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HARLEQUINS

The newcomers' appearance certainly lived up to the stories. Three little knots of troupers each manhandled a trunk like a garishly-coloured coffin, which hovered just above the deck on suspensors. Three skull-masked margorach Death Jesters glided forward with their great reapers and flame lances on their backs, moving automatically towards the chamber's cardinal defence points. Four esdainn Warlocks strolled forward in a group, their masks bobbing in an animated discussion that had evidently begun on the other side of the warpgate. The athair - the Avatars, who played the Laughing god in the masque - and led each troupe in battle - emerged last, the fixed ironic half-smiles on their masks seeming to comment on what had come before.

"Lavair." said one of these. It was a statement, not a question. Hrythar struggled to seem relaxed and slightly offhand, as courtesy demanded.

"Hrytbar Dreamweave," he answered. "Saim-Hann is gladdened by your presence."

"Dreamweave," the voice was rich and even. despite the mask's distortion, "A fortunate name." Unsure whether this was compliment or mockery Hrythar held an expression of bland courtesy. Inclining his head to the Avatar, he turned to lead the Harlequins to the quarters set aside for them. Even though he concentrated on his movements as he walked, beside their fluid. gliding figures he felt clumsy as an Ork. He burned to ask if and when the masque would perform, but it was for them to say. and for none to ask.

The Harlequins see no distinction between art and war, and their outlook can best be explained by reference to the legend of the Fall of the Eldar; one of their self-appointed duties is to keep this legend alive through their performances.

The central figure of Harlequin belief is the Cegorach - the Great Harlequin, also known as the Great Fool, the First Fool or the Laughing god. According to legend, this deity survived the Fall because his mocking nature distanced him from the corruption and decadence that became Slaanesh. The Great Harlequin is the only authority that the Harlequins recognise. There are stories about Harlequins and other Eldar who have met the Laughing god in the guise of a Harlequin without realising his identity until afterwards.

Harlequins travel constantly, presenting entertainments based on Eldar tradition and centred on the body of lore which has sprung up around the Laughing god. They have been known to stage their dance-dramas for Humans and other non-Eldar, since they believe that the Fall of the Eldar holds a lesson from which all races may benefit.

As well as being entertainers, Eldar Harlequins are the deadliest fighters of their race. In battle, they use their acrobatic skills and a range of specialist equipment to devastating effect. Among many of the less intelligent races they are regarded as wizards, malevolent warp entities, or worse.

Harlequins are thought to wear their masks at all times. Their clothing is tight-fitting and brightly-coloured, with bold stripes, zigzags, spots, checks and other colourful designs. Multiple belts, studs, straps, buckles, scarves and other adornments are common, and the symbol of the masque is often incorporated into the clothing design. Death Jesters are an exception to this practice, preferring to wear predominantly black clothing, often with white skull and bone designs.

A device known as a holo-suit, dathedi shield (dathedi: "between colours"), or visual disruption field, is incorporated into each Harlequin's body-suit; projecting a holographic field around the wearer's body. This produces various costume effects in performance, and operates in battle like a programmable form of cameleoline, breaking up the Harlequin's outline. Refractor and conversion fields are also widely used as well. In addition the Death Jesters commonly wear carapace and other armour types.

To enhance their speed and agility, Harlequins are equipped with suspensor belts known as Flip Belts, Inertia Pivots or geirgilath (Eldar: "belt of speed"). These devices allow the Harlequins to pivot effortlessly about hip-level, and permit undiminished use of their spectacular acrobatic abilities even when encumbered with battle-gear. Harlequins use a range of specialist equipment (described in detail below), as well as conventional kit.

Vehicles attached to a Harlequin force are brightly painted in the same patterns as the Harlequins themselves, and festooned with flags and bunting - a strangely cheerful sight on the battlefield. It is also common for Harlequin vehicles to be equipped with visual disruption fields.

The first work was performed by a single troupe. It was one of the many stories about the Great Harlequin, the Harlequins' only master. The Warlock stood to one side, his dathedi suit cycling through the shifting reds, greens and golds of the Storyteller as he wove a commentary with the projectors of light, sound. psychic impulse and programmed hallucinogen from the creidann unit on his back. The Avatar danced the part of the Laughing god. with his suit projecting the ever-changing lozenge pattern of the Great Harlequin.

Death entered, his suit cycling through the decomposition of a corpse from flesh to bone to dust to nothingness and back again. Troupers danced around him, falling at his touch. The Laughing god danced around the outside.

Suddenly, the performance stopped. The High Avatar of the Dance Without End walked to the front of the stage, and looked out into the audience. Then he bowed - a bow of courtesy to a superior.

The audience sat in stunned silence. Then one figure rose.

Those few who recognised him knew him only as an undistinguished Infinity Matrix technician. He had lived on Saim-Hann for over a century; humbly tending the circuitry that maintained the countless Ancestors as the spirit in the body of the great ship. Now the High Avatar of a Harlequin masque had bowed to him. He nodded - curtly, as to a subordinate - and walked toward the stage.

"Saim-Hann is fortunate." The High Avatar s voice seemed uncomfortably loud after the silence. "We shall perform The Dance."

Harlequin Organisation

Avatars (Eldar: athair) are the officers of the Harlequins; each troupe is led by an Avatar. In performance, the Avatar dances the part of the Laughing god.

Some Avatars wear long coats to indicate their rank. They are usually armed with two close combat weapons (one of which is often a shuriken pistol), and equipped with visual disruption and conversion fields. In addition, some Avatars may have psychic abilities. Occasionally, an Avatar may be armed with vortex grenades, delivering them by running forwards alone while the rest of the troupe supplies covering fire.

The Avatars of some Harlequin troupes carry a number of lightweight batons, which unfold into a flag bearing the symbol of their masque. This is commonly left as a calling card' after the destruction of enemy units and installations.

Troupers (rillietann) form the backbone of a Harlequin force. In performance they dance the chorus roles, and in battle they form the rank and file of the Harlequin troupe - if such a term is appropriate to the unique structure of Harlequin troupes.

Typical equipment for a trouper consists of two close combat weapons (one of which is often the shuriken pistol), a visual disruption field and a refractor field.

Warlocks (esdainn) are specialist psykers. While other personalities may or may not have psychic powers, the Warlocks contribute most to the psychic capacity of Harlequin force. Many Warlocks favour masks which do not feature a face design.

In performance, the Warlock takes the roles of the Wizard and the Storyteller, and adds to the performance by using his psychic powers and the release of programmed hallucinogen from the creidann mini grenade launcher strapped to his back. In battle, this is used as a conventional grenade launcher laying down a pattern of grenade fire to cover the Harlequin advance into close combat. Blind, hallucinogen, scare, smoke and stasis grenades are particularly favoured. Vortex grenades may be used in spectacular solo attacks.

Apart from the mini grenade launcher Warlocks and Avatar are equipped in similar fashion - with two close combat weapons, a visual disruption field and a conversion field Some Warlocks have been known to have a Gyrinx for a companion.

Death Jesters, or Death-heads (margorach), are heavy weapons specialists who tend to stand somewhat aloof from other Harlequins - and even from each other. They a renowned for their morbid and ironic sense of humour something not normally considered an Eldar trait. On the battlefield, they stand off from the rest of a Harlequin force firing their heavy weapons in support. Their costumes and equipment nearly always feature skulls, bones and other symbols of death, and the death's-head mask has almost become a uniform for them.

In performance, the Death Jester dances the role of Death and performs daring stunts of escapology and risk - 'dicing with Death', as they are fond of saying. In battle, the Death Jester delivers his punchline with las-cannon and shuriken cannon. Carapace armour, enhanced by visual disruption as conversion fields, is worn. The encumbrance of the equipment is countered by their Flip Belts. They have bet known to use vortex grenades.

The High Avatar (ardathair) is the leader of the masque. He takes the role of the Laughing god only when the whole masque is involved in a performance, while Avatars from the individual troupes play lesser deities and other mythological roles.

High Avatars dress and behave in the same way as lesser Avatars, but they show a distinct preference for face-designs on their masks, especially the smiling face of the Laughing god, a snarling face of daemonic aspect, or a beautiful but impassive Eldar face.

The High Warlock (athesdan) is the overall commander of a masque's Warlocks, and may over-rule commands issued to Warlocks by their Avatars; this rarely happens in practice. It is not unknown for a High Warlock to take the Warlocks from the troupes and form them into a separate unit under his (or her) own command. The High Warlock advises the High Avatar on all psychic matters.

In performance, the High Warlock leads and co-ordinates the other Warlocks as they play the role of a supporting chorus to his Storyteller; in battle, the High Warlock may coordinate their grenade barrages, or act as a completely independent personality.

Mimes (distaur) are under the direct command of the Master Mime, instead of being allocated to individual troupes. In performance, the Mimes play mystical and daemonic roles, using movement and gesture only. Even in everyday life, the Mimes speak little, communicating among themselves by lambruith, their system of hand-signals.

It is customary for Mimes to go in advance of a masque or troupe to announce their arrival. Frequently they simply appear on a craft-world or elsewhere, without anyone knowing when or how they arrived. This skill is also used in warfare - the oft-repeated stories of enemy commanders suddenly and unaccountably finding a Harlequin 'calling card' in their command centres are typical examples of the tactics Mimes use to undermine enemy morale. Infiltration and assassination are their speciality.

The Master Mime (athistaur) commands the Mimes of his or her masque, and advises the High Avatar on all matters of espionage, infiltration and politics. In performance, the Master Mime joins the other Mimes, generally playing the most prominent and demanding Daemon or mystic role.

Solitaires (arebennian) are outside the masque, and roam the universe alone, occasionally joining a masque for a single performance or battle as the fancy takes them. They are the only Harlequins who can play the role of Slaanesh in the great Harlequin masterwork known as The Dance; various stories exist of other Harlequins who have tried, and been driven mad by the experience. They almost always fight as Individuals.

Among the Eldar it is said that Solitaires are Harlequins who have been touched directly by the Great Harlequin, and have his insight into the fall of the race and the nature of the universe. A Solitaire may live unknown among Eldar (or even members of another race) for years or decades, and there are many rumours and folk-tales telling of Eldar who have met a Solitaire, and realised later that this was the Great Harlequin himself. Solitaires represent the very pinnacle of the Harlequin ideal, and are formidable foes.

The nine troupers bounded into the centre of the stage, their dathedi suits projecting a weaving pattern of colours as they danced the part of the Old Race. The four Warlocks took up positions around the outside: emotions were monitored, amplified and returned by their equipment as the Eldar lived the fall of their ancestors: felt their joys, their prides, their petty rivalries and their driving passions. Three Avatars danced the parts of the Fallen gods, leaping, cartwheeling and somersaulting around and among the dancers of the Old Race.

The dancers of the Old Race became wilder; their passions stronger and their joys more extreme, more menacing. They came together like a whirlpool. and broke upon something unseen - hurled back as the Solitaire leaped into view, somersaulting from his unseen entrance to the centre of the dancers.

An involuntary shock ran through the audience at the sight of the allegorical figure of the Chaos god Slaanesh. His Suit projected a constantly-writhing mass of figures in attitudes of decadent pleasure.

From behind Slaanesh. seven figures appeared one by one to mingle with the Old Race. First came the four Mimes. passing their sensual and disturbing movements to the other dancers as the Daemons they represented had spread the corruption of Slaanesh. One by one, the dancers of the Old Race began to project the pattern of writhing figures on their suits. Next came three dark figures: the Death Jesters' suits displayed skeletons as they leaped and slew dragging the inert forms of the Fallen gods to the feet of Slaanesh. As the last fell, a psychic scream from the Warlocks echoed through the minds of the audience. It shifted and writhed like the patterns on the dancers' suits, gradually coalescing into a chilling, gibbering laugh of madness, corruption and depravity.

But in the laugh there was another voice. A clearer laugh, an ironic laugh. A laugh which laughs because it chooses not to weep.

Then, at one side of the stage, the High Avatar entered. His suit projected the ever-shifting multicoloured lozenges of the Laughing god as he strolled casually onstage, still laughing at the cosmic folly of the Fallen. He looked at the triumphant form of Slaanesh atop the mound of writhing dancers, and he laughed. He looked at the Mime-Daemons and the Death Jesters as they bore down upon him. And he laughed.

For a moment, he could not be seen among the press of Slaanesh's minions, but with a cry he flew above their heads. tumbling in flight to land facing them. As they turned he leaped again: two figures dropped as he touched them, and five more clawed the empty air as he somersaulted across the stage.

His laugh now was one of glee as he leaped and tumbled, evading the hunters and turning now and then to strike back. He picked up the body of a Death Jester and hurled it at the figure of Slaanesh, who reeled slightly at the impact. With a wild cry the Great Harlequin leaped forward, pulled a single dancer from the feet of Slaanesh. and withdrew. At his touch, the writhing figures on the dancer's suit dissolved into the lozenge pattern. and the dancer also began to laugh as he danced the dance of the Harlequin. The two of them put the remaining Daemons to flight, and as last fell. Slaanesh joined the battle.

The confrontation between Slaanesh and the Great Harlequin seemed to go on for ever. Other dancers melted from the stage as the two figures leaped, cartwheeled and somersaulted around each other. Slowly, in the background. the Mime-Daemons and the Harlequin troupers took up the dance, reflecting the movements of the two principals in perfect unison.

The Dance ended abruptly, with the struggle unresolved.

It was indeed the Dance Without End. The hall was quiet.

The dancers left the stage. The audience sat stunned.

THE FALL OF THE ELDAR

One challenge they took up was the complete mastery of warp-gate technology. The Eldar adopted, refined and perfected the ancient Slann knowledge of the warp and its movements. They established a network of wormhole tunnels through warp space, linking gates aboard their craft-worlds, planets and smaller spaceships. It was possible for an Eldar to walk from one planet to another, across hundreds or thousands of light-years of real space. The warp-gates bound the Eldar together as a single civilisation, stretching across space and, it was theorised, backwards and forwards in time. The Eldar fearful of the consequences, never experimented with the temporal aspect of the warp-gates.

Their studies did, however, bring them an understanding of the link between the warp and psychic power. In making this conceptual leap the Eldar also discovered the power of Chaos, in all its seductive glory. The Eldar, for all their apparent culture, had never encountered its like. Some turned from the warp with disgust when the corrupting nature of Chaos and its effects on reality became evident, but others responded with new vigour. The manifestations of Chaos - insanity, wickedness, and depravity - spread like wildfire through the Eldar, and was carried further by tainted individuals with access to the warp-gates. In the space of a single generation, the Eldar paused in their quest for enlightenment and chose the darker path into the service of Chaos.

Eldar who remained untouched by Chaos, retreated to the citiships and the larger craft-worlds. The insanity of Chaos had no foothold or appeal aboard the vast ships. The warp-gates to the infected Eldar worlds were closed and locked. The citiships were absorbed into the larger craft-worlds, and all drifted into the depths of space, lifeboats and seedpods of civilisation.

The rest of their race sank wholeheartedly into the dark worship of the Chaos gods. A racial madness had taken hold throughout Eldar space, and the insanity had only one end. In a mindless psychic orgy every Eldar planet perished in a single night. The death screams of the Eldar echoed across the warp. On every planet Eldar corpses twitched In the mindless dance of Chaos and crumbled to dust. Worlds were laid waste in moments. The Eldar race were sucked into the warp.

The dead Eldar, however, were not gone. Their spirits had merged with the warp in a horrifying manner. Their death-shout became a howl of joy and release. Slaanesh, the Lord of Pleasure, god of unbridled depravity was born from the dark side of the Eldar nature. The psychic pain of the Eldar's racial death and Slaanesh's birth convulsed the warp; the warp storms around Earth were blown away, and warpspace itself rippled into new patterns.

The last of the Eldar drifted into the long night between the stars. The racial memory of their former glory and nobility sustained them, while the downfall of the race filled them with bitterness. They had come face-to-face with their darkest desires and had been found wanting.

For them, Mankind is a reminder of what happened long ago. Humanity is treading the same path towards the darkness of Chaos, a crude mirror of the Eldar's own disgrace. They are burdened by racial shame for the weakness of their failed ancestors. The bright, hopeful universe is a place of stark, gibbering horror, and the Eldar fell when confronted with this truth. Surviving Eldar have grown since then, accepting and holding in check the Chaos that lurks within their hearts, a delicate balancing act that they seem to have mastered at last.

Mankind rushes towards the fate of the Eldar, but without the ability to preserve itself in any form. All the signs are there to be read: humanity's moral leprosy of Chaos worship, its rising number of emergent psykers, its lust for universal power, and its fragile, falling Emperor...

The Black Library

A single source of Eldar knowledge has remained untouched and inviolate since the Fall. Aboard a dark craft-world, far beyond the boundaries of the Imperium, is the Black Library of Chaos. Here are collected all the tomes, books and codices describing the Eldar studies of the warp. The forbidden lore of the Black Library describes the blandishments, influences, forms, creatures, perils, promises and horrors of Chaos. Enclosed within a nearly impenetrable psychic barrier, the Black Library is watched and maintained by its Guardian-Scribes; they collate and transcribe the knowledge of the Library a task that they have carried since the Fall of the Eldar. They also maintain a hawk-like watch over their charges, the books; dreadful repositories of secret powers and must be monitored at all times.

The existence of the Library is known to only a few, and entry is allowed to even fewer individuals. The Library's 'mind' defends itself against the weak who would misuse its knowledge by refusing entry to all except those who have acknowledged and tempered the Chaos within themselves. The immature, who are still vulnerable to the promises and seductions of Chaos, find that they are unable to pass through its gateway. As a result few have seen within the Library or read any of its books. Only two groups come and go at will: the Human Illuminati and the Solitaires of the Eldar Harlequins. The Guardian-scribes rarely leave once they have entered.

HARLEQUINS IN COMBAT

"Make our visitors known," he said into his comlink, "that their welcome may be fitting."

"The Masque of the Shadow Weavers waits at your door."

Sathbuinn turned sharply. He had not even heard the stranger appear.

"The Talaihin Reavers are gladdened by your presence," he answered formally. He had seen Harlequins in performance twice before, but never had he been privileged to watch them in battle. And now an entire masque was placing itself under his command.., he checked himself: Harlequins acknowledge no commander but the Laughing god. Rather, the masque was consenting to fight alongside his troops.

The stranger's dathedi mask projected a silently-laughing face as he pressed a sequence of buttons on his communicator. Then he left the command bunker as silently as he had entered. Sathbuinn followed him, not knowing quite what to expect.

Outside, heavy shelling had taken its toll. Sathbuinn saw - far more graphically than the holo could have told him - that the position was deteriorating. The Ogryns had been destroyed and the robots contained, but a few Dreadnoughts had broken through. Human troops had poured after them, and it looked like the tables might be turned on the attacking Eldar.

In the rough courtyard between the semi-ruined buildings, the air began to shimmer, as if from a heat-haze. The shimmering became a weaving, slightly sickening pattern of colour, and from out of the colours stepped the Masque of the Shadow Weavers, Sathbuinn had difficulty distinguishing them until they were well clear of the teleport zone, since their suits were already projecting the whirling, splintering disruptive camouflage programs that served the Harlequins as battle-array. He bowed as the High Avatar approached him, force-sword in hand.

"The Talaihin Reavers are gladdened," he repeated. "You will view the stage?" The impassively half-smiling mask nodded once, and Sathbuinn led the way to the control bunker.

SPECIAL RULES

All members of a Harlequin troupe must stay within 4" of each other unless the unit has been split (WH40K p16).

Harlequins have a 360° attack arc (WH40K pp24-25). They can attack hand-to-hand opponents in any direction, and have no side or rear facing.

Harlequins suffer no penalties for using more than one weapon at once (WH40K p26).

Once per combat engagement, a Harlequin may use the Deathdance special attack. The Harlequin's A Score is doubled for that hand-to-hand combat phase as he or she explodes into a whirlwind of acrobatic mayhem.

Non-Harlequin personalities may never assume command of a Harlequin troupe.

"Stay close. Use the Dreads - they're the only cover we've got."

"Brother Sergeant? I thought I saw something moving out there."

"What and where?"

"Three-ten. Maybe five hundred. Don't know what, just movement."

"Get a grip. What'd it look like?"

"I saw something, too, Brother Sergeant. Zero-fifteen, about four-fifty. Just a blur of colour, then it vanished."

"Must be halluc. Respirator check, sound off."

"Adley - check."

"Boldren - check."

"Dorridge - "

The lead Dreadnought disappeared briefly in a flash of energy. As Farmer's photochrom visor darkened in response, he saw it slew round drunkenly into one of its fellows.

"DOWN!"

"I saw it again! Just before the Dread got hit! It was - "

BRRADOOMM!!

"Saw what. Fielding?"

"Just for a moment - Eldar with some kind of heavy weapon, zero fifteen, about two-fifty! Then it blurred again!"

"There's more. Two hundred and closing!"

"Where? I don't see - AAAAAAHHHGGGGHHHH!"

NEW EQUIPMENT

Avatars are equipped with the so-called Rictus Mask (Eldar: maratbag "face of death"); this is fitted with a small holoprojector which is programmed to replay the death-throes of every opponent the Harlequin has ever killed, over and over again in a continuous cycle. This has the effect of making the Harlequin cause fear in all hand-to-hand combat opponents.

Monofilament Injector - "The Harlequins' Kiss" Also known as the brathu-angau (Eldar: "kiss of doom") or Sting, this terrifying weapon is the Harlequins' trademark. It consists of a slim tube, generally strapped to the back of the forearm, which fires a long stream of monofilament wire. After a successful hand-to-hand combat hit against an opponent, the wire streams out of the kiss' and into the victim's body, where its twisting and coiling quickly reduces bones and organs to the consistency of soup. Less intelligent races such as Orkoids often believe the Harlequins to be malevolent warp creatures or worse.

Shuriken Cannon The shuriken cannon or buanna (Eldar: "reaper") is a heavy version of the devastating shuriken catapult, and is another heavy weapon favoured by the Death Jesters. Its enormous rate of fire makes it particularly feared.

In addition to normal shuriken ammunition, the shuriken cannon can fire the terrible bio-explosive shurikens (see below). The nature of these projectiles makes individual loading necessary.

Mini-Grenade Launcher The mini-grenade launcher or creidann (Eldar: "belief- maker") is a piece of special equipment used by Warlock characters. Essentially it is a light grenade launcher worn like a backpack. It projects grenades over the user's shoulders while leaving both hands free to use other weapons. Like other grenade launchers, it can fire indirectly.

In performance, it is used to provide special effects using a mixture of light, sound, and programmed hallucinogen grenades. In battle, it can fire grenades of any type.

HoIo-Suit The holo-suit, dathedi (Eldar: "between colours"), visual disruption field, jigsaw shield or domino shield, is a form of programmable hologram field, used extensively by Harlequins both for themselves and their vehicles. Every Harlequin is equipped with a holo-suit, which projects costume effects in performance, and has a number of uses in battle.

When its wearer is in motion, the field breaks up the outline of the figure, using an enhanced form of disruptive camouflage. To the observer, the Harlequin appears to explode into a cloud of tiny, multicoloured fragments every time he moves, and when he remains stationary the fragments coalesce into a solid figure, like the pieces of a jigsaw. The greater the speed of movement, the greater the disruption of the image, and the wider the dispersion of the cloud-fragments. The suit also has a cameleoline emulation program, which is activated whenever the Harlequin is stationary: the total effect is of a blurring cloud of colour, fading to nothing when it stops.

Bio-Explosive Shurikens The bio-shuriken or marsgrech (Eldar: "screaming death") is a special ammunition type for the shuriken cannon. It has earned a terrible reputation among many races for its spectacular and deadly effect; among the many names it has been given are Screamers, Screaming Bug, Gut Blower and Bomb Serum.

Each bio-explosive shuriken consists of a shaped energy field containing a small amount of a genetically-tailored serum. They must be loaded individually, so a shuriken cannon loses its following-fire capability when using this type of ammunition.

The Humans had no chance. Their lumpen and unlovely Dreadnoughts had been destroyed by the Shadow Weavers' Death Jesters and their great shuriken cannon, and the troupers hadn't even been spotted until they were almost upon their quarry.

The first troupe had already destroyed one Human squad, and even he could barely see them as they leaped toward another, dathedi patterns breaking up their outlines until they looked like rainbow streaks of light.

The second troupe had just made contact - as he watched, the Avatar impaled their officer with his Harlequins' Kiss. The Human stared stupidly for a moment, and then collapsed, as boneless as a jellyfish, with only his skin to hold him together. One Human trooper stood his ground. desperately filling the air with laser-fire against the half-seen attackers. The approaching Harlequin seemed to flow over and around the bolts, stepping and bending as casually as a technician crosses a drive-room's pipes and cables. A final leaping somersault, the flash of a chainsword, and it was over.

The third troupe was a few dozen paces ahead, making for the low command bunker. He motioned the others forward - the High Warlock acknowledged with a flash-pattern from his faceless mask, and the three Mimes moved to the fore.

The creidann grenade launchers of the two Warlocks laid down patterns of smoke and hallucinogen as the Shadow Weavers broke into a loping run. A couple of the Humans began to wail and thrash as their respirators failed them. Lathrangil killed two others in passing - a kick sent one off-balance. and he fell into Lathrangil's force sword. His companion flew backwards under a hail of shuriken. He reached the bunker just as the third trouper's Death Jester finished vaporising the door. To one side, a trouper punched his Kiss through an observation slit, and behalf- heard the scream, bubbling, and silence.

The Human commander had just begun to turn as Lathrangil felled the remaining guard and raised his shuriken pistol. The commanders laspistol was half-drawn when Lathrangil's finger caressed the trigger.

Then he laughed and bounded back across the battlefield, somersaulting for the joy of it.

ELDAR

BEFORE THE FALL

The Eye of Terror is not devoid of habitable planets, and it may be that the secrets of the Eldar past still lie there awaiting rediscovery. However, these worlds no longer form part of the real universe and are not bound by the normal logic of astro-physics. Instead they are controlled and in many cases actually shaped by the Chaos Powers or mighty daemons. For this reason these worlds are known as the Daemon Worlds. These planets take many bizarre forms, including worlds which are flat, where rivers of blood pour from the sky, where gigantic burning trees provide the only illumination, and many others created from the daemonic imaginations of their rulers.

Even so, these planets are not devoid of life, but are home to countless mortal followers and champions of the Chaos Powers as well as immortal daemons and their masters. Among the mortal inhabitants can still be found Eldar, some preserved since the time of the Fall, who champion the cause of Chaos on the Daemon Worlds and throughout the galaxy.

Eldar are physically similar to humans, although not entirely identical by any means. They have longer and cleaner limbs, and fine ascetic features with penetrating and slightly slanted eyes. Their ears are also slightly pointed, but otherwise they could pass as human at first glance. The most obvious difference between humans and Eldar can only be seen when they move, for the movements of an Eldar radiate a subtle grace which is impossible for a human to emulate. This can be seen in even their slightest gestures or the dexterity with which they manipulate small objects.

Dance, mime and other gestural art forms are very important to the Eldar, their formal art investing a whole range of gestures and stance with precise meanings. Much of the early history of the Eldar is recorded in the form of traditional dances, recounting the stories of the ancient houses of Eldanesh and Ulthanash, the children of Kurnous and Isha, Gea and her twin consorts Khaine the Bloody Handed God and Asuryan the Phoenix King. The legends surrounding these mythical immortals and the birth of the Eldar form a complex cycle of ritual dance and song known as the Dream of Asuryan. Although mythic rather than historic in nature, this cycle of dance and song is said to embody profound secrets about the Eldar past within its subtle movements and tonal variations. In their highest form these dances are performed only by the Warrior Dancers called Harlequins, and only they really understand all of the myriad secrets hidden within these extremely physically demanding and incredibly precise dances.

The Eldar mind, while similar in general to the human mind, is far more inclined towards extremes. Because of this Eldar are more intelligent but also far more intense than humans. Although an Eldar and a human can both feel grief or joy, the Eldar's experience is likely to be far more extreme.

This natural inclination towards emotional extremes is both a blessing and curse to the Eldar. On the positive side it gives them an unparalleled appreciation of life and an unrivalled ability to express themselves through music and other creative arts. A melody or gesture made with grace and skill can elicit an intensity of pleasure which is unimaginable to a human. On the negative side this potential for joy is paralleled by an equal capacity to feel despair, ambition and even hatred. Confronted by grief or personal loss an Eldar suffers mental torments which far exceed the boundaries of human anguish.

The extreme nature of their temperament makes it very important that the Eldar retain a measure of self-control at all times, for it is dangerously easy for them to become entranced by and ultimately dependent upon the experiences that their culture offers them. At the same time they must learn how to control the darker side of themselves, the side which feels jealousy, rage and hatred, and which is no less a part of their personalities.

THE PSYCHIC RACE

Eldar can also move small objects by a form of psychokinesis and it is by this means that they build their most sophisticated devices.

Some Eldar can influence the structure of growing matter by a form of empathic telepathy. This empathic ability may have been particularly important during the early development of the Eldar race enabling them to promote the fruitfulness of edible crops and reshape the growth of trees to make simple shelters. During their primitive evolutionary stage the Eldar undoubtedly benefited greatly from these skills. The first Eldar villages and towns are supposed to have been living structures grown from trees, often covering many square miles and reaching high into the air. Structures like this can still be found on worlds colonised by the Eldar in later times.

Because of their psychic abilities the Eldar race learned how to make and shape raw materials at a very early stage of cultural development. By means of their mental powers they were able to refine minerals and shape the resulting metals and stones into whatever they wanted. Eldar technology has a very ancient history and the pace of its progress is closely tied to the slow evolutionary development of the race.

There was never a sharply defined industrial phase of Eldar history (as for example there was in human history) but rather a steady growth in competence and knowledge over a very long period of time. A particularly Eldar aspect of their technology is that its forms often adhere closely to natural biological shapes and structures. This is quite understandable, as there is no real difference between technology and nature in the Eldar mind - they amalgamate into a single process by which the Eldar imbue living things with function and functional things with life.

THE TEARS OF ISHA

Kurnous and Isha were dismayed at being parted from their offspring and asked their uncle Vaul the Smith god to help to reunite them. Vaul took the tears shed by Isha and turned them into spirit stones. By means of the stones an Eldar could talk to the gods, and in this way the Eldar and gods could communicate even though they could never meet. Although Vaul knew Asuryan had forbidden contact between mortals and gods he gave one of the stones to Isha and the remainder to her mortal children the Eldar.

By means of the stones the Eldar talked to Isha. They learned how to use the stones to draw runes, and were shown how the energy of the stones could be combined with the runes to make skeletal frameworks for all kinds of structures and craft. Unfortunately, Khaine overheard Isha one day as she talked through her stone to the Eldar, and the War God immediately told Asuryan.

Asuryan was so enraged that his order had been disobeyed that he gave Kurnous and Isha to Khaine to do with as he pleased. Vaul could not bare to see his brother and sister harmed by Khaine so he struck a bargain in return for their safety. Khaine agreed that if Vaul were to make him a thousand enchanted weapons by the same time the following year he would let Kurnous and Isha go free.

Vaul worked hard all year, but at the end of the time the final weapon, a long sword, still lay unfinished on the anvil. To conceal the shortfall Vaul picked up an ordinary sword and mixed it into the others, and gave the weapons to Khaine who was too pleased to spot the deception. Vaul, Kurnous and Isha hurried away. As they made good their escape Khaine discovered the ordinary sword hidden among the weapons and roared with anger, calling Vaul a cheat and crying out for revenge.

Following this episode the Dream of Asuryan tells how Khaine and Vaul fight each other, and how Vaul reforges the unfinished sword to use against his enemy. After a series of battles Vaul is finally caught by Khaine who cripples him and chains the Smith God to his own anvil. Vaul's Sword then passes into the hands of the mortal hero Eldanesh, who finally confronts Khaine and is torn apart and killed.

Asuryan was so appalled by the murder of Eldanesh that he cursed Khaine and made his hands drip eternally with the blood of Eldanesh so that everyone would remember what he had done. The sword then passed through the hands of Eldanesh's descendants until it was finally lost in the Sea of Broken Tears by Inriam the Young.

SPIRIT STONES

A spirit stone is a tool which allows a Bonesinger to draw raw energy from the warp and shape it into matter. The matter created in this way is called Wraithbone, and it can be psychically teased and manipulated by the Bonesinger into almost any form he wishes. Wraithbone is extremely tough and resilient. It forms the backbone of spacecraft and large structures as well as countless smaller items. Nor is Wraithbone used only for utilitarian artefacts like spacecraft, it is also used to create sculptural works of art.

Because Wraithbone is a solidified form of warp energy it has several special properties. It never really loses its physical connection to the warp, so that in a sense part of it remains in the warp at all times. As a result Wraithbone can channel psychic energy much as an electric cable carries current. At the same time it also contains psychic forces and can shield the forces it contains from other psychic energy.

PSYCHIC ENGINEERING

The Wraithbone not only gives the construction is rigidity, but also provides channels for psychic energy. This facilitates internal communication between systems, transmits power, and enables the craft to act as an organically integrated whole. In this way the Wraithbone skeleton not only performs the mechanical tasks which a bony skeleton would perform in an animal, but also the role of the nervous system and blood stream too.

The Wraithbone core of a spacecraft is surrounded by a structure which is literally grown into the required shapes. This is accomplished by a special class of Eldar called Bonesingers. These Bonesingers use their psychomorphic talents to accelerate the formation of psychotropic crystals around the Wraithbone. They then shape the resulting mass into fibrous bulkheads, supporting walls, floors, and conduits. The resulting shell completely surrounds the Wraithbone core and forms the hull and major internal divisions of the spacecraft. The same process is used to make any large structure including vehicles, but spacecraft are typical works of Eldar psychic engineering and serve as a good example of the process.

Once the Bonesingers have laid the basic structure over a Wraithbone core, the spacecraft is ready to be fitted out. Individual systems can be either fabricated on board the ship by psychomorphism or made elsewhere and installed subsequently. Most of the craft's operating systems are connected directly to the Wraithbone core. The many thousands of systems draw power through the Wraithbone and are constantly monitored and ultimately controlled through it.

Because of the unique practices of Eldar psychic engineering, any Eldar construction, whether building, vehicle or spacecraft, resonates with sympathetic psychic energy. The Wraithbone core provides a psychic channel through which an Eldar can evaluate and control various mechanical functions. This is the basis on which Eldar technology is achieved. Although it is very different from the simple mechanical processes used by humans, individual devices and structures usually look similar to comparable human artefacts. As a general rule, Eldar artefacts have an organic, flowing appearance and tend to lack hard angular edges.

ELDAR RUNES

Small runes are cast upon the ground by Eldar Seers who interpret the pattern and the proximity of one rune to another in order to divine the future. The runes are vital to every Seer because they enable him to focus and direct psychic energy, and by concentrating on a particular rune he can evoke a specific psychic power.

The runes used by Bonesingers function as templates or patterns for the various devices or structures which they grow from psychotropic crystals. The runes also have a protective function which is important to all Eldar Seers. Because the runes are made from Wraithbone, which is itself impervious to external psychic energy, they act as simple fuses. If a Seer draws too heavily upon his psychic energies, or if malign forces attempt to reach him while he is in a trance, then the runes will be destroyed severing the psychic connection between the Eldar and the warp. Were it not for the runes it is doubtful that the Eldar could use their psychic powers at all, as they would soon fall prey to the malicious entities of the warp.

THE FALL OF THE ELDAR

All Eldar tend towards extremes of emotion and intellect so that the temptation to pursue a life of pleasure, art, and intellectual gratification is very great. Even before the Fall the majority of Eldar recognised these temptations and fought against them, refusing to be drawn into the inescapable pleasures which their sensibilities and culture afforded.

However, the very act of fighting against their own nature had an unbalancing effect upon their minds. Hysteria, insanity and a multitude of racial psychoses began to affect almost the entire population. Some Eldar gave in to their hedonistic impulses, joining exotic cults in their pursuit for novel experiences, esoteric knowledge and sensual excess. As these cults proliferated, Eldar society became increasingly divided. Foreseeing the collapse of their civilisation, some Eldar began a series of mass migrations to newly seeded planets where they planned to set up utopian societies free from the taint of hedonism. These Eldar called their migrations the Exodus, and referred to themselves as Exodites. Many early Exodites were wiped out by marauding Orks or became embroiled in the eternal wars of humans, but some were successful. These Exodites eventually founded a second generation of frontier civilisations based around a core of noble houses. Their descendants still rule these worlds after ten thousand years and are known as the Eldar Knights.

Between the survivalist Exodites and the uncaring pleasure seekers were Eldar who were still mentally stable, and who remained behind in the hope that they could help restore order to their civilisation. They became increasingly few in number until even they realised their dream of recovery was hopeless. Eventually even these few die-hards were forced to abandon their homes as the whole Eldar civilisation fell apart in an apocalypse of destruction and madness. The last of the true Eldar eventually deserted their planets on board the few remaining spacecraft, beginning a new phase of Eldar civilisation - the age of spaceborne travel and the Craftworlds. The creatures that screamed and cackled over the ruins of the Eldar worlds could no longer be called Eldar.

SLAANESH

As the Eldar pursued their road to destruction so their emotional life degenerated into the reckless pursuit of pleasure, exotic experience and intellectual indulgence. The mental energies released into the warp as a result coagulated into an entity, an entity which was potentially very powerful but which was not yet fully conscious. This was, of course, the entity called Slaanesh. Although Slaanesh was not yet fully conscious some Eldar had already begun to worship the god's sleeping form. For centuries the Eldar had predicted the Coming of the Lord of Pleasure, so that many had come to disbelieve the prophets and their endless tales of doom. As the disturbed dreams of Slaanesh began to infiltrate the psychic minds of the Eldar, so their degeneration accelerated apace, further feeding Slaanesh in the warp, and creating an unbreakable cycle of doom. While there were Eldar sane enough to be appalled by the degeneration of their race, their horror kept Slaanesh from achieving full consciousness.

When the cataclysm finally came there were few sane Eldar left on their home planets, only millions of millions of squawking, insane creatures crying and squealing with self-inflicted torment. The quickly-accelerating decline of the Eldar had fed the energy of Slaanesh until the god was ready to burst into consciousness, like a mighty dam about to break and release immeasurable flood waters.

As the few remaining sane Eldar fled aboard the flotillas of trading ships Slaanesh finally awoke. With a scream the god was shaken to consciousness and the other three Chaos Powers were driven scattered through the warp by the waking terror of Slaanesh like ships before a storm. The energy of that scream swept across the entire galaxy, and blew through the minds of psykers everywhere, destroying them in untold millions. Where the energy was concentrated most, in the area where the Eldar home planets were, the boundaries between the warp and real space were torn apart.

The intermixing of the two realities wiped out most of the inhabitants of the Eldar planets and formed the areas of warp real-space overlap the largest of which is now known as the Eye of Terror. Those Eldar who had succumbed to the temptations of pleasure were particularly vulnerable. Other Eldar, those who had resisted the decline of their civilisation, were better protected. Even so, many billions died even as they fled in the giant trading ships, but some survived - protected by their mental resilience or by the psychically impervious Wraithbone structure of the spacecraft themselves.

THE ELDAR AND DEATH

In order to save their souls from destruction by Slaanesh, every Eldar wears a small spirit stone called a Waystone. If the Eldar dies his psychic self is absorbed by the Waystone. The Waystone can then be taken back to the Eldar's own Craftworld and embedded into the Wraithbone core where it will grow into a larger spirit stone. Once the spirit stone is implanted, the soul of the Eldar can travel freely through the Wraithbone, mingling with other Eldar souls and forming part of the communal spirit of the Craftworld itself. All the souls contained within a Craftworld are collectively known as the Infinity Circuit. Individual Eldar souls can enter specific parts of the Craftworld to provide the energy and controlling intelligence which is needed by many Eldar Technical devices. Other souls can leave the Infinity Circuit for a short while by entering Waystones which are then placed within robot bodies. The soul contained in the Waystone animates the robot body and enables the dead Eldar to move about the Craftworld and even fight alongside the living in the form of Wraithguard.

THE SURVIVAL OF THE ELDAR

Because of their vulnerability to Slaanesh the Eldar have developed ways of protecting themselves when they use their natural psychic powers The most important of these is the development of the Eldar Path - a social learning system which restricts the abilities and experiences an Eldar is subject to until such time as he is mentally strong enough to face them. Another important development is the use of runes to protect the principle psychic members of the race - the Seers.

The Eldar nurture a dream in which they confront Slaanesh in the warp, and overthrow their great enemy, freeing themselves from the constraints his existence places upon them and safeguarding the survival of their souls in the warp. Although the Eldar souls preserved in the Infinity Circuits of the Craftworlds can muster only a tiny amount of energy compared to that of Slaanesh, the Eldar hope that one day there will be enough souls to unite to fight and overthrow Slaanesh. It is a faint hope, but the only hope for the Eldar who must otherwise face the eternal threat of their own racial psyche.

THE CRAFTWORLDS

In the final weeks leading to the Fall, the returning Craftworld crews found their worlds in ruins. They rescued those of their kind who were still sane, and fled into the deeps of space through the rapidly collapsing warp tunnel network. Many Craftworlds lingered too long in attempting to rescue their kinsmen. Finding themselves in orbit at the moment of the Fall they were either destroyed by the psychic overspill or sucked through into the warp and consumed by Slaanesh.

Craftworlds travel through space via a system of warp tunnels which stretch through the galaxy. Long ago the Eldar learned how to make these holes through the warp which link two fixed places. It is likely that originally nearly all Eldar planets and Craftworlds were interconnected by warp tunnels. However, during the Fall a great part of the network was destroyed so that travel is no longer as easy as it once was. Some tunnels were attacked and destroyed by daemonic intrusions from the warp - their entrances had to be sealed or destroyed to keep Chaos from swallowing entire Craftworlds. Other tunnels simply collapsed or the places they led to were destroyed or desolated. Today the tunnel network still connects Craftworlds to each other and to millions of places throughout the galaxy but there are significant gaps in the system, and some Craftworlds are completely isolated. Because of the partial breakdown of their warp tunnel network, the Eldar find it impossible or extremely difficult to reach certain parts of the galaxy.

Since the Fall the original Craftworlds have grown considerably in size, so that they are now ten or a hundred times larger than the original trading ships which lie at their cores. Because they have expanded steadily over the years many are at least partially ruinous and have zones which await reclamation or very old zones which are largely uninhabited.

Each Craftworld is a self-contained biosystem, with zones which contain forests and natural flora as well as urbanised areas. These natural zones act as green lungs, furnishing a breathable atmosphere and providing renewable resources for the Eldar. Vast Space Docks are located on the outside of the Craftworld housing fleets of spacecraft. These Fleets carry the Eldar armies through the warp tunnels which connect the Craftworld to the rest of the galaxy.

Each Craftworld is independent and conducts its own affairs and wages its own wars. Craftworlds do sometimes ally together to face a common threat, or to achieve a common objective, but such alliances are usually temporary and have no lasting significance. Of course, all Eldar are united by a common culture and racial identity, but that means little when it comes to defending the interests of their own particular Craftworld. Wars between one Craftworld and another are certainly not uncommon. Such wars are almost always fought over a locally disputed world, or colonising and mining interests. Such conflicts grow out of local disputes, and are usually resolved within a short time. For one Craftworld to actually assault and attempt the destruction of another would be regarded as a terribly wasteful and purposeless enterprise. Although such calamitous events have happened in the past they are not common.

CRAFTWORLD COLONIES

THE ELDAR AT WAR

THE ELDAR PATH

This cyclical process is called the Eldar Path. As a social institution it evolved during the time of the decline and fall of the Eldar, when their ancient society began to break apart and the whole race seemed doomed. The fall of the Eldar was due to the intensity of the Eldar character and mind. Their heightened sensibilities offered an opportunity for intellectual and emotional gratification far beyond the sluggish human comprehension. It was uncontrolled self gratification which created the Chaos Power Slaanesh and which subsequently destroyed the old Eldar civilisation. The Eldar Path was envisaged as a way of allowing every Eldar to live within their full emotional and intellectual capacity in a safely controlled and progressive manner.

By concentrating on only one facet of their complex and overwhelming character at a time, the Eldar are free to explore that area in depth without dangers of distraction. As total awareness of each facet is achieved, the Eldar move to another, thus building a deeper understanding of the universe and their own capabilities. As an Eldar grows older and his comprehension of his own nature deepens, a wider range of more challenging roles becomes available to him. One of these is the role of Warlock - Eldar who open up their psychic minds and learn to control the forces of the warp itself. One of the most demanding of all roles is that of Warrior - the Warrior Path as this facet is called. An Eldar who embarks upon the Warrior Path chooses one of the many different Warrior Aspects, each of which is characterised by a different school of martial combat, distinctive armour, special weapons and tactics.

ASPECT WARRIORS

Each of the Warrior Aspects represents one facet, or aspect, of the Eldar god of war known as the Bloody Handed God. In the Eldar tongue this god is called the Kaela Mensha Khaine, which translates roughly as Bloody Handed Khaine; the word Khaine signifying the essence of murder. The Bloody Handed God embodies the destructive impulse which underlies the Eldar psyche.

The Eldar Path is designed to steer the Eldar away from this dark, self-destructive side of their character. By assuming one of the many aspects of the Bloody Handed God, an Aspect Warrior faces and learns to live with the inner terror which his own potential for destructive violence evokes inside him.

When an Eldar becomes an Aspect Warrior he does not cease to utilise the facets of his character which he has already developed through his progress along the Eldar Path. Indeed, he deliberately continues to pursue the arts of peace, and will typically keep on practicing and perfecting his own artistic talents. Thus Aspect Warriors form a community of practising artists, poets, orators, dancers, and musicians. This is a strong contrast between their role as fighting warriors, as indeed it is meant to be.

Because Eldar perceive everything so much more sharply than humans, the passionate excitement of fighting and killing is too much for them to tolerate for long periods at a time. Should an Eldar spend too long actively fighting in the guise of an Aspect Warrior he may find it hard, if not impossible, to ever leave the Warrior Path.

In order to counter-balance his life as a fighter, the Aspect Warrior deliberately continues to cultivate the opposite side of his nature. To demark his fighting self from his true self, he carefully cultivates a separate distinct warrior personality, embodied within the armoured fighting suit of the Aspect Warrior. Only when he wears the suit does he becomes an Aspect of the Bloody Handed God - the terrible destructive impulse of the Eldar psyche.

The donning of the war suit is an act of special significance because it symbolises the sharp division between the Eldar in normal life and the same Eldar as an Aspect Warrior. It takes several hours to perform the ancient ceremonies designed to enable the Warrior to put his own personality aside and adopt an Aspect of the War God. In his guise of Aspect Warrior he feels no guilt, remorse or pity. It is as if he were another person entirely while he wears the masked suit. When he puts the suit aside and returns to his normal life he does so in the knowledge that no matter what violent or murderous things he has done he remains untainted by them.

THE MANY ASPECTS OF THE WARRIOR

Dire Avengers
Howling Banshees
Striking Scorpions
Swooping Hawks
Fire Dragons
Dark Reapers

The special armour and weapons of each Aspect are kept in shrines dedicated to the Bloody Handed God. Each shrine is tended by one or more Eldar who have passed from being ordinary Aspect Warriors to become Exarchs. The same suits and equipment are used year after year, passing from one Aspect Warrior to another.

EXARCHS

Not all Eldar manage to pass beyond the Path of the Warrior. Some are unable to resist the passionate lure of battle and develop an unquenchable lust for bloodletting. They become trapped in the role they have chosen, unable to escape from the Aspects of the War God they represent. These Eldar are called Exarchs. They are regarded with a disturbing mixture of awe and revulsion.

Exarchs are held in awe because they single-mindedly pursue a side of their nature which most Eldar fear to even contemplate. On the other hand they are pitied because they have deserted the Eldar Path with its promise of new experience and constant development in favour of a life of bloodshed and battle. Perhaps, most horrifying of all to the Eldar mind, is the knowledge that every one of them holds the potential to become an Exarch, to lose their way along the Eldar Path and become addicted to their own lust for blood and death which only being an Exarch can truly satisfy.

Although only a few Eldar become trapped in the Aspect of the Warrior, it is not unknown for others to desert the Eldar Path for one reason or another. The intensely capable Eldar mind sometimes rebels against the highly structured delineation of achievement which the Eldar Path offers. Others find they are insufficiently prepared for a role they have chosen and they become so obsessed by it that they can never leave. Without the protection of the Eldar Path individuals are likely to be driven crazy and eventually succumb to self-destructive urges. The Eldar Harlequins are one specific example of individuals who have left the Eldar Path. The Exarchs are another form of this same universal peril - although in this case they have a special place within society. The worst fate of all is known as the Path of Damnation - but of this aberration no Eldar will speak and so almost nothing is known. Regarding this and many other subtleties of the Eldar Path we shall have much to say in the future.

EXARCHS AND THEIR WARRIOR ASPECTS

In most cases however, Exarchs cease to change their Warrior Aspect once they become Exarchs, although they may pass through several cycles as different Aspect Warriors before they are finally trapped by the Warrior Path. The Eldar then becomes an Exarch of his final Warrior Aspect, a Fire Dragon Warrior can thus become a Fire Dragon Exarch, or a Dire Avenger Warrior a Dire Avenger Exarch. He still retains all the battle-skills he has learned in any previous Warrior Aspects, so Exarchs tend to have a broader understanding of the Path of the Warrior than ordinary Aspect Warriors.

When he becomes an Exarch the Eldar assumes one of the ancient names which reflects his particular Aspect. For example, Horned Serpent, Gleaming Scale, and Slicing Fang are all names which have been assumed by Fire Dragon Exarchs. These names are particular to specific Craftworlds and specific shrines to the War God within each Craftworld.

Only one Exarch can bear a particular name at once. The name is associated with a set of Exarch armour which the Exarch wears in battle. Only if the Exarch is killed can another Aspect Warrior take the same armoured suit and name. Although the same suit is thereby worn by many Exarchs over thousands of years, the result is to continue the legendary life of the single heroic identity represented by that suit and name. This assumption of a ancient heroic identity emphasises the break with the Eldar's old life and the Eldar Path.

The Exarch's fighting suit is an elaborate and superior version of that worn by the ordinary members of his Warrior Aspect. Their very age means that they preserve much ancient workmanship, long-abandoned decorative styles, and various emblems and ornamentation which may now mean nothing to a typical Eldar.

Worked into the suit is a spirit-stone containing the spirit of the very first hero to have worn it, the Eldar whose name all subsequent Exarchs have perpetuated. When the Exarch enters the suit it is this spirit which merges with his own, adding its own accumulated memories and experiences to his. This enables the Eldar to understand much about the ancient weaponry and armour he is using, as well as giving him general knowledge about the distant times when the hero was alive. In this way, the Exarch is initiated into one of the most closely guarded of all Eldar secrets - the origin of the Exarchs during the time of the fall of the Eldar itself.

EXARCHS AND THE SHRINES OF THE WAR GOD

These shrines are not just holy places, they are also armouries and places where the warriors learn martial arts and complete their weapon training. It is to these shrines that the Exarchs and Aspect Warriors gather when they are called to war, where they undergo the ritual transformation which culminates in the assumption of their warrior identities The Exarchs are priests of the Bloody Handed God but they are also armourers and instructors who are responsible for maintaining the shrine's war gear and training the Aspect Warriors.

AVATARS

Eventually the rage of the Blood God and the passion of the Lord of Pleasure were exhausted, and the boundaries between them were established. Like a leaf in the eye of a hurricane, Kaela Mensha Khaine fell among the calm, down through the Realm of Chaos and into the material universe. As he entered the material universe he divided into many shards of energy, scattering his power so that neither Khorne or Slaanesh could ever find him again. Each shard entered the body of an Eldar, filling the body with his own mind, possessing it, so that it became a virtually indestructible blood-lusting murderer - the material manifestation of the Bloody Handed God. These are the Avatars of the Bloody Handed God.

THE THRONE OF THE WAR GOD

When the Eldar prepare for war the metal body of the Avatar begins to glow as the heat of his fiery blood is kindled. His metal heart begins to quicken and his iron flesh starts to pulse with life. Liquid iron boils through his veins, and his whole body crackles and hisses like a furnace. When he stirs upon his throne Exarchs and Aspect Warriors all over the Craftworld feel the vibrations reverberate through the gleaming threads of wraithbone which spread like naked ribs throughout its caverns and chambers. Recognising the Avatar's battle-call, the Exarchs and Aspect Warriors hurry to the shrines of the War God to begin the rituals of preparation.

As the Avatar's first stirrings are felt, the oldest Exarchs - one from each of the principal shrines on the Craftworld - gather outside the chamber and begin the ritual of Awakening. They wear their ritual masks and armour. They are accompanied by another Exarch called the Young King. The Young King is selected every year by the ritual divination of the Craftworld's Farseers - the psykers who guide the Craftworld's political decisions. The position is held only for one year, after which the Exarch steps down and another Young King is elected. The Awakening ceremony begins as the Young King is ritually disrobed and his body painted in blood with the runes of Kaela Mensha Khaine - weaving shapes that evoke the annual orbit of the sun, its rise in the solar dawn and its inevitable autumnal fall. With due ceremony the Exarchs bring the ritual regalia of the Avatar from its place in the various shrines of the War God, and present it to the Young King. Across his shoulders is draped the long mantle fastened by its golden pin. In his right hand he carries the long dark weapon of the Avatar - the Siun Daellae - the Doom that Wails. Into his hand is pressed the Cup of Criel - the bloody cup containing blood drawn from his own body.

The six Exarchs, the Young King, and a huge choir of Eldar Seers position themselves outside the massive bronze doors of the throne room, watching as its ancient metal grows hotter and starts to glow with a ruddy light. Behind them the Seer Choir sings the Hymn of Blood and the Exarchs take up its cry. From within the chamber come sounds of splintering metal and cracking flame. Very slowly the bronze doors begin to open. The interior is filled with brightness, in the very centre of which is the iron throne and, sat upon it, the Avatar himself, a great dark shadow amongst the unbearable light. The Young King steps inside as the Hymn of Blood reaches a crescendo of ritualised screams, seemingly random, but actually as carefully orchestrated and rehearsed as the rest of the ceremony. Slowly and deliberately the brazen doors close.

The music and the singing cease and the noises within the chamber become dull and bass like the sound of distant thunder. The Exarchs join hands forming a continuous circuit and begin their vigil. Groups of Exarchs take it in turns to maintain a continuous humming chant. Sometimes they must wait for several days, but usually an hour or two elapses before the Avatar awakes. He awakes without any warning. Suddenly there is a loud inhuman scream and the bronze doors are thrown aside by an explosion of energy and light. The Exarchs struggle against the hurricane of force trying desperately to remain on their feet and maintain their closed circle. The Avatar walks from his throne and at that moment in shrines throughout the Craftworld the Aspect Warriors don their helmets in the culmination of a ritual that has paralleled that before the throne room.

THE AVATAR WALKS

The Avatar's outer shell resembles a suit of war armour and is encrusted with individual spirit-stones which pulsate with vermilion light. These contain the spirits of all the Young Kings that have ever entered the chamber. The personalities and memories these spirit-stones contain fortify the Avatar and enable him to call upon the experiences of the Young Kings themselves. In a sense, therefore, Exarchs who become Avatars never die - they are united with the Avatar himself and continue to live in him forever.

SEERS

Seers learn how to develop their powers by means of special Seer Runes. These runic shapes are made from wraithbone and are usually kept in a special bag or case. Sets of Runes may be thousands of years old, and are passed on from one Seer to another, often with the addition of new Runes invented by his predecessor. Seers also wear spirit-stones containing the dead spirits of Eldar Seers. These are the Seer's spirit-guides - their purpose is to guide him along the Path of the Seer and protect him from the dangers of the warp. It is these spirits which gather the power of the warp and channel it through the Runes to provide his psychic energy. In this way the Runes and spirit-stones act as psychic Fuses, protecting the vulnerable Eldar mind from the awesome power of the warp.

Every Seer explores his psychic potential in his own way. Some learn how to manipulate objects by kinetic forces, for example, and use these powers to create living symphonies of shape and movement. Some learn how to use empathic powers to heal or council others. The range of abilities is vast and will depend to a large extent on the roles already explored along the Eldar Path. An Eldar who has enjoyed a career as an engineer, for example, may learn how to apply his psychic skills to the structuring and arrangement of matter into buildings or bridges.

WARLOCKS

When the Avatar stirs upon his throne and the Aspect Warriors make for their shrines to take up their battle gear, a Seer can also go to the shrine of his old Warrior Aspect. Although no longer treading the Warrior Path, he will be welcomed as a brother and invited to join in the ritual. He does not put on the weapons or armour of the Aspect Warrior, but when the time comes to put on masks, he is offered a special Warlock mask from the shrine. If he feels able to fight he accepts the mask and in doing so he recreates the two-fold division of his mind into self and warrior. He can only do this because he has already undergone the training necessary as an Aspect Warrior. He can always refuse the mask in the final event and his doing so brings no shame upon him.

Warlocks wear Rune Armour consisting of breast-plates, bangles, and other ornaments made from wraithbone. These tunic shapes are interwoven with spirit-stones, creating an energised psychic field which protects the Warlock from harm.

FARSEERS

The Eldar Army is sometimes accompanied by a single Farseer - more cannot be spared from their task of guiding the future of the Craftworld. Their powers are greater even that those of the Warlocks but are mostly concentrated on casting the Seer Runes to determine courses of action which will be most fortunate for the army.

OTHER PATHS

The Eldar Army List

• The Avatar
• Dire Avenger Aspect Warriors
• Fire Dragon Aspect Warriors
• Howling Banshee Aspect Warriors
• Striking Scorpions Aspect Warriors
• Swooping Hawk Aspect Warriors
• Dark Reaper Aspect Warriors
• Exarchs
• Eldar Guardian Squad
• Eldar Support Teams
• Warlocks
  • Warlock Runic Powers Table
• Farseer
  • Farseer Runic Power Table
• Harlequins
• Warrior Powers
• Ancient Weapons
• Warlock Force Weapons

Aspect Warrior Colour Schemes

• Iyanden Craftworld
• Biel-Tan Craftworld
• Saim-Hann Craftworld
• Ulthwe Craftworld

• Introduction
• Army List
• Painting The Alaitoc Craftworld Army
  • Alaitoc Guardian Squads
    • Basic Uniform Colours
    • Adding More Detail
  • Support Teams
  • Aspect Warrior Squads
    • Painting the Aspect Warriors
  • Character Models
    • Fire Dragon Exarch
    • Howling Banshee Exarch
    • Dark Reaper Exarch
    • Warlock
    • Farseer
  • Banners

• Eldar Striking Scorpion Aspect Warriors

Space Marine & Eldar Scouts

'Eavy Metal Warhammer 40,000 Painting Guide: Eldar Preview

• Collecting and Painting an Eldar Army
• The Craftworlds
• Aspect Warriors
• Waystones
• Painting Waystones
• The Eldar Crafworlds
  • Alaitoc
  • Ulthwe
  • Saim-Hann
  • Biel-Tan
  • Iyanden

Warp Spider Aspect Warriors: Eldar

• 'Eavy Metal: Eldar Aspect Warriors
  • Warp Spiders
  • Dark Reapers
• Death Spinner Monofilament Gun
• Warp Spider Jump Generator
• Warp Spider Tactics

The Eldar

• Craftworld Technology
• The Webway
• 'Eavy Metal: Eldar Phoenix Lords
  • Fuegan - The Burning Lance
  • Asurmen - Hand of Asuryan
  • Karandras - The Shadow Hunter
• 'Eavy Metal
• The Avatar
• Eldrad Ulthran: Farseer of Ulthwe
• The Infinitry Circuits
• The Eldar Path
  • Guardians
• The Path of the Warrior
  • Dire Avengers
  • The Fire Dragons
  • The Howling Banshees
  • Striking Scorpions
  • Warp Spiders
  • Dark Reapers
  • Swooping Hawks
• 'Eavy Metal: Eldar Aspect Warriors
  • Striking Scorpions
  • Fire Dragons
  • Dire Avengers
  • Howling Banshees
• Exarchs of the Warrior Aspects
• The Phoenix Lords

Eldar Pheonix Lords

• 'Eavy Metal: Eldar Phoenix Lords
  • Jain Zar - Storm of Silence
  • Baharroth - The Cry of the Wind
  • Maugan Ra - The Harvester of Souls
• Introduction
• Baharroth - The Cry of the Wind: Swooping Hawks
• Jain Zar - Storm of Silence: Howling Banshees
• Maugan Ra - The Harvester of Souls: Dark Reapers

Hold the Line: Battle Report - Eldar vs. Space Wolves

The Great Devourer!: Battle Report - Imperial Guard & Eldar Alliance vs. Tyranids

Tyranid Invasion: GW Campaign of Ichar IV Defense by Ultramarines, Imperial Guard and Eldar

• Hive Nemesis Results

'Eavy Metal Masterclass: How to Win Golden Demon by Mike McVey with his Diorama of Ultramarines Chaplain vs. Eldar Exodite

• Harlequins: Background
• Master Mimes
• Benathai: Shadow Seer Familiar  
  • The Eyes of the Shadow Seer
  • Psychology
  • Special Rules
  • Benathai Laser
  • Benathai: Profile
• Harlequin Shadow Seers
  • Shadow Seers: Background
  • The Making of a Seer
  • Seers in the Game
• Harlequin Army List
• Harlequin Psychic Powers

• Harlequins Armoury
• Harlequin Special Rules
• Harlequins: Army List
  • HQ
    • Great Harlequin
    • Shadowseer
  • Elites
    • Solitaire
    • Death Jesters
  • Troupes
    • Harlequin Troupe
  • Fast Attack
    • Harlequin Jetbiker Squad
  • Heavy Support
    • Venom
  • Harlequin Wargear

Codex Harlequins Update: Eldar (Original Codex in Citadel Journal 39)

• Troupes: Mime Troupe
• Elites: Death Jesters
• Heavy Support: Harlequin Wraithlord

Eldar in Tyranid Attack

• Introduction
• Using the Eldar in Tyranid Attack
• New Eldar Cards
• Further Reading
• Eldar Force List

Eldar (Space Hulk 1st Ed.)

• Farseers
• Aspect Warriors
• Exarchs
• Wraithguard
• Warlock
• Eldar Weapon Reference Table
• Enemy Weapon Reference Table
• Space Hulk - Eldar Playsheet (Inside Back Cover)

• Eldar Phantom Class Titans: Shade & Spectre Variants
• Eldar Vehicles
  • Walkers: Dreadnoughts, Spirit Warriors, War Walker
  • Jet Bikes
  • Mobile Field Artillery

• Background & Rules
• 'Eavy Metal: Houses & Clans
• Colour Schemes & Badges

• Eldar Wraithguard
• Eldar Dreadnought

• The Warp Hunters
• The Prism Cannon
• The Wave Serpents
• The Avatar
• The Eldar Dreadnoughts
• Mike McVey's Eldar (Phantom) Titan

• Eldar vehicles from Alaitoc Craftworld vs. The Blood Angels Battle Report in WD 143
  • Warp Hunter
  • Wave Serpent
  • Deathstalker Prism Cannon

• Eldar Titans
  • Eldar Holo Field
  • Eldar Titan Weapons
    • Power Fist
    • Heat Lance
    • The Psychic Lance
    • Tremor-Cannon
    • Distortion Cannon
    • Pulsar
    • Wing Weapons
  • Eldar Phantom Titan

• Iyanden
• Ulthwe
• Alaitoc
• Saim-Hann
• Biel-Tan

Epic Eldar Armies

• Space Marine Armies
• Create an Army
• Psychic Powers
• Titans
• Aspect Warriors
• Support Cards
• Psychic Attacks
• Defensive Strategies
• Eldar Tactics

Eldar Revenant Scout Titans

• Eldar Titans
• Scout Titans
• The Yarant Wars
• Eldar Attack
• Revenant Scout Titan Special Rules
  • Holo Fields
  • Jump Jets
  • Weapons
  • Pulse Lasers
  • Special Rules
  • Scatter Laser
  • Missile Launcher

Doom of the Eldar

• The Wargame Series
• The Tyranid Assault on Iyanden
• The Game
• Hints and Tips
• Eldar Tactics
• Tyranid Tactics
• Conclusion