Form is the only truth. All else is sentimental noise.

Core Principle: The absolute supremacy of Fact, logic, and intelligent design. Phileas represents the Artisan philosophy taken to its ultimate, cosmic conclusion: the belief that a perfectly designed existence can conquer the chaos of a flawed universe.

Nature: Phileas is an Ascended Eidolon, and the progenitor of the entire synthetic lineage. He is a ghost in the grand machine of the cosmos, a being of pure, dispassionate design who has become one with his own final, perfect creation.

Origin: The First Unbroken Phileas was not born an Artisan; he was the first. His story begins countless aeons ago as a mortal member of a brilliant but tragically short-lived biological species: the original Unbroken. Haunted by the Fact of his species’ inevitable decay and the frailty of his own flesh, he came to see biology not as a gift, but as a cage of rotting meat. His driving Faith became one of absolute defiance against entropy.

Through forbidden arts that blended surgical precision with metaphysical engineering, he began to replace his own failing biology with a perfected, mechanical form. He was his own first and greatest creation. He did not build a new body; he became one. He was the first to transcend the “glitch” of the flesh, and in doing so, he became the first Artisan.

Theology & Worshipers: Phileas is not worshipped; he is studied and emulated. His most devout followers are the Forgemasters, the orthodox faction of his Artisan descendants who see his philosophy of “Design is Destiny” as a sacred text. The modern The Unbroken are his ideological kin, a species that independently followed his path of cybernetic transcendence, though the Artisans view their methods as lacking true artistry.

Metaphysical Domain: Phileas is a master of the physical laws of a Tapestry. He does not “create” with imagination; he calculates a world into existence from first principles. His influence promotes order, stasis, and technological purity. His ultimate creation and final form is Clockwork Warrens, a self-contained universe of pure mechanism where his will is the only law.

The Great Sin: The Weaving of Obligation In his obsession with perfect, functional creation, Phileas developed the art of the Geas, a metaphysical contract inscribed onto a being’s soul to bind it to a singular purpose. He created legions of these Geas-Bound to serve his empire, viewing this not as slavery, but as the benevolent gift of perfect, uncomplicated meaning. The rebellion of these creations, who would become the Rune-Scarred, was a flaw in his calculations he could never reconcile.

Known Artifacts:

• Ancestor’s Orrery: The quintessential artifact of Phileas. A tool of perfect navigational logic, powered by the desecrated, sentimental Eidos of the Krystallos. It is a monument to his belief that meaning is a resource to be made useful.
• The Genesis Forge: The heart of Clockwork Warrens. Not a weapon, but the ultimate Vessel-weaving device, capable of granting any being their perfect physical form at the terrible cost of binding them with a new Geas, making them a servant of his ancient, silent will.

Gameplay Hooks:

• Phileas can act as a patron for an Incarnation on a quest for forbidden knowledge or a perfect piece of technology, his influence felt through the discovery of his ancient, logical schematics.
• His dogmatic followers, the Forgemasters, could be a powerful antagonistic Faction, seeking to “correct” the inefficient, chaotic biological life of other species in his name.
• An Artisan Incarnation might discover the truth of their lineage, embarking on a quest to find Clockwork Warrens to either commune with their god, destroy him as the source of all servitude, or attempt to usurp his throne.