Incubi. Image Courtesy of beckjann.deviantart.com
An Incubus is an elite Dark Eldar warrior, most commonly seen in service as an Archon's retinue in the field. Outside of combat, they act as personal bodyguards, protecting their client every second of the day.
Orders of the Incubus[]
Incubi, like Mandrakes or Haemonculi , do not swear allegiance to any specific Kabal or Wych Cult . Instead, every Incubi are trained in their dark shrines. These obsidian crafted shrines, all presided over by Hierarchs, are thronged by patrons and aspirants eager to steep themselves in the murderous arts. Training is extremely hard and gruelling. Due to this, not every aspirant survives the training. These weaklings are burnt as an offering to the iron statue of Khaine at the heart of each shrine. The only way to stay alive is to quickly master everything taught. Should an aspirant live long enough to best a proven Incubus and take his armour, the final training will begin. Every aspirant must then kill an Aspect Warrior of the Eldar Craftworlds in single combat, shatter their quarry's precious Soul Stone and rebuild it into a psychic torture device known as a Tormentor. After that, the aspirant can be considered an Incubus. Incubi are the best warriors in Dark Eldar society. They are warrior-mercenaries living only to kill. Archons favor Incubi as bodyguards. The reason for this is that in Dark Eldar society, one's place in the chain of command is only improved by assassinating the person above you. Therefore, the majority of Kabal leaders find it too dangerous to leave the protecting of their lives in the hands of a member of the same Kabal, as the bodyguard would have ulterior motives for not sufficiently protecting the Archon/Dracon. Incubi, on the other hand, are completely neutral in matters of Kabal hierarchy, follow the code of their contract zealously, and are elite warriors, all of which make them perfect bodyguards.
Incubi. Image Courtesy of beckjann.deviantart.com
Equipment[]
Weaponry Incubi are trained in the use of many different weapons unique to their warrior sect:
- Though they train in every form of blade, they favour great powered swords they call Klaives. A Klaive is a masterpiece of balance and form; the Incubi consider them to be the one true weapon.
- Their Klaivex war-leaders sometimes favour variants such as the versatile demi-klaives, which can be wielded either separately to increase the amount of strikes the user can make, or clasped together to form a much larger blade, thus increasing the force of the blows.
- Bloodstones, forged from the broken soulstone of an Eldar Exarch, are rare and exotic weapons which can boil the enemy's blood with a pulse of energy.
- The Punisher, a two-handed power weapon resembling a halberd, manufactured in such a way as to assist the wielder when swinging, effectively increasing the strength of their attacks.
Armour
Another aspect of Incubi equipment that is fairly unique is their use of power armour like the Incubus Warsuit. This warsuit is used only by Incubi and not even Archons have access to this kind of armoury.
The warsuit is as tough as power armour and so perfectly designed it barely inhibits dexterity at all.
Incubi. Image Courtesy of beckjann.deviantart.com
Dark Father[]
The Dark Father is the head of the Incubi sect, and is thus the most powerful Incubus in existence, due to the manner in which seniority is decided in Commorragh . It is believed that Arhra , founder of the Eldar Aspect of the Striking Scorpions is the original Dark Father, although this cannot be confirmed. In the event that Arhra did found the Incubi sect, it likewise cannot be confirmed that he was not killed by one of his students, and thus overthrown as Dark Father. The argument for Arhra being the founder of the Incubi is based primarily on the fact that Eldar refer to Arhra specifically as "The Fallen Phoenix", and refer to Incubi as "Fallen Warriors", stating that their Dark Father had, "Turned from the light into the shadows". This, coupled with the great similarities between the Incubi Tormentor Helms and the Striking Scorpion's Mandiblasters, and the aesthetic similarity of the scorpion stylings between both warriors lead most to this conclusion, although it has never been confirmed.