Jewels of Ymir

The Jewels of Ymir are ancient xenos devices of unknown origin, believed to be millions of years old.

They were created by members of an ancient xenos civilization who desired immortality, each Jewel containing the essence of a single xenos. When they come in contact with the flesh of most current species in the galaxy they slowly take over the mind and body of the individual, slowly transforming them into a member of the xenos species.

The exact details of the transformation process are not yet known, but definitely do not happen instantly. The new host can be aware of the change, but often mistaken the extra voices in their head for madness, or the call of one of their gods, or some other manifestation (such as Warboss Facestompa's Jewel helping him to gain more power).

A Jewel's ability to take over a host varies depending on the host. Warboss Facestompa showed resistance to the process, while other species such as humans and Dark Eldar showed rapid changes when the Jewels were introduced to their bodies.

List of Narrative Campaigns with Jewels of Ymir
To date only two narrative campaigns feature the Jewels of Ymir:
 * Augustine's Station
 * Space Hulk: Deathwatch

Notable Jewels of Ymir

 * Governor Liadova of Augustine's Station
 * Warboss Facestompa