Gandies

Gandies are creatures of the Shape that perform maintenance, signalling, and other sundry tasks that trains either cannot perform or do not wish to.

They are extruded from thin brass pipes (around the diameter of a coin) around the railroad, or inside the trains themselves.

Appearance

Gandies have an unsettling insectoid appearance, described as resembling chrysalids from XCOM or keepers from Mass Effect; they clamber around on four thin, sharp legs. They are made of a waxy, paper mâché-like carapace that apparently has newsprint on it.

Gandies come in three main body types, although Shape knights often categorize them by function: e.g. signalmen, dispatchers, and other rail-associated tasks. The first is large and has fleshy mallet-like limbs, used to hammer spikes into the ground or bang dents out of the sides of trains. The second have a scorpion-like tail that raises up and then extrudes a twisted railroad spike. The third have tools such as screwdrivers and wrenches hanging from their underbellies.

Trivia

• They are named after gandy dancers, a historical term for railroad workers. The term originates because they looked like waddling geese from a distance.

Gallery

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  Art by Conner Fawcett