IM - Xenos Auxilia

[simison]

For the past day or so, I've been studying the Eldar right after the Fall. Specifically, I was trying to expand upon Craftworld Il-Kaithe. 

 

Here's what I found. 

 

Craftworlds existed before the Fall, but without the Path system, they're much closer in cultural ties to Eldar Corsairs. It's really vague as to who came up with the Path system. The only confirmed 'inventor' is Asurmen and the Path of the Warrior. 

 

Asurmen did not invent the Path of the Warrior until well after the Fall. If the Fall was c798.M30 (when the Great Crusade started) then it could easily be 5-7 years before Asurmen meets Jain and becomes Asurmen proper. In outlook, if not in actual skill. Over a period of time, he gathers the other Phoenix Lords who becomes his first disciples. 

 

Now, here's where I get mixed messages. One source states that Asurmen and the Phoenix Lords stayed on the planet of Asur teaching others until the Striking Scorpions Phoenix Lord Arhra backstabs them all and scatters them. But then Fuegan's codex entry states that he outright disappears after the destruction of Asur, but that was after he had started a bunch of Fire Dragon shrines. 

 

Oh, GW. The headaches you inflict upon me. 

 

And there is a significant amount of time here. At the end of Path of the Warrior, Karandaas has a flashback where Arhra rescues him as a child. Karandras is a full-on Exarch when Arhra goes Chaos. So, we're easily talking about a decade here, which is after Arhra has already learned the Path of the Warrior from Asurmen. So if Asurmen starts training Jain in, say, 904, then there could easily be anywhere from 20 to 50 years before the first Aspect Shrines are established and Arhra goes Chaos. 

 

Why is this all important?

 

No Asurmen and Path of Warrior, no Aspect Warriors for any of the Craftworlds and no Autarchs. If Asurmen is responsible for the entire Path system (which 1d4chan believes), then no Farseers as we know them. 

 

That leaves only a century and some decades before the Insurrection/Heresy, which means that 30k Craftworlds can be far different beasts than their 40k. And that's just the Aspect Shrines. Several Eldar units are mentioned as being pioneered by specific Craftworlds. It's very possible that Vypers, Spiritseers, and all of the Wraith constructs haven't been invented yet. (The Eldar Empire would not have been forced to use the ghost warriors to supplement their armies.) 

 

Tying this all back to Il-Kaithe, what might they look like in c015.M31 when they formally ally with the Imperium. Originally, I imagined a 9-member Seer Council and 3 Autarchs in command. Now, after a bunch of research, I don't think that's viable. Taking inspiration from the Corsairs, I think the Craftworld should be ruled by a Prince, who is advised by some of the leaders of the new Aspect Shrines and the most talented 'witches' (a potential precursor to the Seer proper).  

 

In regards to the Aspect Shrines, I would only guarantee one: the Dire Avengers. They're the most common, it'd make sense if the Path system has reached Il-Kaithe, then they'd have access to the 'starter' Shrine essentially. After that, the Howling Banshees is the most likely because Jain likes to travel. 

 

After that, I'm tempted to roll to see if the Striking Scorpions, Fire Dragons, Dark Reapers, and the Swooping Hawks have an established presence. These Aspect Shrines have Phoenix Lords, but they're not the most prolific compared to the first two. For the Warp Spiders, Shining Spears, and the Crimson Hunters, I'm tempted to just say they are not here yet since they don't have Phoenix Lords which means someone else has to invent them. 

 

So, I might roll some dice. What do people think?

 

Besides that, I'm really curious how joining the Imperium will affect Il-Kaithe's evolution. Thoughts to expand upon later.

[simison]

Prince Cassion-ann could feel the rage building within him as he watched the recording play before him. Three hundred years had passed since he had satisfied his curiosity about the activities of the pleasure cults. The memory itself was gone, banished, but the utter disgust remained fresh to the prince. That same disgust returned as he saw echoes of the forgotten memory reappear. The actors were different this time. No Aeldari committed this newest blasphemy. No, the Mon'keigh fulfilled the role, hulks in armour who tortured a lesser member of their species. 

 

"No more!" Cassion-ann snarled as he jerked his gaze away.

 

Eldrad obliged, ending the recording with a brief motion. 

 

The room fell silent as Cassion-ann forced his anger back under control. After a moment, he spoke in a seething whisper, "Is it not enough that we were forced to witness the death of our empire? Is it not enough that our race survives in but a few wayward vessels? Must we now witness the Mon'keigh repeat our mistakes and strengthen the very forces who destroyed it?"

 

Eldrad waited patiently.

 

Cassion-ann's eyes drifted to the lounge's largest window. Past the frame, a Craftworld slumbered, except for those few souls who reveled in the closest analgoue to night. Every soul was under Cassion-ann's protection and his leadership. And many shared his undying hatred to the powers that had scattered their race. "If I could call upon a fraction of our old might, I would stop this."

 

Only now did Eldrad speak, "What if I offered you a means to full that desire?"

 

Instantly, Cassion-ann was on guard. The witch who stood before him was young and little-known among Il-Kaithe. The Prince had agreed to this secret meeting only because Eldrad had warned of dire tidings. That had proven true, but now Eldrad had moved past his role as simple messenger. It was yet one more unwelcome change that Cassion-ann had been forced to endure in his four hundred years as Il-Kaithe's ruler. His first instinct was to reject the youngster. Yet, the disgust and hatred hovered at the edge of his awareness. "...what do you speak of?"

[simison]

The Mystery of Man and Eldar

 

Although the Imperium remains conflicted over the current status of these xenos, there is a greater uncertainty when scavenging history over this unusual relationship. The Imperium's former hostility toward the Eldar is by no means the standard attitude Mankind has taken, even in recent history. The Interex alone has offered evidence of a different possibility, although it may still be too early to declare it a beneficial relationship. 

 

Unfortunately, a great deal of information is lacking about our race and theirs. It is known that both Humanity and Eldar had plied the stars at the same time. Both us and them can legitimately claim a history of void occupation that stretches back millennia. Given the far reaches of Mankind's early colonies and the Eldar's far-flung Maiden worlds, this demands that there has been some level of interaction before Old Night. 

 

Alas, along with too much else, information is scant on how our race dealt with theirs in the Dark Age of Technology. What crumbs we have suggest that the Eldar had little to do with our collapse, yet they also did not raise their hands to assist us in this dark hour. This begs the question as to why were a few exceptions granted, such as the aid given to the Interex? Or worse still, why are some, perhaps most, members of their race utterly bespotted with malice and misery, which they are all too willing to inflict upon us after our fall? 

 

Is this merely another scheme? Has some ancient wrong occurred to prevent a closer binding between us and them? The most we can surmise from the ancient records is that we did not attempt to exterminate them at our zenith, and they have likewise ignored us before their own cataclysm. It is this lonely truth that guides us from beyond recent history. 

[simison]

The Shemanseir [The "Mournful Scattering"]

 

Cresistauead [human], know this. I give you this shiasta [history], not because I am fond of you, but because you are unworthy of hatred. I tell you of this shiasta so you do not kill the Aeldari with your ignorance. I tell you of our shiasta so that you may become our weapon against those are worthy of hatred. 

 

I have heard that some of you believe that your leader swept away the Warp storms that had doomed your race in the time before. Such fools. It was no blessing that cast away the storms, that had hardly touched us, but the creation of a terrible being who will be nothing more than a plague upon your lesser species and mine: Murekhalir. An entity of terrifying might and hunger. You now know of its terrible apetite and its ways through your betrayed warriors known as the Drowned. It is our greatest enemy and our greatest shame. For it is our creation. 

[simison]

I have heard of some of your scholars speak about some long-lost age of technological sophistication. Truly, I cannot understand how your species can reach such a height and lose so much of it. Even after the Shemanseir, we Aeldari have not lost any of the wisdom and progress we have accumulated, but I digress. Imagine, if you can with your limits, that we resided in your so-called lost age of wonder. Now, imagine the age was greater still for each member of your species was capable of bending the very essence of life into beauty and art. Oh, if you could only see the exquisite treats of the Aktoshan jewel-rivers or the bliss-mists of Lanova. 

 

That. That was torn from us by our own hubris. At our zenith, we gorged ourselves on pleasure and then demanded more. While no Aeldari is truly without grace, the displays we conjured were more befitting of the bestial Orks and their single-minded obssession and were more grotesque than the abominable creations of the Fomoire. Some of us recognized the danger approaching from the horizon. The Craftworlds were one such response, fleeing in safe isolation where the rot would not spread. The Exodites, another. And with each one you have destroyed in your brutish conquest represents a loss beyond value. 

 

I reiterate, you and your ignorant ways are unworthy of hatred. 

[simison]

Yet, what little preparations we did take did nothing to truly prepare us for the horror that we gave birth to: She-who-Thirsts. In a single cataclysmic event, our empire's heart was torn from within. Our gods slain, except for the Laughing God who escaped into the Webway. Trillions and trillions of Aeldari lives lost to that hungering maw. 

 

And there are some among your species who dare to believe your current civil war is even worthy to consider as comparable? As if we needed more evidence of your specie's short-sightedness. But I digress.

 

I will not deny the Aeldari have bled, but we are not dead. We survive. And we have our own hunger for vengeance. 

 

I confess, our retaliation has been...less than impressive. Gods may be slain, but it is not easy to do so. There was also a time, a short time mind you, of confusion. During those disorienting years right after the Shemanseir, we had to adapt and find our place. Our empire provided every need and desire. You cannot imagine how much time had passed since we had to make war upon another. The only foe remaining to us after our many victories were the brutal Orks. Long had they had been brought to heel that their vestiges of strength were hunted for sport. We needed to find our war-spirit once again.

 

The gods answered us. Two, specifically. Asuryan, elder of all of the gods, would not yield to She-who-Thirsts so easily. Although unable to save himself, he chose Asurmen as his Hand to rally the Aeldari in these dark times. Beside him, Khaine, our war god and younger brother of Asuryan, came to our aid. Although shattered by She-who-Thirsts, death has not yet conquered him. 

[simison]

One by one, Asurmen brought the power of the two brothers to the Craftworlds. Even as he was bringing their final gifts to our race, Asurmen chose disciples to follow him. Newly-wrought lords of war, the Aeldari are growing in strength once again. We are shaking off our turmoil, harnessing our grief. While your kind blundered amongst the stars, we were adapting, learning the techniques of death that once brought us complete mastery of the galaxy. It is only a matter of time before we finish our transformation as unrelenting avengers. 

 

Perhaps you may wonder why we even would bother with your kind. There are, of course, loud voices among the Aeldari that the only way you can benefit the galaxy is through death. After all, you are more akin to jackals, picking at the remains of greatness, all too-eager to take advantage of our loss. 

 

Yet, in the end, you and your kind are unworthy of hatred.

 

Why waste what value you do possess? I doubt your kind will ever be a proper match for us. Yet, a crude weapon is still a weapon. And gods do not die easy. 

 

So, we will ally ourselves to your Warmaster. We will strike against the minions of the Primordial Annihilator. And you will serve us as yet one more weapon in our most sacred of wars. 

[simison]

Can somebody verify this for me? According to the Iyanden supplement, the Infinity Circuit didn't come into its 'modern' form until M33. Which means, potentially, no Craftworld Wraith units for 3,000 years. Which means Wraithknight Pionus isn't feasible.

[Beren]

Ordo Sinister/Blood Angles fought Wraith Titans. Also, the Aspect Shrine of one of the exarchs was closely associated with the Wraithguard.

 

In addition to this, Legio Xestobiax's Black Iron Cores (which appear to hold the souls of past princeos to some degree) were developed off captured Eldar tech.

 

"Crashing through the decaying spires and force-domed atmosphere of the desolate Craftworld, the invaders were met by Magc'Sithraal's army of the dead; thousands of Wraith war constructs ranging from swift-footed assassins to towering warriors and Titan-walkers, all powered and animated by the vengeful souls of that haunted realm."

[bluntblade]

We'll come up with some sort of method

[simison]

I will attempt to sum up the conversation yesterday.

 

Basically, our solution is to be incredibly pedantic. I've found the original entry, and it's just a timeline entry marked as "C.M33". It's not even a particularly accurate since it has the Fall of the Eldar happening in M32 when it happened in M30. 

 

...actually I suppose there's opportunity in that. We have three possible solutions. One, the meta solution. We claim that this supplement is part of outdated fluff which has visibly moved the Fall of the Eldar to M30. The 6th edition Eldar codex actually lists the Fall happening in c.M31, so this actually could be a typo as it is. In this solution, we simply move up the event in question to fit within our timeline and declare it so. 

 

Two, the in-universe mistake solution. Basically, the modern day Eldar are wrong about the timing of the event, and we move the event up to fit our timeline of events.

 

Three, the development solution. Basically, the Aeldari figure out how to use waystones to save a soul and how to plug it into a Wraith construct, but haven't figured out how to plug one into an Infinity Circuit until M33 or a later date. This would allow Wraith-Pionus while allowing some time for the Craftworlds to gradually adapt into their modern incarnations. 

 

I suppose what's also confusing the issue is when did Wraith constructs come into existence. In the earliest fluff, the Craftworlds predate the Fall of the Eldar by thousands of war, used as odd trading vessels. More recent fluff emphasizes that they were built to escape the Empire as its degeneration accelerated. In either scenario, the Craftworlds predate the Fall which means Bonesingers and wraithbone have been available then. Yet, wraith constructs are in this weird spot. Several of the Horus Heresy novels establish their existence, but don't explain how they come to be. Perturabo faces off against a Wraith army in Angelus Exterminatus. Supposedly, the planet, Iydris, is an Aeldari tomb world, aka, a waystone/spirit stone storage facility.

 

Which, I guess implies that waystones have been used since the Eldar Pantheon has been around since it's suggested Lileath likes the place. (Which utterly baffles me since she is supposed to be the Eldar goddess of Dreams, Prophecy, and Fortune. What's any of that got to do with death and zombies?) The only other mention of a Wraith-being is Eldrad's Wraithlord friend, Khiraen Goldhelm in Fulgrim. There's also an Avatar of Khaine in that fight, which I'm a little uneasy with. I suppose 200 years is enough time to figure out how to create an Avatar of Khaine. 

 

Side note, there's also an Avatar of Khaine in Aurelian. This one is half-dead and was among the ruins of a Craftworld that didn't escape the cataclysm in time. I'm not sure if this one makes any sense. So, Slaanesh is birthed, while the Craftworlds are running for it. This one doesn't escape in time, but just enough time for Slaanesh to shatter Khaine, and for a a shard of Khaine to land on the Craftworld Zu'lasa? Keep in mind, the Fall kills most of Zu'lasa's population, which is why it ends up crashing into the planet next to it. Who would be around to create an Avatar of Khaine? In Path of the Warrior, it takes the sacrifice of an Exarch to even make one of these Avatars. There are no Exarchs at the time of the Fall because Asurmen hasn't created the Path of the Warrior and become the first Phoenix Lord. So, no Exarch, and who would be around and sane enough to figure out how to make an Avatar of Khaine? Does Khaine immediately explain how to make an Avatar whenever his shard arrives on a Craftworld?

 

End of side note. (No, the Avatar of Khaine in Aurelian makes no sense.)

 

So, we have no idea when Wraith constructs became a thing or why they became a thing. Although, for all practical purposes, they do seem to exist by M31, which is enough for our purposes of Wraith-Pionus. 

 

In regards to the Infinity Circuit adaptation as a soul storage unit, I suggest that maybe we can have it occurring at the same time as the Insurrection. Shows the Aeldari adapting to post-Fall life, and it's a major victory for them even as the Imperium is threatening to implode. 

 

Also, a big thing that came up yesterday are additional Phoenix Lords. Darkcommander/Rowboat has claimed dibs on working on the Warp Spider Phoenix Lord. GW still hasn't made a Phoenix Lord for the Shining Spears or the Crimson Hunters, so that's something else we can address. That includes a timeline of when Phoenix Lords come into being. We know Asurmen is the first with Jain Zar as the second. Outside of that, we're not sure who else is in the first batch. Actually, we don't even know if anyone comes after the first batch. For all we know, it was a one-time blessing by Khaine since we have no idea how anyone can become a Phoenix Lord. It obviously has to have Khaine involved on some level since a Phoenix Lord is essentially a Daemon Prince of Khaine. For that matter, we don't know how one becomes an Exarch either. What standard does a warrior have to meet to become a living armor?

 

One last item of consideration is the Craftworlds and their views on the Warmaster's offer. We've established that only Il-Kaithe is willing to submit to Imperial authority simply because they hate Chaos that much. But where do the other Craftworlds fall? Iyanden is another big anti-Chaos force, but they still dream about resurrecting the empire which is why refused. Ulthwé is too busy keeping the Eye of Terror as contained as possible. However, it wouldn't be surprising if the more radical elements of these two Craftworlds would join Il-Kaithe in forming the Munetari. What about others?

[Doctor Perils]

We know Kharandras becomes a Phoenix Lord after most of the others, since he replaces Arhra.

 

We also have an example of how a warrior becomes an exarch in the Path of the Warrior novel, but we don't know how the shrine was created or how its first exarch came to be

[simison]

We know Kharandras becomes a Phoenix Lord after most of the others, since he replaces Arhra.

 

We also have an example of how a warrior becomes an exarch in the Path of the Warrior novel, but we don't know how the shrine was created or how its first exarch came to be

 

That's a good point, so we know Phoenix Lords are not locked in this early period, though we still don't really know what the trigger is. 

 

The question is how do you get the initial Exarch/Phoenix Lord? I asked in the Aeldari sub-forum and no one really knows.

 

If I had to hazard a system, I would think there needs to be some kind of system or ritual tied to Khaine. Now, perhaps Khaine has enough strength/awareness to go through with the system or maybe Asurmen needs to be involved to 'bless' the new Phoenix Lord. In either scenario, I would imagine a new Phoenix Lord would have to submit him/herself entirely to the War Mask, permanently separating themselves from Aeldari society. Then, some kind of blessing/ritual needs to happen where the Phoenix Lord is permanently bound to their armor. Again, using the Daemon Prince analogy, there needs to be some sacrifice. Perhaps a would-be Phoenix Lord needs either trophies or a high enough kill count to warrant Khaine's blessing?

[Beren]

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