The Skinwalker Coven

The Skinwalker Coven

"And you say use the same body for torturing and for social visits? How terribly gauche." ~ Haemonculus Ancient Krien

Led by one of the more eccentric Haemonculi Ancients, the Skinwalker Coven prides itself on its collection of vessels; a great hall filled to its bladed spine with host bodies garnered from the myriad pacts and contracts with the Kabals.

Haemonculus Krien claims to have pioneered the horrific procedure known as "bodyswapping", and encourages its use amongst both his followers and associates. The Skinwalkers specialise in soul-transference techniques, specifically the placing of one's soul and mind into the body of another. Despite the obvious advantages of such a procedure, the Skinwalkers prefer to use their collections for less political designs. The possession of multiple vessels is considered the height of status amongst their order, and Haemonculus Krien himself has over a thousand host-bodies, each arrayed within a meticulously designed storage tube at the height of the Coven's fleshtower, the Impeccable Spire, and proudly claims to have undergone over a hundred transference procedures himself.

The Skinwalkers will gladly undertake the more mundane surgeries requested by their clientele, but it is only when an Archon tires of their current form that they truly shine. These haemonculi take great pleasure in eradicating all traces of a previous personality and soul from the host bodies in preparation for its new resident, and agonise over the transference procedure itself, often spending days ensuring that the client's conciousness is suitably acclimatised to its new home. Of course, due to the incredible complexity and danger of the procedure, the Coven requires plenty of fresh slaves to ensure that their client is adequately energised during the transference, and their pact with the Kabal of The Screaming Maw is more than sufficient to keep the fleshcrafters supplied with new bodies.

I love the idea, and I can't think of anything to criticize. I particularly like that the Haemonculus Ancient has ten times as many bodies than he has transferred himself to. Nothing says decadent scientist like obscene waste of resources.

There are a few holes in your idea, though. While the Haemonculi are the driving force behind any Coven, the Wracks are still an important part. What is their role in this coven; are they experimented on by aspiring Haemonculi or purposefully transferred into the bodies of Grotesques for combat purposes? Given the punishment potential of the body-swapping procedure, is there even any need of Grotesques for them?
What about the limits of the body-swapping procedure? Could a proud Archon be trapped in a human body as punishment? A Succubus in an Ork? Or is it only Eldar to Eldar? Could they force the soul in a soulstone into a living body again?

The Impeccable Spire is an awesome title, by the way.

I love this. Have you read Blood Reaver? There are creatures called skinwalkers in the novel and are referred to as a cult, and it's assumed to be a Slaaneshi one at that. Something to think about. I don't think you'll need a name change, maybe something to hint and allude to if you want to incorporate into your stuff.

Ah, thanks for the replies, gentlemen. Much appreciated.

Now to your points:

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While the Haemonculi are the driving force behind any Coven, the Wracks are still an important part. What is their role in this coven...

Wracks are wracks are wracks. Servants. Menials. Chattel. No matter the Coven, they invariably perform the same duties that the haemonculi themselves are considered to be above. Which is, admittedly, a lot. Within the Skinwalker Coven they do exactly the same - the dirty work. I'll update the article to reflect this though, as you're correct in that they do at least deserve a mention. I'll include the Grotesques in the update as well.

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What about the limits of the body-swapping procedure?

Now that's something I'm definitely not expounding; the imagination is capable of causing the greatest of fears and possibilities - who's to say exactly what the devious Haemonculi are capable of? There are far too many possibilities available. I prefer to let the reader's mind come up with their own twisted ideas. Maybe if I ever get around to actually writing some DE fiction I'll explore this a bit.

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Have you read Blood Reaver? There are creatures called skinwalkers in the novel...

I have read it - very recently in fact - but then went straight onto reading Cadian Blood by the same author, and promptly forgot everything about BR except the ending. This coven's name was inspired by the Naagloshii from The Dresden Files series; I thought it was quite an appropriate name for haemonculi, what with them being millenia-old creatures of evil that feed on fear and pain and have the ability to alter their fleshly appearance.

Thanks for your time,

Raucir

Love the idea of soul transferance, have recently read the prequels to Dune, and with all the brain swapping between thinking machines etc, very evil, very cool