Editing Nobledark Imperium Forces of Chaos (section)

===Water Spider (Por'El Mal'caor)===

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It is a poorly known fact, even among members of the Tau Empire, that members of the Water Caste act as spies and saboteurs in addition to merchants and diplomats. Much of espionage is simply overhearing the right detail at the right time, as opposed to more flashy actions inspired by too many holovids about the Alpha Legion and Inquisition.

Another poorly known fact about the Tau is their relationship with the Warp. The Tau are prideful in the fact that few of their number have ever falled to Chaos. In contrast, temptation by Chaos seems rife amongst human societies, and the legions of Crone Eldar that infest the Eye of Terror barely need elaboration. Every race, ranging from the Kinebrach to the Kroot, can count members of their own among the fallen (with the possible exception of the Watcher in the Dark, and that's more because any Chaos sympathizer among the close-knit, long-lived species would be hunted down and killed on sight). Of course, that includes the Tau. Warp resistant does not mean Warp immune. Corrupted Tau are not unthinkable, they are just extraordinarily rare.

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Por’mal’caor, better known as Water Spider, was a Por’El at approximately the time of the Tau Schism (M39). As she rose through the ranks, she earned the name Water Spider for her ability to ensnare her victims in her webs of deceit and make them dance like puppets on strings. Water Spider was particularly active in the days of the Schism, using her network of spies to root out separatists and silence dissenters, in the name of the Tau’va, of course. Both Shadowsun and Farsight knew of Water Spider, and indeed Farsight was concerned that Water Spider was the type of person the Ethereal council would silence opposition (which kind of came true). However, in contrast to most other members of the Water Caste, who understood that they were peacemakers and traders first and spies second, Water Spider reveled in the darker side of her craft. It was this taste for deception that caused her fall.

Water Spider's fall came when she came into the possession of a spider-shaped pendant discovered by Tau xenoarchaeologists on a newly-colonized Sept World. Originally chosen for sentimental purposes, Water Spider noticed the odd properties of the pendent when she survived two assassination attempts through circumstances that could not be attributed to chance alone. When the Tau Schism broke out and Tau were no longer certain if they could trust their friends and neighbors, Water Spider began wearing the pendant at all times, trusting in it and only it to protect her. And it worked, separatist assassin after assassin sent after Water Spider ended up failing or dying (sometimes both) through increasingly unlikely circumstances.

Water Spider believed the pendant somehow brought her good fortune. A "lucky charm", in human terms. However, at this time the Tau were still relatively naive about Chaos, knowing about it but lacking access to the vast libraries accumulated by the rest of the galaxy. Anyone well versed in daemonology elsewhere would have been able to recognize the pendant for what it really was, a Chaos artifact of Tzeentch. The Tau may have been somewhat numb to the Warp and its effects, but being exposed to a heavily tainted Chaos artifact, Rotaa after Rotaa and Tau'cyr after Tau'cyr, would have caused corruption and mutation in even a grox. If it were merely radioactive Water Spider would have been lucky to escape with severe cancer. The pendant being an artifact of Tzeentch, of course, the consequences were far worse.

As with all followers of the trickster god, Water Spider’s body has gone through numerous mutations since pledging themselves to Tzeentch. In a sick joke by the Lord of Mutation themself, Water Spider’s body has changed to resemble her namesake, her hand and feet changed into cruel talons and four chitinous limbs bursting from her back. Her digestive system has also atrophied, leaving her unable to live off of normal sustenance. Instead, Water Spider feeds of the literal feelings of betrayal induced by her plots, liberally supplemented with the blood of her enemies.

Water Spider exists today in a lair of her own making, an outpocket of reality in the side of the Warp. From her lair invisible threads connect her to all of her agents on a myriad of distant worlds, whether human, Eldar, or Tau, fomenting dissent and turning brother against brother. Many of her catspaws, particularly Tau, are not even aware that they are being manipulated, believing they doing the work of the Tau’va while bringing doom to their countrymen. The exception are her inner circle, who fell with her when she fell into the embrace of the Changer of Ways, though it is debatable whether they are truly corrupted or brainwashed into extensions of her will. Even the forces of the other Chaos Gods are not immune to her workings when Tzeentch calls for her service. Yet for all Tzeentch’s blessings, Water Spider is not one for direct combat. Although she has mutated to the point where she could physically overpower a human, Space Marines, Sisters, Battlesuits, and even Eldar could make short work of her. She has few Warp-influenced powers beyond what her mutations give her. Therefore she prefers to work at a distance, striking down her foes without even being on the same planet as them.

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