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The War in Heaven was one of the bloodiest wars in Galactic history, and it soon became apparent that the Necrontyr could never defeat the Old Ones and their mastery of the [[Warp]] despite their advanced technology. In a few short centuries, the Necrontyr were annihilated, left little more than an irritation, clinging to existence in the outer dark amongst the halo stars. The [[War in Heaven (Necron)|War in Heaven]] resulted in unspeakable loss of life over scores of generations: The unity of the Necrontyr began to fracture once more, resulting in the '''[[Wars of Secession|Second Wars of Secession]]'''. The Triarch again desperately searched for for a unifying force, and the Necrontyr searched for bitter centuries for some power to unleash upon the [[Old Ones]]—and their prayers were answered. There are conflicting accounts of how the godlike [[C’tan]] were first discovered—some archive say a chance probe, others say they were detected in their study of stars, and the [[Book of Mournful Night]] says the [[C’tan]] were drawn to the Necrontyr by the beacon of their raw hatred for the Old Ones. Seeking the aid of these all-powerful star gods, the Necrontyr sought the favour of the C'tan and constructed bodies of [[living metal]] to contain their essence.{{Fn|1a}}{{Fn|4b}}

And so the second part of the [[War in Heaven (Necron)|War in Heaven]] began. Armed with weapons of god-like power, ships that could cross the galaxy in the [[Inertialess Drive|blink of an eye]], and utter supremacy in the material universe, the [[C'tan]] and Necrons fought as one. The [[Old Ones]] were overwhelmed and defeated in a bloody slaughter of galactic scale that saw systems devoured by black holes and stars extinguished. With the assistance of [[Nyadra'zatha]], the Necron managed to infiltrate the [[Webway]] and assail the Old Ones in their own realm. The Necrons burst into the Old Ones' strongest fortresses, overcoming their magics and technology. In desperation, the Old Ones seeded planets with life with ever-stronger links to the [[warp]], to help fight the C'tan, including the [[Eldar]], [[Ork]]s, [[K'nib]], [[Rashan]], [[Jokaero]] and many others. This worked, for a time—the time — the energies of the warp were anathema to the [[C’tan]]—but — but before the Necron Necrons and [[C’tan]] could respond, the desperation of the [[Old Ones]] became their undoing. The [[Warp|Sea of Souls]] mirrored the war, pain, and destruction of the [[materium]] and awash with the spirits of those consumed in the carnage, older [[warp]] entities became terrifying predators. Their intergalactic network shattered, their places of power overrun by horrors of their own devising, and their minions possessed by the [[Enslaver plague|Enslaver Plague]], the Old Ones were scattered—their power utterly broken.{{Fn|1b}}{{Fn|4c}}

Throughout the final stages of the War in Heaven, Szarekh bided his time, waiting for the moment where the C'tan would be most vulnerable. With the Old Ones finally defeated, the Silent King struck and led a Necron revolt against the arrogant C'tan. The Necrons focused the unimaginable energies of the living universe into weapons too mighty for even the C'tan to endure. The C'tan, almost impossible to destroy entirely due to their very nature, were instead shattered into [[C'tan Shard|shards]].{{CME}}

For sixty million years the Necrons remained in their deathless slumber in their tombs in what became known as the [[Great Sleep]]. As time passed, many [[Tomb World]]s fell prey to malfunction or ill-fortune. Some were destroyed by marauding Eldar. These failures destroyed millions, if not billions of dormant Necrons.{{CME}}

When the Tomb Worlds did begin to reawaken, it was not simultaneously. Some awoke to see the [[Great Crusade]], others during the [[Age of Apostasy]]. To avoid chaos, these prematurely awoken Necrons were organized under the [[Awakened Council]].{{Fn|17a}} Most, however, awoke during the later years of [[M41]]; but even still billions of Necrons lay dormant.{{Fn|4d}} What the Imperium cannot know is that, should the Necrons ever fully wake and unite, they would face a foe as numerous as themselves. For now, the Imperium has had but a taste of the Necrons’ might, and it is fortunate for Mankind that the Necrons remain divided by madness and conflicting agendas. However, these are but the first stumbling steps of a giant as it gathers pace, and even now powerful leaders like [[Anrakyr the TravelerTraveller]], [[Imotekh the Stormlord]] and the [[Silent King]] are uniting their people under a common cause in order to reestablish the Infinite Empire.{{Fn|8b}}

The Necrons are the masters of [[Materium|Material]] technology, and their technological feats may seem magical to lesser races. Their technological masters, [[Cryptek]]s, can manipulate matter at a fundamental level and wield such arcane concepts as phase-gates, subatomic infusion, and temporal looping. Several Necron super-weapons such as the [[World Engine]] and [[Celestial Orrery]] have galaxy-devastating capabilities. However it is [[Living Metal]], or Necrodermis, which equips nearly all Necron technology. These billion-strong swarns swarms of nano-[[Scarab]]s crawl under the skin of Necrons at a cellular level, allowing for self-repair and regeneration.{{Fn|8d}} Also, on particularly rare occasions, a super heavy Necron device called a [[Necron Pylon]] is seen. It is feared for its extreme power and ability to appear anywhere on the battlefield.{{Fn|53a}}

The species are also able to use their technology to create hidden '''[[Sub-dimensional reality bubbles]]''', that lie outside of [[Realspace]] and are connected to [[Tomb World]]s via [[Reality-Tether]]s. They can have strongholds built within them and the dimensions can be designed so only their owners or serving minions can enter or exit them.{{Fn|46}} Their mastery of fundamental physics is also the source of materials such as [[Strangesteel]]{{Fn|50}} or [[Megaton Matter]],{{Fn|49b}} and of the [[Antimatter Collider]].{{Fn|51}}

While the majority of common Necrons are little more than obedient autonomationsautomatons, the higher nobility have a complex culture inherited from their days as [[Necrontyr]]. Nobility, honour, loyalty to one's liege and pride in one's hereditary titles are all common amongst the rulers of the Necron race. Loyalty and honour are particularly emphasised to the point that over the long millennia, Necron Lords maintain a labyrinthine web of ranks, titles, and allegiances. Necron honour is usually reserved only for other Necrons, and they will usually disdain from using "distasteful" means in their many inter-dynastic conflicts such as [[Destroyer Cult|Destroyers]], [[Deathmark]]s, or [[Flayed One]]s. This honour has at times even extended to non-Necron races deemed worthy and honourable adversaries. However, more often than not, Necrons deem other races as little more than vermin worthy only of extermination.{{Fn|52a}}

Necrons have their thematic origins in the [[Chaos Android]]s of the 1990 board game [[Space Crusade]], though these were not related to the future Necrons besides being killer robots which fought the Imperium and were heavily inspired by the ''Terminator'' movie franchise. Years later, the first appearance of the Necrons proper came in 1998's [[White Dwarf 217 (UK)|White Dwarf #217]] and [[White Dwarf 218 (UK)|#218]]. At this time little was known about the Necrons, save that they had their origins from the [[Necrontyr]]. Their army at the time only consisted of [[Necron Lord]]s, [[Necron Destroyer|Destroyer]]s, [[Necron Warrior|Warriors]], and [[Scarab]]s. In 2002, the Necrons recieved received their [[Codex: Necrons (3rd Edition)|first official army codex]] which established them as soulless automatons serving the [[C'tan]].{{Fn|55}}

*24: [[Index: Xenos 1 (8th Edition)]] - ''Necrons'':

*45: [[Warhammer 40,000 Recruit Edition|Warhammer 40,000: Recruit Manual]]: