vizn3r/warhammer40k-lore huggingface dataset:
Iyanden - The Battle Begins: Kelmon's preparations were barely complete when the first Tyranid swarms attacked. By then, Iyanden had fallen beneath the Shadow in the Warp, yet even so, some aid had arrived from other Craftworlds. None sent so much aid as Biel-Tan, though whether this largesse was in memory of their past alliance, or purely out of a desire to wreak xenocide, Kelmon was never sure. Even a few Harlequins from the Masque of the Veiled Path and Exodites emerged from the Webway portal at Iyanden's aft and pledged their aid, yet still the outlook was bleak. The Tyranid bio-ships closed on the Craftworld, and hundreds of solar sails glittered in the starlight as Iyanden's fleet darted to the attack. The Eldar spacecraft were faster, more manoeuvrable and had longer ranged weapons than their opponents, but this was not their only advantage. Admiral Ethrael, propelled to new heights of daring by the time of dire need, at last became the commander that Iyanden needed if it were to survive. In battle after battle, the Eldar spacecraft destroyed the lumbering Tyranid hive ships while only suffering minimal casualties themselves. For a while, it looked as if the fleet might be able to hold off the Tyranids on its own, but Kelmon worried. Already, the Craftworld's ability to replace destroyed spacecraft was being outstripped by the casualties being suffered. The Eldar fleet was being ground down in a massive battle of attrition, a battle that only the Tyranids could hope to win.As if to confirm Kelmon's worst fears, the next assault wave was massive, twice the size of any thus far. Iyanden's fleet suffered terrible casualties, and for the first time, Ethrael was unable to prevent the Craftworld from being breached. Carnifexes rampaged through the Wraithbone halls but were quickly slain by a host of Wraithguard under the command of the long-dead hero Draech, whose soul now resided in a Wraithlord's implacable frame. Thanks to Draech's intervention, the Tyranid landing had been wiped out before any serious damage was done, but the Eldar fleet had practically ceased to exist -- only a dozen vessels now survived. Still there was hope, Kelmon believed, especially if the wave had been the Tyranid's main assault force. Spirits were raised even more when it transpired that the next assault wave was tiny in comparison to what had come earlier. Although Ethrael could repel but a fraction of the swarms, those that landed were easily isolated and destroyed. Oftentime, Iyanden's own forces arrived at the site of a breach to find that their Biel-Tan allies had already destroyed the interlopers. For a short while, scans showed no new Tyranid vessels, and the Eldar dared to hope that they had weathered the storm. Kelmon and the other seers knew better. They could still feel the Hive Mind clawing through their thoughts; still hear its alien hunger scratching at their very sanity. The battle was far from over.
Iyanden - A Fate Reforged: In the end, Kelmon's deliberations ended only when he sensed an intruder lurking amongst the darkness of his halls. Upon touching her mind, Kelmon knew her to be Sylandri Veilwalker, Shadowseer and last survivor of the Harlequin troupe who had come to Iyanden's aid. It said much about the Farseer's mental state that his greeting was less than polite, but if Sylandri took offence she gave no sign. Her mask remained smooth and dark, and she gave no word of rebuke. Indeed, Sylandri said nothing at all, but walked gracefully to where Kelmon's runes still circled the air. There was a spray of glittering light as she seized the rune of Asuryan, snapped it cleanly in two and held the remains in her cupped hands. Kelmon stepped forwards, outraged at Sylandri's actions, before quickly retreated in horror -- the Shadowseer's mask had become a likeness of his own face, but worm-eaten and decayed. The Shadowseer's hands flew apart, casting the remnants of the rune to join the others. Kelmon saw not two broken halves of Asuryan as he expected, but two new runes charged with meaning. One was the rune for redemption, the other that of the Hosue of Ulthanash. Kelmon's outrage quickly gave way to hope. For a moment, Sylandri said nothing. Then her mask grew dark once again, and she told the Farseer simply that fate must sometimes be forged, not followed. A moment later, she was gone, as mysteriously as she had arrived. It didn't matter. Kelmon now knew what had to be done.
Iyanden - The Death of Pride: Emerging at last from the Chambers of Starlight, Kelmon gathered together what Farseers remained and led them to the Dome of the Crystal Seers. A message needed to be sent, he told them, one which had to breach the Shadow in the Warp if there was to be any chance of survival. Working in concert, Iyanden's surviving Farseers sent a focussed beam of psychic energy through the Hive Mind's choking presence, driving aside the writhing tendrils with telepathic light. Kelmon's mind soared across empty light years of space, touching at last upon that of Yriel, Iyanden's greatest exile. Kelmon had planned to offer an apology, to promise that Yriel's name would be restored if only he would return to defend his home in its desperate need. In the end, he had opportunity to say none of these things. Scarcely had Kelmon made contact when the floor heaved, and the Tyranids burst into the dome. A half-dozen Farseers were slain in the moment of the breach, either by the bio-electric bursts of Trygons or the waves of Termagants that followed in their wake. Kelmon felt the contact sever, cursed his ill luck, and called down eldritch fire upon his attackers.
Iyanden - The Outcast Returns: Many light years distant, Yriel experienced Kelmon's contact as a waking dream, filled with darkness and emotion. He glimpsed snatches of Tyranids rampaging through the ruined domes of his former home; he saw the shattered Wraithbone spires, and he saw the ravaged bodies of the dead lying thick in the passageways. Yriel did not need to hear the words Kelmon had planned to speak, for he knew the truth. Iyanden was fighting for survival. He had to return home -- but he would not do so alone. Yriel had not been idle in the fifty years since leaving Iyanden.In that time, he had forged his followers into a pirate fleet known as the Eldritch Raiders. Operating out of many of Kallorax's old strongholds, Yriel had continued the war against Chaos. Along the way, he had clashed with the Imperium of Man many times. Upon realising that they could not defeat Yriel in space-bound battle, the humans had instead attempted to foster rivalry between the Eldritch Raiders and two other pirate companies -- Xian's Black Raiders and the Scarlet Command. This quickly backfired when Yriel simply seized control of his rivals' fleets. Yriel convened a council of his fleet captains, and announced his intention to return to Iyanden. He warned them that he was almost certainly sailing into the jaws of death, and bade only the willing to follow him. Not one vessel elected to remain behind. Outcasts all, they were still Eldar, and thus possessed a sense of duty that far eclipsed the petty honour codes of other races. They would fight.
Iyanden - The Price of Victory: The victory on Iyanden was a hollow one indeed, for though the Craftworld's defenders had repulsed the invaders, there were barely any left alive to witness the victory. Iyanden stood in ruins, a crumbling remnant of its former glory. Four-fifths of the population lay dead or dying in the battle-scarred halls -- a terrible blow to the declining Eldar race. Amongst the dead lay Kelmon Farsight, surrounded by the bodies of a dozen Tyranids rent by psychic fire. What had become of Sylandri Veilwalker, no one knew. Iyanden's graceful and majestic fleet had been reduced to a pitiful shadow of its once mighty stature, the blasted remains orbiting in deathly silence around the shattered Worldship. The Craftworld's once-beautiful landscape was covered in the blackened corpses of Tyranids. The eldritch architecture was devastated; slender Wraithbone towers and magnificent crystal domes lay broken and shattered. Worse still, the very souls contained in those spirit stones that had been destroyed by the Tyranids were lost forever. Yet even in the darkness, some hope remained. Silvereye assumed Kelmon's place at the head of the Council and begged Yriel to stay. Iyanden needed all of its sons and daughters if it were to survive. Yriel did not answer at first. He could feel the baleful energies of the Spear of Twilight coursing through him and knew that he had changed his destiny forever by taking up the blade. Yet Yriel knew also that he could not abandon Iyanden a second time. Thus did the Scion of the House of Ulthanash at last come home.
Iyanden - A Craftworld Divided: Kraken's onslaught had not only disrupted the balance between life and death, it had also destroyed Iyanden's unity, and those Eldar that remained, living and dead, polarised into two factions. One group, in which Yriel was the loudest voice, wished to continue the war against Chaos. They no longer believed that the Craftworld's might was sufficient to achieve lasting victory, but would not despair. The other group believed that Iyanden could rise from the ashes like the phoenix of myth, and that the Craftworld's forces should not be frittered away on a fatalistic crusade. This second faction was far smaller, at least at first, but many influential individuals including Iyanna Arienal swelled its ranks. It fell to Taec Silvereye, as head of Iyanden's council, to keep the peace between these two factions. Yriel was given whatever forces could be spared in order to prosecute campaigns, but not to the point that Iyanden was left unprotected or that Iyanna Arienal could not pursue her goals of returning the Craftworld to greatness. Thus did Taec Silvereye keep death and life in balance. It was a solution that pleased neither faction, but it held Iyanden together.
Iyanden - WAAAGH! Rekkfist: Only one threat in all this time came close to ending Iyanden: the forces of WAAAGH! Rekkfist. As the Craftworld broached the Antellas System, the runes warned Taec Silvereye that the planets in Iyanden's path were heavily infested with Orks -- any attempt to pass through would end in disaster. Nor was retreat an option; Iyanden's fleet had already engaged several Kill Kroozers, and there could be no doubt that the Orks knew of the Craftworld's presence. The only hope remaining to the Eldar of Iyanden was for them to unleash a pre-emptive attack on Rekkfist's empire. It said much for the scale of the Ork threat that Yriel and Iyanna put aside their differences and agreed to work in concert; the needs of survival transcended the sanctity of ideology. Whilst Iyanna did not go so far as to put her supporters under Yriel's command, she had them offer the prince every assistance and ceased questioning his leadership in public. It seemed that the great threat presented by the Orks had brought the two halves of Iyanden's people together in a way that no peaceable endeavour could ever have achieved.
Iyanden - Yriel Strikes: In space, Yriel's fleet had at last joined the battle for Iyanden. The prince was briefly tempted to have his warriors disembark and fight aboard the Craftworld as they had against Hive Fleet Kraken, but quickly discarded the idea. The Ork hull was pounding Iyanden's outer hull with cannon shells and rokkits even as it launched more boarding torpedoes at the Craftworld. There could be no victory until it was destroyed. Detailing half his ships to intercept and destroy the boarding torpedoes, Yriel led the rest in low-level flight across the hulk's surface, blasting apart the stanchions that bound together the ruined starships and captive asteroids that formed its hull. After a dozen such flights, the hulk began to break up, jumbled wreckage spinning lazily into space from the force of the explosions. Thousands of greenskin bodies vented into space as the hulk's structure finally lost integrity. With a grim smile, Yriel turned his fleet back towards Iyanden.Despite the efforts of the fleet, countless boarding torpedoes had breached Iyanden, and the Orks had spread far and wide throughout the Craftworld. The greenskins avoided the ghost halls, for the clamouring of spirit voices made them uneasy, but they wrought much damage elsewhere. Taec Silvereye had fallen back before the horde, trading distance for time in which other ghost warriors could be awoken and marshalled to the fight, but at last, he had run out of places to retreat to. Then, as the Farseer prepared for what he knew would be the final assault, salvation came from a most unlikely source. Without warning, Iyanden's webway portal flared and a new and sinister force burst onto the Craftworld. These were warriors of the Wraithkind Kabal and the Cult of the Flayed Hand -- the Dark Eldar of cruel Commorragh had come to their cousins' aid. Like a wind of blades they swept through the passageways and halls of Iyanden, leaving only mutilated greenskin corpses in their wake. Seeing the Orks falter, though not knowing the cause, Taec Silvereye urged his own forces forwards. By the time Yriel arrived, not an Ork remained alive within Iyanden's halls.Moments later, Yriel's fleet was on the move again, this time carrying reinforcement to Antellas Prime where Iyanna Arienal was still embattled. To everyone's surprise, the Dark Eldar Archons offered their aid once more, explaining that they found great amusement in Iyanden's necromantic dabbling and would be delighted to bear further witness. Disgusted, but unable to refuse any aid, Yriel agreed to allow the dark kin aboard his vessels.
Iyanden - A Brief Respite: With the Orks of WAAAGH! Rekkfist defeated, the Eldar of Iyanden at last experienced a few brief years of relative peace. There were still wars and battles to be fought, of course, for the galaxy was ever a cruel home, and Yriel's spear seldom found itself resting idle. But these, at least, were not conflicts fought for Iyanden's very survival; never since that time have alien feet tread uninvited through the Craftworld's hallowed halls. This period of relative calm allowed the Bonesingers to affect a great many repairs; as the millennium drew to a close, their constant labours had seen a substantial part of the Craftworld restored to glory. Given another thousand years, or so the Bonesingers said, Iyanden would perhaps be made whole. Through it all, Iyanna Arienal continued her search to fulfill the prophecy of the Phoenix Arisen. Fully half the Tears of Morai-Heg had now been discovered, or so she said, although shared no details of her final goal with even her closest supporters. On those rare times she could be found aboard the Craftworld, Iyanna could invariably be found communing with Olari Dreamshaper, one of the oldest of Iyanden's Bonesingers. It was rumoured that they would speak only of the Craftworld's Infinity Circuit, though none knew the reason behind this.
Iyanden - The Kraken's Legacy: A desperate decision from the past now came back to haunt Iyanden. In the aftermath of the battle with Hive Fleet Kraken, the Craftworld's Farseers had created an artificial Warp storm to block the Tyranid pursuit. Hundreds of bio-ships had plunged into that otherwordly tempest, and the Eldar assumed they had all been destroyed, or at least banished to where they could wreak no immediate harm. Alas, this was not the case. Forewarned by the prophecies of Taec Silvereye, the Eldar of Iyanden learned that the fickle eddies of the Warp had cast the Kraken's tendril back into realspace. Worse, the bio-ships had reappeared near Dûriel -- a world known to the Imperium as Valedor -- directly in the path of Hive Fleet Leviathan. The two fleets could not be permitted to combine, lest an unstoppable potent strain of Tyranids emerge to threaten Iyanden again. The Tyranids had to be stopped, and they had to be stopped at Dûriel.Iyanden knew its forces were too distant to reach Dûriel in time, and too few to guarantee victory, but it would not need to stand alone. Biel-Tan soon pledged its aid, and even the dark kin of Commorragh agreed to join the fight. Indeed, it was the Dark Eldar who provided the solution -- a psychically triggered device that could spark the planet's molten core into a cataclysmic fury, destroying Dûriel and every Tyranid upon it. This device was known as the Fireheart, but it could not be detonated remotely -- Dûriel could be destroyed, but it would require the seers who actived the Fireheart to perish along with it.
Iyanden - The Red Death of Dûriel: Dûriel became a crucible of war as the Eldar fought to prevent the melding of Hive Fleets Kraken and Leviathan. The Swordwind of Biel-Tan arrived first to Dûriel, and thus bore the burden of the initial fighting, but Iyanden's forces soon found that their own battles began before they even reached their destination. The unthinkable had happened -- the Tyranids had breached the Webway. As Iyanden's vanguard confirmed that the Dûriel webway gate had been compromised, Taec Silvereye ordered the Craftworld's ghost warriors to lead the counter-attack. A wall of implacable wraithbone forms blocked the glowing webway tunnels, a barrier that only the mightiest bio-abominations could breach. Suncannons and D-Scythes flared, and the Tyranid infestation stalled. Then, Iyanden's Avatar, reborn in rage and fire, entered the battle. As the molten giant plunged into the Tyranid lines, the glory of Khaine swept over the Guardians and ghost warriors that came in his wake. Those Tyranids that were not hacked down or torn apart by shuriken weapons were trampled underfoot as the Eldar of Iyanden forced their way through the webway portal and onto Dûriel's embattled surface.They arrived to find the final battle for Dûriel well underway atop the mountain known as the Godpeak. As the Farseers of Biel-Tan bent the Fireheart to their will, the combined Eldar and Dark Eldar hosts fought to keep the Tyrnaid swarms at bay. The air reverberated with alien roars and the hissing of shuriken fire. Time and again, the Tyrnaids hurled themselves at the Eldar positions, the ruthless will of the Hive Mind ever probing for a weakness to exploit. It did not find one. The Eldar fought at the last as the planet came apart beneath them. Taec Silvereye perished there, guiding the Wraithguard of House Illumenwë as they held back the doomed Tyranid swarms long enough for the remaining Eldar to escape. In the skies above, Yriel led the Iyanden fleet against the bio-ships of Hive Fleet Kraken, harnessing his hard-won experience to destroy every last obscene vessel. Even then, at the last, it seemed as if the Hive Mind might win its prize, that the precious bio-information encoded in the Kraken swarms might be reclaimed by Hive Fleet Leviathan, but a last minute strike by Dark Eldar fighter-craft delayed the reabsorption long enough for the Fireheart to complete its cataclysmic purpose. Though many lives had been spent, the union of the hive fleets had been denied. Iyanden was safe again.
Iyanden - The End Times Approach: Though Iyanden had lost comparatively few of its warriors during the defeat of the twin hive fleets, those losses it had suffered were hard to bear. Many of its Farseers had perished during the pivotal battle at the Godpeak, Taec Silvereye amongst them, and the absence of their wisdom would hurt the Craftworld greatly in the future. Many thought also that Iyanna Airenal had been slain. She had been ever at Taec Silvereye's side during that battle, and most had assumed that the Farseer's fate had been hers also. Yet this fear, at least, was unfounded, for Iyanna was soon discovered amongst the wounded. She had tried to remain at Taec's side, she insisted, but the Farseer had ordered her to leave and continue her work. As for Yriel, he was weary to his bones. He sensed that Dûriel had been his last battle and that the Spear of Twilight had burnt away all but the last of his soul. For nearly ten years, he had fought the enemies of his Craftworld without rest and without companionship -- whatever hope he had remaining was not for his own fate, but for that of his kin.In the depths of night, Yriel returned to the Shrine of Ulthanash, whence he had taken the Spear of Twilight those long years ago. He said no farewells and spoke not of his purpose. No one marked his passage. The prince soon stood within the shrine, before the very reliquary where the Spear of Twilight had once lain. He bowed his head, intending to return the weapon to its rightful repose, even though the act would claim his life. With one last whispered prayer to Asuryan, he began to lower the Spear of Twilight into its cradle, only to stop when the felt a hand upon his. Yriel looked up and beheld the smooth, dark mask of the Shadowseer Sylandri Veilwalker, whom he had not seen since he had first taken up the spear.The Shadowseer told the prince that his labours were not yet done; that night was descending upon the galaxy, but that a chance of an empire restored waited in the dawn. As Yriel listened, the walls of the shrine flickered with vibrant images of worlds afire, of Daemons loose among the stars and of the Eldar Gods reborn to glory. Yriel felt his soul grown strong again, though whether it was the Shadowseer's words, her touch or the images he saw that wrought this change, he did not know. Yriel drew the Spear of Twilight to his side once more and stood tall -- taller, indeed, than he had in many years. In that moment, he saw that he had many more battles to fight -- it was not yet time for his soul to know peace. Veilwalker's illusions faded away, and she beckoned Yriel after her into the shadows of the shrine. Tightening his grip on the Spear of Twilight, Yriel followed. It was a long time before he was seen in that part of the galaxy again. Meanwhile, the story of Iyanden Craftworld continues on, but to what destination, not even the gods can say.
Iyanden - Hope Rekindled: Following Yriel's departure from Iyanden, Iyanna Arienal soon found herself standing alone in the Shrine of Asuryan, lost in contemplation. No one had seen Yriel in over a month, and the skeins of his fate were so tangled that not one the Craftword's Farseers could divine what had befallen him. Iyanna did not greatly regret Yriel's absence -- he would have opposed her plans, had he ever truly perceived them -- but she could not deny that his loss diminished Iyanden and their race. The Fire of Creation at the chamber's heart had laid cold and inert since Kallorax's insolent attack, decades earlier. The shrine still bore the scars of that day, and of the Tyranid invasion that had come after. The Spiritseer wondered if its desolate fate was a metaphor for that of Iyanden's people. Of course it was, she assured herself. Only Ynnead's embrace offered any hope of salvation. The old gods were dead; the coldness of the chamber was proof of that. With one last look around the chamber, Iyanna turned to leave; only one Tear of Morai-Heg yet remained unaccounted for, but there was much more to be accomplished if She Who Thirsts was to be thwarted. Behind her, unnoticed, the Fire of Creation flickered into sudden, brilliant life.
Iyanden - Iyanden Forces: Iyanden is more reliant on its Ghost Warriors than any other Craftworld. Where other Eldar Craftworlds utilise Aspect Warriors and Guardians as the heart of their armies, and their ghost warriors as supporting units, Iyanden does the exact opposite.
Iyanden - Emissaries of the Dead: Wraithknights are vital to any Craftworld's survival. Not only are they ranked amongst the most formidable warriors that the Eldar can bring to bear, it is they that recover spirit stones from the metaphysical horror of lost Crone Worlds, thus ensuring the survival of Eldar souls. On Iyanden, the Wraithknights are bound even more tightly into the Craftworld's survival, for it is they who act as emissaries between the living and the dead. Such is only possible because of the psychic bond between each Wraithknight's twin pilots. Even once bound into the body of a ghost warrior, the dead share few points of reference with the living. Unless there is a Spiritseer present -- and they are all too often not, especially during the upheaval of battle -- communication between the dead and the living can be likened to that between a sightless man and one who cannot hear; progress is slow, at best, and often maddeningly imprecise. Only a Wraithknight's pilots are immune to this confusion. A shared soul ensures that each twin is at all times able to communicate in terms that the other can understand. Though this seldom allows the living pilot to commune directly with the dead, or the ghost pilot to speak on equal terms with the living, it does allow them to translate the dreamlike urges of ghost warriors into something that the sharper souls of the living Eldar can comprehend, and vice versa. Thus do Wraithknights serves as secondary command nodes in Iyanden's armies, especially where complex strategies are being employed, and a sudden loss of coordination between the living and the dead would be disastrous.
Iyanden - Eternal Heroes: The tale of Iyanden is replete with great heroes awoken from the dead to defend their home as Wraithlords. The deeds of Lord-Phoenix Dreamspinner could fill a thousand volumes, as could those of Draech Starhand and Elendri Deathsiren, the Crone Banshee -- and these are but three of the many hundreds of mighty souls who have striven from beyond death's veil. If these heroes could all be awakened at once, or so the Eldar believe, their race would once again know the power to remake the stars. Alas, the longer a spirit dwells in the Infinity Circuit, the more of its anima slips away, and the less urgent the concerns of the living seem. A recently interred soul, the memories of kith and kin yet bright in it flickering consciousness, is always readiest to take up arms -- at least once the psychic shocks of death and twilight rebirth are overcome. As the decades pass, the skeins of mortality fade, and the soul's personality is subsumed into the Infinity Circuit's whispering gestalt. Nonetheless, when the direst times befall, the Spiritseers of Iyanden will judge that only through the labours of their mightiest dead can the Craftworld be saved. On those occasions, their minds travel deep into the Infinity Circuit so that they might gather and rebind a hero's fading consciousness into a single entity of implacable will. This is a perilous undertaking, and many Spiritseers are lost in the process, their minds lured into the serenity and peace of the spirit world. Nonetheless, they all make the sacrifice willingly, so they might have even the slimmest chance of restoring a worthy hero from the past to fight one last battle from within a Wraithlord's mighty frame.
Iyanden - Weaponry of the Dead: A great many Eldar weapons are so lethal that they are too dangerous for the living to operate. The intricate mechanisms of distortion weapons, in particular, rely upon a mix of arcane technology and mystic science lethal to living matter. Fortunately, such forces find little purchase on a ghost warrior's wraithbone form, allowing the dead to wield these weapons in safety where the living cannot. More perilous by far are the ghost weapons wielded by wraith-constructs. Many of these weapons contain a spirit stone whose deathless sentience guides the wielder's strikes to greater effect. The danger comes from the fact that these spirits are not drawn from the Craftworld's Infinity Circuit as those of the ghost warriors are. Not all spirit stones gathered on the Crone Worlds are empty. Indeed, some few contain the immortal essence of great scholars or heroes of the ancient Eldar Empire. More often, however, those spirit stones that are not imprinted when they are recovered contain a malevolent soul, one that rages at its confinement within the crystal shard.Some of these Spirit Stones, unfit as they are for any other purpose, are embedded into ghost weapons. No living Eldar could safely wield such a blade, for the spirit's spite would, at best, overcome him and, at worst, attempt to claim his mortal body for its own sadistic purposes. Even ghost warriors are not immune to the psychic feedback from such a weapon, and many Eldar assume that the legendary fury of Wraithblades is as much brought about by the malice contained in their weaponry as their own immortal anger.
Iyanden - Shadow Councils: Ghost Warriors perceive the physical world only dimly, and can be slow to react to -- or even acknowledge -- instructions issued by non-seers. For the armies of Iyanden, which rely ever more on their wraith-constructs to win victory, such delays can prove catastrophic if they occur in the crucible of battle, where even a second's tardiness can transmute a hard-won victory into a bitter and costly defeat. It is to guard against this danger that an Autarch of Iyanden seldom engages in battle without at least one Spiritseer at his side. By maintaining a telepathic link with both the Autarch and the ghost warriors, an Iyanden Spiritseer can ensure that the wraith-constructs react swiftly to changes in the battle-plan; more swiftly, sometimes, than the Aspect Warriors and Guardians who make up the remainder of the warhost. Of course, the more ghost warriors there are present in the warhost, the greater the strain this places on any individual Spiritseer. Thus, in larger campaigns, an Autarch might well be accompanied by an entire council of Spiritseers -- known as a "Shadow Council" -- each of whom is responsible for overseeing the actions of a different ghost warrior strike force.This arrangement, which originally arose out of necessity, has over time become an established practice and one of Iyanden's greatest strengths, allowing elements of the Craftworld's ghost warrior warhost that are scattered across the battlefield to operate with a coordination that far outstrips that of the living. As tireless beings with no need for rest or sustenance, ghost warriors can remain in silent ambush for days at a time, if need be, patiently waiting for the order that will begin the killing.
Iyanden - Notable Locations: Shrine of Asuryan - The Eldar of Iyanden have ever revered Asuryan, the eldest and greatest of all the gods. Indeed, the Shrine of Asuryan lies at the very heart of the Craftworld. In the centre of this hallowed chamber, atop a pyramid of perfect diamond, burns the Fire of Creation, said by some to be the last splinter of Asuryan's power. For thousands of years, it was from the presence of this flame that the Eldar of Iyanden drew their strength; even though Asuryan was gone, consumed by Slaanesh during the Fall, the presence of his flame told the Eldar of Iyanden that they were still touched by greatness and would one day make the gods proud. It that fire were to go out, or so legend told, doom would befall the Craftworld and all within it. The Eldar, being creatures of subtle and intricate mind, interpreted the legend as metaphor, for they knew the fire of the shrine was but a reflection of the flame they kindled within their own souls.The Ghost Halls - For most Craftworlds, Ghost Warriors are the last line of defence, awoken sparingly and seldom in large numbers. On Iyanden, where the boundary between the land of the living and the dead is particularly thin, the ghost warriors are so numerous and so active that they have willingly taken up the burden of the Craftworld's wars. Thus have Wraithguard, Wraithblades and Wraithlords adopted the duties once given over to Guardians and Aspect Warriors, overwhelming through endurance and implacability those enemies that would have once been defeated through deftness and grace. Just as Iyanden's wraith-warriors dwell in the ruined and silent ghost halls that were once their families' ancestral domes, so too do they fight together on the field of battle. They bear the colours of their Craftworld and the iconography of their houses -- for the Eldar of Iyanden, the importance of lineage transcends even death itself. It is rare, though not unheard of, for ghost warriors of different houses to fight together. What remains of an Eldar soul after death is given to extremes of personality -- only the strongest character traits and obsessions survive the transition from living being to spirit. By having ghost warriors of the great houses fight alongside their kin, the Spiritseers guarantee that these divergent forces are bound by a common purpose that transcends the dreamlike desires of the dead.
Iyanden - Gifts of Asuryan: The Celestial Lance - This crystal lance was once borne by Drastanta, Tempest of Starlight and Phoenix Lord of the Shining Spears. Alas, Drastanta was ever over-proud and much given to needless lone battles. Drastanta came late to Asurmen's final stand and found his mentor already fallen before the foul might of the Keeper of Secrets N'kari. Keening with rage and sorrow, Drastanta slew the Greater Daemon, the energies of the lance shattering the creature's vile spirit. Drastanta emerged from the fires of Asur where his mentor had not, but he soon vanished into the tumult of the war-torn galaxy. In the centuries since his final recorded battle, the Celestial Lance has passed from shrine to shrine and craftworld to craftworld, the better to keep alive the tales and teachings of the Shining Spears. If Drastanta is truly lost to the Eldar, others will continue the fight in his name.Soulshrive - At the heart of this sword lies an ancient spirit stone, within which is caged the essence of a malevolent and long dead soul. Only a warrior of the strongest will can wield this weapon, for the spirit within feasts on pain and ever spurs its bearer to violence. Legends abound of past bearers who have been driven mad by whispers echoing through their waking minds, who slaughtered friends or family in an attempt to quell the voices in their head. By rights, the Soulshrive should have been sealed in a stasis vault or destroyed long ago, so that its evil might be contained or dispersed, but alas, times are so dire that every weapon must be pressed into service, whatever the risks.The Wraithforge Stone - This was once the waystone of the long dead Bonesinger Ivaril Brightshard. It was Ivaril who aided Mehlendri Silversouls in adapting the infinity circuit into a soul reservoir, and Iyanden has never known a more skilled shaper than he. Ivaril's soul has long since departed into the infinity circuit, but legend tells that an echo of it remains in the Wraithforge Stone and allows its bearer to manipulate wraithbone into new forms just as Ivaril once did.Guardian Helm of Xellethon - This deceptively delicate alabaster helm was crafted in aeons past by the master smith Xellethon. Wearing it amplifies the presence of the wearer's soul in the spirit world, allowing those roused from the spirit realm to "see" as the wearer moves between the strands of many potential destinies. This provides nearby ghost warriors a brief opportunity to intervene befoe the bearer's doom falls.Spear of Tethlas - Adrallanar, of the House of Tethlas, was a mentor to many of Iyanden's seers, including the Spiritseer Iyanna Arienal. His spear was an heirloom of his house, its origins shrouded in the pandemonium of the Fall. Adrallanar and his house were utterly consumed by Hive Fleet Kraken, and the Spear of Tethlas has ever since been carried by Iyanna Arieanal. In the years since Kraken's defeat, the weapon has become so synonymous with her authority that she will sometimes permit a chosen emissary to bear it, so that all will know that he speaks with her voice.
Iyanden - Sources: Battlefleet Gothic 2010 Compendium, "Doom of the Eldar - Yriel's Raiders, and the Warfleets of the Craftworld Eldar," pp. 124-145Codex: Dark Eldar (5th Edition), pg. 23Codex: Eldar (6th Edition), pp. 16, 23, 54, 75, 89Codex: Eldar (4th Edition)Codex: Eldar (2nd Edition)Codex: Tyranids (8th Edition), pg. 21Codex: Tyranids (6th Edition) (Ebook), pp. 33-34, 39-43Codex: Tyranids (5th Edition), pp. 16-17, 24-25Craftworld Iyandedn - A Codex: Eldar Supplement (6th Edition)The Gathering Storm - Part Two - Fracture if Biel-Tan (7th Edition), pg. 64Warhammer 40,000: Apocalypse, pg. 144Warhammer 40,000: Planetstrike (5th Edition), pg. 56Warhammer 40,000: Rulebook (5th Edition), pg. 117White Dwarf 190 (UK), "Tyranid Invasion," by Jervis Johnson, pp. 12-13White Dwarf 164 (UK), "Doom of the Eldar," by Jervis Johnson, pp. 27-32
Iybraesil - Iybraesil: IybraesilAsuryanicraftworldsEye of Terrorforces of Chaosspirit stonesAeldari EmpireCrone WorldsThe world-rune of Iybraesil, known as "Wisdom of Pain" and also the "Hand of He," is a reference to the Aeldari myth wherein Morai-Heg, the Crone, the goddess of fate and the soul, persuaded the war god Khaela Mensha Khaine to sever her hand so that she could drink of the wisdom of her own blood. The Asuryani of Iybraesil make frequent references to this act, claiming that no knowledge is truly claimed without sacrifice.
Iybraesil - History: Iybraesil is structured around a largely matriarchal craftworld society, fostering many Howling Banshees shrines and female Autarchs. Craftworld Iybraesil includes more female warriors within its ranks than any other. For Terran millennia uncounted, the Howling Banshees have formed the vanguard of Iybraesil's warhosts, falling upon their foes amid a cacophony of paralysing war cries.The legends of Iybraesil tell of a pact their ancestors made with the goddess Morai-Heg. Seven times seven of Iybraesil's warrior women became the Crone's deathly handmaidens so their sisters might enjoy especially long and fruitful lives free of her cursing touch. The craftworld has a disproportionately high female population ratio to this day.In these dark times, the people of Iybraesil are driven to hunt for Crone Worlds, the original homeworlds of the lost Aeldari Empire which now resides within the Eye of Terror, for the Asuryani of Iybraesil hope to secure not only the Tears of Isha, but also ancient technologies and doomsday artefacts with which to tip the balance of fate for their species. Dutiful and fierce, the gifted Seers of the craftworld labour long in their hunt for the hidden secrets of the Crone Worlds.
Iybraesil - Notable Events: Defence Against Drukhari Raiders (437.M38) - Asuryani Rangers from Craftworld Iybraesil help Imperial colonists on an unnamed world, located in the Segmentum Obscurus, to defeat an attack by Drukhari raiders.Destruction of a Drukhari Fleet (107.M41) - Asuryani spacecraft of Craftworld Iybraesil destroy a Drukhari fleet that had been ravaging the shipping lanes of the Javian Sub-sector located in the Segmentum Obscurus.
Iybraesil - Appearance: The grey-blue of Craftworld Iybraesil is said to represent the limpid scrying pool of the crone goddess Morai-Heg, the pure white her piercing third eye, and the arterial red the blood she drank from her own wrist for the hidden knowledge contained therein.To its people, this trinity of colours represents the inextricable link between wisdom and sacrifice. Iybraesil's obsession with the Crone Worlds has also meant that the waystones harvested by them are often of a particularly rare quality.
Iybraesil - Sources: Codex: Craftworlds (8th Edition), pg. 25Codex: Eldar Craftworlds (7th Edition) (Digital Edition), pp. 44, 186-187Codex: Eldar (6th Edition), pg. 17Warhammer 40,000: Battle Missions (5th Edition), pg. 33White Dwarf Magazine 236 (UK), "Codex: Eldar," by Gav Thorpe, pg. 11
J.C. Stearns - J.C. Stearns: J.C. Stearns is an author for Games Workshop's Black Library imprint.
J.C. Stearns - Blackstone Fortress: Past in Flames (Short Story) (2020, collected in Vaults of Obsidian (Anthology))
J.C. Stearns - Eldar: Wraithbound (Short Story) (2019, collected in On Wings of Blood (Anthology))Void Crossed (Short Story) (2019, collected in Nexus & Other Stories (Anthology))
J.C. Stearns - T'au: Voice of Experience (Short Story) (2020)
J.C. Stearns - Warhammer Horror: The Marauder Lives (Short Story) (2019, collected in Maledictions (Anthology))The Oubliette (2020, ISBN 1-78999-033-5)
J.C. Stearns - Others: Turn of the Adder (Short Story) (2018, collected in Inferno! Vol. 2 (Anthology))
Jackal-class Raider - Jackal-class Raider: A Jackal-class Raider is a  Necron starship that has been part of every Necron fleet so far encountered by the Imperium of Man. Necron fleets have always included numbers of smaller ships roughly equivalent to Imperial escort vessels.Although there have been two instances of such craft operating on their own, this seems to be the exception rather than the rule, and it appears that they are usually very closely controlled by the Tomb Ships or Harvest Ships in their fleet.The Jackal is the slightly larger of the two types of Necron escort vessels so far encountered, with the other being the Dirge-class Raider.As with all known Necron vessels, Jackal-class Raiders possess an unknown form of drive technology that allows the ship to undertake interstellar travel without the need to enter the Warp. The Raider's drive technology eliminates the spacecraft's inertia, allowing it travel at extreme speeds and with extreme acceleration, whilst also giving the spacecraft an agility that few other voidships can match.In truth, however, the Jackal-class, like all Necron spacecraft, primarily relies upon the use of Dolmen Gates to serve as portals into the Webway, which allows them to cross the vastness of space without resorting to the use of the Warp since the undying Necrons possess no psykers.
Jackal-class Raider - Notable Encounters: 796.M41 Battle of Adinbur Prime – Jackal-class Raiders ambushed Patrol Group Tiryns near the planet of Adinbur Prime. Luckily for the Imperial contingent, Battlefleet Artemis was able to reinforce the beleaguered vessels and repel the assaulters successfully.992.M41 Orphean War – During the Orphean War, numerous Jackals were encountered by Battlefleet Orpheus. Under the command of Kutlakh the World Killer, Phaeron of the Maynarkh Dynasty, they destroyed many times their number in Imperial ships and helped to shatter the combat effectiveness of Battlefleet Orpheus by the time they disengaged.998.M41 Assault on the Noctis Labyrinth – Jackal-class Raiders provided diversionary targets at the edge of the Sol System, unleashing attacks by Imperial defenders in an attempt to repel them. A plea for aid from the Tethrock Quay naval base was the first indicator of the Necron vessels' arrival. The Imperial warship Lux Imperator disappeared and the warship Solar’s Fury was destroyed soon after. These attacks culminated with a suicide rush by five Shroud-class Light Cruisers to Mars itself whenre they landed near the Noctis Labyrinth. It is known to the Inquisition's Ordo Xenos that the Noctis Labyrinth is the legendary home of the being called the Void Dragon, and they fear that the Necron incursion may have been linked to an attempt to awaken this ancient enemy of the Emperor.
Jackal-class Raider - Armament: Jackal-class Raiders are composed entirely out of Necrodermis, a unique living metal which comprises the undying mechanical bodies of every Necron warrior, vehicle and starship. The material’s regenerative properties and hardy nature means that Raiders are immune to the detrimental effects posed by celestial phenomena such as solar flares, radiation, gas clouds and nebulae, and are also able to repair their armour at a rapid pace during an engagement. However, standard Necron combat protocol dictates that a clean disengagement is preferable to a fight to the end, and Raiders will do this by "fading out," where the vessel in question dematerialises into an unknown extradimensional space; taking it out of the battle. The standard armament of a Jackal-class Raider includes:Lightning Arc Batteries – Lightning Arcs use stored solar energy and, when activated, release it as a forest of living energy tendrils which envelop targets and probe for weaknesses. Lightning Arcs act as the main weapon batteries for Necron ships, but are different from the equivalents used by the other starfaring species of the galaxy in that the arcs they fire are able to split up and guide themselves to their own targets, providing a mass-strike ability like no other known ship-based weapon. A Lightning Arc battery is usually able to cover all angles of approach except for the rear.Portal – Portals are vast stone gateways located within a Necron warship, and act as extradimensional conduits for boarding enemy vessels. More precise than conventional Imperial Teleporters, they are most commonly used to flood enemy starships with a relentless host of Necron Warriors and swarms of Canoptek Scarabs.
Jade Scorpions - Jade Scorpions: The Jade Scorpions are a Loyalist Space Marine Chapter of unknown Founding and a successor of the White Scars.  Their Chapter homeworld is Taongar, which lies in the Segmentum Tempestus, to the galactic south of Warp Storm Annihilus and west of the Veiled Region.
Jade Scorpions - Notable Jade Scorpions: Watch Master Akrep Xie - Akrep Xie is a Deathwatch Chapter watch master who is the current watch commander of the Eye of Octos watch fortress in the Octarius Sector of the Segmentum Ultima. Prior to being seconded to the Deathwatch, Akrep Xie was a Veteran of the Jade Scorpions Chapter. In the Era Indomitus Xie led the Eye of Octos' Deathwatch kill-teams to aid the Pankallis Sub-sector, after it was invaded by the forces of the Tyranid Hive Fleet Leviathan. Xie is currently fighting to cleanse the xenos from the planet called Death of Bianzeer, in the Bianzeer's Hollow System.
Jade Scorpions - Chapter Colours: The Jade Scorpions' Chapter colours are not currently listed in Imperial records.
Jade Scorpions - Chapter Badge: The Jade Scorpions' Chapter badge appears to be a scorpion.
Jae Hedari - Personality: Spread throughout the Imperium is a vast array of personages, identities, outlooks and so on -- every facet of Mankind can be found throughout the Emperor's million worlds. In this regard, those who have opened their hearts to anyone willing to put in the effort are in abundance. Whether they be man or woman, Jae will show no inhibition in regards to romantic prospects if someone puts in the effort.For those Imperial citizens who have weathered the harsh day-to-day lives of the commonfolk, seen hardship through to its very end while the extremities of life beat away at you, there can be only a handful of beliefs that keep one going. The Master of Mankind, beloved by all, ensures spiritual purity, of course. But what might there be for someone looking to have physical safety in an otherwise volatile environment?Jae Hedari has found an answer to this, focusing on the individual among the great cogs of Mankind and finding comfort in her fellow man rather than the wider institutions they are a part of. God-Emperor fearing always, of course, but with greater faith in and respect for the common man. Thus, as the Inquisition sees such things, Jae might be willing to countenance more Radical solutions to problems in which a greater good for all sometimes justifies the less-than-orthodox means used to achieve them.
Jae Hedari - Wargear: Armoured BodygloveAeldari ChainswordCameleoline Cloak2 Krak GrenadesOnslaught (Stimm) - Onslaught is a synthetic stimm that can dramatically increase its user's physical speed and mobility at the cost of a degradation in their perception and weapon accuracy.Shuriken PistolSplinter Pistol