Asuryani Path - History: An Asuryani Path is an extremely rigid, codified and structured social code of behaviour, to which all Aeldari living inside a craftworld must adhere. To understand how the Asuryani have been forced to rely upon such a system of behaviour, one must understand something of the Aeldari psyche. For all the physiological differences between a Human and an Aeldari, they are nothing compared to the mental differences between the two species.The Aeldari are a highly psychic race, and therefore the depth of their emotions and perceptions are much, much keener than those of any other intelligent species in the galaxy. Each experience is for an Aeldari a true feast for the senses, to the extent that a reckless Aeldari can actually die from sensory overload.The extreme gratification the Aeldari receive from any accomplishment inexorably led their ancient interstellar empire into a downward spiral of hedonism and overindulgence marked by the quest for ever more intense sensations. This long period of hedonistic debauchery eventually culminated in the cataclysmic Fall and the birth of the Chaos God Slaanesh, the Prince of Pleasure, known to the Aeldari as "She Who Thirsts."After the horrors of the Fall, the few surviving Aeldari realised that this new major Chaos God would not rest until it had devoured every last Aeldari soul, and that they needed some form of protection to ensure their continued survival.The Drukhari managed to find a way to strengthen their own psyches from Slaanesh's hunger by absorbing the psychic energies produced by pain and despair in other intelligent beings, sacrificing what they steal from others to Slaanesh in order to protect their own souls from being devoured by She Who Thirsts.For their part, the Craftworld Asuryani found their solace in the Paths. Preventing an Aeldari from intensely experiencing their surroundings proved impossible, so the survivors defined a way to be able to experience their emotions without falling prey to the danger of overindulging them. Each Asuryani chooses a discipline, a role they will fulfill in their day-to-day life, and focuses on perfecting their chosen craft as much as they can.The key point of this development is to induce a particular mental state similar to that which Humans might consider schizophrenia in an Aeldari, fragmenting the mind to allow them to call on their emotions while they are busy with their chosen craft, and safely store them away in their mind when they are not.This psychic compartmentalisation allows an Aeldari to call on their emotions and fully experience the heights they can provide when they are needed to maximise their efficiency at their chosen task, but not fall prey to the excesses of feeling that led to the Fall and that attract the unwanted attention of Slaanesh.Once an Asuryani has achieved mastery of their chosen Path, an event that can take many Terran decades, they will choose another Path to tread. There is no predefined choice, and some Asuryani choose new Paths that are closely linked to their previous experiences, while others prefer to switch between completely unrelated roles. Each Asuryani builds their own personal toolbox of different skills and experiences, with each Path trodden making them a more accomplished being.Despite the protection they offer against the eternal thirst of Slaanesh, the Paths are not perfect; a danger still lurks within them, as a Path only allows an Aeldari to control their emotions -- it does not rid them of their passions. Despite all their care, some Asuryani ultimately fail at storing their emotions away, and become consumed by them.Those Asuryani who fail to maintain their psychic equilibrium will gradually transform into a living embodiment of their Path, losing their personality in an all-consuming desire for perfection within its confines. Such unfortunate Asuryani are said to be "lost" on their chosen Path.Despite the dire warnings provided by the history of their people for what happens when rigid mental control is not maintained, some Craftworld Aeldari still find the Paths all too restrictive. Those who cannot bear this burden will leave their craftworld, and become Outcasts, which is itself one of the Paths.These Aeldari are at an enormous risk of being consumed by Slaanesh, so they are viewed with suspicion by their peers, and are often unwelcome amongst their craftworld kin while they remain on the Path of the Outcast.Their unstructured experience is, however, invaluable in certain situations that may be confronted by their home craftworlds, and they often assist their fellow Asuryani as Rangers when war calls and knowledge of the outlying galaxy and its myriad alien races is required.Most Outcasts manage to slake their wanderlust during a couple of solar decades of travel and adventure around the galaxy, and eventually return to the safety of the craftworld and the Paths.For others, the call of this freedom is too strong and they become Aeldari Corsairs, little different from their Drukhari kin in their penchant for raiding the commercial shipping and planetary settlements of the "lesser races" in search of valuables and slaves.As astonishing as it may sound, there have also been instances of Drukhari who, sickened by a constant existence defined only by malice and the infliction of pain and misery on other sentients, have sought out the solace of the Paths amongst their craftworld cousins, giving up what is considered by the Asuryani the "Path of Damnation" for something more constructive.