Tzeentch Arcanites Tzaangors

Tzeentch Arcanites Tzaangors

Tzaangors are the beastmen of Tzeentch. They have bird faces and horned, covered in fierce totems, and wielding Weapons of bone, iron, and crystal.

The origins of Tzaangor are as varied as the schemes of Tzeentch himself. Some are Gor-kin corrupted - or elevated, one might say - by a Tzaangor shaman; others might be people who have been subjected to horrible rituals. Others are still beastchildren, mutants born of human parents and left to die, but found and raised by Arcanite Cults instead. Others were born as beasts undergoing foul rites. Regardless of the source, all acknowledge that they have been blessed by Tzeentch. Tzaangors are far more intelligent than other beastmen, and they look down on their animal kin, seeing themselves as evolved and their cousins ??as brutish beasts.

The strangely mutated spirits of the Tzaangors are particularly attuned to magic, drawn to the arcane and hoarding it. Tzaangors are also closely tied to the threads of destiny, their animal instincts able to discern omens as beasts scent their prey in the wind. This magical essence is able to alert them to the hidden presence of a god, since they cannot see its true nature.

Tzaangors can be found in each of the Mortal Realms, where they live in wild places and choose locations rich in magic to build their strongholds. In Ghyran this means near waterfalls or springs, while in Aqshy this can be near volcanoes or fiery chasms. There, the Tzaangor shamans use magic to erect flux cairns surrounded by smaller Hearthstones - glyph-inscribed monoliths composed of stagnant magic and shaped into symbols sacred to the Tzeentch. The longer a flux cairn remains in place, the more the lands around it transform, both to honor their god and to facilitate his plans. It is the goal of the Tzaangors to use them to warp entire kingdoms and eventually the realms themselves.

Tzeentch didn't just transform his chosen beastmen to seek magic—he also created them to kill. Many rituals prepare Tzaangors for war, culminating in the tzaanwar, an unholy rite that transforms the torn armor and broken Weapons of the enemy into the magnificent gear worthy of the warriors of the Tzeentch. In combat, the Tzaangor Warlocks are led by a Twistbray Champion, and they fight with ferocious skill, stabbing and hacking with curved words or axes, and ripping with horn and beak.

As magical creatures, they draw energy from the proximity of Tzeenchian sorcery and others of their kind—the more groups of nine Tzaangors there are, the more ferocious they become. Favored Tzaangors are sometimes honored by carrying their god's icon to war. Capable of absorbing the magical energies of nearby spellcasters, these ornate totems are used by the Tzaangors to steal the arcane powers they use to grow their flux clusters. Recently captured uncanny powers can even be cast as lightning bolts on nearby enemies.

While Kairic Acolytes strive to build libraries of forbidden knowledge, the Tzaangors do the same but forgo Books, for their shamans copy dark tenets onto animal skins, some of which still cling to living creatures. Many Chaos Beasts such as Ghorgons, Razorgors, Jabberslythes, Chimeras, Cockatrices or Mutalith Vortex Beasts can be found alongside Tzaangor Warlocks, all with dark writing painted or carved into their flanks.