Ynnari - The Hunter Unleashed: In the wake of the Ynnari's emergence, ripples of causality, confusion and desperate hope that spread throughout Aeldari society caused waves of raw emotion to be reflected in the Realm of Chaos.Slaanesh, attuned like no other to the echoes of the Aeldari soul, peered through hooded eyes at the shifting destiny of that ancient race, and began to plan anew to protect its existence.Though all the Aeldari loathed and feared Slaanesh, the god they knew as She Who Thirsts had a deep and unbreakable spiritual connection with the Aeldari, and it longed for their souls upon their death. So it was that the rise of the Ynnari did not escape Slaanesh's notice. The god of the dead they worshipped, and the lack of vitality it represented, was anathema to Slaanesh.Here was a newly rising, morbid god that could steal the delicious soul-fodder of the Aeldari from Slaanesh once and for all.This potential had already been proven beyond a doubt upon Biel-Tan, where the daemonic invasion and subsequent shattering of the craftworld's Infinity Circuit had not yielded the feast of sweetmeats Slaanesh had hoped for, but a dry, dusty feeling of absence. Instead of empowering the Dark Prince, all that bountiful soul energy had been given form as the Yncarne, Avatar of the Whispering God.Upon the Crone World of Belial IV, that same morbid entity had banished a coven of Keepers of Secrets with an ancient Cronesword. Even the high priestess of this slumbering god had committed soul-theft, a crime that no true god could endure. Yvraine had become a walking mausoleum,harbouring hundreds of those spirits Slaanesh craved so deeply.The Dark Prince desired to devour her and the Yncarne more than any other prey.There was opportunity for Slaanesh in the twisting tides of fate. Many Asuryani -- and even self-serving Drukhari -- had converted to the cause of Ynnead. In embracing Ynnead, they were casting aside the shields of self-denial that had served them so well for so long. It was true that should every one of the Aeldari give themselves to Ynnead, the Whispering God would awaken, and Slaanesh's power be broken.But should Yvraine and the Yncarne be hunted down and slain, Ynnead's tenuous existence would fade into allegory. The Aeldari that had stepped away from theirprecious paths would not reach the afterlife of Ynnead at all upon their deaths -- but instead topple from their tightropes of self-disciplineto plummet into the waiting maw of Slaanesh.There was one creature in Slaanesh's employ that specialised in the killing of demigods and avatars. That being was Shalaxi Helbane, the Monarch of the Hunt. Banished from living memory some six hundred years ago by the daemon hunters of the Grey Knights, Shalaxi had languished for centuries in the vast and sprawling Palace of Punishments.Now, with the atonement for that past failure at an end, it was time for the Greater Daemon to rise once more, enter realspace and slay the prophets ofYnnead. In doing so, Helbane would earn the favour of the Dark Prince once more.After gathering many old allies -- amongst them the vengeful daemonic symbiote Syll'Esske and a coterie of Slaaneshi Heralds -- Helbane entered the Webway, three dozen Fiends trilling in delirious joy behind the war party. The hunt was on.With Shalaxi's synaesthetic ability to blend a supernatural array of senses, Yvraine's soul-trail was soon picked out. Shalaxi's loping stride accelerated into a headlong sprint -- one that did not slow over time, nor halt for rest, for when the will of their patron is behind them, daemons do not tire. Dark dreams began to haunt Yvraine's nights.It was upon the Dead World of Threccia that Helbane launched its first vicious attempt upon the Aeldari prophet's life. Yvraine was travelling in the company of a warhost of Biel-Tan, braving a dash along a chain of Webway gates that leapfrogged in quick succession across the executed planets of the Cursoai Reach. Helbane's ambush struck with blistering speed, just as the Aeldari host was exiting one such wraithbone portal into a rocky valley of lifeless dust and wind-scoured statues.Two spearheads of Slaaneshi daemons swept down from the high passes above the valley, one encircling the rear of the Biel-Tan while the other swept around to their fore. Seeker Chariots rattled headlong into the Asuryani, their assault so swift that even the whip-quick craftworlders could not respond in time. Blood and spinning limbs flew as the sleek war engines drove deep into the Biel-Tan formation.The narrow Webway routes the Asuryani followed had prevented them from fielding anti-grav transports. They were thus forced to cut their way out of the ambush on foot. To these faithful Ynnari, Yvraine's life was paramount; as Helbane cut an unstoppable red path towards the prophet, the host's Farseer divided his forces. Screaming their dirgesong, a spearhead of Howling Banshees joined Yvraine in performing a dance of lashing blades that slit a neat hole in the daemonic ranks and allowed them to dash up the valley towards the next Webway portal.At the same time, the main strength of the Biel-Tan host hurled themselves at the Slaaneshi daemons. It was a suicidal attack, and Helbane ripped its way through the Aeldari at a ferocious rate. Yet their very deaths empowered Yvraine even as they proved the devotion of the Ynnari to their cause.Lent impossible speed by the dead souls flowing into her mortal vessel, Yvraine outstripped even the Slaaneshi daemons, escaping into the Webway and leaving Helbane raging in her wake. It had been a desperately near thing, but the prophet of Ynnead had escaped her hunter, at least for a time.But Helbane would not be denied its quarry forever.