Eldar Lore

[Zakath2]

I'd like to kknow everything there is to know about Eldar

There isn't that much on Internet that I can find so I'm starting to search for books etc. Can you guys name any books about Eldar or that include Eldar (as opponents or something)?

[Prince Eldarion]

Pick up a copy of the current and past Eldar codex's thats a start. And maybe xenology if your a big fan. Thier are ton's of stuff on the net, just keep searching.

Brief history stolen off net.

"What do humans know of our pain? We have sung songs of lament since before your ancestors crawled on their bellies from the sea." - Farseer Elrad Ulthran

The Eldar are a very proud and ancient race, but before I can go into their history it is vital that some understanding of the nature of the warp is gained. The Warp or Warp space is one of the universes that runs parallel to ours, but it is a very different place. It is a place where material things are as insubstantial as mist and thoughts and ideas have all the sturdy realism of a bar of steel. For the Warp is a place not of physics, but of raw power. It sloshes around like so much water creating warp currents and tides. This power however can be shaped into something "solid" by a thought or a dream. The Warp is not empty either, it is the realm of Chaos, daemons and other hellish creatures swim on its tides, the products of the hopes and fears of mortals in the material world.

Every creature in this universe has an existence in the warp as well, its spirit or what might be called its soul. This is a reflection of the psykic talent of the individual. Psykers can open this channel into the Warp and release power through this gateway in their mind, but in doing so they act as a beacon for the ever hungry daemons which would devour them. When a mortal being dies their soul is cast free in the Warp where it will eventually be hunted down by the powers of Chaos, but for a human this is of no consequence as the psychic awareness of the Human race is negligible, however the Eldar, being so much more advanced on the evolutionary path, retain awareness after their death and to them this is a fate far worse than death itself.

The Fall of the Eldar

The Eldar are creatures quite unlike Humans in all ways apart from a superficial physical likeness. They are long lived by human standards, often living to 1,000 years or more. They move with such grace as makes a ballet dancer look like a camel, their thoughts travel at a speed incomprehensible to mere humans and their reactions are faster than the human eye can follow. They also posses a much greater psychic awareness as has already been mentioned. With all there advantages for an Eldar almost anything is attainable, every whim can be fulfilled. However, not even an Eldar can taste all the fruits of this basket in an undisciplined way without destroying himself.

Before The Fall, as the Eldar call it, they travelled from planet to planet, seeding life in the most inhospitable of places and waiting for it to transform the planet into something prosperous that they could settle. In this way the Eldar race spread throughout the galaxy. To the Eldar is seemed that nothing could possible change this, the crude Humans or Orks posed no threat to the Eldar and their hugely advanced technology, but the threat that was to destroy them was much more complicated than that. The Eldar had advanced to a level where labour was no longer necessary, everything could be taken care of by their machines. Gradually they searched for more and more pleasurable ways to spend their long years, sampling everything they saw in a way so intense that humans will never be able to understand it. However the Eldar have to sense comparable to Human morality and slowly they fell deeper and deeper into depravity. In those final days Eldar turned apon Eldar and the streets were slick with blood. As the Eldar died and their black souls moved freely into the Warp, they did not return to the Eldar as had always happened in the past (being able to remain aware after death meant that souls were reincarnated), but began to gather together in the Warp. Gradually this mass of black pleasures formed the Warp energy around it into a shape, for as I have mentioned, in the Warp a feeling or thought shapes the raw power around it. After much time, a new Chaos power was born, Slaanesh, Lord of Pleasure.

The birthing scream of the new God shook the universe, and it was felt not only by the Eldar, Human psykers the galaxy over fell to their knees screaming. But it was the Eldar who were the focus of the warp rift. From the centre of the Eldar realm the Warp opened up into real space, sucking into it all in its path. Is the new God took its first breaths the souls were sucked from almost every Eldar in the universe to feed its hunger. Some saw this coming and build huge "Craftworlds" on which to escape their brethren. These Arks left their worlds shortly before the fall but only those on the very outskirts of the Eldar realms survived. The Warp rift created by the birth of Slaanesh remains today and is known as the Eye of Terror, a place where the Warp and this universe overlap and worlds are shaped by the every whim of their daemon masters, rivers flow with blood and the skys burn with an eternal inferno.

The Eldar Path

Those who survived realised the need to control their emotions and so they started the Eldar path. Each Eldar chooses a path to follow and will stay in that path until they have mastered it completely. Each path offers a complete way of life to its followers and their are taught by ancient tutors who have become trapped in that particular path, unable to let go and take up another lifestyle. There are many paths and an Eldar will complete several in their long lifetime. There are paths for every aspect of Eldar life, the Way of the Warrior, the Way of the Warlock and the Way of Danger are but three of the more military paths that can be trodden.

The Eldar Gods

The stories of the Gods are very important to the Eldar. Comparisons are constantly drawn between these and current events. The stories of the gods and the Mythic Cycles are also a constant source of conversation and any character will be instantly recognised by the Eldar. From much study of ancient texts and diarys of those who have been able to converse with the Eldar I have managed to piece together this much.

Asuryan was father of the gods and as such ruled over them as his household. He is known as the Phoenix King.
Vaul was the blacksmith god. He was crippled by Khaine and chained to his anvil
Khaine is god of war, wanton destruction and murder. His full title, Kaela Mensha Khaine means bloody handed Khaine and he is often referred to as the bloody handed god.
Isha was goddess of the harvest and it is from here that the Eldar descended.
Kurnous was god of the hut and father of the Eldar race
Lileath the Maiden was god of fortune and dreams

All the gods except two were destroyed during the fall. Khaine was shattered as prophesied and now lies in a sealed chamber at the heart of every craftworld in the form of the Avatar of Khaine. The only other survivor was the Laughing God of the Harlequins.

The Phoenix Lords

The Phoenix Lords originally founded the Aspect Shrines where the different aspects of the Way of the Warrior and Khaine are studied. They have no craftworld to call their own, but travelled through the webway teaching their different skills and founding shrines in each craftworld they visited. They were the first aspect warriors and they became the first Exarchs.

The first ever Exarch was Asurmen, the hand of Asuryan. He was a master of many different aspects and founded the Shrine of Asur, later to become the Dire Avengers aspect. It was Asurmen that taught the other Phoenix Lords their arts

Jain Zar, the storm of silence was the first of the Howling Banshees and first chosen of Asurmen. Like her master she travelled the webway widely and Howling Banshee shrines can be found on almost all of the larger craftworlds as well as many smaller ones.

Baharroth, the cry of the wind was thought to be Asurmen's finest pupil. He became the Winged Phoenix and taught what was to become the Swooping Hawk aspect.

Karandras, the shadow hunter was not the first of the Striking Scorpions. There was one before him, Arhra, the Fallen Phoenix who waged war on his kin before retreating deep into the webway.

Fuegan, the burning lance. Fuegan founded the aspect of the Fire Dragons. When the Shrine of Asur was destroyed by the Fallen Phoenix, Fuegan refused to flee and was thought lost for many centuries before he returned. It is said that Fuegan will call together the Phoenix Lords for the Rhandra Dandra, the final battle against Chaos and that he will be the last to fall.

Maugan Ra, the harvester of souls founded the aspect of the Dark Reapers. He is the only survivor of the craftworld of Altansar which was swallowed by the Eye of Terror only 500 years after the fall.

The Tears of Isha

One of the most important stories to the Eldar is The Tear of Isha, which I shall try to recount to the best of my ability as a humble scribe who has spent many years studying the Eldar race.

The Eldar race were born as the mortal offspring of Isha and Kurnous. Lileath dreamed that Khaine would be shattered and dispersed across the galaxy by a great mortal enemy. Khaine heard of this he became enraged and pledged to destroy the Eldar. He came down apon the worlds of the Eldar and began to slaughter them in their thousands. When Asuryan heard the weeping of Isha and found out about Khaine's plan he put up a barrier between heaven and the Eldar worlds and forbid and further contact between mortals and the gods.

Isha wept much more for her children now that she was cut off from them, and she longed for a way to communicate with them. Vaul, the blacksmith god took pity on her plight, he knew the Asuryan would never change his mind but he promised to help her in whatever way he could. From Isha's tears Vaul made rune stones through which Isha could see and talk to her mortal children. She taught them much about farming the land and Kurnous trained them to hunt for food.

Then Khaine overheard Isha talking to the Eldar and went straight to Asuryan. Angry that his command had been disobeyed, Asuryan told Khaine he could do what he wished with Isha and Kurnous. Not powerful enough to destroy them, Khaine imprisoned them away from both the gods and mortals. Only Vaul pleaded for their release, and eventually he made a deal with Khaine. Vaul was an excellent swordsmith and a sword of his fashioning was of incalculable worth. Khaine agreed to release his prisoners in return for 100 of Vaul's swords and set the date of completion exactly one year away. When the time came Vaul had finished only 99 blades so he took one mortal blade and mixed it in with his work. Khaine was so pleased with the weapons he didn't notice that he had been cheated until Isha and Kurnous were long gone. When he found out he screamed for vengeance calling Vaul a cheat. Vaul took the one unfinished blade and fashioned it into the greatest sword ever made. Then he challenged Khaine.

Vaul's sword, Anaris, was quick and sharp and it did Khaine much hurt, but Khaine was too powerful in the end and he left Vaul crippled and chained him to his anvil.

[Zakath2]

I already own the current and previous Codex as well as the Craftworld book. The Xenology could be a nice buy, you're right about that Thanks for the story, looks great!