Description: Skaven, or the Horned Rat, is the god of the numerous and vile species known as the Ratkin. The Ratkin are a malevolent and diabolical culture of large humanoid rat-creatures that inhabit a massive inter-continental underground empire known in their tongue simply as the Warren-Empire. Much like their deity, Ratkin as a whole are a cruel, treacherous and highly numerous species that spread their loathsome corruption to the farthest corners of their domain.
The Horned Rat is known as the Harbinger of Corruption and Disease, the embodiment of all things the Ratkin are or ever will be, and whose worship over the Warren-Empire is both supreme and absolute. Within the cruel hierarchy of the Warren-Empire, the wishes and demands of the Horned Rat are issued and maintained by the ruthless tyranny of the Council of Thirteen, an organization that consists of the twelve most powerful Warlords within the Warren-Empire, whilst the thirteenth seat is reserved for the Horned Rat himself. It is due only to the Council's harsh tyranny that the Warren-Empire has remained unified in some shape or form for centuries, as the scheming and treachery of the clans would otherwise destroy Ratkin society.
Dogma
All Ratkin revere the Horned Rat. None question his existence. Such respect is a product of fear, for the Horned Rat’s eternal hunger does not discriminate between his vermin children and the dwellers of the surface world. A devout Ratkin mutters small prayers to the Horned God throughout the day, each prayer being a verbal slice of hate, envy, or malice. These prayers are answered often enough to give the Horned Rat validity in the minds of his adherents, even in cases when divine intervention is obviously not involved.
Blood sacrifice is common in the day to day worship of the Horned Rat. The Ratkin fear that if the Horned Rat’s appetite is not satisfied, he will devour his children instead. The form of the sacrifice - a slave, Ratkin, or other - is not as important as the sacrifice itself. There is no specific doctrine that governs who or what must be sacrificed. The sacrifice itself is enough to sate the god for a brief time. Young victims are considered to be the most potent sacrifices for the Horned Rat, while the blood of the aged and infirm is less desirable.
Tenets Of The Faith
• Sacrifice to appease the hunger of the Horned Rat, which is endless.
• All things must rot and decay, until the world is brought down and the ratkin reigns supreme.
• There is no such thing as pity, remorse, compassion, or cooperation. There is simply survival of the strongest, the smartest, the most clever.
Structure
The Council of Thirteen rules the Warren-Empire with the unarguable backing of the Rat God, for all who occupy a seat on the council must first touch the Pillar of Commandments. The Pillar of Commandments is the Horned God's most sacred gift to his children, the Ratkin. Every candidate for the Council of Thirteen has to touch it, effectively surrendering his fate into the paws of the Horned Rat. Most perish immediately while others become his chosen ones.
The Grey Seers of the priesthood are the chosen grey-furred emissaries of the Great Horned Rat, unholy prophets of ruin and destruction capable of channeling eldritch energies in destructive ways, levelling armies with lightning, or summoning ravening swarms of rats, all for the sake of furthering the Ratkin cause and bring about the Great Ascendancy of their foul deity. As chief agents for the Horned Rat and the priesthood dedicated to his worship, Grey Seers wield tremendous influence amongst the clans, and only a fool would ignore their council and invoke the wrath of the Horned Rat's chosen.
Servitors
Rats
Rat Swarms
Giant Rats
Ratogres
Dire Rats
Wererats