The three peoples - Seidr Awakening

Hesh Dominion

Urd, what was. Bronze priest-engineers of the inner shard Ra-Hesh, who keep the Record so that nothing is forgotten and nothing owed goes unpaid.

The Hesh build tall and weigh everything. Their armies are slow to break and expensive to replace, and every Age they carve a new law into a stone.

Look. Sandstone, oxidised bronze green, lapis blue and gold glyphs. Blocky, symmetric shapes, tall hats and counterweights.
Economy. Classic: Masons mine Ore and Aether and carry it to a Foundry, Granary or Conduit. Lore comes from Archives and attuned Echo Sites.
Unique. Inscriptions: at the start of every Age you pick one of three permanent bonuses. Two matches are never quite the same.
Motive. Complete the Record and make the world lawful again.
Flaw. They treat people as entries in a ledger.

High Artificer Nesh-Amun in a hooded bronze exo-frame with a glowing lapis glyph on his chest, standing beneath a ring of runes. — **High Artificer Nesh-Amun**, hero. Bulwark Aura cuts damage to nearby allies by 15%; Raise Glyph Wall builds a barrier on demand.

Units

Glyph Mason

Worker. Builds, repairs, mines Ore and Aether, and attunes Echo Sites by standing on them.

Shieldwall Acolyte

Line infantry. On Hold Position it raises its shield and takes 30% less ranged damage. Strong against mounted units.

Sunspear Caster

Ranged. Light, not fire. Fast enough to kite Acolytes, fragile against raiders.

Seer of the Weights

Caster. Balance moves 12 health from the healthiest ally to the most hurt, so big armies live longer. Tilt slows a whole area.

All ten Hesh units, with numbers

Design values from the current design bible. They will move during balance testing. Range is in tiles; train time in seconds.
Unit	Role	Age	HP	Damage	Range	Cost (Ore/Aether)	Train
Glyph Mason	Worker	I	40	Pierce 3	1.0	50 / 0	10
Shieldwall Acolyte	Line	I	100	Pierce 10	1.1	100 / 0	15
Sunspear Caster	Ranged	I	70	Arcane 10	6.0	110 / 0	17
Dune Jackal Rider	Raider	II	90	Pierce 10	1.1	100 / 25	16
Pillar Breaker	Anti-armour	II	220	Blast 30	1.1	150 / 50	22
Seer of the Weights	Caster	II	80	Arcane 5	6.0	110 / 75	20
Obelisk Ballista	Siege	III	160	Blast 70	10.0	175 / 100	30
Sundisc Glider	Air harass	III	100	Pierce 10	7.0	130 / 60	22
High Artificer Nesh-Amun	Hero	I	600	Blast 25	2.0	250 / 100	40
Ka-Ur, the Walking Monolith	Mythic	IV	1200	Arcane 60, splash	9.0	600 / 300	90

Jackal Rider, Pillar Breaker, Ballista and Glider do not have renders yet. Ka-Ur has a first concept render.

Who beats whom

Hesh units follow a loose rock-paper-scissors, with range and speed changing the answer in the open field. Damage comes in three types (Pierce, Blast, Arcane) against four armour classes (Light, Armoured, Huge, Structure).

Unit	Beats	Loses to	Why
Acolyte	Jackal Rider, Mason, melee	Breaker, kited Sunspear, Tower	Resists Pierce and braces against mounts, but slow and low damage.
Sunspear Caster	Acolyte (kiting), Breaker, Glider	Jackal Rider	Arcane is full damage on armour, but only 70 HP.
Jackal Rider	Sunspear, Seer, Mason	Acolyte, Tower	Speed 3.3 tiles a second; Pierce is halved by armour.
Pillar Breaker	Acolyte, buildings, Ballista	Sunspear (kited), Glider	Blast hits armour and structures hard; slow, no anti-air.
Glider	Breaker, Ballista, Mason	Sunspear, Tower, Ka-Ur	Only anti-air units can answer it.

Buildings

Temple Foundry

The hub. Trains Masons and the hero, takes every resource and performs the Rite of Ascension. You may build up to three more.

Glyph Barracks

Acolytes, Sunspear Casters and, from Age II, Jackal Riders.

Sun Granary

Raises your supply cap by 8 and doubles as a drop-off point.

Obelisk Tower

Fires Arcane light at ground and air targets from 8 tiles.

Also: Aether Conduit (built on a Well), Archive of Echoes (Lore, Seers, upgrades), Glyph Wall, Weight Works (siege and gliders) and the Wonder of the Balance, which wins the game if it stands for five minutes.

Inscriptions

Pick one at the start of each Age. They are permanent. Here are the first two Ages.

Age	Choice A	Choice B	Choice C
I · Landfall	Deep Veins. Mining takes 24 ticks, not 30.	Bronze Vows. Acolytes gain 15 HP.	Sun Ledger. Archives make 50% more Lore.
II · Kindling	Stone Hands. Buildings +20% HP and build 20% faster.	Lancing Light. Sunspear range +1 tile, damage +1.	Counterweight Rites. Seers gain energy and Balance runs faster.

Ages III and IV add a myth power each: Obelisk Fall or Veil of Sand, then Scales Fall or Eternal Foundation.

Oru Wanderers

Verdandi, what is becoming. A people with no home, whose caravans cross the Drift between shards.

A story that stops dies, so they never stop. Every Oru building has legs.

Look: Weathered copper, driftwood, pale teal spirit-light, patched cloth. Asymmetric, bundled and lantern-lit.
Economy: Walking buildings park on resource nodes. Pack up and move when the ore runs out or the storm comes.
Unique: Caravan relocation: your whole base can walk.
Hero: Matriarch Oru-Vael, carrying a tiny walking cottage with a lantern for every name she remembers.
Fear and flaw: A road that ends. They run from every consequence.

Planned units: Patchwork Tinker, Caravan Guard, Lantern Slinger, Rustbiter, Strider Courier, Roving Mortar, Wind-Speaker. Buildings: Walking Camp, Loom Hall, Beacon Tower, Gatherer Hut.

Concept stage. First hero render below.

Thalm Deep

Skuld, what is owed. A cult-choir of the ocean moon Thalm, orbiting cold Ís.

The Choir owes the Deep a voice. The Thalm have come to take it back, down.

Look: Blue-black, bone-white masks, cyan and magenta glow, ribs and tentacles. Tall and hooded, with curved horns.
Economy: Tidepools and grown beasts gather. They follow the tide clock, with stronger windows at high water.
Unique: The Tide clock, and veterancy earned through rites.
Hero: The Drowned Cantor, once a priest, now half-fused to a leviathan skull.
Fear and flaw: Silence. For the Thalm, everything is payment.

Planned units: Kelp Hauler, Choir Guard, Pearl Cantor, Hookmaw Brute, Eel Charger, Maw Carrier, Tidecaller. Buildings: Abyssal Altar, Brood Pit, Choir Spire, Kelp Farm.

Concept stage. First hero render below.

Hero concepts

The first Meshy concept renders for the biggest figure of each people. They are early concepts, not final models, and none of them is in the game yet.

Ka-Ur, a tall sandstone obelisk with a turquoise and gold capstone, carved with glyphs, standing on stone feet with two blocky fists floating at its sides. — Hesh DominionKa-Ur, the Walking MonolithMythic super-unit, one at a time. An obelisk-bodied walker carved with the Record, hitting a whole area with Arcane light.

Matriarch Oru-Vael, a weathered timber cottage with a bird-skull weathervane, walking on two long clawed legs with paper lanterns hanging from its sides. — Oru WanderersMatriarch Oru-VaelHero. Carries a tiny walking cottage on her back, with a lantern for every name she remembers.

The Drowned Cantor, a horned skeletal figure in a black hooded robe with arms spread wide. — Thalm DeepThe Drowned CantorHero. Once the priest Ilvar-Mourn, now half-fused to a leviathan skull. A bass with a second voice under it.

Concept renders, generated with Meshy. Final models will be redrawn for handheld budgets, and Oru-Vael and the Cantor will change as their peoples are designed.