Lita Burke

Step inside the Pilot House. Meet Copernicus. He flies Wizard Kadmeion’s airship.

Copernicus is the most advanced metal homunculi (also called automata) on Kadmeion’s airship. Copernicus is a magical sentient creature with a metal body created by Bright, and animated by a minor demon summoned by Kadmeion.

Demons live on the nether plains until called by a magician in the Clockpunk Wizard world. There is a hierarchy of demons based on their mental sophistication and physical ability to animate magician-created bodies. The demons have established this caste system for themselves. I’ve simplified it here.

The lower classes of minor demons easily answer the calls of magicians that practice low magic, such as pellars and hedge-witches. These lower demons are jesters that favor crude humor, such as word puns and rude noises. They are indiscriminate with the bodies they will inhabit, so you will see them in mandrake roots and fresh corpses.

The middle class of minor demons will be thick-witted, but are useful as bodyguards (the magical term is goons). While they will not animate corpses, they will inhabit vat-grown homunculi bodies. They don’t like residing in clockwork bodies because they lack the mental acuity to use the legs without tripping.

High class minor demons are smart, articulate, and well-behaved.  They respond only to a wizard’s high magic summons (this is a point of pride in the minor demon ranks). These minor demons will only inhabit clockworks bodies of a certain high quality. Copernicus is the epitome of fussiness about his metal body. I understand from talking with the Agatha University clockworks magicians that Kadmeion and Bright’s efforts with Copernicus are splendid.

Let’s not distract Copernicus while he’s guiding the airship through these tricky floating islands. Let’s go below decks and see Kadmeion and Bright’s current magical project. The Workrooms are next on our tour.