Conclave of Tears - History: The Jericho Reach is a region largely devoid of the presence of the xenos species known as the Aeldari. Though there exist a few small, scattered bands of Aeldari Corsairs, no craftworld is known to operate within several thousand light years, save the scout-soldiers of Craftworld Alaitoc who safeguard the world of Mackensee, and no extant Maiden Worlds have been conclusively identified.Even the cruel Drukhari rarely set foot within the region, not even to plunder its numerous worlds for slaves and other prey. There are plenty within the upper echelons of the Achilus Crusade who regard this fact as a rare blessing in a war that already involves three of the Imperium's bitterest foes.There are those within the Inquisition's Dead Cabal, however, who fear that it portends something very dire indeed. The Aeldari were once masters of a stellar empire that stood for countless aeons and faded traces of their former glory are to be found the length and breadth of the galaxy.Why then, do they apparently shun the Jericho Reach? This issue is one that has long been a grave concern for certain members of the Dead Cabal, for it seems to connect with so many other dread fears to be found in the war-torn Jericho Reach and beyond.For generations, individual Inquisitors, as well as certain Deathwatch battle-brothers, have maintained a close watch for any clue as to why the region is so anathema to the Aeldari and all their kin. Certainly, there are slumbering horrors deep beneath the worlds of the outer Jericho Reach that any sane species would avoid, and the depths of interstellar space are host to all manner of puissant terrors.But the same could be said for numerous other regions in the galaxy where the Aeldari are known to be active, from the cursed systems bordering the Eye of Terror to the haunted marches of the Ghoul Stars.Over the years, these hidden masters of the Dead Cabal have come to detect the presence of a very small number of Aeldari operating in a coordinated fashion in the Jericho Reach, but not in any manner that pernicious species is normally associated with.Ordinarily, Aeldari craftworlds dispatch war hosts far and wide to challenge or punish the impudent transgressions of what they regard as the "lesser races," while the outcast Corsair fleets strike without apparent rhyme or reason wherever they may.The Drukhari launch their terrible realspace raids according to their own dark drives, while the enigmatic Harlequins are known to focus their efforts upon those that serve the Ruinous Powers. In the Jericho Reach, none of these truths appear to hold, the Aeldari making their presence known in an entirely different manner.Instead of massing their forces according to their conventional martial traditions and values, those Aeldari operating in the Jericho Reach do so in very small numbers indeed. They appear to operate in small bands, sometimes consisting of several different strands of Aeldari culture.They do not pursue their typical objectives, military or otherwise, but instead follow a nigh-impenetrable strategy that, to some within the Dead Cabal, can only be related to the phenomenon known as the Dark Pattern.As unseen events converge and the stars move ponderously towards some as-yet undreamed-of alignment, the Dead Cabal is starting to glimpse something of the Aeldari's activities within the Jericho Reach. They have caught but a fleeting impression of a group that traces its roots to the end of the War in Heaven -- the so-called Conclave of Tears.