Master of Possession - Role: Masters of Possession lead warbands of devoted warriors in pursuit of untold power. These sorcerous figures have mastered the darkest and most blasphemous lore: the art of using hosts of living flesh to house Daemonic spirits. It is they who perform the profane ceremonies of binding that imbue the Daemonkin with their Warp-born power.Gouging a breach in the fabric of realspace through the use of sorcery, the Master of Possession draws a willing entity from the Immaterium, channelling its terrible energies into the body of a supplicant or the chassis of a war machine. So thoroughly are these dread figures steeped in blasphemous sorcery that where they walk, reality itself recoils.In battle they bolster their Daemon-possessed followers, stitching together rents in fleshmetal carcasses, or imbuing their creations with a demented, predatory fury. Enemies are despatched with bolts of searing Warpflame, or with precise shots from a Bolt Pistol sidearm.With a touch from their corrupted staves, Masters of Possession can even blast asunder the souls of their foes, spilling Daemonic energy into the now hollow shell. This hideous act can cause mortal frames to erupt with hellish energies, transforming the unfortunate victim into a slavering Chaos Spawn, or a willing Chaos Champion into a towering Greater Possessed.All amongst the Daemonkin believe that by trafficking with the creatures of the Warp they can gain true power. Their insistence that the Daemonic possession of mortal flesh is the most effective method of achieving this enlightenment is a cause of contention amongst their Chaos allies.This divide is most clearly observed in the long-held rivalry between the Masters of Possession who act as the spiritual leaders of the Daemonkin, and the Warpsmiths who scorn doctrine in favour of cold, merciless logic. Masters of Possession are inclined towards traditionalism, believing that the bonding of mortal flesh with a Daemonic spirit is the most potent and sacred form of ascension.For them, Daemon Engines are valuable assets, but little more than crude creations of necessity. It is raging emotion that grants power, not the iron resolve of the machine. Masters of Possession often demonstrate how effectively hatred fuels a Daemon Engine by ripping apart the soul of a nearby combatant and using the wrathful shreds to reinvigorate the monstrous construct -- such sacrifices are particularly fruitful when the raging soul is taken from a rival Warpsmith.Warpsmiths scoff at such limited ambition. To these techno-arcane engineers, flesh is just another material to be moulded and shaped in the pursuit of perfection; it is no more hallowed than the metal hull of a battle tank or the rivets that hold together a Macrocannon.On many occasions this mutual enmity has spilled over into outright hostility, igniting vicious internecine battles amidst the charnel wastes of the flesh-factories. These contests are fought between mutated monstrosities and prowling Daemon Engines, each faction seeking to prove theirs is the true path to ascension.This antipathy is only grudgingly set aside when the great lords of Chaos embark upon one of their dark crusades into Imperial space. In such times, Masters of Possession and Warpsmiths work alongside each other to create nightmarish legions of frenzied flesh-moulded warriors and sulphur-spewing Daemon Engines, terrifying invasion forces capable of crushing the defences of any world. When the Masters of Possession and Warpsmiths put aside their mutual hatred and fight under the banner of a Chaos Lord, their combined strengths make them all but unstoppable.Masters of Possession are viewed by their fellow Heretic Astartes with a combination of awe and bitter suspicion. They are prophet-like figures, often speaking of when and where great Warp breaches will appear to spill Daemonic beings into realspace. Yet they speak in riddles, twisting their own words to have multiple and contradictory meanings.They may foretell of a world upon which a great sacrifice will bring forth the denizens of the Warp in plenitude, and a Chaos Lord, learning of this and seeking to bolster his warband with Daemonic forces, might travel to this world and eradicate the populace of a bustling hive city in a profane mass sacrifice.But the truth of the Master of Possession's prophecy may be that the Chaos Lord themselves is destined to become the sacrifice, their tainted soul consumed to create a rupture in the fabric of reality. In their arrogance, most heretical champions are sure they will not succumb to such a fate, and risk treating with a Master of Possession in the hopes of adding Daemonic warriors to their ranks.Should this lead to the demise of the Chaos Lord, the Master of Possession will swiftly take their place and begin their own tyrannical reign.