
Bladelings are metallic creatures that can use any part of their body as a weapon.
Bladelings are the recombined elementals of Metal, born from the combination of Earth and Fire. Intelligent creatures of living steel, they are expert weaponsmiths and crafters, creating some of the best tools, weapons, and goods in the world. Their expertise remains to be blades, as their name suggests, and often the body of a Bladeling contains several hundred hidden barbs and knives that fold out at a moment's notice.
Despite their appearance Bladelings function like biological creatures, and are born rather than made. At birth, a Bladeling is completely smooth and unarmed; over time, they are fought to forge the metal of their own body into something unique and different that suits the purpose that they choose to pursue. A militaristic Bladeling will therefore possess blade-like fingers and a solid build, whereas one that values music over militaristic skill could forge their fingers into flutes and a harp-like structure into their thoracic cage.
Bladelings are made of a living metal known as Anthropite, which is prized as a material by Alchemists. Living metal still has a vestige of the sentience of the being that it once was, and can therefore be made into a uniquely intelligent weapon. Bladelings are sometimes 'farmed' and killed to provide a source of this mineral by Secrets with little concern for ethics.