"By the mysteries of the crucible are they given form and strength. By the molten fires and pounding pistons of the Forge are they armed and armoured. By the Votann and by the Fane are they given wisdom and purpose. And by the searing wrath of the Hearth are they filled with the fury to overcome any foe."
- —The "Four Pillars" that maintain the society of a Kindred in the Leagues of Votann
A sigil commonly used to represent the Kin of the Leagues of Votann as a whole.
A crucible is the artificial womb technology used by the Leagues of Votann to produce new cloned Kin. Every newborn Kin emerges from one of these crucibles, which draw upon vast banks of genomic data housed by the self-aware machine intelligences known as the Votann to produce a stable and varied populace. The Votann watch over the gestation of every Kin within a crucible.
It is believed the crucibles were originally created by the Kin's First Ancestors.
All Kin in a given Kindred have sprung from its artificial wombs or "crucibles," and thus share a genetic bond stronger than allegiance to any flag. The crucibles are among the most important assets held by any Kin hold, and are always defended by the elite Kin warriors of the oath-bound orders known as the Embyr, one of the few Kin cloneskeins that are psychoactive and can make use of Kin barrier-tech to wield the energies of the Warp.
Every Kin has a first -- "given" -- name, and a second -- "chosen" -- name. The given name is assigned by the Votann themselves at birth, appearing in a small slot in that Kin's crucible in the moments before their emergence. A given name cannot be changed in Kin culture, for it is the will of the Ancestors and to cast it aside would be deeply disrespectful.
Sources
- Codex: Leagues of Votann (9th Edition), pp. 10, 71