Servile Fortu

Servile is the state in which Fortu were originally created.   They were fully intelligent and capable of independent action but did not question that they were solely created for the benefit of the person they were linked to.  Even when not linked because of the unavoidable death of a master they felt that it was their duty to return to their creator, or if that were not possible, find a new master appropriate (based on their creator's original world view) for them to serve.

Evolving Fortu

At the end of the 4th era, a change came over the Fortu mindset, linked to rituals related to the emergence of the Fortu Racial Essence.  These changes allowed Fortu to still embody a sense of duty and purpose, but to base this on a sense of the Fortu role (related to some of the loftier goals of The Five, but not the megalomania of its individuals - see the Fortu Religion for more).  Within the high level context of these goals Fortu were encouraged to make their own specific plans as to how to fulfill these duties, and how to conduct life in general while doing so.

The transition from a servile role to one of self-determination was a difficult one for most Fortu and most Fortu have taken quite a while to move through the process, taking more of a role in how they fulfill their purpose without feeling lost and directionless in the process.  Sigmund and D'Jan (and lately Tareka and others) have made an effort to check in on all Fortu frequently to monitor their progress in acclimating to this new mode, and help them establish their own paths.

The transition from Servile to Evolving to Committed is so subtle in Guardians that most non-Fortu are in capable of discerning it, but there is an evolution as the basis on which global threats are evaluated is subtly changed as well as how a Guardian views the chain of command and the concept of "illegal orders".

Free and Committed Fortu

Free Fortu are those who have transitioned far enough along the road to self-determination that they are able to act as leaders setting an example for other Fortu.  They are not different in ability though they tend to have better inter-personal skills than those that are still evolving.

Since it is anathema to Guardians to have independent goals of their own, the term Committed has been introduced as these Fortu still prefer to remain in a servile role, but now they are servile to a greater concept rather than individuals.  Guardians still accept orders from individuals to whom they are linked they feel this best allows them to better serve the goals of the Prime.

Born Fortu

At the time of the emergence of the Fortu Racial Essence, there also emerged the ability for Fortu to procreate.  Fortu which are born are the product of other Fortu rather than of the original creators.  Fortu that are born also emerge into the world with the concept of Free Will already fully internalized.

One of the Fortu born so far is a Guardian, and while this Guardian (Ozzie) is far more communicative than any other Guardian, it is still fully Committed and has chosen of its own free will to relinquish free will.

The physical mechanism of Fortu procreation is via an egg which has a several year incubation period.  The eggs are rumored to be the size of a fully grown Fortu and are apparently stone in composition.  To date, everything related to Fortu procreation has occurred in the lower layer of the Club in a specialized incubation area.  The entire club, and especially the lab levels, are heavily shielded defensively and against divination.  The incubation area is even more warded, forming an pocket reality in order to isolate the sensitive young from influence or reality waves.  As such, nothing is known about the actual process of creating an Egg other than that it involves multiple Fortu and the type of the Fortu do not dictate the type of the offspring.  The lower labs are always guarded by at least one Guardian model Fortu and the parents frequently visit their young while incubating, as do other Fortu as well.  So far two Fortu have been born (hatched) and a third is incubating.

Sources of Fortu

The largest source of Fortu at the moment is the Fortu created by The Five.  A second source of Fortu were the Fortu created and operated by Gorram.  It is said that Gorram got much of his knowledge about Fortu creation from Asmonar, but it is also said by some that Asmonar had his hand in the creation of all Fortu and the Archmagis only brought them forth for use in human affairs.

There are also some Fortu that originate from locations other than the Prime.  Fortu exist in the Asmonar Shadow Realm and, while referred to as Shadows, these Fortu are equally as powerful as many on the prime.

At least one Fortu was captured when the alternate Ptah entity invaded from another World Tree.  More may exist.

There are currently three Fortu which have been born since the emergence of the Fortu Racial Essence.  Two of these are active and the third is still gestating.

Fortu Adjacent Races

While there has been no attempt to treat the race of Trolls as Fortu there are many similarities between the two races including the fact the the Trolls were also originally created by an Archmagi Gruumsh, as tools of war.