Editing Nobledark Imperium Notes (section)

=== Reasons for Farsight's Breakoff ===

Farsight spent most of his career on the northern edge of the Tau Empire fighting mostly Chaos and to a lesser degree Orks, whereas Shadowsun spent most of hers on the southeastern front and fought mostly Nids. This disparity of experience resulted in a rift forming, with each having different views on how the universe works and what the Tau need. Shadowsun sees the need for the reasonable people of the universe to unite because that’s the only way anyone is surviving the tyranids. Farsight sees Chaos as this horrible Monster in the darkness, but thankfully they seem more focused on the Imperium and their “anathemas” and “blasphemers” and seem to mostly ignore the Tau; if the Tau were to join the Imperium, that monster may not ignore them anymore.

Farsight also feared that closer relations with the Imperium would change tau culture as he knew it. By that point the Tau Empire already had a few billion human citizens but they were Tau Humans dedicated to the Greater Good as much as other society in the Empire. What he predicted was the relaxation of the caste system, outside influences on policy making and a slowing down of the colonizing efforts for the next sphere of expansions.

Perhaps more than his concerns that contact with outsiders would change the Tau’va, Farsight feared that the Ethereal Council would come down and force people who wanted to hew to the old traditions to change their ways. And in his defence, in this regard history supported him. The Ethereal Council was known to force people to accept their vision in the past; they would never allow for the unity of the Tau to be broken with a potential split between “Orthodox Tau’Va” and “Relaxed Tau’va.”  

The issue is that he kicked off a riot which led to things escalating to violence, which is massively taboo to the Tau (not just for the same reasons as canon, but because they see their unity and lack of Tau on Tau violence as a moral high ground compared to the fractious Eldar and humanity) and turned what should have been a reasoned debate into a Schism meets the Partition of India in space.

There are rumors that Shadowsun hasn’t been able to catch up to Farsight because Farsight has been deliberately avoiding confronting her because he feels guilty about what happened. He doesn’t feel guilty about standing up for what he believes in, but he feels guilty about letting it escalate to violence which is why he’s content to live in his own little hermit kingdom than try to subvert the main Tau Empire.

Farsight's fears have proved well-founded.  The Tau Empire isn't growing anymore and no new spheres of expansion are planned. The Ethereal council has instead directed it's efforts towards missionary work to spread the philosophies of The Greater Good and try to co-opt the Eastern Fringe of the Imperium from the inside. They have made no secret of this.  They have had their decision making influenced by outsiders in that the Imperium tells them what will and will not work from past experience and are typically proven right. Now they typically listen more and don't, for example, try to make fully A.I. robotic infantry.  The caste system has been relaxed as the Casteless and Outcaste and auxiliary forces can attest. (Of course Aun'Va and historians will notice that the current interpretations of The Greater Good are more similar to the older attitudes to Aun'Da's teachings.)

Farsight was not wrong. A thousand years ago he would have been the very model of a great Fire Warrior. He's just out of time.

When they were both young and still good friends, Farsight and Shadowsun had an argument over the Tau'kon'she, a Fire Caste festival in which the Fire Warriors hunt a ceremonial clonebeast on foot using low-tech weaponry to connect with their heritage as nomads. Farsight wanted to perform the ceremony using pulse rifles, saying it was more efficient. Shadowsun was exasperated by it and said he was missing the point. Ironically the two have reversed position later in life, Farsight the traditionalist sees as important that the tau remember their old ways, whereas Shadowsun has grown jaded and has much less of a problem with cutting the Gordian knot.