Difference between revisions of "Old Ones"
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The '''Old Ones''' were the eldest of all races, possessing an advanced civilization long before the development of the major races of the current age. They were the first race to achieve a galactic civilization. Only the [[C'tan]] star gods in their incorporeal state rival them in their age. | The '''Old Ones''' were the eldest of all races, possessing an advanced civilization long before the development of the major races of the current age. They were the first race to achieve a galactic civilization. Only the [[C'tan]] star gods in their incorporeal state rival them in their age. | ||
| − | The race remembered | + | The race remembered known only as the "Old Ones" possessed a slow, cold-blooded wisdom. Their science was such that it was indistinguishable from sorcery. Their understanding of the warp allowed them to exploit the psychic dimension to manipulate their surroundings and perform amazing feats of psychic engineering. With their knowledge of psychics, they managed to enter, map and control the vast [[Webway]] which allowed them to travel to almost any point in the galaxy in a matter of seconds. |
Unfortunately, they found themselves to be nearly alone in the galaxy. They terraformed worlds which were otherwise uninhabitable and unable to spawn life. Through guidance they engineered*<sup>1</sup>: many new races from primitive stock, which they continued to nurture. | Unfortunately, they found themselves to be nearly alone in the galaxy. They terraformed worlds which were otherwise uninhabitable and unable to spawn life. Through guidance they engineered*<sup>1</sup>: many new races from primitive stock, which they continued to nurture. | ||
Revision as of 00:37, 16 March 2009
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The Old Ones were the eldest of all races, possessing an advanced civilization long before the development of the major races of the current age. They were the first race to achieve a galactic civilization. Only the C'tan star gods in their incorporeal state rival them in their age.
The race remembered known only as the "Old Ones" possessed a slow, cold-blooded wisdom. Their science was such that it was indistinguishable from sorcery. Their understanding of the warp allowed them to exploit the psychic dimension to manipulate their surroundings and perform amazing feats of psychic engineering. With their knowledge of psychics, they managed to enter, map and control the vast Webway which allowed them to travel to almost any point in the galaxy in a matter of seconds.
Unfortunately, they found themselves to be nearly alone in the galaxy. They terraformed worlds which were otherwise uninhabitable and unable to spawn life. Through guidance they engineered*1: many new races from primitive stock, which they continued to nurture.
One of the few already sentient races the Old Ones encountered were the Necrontyr, whose lives were short due to the deadly radiation of their world's sun. When they met the Old Ones, they developed a deep jealous hatred of them due to their near immortal lives. This resentment led to the First War. The Necrontyr's war was futile and they were forced back to a remote world in the outer rim of the Halo Stars. The fury of the Necrontyr cooled over thousands of years of imprisonment, but they turned their hatred against all life rather than just the Old Ones.
The Necrontyr had studied their star for millions of years. In their quest for a weapon to use against the Old Ones, they found the C'tan. Gradually they managed to talk with these ethereal creatures, but they knew they would never be able to understand the material universe without a material body. So the Necrontyr built the living metal bodies they are still adorned with. They were worshipped as gods, as their powers were far beyond anything the Necrontyr had seen before. As the C'tan became more manifest in their bodies, they began to enjoy certain aspects of life more, including pain, suffering and slavery.
Eventually, with the gods themselves at their sides, the Necrontyr were ready to begin their war with the Old Ones anew. The C'tan offered the Necrontyr escape from the curse of their short lives. Their minds would be transferred into living metal bodies, much like the Ctan themselves. Whether the Necrontyr knew what they would lose by doing this will never be known, but the process destroyed their race. They gained immortality but lost their free-will. Their minds were dulled and only a few retained any independent thought, but this was still only a fraction of what it had been. With the Necrontyr destroyed and the Necron born, the C'tan began the war against the Old Ones with their legions of undying warriors.
The Old Ones were sent reeling. They could not match the cold science of the Necrons and were pushed back. Millions were slaughtered and eventually the Necrons dominated the galaxy. The last bastions of the Old Ones power were besieged and many of the younger races were completely destroyed. The Old Ones came to the conclusion that they needed to spawn minor races with stronger links to the Warp. These races included the Eldar. By using these powers, the new races introduced pain and death into the warp, twisting the entities into voracious killers.
The C'tan empire could not counter this new form of warfare. Eventually they became devoted to severing reality's relationship to the Immaterium, in order to make psychic powers useless.
Eventually, with the eruption of the Enslaver Plague on the galaxy, the Old Ones were broken and scattered, never to come to any power again and eventually die out altogether.
The Old Ones created many races to serve them including the Slann, Eldar, Krork, Jokaero. The Slann were probably the foremost servants of the Old Ones and may have been one of the earliest races created. The Old Ones are also reputed to have predicted the downfall of the Eldar and the resultant creation of Slaanesh, and gave control of the Webway to the Eldar.
