| abstract | - Carverax is a character that appears in Might and Magic: The Shadowsmith. It was a twelve-foot tall bronze statue, with joints that were hinged with jewels, and was shaped like a man wearing a crown. It had features like an idealized hero, with "bronze muscles rippled with inhuman perfection". Hitch described it as a "vast, cheerful soul filled with robust energy and a childlike devotion to its master." Together with Hardarken, Carverax had been created to serve the members of an ancient civilization. It said that in those days, humans lived mostly underground, and "the wholly human, the part machine, and the pure machine" worked together at some great plan. When Hitch and his friends went to the ruins beneath Tustable Impery, they found Carverax and Hardarken guarding a doorway. Thinking they there regular statues, Hitch walked over to study them, and was surprised when the Staff of Blue Light started shining. When he held it up to Carverax, the giant moved, kneeling before him and calling him "High One". They eventually realized that since Hitch had used the staff to wake him, it had mistaken him for its former master. It's not known exactly how the bronze giants worked, but when Carverax moved, the chamber echoed with the sound of tiny gears. When Hitch asked it why Hardarken wasn't moving or talking, Carverax looked at the faint stain of greenish tint around Hardarken's feet and replied that "the fluids vital to reanimation" had departed its body. "Perhaps there was a defect in the circulation mechanism that grew worse over time." Initially, Carverax didn't answer questions from anyone but Hitch. When Hitch asked why, it explained that it hadn't been told to. In order to prevent superfluous commentary, a ward had been placed on its brain, preventing it from providing information unless asked to do so. It also explained that if proper adjustments were made to its attitude plates, it would be able to exercise more control over voluntary speech and action. The giant was was fascinated by the young Tinderboy, as it had never seen a "diminutive person" before. The Tinderboy would often ride around on Carverax's shoulder with a smile on his face. Over time, the two developed a close friendship, and always remained together. When the group was about to leave the Tinderboy with his kin in the Blasted Lands, Hitch decided to ask the giant how to adjust its attitude plates. With its new independence, Carverax immediately chose to stay with the candlemen. Given that they were revived by the Staff of Blue Light, it's possible that Carverax and Hardarken were created by the Ancients, and that they were guardians, but this is never clarified in the novels. The narration usually uses the pronoun "it" for Carverax, while the characters often use "he".
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