Dúldor

*"We shall bring the fire."*  *- a Dúldori saying.*

The **Dúldor**, referred to as the **Dúldori** or the **Shade Kin**, are an enigmatic separatist group of Eldar that defected hundreds of years before the Fall of the Eldar Empire. The Dúldor are instantly recognizable and are renowned for their universal coal-black skin and dove-white hair. The Dúldor dwell in the galactic edge to try and bring the fire and wrath of their patron deity to the coldest reaches, to try and light the flames of success in the most desolate regions of space, specifically the Ghoul Stars.The second reason they localised this inhospitable region is to try and distance themselves from the Eldar Empire and the inevitable psychic shockwave they foresaw from Slaanesh's birth.

## History

The Dúldor have very interesting beginnings that are rife with superstitious and vagueries. The Dúldor were kindled in the soul of a single child by the Aeldari God Addaioth, the god of wrath and fire. Addaioth, immediately after his duel with his father, convened with Lileath, the Goddess of Dreams to ask whether they would fight again, be it at the Rhana Dandra or sooner. Addaioth, being a very conceited god, was reluctant to ask Lileath out of fear of seeming weak and dependant on others and that it was Lileath who originally ended their first duel, saving his life.

Ever since, Addaioth has considered this intervention an insult and has worked to mend his pride ever since, and a duel may be just that. Lileath told Addaioth that him and his father would indeed fight before the Rhana Dandra but for what purpose she could not foresee. Angered by what he saw as Lileath's incompetence, Addaioth stormed out of Lileath's lair and went in search of Hoeth, the God of Wisdom to see if he could shed some light on the subject but, Hoeth only told him what he did not want to hear. Hoeth told him shamelessly that he was weaker than his father and he had no hope of defeating him alone. At this point, utterly enraged by this, Addaioth spoke with Khaine, if it was advice in combat he wanted, there was no better source than Khaine. Addaioth was further enraged by the fact he had to consult three of his kin for advice but, at this point he had disregarded that, viewing his father's demise as paramount.

Khaine agreed that he was weaker than his father and disputed that he would even reach his level, however, Khaine's final word to him was that he should look to the children of Isha, the Eldar. Baffled by this, Khaine clarified that the Eldar were a very devoted people and would gladly help one of their gods in toppling an evil.

At first, Addioth despised the notion, asking for Eldar to help him seemed outrageous and humiliating however, upon contemplation he began to notice the benefits of such a decision. Addaioth came around to it and, against his gut, blessed a single child on the brink of death to be his herald, to be his champion and create further champions in turn. Thus, the first Dúldor was born. This event, became known to the Dúldori as the Nosta-More, It was seen as the inception of their people, and beginning the line that would expand over a dozen millenia before their abandonment of the Eldari Empire. After the birth of the first child, each Dúldor born of them would have night-black skin and pale hair, a reflection of their patron god, Addaioth, who bore this complexion because his skin was kissed by flame and his hair was the echo of ash.

Each child bore a similar set of traits other than the physical ones, these were; a fiery temper, sometimes an arrogant mind and an attraction to flame, be it to warm the skin or to destroy their foes. Over the course of ten thousand years, the Dúldor went from a single child to a prominent albeit rare, subfaction of the Eldari Empire. However, because of their radically different features to that of the Aeldari, the Dúldor were shunned by them, looked at as hideous freaks of nature.

The Dúldor were also some of the first seers to predict the Fall of the Eldar but having already gathered mistrust, they were disbelieved and called insane by those they tried to warn. Disgusted at their final betrayal, the Dúldor mobilized as much of their kind as they could, lead by a mythic figure known as the Night-Walker, a Dúldor himself, then guided his people to the very edges of the Galaxy, where they could make a home as far from the birth of Slaanesh and so they could bring the flame of Addaioth to the coldest reaches of space.

## Religion and Culture

After abandoning their kin years before the fall, the Night Walker and many other Dúldor set about forming a civilisation for themselves, crafting settlements, a society, a functioning military and a religion that had been forming already.

From the original Aeldari Pantheon, they have kept several gods, specifically Addaioth, to whom they hold the highest esteem as their patron and god of the fire. They also worship Isha, the mother for comforting them in trying times. Vaul, the smithing god, to whom they credit the creation of the hearth and the spirit stones.

The Dúldor have a powerful love for Isha because, when she wasn't in the clutches of Nurgle, she frequently reassured them and showed them compassion via her spirit stones. Isha would often speak through the Dúldor's stones and show them compassion, saying that she still loved them equally regardless of their differences.

Moreover, they worship Vaul because he was the one that forged the spirit stones that helped them to communicate with Isha in the first place. For that accomplishment, as well as the forging of the hearth, an item of great cultural significance, they owe him much of their adoration.

In Dúldori culture, the hearth is an item of great cultural significance, and it is symbolic of hope, comfort, warmth, shelter and endurance and is viewed as a physical manifestation of Addaioth. Most major chambers and locations are fitted with one or what they call a 'half-flame', a miniature hearth intended to show respect to the original. It is so culturally significant that Dúldor will often say 'by the hearth!' as an expression of exasperation or surprise.

## Language

The Dúldor have, over the course of the years they've spent apart from the now collapsed Aeldari Empire have developed entirely their own culture, this includes a language. Egil is the name of the Dúldori language and it is a harsher, more guttural version of Aeldari with much the same grammatical structure but different words. Egil is a simple and direct language in that it has no mutations and it is not based on pronunciation. Egil mutated throughout the factions time in the icy galactic rim and they found, in the rampant storms and tempestuous battlefields, harder sounding words were far more recognizable.

Some words have remained from the Eldar Language however none have been left completely unchanged. As an example, the following are words from the original eldar language that have been mutated to form the present-day Egil;

## Military

The Shade Kin live a life of eternal battle, they sacrificed safety for discrimination and the belief that got them through it was that through torment they become stronger. As a result of this choice, the Dúldor's existence is one of fighting daily for their survival against some of the galaxy's most eldritch horrors that dwell in the Ghoul Stars. As a result, the art of warfare and battle are inherently part of the the Dúldor life and they rarely have time for the elegant eccentricities that plagued their Empire. If a Dúldor does have time to engage in recreational activities they are usually to benefit their war effort, be it weaving armour, training warriors, forging blades or practicing psychic discipline.

### Dúldori Infantry

* Warden
* Shademaiden

### Dúldori Leaders

* Grand Druid
* Druid

* Arch-Enchanter

* Enchanter

## Notable Dúldor

* **Vorëion Solmund** - Grand Druid, member of the Dúldor War Council
* **Nárissë Svartbrand** - Grand Druidess, member of the Dúldor War Council