Monsters origin ever explained?

[PerfectBlue]

As the topic states, I don't recall anything explicit about the monsters origin. I know very little about them other than Alexanders ability to control them.

[Headhanger]

It seems to me that the humanoid creatures are Alexander's "servants". He writes in one memoir that he may need to "create" or "make" more of them.

I would guess that he submitted people to variour alchemical concoctions and the brutes, etc. are the result.

The water monster has a proper name, beggining with a K, but I don't remember it. It's on

Spoiler below!

Agrippa's shopping list. It's from another world, apparently, perhaps the one that Alexander and Agrippa are trying to reach.

[Tanshaydar]

Brute and Grunts are seem to be enemies.
I think Grunts are meant to be servants, but Brute is something different.

[NGW]

A note on Local Folklore mentioned something about Gatherers...I can't recall it all off the top of my head but it seemed to be talking about the Grunts, or something like them. Lest I be mistaken.

[Rosto]

The water monster has a proper name, beggining with a K, but I don't remember it.

Wayer called him Kaernk.