vizn3r/warhammer40k-lore huggingface dataset:
Ivanus Enkomi - History: The Minotaurs Chapter is a powerful fleet-based Astartes Chapter of dark renown and uncertain ties to the Adeptus Terra, arriving in full strength in the Maelstrom Zone in the midst of the Badab War in mid-907.M41. While the Minotaurs ceded overall strategic authority to the war council of the Loyalist Chapters already engaged in the conflict, they deliberately stayed largely aloof and distant from its general chain of command, distancing themselves from the other Chapters as was their wont and deferring to the Legate Inquisitor's authority more often than that of the Lord High Commander Carab Culln of the Red Scorpions or his advisors.This distance was shown in the Minotaurs' standing representative to the Loyalists' war council -- the gaunt, brooding and taciturn Chaplain Enkomi, whose red-rimmed eyes observed all, although he barely spoke a word during the gatherings. Judged by many as a paradox, Chaplain Enkomi was at once a natural observer whose stern gaze missed little and whose crimson-tattooed face and red-irised eyes spoke of an origin on some distant and ravaged Feral World, but whose voice, although rarely employed, betrayed extraordinary intelligence and a capacity for fiery oratory that rivalled the greatest demagogues of the Ecclesiarchy in potency and skill.The Minotaurs' Chapter Master Asterion Moloc never put in a personal appearance at these councils, and the only evidence that he served during the Badab conflict at all came from pict-footage recovered from battle scans and fearful stories spread by the few Secessionist survivors of the Minotaurs' brutal attacks.A skilled tactical commander as befitted one of his rank and title who led his forces from the front in battle, Enkomi exhorted them to ever-greater heights of savagery and destruction against the Emperor's enemies. In addition to his role as emissary between his Chapter and the Loyalist high command, Chaplain Enkomi was often at the forefront of the Minotaurs' assaults in several key battles of the Badab War.Most notably he led a victorious boarding assault in 908.M41 against the Lamenters' strike cruiser Dawn Reaper during the cataclysmic Battle of Optera, and commanded his Chapter's forces during the attack on Shaprias in the Maelstrom which foiled the Tyrant of Badab's dark machinations on that world and further uncovered the extent of the Renegade Astral Claws' sins and blasphemies.
Ivanus Enkomi - Wargear: Power FistCrozius Arkanos - Enkomi's Crozius Arcanum was shattered in the Battle of Gathetris by a Night Reaper's Thunder Hammer and was subsequently rebuilt by the Minotaurs Chapter's Artificers into a weapon of unsurpassing power and significance. In addition to its deadly disruptor field, the Crozius Arkanos now also incorporates a compact assault launcher.RosariusPower ArmourFrag GrenadesKrak GrenadesVoid Hardened ArmourAuxiliary Grenade LauncherFortuna Mori - The Fortuna Mori is a Storm Eagle gunship that was permanently assigned by the Chapter as a dedicated transport for Ivanus Enkomi. As befits this Chaplain's rank and role amongst his brethren, the Fortuna Mori features sable heraldry and is inscribed with various High Gothic renditions of the Imperial Creed's sacred scripture.
Iven Rannick - Iven Rannick: Iven Rannick is an interrogator of the Ordo Hereticus of the Inquisition in service to Inquisitor Grendyl. He is the highest-ranking member of Grendyl's retinue and warband of Acolytes and one of the Inquisitor's most trusted servants.He has been provided a personal office aboard the Rogue Trader frigate Mourningstar that Grendyl requisitioned to serve as the Inquisition warband's mobile base during its mission to cleanse Atoma Prime's capital hive city of Tertium from the Chaos corruption of the Cult of Admonition and the Traitoris Militarum Moebian 6th Regiment.Rannick serves as Grendyl's right hand and the embodiment of the Inquisitor's command authority during the Hive Tertium operation.
Iven Rannick - History: Rannick is an interrogator of the Ordo Hereticus and a highly trusted member of Inquisitor Grendyl's retinue; while interrogation is certainly one of his most important duties, the title is also indicative of a senior Inquisition Acolyte who is close to being raised to the status of a full Inquisitor. As such, during the events on Atoma Prime, Rannick is subordinate only to his master Grendyl.As Grendyl's highest ranking Acolyte, Interrogator Rannick has a wide range of responsibilities, which include the identification, interrogation and purging of any Traitors discovered within the warband on the Mourningstar or any prisoners secured by the warband's Acolytes during their missions within Hive Tertium.Rannick works closely with Explicator Orgustine Zola, a relatively new Acolyte raised up by Grendyl from the population of Hive Tertium itself, who helps to train the new recruits known colloquially as "Rejects," chosen to join the warband as fresh Acolytes. Rannick supervises the overall strategy for retaking Tertium from the forces of Chaos, while Zola serves essentially as his executive officer, a vital source of intelligence on the geography, people and culture of Tertium and sometimes leads particularly important missions into the hive city herself.Rannick depends on Sergeant Major Vincent Morrow, a veteran member of the Armageddon Steel Legion who fought in the Second War for Armageddon against the Orks, to serve as the commander of the Astra Militarum units that have been requisitioned into the warband and as a drill sergeant who trains up and integrates new Acolytes into the Inquisition's service in Hive Tertium. As the warband's supply of infantry is steadily dwindling, Morrow often grumbles about the poor quality of the new "Rejects" he is expected to train.Rannick also works closely with the Aeronautica Imperialis pilot Flight Lieutenant Gillia Masozi who is responsible for transporting teams of Acolytes to their mission zones in the lower levels of the hive city aboard her Valkyrie Storm Raptor.
Iven Rannick - Personality: Rannick is a cold and calculating man, largely because he has to be to achieve the Ordo Hereticus' and Inquisitor Grendyl's goals on Atoma Prime. For him, all of the other Acolytes of the warband on the Mourningstar are simply tools in the hands of the Emperor. They are to be used to cleanse the Heretics that threaten Hive Tertium and will be promoted or discarded as the situation demands.
Ivixia Dannica - Ivixia Dannica: Daemonhuntress Ivixia Dannica is a notable Inquisitor of the daemon-hunting Ordo Malleus.She currently serves in the retinue of Inquisitor Covenant, scouring the southern rim of the galaxy of the taint of Chaos.
Ivixia Dannica - Castigation of Cimmaru Majoris: On Cimmaru Majoris she led a force of inducted Guardsmen against the primitive idol-worshipping tribes of the western continent, declaring them Daemonicus Frateris, and personally tore down the vulgar and profane totem poles at the centre of each village.As her crusade continued, the tribes fought back with great ferocity, taking to the mountains and launching brutal hit and run attacks on Ivixia's forces. But axes and javelins are no match for lasers and tanks and eventually the tribes were driven back to a valley sacred to their people and began a conjuration that would summon the greatest of their gods.This was a creature said to be composed of mist that could not be harmed and had the power to kill a man with a glance. At the height of the battle, a scarlet mist poured from the mouth of the tribe's greatest champion and a glittering being that rippled with iridescent colours erupted from his body.Amid the ruin of his flesh a bull-headed daemon of Slaanesh was born in the heart of the Imperial troopers. The slaughter was terrible and hundreds of men were killed as they laid down their weapons before this terrible, yet daemonically alluring beast.But Ivixia had foreseen such an event and had a plan in place to defeat any such manifestations. Having already unearthed the truth of what the tribes were worshipping, Ivixia had requested the aid of the Chamber Militant of the Ordo Malleus.Activating a teleport homer, she called down a squad of Grey Knights Terminators who waited in orbit for just such a moment. Together with rallied squads of Imperial Guardsmen, they destroyed the daemon and wiped the last remnants of its followers from the face of Cimmaru Majoris. Their lands were declared Purgatus and sown with blessed salt that they might not give rise to anything for a hundred years.
Ivixia Dannica - Daemonhuntress: With the success of the Cimmaru Majoris campaign behind her, Ivixia returned to the galactic core, destroying many blasphemous daemonic creatures on many different worlds. On Prenau she joined the defence of the Basilica Dominastrus and saved the sisters of Ordo Hospitaller who dwelt there.She also tracked down the instigators of the attack and recovered the shards of Saint Josmane's armour, one of the Basilica's most holy relics, which had been stolen in the first days of the battle. In recognition of this deed, the Ecclesiarchy ordered that fragments should be shorn from the armour and incorporated into a holy weapon to be crafted in her honour.As word of her bravery and purity spread, Ivixia was honoured on Ophelia IV with a blessed suit of armour for her efforts in defending the realms of the Emperor from the taint of the daemonic and heretical.Her strength of purpose and chaste piety attracted many followers along the way and all were of the highest purity, as Ivixia would tolerate nothing less than the same standards she applied to herself in her followers.One such follower she discovered on the world of Karis Cephalon, while on the trail of Inquisitors she believed were harbouring and making use of daemonhosts. She discovered a diminutive, solitary individual known as Jeremiah sheltering in the mutant ghettos of this troubled world.Shunned, even by the mutants of Karis Cephalon, it soon became apparent to Ivixia that Jeremiah was an outcast known in some circles as a Pariah, soulless and loathed by all.But as a consequence of this, Jeremiah was a potent defence against psychic powers and thus a hugely valuable addition to a Daemonhunter's retinue. Despite his reluctance, Jeremiah knew that refusal was not an option and accompanied Ivixia in her pursuit of the fallen Inquisitors.
Ivixia Dannica - Paganus Reach: Ivixia just missed one such Inquisitor at the forge-mine complex of Taberna Ostium and arrived just too late to apprehend another in the blazing ruins of Paganus Reach. The bullet-riddled remains of the town indicated that a fierce battle had occurred here and upon returning to Cephalon, she was to learn that the fearsome figure of Witch Hunter Tyrus had apprehended her prey at Paganus Reach.Marching to the Witch Hunter's lodgings, she demanded that Tyrus hand the traitor over to the Ordo Malleus. Naturally, Tyrus refused, stating that the Heretic Kessel would burn in the fires of purgation, but that one blasphemer had escaped his holy clutches.Furious at Tyrus' refusal to hand over a consorter with daemons, she attacked his warband, but was given a sharp lesson in why Tyrus is such a feared individual throughout the galaxy. Realising that violence was not the way forward, she again approached Tyrus, this time in the spirit of cooperation, and learned that the escaped rogue Inquisitor did indeed traffic with daemons and make use of dangerous psychic powers.The Ordo Malleus reserves a special hatred for those of their order who cross the line into daemonancy, and none more so than Ivixia. Setting off on the trail of this escaped rogue, Ivixia and her retinue departed Karis Cephalon, the name of the traitor on their lips: Lichtenstein.
Ivixia Dannica - Wargear: Purity ArmourAnointed Power Halberd of St. Josmane - Blessed by the Cardinal of Gathalamor, this holy weapon has sent scores of daemons screaming back to the depths of the Warp. Its blade was tempered in the tears of a thousand Sisters of the Order of the Ermine Chalice and contains fragments of the armour of Saint Josmane himself.Icon of the Just - Carried in a porta-shrine on Ivixia's back is a rendering of the blessed Saint Josmane, He Whom Death Could Not Claim. It is said that the holy saint touched this icon and the power of faith imbued in this magnificent work of religious art is such that it functions like a force field, protecting its bearer from shooting attacks.Colonel Dannica's Skull - The skull of Ivixia's fallen father was turned into a Gun-Skull, fitted with an Autopistol, in order to continue his service to the Emperor beyond his mortal death.Purity Seals - Inscribed into Ivixia's armour are the teachings of the Liber Daemonicus, which contain words and symbols hateful to the daemonic.
Ix'thar'ganix - Ix'thar'ganix: Ix'thar'ganix, the Slayer of Destinies, is a Lord of Change, a Greater Daemon of Tzeentch. This daemon lord led forth a daemonic legion against the Imperial world of Omegath. The Master of Fate granted his daemonic servant a prescient vision of a child born upon this world who would grow to eventually become a powerful oracle. Ix'thar'ganix coveted the power of this child and unleashed all his arcane magic to open a Warp rift into realspace to allow the fell powers of Chaos to spill forth into Omegath. Yet for all of his prescience, the Slayer of Destinies did not know the location of the predestined child, and for 20 days his daemonic minions swept forth across the face of Omegath seeking the preordained oracle-to-be. The daemons appeared random in their attacks to the commanders of the defending armies, who were unable to comprehend the true nature of their foe. The soldiers of Omegath's defensive militia fought the daemons when they were able, but were unable to divine an effective plan of attack of their own. After twenty days had passed, the daemons disappeared as mysteriously as they had appeared. Ignorant of what had transpired, Ix'thar'ganix had finally found his coveted prize and usurped the boy's powers of foresight. The populace of Omegath were left bloodied and bewildered in the wake of the strange Chaotic incursion.
Ixaniad Sector - Ixaniad Sector: The Ixaniad Sector is a sector of the Imperium of Man located within a ragged stellar cluster of the Milky Way Galaxy that also includes the Calixis, Scarus and Askellon Sectors of the Segmentum Obscurus.The Ixaniad Sector is ruled by several minor Highborn dynasties which lead their home planetary systems. These dynasties have battled each other throughout the millennia for dominance over the sector's politics. Fleeing refugees from these conflicts formed the original Meritech Clans in the border regions between the Ixaniad and Calixis Sectors.Other than its location and a few tidbits of information gained from its interaction with the more well-known sectors that surround it, very little else is currently known about the Ixaniad Sector in Imperial records.
Ixaniad Sector - History: During the Age of Plunder of the Calyx Expanse (Calixis Sector) from the 37th to the 39th Millennia, Rogue Traders frequented that region on the edge of the galaxy, including the future territory of the Ixaniad Sector, and returned with tales of xenos empires, lost human and Imperial worlds, and Warp-worshiping once-men.The Ixaniad Sector has been home to several conflicts and spillovers from the bordering Calixis Sector, including the Meritech Wars which threatened the stability and safety of the entire sector.After millennia of lawlessness, the Ixaniad Sector was once again brought into Imperial Compliance in the early days of the Angevin Crusade in the 39th Millennium. The sector was easily pacified before the Crusade moved on to the grinding conflicts that characterised its conquest of the Calixis Sector.Within the heart of the Ixaniad Sector, the Phaenonite splinter faction of the Inquisition, declared Excommunicate Traitoris, is growing in influence on the region's Imperial planets and the few Forge Worlds that lie in the sector. The Inquisition's Conclave Ixaniad was purged of its Phaenonite influence in 427.M39.
Ixaniad Sector - Notable Sub-sectors: Ptolemaic ReachCrassan Sub-sectorSpinward Region
Ixaniad Sector - Notable Worlds: Scoth - Scoth was a world in the Ixaniad Sector where the Black Templars Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes was known to have battled the forces of the Aeldari.
Iyanden - Iyanden: Iyanden is an Asuryani craftworld, the greatest worldship of the Aeldari Empire that was. It drifts through the stars of the eastern rim. Once, its halls were busy and vibrant with life, but no longer. Now, it is but a shadow of its former glory, a sombre and desolate vessel where the dead walk and the living dwindle.Its journey through the aeons has been blighted with disaster, however, and now it is a pallid reﬂection of the spacefaring power it once was. Large-scale raids by Chaos warﬂeets and the coming of the Ork WAAAGH! Rekkfist sorely tested the craftworld's military strength, but it was the attack of Hive Fleet Kraken that proved Iyanden's doom.Iyanden teeters on the brink of extinction after being invaded by the Kraken in 992.M41. Thousands upon thousands of its noble warriors fell in battle against the Great Devourer. A long and hard-fought space battle against the teeming bio-ships of the Tyranid ﬂeet was initially successful, and for a while, the craftworlders dared to think their superior tactics and technology had carried the day.Then came another wave, and another, and another. Iyanden was all but overrun. Not a single bio-dome remained untouched by the skittering hordes of the Tyranid race.On the verge of utter defeat, Iyanden was saved from extermination by the return of Prince Yriel, a gifted fleet commander exiled for his reckless tactics against a Chaos invasion many solar decades hence and his Eldritch Raiders.Despite his bitterness, Yriel was unable to watch his home be destroyed. His Aeldari Corsair armada penetrated the Tyranid blockade, and ended the space-borne threat. The alien invaders had taken a terrible toll; fully nine-tenths of the craftworld's populace had been slain before the last Tyranid was cut down.The profound losses suffered by Iyanden have led to a reliance upon the wraithbone constructs of its Ghost Halls that now form the backbone of the craftworld's armies. Silent Ghost Warriors and other wraithbone automata tower above Iyanden's remaining Guardians and Aspect Warriors, wielding the most powerful weaponry the craftworld can provide.But such strength comes at a terrible price, for the Wraithbone constructs protecting Iyanden are inhabited by the departed spirits of Iyanden's dead. Were it not for the direst necessity, the Seers of Iyanden would leave their ancestors to rest.However, the fight for the survival of their craftworld forces them to resurrect their dead and enlist them to fight once again. The "Light in the Darkness," as Iyanden's world-rune is known, has come close to dying out altogether. There are those that would see it blaze bright before the end.Asuryan is the oldest and greatest of the ancient Aeldari deities. He is the father of the gods, the ancestor of all living things. As noted, the world-rune of the Iyanden craftworld means "Light in the Darkness," a reference to the ever-burning shrine that honours Asuryan and the flame of hope for the Asuryani of Iyanden.
Iyanden - Rise of Iyanden: For several Terran millennia following the Fall of the Aeldari, Iyanden and Biel-Tan waged a joint war against the forces of Chaos. Though the two craftworlds were separated by countless light years, the labyrinthine tunnels of the Webway allowed their forces to fight as one.Iyanden's graceful course had taken it far into the east, and so its armies focussed their efforts along the galactic rim. By contrast, the Swordwind of Biel-Tan descended most often to defend the scattered Maiden Worlds of the western spiral arm.Biel-Tan held that these planets, seeded with life before the Fall, held the key to the Aeldari race's eventual ascension and sought to reclaim them. Together, Iyanden and Biel-Tan earned many thousands of victories, exterminating the forces of Chaos wherever they could. That the servants of the Dark Gods have never possessed a mighty stronghold on the eastern rim is a direct consequence of these times.The Farseers of Iyanden focused their divinations on the servants of Chaos alone and, even though this blinded them to much else that occurred, they foresaw and crushed Chaos incursions before they gathered pace. In time, the Exodite worlds of the far-flung Ybaric Cluster joined Iyanden's cause, bringing with them knowledge long lost to the Asuryani of the craftworlds and pledging many thousands of their Dragon Knights to the struggle.With each triumph Iyanden won, the Eternal Flame in the Shrine of Asuryan burned ever brighter, fuelling the Сraftworld's determination to continue the fight.
Iyanden - An Alliance Sundered: Alas, it soon became clear that the Asuryani of Biel-Tan fought not to defeat servants of the Dark Gods, but to humble all who barred the Asuryani path to re-ascension. With every success, Biel-Tan grew more confident, and before long, they no longer limited themselves to the destruction of Chaos. Instead, Biel-Tan began to loose its fury against any alien-occupied planet the Aeldari had once claimed.They took no pleasure in their victories, seeing them merely as the righteous eradication of vermin, growing ever more bitter each time they encountered an Aeldari world in need of cleansing. Before long, the pact between Biel-Tan and Iyanden weakened and ran its course.Biel-Tan came to resent that Iyanden did not share its outrage at the primitives who squatted upon ancient Aeldari worlds, and interpreted Iyanden's refusal to engage in such battles as an unwillingness to spill blood alongside its ally.By contrast, the Iyanden Asuryani saw little value in squandering strength on worlds they could not afford to re-colonise; nor did they hate the aliens so deeply as their Biel-Tan kin -- indeed, the Asuryani of Iyanden pitied many of the aliens for their shortcomings. Though the alliance was never officially dissolved, joint campaigns between the two craftworlds became ever more infrequent until, one day, communications ceased altogether.Greater woes befell Iyanden when Warp Storms enfolded the Ybaric Cluster and severed all contact with the Exodite worlds therein. In an attempt to regain contact, Iyanden tried to bypass the Warp Storms by sending expeditions to the cluster through the Webway. Alas, none ever returned, and the Seer Council of Iyanden reluctantly gave up their Exodite allies for lost until such time as the Warp Storms abated.No longer able to rely upon the aid of allies, Iyanden's accomplishments were curtailed in the solar decades that followed. Worse, the Farseers had greatly underestimated how far the influence of Chaos had run through the younger species of the galaxy.Mankind had been corrupted most of all, and even populous Iyanden lacked the numbers to provide more than a token opposition to Humanity's spread. At first, Iyanden's council believed this to be an unorchestrated series of events, but in time, the Farseers were able to unveil the terrible truth; these uprising were guided by a singular genius.Zhemon, once a Space Marine of the Dark Angels Space Marine Legion, now a soul fallen into darkness as a Chaos Lord, was manipulating insurrection and heresy on an unprecedented scale in the fifth century of the 37th Millennium by the Imperial Calendar.As Zhemon's empire of anarchy spread, worlds that had been cleansed of Chaos influence now fell deeper under the sway of the Dark Gods than ever before, the incepted madness spreading like a plague.
Iyanden - The Dead are Summoned: Zhemon's puppetry was not aimed at harming Iyanden, rather it was an act of revenge against his own former masters, but understanding his motive was of little consolation to Iyanden's council, who foresaw Zhemon would undo their efforts of centuries in mere decades. Sensing that the labours of millennia were about to be undone, they turned to drastic measures. So it was that, after much weighty consideration, Iyanden's council ordered the Craftworld's Spiritseers to commune with the Infinity Circuit and rouse the dead to battle alongside the living. When the news of this decision reached Iyanden's populace, there was uproar; Eldar of all ranks and Paths flooded to the Place of Answering to voice their horrified objections. Awakening the Ghost Warriors had ever been a measure of last resort; to do so in any course other than survival was held by many Eldar to be a break with tradition and an abuse of their honoured dead. Only by reassuring the assembled masses that this sacrifice was necessary if the work of aeons was not to be undone, did the Council soothe this affront.With its ranks reinforced by implacable ghost warriors, Iyanden soon knew fresh success. Chaos-tainted worlds were purged, Warp rifts were sealed and Zhemon's prophets and cultist rabbles were driven back. Alas, never had Iyanden faced an enemy whose forces were so widespread, and the Council began to fear that even with the ghost warriors, their forces might be insufficient to claim victory. Fortunately, the Craftworld did not have to confront Zhemon alone. The Imperium of Man, though sluggish in its response, had at last sent armies and fleets to bring the rebellious sector to heel. Though Iyanden would not lower itself to work directly with the primitive humans, its Council quickly realised the value in sharing their aim. Iyanden attacked Zhemon's power base on pivotal worlds, weakening his defences to such an extent that even the uncoordinated efforts of the loyalist humans could make headway.
Iyanden - Common Cause: Zhemon was finally cornered by Iyanden's forces on the world of Ishata. This battle marked the only time in the entire campaign where the Eldar fought at the Imperium's side. The Dark Angels, ever alert for their fallen brethren, the Fallen Angels, struck at Ishasta in the very hour in which a host of ghost warriors had begun the final assault on Zhemon's palace-stronghold. Wraithlords and Wraithguard advanced upon the palace's gates, nigh-impervious to the Heavy Stubber and Autocannon fire that hammered into them. Seeing the danger, Zhemon loosed a savage pack of Maulerfiend Daemon Engines upon the attackers at his gates, even as he prepared to flee with his personal guard. Unfortunately for the Fallen, the scale of the ghost warrior assault had stripped defenders from other walls, and fast-moving Ravenwing bikers now breached the compound from the rear, Bolters roaring with flame. As Zhemon and his bodyguard fought like cornered rats to keep the vengeful Dark Angels at bay, the Maulerfiends thundered into the ghost warriors. Wraithbone was trussed by lasher tendrils and shattered, but the attackers held firm. The spirits within the Wraith-Constructs were those of Eldar slain as a result of Zhemon's rise; they had come seeking vengeance and would not be denied. Smouldering forge-ichor oozed forth as Wraithbone firsts smashed through daemonic armour, and then the ghost warriors were striding though the wreckage and into the palace itself. Caught between the cold fury of the Dark Angels and the relentless vengeance of the walking dead, Zhemon's bodyguard were swiftly overwhelmed and their wretched master taken alive.At the close of the battle, the Dark Angels demanded that Zhemon be given over to their keeping. Iyanden's Council were reluctant to accede at first, and for a time, it seemed that the impromptu allies would fall upon each other in quarrel over the traitor's fate. Only when the Council foresaw that Zhemon would suffer far more at the Dark Angels' hands than he ever would at those of the Eldar, was the matter settled. So it was that, when the Dark Angels left Ishata, they did so with Zhemon frozen in a stasis vault. In the days that followed Zhemon's defeat, the Eldar of Iyanden restored their dead to slumber and rejoiced. They had been tested, they said, and had emerged stronger for it. Swayed by Iyanden's success, two lesser Craftworlds of the eastern rim pledged their forces to its cause. The first, Malan'tai, was a sombre worldship whose people had suffered greatly at the hands of Ork pirates and had remade their home into nothing less than a fortress. Idharae was the opposite, a vessel whose splendour rivalled that of the old empire. Acting in concert, these three nomadic peoples were nigh unstoppable. Alas, confidence became arrogance, and would soon cost all three Craftworlds dearly.
Iyanden - Age of Glory: For long centuries, Iyanden continued along its serene course, a beacon of light that drove back the darkness wherever it advanced. Victory followed victory, each greater than the last. Daemonic hordes were banished back into the Warp, and cults to the Dark Gods were driven from human and alien worlds alike. Thousands of light years away, the High Lords of Terra noted that the Forces of Chaos seemed far less active along the eastern rim and briefly wondered why. They elected not to question the serendipity, and instead simply enjoyed fate's largesse. Had they but thought to investigate, the humans would have found a powerful ally in their own battle against the Chaos threat, but other crises soon distracted them, and a great opportunity was forever lost.
Iyanden - The Naga's Strike: As the centuries ground on, the Warp Storms around the Ybaric Cluster faded, allowing contact with the Exodite worlds therein. Alas, no sooner had the Warp Storms faded than a new enemy descended. Hive Fleet Naga, a remnant of the Behemoth that was, had set its sights on the bountiful worlds of the Ybaric Cluster. To their credit, Iyanden, and its sister Craftworlds of Malant'tai and Idharae, responded almost immediately, but even so, they were too slow. By the time the first Eldar fleets had engaged Hive Fleet Naga, Halathel, largest and most prosperous of the Exodite worlds, was all but overrun by Tyranids. Even with aid of forces from Malan'tai and Idharae, the Exodites could not repel the invaders. Iyanden's forces, under the command of Admiral Draech, arrived at Halathel to discover its World Spirit destroyed and its defenders consumed. Determined to exact vengeance for Halathel, the Iyanden fleet engaged the orbiting Hive Ships, but underestimated the menace of their foes. Draech's flagship, the Auspicious Illumination of Eternity, was destroyed early in the battle, and for a time, it seemed that the whole Eldar fleet would be lost alongside it. Only when a young Prince named Yriel took command did the tide of battle turn.Realising that the smaller Tyranid vessels could not function if the greater bio-ships were destroyed, Yriel converged his forces on these targets, but it was only when the Prince unleashed boarding parties to destroy the ships from within that he meet with success. Though many Eldar lives were lost and hundred of Ghost Warriors destroyed, the ships were finally slain. With their passing, the smaller Tyranid vessels flew into an uncoordinated frenzy and were easy prey. Though the strength of Hive Fleet Naga had been greatly diminished, its threat was not yet ended. Over the following years, Yriel's forces joined with those of Malan'tai and Idharae to fight hundreds of engagements against the Tyranids, both in the cold dark of space and amidst the horror of partially-digested worlds. Little by little, the Tyranids were scoured from the Ybaric Cluster, and victory was at last won -- though not without great cost. Idharae, which was never the most populous of craftworlds to begin with, lost many of its warriors defending the maiden world of Eth-aelas, and its halls were ever after empty and joyless places. Malan'tai suffered far worse and was destroyed when an aberrant form of Tyranid life devoured the Craftworld's Infinity Circuit and used the stolen power to slay the rest of Malan'tai's living Eldar.
Iyanden - A Time of Greatness: Only Iyanden came through the conflict with Hive Fleet Naga relatively unscathed. Though its folk mourned Malan'tai's destruction, and commiserated with Idharae for its losses, they did not learn from either fate. Iyanden did not recognise the true scale of the Tyranid menace. Taolis Eversong, Chief-Farseer of Idharae, claimed that the creatures they had fought were but harbingers of a larger swarm. When Eversong's warning fell on deaf ears, Idharae ended its alliance with Iyanden and struck out on its own. Iyanden's people cared little as their last surviving ally parted ways, for they were now all but blind to anything save their own rising greatness. Buoyed by their victory against Hive Fleet Naga, the Eldar of Iyanden now experienced a golden age of renewal. Iyanden's pride had blossomed form a few guttering sparks to a roaring blaze. Its people were growing too confident in their ability, too certain that their ascendance was preordained.Not all of Iyanden's folk were so afflicted; a few Farseers saw the danger. Kelmon Farsight, leader of Iyanden's Council, was concerned most of all. As time passed, he saw the parallels between Iyanden's rise and that of the ancient Eldar, and he feared that his beloved home would share his ancestors' terrible fate if another path were not chosen quickly. Alas, even his august words of caution were drowned out by the clamour of the exultant masses. The Eldar of Iyanden could taste a glorious destiny, and their hearts burned to claim it.
Iyanden - Kallorax's Wrath: In the wake of the Battle of Agrion, Kallorax faced a sizable rebellion. Though this was swiftly and bloodily put down, and the ringleader's mutilated (and not yet dead) body riveted to the prow of Kallorax's personal shuttlecraft, the pirate admiral knew that the challenges would only increase unless he managed to put an end to the Eldar's predations. Kallorax now directed his cabal of Sorcerers to divine the location of the Eldar base. Unfortunately for him, the Seers of Iyanden had anticipated such a move and had woven a psychic shield that obscured their forces from the Sorcerer's sight. In a rage, Kallorax had his Sorcerers put to death, and instead forged pacts with Daemons, offering up ever-increasing numbers of lives in the hope of attracting the attention of a being powerful enough to give him the answers that he sought. In the end, after an unthinkable tally of lives had ended upon Kallorax's sacrificial pyres, just such an entity granted the admiral the information he desired. This was N'kari, a Slaaneshi Daemon whose own monstrous pride allowed him to sense that of the Iyanden Eldar, even through their psychic shield. N'kari granted Kallorax the Craftworld's location in exchange for a number of spirit stones that the pirates had seized during their battles and the promise of more to come once Kallorax had taken his revenge. Ignorant of the spirit stones' function, and therefore puzzled by the Daemon's seemingly inconsequential price, Kallorax nonetheless struck the bargain and quickly mobilised every warship at his command.So it was Iyanden scouts soon brought word that a mighty armada of ships was converging on the Craftworld. Many were appalled, seeing in the very attack they had sought to avoid. Yriel wasted no time deflecting the recriminations that came his way. Instead, he gathered his own ships and struck at the Chaos Warfleet whilst it was yet distant from Iyanden. Yriel was so confident in victory that he mustered every ship the Craftworld possessed, from the largest Void Stalker to the smallest Darkstar.
Iyanden - Duel to the Death: Eldar Prince and traitor admiral duelled as their vassals fought and died around them. The Shadow Guard strove furiously, but the hardy Wraithbone shells of the ghosts warriors were nigh-impervious to their blows, and every sweep of a Wraithblade's axe claimed an enemy's life. Meanwhile, Yriel and Kallorax fought on. The pirate lord was a lumbering brute, swinging his cumbersome Warp axe with enough force to shatter a blast door. Yriel evaded every blow with effortless grace and darted forwards to land his own immaculate strikes whenever the opportunity presented itself. Kallorax laughed, for Yriel's blows were but the stings of a bothersome insect. A cooler-headed foe would have shrugged off these jibes, but Yriel's pride chafed at the mockery and spurred him to take ever greater risks.Twice the ragged blade of Kallorax's weapon passed within a hair's breadth of the Eldar Prince's brow -- so close, in fact, that Yriel fancied he could hear the whispering voice of the Daemon-bound within. Again, the pirate lord lashed out, and again Yriel dodged the blow, but this time, Kallorax slammed an armoured gauntlet forwards as well. The mesh armour plates along Yriel's midriff stiffened to absorb the impact, but still the force of the blow hurled the Prince into a bulkhead. Stunned, Yriel fell to his knees. Sensing his triumph at last, Kallorax advanced, axe readied for a final strike. Gathering what wits he could, Yriel threw himself forwards, ducked low under the axe and buried his sword to the hilt in Kallorax's chest. All at once, the pirate lord felt his strength flee. With one last curse, he toppled over, stone dead.
Iyanden - The Price of Arrogance: Yriel was sorrowful for the dead, but he did not weep. He knew that their fate would have been Iyanden's also, had he not made a pre-emptive strike on Kallorax's fleet. He assured himself that some sacrifices were necessary if Iyanden's destiny was to be fulfilled, and he was certain that the deaths aboard the Craftworld would be held of little account when held alongside his great victory. In this, Yriel greatly misjudged the mood of his people. More than lives had been lost when the torpedo struck. The Fire of Creation in the heart of Asuryan's shrine -- a flame that had blazed since the Craftworld's maiden voyage -- burned no longer. It was a portent of despair that even the dullest wit could comprehend; Iyanden was no longer worthy of its great destiny. Kelmon's cautions about Yriel were remembered, and at last heeded. So it was that Yriel was not feted and honoured as he had anticipated, but bidden to justify his chosen course. Yriel was outraged at being questioned so. Along with his closest followers, he departed voluntarily into exile, declaring darkly that he would never set foot on Iyanden again.Kelmon watched the disgraced Prince depart with a tumult of emotions. He was glad that the Craftworld's madness had at last burnt itself out, but he despaired at the price. Iyanden had suffered grievous harms, and had lost not only its ablest admiral, but also a sizable portion of the fleet, for many vessels had chosen to enter exile alongside Yriel. Kelmon knew that, in encouraging Yriel's rashness, he was as responsible as the Prince for what had happened, but he drew strength from the fact that his actions had diverted a greater disaster. Or so he thought, Kelmon's mood soured when he cast the runes again, for their pattern was unchanged. The runes of pride, doom and salvation were in orbit about Asuryan; whatever fate they alluded to had not yet been averted.
Iyanden - The Doom of Iyanden: Never, in all the preceding millennia, had Iyanden been humbled so. The physical damage wrought upon the Craftworld was without precedent, but the loss of Asuryan's Flame gouged a far more grievous wound in Iyanden's collective psyche. But a greater peril was soon to come...
Iyanden - Nursing of Wounds: Iyanden now turned its attention inwards, forsaking the war upon Chaos as it tended to its wounds. Nothing exemplified Iyanden's increasingly insular attitude than when Kelmon decided upon the appointment of a new High Admiral. Yriel's replacement was a middle-ranking worthy named Ethrael. In truth, Ethrael did not possess half of his predecessor's daring or flair in battle, but such was the reason for the appointment. Kelmon Farsight believed that Iyanden had been endangered because of the Council's inability to control Yriel's recklessness, and so he brought all of his influence to bear in order that a more pliable candidate become High Admiral. None of this was to say that Ethrael was weak or incompetent -- such traits would have doomed Iyanden just as surely as those that Kelmon wished to avoid -- but he stood ever at the council's beck and call, and never took action without their express approval.
Iyanden - A Warning From Ulthwé: At about this time, Iyanden received an emissary from craftworld Ulthwé; no less a personage than Eldrad Ulthran himself, greatest of the Eldar seers. He had learned of the harms wrought upon Iyanden, and had brought with him many of Ulthwé's Bonesingers. These he swiftly instructed to assist in the repairs as best they could, and the efforts of his retinue did not go unmarked. Yet despite this, Eldrad Ulthran was poorly received, for many thought he had come to mock Iyanden for its misfortunes. When Iyanden's Council discovered that he had come to deliver a warning, their manner cooled further. Over the course of the preceding centrueis, Eldrad Ulthran had become increasingly aware of a growing threat upon the eastern rim, a hungry darkness that was as rapacious for Eldar flesh as Slaanesh was for Eldar souls. Eldrad felt sure that Iyanden lay in its path; unless preparations were made, the Craftworld would be consumed. He begged Iyanden's council to turn their course westward, away from the rim -- if this was done now, the Craftworld might yet outpace the oncoming darkness, and the race of man would bear the brunt of the onslaught.Sad to say, Iyanden's Council paid the Ulthwé Farseer little heed, Kelmon Farsight least of all. Mindful of past differences between their Craftworlds, he accused Eldrad of attempting to deceive Iyanden into abandoning the territory it had fought so hard to cleanse. Iyanden had faced this threat -- this Great Devourer -- and they had vanquished it, Kelmon icily informed his guest. They would do so again if need be. When Eldrad next spoke, he did so in tones laden with sadness. This was not about territory, he told Kelmon and the Council, nor was it about the greatness of one Craftworld over the other. He was concerned only with the survival of the Eldar race. When Iyanden's Council still paid no heed, Eldrad departed once more for Ulthwé, silently lamenting the stubborness of his peers.
Iyanden - The Shadow of the Kraken: It would be less than a year before Eldrad's shadowy predictions would emerge into terrifying reality and, as time passed, Iyanden slowly began to reach out into the stars once more. It did so more hesitantly and less often than it had previously, for its people were still scarred by the loss of the Eternal Flame. Despite all efforts, the Shrine of Asuryan remained dark and lifeless, the last spark of their god's favour lost until it could be earned back. No number of victories against the followers of Chaos could lift the spirits of Iyanden's populace. Through it all, the Craftworld held its course along the eastern rim; the Council never once considered following Eldrad's advice. Only when the runes became clouded by strange shadows, and Kelmon began to hear a cacophony of alien voices screaming through his thoughts, did he come to realise the terrible depth of his mistake. Kelmon had encountered this voice more than a century ago, during Iyanden's desperate defence of the Ybaric Cluster. This was the Tyranid Hive Mind's shadowy presence in the Warp, but it was many thousands of times stronger than it had been before.In a terrible moment of realisation, Kelmon grasped just how insignificant Hive Fleet Naga --- a force of invasion that had destroyed dozens of worlds -- had been. As the web of probability and portent about Iyanden grew ever more tangled and uncertain, Kelmon reluctantly took what desperate measures he could. Instructing Admiral Ethrael to deploy Iyanden's fleet as a far-flung sentry line, Kelmon at last gave the order that saw the Craftworld turn away from the rim and back in towards the heart of the galaxy. But it was too late, far too late...
Iyanden - The Swarm Approaches: In the end, Iyanden's warning came not from its far-flung fleet, but from Rangers scattered across rimward worlds. Ethrael, ever-cautious of exceeding his authority, had kept his scout ships close-in to the fleet, effectively blinding himself to events only a few light years distant. Nonetheless, the Rangers brought Kelmon constant reports of the worlds ravaged and consumed by the advancing Tyranids. As the Farseer predicted, the swarm that now descended upon Iyanden was far vaster than anything the Craftworld had previously opposed. Worse, the hive fleet's hunger drove it onward at a speed that Iyanden could not outpace. It quickly overwhelmed the outward elements of Ethrael's fleet, and Kelmon ordered the Admiral to withdraw. Ethrael gladly did so, leading a series of clinically perfect hit and run strikes against Kraken's vanguard. To a swarm of this size, these were but pinpricks; even when the Admiral detonated the unstable star of the Kalibax System, Kraken's pace barely slowed. Thousands upon thousands of bio-ships were consumed in that cataclysm, but many more endured the nuclear fire to continue their relentless advance.Every glimpse of the hive fleet forced the Eldar to expand their perception of the Tyranid threat; every second now garnered was a blessed respite. While Ethrael delayed the Tyranids as best he could, Kelmon called together the Eldar of Iyanden in the Place of Answering and warned them of the impending Tyranid assault. Too many errors of judgement, he deemed, lay on the path behind him. He had not only encouraged Yriel's rashness, but also purposefully appointed a puppet Admiral and had exhorted his fellows to ignore Eldrad Ulthran's warnings. Any one of those decisions, if inverted, could have altered Iyanden's fate for the better, and Kelmon did not want to risk the Craftworld on his own flawed judgement. He had cast the runes again and again, and always the runes for pride, doom and salvation spiralled about Asuryan. The pride, he at last perceived, was his and his alone. Better that Iyanden move with one will and one mind in its darkest hour.