Churraba

The warp born xenos species known as the **Churraba** in the Low Gothic of Walcha, though they have gone by many other names by many other species over untold millennia, are winged monsters that feed on the blood of other sentient creatures and are capable of feats of psychic powers and sorcery. They often shapeshift to match a host society and quietly prey upon a local populace. Often seen as a large bat like creature when not using a host species' form they are in fact a type of arcane pathogen that infects and replaces the host, body and soul, with a new entitiy.

## History

The Churraba are an ancient and insidious xenos race that live in the warp, making it nigh impossible to know how old of a race they truly are. They have long plagued other sentient species that tamper with the warp or live near a warp rift. Scant evidence gathered from pre Imperial and records indicate that they may have even existed on Holy Terra in the distant past and Aeldari records have them within their civilization as well as even the Necrontyr long before them. Often seen as solitary hunters in highly populated areas like hive cities though are in actuality usually part of a brood, a group of Churraba following an elder that originally infected them and together prey on whole worlds.

## Notable Conflicts

* **Walcha Uprising (999.M41-079.M42):** While most of the Hussars Sanguine chapter is busy fighting across several warzones including Baal, what seems like a gang uprising upon that chapter's homeworld of Walcha escalates into a full scale war against the loyalist defenders of the planet as the Churraba slowly show themselves more and more as they sow terror across the planet. the PDF is shattered by many of its senior commanders either being part of the uprising or killed in the initial ambushes. A reprieve comes when a majority of the long allied chapter the Iron Myrmidons answered the distress call sent out in the beginning of the uprising and were quick to begin quelling the uprising. Unfortunately soon after this the Dark Rift is created and heralds a massed host of the flying xenos and warp energy that blotted out the sun as the descended upon the planet to feed. In this time several of the other planets under their protection go dark, at least one being completely overrun with Churraba and their slaves until even the present time. It is not until a large strike force of Void Paladins answering ancient blood oaths of alliance forced their way through the tail end of the initial psychic back wash, and later the arrival of the survivors of Baal with the new Primaris recruits for both of the loyalist chapters, that they able to launch any real counter attack and take back Walcha or the other planets. It is after this that the Iron Myrmidon's are able to fully take in their new brothers officially.

## Physiology

### Churraba Virus

While most think that Churraba are a simple xenos species that come from the void are distressingly mistaken, they are actually the end product of a warp born xenos pathogen that transforms its victim's body and soul into a different entity altogether. This transfer happens via a blood infection caused from its blood getting into a wound, most commonly done via a bite. This new entity is connected on a psychic level to the Churraba that spread the infection to it, if joining its brood isn't possible for whatever reason then it will either become feral or start its own brood depending on the original host's willpower over their new powers. Fortunately for humanity they are unable to spread the virus to the gene forged bodies of an astartes as well as Orkoid creatures.

### Feeding

While they target the blood of their victim for physical nourishment they also feed upon their very soul, flaying it layer by layer until it is entirely consumed. This energy quickly heals and strengthens a Churraba, as well as slowly building up and granting elder Churraba their greater power. Churraba generally do not go out to spread their numbers very much, as it can bring unwanted attention, often only those that are injured but get away are able to go through the viruses transformation but when a brood needs to they will purposely create more to sustain themselves.

### Anatomy & Appearance

While their shapeshifting ability allows them to change to fit most sentient cultures, besides whatever their original form was prior to infection their is a base appearance seen outside of a host disguise that is assumed to be the actual form of the Churraba virus itself. They are generally grey skinned humanoids devoid of hair standing almost 3 meters tall with a pair of leathery wings with a wingspan as much as they are tall, a gaunt face with a mouth of fangs and piercing red eyes framed by pointed ears, and long fingered hands that end in claws on par with lightning claws that are easily capable of tearing into power armour. They are unnaturally strong and robust compared to what their lean musculature should allow, the older a Churraba becomes the stronger it gets both physically and psychically. Even when in a weaker shapeshifted host form like a human they will be very hard to kill with basic weaponry, easily walking through small arms fire or laughing off seemingly fatal melee injuries, and can revert parts of their body back like their claws or teeth to feed before changing it back.

### Psychic Powers

Every Churraba is capable of psyker abilities like mild telepathy and telekinesis, witchsight, and other expected of a basic sentient psyker, while those that are born from a psychically active host like an aeldari or human psyker will have access to far greater powers without waiting for their power to increase by age. A power most eventually gain either via initial psychic ability or by the power increase of age is shapeshifting. This ability is used to weave their way into a host society, generally humans as well as the aeldari to a far lesser degree and tau the tau to a growing degree, in search of prey to feed upon and further the brood's hold of their hunting ground or create their own. Using their ability to read minds it is easy for most Churraba to approximate the language of something they are speaking with.

## Society

### Broods

Elder Churraba often each have a brood consisting of underlings like elite Brood Knights and lesser Churraba they have created, as well as a larger host of enthralled host servants. Broods rarely go to full war with each other as they are often small and simply hunt elsewhere, though sometimes covert assassinations and sending those enthralled to the brood to wage something akin to a gang war to assert authority over a claim is common.

#### Brood Knights

There is a warrior sect across all broods that stay in their Churraba form instead of using a host form and live out their seemingly immortal life as something called a Brood Knight, with only dying or becoming an elder being acceptable reasons to go back on their blood vow of loyalty to their brood. As the psychic powers of Churraba increase with age as well as their physical prowess, knights that have aged enough to be considered an elder are fear inspiring sorcerers as much as they are warriors. They wear an archaic set of heavy plate armour consisting of a breastplate, greaves, bracers, and a helm, all made to increase their already fierce visage and allow the use of the claws on their hands and feet to be used in combat. Despite having claws capable of blocking power weapons, brood knights often carry a daemonic force weapon as their primary weapon and use their claws as secondary weapons. During the Walcha uprising when the 1000 Coven Host finally showed itself in full, their vanguard was made up of thousands of these heavily armoured Brood Knights.

### Covens

An alliance of Broods is called a Coven, and is generally no more than 200 Churraba but can have an intricate web of enthralled servants across an entire world. Some covens can number much higher if they have a powerful elder leading it. While warfare between broods is uncommon, covens generally do not tolerate other Churraba using their host planet as a hunting ground and will hunt solitary intruders or outright go to war with rival covens over it.

#### Broodmasters & Covenmasters

While singular broods call their leader and maybe a few of his most senior followers an elder, covens will have internal factions and councils of elders from the various broods. Due to this covens use the terms Broodmaster and Covenmaster to identify those in command of the formations beyond simply being an elder.

### Ferals & Lone Hunters

Besides those within broods and covens are solitary Churraba that have become feral, kept as a type of war hound by covens or left roaming a planet as a terrible monster killing anything it finds until killed. Other solitary Churraba may simply not want to have a large following, preferring to hunt and exist alone as a sadistic serial killer like entity though often becoming the supreme hunters compared to the rest of their species. All of these are often seen as little more than isolated cultist or mutant attacks by local authorities.

### Enthralled Servants

Besides the Churraba themselves are a wildly varying amount of servants form their host species that assist the broods and covens like kidnapping others to be eaten or sacrificed some other way. They are usually recruited via psychic manipulation or straight from an allied cult of some kind, Khorne and Xenos worshipping cults being the most common. Those that are manipulated into serving the xenos ae often mind wiped at the same time, replacing their former life with the brood. Lone hunting Churraba also keep their own horde of enslaved servants to aid them in staying hidden as well as bringing prey to them.

## Notable Churraba Entities

### 1000 Coven Host & The Great Coven

While coven military forces is not uncommon, large armies of Churraba are far more rare. The massive host comprised of well over 250,000 Churraba that assaulted Walcha in a single wave is the largest and most public display of power ever shown by the species, leading some to believe that they may have an actual structured society of some kind deep in the warp. While the war ended as an Imperial victory, and untold thousands of Churraba died on Walcha, the retreating force was noted to have still containing a large amount of warriors and that many ritual sites for warp transportation pointed to a dark fate for those that were still unaccounted. It is also unknown what became of the majority of the Churraba equivalent of a high command, the so called Great Coven that lead the entire uprising from infiltration to planetary assault, though several prominent members and their brood knights were found and killed during the uprising.