Astral Bulwark

The **Astral Bulwark** are a mighty aspect of brave and fool hardy Aeldari warriors. Mandated to protect their kin and fell the mightiest of enemies they have operated wide across the Aeldari empire, answering the call for aid of many exodite worlds and minor craftworlds. The nature of their work, and their unfortunate history has prevented them from accruing the fame to spread across the entire Aeldari empire – however with each victory their numbers grow and mythology spreads. The Astral Bulwark use shimmer shields and plasma guns to great effect and deliberately draw fire away from their allied forces.

## Overview

### Mythology

Ither was a faithful servant to Asurmen, and viewed like a mother figure to the Phoenix Lords, having lost her children to the fall of the Aeldari Ither naturally took to protecting the group, becoming its shield as well as another of its weapons. However it was because of this that the Phoenix Lords lost Ither, as she wandered to attack the gathering armies that surrounded the Phoenix Lords. In her attack she became stranded and could not return to help Akhliss (Another would be Phoenix Lord) defend Asurmen at his time of need. Ither eventually escaped the eye of terror and found stranded Aeldari factions. She raised warriors to battle as she did, and when she finally met Asurmen once more she brought an army of like minded warriors. Asurmen ascended her to a Phoenix Lord, armed and armoured the Astral Bulwark as the Aspect Warriors they would become and from then on they constructed shrines to Ither alongside the existing Lords. However the delay in their reunion meant that only the last of the Craftworlds to encounter the Phoenix Lords were introduced to the Astral Bulwark and built temples for them.

### Culture

The Shrines of the Astral Bulwark, aside those built for them by Asurmen, are minimalist constructs open to the public. The Aspect are community driven, the Asuryani drawn to the Aspect are those driven to protect and defend their communities, often fighting the struggle, the need, to be overbearingly protective of their loved ones. Often older siblings or parents facing the changing environment of their maturing significant other. These Aspect Warriors are exercising this suffocating need to protect the vulnerable at their expense, to let go. As a result they are community focused, holding public games, and other community centred activities such as sharing stories around nighttime campfires and meals with anyone who visits.

That said, many Exarchs roam as Nomads, bringing their charges with them and training the next generation on the move. This may be tied directly to their Phoenix Lord’s behaviour, or tied to their drive to protect every Craftworld and every Maiden world there is. This practice sees the Astral Bulwark accompany Exodites and Corsairs on a more common basis than other Aspect Shrines. Ither likewise exemplifies this behaviour, though all Phoenix Lords roam the galaxy with their own students, Ither does so with the greatest intensity.

One notable quirk of the Astral Bulwark is a habit their Aspect Warriors make, to collect feathers from wild bird species they meet across the Maiden Worlds and Craftworlds of the Aeldari. Catching the birds or free feathers high in the air to prove their agility. After each battle they award themselves the same feathers to adorn their armour for each kill, and for each ally saved.

### Notable Shrines

* **Ither's Children** - Though many of Ither's Exarchs departed to build temples of their own a number remained still directly under Ithers command. The 'Children of Ither' still have a number of the original exodites and craftworlders that joined Ither's crusade. The atypical shrine has highly individual and variable warriors with the greatest divergence from the Astral Bulwarks style. Under the direct tutelage of Ither and forged in the continuous battle of her crusade her, children are simply the best of Astral Bulwark, they are it's finest fighters.
* **Wings of Starlight** - This shrine has mastered the art of defence and shielding their brethren. They enhance their shields and train to intercept attacks more quickly than their siblings' shrines, and excel at returning the attacks into the enemy's ranks.
* **Sunburst** - Having mastered the art of furious assault, this shrine is unmatched in incandescent plasma volleys, augmenting their Starifles with faster RoF and even carrying Starcarbines among the base aspect warriors.
* **The Eagle's Talons** - This radical shrine has become melee oriented, carrying powered blades and overcharging their shields to burn through their enemy. They race into melee to halt the assault troops of enemy charges. These Exarchs are also known for reckless use of plasma grenades.
* **Falcon's Dive** - This shrine has specialised in special warfare operations behind the battlelines to sabotage and destroy the enemy before the battle utilising the unique equipment available to the Astral Bulwark - in a complete divergence from the standard teachings. Silencing the weapons so that they needn't be intercepted. The Falcon's Dive are controversial amongst their sibling shrines, but their effectiveness is not under question. Their Stardrops are cloaked to allow infiltration behind enemy lines.
* **Titanium Swifts** - No shrine can travel faster, or with greater fury than the Titanium Swifts. Individual fighters of rarely met skill, the Swifts cut a path of death towards HVTs within the enemy ranks and disrupt the enemy battlelines before vanishing in the steam of their Starifles.

## Aspect Warriors

### Role on the Battlefield

The Astral Bulwark specialise in providing a mobile shield, and cover fire to their allies. Tearing apart heavy infantry and light vehicles with their Star Rifles, and parrying equally fierce return fire. To maintain their place in the front line, and to position their shields to deflect (rather than absorb) enemy fire they use evasive thrusters for short ranged but rapid movement. These jets allow the aspect warriors to rapidly climb buildings, and fall from great heights without injury. Along with their light armour this allows a movement speed that is one of the fastest of the Aspects, behind the Swooping Hawks and Warp Spiders and behind the agility of the Howling Banshees. Along with their rapid movement the Astral Bulwark is fully capable of utilising their shields and Star rifles on the move, retaining lethal accuracy with the help of their visor. The aspect’s visors have enhanced capabilities, plotting the predicted path of projectiles. This is combined with chemical enhancement allowing the Astral Bulwarks a predictive ability - this particular trait is the most demanding factor in Aspect Warrior selection, with many recruits turned off the path should their bodies react badly to the drugs or their mind be inadequate to process the visors input.

While the Astral Bulwark have no preferred ally in combat, they are complemented by the Warp Spiders and Fire Dragons in their respective abilities against light infantry hordes and heavy armour. However the Astral Bulwark are best fielded with units that need to draw close to the enemy under danger of fire and therefore are often sent ahead of Howling Banshees and Fire Dragons. Their particular benefit to the charge of Fire Dragons has given the former a certain reverence from the latter.

When first deploying to a battlefield the Astral Bulwark often utilise Star-Drops; Cut down jetbikes with basic holoshields, that the Aspect Warriors can use to get straight to the front line. If need be they can use their evasive thrusters to slow down at the last second.

### Wargear

The Astral Bulwark have access to a selection of devastating weaponry with a common theme of Plasma.

* **Starifle** - The standard weapon of the Astral Bulwark, a smaller variant of the starcannon that can shred through heavy armour with its volatile plasma, but is limited in its rate of fire.
* **Aspect Armour** - The Bulwark's armour is minimalist, to maximise use of their thrusters, allowing acrobatic feats. Their shield provides all the protection they need. The Astral Bulwark aesthetic includes feathers and bone designs – an influence from the Exodites that formed many of their initial recruits. The helm is decorated with a crest of feathers and a beak-like mask. Their boots are upgraded with claws and cleats that are useful when holding onto rough terrain, since both hands are occupied with their rifle and shield.
* **Astral Shield** - An advanced shimmershield given to each aspect warrior, and Exarch. It runs along the length of the upper arm, as well as the lower, which allows its field to be controlled by the warrior. As well as absorbing wide attacks with an open shield, the Bulwark are adept at closing their shield and angling the energy field to deflect precise attacks. Though it is uncommon, the Bulwark can and will whenever possible deflect attacks back into their enemies ranks. More often it is simply deflected away from allies.
* **Evasive Thrusters** - Two small jets that sit on the lower back that can propel the warrior a couple of metres to either flank, or allow enhanced leaps. Further the jets can enhance their sprinting speeds and reduce fatigue – the Astral Bulwark accelerate ahead of their kin, and often steal the march of their enemies. The aspect warriors become so in-tuned to their jets that they use them instinctively.
* **Chrono-Chems** - Small chem injectors enhance Aspect Warriors perception of time and reflex speed, allowing them to intercept and deflect weapons that even Aeldari reflexes would have trouble meeting; Name las weaponry. Even if they cannot react to the weapons trail, they will perfectly anticipate them.
* **Hawk's Eyes** - Specialist eye pieces that not only have greater field of view that standard aspect helms, but predictively plots the path of projectiles that combined with the Chrono-chems allows the Astral Bulwark to deflect and intercept attacks beyond their innate ability.

### Exarch

The Exarch is a power house in offence, to protect their squad by destroying threats before they can act. However the Exarch can choose precision, wide spread, or close range damage.

* **Starcarbine** - A specially reinforced Starifle that utilises 'The Fire of Vaul'. A specialist mix of plasma that's bolts on impact explode violently covering the small area in corrosive superheated plasma. Considered the classical weapon for Exarchs and the most well balanced.
* **Eviscerator** - Two handed support weapon that fires a spread of volatile plasma like a flamer-thrower or shotgun. Devastating at close range but unwieldy as the Exarch can only carry their Astral shield in its open form.
* **Solarflare** - Able to vent plasma like a grenade, and quickly reload through the cable, a Exarch wielding this Plasma based flail can create a barrage of grenade-equivalent detonation in the midst of a melee or at close range. The plasma conducting flail can move under it’s own strength at the simplest thought of the wielder – allowing the flail to bypass opponents guard, extend, and move in unnatural directions. The Plasma coated club is deadly as a direct instrument while the charge is regenerating.
* **Star Visor** - A single use 'vent' of enriched plasma from two ports that sit on the temples of the helmet. Used at short range the visor is an efficient executor, and can be used to 'break' armour for follow up attacks.
* **Coldstar Grenade** - A pressurised grenade containing supercooled ions that spreads into a wide cloud upon detonation. The cloud itself is mostly harmless, but when hit by standard plasma it conducts massive electrical charges that can stun infantry and wound machine spirits. The impacting plasma bolts are nullified, in return for a potent stun weapon.

### Notable Exarchs

* **Keelus Viper's Blade** - An Exarch of the Titanium Swifts famous for unmatched speed, the Viper's blade rarely touches the ground as he flies through the enemy ranks, slicing down foes with a relic blade.
* **Iolo and Alcestiel** - Paired Exarchs of the Wings of Starlight, the latter now a wraithlord since falling in battle. The pair are paragons of their Shrine and Aspect, having never known rout while defending the innocent, and sending hundreds to the grave through their plasma and D-Cannon.

## Ither

An exceptional warrior and leader, Ither leads a number of chosen Exarchs as a spearhead at the front of the battlefield. Ither can shield entire squads behind her, and can deliver close range specialists directly to the front line. In melee Ither is rarely matched, slicing apart armoured foes with a blade of plasma and relic blade. At range she only has to gaze upon a hated foe to see them evaporate before a torrent of plasma. Ither's manoeuvrability is greater again than her aspect, racing across the battlefield at incredible speed. Ither is driven by a need to protect her kin and has never been routed, often the last to leave the field of battle, fighting past the last of her comrades to defend the innocent.

### Equipment

* **Bulwarks Indominance** - Ither's armour is highly ornate and substantially stronger than the Bulwark's aspect armour. It has a built in plasma battery that feeds Ither's Glare and Bite, Etheric and Shieldbreaker. The Bulwark’s Indominance was built by unknown smiths from the far corner of the galaxy, and suitably modified on Asurmen’s orders later on, it’s design is symbolic of Aeldari bird of prey that was Ither’s family crest before the collapse; The Blodeuedd bears strong resemblance to Terran Eagle Owls.
* **Ither's Glare** - An advanced Star-Visor which can be fired continuously drawing from Ither’s plasma battery. Ither’s primary means of ranged attack.
* **Ither's Bite** - A cut down star rifle that is fed directly from Ither’s plasma battery, with several components fixed to her arm, it has enhanced fire rate, and is only used against enemies beyond Ither's Glare. A reserve weapon.
* **Etheric Aegis** - A mighty shimmershield that can absorb the most egregious of assaults and shield many behind it. The shield can be refocused to channel plasma into a deadly attack within melee, cutting a swathe through many opponents. Any attack directed at foes behind Ither must first pass her shield.
* **Shieldbreaker** - A powersword forged by the Daughters of Vaul that is again able to utilise the plasma reservoir within Ither's armour - each swipe unleashes a wave of superheated plasma towards Ither's foes.
* **Enhanced thrusters** - Ither's Evasive Thrusters have increased power to allow permanent levitation and low level flight – despite the weight of her armour - although it cannot compare to the Swooping Hawks flight capabilities.

## Stardrops

Specialist vehicles exclusive to the Astral Bulwark, Stardrops are cut down grav bikes used to quickly access the battlefield. Essentially an engine that the Aspect Warrior can hold on to. The vehicle is unarmed but partially cloaked with a reactive holoshield.