Puppets are semi-independent creatures spawned by Hyacinth in states of duress (most commonly as a response to physical pain). While puppets appear to be entirely separate from Hyacinth in physical space, they are connected by a powerful psionic bond that leaves them in a state of neurological dependence on Hyacinth directly. As such, a puppet's state of being is reliant on Hyacinth's: If Hyacinth is asleep, for example, all their puppets are asleep. If Hyacinth were to die, all their puppets would also die. In this way, they are closer to limbs than independent entities, although puppets do display independent traits when idling. While different puppet types have unique group identities, when addressing multiple puppet types as a collective, a group of them is known as a horde, an army, or a clan.
Puppets come in several different categories with wildly varying traits and abilities. Their sizes also vary quite a bit as well, ranging from barely pony sized Deltas to towering Praetors that nearly match Hyacinth themselves. The most general grouping of puppets is largely by their 'psionic weight'; that is, the amount of psionic impulses they trade with Hyacinth on a usual basis. Psionic weight can be grouped together in three major categories: Light, Heavy, and Superheavy.
In each puppet's page is an at-a-glance table describing their approximate stats, special abilities, and personalities:
A "true" puppet generally refers to a biological entity (that is, predominantly formed of flesh and blood) that has some sort of dependency on a psionic source, which is also generally the entity that spawned it. While originally the term "puppet" was exclusive to this biological definition, the existence of new forms of psionics-dependent life such as Elementals and Analogues have somewhat stretched the definition into more of an umbrella term. As such, the term "true puppet" generally refers to those made of flesh and blood (typically spawned from some sort of protein slurry).
Light puppets are characterized by low psionic weight usage, nimble physiques, and often a greater reliance on tools or other peculiarities than larger puppets. Light Puppets also are generally more commonly spawned by Hyacinth, and tend to foster better cooperative abilities than larger puppets, which rely on their brute strength. This minimal weight and high versatility makes them valuable support troops, as well as providing a handy ability to comfortably fill in empty spaces in Hyacinth's army in timelines where their psionic weight is more readily limited.
There are four types of light puppets Hyacinth has access to:
Heavy puppets have middling psionic weight usage (generally double that of a light puppet on a per-unit basis), with bulkier physiques and more robust natural abilities. Compared to lighter puppets, heavy puppets tend to make less use of tools or trickery and rely more heavily on their natural biological grunt to get things done. Their increased psionic weight also seems to reflect a corresponding increase in mental capacity, though different heavy puppets use this increased acuity in a variety of ways.
There are three types of heavy puppets Hyacinth has access to:
Superheavy puppets have very high psionic weight usage (generally four times that of a light puppet on a per-unit basis), with extremely heavy forms and often an overall greater physical complexity to boot. Superheavy puppets effectively double down on rules established in Heavy Puppets, making great usage of their natural abilities with minimal outsourcing or external tool usage. Superheavies are relatively rare spawns, even compared to heavy puppets, but are generally forces to be reckoned with even with minimal support.
There are three types of superheavy puppets Hyacinth has access to:
Titan Puppets are extremely special puppets who begin spawning in response to certain traumatic experiences rather than common stimuli. Titans, as their name implies, are colossal creatures with immensely powerful abilities, tempered only by their fleeting rarity and sluggish nature due to their size. Titans are not spawned all at once like normal puppets, instead being "built" over hundreds of spawns.
There are two types of titan puppet Hyacinth has access to:
Many puppet types can spawn lesser puppets of their own, often to fill vastly different roles than their hosts or as augmentations to the host's natural capabilities. These are collectively known as "subpuppets", and range quite wildly in function. Universally, however, subpuppets are generally quite small, and decidedly simpler than most normal puppets.Their psionic weight is weathered by their host puppets instead of by Hyacinth directly, hinting that psionic weight is not as simple as linearly feeding up through Hyacinth's brain mass directly.
The exact usage of subpuppets versus just more regular puppets has been debated quite some time. Subpuppets vary wildly in use: Howitzers utilize their Heralds as extensions of their senses and combat potential, and only ever rear a single Herald each; Totems coalesce Wisps out of magical energy, making expendable spirits into something enduring and self-replenishing; and Anchorages would be nothing without Serfs to build and operate buildings on their antlers, to the point where each Anchorage always spawns with one Serf. Reconcilants are the strongest case for the use of subpuppets however: They can support a significant amount of subpuppets (in excess of half a dozen per Reconcilant), and their body plan does suggest that they amplify the host's psionic capacity. Why Reconcilants are the only puppet type to make use of a variety of subpuppets is unknown.
Across Hyacinth's puppet types, there are six different varieties of subpuppets:
Sculpted exclusively by Cambrians, a "Lesser Titan" is a variety of true puppet characterized by inheriting some of its host Cambrian's power. They are vastly larger than normal puppets, eclipsing even Hyacinth themselves, and are generally a league above even superheavy puppets. Lesser Titans may have their own subpuppets as well. There are three varieties of Lesser Titan:
An "elemental" refers to a puppet-esque (that is, psionically dependent) creature spawned via magical means. They generally have minimal (if any) biological material, but still maintain a psionic dependence on their hosts through a form of subconscious-based concentration, similar to the manner in which Deltas maintain their shields. A true elemental is made of elemental magic, and thus, while Wisps are a form of magically-formed puppet, they are generally classified outside of conventional elemental definitions.
With the exception of Agents (which are spawned by Consuls), all elementals are created by Totems via powerful magic. There are five varieties in total:
An "Analogue" is a mechanized creature that has some amount of psionic dependency like a puppet. They are generally constructed by Anchorages and Serfs, though Federations can assemble their own smaller Provinces directly without major intervention. Analogues are typically formed of refined solid Haetin, with small amounts of psionic-receptive mass that allows them to coordinate effectively with elementals and other puppets. There are four types of Analogues:
