
     the cage, examining the details of the creature’s blackened       “When I return I will send for you to help me interpret the
     iron frame, the necrotite turbine on its back, the spiked         data. Once I understand how the creature was built, we will
12
need to adapt that information. For now, I would feel better     but as time went on these thoughts faded. Three weeks after
knowing the fallen were attended to.”                            their expedition he was startled to fresh apprehension when
these men fell in my service, but that I will answer their       All the priesthood had gathered, not merely those working
questions on my return.”                                         on the Anima Corpus Procedure. This included nine other
                                                                 enumerators and almost sixty optifex, who waited on the
This seemed reasonable to Lucant. He inclined his head and
said, “As you wish, Forge Master. The Maiden watch over
                                                                 approached the dais. She carried a blackened metal cylinder
you. I hope to see you again soon.” They prepared a bier
                                                                 with a short angular spike on each end. Lucant’s eyes went
for the fallen and attached it to his Galvanizer before he led
                                                                 to it immediately. He knew it must have been extracted
the wounded outside. He felt considerable relief breathing
                                                                 from the iron lich.
fresh air again.
                                                                                                                                  13
     ITERATIONS OF TRANSFIGURATION
     She said, “Some time ago I realized we had fallen into           “Secure the forge master!” Helicratus ordered next. Several
     complacency, trapped inside a paradigm of our own
     creation. This is not how innovation is achieved. We required    took her arms, but she did not resist. One of them tore the
     a fresh perspective, to reexamine our problem from the           blackened cylinder from her grasp.
these circumstances.
     awakened a widening ripple of agitated murmurs among the         There was agitated muttering among the enumerators, but
     clergy. Lucant felt paralyzed, his stomach sick with dread.
                                                                      charge. Lucidia’s eyes narrowed and she looked around the
     had not expected she would be so direct.                         room in disbelief, perhaps realizing how quickly they had
                                                                      turned against her. “This is absurd! Are we not devoted
     “Not to necromancy in its entirety, no.” Lucidia’s voice
                                                                      to the pursuit of science?” She faced the stand again.
     remained strong, even strident. “But we must acknowledge
                                                                      “Enumerator Lucant, will you not speak for reason?”
     its applicability to the problem at hand. Our faith teaches
     us that knowledge is essential and that every tool has           Lucant’s blood went cold as he felt all eyes upon him,
     its application. It is vital we do not become dogmatic in
     interpreting the will of the Maiden.” Many of those gathered     according to temple doctrine, a person of Lucidia’s
     scowled at being lectured so by one who was not even an          rank could be declared apostate only by the unanimous
     ordained priest.
                                                                      temple. The others had fallen in line, and it was down to
     She raised the blackened metal cylinder in her hand and
                                                                      him. He forced himself to summon the reserves of calm and
     said, “In this simple chamber, behold the soul of an ancient
                                                                      clear-headedness that had always served him. Although
     being, preserved for centuries.” She made a gesture back
                                                                      he disliked the idea of it, he could understand why the
     to her subordinates, who pulled back the tarp covering
     the burden they had wheeled into the chamber. A gasp
                                                                      he had. Then again, Lucidia’s mental facility and technical
     went through the room as the iron lich was revealed, its
     inert form held erect upon a metal post and the slats of its
                                                                      worthwhile amid such corruption as an iron lich, it would
     metal ribs pulled back to expose a bizarre assortment of
                                                                      be she. Lucant looked up at the gleaming silver face of
     disquieting oil-slicked machinery. The lich’s eyes were not
                                                                      Cyriss and back to Lucidia, then made his decision.
14
Fluxion Helicratus spoke again. “Lucidia, we are not             been sleeping were instead spent in secret analysis and
without mercy, nor are we ungrateful for the decades of
service you have provided. I cast you out, but you may live.     words, on her accusations of narrow-mindedness.
Go from this place in peace and never return, on pain of
                                                                 Over the following year Lucant became frustrated and
death. Neither are you to communicate with the faithful,
nor approach any temple. Let no one speak the name
                                                                 another priest volunteered for soul transfer and died he felt
Lucidia again, nor acknowledge her. You are apostate, by
                                                                 the pain of it, worsened by fresh grief. By the second year
Now, begone!”
                                                                 changes to the Convergence essence chamber based on his
She retained her dignity even as they escorted her out. Lucant   secret work. These saw improvements in retention time, but
forced himself to watch her go, to acknowledge the grief he      that was all. Something vital was missing. At last Lucant
felt in the loss of one of the greatest minds he had known.      convinced Fluxion Helicratus to wait on the next test, to
                                                                 avoid sending another of the awakened to certain death.
                                                                 He was given four months.
He was not given time to forget Lucidia—just two months          It was near the end of this deadline that Lucant discovered
after her departure a leather satchel was left in his            a detail his mind had been avoiding, blinded as he was by
chamber. Inside he found dozens of pages, each covered           emotions. His analysis had focused on the essence chamber,
with densely packed writings and diagrams. He cracked            but the data indicated that what they had perfected
its encoding quickly, ingenious though it was. Against
the ciphers of the goddess, mortal encryption was trivial.       the treatment of the body during and after termination.
Translating and organizing the information took longer.          They had ignored a central theological principle, that the
This task became an obsession in his few spare hours.            soul retained a sympathetic bond with the body after the
Early along he deduced the pages were from Lucidia, a
compilation of research conducted after her interrogation        the remains. This belief, held in most Immorese religions,
and examination of the iron lich. Clearly she maintained at      was one reason desecration of fresh graves was considered
                                                                 heinous—it could hinder the soul’s passage to Urcaen and
had delivered it to him.                                         result in restless spirits.
He considered throwing the pages into an incinerator, but        To his great shock, he realized that the mercy they had shown
later he was glad he had not done it. However misguided          their volunteers throughout the process—the very fact that
her project, Lucidia was a genius, and the pages revealed        they had gone to such lengths to be humane at the moment of
remarkable insights into the lich’s phylactery, the machinery    death, so careful and respectful of the corpse afterward—may
containing its soul. She had subjected the mechanism             have actually interfered with their success! A necromancer
                                                                 would have more quickly deduced this. He would need to
acumen. Clearly this was the work she had intended to            change their procedures, to forego the merciful injection.
enlist him for, interrupted by her exile. There was little       They must create a powerful and immediate disharmony
evidence of blasphemy or heresy in the pages, and he took        between body and soul, to utterly sever the bond. The body
their delivery as an attempt at redemption.                      must be subjected to far more intense energies, even at the
                                                                 risk of its immediate immolation.
                                                                                                                                 15
     ITERATIONS OF TRANSFIGURATION
     In truth, he believed the processes he had derived were not       Helicratus gripped his arm, smiling weakly. “Perhaps you
     fundamentally necromantic. The proofs and theories had
     started there, but nothing remained of the Cryxian taint; he      have earned the right, with all you have done.”
     “It has occurred to me,” Helicratus said, “that whoever is        absorbed by the biological body. Once freed of that shell,
                                                                       this energy increased by several orders of magnitude, and
                                                                       capacitors had been created to harness this and empower a
     responsibility. Perhaps we should not solicit a volunteer         clockwork vessel. The souls of those gifted in manipulating
     on this occasion. I will put myself forward. Does that seem       magic—such as the priesthood or other arcanists—emitted
     improper, Enumerator?”
     Lucant was surprised, but only for a moment. He realized          In every failed experiment, the registered energy output from
     Helicratus felt a certain desperation, understandable given
     his health. Looking on his revered mentor and leader, he felt
     a slight twinge of fear. What if he were wrong? Could they        in the middle of its array, dreading its plummet.
     lose Helicratus the way they had lost so many others? But
                                                                       He glanced out at those gathered. Every eye in the room
     no; the process would work. He was sure of it. He smiled
                                                                       was on them. He looked back to the key gauge and his eyes
     at the older man and replied, “Not in the least. It is proper
                                                                       widened as he saw it suddenly move upward. It pushed
                                                                       steadily up and pinned itself against the maximum register.
     be a leader of the faith. Who better suited than the man who
                                                                       This had never happened before. He found he was holding
     interpreted the directive that began this work?”
                                                                       his breath and looked over to where Helicratus stood in his
16
spiderlike clockwork form, on four legs. There was a sudden         strangely, an ominous sign given how integrally they were
intensity of the light emitted from the face of Cyriss on the       linked into the Foundry’s basic power systems. To his left
frame’s torso, where the essence container was installed, as
well as from the clockwork priest’s eyes. Helicratus must           stairway. He turned to his right, and his eyes traced over
have felt something since he raised a hand to forestall the         a number of unmoving heaps he determined were people
forge master, interrupting the questions. His elongated steel       lying in awkward positions along the hall, which was
head turned to face Lucant with glowing eyes that somehow           streaked with blood.
conveyed triumph.
                                                                    from the other’s stave across his side and then launched
Some strange motion jolted Lucant awake. He was startled
and confused as he heard things falling and breaking. He
stood and found the lever on the wall to activate the               He cursed under his breath at the pain exploding in his
illumination cylinders in his chamber and saw his room in           side. In his warcaster armor he never would have even felt
disarray, with books and tools fallen from his shelves and
                                                                    and was shocked to see the face of a man he knew, a senior
                                                                    specialist named Folcastes who had been with the temple
beneath his feet shook again. From out in the halls he              for decades. Quickly he checked the two engineers, his pulse
could hear shouting, the cadence of running feet, and a             racing. Both were known to him, and one he recognized
vaguely familiar sound he realized was the general alarm.           from Lucidia’s expedition against the iron lich. He felt a
Distant screams added to the cacophony.                             sinking sensation.
Adrenaline coursed through his body, and he suddenly                Leaving the three where they lay, Lucant sucked in his
came fully awake. Knowing his warcaster armor was                   breath against the pain in his side as he hurried down the
down in the armory, he scrambled to don his more lightly            hall toward the stairs. He passed several more bodies before
armored priest vestments instead. He then snatched his              he reached the large central hallway connecting several of
mechanoflail from its stand beside the door and rushed              the primary workshops on the upper research level. The
out into the hall.                                                  lights seemed steadier here, but he could hear more screams
                                                                                                                                   17
     ITERATIONS OF TRANSFIGURATION
     metal hand, “Come! We need to stop them from destroying           the inner circle it was blasphemous to partially transform
     the geomantic collectors in the central power grid.” Several      to machine, a mockery of the goals of the Anima Corpus
     armed engineers and priests were gathered behind him,             Procedure and the goddess herself.
     their postures suggesting more fear than resolution.
                                                                       “Lucidia!” Helicratus said, “Your betrayal ends here!”
     “It’s Lucidia,” Lucant said as he joined the clockwork priest.
     They advanced down the hall toward the ramp that would
                                                                       nearly blacked out because of it. Falling back onto his side,
     take them to the central power assembly. “We were betrayed.”
                                                                       he realized his arms and legs were slick with blood, and that
     “Yes, I deduced as much,” Helicratus said in a metallic           metal fragments had pierced his body. He shook his head
     growl. “I was too merciful in letting her live.”
                                                                       vectors slam into one another in a brief clash.
     They had thought the Foundry all but inviolable, as its
                                                                       The clockwork priest moved swiftly toward Lucidia,
     the notion of an attack from outside. Lucidia’s people acted      She nimbly evaded the strike. “I think not,” she said to him.
     with a full knowledge of their capabilities.                      “I designed that form, lest you forget.” She summoned her
                                                                       power, creating a similar manifestation as the one Lucant
     Lucant said, “I need vectors.” Without his armor or vectors he
                                                                       had seen her employ on the iron lich. As in that encounter,
     felt little better prepared for combat than any regular priest.
                                                                       the net of arcane power struck and held her target fast. In
     “Of course. There are some stored in alcoves near the             moments she had closed. She extended a long rod-like tool
     collector junction ahead. Come.”                                  and performed a rapid sequence of precise strikes.
     Farther on, the corridor turned sharply and they encountered      She knew the vulnerabilities of the vessel better than
     a thick metal security door that had closed and sealed when       anyone. In just a few swift and economical motions she
     the central alarm had been activated. Lucant had begun            had disconnected the major power conduits and rendered
     entering the code to unlock the mechanism when there              Helicratus’ frame inert, though his eyes glared at her.
     was a sudden explosive blast and he was hurled backward           Her vectors made similarly swift work of his Aggregator,
     across the hallway to smash into the far wall. Pain blazed up     battering it into wreckage. Lucant crawled toward her. He
     his back and along his legs, and the wind was knocked from
     his lungs. Coughing against the dust in the air, he turned to     might surprise her.
     face the barrier and saw it was demolished.
                                                                       Just as he struggled to his knees she turned faster than he
     The other defenders with Helicratus had also been                 expected, and with a single backhanded slap she knocked
     knocked prone, and several were bleeding upon the metal           the weapon from his hand and drove him back against the
     floor. The clockwork priest was unaffected but had backed
     away several steps, holding his staff up protectively. A          make his legs move and felt sick as he saw several thralls
     dozen thralls charged through the opening, their steam-           rush into the corridor through the destroyed door. They fell
     powered fists clenched. Helicratus sent his Aggregator            upon the engineers and priests who had survived the blast.
     to meet them with its rending claw and piston spike
                                                                       Lucidia approached, and her eyes softened as they focused
     and waded into battle alongside it, making swift, sure
                                                                       on his face. “Enumerator Lucant?” Looking up at her he
     strikes with his staff. The clockwork priest moved with
                                                                       thought she looked strange, unhealthy. Her eyes were
     formidable speed and power.
                                                                       sunken and her skin sallow. She was breathing hard from
     They made quick work of the thralls, but a pair of vectors        the recent exertion. “I did not see it was you,” she said, as if
     followed, both an unsettling mixture of familiar design           to an old friend.
     features and a strange frame of blackened steel. While not
                                                                       He held up a hand feebly. “Lucidia, wait . . .”
     entirely dissimilar from the Aggregator, they displayed
18
She shook her head and said, “I know you did not intend to        arm over his shoulder and lifted him to his feet. Lucant felt
do me harm when you spoke against me. You did what you            dazed, uncertain what Seul was so agitated about.
had to do. I forgive you. I am also doing what I have to do.”
                                                                  “Wait—the ciphers,” Lucant said feebly, pointing to the
                                                                  metal sheets he had gathered. Seul obligingly stooped to
Her vectors lifted the paralyzed form of Fluxion Helicratus       collect them before helping him limp from the room.
and bore him down the hallway toward the lower exit.
                                                                  It was not until they reached the cavernous acceleration
Lucant stared helplessly after them and felt his life’s essence
                                                                  chamber and Seul led him toward the transference station that
bleeding from his body.
                                                                  he understood. “No,” he said weakly. “It is not my place.”
The meaning of what had transpired rushed suddenly
                                                                  “You are the only one who understands how this process
upon him and he was overwhelmed with despair. The
                                                                  works. Your mind must be preserved.” There was a
                                                                  desperate edge to his voice.
explosion, most likely one of the peripheral generators.
It seemed very likely the temple’s power system had               Lucant did not feel worthy. It was not his place to receive
                                                                  such a blessing, but the technician’s words had truth in
broken and he could feel death closing. What troubled him         them. With Helicratus gone, only he could reconstruct the
more was the horror of Helicratus’ fate. He realized all of       transfiguration process. He also knew he must recover
the work they had accomplished would be lost. After so            the Cipher Engine somehow. He had to presume he was
many decades, the breakthrough of the clockwork vessel            the only one left alive who understood its mechanisms
had been stolen, and if the complex collapsed, the Cipher         enough to disassemble it without destroying it. He
Engine would be lost as well.                                     must endure, and his body was failing him. It was only
                                                                  through focused will that he had not succumbed to the
That thought caused him to start, and he felt a surge of
                                                                  pain. It was not for his own sake that he would inhabit
adrenaline that brought him momentarily to alertness.
                                                                  the machine, but for the preservation of vital lore and to
He knew he was not far from the chambers housing the
                                                                  ensure the will of Cyriss was enacted.
great device. If he were to die, he wanted to spend his
last moments in contact with the words of the goddess.
He pushed himself to his feet and, ignoring the pain that
made his vision swim with every step, staggered toward              IF HE WERE TO DIE, HE
the calculation chamber. He would look one last time on             WANTED TO SPEND HIS LAST
the enigmas of the Maiden of Gears.                                 MOMENTS IN CONTACT WITH
                                                                    THE WORDS OF THE GODDESS.
                                                                                                                                  19
     ITERATIONS OF TRANSFIGURATION
     All the pain he had felt before was nothing against what        arms in turn, reveling in the sense of motion. But more
     came next as tremendous energies surged through his body,       than anything else, it was the crystalized clarity of his
                                                                     mind that delighted him.
     felt raw agony as his body died, and he knew it was the last
                                                                     “Seul,” he said. “Bring the ciphers.” He pointed.
     biological sensation he would experience. Emptiness and
     cold engulfed him. It was like being cast into a dark and       The technician rushed to do as bid. He had placed the stack
     bottomless lake.                                                of metal sheets on a corner of the elevated platform but now
                                                                     retrieved and handed them with trembling hands to Lucant,
     Then a sudden warmth, a feeling of awakening and clarity.
                                                                     who lifted them eagerly.
     His senses returned and he could see perfectly, the room now
     before him taking on tremendous contrast and vibrancy. So       His eyes traced along the familiar numbers, ciphers
     too, it seemed as though his hearing had sharpened, as if       that now blazed in his mind like iridescent sigils. He
                                                                     saw flows of other numbers, other sheets of output he
     just now been taken from his ears. Most of all, and glorious    had scrutinized over the last seven years. They all came
     in a way that thrilled him beyond belief, was the absolute      back to him. He remembered even the encoded messages
     absence of even the slightest aches or pains. This absence      that Helicratus had once deciphered, the ones that had
     of pain was so intense it was almost pleasure. He turned        instructed him to create the clockwork vessel. All of
                                                                     those numbers flowed across his vision and began to
     saw beyond him what remained of his own body, largely           assert themselves in new patterns and formulae. He felt
                                                                     transfixed as he began to see connections between them.
     only ash and scraps of bloody vestments remaining. It was       They were far more interconnected than anyone had ever
     a very strange sensation to look upon his corpse and realize    fathomed, and it was all plain to him now. A multiplicity
     he was now irreversibly transformed.                            of forms came to him in a blaze of searing inspiration,
                                                                     a pure and lengthy string of mathematical notation that
     He stepped forward and discovered that his new vessel
                                                                     was as beautiful as it was convoluted. He understood at
     felt entirely natural, the legs moving instantly to his will.
                                                                     last precisely what it was they must do. The clockwork
     It was as intuitive and not altogether dissimilar from the
                                                                     vessel was just one step of many, just as the discovery
     sensation of controlling a vector. He moved each of his
20
of the Dark Wanderer had been. Even as he had become             Once more he faced a time of trial, when his theories,
one with the machine, it fell to him to carry out the Great      schematics, and plans would be tested. He had declared to
Work that would enable Cyriss to become one with Caen.           the Constellation that the Phase of Alignment was at hand.
The world would be her vessel.                                   His role as architect neared its conclusion. Advancing the
                                                                 Manifestation of the Clockwork Goddess would fall to the
TEMPLE OF THE PRIME HARMONIC,                                    woman who had just been named to lead the Convergence.
NORTHERN WYRMWALL MOUNTAINS,
606 AR                                                           As much as he had once mourned for Helicratus, at this
Lucant watched the assembly prostrate themselves and             moment Lucant felt greater grief for Lucidia, who might
                                                                 have stood here with him. If she had avoided heresy and
returned from the moment he received the revelation of           resisted the allure of necromancy, she would be present to
the Great Work. He was amazed anew at how fresh the              witness their triumph. He sometimes wondered if he might
memories were. Over two centuries had passed since that
momentous day, and yet he could still feel the sensation         back to the goddess before it was too late. Even in that
the unique clarity of mind that state had brought to him.        thought her entirely gone. She would have been a powerful
                                                                 ally, someone to whom Iron Mother Directrix could look to
his mortal shell. Pain was no longer comprehensible to him       for inspiration and advice. But that was not to be. Lucidia
except as a fact known in the abstract, as was the warmth he     had made her choices.
had once felt at the kindness of Forge Master Lucidia and
                                                                 Now the Convergence would unleash their armies upon
his horror at the change wrought in her in the years of her
                                                                 the world, revealing their strength and inviting potential
exile, when she had chosen to ally herself to Cryx.
                                                                 retaliation. All he had worked to achieve could still be
His recollections of the time immediately after the disastrous   undone. Was he as certain about his conclusions as he had
attack on the Foundry of Enumeration were hazier. He had         been when he had brought the key to the Anima Corpus
managed to gather the survivors and with their help recover      Procedure to Fluxion Helicratus? He had to admit he was
the essential and irreplaceable components of the Cipher         not. The calculations were too vast, the variables too many.
Engine before the power core had destabilized and the            He could not guarantee a favorable outcome.
machinery had imploded, collapsing the temple into ruin.
                                                                 As he watched Iron Mother Directrix, he accepted it was
Relocating the sacred machine to another facility had been
                                                                 her plans that would take them another step forward in the
of the will of the goddess.                                      His eyes met those of Iron Mother Directrix and they
                                                                 shared a long look of mutual understanding. They were
                                                                 each prepared to play their part in forging a new world for
the trail had been long cold. Lucidia had stolen him away
                                                                 the goddess.
on a ship to Blackwater and by some arrangement sealed
a compact with the Nightmare Empire. The priesthood
                                                                                                                                21
     reFineMenT Toward perFecTion
     History oF THe convergence oF cyriss
        Ours is a young faith, but Cyriss is eternal, her origin at one with the fundamental laws of reality.
                                              — Magus aldophous aghaMore, First oracle
                                   From A Concise Overview of the History of the Maiden of Gears
                         by Enumerator Giovastus, Prime Archivist of the Temple of the Incomplete Axiom
     When matter came into being and was put in motion, Cyriss        to illustrate logical paradoxes, he made the mistake of
     was there to weigh it, to measure the energy released by         including Menoth as an actor. The Menite priesthood
                                                                      deemed this blasphemous and declared him a heretic,
     process. The acts of creation instigated by the primal gods      burning him alive despite his long service to the temples.
     could proceed only according to the deeper cosmological
                                                                      The Menite faith has historically opposed discovery and
     laws that were central to her being. As civilization began to
                                                                      invention. Though their civilization is a force of order
     emerge from barbarity, Cyriss played an invisible but vital
                                                                      and has achieved many engineering marvels, they have
     role, bequeathing small insights to certain brilliant minds in
                                                                      imposed tremendous restraints on new ideas. The only lore
     order to lead them to intellectual discovery.
                                                                      fundamentally important to their priests is the True Law;
     Those guided by the goddess while unaware of her, we             science and the higher arts languished under their rule.
     call nescient savants. Through them we perceive her grace,
                                                                      So arose the greatest savants of ancient times: the Twins,
     subtlety, and eons-long designs. These inspired thinkers
                                                                      Morrow and Thamar. Their remarkable path to ascension was
     worshiped other deities, and at least two of them attained
                                                                      part of Cyriss’ plan to shape the evolution of human thought.
     divinity through metaphysical transformation. Cyriss did
     not seek veneration, however; she was content to guide
                                                                      particularly in diagrams with hidden ciphers employed
     these minds, knowing they would usher civilization into
                                                                      by both the Twins. Morrow was an accomplished student
     higher thought.
                                                                      of natural philosophy and a quick study at mathematics,
                                                                      while Thamar evidenced an interest in astronomy and
     NESCIENT SAVANTS OF
                                                                      foundational linguistics in addition to her more metaphysical
     ANTIQUITY
                                                                      pursuits. Both rejected the established order and sought
                                                                      answers through experience, thought, and the application of
     king who revealed the Gifts of Menoth at Icthier. Though
                                                                      reason. The spread of their teachings did much to break the
     these revelations were attributed to the Creator of Man,
                                                                      conceptual monopoly of the Menite priesthood and facilitate
     we believe they arose from Cinot’s own visionary mind.
                                                                      higher thought. Many subsequent ascendants and scions are
     Cyriss’ guiding hand is evident in his greatest revelations,
                                                                      also recognized as nescient savants, particularly Angellia,
     including the knowledge of cultivating grain from seed to
                                                                      Corben, Nivara, and Sambert. Each played a part in bringing
     harvest. Even the impulse that led Belcor to join the sage-
                                                                      humanity to awakening.
     priest Geth in their exodus to spread civilization ultimately
     served the goddess’ designs.                                     In their wake, numerous thinkers guided by the goddess rose
                                                                      to prominence in Caspia and Thuria. The early Thousand
     Priest-King Golivant is credited with the founding of Calacia,
                                                                      Cities Era saw considerable expansion of systematic
     whose mighty walls still surround Caspia, but this wonder
                                                                      thought in these communities as scholars documented
     of architecture was designed by the genius Kielamandes,
                                                                      discoveries and participated in open discourse. Among the
     whom the Menites have long forgotten. A leader in the
     development of mathematics, formal logic, astronomy,
                                                                      Ceryl, known for the Sieve of Glasneagh, an algorithm used
     and architecture, Kielamandes was unquestionably guided
                                                                      to isolate prime numbers; Tolonia of Caspia, who advanced
22
trigonometry as its own study and invented modern                combined. Kerwin demonstrated that although magic could
numerical notation; and the Cloutsdown Enumerators,              bend certain natural laws governing energy and matter,
a group of Thurian mathematicians who performed                  mystical forces still obeyed their own dictums, which could
velocity and acceleration.                                       thought. Kerwin perished in struggles with the Orgoth, but
                                                                 his legacy lived on in the Order of the Golden Crucible and
THE CLOCKWORK RENAISSANCE                                        the Fraternal Order of Wizardry.
The Clockwork Renaissance was an era of mechanistic
progress. Countless clockwork devices were created to            The Rebellion and its aftermath saw the appearance of the
solve diverse technical challenges during this time, with        last nescient savants before the discovery of Cyriss. These
applications ranging from agriculture to warfare. The
                                                                 automatons, and his student Elias Decklin, who eventually
allowing improvements to navigation and tremendously             solved Nivara’s puzzles and went on to create the cerebral
expanding the science of astronomy, respectively.                matrix. This arcane construct emulated a living mind and
                                                                 provided the motive impulse for the colossals. Bastion
                                                                 Rathleagh later improved upon Decklin’s design, creating the
during this period received subtle inspiration from Cyriss.
These include the Umbrean apothecary Voldu Grova,                in 241 AR. Although both generations of the device contained
who instituted a system to test and categorize alchemical
compounds; Janus Gilder from Mercir, who invented the            arcane means, they unquestionably revolutionized industry
printing press; and particularly Drago Salvoro, who created      and warfare across the Iron Kingdoms.
would not become apparent for a thousand years, that             Complacency can be another enemy of progress, as
design contained a seed of mechanized perfection.                compelling in its own way as tyranny. Such was the
                                                                 demand for steamjacks that soon the Fraternal Order of
Sadly, observatories erected in the decades before the arrival   Wizardry became entirely focused on cortex production,
of the Orgoth would be destroyed when a long dark age            to the detriment of other research. Some few cabals within
fell upon western Immoren, a time that saw the quashing of       the Fraternal Order continued to advance the physical and
                                                                 arcane sciences, however—and one individual among them
                                                                 would soon make the greatest discovery of the era.
SEBASTIEN KERWIN AND THE
ARCANE ORDERS
                                                                 DISCOVERY OF CYRISS
The era of tyranny western Immoren endured during the
Orgoth Occupation was more than simply a time of terror
                                                                 resurgence during the Reconstruction following the Corvis
                                                                 Treaties. A number of new observatories were erected
civilization and thought itself. Breaking centuries of entropy
                                                                 across western Immoren, funded by universities, science-
was not easy, requiring invention as well as bloodshed. Here
                                                                 minded patrons, and scholarly organizations. The Fraternal
again, Cyriss played a powerful indirect role. It is doubtful
                                                                 Order of Wizardry boasted its own skilled astronomers,
the subsequent Rebellion could have succeeded without
                                                                 foremost among them Aldophous Aghamore of Orven.
the most admired savant of the era: Sebastien Kerwin, the
                                                                 Aghamore earned his fame by helping revolutionize optics,
father of arcanists and modern alchemy. Kerwin’s works
                                                                 innovations initially applied to the viewing apparatus of
contain many hidden ciphers and numbers sacred to Cyriss.
                                                                 steamjacks. Most of his peers paid little attention to his
                                                                 accomplishments in astronomy.
of his seminal writings, including The Essence of Divine
Magic, Principia Arcana Magus, and Synthesis. These writings
suggest Kerwin was on the verge of recognizing the Maiden        of alchemy and mechanika to the apparatus of astronomy,
in his search for fundamental truths—and might have              creating augmented telescopes. Working with others
succeeded had he lived longer.                                   at several Cygnaran universities, he sought a better
                                                                 understanding of the celestial bodies beyond Caen. He
                                                                                                                                23
     REFINEMENT TOWARD PERFECTION
     It was with one such device that in 283 AR Aghamore                 the tenets of the faith and nominated its earliest priests.
     sighted a previously unknown celestial object. He theorized         Esteemed for the clarity of his visions, Aghamore was key
     this to be a distant planet on a highly elliptical orbit far from   to this endeavor and was among those nominated. After
                                                                         much discussion, the convened cult members determined
     were initially dismissed, largely because the reported object       three basic tiers of the priesthood: optifex, enumerators,
     he became a pariah among the arcane and astronomical                would be few in number, and they would safeguard the
     societies of his day.                                               cult’s highest mysteries. Knowing the perils of a worship
                                                                         few could understand, the founding priests stressed
     The discovery of a new divinity—of an entirely new concept
     of the universe and the powers inhabiting it, no less—was
                                                                         priority was to gain a better understanding of the goddess
     not easily comprehended. Yet this would prove to be the
                                                                         who had revealed herself to them.
     FOUNDING THE CULT OF CYRISS                                         Unknown to his peers, Aghamore had become obsessed with
     Aghamore and others who had heard the whispers of the               building a machine of tremendous size and complexity. He
     goddess began to meet, and from these discussions arose             died in 303 AR, having apparently fallen into the massive
     the Cult of Cyriss. Initial members were drawn largely
     from esoteric cabals within the Fraternal Order of Wizardry,        scene were shocked to see that he had covered the walls
     including those seeking to reconcile mathematical principles        of his house with fragmentary notations, labyrinthine
     with arcane formulae. Many of these individuals had                 formulae, and incomprehensible scrawling. It would later
     already earned reputations as outsiders within the order.           be discovered that these writings were not the nonsensical
     A widely held belief among them was that the steamjack              ranting they appeared.
     cortex—the foundation of the Fraternal Order’s wealth
                                                                         THE TEMPLE AS WORKSHOP
                                                                         From the beginning our temples have not been simply
     overly reliant on chaotic arcane interactions. The very traits
                                                                         houses of worship but places of fabrication, analysis,
     that had alienated these great minds from their peers were
                                                                         and experimentation. The goddess cares not for empty
24
                                                       COSMOLOGY OF CYRISS
    Priests of Cyriss prefer to apply scientific methodology to their      Clockwork Goddess, who loathes disorder. That which is closest
    understanding of their faith. Given there is much about the            to perfection and flawlessness is closest to Cyriss, while that
    goddess that cannot be perceived, tested, or verified, these           which is flawed and poorly functioning is furthest from her. This
    matters are omitted from formal doctrine. There is significant         paradigm applies to the condition of life itself, which Cyrissists
    conjecture about the cosmology of Cyriss that does not appear          believe to be fundamentally imperfect. Nothing that is alive can
    in the record. Priests of Cyriss think it vital to separate theory     be as pure or as true to the goddess as a harmonious machine.
    from fact, and the facts known about the goddess are few. The
                                                                           The only aspect of the living that the sect believes capable of
    priesthood refuses to discuss many questions about her nature,
                                                                           perfection is the seat of thought—the soul. Even this immortal
    even internally.
                                                                           essence must be refined over time, and it is this process toward
    On the topic of cosmology, the priests assert only that Cyriss’        perfection in both one’s labors and one’s self that motivates
    psyche inhabits the world named after her, in the same way the         the faithful. This desire for self-improvement is similar to
    will of other gods exists in Urcaen. While the planet is the seat of   certain Morrowan beliefs, but the preference for the ordered
    her conscious will, her influence and power extend to all things       perfection of the machine over the chaos of life is unique to the
    and is connected to the laws of reality itself. All parts of reality   worship of Cyriss.
    are aspects of a vast machine continually being perfected by the
In 311 AR the ranking priests of the cult collaborated to write            cult to transition away from burning fuels in order to power
the Principles of Geomantic Energy, a foundational thesis that             engines, freeing them from reliance on coal.
would soon unlock an ample power source for our temple
workshops and their machinery. It had been discovered
                                                                           preferred sites for the most advanced temple workshops.
                                                                           Tremendous accumulators and generators within the
of Caen, collected into invisible channels connected to
                                                                           During this early era the leading priests debated how they
practical applications beyond powering simple systems
                                                                           should propagate and control the many advancements
like temple illumination. The use of this resource remained
limited until the invention of the astronometric nexus in
326 AR. These tower-like machines served as focusing
                                                                           prudent to limit familiarity with these techniques to the
mechanisms by creating internal alignments based on
                                                                           awakened faithful. This prompted the implementation of
tracking celestial conjunctions. Close analysis of Aghamore’s
                                                                           the Rubric of Mysteries in 320 AR to formalize a hierarchy
last writings and the construct that took his life provided
                                                                           of secrets within the priesthood. Lore of the goddess and
key information in the development of this invention,
                                                                           the work of the faith would be kept from outsiders and
suggesting he had himself been attempting to harness
                                                                           only incrementally revealed to members as they proved
these energies. Once the tower of an astronometric nexus
                                                                           their dedication and readiness. Certain works would be
                                                                           compartmentalized so that junior members could access
                                                                           portions as necessary for their labors without needing to
Our mechaniks and engineers soon learned how to
transform this energy to operate a variety of apparatuses.
Ready access to essentially limitless energy at several major                               THE CIPHER ENGINE
temples spurred invention, allowing for the construction                                 One of the most important early temples
of machines of a size and complexity previously infeasible.                              was the Foundry of Enumeration, built
By 330 AR experiments related to transforming energy                                     in the southern Wyrmwall Mountains in
resulted in several breakthroughs, including advances in                                 312 AR. This site generated a large volume
voltaic and electrostatic charging. These enabled the early                of pioneering research. Dozens of the brightest minds of
                                                                           the faithful were gathered here to launch the ambitious
                                                                                                                                                25
     REFINEMENT TOWARD PERFECTION
26
Convergence of Cyriss. He passed down tenets that would       In 390 AR Lucant stepped down as iron father, having
become the Nine Harmonics and form the core of their          determined the faith would stagnate if guided by
                                                              the same leader for too long. Every nine years a new
of earlier precepts laid down by Aghamore.                    leader would be chosen by a gathering of the ranking
                                                                                                                              27
     REFINEMENT TOWARD PERFECTION
28
                                                                 While additional temples and workshops continued to be
the astronometric nexuses and geomantic accumulators,            erected, work within them shifted from abstract research
but in the process a remarkable discovery was made. Tiny         to military applications. Forge masters accelerated the
network suggested sympathetic networks beyond the                senior designers set about creating a diversity of clockwork
Meredius. It was determined that the Great Work must exist       vessels that could mesh together seamlessly in battle.
on other continents, advanced by groups working parallel
                                                                 As early as 604 AR it had become a concern that the vital
                                                                 power nexus below Caspia might be detected by Cygnaran
It is hypothesized that since civilizations have arisen on       arcanists. Our ranking leadership discreetly established
multiple shores, Cyriss has played a hand in guiding             peaceful contact with Cygnar’s government so our work
remarkable minds wherever they may arise. Other                  could continue uninterrupted. This was a calculated risk.
populations have discovered the goddess and received             Working through intermediaries, leaders of the faith in
revelations. We have had no direct communication with            Caspia made contact with Sebastian Nemo and negotiated
                                                                                                                                    29
     MACHINERY OF THE CONVERGENCE OF CYRISS
     The collective membership of the Convergence forms one of          nations and limiting violent engagements to shadow wars
                                                                        against other clandestine groups like the Circle Orboros
     in western Immoren. While those who face their mechanistic         and the cephalyx. The year 609 AR marks the onset of
     ruthlessness may not see the distinction, the Convergence          the Phase of Alignment, whereby the Convergence will
     considers itself much more than a group armed for war. They
     form the inner circle of western Immoren’s newest faith, one       this phase will be conducted in part to secure key locations
     devoted to the Clockwork Goddess Cyriss. The Convergence           where alignment machinery will be placed. This massive
     is a self-contained and self-governed secret society with a        machinery must be built, activated, and protected long
     distinct culture as well as beliefs and goals that necessitate a
     large and technologically advanced military.                       realignment is completed at a site, Convergence forces can
                                                                        abandon the machinery there and advance on other key
     The Convergence has no borders, and the extent of its
                                                                        sites. Since many of these vital locations are occupied by
     geographical holdings are limited. The faith is scattered
                                                                        either military or settlements or are controlled by other
     across western Immoren, focused within the Iron Kingdoms.
                                                                        armed groups, the Phase of Alignment requires open war
     The majority of its membership spend their lives in one of
                                                                        against multiple nations and other formidable powers.
     over eighty hidden temple facilities. Some are located in
     major cities and towns while others are built deep within          The responsibility for seeing this come to pass rests with
     inhospitable wilderness regions. Nearly all these temples          all of the Convergence, not just its leadership. Each of
     are underground or include substantial subterranean                Cyriss’ faithful must contribute toward bringing about her
                                                                        manifestation on Caen.
     defensible. Convergence leaders built these facilities on
                                                                                         CONVERGENCE
                                                                                         HIERARCHY
     form a vital and essential power source for the sect’s                              Although the Convergence is a widely
     workshops, laboratories, and great machines.                                        scattered organization, it uses a
                                                                                         relatively simple hierarchy. As the sect’s
     Such sites are much more than mere power sources,
     however. The overarching goal of the Convergence is to
                                                                        facilities, it has two basic tiers of leadership—one within
     bring about the manifestation of Cyriss on Caen, a holy
                                                                        each temple, and another coordinating them toward shared
     imperative of the goddess. Accomplishing this task requires
                                                                        endeavors. The Convergence is a cell-based organization;
     attaining a degree of control over the world’s geomantic
                                                                        the vast majority of its members do not have detailed
     energy through a vast interconnected network. In addition
                                                                        awareness of the activities of their peers in other temples.
     to being places of worship, workshops, research facilities,
                                                                        Until the Phase of Alignment, most Convergence members
     and centers of Cyrissist communities, each temple contains
                                                                        spent their lives serving a single temple, perhaps being
     massive specialized machinery that lets it serve as a node
                                                                        reallocated after becoming a clockwork vessel. Moving
     in the temple network. Together, this network and the
                                                                        into a more active phase has required greater coordination
30
                                                                                                          CLOCKWORK VESSELS
                                         AWAKENED GUARDIANS/WORKERS
THE CONSTELLATION
             IRON MOTHER
                                         ENUMERATORS
                               OPTIFEX
                                                                            FORGE MASTERS
DIVINITY ARCHITECT
                                                                                                                                   Clockwork
                                                                                                                                     Angels
                                                                                                        Soldier
                                                                                   Reductors
                                                                                                  First Prefect             Eradicators
                                                                                                Prefect
                                                                                                                  Clergy
                                                                                                                  Warcaster or
                                                                               Reciprocators                      Ranking Priest
Vectors/Servitors
                                                                                                                                               31
     MACHINERY OF THE CONVERGENCE OF CYRISS
     of the Priesthood,” p. 73.) Fluxions are the only rank that     The volume of successfully translated divine messages is
     maintain any degree of regular contact with clergy from         small, but these have led to many of the Convergence’s most
     other temples, as part of their function is to coordinate       important directives. The majority of the Nine Harmonics
     actions between them. Information is compartmentalized          have their roots in expressions from this machine. Its output
                                                                     was also responsible for initiating research into the Anima
     a temple, the highest-ranking individual at a temple facility   Corpus Procedure, which resulted in clockwork vessels as
     is the forge master, who is responsible for maintaining its     well as the revelation of the Great Work.
     machinery and production as well as its armory.
                                                                                       THE CONSTELLATION
     The highest-ranking leaders of the Convergence are able
                                                                                       Within the Temple of the Prime Harmonic
     to communicate with one another across long distances by
                                                                                       is a machine that houses the collective
                                                                                       consciousness of hundreds of the
                                                                                       discorporate souls of the faithful. This
                                                                     intelligence serves the Convergence as both an advisory
     but messages are usually kept focused on the allocation
                                                                     board and a tremendously powerful tool of analysis. The
     of resources, the coordination of military actions, or the
                                                                     Constellation was built to house the essence chambers of
                                                                     members of the sect who, for a variety of reasons, decided to
     headquarters of the Convergence is the Temple of the Prime
                                                                     seek a purer communion with the machine state. Removed
     Harmonic in the northern Wyrmwall Mountains, a site of
                                                                     entirely from the physical world, the souls within the
     critical importance since it houses both the Cipher Engine
                                                                     Constellation enjoy a purely cerebral existence. They are able
     and the Constellation.
                                                                     to communicate internally using an encoded mathematical
                                                                     language conveyed through conduits connecting their
                       THE CIPHER ENGINE
                                                                     essence chambers. The Constellation also has an enunciation
                      The Cipher Engine is a massive
                                                                     apparatus in the central chamber of the temple by which it
                      mechanikal calculating machine housed
                                                                     can communicate with others, such as the iron mother.
                      in multiple chambers deep within
                      the Temple of the Prime Harmonic.              The exact membership of the Constellation changes
                      Comprising countless gears, pins,              periodically, with new members added and others leaving
     pistons, rods, weights, and interlocking wheels, the            to resume physical existence within clockwork vessels.
     Cipher Engine is attended by dozens of dedicated priests
                                                                     temporarily, while others never leave. Because its
     mathematical problems. These are given to the machine           membership are removed even from the stimuli of a
     on brass plates with holes punched through them in              clockwork vessel, joining the Constellation brings greater
     certain patterns. The Cipher Engine translates these            mental clarity and facilitates solving abstract problems.
     patterns into instructions and numbers and then works to
     derive solutions. The resulting output is produced upon
                                                                     thinkers, the Constellation is the most powerful analytic
     mechanisms akin to a large printing press. The Cipher
                                                                     body available to the Convergence. So great is their faith in
     Engine is one of the most sacred artifacts of the faith and
                                                                     its evaluations that they look to it even to select the leader
     has played a central role in the Great Work, as its output
                                                                     of the faith. When the nine-year cycle for an iron mother
     is viewed as the primary means for Cyriss to communicate
                                                                     or father approaches its end, the Constellation is presented
     with her faithful.
     Cyriss is an enigmatic goddess who does not provide             From among these its collective selects a new leader thought
     simple answers, preferring to challenge her followers to        to have the best qualities to advance the Great Work.
     decipher her will. The messages buried in the output of
                                                                                       THE IRON MOTHER
     or translated. Amid long numerical strings of data are                             The founders of the Convergence of Cyriss
     inexplicable irregularities that when compiled and properly                        recognized that decisive action required a
     sequenced create extremely complex encoded messages.                               single voice of leadership. This resulted
     The sheer volume of output from the Cipher Engine means                            in the individual position of iron mother
     that the results are generated more quickly than they can       or iron father, who is responsible for coordinating the
     be analyzed. The task of analyzing these numeric strings is     activities of the Convergence as a whole. The iron mother’s
     distributed among the temples and is a sacred activity for      seat is in the Temple of the Prime Harmonic, where she
     priests of all ranks.                                           can be in regular contact with the Constellation and other
32
                                                     THE NINE HARMONICS
    The faith of Cyriss includes a variety of precepts, doctrines, and     THE FIFTH HARMONIC: The goddess of perfection will manifest to
    tenets, some lengthy and convoluted, but the Nine Harmonics            inhabit the vessel thereof.
    form the guiding principles of the Convergence. These simple
    but broad tenets are applied in a multitude of ways. They are          The numen of Cyriss can achieve harmonic sympathy with
    studied and meditated upon by all members of the Convergence           any sufficiently flawless and empowered machine. Harnessing
    but are especially important to the priesthood.                               geomantic energy across a globally balanced astronometric
    Every action taken by awakened members of                                           matrix will complete the prime harmonic and compel
    the Convergence must be in accordance                                                   divine manifestation.
    with these principles.                                                                       THE SIXTH HARMONIC: Clockwork perfection
    THE FIRST HARMONIC: Precision is                                                               requires an absence of entropy.
    the opening theorem in the proof of                                                              All acts of harmonic construction,
    perfection.                                                                                       invention, and engineering increase
    Perfection requires exertion                                                                       order and reduce entropy. Life
    toward an efficient and measured                                                                   multiplies entropy, so nothing alive
    existence. Precision is to be                                                                      can attain perfection.
    applied as much to daily habits as                                                                 THE SEVENTH HARMONIC: Souls are
    to labor. Absolute precision can                                                                   elements in the divine equation.
    be achieved only by continually
    diminishing the margin of error.                                                                  Only the soul is autonomous. Each soul
                                                                                                    is an aspect of a divine equation that
    THE SECOND HARMONIC: Mathematics                                                              achieves consciousness. The soul bridges
    is the only true language.                                                                  the poles of divinity and mortality. The soul
    Mathematics is the underlying language of                                                is capable of either infinite refinement through
    infinity. All that exists and all that does not exist                                 pure thought or utter debasement by wallowing in
    can be described through mathematical expression. A                              the corruption of flesh.
    process or thought cannot be unless a formula exists to describe it.   THE EIGHTH HARMONIC: False shadows of consciousness mock the
    THE THIRD HARMONIC: The power of understanding transcends              divine equation.
    the inexplicable.                                                      The creation of a soulless machine that mimics true intelligence is a
    Nothing is truly inexplicable when confronted by the proper            mockery of the divine equation. Machines do not make decisions.
    analysis. Complete understanding can be achieved by                    An unpredictable machine is a flawed machine.
    continually diminishing ignorance. Always strive to increase           THE NINTH HARMONIC: To awaken a soul one must seek harmony
    knowledge and understanding. All learning must be preserved.           with the goddess.
    THE FOURTH HARMONIC: Magic obeys scientific principles and             The teachings of the goddess are not for all. Only a select few will
    does not require mysticism.                                            be awakened. We do not reveal the enigmas of Cyriss to those
    Magic represents a particularly complex interaction between            who are unprepared to seek perfection. Those on the cusp will be
    energy and matter, mediated by sentient will. The arcane               awakened at the precipice where higher thought flourishes.
    can always be understood, codified, and controlled through
    mathematical formulae. There is always a way to integrate the
    arcane with engineering.
be held only for nine years consecutively. A priest would                  the assets of the organization as a whole. The iron mother
                                                                           determines priorities of the faith and decides when the
                                                                                                                                                   33
     MACHINERY OF THE CONVERGENCE OF CYRISS
     and serves as its key spiritual advisor and long-term              appear occasionally. Latent warcasters are usually brought
                                                                        into the Convergence at an early age. (See “Convergence
     obey his commands, they generally heed his requests and            Warcasters,” p. 42.)
     implement any changes to procedure he suggests, so long
     as they do not contradict orders from the iron mother. Most        Becoming a member of the Convergence requires a
     priests respect Lucant as the spiritual head of the faith and      permanent commitment and, usually, the abandonment of
     view him as something of an oracle. No other priest has his        one’s previous life. The Convergence cannot risk its secrets
     skill in deciphering the words of the goddess.                     being revealed and immediately isolates new recruits
                                                                        from outsiders, sending them to remote temple facilities
     THE AWAKENED AND THE                                               to undergo extensive indoctrination. During this period a
                                                                        recruit is not at liberty to leave the temple.
     PERIPHERAL CULTS
     The Convergence considers its members to be the true               In some cases the Convergence has accommodated the
     faith of Cyriss and refer to themselves as “awakened” to           immediate family of a recruit, particularly where a spouse
     suggest that this fellowship has been indoctrinated into           is a member of a peripheral cult. If a couple with children
     the fundamental mysteries of the goddess. The awakened             are indoctrinated, the children are also brought into the
     know the Nine Harmonics and live by them.
                                                                        to integrate these individuals into the Convergence. Those
     There are many worshipers of Cyriss on the periphery
                                                                        who lack devotion and cannot be trusted with secrets will
     of the Convergence ignorant of its greater mysteries and
                                                                        be cast out or, as a last resort, humanely eliminated.
     living in ordinary society. A distinct dividing line must
     be recognized between the Convergence and these less               AWAKENED MEMBERSHIP
     devoted worshipers. While such individuals may revere              The process of becoming a fully awakened member of the
     the goddess and recognize the shadow of her perfection,            Convergence reveals the candidate’s various aptitudes
     their misconceptions and misplaced loyalties blind them            and skills, which helps determine the role they will take
     to the truth.                                                      in the organization. New members who have the requisite
     The Convergence is not hostile toward the peripheral cults         qualities may seek to join the priesthood, the most desirable
     and in fact considers them valuable. Peripheral cults form a       Convergence career path. Being a priest requires the ability
     vital bridge with the outside world, as Convergence agents         to control arcane energies in order to help design, fabricate,
     periodically observe and make contact with them. The most          or repair essential machinery. Some priests are less heavily
     important role of the peripheral cults is to serve as a pool for   involved in this sort of work than others. Arcane talent alone
     potential recruits; the vast majority of the awakened were         does not guarantee entrance to the priesthood, however.
     introduced to Cyriss as worshipers from peripheral sects.          Most awakened lay members of the Convergence are
34
   PREEMPTIVE NEUTRALIZATION FORCE
   ITERATION 9
titles or functions. All are expected to contribute to              Some few awakened members become temple guardians.
maintaining, repairing, or operating temple machinery.              These are usually those who are competent but not
Those who are highly skilled at these tasks may go on
to become engineers, an esteemed status representing                make them better suited to this role. Occasionally guardians
considerable expertise and usefulness. A number of senior           will arise among the children of cult members who do not
engineers are involved in more cerebral but equally valued          distinguish themselves in other roles. Guardians train in the
tasks such as pure mathematics, astronomy, or research.             weaponry and armament of the temple and are dedicated to
                                                                                                                                           35
     MACHINERY OF THE CONVERGENCE OF CYRISS
     the protection of the facility. When not actively on patrol or   vessels. It is common for members to have one chassis type
     drilling, guardians perform other work as needed, including      for their temple work and another for soldiering. Over the
     ordinary labor and temple upkeep. Guardians are distinct
     from temple soldiers, a role occupied by clockwork vessels,      vessels, although generally one is preferred. To identify
     and do not participate in battles outside a temple. Most         themselves to one another, individual clockworks will
     guardians become clockwork soldiers after they surrender         create a small distinct abstract pattern etched onto visible
     their mortality.                                                 parts of their frames.
     others, the priesthood insists it is to the betterment of the    STRIKE FORCES AND
     soul to live as long as possible before being transformed.       GARRISONS
     Exceptions are made only for those who demonstrate               The Convergence does not maintain standing armies,
     remarkable mental and spiritual clarity and maturity.
                                                                      and objectives. While some long-standing strike forces and
     The Convergence also has the means to preserve the souls
                                                                      garrisons exist, they make up a small percentage of the
     of members who die unexpectedly, in order to transfer them
     immediately into essence chambers. For the members of the
     Convergence, this transformation is holy and profound,
                                                                      or senior priests, joined by other units as needed for a
     representing their afterlife. Being a clockwork vessel is a
                                                                      particular mission. Additional reinforcements can be
     form of immortality.
                                                                      acquired from the nearest temple facilities as required.
     For over two centuries the Convergence has collected
                                                                      Very important tasks requiring much larger forces (such
     the souls of its members through this process, and as
                                                                      as those that would need to be collected from multiple
     a consequence their numbers have grown rather than
                                                                      temples) require the consent of the iron mother, with
     diminished. In most temples clockwork members
     outnumber the living. They continue to contribute to the
                                                                      directorate from the temples involved. The enumerators
     work of the temples and also act as the soldiers of the
     Convergence. It takes some time to become accustomed
                                                                      ordered deportment of these forces and serve as the senior
     to this mechanikal state, and military training is a useful
     means to accelerate familiarity while also bolstering the
                                                                      of Alignment, the Convergence rarely assembled such
     strength of the Convergence.
                                                                      sizable armies, but it is expected they will be deployed with
     The entire clockwork population of the Convergence can           greater regularity in this new era. The priesthood serves
     be considered a battle-ready militia. All clockwork vessels      the iron mother in ensuring these missions are allocated
     have formidable combat capabilities, wielding advanced
                                                                      specialized military assets.
     in the knowledge that even the destruction of their bodies
     is rarely permanent.
                                                                      by a prefect, who reports in turn to an assigned priest. In a
     MYRIAD FORMS                                                     given standing garrison or long-standing strike force, the
     Those who have become one with the machine are not               most experienced veteran of each unit type, referred to as
     Convergence has developed a wide variety of vessels,             (See “Soldiers of the Convergence,” p. 72.)
     particularly for its soldiers. Most newly transformed
     individuals stay in the same chassis for several years in
     order to become perfectly accustomed to the machine state.
     After this, members become more comfortable changing
36
convergence ruLes & THeMe Forces
 VECTORS                                                                    VECTOR MAT AND RAT
 The Convergence of Cyriss does not use warjacks in the                     Vectors do not have MAT or RAT values. Instead, their
 traditional sense. Their machines are built using arcane                   MAT and RAT are equal to the current MAT and RAT of
 science fused with applied physics and mathematics. Each                   their controlling warcaster. For example, a vector under the
 completed vector is an act of worship to the Maiden of                     control of a warcaster who has MAT 6 and RAT 4 would
 Gears as well as an irrefutable triumph of engineering. The
 smooth lines and artisanal attention to detail contrast with
                                                                            any MAT/RAT alterations to a warcaster controlling one or
 on enemies of the Clockwork Goddess.                                       more vectors will be passed along to his vectors.
                        FOCUS INDUCTION
                                                                                                        Defender
Inverter
so it is within 6
                                                                                                                 3
    Lastly the Inverter can attack the Defender and use the focus point it received from
Diffuser A
Diffuser B
                                                                                                                                             37
     RULES & THEME FORCES
     REMOTE REACTIVATION                                              resolved the model can make one additional melee attack.
     Vectors become inert when their controlling warcasters are       A model can gain only one additional attack from Cleave
     destroyed. Vectors can be reactivated only by friendly Faction   per activation.)
     models with the Battlegroup Commander special ability.
                                                                      MODULATOR – LIGHTNING RODS
     A Convergence warcaster can reactivate a friendly inert          Requirement: The army includes three or more Modulators.
     vector even if it is not B2B with the vector. The warcaster
     can forfeit his action to reactivate a friendly vector up to          : Modulators gain Grounding. (While B2B with
     6 away provided the vector has a functional interface            a model with Grounding, friendly Faction models gain
     node. A vector with a crippled interface node cannot be          Immunity: Electricity .)
     reactivated remotely.
                                                                      MONITOR – TRIANGULATION
     WARCASTER UNITS                                                  Requirement: The army includes three or more Monitors.
38
UNBOUND RULES                                                        COROLLARY – FOCUS BATTERY
APPENDIX                                                             Replace the last sentence of Focus Battery with the following:
As a result of the alternating sequence of play in Unbound Focus points remaining on this model count toward its focus
TIER 1                                                               TIER 3
Requirements: The army can include only the models listed            Requirements: The army includes one or more Steelsoul
above.                                                               Protectors.
         Increase the FA of Clockwork Angel units and                        Steelsoul Protectors gain Advance Deployment         .
Steelsoul Protectors by 2.
                                                                     TIER 4
TIER 2                                                               Requirements: Aurora’s battlegroup includes two or more
Requirements: The army includes three or more Clockwork              heavy vectors.
Angel units.
                                                                              Heavy vectors in Aurora’s battlegroup gain
         Clockwork Angel units gain Stealth           during the     Advance Move. (Before the start of the game but after both
                                                                     players have deployed, a model with Advance Move can
                                                                     make a full advance.)
                                                                                                                                      39
     RULES & THEME FORCES
     TIER 1                                                          TIER 3
     Requirements: The army can include only the models listed       Requirements: The army includes three or more Clockwork
     above.                                                          Vessel units.
     TIER 2                                                          TIER 4
     Requirements: The army includes two or more Enigma              Requirements: The army includes two or more heavy
     Foundries.                                                      vectors.
             Reduce the point cost of Enigma Foundries by 1.                 For each heavy vector in Axis’ battlegroup, place
                                                                     a heavy warjack wreck marker anywhere within 20 of the
                                                                     back edge of Axis’ deployment zone after terrain has been
                                                                     placed but before either player deploys his army. Wreck
                                                                     markers cannot be placed within 3 of a terrain feature or
                                                                     another wreck marker.
     TIER 1                                                          TIER 3
     Requirements: The army can include only the models listed       Requirements: The army includes three or more groups of
     above.                                                          Servitor solos.
     TIER 2                                                          TIER 4
     Requirements: The army includes one or more Optifex             Requirements: The army includes one or more Prime
     Directive units.                                                Axioms.
                                                       during your
                                                                     Launch Servitor you can place up to three Servitor solos
                                                                     instead of placing one.
40
                       FaTHer LucanT, diviniTy ArcHiTecT
                       IRON GIANTS
                    WARJACKS: Convergence non-                                     SOLOS: Medium- and large-based solos
                  character vectors
           UNITS: Medium- and large-based units
TIER 1                                                                             TIER 3
Requirements: The army can include only the models listed                          Requirements: The army includes two or more Clockwork
above.                                                                             Vessel units without a ranged attack.
        Increase the FA of units with Construct                 by 1.                      One Clockwork Vessel unit without a ranged attack
                                                                                   gains Advance Deployment .
TIER 2
Requirements: The army includes one or more Clockwork                              TIER 4
Vessel units with a ranged attack.                                                 Requirements: Father Lucant’s battlegroup includes three
                                                                                   or more heavy vectors.
        You gain +1 on your starting roll for the game.
                                                                                                 Reduce the point cost of SPD 4 vectors by 1.
TIER 1                                                                             TIER 3
Requirements: The army can include only the models listed                          Requirements: The army includes one or more Optifex
above.                                                                             Directive units.
      Algorithmic Dispersion Optifex solos gain Advance                                    For each Optifex Directive unit in the army, the
Deployment .                                                                       Corollary begins the game with 1 focus point (to a maximum
                                                                                   of 3).
TIER 2
Requirements: The army includes a Corollary.                                       TIER 4
                                                                                   Requirements:
        Reduce the cost of Syntherion’s spells by 1 during
                                                                                                 Add a Galvanizer to Syntherion’s battlegroup free
                                                                                   of cost.
Permission is hereby granted to create reproductions of this page for personal, non-commercial use only.
                                                                                                                                                     41
                                Convergence warcasTers
                           Warcasters   are    of   paramount
                         importance to the Convergence of                      warcaster converts among the larger population. Although
                     Cyriss, for the faith eschews the false                   they avoid initiating contact with warcasters who have
     intelligence of conventional warjacks and thus the                        already joined a standing military, they do strive to sway
     Convergence’s vectors can only operate under the command                  those who have not yet made commitments or who have
     of a warcaster. Often those who manifest this talent are                  yet to become aware of their abilities.
     drawn to the worship of Cyriss, an inclination that grants
                                                                               The Convergence spares no expense to ensure the
     the Convergence access to warcasters out of proportion
                                                                               competence of its warcasters, and their training is
     to its numbers. Nonetheless, those who evince the ability
                                                                               intensive and prolonged. Recruits closely study the Nine
     to control vectors remain rare and coveted. Whereas the
                                                                               Harmonics and the command of vectors, their highest
     standing armies of the Iron Kingdoms can openly recruit
                                                                               priority being attaining mastery of the interface node.
     warcasters, the Convergence must operate in secret, hoping
42
                                                  IRON MOTHER DIRECTRIX
to essence chambers installed in clockwork vessels. It         is well prepared to inhabit the body of a machine. Because
is possible that being freed of a mortal body allows for       warcasters adapt quickly to the machine state, they can
increased clarity of thought and special sympathy with the
interface node. Whether or not this is true, by the time a     or less anthropomorphic vessels. The inclusion of
Convergence warcaster inhabits a clockwork vessel he is        additional limbs or integrated weaponry is quite common
likely to have spent years controlling vectors and therefore   among Convergence warcaster vessels.
                                                                                                                            43
                          Aurora,    nuMen of Aerogenesis
                          CoNVERGENCE WARCAStER
                          Born to surpass human ingenuity and studied precision, she will carry the Convergence toward unity
                          with Cyriss on mechanikal wings.
                                                                                                                                    —Iron Mother Directrix
       PoLYNoMIAL BEAM                                                         her and ensure her safe return. By sixteen Aurora was
            Magical Weapon                                                     testing her abilities alongside the older warcaster, whose
                                                                               straightforward goals and unpredictable tactics contrasted
       PoLYNoMIAL StAFF
            Reach
                                                                               every aspect of these battles, and after every mission she
            Magical Weapon
                                                                               retreated to her rooms for days, producing endless notes
       Mechanikal Seizure – When a warjack is hit by this weapon it
                                                                               and schematics of potential improvements to the arms and
       becomes stationary for one round.
                                                                               armor they employed.
44
of the clockwork angels as well as her own warcaster
armor. She had done more than develop a new clockwork
prototype: she had changed the way the armies of the
Maiden of Gears conducted war.
                                                              45
                     AXis, tHe HarMonic enForcer
                     CoNVERGENCE WARCAStER
                     What in others would be an irredeemable flaw, through Axis becomes an asset.
                                                                                                                               —Iron Mother Directrix
       ACtIoN
       Beat Back – Immediately after a normal attack with this weapon     to quash enemies of the faith, a task he committed to with
       is resolved during this model’s combat action, the enemy model     unswerving enthusiasm. His deep loyalty to Directrix has
       hit can be pushed 1 directly away from the attacking model.
       After the enemy model is pushed, the attacking model can
                                                                          that plague his fractured mind.
       advance up to 1 .
       double Strike – This model can make two additional attacks         Axis is not entirely sane—he is prone to racing, incoherent
       for each focus point spent to make additional attacks with this    thoughts, violent impulses, and visions that impose the
       weapon.
                                                                          formulas of the goddess across everything he sees. He
       REACtIoN                                                           displays a wild-eyed zeal that unnerves other members of
       Beat Back – See above.                                             the Convergence. He sometimes lapses mid-sentence into
       double Strike – See above.                                         recitation of the Nine Harmonics and often forgets to eat,
                                                                          bathe, or even extract himself from his powerful armor
                                                                          for days at a time. His peers believe his mind has cracked
     the Phase of Alignment as fervently as Axis. His dedication          beneath the weight of the gifts Cyriss has given him.
     to crushing any who oppose the Great Work is matched                 Having long prided himself on his powerful physique,
     only by his devotion to the goddess herself.                         he fears mortality; age has recently begun to take its toll,
     A former member of a sect of radical Cyriss worshippers, the         and he knows his imperfect mind may preclude him from
     young Axis was engaged in violent action that threatened             transference to a clockwork vessel. To deny these thoughts,
     the Convergence by drawing too much unwanted attention.              he applies his energy to destroying whatever foe he is
     The living priestess who would become Directrix was sent
     to exterminate the cult but spared Axis, seeing his devotion         provide the goddess better than any other.
     and raw talents as qualities she could forge into a weapon.
     Axis saw Directrix as the chosen of the goddess and gladly
     served as her enforcer and lieutenant. She sent him forth
46
47
                          Iron MotHer directriX & eXponenT ServiTors
                          CoNVERGENCE WARCAStER uNIt
                          She is the Chosen of Cyriss, both Mother and Daughter of the Maiden, the herald who brings machine
                          perfection only after the cleansing scourge of wrath.
                                                                                                                              —Axis, the Harmonic Enforcer
48
49
     at a hidden temple far from her former home. The
     Nine Harmonics struck a deep chord within her, and
     she immediately joined the clergy, determined to
     choose her own path.
50
brought into the Convergence, transforming him from a
fringe radical to one of the organization’s most formidable
                                                                 EXPoNENt SERVItoR
                                                                     Construct
                                                                                               EXPONENT SERVITOR
military assets. Increasingly, ranking clergy noted her                                         SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD
                                                                                                 6   3   5        5   12 13   —
deep comprehension of the Great Work. No sooner was
she was made an enumerator than there was talk of raising        Steady – This model cannot              APERTURE BEAM
                                                                 be knocked down.                         RNG ROF AOE POW
                                                                                                             10       1   —   —
was not expected for some decades.                               APERtuRE BEAM
                                                                 Imperil – For one round,      SMALL BASE
While Viana looked to the day she would be awarded               when a model/unit hit by
transcendence, she wished to bear a child before committing
to that process. This was less an expression of maternal         roll add +2 to the roll.
instinct than a desire to amplify her presence and agency in
                                                               vessel as quickly as possible—a plan Directrix used her
day lead the Convergence and serve as an extension of her
                                                               While aware of the apparent hypocrisy, Directrix had sound
the pregnancy. Everything, from her choice of father to the    reasons for impeding Aurora’s transcendence. After more
timing of the birth, was meticulously coordinated to ensure    than a decade of clockwork existence she had found herself
her progeny would be as gifted and powerful as possible.
She was determined to foster the perfect awakened soul. Her    the satisfying exhaustion in her limbs after a battle, the
management of the resulting child was just as controlled,      exhilaration of plunging into a cold stream, the sweetness
and she molded every aspect of Aurora’s childhood in order
                                                               stretch out before her, she had begun to harbor doubts
This biological necessity managed, the priestess petitioned    about her early transformation. Knowing regret would
                                                               be seen as weakness, she had kept these thoughts hidden
brought her considerable intellect and political acumen        and channeled her energy into her work, designing a more
                                                               suitable form for herself. The resulting vessel brings Cyriss
leveraging her remarkable career and numerous contacts         to the Convergence in a new way, for Directrix carefully
among the hierarchy, and gaining the tacit support of the      chose every aspect to evoke the goddess and be as terrifying
Constellation. Eventually the highest leadership agreed she    in battle as it was inspiring in the temple halls.
possessed the mental clarity and maturity of soul necessary    In 605 AR, she judged the timing right to present her criticism
for transcendence and approved her transfer to a clockwork     of the faith’s progress to the Constellation and Father
vessel at the age of thirty.                                   Lucant, following with a detailed and extremely aggressive
Her transformation opened the way to the upper echelons        battle plan to complete their work across Immoren. So
of leadership. She took the name Directrix and quickly         persuasive was she that within a year the Constellation
                                                               named her iron mother, recognizing her right to lead the
deepest mysteries. She was placed in charge of the Foundry     Convergence into this vital phase of the Great Work. Her
of Repudiation, a vital vector assembly workshop. In the       strategy takes into account every astronometric nexus
following decades she continued to lead forces against the     on the continent, and she has anticipated how to control,
sect’s enemies while also exploiting her relationships with    connect, and activate the nexus lattice in spite of the heavy
                                                               enemy resistance expected. Further, she intends to position
the Convergence armories. She was assembling data for a        Convergence clergy in western Immoren so that they can
detailed critique of the Great Work. Her battles abroad had    play a leadership role in the transformation of Caen.
                                                                                                                                  51
                        FaTHer   LucanT, diviniTy ArcHiTecT
                        CoNVERGENCE WARCAStER
                        Iterative successes converge toward our inevitable victory.
                                                                                                                                          —Father Lucant
52
Over the centuries Lucant has continued to study and
decipher the messages of Cyriss in order to advise the
faith in the Great Work. In recent years, his calculations
indicated the time had come for the Phase of Alignment,
when the Convergence must commit to war to acquire vital
geomantic nodes held by rival groups. This decision was
not made lightly, as launching their armies commits the sect
to a perilous course.
Lucant knows the time for doubts has passed and proves
his commitment by leading the Convergence’s armies
personally. Those who follow him in battle know they walk
beside greatness and receive the orders of a mind with
singular insight into the will of their goddess. It is Lucant
they expect to see beside them when the Manifestation is
completed and Cyriss stands among them at last.
                                                                53
                          Forge   MasTer SynTHerion
                          CoNVERGENCE WARCAStER
                          None can claim the degree of mastery over vectors that comes so effortlessly to Syntherion.
                                                                                                                        —Father Lucant, Divinity Architect
54
                                                             actions he controls with artistic mastery. Those clockwork
as to his workshop. There is no room for emotions, no pity   soldiers who accompany him in battle know only too well
or mercy. In every engagement Syntherion seeks to quickly    that the forge master gives no allowance for error, outright
eliminate whatever opposes him. He has no patience for       discarding any who fail him, for in his calculations there is
variables and thus makes heavy use of vectors, whose         no possibility of redemption.
                                                                                                                             55
                                convergence vecTors
                                                                      armament of their battlegroups than their counterparts
                       centuries of labor, the vectors of the         who utilize traditional warjacks. The interface node also
                   Convergence of Cyriss are lethal marvels.          facilitates coordination among multiple vectors, providing
     Though outsiders might compare vectors to the warjacks
                                                                      not possess the ability to process information on their
     Eighth Harmonic makes clear the Convergence’s disdain            own, they cannot operate without the direct attention of
     for attempts to create false sentience. Vectors, then, are not   warcasters. This limits their use in smaller engagements or
     controlled by autonomous minds like cortexes; rather, they       in the defense of secondary facilities, when the sect must
     serve purely as extensions of a Convergence warcaster’s          rely on its soldiers and servitors.
     will. In this faith, only a soul has the right to free will.
                                                                      Vectors are highly mobile and versatile weapons platforms,
     Soon after the discovery of Cyriss, arcane mechaniks
     among her followers began working to create a type of            negates its weight. Ambulatory vectors walk on multiple
                                                                      legs that allow them to maneuver across the ground, while
     cortexes. Isolating the mechanism that allows a warcaster
     to mentally control the cortex provided the key element,
     and separating that mechanism from the unpredictable             led to vectors that forgo ambulation altogether. At a cost
     decision-making regions of the cortex enabled them to            of slightly increased power requirements, these hovering
     proceed with their designs. The Convergence version of           units enjoy unparalleled freedom of motion.
     this component is called an interface node.
                                                                      Vectors bristle with a startling variety of weapons systems
     When a warcaster attunes to a vector, he infuses the             unique to the Convergence. Many of these weapons utilize
     machine’s performance with his personal skill, battle            complex ammunition, with each salvo including intricate
     experience, and tactics. Consequently, Cyrissist warcasters      but disposable clockwork machines instead of traditional
     tend to be even more exacting in the makeup and                  projectiles. Such devices might seem impractical to
56
             VECTOR POWER SOURCE
    Vectors and other engines of war used by the Convergence              gather geomantic energy and produce a field capable of sustaining
    do not rely on conventional fuel like coal. Instead, the sect         ongoing operations. Because the sect is ill prepared for extended
    has established a power-generating infrastructure based on            conflicts far from such specialized structures, it has undertaken
    collecting geomantic energy and broadcasting it as a voltaic          creating a pervasive secret network of power-generating nodes
    field of alternating current that enables servitors and vectors to    across the Iron Kingdoms. Many of the battles the sect initiates
    function nearly continuously when close to temple facilities. A       relate to extending this lattice.
    voltaic field can extend for miles, undetectable by conventional
                                                                          Though the Convergence prefers to use voltaic energy to power
    means and yet sufficient to power vectors in battle. Even outside
                                                                          vector motive systems and major weapons, it has embraced
    of these fields a vector’s capacitors drain slowly, providing hours
                                                                          simpler power sources for many other applications. The complex
    of fighting performance before energy reserves are exhausted,
                                                                          ammunition systems employed by many Convergence weapons,
    and a vector not engaged in battle but simply travelling can
                                                                          for example, rely on potential energy stored by mechanical
    endure considerably longer.
                                                                          devices like springs and coils. The sect’s engineers are masters
    When the Convergence intends to send forces against a remote          at attaining tremendous efficiency from such simple mechanisms.
    objective, its first priority is to erect an astronometric nexus to
                                                                                                                                              57
                            CoroLLary
                            CoNVERGENCE LIGHt VECtoR
                            Technological superiority can offer only an advantage. Technological dominance, however, can
                            guarantee victory.
                                                                                                                                                  —Father Lucant
58
                                                                                                      diFFuser
                                                                                 CoNVERGENCE LIGHt VECtoR
       Facing those things is suicide. Their bullets can hunt down a man better than Leto’s own hounds.
                                                                                                        —Trencher Corporal Lucian Banks
                                                                                                                       FIELD ALLOWANCE                            U
                                                                                                                       POINT COST                                 3
                                                                                                                       MEDIUM BASE
                                                                                                                                                                      59
                            gaLvaniZer
                            CoNVERGENCE LIGHt VECtoR
                            Galvanizers are the perfect tools—equally suited to restoration or destruction.
                                                                                                                               —Forge Master Syntherion
60
                                                                                         MiTigaTor
                                                                  CoNVERGENCE LIGHt VECtoR
                                             The journey to enlightenment is initiated by the brilliance of discovery.
                                                                                                —The Ninth Harmonic of Cyriss
                                                                                                                                                        61
                           AssiMiLaTor
                           CoNVERGENCE HEAVY VECtoR
                           It rains death in patterns of perfect symmetry.
                                                                                                                                      —Perforator Prefect Arcturus
       RENdING CLAW
            open Fist
            Weapon Master
       Assimilation – When this model destroys an enemy model
       that has Construct     with this weapon, immediately after the
       attack is resolved, remove d3 damage points from this model.
62
                                                                                              CipHer
                                                          CoNVERGENCE HEAVY VECtoR
                         There is no equation so complex, no pattern so elusive, or no defense so impenetrable
                                                                that it cannot be unlocked with the right key.
                                                                                                —Forge Master Meridian
                                                                                                      FIELD ALLOWANCE                          U
                                                                                                      POINT COST                               9
                                                                                                      LARGE BASE
                                                                                                                                                   63
                         ConservaTor
                         CoNVERGENCE HEAVY VECtoR
                         Force conserved is force that can be returned.
                                                                                                                            —Weapons Theoretician Orelius Thorne
defensive capacities.
64
                                                                            InverTer
                                                         CoNVERGENCE HEAVY VECtoR
When endeavoring to eliminate obstacles to the Maiden’s Equation, there is no weapon so destructive
                                                   that it should be dismissed as “excessive force.”
                                                                                —Iron Enumerator Quentin Talbot
                                                                                                                                            65
                          ModuLaTor
                          CoNVERGENCE HEAVY VECtoR
                          The power of understanding transcends the inexplicable.
                                                                                                                                      —Third Harmonic of Cyriss
                                                   an unboostable POW 10
                     L        R                    electrical damage roll  .
                                                   This damage is not
        M    L       L        R   R        M       considered to have been
                                                   caused by a ranged attack.
             M       I        I   M
      FIELD ALLOWANCE                          U
      POINT COST                               6
      LARGE BASE
66
                                                                                                          MoniTor
                                                                                  CoNVERGENCE HEAVY VECtoR
                 Countless times I’ve seen a warjack’s blade strike true, but never before from twenty paces.
                                                                                                         —Battle Mechanik Ilya Raskalov
                                                                                                                                                                    67
68
        PriMe
        AXioM
AFTER-ACTION REPORT,
STEELWATER GARRISON, 2ND ARMY,
608 AR
Sirs,
above the ground. This all took place in just a few seconds.
                                                                  69
                          PriMe AXioM
                          CoNVERGENCE CoLoSSAL VECtoR
                          An achievement without peer to bring victory without question.
                                                                                                                                        —Forge Master Syntherion
70
harder but lighter than those available to the armies of         The Prime Axiom’s weapons systems alone make it a
the Iron Kingdoms. Foremost among the Prime Axiom’s              lethal tool, but its stores of deployable servitors multiply
manifold weapons systems are the massive drill vices.            its potential force far beyond the expectation of the enemy.
                                                                 The vector’s lower pivots and chassis are studded with
drills capable of piercing any known alloy. So equipped,         bays containing a host of servitors. Throughout the battle a
the Prime Axiom can deliver penetrating blows into the
vulnerable innards of warjacks before ripping them apart         situation, tasking them to perform minor repairs, bring
or tossing the wreckage aside.
                                                                 with lumichem. The Prime Axiom’s aggregate of servitors,
A pair of telescoping tow cables mounted in the chassis of the
                                                                 heavy armor, and versatile weaponry makes it the equal of
Prime Axiom further augments its close combat capabilities.
                                                                 any threat yet conceived on Caen.
These harpoon-like cables, tipped with perforating spikes
molded from the same alloy used for the vector’s drills,         In action, a Prime Axiom inspires incredible awe and fear.
                                                                 The thrum of energy cycling through its systems is nearly
targets into reach of the machine’s savage drill vices.
                                                                 temple of the Clockwork Goddess given motive force and
The Prime Axiom also boasts the accelespiker, which allows
                                                                 a taste for destruction. Its multiple weapons rip through
its controlling warcaster to engage infantry while the
                                                                 screening troops, dismantle warjacks, and send servitors
vector’s drill vices take apart more challenging targets. The
                                                                 deep into the heart of battle. To confront a Prime Axiom
accelespiker sits recessed in the Prime Axiom’s main hull,
                                                                 in battle is to behold the inevitability of the success of the
where it stores a reserve of the super-dense metal spikes it
                                                                 Great Work and the terrifying power made possible by the
uses as ammunition. The weapon’s sophisticated launching
                                                                 guiding hand of Cyriss.
mechanism spins through thousands of rotations each
second, halting at precise intervals chosen by the controlling
warcaster to hurl volleys of spikes with frightening
precision. So great is the accuracy granted by this device
that a warcaster can pepper a single target with multiple
spikes or lay waste to a small area around the initial target.
                                                                                                                                  71
                             soLdiers oF The Convergence
                         Unlike the governments of the Iron
                       Kingdoms, the Convergence does not            they respond to these orders willingly as their part of the
                maintain an ordinary standing army. Instead,         Great Work. A smaller number of the trained soldiers join
     its manpower is spread among temple facilities throughout       permanent garrisons. These individuals serve as perpetually
                                                                     vigilant guardians and ready combatants and often rank
     Because the Convergence possesses fewer numbers than the        among the sect’s most capable and experienced members.
     national militaries, every member has a duty to be trained
                                                                     All members of the Convergence can expect to pass through
     and prepared to join in battle.
                                                                     any number of clockwork forms as they move toward
     The greatest advantage the Convergence possesses over the       perfection, although those solely dedicated to combat
     many forces that oppose it are its remarkable clockwork         typically move through forms more swiftly. A soldier who
     vessels. Upon death, or by the approval of an authorized        perfects the capabilities of one form or exhibits a capacity
                                                                     for another might be transferred to a new vessel in order
     faith is transferred to an essence chamber, which is then       to continue his soul’s evolution. When not called to the
     installed in a clockwork vessel. Thus begins the afterlife
     revealed to the faithful by the Maiden of Gears. This rebirth   spend most of their time in clockwork vessels customized
     as a machine allows each adherent of the faith to continue      for utility roles, which allow them to contribute to general
     on the path toward perfection. Adjusting to existence in a      labor and temple projects.
     clockwork vessel requires a period of acclimatization. This
                                                                     The clockwork vessels of the Convergence do not feel pain,
     transition period includes extensive training to help the
                                                                     and the soldiers inhabiting them know that destruction
     soul learn to master the vessel and to function as a soldier
                                                                     of their clockwork bodies rarely means the end of their
     of the Convergence.
                                                                     existence. This allows these soldiers to foster a courageous
     For the majority of the transcended members of the faith,       resolve rarely matched by their enemies. Clockwork
     combat training is a routine matter. They know they might
     be summoned at any moment and transferred into combat-          practice becomes simply another prayer to the Maiden
OBSTRUCTOR DESIGN
72
of Gears. Further, unlike vectors and larger pieces of
machinery, most clockwork vessels draw power from the            HIERARCHY OF THE PRIESTHOOD
souls in their essence chambers, allowing them to function
                                                                 The priesthood of the Convergence uses three tiers of rank.
added versatility.
                                                                 Fluxions are the highest-ranking
Stripping away one’s humanity does bring drawbacks as            priests, answerable directly to the
well as advantages. Those inhabiting clockwork vessels           iron mother. Typically a fluxion
typically display reduced individuality and some few lose        has charge of a specific temple
the spark of ingenuity, leading to predictability in battle.     complex and its projects, though
The Convergence has ways to address this, such as assigning      major temples share leadership
those experiencing a loss of self to the Eradicators, which      among multiple fluxions. Fluxions          FLuXIoN
                                                                 also coordinate actions between
                                                                 temples.
Clockwork soldiers represent the most common of the
Convergence’s troop types, but they are accompanied on           Beneath fluxions are enumerators,
                                                                 highly respected leaders who
                                                                 supervise a specific project,
less physically hardy than their mechanikal counterparts,        objective, or ongoing work.
                                                                 Attaining this rank requires
these clergy retain their individualism and can react more
                                                                 considerable mental acumen, strong
readily to unexpected circumstances. Additionally, priests
                                                                 leadership, and a broad array of ENuMERAtoR
invariably possess considerable technical capabilities,
                                                                 technical abilities.
                                                                                                                                73
                          CLocKworK AngeLs
                          CoNVERGENCE uNIt
                          Our knowledge has taken us beyond mortality. With this new vessel, we rise as the Maiden’s angels.
                                                                                                             —Aurora, Numen of Aerogenesis
       Reform –
       After all
       models in this
       unit have completed
       their actions, each can
       advance up to 3 .
       BINoMIAL BEAM
            Magical Weapon
       BINoMIAL BLAdE
            Magical Weapon
       Brutal Charge – This model gains +2 to charge attack
       damage rolls with this weapon.
74
                                                                   eradicaTors
                                                                          CoNVERGENCE uNIt
—Fluxion Vacusophist
close with the enemy and annihilate it. Unlike many other
                                                                                                                                           75
                    OBsTrucTors
                    CoNVERGENCE uNIt
                    The first step on the road to perfection is to shed that which makes you imperfect.
                                                                                                                         —Father Lucant
76
                                                      OpTiFeX DirecTive
                                                                              CoNVERGENCE uNIt
                                               There is as much to be learned in battle as there is to be risked.
                                                                                                  —Optifex Grigor Kosshek
                                                                                                                                          77
                   reciprocaTors
                   CoNVERGENCE uNIt
                   For each action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
                                                                                                                        —Drago Salvoro
     Repairable – Other models can make Bodge or Repair special           of their bodies and armament. With a whirring of gears
     actions to repair this model as if it were a warjack.                and servos, these clockwork soldiers step into formation,
     Variable [melee] – At the start of this unit’s activation, choose    shields interlocking with engineered perfection even as the
     one of the following modes for the unit’s weapons. Each of this      blades of their protean polearms slide back to shift from
     model’s melee weapons gains the ability listed for one round.
                                                                          halberd to spear. After blunting a charge against their
     • Empowered Attack – This weapon gains +2 on its damage rolls.       heavy shields and bristling spears, the units respond with a
     • Set defense –                                                      counterassault prefaced by the sound of clockwork blades
       charge, slam power attack, and impact attack rolls against this    snapping back to form wicked halberds once more.
       model.
     PRotEAN PoLEARM
          Reach                                                           can endure conditions harsh for even the hardiest of living
                                                                          creatures. Whereas other warriors must eventually succumb
                                                                          to the weakness of their physical bodies, reciprocators
                                                                          feel nothing but the oneness found within the greater
                                                                          understanding of their role within the Convergence.
78
                                                                        reducTors
                                                                       CoNVERGENCE uNIt
                                              Our victory is achieved by the most basic of calculations.
                                                                                         —Forge Master Syntherion
                                                                                                                                       79
                          PerForaTors
                          CoNVERGENCE uNIt
                          Obstacles lie in the path of every great endeavor. Perforators manifest solutions to the obstacles that
                          would impede the Maiden’s decrees.
                                                                                                                            —Enumerator Delocartes
       activation ends.
       Clockwork Vessel – This model counts as a living model for the
       purposes of generating soul tokens.
       Repairable – Other models can make Bodge or Repair
       special actions to repair this model as if it were a warjack.
       Variable [ranged] – At the start of this unit’s activation,
       choose one of the following modes for the unit’s weapons.
       Each of this model’s ranged weapons gains the ability listed
       for one round.
      • Empowered Attack – This weapon gains +2 on its damage rolls.
      • Snipe – This attack gains +4 RNG.
       PRotEAN JAVELIN
       Armor Piercing – When calculating damage from this weapon,
       halve the base ARM stats of models hit that have medium or
       larger bases. This weapon gains +2 to damage rolls against
       models with small bases.
80
                           Transverse enuMeraTor
                                                     CoNVERGENCE uNIt AttACHMENt
                                                              A machine is only as perfect as its smallest gear.
                                                                                              —Enumerator Gavin Smythe
                                                                      Attachment [Convergence] –
 tACtICAL tIPS                                                        This attachment can be            ENUMERATOR
 rePair – A wreck marker cannot be repaired.                                                             SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD
                                                                      added to a Convergence unit.
                                                                                                          6   5    6     5     13 13    9
 oFFicer                                                              ENuMERAtoR
                                                                                                                   BLOWTORCH
                                                                         Fearless                                      RNG ROF AOE POW
 in the unit or the unit leader becomes the unit commander.
                                                                                                                    SP 6 1       —      12
BLoWtoRCH
                                                                      tuNING StAFF
                                                                         Reach
                                                                                                                                                81
                     AccreTion ServiTors
                     CoNVERGENCE SoLo
                     You cannot defeat what you cannot destroy.
                                                                                                        —Forge Specialist Isopurgus
      FIELD ALLOWANCE              3    Bodge ( Action) –          achieve by manipulating ambient geomantic forces. Indeed,
      3 ACCRETION SERVITORS        1    This model performs
      SMALL BASE                        minor repairs to one
                                        damaged friendly
                                        Faction warjack with       damaged servos or weld rent armor plating. And, just like
       which it is B2B. Remove 1 damage point from the warjack.    bees, accretion servitors can deliver a painful sting to the
       Steady – This model cannot be knocked down.                 encroaching enemy when threatened.
       Strip ( Action) – This model can make this special action
82
   ALgoriTHMic dispersion OpTiFeX
                                                                            CoNVERGENCE SoLo
                         Even arcane force is carried by signal—and, like any signal, it can be amplified.
                                                                                              —Forge Master Syntherion
                                                                                                                                           83
                          ATTuneMenT ServiTor
                          CoNVERGENCE SoLo
                          Assignation of priority for termination is the first antecedent in battle.
                                                                                                          —Aurora, Numen of Aerogenesis
                                            SERVItoR
      SERVITOR
       SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD             Construct
                                                                         small glass globes containing the lumichem toward the
        6   3    5        5   12 13 —
                                                                         designated foe. Even if it misses its target, these globes
                 LUMICHEM AMPULE            Steady – This model cannot   will explode with great force, spraying the substance
                     RNG ROF AOE POW        be knocked down.
                      7       1   4   —                                  across a wide area. Enemies covered in lumichem make
                                            LuMICHEM                     exceedingly easy targets, as they are both visible from
      FIELD ALLOWANCE        3              AMPuLE
      3 ATTUNEMENT SERVITORS 2              Flare – Models hit by this
      SMALL BASE                                                         substance’s adherent qualities. Additionally, because all
                                            round.
                                                                         anything marked with lumichem, such unfortunate targets
     The Convergence of Cyriss boasts many skilled arcane                soon become the focus of innumerable spikes, saws, and
     mechaniks, academic researchers, and mathematicians,
     but its ranks also include numerous luminaries in the
84
                                          eLiMinaTion ServiTor
                                                                           CoNVERGENCE SoLo
                                   The elimination servitor is a perfect constant in the equation of battle.
                                                                                                    —Father Lucant
the chaos. This high level of visual acuity complements                   their computational engines, which are endowed
                                                                              with more conditional subroutines than any
                                                                                 other Convergence servitor. In their active
                                                                                                                                      85
                     enigMa Foundry
                     CoNVERGENCE SoLo
                     Consciousness transcends the mechanics of mundane physicality.
                                                                                                                               —Father Lucant
86
87
                      reFLeX ServiTor
                      CoNVERGENCE SoLo
                      The total entropy of any system will not decrease except by increasing the entropy of another system.
                      The reflex servitor is that inducing force.
                                                                                                               —Forge Master Syntherion
88
                                   SteeLsouL ProTecTor
                                                                       CoNVERGENCE SoLo
                                                              Analyze an attack, and its counter emerges.
                                                                                          —Steelsoul Protector Verlut
                                                                IRoN GLAIVE
                                                                    Reach
counterstrikes.
                                                                                                                                      89
                       TransFiniTe EMergence ProjecTor & PerMutation ServiTors
                       CoNVERGENCE BAttLE ENGINE & SoLoS
                       The energy we gather, vast as it seems, can be multiplied tenfold through precise alignment.
                       Theoretically, there is no finite limit to the power at our disposal.
                                                                                                                      —Principles of Geomantic Energy
                                             PRoJECtoR                         from the table. Once per activation, after its normal movement,
      PROJECTOR                                                                this model can place up to three Permutation Servitors anywhere
       SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD               Construct
                                                                               within 1 of this model.
        5   10 —       4   10 19 10          Gun Platform – This model
                                             can make ranged attacks           APERtuRE PuLSE
                 APERTURE PULSE
                     RNG ROF AOE POW         even while in melee.              Auto Fire [2] – Make 2 ranged attacks targeting a primary target
             — SP 10 1        —    10                                          and any number of secondary targets within 2
                                                                               Ignore intervening models when declaring secondary targets.
                                             [Permutation Servitor] –
      DAMAGE                        20                                         A secondary target cannot be targeted by more attacks than the
                                             When this model is directly
      FIELD ALLOWANCE                2       hit by an enemy ranged
                                                                               primary target. Auto Fire counts as one attack for ROF.
      POINT COST                     9       attack, you can choose to         Firing Formulae – When this model makes a ranged attack
      HUGE BASE                              have one friendly, non-           with this weapon during its activation, determine the position
                                             incorporeal Permutation           of the Permutation Servitors this model put into play. For each
                                             Servitor model within 3 of
       this model directly hit instead. That model is automatically hit
                                                                               arc, this model gains an additional die on its damage rolls.
                                                                               For each completely within its back arc, this model makes an
       Servitor Satellites – At the start of this model’s activation,
                                                                               additional Auto Fire attack.
       remove any Permutation Servitors this model put into play
90
91
                       painTing convergence
     The Convergence of Cyriss models are a fantastic                                This painting guide is designed to take the painter through
     opportunity for painters to practice their metallic paint
     techniques. In addition to having a glow, the model                             order. Ideally, start with “Preparing the Models” and move
     surfaces are metal, mostly grey. The darker carbon steel                        through the steps in the order they are presented here.
     and lighter stainless steel recipes for the faction build
     on the same basecoat color of Cold Steel, with contrast
                                                             PAINTING TERMINOLOGY
         BASECOAT                                                                    SHADING
         The initial coat of paint on which everything else will be built. It is     A darker color applied to the basecoat in the recessed areas of a
         important that the basecoat is very clean and every color is where it       miniature to create shadows.
         should be. Shades and highlights will coordinate with the basecoat
         and main color choices.
                                                                                     TWO-BRUSH BLENDING
                                                                                     The use of two brushes to apply and blend paint on a model. Use
         BLEND                                                                       a smaller brush to apply a dot or line of paint and immediately
         Creating a smooth, gradual change between two or more colors on a           use a slightly larger brush that is clean but soaked with water or
         model’s surface.                                                            saliva to blend the paint over the basecoat. Have the larger brush
                                                                                     ready and wetted while applying the paint with the smaller brush
         CONTRAST                                                                    so you can quickly switch brushes and blend the paint. This is the
         Placing opposing elements such as light and dark to create visual
                                                                                     technique used in the Privateer Press Paint Studio to blend glazes,
         interest. This applies to alternating light and dark colors on a model’s
                                                                                     highlights, and shadows.
         surfaces as well as using dark and light values of the same color to
         shade and highlight the model.                                              VALUE
                                                                                     Every color has a range from light to dark, and value refers to how
         GLAZE                                                                       light or how dark that color is.
         A mixture of water and a small amount of ink or paint that is applied
         in successive layers to subtly tint an area.
         HIGHLIGHTING
         A lighter color applied to the basecoat on the raised areas of a
         miniature to create the look of light hitting the surface. When
         highlighting in multiple steps, keep a little bit of the underlying color
         showing, overlapping them like the shingles on a roof.
92
1. PREPARING THE MODEL
Step 1) Using a couple of light applications to achieve solid
coverage, prime the model with Black Primer. Then paint
the entire model with Cold Steel using either an airbrush
or a traditional paintbrush. Remember, when using an
airbrush always wear an N-95 respirator. With airbrushing,
it may take a couple of light coats to achieve solid coverage.
If there are small spots of primer visible after airbrushing,
paint a thin layer of Cold Steel over those areas. This is the
basecoat for both the carbon steel and stainless steel recipes.
provides tooth to the surface of the metallic paint, making           Cold Steel       Brass Balls
shading and highlighting easier.
2. CARBON STEEL
Step 1) After basecoating as described in “Preparing
the Model,” choose the areas to make carbon steel and
leave the remaining areas to be made stainless steel.
Alternating between these two on adjacent surfaces will
create visual contrast.
Step 3) Shade the metal with a mix of Exile Blue and Brown
Ink. It may take a couple of blended coats to get the shadows
dark enough.                                                      1                2
Step 4) Using Cold Steel, highlight the edges of plates, bolts,
and gears in these sections. Take care not to make highlights
too large or sweeping.
Cold Steel
Greatcoat Grey
Brown Ink
Exile Blue
3 4
                                                                                                     93
     PAINTING CONVERGENCE
     3. STAINLESS STEEL
     Step 1) Apply a thin glaze of Bastion Grey over the Cold
     Steel basecoat on areas that will be stainless steel. This layer
     will provide a tint to the basecoat as well as subduing its
     metallic shine.
     Step 3)
     rounded surfaces, on the top edge of plates, and around the
     bottom half of bolt holes in these sections. Using a mixture
     of Cold Steel and Quicksilver, blend highlights on the edges
     of plates, gears, and bolts. It may take a couple of coats to
                                                                         1                     2
     create brilliant highlights without making them too broad.
Bastion Grey
Ironhull Grey
Cold Steel
Quicksilver
3 4
     4. CHROMIUM
     Step 1) Basecoat the chromium surfaces with a 50/50 mix of              Quicksilver
     Quicksilver and Underbelly Blue.
                                                                             underbelly Blue
     Step 2) Using Trollblood Base, shade the chromium surfaces.
     This will tint the areas with a little bit of blue and should not       trollblood Base
     be thick.
1 2 3
94
5. BRASS
Step 1) Over the Brass Balls basecoat described in
“Preparing the Model,” apply Thornwood Green as the
Step 3)
shine back into the brass. The brass areas are meant to be
shinier than the carbon steel and stainless steel areas to
provide more contrast between all the metallic surfaces.
Brass Balls
thornwood Green
Radiant Platinum
3 4
6. CYRISS GLOW
Step 1) Basecoat the glowing surfaces using Frostbite with a         Frostbite
couple thin coats of paint.
                                                                     Arcane Blue
Step 2) Gradually build the shadows of the glowing surface
by blending Arcane Blue over Frostbite, creating a smooth            Morrow White
gradient from a slight tint to a small area of dark shadow.
Create the illusion of a glowing light source by blending
Arcane Blue on surfaces adjacent to the Cyriss glow.
1 2 3
                                                                                           95
                    ModeL gaLLery
                               DIFFUSER
                               Light Vector
                                               MONITOR
                                              Heavy Vector
96
  CIPHER
Heavy Vector
               97
     OBSTRUCTORS
        Unit
98
MITIGATOR
Light Vector
                 GALVANIZER
                 Light Vector
   INVERTER
  Heavy Vector
                                99
      ATTUNEMENT SERVITORS               REFLEX SERVITORS
              Solos                           Solos
                             REDUCTORS
                                Unit
100
   THE MAIDEN OF GEARS
OF OUR IMMORTALITY.
                                 SPINE
    THE WORLD BECOME