Craftworld Saim-Hann
| Saim-Hann | |
|---|---|
| |
| Capital | |
| Official Languages |
Eldar Lexicon |
| Power |
Minor Power |
| Size |
Craftworld |
| Head of State |
Several High Chieftains |
| Head of Government |
Chieftain Council |
| Governmental Structure |
Confederal Chiefdom |
| State Religion/Ideology |
Eldar Mythology |
| Demographic | |
| Military Force |
Windrider Hosts, Aspect Hosts, Craftworld Fleet |
Craftworld Saim-Hann is one of the five big Craftworlds. Saim-Hann specialises in jetbikes and about everybody there is part of a Wild Rider family - basically a clan of crazy Eldar jetbikers. They are known for loving it fast and rough. Maybe they watched the Speed Freeks and thought "We can do that too, if not better!" (They, like the Speed Freeks and Blood Angels, believe that 'Red ones go faster!') Unlike other Craftworlds, they are not particularly big on the typical Eldar Path. Instead they are more outgoing, and enjoy the simple things of life to a higher degree than other Craftworld Eldar. This, however, has earned them a reputation as barbarians among other Craftworlds. Things like settling agreements with ritual duels and a general dislike for intrigue and manipulation do not help that impression.
Culture
As Saim-Hann was one of the first Craftworlds to flee the ancient Aeldari empire before the Fall, they were isolated from the rest of their Craftworld kin for roughly two generations before the Phoenix Lords managed to locate them (and go figure, it was Drastanta who first discovered them) and introduce the Paths of the Eldar to their society. In the interim, the eldar of Saim-Hann believed the best way to keep their people occupied was to introduce clan-based politics as their primary means of governance. This hyper-focus on familial politics has made the Saim-Hann eldar place a great deal of value in honor, be it simply their own or (more likely), their clan's honour as a whole. The more respected the clan, the bigger their voice among all the other clans in Saim-Hann.
When it comes to matters concerning the Craftworld, the clan chieftains will call a council formed from all the other clans of Saim-Hann to vote on a course of action. They spend most of their time bickering amongst themselves mainly over who has the biggest dick has the fastest jetbike before actually voting on whatever it is they originally met up to talk about in the first place. Bar extreme circumstances or personal codes of honor, no individual clan is truly beholden to the will of the overall council and may still act as they see fit without fear of being censured. That said, as a clan's reputation is one of their most prized values, it isn't too often a clan can constantly blow off the council and still retain any real say in Craftworld affairs.
As you'd expect, the position of clan chieftain is primarily hereditary. Once a chieftain comes into power, they must walk the Path of Command if they have not already and cannot be part of any Aspect Warrior shrine. To this extent, no individual (regardless of rank or import) may participate in clan based politics while they are a part of the Wild Riders or Aspect Shrines nor can such individuals act on a clan's behalf (such as championing a clan in a duel).
In a stark contrast to most other Craftworlds, the Seer Council on Saim-Hann holds very little sway among its people. As the chieftains are much more concerned with brand recognition and personal honour, they generally have little interest in galactic affairs not immediately concerning them or the Craftworld and don't pay much heed to the seer's obscure visions or requests. Individual seers may still advise their relevant chieftains and the Seer Council may cast a single vote whenever the chieftains convene, but their actual influence is pretty minimal among the clans.
Of the various rituals Saim-Hann eldar perform, there's currently only two really known at this time. Two clan warriors sometimes drink each other's blood in a ritual designed to create a bond between them in a manner not too dissimilar from the Blood Angel's insanguination rituals (only Saim-Hann Eldar don't go batshit insane if they don't regularly get some sip). The other would be the duel system the clans or individuals utilize when they get offended by slights from other clans (hint; this happens a lot). The duel is overseen by a neutral party while the two participants name a champion not currently employed as a Wild Rider or Aspect Warrior to non-lethally joust high in the sky on jetbikes.
When it comes to other Craftworlds, Saim-Hann is generally happy to help out Biel-Tan in cleansing aliens from maiden worlds, but are really turned off by Biel-Tan extreme xenophobic tendencies and habit of murdering all non Eldar life, even if they no longer pose a threat. They will also work well alongside the forces Ulthwé, but will quickly grow tired of the constant manipulation and are not above telling the Seers of Ulthwé to go fuck themselves when asked to attack an unprovoked foe.
The only Eldar that most clans of Saim-Hann are regularly chummy with are the Exodites and Harlequins. The Exodite worlds apparently are fantastic places for the Wild Rider clans to host all sorts of rituals, with the exodites themselves being as close to any Wild Rider clan eldar as any. The Harlequins are the only space-faring eldar that the Wild Rider clans never really have any beef with, partly because the murder clowns don't judge Saim-Hann for not being as "civilized" as the other Craftworlds.
They'd be besties with the White Scars, were it not for the fact that both sides consider the other untermenschen. They also have a pretty good synergy with the Space Wolves due to their similar views regarding honour, something the Space Wolves themselves surprisingly praised about them. Outside of the Imperium and Chaos (who's obviously everybody's enemy), Saim-Hann as a whole doesn't have a single preferred enemy among all the clans (though they do hold an especially great dislike for Orks, Necrons and Chaos, but who doesn't?). Plus they clearly inspired the whole red makes things go faster thing amongst the Orks… or could that be the other way around?
Recent Events
With the coming of the Great Rift and the massive social turmoil that has engulfed the Craftworlds, everyone wants the Wild Riders of Saim-Hann on their side. Despite the Clan’s wanting to keep their independence and freedom they are inevitably beginning to discover that it is almost impossible not to take sides in the civil unrest. They also got attacked by a Host of Death Guard who infected a part of the Craftworld, with a Clan trapped inside it. To avoid the spread of the disease, Saim Hann was forced to blow the part off and abandon the infected. This, understandably caused the infected to despair and fall to Nurgle so now reports of plague Eldar insect things attacking places are a thing.
Saim-Hann's Seer Council recently requested Clan Moirec's Autarch Rhyloor and his Spiritseer relative Qelanaris to attack a Chaos cult on the tabletop campaign planet Vigilus. Once Rhyloor had gathered his warhost, he basically beelined directly for the Chaos cult's prophesied location without any attempt to even alert the Imperium of his actions. Of course, the Imperium didn't know what they were doing, so when the Aquilarian Council in charge of planetary defense heard that a band of eldar was slaughtering "Imperial" citizens, they immediately mobilized their Tempestus Scions against them. Even though Qelanaris tried to explain what they were really doing, the Aquilarian Council's Tempestus Scions (who'd been fending off Dark Eldar attacks as of late) had no reason to believe them. It doesn't help that officially the Imperium as a whole does not generally distinguish between types of Eldar since the only difference that matters to them is that one takes prisoners and the other doesn't. So it should come as no surprise that the Tempestus Prime leading the mission, who happened to have quite a grudge against Druhkari, immediately ordered his men to shoot the shit out of the Saim-Hann war host. Once the Imperial forces leveled the city block and left, Qelanaris and the few Eldar not turned into paste or mist via rubble or explosive rounds that created said rubble gathered up the spirit stones of their fallen kin, Autarch Rhyloor among them, and returned to Saim-Hann. In a huffy fit of anger, Qelanaris slapped the spirit stones of everyone who died on Vigilus into wraithguard bodies and set back out for revenge despite the fact that most of their casualties could've been avoided had it not been for Rhyloor's stupid ass.
To be relatively fair to Saim-Hann as a whole, Qelanaris' campaign for revenge isn't endorsed by its Seer Council, nor do any of the other major clans of the craftworld approve. Indeed, even when Ultrasmurf Lieutenant Eothrus attempted to parlay with Qelanaris because of the bro-tier things his Space Wolf buddies told him of the Saim-Hann eldar, Qelanaris decided the best way to respond was simply wraithcannon fire. What's worse is that all of Qelanaris' efforts were sort of in vain to begin with; by the time he had organized his wraith host and attacked Vigilus, the Ultramarines had replaced the Aquilarian Council (who Qelanaris was coming to kill) and were the ones organizing the planet's defense at that point. So if anyone's to blame for this degree of fuckery, it's Qelanaris and his dead dipshit Autarch brother Rhyloor for not trying to coordinate in the slightest with the Imperium. One could argue to the later point that doing so would've only alerted Vannadan's little cult to the incoming assault, and we know what happened the last time the Eldar tried to warn the Imperium of Chaos corruption in its midst. Regardless, the whole situation is FUBAR and now we can only wait and see how Saim-Hann officially reacts to the rogue Clan Moirec and if other Craftworlders or the Ynnari will be stepping in at any point to try to fix things.
Some time after Vigilus, the Ynnari petitioned the clans of Saim-Hann for aid in exploring the world Agarimethea, which was rumored to have a vault containing pre-fall Aeldari relics of great power. Nuadhu, current Wild Lord and heir to clan Fireheart, offered the aid of his Wild Riders almost explicitly to tap the ass of the Reborn Drukhari emmissary Yvraine had sent. Of course, when they actually arrived on Agarimethea, it was revealed that it was in fact a Necron Tomb World when Nuadhu managed to trigger their defense systems and woke up the Phaerakh in charge of the place. Thus, the Ynnari and clan Fireheart were forced to petition the rest of Saim-Hann's clans for help in cleaning up Nuadhu's mess.
Military Doctrine
Saim-Hann tactics are all about speed. Be it their Guardians or Seers, a solid majority of their military tends to rely on Windrider or Vyper jetbikes as the mainstay of their army. Unsurprisingly they also have a high concentration of the Swooping Hawks and Shining Spear Aspect Warriors on their Craftworld. Predictably, this high emphasis on fast, highly maneuverable units gives them even more of a predilection towards hit-and-run tactics or blitzkrieging compared to other Craftworlders. While their preferred tactics are fully valid in most cases, they are also the most typical and by extension, predictable, of all the other Eldar Craftworlds.
Bar the Aspect Shrines and Wild Riders, all personnel and war assets belong to the various individual clans of Saim-Hann. Each clan has full autonomy regarding whether or not they wish to partake in a militarized campaign, or if they just want to chill back on their Craftworld. The Seer Council or other Wild Rider clans can attempt to pressure or encourage each other into action, but any clan who can't be bothered can and will just tell each other to fuck off and go about their business as usual.
- Wild Riders: A unique division of Saim-Hann's militant forces, Wild Riders serve in a similar sense to the Path of the Outcast for most other Craftworlds, only on Jetbikes and actually being endorsed by Saim-Hann. Led by an individual known as a Wild Lord, the Wild Riders are utilized as a scouting/vanguard force and are frequently utilized for the eldar trademark bait-and-switch tactics. While part of the Wild Riders, an individual is free (and encouraged, with mild restrictions) to party and rage as they see fit so that like the Corsairs or Rangers, they get it all out of their system before rejoining Craftworld society as a whole.
- Windweavers: Warlocks and other Seers who specialize in Jetbike-mounted combat and support. Usually accompany the Wild Riders to battle, but outside that specific niche, there's little difference between them and other Craftworld's Warlock/Farseer Skyrunners.
Notable Clans and Individuals
- Fireheart - A clan on the decline, Fireheart is one of the few Saim-Hann clans that is openly allied with the Ynnari at this time.
- Naiall Fireheart: Current Fireheart chieftain, former Spiritseer and Nuadhu's father. For quite a long time, he was mortally ill until the events on Agarimethea transpired. Had a fling with an Icewhisper woman that resulted in Caelledhin's birth. Despite encouraging his son to indulge in his role as Wild Lord, he's perpetually disappointed by Nuadhu's obsession with getting laid (which, in retrospect, seems kind of hypocritical).
- Nuadhu Fireheart: Heir apparent to the Fireheart Clan and current Wild Lord of the Wild Riders. Ultimately the whole debacle that was Agarimethea was his fault, since he absent-mindedly woke up the dormant Necron Tomb present on the planet while trying to flirt with a Ynnari diplomat. His family just wants him to calm the fuck down and not jeopardize Saim-Hann's safety for the chance to rail Drukhari ass.
- Caelledhin Icewhisper: The illegitimate daughter of Naiall and Nuadhu's half-sister. Despite her last name, Caelledhin was "adopted" by Naiall and would much rather associate with the Firehearts since the Icewhispers are a bunch of elitist assholes who wretch at the sight of her. In a rare change of pace, Caelledhin was quite cool and collected, compared to the impulsive Nuadhu and obstinate Icewhispers. Ultimately, she sacrifices herself in order to shut an ancient Aeldari warp portal full of daemons.
- Icewhisper - A fairly prominent clan who's particularly concerned about shaming Clan Fireheart and maintaining their elite status among the other major clans. Apparently they're influential enough to persuade a majority of the clans to their cause, with several (similarly named) clans' chieftains effectively serving as puppets.
- Moirec - The clan that accepted the Seer Council's mission to wipe out chaos cultists on Vigilus, only for most of their war party to get wiped out afterwards because of tactical stupidity on their part.
Name
Saim-Hann, like Biel-Tan, is a name created by taking the name of a druidic festival (Samhain, Beltain), and tweaking it a bit. Why Games Workshop did this is unclear, but it may have something to do with the Eldar being Elves in space. Worth noting that H does not make a sound in Gaelic, it modifies the sound of other letters. Samhain sounds kinda like Sawin.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||