Eldars from A to Z. Complete overview of the race
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“Once the stars lived and died at our command, how dare you oppose us?”

— Watcher-in-the-Distance, Mirren Biellnan

Not long ago, Gamer.ru published a proposal to create a kind of encyclopedic posts, from A to Z, to fully reveal the described topic. I decided to see if this would attract interest on the portal. I present to you a complete overview of my favorite race from the Warhammer 40,000 universe: the Eldar from A to Z. A significant amount of work has been done, and I hope it finds recognition among readers. If the post is liked, I will continue with detailed reviews on Warhammer and more.

Eldar (Eldar) — a race of elf-like humanoids. They are one of the oldest and most advanced races in the universe, although younger than the C'tan, the Old Ones, and the Slann. Typically, their armies have an advantage in speed and technology.

From ancient legends, such as the legend of the 99 Blades of Vaul, it can be inferred that the Eldar are contemporaries of the Necrons.

The Eldar's homeworld is not definitively known; possibly, it is Belial IV in the Eye of Terror.

History of the Eldar

Exodus

…The fall of the Eldar was one of the most terrifying catastrophes in the history of the universe. Thousands of planets with billions of inhabitants turned into insane maniacs, possessed by demonic will in an instant. Thousands of tears in the fabric of reality continuously spewed forth myriads of demons that sowed death and destruction. But not all Eldar fell victim to the demons. The strongest in spirit, the Eldar rulers-prophets, the Watchers-in-the-Distance, not only opposed the destructive emanations of Chaos but also used the strength of their psychic magic to seal some portals to the Warp, thereby saving some of their subjects. The great council of the Watchers-in-the-Distance decided that there was only one way to save the race. The planets tainted by the presence of Chaos were no longer a safe and native home. They only had to flee from the planets into space. Even now, one cannot help but admire the power and strength of the Eldar race and the depth and potency of knowledge of its masters. In obedience to the council's decision, the Spirit Singers, masters who create every item of Eldar technology from psychoplastic with the power of their thoughts, began the construction, or rather the growth, of enormous Crafted Worlds, giant city-ships that would become the home of the remnants of the Eldar race for all the millennia to come. It is said that with their incredible will, the Spirit Singers transported whole cities from old planets to the construction site and infused them into the flesh of the Crafted Worlds. Every one of the original Eldar worlds birthed one Crafted World. And this is the saddest part. The Crafted World could only accommodate one thousandth of the planet's population, and that is how many Eldar boarded their new home. This does not mean that the others remained on the planet. No. After the Crafted Worlds embarked on their multi-millennial journey, no one was left on the planet, only demons and those unfortunate souls who were no longer rational beings, destroyed and corrupted by the demons and the radiation of the Warp. Just a few years, just one flicker of the Lady of the Universe's eyelashes, and the enormous crystal sphere of Eldar civilization, whose light illuminated the galaxy for tens of thousands of years, crumbled to dust, leaving behind only pitiful shards.

“What can humans know of our pain? We sang songs of grief when your ancestors were still crawling out of the depths of the sea.”

—Eldrad Ulthran

Paths

  • - Path of the Warrior

  • - Path of the Seer

  • - Path of the Warlock

  • - Path of the Bonesinger

  • - Path of the Harlequin

  • - Path of the Exile

  • - Path of the Artisan

Many think that the wisdom and strength of the Eldar stem from their longevity. They think that if you have a thousand years, you must become a master in something. This is not entirely true. The longevity of the Eldar race is more of a consequence than a cause. The hearts of the Eldar beat twice as fast as human hearts, their physical reactions are so much quicker than those of humans that often a person is unable to notice the movement that an Eldar makes, and the Eldar's mind is swifter and more flexible. But this is not only a virtue. Eldar tend to be impulsive and inconsistent. In doing one thing, Eldar often abandon it unfinished and take up something else. Such impulsivity and half-heartedness were also among the reasons for the Fall. On the Crafted Worlds, the Eldar changed. Strict self-discipline became the foundation of their society. Every Eldar, upon reaching adulthood, chooses one of the Paths for himself. The Path is a calling, a profession, and a hobby all at once. No Eldar will abandon the chosen path until he achieves perfection in it. Only after fully completing a Path will the Eldar allow himself to choose another road, another passion, and on this new Path, he too will remain until he achieves perfection. There are many paths. The Path of the Spirit Singer is that of a creator-builder, a master, a mechanic, and an artist in one. For every item of Eldar technology is not only a technical device but also a work of art, a small piece of memory about its creator. The Path of the Star Sailor is the Path among the stars, the blue glow of the Web and a scattering of diamonds on the black velvet of the sky. It also carries the eternal danger of falling prey to demons in the Warp, for the strong and steady spirit of Eldar is visible to demons far more than the weak shadows of human souls, and not only does the eternal hostility of the Warp to the real world exist, but also the eternal hunger of the Great Enemy, She Who Thirsts, the god-demon Slaanesh, directs hordes of demons to follow the Eldar ships. But the most important Path for the Eldar has become the Path of the Warrior, for the words “war of survival” have a very specific meaning for the Eldar. Unlike the other paths, the way of the warrior is divided into several branches, each reflecting one of the faces of the Eldar God of War Kaela Mensha Khaine, the God-with-blood-on-his-hands. These branches bear the name Aspects. Warriors of different Aspects look at war differently, realizing the will of Khaine in different ways. There are many Aspects, many of which have been lost along with the deceased Crafted Worlds, and many have yet to be born in the shrines of the God of War. There is a shrine to the God of War on every Crafted World. In such shrines, there is always a servant of the god, an Exarch of the Warrior Aspect. It often happens that an Eldar becomes so deeply immersed in his Path that he can no longer leave it, for life, remaining devoted to only one life road. Aspect Warriors who have traveled too far down the Path of the Warrior and see no other fate for themselves are called Exarchs. Exarchs serve as commanders of Aspect squads, servants in the shrines of the God of War, leaders, and generals in the armies of Eldar guards. The armor of the Exarchs is different from the armor of ordinary soldiers. Older and more powerful, they become a part of the Exarch's body, just as the desire to fight is part of the Exarch's spirit. And in each of the great Aspects, there is its first and oldest Exarch, who often is also the founder of this Aspect. They are called Phoenix Lords. Of all Eldar, only the Phoenixes possess near-true immortality. Suffering defeat in battle and dying, a Phoenix does not vanish from the face of the universe like the flame of a candle. His spirit, his strength and knowledge, his will, and aspirations continue to live in his armor like a ghost in an old castle. And when the armors are found again and worn once more, the personality of the new owner merges with the spirit of thousands of Phoenixes before him, and the immortal Phoenix Lord will be reborn again. And in his soul, there will be one more voice. Phoenixes do not live on the Crafted Worlds; they wander through the Web, seeking out the enemies of the Eldar race or simply worthy opponents. No one knows how many Phoenixes there truly are or how many there were before and how many are left. Often, Phoenixes disappear for millennia, and then Rangers and simply Aspect Warriors go out to seek traces of the Phoenixes to find the empty armor and once again give life to the greatest of all Eldar warriors.

But the most dangerous, most rewarding, most cruel in punishments, and most slippery and brightest path for the Eldar is the path of the Psyker. Eldar psykers have always been and will be the strongest and most powerful, for the ability to direct the power of the Warp is, first of all, a test of will and spirit, and the will and spirit of the Eldar know no equal. Each of those who steps onto the path of the Psyker first becomes a mage, a Warlock. Warlocks help build the Crafted Worlds, monitor the entrances and exits of the Web, preventing demons, create Wraithguard, and lead their squads into battle. Warlocks possess great power and can protect a squad of guardians from enemy fire, incinerate an opponent with a mere wave of the hand, turn a fearsome tank into a melted lump of metal. The weapon of Warlocks is the Witchblade, a mighty power weapon that also helps to direct the strength of the Warp against the enemy. The strongest of Warlocks eventually become Watchers-in-the-Distance. Watchers-in-the-Distance are rulers, seers, and mentors in one. Gazing into the currents of the Warp, they can predict the future, see the present, and perceive the past. The Eldar have no rulers, but the wisdom of the Watchers-in-the-Distance commands respect, and every Eldar pays heed to the advice and teachings of the Watchers.

The most powerful of the Watchers-in-the-Distance is Eldrad Ulthran, the supreme of the Watchers-in-the-Distance of the Crafted World Ulthwé, the first in the Council of Watchers-in-the-Distance. He has participated in many battles, and many of them were won solely due to him. Many times he stopped senseless bloodshed with wise prophecies, saving the forces and lives of Eldar for more important victories. Many times his prophecies have allowed evasion of dangers from the Warp and the real world. The Eldar have no rulers, and the ancient Phoenix King has long been dead, and his crown is lost, but if it were found, Eldrad would become the ruler of the Eldar, and there would be no voice against it.

Souls

The greatest fear for the Eldar is She Who Thirsts, Slaanesh. Born from the souls of the Eldar, he has immense power over them. A deceased Eldar, upon entering the Warp, becomes prey to Slaanesh's insatiable hunger, condemned to eternal torment. This is why every Eldar always carries a soulstone close to his heart. This stone is meant to accept the spirit of the deceased and preserve it from a fate worse than death. Such stones are the greatest treasure for all Eldar, and woe betides anyone who dares to touch them. Many times the wrath of Aspect Warriors has fallen upon those who did not return the stones of their kin to the Eldar. Such stones are taken to the Crafted World where the deceased lived and placed in the Circle of Unity. The heart of every World is the Spirit Stone, a nearly living entity of the Crafted World. The place where the Heart comes into contact with the surface is called the Circle of Unity. In the Circle of Unity, the stones, upon touching the Heart of the World, merge with it, and the soul of the Eldar becomes forever a part of the memory and spirit of the World in which he lived. But sometimes the souls of the dead are given the chance to serve their World even after death. Mighty mages and Spirit Singers create a vessel for the dead spirit, the Wraithguard, a golem made of psychoplastic that comes to life through the power of the soul contained in its stone. Wraithguard are mighty warriors and are armed with fearsome Wraith weaponry that can send even a living, warm person straight into the Warp, erasing all traces of his presence in the real world. The mightiest of warriors become Wraithlords, enormous towering battle machines, akin to the dreadnoughts of the Space Marines.

The fear of being captured by Slaanesh prevents the Eldar from fully utilizing Warp-shifting technology. Despite the fact that all Worlds are equipped with powerful Warp engines, they are never used out of fear of demon hordes that would undoubtedly rush to the Crafted World. Even aboard their ships, the Eldar never move beyond a few light years, and even that is very dangerous for them. For distant movements, the Eldar use the Web, an ancient Warp structure that connects all Crafted Worlds and all planets where Eldar once lived or live. The Web is uneven. From the enormous central threads through which the massive Eldar star dreadnoughts travel, thinner threads branch off, leading to the Worlds and planets of a once mighty empire. Many transitions are abandoned; they lead to ruins filled with ghosts and death. Some are sealed, for they lead to places where once were worlds devoured by the Eye of Terror. Some are simply forgotten and abandoned. Of all Eldar, only the Harlequins, servants of the Laughing God, know all the nooks and crannies of the Web. Hidden deep in the Web is the Black Library, a collection of the Eldar's most secret and powerful tomes. There are stored the names of powerful demons of the Warp, chronicles of the past and even the future, hazy prophecies of the Apocalypse, the last battle between reality and Chaos. Nobody from outside the Eldar ever sets foot in the Black Library, and only the guidance of mighty fate can lead a mortal there.

Gods

On every Crafted World, there is a shrine to the god of war Khaine. And the center of each such shrine is a small chamber in the center where stands a statue of a fearsome warrior with a huge sword in one hand and drops of blood that always flow from his other hand. It is said that during the birth of Slaanesh in the Warp, a titanic battle occurred between him and Khaine. Slaanesh won it but was unable to fully destroy Khaine; he only shattered him into thousands of pieces. Each of these pieces of the God found its resting place on one of the Crafted Worlds. For such a particle, the Spirit Singers created a vessel, the Avatar. But the Avatar is not just a statue. Each time the clouds of war gather over a Crafted World, the Exarchs-servers choose one from their ranks. He becomes the Young King, the ruler and sacrifice to the god of war. He enters the Avatar's chamber, and after a while, the Avatar comes to life. The molten metal begins to flow through his steel veins, heat breaks through cracks in his armor, and the awakened Avatar, brought to life by the god Khaine's blood and the Young King's blood, emerges from his chamber to participate in the battle against enemies. And there is no foe more terrifying than the Avatar of the God-with-blood-on-his-hands. In battle, his enormous sword generously sows death, for even a simple touch of his metallic flesh is lethal, as the heat inside him is unbearable and merciless. After the battle, the Avatar returns to his chamber and remains there a lifeless statue of black metal, with blood continuously dripping from his hand.

Equally revered among the Eldar is the goddess Isha, the Mother of all Living and the Eternal Weeper. This goddess embodies both life and death in one. In a time when the Eldar freely roamed the Warp and were reborn time and again after death, Isha guided the spirit of Eldar, so they wouldn’t get lost in the nightmarish labyrinths of the Warp. After the Fall, Isha could no longer guide her children from one life to another, and now she is left only with sorrow for the mistakes her children make during their solitary life. Isha mourns for each of her children, making no distinction among them. The Eldar no longer have gods; they are all dead. And only one of them has not yet been born. Ynnead, the god of the dead, the last hope of the Eldar race, grows and strengthens with each day. In every Spirit Stone of every Craftworld lies the future of the Eldar. For when the god of the dead is born in all His might, drawn from the strength of the souls of deceased Eldar, then She Who Thirsts will lose her power over the souls of the Eldar, and the great race will be reborn, taking its rightful place in the galaxy. Exiles Not all Eldar followed the path of the Crafted Worlds. Many, fleeing from the Chaos-polluted planets, settled on others and began living there like their ancestors. But a large part of technology was lost in the Fall, and these planetary Eldar received the name of the Wilders. But they are wild only in comparison to the Eldar of the Crafted Worlds. Their technology, their art, their magic is no less powerful than the magic and technology of the Imperium, and therefore Imperial forces rarely attack planets populated by the Wild. Like the Eldar of the Crafted Worlds, the Wild Eldar live in constant fear of Slaanesh, the Great Enemy, the god-demon of Chaos. For they know that if they are so unfortunate as to die and their soul enters the Warp, the Great Enemy will devour them without return. This is why the Wild Eldar never leave the planets where they were born and with which they are bound. Each planet inhabited by the Wild has a soul. This soul was created by countless generations of psykers who aimed to save the souls of the Eldar from the Great Enemy, but had no Circle of Unity and soulstones. The psykers of the Wild Eldar learned to bind the souls of Eldar with the spirit of the planet, making the spirit of the deceased a part of the planet's protective shell, designed to guard the Eldar worlds from the influence of Chaos. And this too is a path to salvation.

On many Crafted Worlds, on many of the Wild planets, on many planets of the Imperium, you can encounter mysterious Eldar dressed in colorful clown-like clothes, their faces concealed by sneering, laughing masks. They call themselves Harlequins. They are the servants of the Laughing God - Cegorach, pathfinders of the Web, keepers of the prophecies of the Black Library. They do not carry soulstones since their souls go directly to their god's abode after death, and Slaanesh has no power over them. In battle, they are fearsome and unafraid of death, laughing as they go to their god. Harlequins have strange culture, and many tenets of their faith are inaccessible to the understanding of rational beings in sound mind. Some say that the laughter of a Harlequin is a kind of madness, poisonous to the black soul of the Great Enemy. Harlequins are the only Eldar who accept humans into their ranks. Cults of the Laughing God are found on many Imperial planets, and all trace back to the Harlequins. Like any other alien faith, these cults are persecuted by the Imperial authorities as heresy, and rightly so. For the madness of the Laughing God serves only the god himself, and his path is so different from that of mortals that no one is able to fully comprehend it. There are many cases where entire planets, systems, and sectors have fallen victim to the mad laughter of followers of the Eldar god. The only thing that can be said with certainty is that the Laughing God will never allow the black plague of Chaos to spread where his followers dwell. Thus, the Harlequins save their souls from the clutches of the Great Enemy, and this too is a path to salvation.

Eldar of the Crafted Worlds

In the times preceding the Fall, not all Eldar remaining on their home worlds fell under the influence of Slaanesh. Many remained, trying to steer their dying race away from its doomed path. Failing in this, many of the great Seers sensed the coming darkness and undertook titanic efforts to save their people. For every planet, a huge ship of wraithbone was built, massive enough to be close in size to a small planet. The last sane inhabitants of each planet boarded their ships, taking with them works of art, plants, animals, and everything else that could still be saved. On these Crafted Worlds (as they later became known), the Eldar Exodus began, and just in time. A psychic shockwave struck some of the Crafted Worlds and destroyed them, while others were drawn into orbits around the Eye of Terror. But some managed to escape, and they still drift through the Galaxy. Their exact number is unknown, and the connection between them is difficult and unstable.

The most famous Crafted Worlds:

Alaitoc — far on the fringes of the galaxy, at the edge of explored territories, lies the Crafted World Alaitoc. The Eldar of Alaitoc fiercely guard their world against the encroachments of Slaanesh, more than any other Eldar from the Crafted Worlds. For this reason, many of its inhabitants sometimes choose to leave the confines of the ship and travel alone or in small groups. However, in times of need, they return, so the armies of Alaitoc never lack scouts.

Altansar — A small Crafted World, formerly on the very edge of the shockwave, Altansar was long considered lost in the Eye of Terror along with its home worlds Eldar. However, there were reports of its appearance and active participation in campaigns against the Eye of Terror, but its current fate is unknown, apart from the fact that during the 13th Black Crusade of Abaddon the Despoiler, the Phoenix Lord Maughan-Ra, founder of the Aspect of the Dark Reapers, penetrated into the Eye of Terror, into a portal left by Abaddon, and rescued the children of the home Crafted World who had all this time remained untouched by Chaos. However, other Eldar Crafted Worlds consider them cursed along with Ulthwé, drifting on the outer orbit of the Eye of Terror...

Biel-Tan — the most warlike of the Crafted Worlds, Biel-Tan has made it its goal to recreate the Eldar Empire. Its armies contain the highest proportion of elite troops of all the Crafted Worlds, and a number of armed civilians who are called upon in times of conflict. Their trained soldiers are known as the Wind of Blades, and they often come to the aid of the nearest Worlds of the Exodus.

Ynden — The Crafted World Ynden was once one of the largest and most prosperous ships. Its path led it into a confrontation with a Tyranid swarm, and the Crafted World was nearly destroyed in the ensuing battles. Today, many of its sections still lie in ruins, and its population is very small. This forces Ynden to frequently resort to the assistance of the fallen, awakening more Wraithguard and Wraithlords than other ships. The leader is Prince Uriel, an incredibly dexterous, strong, wise, and experienced commander. He wields the Spear of Twilight, a cursed but powerful close-combat weapon, with which he destroyed the Tyranid Tyrant.

Saim-Hann — one of the most barbaric and wild of the larger Crafted Worlds. The warriors of Saim-Hann prefer fast attacks and mobile battles. They regularly organize their armies into squads of skimmers and jetbikes known as Wild Riders, who are famous for their speed and fierceness of attack.

Ulthwé— One of the largest Crafted Worlds, Ulthwé was pulled into the Eye of Terror and now orbits around it. Because of this, it constantly faces attacks from Chaos marauders and has served as a bastion against them for thousands of years. Constant war and the risk of attacks have hardened its inhabitants, who organize permanent units known as the Black Guardians. Proximity to the Eye is also expressed in an unusually high number of psykers. The leader is Eldrad Ulthran, the most powerful of all Eldar psykers.

Il-Kaiif — The Crafted World Il-Kaiif drifts in the West of the Galaxy, near the Stars of the Halo. It is one of the last worlds the Eldar departed from before the Fall; its inhabitants witnessed the temptations and seductions of Chaos firsthand. From their lair, they launch aggressive strikes throughout the Segmentum Pacificus, hunting Chaos forces. They often return from the battlefield victorious. When the Maharius Crusade approached the pristine Eldar worlds, they vowed to protect them and then fought against them for more than two years, putting both armies in a deadlock before they succumbed to the combined forces of Lord Maharius and the 745th Crusade.

Most likely, the population of the Crafted Worlds constitutes the major part of the Eldar race, although it is impossible to say how many there are in total. They are the last refuge of industry, technology, and culture of the Eldar, as they contain the few remaining values of the vanished home worlds. Most of the world-ships have special bio-spheres in which are placed plants and animals from their worlds. Although each Crafted World is independent in its actions and governance, they can ask for and provide assistance and counsel to one another. Though rare, sometimes disagreements between the Crafted Worlds lead them to clash in battle, but this is always a last resort.

Each Crafted World is supplied with an Infinite Cycle, which is the skeleton of the world itself, created from wraithbone. Within this matrix lies the souls of all the dead of the world in the form of a collective consciousness, providing both a source of psychic power for the ship and a repository of knowledge and experience. Each Eldar within the Cycle retains their individuality. With the emergence of Slaanesh, the Infinite Cycle is the closest equivalent of an afterlife for the Eldar; if their souls are not caught by the Stones and returned to the bosom of the ship, they will be lost in the Warp and consumed by the Great Enemy. For this reason, the Eldar will protect the Crafted Worlds until the last; to lose them means losing not only a home but also the souls of ancestors and fallen friends.

The Departed

The Departed are a large group of Eldar who fled their home worlds before the Fall and the creation of the Great Enemy. They rose against the changes that afflicted the Eldar society swaying toward Chaos, but were ignored or deemed too straightforward. As a result, they were saved from the threat of Chaos and established colonies on the edge of the galaxy, far from the home worlds, and now from the expanding Eye of Terror. Many returned to agriculture and a quiet life, and for that, they are despised by many Eldar of the Crafted Worlds as primitive, though they do maintain a certain level of technology. They are also more hospitable, taking in the Eldar-Outcasts, whom the Crafted Worlds have simply rejected. They are mainly supported by Biel-Tan, and often the forces of this Crafted World protect the worlds of the Exodus. The Departed Eldar also possess an equivalent of the Infinite Cycle — the Souls of the Planet. The Souls of the Planet are several stalactites made from Spirit Bones that create a special field to hold the soul. When a Departed dies, their Soul Stone is broken on the altar, and their soul is released and enclosed in the Soul of the Planet, protected from Slaanesh.

It is also interesting to note that the Departed remain entirely psykers. For instance, their abilities include controlling animals akin to dinosaurs (megadons — also called exodites