Editing Eldar (section)

==History==

===Origins and the Eldar Empire===
[[Image:Eldarpsykers.jpg|350px|right|thumb|Did you know Tyranid tastes best when cooked inside out with warp fire at 1,000 degrees Celsius?]]
:{{topquote|I watched as the First Ones encouraged the younger race to reach further into the other realm, and with their vibrant minds and passionate souls create beings of power to fight the star gods. ...Without the wisdom and might of the First Ones I saw The Elder's warp-beings evolve from sentient weapons into living gods - the first true gods of the Immaterium.|'Echoes of the Birth' - Liber Chaotica volume 2}}

Much of Eldar history has been lost and is consequently closer to mythology than fact. Even the Eldar themselves are unsure of the details. What they do know is that they were one of many races either created or uplifted by the [[Old_Ones_(Warhammer)#Warhammer_40.2C000|Old Ones]] to fight against the [[C'tan]] and their minions at the time, the [[Necron]]tyr. The only knowledge of their homeworld that the Eldar have is that they had one and that it had three moons; this homeworld has been "lost" since the earliest memories of their most ancient past. The species known as the Old Ones are said to have left in their great ships, leaving the Eldar to develop on their own, only returning at an unspecific time later, only this time their ships were marked by the scars of war. The Eldar were designed to be powerful [[psyker]]s to take advantage of the C'tan's weakness to the powers of the [[Warp]]. In their infancy as a race, the Eldar learned how to create Warp entities (essentially, artificial daemons) to help them get shit done (be it war, healing, or building), but when the Old Ones took the Eldar to war and subsequently got wiped out by the combined efforts of the C'Tan, the Necrons, and [[Enslavers]], the Eldar constructs went out of control and started merging into much more powerful beings, even capable of facing full-powered C'Tan without being annihilated in 0.1 seconds. The Eldar mistook those beings for gods and started worshipping them.

There is also the possibility that in order to escape death, certain [[Old Ones]] who had strong links to the ancient Eldar may have hijacked their Warp constructs, by merging together with them, leaving their mortal bodies behind and ascending to godhood.
These new "gods" started to play [[War in Heaven|divine soap opera]] (which often resulted in piles of space elf corpses) until their boss, [[Asuryan]], got tired of this shit, and banned all divine manifestations in real space, effectively locking all of the gods in the Warp. At this time in cosmic history, the Warp was far less dangerous, especially for the Eldar since it was mainly the swinging bachelor pad of their gods, and not a [[Tzeentch|scheming]], [[Slaanesh|raping]], [[Khorne|murdering]], [[Nurgle|rotting]] hellscape. Some accounts suggest that when Eldar passed away, their souls were preserved in the Warp to be reincarnated.

[[Image:Eldar map.jpg|thumb|left|250px|"40k Map showing the reach of the Eldar Empire and a few of the key locations left after the Fall"]]
For [[Plot armor|reasons]] left conveniently unexplained, the Eldar managed to survive both the war between the Old Ones and the [[C'tan]] and the [[War in Heaven|high school drama]] of their gods, and over thousands of years built a galaxy-spanning empire that was undoubtedly more bitchin' and stylish than anything the [[Imperium]] has achieved. The Eldar terraformed planets into paradises, inhabited thousands of them, and traveled between them effortlessly using the technology of the [[Webway]] left behind by the Old Ones. At the height of their civilization, approximately the same time that humans were starting to evolve, they were using their advanced technology to perform pretty much all the work required in their societies and had rendered manual labour completely obsolete; things called Spirit-drones and psychomatons explored and conquered in their name and they simply reaped the benefits of their galaxy-spanning empire. As time passed many Eldar began to slowly devote themselves to pursuing lives of increasingly hedonistic and decadent behaviour; something as simple as a [[Blood Bowl|game like football would start off as a game, but by the end of the Fall had turned into full-blown gladiatorial death matches]] (like actual American football) (like a goddamn Dr. Seuss fantasy... IN SPAAAACE).

With the end of the War in Heaven, they effectively became the inheritors of the Old Ones' kingdom, although that didn’t mean they immediately became the galaxy's head honchos. There were still many threats that they had to overcome. The word "Mon Keigh", for instance, originated from a race that enslaved the Eldar for a time before they were defeated. Though the word is now mostly associated with humans, at least one Imperial scholar studying the Eldar concluded it is broadly used against races that have been deemed worthy of extermination though this may be because an Imperial probably wouldn’t be willing to drawn lines between the obvious fact the mon-keigh species were cannibalistic savages and humanity’s habit of warring amongst itself and generally acting like intelligent Orks. An interesting little tidbit from "Asurmen: Hand of Asuryan" suggests that after the War in Heaven was over, for some reason, the Eldar did not have access to the Webway, and spent an unspecified amount of time having to travel to the far corners of the galaxy using conventional means in order to reactivate it.

[[The Cabal]] introduced in the [[Horus Heresy|Heresy]] does hint that the Eldar at least maintained links with many of the older species in the galaxy. The assembly consists of many of the oldest species in the galaxy, including a being they refer to as the last of the Old Kind, but also younger species; members of the cabal even considered offering the Emperor a seat (this was before the crusade started of course). The Cabal comes across a bit like the [[illuminati]], but may have acted as a sort of UN for the galaxy, this of course is only theoretical, but may shed some light on how galactic politics may have happened in the Pre-Fall era.

The Eldar dominion before the rot started to set in is described as a shining example of civilization, although exactly what that means is a bit up in the air. It was so "perfect" that it ended up being boring, very very boring; when mentally linking with a "tree" in order to enter an Eldar version of the Matrix is considered boring that's really saying something. Without any form of hardship or strife the effectively immortal Eldar (one of the POV characters in the 'Asurmen: Hand of Asuryan' book takes note that large numbers of Eldar were extending their natural lifespans by insane amounts, intending to outlive the stars themselves; he did not find the idea appealing, as he was already finding his own long life becoming unbearably boring, and preferred to die and be born into a new life) are proof that 'the [[slaanesh|devil]] finds work for idle hands'. The governance of the dominion seems to have been split into something like the ancient Greek city states, each governed by great councils.

Thanks to 'Path of the Archon' we know that one of the few instances of schism to have taken place during their galactic rule focused around the concept of Form. Whilst some believed that their form, both physically and spiritually, was already something inviolable, a pinnacle of evolution, others believed that the form a soul took was not predetermined and saw no problem in changing their forms as they desired; the more extreme amongst them transmigrated themselves into animals, ships, structures or even entire sub-realms (so you're telling me that they can literally claim to identify as an apache helicopter, and actually make it a reality, well hell, where do I sign up).

Later on, there are a few recorded instances of the newly-spacefaring humanity clashing with elements of the Eldar race over resources; whether these Eldar the expanding humans encountered were the forces of the Eldar Empire or the fleeing Exodites is unknown. Said dynamic is arguably evident in current interactions between the Imperium and the Tau - a comparison which doesn't bode well for the former party if you accept that history tends to repeat itself.

The Eldar codex states that the vast trading vessels known as [[Craftworld]]s, which carried the tiny proportion of the race who sought to escape the corruption at the heart of the Empire, sought out other Eldar amongst the far-flung Exodites colonies and even began to settle new worlds of their own. It was then that the fates of the Eldar and Mankind intertwined for the first time, sometime between M18 and M22. It seems that there was nowhere near the amount of bad blood between the two species then as there is now in M41; non-aggression pacts were signed between humanity and dozens of alien races and the introduction of the [[Interex]] in the Horus Hersey claims that the Eldar encountered by humans at the time provided both help and guidance.

* A small bit of obscure lore from way back, deals with why Eldar void craft are designed with wings/fins on them. When traveling through the material universe they act as solar sails, but they were originally also used when traveling the warp. Once upon a time before the warp was so thirsty for Eldar souls, the Eldar were actually able to sail the currents of the Warp in almost complete safety; instead of using engines to force their way through, they would glide smoothly through the sea of souls using its natural currents, barely causing a ripple. It was stated that the Eldar were disturbed by how humanity traveled the Warp: brute-forcing their way in and then using their engines to propel themselves forward, violently churning up the Warp in their wake.

===The Eldar during the War in Heaven===

The War in Heaven was an apocalyptic war between the species known as the Old Ones and the [[Necrons]] that makes the Horus Heresy and the [[Men of Iron|war against the machines]] look like schoolyard scuffles. The War in Heaven occurred roughly 65 million years ago, and is implied to have been the real reason for all the mass extinctions that happened during this period, seeing as it takes place during the same time period that the last of the non-avian dinosaurs went extinct. To put the scale into perspective, [[Trazyn]] has one of the ancient [[Orks|Krorks]] that fought during this time in his exhibits; it is described a towering, twelve-meter-tall monstrosity that loomed over [[Fabius Bile]], whose weaponry and crude exoskeleton were far more advanced than even the modern day Astartes battle-plate. To put that into even more perspective, the largest of the six [[The Beast|Prime-orks]], the ultimate mastermind behind the [[War of the Beast]] which devastated the early Imperium and brought the [[Administratum]] to its knees stood at only ''10'' meters.

Information on the Eldar during this time is a rarity and scattered throughout the lore:
*They were a powerful psychic warrior race. In the latest book in the [[Mephiston]] series, the recently awakened [[Necron Lord]] commented that although powerful, he was but a pale shadow of its recollections of the Eldar; considering the insane BS Mephiston was able to pull off (still couldn't break out of Veilwalkers grip however, as she dragged him around by his psychic ear), that is truly scary. Modern Eldar are greatly restricted in how they use their psychic might, and limit themselves using runes, that act as psychic fuses (the greater the number, the more power they can safely access). They can choose to override the runes, but it doesn't usually end well; such as the example of the Eldar seer, who in a suicidal last act tapped directly into their full psychic potential, for only a handful of seconds- burning out their runes. The Seer unleashed a terrifyingly powerful Eldritch storm that consumed the whole planet they had been fighting on; however within seconds of doing so the Dark Prince instantly sunk its talons into the Seer's soul, dragging it directly into its open jaws, and consumed the the soul of the Seer entirely. Even constrained and restricted Eldar Seers such as Eldrad are still capable of freezing time for the entire capital of Guilliman's realm, whilst at the same time holding a casual conversation (Unremembered Empire), psychically powering an entire Eldar battleship from halfway across the galaxy, whilst again holding a conversation with the stranded crew, guiding them back home safely, or singlehanded, controlling and shaping enough raw power to birth a god. According to Asurman this sort of display of power was not uncommon before the Fall.
*The entire species was connected by what could be described as a species wide "Gestalt" Field; no Matter how far they may be, they are always connected together ( potentially why The Dark Prince has such a stranglehold on their souls). Many before the Fall took this for granted, only to suffer soul crushing loneliness when it was torn from them. Those that join the Ynnari are able to reconnect, with many finally realising that the Fall hadn't just broken them in the physical sense, but it had shattered them spiritually; if the species has any chance of survival they must become whole once more.
*They created warp constructs/weapons that could be used to battle the Star Gods directly.
*They were apparently able to “reincarnate” after they died. They were essentially a race of [[perpetual]]s, in that their souls are actually immortal and continually move through a circle of death and rebirth. This works in a similar fashion to the '[[Doctor Who|Doctor's]]' regenerations, with the soul being identical but with each reincarnation being its own person, with its own personality and identity; the memories of their past lives are still there, and are still accessible when needed but most don't bother.
*They were [[psyker]]s who could read minds with but a glance and crush an opponent’s weapons with a mere gesture (the example given is a simple closing of an eye lid).
*They fought using swords and spears, not firearms, essentially being more powerful [[Warlock (Eldar)|warlock]]s:
::''“We speak of gods and souls, and this one assumes the smith-god’s gift to the Eldar was plasma weaponry? Hah! These events occurred eons before the Eldar had mastered such things. They fought with swords, spears and their own twisted version of faith.”'' 
*They were created before the Krorks, and although powerful they were few in number by comparison. Thanks to 'Wild Rider' we know that the Eldar predate the War in Heaven, as they appear to have had none-violent interactions with the pre-Necron [[Necrontyr]]; keep in mind that the Necrontyr originally asked the Old Ones to help them peacefully, and that the conflict was stoked by the Necrontyr's leadership for political reasons (to unit the turbulent factions of their society against a common foe). The Necrontyr were apparently the ones to introduce the fledgling Eldar species to the concept of the written word; not a good look for the Old Ones, when the Necrontyr turn out to have been the better teachers.
*The Eldar were said to represent silence and grace, whilst the [[Orks]] represented rage and noise.
*The Jokaero were made by the Old Ones to serve as slave-engineers to the other weapon-races and to the Old Ones. The War in Heaven exhibit has a Khaineite warrior armed with some form of chainsword; meaning the Jokaero may be the origin for all chain bladed weaponry that exists in the 40k universe.
*They made use of “Iron Knights” animated by Eldar souls and “Giants” inhabiting (inhabited by?) the souls of the greatest Eldar heroes. Standing three times taller than a Necron and virtually indestructible, they carried arcane weaponry that could channel and project soulfire that ripped their opponents apart. They are reminiscent of the Wraith constructs employed by the Craftworld Eldar, and also resemble the creation and use of the Avatars of Khaine. In ''Ghost Warrior: Rise of the Ynnari'' Autarch Meliniel has gained the ability to transform into an Avatar at will, which may indicate that certain ancient Eldar Warriors may have been able to do the same. [[Tyrion]] during [[the End Times]] did something similar, becoming an avatar of Khaine through the use of the sword [[Widowmaker]] (the last of the swords forged for [[Khaine]] by [[Vaul]]), which means that it may be the forging of objects directly connected to the gods that may have allowed for these theorized transformations.
*During ''Rise of the Ynnari: Wild Rider'', Nuadhu Fireheart, due to some type of ancestral memory, has flashbacks to fighting alongside constructs larger than [[Titan (Warhammer 40,000)|titans]] in the original War in Heaven. These titanic figures could very well be the physical manifestation of the Eldar gods given form in the physical plane.
*The Necron [[Phaeron|Phaerekh]] known as the Watcher in the Dark, upon watching Aeldari ships descending from the sky, has flashes from her pre-Necron life. She sees images of immense flying predators and makes a note that the Eldar ships seem to have been inspired by these same creatures; this may represent the Eldar mythological figure of the Cosmic Serpent and its children. Many of the Eldar ships and vehicles (such as the [[Dragonship|Dragonships]], [[Wave Serpent]], [[Vyper]], [[Skyweaver]], [[Starweaver]] and [[Voidweaver]]) are all named in honour of these mythical figures. It could be that during the War in Heaven, the Eldar may have ridden "dragons" in a similar manner to the [[High Elf (Warhammer Fantasy Battle)|High Elf]] [[Dragon Prince]]s and Dragon-riders; the "dragons" that the Eldar Exodites ride may well be their lesser descendants. During the Heresy, [[Vulkan]] fought an Exodite seer upon the back of a giant winged "dragon", so there may still be some of these guys still out there.
*The 8th edition Codex mentions that virtually every battle between the Eldar and Necrons was an overwhelming victory for the Eldar, even after the Old Ones were wiped out. Ultimately, the ensuing assumption of Eldar invincibility would help lay the foundation for the Fall, as they came to think nothing could stop their empire.
*With the apparent demise of the Old Ones, it was the Eldar who stepped up to fill the power vacuum left behind; leading the other creations of the Old Ones against the now weakened Necrons, forcing them into their long sleep.
*The Eldar were led by the brother heroes, Eldanesh and Ulthanesh, who alone could control the Warp Gods and summon them onto the physical plane. The brothers and their gods would lead their children into battle time and time again, pitting Warp spawned furies against the soulless technologies of the Yngir.
*To give an idea to the scale of power wielded by the ancient Eldar, we can look at the Spear of Twilight currently used by the last of the house of Ulthanash, Prince Yriel. The spear of twilight is said to have been used by Ulthanesh himself, and although it is a pale shadow of its former might it is still capable of, not only wounding but feeding upon god tier entities such as the Hive Mind (too bad its tabletop rules don't represent this).
::''"Yriel plunged his spear deep into the rearing serpent. It keened terribly, and Yriel salivated as his weapon drank. Since the day he had lost his eye due to the spear feasting on the limitless hive mind, he had managed to control its fell power and its obscene appetites, but at this final pass he no longer had the strength, and the spear’s murderous soul overwhelmed him. He could not stop it feeding, drawing upon the infinity of spirit the Great Devourer possessed. Yriel felt the hive mind, heard it howl. It thrashed about, and Yriel was battered by its anger. Its thoughts were utterly, unimaginably alien. But one thing came through strong and loud. Hatred, hatred for this creature that had for the first time in untold eons wounded it."''
*It has been shown that "[[Chaos]]", or, as the Necron Phaerekh called it, "the foe-that-creeps", was very much a growing problem, with whole worlds destroyed to prevent its spreading influence. Apparently, the Eldar had been brought into being with the specific intent for them to resist the counter-dimensional incursions, whilst at the same time making use of the Warp to do battle with the Necrons. As has been mentioned, the longer the War in Heaven lasted, the more it churned up the [[Warp|sea of souls]], and in doing so created many of the dangers that would now hunt within its depths. At some point the [[Enslavers|Warp-spawned horrors]] flooding reality must have reached a breaking point, as both the Eldar and Necrons seem to have joined forces to beat their demonic arses back into the hell from which they came. Vaults created through the efforts of both the Necrons and Eldar imprisoned many of these [[Daemon|daemonic]] entities; this includes powerful daemons of "[[Slaanesh]]"?
*Thanks to recent revelations from 'Infinite and the Divine', we now know that the War in Heaven was indeed an accumulation of many different incidents, happening over a very long period of time. The time period known as the War in Heaven lasted around five million years; not kidding here, according to two very high profile Necron Lords this is how long it took. However it does appear as if their memories have become somewhat mixed up, or maybe deliberately tampered with during biotransference, as the two Lords have very different reconciliations about who dragged who away towards the bio-furnaces. After the War in Heaven ended (in reality it never really ended, the bell is about to ring announcing the start of the next round) the Eldar that emerged are said to have taken a very hands off approach to what little life remained in the galaxy, holding a reverence for life in the wake of the destruction wrought by the apocalyptic war. Eldar even visited early Earth, where they discovered a species of small mammals, the earliest ancestors to modern humans. A debate then arose concerning these creatures, as visions gifted to the Eldar revealed that in the far distant future they would either be responsible for Chaos ultimately consuming the galaxy, or a vital element in the fight against the [[Chaos Gods|Primordial Annihilator]]. The Eldar at the time decided to take a gamble and left life on Earth to develop unmolested (too bad the gamble failed; to be clear this is very old lore, but a conversation during ‘Throne World’ does hint at its continuous existence within the current Lore). This is actually supported by 'Godblight', where it is confirmed that the Eldar have been visiting [[Terra|Earth]] for a very long time now, at least as late as 6000 BC, which is about the same time as the founding of Mesopotamia, or the "Cradle of Civilisation". You know those theories about ancient aliens visiting earth- and who may have played a considerable part in the development of early human civilisation, back in the day, well guess who it was; this would also explain why so many ancient pantheons in old myths and legends have a more then passing resemblance to the Eldar's own pantheon of gods. The idea that the Eldar have been taking day trips to earth throughout history isn't that far fetched, when you consider the fact that, at this very moment, there is a massive Eldar city in the [[Webway]] just adjacent to our own solar system ('The Impossible City' that the Emperor intended to use as his entrance point into the rest of the Webway); there might be millions of Eldar at this very moment watching us, maybe even editing this very page... Gits.

===Not what they used to be===
[[Image:Eldar Aspect.jpg|225px|right|thumb|A Banshee/Scorpion [[Autarch]] performs the fusion dance and kicks some ass]]
As is the case for the Orks, the ancient Eldar at their prime during the War in Heaven were far more powerful than their modern-day descendants. It would make sense that the Old Ones would build safeguards into their creations, to [[Nerf|depower]] them if it ever looked like they were getting too big for their boots or too difficult to control. This may have resulted in the shutting down or limiting of certain powers and abilities; Iyanna in "Ghost warrior" is mentioned using her psychic powers to reignite the accelerated healing processes hidden deep inside the core of every Aeldari, which resulted in a shattered leg knitting itself back together wolverine style; this ability is referred to as the 'Tress of Isha'.

The stories of Eldanesh the First of the Aeldari and his defiance of Khaine, Morai-Heg and her prophecies, and the tale of the Eldar being locked out of "heaven" and separated from their gods may be a poetic retelling of events that saw the ancient Eldar stripped of their former might and cast back into the galaxy to fend for themselves.

Although mostly theory, the idea that the Old Ones essentially "decommission" their weapons once they had achieved the task that they had been created for does go towards explaining why the Eldar were seemingly denied the use of the Webway, and how a race that had fought and defeated the Necrons could somehow end up being enslaved by a seemingly barbaric and brutish species from whom the term mon-keigh originated.

:'''"And you threw away the greatest weapons we gave you! look at them now, cowering in the shadows, flinching at the movement in the darkness. There is no greatness left in these people. They are not worthy of your protection. Give them to us, my daughter. Bring us together and let us feast on them until we are strong and whole again. We will free you from the domination of the one that sundered us.'''

:''No! We shall not be enslaved by gods or ourselves again.'''''

:'''And so you will imprison yourselves instead. You will gutter and die like candles rather than burn bright like pyres.'''

:''Better that than servitude to the Kinslayer. There is nothing you will not bend to your will, and you will use us and destroy us in that purpose. Eldanesh refused you with good reason, breaker of oaths."''
::Jain Zar confronts an Avatar of Khaine.

===The Fall=== 
The Fall happened gradually between c.M18-30 and if ''Farseer'' by [[William King]] is to believed, it all really started with an Eldar called Lord [[Shaha Gaathon]] (or as he would be later called, The Harbinger of Slaanesh) - he was to [[Slaanesh]] what [[Yvraine]] is to [[Ynnead]]. Shaha Gaathon was the first to start what was to become the cults of pleasure and he would later become the first [[Daemon Prince]] of Slaanesh. It may seem strange for the Fall to take place over what is a comparatively very short period of time given the insane length of their rule, but the rate of the Fall can be directly compared to the increasingly violent Warp storms that would eventually lead to the collapse of the DAOT; according to the Lore, when humanity first started using the Warp to travel it was considerably more calm and peaceful, only to eventually end up so volatile that Warp travel became impossible (those lightweights just couldn't last one night at an Eldar empire house party). The Fall really did take place over the course of thousands, not millions, of years, with many Eldar witnessing the slow degradation take place over a single Eldar life time. It is weird that it happened so suddenly, like practically overnight, but it is perhaps possible Slaanesh causes The Fall. Time is a joke in the Warp and all the Chaos Gods always existed even before they were born.

Ironically, those who sought to delay the coming doom that some among their seers had foreseen actually in some ways accelerated its coming. As first the Exodites, then the Craftworlds and like-minded Eldar fled the heart of the Eldar Empire in greater and greater numbers, what rational, cautious and puritanical elements there were in the Eldar Empire as a whole were effectively stripped away from their society. Without their calming, cautionary influence, the rest of their civilization likely slipped further and deeper into depravity.

:{{topquote|Shaha Gaathon is one of the greatest of the servants of He Who We Do Not Name. He existed before the Great Enemy came. Since before the birth of his master, he has a terrible hatred for the eldar, and I believe, he wishes to use your people as a weapon against mine. There are futures waiting to be born in which the followers of the Emperor will turn on my people and destroy them utterly. There are timelines in which the eldar respond with our forbidden and ultimate weapons and both races are so dramatically weakened that Chaos overwhelms them.<br>
:''Your people are numberless as the grains of sand upon a beach. It does not matter how powerful our weapons are, you will eventually overwhelm us, for the Harbinger of the Lord of all Pleasures knows the location of all our hidden home-vessels.''|Farseer, ''William King''}}

Throughout the Eldar civilization, a profound degradation in moral discipline and a gradual slide into sensual excess commenced, undermining the foundations of the once-great Empire. With the rise of the cults of pleasure over the once-great ruling councils, worship of the Eldar gods declined, many even considered themselves to be gods in their own right; there are even pits near the entrances to the dark city into which the status of the gods were hurled, now thousands of years later they are buried under religious relics stolen from species from across the galaxy, just going to show the utter contempt that the [[Dark Eldar]] held towards their racial pantheon. We are told that most of the Pantheon could do nothing but watch events unfold with growing horror, Isha wept for her children, Khaine raged and the lord of the Eldar gods simply turned and walked away. As the quest for excess crossed into outright evil, a perverse new god began to stir in the Warp. That is not to say the Eldar at the time of the Fall were quite like the Dark Eldar. They were certainly similar but more like a hybrid of Dark Eldar and [[Eldar Corsair|Corsair]] in terms of personality and culture. The Dark Eldar became what they are due to a combination of desperation to stave off Slaanesh and naturally choosing to do so in ways they were most familiar with (i.e. torture and hedonism) cranked up to eleven even by their own standards (not that they didn't enjoy it).

As Eldar civilization became more and more excessive, it began to resemble the world of a [[FATAL|certain godawful assault on the dignity of the human creative impulse]], and the Eldar made a science and a cultural centerpiece out of indulging and refining every perverted sensual desire they had. As their race descended into mindless slaughter, lawlessness, depravity, and evil, little did they know that all of it was nourishing a new entity in the Warp. Some Eldar decided to forsake the ways of their kin and left to settle other planets at the fringes of the galaxy; this turned out to be a pretty smart move, since the planet-wide orgies and [[Heterosexual Sex in the Missionary Position|other assorted debauchery]] going on back home culminated psychically in a gargantuan Warp storm that resulted in the birth of the [[Chaos]] [[Chaos Gods|god]] [[Slaanesh]] and tore an enormous hole in the fabric of realspace that is now known as the [[Eye of Terror]]. This calamity also resulted in the deaths of most of the Eldar still on their homeworlds.
[[Image:FalloftheEldar.jpg|thumb|left|500px|"At least we perfected time travel so we can go back and fix this... Wait, what do you mean you ''all'' gave that up and spent the last thousand years having sex instead? I swear, you guys!..."]]

The Eldar race are highly psychically gifted, and as the corruption spread [[/d/|the echoes of ecstasy and agony rippled through time and space]] and in the Warp the reflections of these intense experiences began to coalesce unknowingly into an unimaginably foul and sickening shadow of what the Eldar, their pride and their nobility had become, brought low by perversity and shamelessness. In the twilight years approaching the Birth of the Dark Prince the Eldar were riven with madness. Worlds burned as the Eldar slew and laughed and feasted upon the dead.

:{{topquote|Yet how mightier is Khorne than his delight-filled sibling! Oldest of Gods and greatest of warriors, Khorne’s armies stretch from infinity to infinity to infinity, and the pleasure God may not rival him. But this was not always so. For in the days when the Slaanesh, last born and most beautiful, strove for existence, his power waxed stronger than all gods, be they separate or together, and it seemed as though his spiteful triumph would destroy the balance in the Warp.|from Liber Chaotica - If you ever wondered why Slaanesh was able to consume the Eldar gods just after its birth, it’s because at its birth it was stronger then all the other gods of the Warp combined; the other three members of the Chaos pantheon secretly fear that he may eventually become so again.}}

[[Grimdark|Most of the Eldar gods were wiped out along with their race]]. The newborn Slaanesh, a creature without equal in perversion and heinousness, rampaged through the Warp, devouring everything Eldar that he/she/it/they could get its hands/tentacles/claws/many [[/d/|phallic appendages]] on. The gods who bit the big one were [[Asuryan]], [[Kurnous]], [[Lileath]], [[Morai-Heg]], and [[Vaul]]. The three that survived are the [[Cegorach|Laughing God, Cegorach]]; the shattered [[Khaine|God of War and Fire, Khaine]]; and the [[Isha|Goddess of Healing and Fertility, Isha]], also known as the Mother.

During this mass deicide, Khaine fought against Slaanesh and found himself evenly matched. Before a winner could be decided, however, [[Khorne]] appeared and declared Khaine his property. Whether this was due to the slight similarities in their names, or the fact that Khaine was another god of war is unknown. What is known is that Slaanesh refused, resulting in the first of the many regular beatings Khorne gives Slaanesh. ([[C.S. Goto|Which pleases him/her/it/them.]]) While Khorne was curb-stomping the proper order of things into his new compatriot's head, Khaine was [[Derp|shattered into many pieces and flung into the mortal realm]] (probably due to being used as a convenient club by Khorne to beat sense into Slaanesh's head). These shattered pieces of Khaine found their way to the Eldar [[Craftworlds]] and are now used to summon the [[Avatar of Khaine]] to fight for them (a fate very similar to the Burning One).

Cegorach famously ran from Slaanesh in a [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnHmskwqCCQ very Benny Hill-like fashion] before Khaine showed up. It was at this point [[Troll|Cegorach told Khaine "you got this" and fled to safety]]. Cegorach now spends all his time getting into [[Just As Planned|"Just As Planned"-]] competitions with the other dicks of the galaxy. The rest of his time is spent reading books in the [[Black Library]] and trolling [[Ahzek Ahriman|Ahriman]] by denying him entrance to it. He also usually plays [[Paradox poker|Paradox-Billiards-Vostroyan-Roulette-Fourth Dimensional-Hypercube-Chess-Strip Poker]] with [[Tzeentch]], [[C'tan|the Deceiver]] and the [[Emperor]] once every week. It's not exactly known how three dimensions managed to contain that much dickery in a single location without imploding. The Warp did it.

The fertility goddess, Isha, was saved <s>from [[Slaanesh| the lusty Argonian maid</s>]] {{BLAM}} {{BLAM|'''''NO!!'''''}} by none other than [[Nurgle|Papa Nurgle]]. Isha now endures as [[Poxfulcrum|the test subject of Nurgle's plagues]] and as of the 6th edition Daemons codex is kept company by a small forest of the agonizingly petrified Seer souls of the one [[Craftworld#Lugganath|craftworld]] that believed she still existed/survived and that [[Derp|were supposedly her descendants]] (at this we should note that ALL Eldar are descendants of Isha). The disease that set them in that state, one capable of degrading [[Wraithbone]]—and divinely created versions of the stuff, no less—is mysteriously absent from any other lore. Her subsequent weeping was pathetic enough for one [[Death Guard]] [[Plague Marine]] who observed her plight to learn what pity was. Sleep tight, Life Mother. (You could also take the story allegorically, with the Eldar's life goddess, and thus their continued existence, tethered to the god of death and hopelessness.)

In mere moments the Eldar Empire that had ruled the stars for time immemorial imploded in spectacular fashion. The Eldar that remained were a broken race, who fell from undisputed mastery of the Galaxy to a people barely clinging to the precipice of existence. Those that escaped upon the Craftworlds suffered even further unforeseen consequences; where the fragments of Khaine landed and rooted, his rage and fury lashed out to the souls and minds of the Eldar, infecting them with a bloodlust that turned them upon each other. Craftworlds burned as Eldar fought Eldar. Driven by their own maddening grief and the impulses of a shattered god, the Eldar tore themselves apart, until the [[Phoenix Lords]] introduced the Path system, enabling Eldar to at least regain mastery over themselves.

:{{topquote|No! We shall not be enslaved by gods or ourselves again.|Jain Zar}}

The Eldar present in the 41st millennium are the descendants of those who left to settle other planets or are the mercantile group that travelled around in their enormous ships called [[Craftworld]]s. They are dedicated to their fight against the forces of Chaos spawned by the folly of their ancestors. They are extremely long-lived; the average Eldar has a natural lifespan of at least a thousand years, and the most powerful of their psykers can survive to be tens of thousands of years old. Most Eldar die in battle while still in their prime, and their population continues to dwindle. So [[grimdark]]. The Craftworld Eldar are now mostly focused on using their collective deceased souls, interred in each craftworld's [[Infinity Circuit]], to birth a new god into the Warp, [[Ynnead]], whom they hope will be powerful enough to destroy Slaanesh once and for all and save the Eldar race. The [[Dark Eldar]] are those who have continued to embrace the vices that led to the destruction of the Eldar Empire; they still exist largely in the state in which the Empire left off. Other Eldar, like the Corsairs (see below) and the [[Exodite]] Eldar (the ones living on fringe planets unaffected by the cataclysms of the Fall) are somewhere in between ideologically. The [[Harlequins]], yet another sub-group, devote themselves to preserving what they can of their pre-Fall history via plays and oral tradition, minimizing chances of successful communication. They also act as respected diplomatic intermediaries between the other factions of remaining Eldar in the 41st millennium. And last but not least, there are the [[Ynnari]], who get all the spotlight [[Warhammer 40,000 8th edition|these days]].

In humanity the Eldar see history repeating itself and fear the bitter destiny that they will reap and know that they no longer possess the strength to prevent it. 

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Which is strange, because in the [[Grimdark]] of the 42nd Millenium, humanity [[daemonhunters|isn’t partying.]] [[Witch Hunters|At all.]] The Eldar should be less concerned about projecting their failures on others and more concerned with what happens when humanity awakens as a psychic species. Human psykers can be powerful, but incredibly vulnerable to being overwhelmed/corrupted by the Warp. A very, ''very'' bad combination; now imagine quadrillions of them, which is essentially exactly what they mean by humanity walking the same dark path as the ancient Eldar. It's not supposed to be taken as an exact one for one scenario, but the idea that although the scenery may change the path remains the same. In interviews with members of The Black Library team, they tried to clear up some misunderstandings; it's not that humanity (on an individual level) will become that notably powerful upon becoming a full-blown psychic race, but more that the sheer number of them will be the problem. Humans are highly corruptible and although they can be powerful, they simply do not have the ability to handle it well (there are the odd one or two, but we are looking at humans as a whole). Humanity in 40k exist in unimaginable numbers, spread across the entire galaxy; if they were to become a psychic race, every one of them will become an unprotected gateway for the Warp, and all that exists within. Humanity's psychic awakening will see a new 'Eye of Terror' style event occur, but due to how humanity now exist across the entire galaxy, so will this new cataclysm. The galaxy will be drowned by a galaxy spanning Eye of Terror, and the time of the [[Rhana Dandra]] will begin.

This isn't even considering that Slaanesh did indeed orchestrate its own birth, deliberately bringing about the 10,000 years of slow decline that saw the Eldar delve into truly horrific hedonism, that saw the Dark Prince hijack Ynnead's birth, who was supposed to be born from the Eldar. Like the Eldar, Humanity has spent around 10,000 years flooding the Warp with - instead of pleasure and pain like the Eldar - suffering, hatred and all those other lovely emotions so prevalent within the imperium of man. whose to say that humanity won't suffer a similar fate? You may be expecting the Emperor to burst forth into a divine being, but what happens if the negative emotions humans have pumped out during these past 10,000 years were to result in humanity giving birth to something else, a new dark god, a twisted warped version of the Emperor just like Slaanesh is a twisted version of Ynnead.

This of course may not be where [[GW]] chooses to go, but it's worth consideration.
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As the [[Time of Ending]] approaches the remaining Eldar must contend with a galaxy that is no longer theirs. In the bloody wake of the Fall, the race of Mankind has grown to preeminence. The Imperium has ascended, conquering much of the galaxy in the name of the [[God-Emperor of Mankind| corpse-god]] it calls Emperor. The Aeldari, whose maturation patterns span nearly a century, cannot compete in numbers with a race whose generations multiply with the frantic pace of vermin. In their weakened state, the Eldar have watched as the Imperium’s uncompromising hatred, hunger for power and constant wars have created rich fodder that only functions to swell the [[Gods of Chaos|Dark Gods]]’ power and ripens the galaxy for conquest by the forces of Chaos.

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Of course, if the Eldar had perhaps intervened to deal with literally everyone trying to kill or enslave humanity, this wouldn't have been a problem as the Imperium wouldn't have had to fight for survival against everyone for ten thousand years and wouldn't have grown to hate everyone for trying to murderize them for merely existing. The Eldar were kind of busy with their own problems during this time, like the slow corruption eating away at the core of their race and the small event that saw their near complete extinction, and the fallout that occurred in its wake. The Eldar first encountered humanity in the short period of time between M18 and M22; M18 when humanity first started using the Warp to travel, too M22 when humanity was already collapsing. The Eldar aren't responsible for the wellbeing of humanity, and although we do have examples of Eldar indeed helping out, even against their own kind (as seen during the Heresy) they have no responsibility to do so. M18 is when the cults of pleasure began to spread across the Eldar Dominion, running roughshod over the warnings of their own kind who warned of the dangers that such a path might lead. By the time humanity was being assailed during the age of strife the Eldar were essentially at war with themselves over the very soul of their race; even after Humanity's complete collapse the Eldar Dominion would continue too fall further into hedonism, so they were a bit preoccupied. After the Fall and the soon to be rise of the Imperium the Eldar that remained were a broken and shattered species, a spent force in the galaxy, trying to pull themselves together in a desperate attempt to survive. They would go through a turbulent period of adjustment in the wake of the collapse of everything they had ever known, and the near extinction of their entire species; they neither had the time or the inclination to pay much attention to the going's on, and worries of someone else. Then after they had entered into a more stable period, the Great Crusade came a knocking, bringing with it even more death and sorrow. Why the hell would they feel any need to offer help to Humanity, when humans have proven themselves all to willing to show nothing but hate and violence to anyone different to themselves (some did anyway, and got a bolter to the face for their trouble)? The period of the Fall may have played an unintended but significant roll in the collapse of the DAOT, but it is Humanity's choices in the aftermath that have led them down the path that they now walk. (why is it that it's only when they help humans that they are considered "good", surely it's time that that the Imperium started helping out for a change).

To add to the above point, the Imperium currently stands as the single most powerful force in the setting. As much as GW want to pretend that the forces of the Imperium are the plucky underdogs, fighting against impossible odds, it simply isn't true; the Imperium holds more territory then anyone else and has numbers that put the Orks to shame, the best and most powerful warriors, armour and weapons, <s>and now has more powerful psyches then the Eldar and apparently tech that may even surpass the Necrons</s>. Farseers are still more powerful than librarians, it's just that they are less of them and secondly Necrons have the Celestial Orrery, the Imperium doesn't have shit on that, all in all there really isn't any area that the Imperium isn't just simply better then all the other factions (the Imperium's new faith based powers for example are just a superior version of the Orks belief abilities), according to the current GW writers. Whenever we see the Imperium fighting someone we are actually seeing the Imperium punching downwards, it's actually the other side who are the underdogs in these fights. The idea that everyone should simply forgive the most powerful and dominant power in the setting its many, many transgressions and stop being "mean" to it is just laughable; given their position of power it is the Imperium who should be the ones who should be seeking to mend bridges and aid those weaker then themselves (they might actually make some allies), instead of expecting all the other factions to just drop everything and hand everything over to the "poor" Imperium.

This all comes down to poor narrative story telling on GW's part, as it robs any feelings of sympathy towards the Imperium (you're really not supposed to, but still), instead of watching the Imperium heroically fighting against overwhelming odds, GW have turned the Imperium into what is essentially a school yard bully, who picks on the weaker kids, beats them up and steals their lunch money, but expects everyone to feel sorry for them when one of their victims dares to fight back.

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Not only Chaos but the Imperium’s blind aggression has also contributed to the rise of the Ork threat -- Mankind fails to realise that they only strengthen the Orks with every *direct* conflict they engage them in. Many Eldar fear that their numbers are now too large for even the most protracted cull to have any real effect, and should the Ork hordes unite their efforts, all the artifice and cunning of the Aeldari would not be enough to stop them drowning the galaxy in blood. To a point, at least. The Imperium is fully aware of how Orks spread and cleanses the areas tainted by their spores. Help from a species with the ability to purge worlds entirely of Ork spores would be appreciated but they prefer to sit back and watch while telling the humans how important it is to destroy the spores instead of actually helping with that; which is essentially what happened during the union of Biel-tan and Iyanden, that saw them cleanse massive areas of the galaxy of Orks before Iyanden grew uncomfortable with Biel-tan's increasingly extreme behaviour, and although the Eldar do perform controlled cullings in an attempt to limit the might of the green menace they don't really have any motive in preventing Orks and humans killing each other.

With the Eldar now a mere shadow of their former might, old and new foes alike are now stepping forward to stake their claim; like sharks drawn by the smell of blood they move to take advantage of the Galaxy's former masters' demise. From the terror of the emerging Tyranid fleets, to the young dynamic T’au in the east (who offered friendship a while back but were laughed off) - to speak nothing of the Necrons, ancient enemies of the Aeldari whose lords are eager to renew their war against their much-diminished rivals - the few Eldar that remain find themselves beset on all sides by those that would see every single one of them dead. Perhaps if they hadn't spent their entire existence making enemies of absolutely everyone that wouldn't have happened.
 
Not since the days of the Fall have the Aeldari been so fragmented and assailed, and for those who yet survive, war remains their only hope. While their many foes lack the technology, wisdom and skill of the Children of the Stars, in numbers alone they seem insurmountable. Yet the Aeldari are a proud race, determined that the flame of their people will blaze brightly once more rather than flicker and die out.

*Between the final act of the Fall and the time of the Horus Heresy there is a period of time, roughly around 300-500 years (200 years for the [[Great Crusade]] + however long the [[Unification Wars]] took + a bit of buffer time between the Fall and the [[Emperor]] making his initial move), in which the Eldar would eventually pull themselves into something similar to how they appear in modern 40k; Aspect Shrines, although new, were now firmly established ( they originally did not have an Exarch leading the shrines, they would be an unforeseen consequence of the Warrior Path), and the young seer known as Eldrad would have bought about the Path of the Seer as we now recognise it (Eldrad, if he was born just before or after the Birth of the Dark Prince, would have been in his late teens, early twenties (by Eldar standards) by the end of the Horus Heresy).

===The Eldar Paths===
[[Image:Eldar.jpg|thumb|260px|left|TASTE THE RAINBOW MOTHERFUCKER!]]
After the fall of their race, and apart from the potential to have their souls eaten by [[Slaanesh|a crazed demonic rapist masturbating furiously in the Warp]], the Eldar realized most of their population had also been cursed with hyper-sensitivity and super-reflection in the Warp. This new curse was adapted into the [[Paths of the Eldar]], their equivalent to careers. The creator of this system was the [[Phoenix Lord]] [[Asurmen]], first of the Asurya, who devised the Paths whilst training the first of his pupils, [[Jain Zar]], earning him the ire of Slaanesh who perceived him as leading the Eldar astray from his/her/its [[Rape|embrace]].

If they wish to, the Eldar can spend hundreds of years dedicated to perfecting their fry cook job at Space Elf Wendy's, then move on to the next occupation that takes their fancy. Why do they focus on one thing? Because branching out might be "[[Slaanesh|excess]]", so instead they strive for perfection in a single discipline. Which is [[Derp|pretty stupid]], as "perfection" is ''also'' part of Slaanesh's portfolio (although this is misleading, and a very mistakenly literal take on the "perfection" the Eldar strive for - the Path system enforces strict discipline to those who could no longer be trusted to control themselves in the presence of free will; perfecting a Path for them isn't the same as [[Fulgrim|Fulgrim]] striving for ''total'' perfection in ''every'' aspect of his life; rather, the Craftworld Eldar have given up a life of unlimited freedom in favor of a life strictly regimented and based around discipline and complete self-control. If you're hyper-focusing on one specific thing for three hundred years, you can't be focusing on ''all of the other things'' at the same time. This is, of course, ''not'' in line with the way Slaanesh does things. Also, you could say being that focused, they're working so hard, they can't take pleasure in this perfection. It might be better to say the Eldar follow a strict living style in a skill and perfection of that skill is simply a natural result, not a goal or intent). As you would expect from a universe where [[Grimdark|an entire race can be wiped out by the birth of a single sick piece of Warp meat]], the two most prevalent paths are the Path of the Seer and the Path of the Warrior, or The Path of the [[Eldrad|Dick]] and The Path of Everyone Else. The [[Aspect Warriors|Path of the Warrior]] includes exotically-titled job opportunities like being a [[Warp Spiders|Warp Spider]], a [[Howling Banshee]], or a [[Fire Dragons|Fire Dragon]], all of which involve the applicant donning some form of [[Gay|flamboyant drag attire]] and out-trending the enemy (see left). Also, they will occasionally shoot and/or impale things with deadly proficiency. The Path of the Seer includes jobs for potential [[Warlock|Warlocks]] and [[Seer Council|Seers]]. The few Eldar without ADHD who follow the Path of the Warrior or the Seer will eventually become an [[Exarch]] or [[Farseer]]. Of course, the Paths of the Eldar are not limited to the Seer and the Warrior; Someone has to fill the revered positions in the Path of the [[The Toilets of the 41st Millennium|Toilet Cleaner]]. Let's not forget the Path of the [[Rage|Angry]] [[Neckbeards|Gamer]] and the Path of the [[Craftworld]] Drunk, either.

The Path system governs every aspect of Craftworld life, enabling the Eldar to harness their emotional and intellectual intensity safely without jeopardizing themselves or those around them. It also provides them a form of self-reflection, allowing them to examine aspects of themselves both good and bad. This then allows them to develop mentally and spiritually: for example an Eldar may walk the path of the sculptor but realize that they have become too focused upon the task at hand and seek out a more abstract path such as the path of the dreamer, or they may wish to focus down a different artistic path such as the musician. Each path adds upon the paths that they have walked before and so add to the sort of person the Eldar is becoming.

After the Fall, among the most important paths to emerge were the Witch Paths; those who find themselves walking these very long and dangerous paths are more commonly known as seers. There is no force in the galaxy that can weave the skeins of fate and manipulate the future like the Aeldari and their Farseers are famous (or infamous depending on were you stand) for doing just that. The Farseers are similar to their counterparts the Exarchs among the shrines of Khaine, in that they have become lost upon their chosen path and can no longer leave. Since the time of the Fall, and more importantly the actions of [[Eldrad Ulthran]], the Path of the Seer has been refined into a precious tool that can be used in reshaping the Skeins of fate to bring about a more favourable future for their kind. The Skein that the Seers follow and reshape is like a cobweb of interlinking and crossing threads making up a tapestry showing the present, future and past of the galaxy and everyone in it. Not all seers are equal however, and although the destination may be fixed the journey can always throw up some nasty surprises. In order to avoid the possibility of missing something vital and avoiding any possible hidden trip hazards Farseers rarely act on their own (it normally doesn't end well for those that do); instead they will consult with a seer council who will then examine these possible threads and determine what course of action, if any, should be taken. With multiple Farseers interpreting and examining the possible outcomes they can explore the myriad skeins of the past, present and future, allowing them to follow countless threads and studying the consequences of the smallest deviation so as to better guide their people. However due to the shattered and splintered nature of their race, Seer councils from different Craftworlds may have different goals in mind and may find themselves competing against each other to bring about different outcomes. These can often result in shadow wars fought not by the Craftworlds themselves but by proxy forces, manipulated unknowingly into acting on their benefactors' behalf. However, the Eldar tend to forget that just because you foresaw something one second [[Not as planned|doesn’t mean the future has not changed the next second]]. This often leads to their downfall in stories.

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To understand how Farseers work, you have to understand what the Weave of Fate is. 
Think of it like the tapestry woven by the Fates in our own mythology, it is a representation of the past, present and future, with each individual that has and will ever exist being part of the pattern. Every being in existence has a thread that is woven into the weave, its path crisscrossing and mingling with countless others, changing and redirecting the flow of fate. Some threads have little impact, their threads pale and thin, while others shine bright and strong against the countless destinies interwoven within the Weave of Fate.
 
It is this Weave that Farseers interact with, moving their consciousness outside of time to travel the many different threads before them. A farseer will follow many threads as far as they are able to see. Even in the heat of battle a Farseer will travel back and forth along the threads of fate, changing, cutting and reshaping the course of the threads, playing out many different scenarios until they have discovered the path they believe to be the most beneficial. For example a Farseer may walk a particular thread that sees them witness a wall collapsing, allowing an Ork war host to surprise a Dire Avenger squad: The Farseer could if they choose to return along the thread back to the present, allowing them to forewarn the Dire Avengers; the wall will still collapse but this time it's the Orks who are turned into a fine red mist. The Runes act as anchor points and navigating tools, much like sailors using the stars to navigate; the more Runes a Seer can wield the better.

The actions taken by Farseers can often seem random, with seemingly no immediate impact, but it is not the now or even the immediate future that most interests the Seers of the Eldar. There may be a case that in a few hundred years’ time a mighty [[Chaos Lord]] will rise to prominence on an Imperial world, who would then lead a violent crusade that will see untold billions slaughtered, or worse. However by creating a scenario through the actions of a Faseer, in which that individual is never born (this can be achieved in many different ways besides killing, such as changing the fate of one or both parents so that they never meet) will remove that thread from the Weave. Most of the greatest achievements of the Seers of the Eldar will never be known, for they have already prevented whatever disaster was to befall them before it started. As long as the Seers are doing their job properly then no news is good news.

Of course not all Seers are created equal, and many an inexperienced Seer has fucked up at least once; for instance as the young seer from the ‘Path of the Eldar’ series discovered to her horror, being so certain that she was right she ignored the advice and insights of her peers and went off on her own, inadvertently bringing into being the very future she wished to prevent. Many Seers have very different ideas as to what they would consider an ideal future; a seer from Biel-tan will have very different priorities from a Seer from Ulthwe for example, which is why the most important decisions will be decided by a Seer Council rather than an individual.

It is also possible for entities of sufficient enough power such as Slaanesh and Tzeentch to obscure elements of the Weave, hiding things that they wish to remain hidden; there is a reason why [[Fulgrim|Fulgrim’s]] fate was hidden. Eldrad himself upon meeting the Primarch realised that he was unable to read Fulgrim’s thread, as the Dark Princes was interfering directly. The [[Hive Mind]] and the Shadow in the Warp can also interfere with a Seer's ability to read the Weave, and Items such as the Necron device in ‘Priests of Mars’ made reading the threads of fate almost impossible, as it was tearing the Weave apart to the point that existence itself was about to collapse into nothingness. Phoenix Lords such as Jain Zar have proven themselves capable of reshaping the weave; a very young Eldrad is amazed at the fact that no matter how he tried to read the threads of fate, they would always reshape themselves around the wishes of the Phoenix Lord, and when the Phoenix Lord was deciding on what course of action to take, the entire weave froze in place as if waiting for the orders of its master; this may be due to the fact that the [[Howling Banshee|Banshee]] Aspect is related to the Crone Goddess, who is essentially fate incarnate.

The galaxy is in chaos and it is not always possible to prevent every horror that awaits. Sometimes no matter what you do, some things are simply unavoidable (although they can be shifted a bit further along the path). Sometimes to prevent a major disaster that will come to pass, a smaller cost must be paid, even if that cost may seems meaningless to those who cannot see the effects such actions will have upon the future.
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===War Mask===
To understand the Eldar at War it is important to understand the existence of the War Mask. The galaxy of the 40th/41st millennium is a dark and violent place, where not fighting means death (or worse); would this was not the case, but for the Eldar the call of Khaine comes with even greater and greater frequency as the galaxy continues to grow darker.

The War Mask is not a physical thing, but a way of separating their normal self from their war-self by mentally creating a mask, or mental construct, that takes the form of an artificial alternate personality, essentially creating an alternate version of themselves that can be worn or discarded when needed; this alternate self will even take upon itself a new name.

It is within the Shrines of Khaine that an Eldar will, under the guidance of the shrine's exarch, learn to create their War Mask. Before a battle an Eldar will enter their warrior shrine where they will perform the ritualistic donning of their Armour; each piece of Armour in place strengthens their War Mask until who they were is safely hidden away behind their alternate self, essentially entering a dormant/hibernation-like state as their War-self now stands in their place. This War-self is able to perform the truly horrific acts that the galaxy calls upon them to perform as all emotions that might cause their blades to falter, such as empathy or kindness, are locked away; what stands in their place is a cold-blooded sociopathic killer, a warrior of the god of war and murder who will perform any terrible act they are called upon to do. An Eldar could be the most kind and gentle being in the galaxy but upon wearing their War Mask they become a heartless, ruthless, fearless killers; most people outside of the Craftworlds will have little if any experience of Eldar that are not currently wearing their War Mask, which adds to how they are viewed by the greater galaxy.

Eldar Guardians are usually provided a temporary War Mask by a seer before they enter battle. Storm Guardians are made up of those who have already walked the path of the warrior and have their own Mask already.
 
When the bloody work is done an Eldar will remove their War Mask, returning to their normal self without any memories of any atrocities that they may have had to perform as they are now safely locked away within their War Mask (although it is known for Eldar to weep upon removing their War Mask without knowing the reason why).

In this way the Eldar turn the bloody work of Khaine into a tool that can be wielded or put away at will without losing themselves to Khaine's dark influence once the fighting is done.

Exarchs are those Eldar that find that they can no longer separate themselves from war, having lost themselves along the Path of the Warrior. These individuals are held in equal parts awe and revulsion by the rest of the Eldar population, for their souls now belong to Khaine. Their souls will no longer join with the rest in the infinity circuit; rather their own Armour acts as a small self-isolated circuit, containing all the souls of its previous owners (they essentially merge together to create a stronger whole; even when not wearing the Armour itself they remain as a single consciousness). If the Armour is destroyed it will be reformed within their Shrine (in a similar way as the Avatars of Khaine), waiting for the next one to wear it; if the shrine itself is destroyed then the Exarch can be housed within a [[Wraithlord]], until the shrine and Armour are restored, making it very difficult to actually permanently kill an Exarch (this happens to the Fire Dragon Exarch that appears in 'Valedor'). Upon becoming lost upon the path, they will seek out an empty shrine for themselves and prepare to welcome those who seek them out. These individuals are not insane berserkers, but act as priests, guides and teachers to those who find themselves upon the warrior path (for whatever reason), as it is their role to help those that follow them achieve control over their dark impulses and find focus and balance within themselves, so that they too won't lose themselves to Khaine.

Outside of their shrines Exarchs hold no power over their Craftworld, and have no political power to influence the decisions made by the Craftwolrds leadership. Autarch's are the only warrior cast that holds any high position within the wider Craftworld society, and that only applies to the act of Warcraft. Eldar Autarch's are those Eldar who have walked the many different Paths of Khaine, and have not lost themselves; they have faced the darkness within themselves and have overcome it many times over. Having proven themselves more than capable of mastering themselves against Khaine's dark influence they now walk the path of Command and will now be responsible for leading the Craftworlds Warhosts. Depending on the Craftworld in question the courts of the Autarch's may hold greater or lesser influence over the direction a Craftworld chooses to go.

Outside of times of combat and war, the Eldar will put aside their Warmasks; the idea that someone who has lost themselves to Khaine would be then put in charge of the everyday goings-on of the Craftworld, or even worse their diplomatic relations would be a horrific notion upon most Craftworlds, as it would go against the very idea of the Path system itself.

===Technology and the Children of the Stars===
For untold millennia the dominions of the Eldar ruled the stars, unopposed and unchallenged. Unfettered by the oppressive claim that Slaanesh holds over their immortal souls, their psychic might was matched only by their technological mastery.

No other race has ever replicated the Eldar’s unique approach to technology, nor have the Eldar taken learnings from the ‘primitive’ races that have inherited the galaxy. Eldar technology adheres closely to natural biological shapes and structures. To them, there is no real difference between technology and nature in the Eldar mind - they are a single process by which the Eldar imbue living things with function and functionality with life. The materials the Eldar use in their engineering are complex and varied ectoplastics that can be formed into solid shapes under psychic pressure. In some respects they are more like living tissue than inert substances, growing and reacting to their environment in a similar way to plants.

According to the Eldar section of the Warhammer 40,000 Compilation, the Eldar may have always been psychic, with their Psychic powers manifesting themselves into a variety of unusual talents. One such natural ability is referred to as psychomorphism by the human Xenobiologists of the Imperium. In crude terms, this gives every one of them the ability to psychically shape matter and create simple artefacts from raw materials.

By making use of psychokinesis and empathic telepathy they can influence the structure of growing matter. This empathic ability may have been particularly important during the early development of the Eldar race enabling them to promote the fruitfulness of edible crops and reshape the growth of trees to make simple shelters. The first Eldar villages and towns are supposed to have been living structures grown from trees, often covering many square miles and reaching high into the air.

Because of their psychic abilities, the Eldar race learned how to make and shape raw materials at a very early stage of cultural development. By means of their mental powers, they were able to refine minerals and shape the resulting metals and stones into whatever they wanted. Eldar technology has a very ancient history and the pace of its progress is closely tied to the slow evolutionary development of the race, which saw a steady growth in competence and knowledge over a very long period of time. The Eldar did not have a sudden sharp defining industrial phase such as the one's throughout human history, but rather a steady constant growth over countless millennia; their unique technology is entirely their own (if anyone tells you that they were simply handed their tech by the Old Ones, which has never been mention in the lore, then they don't actually know what they are talking about; the Warhammer 40,000 Compilation is the only source that goes into any detail on how the Eldar developed their tech - Page 36- this bit of misinformation needs to disappear once and for all. A bit of a history lesson, the origins of this particular headcanon began on fan forums during the first thirteenth black crusade campaign. During a discussion about the 'Priests of Mars' book, the theory was thrown out and unfortunately people began to believe it was actually 40k canon). In other words the level of traditional Eldar tech is heavily influenced by the Psychic skill level of the individual or individuals crafting it at the time. This is not great given Slaanesh's oppressive influence in 40k forcing them to curtail the use of their Psychic potential, forcing them to use the far safer but far more heavily controlled and focused Witch paths.

At their zenith nothing was beyond them; the worlds and stars of the galaxy were mere playthings to them, to be extinguished and rekindled on a whim. Surfing solar flares was a pleasant pastime, and their very dreams could be made manifest with but a simple wish; death itself was but an inconvenience as they had already outgrown the mundane notion of mortality. They strode the galaxy as gods, and in doing so brought about their own damnation. There was nothing left to strive for, for they could already do anything that their wonderful minds could conceive of. Even after their cataclysmic fall from grace and subsequent loss of most of their creations they are still one of the most technologically advanced races in the galaxy, only surpassed by the Necrons.
 
In the aftermath of Fall, the many fractured and shattered fragments of the Eldar race, alike in many respects, took deviating paths when it came to their approach to technology.

The Exodites saw the creeping corruption and abandoned the rotting core of their Empire. Eschewing the conveniences of technology almost entirely, they sought out a more humble and honest life through toil and hard work. They farm and herd their livestock and live an almost entirely nomadic lifestyle as their ancient ancestors once did.

The Craftworld Eldar have an odd relationship with their tech, in some ways mirroring that of the Imperium of Man. The Craftworlds as a whole maintain the fundamentals of their post-scarcity society but actively forbid the use of much of their more high-end and more dangerous technologies. They do not fear these technologies themselves but more so how such unbridled power might affect them; they are not just in a war for the survival of their race, but for the salvation of their very souls. They look upon what befell their ancestors and what their arrogance wrought, and denounce it; a life without struggle and self-restraint is but the first footstep down the road to damnation. They don’t go as far as their Exodite kin, and still encourage innovation such as the creation of the Vyper that was created by artisans of the Saim-Hann, or the creation of the armour and weapons used by the Aspect warriors after the creation of the Path system, but they still eschew most of the technologies that allowed their predecessors to grow complacent; unfortunately for them, that also means that they are deliberately making things more difficult for themselves. However, the Eldar of Craftworld Ybraesil are noted for their [[awesome| balls to the wall raids of Crone Worlds]] for spirit stones ''and'' wunderwaffen, so YMMV. It is worth keeping in mind that Craftworlds are trading Vessels; or as they are so dismissively referred to as "Cargo-haulers" by Pre-Fall Eldar. Comparing the Craftworlds to the Pre-Fall Eldar Dominion would be like comparing a seafaring Cargo ship to the might of the US, at the height of its power and influence. Well, sort of. Cargo ship or not, a Craftworld is nearly as large as a planet and seems to use compressed space technology/sorcery like a tardis. It's more like a super cargo ship invented by gypsies to live in and travel around in trading vast quantities of whatever to countless destinations forever. It was very much not a normal vessel even by pre-Fall standards. Still a trading vessel, though.
*A good example would be: "The World of the Bloodied Sword" By Gav Thorpe that had an arsenal of forbidden weapons known as the Akliamor, hidden under the Palace of Tranquility on the planet Akliamor. Knowing that these [[Dark Matter]] doomsday weapons were no longer safe, the Eldar chose to destroy them so as to remove any chance of them ever being used again.
*Units such as the [[Hemlock]] and the [[Wraithguard]] are used only in the most dire of circumstances, as their use requires the removal of souls from their resting place within the Infinity circuit, an act that the Craftworlders view as no better than grave robbing.
*Ybraesil are going out of their way to hunt the crone worlds, for they hope to secure not only the Tears of Isha, but also ancient technologies and doomsday artefacts with which to tip the balance of fate, like the Corsairs, whose Dissonance Cannons are a mocked-together version of a weapon found on a Crone world that was capable of shattering reality itself.
*Yme-loc has recently created a new and devastating weapon powered by the souls of the dead. It can scour entire continents of life in mere minutes, the souls of the living torn from their bodies by a vast ghost-storm.
*Biel Tan are making use of a limited form of pre-fall tech within their [[Void Spinner]]s. The webs unleashed by these weapons are infused with what is essentially Wraithbone nano-bots, that were previously used to create life; if you're going to create a custom planet, you might as well create custom life forms to populate it. Biel Tan has reversed the concept, and now these wraith-bots erase all life that they come in contact with, even leaving the ground they land on devoid of all life; this is especially useful against Orks, as it also destroys their spores.
*The Phoenix Lords books introduce weapons, that take the form of a piece of jewellery, that are keyed to wipe out a single form of life from a world (and we mean an entire world, not just one or two), whilst leaving all other life unharmed. Alongside these world cleansing devices, we are shown small personal shield devices that take the form of a piece of jewellery, such as a ring, brooch or necklace, that are powerful enough that it allowed them to surf, Silver surfer/Green Lantern style, on Solar Flares for fun; you could fire a Nova cannon at them and they wouldn't even care.
*During the Jain Zar book, in the Phoenix Lords series, an Eldar is shown using a common piece of tech that takes the form of a ring. The way in which it is described sounds very similar to the Kara Kesh devices from the Stargate universe.
*In the [[Blackstone Fortress]] series of stories a device called a Foryniomhu, or a Scourge was accidentally discovered. Normally placed into a ship, it was a contagious psychic weapon used to put down violent rebellions with the barest minimum effort on behalf of the Eldar. They would pop into a star system, activate the device that would release a single pulse, then leave. All those affected would become highly infectious to everyone around them, regardless of species, but wouldn't immediately show any symptoms; everyone affected would also become infectious. Within weeks their bodies would start to die rapidly, along with anyone else affected. Entire planets or even system wide civilisations would quickly collapse as the unstoppable psychic contagion spread unopposed. No one was immune to the contagion, nor was there any chance of a cure. Only a second pulse from the device could end the effects, and that would only happen when the Eldar were satisfied that any armed revolt had been quashed. This is not a biological plague but a psychic one (essentially magic) so its effect on AI is unknown, however anything with a psychic presence would be susceptible to the weapons effects. The device, ironically found on a ship called Isha's Lament, was destroyed in order to stop Chaos forces getting their hands on it: If they had it would have been an instant "I win" button for Chaos. Although deeply unpleasant, you could in theory (depending on how stubborn the opponent) put down a violent uprising with a very small loss of life; if they throw the towel quick enough you might not lose any.
*During the Heresy the [[Iron Warriors]] and [[Emperor's Children]] legions end up activating the security system of a Eldar "shrine world", which unleashes a never ending swarm of intangible warriors made of smoke and light. These constructs wield weapons that bypass the armour of the Marines, phasing through armour as if it wasn't there, and leaving corpses without a single wound of any kind. Along with these spectral warriors marched large crystalline constructs, twice the height of a Marine, whose crystal bodies formed from the surrounding walls. Their limbs pulsed with energy that they unleashed from their hands in searing beams of power, and could tear apart tanks and fortifications with ease; if not for the ascension of Fulgrim both legions would have been wiped out.
*On the Crone Worlds a device that takes the form of a publicly accessible console was found, whose function was to grant the "wishes" of the user, and make it into reality; Unfortunately the device was quickly discovered to be corrupted by the power of the Dark Prince. They had access to what is essentially artificial genies, without those pesky wish limitations or restrictions.
*The Phoenix Lord books also reveal that the weapons and armour used by the Aspect shrines have their origin in the gladiatorial arenas that came into being as the Eldar Dominion descended into hedonism, as it was from these arenas that the original Phoenix Lords armed themselves in the wake of the Fall.
*Craftworlds still make use of portable devices that can be carried around with the them, the same way you would a pocketknife. These devices can take many different forms, such as Phase crystals that allow the user to become intangible, Portable Webway Portals that can be used to open up a small temporary Webway tunnel from anywhere they want (this is especially effective when used on Jetbikes), and small crystals that turn into a glittering mist that infiltrate and override alien tech such as in 'Throne World' where a single one of these devices was able to override the technologies protecting the Golden Throne.
*They make use of cosmetic devices such as a hairbrush that can change the style and colour of their hair instantly to what ever they feel like at the time. They can also change their skin colour with such devices as easily as you can change your socks (so yes darker skinned Eldar are very much a thing). You could in theory have Eldar in every colour of the rainbow if you really wanted.
*During the Heresy [[John Grammaticus]] was given a pair of Eldar "scissors", that can cut through time and space (we're going full star vs the forces of evil here), that allowed him to appear near the ruins of [[Hive city|Ababa Hive]] on Terra during the [[Siege of Terra|Siege]]. (What the hell Eldrad, just handing out items that have the ability to cut through time and space like they're candy; what a dick).
*Dire swords are a very interesting addition to the Eldar list of weapons. Created after the Fall, they make use of inhabited Soul Stones in their creation, but only certain stones are capable of being used. If a creature of the Warp attempts to consume a soul within a Spirit Stone and the soul manages to kick the demon out, then the soul becomes completely immune to their touch and is now lethal to the creatures of the Warp. When a creature is hit by a Dire Sword the soul within reaches out and destroys the soul of the opponent; they are weapons capable of coursing True Death to their opponent, be they demon or mortal.
More cynical view could argue that they may have more similarities to dirty mon-keigh than they prefer to admit: namely, they also lost the technologies and/or psychic techiques required for creation or safe usage of these wonders. So, they may have stockpiles of these shiny toys, but if they were to use them, they might quickly run out, possibly also exploding in the process. As shown by the Fireheart, once the Craftworlds were able to get hold of one from the stockpiles of their Dark cousins they were able to replicate it without to much trouble, so depending on the level of the tech we are talking about it could dictate their ability to reproduce it.

The [[Drukhari]] on the other hand still have access to much of what has been lost or hidden away by their cousins, but there are a number of reasons why they utilize such ancient technologies only rarely. Firstly, because of Slaanesh the Dark Eldar cannot function as a psychically sensitive society in the same way that other Eldar do. Therefore, after the Fall those who had made a home within the Webway and would later become known as the Drukhari were forced to completely redevelop and recreate their tech from the ground up using far more mundane and labour-intensive methods. As depraved and loathsome as they are, the Drukhari are a testament to the ingenuity and creativity of this ancient race; the weaponry manufactured within the [[Commoragh|Dark City]] is just as advanced as and infinitely more demented than those psychically grown upon the craftworlds.

Though almost useless to them, the Drukhari very rarely trade items from their hidden, ancient hoards to their Craftworld cousins, and only then at exorbitant cost. Such artefacts include the Fireheart, which causes planets to turn themselves inside out: Valedor actually reveals the original purpose for the Fireheart was as an agricultural tool, used in the reshaping of worlds and the creation of customised solar systems, but could all too easily be turned into a tool of war. Other such artefacts from the days of the old Aeldari empire possess the power to kill stars, to suck the life force from worlds, and/or to exterminate whole races of sentient beings in mere moments. However, the Dark Eldar dare not use such artefacts openly for they would attract the violent displeasure of the Dark City at large should their existence become known.

Consider that the Dark Eldar can make use of mirrors that transport those looking into them into the heart of the nearest sun. They can put Black Holes into small ornate boxes that can be carried around in a coat pocket. They can create pocket dimensions with ease, as with Khaine's Gate, where they simply threw up dimensions for the Daemons to run through, in order to stop them from entering the Dark city (this was a temporary fix until they could fix the problem properly). They are capable of turning their enemies into living wind chimes for their own amusement; they can also turn you into a ring or a fetching brooch, that is not only immortal and near indestructible, but also in constant soul destroying agony, all whilst you are still fully conscious and aware of every horrible thing that is happening to you (don't allow yourself to be taken alive). ''They can steal stars and planets.'' Therefore, a weapon that even the Dark Eldar would keep secret and refuse to employ must be horrifying indeed.

In short, the Dark Eldar are tech-rich but psychically stunted, the Craftworld Eldar see the careless use and overreliance on such technologies as the road to damnation, and the Exodites will feed you to their pet t-rex if you offer them the use of a calculator.

There is another thing to consider: though the [[Imperium]] fights these different factions on a semi-frequent basis, very rarely do they ever find themselves up against any of the true high end stuff; most conflicts according to GW normally go along the lines of [[Guardian|Eldar Guardians]] pointlessly firing upon terminators, doing no damage and suffering horrible casualties in return, which is just stupid when a handful of fire dragons or dark reapers will wipe them out with effortless ease (oh well, we can't have the poster boys actually go up against anything that might hurt them, now can we). Dark Eldar raids for example are more akin to rich kids going on safari (it's much more of a prestige thing, the more challenging the more they can boast to their mates/rivals/enemies when they get back) accompanied by disposable clones mostly armed with weapons ([[Splinter Weapons|splinter weapons]]) designed to immobilise their targets with agonising pain, rather than to kill (in their official description they are specifically referred to as hunting rifles); no point taking the herd species back to the Dark city if they are dead. However when ever one of the more powerful relics are rolled out there really isn't much anyone can do about it.

===Not-So-Dying Race===
You may have noticed that in most of the fluff the Eldar are described as a dying race. However, they've been slowly dying for the past 11,000 years, never seem to mind the heavy losses they take when they lose a battle, and for every one world lost there are a dozen more that pop up. The reason for this is that GW writers have different opinions on what the Eldar's "theme" is. [[Gav Thorpe]], who did most of their older fluff, views them as dying out, and only thinks there are a dozen craftworlds with a dozen million Eldar each. However, [[Phil Kelly]] thinks their theme is "holding on just barely and losses are only minor things, keeping the important stuff" and thinks there are hundreds of craftworlds, with the average housing a hundred million to half a billion Eldar. Humorously, [[Matt Ward]] seems to agree with Phil as the theme of his Iyanden book is definitely "rising through the ashes" (maybe Phil and Matt were sick of Eldar being treated as the galaxy's punching bag in 40K).

What we're saying is: as with the other species, Craftworld Eldar do take the time to reproduce, but the open question is whether they're technically dying out or if they managed to keep a net population growth rate over the 12 millennia or so since Slaanesh came <s>into the picture</s>. If the former, [[Grimdark|an intelligent species is still paying the price for the nuttery of their forebears and will until they're totally extinct]]; if the latter, [[Grimdark|a bunch of racist assholes who hate you (yes, ''you'') are on the upswing]], though all possibility of a total comeback is about on the same level of probability as Nurgle taking an antibiotic bath. Between all the wars and the occasional disaster (like Kher-ys, Malan'tai, Idharae, Iyanden and Biel-tan), one would think the galaxy is waging a slow war of attrition on their species. Fluff describes them going either way (giggity).

According to the 8th edition there are several factions of Eldar:
{|align=center border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0""
|-
|align=center|1. [[Elf|Aeldari]] (The Eldar race as a whole)
|align=center|[[Image: Eldar-Aeldari.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Aeldari-dying race my arse]]

|-
|align=center|2. [[Exodites]] (Amish space elves that ride dinosaurs)
|align=center|[[Image: Amish_space_elves.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Exodites-who needs advanced tech to get things done]]

|-
|align=center|3. [[Slaanesh|++REDACTED++]] cough'''CHAOS ELDAR'''cough
|align=center|[[Image: Chaos-elves.jpg|thumb|right|150px|<s>Chaos Eldar</s>-Come join the dark side, we have <s>cookies</s> DAEMON HOOKERS]]

|-
|align=center|4. [[Craftworld|Asuryani]] (By comparison they can be considered the sensible Elves)
|align=center|[[Image: Crafworld Farseer.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Craftworlds]]

|-
|align=center|5. Corsairs (Space elf pirates who love to have a good time)
|align=center|[[Image: Eldar-corsairs.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Corsairs-Eldar but with more bling]]
 
|-
|align=center|6. [[Eldar Ranger|Outcasts]] (Rebellious young space elves who want to explore the galaxy)
|align=center|[[Image: Outcasts.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Outcasts]]

|-
|align=center|7. [[Dark Eldar|Drukhari]] (Pray they don't take you alive)
|align=center|[[Image: Incubi_Warrior.png|thumb|right|150px|Drukhari]]

|-
|align=center|8. [[Harlequins]] (Terrifying killer space clowns)
|align=center|[[Image: Harleqin_master.png|thumb|right|150px|Harlequins]]

|-
|align=center|9. [[Ynnari]] (Followers of their new God of the Dead)
|align=center|[[Image: The Ynnari.jpg|thumb|right|150px|The Ynnari trinity]]
|-
|}