Commander Farsight - Timeline: O'Shovah's journey from hero to rebel covers three centuries of warfare. Within that great span have been battles that changed the course of history for the T'au Empire, from the most glorious of victories to the deepest pits of recrimination. Though the history that follows is forbidden knowledge within the Sept worlds of the Empire's core, the most fervent supporters of Farsight's cause have it committed to memory. It will continue to be passed on long after his death.771.M41 Battle Dome Mont'yr - The young prodigy Shoh is inducted into the training academies of Vior'la.715-731.M41 Scourge of the Arachen - The war against the Arachen lingering in the Western Veil Nebula absorbs many of the Fire Caste's new recruits. Over the course of sixteen years of battle, Shoh secures a string of promotions, though many of his teammates disappear without trace after each Trial by Fire.731-733.M41 Enlightenment atop Mount Kanji - Shoh, Shassera and Kais study under Commander Puretide. Though the legendary warrior's teachings allow them to see the truths of battle with clear eyes, the fires of their rivalry have only just been lit.733-742.M41 Arkunasha War - O'Shoh's first real command sees him reinforce the red oxide planet Arkunasha against the numberless hordes of the Ork Waaagh! Dok. On the cusp of total victory, he is forced to withdraw his forces from the Argap Plateau and return to the Sept worlds. It is during this conflict that he earns the moniker "Farsight".742.M41 Damocles Gulf Crusade - By using the cunning infiltration tactics masterminded by the Ethereal Aun'Va, the T'au colonise a great many human worlds on the far side of the Damocles Gulf. The resultant counter-invasion sees a vast battle group of Space Marines and Imperial Guard scour the T'au colonists from the Damocles Gulf and penetrate deep into the heart of the T'au Empire. The war philosophy of the Imperial savages is brutal and wasteful in the extreme, but undeniably effective. O'Shovah is reassigned to Dal'yth where, fighting alongside his comrade-in-fire O'Shassera, he engages the Imperium in a series of bitterly contested wars. Just as the T'au are ready to encircle and exterminate the trespassers, the Ethereal Caste orders a truce, and the Imperium's armies are allowed to leave the T'au Empire unmolested. In the aftermath of the war, Aun'Va orders the Fire Caste heroes known as the Swords of Puretide to have their prototype Puretide engrams removed by lobotomy -- though Farsight shields his friend Commander Sha'vastos from this fate.745.M41 The Time of Questioning - After studying the Imperium and realising the T'au Empire had fought against the merest fraction of its might, Aun'Va decides that a morale boost is needed to drive the next phase of expansion. Meanwhile, to preserve Puretide's teachings, he orders O'Shaserra and O'Kais to be placed in deep stasis until they are needed for the honour of command in future engagements.745.M41 The Great Reclamation - Farsight works tirelessly to reconquer the worlds of the Damocles Gulf, and with the majority of Imperial forces occupied elsewhere, he succeeds magnificently and his legend is set in stone. O'Shovah is lauded as the greatest of heroes, and statues of him are raised across the T'au Empire. Crowds from every caste cheer with news of each of his victories, yet his requests for further reinforcements are met only with silence.760.M41 The Farsight Expedition - The Farsight Expedition reclaims all of the worlds lost to the Imperium bar one. Just as battle plans are laid to reconquer the last world, Illuminas, Commander Farsight diverts his armies to repel the raids of a nearby Ork empire. What starts as series of isolated battles against infested Ork asteroids swiftly escalates into a costly war across a large battlefront. Instead of following the path allocated to him by the Ethereal Council, Farsight prosecutes his new war with great gusto, disobeying a direct order and shaking their faith in him in the process. Over time, Farsight becomes incensed at the continued lack of reinforcements and absence of new technologies, which he feels his expedition should be receiving. He begins to believe that the T'au Empire at large has abandoned him, and a seed of doubt grows within his warrior heart.815.M41 WAAAGH! Grog - While Farsight is away fighting Orks in the asteroid belt, WAAAGH! Grog descends upon the T'au world of Atari Vo, as the warlord lands his meteor base right on top of the planet's capital city. Grog is a resourceful leader, and meets the T'au firepower with every gun he can hire and as much looted weaponry as he can get his hands on. Farsight falls victim to his own ambition and stages an assault upon the Orks when they appear weak. In fact, the Ork forces were stronger than ever. The war escalates ever further, encompassing the span of a decade, until it consumes three of the Farsight Enclaves' four Sept worlds. When O'Shovah returns to find his colonies in flames, he learns the truths of all the elements before launching a devastating counter-attack. He comes to understand the material world all the better for it, though the realm of the Ethereals still remains a mystery to him.823.M41 The Way of the Short Blade - O'Shovah studies drone-scans of the veteran Ethereal Aun'Shi in combat. By connecting his neural network to the honeycombed outer layer of his Battlesuit, Farsight learns to truly feel through his "second skin" and develops a style of close-range fighting that imitates the styles of Aun'Shi, but which can be performed in Battlesuits. Perfecting it against captured Orks that the Earth Caste have trapped for their own experiments, O'Shovah trains his closest acolytes until they learn to relish the art of close combat.825.M41 The Molochite Tragedy - As Farsight continues his purges of the greenskin race, Orks are again discovered, this time upon Arthas Moloch, an artefact world on the fringes of the Damocles Gulf. The resultant bloodletting sets free a host of ectoplasmic nightmares that rampage through the T'au expedition, killing off the Ethereals at its heart before vanishing as swiftly as they arrived. During the battle against these unholy fiends, Farsight gets a glimpse through a Warp rift and sees a vision of the Eye of Terror. In the process, he realises the dire threat that looms over all sentient life -- the ancient evils of Chaos. O'Shovah cannot believe that the Ethereals would keep their knowledge of such a terrible threat a secret, but the evidence seems clear. The revelations shake him to his core.826.M41 The Farsight Enclaves - With the events of Arthas Moloch receding into painful memories, The T'au of the Farsight Enclaves wage their never-ending war against the Orks without the guidance of the Ethereals. A new era of violence is begun, yet the Farsight Enclaves continue to thrive.832.M41 Through Independence, Enlightenment - O'Shovah's meditations lead him to believe that the people of the T'au will never be free whilst the Ethereal caste exists. Fearing that his conclusions will do harm to the Greater Good, he disappears from active service and begins a new life as a hermit in the mountains of Vior'los.834.M41 An Empire Mourns - Farsight is reported dead to the wider T'au Empire. Even though they dare not show it openly, the eldest generations of T'au feel a pang of loss that their childhood hero has finally passed into memory.845.M41 Censure - Aun'Va receives word that Farsight lives yet, and that his Enclaves not only still exist, but have split away from the T'au Empire to form their own territories. Incensed beyond measure, the Ethereal Supreme excommunicates Farsight from the Greater Good. He orders all imagery of the rebel to be destroyed and any who speak his name to be taken away for extensive questioning, often never to be seen again.975.M41 The Huntress Awakens - Aun'Va releases O'Shaserra from stasis and tells her of Farsight's treachery and exile, setting her on a collision path with her ex-comrade.997.M41 The Supreme Commander Speaks - During a speech that rallies the T'au Empire for the new phase Third Sphere Expansion, O'Shaserra destroys the statue of O'Shovah outside the Mont'yr Battle Dome with her Fusion Blasters. It is a symbolic gesture that none can ignore.997.M41 Hidden Allies - An unexpected visitor arrives in the Farsight Enclaves; the Vision of Aun'Shi, a ship seemingly devoid of crew and earmarked for the imminent Third Sphere Expansion. After checking thoroughly for some sort of trap, the stasis holds are opened and a young T'au, Commander Torchstar, is found among the frozen passengers. She awakens and explains how some old friends and sympathizers still remain among the septs who illicitly arranged for the ship's course to be altered before launch. Secreted away in the cargo is a sizable collection of some of the T'au's newest, untested technological prototypes, including several XV104 Riptide Battlesuits and the blueprints and schematics for much more.997.M41 The Jaws of the Kraken - The Tyranids of Hive Fleet Kraken penetrate the boundaries of the Farsight Enclaves. War is joined against the Tyranids on Vior'los, most populous of the Enclave Sept worlds. Commander Farsight comes out of exile in order to lead the defence, and sees that the T'au need heroes now more than ever before. Farsight's favoured Mont'ka tactics prove largely ineffective against the Tyranid hordes -- their leader figures are so common as to render the strategy moot. The Earth caste scientist O'Vesa persuades Farsight to try Kauyon, the strategy of the Patient Hunter, and Farsight reluctantly agrees. Whilst defending an Earth Caste research facility with seven of his most trusted commanders, Farsight buys O'Vesa enough time to develop a bio-toxin that kills the entire splinter fleet.998.M41 The Revelation of Kauyon - In finally mastering the greater scope of Commander Puretide's teachings, Commander Farsight acquires insight into the tactics of Commander Shadowsun and Aun'Va. He meditates long on the fact that the entire Damocles Gulf war was in fact one giant application of Kauyon, drawing the Imperium into T'au space and then hitting it hard whilst it was overstretched. O'Shovah learns a new respect for Aun'Va, though he knows that the truth of the Ethereal's great plan must never be revealed to the populace.