Dweghom: Tempered Steelshaper

‘The oldest and most accomplished of the Wizards are among the few living beings to interact regularly with the Steel Forges. They are also among the few who can see beyond the admiration they inspire and truly grasp the changes that this final transformation brings. On the surface, it becomes impossible to tell where their armour begins and their flesh ends. Their voices ring hollow and their eyes stare expressionless. They clearly possess a terrifying genius and an unrivalled mental capacity, which they devote tirelessly to problems linked to one of their alien interests or an experimental project. Their power itself is entirely alien, different both in its invocation and in its effect from the crude elemental power they used to weave. Yet these are not the things that inspire fear in older Wizards. It's not even the sheer and awesome weight of responsibility that weighs on the shoulders of the Steel Forgers, for almost every function within a Dweghom Fortress and all the works of the Temple Forge depend on their unique and brilliant innovations, a weight they seem to carry effortlessly with almost total indifference.

It's simply that the Ancients fear that these beings are no longer Dweghom.

Although no one disputes their effectiveness on the battlefield, few understand the sorceries they perform. Those who manage to grasp the tiniest outlines of the power that a Steel Forger possesses would be legitimately perplexed by the idea that an army containing one could be defeated or even challenged, for their control over the metal is total. Anyone who has asked a Steel Forger about this has invariably received the same flat, unexplained answer: Balance is necessary.’