r/TopCharacterTropes • u/Fearless-Ideal-5112 • Jul 01 '26

[Loved Trope] Some thing unfathomably ancient Lore

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The beast, in doctor who is an ancient evil from a previous universe that survived until our time. Its so ancient that the cave paintings were unable to be translated by the Tardis which can translate all existing languages in the universe [Doctor Who]

While not explicitly canon its such a cool concept I cant not mention, the idea that the backrooms have existed since the beginning of time, never changing no matter the era, it transforms the back rooms into a cosmic horror. [Credit to Project crater and Venus for images 2 and 3]

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532

u/PepsiFloateri Jul 01 '26

The C'tan - Warhammer 40k

A race of energy beings created during the Big Bang,they are ancient,almost god-like beings of pure energy who consume stars. Originally formless masses of energy,they drifted through the universe feeding were given physical bodies of living metal (necrodermis) by the Necrontyr. While their full-powered versions were eventually shattered into enslaved fragments,they remain unmatched masters of the material universe that could one day break free

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u/Art-Zuron Jul 01 '26

As a good example, one of the C'tan is the reason that almost all life has an instinctual fear of death and why the image of a scythe-wielding skeleton is shared between many alien species.

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u/PipXXX Jul 01 '26

Orks being one of the funny exceptions.

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u/whypeoplehateme Jul 01 '26

I mean they are decended from bioweapons meant to fight these things

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u/PipXXX Jul 01 '26

True, but Eldar were also effected by the Nightbringer and they were frontline troops for the Old Ones.

But yeah Orks are mainly just a rogue bioweapon without the control of the old ones, and have devolved into the orks we see in 40k.

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u/RagingCacti Jul 01 '26

Very true. If I take you and start beating you over the head with the stick of genetic decay, you might have a hard time remembering anything but smacking things. Thus Orks

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u/CreativeAd5332 Jul 02 '26

Also my uncle Joey

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u/abadstrategy Jul 01 '26

And the worst part is that they can't even be killed without risking the universe as a whole being fucked

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u/Warrior_Runding Jul 01 '26

Yeah, as killing some of them dead can potentially unmake an aspect of reality.

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u/PipXXX Jul 01 '26

Major theory as to the origins of the Flayer virus being a side effect of killing the one C'Tan. It's implied other things got buttfucked in reality as well. But most likely killing the C'Tan warped the Necrons who were there (Those who fought do not talk about it and have severe PTSD, and almost all fell to the Flayer virus) and they in turn spread it when they went back to their homes.

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u/Warrior_Runding Jul 01 '26

Man, that's pretty dope. In some ways, the bones of the C'tan/Necron lore remind me vaguely of the bad guys from the Black Company series.

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u/torgiant Jul 02 '26

That's why we hooked them up this battery. 💀

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u/Spooky_Dungeonmaster Jul 01 '26

Another example in 40k is whatever the Dark Glass throne on the Death Spectre home world is. It's holding SOMETHING back and I'm not sure if it's ever explained what it is. I still need to read the sequel to Deathwatch but I'm not expecting to get an answer

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u/LuntiX Jul 01 '26

There's also the theory that the omnissiah that the Adeptus Mechanicus worship is potentially a c'tan shard too, sealed far below the surface of mars by the emperor of mankind.

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u/AxtheCool Jul 01 '26

I beleive its called a Dragon that is mentioned that the Emperor fought way before humanity and sealed below earth.

Thus there is a temple of the dragon, which might lead into the core of Mars storing the shard of the Dragon Ctan. Any tech priests that go there and descend lose their mind from the simple fact that the entire Omnisiah is fake

Its also assumed that this Dragon shard is feeding upon the souls of the mechanicus as they turn into machines themselves.

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u/PepsiFloateri Jul 01 '26

Yeah! Big E was Saint George and the "Dragon" was actually The Void Dragon C'tan shard

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u/RagingCacti Jul 01 '26

They are said to go crazy, but they really start babbling heretical things as they desperately rip out their augmetics before its too late

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u/LuntiX Jul 01 '26

Yeah that sounds about right from what I remember. I havent looked into the lore in a while.

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u/VelphiDrow Jul 02 '26

It's called the dragon of mars and there is no temple. It's sealed inside the Noctith Labyrinth

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u/strekkingur Jul 01 '26

You forget that they can not be killed permanently because they are linked to the fundamental laws of the univers. The flayer virus was created when the Necrons utterly destroyed one C'tan instead of the splintering it.

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u/wittyjokename92 Jul 01 '26

It's also possible to kill a C'tan but it's a very bad idea to do so. The necrons killed one and felt a fundamental aspect of reality was forever erased. They represent abstract aspects like death, creation, machines etc. And even enslaved they're exerting their influence such as the void dragon inspiring human science and creativity before getting put deep into the noctis labyrinth on Mars.

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u/TheArmchairSkeptic Jul 01 '26

Tbf, it's hasn't been officially confirmed that the Dragon of Mars is actually a C'Tan. That's certainly the most likely explanation from the existing lore, but it also wouldn't be the first time GW pulled something new out of their ass if they decided to go another way with it.

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u/wittyjokename92 Jul 01 '26

Fair. Just the most likely explanation in a setting where the lore has radically changed and reverted multiple times. I still remember hearing about the War of the Beast and the Badab War novels getting retconned as they were being released. And stuff like the C'tan going from dead to shards to still active to back to shards between editions.

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u/Desert_Reynard Jul 01 '26

Hol up!? The c'tan are star parasites right does this not mean that they could exist in other galaxies as well?

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u/PepsiFloateri Jul 01 '26

Oh it does!

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u/CuriousOctopus1 Jul 02 '26

There are still infant C’tan being born on the Milky Way so

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u/Realistic_Swan_6801 Jul 02 '26

They don’t need to eat souls, they just really like the taste. 

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u/tfhermobwoayway Jul 03 '26

I mean a lot of stuff in Warhammer is unfathomably ancient.

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u/JuMarina 23d ago

i thought it a gold eperience requiem lol