Speiroikos

Speiroikos are born of an unusual ritual in which dragon teeth are sown in the ground, giving rise to a legion of fierce warriors formed of earth. Magic items to summon speiroikos also exist and, on rare occasions, they can arise spontaneously after a dragon is slain, and its body decomposes into the soil.

At first glance, a speiroikos looks like a normal humanoid, though close inspection reveals their skin to have a clay-like texture and their teeth to be draconic fangs. They eagerly follow the one who crafted them into battle and obey their creator's orders without question. One might expect them to be perfect soldiers, but they're prone to fighting among themselves if provoked. Typically, speiroikos last only as long as there's a battle to fight, disintegrating back into dirt once hostilities conclude. Some canny creators manage to prolong their existence by hurrying them from one battle to another.

Wandering Speiroikos

On rare occasions, a surviving member of a speiroikos troop will maintain its existence after battle, gaining full autonomy; this occurs more often in those created spontaneously. Such survivors often experience an existential crisis, having previously existed only to fight. Some wander the world seeking combat, while others attempt to blend in with humanoid societies and find new aspirations.