Master of Possession - Creation of Daemonkin: Binding a Daemon into a mortal frame is no simple act. To gain the knowledge to perform such a ritual, an aspirant must tirelessly study the darkest of lores, and open their mind to the most terrifying secrets, risking insanity and obliteration in the process.It is not enough to merely gaze into the Warp -- one must submerge oneself entirely in its maddening tides, and learn to channel that infinite and overwhelming power through one's own being. Thus, even amongst those who practice Warpcraft, the Masters of Possession are regarded as being far removed from mortality, and as untrustworthy as the most duplicitous creature of the Immaterium.These sorcerers are utterly dedicated to the unholy creed of the Dark Gods, and pledge their lives to bringing down the barriers between reality and the Warp, allowing the Chaos pantheon to reach forth and claim vast tracts of realspace.Methods by which a warrior may be Daemonically possessed vary greatly. The most straightforwardly brutal is to commit such varied and horrifying acts that the immortal servants of the Dark Gods are empowered sufficiently to cross over into realspace.This method is fraught with dangers, for a willing supplicant might easily be overwhelmed by the untrammelled power of the Warp. Many are the Daemonkin warriors who have been transformed into bloated, hideous Chaos Spawn by the unpredictable surge of empyric energies. Others simply erupt in an explosion of gore as their bodies collapse under the intense pressure of the possession, unable to contain such power.The rituals enacted by Masters of Possession channel the roiling energies of the Immaterium with far more focus, ensuring that the subject does not drown in the flood of Chaos power. Blood rites and sickening sacrifices open the path, tempting the beast forth with a tribute of agonised souls. Once it has crossed over into realspace, the Daemon is trapped amidst an intricate arrangement of rune-carved binding stones, each marked with the abomination's True Name.Such a prized secret is not easily uncovered; Daemons guard their names zealously, for they know the power such knowledge grants their foes. Sorcerers may spend Terran centuries searching through abandoned temples and repositories of lore, hunting for the merest fragment of a True Name.Others conjure forth Lesser Daemons and imprison them in flaming, bronze cages, excruciating them until they reveal the secrets of their masters. Once gained, a True Name is used to weaken and dominate the summoned Warp entity, rendering it momentarily vulnerable.Only then does the Master of Possession begin to work his profane art, offering up willing flesh for the raging Daemon to claim as its own. Some do so willingly, relishing the opportunity to indulge their appetite for destruction in the material realm. Others must be goaded and coerced in a process that can take several solar days to see through, during which the mortal recipient suffers unthinkable agonies.Such ceremonies cannot entirely eliminate the potential for gore-splattered error, but these sorcerers always ensure their rites of binding are observed by Venomcrawlers ready to pounce upon any Daemonic essence that attempts to break free of the summoning circle.In a horrifying industrialisation of this process, the Daemonkin spawn all manner of twisted horrors, from the mutated shock troops of the Possessed to flame-spitting Heldrakes and the winged hunters known as Warp Talons. Planet-wide flesh-factories echo to the screams of slaves and tormented thralls, whose blood and pain power the hellish mechanisms towering around them.This chorus of agony is rivalled only by the thundering cacophony of forge pistons, hammering together fusions of flesh and metal to cage the horrors of the Warp. From the depths of the summoning chambers the Masters of Possession oversee this unholy mass production, spending billions of souls each day to see their dark designs made manifest.Amongst the Daemonkin it is only the followers of Khorne who scorn the guiding hand of the Masters of the Possession. These battle-crazed butchers have nothing but contempt for those so weak they must rely on sorcery and ritual to embrace the Daemonic; it is through battle and slaughter alone that the Khorne Daemonkin draw the gaze of the Blood God. If many must die because they are unable to channel the searing rage of Khorne's foot soldiers, then so be it -- they were unworthy in any case.Only a scant few mortal souls possess the strength of will to attain ascension and be blessed by the Dark Gods with the immortal gifts of a Daemon Prince. The rest are doomed to be supplanted by the Warp-born creatures they willingly invited into their bodies, hollowed out and left as nothing more than frames of flesh and bone for the entity to inhabit.The most devoted and zealous accept this damnation gladly, so desperate are they to prove their devotion to the Chaos Gods. For the rest, they are granted one final moment of horrified realisation, one last instance of regret, before their soul essence is devoured by the Warp.It is not solely living subjects that the Daemonkin pollute with Warp-spawned corruption, but also the iron hearts of war machines. With the aid of Venomcrawlers, Daemons are extracted from the Warp and ensnared. Few willingly accede to this process, for they gain little succour from being imprisoned in a cage of screaming metal. Yet through violent ritual and forbidden alchemy they are beaten and goaded into submission, forced to serve the Heretic Astartes as enslaved beasts of war.Battle tanks and other vehicles salvaged from butchered opponents are imbued with corruption, their Machine Spirits twisted beyond all recognition. Transformed into predatory, smoke-belching monsters, they provide Daemonkin armies with rugged transports and heavy armour.Perhaps more terrifying are the Daemon Engines created through a grudging alliance between Masters of Possession and Warpsmiths, the masters of mechamorphosis. Their hulking creations move on piston-driven limbs, their bodies rippling with all manner of hell-forged weaponry.Woe betide those they are unleashed upon in battle, for Daemon Engines are fury incarnate, driven to a monstrous frenzy by their rage and hatred. With screeching blasts of ectoplasma or the lashing of flame­spitting magma tendrils, they render their prey into mounds of charred meat.So steeped are they in the power of the Warp that Daemonkin warbands are invaluable assets to any Chaos Lord with ambitions of conquest. Each of the Traitor Legions possess their own cults of Daemonkin, often looked upon with a mixture of reverence and unease by their fellow apostates.Nevertheless they play a vital role upon the battlefield, for they wield the ferocious savagery of Possessed warriors and the thunderous advance of Daemon Engines. Those Renegade Chapters who lack the facility to create such potent shock troops -- and have not formed a pact with the mercurial Dark Mechanicum -- often seek to gain the favour of an autonomous Daemonkin warband, typically by promising a never-ending crusade of slaughter and debasement for them to savour. Other Daemonkin cults roam the stars alone, beholden to no master save their own demented whims.