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The '''Mephet'ran, the Deceiver''' is a [[C'tan]], a living god of the [[Necron]]s, that survives as fragmented shards.{{Fn|2}}

The Deceiver, as its name implies, enjoys using trickery, deception and lies to get to its own ends.{{Fn|1e}}. The other C'tan quickly learned to distrust and shun the Deceiver{{Fn|1e}}, and it's nature was shown particularly when the Deceiver tricked the [[Necrontyr]] into giving up their bodies in favour of metallic husks.{{Fn|1e}}. When the Necrontyr first encountered the Deceiver, they gave it the name Mephet'ran, the Messenger{{Fn|1f}} and hoped it would be able to bridge the gap between Necrontyr and C'tan.

The Deceiver was the one to steer the Necrontyr towards a war with the [[Old Ones]], by using its words to instil instill hatred of their power and ageless wisdom. Eventually this led to the transformation of the Necrontyr to the Necrons, which in turn led to the next major incident in the history of the C'tan. One of the three possibilities says that the Deceiver was the first to set C'tan on against C'tan, convincing them that each other were was the "best of all feasts"{{Fn|1f}}, but despite this the Deceiver remained one of the physically weakest C'tan and only survived by avoiding the more violent C'tan, such as the [[Nightbringer ]] and the [[Void Dragon]].

Along with many of the other C'tan, the Deviever Deceiver was shattered into shards by the [[Necrons]].{{Fn|2}}

The Deciever is known by various names by various different cultures -{{Cite This}}:

*'''Artemorra ''' to the [[Jokaero]]*'''Sathsarrion ''' to the Initiates of the [[Gethvar]]*'''Mohagg ''' to the [[Cornochinae]]*'''Harrimoch to the Vendichi travellers  ==Previous Editions/Canon Conflict==The fate of the C'tan differed from current lore in previous editions. Prior '' to the publication of [[Codex: Necrons (5th Edition)Vendichi]] the C'tan were described as having been in an aeons-long slumber from which they are only now awaking not as having been shattered into the C'tan-Shards. Since this ret-con of the background the canonicity of some older information is uncertain.travellers

The Deciever was the last of the C'tan to descend to its stasis tomb and the first to leave, and has had millennia to gather support. It has destroyed, through its subtle methods, the [[Blackstone FortressFortresses]]es, the only weapons capable of destroying the C'tan , and placing placed the remainders remains far out of reach of the Eldar. It is said that it invoked the [[Gothic War]] simply to destroy or remove the Fortresses. An article by [[Farseer]] [[Maechu]] of [[Ulthwé]] makes a brief prediction of the future, of how the Deceiver will blur the sight of the younger races and mankind and will make them believe they are coming home when in fact they are walking into the Necron "soulforges."{{Fn|1h}}

This artifact tells of the signs of the return of the C'tan. It has one line dedicated to the Deceiver, "...and the Jackal-God shall turn brother against brother."{{Fn|1a}} This confirms the abilities of the Deceiver as those of trickery and deceit and also gives a slight reference to time, as it would need a longer time to turn brother against brother than the Nightbringer would need to kill them both.

Another text mentions the attempt by a [[Callidus Assassin]] to assassinate a [[Planetary Governor]] named Takis. She used her [[C'tan Phase Weapon|C'tan phase knife]] and attempted to kill Takis, but she failed and her weapon passed straight through him. He knocked her aside and took her weapon and absorbed it into his hand. We can then probably assume she was absorbed as the last line talks about how her polymorphine drug "gives human essence such a delicate flavouring" {{Fn|1b}}. The fact that the being could absorb the C'tan Phase Knife meant it could only be a C'tan, as its body was made of the same material as the weapon which would have destroyed anything else. Also, we can assume that it is the Deceiver as the only other C'tan to be released from stasis was the Nightbringer, and it would not bother to hide as a governor, it would simply kill everyone around it and consume their bodies and souls. This is proof that the Deceiver is operating to attain power in the [[Imperium]]. ===The Nightbringer===This section of Codex: Necrons{{Fn|1d}} gives a brief account of the Deceiver convincing the Nightbringer to consume the other C'tan. When read alongside [http://uk.games-workshop.com/necrons/eldar-mythology/2/ Games Workshop Website - Dawn of the C'tan, The Death of Light] this offers the possibility that the [[Eldar]] [[Harlequin]] [[Laughing God]] is in fact The Deceiver in another form - although there are also many evidences against this, as well as the possibility that both have imitated the other on numerous occasions.

The Silvae were an agrarian society with little technology. They were visited by the Deceiver early in their development and it convinced them to worship it. It returned occasionally to reinforce their devotion and they quickly became a superstitious people. There is a sentence that merits attention: "Here, it seems to be testing them, promising the race as a whole greatness at its side should they prove worthy."{{Fn|1f}}. This could be seen as an attempt by the Deceiver to recruit new races and create new Necrons to bolster its forces. This may indicate a shortage of Necron units since the end of the War in Heaven.

The Silvae were then introduced to the Imperium and they soon turned to violence, but the Deceiver did not show up to help them. Instead he finds it was dismayed to find them "slipping back to barbarism."{{Fn|1g}} and is dismayed. He It then sends sent in his Necrons a Necron force to wipe out all of the Silvae. Most ; a few Silvae survived the near-extinction of them are killed their race, but a few survive although there is insufficient genetic variation in the DNA these remaining members to continue perpetuate the racespecies.{{Fn|1g}}

This shows ==Previous Editions/Canon Conflict==Prior to the publication of [[Codex: Necrons (5th Edition)]] the DeceiverC's ability to sway tan were described as having been in an aeons-long slumber from which they are only now awakening, rather than having been shattered into the [[C'tan-Shards]]. Since this retcon, the minds canonicity of entire planets, but also its instability as any failure some older information is punishable by destructionuncertain.

==Sources==*{{Endn|1}}: [[Codex: Necrons (3rd Edition)]]**{{Endn|1a}}: pg. 5**{{Endn|1b}}: pg. 8**{{Endn|1c}}: pg. 27**{{Endn|1d}}: pg. 28**{{Endn|1e}}: pg. 30**{{Endn|1f}}: pg. 31**{{Endn|1g}}: pg. 50**{{Endn|1h}}: pg. 63*{{Endn|2}}: [[CategoryCodex:Necrons(5th Edition)]], pg. 40