The World Of 'Warhammer 40K': Aeldari

Tabletop Games

May 27

The Aeldari are one of the oldest species of alien in the Warhammer 40K galaxy, and are best related to fantasy elves, given various physical similarities and cultural details. The founders of an ancient, now dead, empire, their deep connection to the Warp gave them incredible gifts that many among their number exploited until it doomed their civilization. They birthed the Chaos god Slaanesh, who now devours all Eldar souls, with the Aeldari divided but generally keeping to ways that keep them safe without continuing the methods of their ancient past. This is in contrast to the Drukhari, who use those methods to fend off the designs to Slaanesh. The Aeldari have been equal parts ally and enemy to the Imperium of Man and other factions across the galaxy for many millennia, their actions often guided by scrying the ever-shifting future, and to protect ancient sites or knowledge of their kind.

The Ancient Eldar

Millions of years ago in the universe of Warhammer 40K, there was a great calamitous event known as the War in Heaven. It was a conflict fought by the Necrontyr against another alien species known as the Old Ones. We’ll eventually explore more of the why and how in an article exploring the history of the Necrons, but the Eldar come into the story as life created to fight in the conflict against the Necrons. Alongside the Krork, who later became the Orks, the Eldar and their predisposition for immense mastery over the Warp induced by their Old One creators helped end the conflict. It is also during this era that the Eldar Gods were created, though their exact origin is lost to time due to the layers of allegory, myth and conjecture around this ancient period.

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In the years that followed the end of the War, the Old Ones’ position of dominance was surrendered to the Eldar, who built a vast empire and spread across the stars. Their powers in manipulating the Warp remained immense, and they also had access to the Webway. This system of tunnels and spaces positioned between the Warp and realspace was created by the Old Ones, and allowed for safe travel across the galaxy. The Eldar prospered for countless millennia, their civilization at its peak, and their society following the worship of their pantheon of gods.

But over those millions of years, corruption, decadence, and other vices began to seep into Eldar society. They began to pursue greater sensations as their lifespans lengthed by millennia, eager to experience more from the galaxy than purely cerebral or mystical pursuits. With time, the Eldar’s empire became a deeply corrupt and wicked state, and as the Eldar poured out malice, cruelty and more onto material beings and physical actions, so too did that energy reflect back into the Warp. During the start of the Eldar’s dominance, following the War in Heaven, the Warp was apparently fairly calm. Now, it became a churning sea, until it reached a point of no return.

Some among the Eldar knew that the end was coming, and tried to warn their fellows of that fate. Others chose self exile and isolation across the galaxy to escape the degradation of their societies. These few were the lucky ones when, with an explosion of psychic energy the force of an interstellar atomic warhead, the fourth Chaos god Slaanesh was born. Created from all the wants, desires and actions of the Eldar, their emergence obliterated the core of the old empire, and created the Eye of Terror. Across the galaxy, Warp storms formed and travel through the Warp became impossible, dividing huge sections of the galaxy from each other. But the worst was yet to come.

Not only did Slaanesh’s emergence kill the core of the Empire, but the new Chaos God also absorbed billions of Eldar souls, instantly empowering themselves in tremendous ways. The Eldar could once reincarnate, since when they died, they would eventually reemerge in a new body. But now, their souls were at the mercy of She Who Thirsts, and this long-lived species suddenly became far rarer than they once were. Slaanesh also slew almost all the gods of the Eldar pantheon, while others faded or fled from the forces of Chaos, crippling the power of the Eldar yet further. Today, the modern Aeldari are made up of survivors who did not retain the horrific ways of the old Eldar. They are divided between several groups, each with their own ways of surviving in the modern galaxy against a host of threats born of the Materium, and the plots of Slaanesh.

The Craftworlders/Asuryani

The Craftworld Aeldari, also called the Asuryani, live aboard enormous starships called Craftworlds that slowly roam the void of space and the galaxy’s many worlds. They are inhabited by many millions of Aeldari, who devote themselves to all sorts of careful philosophies around combat and the arts to preserve their culture and ensure they do not fall to the excesses that doomed their people millennia ago. These different Paths cover several different Aspects, with the Aspects devoted to conflict the best known among the Imperium and outsiders since they are the ones most commonly seen in the wider galaxy. The greatest of the Asuryani are called Exarchs, as they have devoted themselves completely to a single Path for their entire millennia-old lives.

Another key element to the Craftworlders, and indeed, most Aeldari, is their use of Spirit Stones, also called Waystones. These gems, often seen placed into armor, machines and vehicles, are vessels for the souls of Aeldari who have passed away. At the moment of death, one’s soul enters these stones, which are then ideally transported back to great networks of Waystones aboard the Craftworlds where the dead join others in a protected, safe afterlife away from the threats posed by Slaanesh or other beings with powers in the Warp. These souls can also be conversed with by the Aeldari for advice, and they can be used to empower devices or machines to help aid a Craftworld, though it often puts the soul or souls in jeopardy. Another notable material of the Aeldari is wraithbone, a material sung into being by certain Aeldari called Bonesingers, which is used across Aeldari society in all sorts of ways.

Asuryani in combat, — Image Source: Warhammer-Community.com

The Exodites

The Exodites are rarely-discussed Aeldari who live on untouched paradise worlds away from traditional technology, riding giant lizards across the land in a nomadic, hunter-gatherer existence. Despite their overt lack of technology, remnants of the Aeldari’s ancient empire often exist on these worlds, and the Exodites are not simple wielders of wooden spears. They are skilled hunters and will defend their land from intruders, but they are also often aided by the Craftworld Aeldari should a foe prove too great.

The Harlequins

Harkequis — Image Source: Warhammer-Community.com

Harlequins are a unique group of Aeldari. They live in the Webway, the space between the Warp and reality mentioned earlier, and follow the only fully intact Eldar God, the Laughing God Cegorach. The blessings of this deity allow the Harlequins to have access to all the Eldar groups as they plot the destruction of Slaanesh. But, they are also preservers of Eldar culture, putting on dances and plays of Eldar history and culture for these factions they interact with. They also have access to the Black Library, a vast collection of stories and knowledge about the 40K galaxy. Despite this focus on the arts, they are not defenseless. They are also formidable warriors, with incredible acrobatics and grace in conflict, well known for confounding their opponents with unexpected movements and dodges on the battlefield. and their home in the Webway allows them to quickly appear and disappear across the galaxy on many strange missions.

The Corsairs

The Corsairs are a mix of exiles and adventurers from the Crafterworlders, Exodites, Harlequins and Drukhari. There are a whole host of reasons for why members of each faction join together into the life of piracy they often undertake as part of the Corsair fleets scattered across the galaxy. One of the biggest, though, is youth. As a long-lived species, the Eldar are each raised in environments stifling, regimented or challenging in their own particular ways, such the complete governing of emotion and dedication to austerity of the Craftworld Aeldari. As a result, seeking a different life, figures who choose the life of outcasts and exiles gravitate together into bands called Corsairs, who roam the galaxy on all sorts of missions.

Aeldati — Image Source: Warhammer-Community.com

However, there are always dangers and risks for these Corsairs, with one of the biggest being their death. For the Aeldari among the number, being so far from a nexus of Waystones means their soul will be at risk if they die among the stars. As a result, many Craftworld Aeldari among the Corsairs ultimately return to the Craftworlds, all the wiser for their exploits in the wider galaxy. Other groups may fall deeper into servitude to the Drukhari, and ultimately forsake their more positive traits or ideals.

Among the Corsairs, one of their greatest leaders is Prince Yriel, High Admiral of the Eldritch Raiders and Autarch of Craftworld Iyanden. He is a member of a faction of Corsairs who owe their allegiance to a particular Craftworld, an not unheard of arrangement, though other Corsairs are far more mercenary in their allegiances. He has had many adventures, but of greatest note is his recent association with our next group, the Ynnari.

The Ynnari

Much like the Corsairs, the Ynnari are a faction made up of various Eldar who have united under a common goal. They are led by Yvraine, the Herald of Ynnead, the Aeldari God of the dead. Yvraine and her followers believe that killing Slaanesh by summoning Ynnead will end the dark god’s reign of terror over all Eldar. Yvraine is also notable for the role she played in awakening the Primarch of the Ultramarines, Roboute Guilliman, and helping put the modern era of 40K into motion. She is joined by various champions of Ynnead, who are in possession of key weapons called Crone Swords that can one day be combined to help summon Ynnead fully back into the galaxy.

The Ynnari have hit a few roadblocks however. The first is that not all Eldar support their mission, as despite factions from across the two species of Eldar joining her cause, others reject her ideas, if not outright hunt her. The other major roadblock was the realization that the last Crone Sword was within the realm of Slaanesh, meaning the Eldar getting access to it would be next to impossible. The group has since lost much of their momentum, and some of their allies from across the Eldar cultures have dropped away, leaving the Ynnari notable, but less active than in previous years.

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