Not all Humans subject to the experiments of the Preeminent had the good fortune to die. Some were cursed, their brains extracted and sewn into mechanical constructs to create an immortal version of Humanity: half corpse and half machine. These are the Composites, the last people living who still remember the days before the world ended and those most dedicated to preventing it from ending again.
Physical Description
At their most basic, Composites are simply the brain of a Human locked into a container. This container is placed in the chest cavity of a corpse filled with mechanical parts, allowing the brain to ‘pilot’ the body and move it as if it were its own. More often than not, a Composites’ container can’t be seen from the outside as their body is sewn up around them to keep them inside. While most of their body is humanoid, they often have replacement parts sewn into them from various animals. Seeing limbs or heads of other creatures on a Composite is not rare. The corpses that make up Composites are artificially preserved, preventing any further decay, though decaying body parts are also not unheard of.
History
The Preeminent took many Humans to experiment upon when they invaded the Earth. Most became the other races of the world. An unlucky few would find themselves the subject of a unique experiment. This project set out to create a Human that could survive any condition and achieve a form of immortality of Humanity. Their solution was to extract the brains of their test subjects and place them into artificial bodies. Sadly, these bodies were formed of corpses of animals and people sewn together to form a new whole.
The entire process was done on living and aware subjects and those who would become Composites suffered imaginable torture to become what they now are. This process broke the spirits of most Composites and drove the rest to insanity.
With the sudden departure of the Preeminent, the Composites were left alone. Most wandered the world, trying to find some purpose in their now endless lives. With the return of civilizations, most found a sense of normalcy in integrating with these new nations, though few struck out to create a new place of their own.
Culture
Due to the many tortures they’ve suffered, most Composites have a very simple view of life. They see simply living another day as an accomplishment and few have any desires or ambitions beyond continuing their existence.
A cultural silence exists among them about their experiences prior to the world’s end. Most races resent Humans for their role in destroying the world and Composites would rather not let any information that could lead to a second end of the world out to the public.
Most Composites live quietly among other cultures, acting as advisors, story tellers, and historians, using their memory of a world gone by to bring some light to the World After. These Composites do the best they can to safeguard the knowledge and technologies of the World Before to prevent them from falling into the hands of those who would misuse them. This has led many a Composite to strike out in search of knowledge to collect and keep away from the rest of the world.
A small group however have created their own society modeled after ancient Egypt. Most of these people are broken by what they went through and seek an escape from the world to something more simple. This group follows the will of their insane Pharaoh to the letter and uses slave labor to build massive temples, statues, and pyramids. These slaves are often taken from other races, most often as criminals sold to them, though sometimes these slaves are kidnapped.
Politics
Composites do not exist as a unified entity except in the city state of Khufu. There, they are ruled by the Pharaoh Khefren, an insane Composite with the head of a Falcon. Khefren rules with absolute power and is worshiped as a god on Earth. Not only are his whims law, but every facet of the city state belongs to him.
Outside of Khufu, Composites live quiet lives among other races. They prefer to simply disappear into the background and assimilate fully into the cultures of those they live among, though they are often treated as second class citizens.
Lands
Khufu is the only settlement of Composites and the only land they control. Khufu is based in a sandy valley in the foothills outside Rainfall. Here, the city is filled with many marvelous statues, monuments, temples, and pyramids, most of which glorifying their leader Khefren. The city is run by slaves who maintain every facet of life to keep the Composites happy and continue their immortal lives.
Relationships
To most, Composites are invisible. They live their lives quietly among other people and mind their own business. Few have problems with them and they are mostly respected and treated like elders.
Those in Khufu are feared and many believe them to be insane. Travelers give Khufu a wide breadth and do their best to avoid the roving bands of slave catchers seeking new workers.
Religion
For many Composites, religion became useless when God failed to save them from their tortures. The vast majority of Composites are atheists. However, those living in Khufu worship their leader, Khefren as a god and believe he is infallible.
City of Rainfall 