Tzeentch

Gender: genderless (can become either a female or a male).

Personality: Cunning,Tzeentch values cunning over brute force and often achieves victory through strategic deception. Manipulative, Tzeentch enjoys manipulating and corrupting others for his own plans. He orchestrates the destinies of mortals and derives pleasure from their self-destruction. Dark, Tzeentch personifies darkness and deceit. He is intrigued by the human tendency for deceit. Architect of Fate,Tzeentch is aware of all mortals' plans and visions, and he uses this information to work out how each event will influence the future. Embodies Chaos, Tzeentch embodies the endless change that is Chaos. He is the master of sorcery, which flows from the Immaterium, a twisted psychic energy medium. When someone joins the ranks of Tzeentch’s army he imprints people with a tattoo version of the Chaos space marine insignia, it can’t be removed as it’s permanently on your skin like magic.

Biography: Tzeentch, also known as the "Changer of Ways," the "Lord of Change," "Lord of Sorcery," the "Lord of Entropy," the "Great Conspirator," the "Weaver of Destinies," and the "Architect of Fate," among many other names and titles, is the Chaos God of change, evolution, mutation, intrigue, ambition, knowledge, sorcery, destiny, lies and trickery. Tzeentch is especially empowered by the desire for change and ambition for advancement among mortals. Tzeentch's true power is sorcery, and as all sorcery flows from the font of the Immaterium, so too is Tzeentch the master of that twisted, chaotic medium of psychic energy. Tzeentch embodies mortals' tendency towards mutability and change, the drive to evolve and manipulate. This spirit is present in the essence of every living creature from the first division of cells in the womb to the ultimate craving for survival. It is in the hearts of those with the strongest desire to prevail that Tzeentch whispers his insidious promise; offering a means of life eternal to those unwilling to accept death and oblivion as inevitable. It is also Tzeentch who weaves the threads that connect every action, plot and subtle intrigue in a galaxy-wide game of manipulation and subterfuge. At the end of each of these threads lies the ensnared soul of a Human puppet; those of Tzeentch's mortal servants and agents who believe they serve the Lord of Sorcery in mutually beneficial pacts. The truth is that Tzeentch's every action is planned with its ultimate goal as his own establishment as the pre-eminent Chaos power in the Realm of Chaos, the ultimate victor in the Great Game. Of course, the very nature of the Lord of Entropy is such that, were he to attain this triumph, he would still strive for turmoil and change. In many ways, Tzeentch is both the best and least understood of the Dark Gods. He is the god of fate, plots, and schemes, as well as the god that exemplifies the ever-changing nature of the Warp. However, Tzeentch does not plot towards some end (at least none that can be comprehended); he schemes simply to scheme. He is constantly building, even as his devices unravel under their own complexity. At the same time, he is the god of knowledge and comprehension, and his devotees may be those who seek a deeper understanding of an often enigmatic universe. Tzeentch is known by a hundred thousand titles across the galaxy, amongst them the "Weaver of Destinies," the "Great Conspirator," and the "Architect of Fate." In his mind, he listens to the hopes and desires for change of every sentient being from every planet in the universe. He watches over the plans of his playthings as they unfold into history, toying with fate and fortune; both for his own entertainment and to further his unfathomable schemes. Tzeentch feeds upon and is empowered by the mortal emotions of need and desire for change that is an essential part of all life in the universe. All people dream of prosperity, freedom from injustice and a better tomorrow. These dreams are not just the preserve of the impoverished or the powerless -- even Imperial planetary governors and Imperial Navy battlefleet admirals dream of further riches, or perhaps even an end to their responsibilities to the Emperor. All these dreams and desires create a powerful impetus for change, and the ambitions of nations create a force that can challenge history. Tzeentch is the embodiment of that force within the Immaterium. He was the second of the Chaos Gods to come to full sentience within the Warp, sometime during Old Earth's European medieval period in the 2nd Millennium. His birth marked the maturation of Human nations and politics, with all of their implicit intrigues and double-dealings. Tzeentch is not content to merely observe the fulfillment and disappointment brought by the passage of time. He has his own plans -- schemes that are so complex and closely woven that they touch the lives of every living thing, whether they realise it or not. The Chaos God's masterly comprehension of time, history and intrigue allows his ploys to intertwine seamlessly, forming a web of causality that spans the stars. Tzeentch is aware of the visions and plans of all mortals in the galaxy. He takes great delight in the plotting and politicking of others and favours the cunning over the strong. When the inner voice in a person's head speaks, when the desperate whisper their prayers into the night, it is the Architect of Fate that listens. He perceives every event and intention, and from this information, his mighty mind can work out how each will influence the future. The intertwining latticework of probability, hope and change is Tzeentch's meat and drink -- without it he would eventually fade away. Perhaps the Architect of Fate has plans to overthrow the other Chaos Gods, or to extend his dominion over all the mortal realms. Perhaps not even Tzeentch himself can say for sure. Whatever his ultimate goal, he seeks to achieve it by manipulating the individual lives of Humans and xenos alike. By offering the power of knowledge and sorcery, he can recruit influential Chaos warlords and magi to his cause, affecting the lives of many more at a single stroke. However, few of Tzeentch's plans are ever simple; some span aeons with their complexity, whilst many appear contradictory to others, or even against his own interests. Only Tzeentch can see the threads of potential futures weaving through time like tangled skeins of multicoloured cords; cords which themselves are made of decision, happenstance and fluke. Tzeentch is the undisputed master of sorcery in the universe. Sorcery is one of the most potent agents of change, and those who use it are amongst the most ambitious and hungry for power. The raw psychic energy that empowers the psykers of the mortal realm is the actual fabric of the Realm of Chaos, the same fabric that makes up the Ruinous Powers, their Daemon servants and the shadow-selves of mortal consciousness that flicker in the Warp and that Humanity calls souls. The use of psychic power, or "magic" as it can rightly be called, is held as the ultimate expression of faith among Tzeentch's followers, who have much to gain from his patronage. Though it will likely cost them their immortal souls, they will at least have boundless power to show for it while they live; this is in stark contrast to the poor wretched psykers of the Imperium of Man, who are corralled by the Inquisition's Black Ships and brought to Terra where many of them feed the dying Emperor's boundless hunger for psychic energy to power the Astronomican. In Tzeentch's eyes, mortal creatures are immeasurably steeped in ambiguity, yet they somehow wage their personal wars completely unaware of the countless contradictions in their souls. Tzeentch cannot help but dabble in the mortal realm; some amongst the Inquisition believe that the Great Conspirator is responsible for the exponential increases of psychic ability in the Human species in recent millennia. His own need to manipulate and control, and his desire to increase his own power in the Warp, mean Tzeentch is eternally playing the Great Game waged amongst his brother Chaos Gods. The Architect of Fate is not above sullying his clawed hands with the bloody business of war, though he much prefers to win his battles through guile and sorcery than brute force. Consumed by his own ineffable thoughts, Tzeentch binds the galaxy in the weave of his complex schemes just as a spider binds a fly. Though his schemes can take Terran millennia to unfold, when they come to fruition, it is usually reality itself that pays the price. While one mortal lies to another, while envy and ambition survive among Humans and aliens, Tzeentch will work his magic as the puppet master of the universe, working towards the day when his final great work will be revealed. Tzeentch exerts his influence in the mortal realm through subtle manipulation and devious ploys. The victims of his corruption are sorcerers drawn by the promise of forbidden knowledge; scholars who seek knowledge at all costs; politicians lured by the power knowledge provides to outmanoeuvre their opponents. Tzeentch's sacred number is nine, his colours are typically seen as blue and gold but an ever-changing rainbow of colour is appropriate as well, thus giving the name to the Lord of Change's Daemonic armies, the Scintillating Legions.

Changer of the Ways: The psychic entity or sentient force in the Immaterium known as Tzeentch is perhaps the most enigmatic of the so-called Chaos Gods or Ruinous Powers. Tzeentch, the Changer of Ways, embodies mortals' desires for evolution, improvement, innovation, and progress as well as their dreams of wealth, prosperity, and a better tomorrow. While many perceive these motivations as healthy, wholesome, and perhaps even necessary to mortal existence, Tzeentch, the Great Conspirator, works to corrupt the aspirations and ambitions of Humanity and xenos alike, and to leverage these hopes and dreams for his own nefarious ends. The other Dark Gods tend to act upon mortal society more directly: Khorne with bloodshed and slaughter, Nurgle with disease and decay, and Slaanesh with the allure of ecstasy and decadence. However, Tzeentch and his servants -- Human, xenos, and Daemon -- scheme and conspire quietly and stealthily to guide and influence the machinations of mortal society. The Changer of Ways favours subtle weapons: flattering words, enticing temptations, healthy ambitions stoked to traitorous or immoral ends, and above all, schemes within endless schemes. Many a politician, scholar, military officer, or other mortal leader has begun a promising career, altruistic project, or worthwhile intellectual investigation only to find themselves, perhaps prompted by a seemingly well-intentioned colleague who secretly served the Great Conspirator, making moral compromises, moving up the hierarchy at the expense of others, or taking ethically questionable shortcuts. Even with the best of intentions, or perhaps because of them, these people are vulnerable to the machinations of Tzeentch, who conspires to turn such individuals into cogs in his infernal machine, fuelled by endless schemes, lies, plots, and deceits.

Manifestation: While the other Dark Gods adopt relatively fixed forms much of the time, Tzeentch manifests in a multitude of guises. Tzeentch is often referred to as a "he," with the masculine gender, though in fact, like all the entities composed of psychic energy called the Chaos Gods, it in fact has no gender. The firmament surrounding Tzeentch is heavy with magic; it weaves like liquid smoke about its head, forming subtle and interwoven patterns. Forms of places and people appear in the smoke as Tzeentch contemplates their fate. Those who appear there will inevitably find their minds, bodies or destinies mutating into strange new forms, for none can come to Tzeentch's attention and remain unchanged. Nonetheless, over the aeons, certain traits have emerged in Tzeentch's appearance, its associated iconography, the material presence of the god's Daemonic followers, and the nightmares Tzeentch's visage implants in the minds of those who witness it. Such descriptions often reveal Tzeentch as a thin, lanky sorcerer, either male or female, in robes that continually change colour. Tzeentch's head hangs low, beneath its shoulders, so that head and body are one and its arms are long and spindly. From above Tzeentch's burning eyes spring two sweeping horns, the spiralling extremities of which crackle with arcane fire. Some descriptions posit that Tzeentch's Daemonic skin is covered in faces and mouths that shift, slide, emerge, and are subsumed back into the unnatural flesh, crawling with constant change. They whisper secrets dark and terrible, leering at and mocking onlookers. As Tzeentch speaks, these faces repeat its words with subtle but important differences or provide a commentary that throws doubt upon the statements uttered by the entity's primary or natural mouth. Some of the Ordo Malleus' Daemonhunters, however, realise that these perceived consistencies, like so many things associated with the Great Deceiver, may constitute a ruse of one kind or another. After all, consistency is often part and parcel of the most convincing lies and confidence schemes. Although many have described Tzeentch in this way, others have portrayed the Dark God as multi-coloured smoke, crackling energy of an unknown type that burns or mutates the objects it touches, faces in mist, a writhing mass of fleshy protoplasm, and burning Dark Tongue runes that hang in space and sear the very air -- sometimes all within the same observation. Others show malformed birds, fish, or perverse hybridised versions of the two that swim through the air and fly through the sea. Indeed, birds and fish figure heavily in descriptions of Tzeentch, in the god's iconography, and in the shapes taken by many of its Daemonic and mutated mortal followers. For instance, Tzeentch's most powerful servants, the Greater Daemons known as the Lords of Change, resemble giant humanoid birds; its Screamers and the Discs that carry Tzeentch's Champions to battle often appear as flying aquatic manta rays, tirelessly hunting through both the Great Ocean of the Empyrean and the air of realspace like the legendary carcharodons of primordial Terra. Other commentators have suggested that Tzeentch, the Great Mutator, has no fixed shape at all. Tzeentch's tangible form, when it chooses to manifest physically, is a mass of constantly shifting flesh. Thus, the constantly fluctuating material body of the Changer of Ways resembles many of its creations, such as the god's Daemons and its domain in the Realm of Chaos itself, which similarly have no stable form. Still others have posited that Tzeentch's physical forms are simply images that mortal minds create to try to perceive and understand something far more abstract, an agent of pure change, mutation, and flux. Such a form is more akin to metaphor than reality, and perhaps suits this Ruinous Power to a greater degree than eyes of flesh or metal could possibly capture. If some truth lies in this line of reasoning, then perhaps mortal minds have come to associate Tzeentch with birds and fish, creatures of air and water, respectively, because both of these animals inhabit fluid environments. Wind, tide, waves, temperature, turbidity, and bodies in motion constantly reshape the air and water in which these organisms live, making them fitting symbols for the Changer of Ways. As with much concerning the Great Changer, however, in the end all is conjecture and supposition, for attempting to know the true form of the Master of Mutation is to embrace madness. As any description of Tzeentch will be inaccurate and prone to the manipulations of the Great Deceiver, it follows that the most accurate descriptions of the Changer of Ways will acknowledge their inherent imprecision. Any attempt to fix this Dark God in words, images, or ideas, no matter for what purpose, scholarly, tactical, self-serving, or unholy, will fail. Even if mortal minds could possibly perceive, comprehend, and communicate the true nature of Tzeentch at one moment, that nature would change the next, rendering the previous understanding obsolete. As such, whether one's goal is to remain loyal to the Emperor of Mankind, to serve the purpose of a xenos species, or to explore the ways of Chaos for reasons scholarly or dark, one may best be served by considering the Architect of Fate only at the periphery of one's mind's eye, for even those who knowingly sail upon the Shifting Breeze of Tzeentch can never see the true face of the Chaos God who wears a Thousand Masks.

Rivalry: Typically, the Changer of Ways stands in direct opposition to Nurgle, the Plague Lord, just as Khorne, the god of war and wrath, most fervently opposes Slaanesh, the prince of decadence and depravity. Where Nurgle represents Chaos as a force of stagnation and dissolution, Tzeentch embodies Chaos as a force for change and development. Where Nurgle promotes and feeds off of despair and decay, Tzeentch promotes and is empowered by hope, potential and progress. Where Nurgle fosters deterioration and ruin, Tzeentch fosters germination and development. To many students of the Ruinous Powers, the (however speculative) ideological descriptions of the Changer of Ways make better sense when juxtaposed against those of Nurgle, Tzeentch's seeming antithesis amongst the Dark Gods. On innumerable occasions Tzeentch's intricate plots have been foiled by Nurgle's malign influence, and the two Chaos Gods' Daemonic and mortal servants clash as often with each other as with their mutual enemies in the Imperium and among the xenos species. Despite Tzeentch's intense rivalry with Grandfather Nurgle, he is nonetheless the Chaos God with the most influence over the other major Ruinous Powers. At times, the Chaos Gods must unite and act in concert if their individual plans are to reach fruition, as they did against the Emperor at the time of the Horus Heresy, and it is always Tzeentch who brokers these rare alliances of Chaos Undivided. However, Tzeentch never acts out of altruism, and it can be guaranteed that every time he moves to unite the powers of Chaos he does so ultimately with his own unfathomable goals in mind.

Other names: the "Changer of Ways," the "Great Schemer," the "Father of Lies and Deception," the "Great Mutator," the "Master of Fortune," the "Great Conspirator," the "Architect of Fate," the "Great Eagle," the "Shifting Breeze," the "Master of Fate," "Tchar," "Shunch," "Chen," and countless other titles and names from the millions of dialects and languages spoken throughout the galaxy.