Information AboutC'tan |
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In the Fictional Universe of '' Warhammer 40,000 '', the C'tan originally lived as energy beings that fed on the stars themselves. They are also called Star Gods (the word ''C'tan'' means ''Star God'') or star vampires. They were discovered and transferred to the physical world by the Necrontyr when they were given bodies made of '' Necrodermis '', also known as ''living metal''. Necrodermis is one of the hardest materials in existence, but can assume any form and is also capable of mending itself when damaged and integrating with the Necron Phase technology. THE HISTORY OF C'TAN Genesis The C'tan feed on galaxy except for the Ork s were touched by the Nightbringer, instilling them with the fear of death. The Tyranids arrived much later and from another galaxy and do not possess a sentient mind in the conventional sense, so are also unaffected. When the Nightbringer was first summoned through a material body made of living metal called Necrodermis, (allowing him to interact with the material world) it began slaughtering the Necrontyr and feeding on the essence of their suffering. They desperately pledged eternal servitude to the Nightbringer, asking for help against the Old Ones in exchange for the countless races of the galaxy to feast upon. The tables were turned. The Old Ones, not having anything as powerful as the C'Tan, were forced to fall back. Even when a C'tan's Necrodermis form was destroyed, its essence would live on unharmed until a new body was constructed. As the Necrontyr continued across the stars, conquering entire worlds, more C'tan would be discovered, including the Deceiver. The Deceiver was the most brilliant and scheming of all the C'tan, but also the weakest. He presented a plan to the Necrontyr, that would finally attain their goal of immortality. They would transfer their essence to metal bodies, discarding their organic forms. Having done so, the C'tan would learn to enjoy a new kind of energy. Unknown to the Necrontyr, this transfer would leave them little more than machines completely enslaved to the will of the C'tan. They were now the Necrons. The War in Heaven The C'tan used the hatred of the Necrontyr towards the Old One s and allowed themselves to be used as weapons in the so-called ''War in Heaven'', unleashing their raw power to destroy entire star systems and wipe out opposing species. After becoming aware of their incredible power in the physical realm and tasting the life-force of living beings, the C'tan were soon hungry for more. They crowned themselves the gods of Necrontyr, and tricked them into becoming the Necrons . Now with an army of immortal soldiers added to their already vast powers, the C'tan began the Red Harvest, consuming life as they progressed throughout the galaxy to gather the living energy they craved. The C'tan led their slave armies of Necrons against the Old Ones, not on a war of conquest, but on a war of annihilation. At a critical point in the war the Deceiver convinced many of his fellow 'Star Gods' that the most appetising meals were the souls of other C'tan. The Star Gods warred amongst themselves, to such an extent that there were only a few left by the time the Old Ones decided to strike back- the Nightbringer, the Deceiver, the Dragon, and the Outsider . In an attempt to end the war quickly, the Old Ones created a series of races that had a closer and closer connection to the , Tzeentch , and Nurgle . Another side effect of this was the Enslaver plague, where countless warp creatures used the minds of the Old Ones' servants to enter the material world. The Enslaver Plague As the war between the C'tan and the Old Ones continued, life in the galaxy came to the brink of extinction and the Red Harvest started to run dry. Not long after that a plague of Enslavers emerged, which finally defeated the Old Ones also depleted the Red Harvest further. Although the C'tan and their Necron servants were immune to the plague, all the other life in the galaxy was nearly destroyed. Facing starvation, the C'tan and the Necrons retreated into stasis in well-protected underground chambers on seemingly barren Tomb Worlds scattered throughout the galaxy. There, they waited 60 million years until the universe at large forgot about them, and the galaxy was repopulated with new races on which to feed. The 41st Millennium The C'tan waited for an eternity, but when they were accidentally awoken by various explorers and archeologists, they found a galaxy rich in life and bloodshed. To date, only two of the C'tan have been awoken, the Deceiver, and the Nightbringer. The Void Dragon and the Outsider still sleep, and where they lay none can tell. (However, there have been numerous hints that the Void Dragon lays dormant within Mars, home of the Adeptus Mechanicus , and is worshipped as the Machine God , and that the Outsider is imprisoned in a Dyson Sphere outside the galaxy.) The C'tan once again have started their Great Work, to permanently seal off the Warp that is anethema to them. This would have disastrous consequences for races with psychic abilities, destroying their souls completely. It would also leave the C'tan and their Necron servants as the sole power in the galaxy with FTL capability, since every other race uses the Warp for interstellar travel while Necrons utilize their incredibly advanced ''Inertialess Drive'' technology. Also, the C'tan known as the Deceiver often alters his Necrodermis shape in order to masquerade as Imperial officials. Two of his aliases have been noted in the background material, but no-one in the Imperium knows of them. Explorator Magos Prime Reston Egal was sent to the dead world Naogeddon to examine the alien structures there, and presumably investigate the fate of the previous expeditions to the planet. In the short story ''Deus Ex Mechanicus'', it is revealed that the Deceiver took the shape of this man. After the expedition, Reston Egal is also noted together with the Mars Incident , where he is said to demand that the Noctis Labyrinthus (the mining complex where one of the Necron ships managed to land before being destroyed) be destroyed and sealed with ferrocrete. The Deceiver also took the shape of a "Governor Takis" for a period of time, before an assassination attempt from the Callidus Temple. Unfortunately for the Imperium, the human assassin was no match to the godly powers of the C'tan. PHYSIOLOGY AND RELATIONS C'tan and the Warp The C'tan are entities purely of material universe, and are therefore unable to comprehend The Warp . Unlike most sentient entities of the physical realm, they do not have reflections in the Warp and cannot interact with it. This is also their one major weakness; while the C'tan are the masters of the material universe, able to bend the physical reality to their will, they have no power on the Warp and can be killed easily by Warp-based attacks. Because of this, C'tan hate Psyker s and have thus set up a series of 'pylons' on Cadia , which, when completed, will close the Eye Of Terror and separate Materium from Immaterium, severly diminishing all psychic influence on the galaxy and thus giving the c'tan little to fear from psykers C'tan and other races The Inquisition employ elite Temple Assassins, one of which, the Callidus Temple Assassins, use a weapon called a C'tan phase sword. The enigmatic Cypher until recently wielded a C'tan phase knife. However, he lost the knife when he used it to strike a C'tan's body, whereupon the blade was swallowed up into the living metal of the C'tan implying that a C'tan phase weapon is made from Necrodermis, the same substance as the C'tan's bodies. The Callidus phase swords act similarly when striking a C'tan. THE LAST FOUR C'TAN The four remaining C'tan are: The Void Dragon Arguably the most powerful C'tan in existence. The Void Dragon is believed to reside in stasis on Mars and it is venerated by a hidden faction within the Adeptus Mechanicus (known as the ''Cult of the Dragon''), who believe it to be their Machine God . This is however unlikely as the Void Dragon was defeated by a shot from one of the blackstones around a binary star system The Outsider A C'tan that went insane due to its consumption of other C'tan and being tricked by the laughing god, and is currently imprisoned in a Dyson Sphere under the Galactic plane. The Tyranid hive fleet known as "Leviathan" appears to be intentionally avoiding the Outsider's Dyson sphere; despite many fan theories, the reasons for this have never been officially confirmed but the most logical explanation is that there is no 'food' for the tyranids in that region of space The Nightbringer The first C'tan awakened by the Necrontyr, spawned from their own sun. It is known as ''Kaelis Ra'' in the Eldar language, literally 'destroyer of light'. It used to be powerful enough to impress its image as that of the Angel Of Death on the psyche of the younger races, apart from the Krork, who later became Orks (which is why they do not fear death) but it was almost destroyed when the laughing god revealed the weak spot in his defence to Khaine. The battle between Khaine and Nightbringer was titanic but Khaine was the better and greatly weakened Nightbringer by destroying his living metal body. Although the Nightbringer managed to reteat, it was greatly weakened and lay nearly-starved in stasis until it was accidentally released by Space Marines. The Space Marines under the command of Captain Uriel Ventris forced the Nightbringer to reteat. The Deceiver Came out of stasis an unknown time ago. Said to have been the first C'tan to awaken and has been weaving plots ever since, including the destruction of the Eldar weapons Talismans Of Vaul which are designed to destroy the C'tan on their emergence. The Deceiver is the weakest of C'tan, but its incredible cunning compensates for an otherwise deficient form. REFERENCES |
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