C'tan

In the Fictional universe of Warhammer 40,000, the C'tan originally lived as energy beings that fed on the stars themselves. They are also called star gods or star vampires. They were transferred to the physical world thanks to the technology of the Necrontyr.

The C'tan used the hatred of the Necrontyr towards the Old Ones to help them gather the more subtle living energy they now craved. The C'tan hate psykers (psychic telepathics who draw their power from the Warp) and have thus set up a series of 'pylons' on Cadia, which, when completed, will close the Eye of Terror forever, thus blocking most psychic power.

In the war between the C'tan and their slaves, the Necrons against the Old Ones and the younger races, their red harvests started to run dry. Then the Laughing God tricked the C'tan into consuming each other until only 4 remained. Not long after that a plague of Enslavers emerged, which apart from destroying the Old Ones, also depleted the red harvests further. Thus the C'tan decided to enter stasis until life repopulated the galaxy and their harvests could begin again.

The four remaining C'tan are:

• The Nightbringer: Used to be powerful enough to impress its image as that of the grim reaper itself on the psyche of the younger races, apart from the Orks (which is why they do not fear death) but upon entering stasis it was almost destroyed and starved but was released accidentally by Space Marines.
• The Deceiver: Came out of stasis an unknown time ago and has been weaving plots ever since, including the destruction of the Eldar weapons Talismans of Vaul designed to destroy the C'tan on their emergence.
• The Void Dragon: The most powerful C'tan, resides in stasis on Mars and is rumoured to be the Machine God venerated by the Imperium.
• The Outsider: A C'tan that went insane due to its consumption of other C'tan, is currently imprisoned in a Dyson sphere under the Galactic plane. There are rumors that it is also know to the Imperium as the Hivemind that controls the Tyranid menace, although this is pure conjecture.

The Inquisition employ elite Temple Assassins, one of which, the Callidus Temple Assassins, use a weapon called a C'tan phase sword. The enigmatic Cypher wielded a C'tan phase knife. However, he lost the knife when he used it to strike a C'tan's body, whereupon the blade was swallowed up into the living metal of the C'tan, implying that a C'tan phase weapon is made from necrodermis, the same substance as the C'tan themselves.