Haemonculi - Disciplines of the Haemonculi: Haemonculi are not immune to the fashions and fads of the Dark City. Where one Covenite might specialise in fleshcrafting, another might become an expert in cultivating fear, and yet another might strive to master death itself. Despite their differences, there exist informal schools of thought that have thrived amongst them for Terran millennia. The dark pursuits of the Haemonculi help them stave off the ennui that haunts all those free of time's grip.Sometimes known as "disciplines," these practices allow the Covenites to focus their capricious attention on a body of study long enough to become its master. The concept is not dissimilar to that of the Asuryani Paths, though where the craftworlders follow a single strand of experience through fear of falling prey to the call of excess, the Haemonculi do so in order to better secure their power over the mortal realm. To them, rules and restrictions are for cowardly children; the Haemonculi would never admit that they are bound to their fields of expertise any more than they would concede that they may have chosen the wrong course during the Fall of the Aeldari.Should a Haemonculus tire of a certain body of work, or become known by his peers as unfashionably predictable, he will switch focus without hesitation. It does not do to belittle the scope of a coven lord's studies, for such an incautious soul risks experiencing the full extent of that Haemonculus' diverse talents.Despite the diversity of a coven's chosen studies, certain pursuits recur across the ages. It is common enough for these to aggregate into similar schools of thought. Their adherents are as likely to collaborate in ever more elaborate realspace "exhibitions" as they are to strive to outdo each other on the battlefield. However, not all of these disciplines are compatible -- their conflicting agendas can lead to ever more complex rivalries and acts of sabotage, both within Commorragh and without.Over the Terran millennia, these loose allegiances have become tacitly recognised, if not strictly codified. A coven that includes specialists in different fields enjoys a greater degree of symbiosis with the Dark City at large. If the coven is visited by a Commorrite that wishes to become a Scourge, they will be directed to a Master of Apotheosis without delay. If the supplicant wishes instead to take a great toll upon the lowly empires of Mankind or Ork, they find themselves advised by a Penumbral Voyeur.In this way the Haemonculi serve their collective needs to the best of their ability, preening their egos with grandiose titles whilst largely remaining out of each other's way. All Haemonculi like to think themselves eternal, but in truth they are as capricious as the rest of their kind. One standard century may see a resurgence of Apparitians -- those Haemonculi that make their lairs in mirrors and delight in the capture of the vain. Another may see the arrogant Vilethi, named for the Dark Muse Vileth, deign to accompany realspace raids purely to demonstrate their own superiority. Repugnomancers, despite their lethal surprises being seen as somewhat gauche by the eldest of the Haemonculi, are enjoying a resurgence as the 41st Millennium draws to a close. With the constant twists of fate that typify Covenite society, only one thing can be counted as fact –- whatever disciplines the Haemonculi are perfecting, it bodes ill for the rest of the galaxy.Below are listed several of the most common disciplines practiced by the Haemonculi of the Dark City in the 41st Millennium:Nemesines - Amongst the most deadly of disciplines practised in the dark hearts of the covens are those of the Nemesines -- Haemonculi who seek the best ways to kill every creature in the material universe and beyond. The Nemesines strive to uncover the death-secrets of every sentient being, from the tiniest Tyranid eater-organism to the most titanic Void Whale, and even the Daemons of the Warp. If a life can be ended, a Nemesine coven lord in the depths of the Dark City will know how to achieve the deed in the most efficacious fashion possible. Their warhosts include a great many Engines of Pain and arcane artefacts, the better to visit murderous and efficient violence upon the foe. Some Nemesines, such as the Haemonculi of the Altered, broaden their chosen remit even further. They raid realspace extensively, systematically exterminating entire species purely for the challenge. Others seek to bring an end to more abstract phenomena than simple life. These self-styled Ilynneadhs, or "Ever-Nemesines," work to kill off ephemeral concepts such as hope or joy across entire Imperial sectors, erase progressive knowledge or enlightenment from the galaxy, or slay visionaries and great leaders in order to stifle inconvenient ideas before they occur.Black Cornucopians - The discipline of the Black Cornucopian revolves around the concept that all of reality is there for the taking by these Haemonculi. The most acquisitive of all their kind, these expert plunderers are often the architects of the large-scale Drukhari raids that marked the final years of the 41st Millennium. Sending out cells of Talos organ-thieves on a constant rota of abduction, they have lately imitated the master Haemonculus Urien Rakarth by stocking their pocket dimensions with enough victims to see them through long Terran centuries of isolation.Nadirists - The Nadirists embrace sin and corruption wholeheartedly, more so than even their brother covens. For them, depravity is an aim in and of itself. Unlike their rivals, the Masters of Apotheosis, they seek to attain godhood not by the creation of malefic angels, but by passing through the nadir of experience to become the embodiment of evil. Should they bleed enough darkness into the fabric of reality, they believe they will transcend the mortal plane altogether and become something far more sinister. Many modern Nadirists begin their journey upon the downward spiral by following in the footsteps of the Dark Muses, the folkloric anti-heroes that populate Commorragh's myths. The eldest of the Nadirists have become little more than withered geist-things that must spend their lives immersed in atrocity lest they fade away altogether, and are usually accompanied by active Cronos Parasite Engines at all times. They look down upon even other Haemonculi as faint-hearted cowards, and have a bottomless hatred of the ascetic Craftworld Aeldari.Phoenex - The Phoenex are a hidden offshoot of the Ever-Nemesines. They seek to forge the Aeldari species anew by the means of actively exterminating their own kind, be they Drukhari, Craftworlder, Harlequin, Corsair or Exodite. They believe that should the Aeldari become extinct, Ynnead, the god of death, will be awakened and the spiritual malaise of the Aeldari lifted forever. The Phoenex is the most secret of all Haemonculi brotherhoods, for their eagerness to see their brethren slain could easily see them undone. It is whispered that their morbid philosophy is not limited to Commorragh. Some say that entire troupes of maverick Harlequins -- and even the spiritual leaders of more than one craftworld -- share the Phoenex's goals, as, of course, do the Ynnari. When the Aeldari are ready to be reborn, the practitioners of this philosophy intend to be the ones in control, guiding their species' destiny from guttering spark to glorious inferno once more.Scarlet Epicureans - The Scarlet Epicureans are perhaps the closest spiritual descendants of those ancient Aeldari whose hedonism led to the birth of Slaanesh. These Covenites and their devoted Wrack minions revel in every iota of sensation that they can wring from the universe. Some of these maniacal orgiasts attack the military forces of realspace in order to invite unusual varieties of death, savouring the sublime moment when their lives are snuffed out. After drinking in their own last moments like a vintage draught, they will be regrown in the depths of Commorragh, ready to seek out an even more unusual and fascinating demise.