List of Eldar (Warhammer 40,000)
 | This article's lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points. |
This is a list of notable characters and heroes of the Eldar race in the Warhammer 40,000 fictional setting.
Eldrad Ulthran
Eldrad Ulthran was the mightiest and most ancient of the Farseers of the Eldar Craftworld of Ulthwé. Among Eldrad's accomplishments is supposedly igniting the Second War for Armageddon so as to spare the lives of ten thousand Eldar[1], the Sanapan Scouring, the Mortis Annihilation and the Third Coming of Orian, as well as warning Fulgrim, Primarch of the Emperor's Children of Horus's treachery[2] (though he failed, realising only too late that Fulgrim had already been corrupted by Slaanesh) and warning Iyanden of the coming of the Tyranids[1]. The veracity of these accomplishments are often debated, as they are usually derived from work by Inquisitor Czevak (which he himself admits strays into the realm of paranoia) and the rantings of a tortured Eldar Ranger. It should also be noted that, of these battles, only the Second War for Armageddon is ever described in detail. It is also noted, that he is one of the few individuals, perhaps the only, to fight in hand-to-hand combat with Abaddon the Despoiler himself and live to tell the tale.
Eldrad perished during the Eye of Terror campaign[3], when he was caught upon a Blackstone Fortress, or Talisman of Vaul, that he was trying to stop from destroying the Imperial world of Cadia. As he attempted to commune with the spirit of the Fortress, the Farseer learned it had been corrupted, and not by any random power. The machine had been corrupted by Slaanesh. Eldrad desperately tried to disengage, but his efforts came too late: his soul was dragged screaming into the Talisman's corrupted core for all eternity. The Talisman's current whereabouts are unknown. [4]
Eldrad's Fate
Prior to the 13th Black Crusade, Eldrad had fragmented his consciousness into hundreds of waystones, for the use of battlefield leaders. In the closing stage of the war, he led an assault on the surviving Talisman of Vaul in a desperate attempt to rescue its soul, saving the planet of Cadia in the process. He spirit-linked with the Talisman's core, only to realise that all Eldar traces within the fortress had been devoured, replaced by the vile power of Slaanesh.
The new Codex: Eldar (November 2006) features Eldrad as a historical special character. His background material, however, ends with a flicker of hope. It states that after Eldrad's soul was lost all but a handful of the waystones, into which he had divided his consciousness before handing to his commanders, became lifeless and dull. So long as one stone retains its spark, Eldrad's soul endures[5].
Prince Yriel
Prince Yriel, Autarch of Iyanden, was a brilliant if reckless commander in Iyanden's fleet. He is not of pure Iyanden blood but is honored as one of the greatest defenders of Iyanden. He was originally exiled when he led a successful and pre-emptive attack on a Chaos fleet that left the Craftworld open to attack. He and his crew formed a corsair fleet, the Eldritch Raiders, and had become infamous throughout the galaxy in only a few decades, a testament to Yriel's skill[5].
He and his fleet saved Iyanden at its time of greatest need, at the height of the Tyranid invasion by the Hive Fleet Kraken. As the Craftworld was about to fall, Yriel and his Eldritch Raiders blew a sizeable hole in the Tyranid's fleet and reinforced Iyanden's forces. Yriel himself slew the leader of the hordes, a supposedly invincible creature, with the Spear of Twilight, a cursed artifact that contains the power of a Supernova. Yriel was then instated as an Autarch of Iyanden, and is currently searching for a way to rid himself of the Spear, which is slowly killing him.
Yriel first appeared in early first edition as the "self-styled 'Lord Prince Yriel,'" where it is mentioned that Imperium fostered rivalries between Yriel and other pirate companies resulted in factional fighting; his conquest and absorption of two of these rival groups (Xian's Black Raiders and the Scarlet Command) making him the single most powerful Eldar pirate operating in the galaxy.
The Spear of Twilight
The Spear of Twilight was a legendary artifact of kept in the Shrine of Ulthanash in the Craftworld Iyaden. The weapon was "so powerful it would burn the bearer's soul"[5]. The spear, unlike other weapons, could not be removed by the owner and thus Yriel, when he used the powerful spear to kill the leader of the Hive Fleet Kraken, was bound by its curse.
The spear's curse operates by draining Yriel's energy, which is represented by him taking a wound at the end of each battle he fights in. The spear is a singing spear, the psychic weapons used by Eldar Warlocks, and each wound is able to ignore the armour saves of its enemies[5].
Phoenix Lords
Phoenix Lords are the greatest warriors of the Eldar in the fictional universe of Warhammer 40,000. Each of them founded one of the aspect shrines of the Eldar, and are the embodiment of that aspect. They have transcended the bounds of normal mortality, in a fashion. The spirit of the original Phoenix Lords was infused into their armour, and merges with the current wearer of the armour. When the Phoenix Lord falls in combat, another will don the armour and assume the memories and abilities of the Phoenix Lord[5][1][1].
The Phoenix Lords are effectively immortal, when the occupant of the battlesuit dies their place is taken by another but their personality forms part of the developed personality of the armour which includes all the previous occupants.
Asurmen
Asurmen was the first Phoenix Lord. His name means 'the hand of Asuryan', and his children were the Asurya. 'Asur' means 'light' in the Eldar language[1]. Following the fall of the Eldar, Asurmen founded the first of the aspect shrines, the "Dire Avengers". He travelled the craftworlds, teaching those Eldar who wanted to learn. The greatest of his students went on to found their own aspect shrines and became Phoenix Lords themselves. His ancient armour has vambraces with integrated shuriken catapults. He carries the first "Diresword", called the "sword of Asur", which contains the soul of his long-dead brother, Tethesis, who was killed by a daemon[5].
Baharroth
Baharroth is the creator of the aspect shrine of the Swooping Hawks. He participated in many raids into Chaos strongholds, as a sworn enemy of Chaos since his family and much of his craftworld, Anaen, was destroyed in a massive Chaos assault led by Trarkh, a known Khorne Berzeker leader.[1]. He was also the fastest of the Eldar who had ever lived. He is a great friend of Maugan Ra. His wings are made of small vibrating plates, which, as they vibrate, give the wearer flight[5].
Jain Zar
Jain Zar is the Phoenix Lord of the Howling Banshees, the first chosen of Asurmen, the first Exarch[1]. An acrobat at heart, Jain Zar (which translates as "The Storm of Silence") is the fastest of all the Phoenix Lords except for Baharroth. Her weapons of choice are the Jain Zar (which translates as "Blade of Destruction") and the Jainas Mor ("Silent Death"), a specially crafted three bladed throwing weapon, able to strike multiple targets with a single cast. She traveled the webway, spreading her knowledge to all but the remotest of craftworlds. Jain Zar is known to have disappeared for centuries at a time, keeping her followers ever watching[5].
Fuegan
Fuegan is the Phoenix Lord of the Fire Dragons[1]. Thought lost when the Shrine of Asur was destroyed by the Fallen Phoenix,he was seen on Medusa V with a retinue of fire dragon Exarchs in an imperial fuel distribution centre. It is said he will reappear to fight alongside the Eldar at Haranshemash (which translates as "The World of Blood and Tears"). It is said in the last stanza of the Asuryata, the legend of the Phoenix Lords, known in full only to the Bards of Twilight. This passage says that Fuegan will call all of the Phoenix Lords for the Rhana Dandra and he will be the last to die in that conflict that will result in the final death of the Eldar and their gods alike[5].
Karandras
Karandras is the Phoenix Lord of the Striking Scorpions[1]. He is not the first of the Striking Scorpions for that is Ahra, the Father of the Scorpions. Ahra turned to darkness and waged war on his own kin. When the other Phoenix Lords banded together to stop him destroying the Shrine of Asur, Ahra fled into the webway and is now referred to as the Fallen Phoenix who burns with the dark light of Chaos. No one know where Karandras' shrine originally lay, but perhaps it was on one of the craftworlds that survived the Fall but was destroyed soon after[5].
Lhykosidae
Lhykosidae is an exarch of the Warp Spiders[1]. Some believe it may be the Phoenix Lord of the aspect, though this is uncertain. Otherwise known as The Wraith Spider, Lhykosidae is associated with the isolated Craftworld of Kaelor, and is a key figure in that Craftworld's history. Ironically, they use neither the signature Warp Pack nor the trademark weapons of the Warp Spider aspect. He is known to use a staff made of unbreakable wood known as Umbhala, or a pair of Witchblades that he retrieved from the fallen foe Khukulyn. The Lhykosidae is not discused in any official Games Workshop material, and the only reference to him/her/it is in C S GOTO's book Eldar Prophecy. He is not in the Games Workshop miniatures range. He is thought to have resurfaced in the body of Naois Ansgar. [5].
Maugan Ra
Maugan Ra is a Phoenix Lord from the lost Craftworld Altansar, which was sucked into the Eye of Terror after being just on the edge of it for centuries[1]. After it succumbed to the massive warp storm, Maugan Ra was the only one to emerge from the Eye of Terror, wielding the Maugetar. His armour and weapon were a tortured black color. He played significant roles in the defence of Craftworld Iyanden from the Tyranid invasion and during the Eye of Terror campaign. In the 13th Crusade of Abbadon, Maugan Ra, along with several Dark Reaper Exarchs, returned to aid the Ulthwe Strikeforce against the forces of Chaos. It has been learned that during this time, Maugan Ra was successful in finding his long-lost Craftworld and helping it and its inhabitants escape the Eye of Terror. Unfortunately, many Eldar from other Craftworlds view the survivors of Altansar with suspicion after being immersed for millennia within the Eye.
Maugan Ra wields the Maugetar (lit. Harvester), a shuriken cannon with a scythe-like attachment, and wears a suit of armour of his now destroyed temple, morbidly decorated with skulls and bone shapes. His aspect, the Dark Reapers, use long range, rapid-fire missile launchers to attack those who oppose the Eldar.
The immortal Maugan Ra has fought countless battles throughout the centuries, and died and been reborn many times. He no longer requires a physical body within his armour. He came to the aid of the craftworld Iyanden, along with a bodyguard of one hundred Dark Reapers, who played a large role in the defense of the craftworld during the Tyranid invasion. More recently Maugan Ra contributed greatly to the Eye of Terror campaign, joining with the craftworld Ulthwé and creating the infamous Strike forces to stem the tide of chaos. It was Maugan Ra's determination to save the craftworld Altansar from the Eye of Terror that enabled the Eldar to rediscover the long lost craftworld and its people[3]. Still more recently, Maugan Ra successfully battled to defend his species from what the Imperium named the Kith Campaign. However, his valiant efforts were not mirrored elsewhere, and the Eldar suffered greatly at the Imperium's hands.
Avatars of Kaela Mensha Khaine
Legend has it that Slaanesh and The Bloody-handed God fought a titanic battle in the warp. Despite Khaine's divine might and mastery of war, Slaanesh, glutted on the power of the gods, eventually proved the stronger[1][5].
Exhausted from the battle, Slaanesh was unable to destroy Khaine completely. Instead, Khaine was rent into many pieces and driven from the warp forever. Each fragment eventually came to rest inside the wraithbone core of each craftworld, where they took root and grew into an Avatar, which under a sacrifice can be summoned to serve it's craftworld in war. The Avatar carries "the wailing doom," a mighty sword covered in runes that shriek in agony.
Other Eldar
- Elarique Swiftblade: Autarch of Alaitoc (character recently created for the Medusa V campaign)
- Farseer Taldeer of Ulthwé.: an Eldar Farseer who commanded the Eldar forces on Lorn V and Kronus, leading them in the war known as the Dark Crusade.
- Farseer Caerys of Ulthwé.: an Eldar Farseer who commands the Eldar forces in the Kauvara system.
- Farseer Macha of Biel-Tan: Farseer in the PC game Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War. She is featured in the Dawn of War novel series fighting with and alongside Blood Raven Captain Gabriel Angelos mainly as a protagonist.
- Iyanna Arienal: Spiritseer of Iyanden, she carries the Spear of Teuthlas into battle and wears the Armour of Vaul[1].
- Nuadhu "Fireheart": Wild Rider of Saim Hann, Nuadhu is a legendary Vyper rider that rides standing up to aid in his attacks[1].
- Ela'Ashbel: Child Farseer of Craftworld Kaelor. Sister of Naois Ansgar and daughter of Bedwyr. A child seer of incredible power known for her unusual and startling sapphire-blue eyes. Also referred to sometimes as 'The Ehveline' or the lost daughter.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Thorpe, Gav (2000). Warhammer 40,000 Codex: Craftworld Eldar. Nottingham: Games Workshop. ISBN 1-84154-029-3.
- ^ McNeill, Graham (2007). Fulgrim. Nottingham: Black Libraryp. ISBN 1-84416-476-4.
- ^ a b Chambers, Andy (2003). Warhammer 40,000 Codex: Eye of Terror. Nottingham: Games Workshop. ISBN 1-84154-398-5.
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- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Kelly, Phil (2006). Warhammer 40,000 Codex: Eldar (4th Edition ed.). Nottingham: Games Workshop. ISBN 1-84154-791-3.
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† Cassern S Goto,. Eldar Prophecy (Warhammer 40,000 Novels (Paperback)). Nottingham: Games Workshop. ISBN 1-84416-451-9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)