vizn3r/warhammer40k-lore huggingface dataset:
Drop Site Massacre - Consolidation: As the battles in Istvaan V wore on, Corax reorganised his Legion, forging it anew into something resembling less the brutalised victims of Horus' betrayal and more a band of warriors determined to survive, or to sell their lives dearly in the attempt. Raven Guard strike forces launched a series of cautious, yet bold attacks against Traitor death squads isolated from the greater mass of the enemy, numerous small but bitterly fought battles out in the wastes.Many of these confrontations were fought with Combat Knives and improvised weapons; the objective to slay the foe and carry away what supplies could be salvaged from their bodies. In time, ammunition stocks were replenished to such a degree that more overt assaults could be launched, and it was as small groups of Raven Guard pushed ever deeper into the Traitor-haunted lands about the Urgall Depression that a grim discovery indeed was made.Along the crest of the Urgall Depression, hundreds, perhaps even thousands of iron spikes and columns were found, driven into the black volcanic ground. Atop each was mounted the body, or body part, of a Loyalist Space Marine. Most had been executed while others lived on still, the transhuman physiology of the Legiones Astartes holding death at bay despite being eviscerated, impaled, dismembered and exsanguinated or having a hundred other, equally cruel and darkly invented injuries inflicted upon them.It was to the eyes of the Loyalist onlookers as if some plague of insanity had spread from their former brothers; that alongside treachery as terrible as it was, something of horror and madness unlooked for and inhuman had taken root. Here was the fate that the Traitors would inflict upon every Loyalist not slain in the cauldron of the Drop Site Massacre. Here, the Raven Guard recognised, was the fate that Horus would visit upon all those who refused to bow before him, even should every human world drown in blood.In the east, Raven Guard Scouts came upon a vast and hidden underground complex akin to the alien Istvaanian ruins which the Traitors had used as their dread fastness. With this discovery the Raven Guard had their sanctuary, and operations to relocate began within solar hours. The move could not have been more propitiously timed, for as the last of the Raven Guard moved out, the night skies far to the west filled with the fires of massed retro jets. A vast flotilla of vessels was landing in the calderas of the extinct volcanoes over the western horizon, a flotilla belonging to the Warmaster's Traitor Mechanicum allies.
Drop Site Massacre - Reclamation: From the cavernous holds of the gargantuan Mechanicum vessels marched cohorts of Traitor Mechanicum tech-helots, and thousands upon thousands of Servitors and tech-thralls were driven forth towards the wreckage-strewn Urgall Depressioin. Horus' Renegade Tech-priests were beginning a reclamation operation of staggering scale, one that would grant the Warmaster an immediate advantage in supply and matériel.The entire depression was strewn with equipment of incredible military worth -- even those vehicles and other items damaged beyond repair still of enormous value as salvage. The wrecks of hundreds of super-heavy tanks still smouldered there, while the toppled forms of once mighty Titans were testament to the sheer destruction unleashed in the few hours of the Drop Site Massacre. The ground was carpeted with the remains of hundreds of thousands of Space Marines, each of whom still bore full Legiones Astartes battle-plate and carried weapons and other items of equipment representing the very pinnacle of human technological achievement.Within solar hours, the flickering glow of plasma cutters was to be seen all across the depression as Dark Mechanicum reclamation parties began their grim harvest. The operation would continue for many solar weeks, pushing outwards across the depression until, at length, only the worthless detritus of war remained.Even weeks after the Drop Site Massacre, still-living bodies would be discovered in amongst the thousands of dead, the gene-enhanced physiology of the Legiones Astartes able to enter a state of suspended animation in which the body might heal from the most horrendous wounds in time. Some Traitors, most notably elements of the Word Bearers and Emperor's Children -- in whom, it seemed, the dark madness of nightmare had truly awakened, but whose true cause was not yet suspected by outsiders -- took cruel delight when these were discovered, sometimes administering alchemical preparations to awaken them, only to torture and execute the unfortunate victims, exacting upon them what amounted to a second death.The sons of the Raven did what they could to disrupt the work of these reclamation parties, even while seeking to avoid their own capture and tortuous end. Dozens of Tech-priest overseers fell; victim to the silenced sniper rounds of Legion Seekers determined to exact vengeance for the dark crimes witnessed through their targetting scopes, or found explosives booby-trapped to their would-be prizes of salvage. But ultimately, such counterattacks were mere pin pricks to the vast scavenging effort the Traitors had undertaken.
Drop Site Massacre - The Fallen Crusader: The Raven Guard had but solar days to consolidate after their victory before another Iron Warriors armoured column was reported pressing eastwards across the wastes, winding its way into the twisting ravines of the Illium Rifts. Corax ordered an immediate and overwhelming attack. The battle that ensued took place in the abyssal darkness of the ravines and was as bitterly fought as any boarding action or hive scouring the XIXth Legion had ever undertaken.The Primarch was ever to be found at the heart of the fight, while the Jump Pack-equipped units made wide outflanking manoeuvres so that the Iron Warriors were cut off, attacked from multiple directions with no hope of retreat. The Iron Warriors gave not an inch even as their dead choked the gullies. Though less than a hundred Iron Warriors remained, they were bolstered by a dozen Dreadnoughts of varying patterns.From the Loyalists' midst strode the Raven Lord, as he faced off against a Contemptor Pattern Dreadnought in close-quarters combat. A single word passed between them, the Primarch speaking the name of the Iron Warriors veteran within the Contemptor, evidence that the two must have fought alongside one another during the Great Crusade. This curse spoken, the two squared off against one another in the manner of pit fighters preparing to fight to the death.Quickly leaping onto the Dreadnought's back, the Raven Lord made short work of it as he tore into the Contemptor's ceramite armoured shell and pulled out the armoured brain case and trailing spinal column of the Veteran Iron Warrior Legionary who had been interred within the sarcophagus. A moment later, the Contemptor's systems disengaged and the once-mighty war engine collapsed, the Primarch leaping clear before it hit the ground. This was the signal to attack.In the ensuing conflict the Raven Guard leapt from the dark to fall upon the beleaguered Iron Warriors, the Primarch engaging several more Dreadnoughts as his assault squads cut into the enemy Legionaries. Not a single Iron Warriors Legionary was allowed to escape, and in truth none attempted to do so, each fighting until the bitter end. Eventually, silence descended upon the scene, the rocky floor of the crater carpeted in the broken bodies of over a hundred Iron Warriors and not a small number of Raven Guard.In amongst the wreckage were the ruined, smoking hulks of a dozen Dreadnoughts, the remains of once-mighty heroes interred within cast to the bloody ground by the vengeful Primarch of the Raven Guard. His contempt for the scope of their fall from grace was writ across his grim visage. With a nod, the Raven Lord gave the signal for his forces to withdraw, the dead left in their wake as a powerful message to the Traitors. It would not be the last of its kind.
Drop Site Massacre - Into the Rifts: As the shadows of resistance and search, hard-fought ambush and flight wore on, the presence of increased numbers of Word Bearers within the Illium Rifts made it apparent that the Traitors were pushing their hunt for survivors ever further outwards, once again threatening the safety of the XIXth Legion's sanctuary. Steps were taken to move the Legion's wounded, as well as its meagre stores and limited command facilities ever deeper into the mighty chain of caverns beneath the rifts. The further the Raven Guard pressed into the stygian darkness, the more apparent the alien nature of the tunnels became.The material that the cavern's walls were comprised of appeared to have a deadening effect on a wide band of electromagnetic radiation. Furthermore, the construction seemed to be exerting an influence on the psionic level too, serving to nullify or shroud psychic effects. This may have contributed to the Traitors' inability to locate the Loyalists' refuge using technological or psionic means, but many claim it must have done so, for the Traitors scoured the lands above but never discovered it using these methods, despite passing within metres of the entrances on several occasions.One particular group was not searching using any subtle or esoteric methods. The third Iron Warriors armoured column forged eastwards, crushing all it encountered in its ceaseless hunt. Set on a course that would take them directly past a number of the hidden entrances to the Raven Guard refuge, it was judged a certainty that the Iron Warriors might discover, by dogged search or blind chance, what their fellow Traitors had failed to locate by more subtle means. Faced with the likelihood of imminent discovery, the Raven Lord mustered all available warriors and committed themselves to a daring assault, sweeping in upon the Traitors with hatred welling in their hearts.The Iron Warriors responded with implacable ferocity but were soon engaged in a bitter, gruelling contest from which only one side would emerge. Even as his sons fought on, mired in the blood of friend and foe alike, the Raven Lord plunged into the cauldron of war alone, his single Lightning Claw lashing out in great, thirsty sweeps. The third and final portion of the Iron Warriors Legion left behind to scour Istvaan V of Loyalists was utterly destroyed, and while others of their kin remained in the Urgall Hills manning their fortifications, as a coherent force of aggression the sons of Perturabo were spent.As the Raven Guard marched wearily back towards their sanctuary in silence, the harrowing-horns of the Traitor Mechanicum's Blind-Hunters echoed out across the cracked wastes, and black storm clouds gathered in the grey skies overhead. At the last, the clouds broke and black-tainted rain fell upon the blood-crusted surface of Istvaan V.
Drop Site Massacre - The Raven Lord Alone: As the black rains lashed the wastes, it enforced a temporary cessation of hostilities, and the Traitors pulled back from their grim hunt. The Raven Guard took the opportunity to consolidate in their sanctuary. For several solar days, the Legion's officers reconstituted and reorganised while the Apothecaries tended to wounds long neglected in the midst of constant war.At the height of the rains, Corax once again took his leave into the rain-blasted gullies without a word of explanation. Those Legionaries who knew their Primarch of old counselled the others to fret not, for it was well within the Raven Lord's demeanour to act alone in such circumstances, utilising his unique Emperor-gifted abilities to pass unseen where few others could. History does not record where the dark-eyed Primarch walked, nor what grim sights he bore witness to during the day and night he went alone across the wastes. Fragmentary accounts compiled much later based on his conversations with Rogal Dorn hint that Corax penetrated deep into Traitor-held territory, perhaps even treading the corpse-carpeted Urgall Depression itself.When at last the Primarch returned, he convened a council of his most trusted senior commanders and while the words that passed between them go unrecorded, the Primarch's intent remains unequivocal. The Raven Guard must survive, he ordained. Not simply to preserve the Imperium's might, although that must surely have been a consideration. Rather, while but a single Raven Guard continued to fight, no Traitor could rest without fear that justice would be visited upon him.
Drop Site Massacre - The Final Days: In the aftermath of the evacuation of the sanctuary, the Raven Guard Legion's fight for survival and vengeance entered a final, desperate phase. Where before the XIXth Legion had been able to exert some control over their fate, albeit one that could not be maintained forever, now they were the victims of circumstance once more. The Raven Guard numbered even fewer warriors than they had in the immediate aftermath of the Drop Site Massacre, eighty solar days and more of continuous battle and hardship having claimed hundreds more.Many of the most severely wounded Legionaries evacuated from the sanctuary had taken their own lives so that their brethren might not be burdened by them, despite the efforts and protestations of their kin. With this a deep melancholy settled upon the Raven Guard, who had never been an ebullient kindred even at the height of victory. Individual Legionaries became sullen and withdrawn as a grim acceptance of the inevitable took hold. Though the Raven Guard Legion fought on against any and all Traitors it encountered, many fought because the only alternative was to die, not because they cleaved to any hope of eventual victory.The fighting was continuous. The only difference was that now the remains of the XIXth Legion had no refuge other than the twisting ravines of the Illium Rifts, and it soon became apparent that there was scant chance of locating another refuge, for the World Eaters and the Dark Mechanicum's Blind-Hunters were relentless in their efforts to bring the Raven Guard to battle. Though they remained one step ahead, the Raven Guard were rarely afforded the time needed to properly reconnoitre the path ahead or to formulate a strategy to counter the Traitors' incessant attacks.Try as they might, the Raven Guard could not wrest the initiative from the Traitors, a situation entirely anathema to them. Step by step, the Raven Guard were pressed ever eastwards. Inevitably, they would eventually be driven into the trackless, inhospitable Gular Salt Plains, an uncharted land even the superhuman physiology of the Legiones Astartes could not withstand over-long.
Drop Site Massacre - The Beginning of the End: As the battles raged, the western skies flickered star white as the Traitor Mechanicum incinerated the regions they had cleared of salvageable matériel. Grim-faced, the Raven Guard could only fight on as the destruction spread ever outwards from the Urgall Depression, breaking like a wave over the Urgall Hills and spewing kilometre after kilometre across the wastes and into the Illium Rifts beyond. For long days and nights, the Raven Guard fought on in this manner, selling their lives dearly as the wastes echoes with the sound of Angron bellowing for his brother to face him.The salt plains grew ever closer to the east as the raging fires consuming the western skies crept ever onwards. Though the Raven Guard fought on, they were by now outnumbered ten to one and had no hope of reinforcement or resupply. With the inexorable march of the Traitor Mechanicum's land-razing firestorms, all hope of finding any other survivors or of locating any fresh source of ammunition was fled, and now they were being channelled into an ever narrower field of flight by the massed firepower of the Whirlwind and Scorpius tanks the World Eaters had deployed to the flanks of their advance, bracketing all avenues of escape with withering fusillades of missile fire. Yet still, the Raven Lord did not order his Legion to turn and face its pursuers and make the last stand all knew must surely come, and soon. The Raven Lord kept his own silent counsel, and none dared raise a word of objection.Sunrise, such as it was upon the tainted, fog-shrouded surface of Istvaan V, on the ninety-eighth solar day after the Drop Site Massacre saw the last three thousand Legionaries of the Raven Guard mount the crest of the final rise and look upon the endless expanse of the Gular Salt Plains. The air was thick with toxins rolling in from the crusted plains and the black contrails of whirlwind fire, the eerie howl of the tortured winds almost loud enough to drown out the bass roar of the tens of thousands of World Eaters charging across the broken land. The Raven Guard survivors were finally backed into a literal corner.Now at last, the Raven Lord ordered his sons to halt. Backs to the Gular Salt Plains, the Raven Guard would make their final stand. They had survived for ninety-eight solar days. They had fought with honour and determination, for no other course of action was possible. The Raven Guard had proven themselves loyal to the end, choosing survival over betraying their oaths, a choice which, Historator savants can be sure, never once occurred to the Primarch or a single one of his sons. The Raven Guard had been forged in the searing crucible of the Lycaean Uprising, where resistance, however futile, was the only option, even in the face of utterly crushing, hopeless oppression.
Drop Site Massacre - Canon Conflict: The number of Astartes involved in the Drop Site Massacre, as well as the number of casualties taken during this infamous battle, have been a contentious topic for some time. The number of Astartes involved with the Drop Site Massacre were originally given in the novel Fulgrim written by Graham McNeill:"The odds were considered equal: 30,000 Traitor Marines against 40,000 Loyalists."This means that the total involvement of the Space Marine Legions would include 70,000 Astartes from 7 different Legions before the second assault wave dropped to the surface and became involved. But in the audio drama Raven's Flight by Gav Thorpe, it is stated:"The Raven Guard had been all but annihilated at the Drop Site Massacre of Istvaan V, reducing the XIXth Legion's strength from some 80,000 Astartes to less than 3,000 survivors."This would mean that the later canon states that the number of total Astartes within 1 Legion alone was larger than the total number of combatants originally stated to have taken part in the initial fighting on Istvaan V. In the novel Deliverance Lost by Gav Thorpe, it is stated that the Primarch Corax was:"Consumed by the loss of over 75,000 of his Legion's Astartes..."This matches up with another statement of the large amount of casualties taken at the Urgall Depression:"Tens of thousands of Space Marines had died in a little over two solar hours of battle."The latter number given by the author was indicative of Black Library's decision to retroactively (and drastically) increase the size of the Space Marine Legions. These larger numbers are given throughout later books in the Horus Heresy series as well as the newer Horus Heresy tabletop rulebooks that followed the model of much larger Space Marine Legions. This, in effect, would cancel out the original numbers given in older sources of material as well as the earlier novels in the series, and thus would no longer be considered canon.
Drugh - Drugh: The Drugh are a large, worm-like intelligent xenos species that lived on the world of Pyrus I and was known to possess potent psychic abilities.Their habitat was subterranean and it is believed by Imperial savants that their original homeworld was destroyed by the forces of the Imperium of Man near the end of the Great Crusade.An Imperial transmission dated 0435.991.M41 lists the White Scars Chapter homeworld of Chogoris as under full-scale infestation by a subterranean colony of the Drugh.An examination of Drugh "mouthparts" by Magos Biologis Sharle Darvus revealed that this part of the species anatomy served a dual function as both a source of defecation and the primary means of consumption.
Drukhari - Nomenclature: The entire species of beings who once ruled the galaxy-spanning Aeldari Empire for millions of Terran years are called the "Aeldari." In the wake of the Fall of the Aeldari, the survivors of the great cataclysm adopted new names for their varying sub-cultures or kindreds.The Aeldari who fled their ancient empire in the craftworlds eventually called themselves the "Asuryani" since their culture was redefined by their decision to pursue the Asuryani Path that they believed had been laid out for them by the chief Aeldari god, the Phoenix King Asuryan.Linguistically reflecting their diminished status, the Asuryani made themselves known to outsiders as "Eldar," a name which came to be applied to the entire Aeldari species by Imperial scholars for many millennia.For instance, the Drukhari were the malevolent faction of the ancient Aeldari who had chosen to remain within the Webway after the Fall and continued to pursue the decadent and hedonistic ways that nearly led to their extinction. However, they were often referred to by outsiders as "Dark Eldar," a term which they rarely used for themselves and which was first coined by Asdrubael Vect from the Aeldari phrase "Eladrith Ynneas," in the 32nd Millennium.Those wilderness-loving Aeldari who settled on Maiden Worlds many solar decades before the Fall in the hope of avoiding the worsening corruption of the Aeldari culture are known as "Exodites."The servants of the Aeldari Laughing God Cegorach, who were protected by his influence within the Webway from being slain during the Fall, are called the "Harlequins" in the most common translation of the Aeldari term for the faction into Low Gothic.In recent years, since the formation of the Ynnari faction which contains members of the Aeldari species from all of the kindreds, it has become common for the Asuryani to once more refer to themselves using the ancient term "Aeldari," reflecting their belief that with the awakening of Ynnead, the Aeldari god of the dead, their species is once more on the path to resurrecting its lost glory.In the Era Indomitus, the term Aeldari has come to be preferred to Eldar, though the original name for the Asuryani best known by the Imperium of Man is still often used interchangeably.However, it is now more correct to refer to the Aeldari of the craftworlds as simply "Aeldari," "Craftworld Aeldari," or when comparing them to the other Aeldari kindreds, the "Asuryani."The Drukhari are still often referred to in the Imperium as "Dark Eldar."
Drukhari - History: The Drukhari are black-hearted reavers to whom the galaxy and all of its peoples are but cattle to be enslaved at will. These alien pirates strike hard and fast from the shadows of the Webway, vanishing again before the foe can fight back.The Drukhari are a twisted reflection of their craftworld kin. They dwell in the strange realm known as the Webway, inhabiting Commorragh -- a cyclopean, interdimensional metropolis rightly feared as the "Dark City." The Drukhari feed on negative emotion, dedicating themselves to a non-stop war with the peoples of realspace in which they strive to inflict as much pain and misery as they possibly can.Forced through a dark quirk of fate to abandon the once potent psychic abilities of their Aeldari ancestors, the Drukhari instead epitomise physical excellence. Their athleticism and speed are unmatched, except perhaps by their towering arrogance. Add to this their lethal, arcane science, and the Drukhari are amongst the greatest of threats in an already deadly galaxy.
Drukhari - The Dark City: Commorragh was originally the greatest of the Webway port-cities, impossibly vast and able to transport a fleet to any of the most vital planets of the Aeldari Empire by virtue of its many portals. Because of the access it granted to the far-flung corners of realspace, this mighty metropolis was reckoned to be the most important location in the entire Webway.It was too valuable to the Aeldari as a whole to belong to any single aspect of their empire, so it existed outside the jurisdiction of the great Aeldari councils of that time. Precisely because of its autonomy, the Webway city-port quickly became a magnet for those that wished their deeds to remain hidden from prying eyes.The realm of Commorragh expanded unstoppably as wealth flowed across its borders. It spread outward into the void, consuming other Webway port-cities, private estates and subrealms with each new expansion.Commorragh grew ever larger and more impressive as it fed on their plundered resources. Unseen, the dilettante lords who ruled Commorragh's spires and dens of vice grew in status alongside their adoptive city, initiating more and more of the Aeldari species into their shadowy creeds.Deep in the Webway after the Fall, the groups of Pleasure Cult survivors came together and laid the foundations of the vast new sub-realm that they named Commorragh, the Dark City, which was built on the foundation of the ancient Aeldari port-city within the Webway of the same name that had lain outside the jurisdiction of all the Aeldari authorities of their lost empire.As more and more Aeldari survivors from other sub-realms in the Webway began to arrive, they soon added their own regions to the new realm, slowly making it even larger and more heavily populated, until it became what it is today -- a vast domain, an infernal city of suffering and death.To this day, the Drukhari raid and pillage the galaxy at large from their hidden sub-realms in the Webway, sowing as much misery and destruction as possible and stealing away millions of captive slaves to their lairs within the Dark City to be exploited for their own horrible ends.They are experts in the techniques of torture as well as mental and physical degradation, as the longer a Drukhari can drag out the torture of a slave the more psychic nourishment they can take from him or her. A Drukhari who has recently fed upon the suffering of others shines with a cold and startling aura of power, their physical form restored to beautiful, youthful perfection even as their soul rots within its pristine shell.A Drukhari who is not allowed to partake of such dark psychic energies for long enough will become a physical shadow of their former beauty, desperately hunting for a taste of misery to stave off the gnawing thirst in the depths of their own withered soul.
Drukhari - The Satellite Realms: If a traveller were somehow to breach Commorragh's runic wards, they would first bear witness to the Dark City's tributary realms shimmering and distorting around it. One minute these vassal domains glimmer in thedistance, the next they loom so close that their palaces and minarets can be seen by the naked eye.To venture unheralded past these satellite realms is to invite destruction -- many large and territorial Kabals of Drukhari reside within their twisted geometries, deadly pirate bands of pitiless warriors who live only to inflict pain on others, and will suffer no intrusion on their realms.Worse things lurk in their crooked shadows, or swoop swiftly and silently through the air above in their never-ending hunt for prey. These are the hidden domains in which the Drukhari enact their vile rites and devilish schemes. Their origins lie in the tumultuous times that preceded the Fall; as the cults of excess began to thrive, their private realms in the Webway flourished unseen until the largest of their number grew powerful enough to threaten Commorragh itself.However, over the course of its Terran millennia-long history, Commorragh has subsumed all of the vassal domains it has not destroyed. Within the gilded corridors and flesh-pits of the myriad sub-realms frolic those Aeldari who engineered the fall of their own species, laughing still at the warnings of their sombre craftworld cousins.
Drukhari - The Ghodri Falsehood: There other attempts to strike at Yvraine as well. Many of the Haemonculi that made their lair in the lower regions of Commorragh were old allies of Asdrubael Vect's. They were so steeped in the history of the Dark City, so influential in their control of the Drukhari's sham immortality, that they sought to maintain the status quo from which they had profited for so many Terran centuries.The coven of the Prophets of Flesh, those who studied under the demented flesh-sculptor Urien Rakarth, had devised a new punishment -- to take a transgressor and reshape them, melding their mortal clay until they looked, walked and even smelt like a Human being.All Drukhari found this horrifying, for to them a Human form was ungainly and ape-like, a cruel mockery of a biped in comparison to the lithe and alabaster-skinned Aeldari anatomy. This was a horrific punishment for a people so vain and haughty as the Drukhari, and those subjected to the treatment cried out that they would do anything at all to have it reversed.In these "false Humans," Vect saw opportunity -- one so twisted and sadistic that Urien Rakarth agreed to orchestrate it on his behalf.On the slabcrete planet of Ghodri Sekmet, Yvraine preached the Ynnari creed to a hidden gathering of Alaitoc Pathfinders high in the peaks. The Aeldari did not expect any of the dull-witted Humans who infested the rest of the planet to uncover the location of their eyrie, and Yvraine was speaking with such passion and fervour that all eyes were on her.Hence when the Imperial military announced their presence with a well-organised Astra Militarum pincer assault, the Aeldari found their line of retreat cut off by artillery fire. The Ynnari and Alaitoci fell back to the Webway portal by which they had made planetfall upon Ghodri Sekmet -- only to find a strike force of Drukhari mercenary elites bursting through.Caught between the hammer of the Drukhari assault and the anvil of the Astra Militarum -- amongst whose ranks were Vect's false Humans, who had engineeredthe attack -- the Ynnari were decimated. Only the manifestation of the Yncarne, summoned to battle by so much Aeldari death in one place, allowed Yvraine and the rest of the command structure of the Ynnari to break through and make their escape into the Webway.
Drukhari - Notable Events: The history of the Drukhari is one of unrelenting horror. Much of it is hidden in shadow, recorded only in allegory and fable by those intelligent races whose worlds they have ravaged.Records are kept, however -- tomes scribed in still-living flesh using bladed quills of bone.These histories divide the tale of Commorragh into three ages -- ill-defined and overlapping though they are -- each more redolent with cruelty and evil than the last.
Drukhari - The Age of Dark Genesis: The Port Commorragh (ca. M18) - Commorragh establishes itself as the primary nodal port of the Aeldari Webway, growing larger with every passing Terran decade. Built entirely within the Labyrinth Dimension and hence outside the jurisdiction of the existing Aeldari councils, Commorragh acts as a magnet for those who wish to avoid attention.The Twilight Cults (ca. M18-M20) - Those leading the new Aeldari paradigm of total self-indulgence rise in status and power until they can secede entirely from the physical plane. They take up permanent residence in the Webway, from which they can plumb the depths of decadence undisturbed by puritans and weaklings. Over time, their sovereign estates grow into entire sub-realms, many of which are powered by the energy of stolen suns. The solar systems and their inhabitants plunged into darkness by the Aeldari's star-theft wither and die in the freezing cold of the void, but the Eldar care not.The Ailing Pantheon (ca. M19-M24) - The worship of the traditional Aeldari gods beings to wane as new sects and societies rise to power. The Dark Muses, many of whom are synonymous with sensual vice and sin, become the unofficial figureheads of the new order.Darkness Rising (ca. M25-M30) - The depravity of the Aeldari race plumbs terrible new depths. Cults of pleasure and pain flourish in the hidden reaches of the Webway, and even the core worlds of Aeldari society become obsessed with ever-greater acts of excess. As the lines blur between sensation-seeking and outright evil, a new force stirs in the Warp.Exodus (ca. M30-M31) - Sensing the end, portions of the Aeldari people combine and modify their voidships into Craftworlds, gigantic living vessels able to accommodate an entire planet's population. One by one they begin to escape the corruption that plagues their empire. Hundred of Craftworlds sail into the sea of stars in search of the relative safety of the untrammelled void.The Fall of the Aeldari (ca. M30-M31) - A new Chaos God is born, collapsing the entire Aeldari Empire -- Slaanesh, the Dark Prince, whose birth-screams tear out the heart of the empire and leave pure Chaos in its place. The shockwave of the new god's apotheosis plunges a vast section of realspace into the Warp, creating the Eye of Terror. Most of the Aeldari Craftworlds are destroyed in the psychic backlash. Only the Exodites, the Aeldari of the farthest-flung Craftworlds, and those hidden in the sub-realms of the Webway survive. The Aeldari species is shattered forever in a single apocalyptic instant.Commorragh Ascendant (ca. M31-M32) - In the wake of the Fall, the unrepentant Aeldari hidden within the Webway consolidate their power. The next millennium sees the port-cities and sovereign realms of the labyrinth dimension grow steadily in size and influence, and Commorragh becomes a sprawling realm unto itself. The Dark City thrives under the oppressive rule of the noble houses that lurk at its heart, known to the other Aeldari survivors of the Fall as the "Dark Ones," or "Drukhari."
Drukhari - The Rise of Vect: A Legacy Begins (ca. M32) - A half-born Drukhari slave -- known only as Vect -- vows that he shall rule the Dark City, even if it takes an eternity to do so. Vect founds the Cult of the Black Heart, the first organisation to openly refer to themselves as Eladrith Ynneas or "Dark Eldar." The Thirteen Foundations of Vengeance are laid down at this time, an intricate code of dishonour destined to spread through the society of the Dark City in the centuries to come. The impact of Vect's rise to power will resonate through Commorragh's history for millennia to come.The War of the Sun and the Moon (ca. M33) - The solar cults that control the Dark City's stolen suns rise in power and influence, ultimately declaring war upon the Drukhari noble houses that would see Commorragh plunged into permanent night. An aerial war rages for centuries, but ultimately the noble houses emerge victorious. Vect's Cult of the Black Heart transforms to become the first true Drukhari Kabal during this troubled time, and is instrumental in the final defeat of the solar cults during the Battle of the Seven Shrouds.Vect Ascendant (ca. M35) - Asdrubael Vect launches a series of punishing raids against the Imperium's shipping lanes in the Desaderian Gulf. True to his plans, this triggers a punishing counterattack from three Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes. Vect manipulates the invasion to cripple the power bases of the patrician Archons and, in the aftermath, takes their place as ruler of High Commorragh. Shortly after, the Desaderian portal into the Webway is forcibly collapsed, triggering a massive implosion and annihilating Imperial naval elements mustering for a second attack.The Kabals Ascendant (ca. M35-M36) - The ancient Aeldari aristocracy of Commorragh is in disgrace. It is soon replaced by the Kabalite system, as pioneered by Vect and his Kabal of the Black Heart. Privilege and status are supplanted by sheer ambition and murderous capability. Many elder Drukhari noble houses reinvent themselves as Kabals, though they never forgive Vect for usurping their power.The Breaching (ca. M37) - Vect causes the hidden portals that link each Drukhari satellite realm and port-city of the Webway to be revealed, forcing them open and building the Great Gates: huge edifices that are permanently guarded by Vect's elite Incubi and Kabalite Warrior garrisons. Over several millennia of civil war and violent strife, Commorragh expands into these once autonomous regions of the Webway until they become integral to the Dark City. Only the realm of Shaa-dom remains autonomous.
Drukhari - Drukhari Technology: Main article: Drukhari WargearDrukhari, like most Aeldari kindreds, make use of advanced technology, including anti-gravity devices, dark matter weaponry, nanotechnology and psychic artifacts. While Drukhari do make use of psychic devices, they do not any longer use psychic powers themselves because of the danger that interacting with the Warp brings for those whose souls are desired by Slaanesh.Psykers are treated as playthings in Commorragh, and given the twisted, sadistic nature of the Drukhari, this necessarily involves pain and torment for the psyker. Though it is manufactured rather than psychically-grown from the hardened substance of the Warp like the wraithbone implements of the Craftworld Aeldari, the Drukhari's weaponry is just as technologically advanced as that of their more benevolent counterparts.When it comes to war, the Drukhari are veritable artists. Their technology is refined to the point that some of its effects appear as nothing less than magical to less-advanced intelligent species like Humanity. Their infinite -- if infinitely dark -- imaginations and sheer skill have led them down a sinister path -- their favourite weapons can set every nerve ending afire with pain, darklight beams, whips that bleed acid and eldritch soul-traps.The Drukhari are so confident of their own abilities that their lightweight suits of body armour incorporate bladed plates not only for protection, but also to provide them with yet another weapon to inflict pain.The warriors of Commorragh are well-versed in the physiology and anatomies of all the other starfaring species of the galaxy, knowledge that is used to inflict the maximum amount of pain, suffering and death.The Drukhari employ a number of hand-held weapons designed to eviserate, lacerate and incise at close quarters. Although varying widely in design and use, all employ a similar technology in their construction.They are built from very lightweight materials, with blades honed to a mon-molecular edge capable of cutting through even ceramite armour plating when sufficient force is employed.Weapons incorporating powerful shock fields have also been recovered by Imperial forces, and these devices utilise an energy generation and transference system as yet beyond the comprehension of human Tech-adepts.
Drukhari - Trueborns and Halfborns: Naturally-born Drukhari are rare, due to the long gestation period of the Aeldari infant. The ones that are naturally birthed from their mothers' wombs, known as "Trueborns," are often very privileged in Drukhari society because of the circumstances of their birth, and many are the descendants of the ancient Drukhari noble families.As such, they are arrogant and see themselves as far better than the majority of Drukhari, who are born in amniotic gestation tubes and whom the Trueborn call the "Halfborn." Due to the constant and high death among Drukhari as a result of their vicious and amoral culture, creating new Drukhari using in vitro fertilisation is necessary to maintain Commorragh's large population.Most Halfborn Drukhari serve as slaves and manual laborers unless they can find another way to climb the Dark City's strict societal hierarchy.Due to this prejudice, the Trueborn often gather only in squads of other Trueborn within the Drukhari Kabals, and serve as the elite Kabalite Warriors that escort their Kabal's archon into battle and serve as his most elite unit of warriors.Trueborns usually sport many more advanced weapons than their fellow warriors, such as the Shard Carbine, a Drukhari weapon design that hybridises the Splinter Rifle and a Splinter Cannon and possesses a shorter range than either. Trueborn also often make use of Dark Lances and Splinter Cannons as well as Blasters and Shredders.The Trueborn Kabalite Warriors are an elite group that excludes any "Halfborn" Drukhari birthed in an amniotic tube from their company. Led by an officer called a Dracon, these hardened killers carry a wide assortment of expensive and deadly weapons wherever they go, supposedly to better protect the life of their Archon but in truth only to better inflict more pain and death.Trueborn delight in dramatic displays of firepower, sending powerful fusillades into the enemy's ranks and leaving bodies and the broken carcasses of armoured vehicles in their wake.
Drukhari - Dark Muses: As far as the Drukhari are concerned, the Aeldari gods died in the Fall and they despise them for it. That the gods had become so weak that they could be consumed by the ascendancy of Slaanesh indicates that they never deserved to exist in the first place.The exceptions are Khaela Mensha Khaine, the Aeldari god of war who is still held in high regard in Commorragh and the lesser powers known as the Dark Muses who are the embodiments of selfish vice and whose clandestine worship by the Pleasure Cults contributed to the demise of the Aeldari gods.The Dark Muses are truly powerful Drukhari from ages past who have essentially become folkloric figures of reverence, much like the Imperial Cult's saints.Many epitomise a particular form of vice, whose worship and practice weakened the Aeldari gods and so helped to bring about the Fall. Favoured by assassins and murderers is the Dark Muse Shaimesh, the Lord of Poisons, the treacherous brother of Saim-Hann the Cosmic Serpent.The courtesan elite of the Cult of Lhamaea pay homage to Lhilitu, the Consort of the Void, whereas powerful archons are more likely to follow the tenets of Vileth, a being synonymous with the immense arrogance so often displayed by the Drukhari.Before they enter combat, many traditionalist Wych Cults invoke the Red Crone Hekatii, or make sacrifices to Qa'leh, Mistress of Blades. It is believed by many Drukhari that their current supreme overlord, Asdrubael Vect of the Kabal of the Black Heart, may one day join the ranks of the Dark Muses, though given his ability to cheat death again and again, this may be an honour long in the coming.
Drukhari - Hekatrix Bloodbrides: Each squad of Dark Eldar Wyches -- or "Hekatarii" -- is led by a more skilled Wych known as a Hekatrix, who in her turn reports to the Wych Cult's Succubus. Hekatarii wield a variety of outlandish weapons that can whip out, extend, enmesh, retract, split in two, or snap an opponent’s blade with the twist of a supple wrist. Some Wyches -– such as the Lacerai, Hydrae, and Yraqnae –- specialise in such deadly esoterica. Furthermore, all Wyches are skilled knife-fighters who can kill a foe many times their size with the smallest of blades. It is common for a Succubus to gather the most talented and skilled of her Hekatrix handmaidens into a clique of elite murdereresses, led by the most skilled Hekatrix in the cult, who holds the position of Syren. These cliques, whose members are known as Hekatrix Bloodbrides, are usually plagued by often intense rivalries for the Succubus' favour. When combat begins, however, Bloodbrides become an unstoppable force, ritually anointing themselves with the blood they spill from the foe as a foul testament to their own dark prowess in the arts of death, pain and terror. Hekatrix Bloodbrides are armoured in Wychsuits, and normally make use of Plasma Grenades, a Splinter Pistol and close combat weapons like Razorflails, Hydra Gauntlets, Shardnets and Impalers. The Bloodbrides' commanding Syren normally uses a Blast Pistol, a close combat weapon like a Venom Blade, Agoniser or another Power Weapon and sometimes keeps a Phantasm Grenade Launcher in reserve to deal with more immediate threats. The Wyches use a variety of combat drugs, galvanising them to ever-greater heights of balletic dexterity. They flip and pirouette around their enemies, slicing open a throat here and piercing a heart there. The Wyches flow through the elegant steps of battle, expressions of disdain twisting into savage smiles as they feed upon each fresh scream of pain.
Drukhari - Kabalite Trueborn: Naturally-born Dark Eldar are rare, due to the long gestation period of the Eldar body. The ones that are naturally birthed from their mothers' wombs, known as Trueborns, are often very privileged in Dark Eldar society because of the circumstances of their birth. As such, they are arrogant and see themselves as far better than the majority of Dark Eldar, who are born in amniotic gestation tubes and whom the Trueborn call the Halfborn. Due to this prejudice, the Trueborn often gather only in squads of other Trueborn within the Dark Eldar Kabals, and serve as the elite Kabalite Warriors that escort their Kabal's Archon into battle and serve as his most elite unit of Warriors. Trueborns often sport many more advanced weapons than their fellow Warriors, such as the Shard Carbine, a Dark Eldar weapon design that hybridises the Splinter Rifle and a Splinter Cannon and possesses a shorter range than either. Trueborn also often make use of Dark Lances and Splinter Cannons as well as Blasters and Shredders. The Trueborn are an elite group that excludes any Halfborn Dark Eldar birthed in an amniotic tube from their company. Led by an officer called a Dracon, these hardened killers carry a wide assortment of expensive and deadly weapons wherever they go, supposedly to better protect the life of their Archon but in truth only to better inflict more pain and death. Trueborn delight in dramatic displays of firepower, sending powerful fusillades into the enemy's ranks and leaving bodies and the broken carcasses of armoured vehicles in their wake.