The Changeling

The Changeling is a shapeshifter favoured by Tzeentch, the Chaos god of change, that has impersonated mortals, daemons and gods. It has altered its form so often that it no longer remembers its original appearance, which Tzeentch, also called the Changer, retains as a means of control over it. Its victims have included the Chaos god Slaanesh, whose hair it cut during the night. It also placed Nurglings on the throne of Khorne, and gave an Ork Warboss a cannon that fired of its own accord.

The Changeling assumed the form of a Dark Angels scout, and later that of Sammael, in order to persuade Azrael to undertake the Siege of the Fenris System. It also took the appearance of dead men to approach the sorcerer Ahriman with a gift of annihilation. Tzeentch cancelled this errand mid-sentence, having devised a newer plot. The Changeling’s true face appeared briefly during the encounter and was then erased from Ahriman’s memory.

The Changeling is not known to have been unmasked. Because it adopts the identities of persons familiar to its targets, its involvement is generally recognised only afterwards, when an apparent friend is found never to have been present. Its errands remain subordinate to the shifting schemes of Tzeentch, who may reassign or cancel them at any time.