
                             Chapter 15 - The Eldar
                             ======================

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       |  "We are the Eldar, amongst the oldest of the races and perhaps  | 
       |   once counted amongst the wisest.  But we are ever reminded of  |
       |   our great Folly and even greater Fall.  Now we are but few in  |
       |   number and our time left in this galaxy is short.  The Age of  |
       |   the Eldar is over, now is the Time of Man, the upstart, the    |
       |   hairy savage."                                                 |
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15.1 Introduction
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 The Eldar are an ancient and enigmatic race, present in the galaxy long 
before Mankind set foot in the stars.  They watched as Man took his first 
faltering steps off the Terran surface, and as the Dark Age of Technology 
and Age of Strife tore at Mankind.  They saw the Emperor for what he was, 
a man of great power, capable of challenging the Farseers of the Eldar if 
it had taken him to do so.  Once, the Galaxy was the Eldars' oyster, now 
the race has taken a back seat to the emerging race of man, the 'hairy 
savage'.  Nevertheless, the race of Eldar bears examination for both their 
part in the Galaxys history and their role in its future to come.

 The Eldar race was born in a cluster of planets that now lie at the centre 
of what is now called the Eye of Terror.  It was the dawn of the Eldar race, 
and they lived in peace with one another.  Always a skilled and highly 
psychic race, they quickly developed technologically, using their skills to 
fashion mysterious technoarcana (in the Imperiums eyes anyway), the 
psychoactive materials they are famed for, such as the Wraithbone they use in 
their Craftworlds.  Physically the Eldar are very much like humans, but 
thinner, more graceful, and with slightly pointed ears. ("Space Elves!" I hear 
you cry...).  The Eldar term for Humans is "mon-keigh", and they have similar 
terms for the other races.

 The Eldar are an intelligent, lithe, graceful and highly psychic race, who 
once ruled the Galaxy.  But they were undone by a great catastrophe of their 
own making (more on which later) and decimated as a race.  The Eldar were 
forced to rebuild their race, to take to great starships (or "Craftworlds").  
Meanwhile, the Galaxy, once ruled by the mighty Eldar was up for grabs.  The 
Orks, always a expansionist race, immediately took advantage, as did Mankind 
and the Emperor, who launched at the time the Great Crusade to reclaim the 
Galaxy.

 But the Eldar were, and are, an arrogant race.  While they ruled the Galaxy 
they held little respect for the other races, and after their fall from grace 
the majority of Eldar, rather than accept responsibility for their downfall, 
blamed the "usurper" races.  Millenia have passed since the downfall that 
befell the Eldar, and they still, for the most part, blame the upstart races 
whom have claimed the Galaxy.  The wisest Farseers and the guardians of the 
Black Library (more on both of which later) know better.  Most Eldar, however, 
hold respect only for their own race, viewing the other races as little better 
than animals.

 The Eldar mind is utterly different to that of Humans.  They have a Dark 
Side (more on which later), which brought about their own decimation.  They 
are arrogant and self-righteous to a fault.  They callously manipulate other 
races to further their own, often making decisions that only have significance 
in the distant future, apparently motiveless and random.  Also, the Eldar 
usually peaceful, can be highly viscious when they need to be.  Whatever an 
Eldar turns his mind to, he excludes from his mind all else.  The sensations 
they feel from this, especially when the task at hand is war, can be 
addictive.  All of this marks them different from humans, making more than 
simply humans with pointy ears.


15.2  The Great Enemy
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 There are few things more frightening to an Eldar than to contemplate the 
Great Enemy, the One Who Thirsts.  Long long ago, an disaster of catastrophic 
proportions bestruck the Eldar race, a disaster they will not discuss with 
any other race and which they simply refer to as the Fall.  Few outside the 
Eldar race truly know what happened, and only those who have been trusted to 
enter the galaxys ultimate respository on the mysteries of Chaos: the Black 
Library.  It tells a tale of woe the Eldar race cannot bear to let the galaxy 
at large be a party to.

 The Eldar were undone as a race by that which they refer to as their Dark 
Side.  It is both a blessing and a curse to the Eldar that they possess an 
ability to, for want of a better word, *experience* things in a far more 
intense way than any other race.  While making for great poets, musicians 
and artists, it also fed their hedonistic side, a side that holds that 
pure *sensation* is what counts.  The sensation of pleasure and pain.  The 
caress of the hedonistic embrace.  Though long lived, many hundreds of human 
years, no Eldar is immortal, and the soul of an Eldar, even dead, is a 
psychic beacon, a light shining in the warp, an lasting island floating in the 
Sea of Souls, an echo of sensual pleasures never experienced...

 The Warp being what it is, these souls naturally, slowly coalesced.  The 
entity that would one day become known as Slaanesh was born of the unlived 
desires of the Eldar race, and as it became stronger its birth pangs were to 
cause Warpstorms never before imagined.  The birth pangs of Slaanesh were 
felt by the Emperor of Earth.  Slaanesh was a timebomb waiting to explode, 
and its birth would rock the galaxy.  When it finally happened, Slaanesh 
boomed forth with a psychic cry that was felt across the Galaxy, being felt 
even over the Astronomican.  Slaanesh had waited millenia and his psychic 
cry of victory left many a sensitive psyker mindless, mad, or both.  To the 
sensitive Eldar it was a catastrophe unprecedented in their long history.  
Across the galaxy, the Warp spilled into the Material universe through 
the Eldar minds.  Whole Eldar worlds were destroyed or sucked into the Void 
beyond.  It was in the region now called the Eye of Terror that the effect 
was worst.  Always the centre of Eldar population, the Material universe 
quite literally melted in with the Warp, creating an area of crossover 
between the two that would become infamous.

 In that instant, something momentous had happened that would change the face 
of the Galaxy.  A Chaos god was born, a whole area of space had been 
surrendered to the Warp and, most importantly to Human history, the Age of 
Strife came to an end.


15.3  A New Age
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 Far away on Earth, the Emperor knew of what was happening.  Powerless to 
stop it, he worked to help Mankind flourish when it came to its close.  
For long millenia the Earth had been embroiled in violent Warpstorms, 
growing ever more pronounced as Slaanesh grew in power.  Finally, with the 
psychic scream of new birth, the Warpstorms that had for so long isolated 
the Earth abated.  For humanity, the era that would become known as the Age 
of the Imperium had begun, a time for galactical conquest.

 Sadly, it was not so fortunate a time for the Eldar race.  All but decimated, 
they knew what had to be done to save the race.  Over years, the Eldar built 
great starships that were to become their new homes, slowly travelling at 
sublight speeds through space.  They were the great starships later to become 
known as the Craftworlds.  As large as a planet, a Craftworld was where an 
average Eldar would be born, live and die.  Each was built with a Wraithbone 
core, designed both to provide infinite power to the Craftworld and to give 
those Eldar that died on the Craftworld a safe haven when they died.  They 
now knew the danger that awaited them in the Warp.

 No Eldar ever speaks the name of Slaanesh, the god that was born from their 
very desires.  Instead they refer to the Great Enemy, the One Who Thirsts, the 
One Who Waits.  The title is apt, as their is no greater terror to an Eldar 
than to have his soul consumed by the Great Enemy upon their death.  Instead, 
all Craftworld Eldar wear a Spiritstone, a gem formed of a psychoactive 
material that, worn constantly, bonds to the Eldars very soul.  Upon their 
death, the departing soul is not scattered to the Warp but drawn into the 
Spiritstone, from where it can be later released into the safety of the 
Craftworlds Wraithbone core to join its ancestors.  Not only does this keep 
the Eldar soul from the Great Enemy, but the souls that flow through the 
ancient Wraithbone core provide psychoactive power sufficient for the 
Craftworlds every need.  The Eldar only wish it were not so necessary.


15.3.1  The Ways
----------------

 The Eldar learned another bitter lesson from the Great Fall.  That it was 
necessary to channel the intensities of the Eldar psyche into Paths that 
would not lead to the hedonism and depravity that led to the creation of 
Slaanesh.  To this end the Craftworld Eldar pledged to each follow a Way or 
Path, a focused way of life to channel the Eldar mind into the learning and 
mastery of one or more crafts.  Many, many Paths exist, from the skill of 
Bonesinging (the art of crafting psychoactive materials into works of art and 
function) to the psychic honing of the Seers and the ways of war followed by 
the Aspect Warriors.  The life of an Eldar is long indeed, and many master 
many Paths before their soul joins their ancestors in the Craftworlds 
Wraithbone core.

 All Craftworld Eldar must serve for part of their long lives as Guardians, 
infantry fighters and defenders of the Craftworld from alien attack.  From 
time to time, an Eldar attack is necessary on an alien world or craft, and 
the Guardians play a core role in the Eldar armies.  Many Eldar commit to the 
Way of war and become one of the Aspect Warriors, who each specialise in a 
particular Way of combat.  Many temples of Aspect Warriors exist, founded by 
the legendary Exarchs, but the best known ones include:-
* The Warp Spiders.
  There is a type of spider that evolved from the psychoplastic Wraithbone 
  core of the Craftworlds, able to travel effortlessly through the Wraithbone 
  core, coalesce anyway they wish in it, and attack any psychic intruders 
  (such as the rare Warp daemon) they find therein.  These creatures were the 
  inspiration for the Warp Spider Aspect Warriors.  Armed with Warp Jump packs 
  and Webguns, they specialise in surprise attacks, defensive fighting, like 
  their namesakes.  They wear black and yellow Aspect Armour.
* The Fire Dragons.
  Specialising in the art of war by fire, Fire Dragons are experts with such 
  arms as flamers and melta weapons, constantly practicing deep in the Aspect 
  halls in Craftworlds across the galaxy.  They wear red Aspect Armour.
* The Howling Banshees.
  A legend exists that if an Eldar ever hears the cry of a banshee, his soul 
  is destined to go to Slaanesh when he dies.  Indeed, some souls who claim 
  to have heard the banshee but have been safely released into the Wraithbone 
  core, have later been known to have escaped in retransferance to a 
  Spiritstone, lost to the Warp.  Regardless, the Howling Banshees herald 
  from this legend, representing death to the enemies of the Eldar.  With 
  screaming holo-masks that inspire terror in the Eldars enemies, they are 
  expert warriors.
* The Striking Scorpions.
  Taking the mantle of the scorpion, these close combat specialists deliver 
  just as much as a sting to their enemies.  With special close combat laser 
  weapons called Mandiblasters built into their Aspect Armour, they live up to 
  their name.  They wear green Aspect Armour.
* The Dire Avengers
  Each Aspect temple has its own principle Exarch, and the Exarch of the Dire 
  Avengers is the one that can quite legitimately be said to have been the 
  first Aspect Warrior, training all that followed in his life, including the 
  other Exarchs.  The temple he created specialises in deadly long range fire 
  using the Eldar Shuriken Cannon and Missile Launcher.  They wear black or 
  dark blue Aspect Armour.
* The Swooping Hawks.
  These warriors wear only the lightest armour, and literally fly on self 
  made wings to come on the enemy from above, gliding away before the enemy 
  can react.  They wear light blue Aspect Armour.
* Shining Spears.
  Shining Spears ride sleek jetbikes and carry the deadly laser lance.  Their 
  phenomonal speed enabled them to carry the fighting directly to the enemy, 
  whilst thieir weaponry is sufficiently powerful to pierce even the thickest 
  armour.

 Other Eldar follow other Paths, and almost as dangerous as the Way of the 
Warrior is that of the Seer, also called the Witch Path.  Seers probe the 
paths of destiny, following the strands of probability from their present 
position in time and space to work out how best to further the Eldar race 
and guide the Craftworld.  Now and then, it is necessary to launch an attack 
on some alien world, craft or outpost, and it is these apparently random and 
unprovoked attacks that make the Eldar such an enigmatic people in the minds 
of the other races.  Equally as often the Eldar may ally with an alien force 
against a common enemy or come to the aid to a stricken alien force to push 
back the tide of defeat.


15.3.1.1  The Second Peril
--------------------------

 If there are two things that scare an Eldar witless, the greatest is 
Slaanesh, the Great Enemy, the One Who Thirsts.  The second is to become 
so honed on any single Way or Path that the Eldar mind becomes trapped and 
unable to break off the Path.  Such is the entrapment that binds an Aspect 
Warrior to the warrior path to become an Exarch.  The peril exists, to a 
greater or lesser extent, on all Ways and Paths, and those who travel too 
far along the Way of the Seer, or Witch Path, become Farseers.  Just as 
Exarchs (and the legendary Phoenix Lords) are the most able and gifted 
warriors the Eldar race has, so the Farseers are the most powerful psychics 
in the whole of the Eldar race.  A Farseer guides every Craftworld in its 
travels, constantly probing the strands of destiny to best guide the 
Craftworld and continue the declining Eldar race.  For the Eldar race is in 
decline.  Seers and Farseers are trained in the art of Rune Casting, a highly 
reliable form of predicting the future.  Imbued with psychic power, the Runes 
are chosen at random from a bag, the first floating in the air where it is 
placed, the others moving in its orbit with various facets and colours 
showing.  By virtue of the Runes chosen, and the aspects and colours they 
present to each other, the Seer can reliably predict to a degree what the 
future holds, sometimes even being able to view a psychic vision of the future 
by the power of the Runes.  Some Seers and Farseers powers go beyond 
prediction and they are called Warlocks, using their psychic powers against 
the enemy on the battlefield.

 Slowly but surely, Eldar souls are being lost.  For in the end, the Great 
Enemy will claim the last Eldar soul.  Simply put, Eldar souls are not 
'created ' as new human souls are, but reborn after a time floating on the 
Seas of the Warp.  Of course, since the birth of the Great Enemy, such has 
not been possible.  Instead, souls have been released to the Infinity Circuit 
of the Craftworlds' Wraithbone cores, and the Eldar race is a dying one.  The 
galaxy, once the Eldars', now belongs to humankind.  It is up to the Eldar 
Farseers to see that the Eldar play their last, final part in the history of 
the Galaxy.  This may seem a noble goal, but coupled with the arrogance and 
self-righteousness of the Eldar it makes them one of the most selfish races 
in the Galaxy.  The Eldar, especially the Farseers, callously manipulate other 
races to further their own.  An Eldar Farseer will gladly start a war that 
will claim billions of Human lives if it means that in 5000 years time an 
Eldar life is saved.


15.4  The Settlers
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

 Some Eldar did not leave to wander the galaxy on their Craftworlds.  Those 
far from the Eye of Terror, the epicentre of the birth of Slaanesh, managed 
to survive relatively unscathed, but still deeply touched by the birth of the 
Great Enemy.  The hedenistic degeneration of the Eldar did not go 
unchallenged.  Some openly criticised their more hedonistic cousins, and were 
in turn treated as narrow-minded fools and fanatics.  Some, the more far 
sighted, saw there could be no end to the reign of chaos and depravity and 
took away to the far edges of the Galaxy away from their ancestral worlds.  
These Eldar are now known as the Exodites.  They left their worlds, many 
dying in space or destroyed by alien forces or natural predators.

 Of those that survived to begin their new life in exile on the fringes of 
the galaxy, most took to farming and similar pursuits.  Megadon breeding 
(Megadons are a form of Dragon the Exodite Eldar either took away with them 
or found on the planets they colonised) became a major part of their work.  
Today, the passage of time has not changed them much, and they are still 
regarded as rather simple and rustic by the Craftworld Eldar.  On the fringes 
of the galaxy, far from the reach of chaos, they can afford to be more 
liberal in what they do.  They do not have to follow the Eldar Paths in the 
same way as the Craftworld Eldar, and so are more adventurous and 
individualistic in comparison.

 But Chaos has a long reach, and even the Exodite worlds are not safe from 
its reaches.  Even on the Exodite worlds, to die and have ones soul consumed 
by the Great Enemy is still *the* thing most guaranteed to leave an Exodite 
scared witless.  To this end they built on the Exodite worlds great 
psychoplastic networks, similar to the Wraithbone cores of the Craftworlds.  
The psychomotive network spanning each world is called the World Spirit and 
it is to this that an Exodites' soul goes when he dies.  In the same way, all 
Exodite Eldar wear a Spiritstone like their Craftworld counterparts.

 On the Exodite worlds, life is much more physical and demanding than on the 
Craftworlds.  Where the Craftworlds try to hold on to the grandeur of their 
lost civilisation, the Exodite worlds have turned their backs on it, in 
favour of the simpler, hardier way of life.  While physically and mentally 
tougher than their Craftworld counterparts, they are ultimately less 
powerful.  Yet they have survived, and on balance, appear the most likely to 
continue to do so.


15.5  The Eldar Webway
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

 Established long ago by the Eldar, before the Fall, was a vast subspace 
tunnel network that co-existed and, in a sense, actually exists in the Warp.  
While no Eldar would willingly travel through the Warp on such as an Imperial 
spacecraft, and no Craftworld is capable of Warp travel, they do feel 
relatively safe travelling via the Webway, as it is called.

 The Webway is vast, spanning the galaxy, across every Exodite world and 
with now sealed gates that once led to worlds that now lie in the Eye of 
Terror.  Every Craftworld has a gate to the Webway, and it is by the Webway 
that the Eldar travel vast distances in short time spans when it is so 
necessary.  Like any network, the Webway sports both wide paths, the main 
routes wide enough to allow the passage of whole Craftworlds along them, and 
smaller side paths, which must be taken by smaller craft or on foot.

 But the Webway has perils of its own.  Some gates still openly lead to 
worlds that no longer exist, or which have long since been lost to Chaos.  
There are paths that allow you to travel not only through space, but through 
time itself.  And somewhere, deep in the Webway, doubtless along some such 
perilous path though time itself, lies the Black Library, the Galaxys largest 
collection of material on Chaos, collected to fight its grave threat not only 
to the Eldar but to the Galaxy itself.  Only those utterly pure of chaos 
taint are allowed access to the Black Library, and some Imperial Inquisitors 
have been given the honour of its access, though all non-Eldar must be 
attended and closely guarded at all times while in its confines.  And then, 
of course, there is the worst peril of the Webway, said to be none other than 
the Keepers of the Black Library themselves.


15.6  The Laughing God
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
 
 Of all the Eldar, none know the Webway better than the Eldar Harlequins.  
Travelling performers all, these Eldar travel in troupes through the Webway, 
visiting Exodite worlds, Craftworlds, human worlds, ...  On many an Imperial 
world, these travelling troubadours are welcomed, but are also said to carry 
bad luck with them whereever they travel, and as heartily as they are 
welcomed, they are equally gladly waved off on their travels elsewhere.

 In truth, Harlequins follow none other than the Laughing God of Eldar 
legend, said to be forever wandering the Webway, now and again making a foray 
into the Warp to harass Slaanesh and perhaps steal an Eldar soul or two back 
in the bargain.  Sometimes the haplass soul is rescued.  Equally often the 
Prince of Chaos gets his way and consumes it, the Laughing God having little 
option but to slip back into the Webway away from Slaaneshs' reach.

 The Laughing God is one of two Eldar gods who survived the Fall, the other 
being Kaela Mensha Khaine, the Eldar god of war.  In the struggle of 
Slaaneshs birth, Kaela Mensha Khaine is said to have fought Slaanesh.  In the 
struggle, none could destroy the other, but Khaine was struck and splintered 
into countless shards, which took root as Avatars of the god in the Eldar 
Craftworlds.  The Laughing God is said to have survived by using his wile and 
cunning to stay out of sight of the Great Enemy as he fought Khaine, before 
slipping away into the deepest recess of the Webway where Slaanesh could not 
find him.


15.7  The Young King
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

 At the heart of every Craftworld is the Avatar of Khaela Mensha Khaine, the 
bloody handed god of Eldar legend.  Most of the time, the Avatar of Khaela 
Mensha Khaine lies motionless.  When battle is due, however, a certain mood 
takes hold in the minds of the Craftworlders, which as it gathers stirs the 
Avatar.  The Exarchs of the Craftworld gather outside the Hall of the Young 
King.  A ritual is held, where a lone Eldar, one of the Exarchs, is dressed 
with a special stole and walks into the chamber of the waking Avatar, and the 
great doors of the chamber closed.  This lone Eldar is called the Young King.  
Noone knows for sure what happens inside the chamber, but soon the doors open 
once more to reveal the fiery hot metal form of the Avatar, the stole on his 
shoulders, although grown many times.  Noone speaks of the fate of the Young 
King, but he is never seen again.  The traditional weapon the Avatar of the 
Eldar god of war carries is the Wailing Doom, a weapon only he can use.


15.8  Scouts, Outcasts and Pirates
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

 And yet, there are other ways Eldar live.  Some leave their Exodite world or 
Craftworld to see the Galaxy, becoming Scouts.  They have to brave the rigours 
of the outside world, and the dangers of Chaos that lie around every corner 
there.  Some eventually return to their home world or Craftworld, where they 
are welcomed back, but never quite treated the same again, as if perhaps now 
tainted in some small way by Chaos from the wider galaxy.

 For others, the rigid constraints placed on them on their homeworlds or 
Craftworlds are too much to bear.  They leave the Craftworld and become known 
as Outcasts.  They must bear the burden of their heightened consciousness 
without the safety net of the Eldar Ways.  They must be exeptionally strong, 
both mentally and physically, if they are to survive the Outcast life.  After 
years of travelling, most return to their homeworld or Craftworld.  Otherwise, 
they are not welcome among Craftworlds even briefly, for they can draw 
daemons and other melevolent psychic entities to the Craftworlds, which can 
take lodge in the psycho-support network of the Infinity Circuit.

 Others still, travel in bands in open space, living a life of looting and 
pillaging spacecraft.  Eventually they may return to their homeworld or 
Craftworld.  Often they continue to visit and trade with their home world 
and their Craftworld over the years that they plunder and pillage from other 
races.


15.9  The Dark Eldar
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

 And then there are others still.  It is not known how they are related to 
the Craftworld and Exodite Eldar, or why they took a different path, but it 
is known that at some point in the long ago past, probably at around the time 
of the Great Fall, the Dark Eldar struck off on a vastly different path to 
the mainstream Eldar, or Light Eldar.  What is understood is that the Light 
and Dark Eldar share an intense hatred of each other.

 The Dark Eldar inhabit a realm called Commorragh, beyond space and time, 
possibly somewhere deep in the Warp or down some dark, long forgotten path of 
the Webway - except to the Laughing God and the Eldar Harlequins that is.  
Whereever it is, it is from here the Dark Eldar make their slave raids on 
alien races, where those unfortunate enough not to be killed are carried back 
to Commorragh.  The Dark Eldar are experts in pain and torture of all kinds, 
unquestionably evil, and their prisoners can expect a long and drawn out 
suffering before they beg to be finally allowed to die.

 Yet, the same fear of the Great Enemy drives the Dark Eldar as it does their 
Light Eldar counterparts.  There is something that fills their race with 
terror and dread, driving them to ever more despicable acts of wanton 
bloodshed and torture: the One Who Thirsts.  What the relationship between 
the Great Enemy and the Dark Eldar is, it is impossible to say.  Although the 
Dark Eldar revel in their own wickedness and evil, there is a desperation 
about them: an all-consuming horror that forces them to kill and maim each 
other, to fall upon their prey without mercy, as if their very survival 
depended upon the extremity of the grievous deeds they perform.

 Dark Eldar revel in all kinds of pain, torture and agony.  Many are expert 
torturers.  The natural hyper-sensation the Light Eldar possess is every bit 
as potent in the Dark Eldar, and focussed quite specifically in the infliction 
of pain, agony, fear and outright terror in their victims.  They drink deep of 
the pain and fear they cause, and it somehow makes them stronger, faster, and 
more deadly.  The affliction of fear and agony is like a drug to a Dark Eldar 
- an addictive one.

 Dark Eldar are aligned loosely into groups called Kabals.  In the world of 
the Dark Eldar, fellow Kabal members are the closest thing to friends you're 
likely to find, and even they can't be trusted.  Dark Eldar society is rife 
with wanton skullduggery, bloodshed and murder.  Deceit, poisoning, blackmail, 
assassination and bloody coups are standard fare in Dark Eldar politics, and a 
Dark Eldar leader has more to fear from his close subordinates than any 
external forces.  Dark Eldar thrive on domination and power, and those who are 
vicious, ruthless and cunning enough will quickly rise to positions of 
authority.

 Kabals are ruled by a Kabal Lord, often many centuries old.  He/she employs 
a Hierarch, the second most powerful individual in the Kabal, who acts as the 
Lords eyes and ears and his main advisor.  The Hierarch is responsible for 
sniffing out plots and ploys arrayed against the Kabal Lord, and ones not good 
at their job tend to die quickly - usually as a part of an ambitious 
underlings attempt to take over the Kabal.  Below this is an ever changing 
political map of Archons, and below them Dracons.  Some of the most talented 
Dark Eldar are titled Incubi and help form the elite combat forces.

 Several special kinds of Dark Eldar exist.  Haemonculi are master torturers, 
even more so than other Dark Eldar.  The need to inflict pain and suffering 
can become obsessive, and the result are Grotesques, those who have turned on 
their own bodies.  Others become Grotesques in a less voluntary manner, those 
who have fallen victim to Haemonculi, whether for some past misdeed, or merely 
happening to be in the wrong place at the wrong time...  Grotesques are 
not usually noted for their intelligence or rational reasoning.  Many have 
suffered such mutilation their sanity has completely snapped.

 Mandrakes are the most malevolent of the Dark Eldar, who prey on their own 
kind from the shadows of Commorragh, masters of stealth.  To add to their 
natural skills they employ special equipment to endow them with a Chaemeleon 
like ability to blend into their surroundings, similar in part to the effect 
of a Holosuit, but much more effective and advanced.

 Wyches spend their lives perfecting the skills of gladiatorial combat.  They 
fight selected captives in the gladiatorial arenas, for the entertainment of 
those who come to watch.  The better the fight and more painful the captives 
death, the better.  The leaders of the Wyches are called Succubi.  Wyches also 
learn to control and lead Warp Beasts.  Warp Beasts are, according to the best 
Imperial sources, "spawned from the bloody nightmares of mortals", death and 
pain embodied.  Those most able to control Warp Beasts are called 
Beastmasters, whose job it is to catch these creatures, control them, fight 
them in the arena and guide them into battle.  Another subset of the Wych 
cults are Hellions, who learn to attack unexpectedly from the air from 
anti-gravitic Skyboards.

 Then there are Scourges.  Scourges carry heavy weapons and ride powerful 
wings to carry them almost effortlessly from melee to melee and out again.  
Their leaders are called Sybarites.  Other especially fast, mobile troops 
(especially in as much that the Dark Eldar tend to be highly quick and fast 
attacking anyway) are Jetbike riders.  Dark Eldar also employ fast Raider 
transports and Ravagers, a variant of the Raider with a greater array of 
awesome weaponry.  Another vehicle is the Talos, best described as a sort of 
mobile torture device with wicked electro-mechanical claws and armed with the 
unique Talos Sting for missile support.
 
 If anything is a greater enigma than the Eldar, is the Dark Eldar.  The Light 
Eldar and Dark Eldar have an uneasy relationship.  Different as they are, they 
are still distant kin, and the Dark Eldar share both the arrogance of the 
Light Eldar towards other races and their intense fear of the Great Enemy.  
The two branches of the Eldar race have been known to share objectives and 
occasionally work together, especially in cases where the Great Enemy has a 
hand in events or Eldar souls are at risk.  It has been known for the Light 
Eldar, judging a member of a "lower" race guilty of such heinious crimes that 
death itself is not enough to atone for it, to seek out the Dark Eldar and 
give the lesser mortal, quite literally, a lifetime of hell with the Dark 
Eldar Haemunculi...


15.10  Eldar Technology
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 Apart from the Eldars mastery of psychic energy, manipulating it well as 
humans do electricity.  They are also experts in anti-gravity technology, and 
are known for some unique weapons.

15.10.1  Banshee Mask
---------------------

 The Banshee Mask is a weapon worn as a mask by the Howling Banshees.  It 
contains a special psychosonic amplifier which intensifies the Eldars 
screaming battle cry to a piercing shriek.  Howling Banshees are trained how 
to release their rage as they charge into combat, and how to focus and project 
the resultant psychic scream against their enemies.  Enemies exposed to this 
psychic scream suffer almost total paralysis as their central nervous system 
is flooded with unbearable levels of psychic energy.

 The Banshee Mask is usable only within close combat range.  Rules for it can 
be found in the Wargear chapter.


15.10.2  Harlequins Kiss
------------------------

 The Harlequins Kiss is, unsurprisingly, a weapon used by the Eldar 
Harlequins, and only by them.  Its Eldar name translates to 'Kiss of Evil'.  
It is a tubular weapon that straps to the back of the forwarm.  By punching 
forward, the Harlequin releases a tightly curled 100 metre long monofilament 
wire (a wire only one molecule thick).  If the tip touches the enemy the 
filament pierces armour and slices flesh, uncoiling inside the victims body 
and reducing their insides to the consistency of soup, before the wire whips 
into the Harlequins Kiss.  Rules for the Harlequins Kiss can be found in the 
Wargear chapter.


15.10.3  Mandiblaster
---------------------

 The Helmets of the Striking Scorpions incorporate a pair of weapon pods 
positioned and shaped much like the mandibles of a scorpion.  Each pod houses 
a mandible blaster, or Mandiblaster,a unique and deadly device also known as 
the Sting of the Scorpion.  The Mandiblaster is an extremely short range 
weapon, useful only at a distance of a foot or so.  The weapon is activated by 
a psychic pick-up in the helmet, and fires a stream of tiny metallic needles 
straight forward into the target.  These needles cannot do damage themselves 
against armoured targets, but they act as a conduitive medium through which 
the Striking Scorpion delivers an intense energy sting.  This laser energy 
vaporises the tiny slivers of metal into plasma which rips through into the 
target.  The Mandiblaster is a highly effective first strike weapon which is 
designed to be used to disorientate or kill an opponent before combat is 
joined.  It is brought into play while the Aspect Warriors opponent is still a 
metre or two away, enabling the Eldar to get in close to deliver a vital 
attack before the enemy can recover.  Rules for the Mandiblaster can be found 
in the Wargear chapter.


15.10.4  Wailing Doom
---------------------

 Most of the time, the Avatar of Khaela Mensha Khaine which lies at the heart 
of every Craftworld lies motionless.  When battle is due, however, a certain 
mood takes hold in the minds of the Craftworlders, which as it gathers stirs 
the Avatar.  A ritual is held, where a lone Eldar is dressed with a special 
stole and walks into the chamber of the waking Avatar, and the great doors of 
the chamber closed.  Noone knows for sure what happens inside the chamber, but 
soon the doors open once more to reveal the firy hot metal form of the Avatar, 
the stole on his shoulders, although grown many times.  Noone speaks of the 
fate of the Eldar who enters the chamber, but he is never seen again.  The 
traditional weapon the Avatar of the Eldar god of war carries is the Wailing 
Doom, a weapon only he can use.

 The Wailing Doom is aptly named.  It shrieks as it tastes mortal flesh.  The 
Wailing Doom is not a mortal weapon, it is a part of the power of Khaela 
Mensha Khaine made solid.  The Wailing Doom is fully capable of wounding a 
daemon, unlike most mortal weapons (with the exception of Force Swords and 
related weapons).  The Wailing Doom can also be used to shoot a powerful 
energy bolt up to 24 yds.  This energy bolt too has the ability to would 
daemons.

 The Wailing Doom inflicts 8+2D6 damage.  When used as a missile weapon, it 
has a short range of 12 yds and a long range of 24 yds.


15.10.5  Shuriken Catapult
--------------------------

 The Shuriken Catapult (Eldar: 'Tuelean') and related weapons is almost unqiue 
to the Eldar.  It is built around a gravitic accelerator similar to the anti-
gravitic motors which power such vehicles as the Imperial Land Speeder.  The 
accelerator creates a peristaltic shift which hurls the Shuriken missiles, 
solid discs of razor sharp metal, out at tremendous velocity.  A burst of 
several discs can be fired in a fraction of a second in this way.  The discs 
are usually star shaped, but may be triangular or circular.  Shuriken 
Capatults are also known as Star Slingers, Slingers or Sling Guns, and can 
easily slice through flesh and bone.  Rules for the Shuriken Catapult can be 
found in the Wargear chapter.


15.10.6  Shuriken Pistol
------------------------

 The Shuriken Pistol (Eldar: 'Murehk') is a pistol version of the larger 
Shuriken Catapult.  Although smaller, and less powerful, its missiles are the 
same as used in its larger cousin.  Rules for the Shuriken Pistol can be found 
in the Wargear section.


15.10.7  Death Spinner Monofilament Gun
---------------------------------------

 Also known simply as the Spinner, the Death Spinner is based on a similar 
concept to the Harlequins Kiss and the larger Doom Weaver support weapon.  All 
of these weapons project a long thread of monofilament wire, a technology 
unique to the Eldar.  The Spinner has a magnetic containment field which 
spools the wire together and hurls it at the enemy in a rapidly expanding 
mist-like mass called a Spinner Cloud.  Where the tendrils touch flesh or 
finds chinks in armour, the Spinner pierces the body and uncoils inside the 
victim, reducing them to the consistency of chicken soup.  Rules for the Death 
Spinner can be found in the Wargear chapter.

15.10.8  Laser Lance
--------------------

 The Laser Lance is the tall laser carried by the Shining Spears and Exodite 
dragon knights.  It has a short range but is very powerful.  It can be 
discharged upon physical contact making it ideal for a close pass.  The Laser 
Lance, however, is too clumsy to be otherwise used in protracted close 
combat.  Rules for the Laser Lance can be found in the Wargear chapter.


15.10.9  Pack Grenade Launcher
------------------------------

 The Pack Grenade Launcher (Eldar: 'Creidann') consists of a light pack 
harness that fits onto the shoulders.  It is loaded with grenades that are 
fired over the wearers shoulder.  The grenades are fitted with whistles to 
make them shriek as they climb and a sombre drone as they plummet toward their 
target.  Rules for the Pack Grenade Launcher can be found in the Wargear 
chapter.


15.10.10  Swooping Hawk Grenade Pack
------------------------------------

 This is a basic launcher used exclusively by the Swooping Hawks.  It straps 
onto the Aspect Warriors leg, allowing him to drop grenades on the enemy below 
as he flies over them.  Single grenades can be taken from the pack and thrown 
normally.  It can be loaded with either Frag or Krak grenades.


15.10.11  Wraithcannon
----------------------

 Where Imperial Space Marines have Dreadnoughts, so the Eldar have 
Wraithguard, machines powered and piloted by the consciousness of a long dead 
Eldar drawn from the Infinity Circuit, the Craftworlds wraithbone core.  The 
primary weapon carried by Wraithguard is the Wraithcannon.  The weapon creates 
a temporary rift between reality and warp space within the target, tearing it 
apart or warping it a distance away.  The effects are similar to the D-Cannon, 
but the results are more tightly controlled and more accurate.  Rules for the 
Wraithcannon can be found in the Wargear chapter.


15.10.12  Shuriken Shrieker Cannon
----------------------------------

 The Shuriken Cannon (Eldar: 'Buanna') is a larger version of the Shuriken 
Catapult with a longer barrel.  It can fire either normal Shuriken ammunition, 
or special Shrieker ammo (Eldar: 'Margrech').  The special Shrieker ammo is 
hollow and contains a genetically tailored enzyme-based serum.  As the missile 
hits the centripetal forces on the spinning disc force the serum through 
microscopic holes and into the target.  The characteristic shrieking noise is 
caused by the rush of air into the hollow missile as serum is forced into the 
victim, so that Imperial forces christened it the Shrieker Cannon.   The serum 
works to combine with the victims own genetic material, twisting and 
distorting tissues and causing organs to malfunction in spectacular fashion.  
Eventually the subject is driven into a violent delirium as the serum reaches 
his brain and he loses control of his body.  Finally the serum reacts 
explosively with the victims natural fluids.  Rules for the Shuriken Cannon can 
be found in the Wargear chapter.


15.10.13  Distort Cannon
------------------------

 The Distort Cannon, or D-Cannon, is a large support weapon and often mounted 
on an anti-gravity platform.  It creates a rift between real space and the 
Warp in a beam fired at its target.  The target is wrenched momentarily 
between reality and Warpspace.  This massive internal distortion tears the 
target apart, and usually destroys it.  Living creatures are instantly burst 
apart, vehicles and other constructions ripped to pieces and wrecked.  Local 
spatial distortion around the target can also cause some apparent movement of 
anyone nearby.  Rules for the D-Cannon can be found in the Wargear chapter.


15.10.14  Scatter Laser
-----------------------

 The Scatter Laser (Eldar: 'Sierbahn') is another large support weapon, 
mounted on War Walkers and Dreadnoughts, and also sometimes mounted on its own 
gravitic platform.  It is similar to the Imperial Multi-laser, but far more 
refined and accurate.  It has six laser chambers which may be fired 
simultaneously or at separate targets.  Rules for the Scatter Laser can be 
found in the Wargear chapter.


15.10.15  Vibro-Cannon
----------------------

 Another support weapon mounted on a gravitic platform, the Vibro-Cannon uses 
resonant force as a powerful means of destruction.  A vehicle hit by a 
Vibro-cannon shakes violently and may fall apart, troops are flung to the 
ground and even the ground itself can be ripped apart by shock waves.  The 
weapon is directed at a specific target on the battlefield, but its effects 
are felt at all points lying on a straight line along the ground between the 
target point and the location of the weapon.  A particularly frightening 
application of the Vibro-cannon can be seen when two cross their fire on a 
single target, as the ground is torn apart explosively.  Rules for the 
Vibro-cannon can be found in the Wargear chapter.


15.10.16  Falcons, Wave Serpents and Fire Prisms
------------------------------------------------

 These are not weapons, but vehicles.  They are transports and attack tanks of 
various sizes, propelled by anti-grav fields and furnished with an array of 
weapons.  %%%

15.10.17  Bright Lance
----------------------

 The Bright Lance fires a beam of energy highly effective in annihilating 
anything it strikes.  It is a heavy weapon especially effective against 
heavily armoured vehicles, whose defences have increasingly less effect on the 
beam the thicker their armour is.  Range is 72 yds, damage is 4+9D6.  A 
smaller, hand held, version of the Dark Lance is the Blaster, whose range is 
24 yds and causes 8+6D6 damage.
 The Disintegrator fires a particle of dark matter, in a similar way to that 
which a Plasma Cannon fires super-heated plasma.  It can be set to fire either 
a large bolt (range 72 yds, damage 4+8D6) or a burst of smaller bolts 
(range 48 yds, damage 7+6D6).


15.11  Dark Eldar Technology
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

15.11.1  Agoniser
-----------------

 An Agoniser is a close combat weapon that affects a targets nervous system, 
causing such severe pain that they can disable or even kill even the largest 
opponent.  They come in a variety of types, but most take the form of a 
gauntlet.  Agonisers do not follow the normal rules for calculating damage on 
a successful hit.  Instead, test against the targets Toughness.  Failure means 
an automatic, unmodified D6 Wounds are inflicted, regardless of Stength, 
Toughness and armour.  Even marginal successes to the Toughness test are 
punished - if the test was only passed by 10 points or less, D3 Wounds are 
inflicted, again regardless of Strength, Toughness and armour.

15.11.2  Dark Lance, Blaster and Disintegrator
----------------------------------------------

 The Dark Lance fires a beam of dark energy highly effective in annihilating 
anything it strikes.  It is a heavy weapon especially effective against 
heavily armoured vehicles, whose defences have increasingly less effect on the 
beam the thicker their armour is.  Range is 72 yds, damage is 4+9D6.  A 
smaller, hand held, version of the Dark Lance is the Blaster, whose range is 
24 yds and causes 8+6D6 damage.
 The Disintegrator fires a particle of dark matter, in a similar way to that 
which a Plasma Cannon fires super-heated plasma.  It can be set to fire either 
a large bolt (range 72 yds, damage 4+8D6) or a burst of smaller bolts 
(range 48 yds, damage 7+6D6).

 The origin of the 'dark energy' these weapons fire is unknown, although there 
are a number of theses claiming that it can be found in black holes, 
Warpstorms, and other celestial phenomena of great magnitude.  It reacts 
catastrophically with its target, producing a blast capable of destroying any 
vehicle regardless of its armour, or totally vapourising a foot soldier.  How 
the Dark Eldar contain or create this is unknown.  The Disintegrator fires a 
more unstable form of this dark matter.

15.11.3  Crucible of Malediction
--------------------------------

 These contain the tortured souls and psychic cries of captured psykers, 
flayed to within an inch of their lives - and then beyond.  When released, the 
souls shriek over the battlefield, crying out on a psychic frequency audible 
only to other psykers.  The despair and pain inherent in those cries is enough 
to stun an enemy psyker, or in some cases even drive them insane.  Any 
non-Dark Eldar psyker within 48 yds must pass a WP test or at the very least 
be unable to act for one round.  Further effects are at the GMs discretion.

15.11.4  Destructor
-------------------

 Used almost exclusively by Haemunculi, this fires a spray of virulent organo-
acidic compounds, which can melt through armour and sear flesh.  The effects 
of these toxins can include blood vessel explosion or implosion, pharyngal 
contraction, extensive haemolysis, skeletal disintegration, sclerotic 
corrosion, intercostal spasms, hyper-reacted thermoreceptors and 
chemoreceptors, eustachian damage, retinal scarring, cardiac and respiratory 
atrophy and aqueous humour deprivation.  In simple terms, the victims are 
hideously blinded and disorientated, their skin feels as if it is burning, 
their respiration and even the circulation of their blood is erratic and 
extremely painful.  Damage is caused over a cone shaped area extending 16 yds 
from the weapon, with a maximum width of 5 yds.  Any hit suffer 4+2D6 damage, 
with other effects (blinding, permanent disfigurement, etc.) at the GMs 
discretion.

15.11.5  Hellglaive
-------------------

 This is the weapon of the Wych Hellions.  It incorporates a Splinter Rifle 
and a set of vicious cutting blades that are capable of slicing a man in 
half.  If used as a close combar weapon, the Hellglaive counts as a spear for 
purposes of WS and damage modifiers.  The Hellglaive requires two hands to 
use.

15.11.6  Hellion Skyboard
-------------------------

 Hellions soar through the air on Skyboards; flat, durable boards propelled by 
anti-gravitic motors.  They move at M6 and may ignore difficult ground terrain.

15.11.7  Hell Mask
------------------

 Similar in principle to the Banshee Masks of the Light Eldar, these generate 
an aura that causes unnatural dread.  Characters fighting someone wearing a 
Hell Mask must either avoid looking at the Mask, or else fight off this 
psychological invasion in their minds.  If the former, they suffer at the 
minimum a -10 WS penalty, possibly higher at the GMs fiat.  If the latter, 
they must make a series of WP rolls.  On a successful roll, they can push out 
the Hell Masks effects for a number of rounds equal to the amount they make 
the roll by divided by ten (round up - so that if someone had WP 29 and rolled 
43, 43-29=14 -> 14/10=1.4 -> 2 rounds).  If the roll is failed, however, they 
must flee the combat as best they can immediately.

15.11.8  Punisher
-----------------

 The Punisher comes in a great range of shapes and forms, all of them 
two-handed close combat weapons.  It incorporates a Shock Field generator, 
with a similar effect to that of the Power weapon family.  It is used 
exclusively by Dark Eldar Incubi.  It causes 6+1D6 damage.  Examples of these 
and other Dark Eldar close combat weapons have been recovered by Imperial 
analysts, and they employ a method of power generation and transference as yet 
not understood.

15.11.9  Shadow Field
---------------------

 This is a special protection field, surrounding the character with a dark 
miasma of energy.  It absorbs the energy of any hits upon it, making the 
wearer almost immune to damage as long as it works.  However, if the field 
is overloaded, it cuts out and the field is destroyed.  Only the attention of 
an appropriately skilled technician can make the field work again.  For this 
reason they are rarely used.  They provide the same protection as a Conversion 
Field, with the proviso that if any damage ever penetrates the field it is 
overloaded and cuts out, requiring maintenance as mentioned above.

15.11.10  Soul Seeker Ammunition
--------------------------------

 The Dark Eldar use captured Wraithbone looted from the bodies of slain Eldar 
Wraithguard to make a special kind of ammunition that 'homes in' on the 
enemy.  'To hit' rolls made using Soul Seeker ammunition may be re-rolled on a 
miss.  If the second roll is also a miss, that result stands.  Soul Seeker 
ammunition may only be used with a Splinter Rifle, Splinter Pistol, Tormentor 
Helm or Hellglaive.

15.11.11  Splinter Pistol, Splinter Rifle, Splinter Cannon
----------------------------------------------------------

 The Splinter Rifle is the standard armament of the Dark Eldar.  It fires 
poisonous, monomolecular splinters of some unknown material.  They have a 
range of 48 yds and inflict 4+4D6 damage.  A Splinter Pistol is a smaller 
version of the Splinter Rifle, the only disadvantage of its smaller size being 
a more limited range of 24 yds.  The Splinter Cannon is a larger, more 
efficient and recoil-less support weapon version of the Splinter Rifle, with 96 
yds range and causing 6+6D6 damage.

15.11.12  Shredder
------------------

 The Shredder is a Dark Eldar weapon drawing on the technology of the Light 
Eldar.  It unleashes a web or mesh of monofilament wire, often with miniscule 
barbs or serrations along its lines.  This entangles the victim, slicing them 
to pieces as they struggle.  It causes 6+5D6 damage over a range of 36 yds.

15.11.13  Stinger
-----------------

 A Stinger fires darts containing a virus serum.  The virus, if it gets into 
contact with the targets blood, creates anti-bodies that react with the 
targets natural metabolism to create explosive by-products.  It can, quite 
literally, cause the target to explode.  If hit and wounded by a Stinger, a 
character must roll against his/her Toughness.  If passed, either it fails to 
penetrate to the bloodstream or the bodies defences fight the virus off before 
it does too much damage.  If failed, the victim explodes, causing a S6 
explosion over a radius of 1.5 yards.  In working out whether the Stinger 
wounds a target, it has a S of 4.

15.11.14  Terrorfex
-------------------

 The Terrorfex is a wrist-mounted grenade launcher that fires grenades made 
from captured Eldar Wraithbone.  The effect of this causes is to produce 
nightmarish, psychically induced visions that terrify the users enemies.  
Characters affected by the visions are mentally stunned, unable to take any 
action until a WP roll is passed.  The roll may be retaken every round.

15.11.15  Tormentor Helm
------------------------

 This is worn by Incubi, and incorporates a neurally activated Splinter Pistol 
that can be fired by thought alone.  This means it can be used even if the 
user is carrying something in both hands.

15.11.16  Webway Portal
-----------------------

 This is a mobile form of the portal used by the Dark Eldar to link together 
places via the Webway.  Examples of these have been found by the Imperial 
authorities on worlds and stations ransacked by the Dark Eldar.  How they work 
is as yet a mystery to the Tech-Adepts of Mars.


15.12  Famous Craftworlds
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 The Eldar took to many Craftworlds, and some have become famous, or even 
infamous.  The names of Ulthwe, Biel-Tan, Alaitoc, Iyanden, Iybraesil, 
Saim-Hann and other craftworlds are familiar to many races of the Galaxy.  
Each Craftworld has its own distinct colours, its own culture and 
"personality".

15.12.1  Ulthwe and Altansar
----------------------------

 The Craftworld of Ulthwe lies closest to what is now the Eye of Terror.  It 
has suffered much from Chaos attacks, and its colours are black and yellow.  
Black, because it is the colour of mourning, and this Craftworld has much to 
mourn for.  The warriors of this Craftworld wear black armour with yellow 
helmets.

 Altansar also used to lie close to the Eye of Terror, but got too close.  It 
got pulled in, and was lost.  The Craftworld is mourned for among the Eldar as 
the first shrine of the Dark Reapers, and once home of Maugan Ra, Exarch of 
that Aspect.

15.12.2  Biel-Tan
-----------------

 Biel-Tan is located towards the southern rim of the Galaxy.  Among the Eldar 
the Biel-Tan have a well deserved reputation for being warlike, and it is they 
who most strive to rebuild the ancient Eldar empire.  The name Biel-Tan itself 
means "rebirth of ancient days".  They place much more emphasis on the Path of 
the Warrior than do other Craftworlds, and believe that if a new Eldar empire 
is to be forged it must be done in the heat of battle.  While most Craftworlds 
armies are mainly composed of Guardians, Biel-Tan has a proportionately larger 
number of Aspect Warriors.  On Biel-Tan, the Guardians are a secondary force, 
to be used only in the greatest peril or need.  The traditional colours of 
Biel-Tan are green and white.  The few Guardians on Biel-Tan wear light grey or 
pale green with dark green helmets.

 The very real "military" personality of Biel-Tan has implications in the way 
it is run.  The Court of the Young King, composed of Exarchs, has as much power 
on Biel-Tan as the traditional Council of Seers.  Every year, an Exarch is 
chosen and named as the Young King, who joins the Court of the Young King and 
will be the one whom is sacrificed to Khaela Menha Khaine should the 
Craftworld go to war in that time.  The Court of the Young King, therefore, is 
composed of the current Young King and the collection of Exarchs who have 
served as the Young King but have not been required to sacrifice themselves to 
the Avatar.  As the Court of the Young King holds more power on Biel-Tan than 
the Exarchs on many other Craftworlds, it is more often that Biel-Tan goes to 
war.  The assembled warhost of Biel-Tan is composed mainly of its Aspect 
Warriors, and known as the Bahzhakhain, or "Swordwind".  The Swordwind relies 
on a single attack, attacking in one swift blow.

 The Swordwind is particulary effective against alien colonies, whom the 
Biel-Tan attack as a threat to the future growth of the Eldar race.  The 
Imperium must provide heavy garrisons for newly-settled worlds on the southern 
rim to protect them from Eldar attack.  Orks are also a favourite target of 
the Biel-Tan.  Often the Biel-Tan have joined with Imperial forces to turn 
back Orks or other aliens, only to turn on their Imperial allies when the 
enemy has been destroyed.  The Biel-Tan also see it as their duty to protect 
the Exodite worlds from invasion.  As the Biel-Tan see it, when the Eldar 
emerge from the shadows to reclaim the Galaxy, the Exodite worlds will be the 
first staging points to conquering the alien worlds that litter the Galaxy.

15.12.3  Alaitoc
----------------

 Alaitoc is on the frontiers of the Galaxy, a sprawling zone of petty empires 
and outlaw worlds.  Its Guardians wear blue costumes with yellow helmets.

15.12.4  Iyanden
----------------

 Iyanden was once one of the largest Craftworlds, but is now partly ruinous 
due to a devestating Tyranid attack.  Caught in the path of the Tyranid hive 
fleets, and like all Craftworlds lacking any Warp travel capability to escape 
the Tyranid path, it was only a matter of time before Iyanden was at war.  It 
survived, but only just.  Its Guardians wear yellow uniforms with helmets in a 
contrasting colour, usually blue.

15.12.5  Saim-Hann
------------------

 Saim-Hann is the most wild and barbaric of the large Craftworlds, where the 
Way of the Warrior is least stringent and controlled.  It has a high number of 
Exarchs and Aspect Warriors (though not as many as Biel-Tan).  Its Guardians 
wear red or bright orange armour, with contrasting black or white helmets.


15.13  The Phoenix Lords
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

 The Phoenix Lords are the legendary founders of the Aspect Temples on the 
Craftworlds.  Each has its own Phoenix Lord, one who is destined to eternally 
die, only to be reinvigorated by someone finding the armour and becoming the 
Phoenix Lord in turn.  The personality of each Phoenix Lord is an emalgomate 
of those whom have worn the armour over the eons since they were born 
following the Eldar Fall.  It is said these mighty Exarchs will finally meet 
their deaths at the Rhana Dandra, the final battle against Chaos.

15.13.1  Asurmen - the first Phoenix Lord
-----------------------------------------

 Asurmen was the first Aspect Warrior, the first Exarch, and the first Phoenix 
Lord.  He taught the other Phoenix Lords in the art of war, and travelled the 
Craftworlds creating the Aspect of the Dire Avengers.  He carries the Sword of 
Asur.

15.13.2  Jain Zar - the Storm of Silence
----------------------------------------

 Jain Zar, the first disciple of Asurmen, is the founder of the Howling 
Banshee Aspect.  She carries the Blade of Destruction and the Jainas Mor 
(or "Silent Death", a triple bladed throwing weapon that always returns to her 
hand.

15.13.3  Baharroth - the Cry of the Wind
----------------------------------------

 The founder of the Swooping Hawks, Baharroth learned the arts of war from 
Asurmen himself while the Fall was a living memory in the minds of the Eldar.  
As Asurmen was the first Exarch, and Jain Zar his first chosen, so Baharroth 
wis believed to have been his finest pupil.

15.13.4  Karandras - the Shadow Hunter
--------------------------------------

 Legends of Karandras the Shadow Hunter tell of one of the most mysterious of 
all the Phoenix Lords.  No one knows where he originally came from, but it is 
thought he was not the first Exarch of the Striking Scorpions.  It is said 
that before him was one called Arhra, the Father of Scorpions, and that Arhra 
turned to the darkness and waged war upon his own kin.  Eventually he fled 
into the Webway to become the Fallen Phoenix.  The shrine of Asurmen was 
destroyed by the Fallen Phoenix.

15.13.5  Fuegan - the Burning Lance
-----------------------------------

 Fuegan founded the Aspect of the Fire Dragons.  He was thought lost when he 
refused to flee the destruction of the temple of Asurmen by the Fallen 
Phoenix, but reappeared hundreds of years later.  He carries the Firepike and 
the Fire Axe.  It is said that Fuegan will call together the Phoenix Lords for 
the Rhana Dandra, and that he will be last to die in that conflict.

15.13.6  Maugan Ra - the Harvester of Souls
-------------------------------------------

 It is said that Maugan Ra is the only survivor of Altansar, the Craftworld 
dragged to its doom in the Eye of Terror.  Maugan Ra founded the Dark 
Reapers.  He carries the Maugetar and wears the morbidly decorated armour of 
his now destroyed temple.


15.14  Profiles
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 Guardian, Typical Craftworld Eldar
 M  WS  BS  S  T  W  I   A  Dex Ld Int Cl  WP  Fel
 4  41  34  3  3  5  60  1  40  43 66  66  43  30

 Exodite Farmer
 M  WS  BS  S  T  W  I   A  Dex Ld Int Cl  WP  Fel
 4  41  34  3  3  5  60  1  40  43 66  66  43  30

 Khaela Mensha Khaine, Avatar of (causes Terror)
 M  WS  BS  S  T  W  I   A  Dex Ld Int Cl  WP  Fel
 6  89  89  8  8  41 100 5  70  89 89  89  89  14

 Aspect Warrior, Dire Avenger
 M  WS  BS  S  T  W  I   A  Dex Ld Int Cl  WP  Fel
 5  41  34  3  3  5  60  1  40  66 66  66  43  30

 Aspect Warrior, Fire Dragon
 M  WS  BS  S  T  W  I   A  Dex Ld Int Cl  WP  Fel
 5  41  34  3  3  5  40  1  40  43 66  66  43  30

 Aspect Warrior, Howling Banshee
 M  WS  BS  S  T  W  I   A  Dex Ld Int Cl  WP  Fel
 6  41  34  3  3  5  60  1  40  66 66  66  43  30

 Aspect Warrior, Striking Scorpion
 M  WS  BS  S  T  W  I   A  Dex Ld Int Cl  WP  Fel
 5  41  34  3  3  5  60  1  40  66 66  66  43  30

 Aspect Warrior, Swooping Hawk
 M  WS  BS  S  T  W  I   A  Dex Ld Int Cl  WP  Fel
 5  41  34  3  3  5  60  1  40  66 66  66  43  30

 Aspect Warrior, Dark Reaper
 M  WS  BS  S  T  W  I   A  Dex Ld Int Cl  WP  Fel
 4  41  34  3  3  5  60  1  40  43 66  66  43  30

 Aspect Warrior, Warp Spider
 M  WS  BS  S  T  W  I   A  Dex Ld Int Cl  WP  Fel
 4  41  34  3  3  5  60  1  40  43 66  66  43  30

 Aspect Warrior, Shining Spear
 M  WS  BS  S  T  W  I   A  Dex Ld Int Cl  WP  Fel
 5  41  34  3  3  5  60  1  40  66 66  66  43  30

 Seer, Warlock (psyker)
 M  WS  BS  S  T  W  I   A  Dex Ld Int Cl  WP  Fel
 5  41  34  3  4  5  70  1  40  66 66  66  43  30

 Seer, Farseer (psyker)
 M  WS  BS  S  T  W  I   A  Dex Ld Int Cl  WP  Fel
 5  65  62  4  5  15 90  3  40  89 66  66  43  30

 Craftworld Scout
 M  WS  BS  S  T  W  I   A  Dex Ld Int Cl  WP  Fel
 5  33  25  3  3  5  40  1  40  43 66  66  43  30

 Exarch
 M  WS  BS  S  T  W  I   A  Dex Ld Int Cl  WP  Fel
 5  57  52  4  4  11 80  2  40  89 66  66  43  30

 Phoenix Lord
 M  WS  BS  S  T  W  I   A  Dex Ld Int Cl  WP  Fel
 5  65  62  5  5  17 80  3  50  89 66  66  43  30

 Harlequin, Typical
 M  WS  BS  S  T  W  I   A  Dex Ld Int Cl  WP  Fel
 6  49  43  3  3  5  70  1  40  89 66  66  43  30

 Harlequin, Shadow Seer (psyker)
 M  WS  BS  S  T  W  I   A  Dex Ld Int Cl  WP  Fel
 6  65  62  4  5  15 90  3  40  89 66  66  43  30

 Harlequin, Great Harlequin (troupe leader)
 M  WS  BS  S  T  W  I   A  Dex Ld Int Cl  WP  Fel
 6  65  62  4  4  17 90  3  40  89 66  66  43  30

 Harlequin, Death Jester
 M  WS  BS  S  T  W  I   A  Dex Ld Int Cl  WP  Fel
 6  57  52  4  4  11 90  2  40  89 66  66  43  30

 Harlequin, Solitaire
 M  WS  BS  S  T  W  I   A  Dex Ld Int Cl  WP  Fel
 6  73  72  4  4  17 90  3  40  89 66  66  43  30

 Light Eldar Pirate
 M  WS  BS  S  T  W  I   A  Dex Ld Int Cl  WP  Fel
 5  33  25  3  3  5  40  1  40  43 66  66  43  30

 Dark Eldar
 M  WS  BS  S  T  W  I   A  Dex Ld Int Cl  WP  Fel
 5  41  34  3  3  6  50  1  40  43 56  43  66  33

 Dark Eldar Archon
 M  WS  BS  S  T  W  I   A  Dex Ld Int Cl  WP  Fel
 5  57  52  3  3  12 70  3  40  66 66  66  66  53

 Dark Eldar Dracon
 M  WS  BS  S  T  W  I   A  Dex Ld Int Cl  WP  Fel
 5  49  34  3  3  10 60  2  40  66 61  66  66  43

 Dark Eldar Haemonculus
 M  WS  BS  S  T  W  I   A  Dex Ld Int Cl  WP  Fel
 5  41  34  3  4  11 40  2  60  43 61  43  66  33

 Dark Eldar Incubus
 M  WS  BS  S  T  W  I   A  Dex Ld Int Cl  WP  Fel
 5  49  34  3  3  6  50  1  40  43 61  43  66  33

 Dark Eldar Grotesque
 M  WS  BS  S  T  W  I   A  Dex Ld Int Cl  WP  Fel
 4  41  0   4  3  11 30  2  30  18 24  24  24  33

 Dark Eldar Wych
 M  WS  BS  S  T  W  I   A  Dex Ld Int Cl  WP  Fel
 5  41  34  3  3  6  60  1  40  43 61  43  66  33

 Dark Eldar Wych Succubus
 M  WS  BS  S  T  W  I   A  Dex Ld Int Cl  WP  Fel
 5  41  34  3  3  6  60  2  40  43 66  43  66  33

 Dark Eldar Beastmaster
 M  WS  BS  S  T  W  I   A  Dex Ld Int Cl  WP  Fel
 5  41  34  3  3  6  60  1  40  43 61  43  66  33

 Warp Beast
 M  WS  BS  S  T  W  I   A  Dex Ld Int Cl  WP  Fel
 6  41  0   4  3  6  50  3  0   10 10  89  10  0

 Dark Eldar Mandrake
 M  WS  BS  S  T  W  I   A  Dex Ld Int Cl  WP  Fel
 5  41  34  3  3  6  50  1  40  43 61  43  66  33

 Dark Eldar Sybarite
 M  WS  BS  S  T  W  I   A  Dex Ld Int Cl  WP  Fel
 5  41  34  3  3  6  50  2  40  43 61  43  66  33

 Dark Eldar Hellion
 M  WS  BS  S  T  W  I   A  Dex Ld Int Cl  WP  Fel
 5  41  34  3  3  6  60  1  40  43 61  43  66  33

 Dark Eldar Scourge
 M  WS  BS  S  T  W  I   A  Dex Ld Int Cl  WP  Fel
 5  41  34  3  3  6  50  1  40  43 61  43  66  33

