Art Sample 30: Essence Cells (Patreon)

Monster Essence is the primary reason that the Guild is in business. Monster Essences power machines, they allow modern facilities and technology to function, and are a completely renewable resource. Wild Magic, that is, taken from non-living sources, is chaotic and unpredictable at the best of times, and only a few beings, such as Wizards, have any hope of utilizing it successfully. Monsters, unlike humans, are capable of naturally filtering and channeling magic in ways that safely break the laws of physics and thus can be predicted. All parts of a monster are technically filled with their essence, and in less civilized days, it was harvested via the extraction of blood as this was the simplest method by which it could then be put into magitech devices.

This lead to much difficulty however, not to mention the whole nasty business of doing such to beings who were not only several times stronger than your average human, but could bend a specific portion of the laws of nature to their whim, and most importantly, were sapient entities. In the very earliest days, there wasn't much choice. Humanity was scattered upon wild islands, the world had been sundered, and their choices were to fight and kill or die themselves. It was only with the dawn of the Frontiersman's guild several centuries ago that inroads were made in monster-human diplomacy, and pacts struck between the Guild and various Monster Tribes, establishing the very first essence farms. Thus, much more fun was had, and a lot less morally objectionable energy production practices invented.

You'll notice that each cell is a different shape, and this is for good reason. Just as a harpy cannot do the same things a cat can, so too is their essence simply not suited very well towards the same things that harpy essence is. For this reason the essence cell of a harpy is fitted for a different sort of machine than that of the essence cell of a cat.