vizn3r/warhammer40k-lore huggingface dataset:
Asuryani - Warlock: A Warlock is an Eldar Seer or psyker who previously walked the Path of the Warrior as an Aspect Warrior of the Eldar Craftworlds and now uses his potent psychic powers to help lead Eldar warhosts. Perahps because of some hidden mark that Khaine has left on their soul, those Seers who have trained as Aspect Warriors find it easier to develop destructive psychic powers. These individuals become their warrior-seer selves by returning to their old shrines. If his blood sings with the need to fight, a Warlock accepts his mask, and recreates the two-fold division of the mind into self and warrior. Warlocks who lose themselves upon this Path ultimately become Farseers. The most aggressive and warlike of all the potential variants of the Path of the Seer is that of the Warlock. Since Warlocks are Seers who once trod the Path of the Warrior, their previous experience as Aspect Warriors allows them to harness their more destructive impulses when using their psychic powers in combat. In battle, Warlocks often lead from the front, splitting off from their Seer Councils and casting the runes of battle to bolster the warhost and to bring havoc to their enemies. Few can match the arcane might of an Eldar Warlock in the midst of a battle trance, his destructive aura crackling outward to destroy those foes beyond his reach. The ornate helmets worn by Warlocks in the field are kept in the shrines of the Warrior Aspects as a sign of the close link between Warlocks and their former status as Warriors. A Warlock can only attain that status by returning to the Aspect Shrine that he once belonged to and receiving his helmet from the shrine's Exarch as part of the same blood-ritual undergone by Aspect Warriors.
Asuryani - Striking Scorpions: Striking Scorpions are Eldar Aspect Warriors who epitomise the deadly attributes of their namesake, and they are the most skilled of all the close-assault Warrior Aspects on the Eldar Path of the Warrior. They are merciless killers without exception, reveling in the hunt and the kill, using stealth and shadow to cloak themselves from sight until the moment of attack. The Striking Scorpions represent the wrath of the War God Kaela Mensha Khaine, which can fall without warning and with extraordinary savagery upon his foes. The Striking Scorpions are one of the Eldar Warrior Aspects dedicated to close combat, particularly close combat during infiltration missions in which they must first close with the enemy undetected before unleashing their wrath. Many Striking Scorpions are physically more powerful than standard Eldar, and can match their Dark Eldar counterparts for sheer physical power. The signature attack of the Striking Scorpion is made by the weapon pods housed on either side of the warrior's helmet, known as Mandiblasters. These are small, short-ranged laser weapons used to deliver a deadly energy sting in close combat that can be psychically triggered.
Asuryani - Fire Dragons: The Fire Dragons are Eldar Aspect Warriors who seek to embody the writhing, sinewy dragons of Eldar Mythology. No Eldar Aspect Warriors revel more in destruction than those who serve the Shrine of the Fire Dragons. Taking as their totem the fierce, fire-breathing creatures of Eldar legend, they epitomise the brutal, wanton destruction of war. When called to arms their goal is the total annihilation of their foes, to the exclusion of all else. Fire Dragons are aggressive and warlike close combat fighters who utilise heat-based weaponry to destroy enemy armoured vehicles and drive the foe from his fortified strongpoints. They have an unsurpassed mastery of their chosen and highly dangerous weapons, and take savage delight in the devastation they create. For this reason, the Eldar believe that the Fire Dragons are the embodiment of the Eldar War God Kaela Mensha Khaine's penchant for pure destruction. It is said that Fire Dragon Exarchs generate a corona of lambent flame around themselves when the battle lust is upon them.
Asuryani - Howling Banshees: The Howling Banshees are the all-female Eldar Aspect Warriors who specialise in highly mobile melee combat and represent the Eldar War God Khaela Mensha Khaine's ability to instill fear in his foes. The banshee is a harbinger of woe and death in Eldar Mythology. Their cry is said to herald ill fate and can even wrench a soul from its Spirit Stone. It is fitting that these most feared of all the Eldar Aspect Warriors draw their inspiration from this creature. These lightly-equipped warrior-women are fearsome melee combat specialists who draw their inspiration from the unearthly creature with which they share a name. What the Howling Banshees lack in brute strength they make up for with their uncanny and inhuman precision and efficiency. The piercing warcry of these Aspect Warriors has heralded the coming doom of countless enemies of the Eldar people.
Asuryani - Harlequin Troupe: A Harlequin, known in the Eldar Lexicon as a Rillietann, is a member of a very distinct sub-group of the Eldar race that belongs to none of the existing Eldar sub-races, including the Craftworld Eldar, the Exodites or the Dark Eldar. They are the keepers of the Black Library and serve the enigmatic Eldar deity called the Laughing God. They are welcomed by all of the other Eldar factions, including the Dark Eldar of Commorragh and the Webway, and are known for their brightly coloured clothing, incredible agility (even for an Eldar), and use of unusually powerful weapons. Harlequins always organise themselves into groups they call Troupes, which are led by a Troupe Master. The Harlequin lifestyle is very like the life of a roaming mime or troubadour of the medieval times. They wander the Webway and occasionally appear at Eldar settlements: on a Craftworld, on Commorragh, an Exodite Maiden World, or even a human world in the Imperium of Man. They perform frenetic, acrobatic dances for the spectators there which are called Masques. Their artistic works portray the Fall, the legendary decline that destroyed the Eldar empire, the birth of the Chaos God Slaanesh, and many other tales from the long history and ancient mythology of the Eldar people.
Asuryani - Dire Avengers: The Dire Avengers were the first amongst the Aspect Warriors of the Eldar. They represent the Eldar War God Khaela Mensha Khaine in his aspect as the noblest and yet most merciless of warriors. The Dire Avengers show no mercy to their foes and are unwavering in their devotion to their people. These warriors are the least specialised and the most tactically flexible of all the Warrior Aspects, as they serve Eldar armies as elite ranged infantry. The Dire Avengers are also the most common of the Warrior Aspects amongst the Eldar, and their shrines are the largest to be found on all the Craftworlds.
Asuryani - Rangers: Rangers are the scouts of the Eldar Craftworlds, well-trained survivalists and marksmen able to find the eye sockets and neck joints of even the most heavily armoured enemy troops with their Long Rifles. The most skilled of the Eldar Rangers are known as Pathfinders. In order to defeat the constant claim of the Chaos God Slaanesh on their souls, the Craftworld Eldar practice a form of deprivation, narrowing their entire focus onto a single craft, perfecting it and then moving on to another, a system known as the Paths of the Eldar. Many Rangers remain loyal to their Craftworlds and the kin who live upon them even if they do not feel the need to live there, so when the Craftworld goes to war, they almost always provide their aid, offering to conduct reconnaissance of enemy forces and wield their expert marksmanship to harry and cripple enemy forces and eliminate select targets like commanding officers that will cripple the foe's command and control. While some Rangers never return to their Craftworlds, their lives claimed by the alien dangers of some unknown world or consumed by their own passions and ultimate fall into the embrace of Slaanesh, many others do, scarred and finally ready to settle into another Path, their experiences as a Ranger having granted them both a better understanding of themselves and their place in the Eldar society of their Craftworld.
Asuryani - Guardians: Guardians are the militia troops of the Eldar Craftworlds. In times of peace the Guardians pursue their normal civilian roles. All adult Eldar, however, are trained in the arts of warfare and can be called to arms if their Craftworld is threatened. It is a painful irony that, in the Eldar race's endless quest for survival, the very civilians the warhosts fight to protect are all too often forced to take up arms. Every Eldar is trained and ready to fight as a Guardian if need be. In some Craftworlds, Ulthwé foremost amongst them, the Guardians are the most common of all Eldar warriors. As the number of dedicated, professional Eldar troops -- the Aspect Warriors -- in a Craftworld are simply too few to meet all threats, those Eldar dedicated to a civilian path serve as Guardians in battle, forming the bulk of the Eldar armies. Guardians are also called upon to pilot and crew the majority of the Eldar’s many war machines, providing vital armoured support and transportation for the warhost in battle. Guardian forces consist of two main types; the tactically flexible Defenders, and the more assault-oriented Storm Guardians. Both are equipped with Eldar Mesh Armour.
Asuryani - Windrider Jetbike Squad: Those Guardians who pilot Eldar jetbikes into battle are known as Windriders. So carefully wrought are the incredible machines they ride that a skilled pilot can cross leagues in the space of a few heartbeats before shredding his awed foes with the paired shuriken catapults that allow the jetbike its famously deadly rate of fire. The Windriders are rightfully proud of their mastery of flight. Upon the cowling of each jetbike, the heraldry of the craftworld and sometimes the specific Windrider squadron are emblazoned in pride of place. These colours are invariably bold and defiant, for the Windriders have no fear of the foe, for their steeds mock gravity itself.
Asuryani - Shining Spears: The Shining Spears are one of the rarest and most specialised of the Eldar Aspect Warriors. The Shining Spears possess a bright and clear virtue that marks each one out as a warrior hero and a champion of the Eldar race. Eldar mythology is replete with examples of noble heroes at one with their steed and in the Shining Spears, the glories of legend are made manifest once more. In battle, they fight as the Spear of Kaela Mensha Khaine, the invincible weapon of the Eldar God of War that struck like lightning and killed any foe with a single blow. Shining Spears can be distinguished from all of the other Eldar Warrior Aspects for they are the only Aspect Warriors to make use of anti-gravity Jetbikes. The identity of the Shining Spears Aspect's Phoenix Lord Drastanta is not known to Imperial scholars.
Asuryani - Swooping Hawks: The Swooping Hawks are the aerial Aspect Warriors of the Eldar. They wear cunningly constructed anti-gravitic wings that enable them to launch high into the air at a moment's notice. They are able to launch lightning-fast aerial assaults against their foes, cutting them down with the deadly energy weapons known as Lasblasters in a blur of colour. The Swooping Hawks take their name from the wild hunting birds of Eldar Mythology, who symbolise revenge and retribution. Just as these birds of legend contained the spirit of a murdered Eldar, hovering over their killers as a mark of guilt, so too do the Swooping Hawks fly across the battlefield, dealing swift death as retribution to the enemies of the Eldar.
Asuryani - Warp Spiders: The Warp Spiders are Eldar Aspect Warriors who specialise in the use of a personal teleportation device built into their Aspect Armour to make a series of rapid jumps through the Immaterium that make them nearly impossible to target and allow them to attack the enemy suddenly and disappear before he can strike back. Taking their name from the same creatures who protect the Infinity Circuits of their Craftworlds, the Warp Spiders epitomise the concept of an aggressive defence.
Asuryani - Crimson Hunters: The Crimson Hunters are amongst the most unusual of the Eldar Aspect Warriors. Their ritual wargear is not blade or sidearm, but instead a sleek aerial fighter that represents the pinnacle of Eldar aeronautics. These formidable aircraft, known as Nightshade Interceptors, are just as much a part of the Crimson Hunter's battlegear as the Howling Banshees' Power Sword or the Dire Avengers' Shuriken Catapult. Their lethality, however, is measured on a different scale altogether. The Crimson Hunters are few in number, though their Aspect Shrines are becoming ever more widespread amongst the Eldar Craftworlds. These temples to Khaela Mensha Khaine, the Eldar God of War, are unlike any other. They are not buildings or landscapes at all but tunnel-linked collections of transparent atriums that float around the periphery of their Craftworlds like archipelagos at the edge of a vast landmass.
Asuryani - Hemlock Wraithfighters: The Hemlock Wraithfighter is a weapon of utmost terror and is the subject of much controversy among the Craftworlds. To use such a device is to teeter on the brink of atrocity. Only the most dire circumstances could force the Eldar to employ such an abhorrent device, and those who do so have a stain upon their soul that is not easily erased. Yet the Autarchs know that they have little option -- they must use every weapon in their quest for survival. The Hemlock blends the psychic abilities of is Spiritseer pilot with the sinister gestalt energies of the Eldar dead, their co-pilots -- Spirit Stones -- whose psychically reactive wraithbone core functions like a miniature infinity circuit. Each Spiritseer pilot risks being driven slowly insane by the whispering voices within his Hemlock, or, after communing with his co-pilots one too many times, having his spirit forever join the ghosts within the craft and leaving behind nothing more than an empty husk.
Asuryani - Vyper Squadrons: Vyper Squadrons fly the sleek skimmer known as the Vyper Jetbike, fighting in the midst of the Eldar's fearsome Windrider hosts, offering a perfect compromise between the speed of a jetbike and the heavier armament of a grav-tank. A military innovation initially pioneered by the artisans of Saim-Hann, Vypers are two-seater attack craft capable of mounting a variety of heavy weapons. Their relatively small size means that they can travel through all but the thinnest arterials of the Webway, and their prodigious armament enables them to rival many tanks in terms of firepower. Their sheer speed provides more surety against incoming fire than any amound of armour plating -- it is rare for a Vyper squadron to move at anything less than breakneck pace while a battle rages.
Asuryani - Dark Reaper: The Dark Reapers are the most menacing of the Eldar Aspect Warriors. They exemplify the Eldar War God Kaela Mensha Khaine in his aspect as the Destroyer, and their skull-masked costume echoes that of their founder and Phoenix Lord, the "Harvester of Souls," Maugan Ra. Although the Dark Reapers are comparatively slow-moving compared to other Eldar warriors as a result of their heavy armour, this is of little consequence, for their role on the battlefield is to serve as long-ranged heavy weapons fire support for the more mobile Eldar units. They are perhaps the most sinister and lethal of all the Aspect Warriors and their dark armour is adorned with symbols of death and destruction.
Asuryani - Vaul's Wrath Support Batteries: Whilst the artillery of most races can be considered crude and brutal, the Eldar employ support weapon platforms that are as silent as they are lethal. Known to the Eldar as Vaul's Wrath in honour of their smith-god's deadly skills, these large yet graceful war machines are crewed by two experienced Eldar Guardians. Each platform mounts a huge gun with which to slaughter the enemy -- but where the artillery of man or Ork employs blunt explosions and weight of fire, Eldar support weapons utilise a varity of dazzling technology to slay their foes. When Vaul's Wrath support weapons combine their firepower, they hammer the foe just as their namesake hammers the fates of mortal men upon his anvil. The following are the support weapons batteries often employed by the Eldar in battle:D-Cannon - An Eldar Distort Cannon, or D-Cannon, uses the Eldar's advanced knowledge of Warp technology to unleash a miniature sphere of Warp energy onto the battlefield, tearing apart its targets. The weapon emits a low droning noise which builds in pitch until it fires with a high-pitched shriek, spewing a beam of impenetrable blackness towards its target -- a momentary rift between Realspace and the Warp. The target is enmeshed in blackness and wrenched momentarily between warp space and reality. The massive internal distortion this causes tears the target apart, and usually destroys it. D-Cannons are often mounted upon anti-grav platforms or Eldar Titans.Vibro Cannon - A Vibro Cannon is a uniquely Eldar weapon which uses resonant sonic waves to shake its targets apart and fling troops to the ground. A vehicle hit by a Vibro-Cannon shakes violently and may fall apart, troops are thrown to the ground and quiver uncontrollably, and even the ground itself is ripped asunder by shock waves. The weapon can be directed against a specific point on the battlefield, but is forces are transmitted at ground level, and targets between the weapon and its aiming point can be affected. It is as if a huge plow were cutting a mighty furrow deep into the earth, casting aside rocks and soil, and scattering troops and tanks to either side. A particularly frightening aspect of the Vibro-Cannon is revealed when two weapons cross their line of fire over the same target. When this happens the results are often very spectacular as the ground is torn apart explosively. This particular weapon is often mounted upon an anti-grav platform.Shadow Weaver - The Shadow Weaver is a heavy monofilament weapon. It creates a dense monofilament mesh from an organo-polymer compound, which is kept in a liquid state within a magnetic reservoir. This mesh is released through thousands of microscopic firing ducts and woven into a web-like cloud by spinning gravity clamps. When fired, it unleashes a cloud of razor-sharp monofilament wire high into the air, which drifts down onto the enemy, slicing through the flesh and bones of the targets as they struggle to free themselves.
Asuryani - Cobra: The Cobra is an Eldar super-heavy grav-tank that supports Eldar heavy armour assaults. This huge vehicle carries heavy firepower, and is broadly comparable to Imperial Guard super-heavy tanks. The Cobra is an Engine of Vaul, much like it's counterpart, the Scorpion, but re-armed with a large Distortion Cannon (D-Cannon). This weapon is known as a Warp Cannon or Vortex Cannon. There are two versions of the Cobra. Type I has a turret-mounted D-Cannon, while the Type II has a fixed forward firing D-Cannon. The Cobra is designed to find and destroy enemy war machines, as their protective force fields are little defence against the D-Cannon's heinous energies. As with all Eldar vehicles, crew numbers are kept to a minimum. The dwindling civilisation of the Eldar means they must rely upon sophisticated technology and the Wraithbone construction of their vehicles, freeing more warriors from crewman duties to fill the ranks of Guardian and Aspect Warriors squads.
Asuryani - Grav-Tank: Known as "Engines of Vaul", Eldar grav-tanks are immaculate beyond the ken of the lesser races -- aeronautical triumphs that combine ethereal grace with a deceptive lethality. Not for them the ground-churning rumble of Imperial tanks or the oil-drizzling incontinence of the vehicles cobbled together by Ork Mekboyz. Instead, the sleek battle craft of the Eldar guide through the smoke-filled skies, the nimble Falcon as silent as the deadly Fire Prism and the giant Cobra. The only signs of their passage are the blasted bodies left in their wake; regardless of type, they mount weaponry capable of breaking open a battleline.
Asuryani - Falcon: The Falcon is the primary main battle tank of the Eldar. It an anti-gravitic tank that is named for the mythical figure who delivered one of the Swords of Vaul to the hero Eldanesh so he could continue fighting Khaine, the Eldar War God. The Falcon's graceful curved silhouette is a familiar but much dreaded sight to their enemies. The Falcon has a twin role upon the field of battle. It has a passenger compartment enabling it to carry a small squad of infantry to the battle front, or rescue a beleaguered unit when resistance proves too fierce. The Falcon is armed with a Pulse Laser and twin-linked Shuriken Catapults. An additional mount is provided on its turret, capable of accepting almost all heavy weaponry used by the Eldar. It is also fitted with an advanced targeting system to make the best of this armament. However, like most Eldar vehicles, the Falcon has light armor. Its impressive speed compensates for this, as it can cruise at speeds exceeding 800 km/h, and at high altitudes.
Asuryani - Fire Prism: The Fire Prism is an Eldar anti-armour gravity tank based on the design of the Falcon. It replaces the Falcon's infantry-carrying capacity and turret weapons with a massive crystal array, known to Imperial forces as the Prism Cannon. It can fire a dispersed beam that damages targets over a wide area rather than concentrating its fire on a single target but this drastically reduces the weapon's damage. However, two or more Fire Prisms can pool their firepower by combining their Fire Prism beams to geometrically increase their Prism Cannons' firepower. This ability makes Fire Prisms extremely dangerous units when deployed in squadron strength against other armoured vehicles.
Asuryani - Firestorm: The Firestorm is a variant of Eldar Falcon grav-tank. Utilised as the Eldar's standard land-based anti-aircraft defence vehicle, the Firestorm mounts a complex triple-barrelled array of Scatter Lasers in a single-seater turret that fills the sky with streaking laser bolts above an Eldar grav-tank formation. Highly accurate and capable of sustained bursts, the Firestorm is also a potent anti-infantry weapon, particularly effective when used against hordes such as Ork warbands and Tyranid swarms. The Firestorm is also armed with a hull-mounted twin-linked Shuriken Catapults and/or a Shuriken Cannon, and can be further equipped with Vectored Engines, Star Engines, Holo-Fields and Spirit Stones. With a crew of two, the Firestorm retains its troop transport capacity and can assist Eldar attacks by delivering a squad of Aspect Warriors to the battlefield before withdrawing to its usual anti-aircraft role.
Asuryani - Night Spinner: The Night Spinner is an Eldar anti-gravity combat vehicle. It is based on the Eldar Falcon grav tank chassis and is designed to provide indirect mobile fire support to fast-moving Eldar offensives. It is armed with a Shadow Weaver and Shuriken Catapults or a Shuriken Cannon. The Shadow Weaver creates a dense monofilament mesh from an organic polymer compound. The compound is kept in a liquid state within a magnetic reservoir and when released through the thousands of microscopic firing ducts, is woven into a web-like cloud by spinning gravity clamps. The clouds are forces high into the air before they drift down, making them ideal for disrupting an attack and causing the Eldar's enemies to seek shelter. A Night Spinner may also be outfitted with Vectored Engines, Star Engines, Holo-fields and Eldar Spirit Stones.
Asuryani - Scorpion: The Scorpion is an Eldar super-heavy grav-tank utilised exclusively by the Eldar, and is amongst the largest vehicles recorded capable of anti-gravitic movement in the galaxy. Known to the Eldar as one of the Engines of Vaul, it combines sophisticated and powerful weaponry with the grace and speed that have come to be associated with the Eldar's vehicles. Protected by a Holo-Field and armed with twin-linked Pulsars, the Scorpion has earned nicknames like the "Grave-maker" and "Deathsled" from the Imperium's tank crews. The Eldar regard the huge machines of the Imperium or Orks as crude and ungainly when compared with the grace of a Scorpion as it skims into battle.
Asuryani - War Walker Squadron: A War Walker is a one person, lightly armoured, bipedal combat walker used by the Eldar. They are manned by a standard Eldar Guardian. The War Walker plays an essential role for Eldar military forces very similar to that of an Imperial Guard Sentinel. Both are nimble, lightly armoured scouting units, though the War Walker is closer in size to the Wraithlord. War Walker pilots often become emotionally attached to their mounts, and a union of the pilot's mind with their machine ensues. This union is aided by the presence of an Eldar Spirit Stone, containing the spirit of a deceased Eldar that has been melded with the walker. The conjoined minds of the pilot and the individual personality within the Spirit Stone provides a much sharper focus and a deadlier concentration in combat that enhances the mission effectiveness of the walker.
Asuryani - Wraithguard: The Eldar Wraithguard are not living warriors; they are artificial robotic constructs created from the complex psycho-plastic material, crafted by the Eldar of the Craftworlds, known as Wraithbone. Each Wraithguard has a Spirit Stone containing the soul of an elite Eldar warrior that was drawn out of the Infinity Circuit of a Craftworld. Wraithguard are smaller in size than Wraithlords, and carry a weapon known as a Wraithcannon which is a short-range, but potent weapon capable of opening a small rift into the Warp which sucks the target, or pieces of the target, within the Immaterium. When used against infantrymen, the result is invariably fatal. Due to their Wraithbone construction, Wraithguards can suffer damage that would cripple, or even kill, a living Eldar warrior and still continue to fight, making them useful in situations that would be suicide for living soldiers. They see through the Warp using what is known as "Wraithsight" but as the Warp is a tumultuous place, Wraithguards often have trouble discerning the true nature of realspace and so can find themselves blinded and unable to function effectively. Because of this tendency Wraithguard are often led into battle by Warlocks who help to guide them.
Asuryani - Wraithblade: The most feared of all the Wraithguard are usually referred to as Wraithblades -- a few Eldar will speak their true name, Klaivaulch, for fear of inciting the wrath of Khaine. Tradition has it that each craftworld keeps these vengeful constructs apart from other ghost warriors so that the immortal anger that pervades their wraithbone shells does not taint those who might one day attain peace. When the call to war is heard, these beings are awakened by the most gifted Seers. Their spirit stones glow hot as the slow-burning anger of the dead flows through their cores. Once kindled, the wrath that animates their wraithbone bodies becomes an unstoppable fury that can only be quenched in the blood of their foe. Wielding twin ghostswords that leave glowing traces in the air, the Wraithblades cut down their foes with both merciless precision and the great might afforded by their long-limbed forearms.
Asuryani - Wraithlord: A Wraithlord is a lithe but mighty noble robotic combat walker that contains no living warrior; rather, it is merely a robotic shell, a repository of the animating soul of a dead Eldar hero. Wraithlords are graceful but mighty giants that dwarf their Wraithguard cousins. These large constructs are extremely precious to their Eldar Craftworlds and have a supernatural toughness due to being made from the psychically-active substance called wraithbone. Summoned into being by the necromantic processes of the Eldar Spiritseers, only a true hero of the Eldar race has psychic power enough to animate the gigantic wraithbone shell of a Wraithlord.
Asuryani - Wraithknight: Looming ghost warriors many times larger than even the might Wraithlords, the war machines known as Wraithknights are still dextrous enough to run through the ruin of a shattered city, leaping from pillar to spar as their arcane weapons bring oblivion to the enemies of the Eldar. Each carries either a pair of heavy Wraithcannons, their lengthy forms capable of sending their targets straight into the hell-dimension of the Warp; a suncannon, powerful enough to obliterate a platoon of human soldiers in a single blast of roiling plasma; or a great ghostglaive and scattershield with which to engage even the Daemon Lords of Chaos in single combat. Their contoured shells house the spirits of the wakeful dead in much the same way as lesser ghost warriors, though their armoured chests each hold a living Eldar pilot within. These pilots are not normal steersmen such as those at the helm of grav-tanks and Eldar aircraft, but rare and unusual warriors who were each born a twin.
Asuryani - Wave Serpent: The Wave Serpent is an armored personnel carrier based on the same design as the Falcon. It is the standard transport vehicle of the Craftworld Eldar. Armed with twin-linked shuriken catapults and a set of twin-linked heavy weapons, the Wave Serpent is capable of carrying up to twelve Eldar passengers in the expanded passenger compartment. In addition, the prow of the Wave Serpent is protected by an advanced energy shield, reducing the effectiveness of enemy weapons and ordnance.
Asuryani - Craftworld Aeldari Voidships: Craftworld Aeldari voidships, when compared to the massive cruisers and battleships of the Imperium, seem almost fragile. Their voidships lack the thick plating, heavy prows, and bristling towers of Imperial Navy vessels, instead sporting long masts which support the vessel's sail-like solar collectors.Aeldari starships also have a sleeker shape, generally possessing rounded, almost oval hulls, and an "organic" look, although nowhere near the quasi-insectoid appearance of Tyranid vessels.Imperial naval officers sighting Aeldari voidships for the first time often dismiss them as easy prey for Imperial Macrocannons and Lances. Nothing, however, could be further from the truth.The Aeldari are perhaps the most accomplished starfarers in the galaxy. Their ships are significantly more advanced than those of the Imperium, and are equipped with technologies far beyond the abilities of the Adeptus Mechanicus to understand, much less duplicate.The hull of an Aeldari ship is made not from adamantium plating, but from a material called "wraithbone." Molded by Aeldari craftsmen known as Bonesingers, Wraithbone is literally grown into what ever shape is needed, be it armour, weapons, buildings, or kilometres-long voidships.Durable, difficult to damage, and even capable to a certain degree of self-repair, wraithbone is psychically active and on Aeldari starships replaces the Vox units and Cogitators found on Imperial vessels.Wraithbone also manifests innate psychic shielding, partially protecting the vessel (and its crew) against certain manifestations from the Warp.Instead of crude Plasma Drives, the Aeldari use vast solar sails to collect the light of the stars. These sails allow Aeldari ships to move swiftly and securely, and are one of the reasons behind their impressive and unparalleled manoeuvrability.Small spacecraft may only have a single solar sail, while larger voidcraft may have two or three, giving the ships the appearance of winged creatures.Defensively, the Aeldari forego the use of Void Shields and instead rely on their Holo-Fields for protection. A Holo-Field confuses an enemy voidship's targetting sensors by creating multiple "ghost ships" randomly across an area of space.These sensor ghosts mask the actual location of the Aeldari ship. While this means an Aeldari voidship can be nigh-impossible to hit, their lack of Void Shields renders them vulnerable to those shots that do find their target.While immensely sophisticated, even Aeldari construction is not as durable as multi-metre thick adamantium armour layers and thousands of redundant components and replacement crew.
Asuryani - Trivia: The Eldar are a race of fey-like humanoids similar in appearance and culture to the sylvan elves of ancient Terran mythology and literature, and they are the most ancient and technologically advanced of all the intelligent races of the Milky Way Galaxy, with the exception of the Old Ones, and their ancient enemies the Necrons. Their armies usually have the advantages of great mobility, potent psychic abilities and technology that is more advanced than that deployed by the human Imperium. In the sense that Warhammer 40,000 races are generally derived from the earlier Warhammer Fantasy universe, the Eldar are derived from the High Elves of the Warhammer World, except for the Eldar faction known as the Exodites who are the equivalent of the Wood Elves.
Asuryani - Etymology and Inspiration: The name Eldar is drawn from J. R. R. Tolkien's work the Silmarillion, where the hunter Valar Oromë discovers Elves far from the Blessed Realm of Valinor, in Middle-earth.In their own language the Elves were given the name "Eldar" (Quenya for "Star People") by the Valar Oromë, presumably for the fact their birth came in a time before the sun and the moon existed and because the elves have a particular love for the stars. The history of the Eldar in Warhammer 40,000 mimics that of Tolkien's elves, to the point that they are a "dwindling race" in the game universe, as the elves were in Middle-earth's Third Age.The inspiration for the Eldar is heavily drawn from Celtic culture, such as their largely Gaelic-influenced language (similar to the dominant Sindarin Elvish in Tolkien's works which was somewhat based on Welsh), the names of their craftworlds, their iconography and even one of their units, which is called the Howling Banshees.The different Eldar Aspect Warrior paths can be seen as reminiscent of the many different styles of Chinese martial arts (kung fu). The Eldar cultural arrogance is similar to the ethnocentrism displayed by the Chinese of the Ming and Qing Dynasties when they first encountered European cultures that they considered barbaric and inferior. The late nineteenth century Chinese Confucian scholar Gu Hongming, speaking to an Englishman, is quoted as saying "Why, when you lived in caves and clothed yourselves with skins, we were cultured people."The Eldar may also be seen to borrow from Japanese culture to a lesser extent in the appearance of some of their wargear and the use of shuriken-like kinetic ammunition in their most common ranged weapons. The Eldar "Path of the Warrior" can be seen to be akin to the "Way of the Samurai", Bushido.
Asuryani Outcasts - Aeldari Corsair Organisation: Corsair Prince - An Aeldari Corsair band is usually led by a member of the ancient Aeldari nobility with the title of prince (or princess) who has chosen the Path of the Outcast. To a Human these Aeldari might seem aloof and arrogant, but the remnants of the lost Aeldari Empire's ancient aristocracy are natural leaders, brilliant tacticians and bold warriors in battle.Blade Sworn Retinue - A Blade Sworn Retinue serves as the personal bodyguard of a Corsair band's prince or princess and is composed of the finest warriors in the band. They accompany their sworn leader wherever he or she goes. The retinue is composed of close kinsmen, bridge officers or Outcasts whose skills have made them infamous enough for their master to seek them out and swear them to his or her service.Void Dreamer - Void Dreamers are the helmsmen and navigators of Corsair starships. They are powerful Aeldari psykers, closely related to Warlocks, but use their powers of divination and prophecy to guide their vessels and protect their crews from the Daemons of the Warp and other dangers.Voidstorm Squad - During raids a Corsair prince will gather hand-picked veteran Corsairs together to form a Voidstorm Squad. Equipped for close-quarters combat, these veterans will be in the thick of the fighting or the first to storm a breach during a boarding action.Corsair Squadron - The rank and file of the Corsair band are its ship crews, led by their Felarch (a rank broadly equivalent to the bosuns of the Imperial Navy). They are lightly equipped for fast raiding, utilising Corsair Jet Packs, Venoms and Falcons for rapid insertion and battlefield mobility. Corsair squads tend to be much more experienced and battle-hardened troops in comparison to Craftworld Guardians.Wasp Assault Walker Squadron - Wasp Assault Walkers are light vehicles that provide Corsair bands with mobile heavy fire support. Corsair bands adapt them for rapid insertion mission alongside the Corsairs, fitting them with jump jets, and jet-supported anti-gravitic systems that enable them to rapidly redeploy where needed as part of a Corsair raid.Corsair Jetbike Squadron - Jetbikes form an important part of Corsair attacks, speeding ahead as scouts or sweeping around enemy flanks to encircle the foe before plunging into the melee with deadly effect.
Asuryani Path - Path of the Warrior: The Aeldari as a race are beset on every side by warfare. The Aeldari would prefer that it were not that way, for Aeldari generations are born all too few and far between, and what remains of the species cannot afford to lose any more of their reduced numbers.Young Aeldari often believe that they can rebuild their lost but once glorious empire with fire and passion, but the Seers know well that what remains of the Aeldari's ancient civilisation is locked in a simple battle for survival.When the Aeldari go to war, they do so as a group of specialists who perfectly complement one another's assigned tactical role in combat. Each unit plays its own part with masterful skill, their abilities combining to produce a true symphony of destruction and careful grace that is distinctively Aeldari. From the most numerous horde to the the mightest enemy war engine, there is an Aeldari squad with the skills and wargear that is perfectly suited to the foe's destruction.Combined with the prescience of the Farseers and the strategic skill of the Autarchs, even a small Aeldari strike force can devastate its opponents before they can muster an effective counter-attack. The Aeldari martial ideal is to slaughter their foes without suffering a single loss of their own, for the usurpers of the galaxy are many and the remaining Aeldari are few; their lives far more precious.They cannot afford to throw away their lives in the reckless manner of the brutish warriors who serve the "lesser races" like the Mon-Keigh and the Orks.
Asuryani Path - Aspect Warriors: The Path of the Warrior teaches the arts of death and destruction. Due to the inherent dark side of the Aeldari psyche, this Path calls to almost all Asuryani at some point in their long lives. Exactly what will draw an Asuryani onto the Path of the Warrior, to put on their "war mask" as the Exarchs say, is uncertain.Perhaps it is the recognition of the innate destructive impulse in the dark side of their psyche that only the ritual training and vicious combat of this Path can purge. In ages past, the Phoenix Lords taught the arts of war to both male and female Aeldari, and as such, Aeldari Aspect Warriors come equally from both genders.As with many of the more complex Paths, the Path of the Warrior is divided into many different specialisations. Each of these is known as a Warrior Aspect, representing a different facet of the Aeldari god of war Khaela Mensha Khaine, and bringing with it unique fighting disciplines, wargear and abilities.The Aspects differ greatly from one another in their methods of warfare, and offer many specialist skills intended to allow them to carry out specific tactical roles on the battlefield. Each Aspect present on a craftworld maintains at least one Aspect Shrine in which its adherents can practice and master their version of the Path of the Warrior.When the Aeldari of a craftworld go to war, the Aspect Warriors fight in the predetermined manner associated since ancient times with their Phoenix Lord and their Aspect Shrine. They have their own warrior garb and wargear, distinctive ritual battle armour and highly individualised weaponry.Their minds and bodies are honed with endless exercise, both physical and spiritual, until they become suffused with the aspect of Khaine that their Aspect Shrine is intended to honour.The Aspect Warriors do not live in the Aspect Shrines, and when they "take off their war masks" they can live in peace within their craftworld. Only the keepers of each Aspect Shrine, the Exarchs, are forced to live within them.Some Aspect Warriors are unique to specific craftworlds. Others are common to almost all of them, including the Fire Dragons, Howling Banshees, Eagle Pilots, Striking Scorpions, Dark Reapers, Dire Avengers, Warp Spiders, Bright Lances, Swooping Hawks, and the most recent to be recovered, the Shadow Spectres.
Asuryani Path - Exarchs: An Aeldari who has become lost upon the Path of the Warrior is called an Exarch. Such a fate does not befall an Aspect Warrior quickly or easily, but the repeated exhilaration of battle can act like a dangerous drug upon a warrior's psyche.Aspect Warriors learn how to control their warrior-selves, putting on and casting aside their "war mask" as they don or discard their ritual Aspect Armour. An Aspect Warrior who becomes an Exarch loses this crucial ability to dissociate themself; to take off their "war mask."This inability has serious consequences because an Exarch's only impulse is to wage war; all other feelings are subordinated to that single, savage desire. The Exarchs are the high priests of Khaine and the keepers of his Aspect Shrines. Exarchs do not leave their shrines except in times of war or high conclave.Even the smallest Aspect Shrines are extensive structures with areas dedicated to training, instruction and the necessary rituals. Each shrine has its own armoury, and its own inner sanctum where the Exarchs administer the rites of war before the altar of the Bloody-Handed God.It is there that the Exarchs recite the battle songs of old and mark their warriors' bodies with runes of blood before they don their battle armour for war. In this way, the Exarchs are the priests and guardians of the Aspect Shrines, as well as armourers and martial instructors who will guide their fellow Asuryani upon the Path of the Warrior.Every Exarch wears an elaborate and often ancient version of the battle armour for their Aspect. This armour boosts their already superhuman combat abilities with ancient and arcane Aeldari wargear, and integrated into their armour are the Spirit Stones that contain the departed souls of all of the armour's previous Exarchs, as a craftworld's Infinity Circuit does not wish to absorb the souls of those who are unable to remove their "war masks."Each Exarch assumes the original sacred name associated with their armour and their own soul mingles with those of all the other Exarchs who have worn it since their Aspect Shrine's inception, becoming a single gestalt personality with memories and experiences stretching back over many millennia of battle.Thus, an Aspect Warrior who suffers the curse of becoming an Exarch is reborn as an ancient warrior hero of their people. Memories and experiences of departed Exarchs merge with the new bearer, and the heroic ideal of that Aspect is reborn once more.An Exarch's weapons are invariably potent and their combat abilities are far more developed than even the already honed warrior skills of their Aspect Warriors.It is the presence of this large pool of Exarch souls and the raw psychic energy that they produce that gives the Exarch Armour and the warrior who wears it their strength, for the two have become indistinguishable, their incredible battle prowess unmatched by any among the Aeldari.
Asuryani Path - Path of the Seer: Seers are essentially the most potent form of Aeldari psykers. They are members of the Aeldari race who have passed through the many different Asuryani Paths, which allows them to master the full power of their minds and thus command their psychic powers without fear of attracting daemons or creating rifts within the Warp when they unleash their abilities in their most potent form.Those that pursue such disciplines are said to walk down the Path of the Seer or the Path of the Witch where they gain proper training and experience in the use of their naturally potent psyker abilities.The development of their powers comes through the use of special Seer Runes that are made of Wraithbone and kept in special bags or cases. These items can be thousands of Terran years old and passed from one Seer to the next with new runes being added by each Seer to use the item.In addition, these Aeldari wear Spirit Stones that hold the souls of dead Seers who serve as spirit-guides who can help their charge master the Path of the Seer whilst protecting them from the dangers of the Warp.These spirits are the ones who gather the power of the Warp and channel it through the runes in order to provide psychic energy to the Seer. Through this manner, both the Spirit Stones and the runes serve essentially as psychic "fuses" that protect the vulnerable Aeldari mind from the great power of the Warp as the Seer channels it to produce various potent effects.Every Seer explores their psychic potential in their own way, with some learning to move objects through telekinetic force and to create living symphonies of shape as well as movement. Others instead use their talents for psychic empathy for healing purposes or to counsel others in psychic pain.The range of abilities open to a Seer is vast and largely dependent on the other roles the Seer has explored and mastered whilst walking the Asuryani Paths. An example of this can be of an individual who lived the life of an Artisan or Bonesinger and then learned to apply their psychic powers to the structuring and arrangement of matter into various edifices needed by their craftworld once they began to walk the Path of the Seer.
Asuryani Path - Warlocks: A Warlock is an Asuryani Seer or psyker who previously walked the Path of the Warrior as an Aspect Warrior of the Aeldari craftworlds and now uses his potent psychic powers to help lead Asuryani warhosts. Warlocks who lose themselves upon this Path ultimately become Farseers. The most aggressive and warlike of all the potential variants of the Path of the Seer is that of the Warlock.Since Warlocks are Seers who once trod the Path of the Warrior, their previous experience as Aspect Warriors allows them to harness their more destructive impulses when using their psychic powers in combat. The ornate helmets worn by Warlocks in the field are kept in the shrines of the Warrior Aspects as a sign of the close link between Warlocks and their former status as Aspect Warriors.A Warlock can only attain that status by returning to the Aspect Shrine that he once belonged to and receiving his helmet from the shrine's Exarch as part of the same blood-ritual undergone by Aspect Warriors.A Warlock not only learns the use of the psychic runes of war but also how to wield the Witchblade, a powerful Aeldari Force Weapon. Witchblades writhe and twist with living runes of the Aeldari Lexicon that focus the inherent power of the Warlock's mind into destructive psychic energy using a helical psychic matrix that runs through the core of the blade. In the hands of a Warlock, a Witchblade strikes with a devastating burst of psychic force that can incinerate an enemy where he stands.Whenever the Craftworld Aeldari go to war their Warlocks accompany their forces of Aspect Warriors and Guardians. They use their psychic powers both to protect the Aeldari warriors and to wreak havoc among their foes; a thought-wave from a Warlock can instill courage in their comrades or sear the souls of the Aeldari's enemies.Though not as psychically powerful as Farseers, few of the psykers found among the other intelligent species can equal the arcane might of an Aeldari Warlock or match their combat prowess with the power of the Warp.