Demiurg

The Demiurg are an intelligent alien race of short humanoid traders and miners allied with the Tau Empire, first introduced to the Warhammer 40,000 universe in additional material to the Battlefleet Gothic game.

History
The Demiurg reside on the far Eastern Fringe of the Milky Way Galaxy and are also found less often deep in areas like the Ultima Segmentum. They are still an uncommon sight in the Imperium, despite the number of sightings of them having increased over recent centuries. They are almost purely space-borne in their massive and majestic commerce vessels. Their history is unconfirmed, as are their origins, intentions and current threat to others and all that is known about them is at best based on speculation.

The Demiurg are known to have an allied relationship with the Tau, being noted as economic allies of the Tau Empire, and were initially introduced to the Tau via their mutual relations with the Kroot. From the Demiurg, the Tau acquired their knowledge of Ion Cannon technology, which is now heavily used by the Tau in their armies and fleets. Two Brotherhoods of Demiurg, the Srry'Tok and Thurm, are known to have joined the Tau Empire outright.

Society
It is currently unknown if the Demiurg are full members of the Tau Empire, or allies, or mercenaries in their service. But they are involved heavily in commercial and economic relations with the Tau. The Demiurg appear to have no homeworld, or at least have abandoned it in favour of spacecraft. They are known to avoid Imperial space unless invited in, making them a very uncommon sight, and are described as defensively-hostile and non-militaristic. However, the number of sightings of the Demiurg in the Ultima Segmentum has increased over recent centuries. The Demiurg are known to be organized into "Brotherhoods", though any further information on the numbers, political structure, economic and military weight of a Demiurg Brotherhood is currently unknown, beyond the rumour that one Brotherhood is typically present upon a Bastion-class ship and two to three on a Stronghold-class.

The Demiurg are organized into "Brotherhoods", though any further information on a Brotherhood is unknown beyond the rumours from Rogue Traders that one Brotherhood is typically present upon a Bastion-class vessel and two to three upon on a Stronghold-class starship. At least two Brotherhoods, the Srry'Tok and Thurm, are known to have joined the Tau Empire.

Inspiration and Etymology
The Demiurg have notable traits shared with the typical high fantasy Dwarf stereotype, although they are not explicitly described as being like Dwarfs. For example they are avid miners, expert traders, more technologically advanced than humans and apparently bear a particular hatred for greenskins (which are represented by the Orks in the Warhammer 40,000 universe).

The term "Demiurg" is derived from the ancient Greek word meaning "artisan" or "craftsman" and is the title given in some belief systems (most notably Gnosticism) to the deity that created the physical universe. It is therefore befitting that such a race would be expert crafters. The name also resonates with the Demiurgs' short stature.

It is frequently suggested (and often assumed) that the Demiurg are an attempt by Games Workshop to reintroduce the Abhuman Squat race that was removed from the game for reasons known only to the company, but they would be better understood as an attempt to reintroduce the "Space Dwarf" image that has not been present in the game since the removal of the Squats.

Technology
The Demiurg appear to have no homeworld, or at least have abandoned it in favour of living on their spacecraft, and as such have a high level of technology invested in their vessels since they are required to perform a number of tasks; Stronghold-class vessels, for instance are used as factories and processing units, whereas Bastion-class starships are more often configured for use in asteroid mining. A possible reason for this exodus is that the opportunities for commerce generated by manufacturing items on-location in the starships is very lucrative, although this is entirely speculative. Larger Demiurg vessels are largely automated and use electromagnetic fields to scoop up interstellar hydrogen, which is then compressed inside the vessel and ejected towards the rear, creating a form of fusion ram-jet engine. The engines of Demiurg starships are relatively slow in comparison to Imperial starship technology, however the complex shielding the system requires and the beneficial side-effects of its use are as of yet still unfathomed by the Adeptus Mechanicus. Aside from the development of ionic weapons, the Demiurg appear to remodel a lot of their weaponry from technology already developed for use in resource gathering and manufacturing. Two examples of this on board their spacecraft are the Cutting Beam, which appears to have been adapted from high-powered lasers used to mine asteroids, and automated mining machines, which, once reconfigured, are launched as attack craft against enemy ships.

Similar Races
There are clear similarities between the Demiurg and the Bentusi from the Homeworld series of computer games; both races are almost entirely spacebound, with no home planets, and both the Bentusi and Demiurg sell other races ion cannon technology. Furthermore, in the Tau language, the Demiurg are known as "Bentu'sin", which translates as 'wise-gifted ones'. This connection may not be surprising, as Homeworld was developed by Relic Entertainment, the developers behind Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War. [[Category:D]]