The Ruinous Powers

the **Ruinous Powers**, are powerful entities who inhabit and control the galaxy of Chaus that is the centre all physical reality. they were the first sentient entities in the universe and were created by Chaos, the father and mother force, but slowly became embodiments of emotions and collective desires as they fed off of every sentient entity and being's fears. Although they are god-like beings, the Ruinous powers are by their nature monomaniacal and completely single-minded since they are the embodiment of a single emotion or concept. These entities are dependent upon the emotions of mortal creatures, especially the hordes of humanity, for their power and continued existence. As a result, the Ruinous Powers strive to convert all mortals to their worship and service so that they may ultimately dominate the universe. However, if they were to win such a dark victory, it would likely destroy all of reality when the dimensional separation between the Meta-realms and the physical realms are broken.

The Ruinous Powers are able to devote a fraction of their psychic power to create demons, whose appearance and character reflect their patron Power's own nature. These may be reabsorbed into the entity at their whim. In Chaus, the psychic reflection of similar thoughts and emotions gather together like rivulets of water running down a cliff face. They form streams and eddies of anguish and desire, pools of hatred and torrents of pride. Since the beginning of time, these tides and waves of psychic energy have flowed unceasingly through the metaphysical galaxy of Chaus, and such is the power that they can forged creatures of the very stuff of dreams and nightmares.

The Ruinous Powers were born much before these emotions flowed like waves. They were forged unknowingly by the Chaos Force as a bi-product of its movement and instantly gained a rudimentary consciousness of their own but they were all entangled within one another as they were yet to take a form. As they twisted around the centre point of the universe these instinctual, formless entities gained their own individual forms that reflected the emotion they had latched onto. The Ruinous Powers were born -- vast psychic presences composed of the fantasies and horrors of mortals that were yet to enter existence. First amongst them is Khorne, the Lord of Battle, possessed of towering and immortal fury. Tzeetch, the bizarre and ever-changing Architect of Fate, weaves powerful sorceries to bend the future to his will, whilst great Nurgle, the Lord of Decay, labours endlessly to spread infection and pestilence. The last of their number is Slaanesh, the Dark Prince of Chaos, indulgent of every pleasure and excess, no matter how immoral or perverse.

A Ruinous Power can only increase its power through the actions and thoughts of mortals. Those who worship a Ruinous Power, and behave in a way that feeds it, are rewarded with strange "gifts," extraordinary powers and potentially, immortality as a Demon Prince. As the Ruinous Powers battle in Chaus, so their mortal followers wage war in the material universe. The victors of the battles earn more power for their unworldly master, though the twisted plans of the Ruinous Powers are such that often victory is not necessary; merely the acts of sacrifice and battle themselves. When devotees of Chaus die, their souls do not fade and disappear like the spirits of others to some unknown and unknowable fate. Instead, their immortal energy is swallowed into the greatness of their Powers, their souls sustained forever, bound to the eternal power of Chaus.

## History

In the early history of the universe, the powers of the Ruinous Powers had yet to form full, they were distinct, intelligent entities yet there power was not as it is at the present day. At this time, the emotions of sentient mortals did not exist so the Ruinous Powers could not feed off of it but mortal beings grew and prospered, so did the strength of their emotions. Eventually, the Powers grew to such a point where they could act independently of the general flow of emotions and thus became more powerful than gods. They reached into the dreams of mortals and demanded praise and servitude in order to increase their own power, as the more one emotion is exhibited (in both thought and action) by a large group of sentient beings in the physical universe, the stronger that Ruinous Powers becomes.

## The Ruinous Powers

The Chaos Gods are the supernatural rulers of the centre of the universe (Chaus) and have a great impact upon the events occurring in the physical universe. Occasionally, the Ruinous Powers can set aside their innate rivalry and unite in the pursuit of a larger goal, such as the overthrow of the Creators and temptation of their gods, who represent the strongest current force for them in Aevilon. During this time, the forces of the Ruinous Powers can be considered to serve a concept known as Chaus undivided . The Ruinous Powers generally draw their strength from the sentient minds of the galaxy's inhabitants, whose collective unconsciousness shapes the psychically-reactive substance of Chaus. The Ruinous Powers possess the ability to interact with the Physical galaxies in a limited way as the entities of Chaus can at times leave the metaphysical universe through the minds of those individuals gifted (or cursed) with psychic powers. The Ruinous Powers can also shape lesser supernatural entities from the psychic substance of Chaus, who are lesser extensions of their own wills and are generally referred to in the universe as Demons . There are a few species of beings that are generally excluded from worrying about possession by entities like demons because of their limited psychic abilities and thus their limited presence in Chaus .

**The four Ruinous Powers are:**

* **Khorne, The Blood God** - God of War, Murder, Battle - Khorne is the Blood God, an angry and murderous Ruinous Power whose bellows of limitless rage echo throughout the corridors of time and space. His great brass throne sits upon a mountain of skulls in the midst of a plain of splintered bone and lakes of mortal blood formed from the remains of his followers slain in battle and those who his minions have killed in his name. Khorne embodies mindless and absolute violence, destroying everyone and everything within reach, shedding the blood of friend and foe alike. The followers of Khorne are always ferocious warriors and never make use of psychic powers, for the Blood Power abhors the trickery of magic and cowardly sorcerers, particularly the servants of Tzeentch. Men turn to Khorne for the power to conquer, to defeat their enemies in battle, to wreak bloody vengeance and to attain unmatched martial prowess against all comers. The most fanatical and dedicated of his followers, those whose souls are trapped fully within his bloody embrace, know that he truly desires only constant and wild slaughter for its own sake. Khorne cares not from where the blood flows, only that it flows without cease for all eternity.
* **Tzeentch, The Changer of the Ways** - God of Change, Sorcery, Fate and Hope - Tzeentch is known by many titles across the galaxy, including the Changer of the Ways, the Master of Fortune, the Great Conspirator and the Architect of Fate. He is the Great Sorcerer, the God of Sorcery and Change and master of the mutable stream of destiny and time. Tzeentch is, without question, the most disturbing and least comprehensible of all the Ruinous Powers. His skin crawls with constantly changing faces that leer at and mock all who look upon him. When Tzeentch deigns to speak to other beings, these faces repeat his words, often with subtle but important differences of intonation and meaning. Plotters and schemers find themselves drawn to Tzeentch, especially those who crave psychic or sorcerous power to achieve their goals. Politicians and leaders, magisters and Cultists, all find themselves drawn along the convoluted paths of fate, using Tzeentch to achieve their dreams and aspirations, though ultimately all are led to play their part in Tzeentch's own eternal schemes. No man can fully comprehend the full nature of the intricately-woven, multi-layered plots of Tzeentch and to attempt to do so can only lead to insanity. Yet in reality Tzeentch has no grand plan, no ultimate goal to fulfil. For Tzeentch the mere act of plotting and entwining the brief fates of mortals is purpose enough. There is no end to his scheming for he desires no end to the creation of change. Tzeentch can never achieve any ultimate aim for to do so would be the end of ambition and thus the end of the Lord of Destiny.
* **Nurgle, The Plague Lord** - God of Death, Disease and Decay - Nurgle is the mighty Lord of Decay who presides over all physical corruption and morbidity. Disease and putrefaction, the inevitable entropic decline of all things, are the favours he bestows upon the universe. The Power's immense body is bloated with corruption and exudes a sickly, diseased stench. His skin is greenish, leathery and necrotic, its surface pock-marked with all of his various boils, running sores and favorite infestations. From his exposed guts spill tiny lesser demons, his Nurglings, who dine upon the filthy fluids that ooze from Grandfather Nurgle's many festering wounds. It is to free themselves from despair -- the eternal mortal dread of disease, starvation and death -- that men turn to the Plague Lord. Despite his appearance, he is a warm, welcoming entity who prides himself on the achievements of his followers, gifting them with his most hideous diseases even as he protects them from all pain and the cold sleep of death. The fear of death can be found in the hearts of all the sentient beings of the universe, and so there is no shortage of mortals willing to sacrifice their immortal souls in return for the corrupted preservation of their physical bodies for all time.
* **Slaanesh, The Prince of Pleasure** - God of Pleasure, Sensation and Desire - Slaanesh is the youngest of the **Ruinous Powers** and alone of all the , the Prince of Chaus is divinely beautiful. He is as seductive as only an immortal can be, disarming in his innocence, utterly beguiling in his manner and irresistibly tempting with his words. Slaanesh can assume male, female or hermaphroditic form at will and it is impossible for a mortal to look upon him without losing his soul and becoming a slave to the Prince of Pleasure's slightest whim. Mortals that seek charisma and fellowship turn to Slaanesh, for his gifts can make one popular and inspiring. Poets and artists are drawn into his gaze by the promise of inspiration and fame, while even the hardiest warriors might seek the adulation of the masses and the ironclad loyalty of their followers. Yet as one continues in the service of Slaanesh, such pleasures soon grow stale and his servants are driven on to search for ever greater sensations and ever more self-fulfilment until only the most decadent and debased of acts can stir their emotions or provide the pleasure they have come to crave.

## Followers

The Ruinous Powers' most devoted and powerful mortal followers are known as Champions of Chaus, and are spiritually bound to their patrons. Chaus Champions are rewarded with the Mark of their patron Ruinous Powers, mutational or psychic "gifts" unique to each Power and the potential blessing of ascension to become a Demon Prince of that Power. When a follower of a Ruinous Power dies, their soul is absorbed into the greater psychic mass of that Power within Chaus, adding its energy to the already formidable power of that entity. It is for this reason that the Ruinous Powers seek to corrupt and turn to their worship as many mortal souls as they possibly can.

## Demons

A Demon is a creature formed from a fragment of a Ruinous Powers' consciousness. They form the armies of the Ruinous Power within the metaphysical universe and frequently battle the daemonic armies of other Gods and unbelievers on the material plane.

## The Great Game of Chaos

The Ruinous Powers are rivals of each other - the constant war between them mirrors the struggle between their followers in the material universe, and vice-versa. Victory in mortal battles lends more power to the relevant Power, although often victory is not necessary, just the shedding of blood and sacrifice is required. The Ruinous Powers are almost constantly at war with one another within Chaus, vying for power amid the metaphysical planes. Despite their myriad differences, the Great Ruinous Powers have the same goal: total domination. Such absolute power cannot be shared - especially amongst entities. This struggle for dominance over Chaus and the physical universe by the Ruinous Powers is known as the Great Game.

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