The Eldar/Dark Eldar novels analysis thread

[Connor MacLeod]

Its probably a sad reflection that the vast majority of stuff we get is Imperial POV (especially Space Marine) and can get their own threads, but the non-Imperial stuff gets lumped together (unless its Chaos. Because Chaos is just the anti-Imperium and still humanocentric.) Sad, but true. And it could be worse, they could be the tau, Necrons, or Orks (who only show up relative to a human-oriented novel.)

Whilst this will probably be the dumping grounds for any future stand-alone Eldar novels (that aren't done by CS Goto) or Dark Eldar novels, the current thread will be concerning Gav Thorpe's Path fo the Eldar series, and Andy Chambers Dark Eldar counterpart. As the Dark Eldar stuff has just been released I'll probably cover that after covering the Eldar stuff, even though Path of the Renegade came out before Path of the Outcast (and Path of the Incubus comes out this year.) Of the two, I'll admit I'm digging the Dark Eldar stuff more, which is actually surprising because I intended to dislike it, but the setting, pacing, and events are just more.. dramatic and interesting than the Eldar stuff.

The Path of the Eldar series is.. interesting. That's all I can really think to say of it. Its not perfect, but its not something I actually dislike. But it really doesn't have anything that gets me fired up or excited really. It really doesn't 'feel' as good as the first tow Last Chancers or Angels of Darkness did to me. Its more 'purging of Kadillus' maybe, with the benefit of not being about Space Marines. The main draw is to learn about the Eldar in more depth than you usually do, and society in general, and other aspects beyond the Craftworlds. We learn more about three main paths (Warrior, Seer, and Outcast) with each of the three novels, and we learn about lots of others. The main draw of the story is really its details and atmosphere, we get a glimpse of life and society that, while in some ways bleak, is actually not the outright grimdark of 40K. Life inside the craftworld is okay (until it gets attacked) and there's a definite feeling of 'isolation' between inside the craftworld and the galaxy at large (esp in the third book.)

Character wise... I can't say they recommend much. The best book character wise was Aradryan in 'Path of hte Outcast', but you're forced to slog through Thirianna and Korlandril to get there. Thirianna is a bit better, when she's actually learning to be a Seer, but getting ot that point is also rather tedious. Getting an Exarch's view of things was interesting in Path of the Warrior (and the ending suitably tragic and for me, at least, unexpected.) but that's bout the best I can say for it. The plot is okay, but I think the 'buildup' does not really deliver in terms of the ending. Without spoiling it, I can say I can kinda see what Gav was going for with the story (I think it was supreme irony and meant to play off the stuff pertaining to Path of the Seer and such.) but it just really didn't tie together as well as it could have. I did sort of like what he tried to do with the 'varying points of view on the same events' in principle, although again how it was executed was.. less than ideal. It just felt really dragging to revisit the same events from Path of the Warrior in Path of the Seer, which hindered that somewhat (it even felt, sometime,s like he was deliberately coping some passages word for word from one book to another.) Outcast is perhaps better, in that it has the same events going on but glosses over details we already know and truly shows the 'differeing POv' aspects. really its a good book to read the first time, but I'm not sure I would, personally, read it again. If you're an Eldar fan it might be good, or if you are a big fan of Gav's work in general. But if they had put it in hardcover (and were I not obsessively completionist) I probably would not have read it otherwise, because for me its a really mixed-bag series overall.

One other thing I *DID* like bout the series, and I do applaud Gav for.. is trying to expand on Eldar backstory and history, and society in general without being tied down to the codex crap. (or at least, if its already in the codex-oriented fluff, he's reusing old concepts in interesting ways. ) HE also tries to break stereotypes in some respects (Esp path of the outcast, as we'll learn.) which I also liked.

The first book of the Eldar Path series is Path of the Warrior. More specifically, aspect warriors (Guardians I gather are not interesting enough to explore.) Our protagonist is Korlandril, one of three friends (Thirianna and Aradryan) whose lives are closely intertwined with events soon to befall Altaioc Crafworld and have tremendous (and horrible) implications for the craftworld as a whole. Korlandril is a poet whose life seems driven to the warrior aspect after an acrimonious reunion with his companions, and becomes a Striking Scorpion. The interesting aspects of this lie primarily in the Eldar approach to warfare and the psychological impact it has on them, which echoes much of the psychology of the Eldar and the reason for the Paths (this, alongside the Exarch POV stuff, forms the most interesting aspect of the story.) Along the way we learn more about Exarchs (including Korlandril becoming one - big spoiler) and we even get some perspective on Phoenix Lords.

As a character, Korlandril was perhaps the most unlikable for me. He was pretty selfish, and not very honest, but this may be deliberate as a reflection of how alien the eldar are, and how extreme their emotiosn can be (and the dangers it can lead to, since his emotions play a huge role in him becoming a warrior in the first place.) My dislike more than likely stems from a 'humanocentric' view of things.. its different than what I am used to or expect, so it feels 'wrong'. Which in a way probably reflects a positive aspect in the book. I do feel that Korlandril comes into his own more later in the story, and even becomes the tragic figure in it.

As an aside this book also has the most extensive views into Eldar 'civilian' life.. the non-military paths and the roles they play (path of service, path of Dreaming, path of the artist or poet, path of healing.) which is the good part (only dragged down by the tedium of the Korlandril-Aradryan-Thirianna interactions.) We learn about the various aspect Shrines and some of their past (at least on altaioc), and about Autarchs as well, but much of the 'discovery' is simply learning about this particular craftworld.

So again rambling aside, we start the story:


Page 11

His warriors followed him, pistols spitting hails of molecule-thin discs..

Strking scorpion pistols firing mono discs.


Page 12

The Dire Avengers returned fire, unleashing a storm from their shuriken catapults through the window. His body shredded by the fusillade..

Shuriken catapults shredding a man.


Page 16

Bathed in the radioactive glow of Mirianathir’s death throes, a craftworld floated upon the stellar winds; an artificial, disc-like continent of glowing domes and silvery energy sails, arcing bridges and glittering towers. Wings unfurled, the craftworld soaked in life-giving energy, an inorganic plant with mirrored leaves a hundred kilometres long. Surrounded by the ruddy light of the dying star, Craftworld Alaitoc absorbed all that Mirianathir had to offer, capturing every particle and stellar breeze, feeding it through the spirits of its infinity circuit to sustain the craftworld for a thousand more years.

Exterior of Craftworld Altaioc. described as a "continent" suggesting it perhaps spans hundreds if not thousands of kilometers in either direction (although the "hudnred kilometre wings" seem bigger, so that might limit its size in this context)
Also, it has solar sails or wings of some kind to absorb sunlight from "a hundred kilometre" long leaves. Apparenlty its absorbng the sunlight to sustain the craftworld and the infinity circuit - interesting, considering that the circuit itself is supposed to be the power source. Maybe they need the sunlight to sustain the circuit itself - a sort of catalyst.


Page 17

The space around Alaitoc was as full of movement and energy as the star upon which it fed. Ships whirled and swerved, tacking across the stellar winds, refuelling their own energy stores. The webway gate behind the craftworld swirled and ebbed, a shimmering portal into the space between the material and immaterial. Trade ships with long fluted hulls slipped into and out of the gate; sleek destroyers with nightblue hulls prowled through the traffic, weapons batteries armed, torpedoes loaded; slender yachts darted amongst the shoal of vessels; majestic battleships eased along stately paths through the ordered commotion.

orbital activity around Altaioc. Trading and military patrols, as well as civilian yachts (and battleships) all in orbit. All ships seem to be absorbing energy from the stellar wind as well as a power source.

Perhaps this is the importance of the sails - they are meant to draw energy from a star in much the same way a TIE fighter was (supposedly) powered by solar panels.


Page 17

The dock tower stretched five kilometres out from the plane of the craftworld, encased in a bluish aura that kept at bay the ravening emptiness of space. Like a narwhal’s horn, the tower spiralled into the darkness, hundreds of figures along its length, lining the elegant gantries and curving walkways. Eldar of all Paths had come to greet their long-travelled ship: poets, engineers, autarchs, gardeners, farseers, Aspect Warriors, stylists and chartmakers.

5 km long "dock tower". since I doubt this reprensents the bulk of the Craftworld's length or width, this sets an extreme lower limit.. probably suggesting the thing is more tens of km at the very least.


Page 22

Even amongst the eldar such subtle differences might have been missed, but Korlandril was dedicated to the Path of the Artist and had honed his observation and attention to detail to a level bordering on the microscopic. He noticed everything, remembered every nuance and facet, and he knew from his deep studies that everything had a meaning, whether intended or not.

Path of the artiest. Notice the details involved in that particular path. I suspect that the Eldar apply the same level of detail ability to all Paths, which in turn means that one Path can provide at least some insight/knowledge into another as far as physical capability goes, but the knowledge (the key element) differs.

In other words - they have to learn to think differently in a respective path, but the physical skills they possess (the physical potential, that is) remains the same.


Page 28

He knew the ghost stone was not at fault. It was possessed of no will, no spirit. It merely reacted to his input, shaping itself under his gentle psychic manipulation. It was inert now, but Korlandril sensed a certain smugness in its unwillingness to cooperate, even as another part of his mind told him that he was simply projecting his frustrations onto an inanimate object.

A kind of psychoplastic I suppose.. warp created stone? I imagine they can create plastics, metal and stone from the warp to some degree or another. Or at least, an emulation of it.

Again we see how psychic and mental elements of things are important to Eldar society and paths. Also note how our Artist is heavily reliant upon using his psychic abilities to make things - I suspect that this talent could be, with training and knowledge, applied on other paths (craftman or shipbuilding)


page 54

Korlandril took a skyrunner across the dome, delighting in the rush of air against his skin, the flash of terrace and tree beneath the one-pilot craft as it soared upon the winds, its wings angling and curving in tune with his thoughts.
..
Powered by his psychic urging, the dart-like vehicle climbed rapidly, wings tilted back...
...
In his mind his path sculpted a complex web of interleaving arcs and loops and the skyrunner responded, twirling and swooping at his whim.

Psychically controlled civilian skimmer vehicles. It's never specified (here at least) whether he owns the vehicle or if they belong to the entire Craftworld, but I suspect the latter. Things like vehicles and living quarters do not seem to be "owned" and anyone is free to move in where they choose (as long as it doesnt conflict with another)

IOW: Filthy psychic socialist Space Elves.


Page 55

Here there was more traffic. It was one of the main thoroughfares of Alaitoc where hundreds of eldar moved between the many domes and plateaus that made up the bulk of the craftworld. Some strolled languidly by themselves or with friends, others on skyrunners like Korlandril, many on drifting platforms that eased serenely from one place to the next guided by the group desires of those on board.

Hundreds of Eldar in traffic. Almost certainly an underestimate.


Page 56

Oval in cross-section, the tunnel glowed with a warm orange light, flutters of energy pulsing along infinity circuit conduits embedded within the material of the wall. Korlandril felt their ghostly presence all around him as he dived deeper into the craftworld’s interior, the psychic energy of the craftworld’s spirits merging and dividing around him, whispering at his subconscious.

The way a Craftworld functions, as outlined here, would suggest that the place is almost full of psychic signals, imprints and generally any kind of psychic data, which any one Eldar ca nbe aware of or pick up on. It forms, in fact, what might be described as sort of a self contained psychic internet, where every individual eldar is innnately connected and can do the psychic equivalent of blogging/tweeting/facebooking when thy choose, learn whta they must, or control things. This may suggest one facet of what the Inifinty Circuit does, in fact, and it meshes with the known capability of Wraithbone to act as a communication medium.


Page 57

Finding the Opal Suites, Korlandril touched the infinity plate to announce his presence. He waited for a moment and no response came. Allowing his fingers to linger longer on the psychically conductive slate, he sought for the presence of Aradryan but could not detect it. Only a residual impression of Aradryan remained in this place.

Adjusting his thoughts, Korlandril found that the adjoining apartment was occupied and he made an inquiry to the eldar within. She appeared at the archway a little later. She was of considerable antiquity, surrounded by an aura of wisdom and solemnity. From the brief contact he had shared with her on the infinity circuit, he knew that she was Herisianith, a shuttle pilot.

Eldar apartment and interaction with other eldar. All psychic, even the doorbell.


Page 73

"You know that it is unwise to become trapped in ourselves. Our lives must be in constant motion, moving from one Path to the next, developing our senses of self and the universe. To over-indulge leads to the darkness that came before. It attracts the attention of… Her. She Who Thirsts.”
...
His waystone quivered with him, becoming chill to the touch. All that Thirianna said was true, enshrined in the teachings of the craftworlds; the whole structure of their society created to avoid a return to the debauchery and excesses that led to the Fall.

The way this sounds is like Eldar are almost sharks - they kepe moving or they die (or rather, worse than death.) Eldar coping mechanisms seem to be focused on change and variety - trying to distract themselves from whatever it is might destroy them or they become like Exarchs. Hence the Path system.

It also explains why Exarchs (depsite being important) are shunned and segregated.


Page 79

He was in no state to be interacting with the infinity circuit. His emotional instability would be sure to attract attention of the wrong kind, if it didn’t do any actual harm to him or the circuit. Even if he could muster enough self-control to navigate the circuit properly, Abrahasil would not be able to help him.

Emotional control is important to craftworld eldar, as others can pick up on it and it can even affect/harm the craftworld itself.


Page 80

Amidst the maelstrom of his thoughts, Korlandril’s attention was brought to a small matter that needed resolving. A thought-cycle demanded his attention, a futurememory yet to be experienced. Korlandril analysed it and was reminded of the appointment he had made with Arthuis and Maerthuin. He linked the reminder with a memory and cycled them together with his current feelings.

The Eldar equivalent of email or texting I think.


Page 80

The new cycle was just beginning and there were many eldar sat at the tables along the balcony or moving between them and the food bars on the inward side. They ate fruits from the orchards and breakfasted on spiced meats brought back by traders with the Exodite worlds. Drinks of all colours, some luminescent, others effervescent, were dispensed from tall, slender urns or arranged in rows of glittering bottles, regularly replenished by those walking the Path of Service. A dampening field kept the conversation quiet, though there were thousands of voices raised in greeting and debate, departure and conciliation.

Yes, there is a path of service. I actually don't mind that, since it shows the Eldar society to be far more faceted and interesting than the game itself shows... their entire society must be dictated by a sort of self interest that promotes more altruistic outcomes (Warriors serve because they need an outlet, but they channel it to serve the Craftworld. Craftsman do the same.. as do the Servers.

Also note there are a mere thousands of Eldar just in this one locale. There must be far more restraunts and other locales with similar numbers.. suggesting craftworlds possess at least tens if not hundreds of thousands of Eldar.


Page 86-87

“The hand of Khaine has reached into you and awoken that which dwells within all of us. You cannot ignore this. If it does not destroy you, it could harm others.”
...
“You must learn to understand your fear and your anger before you can control them,” said Maerthuin. “Always they have been with you, but we hide them so well. Now you must bring them into the light and confront them. Your rage is growing in power over you. It is not something you can fight, for such desires fuel themselves. Nor can you expunge them from your spirit, no more than you can stop breathing. It is part of you and always will be. All you can do now is find the means by which you can contain it, turn its energy elsewhere.” “And keep it contained when it is not needed,” added Arthuis.
...
“It is the division of creation and destruction that you need, the split between peace and war, life and death. Look around you. Are we not peaceful now, we who have killed so many? The Path of the Warrior is the path of outer war and inner peace.”
“The alternative is exile,”

Discussion of the Warrior paths, their necessity, how they are recognized, and what the alternatives are.


Page 89

A soft hum heralded its arrival, pulsing from the tunnelway to the left a moment before the shuttle whispered alongside the platform and came to a standstill, a chain of bullet-shaped compartments hovering just above the anti-grav rail.

Inter-craftworld travel.


Page 96

Its face was a heavy mask, with a serrated grille for a mouth, flanked by bulbous pods, framed with segmented finger-thick black cables for hair, which moved with a life of their own. Green and golden plates slid across each other as it stood, fully a head taller than Korlandril.

Striking Scorpions Exarch on Altaioc.


Page 104-105

“You must learn two ways, the paths to both war and peace, in equal measure. That which we unleash, the face of battle we wear, is as a war-mask. You must put it on, within your spirit alone, and then take it off. Peace must be the goal, war helps us achieve this peace, and then balance comes. It must be a choice, shunning war and death and blood, choosing life and hope. You must make that choice, in every part of life, so that you are free. War is a not a state, it is an absence of peace, a passing nightmare. We awake from it, not remembering its curse, divorced from its taint. We must become death, to protect and to survive, but do not love death.”
...
I stay in this shrine, where my curse cannot harm you, forever trapped here. Though I wear no paint, my war-mask remains inside, clouding all my thoughts. Had you angered me, that first day you came to me, I might have killed you. Even now I hate, filled with my anger always, but I do not strike. It is not madness, not uncontrollable ire, which my war-mask brings. It is an urging, to release what is inside, fighting to get out. I struggle with it, but I am its true master, exerting my will. It is no frenzy, no bloodlust that would swamp me, but a perspective. I see things unseen, pain and misery beneath, which others hide from. It is my duty, the covenant of exarchs, to prepare your mind. You will see horror, witness death and agony, and must confront it. This is my calling, to lead you on that dark path, where others recoil.”

Discussion fo the Warriro paths and their need. Basically the whole point of Paths is to create the right kind of outlet (At the right time for the right lenght of time) to channel an Eldar's emotions and psychic power into, until that path is no longer sufficient. Then they move on. It's a process that kinda "evolves" the Eldar over time.. rather interesting.

another interesting aspect is the war/peace angle. Warrior paths help "peace" by giving the Eldar an acceptable outlet for his anger, as wlel as teaching the ways to control and channel those emotions. An Eldar on an aspect is almost a different person than they might have been in a prior aspect, although they retain some knowledge of the past aspect (although as a distant thing) It's also kinda weird, in it sounds laot like a form of multipe-personality disorder - eldar literally remake themselves with a new Path.

Anyhow, once they learn the Warrior Path, they seem to be able to indefinitely segregate off that anger until they need it. I imagine it builds and amplifies until that time, meaning it is sort of a psychic "battery" of rage and battle power they can draw on. That's just conjecture, but it would help explain some things.


Page 106-107

Every nerve tingled with vibrant life. He saw the colours of the swamp with a clarity he had not witnessed even as an Artist. Every ripple shone in his mind; every chirrup, scratch and burr of insect sounded distinct in his ears. The faintest breeze on his flesh, the feel of the mud between his toes and the coolness of the water on his skin. His waystone was like a white-hot coal over his heart. Everything stood out in sharp contrast and for that moment Korlandril felt an urge to destroy it all.
...
“It was your anger, bringing heightened awareness, which you felt just now. Our hate is our strength, not some weakness to be purged, if we use it well.”

Again note how Anger seems to be the means in which an Eldar taps his warrior side. Whilst they do train with weapons and such, much of an Aspect Warrior's training seems to be of the mind and the psyche - basically "forging" it into the proper aspect. They call it a mask I believe (which is interesting because the Harlequins use similar terminology also.) Like their technology, Eldar means of warfare seems to be driven more by their psychic natures than by purely phyiscal things - where the psychic bit goes the body follows, I guess.


Page 107

...Korlandril exerted ever greater control over his mind and body. The two became as one; the physical effort of maintaining the strenuous Striking Scorpion fighting poses narrowed his focus, concentrating his thoughts to a single point. Whenever he deviated from the routines set for him by Kenainath, Korlandril struggled and lost his balance, physically and mentally.

Again mind/psychic elements play as much or greater a role in Aspect Warrior training. Makes sense when you consider their psychic powers probably boost their phyiscla prowess.


Page 109

“It will not be safe, you cannot yet control the hate, and could blindly strike out.”
...
He had acted without conscious thought, but he could feel the desire to inflict hurt that had driven the reflex.
..

“Now you understand, that which we are creating, safe here in the shrine,”
...
“This is your war-mask, expanding from within you, consuming your mind.” The exarch’s tone was unforgiving, with no hint of shame or comfort. “It is for battle, where you cannot hesitate, but act or react. Do not be worried, you will learn to remove the mask, I will teach you how.”
...
“Until you wear it, you cannot remove the mask, it is still hidden. In time you will learn, be free of the mask’s control, and then you can leave.”

Aspect Shrines are sort of areas of confinement, where risky eldar like Korlandril are segregated from the populace until they learn to control themselves better. Again, Paths are ultimately about emotional/mental/psychic control, because the Warp is a manifestation of all of those, and the Eldar are a highly psychic race.


Page 112-113

Korlandril looked around, wondering which suit to pick. At first they seemed identical, but there were subtle differences; in the placement of gems, the hang of the hair-like sensory antenna-crests of the helmets, the brightly coloured ribbons tied about the armoured limbs.
...
Out of the corner of his eye, Korlandril thought he saw a momentary glitter in the eyes of one suit. He turned towards it. There was nothing to distinguish it from the others, but something about it tugged at Korlandril.

Aspect Warriors are drawn to their suits. Again the strong psychic element,and it implies that even the aspect warrior armor may have a degree of psychic awareness.


Page 113

Now that he was stood beside his armour, Korlandril looked on what had passed with fresh eyes. Just as he had learned to control the ghost stone as a sculptor, now he controlled every muscle and fibre of his body. It was an instrument wholly subservient to his will and whim.

As I speculated before, it seems that there can be certain base.. potentials or similarities amongst the various paths, that allow the translation from one to the other to go smooth as long as the mental/psychic aspects are properly learned and employed. This means that even the nonmilitary paths can instill a degree of ability when war is drawn upon - most especially when it comes to Guardians.


Page 113

He took his waystone on its silver chain and placed it carefully in a niche in the wall. He felt a quiver of fear at being separated from his spirit-saviour. It was perhaps his imagining, but Korlandril felt a moment of scrutiny, as if detecting eyes suddenly upon him, regarding him from a great distance. He dismissed his unease, knowing that nothing could befall him in the shrine.

Importance of spirit stones. It seems possible that the stone acts as a shield/barrier against psychic detection by Slaanesh, given this.


PAge 114

Korlandril stepped into the legs of the bodysuit. It was large and sagged on his limbs and gathered in unsightly bulges between his legs and under his arms, its
fingertips dangling uselessly.
..
He placed his palms together in front of his face, copying the movements of the other Aspect Warriors. In response, the body suit tightened. As the fabric of the suit shrank against his taut muscles, dormant pads began to thicken, forming rigid areas across his chest and stomach and along the bulge of his thighs, stiffening along his spine.

Donning the aspect armor . again note how the thing seems to have a degree of awareness. Although it could be that the aspect armor is meant to be psychically attuned to te wearer and respond to its thuoghts/desires/impulses automatically. That would be consistent with all other Eldar tech at least.

That could also mean that the previous "attachment" where Korlandril and others are drawn to a specific suit is more a result of some sort of resonance - Korlandril is drawn ot the armour that best suits his mental/emotional state, and the one he is best suited to employ.


Page 114-115

Reaching behind the armour, he undid the fastenings along its back, letting the lower portion of the torso fall free in his hands. Wrapping it about his stomach and lower back, his nimble fingers worked the fastenings back into place. Its stiff presence around his midsection was reassuring, supporting his back, squeezing against his sides in a firm embrace.
..
..Korlandril undid the clasps fixing the upper part of the armour to its stand. He lifted it above his head, solid but not heavy. With careful movements he lowered it onto his shoulders. The plates gripped the surface of the undersuit, extending down his upper arms; the rounded bulge of the power generator slipped easily across his shoulder blades. As before, he returned to a stance of repose and the suit shifted slightly with a life of its own, adjusting itself to his body. When it had stopped moving, he tightened the clasps, fixing the armour in place. He felt top-heavy and adjusted his back to stand straighter.

A moment of fear made Korlandril tremble as the bodysuit extended up towards his face, enclosing his throat and neck, the touch of rippling ridges insistent but gentle. The moment passed as soon as it stopped just below his chin.

More data on donning the armor. The suits shift and adjust in response to his body, which includes in combat to maximizing protection.


Page 115-116

The upper leg armour came next, fitting to Korlandril as snugly as the rest of the suit. He found that if he flexed in a certain way, the plates interlocked delicately, strengthening his stance, offsetting the imbalance of the powerpack.
...
The lower legs were each protected by a single boot-greave piece, which Korlandril slipped over his feet and knees. He fastened these to the thigh armour, fully encasing his legs. Threads of material grew rigid around his ankles, adding additional support, while the boots shortened themselves to fit his feet. A sensation of solidity, of unmoving permanence, filled Korlandril.

More on the adaptive nature of Aspect armour, enhancing stability and balance as well as bracing. Eldar aspect armour runs off its own power pack as well. And Aspect armour adjusts its size/volume to fit the wearer best.


Page 116

The vambrace-gauntlets connected to the upper armour, more clasps linking the two as one. Korlandril flexed his arms, feeling cartilage-like tendrils tightening against his flesh, reinforcing his wrists and elbows. Now fully clad save for his face, Korlandril felt incredible, filled with a heat that did not waver. His armour was his skin; it pulsed along with his thundering heart, drawing life from him and returning its strength.

His next act was to retrieve his waystone from its niche, detaching it from the silver surround of the necklace. It responded to his touch, warming gently, suffusing him with delicate reassurance. He placed the waystone into the aperture of the chestplate. It settled home with a soft click. His armour felt the waystone’s presence as much as Korlandril, giving a brief, almost imperceptible quiver and then falling still again.

almost done. I wonder at why they have to take the waystone off to don all this stuff. maybe the waystone "links in" to the suit somehow.


Page 116

Korlandril took a step forward, the movement feeling awkward in the armour; its weight was evenly spread across him, but its bulk restricted normal movement. In response, he changed the nature of his stride, his body remembering the motions he had learnt while unencumbered. As strange and stylised as they had felt in his robe, they were natural when armour-clad.

Like space marine power armor, Eldar Aspect armour seems to be self-supporting once its active and fully donned, so the wearer feels like he is naked.


Page 117

Almost like automatons they mirrored the exarch’s thrusts and parries, like marionettes all controlled by the same strings.

Korlandril felt a sense of belonging he had not known for a long time, in perfect synchronisation with his fellow warriors. He was as them, and they were as he; of one mind and one function. Every stance brought a fresh thrill, as he learnt anew their purpose. The armour made him complete, his body now perfected.

Another benefit of the psychic mastery/psychic bond of the Eldar race - Aspect Warriors have incredible degrees of coordination.. in combat I imagine they complement each other without even needing to think about it.

Page 118

As he removed each component, Korlandril felt a lightening in his spirit as well as on his body. Though he had felt relaxed throughout the practice, he realised he had been functioning at a far higher state of awareness than normal. Colours seemed a little blander, sounds more muted as he brought himself down from the peak of physical attentiveness and assumed a more relaxed demeanour.

Again the Jedi-like nature of Aspect Warrior training/combat. Just without the throwing of objects.


Page 120

The name startled Korlandril, for it meant Spirit on the Wind; an appellation given to those whose true identity was not known, usually a stranger. It was also a euphemism for those that had died without the protection of a waystone, their spirits lost to the clutches of She Who Thirsts.
...
“Kenainath brought him to us with that name, and neither has told us anything else. Do not be fooled by his silence, he is a capable warrior.”

Some Eldar can come to craftworlds, or even Aspect Shrines, a complete mystery. This tends to suggest that non-Craftworld Eldar can join and or leave at will.


Page 120

He was of venerable age, probably five hundred passes older or more, with a sharp brow and aquiline nose.

Not sure what a "pass" is but I'm guessing years... meaning a 500 year old Eldar.

Page 121-122

“When you have mastered the arts of the fighting poses, you will join us on our hunts. We go out into the surrounds of the shrine and try to sneak up on each other. The Striking Scorpion is stealth as well as strength.”
..
“The war-mask is not a thing, it is a state of mind. You have come close to it, or you would not be here. You will know it when it comes. We cannot tell you what it will be like, for it is unique to each of us.”

They also mention the Exarch is the final decision on when someone is ready to join. Again there's nothing too regimented or standardized for training.. its all very individual, and personalized.. which emphasizes the mental/psychic nature of things. The "war mask" concept also emphasizes again the segregation that occurs in Eldar minds, the quasi multiple personality thing.

Also we learn about the importance of stealth to Striking Scorpions.


Page 126

Despite the bulk of the Striking Scorpion armour, Korlandril moved as soundlessly as if he were naked. So controlled and effortless was Korlandril’s motion, so attuned was he to the swaying of the branches and the slightest ripple of water, he was able to blend his movements to those of his surrounds.

Again Aspect Armour is alot lke power armor, but even moreso (lacking even the faint noise of servomotors, etc.) which benefits the Striking Scoprion philosophy. I also suspect this is also due to the psychically responsive nature of the wraithbone the armor is made from - it "adapts" itself to the wearer's movements and the enviroment.


Page 127

Not quite knowing how, Korlandril walked directly to the arms that he knew belonged to his armour. He ran his fingers along the cladding of the chainsword, able to feel the entwining decorations through the empathic connection to his gauntlet as if he touched it with bare skin.

“Take up your weapon, let it become part of you, feel it in your hand,” said Kenainath.

Korlandril closed his fingers around the guarded hilt of the chainsword and lifted it easily from the curved wall bracket. Like his armour, it was surprisingly light for its size. It fitted snugly into his palm, like an extension of his arm. He twisted his wrist and examined the narrow blades, each sharp enough to slice through flesh and bone with a single stroke.
...
“How do I activate it?” he asked.
“How does your heart beat, your fingers move at your whim, that is the answer.”

Like most Eldar technology, Stirking scorpion chainswords are psychically controlled/activated.


Page 130-131

“Asurmen was the first, the creator of the Path of the Warrior,” he said. “I guess it was Asurmen that discovered how to don the war-mask. He founded the first shrine and gathered disciples to teach, Arhra amongst them, the Father of Scorpions. Some dark fate befell Arhra, of which I do not know the story, and his greatest pupil Karandras took up the mantle and spread the teachings of the Striking Scorpion.”

“That is true enough, the briefest account of it, but you should know more,” replied Kenainath, crouching opposite his pupil, his eyes intent. “Arhra fell from grace, touched by the dark of Chaos, and betrayed his kin. He turned on the rest, brought daemons to the First Shrine, hungry for power. The Asurya, the first exarchs of the Path, fought against Arhra. They lost the battle, scattered to the distant stars, and Arhra escaped. He strayed from the Path, consumed by his ambition, and found new pupils. His teachings are wrong, a perversion of the Path, the Fallen Phoenix. It is a great wrong, one that we cannot forgive, the worst betrayal. Karandras hunts him, across the stars and webway, for retribution.”

“Arhra still lives? The tale of the Fallen Phoenix was mixed up with the other myths of the Fall. Not even the eldar had such long lives.”

“Who can say for sure, in the warp and the webway, time passes strangely.”

Some of the history pertaining to the Aspect Shrines. It's implied there may be other "fallen" Striking scorpions, or that the fallen exarch may have found his own "anti-shrine"

Note Arhra shows up in latter novels and is hinted at in tAndy Chambers DE series.


Page 138

Distracted, he had reacted better than when he had been concentrating. It was not a matter of process, it was a matter of instinct. His body, his inner mind, knew better what to do than his conscious thoughts.
...
Korlandril could almost see without his eyes, hear without his ears. As never before, he felt enmeshed with his armour, the chainsword an extension of himself and not some foreign object gripped in his fist.

More Jedi-like aspect to Aspect Warrior training, including the greater emphasis on the psychic rather than the physical.


Page 139

Like his blade, it responded to his thoughts, firing a volley of monomolecular-edged discs that could slice flesh with ease. Though it could be used at some distance, the shuriken pistol in the hands of the Striking Scorpion was mainly a close combat weapon, complementing the cuts and parries of the chainsword. The sweeping movements Korlandril made with his left hand during the rituals became short bursts of fire, to distract or incapacitate the enemy whilst the chainsword delivered the killing blow.

Shuriken pistol's role in the Striking Scorpion aspect.


Page 152

It was a feeling at the base of his spine and in his gut. His heart was quickening, growing in tempo along with his breathing. Perturbed, Korlandril sat back in his high-backed chair and concentrated, seeking the source of his discomfort.
...
Like a circuit being completed, the image touched off a chain reaction in Korlandril’s mind and body. He flushed with a surge of energy even as he felt a tingling behind his eyes as his nerves sought to connect with something that was not there.

He realised that he was seeking his armour.

A signal sent out by the Avatar and the general way a call to war is disseminated.. pretty much the psychic equivalent of a red alert.


Page 153

Inside was a rune, shaped from silvery-grey wish-stone. He recognised it immediately, the symbol of the Dire Avengers. It was the martial discipline of this warrior Aspect that had merged with the tender thoughts of Thirianna. Holding it in his palm, Korlandril concentrated, teasing the thought-stream with which the rune had been imbued.

...

Korlandril divined the message. Thirianna herself had once heard her call of Khaine and supported him on his current path.

More means of Eldar sending messages. They can imbue thoughts/emotions into wraithbone objects.


Page 154-155

The exarch took the knife and made a cut in the palm of Korlandril’s right hand, allowing the lifeblood of the warrior to drip into the bowl and mingle with that of the other Striking Scorpions.
Kenainath then moved around the squad, in turn painting the rune of the Striking Scorpion upon their foreheads. Korlandril was the last and watched with some trepidation as he saw his companions’ eyes glaze over, their muscles twitch and their
lips curl back from their teeth in snarls

Basically it seems to bring out the war-mask/Warrior aspects. Like with Seers/Farseers and runes, the runes act as some sort of conduit/circuit breaker for Eldar power, and blood (being special to Khaine/Khorne) is also a conduit to the Path of War.


Page 156

The armour made a creaking noise as it adjusted further. As it knitted together he felt it bonding to him, infusing his spirit with its own. He heard panting, dimly realising that it was he that was breathing so quickly. He closed his eyes and saw the fire-eyed apparition of his anger swirling around him, encasing him as surely as the armoured suit.

Once more the psychic connection/adapatation of armor to warrior.


Page 157

Then his waystone, sliding into place upon his chest, guarding his spirit against damnation. It was his last armour, his true protection against the thing he was becoming, the creature he wanted to become.

Waystone. It seems to be an emotional/spiritual talisman as well as a psychic one.

[Alkaloid]

It's funny, they way you talk about other paths still leading to eldar having the potential to become guardians sort of fits into this old thing I think I remember reading in the 3rd edition codex, that guardians are eldar that have walked the path of the warrior and left to go on to something else temporarily taking up arms again. That I think fits with the whole mask aspect being more a mental process than anything, a way to control their anger they use for the rest of their life, but without the ritualised expression they loose the psychic punch they would have as aspect warriors. If you roll that into the new paths they are following it makes sense that all the other military roles that need to be filled are done by eldar that have moved on from the path of the warrior to other paths, path of the healer and the mask becomes a combat medic, shuttle pilot and the mask a fighter pilot, path of service and a mask all the logistics etc, bonesinger and mask combat engineer.

Basically it seems to bring out the war-mask/Warrior aspects. Like with Seers/Farseers and runes, the runes act as some sort of conduit/circuit breaker for Eldar power, and blood (being special to Khaine/Khorne) is also a conduit to the Path of War.

That other 40k Gods thread has me thinking about this, and I'm pretty sure they are actually entirely separate entities. Khorne is the manifestation of human martial/bloodthirsty/angry/animalistic desires/emotions, Khaine the manifestation of the eldar ones. Similar in some respects but very alien from each other. The different warrior paths would also explain why khaine is separated into different smaller avatars, because it is a system literally designed to keep the emotional aspects that make it up separated from each other.

[Broken]

Unless something has changed in 40K lore since last time I was involved, Khorne is far more then merely a human created warp god and predates humanity considerably. Furthermore, during the Fall of the Eldar, both Slaanesh (who killed/consumed the other Eldar gods) and Khorne struggled over which would absorb Khaine, who escaped into the real universe fragmenting into the Avatar's in the craftworlds. Khaine's avatars are not part of the Path system, unless that has been retconned. But, all that may have changed, as I am a few editions behind on 40K.

[Cykeisme]

There was another thread discussing the birth of each of the four main Chaos gods represented by the larger octants of the eight-pointed star, and I now wish I'd gotten that quote from Codex: Chaos Daemons.

Each of the gods is born in the Immaterium, and their birth corresponds to a time and place in the real universe.
Yet, they exist and have always existed to influence and draw upon sentient life, even before that corresponding time of their birth. It's not that they existed in a dormant state before their birth; it's because you can't plot time in the warp against time in realspace in a coherent way.

Or something like that. Someone said otherwise. I'll remember to grab the quote soon..

[Connor MacLeod]

After long delay, more Path of the Warrior.



Page 158

Warriors from Alaitoc’s dozens of Aspect shrines practised their rituals, each in a separate hall that branched from the main arterial passage, the mantras of the exarchs ringing from the high ceilings in a multi-layered symphony of war

Onboard warship, each aspect shrine seems to have their own little enclosure to practice and stay in. There are "dozens" of Aspects on Altaioc (dozens of active ones, at least.)


Page 158

The Bloody-Handed God walked among them. Korlandril could feel its presence lingering on the edge of his senses. It quickened his pulse and filled every motion with greater energy.

The Avatar has an augmenting effect on Eldar warmaking.


Page 159

Hesitantly, self-consciously, Korlandril took off his helmet, fearful that this act would somehow remove his war-mask. Un-helmed, he felt no different. The rune upon his skin bound him to his mental state, an anchor of anger.

Again, the effect of the rune in making a warrior.


Page 161

“I am hungry,” said Korlandril, even as he realised the emptiness gnawing at him.

He felt like an engine that had burned most of its fuel.

“We all are,” said Min. “Tis a strange thing, for a cycle from now your stomach will feel like an endless knot and you won’t want a morsel. Eat as much as you can, while you can. Your body burns energy much faster with your war-mask on, it’s important to keep up your energy levels.”

Much with the heightend senses, the "War-mask" causes the Eldar body to apparently perform at a much higher level of exertion, which burns the calories even faster.


Page 161-162

Min led them to an eatery where hundreds of Aspect Warriors were sat at long tables, while others moved busily around the circular counters, helping themselves to the food on offer. A force dome glittered overhead, showing a view of the webway.

A curving tunnel of energy enveloped the ship with solid walls of rippling colours, streaked through with flashes of star-lit sky. Engineered from the stuff of warp space, the webway burrowed between and through the immaterial and material worlds, part of both but separate from each.
Now and then they passed a branching route, the webway bifurcating through hanging gateways of gold and wraithbone, inscribed with runes channelling and shaping the psychic energy of warp space. There were other features: small tunnels that cut out great loops of the main channels; huge coils of raw wraithbone wrapped around the insubstantial tunnel in places the only evidence of repairs; occasionally the force walls folded and buckled, rippling with light as some malign creature of warp space intersected with the webway and was thrown back by the psychic wards.

There were no other ships to be seen, the route to Eileniliesh had been cleared bythe rangers to allow passage for the large warship.

Eldar buffet attended by "hundreds" of ASpect warriors on this mission, as well as discussion of the webway - a construct that seems to be at least partly wriathbone, and involve runes like everything else does (probably protecting the webway from warp currents or such.

There's also mention of Ranger pilots guiding the ships. although the route they are on is clear - must be some Eldar form of psychic traffic control.


Page 163

Korlandril also noticed that most of the other shrines had their exarchs with them.
Kenainath, as far as Korlandril knew, had remained in the Deadly Shadow’s allotted shrine-hall. He spied another group of Striking Scorpions, more than twenty of them.

Multiple aspect shrines of the same kind apparently can serve on the same Craftworld - so each Shrine can represent a potentially different teacher of the same Aspect. It's mentioned that Kenainath only teaches one pupil at a time, hence his Aspect Shrine is rather small, another Exarch we meet trains differently, preferring a "mass production" style approach, or as much as Aspect Warrior shrines get to such.


Page 165

“Kenainath sees his entrapment as an exarch as a curse, but Aranarha takes it as a blessing. The older would rather have no pupils, the younger proselytises his cult, actively recruiting new warriors.”
...

“Kenainath digs deep, reaching into the very heart of what takes you to him.” Elissanadrin kept her voice quiet as they moved back towards the table with the other Striking Scorpions. “Aranarha teaches the rituals en masse, taking no personal interest in each warrior. Which of the two do you think cares more?”

As I noted above, there are other differences between different Exarchs of the same Aspect. i suspect this is what passes for "variation" in styles, and aspects rise and fall according to necessity, time, and other factors (a bit like Ork specialists) It's mentioned that despite the rivalry there is respect and not enmity, which isn't surprising given whta we learn of Exarchs later.


Page 166

“At least our armour is polymorphic,” laughed Arhulesh. “It won’t feel any tighter!”

Polymorphic probably refers to its ability to reshape or alter itself.


Page 167-168

Fighting the urge to fidget, forcing himself to stand placidly and wait for the wayseer to complete her ritual, Korlandril idly checked his armour’s systems. Rather, he allowed part of his consciousness to merge with the suit a little more deeply than usual. He felt nothing amiss.

Slightly bored, he pulled himself back from the suit’s rhythms and gently touched the trigger on his pistol, activating the psychic link. Immediately a view-within-aview appeared in his left eye, like a keyhole in his vision. Through that small opening he could see the green-veined floor of the portal chamber. Lifting his arm, he played the pistol across the webway portal and settled on the wayseer, the image relayed by the seeing-gem of the pistol’s sight. A small rune appeared beside the wayseer—the symbol of Alaitoc—indicating she was friend not foe.

It was a precautionary measure, unlikely to be used, but the designers of the pistol perhaps had lived in more turbulent times, when even the craftworlds had raised their weapons against each other. The viewfinder was useful at range but distracting at close quarters. Korlandril dismissed it with a thought and his vision returned to normal.

Aspect armour has its own psychically-baed and linked (wireless) targeting systems (through a "seeing gem" - everything is gem related) - the targeting also includes friend/foe identiciation warning. Targeting also has a "long range" focus mode, but not something to use close up.



Page 168-169

He surreptitiously angled his pistol towards the rangers and activated the Scorpion’s Eye, hoping to see their faces. Flicking through various spectra, both visible and invisible, he discovered the rangers’ cloaks dissipated not only ordinary light, but also heat and other signatures as might be detected by an enemy.

Scorpion's Eye is basically like Preysight/terrorsight mentioned as Space Marine vision modes.

Also we learn that cameleoline (at least that employed by Eldar Rangers, anyhow) affects different kinds of EM (eg visible and infrared) radiation and other "signatures" for stealth purposes.


PAge 170-171

The webway passage cut towards the surface of Eileniliesh between the real universe and the otherworld of the warp, a flattened tube cutting through what at first appeared to be roiling water.
...
The one thing that was strange was the sense of motion, in that there was not any. Though he stalked forwards at some pace behind the others, nothing changed in his surrounds. It felt like he was walking on the spot. The web-tunnel undulated occasionally, but Korlandril could not tell whether this was due to movement in the warp-passage or simply a shift in the energies that were kept at bay by its immaterial walls.

Peering hard through the invisible force wall, Korlandril could make out the indistinct threads of other webway passages, twisting about this one and each other, coming together and parting like the strands of a thread. Of the squads using these other tunnels, he could see nothing.
“How long is this?” he asked, his voice relayed to the other members of the squad.

“Just a temporary burrowing,” replied Arhulesh. “We’ll be down on the surface in a few moments.”

Temporary "orbit to surface" webway portals. eldar teleporters in a way. Probably gives them quite an effective way of deploying troops simultaneously to various parts of the surface, not to mention explaining how they can just appear out of thin air almost anywhere.


Page 173-174

With a thought, Korlandril brought up the wide-spectrum view of his helmet and gazed beneath the water’s reflective surface.
...
Two large hearts beat beside each other in its chest and Korlandril could see strings of cartilage running the length of its body overlaid with a labyrinth of arteries and strange organs. Korlandril could see the flow of heat from these out to the extremities as the creature swished lazily past, within easy pistol shot.

Wide spectrum view with infrared.

Page 175

There were several dozen of the green-skinned monsters. Most of them were far larger than Korlandril, even hunched and crouching around the fires. Some were enormous, perhaps half again as tall as the Aspect Warriors, and three or four times as broad.

Orks size compared to Eldar. Probably many times more massive as well.


Page 179

As the closest buggy came within range, the Fire Dragons unleashed their deadly breath, the air churning with white-hot radiation from their fusion guns.

The gunner of the next buggy exploded in a mist of rapidly evaporating organs and blood, his legs and lower torso spilling from the cradle in which he had been sat. The engine of the buggy burst into flames, swiftly followed by a detonation in the fuel tank, turning the vehicle into a careening fireball that ploughed into the ruined gatehouse before exploding into a cloud of debris and mechanical parts.

Fusion gun barrage vaporizes orks in a buggy. No idea how many shots, or ohw many orks.

page 180

From its back, its cargo of warriors spewed forth a hail of inaccurate fire from their barking guns, streaming bullets in all directions in a frenzy of violence. Heavier arms spat a more staccato beat, thudding their shells purposefully towards the Fire Dragons.

Korlandril watched with horror as one salvo found its mark, tearing great shards of armour from one of the Fire Dragons. The warrior’s body—lifeless Korlandril assumed—was flung out of sight into the mangle of the ruined tower.

Ork gunfire downs one of hte fire Dragons, others seem unharmed. we dont know if it wsa small arms or heavy weapons that did it though.

Page 185

He couldn’t tear his eyes away from the lumbering ork closing in on him, but could feel his life seeping away through the ragged cut in his belly. His armour tried as best it could to knit the wound, but the damage was too severe.

Self-repair/healing functions of Aspect armour against injury.


Page 190

“I am trained to help you heal, Korlandril. The power to survive does not reside within me, it is within you. Body and spirit are as one. You must strengthen your spirit to strengthen your body. I will show you how you will do this, and guide you to the Tress of Isha. With its power, you will heal. First you must calm yourself, release yourself from Khaine’s grip.”

Eldar healing. It is more a case of Eldar healing themselves, psychically. With magic crystals. Much as with learning to be an Aspect Warrior, the "healer" is more a guided to how to do it than the one who does it.

Page 192

“I have induced a paralysis for your own safety,” Soareth said. “The wound has bound but a little. You must help your body complete the healing process. You must draw on the Tress of Isha.”

Despite a primarily "guidance" role, the healer does offer support and can do medical stuff directly.

Page 193-194

“Do not hide from the pain,” warned Soareth. “It must be confronted, not dismissed.”
...
“Chant with me,” said Soareth. He started a low intonation, just sounds without meaning, slow and purposeful. Korlandril followed, matching pitch and duration with the healer. His throat hummed with the sound, sending alternating ripples of calm and alertness through his body.
...
Korlandril shuddered and gave a moan, his synapses flaring from the awakening frequencies pouring into his senses. The tightness in his stomach was sharp, the pain dragging at his thoughts like an anchor. He wanted to fly free of its weight, but the invisible chain held him down.

Eyelids drooping, Korlandril succumbed to the mesmeric influence of the light and sound. He was dimly aware of Soareth moving around him, still chanting, running an angular crystal along nodal parts of Korlandril’s body. Psychic energy earthed between Korlandril and the healer, flaring briefly along pain-filled nerves, spasming cells and dilating arteries.

It seems to involve some sort of psychic memory journey for healing... but this suggests the Eldar are psychic enough that the ability of self repair lies in all of them, but they need help from others (eg the healers) in order to find and trigger it.


Page 206

The war-mask of the Aspect Warrior served a two-fold purpose. The first was to allow the warrior to harness the energy of his anger and hatred and other negative emotions, giving them vent in battle. The second, and more important in some ways, was to act as a dividing barrier between war and peace. When not in his war-mask a warrior knew nothing of the heinous acts of violence he perpetrated whilst in his Aspect. He could slay and maim without guilt; a guilt that would crush the psyche of an eldar if allowed to dwell on it. That Min was haunted by feelings from his war-mask was a grave matter.

Explanation of the war mask. Since this basically just duplicates my own comments before I'll avoid adding further, except to add that for a highly psychic race, the anger must act as a buffer against the emotions/feelings killing others might entail, even if they are considered animals. One of the interesting things in the novel is how detached and cold Eldar get when killing humans as an Aspect Warrior, contrasted to how they feel once the war mask is gone (They aren't even remotely hateful or disdainful.)


Page 208-209

“Who made it?” Korlandril asked, stepping away, perturbed by Kenainath’s suggestion.

“By me and not me. It was made after the Fall, by First Kenainath.”

The exarch’s inflexion and choice of words baffled Korlandril. He switched between tenses, describing himself—Kenainath—as someone both living and dead.

“First Kenainath?”

“I am not the First, though there have not been many, to wear this armour. I am Kenainath, and I am not Kenainath, neither one nor sum.”

Exarchs also seem to fashion the ASpect Warrior armour themselves, meaning they have some role as smiths/fabricators as well as teachers and as elite warriors in their own right. Given they probably repair and maintain the armour between conflicts, this seems likely.


Page 211-212

His actions were second nature, his weapons once more an extension of his will. He was due to face Bechareth again in a training duel. Korlandril decided that he would try to maintain more of a conscious awareness of his actions during the faux-combat.
...
As he ducked and wove, slashed and stabbed, Korlandril allowed himself to engage more closely with his body. He saw it as a globe of light in his mind’s eye, his warrior instincts envisioned as a miniature sun, ebbing and flowing with energy, his body moving around and within it. His conscious thought, his reasoning, Korlandril saw as another orb, its surface still and calm. As he fought, Korlandril tried to bring the two spheres together, so that conscious and unconscious might overlap.
...

Korlandril began again, forming the globe of tranquil consciousness, but rather than imposing it upon the fire of his intuition, he tried to meld the two, to make them as one. He parried and counterattacked, recognising the move his body had chosen, and the calm sphere slid a fraction closer into place. He lunged forcefully, his unthinking will recognising an opening. Slowly, atom by atom, Korlandril merged the two parts of his consciousness. His mental exercise was far from finished when Kenainath called for the pair of them to cease their duel. Returning to repose, Korlandril fixed the last image in his mind, a partial eclipse of his warrior instinct by the rational mind, hoping to recreate it the next time he duelled.

A new aspect to Aspect Warrior training, no pun intended, where Korlandril manages to balance the conscious/instincitve sides of his training - the conscious side being detached but offering guidance to the instinctive/physical side, incorporating the benefits of both into a single, unified whole.



Page 221

“Number us,” said Elissanadrin. Korlandril did so: Himself, Bechareth and Elissanadrin, as well as Kenainath. That made four…

“Oh, I see,” said Korlandril. “Unless Kenainath brings back Arhulesh or replaces him quickly, there are too few of us to operate as a squad.”

“Kenainath will be forced by tradition to send us away and the shrine will be disbanded.”

There is a certain minimum quota an Aspect Shrine must maintain or else be disbanded. Why this is exactly, but it may have something to do with the psychic bonds or the psychic gestalt an Aspect Shrine forms with its members.


Page 225

In the back of Korlandril’s mind floated the twin spheres of instinct and reason, hovering through and around each other. With his warrior intuition, he sensed that Arhulesh’s weight was more balanced to the left, while his reasoning eye calculated that a dropping slash would create the greatest problems from this position.

Again the merged instinct/reason duality to the Aspect Warrior, and how it affects fighting.


Page 240

Korlandril looked at the white stone of the broad steps and saw runes in gold etched into its surface, each indicating the place of a different shrine, arranged by Aspect. Several hundred warriors were already in place and as many again were following their exarchs into position.

At least 400 aspect warriors.


Page 241

"The Dark Gods have extended their reach once more, into the hearts and minds of the easily corrupted humans. Though they do not yet know it, they are starting upon a path that will not only damn their own world but will bring forth a host of the Dark Gods’ creations. Such is their ignorance that in only three of their short generations they will unleash a cataclysm that will savage planets and bring ruin to the doors of Alaitoc itself."

“The curiosity of the humans shall be their downfall if we do not intervene,” continued Kelamith.
...
“We cannot warn them of dangers yet to come to pass, for in doing so we risk creating the very desire we seek to end. A swift move now, bloody but necessary, will eliminate the threat to Alaitoc and also keep safe the future generations of humans. Those we need to eliminate are few, and if we strike hard and with haste they will receive no reinforcement. Overwhelming force will bring capitulation quickly. Those we wish to destroy have in their possession, unwittingly, an artefact that must be retrieved and destroyed safely."

This offers two interesting insights. One is the Eldar perspective on humans as they pertain to Chaos - and while it is critical of humans, that is not without merit (Because humans in 40K often are ignornat of Chaos and its true nature - that cannot be helped.) but it is not colored by the "lesser races are vermin" ideology you see of some other craftworlds (Eg Biel-Tann.) Indeed, Altaioc seems downright compassionate by Eldar standards - they even consider warning them of dangers, and are willing to help preserve future generations of humans by slaughtering a few. Tha tis a very.. Imperial.. attitude.

The other interesting thing is the irony in this, and the truth in the futility of warning them. While certain parts of the Imperium (Inquisitors, Space Marines) can be quite pragmatic to the point of xenos alliances, the bulk probably would fall back on xenophobia. This means the Eldar can quite often be forced to make themselves enemies simply because those they would divert or save form themselves would not believe them and even fear them. and so they must be killed to stop them from doing bad shit.


Page 242

“We will attain orbit secretly and create temporary webway portals in order to strike at the heart of the target’s fortifications,”
...
"Speed is of the essence, lest our ships in orbit be discovered and forced to break their webway connections. The rangers will gather what information they can about this human planet and the place where they store this vile prize. Detailed battle-sagas will be relayed to each exarch en route to the human world.”

Rangers form intel, battle-sagas are the briefings. temporary webway portals serve as the deployment medium.


Page 243

He wondered for a moment if killing a human would be harder than killing an ork. The ork was a creature of pure malevolence, of no benefit or advantage. Humans, though crude and unmannerly, were useful pawns and possessed of an innate spirit to be valued. That they were weak and easily corrupted—in body and in mind—was lamentable, but as a species they were more desirable as neighbours than many others in the galaxy. As he took his seat in the transport for the return to the shrine, Korlandril wondered what he would feel when he killed his first human. The thought gave him doubts concerning his chosen Path. Killing orks was simple extermination; killing humans one might consider a form of murder, albeit of a minor kind. Then he realised the ridiculousness of the question.

He would be wearing his war-mask; he would feel no guilt and remember even less.

Again by Eldar standards this is positively benevolent attitudes towards humans. Orks I can at least understand their hatred - Orks would never coexist - they conquer. Humans aren't very likely to co-exist either.. but they can be reasoned with more easily. Usually. In Eldar terms, humans are a lesser of two evils, and one that can (and has) be manipulated in the past (Eg the pawns angle.)

Again we also see the duality of the War mask and the Eldar without it.. the war Mask takes away the memory/guilt of killing, whilst the Eldar without his mask seems to care more about the issue.

Mind you of course, eldar are all different, and Biel Tan's atittude is.. less benevolent. Despite exceptions like Macha (or if you prefer... Taldeer lol).


Page 244

Though a great number of Alaitoc’s warriors were to stage the attack, there was to be no long engagement with the enemy; it was a human world and would be home to many times the eldar’s numbers. It was imperative that Alaitoc’s warhost did not get drawn into an extended battle, which would risk the extraction of the artefact.

Human planet has "many times" human numbers. This may imply that the Altaic warhost (or indeed entire population) is less than the human world, but not dramatically so. (hundreds of thousands to millions, or millions to billions?) That gives a rough indicator of eldar populations though.


PAge 246

With blasts of white fire, the Fire Dragons’ thermal charges turned the warehouse doors into a river of cooling slag. The Aspect Warriors ducked through the holes created, the red glare of their weapons sending long shadows back into the compound.

Assuming a 5 cm thick door, and a 2 meter by 2 metre hole.. 1-2 GJ to melt the door. CAll it an OoM calc.


Page 246

The Fire Dragons unleashed their fusion guns’ fury, blasts of energy tearing through the flimsy wall. Under the cover of this fire, the Deadly Shadow charged, the occasional las-bolt zinging past them or striking up small clouds of vapour from the floor.

Lasbolts vaporize parts of floor.


Page 246

..Korlandril raised his shuriken pistol and spewed a hail of lethal discs into the doorway, his fire converging with that of the others. Two of the humans fell back, their chests and faces lacerated; the third fired his weapon, catching Kenainath a glancing blow across the right shoulder.

Lasbolt fails to penetrate aspect armor, although it is a glancing lbow. Shuriken fire lacerates humans.



Page 247

Korlandril turned his gaze on another human and activated his mandiblasters. A flurry of shards spat from the pods on either side of his helm and arcs of blue energy lanced out, earthing through his prey’s left eye to send azure coruscations across the blackening skin of the man’s face. He collapsed with smoke trailing from his open mouth and ruined eye socket.

Mandiblasters in action... assuming 3rd-4th degree burns.. (50-100 J sq cm) assume at least 20-40 kj.


Page 248

Korlandril heard panicked shouts to his right and turned to see three more humans trying to clamber out of the window behind him. One fell to a burst of pistol fire from Korlandril, the other two exploded into ruddy clouds of super-heated matter as the Fire Dragons opened fire from the main floor of the warehouse.

Fire Dragon fusion guns again vaporize humans.


Page 248

The Striking Scorpion let his pistol drop to hang from its feed-lanyard and grabbed the human’s hair..

Pistol and sword both have cable/lanyard connections - both to feed power to the weapon as well as to prevent it from being lost in combat.


Page 249

Korlandril switched to his thermal vision to watch the motes of debris settling on the cooling bodies of his slain foes, the dust draping over them like shrouds.

Thermal mode.


Page 250

A headless corpse lay crumpled on the stairs at Kenainath’s feet. A few las-impacts had left craters in the exarch’s armour, wisps of vapour drifted lazily around him.

las-imapcts making craters in exarch armor, but failing to penetrate.


Page 251

Korlandril guessed them to be the quarters of menials; how like the humans to degrade their own kind in an attempt to prove superiority. The true demonstration of civilisation recognised all as individuals, equal and important. An eldar who chose to serve others did so as a means of developing their humility and sense of duty—something that as yet held no appeal for Korlandril.

Eldar vs human civilisation. Eldar treat each other (not neccesairly better) but there is a greater emphasis on equality and value of life. Eldar life is perhaps the least grimdark to live in, ignoring Slaanesh and all that of course.

Also an explanation of why Eldars may take a path of service.. contrasted with humans (EG it is not forced, it is to serve a need of the Eldar as well as to benefit the society as a whole.)


Page 255

As one the Warp Spiders opened fire on the last humans. The muzzles of their weapons flashed with bright blue as gravitic impellers spun into a blur. The air filled with a swirling cloud, indistinct but nebulous. The writhing monofilament wire mesh unleashed by the deathspinners engulfed the humans, slicing effortlessly through skin, flesh and bone. The grey cloud turned red with gore as the humans disintegrated into thousands of miniscule pieces, each small part further sliced and dissected by the streaming wire cloud until only a faint red mist remained.

Warp spider weapons in action.


Page 256

Arhathain reacted quickest, his spear singing across the hall to catch the human in the chest, hurling him bodily through the air. A blink later, several shuriken volleys and laser blasts passed through the air where the man had been. Arhathain beckoned to the spear and it twisted, ripped itself free of the dead human and flew back to his grasp.

Autarch doomspear - returns when thrown. Must be psychically or self-propelled, if it can throw a body backwards on impact like that.


Page 257

With the others, Korlandril descended to the level below. Here they found several dead eldar, armour pierced by bayonets or cracked by las-blast and bullet.

Human bayonets and gunfire did (eventually?) penetrate Eldar armour. Whether guardian or aspect, I dont know.


Page 257

On the right of each departed walked the Mourner in a heavy white veil sobbing and occasionally giving vent to plaintive wails—an eldar who trod upon the Path of Grief. Other eldar of Alaitoc gathered in their thousands to watch the procession, tears in their eyes, memories of the fallen stark and bright in their minds.

Mourners.. Path of Grief. Oh boy.

On the other hand it is kind of touching, because it shows how the Eldar regard each other and the deaths of one of their own, and who wants to be unremembered or unmourned when they die? Also "thousands" of Altaic gathered for the funeral.


Page 266-267

“There is a difference between intellectual acknowledgement and emotional connection. Your sculptures were the product of your actions, not the memory of them. Tell me, Korlandril, what did it feel like to sculpt your first masterpiece?”
...
“There was a sense of achievement, for certain. And release. Yes, definitely a moment of creative release when it was completed. Much like the surge of energy I felt in my first battle.”

...

“You compare acts of creation and destruction. That is not healthy. If you continue in this way, you will remember the joy you felt, and that would signal something very grave indeed.”

“Why do you separate death from life, destruction from creation, in such an arbitrary way?”

“Because creation can be undone, but destruction cannot! You may come to hate a statue that you crafted, and can smash it to a thousand pieces, but the memory of it will remain. It is not so with death. You can never bring back those who have been slain; you cannot grant them the gift of Isha. As the act cannot be undone, the memory must not remain.”

Eldar views on creation vs destruction, and why despite the need for aspect warriors and war masks, the warriors are something of a taboo or even feared/shunned part of society. Again it shows a sort of bitter paradox for eldar life.. they have become a people who despise war and the devastation it causes, yet they must accept and even embrace that side of themselves for sheer survival.. and it costs them.

This also shows why they shun Exarchs despite the Exarchs being important - taking joy in destruction and death, even being skilled at it, runs too close to those things that destroyed Eldar society to begin with, and is ultimately an entrapment that will curse any Eldar who falls into it.


Page

She was laughing, a crystal reader in hand, eyes focussed on its pale display.

Crystal reader.. some sort of PSychic kindle I guess.


Page 279

He paced around the broad steps, looking at the long circles of runes around the central platform, each an Aspect shrine. Some were worn thin by generations of feet, others as bright as the day they had been inscribed. As he circled slowly, he recognised the pattern. The oldest shrines were at the centre, many of them Dire Avengers, Striking Scorpions, Howling Banshees, Swooping Hawks and Dark Reapers. There were duplicates, their runes careful variations of their parent shrines, each moving further from the dais. New runes appeared, of Aspects unknown before—Crystal Dragons, Warp Spiders, Shining Spears. Outwards and onwards the history of Alaitoc’s warrior past spiralled.

On the innermost step, Korlandril stopped. He stood on a Striking Scorpion rune.

Examining it closely, he read its name in the simple curls and curving cross-strokes. Hidden Death. It was unfamiliar, though he was sure he did not know the name of every Aspect shrine on Alaitoc.

Altaioc apparently has countless many Aspect Shrines, many of which are variations on the same aspect - different teaching styles, differnet fighting styles, etc. all of which (including their equipment, shrines, etc.) which exist on the craftworld, and await reawakening. The interesting thign about this (and a subplot from this point on) is the sort of.. inevitability of it. LAtr they even discuss how Korandril becoming an Exarch was a necessity for some future conflict, becuase the Aspect Shrine he would found (and the Exarch he awakens) would serve an important purpose. This agian draws similarities to the Orks - should circumstances dictate it, the Ork psychic gestalt witll drive the creation of neccessary "types" to fufill any givne need (Meks, Doks, etc.) In this same vein, Eldar psychic gestalt might turn an eldar towards becoming an Exarch or aspect warrior, even of a long-dead shrine, to fufill some basic need.

Page 284

Walking around the armour, Korlandril studied it closely. It was heavier than normal Aspect armour, the plates reinforced with additional spines and ribbing overlaid in gold. The craftsmanship was exquisite, every curve and line a harmony of functionality and style.

Exarch armour.



Page 289

Yet, one-by-one the Champions of Khaine fell. Khaine would not relinquish his servants so easily, and kept their spirits, armouring and arming them to continue the war. Though they were as bloody-handed as their master, these warriors also were defeated and fell. Still Khaine would not release them. Despite Khaine’s threats and tortures the Smith-God, Vaul, would forge no more armour and arms for the Bloody-Handed God to rebuild his armies. Khaine would not release his grip on those that had sworn themselves to his cause, and he crushed them together in his iron fist, so that several would fight as one, sharing such weapons as Khaine could spare.

Legends pertaining to Exarchs and such, I believe. Because Khaine/Khorne is a bastard.

Page 295

Others followed the wyches. They wore armour also, not unlike his, though coloured in black and white. He recognised them immediately. Incubi. A perversion of Khaine’s Aspects, debased and immoral. Mercenaries without principle or code.

Dark Eldar Incubi are DE versions of Aspect Warriors, only serving as mercenaries.


Page 296

Kenainath stood in the Chamber of Autarchs with not-Neruidh, Aranarha, Liruieth, Kadonil and Elronihir. Beside the Deadly Shadow exarch stood the former incubi, Bechareth, eyes downcast, demure and silent. He wore a plain white robe from the Halls of Healing, several spirit-aligning gems hung about his person to aid his recovery.

Spirit gems to speed healing. Note that all the Striking Scorpion Exarchs know each other of old, and they all respect and admire one another. They also serve as some sort of council, judge, and the like when it comes to matters of their particular Aspects.


Page 302

Much of the teaching was in the style of the Hidden Death, but in places the stances and strikes were subtly evolved, incorporating Deadly Shadow techniques from not-Korlandril’s experiences.

The Hidden Death desert was the opposite of the dank swamps of the Deadly Shadow, but Morlaniath’s previous lives had been spent in this arid dome and he adapted to the environment without hesitation. He learned afresh what he already knew, the instinct of the residual spirits dwelling within him guiding him effortlessly across the dunes, leading him to the training areas and the tests to put before his acolytes.

Differences between the two aspect shrines.


Page 302-303

Without his armour, he walked across the drifts, comforted by his sense of place and the residual presence of his other selves. They were always there, though speechless, guiding him indirectly, steering him this way or that. The former exarchs were stronger when Morlaniath wore his armour. Nagging doubts and unconscious knowledge were given voice by their spirit stones. Their
counsel was sometimes at odds with Morlaniath’s own inclinations, and even with each other, though all professed a common goal.

At night Morlaniath did not sleep, but instead retreated to his private chamber and donned his armour, to rest his body and commune with his other selves.

An Exarch is in a sense a gestalt entity... possessed by parts of the spirits of prior exarchs whose spirits inhabit and infuse the exarch armour they wear. Thus despite being shunned, they are never truly alone, although they only have a sort of adivsory role in things, the current bearer of the armour has the controlling vote over the body, it seems.

[Connor MacLeod]

And the stirring conclusion to Path of the Warrior.


Page 312

“Others have not seen it, your fresh cataclysm, who are stronger than you. I mustconcur with them, who have trodden the Path, who see further than you.”

“It is such a small thing, whatever it is that Aradryan does.”
...
“Such a tiny ripple, we can barely see it, but a ripple nonetheless. The anarchy of history tells us that momentous events can start from the most humble, the most mundane of beginnings.”

tl;dr: Farseers aren't perfect, and they may miss small ripples (the trees for the forest, so to speak) and I suspect Chaos plays things that way deliberately.


Page 318

Like all autarchs he was strong-willed, determined enough to tread the Path of the Warrior several times without being ensnared by Khaine’s curse. He remembered Arhathain as a young Dire Avenger, and a Howling Banshee in more recent memory.

Autarch defined. More or less a sort of super-Aspect Warrior. Or a multiclassing Exarch without the obsession.


Page 321

The Prince of Pleasure and the Lord of Skulls fought over possession of Khaine’s spirit, for the Bloody-Handed God was a child of both but belonged to neither. Great was the struggle in the remnants of heaven, but neither She Who Thirsts nor the Master of Battle prevailed. When both the rivals were exhausted, they drew up their boundaries and in the calm eye of their wrath Khaine fell into the world of mortals. Here the Bloody-Handed One shattered into many fragments, unable to exist as a whole in the material realm.

...
Though suppressed, his rage lingers on in these fragments, drawn to war and strife, awaiting the time when blood awakens him and his vengeful essence gains form once more.

Legends pertaining to the creation of the Avatars of Khaine. Interesting in that contact with the mateiral realm is what (supposedly) shattered him. Much as a chaos god is composed of all those souls and spirit essences (Daemons and such) that serve and empower him, Khiane seems ot have his component parts as well. What's more, he's tied to both Slaanesh and Khorne.


Page 323

At the centre of that room was a great throne of iron. Upon that throne sat a statuesque figure, twice Morlaniath’s height, its skin fused metal, its eyes black, empty sockets. The immense figure brooded, sucking the light from the throne room, iron fingers in fists, face contorted in a silent roar.

Avatar of Khaine.. at lest the physical form. Twice as tall as an Eldar.


Page 325

They had been brought to the Star-Wreathed Stair, the docks where warships came and went, keeping their taint of blood from ships of peaceful purpose. This was the place where the Aspect Warriors boarded their vessels.
...
...expeditionary forces to uncover rising threats; fleets bent on vengeance for eldar deaths; armies that had destroyed worlds; missions to kill the ignorant and the innocent; warriors sent to slaughter inferior races, whose only crime had been their existence.

The Eldar have separate docks (because of the emotions involved and the stain they can carry) for warships and civilian ships, aand a description of their various roles.

Page 328

..the council of Alaitoc summoned its greatest seers to divine which potential cataclysm was most likely to engulf the craftworld. They studied the runes of Thirianna, ready to listen to her half-formed tale of approaching death. Eyes more ancient than hers scanned the skeins of possibility, following the threads of Aradryan’s life and the interwoven fates of Alaitoc.

...
The rune of the humans blackened when touched and the farseers felt the irrational hatred of mankind directed at Alaitoc.

More detailed farseeing.. and they do discover what the fate holds. The interesting thing is how it is like untangling knots (small wonder they call it a skein) following it from one point to its ultimate conclusion. Even more, the runes give indication of who is involved, and this can be confirmed by reading the emotional/mental/psychic state of the warp (basically the desire of the humans to war on altaioc is, to the Eldar, a giant warning bell... because that thought/emotion manifests tangibly in the warp, and it can be read from the warp.)


Page 331

Chosen from amongst their number, the Young King served as their spiritual leader for five hundred cycles and then passed on his or her crown to another. For most, their rule passed without sacrifice; for a few their reign would end in blood, their spirit offered up to Khaine to breathe life into the metal husk of Khaine’s Avatar.

...

It was not only a great honour to be chosen as Young King—named after Eldanesh’s epithet as a child, though the chosen exarch could be male or female—it was also a promise of release.

To be consumed by the rage of Khaine’s fiery spirit was a release from immortality, one that few exarchs would ever know.

Young King and his/her sacrifice to wake the Avatar. Before I read this novel, I always considered it a grim and brutal aspect of things for the otherwise peaceful eldar... but given its expalnation in this context, I'm forced to reconsider somewhat. Since Exarchs often view their life as a curse, the ability to be "freed" of that in some way, even through the brutality of the Avatar, would indeed be a sort of blessing if looked at the way described above. And in away its not really death, since the Avatar, I suspect, is not much different from a Phoenix Lord or Exarch in how it works (The spirit/essences of those it consumes become part of it.)



Page 338

“I cannot lead them, I will not see this battle, my time here is short.” Kenainath’s voice was barely a whisper. “This body is old, the time of its end draws close, and will pass away. No other comes here. The Deadly Shadow will sleep, waiting for rebirth.”
...
“You need warriors, take on the Deadly Shadow, lead them in battle. They need an exarch, let them be the Hidden Death, with you their exarch.”
...
“It shall be an honour, to lead your warriors, to make them Hidden Death.”

Again there is a cycle of detah and rebirth for aspect shrines, following the cycle of the Exarchs themselves. eventually exarchs die or are killed.. their shrines go dormant and the aspect warriors find new shrines... and the cycle begins again.


Page 339

He had left them ready to bring forth their war-masks; waiting in silent expectation for the Avatar’s coming, along with the dozens of other Aspect Warrior shrines across the craftworld.

Again "dozens" of aspect Shrines on Altaioc.


Page 341

He arched his back and let loose a roar of rage, venting every atom of his hatred, his call joined across the craftworld by thousands of throats.

Thousands of Eldar. Yet again.. going to war.


PAge 344-345

Behind them hovered three Wave Serpents, elegant troop transports coloured in the blue of Alaitoc with purple thorn patterns wreathing across their sleek hulls. Energy vanes crackled with power along their bows, distorting their shapes with a shimmering protective field. Each had a turret sporting shuriken cannons or pairs of brightlances that swivelled watchfully.

Wave Serpent described, including their bow shield.


Page 345

Bright flares of light from crude plasma engines betrayed the positions of the Imperial ships. Ghostlike, the warships of the eldar flitted past, only the shimmer and glint of their solar sails giving them away, their hulls as dark as the void.
...
Trails of fire criss-crossed the starry sky, as missiles and torpedoes streaked across the firmament. The blinding flash of laser weapons flitted through the darkness, while blossoms of brief flame erupted in the void. Squadrons of graceful destroyers tacked effortlessly to bring their weapons to bear while battleships slid gently through the maelstrom, their batteries unleashing salvoes of destruction..

The Space Battle outside Altaioc.


Page 345

An Imperial frigate hove into view, so close that Morlaniath could see its white hull and golden eagle-headed prow.
...
Flashes rippled from bow to stern as it opened fire with deck after deck of guns, the flashes cut through by the searing beams of laser turrets arranged along a crenulated dorsal deck. Alaitoc responded, a storm of lightning and laser leaping from the craftworld’s defence turrets and anti-ship guns.

Offensive laser turrets on a frigate... Altaioc has its own guns to respond with.


Page 346

The eldar ships glimmered with holofields, appearing as shimmering ghosts to open fire before disappearing against the star-filled backdrop. Human void shields sputtered with blue and purple flares as they unleashed bursts of energy to shunt the attacks of the eldar into warp space.

Void shields vs holofields. This marks one of the first novel references to the functioning of void shields (dumping attacks into the warp), but the fact was first noted in Imperial armour 6. This aspect of void shields becomes a Gav Thorpe trademark in virtually all his subsequent novels as well.


Page 346-347

A massive shape loomed through the dome, dozens of armoured doors opening along its side to reveal bristling gun batteries. Defensive fire converged on the cruiser and its shields rippled, dissipating the blasts with actinic flares. Its bow erupted with blossoms of orange and moments later the streak of torpedoes hurtled towards Alaitoc, breaking into hundreds of smaller missiles as they crashed into the craftworld.
..
More salvoes from the cruiser’s gun decks slammed into Alaitoc, crashing against the energy shields that protected the domes. This time the ground did shudder, so close were the impacts of plasma and rocket. The barrage continued for some time and then fell silent, the flare of laser and shell replaced by the small pinpricks of assault craft engines.

Dozens of armoured doors opening to show gun batteries (dozens of gun batteries, multipel guns per battery probably) Torpedoes break into hundreds of submunitions. Plasma and rocket fire from batteries, as well as laser and shell.

Also note that Eldar domes are protected from weapons fire by energy shield.


Page 348

The thrum of the Wave Serpent’s engines filled the cabin as it lifted higher and turned on the spot. There was little sensation of movement save the slight pull of inertia as the transport accelerated, but on internal screens Morlaniath saw the crystal seers skimming past...

Implies that Wave Serpents might have at least partial antigrav.


Page 349

Suddenly deceleration pushed at Morlaniath as the Wave Serpent cornered sharply. He swayed with the momentum, readjusting himself on his haunches to keep his balance.

Or not. It might not be perfect.


Page 350

Morlaniath could hear gunfire; the chatter of barbaric solid-shot weapons, the zip of laser fire and the air-splitting shriek of shuriken ammunition.

humans are using projectile and laser weapons both.


Page 350

Amongst the Guardians glided heavy weapons platforms, their crews close at hand with psychically-linked controls. Brightlances spat blasts of laser, starcannons unleashed torrents of blue plasma and missile launchers filled the air with screaming trails.

Guardian platform heavy weapons.


Page 351

The stunted, thick-limbed enemy were clad in rumpled suits, grey and black camouflage, skull and eagle insignias stitched onto arms and chests, their flat faces hidden behind silver-visored helmets. In fat, gauntleted hands they carried crude laser weapons that fired bolts of red.
...
...grenade dispensers on their thighs showering the humans below with blasts of plasma and shrapnel.

Swooping hawks drop plamsa and frag grenades.. and the human equipment.


Page 352

A flash and a roar at close range heralded a shotgun blast, a moment before a storm of pellets crashed into Morlaniath’s left side, staggering him for a moment. He turned quickly and saw the panicked human trying to load more shells into the gun’s slider, his movements slow and fumbling in Morlaniath’s eyes.

Shotgun blast fails to penetrate exarch armour.


Page 353

The snap of the humans’ lasguns was drowned out by the piercing shriek of the Howling Banshees as they charged again, their masks projecting a psychosonic wave before them. Some of the humans fell to their knees, ears and eyes bleeding, others dropped weapons from numbed fingers or simply collapsed with spasmodic fits.

Even those that were not incapacitated stood in quivering shock, unable to defend themselves as Erethaillin and her warriors closed for the kill, power swords cutting through flak jackets, flesh and bone without resistance.

Howling banshees vs humans in flak jackets... power swords eaisly make short work of them.


Page 356

A shimmering force wall blazed into existence barely a dozen paces in front of Morlaniath and the other squads at the concourse edge of the plaza.
...
Las-bolts and bullets sparked from the force shield, which quivered with each impact but held firm. Morlaniath smiled. The shield wall was not to protect the eldar from attack.
...
The fine tendrils of the infinity circuit within the inner wall of the concourse flickered and then darkened. Deprived of energy, the outer force wall collapsed with a flare of light. Exposed to the ravening vacuum of space..

Craftworld defense systems - operated by the infinity circuit. There are force shields that can section off parts of the craftworld, as well as allow othe rparts to be vented to space.


Page 360-361

The telemetry display close to Morlaniath changed to show a schematic of the conduits and tunnels beneath the docks.

Exarch armor receives telemetry feed form the wave Serpent.


Page 361

The Imperial forces were desperate to gain a foothold into which they could move their heavier materiel. Despite the Alaitoc fleet taking a serious toll of the transports attempting to reinforce the landing zone, with perhaps only one in every three of the human’s craft making fall at the craftworld’s rim, the enemy continued relentlessly. A growing field of burning craft, debris and corpses coalesced around the dock facilities in ponderous orbits, kept close by Alaitoc’s artificial gravity field.

Tanks, troops and armoured vehicles are not the "heavy stuff??" What are they going to bring fucking Ttians on board?

Also, tactically speaking, the leader of the Imperial forces are morons. They have space Marines yet the Marines aren't the fuckign spearhead of the assault, even though this is the sort of warfare they specialize in! This is incompetence of the Tarosian magnitude, right here.


Page 364

There was no need to guess the relative positions of the enemy in the parallel corridor; Alaitoc would lead them to where they were needed.

Key defenders advantage.. not only does the craftworld act to repel the invaders, but the Eldar's psychic connections give them extreme, intimate knowledge of the goings on inside their world.


Page 368

The docks shook with a thunderous impact as a torpedo-like craft smashed through the outer wall to Morlaniath’s left, the nose cone of the boarding vessel surrounded in a red haze of energy. Two more slammed into Alaitoc to either side of the first, sending cracked shards of wall flying across the docks. Light within recesses around the torpedoes’ noses flared and Morlaniath dropped to his belly in an instant, warned by instinct. A barrage of rockets filled the dockside, a mass of fire and smoke trails and deafening blasts that cut through the eldar. Secondary detonations tore apart the human landing craft, creating a fresh storm of shrapnel.

Boarding torpedoes.. firing weapons into the craftwolrd. They also seem to be equipped with power fields for penetration.


Page 369

With morbid curiosity Morlaniath focussed on one, seeing a miniature rocket at least the size of his thumb propelled out of the white light. It hit a Guardian in the leg and punched through the thin armour into flesh. A moment later it detonated with a blossom of bone and blood, ripping the limb apart from the inside.

Astartes Bolter, of course


Page 374-375

“One is coming who will become a greater military leader. In a generation from now, he will lead his forces against the fleet of Alaitoc in the Kholirian system and destroy many of our ships. I have followed his strand. He is most vulnerable here, during this conquest. Extinguish his light now and it will never burn our people.”

“Who is this great leader, a threat to the future, no human lives so long?”

“He is no human,” replied Alaitharin.

Eldar do not consider Astartes to be human.


Page 375

Dart-like shapes appeared over the hills in front of Morlaniath, closing fast: Nightwing fighters. Lasers lanced from their prows, striking the falling drop-pods.

The armour of many shrugged aside the attack, but three exploded into clouds of fire and debris, exploding into parts that burned away into nothing. The Nightwings twisted and fired again, destroying two more.

Bulkier shapes appeared in the twilight, rockets flaring from their wings—the gunships of the enemy. They were high-sided, clumsy craft, laden with weapons. The Nightwings were forced away from the falling pods by the weight of fire as they turned to meet this new threat.

Eldar fighter strafing run.. fighting Thunderhawks I suspect.


Page 378

Harsh light blazed as the Space Marines unleashed the fury of their bolters. Darendir was in their line of fire and was torn apart, fragments of armour and body tumbling down the floor-slope. Morlaniath tossed a handful of small grenades, each exploding into a white-hot cloud of plasma that sent the Space Marines reeling back.

He charged through the dissipating mist...

Plasma grenades,. and bolters tearing apart another Aspect warrior.


Page 378

He lithely twisted aside as the Space Marine tried to bring an armoured elbow down on the exarch’s shoulder, the Teeth of Dissonance cutting into the flexible armour behind the warrior’s left knee.

Flexible armour underlying the rigid plates.


Page 388-389

With a thrum that set the ground shaking, the Cobra opened fire. The air itself screamed as the distortion cannon tore at its fabric, a rent appearing in the air above the closest Space Marine vehicle. The gap widened into a whirling hole framed with purple and green lightning, its depths a swirl of colours and reeling stars. Even at this distance, Morlaniath felt a slight nausea tremble through his body and a burning in his spirit stones. The warp rift tugged at his spirit, immaterial fingers prying into parts of his mind locked away behind barriers learnt as a child. Tempting whispers and distant laughter echoed in the exarch’s thoughts.

The Space Marine tank was dragged to a stop by the implosive energies of the warp hole, its tracks grinding vainly through the soil, smoke belching from its exhausts as the driver gunned the engine in an effort to maintain traction. With a drawn-out creak, the vehicle lifted from the ground, tipping backwards, stretching and contorting as the breach into warp space opened wider. Rivets sprang free and disappeared into the ravening hole, followed quickly by the tangled remains of the gun sponsons. An armoured figure was drawn out of the top hatch and spun crazily into the maw of the warp a moment before the tank slammed upwards and was sucked into the spiralling vortex. With a crack like thunder the vortex closed, sending out a Shockwave that sent a nearby Space Marine transport slamming into a tree with a shower of wood splinters and leaves.

The clearing fell still again as the Cobra’s cannon recharged.

Cobra mounted D-cannon in action.


Page 390

Lascannon blasts flashed across the clearing, shrieking off the Cobra’s curved hull. The superheavy tank lifted again as more power surged along the length of its main gun. Again came the scream of tortured reality and the concussive blast of the warp vortex forming. More than a dozen armoured figures and a pair of troop transports were sucked into the energy maelstrom, their forms thinning and twisting before they disappeared from sight while raw psychic energy forked to the ground from the breach’s undulating rim.

Lascannon fire glances harmlessly off Cobra's superheavy hull.


Page 391

Holofields shimmered and Morlaniath found himself staring up along the giant, slender leg of a Phantom Titan, half again as tall as the lianderin trees.
...
Instead of arms, the immense walker had two elegant guns, each longer than a gravtank. From the Phantom’s right shoulder hung the ribbed barrel of a tremor cannon; from the left a lance-like pulsar.

A flurry of missiles streaked from shoulder-mounted pods either side of the swept dome of the Titan’s head, engulfing the enemy tanks in a curtain of plasma blossoms.

The air shimmered around the vane-like holofield wings splayed from the back of the Phantom, blurring its shape unto a dazzle of fractured images as the Titan took another step forwards. A broad, clawed foot swung gracefully over the clearing to find purchase beside the Cobra, the massive machine’s tread delicate for its size,

They've brought Eldar Titans into play now.


Page 391-392

...the Titan swung its tremor cannon into position, aimed along the left-hand valley slope. Even within his suit, Morlaniath felt a compression of air around him a moment before the weapon fired. A bass growl reverberated in the exarch’s gut, swiftly rising in pitch to a shriek that tightened his throat and set his ears ringing, until it scaled higher, out of the range of even an eldar’s hearing. He traced the path of the sonic pulse by the dancing of air molecules: overlapping sine waves of near-invisible energy that ended in the midst of the advancing humans. Where the line touched, the ground erupted, a huge gout of earth and rock rupturing into a widening crack that zigzagged along the hillside. Tanks shook themselves apart as the beam crossed over them; Space Marines were flattened inside their armour; unarmoured soldiers were torn limb from limb by the disharmonious sonic energy coursing through their bodies.

Tremmor canon in action.


Page 392

There was no respite from the Phantom; more clusters of missiles streamed from its shoulder pods while its pulsar unleashed a glittering salvo of laser energy that tore along the front squadron of tanks, punching through armour, exploding engines and melting the crews inside.

Titan in action again.


Page 393

Morlaniath looked to see the Titan turning away, its outline refracting into a shimmering cloud as the holofield cloaked its movements. In a few strides it was gone, lost past the canopy of the trees.

Titan holofield.


Page 393

He could see red-armoured figures moving between the smoking wrecks and grey-clad soldiers taking up positions in the rents and craters torn into the ground by the Titan’s weapons.

Titan made Astarte-sized craters in teh ground.


Page 394

Morlaniath saw squads of Imperial soldiers digging defensive positions into the hillsides: heaping up the earth to make barricades for trenches and mortar pits; creating semicircular redoubts for their anti-tank weapons; erecting spindly communications masts for their commanders to talk with each other. It was clear that they had abandoned their foolish hope of sweeping away the Alaitocii with a single attack and were now preparing to hold the ground they had taken.
...
“Their minds think in straight lines, seeking grand engagement, counting only in numbers. Our way of war is swift, the fast and fluid strike, not tied to a sole place.

They hope we will attack, throw ourselves on their guns, to drive them out of here. We will be more patient, we have the advantage, Alaitoc is our home. Their presence is fleeting, it cannot be sustained, without food and water. They defend an island, cut off from their supplies, and we will rule the sea.”

Eldar commentary on human tactics.


Page 398

To the left, three of the Imperial walkers advanced quickly through the woods.
...
They were about twice Morlaniath’s height, the leaves brushing the top of the pilots’ open cockpits. Each was armed with a multiple-barrelled weapon that swung back and forth as the driver scanned the trees for enemies.

Sentinels.

Page 399

At the near end of their line stood another walker, different in design from those that had passed earlier. It was almost as tall, but far broader, almost square in shape, painted in the red and white livery of the Space Marines. It was mostly thickly-armoured hull on squat legs flanked by two massive shoulders; from the right a short arm extended tipped with a claw wreathed in crackling energy; from the left protruded a short-barrelled weapon fed by several fuel tanks that reminded Morlaniath—in a very crude and human way—of the fusion guns used by the Fire Dragon Aspect.

Dreadnought.

Page 400

A cluster of spheres arced down into the human soldiers as the Vampires swooped overhead. No mundane detonations rocked the valley: each sonic bomb exploded above the defence lines to send out rippling Shockwaves. The sonic pulses pulverised bodies and barricades—expanding, ethereal globes of devastation swept across the hillside to create a screaming storm of debris. Morlaniath saw soldiers lifted into the air, their fatigues ripped from lacerated bodies. Those at the outer edge of the sonic eruptions fell to the ground with blood streaming from ears, eyes and mouths, crimson seeping from the pores in their skin, bursting from ruptured blood vessels.

Sonic munitions.


Page 401

A Space Marine gunner sitting in a hatch atop one of the transports spotted the Striking Scorpions and heaved around his pintle-mounted weapon. Bright flares streamed towards the squad as the Space Marine opened fire, his twin-barrelled gun spraying explosive bolts. Two rounds streaked past Morlaniath and he heard a scream of pain. Glancing back, he saw Elissanadrin writhing on the ground, right arm missing below the shoulder, a gaping hole in the side of her chest.

Storm bolter fire vs aspect warriors.


Page 402

A bolter shell flashed across Morlaniath’s vision, the flare of its propellant almost blinding him, his helmet lenses polarising to avoid permanent damage to his eyes.

Exarch armour has polarising lenses.


Page 403

With a shout, the exarch hammered the biting blade into the vents of the Space Marine’s power plant backpack. Fractured energy cells discharged their contents in an arc of bluish light, mirrored by a flurry of laser fire from the exarch’s mandiblasters. Coolant hissed in a cloud from the Space Marine’s ravaged armour...

Power armour poerated by energy cells rather than a reactor.


Page 403

...removing the top of the Space Marine’s skull. As the Space Marine collapsed, Morlaniath delivered another burst from his mandiblasters into the exposed brain matter, reducing it to steaming grey slurry.

Mandiblasters obliterating human brain.


Page 405

The Phoenix Lord’s armour was rent open from stomach to throat, but there was no blood splashed, no organs ripped apart. In the gouge, a galaxy swirled; motes of light circled around a central brightness, each a spirit of Karandras.
...
Not-Korlandril was but an atom in the star of Morlaniath, and Morlaniath nothing but a star in the whole galaxy that was Karandras. Countless essences, endless voices drifted slowly together.

Spirits from across the galaxy, of warriors born on every craftworld in every age, and the spirit-parts that made them, and the memories of those other spirits that had touched them, stretching out, far out into the infinity of the universe, all connected, all brought together in this one body.

Morlaniath fragmented, became his parts, each seeping away into the glitter of the Phoenix Lord’s essence.

...
Not for them the lifein- death of the infinity circuit. Not for them the ravages of She Who Thirsts. Here they would end, truly and forever.

The nature of a phoenix lord... a step up from exarchs.. its an entity that doesnt evne have a body.. its just an animate suit of Wraithbone with countless souls inside it. and Korlandril/Moraniath gets sucked in to heal/revive the Phoenix Lord.


Page 408

Karandras pulled himself to his feet, his armour fusing the wound that had allowed his energy to escape. The Phoenix Lord looked down at the empty suit of the exarch that had given him this new life. He felt nothing of the eldar that he had been. There were no memories, save his own. There was no spirit, save the one he had been born with.

DON'T REVEAL THE SURPRISE ENDING. Basiclaly a Phoenix Lord can heal itself if an Exarch sacrifices itslef to do so. Rather like an Avatar of Khaine, don't you think?

[Connor MacLeod]

Decided I'll skip through the Eldar stuff quick... I'd like to cover it more as its rare to have Eldar stuff but.. I'm trying to gear up to starting to cover other stuff. So I'm still picking up the pace a bit.

Path of the Seer is the middle novel of the series, dealing (obviously) with the Seer Path - Warlocks, seers, and farseers. Its more interesting than Path of the Warrior as it deals with farseeing and precognition and the warp, but its basically a retelling of the same events of the first novel from a slightly different perspective, which also makes it a bit predictable. Also, I just found it hard to like Thirianna as a character, and stuff i learned here (or in the last book) hardly reinforced that belief.


Single update involved in tow parts. Part 1 here

Page 12

... the Striking Scorpions' pistols spitting hails of molecule-thin discs...

Again 'molecule thin' shuriken weapons. This probably helps them with both penetration and cutting down air resistance,


Page 12

Another fusillade of monomolecular discs filled the air as a human guard clumsily burst into the hallway, his padded armour ripped and bloody in a heartbeat.

Shuriken fire vs what is, I suspect, flak.


PAge 20

Picturing the edges and curves of the rune overlaying the facets and contours of the crystal, Thirianna started to move her hand. Light flowed between stylus and shard. Molecules rearranged, forming a design of shifting colours in the heart of the crystal. Her hand moved back and forth, left and right, shaping the poem-design in glimmering rainbow.

Poetry crystal.. some form of Eldar writing medium, seems to be based on light and like all things controled psychically. Gives an indicator of how their writing tech is handled.


Page 22

She opened a drawer and pulled out the pigment-comb. Its teeth were a haze of blue, which shifted to glittering silver. Thirianna's lustrous black hair changed to white as she ran the pigment-comb through her long locks. With deft movements, she picked out two stripes of blue to frame her face. She completed the transformation with a swift touch of an iris-petal to her eyes, turning them from bright green to dark blue.

Eldar cosmetics. While it doesnt add much in a technical sense it is still interesting I think, since it speaks to their fashions, their society, and the mundane sorts of possessions they use and have. Overall, Eldar society on craftworlds seems to be one of the most positive and optimistic in 40K.


Page 22

The small tri-winged craft spun up to the docking lock of the dome in which Thirianna lived, gravitic vanes trembling in the fluctuating field of Alaitoc's artificial gravity as she boarded.

Star-runner. Flying vehicle inside the craftwolrd.


Page 24

His slender frame was draped in an open-fronted robe of shining silk-like gold, his neck and wrists adorned with hundreds of molecule-thin chains in every colour of the spectrum ..

Molecular jewelry I suppose.


Page 25

Though the Poet and the Artist were close Paths, they were not trodden for the same reason. The Artist sought inspiration, to be utterly open to all influence from outside in order to render the universe into his work. The Poet was about reflecting the universe, using it as a mirror to examine oneself and one's feelings. The first was extrovert, the second introvert...
...
His humour, his laugh, had been taken away when he had chosen to tread the Path of the Steersman..

A bit more on Eldar Paths.


PAge 49-50

Thirianna was greeted by a thrum of recognition from the infinity circuit interface in her main chamber. Placing a palm onto the smooth slate, she allowed her consciousness to touch upon the energies of Alaitoc. Thirianna's thoughts touched with an after-echo of Aradryan's presence; he had come to her apartment seeking her.
...
Thirianna decided on the latter course and meshed with the infinity circuit again, seeking the signature of Aradryan.
...
Through the infinity circuit, she touched upon his thoughts, gently gaining his attention. In a moment they had exchanged feelings of greeting and conciliation and came to an understanding; Aradryan would wait for her amongst the storefronts and arcades and she would join him shortly.

The infinity circuit serves as a great many kinds of information and communications functions aboard a craftworld.


Page 62-63

He tugged at the fingers of his glove, removing it to reveal a hand that glittered like a diamond. The skin was transparent, slightly edged like a shaped gem, and within shining flashes of colour hinted at veins and capillaries and muscle. He held it up to the light of the dome, each fingertip sparkling like a star. He wiggled his fingers and laughed quietly. "To tread the Path to its furthest end, to become a Farseer, is to resign oneself to a different fate. We do not join with the infinity circuit; we become it!"
...
"Does it hurt?" she asked.
"Not at all," replied Alaiteir. "It is quite pleasant in a way. It is not the changing of the flesh that I warn against, but the hardening of the spirit. When a farseer becomes part of the infinity circuit his mind is wholly intact. Not for us the half-limbo of the physically dead, dimly aware of the fate that has befallen us. Consciousness is retained, an eternity ahead to spend without form stretched across the reaches of the skein."

Farseers and their transformation into crystal. This seems to imply they become a phtysical part of the structure holding all the other souls of the Eldar - some sort of controlling/guiding force.


Page 71

"Where do you put that rage you feel when someone angers you? What do you do with the hatred that burns inside when you think upon all that we have lost? You have not learnt to control these feelings, merely ignore them. Becoming one with Khaine, assuming one of his Aspects is not about confronting an enemy, it is about confronting ourselves. We should all do it at some time in our lives."

This makes the Eldar Path system, indeed the Path of the Warrior, sound like some sort of psychological coping mechanism. Which given the nature of the Eldar and the nature of the warp, makes some sense.


Page 77

"You know that it is unwise to become trapped in ourselves. Our lives must be in constant motion, moving from one Path to the next, developing our senses of self and the universe. To over-indulge leads to the darkness that came before. It attracts the attention of… Her. She Who Thirsts."

More on the importance of the Paths.


page 79

She caught glimpses of life in the infinity circuit; a world of colour and sound and light. She saw also beyond the veil, peering at snippets of the realm of the purely psychic. Since she was a child she had been taught to raise barriers against that world, to protect herself and others against the creatures that lingered within.

It was a hard habit to break and she could not open anything more than a chink in her psychic defences to let in the vibrant minds of the crystal seers. Just as she glimpsed something interesting, instinct would snap her away, moving her thoughts elsewhere, throwing up defences against the psychic intrusion.

Eldar learn to shield their minds from the warp (or from detection) at an early age, it seems.


Page 83

"I delve deeper along the skein than my companions. I examine with the narrow eye that which attracts the attention of their broad gazes."

This speaks to a specialization amongst Seers and Farseers.. you have the 'broad' and the 'narrow' which involves trading scope for depth/detail.


Page 84

"I do not remember." said Kelamith. "The thread has gone. My presence here has assured that."
"You do not remember?" Thirianna said. "Only a moment ago you spoke about it."
"And a moment ago it ceased to be a possibility and thus never existed." said Kelamith. "One cannot remember a thing that has not existed."

An indicator of the effect that probability perceptiona nd manipulation has on Farseers


Page 85

"We all possess the ability to unleash the power of our minds in amazing ways, child," said Kelamith. "Whether it is in the shaping of a thought or the mastery of the deadly Aspect arts, our mind is our most powerful tool. We suppress that power to ward away the dangers such ability will bring, but as a seer you must embrace it."

All the tasks, the Paths they follow, are tied into their psychic abilities, even aspect Warriors. The Aspect seems to act as a channel and outlet for that power in a safe manner as well.

It mentions farseers need to cast aside the barriers they're traied to use in order to be what they are. The runes become their defence.


Page 86

"In the skein there is nothing. There are no names and there are no beings. This is where the mind originates. There is the mind but nothing is physical. Forms obtain the mind and thoughts are created. This is called Passing. In the not-yet-formed the skein divides and splits but there is no time passing. This is called Being. There is an energy that gives life to all things, allowing form to obtain mind and create thought. Forms that create thought share in this energy. This is called Life. Let slip Life, and become Being. Let slip Being and become Passing. Let slip Passing and become Mind. Become Mind and be one with the skein."

A ritual phrase tied to the art of seeing/farseeing.


Page 87

She found herself in a realm of light and movement. She could see the flicker of other eldar around her, like candles in twilight. A tracery of white, the infinity circuit, linked every other light together, stretching on without horizon into the impossible distance.
Energy flowed along the maze, back and forth, surging and ebbing, binding everything together with its movement, linking the eldar with one another.

And beyond.

Beyond was something even more spectacular, defying rationalisation. Beyond were the constantly shattering panes of existence; the overlapping planes of destiny; the interwoven threads of fate. The present surrounded Thirianna, but just out of reach was the future, and in the darkness behind was the past. Every life, every thought, every movement, every motive, every emotion, weaving together in a dazzling tapestry of cause and effect. It branched out, splitting and dividing like cells, spawning entire new universes and possibilities with every passing moment.
This was the skein, and it was beautiful.

The Skein.


Page 90-91

"Once the shackles have been loosed from our thoughts it is easy to look at the skein. The skill comes in understanding it; in seeing only a part and choosing a singular thread to follow. Any fool can look at the mass of the future, but a seer must separate the detail from the noise, the important from the unimportant."

Farseeing.


Page 93

She could feel the flutter of the engineers touching upon the infinity circuit as they tended to the star-sails gathering energy from the dying sun. With another part of her mind she could witness them at their stations, making gentle adjustments to the massive solar collectors to maximise their efficiency.

Craftworlds are running on solar power, I guess.


Page 94

There were several dozen of them, clustered in groups each a handful strong. They appeared as tiny creatures, each group occupying the area of a fingernail. Yet there was immense power contained in their miniscule forms. Looking even more closely, she saw tiny clawed legs splaying across the threads of energy and she realised she looked upon the warp spiders from which the Aspect Warriors of the same name drew inspiration.
Each warp spider raced along the infinity circuit's threads, dozens of legs moving faster than thought. They rode upon the pulses of energy, then dashed back to the core before the next, heaved out on the tide of psychic power before returning to the hub.
...
Created to guard the infinity circuit from malign presences, the warp spiders quickly realised that Thirianna was no foe and relaxed their guard.
...
The warp spiders were like a psychic tickle running through her mind, each a particle of purity and happiness that left a warm trail where it touched her, criss-crossing her memories and thoughts with tiny footsteps.

The experience was cleansing, the warp spiders feeding on tiny shreds of negative energy that leaked from Thirianna's deepest fears and worst emotions; fears and emotions kept locked away in the recesses of her mind but never wholly secured.

The Warp Spiders. They seem to behave like psychic scrubbing bubbles.


Page 111

Something was subtly different. With a mixture of surprise and happiness, Thirianna realised that it was the witchblade that moved her, teaching her its unique style of fighting, directing her limbs and body in the way of war imbued within the weapon.
...
An age ago the witchblade had been given its purpose and now it had another vessel through which it could act.
She allowed her mind to drift from its anchors as she had learnt with the infinity circuit. Mind detached from Being, Being detached from Form, leaving her as a single moving entity of pure thought. The sword was no less a part of her than an arm or a foot or even her heart. Its edge shone bright as Thirianna allowed herself to be drawn into the blade, her own essence powering its lethal energies.

Warlock Witchblade.


Page 112-113

"You are a seer now, a mystic with limbs not made of flesh. The sword is not of your form but it is now part of your being, linked to you by the power of mind. You are bound together, sharing your travels along the skein."

Thrianna practices with her Witchbalde, trying to psychically draw it to her hand.. a form of TK.


PAge 114

"In the time it takes your thought to move to your arm, to your fingers, to your knee and toes, I can have five thoughts."

Psychic 'reflexes' seem to be 5x faster than physical ones in Eldar, at least for a skilled Seer/Farseer.


Page 114

She reached out towards the witchblade. She did not will it into her grasp, did not visualise its movements. She simply desired it in her hand so that she could swat away the annoying runes.

With a screech, the witchblade flew from the rug and slapped into Thirianna's open fingers. She closed her hand quickly and turned on her heel, looking to knock the runes out of the air.

Instinctive rather than conscious action.


Page 117

He was dressed in a tight-fitting suit of greens and blues that were constantly shifting, masking his form. It was a holo-suit, frequently used by rangers, though there was no sign of the heavier cloak or coat that such eldar usually wore.

Rangers wear 'holo suits' for camo as well as the cameleoline.


Page 120

Inside was a rune, shaped from silvery-grey wishstone. It was the mark of the Dire Avenger, a small souvenir she had kept from her time as an Aspect Warrior. She was not sure why she had taken it. It had once hung from the grip of her shuriken catapult and in a moment of foolishness or sentimentality she had brought it with her when she had quit the Path of the Warrior.

I guess sometimes objects can be 'taken' as reminders of their time in an Aspect. Possibly even helmets


Page 126

Around the main webway tunnel other passageways were forming - temporary creations that delved through space directly to the surface of Eileniliesh. Thirianna could see rangers moving on foot through these ad-hoc tunnellings, followed by squads of Striking Scorpions.

temporary webway tunnels


Page 127

Immediately, Thirianna ventured a portion of her mind into the skein and felt a familiar-yet-different sensation. Eileniliesh, like all Exodite planets, possessed a world spirit that ran through large parts of its crust. It seemed to Thirianna to be a locked, barren place in comparison to the throng of the infinity circuit, barred to her entry. For the briefest moment she was aware of the entire world, her mind spanning continents, flowing along gushing rivers, soaring between mountain peaks and delving into deep caverns.

Exodite world spirit.


Page 131

Ahead of the main force, vague flitters of movement in the shadows showed the progress of the rangers, Aradryan most likely amongst them. They carried with them psychic beacon-markers that would enable the squads still in the webway to create openings in the heart of the town and launch the first wave of attacks against the orks.

use of psychic beacons to permit teleport attacks


Page 139

...the battle was a microcosm of the whole skein. Every bullet and shuriken, every sword blow and axe swing created uncertainty and possibility, the future branching out so quickly that it was impossible to follow every thread. Shadowing Kelamith, Thirianna observed how the farseer used his runes to seek out the pivotal moments, following the course of the Avatar, the ork warlord, the autarch, individual exarchs. Through these means, sense could be made of the senseless. The white noise of destruction gave way to specific detail and vivid scenes.

The skein during battle.


Page 141

Reality and possibility flashed together, creating a near-instantaneous flow of images in Thirianna's mind. With her eyes she saw more than a dozen orks pouring from an adjoining room; with her thoughts she saw the ork next to her blazing a hail of bullets into her chest.

She leapt to the right as the ork opened fire, its shots spewing wide of their mark.

Gunfire evasion.


Page 142

... she stumbled forwards as something crashed into her back. Her rune armour crackled with energy as she spun around to face her attacker. She had been too occupied by warning the others to foresee the blast of the ork's pistol into her back.

Rune armour resists ork pistol fire


Page 142

... Kelamith said nothing as he turned away, directing the tip of his staff towards more orks lumbering through a doorway to his left.
Psychic lightning crackled.

The closest ork exploded into a mist of vaporising blood and bone dust. The one behind it was engulfed in flames as its padded jacket caught fire, fat bubbling away, muscle charring. A third juddered uncontrollably, finger tightening on the trigger of its gun, sending a hail of rounds into the back of another green-skinned brute.

Kelamith's psychic attack vs several Orks. MJ range at least, and quite possibly GJ range depending on mass and context of vaporisation (explosion or cremation)


Page 145

The Avatar strode towards the fray, spear keening madly. The war god's incarnation hurled its rune-etched blade into the approaching orks, the burning tip of the Wailing Doom ripping through half a dozen aliens in a bloody arc before returning to the Avatar's hand.

Wailing doom can be thrown and return to the Avatar's hand.


Page 147

Thirianna's rune armour flared as bullets hammered into her from the left. She winced at the shock of their impact, unhurt but startled by the unexpected storm of fire. There was simply too much happening to pre-empt every enemy action.

Rune armour deflects gunfire Thirianna cannot precog-dodge.


Page 147

Kelamith came to her assistance, casting a serpentshaped rune into the air above the orks. A whirling apparition appeared out of the night sky, a burning snake that enveloped a handful of orks in flaming coils.

One of Kelamith's other attacks.


Page 147-148

Darkness fell upon the skein, blinding Thirianna's othersight. A torrent of brutish rage pummelled her thoughts, crushing her mind. A wave of cataclysmic energy engulfed her, accompanied by a psychic roaring that swamped all other sensation.

...
Thirianna delved into the skein, trying to find out why she had not detected the ork psyker earlier. She was swamped again by a deluge of orkish brutality, like a mental war shout that drowned out everything else. Like a volcano erupting, the psychic ork was a detonation of power, shredding the skein with its presence, blotting out everything else.

Ork psyker manages to basically 'jam' Thirianna's senses through the raw WAAAGH/Ork psychic power. I suspect this wouldn't work without the chaos of combat and deaths and the general disruption to the warp/skein that this would engender normally. It's also a rather more blunt, unsubtle way to block precog - something you might expect orks (or humans) to do, whereas Eldar (or Tzeentchian daemons) might use subtlety to misdirect.


Page 149-150

..Monstrous winged shapes dropped down from the clouds, silhouetted against the setting moons. Blasts of multicoloured lasers stabbed into the orks as the Exodite dragon riders plunged into the attack.
Thirianna felt a surge of awe when a chorus of ground-shaking bellows reverberated through the town as more of the Exodites' war-beasts entered the battle. Gigantic forces of nature harnessed by the Exodites, the immense reptiles thundered across the plaza towards the orks. With laser lances and fusion pikes....
...
Some of the Exodites were mounted on bipedal, predatory lizards with dagger fangs and slashing claws. Armed with pistols and blades, the Exodite knights slashed into the retreating orks, striking and withdrawing continuously. Other eldar crewed heavier weapons in howdahs upon the backs of gigantic reptiles. Pulses of white fire and burning lasers strobed through the orks, cutting down a score in one salvo. The dragons soared above, their riders raining down more las-fire and showers of plasma grenades.

Exodite warriors. Like the Feral orsk or the Kroot, they seem to blend high technology with the primitive (their dragon mounts, which aren't exactly 'weak'...)


Page 157

The infinity circuit did not stop at the webway portal, but continued along insubstantial threads woven into the energy of the webway itself. Freed from crystal conduit and psychic lattice, the infinity circuit became a hazy fluctuation of energy that dispersed into the fabric of the webway tunnels.

It made sense, Thirianna decided. Though in many ways the webway was a physical thing, a tunnel that delved between the warp and the material universe, it was just as much a psychic construct. It was fixed in places, but for the most part was a shifting, ephemeral thing, its gates linking the distant, moving craftworlds together.

She had not considered such a thing before, or the implication of it. The webway was more than just a means of travel, it was the interstellar link between the surviving craftworlds, powered by and powering them in equal measure.

This is interesting for a great many reasons. For one thing, it can explain the 'self aware' nature of the webway - its ability to grow, adapt, repair itself or even defend against intrusions. It also explains things like the fate of Draco in chaos Child (becoming part of the webay). I imagine it might also serrve as an alarm/warning system to those who inhabit it (Harlequins and the Phoenix Lords).

Secondly, given that the Infinity circuits act as both a power source, communications system, and even sensor system, it means that each individual craftworld is not limited to just the infinity circuits of their own worlds, but of all craftworlds linked to the webway - that means they can potentially draw upon far more power, as well as gather information from/communicate with any other point in the webway almost instantly - that can be as tremendous an asset as the rapid transit capability of the webway itself.

It is also quite likely that having the infinity circuits linked like that greatly amplifies the individual power - something that is quite possible with psychic activity of many kinds (astropathic and sanctioned psyker groupings for example.)

Lastly, I suspect that the linked webway represents a facet in the whole attempt to create Ynnead the god of the dead - having all the souls connected to the webway like that makes it far easier for that entity to gestate and 'awaken'. It might also explain how the Laughing God survives (the Harlequins have a strong connection to the webway, and the Laughing God supposedly fled there during the Fall.)

I also suspect that since every Craftworld is linked to each other via the webway in this manner, this means the Avatars of Khaine are all connected. This explains things like Shadow Point, where the Avatar of Khaine on one craftworld was awakened by need and travelled to a place it was needed of its own volition, without need for a sacrifice. In this context, I would say Khaine is 'alive' in a sense, but fragmented into his individual components - in the sense that every Chaos God is a gestalt of many individual soals, warp spirits/daemons, etc.

Thirianna manages to separate herself form her body and travel along the webway - even to the point of getting lost.


Page 158

Edging closer, a little fearful of the power sustaining the webway, Thirianna saw that there were smaller portals, extending from other parts of the craftworld. In theory she had known about such things; to be part of them was a different experience entirely. Many of the older Aspect temples had small webway doors; there were likewise others that led to the Chamber of the Autarchs; the private residences of Alaitoc's oldest families had openings erected in the times before the Fall. Many were little more than vestigial passages, cut off and defunct, their purpose now forgotten or unnecessary. Some were still active but locked, barred by psychic shields and rune-forged barriers. She veered away from these, knowing that they had been closed for good reason. Like the Mirror of Nandriellein, they were tainted forever, doomed to betray any that used them.

Smaller/separate 'webway portals', some of which seem to be damaged or corrupted.


Page 159

She felt a tremor of life as the portal opened and a ship passed into the webway, bringing its own miniature version of the infinity circuit. Spirit stones at the heart of the starship sent out psychic tendrils, their feathery touch on the webway moving through Thirianna as the ship accelerated away from Alaitoc towards its unknown destination. The crystalline matrix within the ship drew energy and information from the structure of the webway, becoming part of its psychic construction whilst its physical form remained distinct.

Ship in the webway. Like the craftworlds, they all seem to share a sort of connection with it, which makes a bit of sense as well (probably facilitates the navigation as well as providing the propuslion/communications.)


Page 160

Thirianna chose one at random and swooped along it, breaking free from her worries as she broke free from the psychic well of her home.
Here it was truly lifeless.
The coldness of the void between stars permeated the webway's walls, dissipating its energies. As Thirianna moved on, she encountered patches of resistance, areas of thinness in the fabric of the webway where the physical universe was trying to encroach upon the framed space created between realities.
...
..but became aware of the frailty of the infinity circuit along certain stretches.
...
It was not just the material world that could break into the webway; the warp also exerted its own pressures on the structure, and where it was breached, the denizens of that immaterial realm could enter.

The Webway seems to be caught halfway between realspace and the warp, and interacts with both to varying degrees. This 'midway' interface seems to exert pressure from both warp and realspace on the ship, which in a way makes sense, there is a sort of tension/distortion created by warp gates that are opened as I recall (the damage mechanism of vortex and D-cannons, as well as the release of energy.)

IT also goes without saying that the webway in this context echoes Tau ether drive in some respects - it probably is that same tension that 'forces' it back into realspace eventually (the 'dive')


Page 162

There was something else though, bending the skein with its weight, distorting the webway. Thirianna could not sense it directly; whatever it was had a masking field around it, shielding it from detection. It was only by its effect on the nearby strands of the webway that it could be located, like a glass lens that can only be seen because of the light passing through it.

Thirianna had a suspicion that she knew what it was: a reality pocket. A piece of the material universe had been wrapped up in the fabric of the webway, hidden from both the mortal and immortal realms. There were many reasons for such pockets to exist, and most of these webway sanctuaries pre-dated the Fall.

The obvious examples of this are the Dark Eldar cities inside the webway like Cormorragh, but I suspect that they aren't the only ones who use them (although whether any Craftworld or Exodites do it, we don't know.) - Corsaris and Outcasts are one possibility, as well as the Harlequins.

Also we see that objects can have a gravity-like influence on the warp which can be 'detected' - (spacetime being distorted by the presence of objects, which supposedly creates gravity.)
One imagines that the interactions of these two distortions (in realspace and the warp) are what cause inaccuracies in a warp jump (Being off target) as well as the dangers in opening warp portasl too close to a star or other celestial body. It may also be another source of the 'tension' between realspace and the warp which affects objects passing through warp portals or acts on the webway itself - we do know that objects in the warp can be detected from realspace and objects in realspace can be 'viewed' by the influence they have on the warp in some manner.


Page 171

Trailing crystalline threads, the warp spiders descended upon the webway, tens of thousands of the tiny creatures. In a pale wave they swept over the daemons, miniscule mandibles biting deep, covering the creatures from clawed feet to crested scalps. The daemons fought back, slashing with their claws, raking great furrows in the mass of the white guardians.

More figures appeared from the gloom, shining white silhouettes bearing swords and spears. As blazes of pure light they struck into the daemons, shattering them, leaving blossoms of fading sparks as they cut and slashed at the immaterial creatures.

The warp spiders are the obvious defense mechanism involved, but I'm not sure what the white silhouttes are.. are they part of the webway defenses? Are they spirits from the infinity circuit? We know eldar spirits can act as guardians (like of the temple holding the daemon in Ragnar's Claw), but its also possible they are constructs made by Kelamith (or at least guided by them.) They may even be actual eldar.


Page 174

"The eternal matrix?" said Thirianna. She had not heard the phrase before.
"It is the realm that binds together the infinity circuits of all the craftworlds, part of the webway and part of something else,"
explained Kelamith. "It is as close to the unbound skein as any artifice of ours can be, made of the raw stuff of the ether."

The eternal matrix is the name for what Thirianna discovered earlier. It speaks to a higher level of organization or greater 'plan' linking the Eldar in some way. Or maybe this was something of the Great Old ones the ancient Eldar built upon.


Page 179-180

"Until now, you have acted as your own anchor. As you experienced in your time upon the eternal matrix, there are limits to our power while confined by our bodily conduit. To see further, to wade further into the sea of knowledge, we must lay before us beacons to follow. In this way we can follow their direction far out into the future, but be assured of the direction home."
...
"The runes are our beacons, our stepping stones into the distance," he continued. "Until now you have used your mind and body to channel the power of the skein, and there are limits to what we can withstand. The runes provide new avenues of exploration. If you think of the barriers between reality and the future as a wall, the runes open new gates for us to pass through. Each has its own specific purpose, opening up new vistas beyond that wall and guiding our minds to their destinations. They also act as a valve, ensuring that the power we tap into does not overcome us, shielding our thoughts from She Who Thirsts."
...
"Each rune increases our power." said Thirianna.

"In a way," replied Kelamith. "In themselves they contain no power, but they enable us to channel more psychic energy. It is a balance. To control a number of runes requires considerable mental dexterity and focus. At first, we begin with a single rune."

Eldar runes and their uses, both as beacons and as a means of safely tapping warp power. It echoes the ways of warp navigation (by 'beacons') in a way, but also echoes various means by which warp power can be indirectly tapped (Weirdboyz tapping into the psychic gestalt of all Orks, or soul-binding/sorcery.)

I've also heard of runes being used as sort of psychic 'circuit breakers' which is another possible way to describe them. I suspect they give a osrt of idea of how any psy-enhancing damping/enhancing tech may work, although in the case of the Imperium it is doubtless more crude. The Eldar always favor finesse over brute strength and they take the time out to develop it.


Page 180

"We all begin with the same," said Kelamith. "The rune of Self. Our personal rune. It is our incarnation upon the skein and no runecraft is possible without it."

quite literally the foundation of Eldar runecraft.


Page 183-184

Gleaming lights shone from the ivory-coloured wraithbone, illuminating every part of the ship-to-be. It was the first time she had seen such a vessel under construction and it took her breath away.
..
It was a large vessel, though by no means the largest, stretching for half of the hangar's length. The scale was only brought home to her when she saw the tiny figures on the gantries surrounding it. Though she was not well versed in such things, it looked to Thirianna that the bulk of the work had been completed. The dorsal structure and splay of curving spars towards the prow put her in mind of a shark, front-heavy but delicately poised. The riblike spurs shortened towards the stem before they abruptly widened into a three-finned tail. Looking up, she could see the massive round apertures where the solar sails would be fitted and in the unlit gloom above she caught the glitter of the panels ready to be lowered into place.

As much as Thirianna saw the starship, she could feel it as well. The wraithbone pulsed slowly with psychic power, barely registering against the background of the infinity circuit, but with its own distinct timbre. The skeletal structure nestled on a cradle of crystalline towers, connecting it to Alaitoc, feeding it the power of the craftworld.

Thirianna studied the details, recognising some of the fluted work along the sides of the fuselage as settings for gun batteries. It was a warship, and the knowledge brought a hint of menace to the entire affair. She imagined the laser turrets and plasma accelerators that would be fitted...
...
The eldar working on the slender gantries and scaffolding were dressed in light tunics and tight-fitting bodysuits. They were implanting crystal nodes and gem-like energy studs into the wraithbone, coaxing the psychoplastic to accept the jewels with whispered words and intricate gestures.

bonesinger starship construction.


Page 188-189

"To see the future is a powerful ability," said Kelamith, after the two had exchanged their formal greetings. "Yet it is a transient thing compared to the ability to learn from the past. It is in the understanding of past, present and future that true knowledge lies. The past informing the present, the future judged on events that have passed. Without seeing the past and the present, the future lacks context and becomes a meaningless barrage of possibilities."
...
"We each have our memories, preserved for eternity. We can consult records, to witness the decisions and conclusions of our predecessors. These are valuable sources of knowledge, but the infinity circuit provides us with another."
...
"Until now you have only looked forwards upon the skein." he told Thirianna. "You know that time is not a fixed point, but a seamlessly unrolling stream of cause and effect. Upon the skein, we can not only seek that which will happen, but also that which has already happened."

Another, and probably not as frequently considered, aspect of Eldar farseeing.. looking backwards to finding things out as well as forwards. It allows the Eldar (or at least the Seers) to gain perspective form other points of view (such as other eldar) to feel their thoughts, and feelings, and the like. Indeed, the infinity circuit's ability in this regard is that it is a vast repository of knowledge, thoughts, emotions and experiences of every eldar up to this point, and that much accumulated knowledge and experience cna have quite a bit of value.


Page 195

The heavy weapons of the grav-tanks opened fire, lances of laser energy converging on the emerging phalanx of artificial warriors. Gold-coloured bodies were shattered, robotic limbs sent whirling through the air.

Falcon grav tank lasers open fire and destroy Necron warriors in single shots.


Page 195

The emerging necrontyr paid no heed to their casualties. Indeed, those warriors that had fallen still possessed a spark of life. Some crawled onwards, others paused to reassemble their broken bodies, the strange metal of their construction flowing and churning as legs and arms and heads were reattached.

Necron durability.

[Connor MacLeod]

Part 2

Page 196

Like puppets controlled by a single hand, the necrons turned as one and levelled their weapons. Blinding green energy flared, rippling through the Aspect Warriors. Mythrairnin felt fear tugging at her as she saw a Howling Banshee struck by one of the beams. The energy pulsed through the unfortunate Aspect Warrior, stripping away her armour, then her flesh, then her bones, disintegrating her into nothing in a matter of moments.

Effect of Necron fire upon the Eldar.


Page 196-197

With an angry shout, Mythrairnin aimed her shuriken catapult and fired at the necron warriors. Her hail of fire caught one of the artificial soldiers in the chest, slashing through metal in an explosion of sparks. The necron stumbled and fell on its face.

Mythrairnin turned her attention to another and fired again, but no sooner had she let loose another burst than the first warrior was pushing itself to its feet again, surrounded by a nimbus of unnatural light. Its glassy eyes flared menacingly as its ruined torso rearranged, the discs of the shurikens spat from its reforming metal flesh to fall to the ground.

Mythrairnin fired again, and again, and again, as did the rest of her squad. Under the barrage of fire, the necrontyr were knocked down time and again. With each volley, those foes who recovered grew fewer.

Shuriken fire vs Necrons. It seems rate of damage vs rate of repair attrition type damage.


Page 198

Another section of gleaming metal slid away to reveal an immense hangar-like space. From the darkness emerged a terrifying apparition, glowing with green energy. It looked like a cross between a building and a warrior, a huge construct with a dozen heads and batteries of weapons set about a complex, ever-shifting geometric core.
The necrontyr war machine loomed over the battlefield, sheathed in a baleful glow that warded away the blasts of bright lances and scatter lasers. An orb at its centre spun faster and faster, crackling with energy that crawled along arcane circuitry to the blisters of the weapons turrets.
With a blinding flash, green lightning arced down upon the eldar army, shredding tanks and Aspect Warriors in a barrage of pyrotechnic destruction. Whole squads were vaporised in a heartbeat. Falcons exploded or were sheared into small pieces or crashed into the ruins of the city.

It seems the Necrons have their own Titan analogues as well.


Page 212

The rune acted as an amplifier, adding power from the skein to Thirianna's innate psychic energy. With this, the seer reached out across the room, picking up several objects from the tables and shelves: a brush, a necklace, her discarded bag and a small bust of Asuryan. Thirianna's eyes flickered from one to the other as she moved them around the chamber, delicately placing each one in a new position.
...
Thirianna set her mind to the task of examining the cloth scrap at the smallest level, passing into its weave, down to the individual molecules of the material. She set the atoms dancing, agitating them with the power of her thought, exciting the air molecules around the cloth.
After a few moments, the scrap burst into flames, burning with a pale blue colour. It quickly turned to ash, settling into the bottom of the dish, gently stirred by the breeze drifting in through the open window.

Practicing with the runes, and the sorts of abilities a Seer has.


PAge 213

The most experienced farseers, like Kelamith, could control a dozen or more runes at a time.

Scope of rune control for experiencd farseers.


Page 225

It was quite a crowd, all thirteen of Alaitoc's farseers present and nearly four times that number of other psykers.

Altaioc's Seer, Farseer, and warlock complmenet.


Page 225

The autarchs, three of them, were dressed in ornate armour.
...
Arhathain wore dark blue armour chased with gold detail, a white cloak hanging from his shoulders, a long spear in his right hand; Neurthuil's armour was also blue, though of a clear sky and decorated with silver, the metallic wings of her flightpack folded close, a three-barrelled lasblaster hanging from its strap over her shoulder; Akolthiar's armour was red and orange, his face hidden behind the grille of a Banshee mask, a long-muzzled fusion pistol at his waist, a red-bladed axe in hand.

the Autarchs. Intereesting that they seem to bear mementos or reminders of the Temples they served in. and apparently there is a male howling Banshee.


Page 236

She Who Thirsts threatened again, through the humans once more. Thirianna would have to kill again, not only to save her own life, but to save the lives of future Alaitocii. Human lives would be saved too, though they would never comprehend the benefit for themselves. The thought did not make what she had to do easy, but it made it a fraction more palatable.

One of the reasons I like this novel series is that it portrays the Eldar as not all being racist pricks who think lesser races are beneath them., That sort of variety in belief doesn't detract from their attitudes or their nature (they can still be superior or arrogant or even condescending, but they're not grimdark assholes.) but it makes the Eldar more believable. And it also presents a more effective sort of grimness. The Eldar are forced to do things that are neccessary but not right, both for their survival and the survival of the humans as a whole. But the humans would not neccesarily understand or believe that, so they cannot be reasoned with. And these sorts of misunderstandings lead to much of the conflicts and wars they endure, as we discover later on.


Page 237

Their orbital stations and crude surveying satellites scanned the void for disturbances in the warp, expecting enemy ships to enter their system in the outermost reaches, far from the gravitational pull of their sun.
The eldar suffered from no such restriction. The webway passed close by to the human world and though it was not without some effort, it was a straightforward task to extend a temporary tunnel into the system. The battleship Fainoriain and two destroyers had exited the webway inside the ring of detection devices, and hidden by holofields and other screening devices, the eldar had devised their method of attack.

Human means of detecting attack from the warp from outsystem, and the Eldar manage to sneak past it. The interesting bits are the fact they can extend temporary webway portals off the main Webway arteries to reach the system (not unlike the Necron Dolmen gates, perhaps?) which can allow them to reach systems the main webway may not normally connect to. They also have other stealth measures than just holofields.


Page 240

Thirianna cut the legs from the first soldier as a blue las-blast deflected from her rune armour.
...
Forewarned by the skein, Thirianna brought up her witchblade to deflect another las-bolt, before unleashing a fury of flames through a doorway to her right, incinerating another handful of humans.

Seer in combat. Precog lasbolt deflection, rune armour stopping las-fire, and Witchblade fire bolts 'incinerating' multiple people (at least single digit MJ to multiple GJs, depending on interpretation of incinerate.)


Page 240

Thirianna briefly felt the spirit of Kelamith as he flashed through the minds of the defenders, searching for information, stealing their dying thoughts. It felt a little like ransacking their graves, prising open their last hopes and fears for glimmers of useful intelligence.

Telepathic intel.


PAge 240

Arhathain led the next attack, the shuriken weapon mounted in his gauntlet spewing a hail of discs as he leapt down a flight of stairs towards the underground levels.

Eldar equivalent of arm-bolter gauntlets.


Page 244-245

The skein was shifting, mutating and bending as new futures unfolded. A malign presence was spilling out across the threads of fate, bending them to its purpose.
...
Thirianna lashed back with her mind, sending a pulse of fire across the skein. Kelamith did likewise, and she felt the flames from the other seers scorching along the threads of the future, purging the daemonic presence.

...
she ventured further across the skein, following the path blazed by Laimmain, picking off stray motes of Chaos energy left in the wake of the farseer's offensive.

...
..she was aware again of powerful energy flowing across the skein. The daemons came again, focussing their malice upon the psykers, drawn to their bright spirits.
Drawing power through her rune, Thirianna divided her attention between the real and unreal. With the daemons flooding the skein with their corrupting energy, it was impossible to draw on the power of her foresight....
...
She scanned the room quickly, while on the skein the daemons manifested themselves, appearing in a variety of hideous forms.
...
Thirianna focussed her powers, meeting the daemonic incarnations with an apparition of her own, flaming sword in hand.

Daemons appear on and fight with the Eldar psykers on the skein, affecting precog. At the same time those same seers must engage the humans on the material plane, showing a sort of dual-battlefield effect and how the warp can influence the reality.


Page 245

A claw snapped at Thirianna's face, deflected at the last moment by the hilt of her witchblade. She darted under another slashing claw and brought the sword up into the creature's chest, turning it to ash.

Not sure if this happens in the material or ethereal plane, but it implies cremating a daemon.


Page 246

The daemons were pouring their power through the nascent breach into the material universe, seeking anything to anchor upon. The dull, lifeless minds of the humans were hard to detect, but utterly unprotected. Urged on by a thought from Laimmain, the seers tried to intervene, placing themselves between the daemons and the humans, hurling bolts of fire to drive back the creatures of the Great Enemy.

The daemons try a new attack. Poor humans.


Page 247

Thirianna formed a fist, enveloping her hand with psychic power. She sprang to her feet and punched the creature in the chest, driving her hand forwards with every ounce of physical and mental strength. The blow tore the daemon in half, a ring of purple fire exploding outwards, hurling body parts into the cluttered stores.

Thirianna powerfists a daemon, with similar results.


Page 250

Thirianna levelled her witchblade at the boy. Purple flames sprang from the sword, engulfing the possessed child from head to foot.
...
She steeled herself and poured out more of her rage, turning the creature's physical body to a smouldering cinder even as she scattered its power, banishing it across the breadth of the skein.

As the charred remains collapsed into ash...

Warlock cremates a child-sized daemon creature in the material realm.


Page 252-253

A group of grim-faced seers made their way up the stairs, all clad in plain white, heads shorn of all hair. Between them floated an ovoid container, dark red in colour and patterned with silver runes. Thirianna stepped out of their way, disturbed that they had no presence on the skein. As they passed, her spirit stone glowed white for a moment, touched by their energy.
...
Whispering protective mantras, the white seers closed around him, their robes obscuring all sight, their sibilant incantations growing in volume. The skein bent around them also, becoming a protective bubble that reflected back the thoughts of Thirianna as she tried to peer inside.
When they parted a moment later, silence descended. The box was gone but the wraithbone casket gleamed with a darker light, an aura of oily energy seeping from it. The casket weighed heavily on the skein, even the warding powers of the white seers unable to stop it from affecting the paths of fate around it.

White Seers in action.


Page 254

"A bridge, between the craftworlds and the Black Library," replied the farseer. "They are steeped in the knowledge of Chaos and are immune to its charms and wiles."

"They do not look like Harlequins to me."
..

"Though the Harlequins know the location of the Black Library, they are not its only guardians," explained Kelamith. "They are far too capricious to be entrusted with such a thing, no matter how devoted they profess to be about the destruction of the Great Enemy. Wiser, sounder minds than those of the Laughing God's followers will study this thing and learn its secrets before it is destroyed."

Explanation of the White Seers and their purpose, another 'unaligned' faction perhaps allied to the Harlequins and other factions.


Page 266-267

The infinity circuit thrummed with the energy being channelled. The structure of wraithbone blended with the psychic circuitry of the craftworld, attached at several key nodes. Drawing on this power, the bonesingers were weaving a pattern of resonant psychic energies, overlapping matrices of power that when combined formed solid matter: fabled wraithbone.
...
With her eyes and ears, she had some vague idea of the wraithbone forming out of the air, growing from the existing skeleton, its creation setting up vibrations that cut across the psychic choir.
With her mind, she could appreciate the true beauty of the act. The nascent wraithbone existed as a potentiality within the skein, taking on infinite forms. As the bonesingers led the other artificers, the skein pulsed and flowed with their desires, their imagining of the ship's design acting as the guide of fate. Conforming to this shaped destiny, the wraithbone solidified from its amorphous state into a physical material, fulfilling the self-destiny of its existence.
Fuelled by the infinity circuit, the wraithbone was a distillation of the skein, an amalgam of hope and despair, opportunity and disappointment, love and hate, life and death.
...
The wraithbone was glowing with its own chill light, its future shape appearing as a fluttering image on the edge of vision, molecule by molecule emerging from its potential to fulfil its destiny.

Wraithbone creation and bonesinging.


Page 270

"'The wraithbone is psychoreactive, as you know. It is responding to you, forming itself from your thoughts and feelings, binding itself to your spirit. What you see is a reflection of yourself, as realised by the wraithbone."

Explanation of the psycho-reactie properties of Wraithbone.


Page 277

"The Scorpion is a rune of concealment," said Thirianna, remembering the first descriptions from the texts she had read. "It is used to find those fates that would otherwise be hidden to the observer. The Wanderer, well, that one is easy. It allows the seer to travel to distant threads, unconnected to others."

Rune purposes described. This tends to suggest that a Farseer's exact powers (at least in farseeing) can depend greatly on the kinds and types of runes they possess and wield.


Page 281-282

It was possible to change the past, through the power of the warp. Time in the realm of Chaos did not flow forwards and backwards. It churned and looped, and a seer with enough skill could, with great effort and a large amount of risk, move sideways from one flow to the next, and thus if gifted with a little luck, move his or her consciousness back in time.
There was grave danger to the seer; channelling so much power in the heart of Chaos itself was an invitation for daemonic attack even with the protection of the runes. This was not the greatest peril though. The past was meant to be set and it was impossible to foretell the consequences of any change made. Only the greatest catastrophes could be averted in this way, yet such action led to futures that were impervious to prophecy.
As Kelamith had concluded, it was far better to change the present than influence the past.

Time travel manipulation and the risks. It suggests Farseers can fuck with the past as well as the future/present.


Page 283

Thirianna was amused by the conceit of the humans to claim the galaxy as their dominion, especially since such a claim was made in the name of a piece of rotting flesh sustained only by sacrificing their own kind. An Alaitocii philosopher, Nurithinel the Outspoken, had once claimed that the humans' worship of their corpse-Emperor was no worse than the interment of eldar spirits within the infinity circuit and had been hounded from the craftworld for the distasteful comparison.

I find this amusing, yet also apt and quite probably true. I mean the Emperor is the closest thing they have to a God, and probably the agent of the unborn true god of humanity.


Page 290

"I have seen Alaitoc's domes torn asunder, our halls ravaged by war, our people slain in their thousands."

Implied population in the thousands.


Page 292

"I have not long trodden this Path. I have but three runes to control. There are those here that can steer a dozen times that number. "

Some Farseers can control three dozen runes.


Page 309-310

"Created by Elmarianin before I was born, this device allows the seer council to combine their powers of divination. Its use takes a toll on the infinity circuit and those who employ it."

A magic crystal that facilittes powerful farseeing. They use it in the battle later.


Page 311-312

"The offender is barred from all rune-casting, and to ensure compliance the perpetrator is taken to the Halls of Isha"
...
"He or she is subjected to a procedure that removes the parts of the brain that bolster our psychic strength. The criminal is cut off from the skein, unable to interact with the infinity circuit."

A scale of Eldar surgery.. they can alter their own brains (as punishment) to cut off their psychic abilities.


PAge 319

Thoughts then turned to moving Alaitoc, though the craftworld was only part of the way through its star-fuelled regeneration and to leave now would be a major hindrance to her future health.

Hints at why the craftworld is sucking power from a star.


PAge 320-321

She moved her consciousness to the present, to a moment experienced with Aradryan. He was asleep in his cabin aboard his ship, intoxicated with a cocktail of exotic spirits and narcotics.
...
She gathered up what was left of her psychic strength and concentrated it into a single thought: a warning.
She touched upon Aradryan's drug-fevered mind, connecting him for an instant to the coil of his life strangling Alaitoc. The craftworld was in grave danger and would need every Alaitocii, outcast or not, to help defend her. Aradryan had to return, to restore the balance he had selfishly disrupted.

Thirianna sends some sort of psychic precog-message or such to Aradryan far away from the Craftworld. This in some ways reminds me of astrotelepathy of the kind involving lots of symbols and interpretation (not unliek Imperial divination) which can mean that Eldar can pull off the same thing (at least, Seers and farseers can.) but deliver their messages more easily and in a precise manner. I suspect that the webway's infinity-circuit aspect facilitates this more easily.

This also tends to suggest to me that human psykers can perform feats similar to what Eldar can do, albeit with considerably less sophistication.


Page 324-325

The seers would divine the nature of the human attack, trying to foresee the direction and nature of the assault. With this information the autarchs would devise a suitable battle plan. In turn, the seers could travel the skein to explore the possibilities opened up by the courses of action chosen.
...
So many strands of fate had to be examined it was impossible to foresee every eventuality. Promising threads petered out into inconsequence, while mundane events proved to have profound implications.
...
The greater part of the burden of prophecy fell on the shoulders of the most experienced farseers. They could utilise their runes of Khaine to travel the bloodiest pathways, weighing up life and death with incredible accuracy.
For the warlocks, and lesser seers such as Thirianna, their task was to provide an overview of the unfolding events. They lingered on the periphery of the skein while the most powerful minds delved deep, watching the great play of events as the senior seers used their many runes to twist and bind, separate and cut the threads of destiny.

Using farseeing to plan the battle.


Page 328

The resultant consensus was in part a military strategy and in part an ethos to be adhered to. War brought too much flux to the skein for every outcome to be known, and despite every effort of Thirianna and the rest of the seer council, there was no surety of any particular event coming to pass. The plan consisted of layer after layer of contingency, of response to gains and losses as fluid as the war host itself. Every margin of victory or defeat was analysed, and plans constructed to deal with the consequences.

More precog battle planning


Page 331

Each farseer had been ascribed a region of the skein to watch. Thirianna watched the unfolding fates of more than a dozen starships, from frigates to battleships, as they took station hidden in the gravity well of one of the outer planets.

This could imply scores, if not hundreds of Eldar ships.


Page 331

The arrival of the humans was imminent and plain to see. Their ships bulled their way through the skein, casting long shadows on the warp that even the most inexperienced seer could detect. They were accompanied by a whispered moaning, their warp engines leaving torment and misery in their wake. Their rough passage formed eddies of power that made their direction and speed easy to calculate. Daemons and other predators trailed after them, drawn by the aura of life that leaked from within the crude warp shields protecting the human vessels.

Arrival of the humans from the warp.


Page 332

The humans' backwards technology forced them to spread their fleet during entry, while crude scanners peered into the star system gathering data.
..
The humans were still half-blind as their ships scoured the star system with laser and microwaves..

Human sensor systems. Considered crude by the Eldar.


Page 333

The human ships were protected by warp-based technologies, their fields dissipating the energy of the fusillade into the alternate realm. With each barrage stopped came the scream of the warp, every failing shield a tiny pinprick break through the thin barrier between reality and the immaterial. She had not believed them capable of such technology, though it was still simplistic compared to the eldar mastery of the warp.

Void shields being warp based... dumping attacks into the warp. Saves on neutrino radiators that way.


PAge 333

Their clumsy cannons hurled plasma and huge explosive shells, but their tracking systems were unable to cope with the holofields hiding the eldar vessels.

Holofields vs Macro cannon.


Page 335

A chorus of voices filled the chamber, the words and the images behind them directed through the infinity circuit to the waiting autarchs who passed on the messages to the admirals and captains of the fleet.
The ships themselves were part of the skein, their wraithbone hearts merged with the eternal matrix, forged from the infinity circuit of Alaitoc. No light or radio wave could travel as quickly as thought on the skein and every movement and action of the humans was almost instantaneously known to those aboard the craftworld.

Using the skein to give instantaneous detection and communication of tactics. A big advantage. Again I suspect humans can do similar feats on a cruder scale.


Page 338

Yet the threads were not a single thread, each was bound to dozens of other lives across their span. Other strands joined those of the Phoenix Lords, winding close about them before becoming part of the whole. Thirianna had seen something similar in the lives of the exarchs, their essence made up of a composite of eldar spirits. Examining them more closely, Thirianna saw that the initial appearance was deceptive. The lives were absorbed by the Phoenix Lords but the original thread continued on, bolstered by each new knot along its length.

The nature of Phoenix Lords. Not unlike the nature of the Emperor, actually.


Page 342

Thirianna could see the slab-sided, brutal vessel through the thousand eyes of Alaitoc's sensor batteries..

Alaitoc has at least 1000 gun batteries.


Pgae 343

The eldar ships glimmered with holofields, appearing as shimmering ghosts to open fire before disappearing against the star-filled backdrop. Human void shields sputtered with blue and purple flares as they unleashed bursts of energy to shunt the attacks of the eldar into warp space.

Warp based voids vs cloaking holofields.


Page 344

There were too many converging destinies to keep track of them all and too late Thirianna saw a cruiser bursting past the burning remnants of one of the destroyers under her watch. She sent a warning to the captain but even his swift vessel did not have time to escape. Hundreds of explosions filled the void around the fleeing eldar ship, making a mockery of its holofields. Distraction and misdirection were no defence against the scattered bombardment unleashed by the human cruiser.

Hundreds of explosive shells from the guns from a cruiser


Page 345

Its bow erupted with blossoms of orange and moments later the streak of torpedoes hurtled towards Alaitoc, breaking into hundreds of smaller missiles as they crashed into the craftworld.

MIRV topredoes.. each torp must gneerate scores if not hundreds of submunitions.



Page 346

Inside were ten guardians, clad in armour made up of yellow polymer mesh overlaid with plates of deep blue.

Guardian armour. Like humans it combines flexible with rigid elements, although Eldar armour is superior in that it has both wraithbone and also uses mesh instead of falk for the flexible bits.


Page 349

Thirianna realised that Alaitoc had drained the area of air, leaving only a thin atmosphere for the humans to breathe. With the aid of their helmets, the eldar had more than sufficient air to sustain them, another factor in their favour.

Guardian armour seems to be self containe dwith its own air supply.


PAge 350-351

The guardian nearest the door staggered out from behind a column, clutching the side of his helm. The name Temerill flashed through Thirianna's mind a moment before another las-bolt caught the guardian in the chest, burning through the breastplate of this armour, sending him reeling to the floor.

...
She saw herself being struck by several las-bolts, but none penetrated the psychic field of her rune armour

Guardian armour has less resistance ot human lasfire than Rune armour, obviously.


Page 352

Thirianna signalled for her squad to attack, and led the charge back into the corpse-choked corridor, her rune armour flaring with las-blasts
..
With a flick of her wrist, she sent a whining bolt of psychic energy into the ungainly crowd of humans. It struck the officer in the back of the head as he was turning to look at Unarian's warriors. Hair and skin charred instantly and with a high-pitched scream the officer toppled forwards..

Thirianna, offensive and defensive capabilities.


Page 353-354

Alaitoc itself reacted to the presence of the invaders, reconfiguring walkways and passages, closing off domes and opening up new pathways for the eldar to encircle their foes. Air was expelled from some areas while others were flooded with noxious gases, suffocating the humans in their hundreds.
Darkness enveloped other portions of the craftworld, allowing Striking Scorpions to attack from the shadows, slaying their foes unseen. The docks were subjected to barrages of flickering light to blind the humans, leaving them vulnerable to assault by Warp Spiders and Shining Spears. Sound was also used, to deafen the unprotected ears of the attackers, while their crude radio-based communications were easily blocked or subverted by the energies of the craftworld. The spirits of the infinity circuit were channelled to launch a massive psychic attack, driving the humans mad with visions of death and terror.

The Dangers of fighting aboard a craftworld.


Page 355-356

She recoiled in shock, her mind awash with images from the human psyker. His thoughts were anarchic, lacking the focus of an eldar seer, but the tendrils of his power stretched into many threads, drawing on a large reserve of energy. His mind was protected by a burning shield, which both warded away the prowling daemons but also acted as a beacon to them.
...
The psyker tapped into the warp without the benefit of runes, channelling the raw energy of Chaos. Though his mind was wrapped up in protective hymnals and armoured with bluntly fashioned talismans, if they failed he had no other defences against possession or psychic feedback.

Thirianna's observations of a sanctioned psyker.


Page 357

At the same time, the light crystals blinked out, plunging the passageway into utter darkness. The guardians opened fire, able to see through the heat-sensing lenses of their helmets; Thirianna's helm had the same but her psychic eye highlighted the enemy even more clearly.

Guardians have thermal vision, Thirianna has thermal and psychic vision.


PAge 357

She jumped back as the pilot tried to fire again. The cannon exploded as its shells jammed in the breech, sending flame and debris up through the floor of the cockpit to mangle and incinerate the pilot.

Effect of the detonation of autocannon shells on the Sentinel pilot.


PAge 358

Lightning poured down the passageway from the psyker's outstretched hand, leaping through three of the guardians, cracking open armour, scorching flesh and snapping bones. Thirianna felt the pulse of energy along the skein as the psyker drew in another surge of power. She acted without thought, snaring the psyker's thread with her own, cutting off the supply of psychic energy.

Human psyker attacking Eldar (MJ range at least) and Thiriana blocking off his power.


Page 359

Blue energy enveloped Thirianna as the psyker flung out his wand, power coursing along the skein, engulfing the strand of Thirianna's life.
Her rune armour burned with white light for several heartbeats, absorbing the brunt of the attack. It was not enough to shield her from all damage though as the psychic blast throbbed through her thoughts, burning her mind from the inside.

Rune armour shielding against the human psyker's attack


Page 360

Thirianna reached a psychic hand into the skein and snatched up the threads of the humans, crushing them together in an immaterial fist. The men around her stumbled into each other and groaned with pain, giving her the opening she needed to break free.

Another neat trick through the Skein.


Page 373

...Kelamith uncovered the bodies of the wraithlords. Though similar in design to the wraithguard, these constructs towered above the two seers, their long limbs carved with miniscule runes. Bright lances and missile launchers were fixed to mounts on their shoulders, scatter lasers and long power swords were gripped in massive fists.
Only the strongest spirits could power such constructs ..

They use Exarch spirits.


Page 393-394

Drawing on the power of the skein, Thirianna swathed the fates of those around her with a maelstrom of energy, misdirecting the enemy fire, distracting the aim of the Space Marines so that they fired at shadows.
Not all of the Space Marines' fire went astray.
...
Into this torrent of fire advanced the eldar, cloaked from view by Thirianna's psychic manipulations.
...
..fewer casualties than they would have suffered without the farseer's protection.

Psychic EW


Page 395

The Space Marine psyker was well hidden, shielded by centuries of discipline and dedication. His mind was almost as strong as an eldar's, yet it had been honed into a sharp weapon, capable of slicing through fate with a thought.
Yet for all his power, the Space Marine could not match Thirianna for prescience. He had not yet recognised the unfolding fates of the eldar attack; the Space Marines were not yet ready to respond.

Space Marine Librarian using his own precog to counter Thirianna.


PAge 396

She drew on the Scorpion to slide close to his thoughts, slipping prompts and subtle images into his mind, seeking to direct his attention elsewhere. She was met with a wall of willpower that seemed forged of iron, rebounding her attempts at manipulation. Thirianna tried again and fared no better, unable to penetrate the solid shield of faith and devotion that protected the Space Marine.

Mind influencing fails against the Librarian.


Page 397

The Space Marine fell, his thick armour scored by hundreds of shurikens, weaker joints and eye lenses shredded and shattered by the fusillade of discs.

Shuriken fire vs Power armour.


PAge 357

Thirianna was caught in the open, facing the full force of the incoming volley of las-fire. She somersaulted behind the wreckage of the walker as red beams filled the corridor, her rune armour flaring with energy as several bolts found her.

More lasfire vs rune armour.

[Connor MacLeod]

Since I'm doing a major friday nite infodump, I'm just going to finish this up. Two part update all at once:


Path of the Outcast is the final book in the 'Path of the Eldar' trilogy, and covers Aradryan, the last of the trio of companions (Korlandril from Path of the Warrior, Thirianna of Path of the Seer). Like the previous books its a 'point of view' one - we get the events from the previous two novels from the view of Aradryan, as he becomes first a Ranger, then a Pirate, and we learn more of the events that lead up to the Imperial Invasion of Altaioc (as covered by but never completely in the first two books.)

Also, like the previous two novels, the story provides a glimpse into the life and times of the 41st Millenium Eldar - their society, paths, how they interact with each other, and how they think. Where this book differs from the rest, however, is in its diversity. A fair bit of the book takes place off the craftworld - on starships and in space. Eldar Corsairs, Dark Eldar, Harlequins, and Rangers, and one of the good things is that alot of those characters break the codex stereotypes by and large, which only heightens the interest for me. That said, the core story shared amongst all three books still does not really compel me. There's no real sense of urgency or buildup (unlike Andy Chambers Dark Eldar series, which has a better story plus the exploration of the Dark Eldar.) It's more like we follow from event ot event simply to see another facet of Eldar life. Indeed, what carries the novel is the depth of exploration of the Craftworld Eldar and other facets of it, and it was these parts that were the most enjoyable and engaging for me. It's not a horrible book by any means, but if you come into this thinking of an Eldar version of LAst Chancers or Angels of Darkness... well I just didn't feel it was there. I still like this book the best out of the three, however.

That's the bad part. The Good parts are, as I said, the exploration of Eldar society (especially if you know very little about them) and a bit of the exploration of the mindset of the Eldar. The one benefit of this 'three different points of view' approach t o the story is that it shows just how different and complicated the Eldar are: By virtue of their sharper senses nad highly psychic nature, they're exposed to far more information, stimuli, and such in their enviroments. So much so, It seems, that they need the Paths so as to avoid degenerating or becoming mad. So much of the Eldar novels seem to revolve around the Eldar coming to terms with themselves, the lifelong exploration and understanding of themselves and their nature and their place in the universe - which is precisely what the Paths are meant to do. They provide structure and guidance for that exploration and introspection, whilst protecting them from all the risks that the Eldar face (Slaanesh, degeneration, etc.)

And yet, despite all that room for growth and exploration and self-discovery, despite the fact they are a highly psychic race, there is also an element of... detachment.. isolation for the Eldar. The fact they can change so dramatically from Path to Path to path means that change can be sudden and jarring, and it can have implications beyond the self (how it changes the relationships of the others, for example.) It can also color or even distort the perceptions of an Eldar - one who was a Artist and becomes a warrior (like Korlandril), or a poet to a sage (Thirianna) represents a dramatic shift in mindset, and understanding. And at the core of the Eldar being, behind all these masks and facets brought up by all these different paths, you have a core of uncertainty that can sometimes act as a barrier. The problems of the three companions, it often seems, stems from the fact that their widely divergent mindsets - the different paths they embrace - often colors/distorts their ability to understand and express each other (such as how both Aradryan and Korlandril, who are friends, can both compete for or desire Thirianna, who seemingly can't decide what she wants from either.) Part of me wonders if this reflects the Craftworld Eldar, on some level, fearing the honest examination/exploration of their emotions/feelings/wants, because culturally they are still reeling from the calamity of the Fall. Bare emotion is seen as dangerous (and for an Eldar, it is), so the approach to it often has to be circumspect or piecemeal (Again, the paths), and all those extra layers simply complicates things.

I would also say that, despite the revelations of the series, Aradryan is the character I like the most. The desire for freedom and independence, as well as the acceptance of responsibility for one's actions (whether one realizes it at the time or not) seems to be the most dangerous but liberating aspect of the Eldar. Thirianna spent so much time with her head in the clouds or being caught up in her own desires, as did Korlandril - both in different ways, but still preoccupied - that I couldn't really identify or care for either, whereas at least I can give a dam about Aradryan.

One final note: A good deal of this book deals with the beliefs of particular Eldar in different walks of life, and is a comparsion of craftworld life to those othre aspects. Its sort of a 'point of view within a point of view' thing, but there's quite a bit of it. I probably won't quote it all since it would be time consuming (and tedious for me) and probably take out some of the better elements of the book, but I'll try to take note of them.


Part 1 of two


Page 10-11

Placing his hand upon the activation jewel, he let his desire pass into the machine’s matrix, which in turn drew power from the infinity circuit: the psychic network of Alaitoc Craftworld.
The skyrunner interpreted his will as best it could, rising swiftly from the balcony-like docking bay to skim across the white grass fields..

A clue to the control systems on Eldar vehicles. Like most of their tech, it is psychically powered and controlled, and the jewels act as the eldar equivalent of an Imperial MIU link that is vastly less stabby.


Page 14

The spirits would flow free from the stones and mingle with the psychic energy of generations who had come before, becoming both the lifeblood and the nervous system of the craftworld.

The infinity circuit.


Page 15

The craftworld was a place of the dead, fuelled by the spirits of the deceased, consuming their life force with a hunger every bit as ravenous as the Great Enemy’s.

that's an interesting (if gruesome) perspective on the infinity circuit, isn't it? I doubt it actually 'consumes' souls in the sense it uses them up, but the principle is, technically the same - amassing enough souls to expand the power/influence of the Infinity circuit, the same way souls can increase the power of a Warp entity. Indeed the Craftworld Eldar have that whole 'God of the dead' plan based on these infinity circuits!


Page 20

..Aradryan moved his fingers lightly across the jewelled panel in front of him, trimming the aft sail to better catch the dying light of Mirianathir: the ruddy star about which Alaitoc slowly orbited, drinking in the rays of the huge orb. The star and the craftworld could be seen via a holo-projection that surrounded the steersmen, so that it seemed they floated in space, the unending firmament stretching out beneath and behind them even as Alaitoc grew larger beyond the undulating console of the controls. In a small sub-display at the heart of each eldar’s controls the Lacontiran’s position was shown by a gleaming rune amidst an ever-changing web of four-dimensional telemetry

Control setup of an Eldar starship, plus the propulsion system


Page 20

.., the three steersmen working in concert without spoken word, their minds subtly connected by the psychic skeleton of the starship.

Again like a MIU interface coordinating (think of Titan's princeps and moderati)


Page 28

Amongst his fellow steersmen there had been few secrets, but each of them had mastered the means to withdraw their emotions, lest a rogue thought unsettle their companions during a delicate manoeuvre. It was this technique that Aradryan employed now, shielding his friends from his moment of fear.

Skills that Steersmen learn.


Page 29

All of Aradryan’s extended family had gathered from across Alaitoc to welcome him back, including several half-sisters and cousins he had never met before, but his father had died while he had been away and his mother had left Alaitoc, travelling to Yme-Loc Craftworld to visit an old lover who was an autarch there.
The celebration was genuine and his family happy to see their wandering relation returned, but for Aradryan it was too much, too soon. The news of his father’s death was a shock, though they had not been especially close. That his mother had left Alaitoc, perhaps for good, worried him more than he thought it would have done.

Eldar seem to really love extended families, and the way interpersonal relations are handled in these novels is an interesting glimpse into how different or alien the Eldar can be (such as how differences in path can colour familial or romantic relationships, or even just friendships.) One of the good things about Path of the Seer (aside from learning about Farseeing and the skein) was how Eldar family relations went betwene Thirianna and her father.
Of course considering their view on possessions, I can't say this view on families and relationships is not terribly suprising. Moving on and accepting change seems to be a fundamental skill an Eldar must develop to survive, because things can change with sudden rapidity (change of Path, especially.)


Page 31

The carriage accelerated quickly, encasing Aradryan in a dampening field so that the strengthening wind of its passage was dulled, allowing the steersman to feel the air through his hair and on his face as a pleasant breeze while beyond the bubble it sped past as a gale.

Interesting use of eldar forcefield tech.


Page 44-45

n purely physical terms, Alaitoc would not allow him to be dashed upon the foam-sprayed boulders. The craftworld would act to save his life, dulling the artificial gravity or perhaps generating a buffer field to smooth his fall.

Altaioc's safety measures. given how valuable eldar lives are, and the fact the 'control' is probably the infinity circuit, this is probably not surprising. We've also seen how Craftworlds have a death-world like ability to turn their enviroments against intruders too.

Page 46-47

How could she not trust him? He reminded himself that she remembered him as a Dreamer, and knew nothing of the bond and mutual faith he had formed with his fellow steersmen.
...
"Such an attitude does not sit well aboard a starship," said Aradryan. "One is part of the many, and in confinement with others most of the time. It takes several to pilot such a vessel, and we must each trust the others implicitly. I have learnt that friendship is not the only thing that must be shared. Cooperation, the overlapping of lives in ways beneficial to all, is the key to understanding our place in the universe."
..
She had not responded as he had hoped, and he could tell that there was nothing deeper than friendship between them. It seemed obvious that Korlandril had seen earlier what Aradryan had missed.

I quoted this because it really highlights just how differences in paths can alter relationships, creating barriers to understanding because the Eldar who changes path is not just changing a job, but also their personality and mindset. It's sort of like a multiple personality disorder that can change over time, although for Eldar its not really a bad thing.


Page 60

The traders here were not mercantile in the true sense, but mostly artisans giving away their wares to make room for future projects. When one lived as long as an eldar, there was a great deal of clutter to be periodically cleared.
Some stalls had ancient artefacts that passed from generation to generation, some of them dating back hundreds of passes. Antiquity in itself held little value for the eldar, but some aesthetics, some designs had a timeless quality, and there were those who preferred to possess the purity of their original incarnations rather than objects created in the style of the old schools

Eldar 'shopping' such as it is and the comment about the Eldar view of possessions. Eldar are clearly not very capitalistic on their craftworld - considering that the Craftworld and various paths are there to provide most if not all needs, this is hardly surprising. Reminds me a bit of the Federation in that way - there's safety and security within the boundaries of that Craftworld, and it probably reflects the best sort of lifestyle/standard of living in 40K (if you can ignore the existence of Slaanesh of course.)
Eldar


Page 63

Friendship had been the reason for his return, but his friends had gone by the time he got back, replaced by a Poet and an Artist. Love, of a deeper kind than he had felt for his friends, had grown in his heart when he had met Thirianna the Poet, but how could he tell her that? She had made it clear she did not feel the same, and so such a declaration was both selfish and pointless, serving to hurt both of them for no obvious gain.

Again, comments on how the Path colors/distorts interpersonal relationships and perceptions. That's really a problem endemic to the Thirianna/Korlandril/Aradryan relationship that you notice - each one's thoughts reactions ot the others looks different from the other person's point of view, and all the stuff that one side thinks but never gets expressed really changes the perspective. If those gaps could be bridged alot of the problems could probably have been avoided.. but for the Paths. Considering that a big part of this novel is contrasting the Craftworld way of life to others (and presenting arguments against it.) this is a pretty big deal.
Indeed, the way Gav seems to go out of his way to avoid presenting the Craftworld approach as the 'best' is probably another good thing about the series, although I only really appreciated it on reading this book (because its not immediately obvious in the first two, given how much of the events take place ON the craftworld.)


Page 73

With them they took the secret of crystal networks and into the rock of their new homes they bound their world spirits, so that when the Fall came and She Who Thirsts came into being, their souls were captured by the crystal webs of their worlds and not devoured. Yet the world spirits that sustain the settlements of the Exodites are not without their own hunger, and into them must be passed the spirits of every generation sustained by their energy.

Exodite world's analogue of the infinity circuit. Its basically technology adapted to their primitive lifestyle.


Page 75

"There is plenty of space, Irdiris is berthed for at least twenty, and there are only five aboard"

Size/crew of the starship in question, but we don't really know its size either.


Page 75-76

"Through there is the crop vale," Athelennil said, interrupting his thoughts. She pointed at a doorway to their right. "We have four bays set aside for growing food, and another with a freshwater pool. Everybody contributes their time."
..
"With only five of us, there is a lot of work to go around, even with the supplies we have in biostasis in the hold."

Food and supplies onboard the starship. They have their own gardens and livestock (we learn the next later. It also reflects the inherent 'self sufficiency' of the Outcasts.


Page 82

For the moment, the spirit circuitry was piloting the vessel, guiding it along a straight, broad stretch of the webway. A display glowing from an oval crystal screen above the console showed a white tube stretching ahead and behind, rendered from the feedback the ship was receiving across the psychic connection with the webway.

Eldar autopilot.


Page 83

. He picked fruit and cut down cereals in the bio-cabins, and learnt how to operate the cooking equipment in the galley. He spent a cycle tending to the freshwater system, marvelling at the miniscule fish that lived within the filtering pond and streams, feeding on contaminants.

Food on an Eldar starship again, and the water purification system. Again very natural-ee.


Page 83

. As an adolescent he had been drawn to the Path of Harmony, facilitating the callings of others.
..
..he had changed to the Path of the Steersman.

More Eldar Paths defined. Makes you really wonder how many they must have.


Page 84

Placing his fingertips onto the opalescent psychic node, Aradryan allowed his consciousness to touch upon the psychic core of Irdiris. As Caolein had warned, the ship was so much smaller, more compact then anything he had experienced before. The network upon Lacontiran had been interfacing with hundreds of spirits at any given moment, blocking out the background connection to the webway. Here the psychic network of the ship was flimsy, almost skittish in its spirit; agile and inquisitive.

The 'computer' of the starship again, and differences.


Page 85

Aradryan could feel where the boundaries of the warp and reality blurred, just beyond the rune gates and warding walls of the webway, bleeding into each other, forming the tunnels through which the eldar travelled. The network of the ship extended out into the void, psychically reaching for the webway material to find purchase; as a bird uses its wings to catch the breeze so Irdiris fastened on to the immaterial pulsing of the webway through its matrix.
The webway was rippling, recoiling strongly from sensations that emanated not far away.

Navigation of the webway.. apparently it involves 'sailing' similar too (but different) from the kind used out in open space. I'd actually have thought that psychic 'wind' would make more sense in realspace myself, but *shrugs*.


Page 85-86

All of this he took into himself in a moment, and before he could pull back he felt himself drawn along the webway, delving into the effect that had caused the ripple, iterated for him via the ship’s psychic network.
..
Thousands, hundreds of thousands, of spirits were in torment, their hurt and their misery sending shockwaves across the webway.
..
Green-skinned beasts ravaged his body and slew his family. They crawled upon him like parasites, biting at his flesh, leaving welts and wounds in their wake.
..
"That is the cry of an Exodite world spirit"
...
"That message was intended for Alaitoc, a cry for help. They will respond."
...
"There will be other outcasts adrift in the webway who will hear the distress of Eileniliesh and respond"

As we learned in Path of the Seer, the webway is not just a means of physically travelling across the galaxy - it can act as a medium for transmitting thought and emotion (although you have to be really powerful to do it over any real distance, it seems.) - in this case an exodite world transmits a warning to Altaioc asking for help. This is doubtless a more effective means of communication than astrotelepathy (and safer.)


Page 88-89

Around the walls were hung coats and cloaks of curious design, each uniquely patterned with grey and white, matching the colour of the room. Beside each was a rifle, almost as long as Aradryan was tall, with a slender stock and complex sighting arrangement. There were shuriken pistols, long knives and slender swords also, holstered and scabbarded between the cloaks and coats. Knee-high boots, folded grey and black bodysuits and drab brown packbags were stowed on top of locker bins at the juncture of wall and floor, and hanging from the ceiling was more equipment: breathing masks and magnifying monocles; slender ropes and grapples; aquatic gear like artificial fins; furled airwings made of near-transparent thread.
Inscribed into the ceiling was an image of Kurnous, the Hunter God, once enemy of Khaine, consumed by She Who Thirsts like the rest of the ancient pantheon. Aradryan thought it a little superstitious to find such a picture here, celebrating a dead god, but said nothing.
"This is the gear of a ranger," said Jair, waving a hand to encompass everything. "Here is all that you need to survive, wherever we go, whatever we have to do."

RAnger gear.
It's also interesting that we get Kurnous mentioned here. We know Eldar Aspect Warriors are tied more strongly to Khaine and Harlequins to Cegorach, but it seems like Outcasts (at least rangers) are tied to the Hunter God. This is a bit interesting considering the discussions in 'Path of the Renegade' as well about Racial souls too. It makes me wonder if the Eldar Gods are really dead, because we know Khaine's Avatars exert a strong emotional/psychic influence on Eldar when he is awake, and it would seem likely that the Craftworld Path system (or pretty much the lifestyles of Dark Eldar, Outcasts, or Exodites, not to mention Harlequins) is shaped by the Eldar Gods. Kind of reminds me a bit of how the Orks are shaped by their racial soul/gods (eg 'oddboyz') except to a lesser and more subtle degree.


Page 89

"Remember that the foes we fight, be they orks, humans or whatever, are far less physically adept than we. With a little training you will be a match for their best marksmen, and your coat and cloak will hide you from retaliation."

Comment on Eldar physical superiority and learning ability compared to 'lesser' races. It seems even a novice Eldar ranger is as good a marksman as the best Imperial Guard sniper (like say, Larkin.)


Page 90

"We will hunt for food, and you must slay what you wish to eat if you desire meat. The farm chambers can sustain us indefinitely, but you will grow bored eventually. That is when the fresh meat of a kill tastes the best! Life is but part of the cycle, and death its only end. You know this already."

As I already noted, Eldar starships not only have gardens, but also farms.



Page 90

His hand moved from the coat to the rifle beside it. He picked it up, lifting the weapon from its hook. It was surprisingly light, easily hefted in one hand. Orange and red jewels set into the blister-like housing above the trigger glowed into life at his touch, and a faint purring signalled the energising of a powercell.

Needle rifle. Given how little effect the laser has or the projectile (poison does the damage rather than impact), they must get a huge number of shots out of the powercell. And because the recoil is low (or nonexistent) it can be quite lightweight, which is also an advantage

[Connor MacLeod]

Part Deux


Page 92

Though he had not worn the cloak or coat, his ranger undersuit was a shifting pattern of holo-generated greens and blues, adopted from the sky and park beyond the balcony outside Thirianna’s door.

Ranger undersuit, complements the Cameleoline apparently.


Page 104

Within the controlled climate of Alaitoc, seasons were a matter of whim or design, winter snows a marvel to be conjured up and then disposed of once the entertainment they provided grew wearisome.

Unsurprisingly craftworlds offer designer climates.


PAge 105

" Once, before the Fall, our people commanded the stars and worlds were shaped to our whim. Like Alaitoc, there was nothing that we did not control. It was that laziness that allowed our bane to whisper in our ears, spreading the moral decline that brought about the Fall. The Exodites will never again trust themselves to be masters of their surrounds. Its capricious ways, the untamed weather and the vacillations of tectonic and volcanic activity, humble them and stave off the risk of idleness and ultimately a return to depravity."
...
"The Exodites see the Path as a trap – an illusory control that masks an inner darkness. They think that there is purity in their hard lives, and that only constant denial of their emotions will eventually set them free from the taint of... Well, you know."

The exodite philosophy and how it differs from the Eldar Paths. Its similar in some ways - the belief in the inherent danger of unfettered Eldar emotion, although they choose a path of denial rather than confinement and channeling. Again a big part of this book is an exploration of the different ways the Eldar choose to deal with the after-effects of the Fall and their own lives, and no one particular path (from Aradryan's POV) is portrayed as being inherently better. Although certain individuals certainly argue that (EG rangers believe the ranger path is best, for example.)


Page 112

"To be outcast is to make a choice, and to continue making choices without the guidance or the restraints of the Path. We are each free – free in a way that perhaps you still do not picture. We are free from everything. We are free from hierarchy, from any authority we do not choose for ourselves, free from orders and doctrine. Every spirit is equal as an outcast, there can be no coercion or subjugation."

The outcast philosophy. Or rahter, the Outcast (ranger subtype).


Page 120

Orks alive or dead shed spores to breed and once these spores had a grip on a world, especially a young, burgeoning planet like Eileniliesh, they were almost impossible to root out. The only way to be rid of the green beasts was swift and utter annihilation. So it was that Alaitoc had mustered what strength it could and even the Avatar had roused itself from its dormancy to bring battle to Hirith-Hreslain. If just one ork was to escape into the forests, a few short orbits from now Eileniliesh might be overrun by a new green horde and be lost forever. The autarchs and farseers had not responded to make battle with the orks, for orks thrived on war as other creatures thrive on food and drink; the Alaitocii had come to exterminate them.

Eldar view of Orks. Given their view on Khaine and War Masks, its probably not terribly surprising they take a dim view on getting into direct war with the Orks. Not to mention they didn't have the numbers to do so even if they wanted. In short, the Eldar (as usual) don't play by other races's rules when ti comes to fighting.


PAge 124-125

The other rangers had headed back into Hirith-Hreslain, to place webway beacons for the waiting fleet to fix on to. On the frigates and battleships waiting off-world, wayseers would detect these hidden markers and delve temporary passages into the heart of the town, allowing some of Alaitoc’s warriors to attack from within the ork force.

webway beacons and the Eldar version of teleport attacks.


PAge 128

The creature was clad in slabs of thick armour and in one hand carried an immense cleaver-like blade and in the other a gun that must have weighed as much as Aradryan.

Ork Warlord. If we take Aradryan's estimate as being anything like literal, the gun probably weighs anywhere from 40-60 kilograms. Not impossible if its one of those suitably huge warlords (the oneas as huge or huger than an armoured Space Marine or even a Terminator.)


Page 128-129

"Look beneath the bridge. You will need your telesights."
Aradryan raised the sight to his eye. It automatically enhanced his view, multiplying the dim light of the moons so that the image that Aradryan saw was as though it were midday. Directing his gaze towards the bridge, he saw nothing at first. As he increased the magnification and became accustomed to the bubble of water around the piles, he saw unmoving shapes, half-crouched in the shallow waters. Like statues they waited, their chainswords and pistols held above the water, no more visible than solidified shadows.

Ranger scopes. Provides magnification and night vision/light amplification.

Page 129-130

.. he snapped the sight back into place on its magnetic lock and tilted his head to peer down its length.
..
The resolution of the night sight meant that he could see nothing of the creature’s features, only its outline, and the faintest brighter patch of its open mouth as it exhaled into the cold night.
...
There was a slight hiss and the delicate whine of a powercell. An invisible laser bolt shot across the plaza, just a hair’s-breadth in front a needle-thin crystalline projectile laden with toxins that would slay most creatures in moments.

more on the Needle sniper rifle and its scope. We see the scope is also infrared as well as night vision. Not sure what the magnetic lock is. Safety perhaps controlling the impellor?
Curiosuly, the laser fires ahead of the needle but doesn't seem to do the 'make a hole in armor or clothing' ealrier sources explained to it.. but if its also ahead its not exactly guiding it (Electrothermal weapon?) Targeting laser maybe, but why its parallel to the projectile I don't know - its not like the needle is likely to be guided.
Another issue is that the strict interpretation of the needle following just behind the beam would be that its a freaking relativistic needle. Considering its not exploding on impact (or heating up the atmosphere with its passage) I find myself a bit skeptical on that, as nice as it would be. Rather, its probably that the beam is of prolonged duration and follows along it or osmething. The projectile is probably 'only' hyper-velocity, much like Shuriken and splinter weapons.


Page 131

"The ork?" said Naomilith. "They’re tough beasts. You might not have even penetrated the skin. Try again, and next time aim for the eyes."
..
Aradryan was not even sure where the creature’s eyes were, until he saw the tiniest puff of droplets erupting from the line of its heavy brow, a heartbeat before the ork fell backwards, crashing into a stack of shells.

Orks tank 2-3 needle rifle hits in the novel typically, which demonstrates how durable orks are (a single needle kills a gretchin and probably would kill a human too.) Also demonstrates Eldar accuracy at sniping.

Page 132

..the Dark Reapers and Dire Avengers opened fire together, ripping into the ork mobs with a barrage of rockets and a storm of shuriken catapult volleys. A dozen orks were torn apart in moments, as many again losing limbs or suffering grievous wounds that would have felled lesser creatures.

Shuriken and Reapder launcher fire against Orks, and again Orkish durability.


Page 133-134

"Do you know why the Aspect Warriors must wear a war-mask?"
..
"So that the grief and distress of battle does not consume them"
...
"The war-mask allows the Aspect Warriors to shed blood in the name of Khaine, but when they remove their wargear they can forget the thrill of killing. The elation you are feeling, it is the touch of Khaine, and you must be wary of its grasp. To hold life and death in your hand is a powerful thing, and it can become addictive."

Discussion again of the War Mask. It must be noted that outside of War, Eldar are amazingly pacifistic and even the most arrogant tend not to be enthusiastic about killing the 'lesser' beings unless they have to. But if they have to defend something that is theirs (or think is theirs) they can be as ruthless and bloodthirsty as any Ork or human, in their own peculiar way.


Page 138

For those on the craftworld, personal possessions were of little value except sentimental; lost or broken belongings were easy to replace, and fashions came and went quicker than seasons on Eileniliesh.

Exodites are different since they live differently, and since survival is a struggle for them possessions can mean the difference between life and death. although their rustic lifestyles also mean most Exodites are far from materialistic (unlike, say Americans.)
We also get reflection of just how 'good' life on a Craftworld can be, safety, all your needs basically met, freedom to explore along whatever Paths you want... although peer pressure of the society, as we learn, can be rather stifling for some. It makes me wonder if some Craftworld eldar might ever chose to become exodites?


Page 147

Deep in the weft and folds of the webway is a craftworld unlike any other. It was to here that the Laughing God, Cegorach, first travelled when he escaped the clutches of She Who Thirsts. The scholars who dwelt upon the craftworld were surprised to see the god appearing amongst them, but he stilled their excitement and related to them his tale, and that of what had happened to the other gods. The Laughing God finished his narrative and disappeared, instructing the scholars and their protectors not to forget what he had told them. Thus was the Black Library founded, and the first of the Harlequins created.

Origins (purported) of the Black Library.


Page 149

"And despite those titles, it is also where the greatest rangers have gone before, to bring back the Tears of Isha so that future generations can avoid the hunger of She Who Thirsts."

What's intriguing about this passage is that it suggest that the Eldar birth rates might be positive rather than negative. While its quite possible that the loss of waystones may be significant to require replacmenet (or peerhaps waystones cannot be reused?) it seems unlikely in this context that more eldar die than are born - although some will dobutless argue over that.
I would note that being a 'dying' race can manifest in other ways. Humans and Orks have the advantage not only of numbers and more frequent births, but they're also more widespread in a territorial sense. If the humans or Orks lose one world (millions or billions of people) that is horrible but it is literally a drop in the bucket and the race is in no danger of sudden extinction. For the Eldar, who may only have hundreds of worlds/craftworlds, perhaps thousands... loss of a world or craftworld and all its populations will have a massively greater impact on their total populations, especially given their lower population densities and less numerous births. And as good as Eldar life is, its not totally immune from the touch of war in the 40K galaxy (the attack on Altaioc in this book, or Iyanden by the Tyranids, stands testament to that.)


Page 151

Ahead, the webway opened out into the interspace of Khai-dazaar. Dozens of webway passages intersected, forming a near-globular arrangement more than three times the size of Alaitoc’s largest domes. The settlement that had grown up on the interspace looked like an inverted city, spires rising up from the artificial fieldwalls that kept the interspace together, pointing towards a glowing false sun at the centre

An Eldar port/city within the webway. The interestin gthing is.. its neutral. Its not run by the Dark Eldar or Corsairs Or harlequins. Makes you wonder if there are any other places like this.


Page 153

"There are eldar of all kindreds here,’ said Caolein. ‘Rangers, corsairs, Commorraghans, traders from the craftworlds. And, of course, Harlequins, White Seers and others."

Again the 'port' city seems to be a meeting place and netural ground for all different iterations of Eldar society.


Page 155

..plants and grasses, blossoms and bulbs, buds and petals from hundreds of worlds and craftworlds; animal hides and furs, treated skins and preserved horns, ground bones and polished skulls.

Implication of 'hundreds of craftworlds and/or worlds" whether thats hundreds of worlds and craftworlds together, or it means hundreds of worlds AND hundreds of craftworlds, we don't know, but it could be interpreted either way. Given eldar populations from other books (hundreds of thousands to millions) we're probably talking hundreds of millions, or billions of eldar in existence just on worlds or craftworlds. Nevermind the dark Eldar, Harlequins, Corsairs and other outcasts or shipbound Eldar, etc.


Page 155-156

Aradryan passed narcotics dens and drinking houses, lyrical recitals and debating chambers, tattooists and bodypainters, dreamers and singers, ghost stone sculptors and flesh designers. The latter were a Commorraghan influence, offering their services for free in exchange for the opportunity to turn living eldar into works of art.
..
"‘There is nothing wrong with expressing yourself through a little body modification"

Again this is Aradryan learning just how different life amongst other segments of Eldar society is from the Craftworlds. Its a real eye opener for him, and the kicker is - not all of it is as bad as the Craftworlders make it out to be. Although I wouldn't go so far as to clal the vast majority of Dark Eldar society 'misunderstood' by any stretch either



Page 157

"The Path deludes us, teaching that we must curb our natural enthusiasm, blind our senses to the reality of our lives. To be outcast and wander from the Path is to accept yourself and to be free from the tyranny of self-perfection. The founders of the Path laid down an ideal, but it has become more than a goal to strive for – it has become a prison for our spirits."
..
"Must we wait until there are only teachers left and no pupils before we realise that the Path condemns us to stasis? It grants us no future."

the flaws of the Eldar Path from a ranger's POV. Its a bit understanding to see why it might seem stifling or limiting, Aradryan had similar misgivings, after all... although I'm not sure I'd believe that the Outcast way is the One True Way. That's the one odd thing about the book - every one is convinced THEIR path is the best.



Page 158-159

He wore his ranger bodysuit, finding it more comfortable and practical than his old clothes, and the arms and legs shrank away from his skin to create a vest-like costume, responding to his desire to feel the heat and water on his limbs.

Ranger outfits can adjust themselves to their users, including shrinking or growing to suit climate or weather.


Page 159

"The mistake of the Path is that it enables those upon it to dwell too long upon one aspect of themselves."
..
"What is to stop the same happening to an outcast?"
..
"The galaxy itself," replied Athelennil. "Away from the security and sanctity of the craftworlds is a dangerous, testing place. There can be little indulgence when you have to keep your eyes and ears open."

Survival and the needs to support or sustain oneself are the balancing factor for the Outcast. This is similar to the way Exodites need to work to support themsleves on their enviorment, although its much less based on denial than the Exodites (as mentioned earlier.) It's rather darwinian, and as we learn as the novel progresses, there can be downsides (this Ranger seems to make light of the risks Aradryan brings up, whilst Aradryan falls victim to them, going from Ranger to Corsair in the course of his adventures.)


Page 162-164

"I was no bonesinger, and so my fledgling realm of equality and peace had no matrix, no equivalent to an infinity circuit. Instead, I possessed a considerable psychic talent of my own, furnished by a lengthy walk upon the Path of the Seer before I dispossessed myself from Ulthwé. I became the spine, the nervous system of Khai-dazaar, in a manner of speaking, putting myself at the service of those who wished to communicate, create and explore."
...
"Those who have been seers understand the separation of mind, thought and form. Normally all are encompassed together, but not always so."
..
"When your body is no more, your mind and thought persist." Estrathain explained. "Very shortly after, thought also dissipates, for it requires the physical form to operate. This leaves only the pure mind, the essence of each of us. It is our spirit, if you would accept such a term. It is mind alone that transfers to the infinity circuit of a craftworld. If given form again, the mind can give rise to thought once more, though often in limited fashion and of a temporary nature."
"Of course," said Aradryan. "That form might be a starship or a skycutter, or a wraith-construct. "
..
"These are semi-autonomous creations, allowing you to be in more than one place."
"You do not quite understand. They are fully sentient and autonomous." The kami on the couch sat up and pulled back the front of its robe, revealing smooth artificial skin. In the centre of its chest glowed a spirit stone, blinking with tiny starlight, indicating that there was an eldar essence within. "There were adventurers who were willing to trade Tears of Isha for information, contacts and berthing spaces. Over many passes, I assembled a score of waystones. With the flesh sculptors, my own psychic power and the aid of a self-exiled bonesinger, I became the kami. Each of them is me. We are all Estrathain."

Gav Thorpe introduces yet another facet into Eldar society that is relatively new compared to what we get in the codexes, but yet has basis on something that has come before. That is, we knew during the 13th Black crusade that Eldrad Ultrhan had divided his soul up into numerous 'pieces' and distributed them amongst the diffrent Ulthwe Strike Forces dispatched to fight Chaos. Here we have someone - admittedly a former Seer of some power, doing much the same thing, although drawing upon the arts of Dark Eldar fleshworkers as well as a bonesinger to pull of what they do. It's also similar (as the passage describes) to the way ships, craftworlds, and the like may have mini infinity circuits, or how waystones can be implanted into wraithlords and wraithguard. Although the main difference here is the sense of awareness - Estrathain and his kami exhibit far more sense of awareness of their surroundings than either the infinity circuit or wraithguard/wraithlords do.
It also reminds me strongly of the way some warp entities (like the Chaos Gods or some daemons, Ork Gods, or the Tyrandi Hive mind) can be composed of many individual smaller souls. Or the gestalt shaman-incarnated nature of the New Man/Emperor. Its all those little parallels and similiarities I always like finding in these books, as they introduce a level of consistency and sense to even the metaphysical/mystical aspects of 40K (and ties back, in my mind, to the old Realms of Chaos stuff... which I see as setting the framework for everything in that vein.)


PAge 165

"My disparate forms can act in concert or separately as we require. There are many of us now, all across Khai-dazaar."
..
"The kami are semi-organic and not immortal, and ever there are more demands upon me, so my numbers must continue to increase,"

More on the Kami. I suspect given the includion of a bonesinger they're probably made of some sort of wraithbone, which is not as odd as it seems givne its semi-organic properties (and probably needed added shaping/aid from the fleshcrafters.) It makes you wonder just how many times he or other seers could split themselves. Eldrad coudl do it hundreds of times, and this guy has at least several dozen by his own best estimate (he stopped counting long ago.)


Page 180-181

From here, Caolein guided the Irdiris to the large battleship they had passed on their arrival: the Fae Taeruth.
...
... she introduced the notable officers from her two hundred-strong complement.
..
Of the Fae Taeruth, the only thing that marked it as significantly different from Lacontiran were the weapons bays and blisters. Running for most of the ship’s length in the middle decks, the weapons batteries consisted of several dozen high-powered laser turrets, supplemented by shorter-ranged rocket batteries for anti-boarding defence.

Dark Eldar, we learn, have battleships (or at least some of them do - this Dark Eldar is not exactly represtneative of the rest) and we learn its armament (or the armament of Eldar battleships in general.) THe interesting thing is the absence of weapons we typically associate with Dark Eldar - darklight lances and such.. still its probably representative of Eldar designs reasonably well.
As a note the captain is a Dark Eldar, but she isn't like the DE we see in Chamber's novels or the codexes.. and Aradryan actually notes (and is surprised by) the fact she is different from the Dark Eldar stereotype. It's good in how it influences Aradryan's interactions in the book. I give Gav Thorpe kudos for bucking the Codex stereotypes that way, because it gives Aradryan quite a bit of room for growth, and that growth is what makes this book compelling - his knowledge and experiences expand greatly from beyond the confines of the craftworld, and exposure to different ways of thought and living amongst his people.


Page 204

"Only four thousand dwelt here. It is a palace, not a city."
...
"That is fewer inhabitants than one of Alaitoc’s habitation towers"

Hab towers on a craftworld hold more than 4000 people. If we knew the number of towers in any craftworld it might give us an idea of population. I'd guess its well in excess of this.. tens or more probably hundreds of thousands.


Page 215

Billions of eldar died, consumed by the god of the warp that had been created by their hedonism.

Puprorted Eldar losses during the Fall


Page 215

..bringing into being She Who Thirsts, embodied by a storm thousands of light years wide that devoured the heart of the ancient eldar empire.

Implied diameter of the Eye of Terror.

Page 218

Even as Aradryan started towards the closest Tear, where a robed young female had been standing a few moments before, he saw that the stones were shimmering, becoming as ethereal as the ghosts they had been.
The Tear of Isha was warm to the touch, its heat felt through the fabric of Aradryan’s gloves. He lifted up the Tear and in the dancing patterns on its surface thought for a heartbeat that he saw the face of the dead eldar from whom it had been created. It felt wrong to take such a thing, but as his own waystone pulsed strongly at his chest he knew that it was a necessary task to protect the spirits of generations to come. The Tear would be gifted to an eldar infant, becoming their guardian from birth, attuning itself to their essence so that when later they passed from the mortal life, their spirit would be safeguarded from the hunger of the Great Enemy. Not until now had Aradryan known that the Tears of Isha were formed of the spirits of those who had been consumed by the Fall, and he could see why such knowledge was kept secret.
..
It was a release he was giving the damned, to take them from this place.

The purported origin of Eldar Waystones - the crystallized essence - soul - or spirit of eldar who died in the Fall. This explains why they only show up on Eldar Crone worlds in the Eye and cannot be reproduced otherwise and why they are considered so precious. It would also explain a big part of why recovering more is important, since its quite likely that a waystone attuned to one eldar would not work for another.


Page 247

Ghosting close under the mask of its holofields, the Fae Taeruth manoeuvred..

The Dark eldar battleship has holofields instead of shadowfields. It makes me wonder if its a corsair vessel more appropriately rather than a Dark Eldar one (or if it is, its Dark Eldar designed but modified with other non-DE tech.

Page 248

the majority of the Fae Taeruth’s weapons systems were to port and starboard, with a single high-powered, long-ranged laser turret directed from the bow.

Armament layout of the DE battleship.


Page 248

The main holographic display was centred on the target ship, dark against the swirl of orange and red of the gas giant’s atmosphere. Runes danced across the image, highlighting various systems on the fleeing ship detected by the scanning team. Maensith guided aiming reticules into position; glowing red diamonds flashed as target trajectories and ranges were laid in by the eldar manning the weapons consoles.

Eldar gunnery systems.

Page 249

A few moments later a startling burst of white beams sprang from the bow turret, flashing across the gulf between the ships in an instant. Red energy flared where they struck – defensive shields.

If an 'instant' is taken to mean a second or an appreicable fraction of a second, the range between the two is going to be tens if not hundreds of thousands of km, given a lightspeed laser.

Page 258

The webway gave the eldar the advantage over their foes; humans were forced to traverse the astronomical distances between stars using the perilous, untamed warp. Only able to travel a relatively few light years at a time, hopping from system to system, the human merchants who plied their trade along the rim of the Winter Gulf were easily found and run down.

Webway vs Warp drive. note that the obvious implication is that they mostly use non-Navigator warp travel, if its 'few light years at a time' system to system, which is the slowest means of travel.


Page 262

The station looked like an inverted, four-storeyed ziggurat in general shape, with a single command tower extending far beneath its shadowed bulk, navigation lights and sensor arrays jutting from the shaft of the control spire. Stubby defence emplacements dotted its surface and the space around it shimmered red with powerfields overloading as the fire of the eldar fleet converged on the platform.

Size of a human (Imperial?) battlestation


Page 262

.. there was genuine peril as laser beams seared across the cockpit display and missiles as large as the voidcutter powered past.

Human 'missiles' are as large as an eldar voidcutter (shuttle/attack craft) which implies tens or hundreds of tonnes mass and/or perhaps tens of metres in legnth.


Page 263

Their holofields as effective against the crude human sensors as they were the naked eye..

holofields effect human and computer/sensor gunnery.


Page 264

Miniature warp vortexes, no wider than Aradryan’s outstretched arms, appeared in the midst of the humans; the distort cannons on two of the raiders had been activated. The defenders caught in the grip of these pocket warp gates were pulled apart by the crashing forces, some sucked directly into the warp.

D cannon in action.


Page 269

The passage and its surrounds were atop the power plant of the station: a crude plasma chamber that held an artificial star in check with magnetic fields and ceramic walls. The thrum that resonated around Aradryan was a lifeless, mechanical vibration, with none of the potency of an infinity circuit or world spirit. It was purely electrical energy, converted from the plasma reactor and sent along metal wires to distant gun posts and laser arrays. As basic as the system was, the electro-magnetic flux created by the plasma chamber was enough to distort the scanners of the eldar warships, making its exact location impossible to fix.

Battlestation's plasma reactor. 'artificial star' - read into that what oyu want

Page 270-271

..Maensith would activate the cruiser’s webway portal, burrowing a tubular breach through realspace to create a temporary extension of the webway. Normally such a thing would have no impact on the material universe and would pass unnoticed through solid matter. With a small modification in the webway’s flux, and the target of the beacons, the web passage could be used to isolate the station’s plasma generator

using a webway prtal as a modified teleporter-like device to deprive space station of its reactor.


Page 272

Aradryan blinked three times in rapid succession, activating the artificial lenses over his eyes. They were not as powerful as a proper visor, but there was enough reflected heat from the eldar and the cables within the walls to create a fuzzy image of Aradryan’s surrounds, while his fellow corsairs stood out like yellow silhouettes.

Infrared lenses. Less effective but more compact than visors.


Page 279

His infrareceptor lenses picked out the body heat of several dozen humans clustered in the bunker-like rooms either side of the corridor.

Infrared lenses again.


Page 286

Aradryan guessed that these were the deadly incubi, believed by some to be the followers of the Fallen Phoenix, Arhra, who had founded the Striking Scorpion Shrine of Aspect Warriors.

WE know from Path of the Renegade this is probably true.


Page 295

There is a band of star systems, a great swathe of the galaxy, that lies between the Eye of Terror and the ring of the Exodite worlds. Many of these star systems were once home to eldar planets before the Fall. The inhabitants of these worlds perished when She Who Thirsts was born screaming into the galaxy, but their cities and technologies still survive. These places are known as the True Stars: the last remaining evidence of the Empire That Was. Great are the treasures hidden on these worlds, and powerful are some of the weapons that still defend them. Some True Stars have fallen to alien invasion, inhabited by humans, orks and others
..
Many harbour treasure troves and vaults from the time before the Fall, and rangers from the craftworlds, Commorraghan expeditions and alien explorers often seek out these ancient and majestic worlds.

The True Stars.


Page 297

He had been sure the Fae Taeruth would emerge a good distance from the orbit of Daethronin’s primary world, but as soon as the ship had broken into realspace the scanning arrays detected five human ships all within half a cycle’s travel of the cruiser.

Assuming a cycle is a day, this might very well suggest the eldar have some sort of FTL detection. Also at least five human ships in the system.


Page 298

The simple radio wave messages took some time to be detected and for responses to be broadcast; time during which the Fae Taeruth came to a stop and allowed the human ships to form a cordon around her.

Radio comms between Eldar and humans.

Page 300

He focused on the humans, who wore ill-fitting pressure suits and bore short-barrelled, chemically-powered laser carbines; he could smell the laughably inefficient acidic compounds used in the weapons’ power packs.

Lasgun powerpacks identified as being chemical in nature, and distinctly acidic. This seems to be different than the usual 'liquid metal' technology. Although I can hardly claim to be an authority on battery tech, there may be some sort of chemical battery that is rechargable and also uses liquid metal in it as well as an acid. I suspect, however, this is an example of lasguns using a variety of different power sources, which makes more sense to me. You can recharge them off any sort of heat and light, as well as sunlight, so why not have a variety of power source styles (the same way vehicles run off different kinds of fuel.)
That siad, there's a good chance this means thes lascarbines run off something like a 'lead acid' battery, which are not very high on the energy density thing (at least not per mass.. something like 100-150 kj per kg, which means a lasgun might have something like 40-75 kj per powerpack. For a 40 shot carbine that would be 1-1.5 kj per shot. As I said, however, I'm not a battery authority so there could be some other kind of 'chemical' battery that uses an acidic component and some of the rechargables can get up into the hundreds of kilojoules (or more) per kg easily. Assuming (for exapmle) 200-300 kj per powerpack, you'd get between 4-7.5 kj per shot.
I suspect we can attribute these to backwater PDF weapons, rather than top of the line lasweapon sisue.



Page 301

Eventually they reached their destination, somewhere in the heart of the Imperial frigate.

One of the ships is an Imperial frigate.


Page 303

Aradryan knew enough of the human language to understand De’vaque’s words – though the human tongue was incredibly disparate and diverse across the galaxy, its underlying principles and sounds were easily learnt in comparison to the complexities of the Eldar language – but like his companions Aradryan had a translator device fitted to his shoulder

eldar perception of the human language and translation device


Page 309

Yrithain and the Azure Flame were in position behind the escort of small human ships that came out-system to greet the Fae Taeruth and the Commorraghans. The handful of destroyers were little match for the weaponry of the three eldar cruisers and the journey towards Daethronin’s primary world was uneventful.

At least some of the human ships in the system are destroyers.. maybe 3-5 to account for a 'handful?


Page 310

It would take at least five cycles to reach the prime world, probably more when accounting for the ponderous nature of the human vessels

if a cycle is a day, its five days to cross the system . low velocities (hundreds or thousands of km/s) and not very high accel for a constant burn (single gee)


Page 311

Warning tones chimed across the control chamber, indicating multiple warp breaches. Maensith brought up the visual display, the globe of stars circling slowly above her command pod. Kaleidoscopic whorls broke the fabric of space-time as raw warp energy poured into the material universe. Aradryan counted six rifts opening, and from each emerged one of the missing human ships, directly behind the Fae Taeruth and Khiadysis’s cruisers.

Some of the human ships in the system were warp capable. We dont know if its because the guy's son is a rogue trader, or if these are PDF ships however. But thats at least 9-11 ships.


Page 312

Aradryan’s fingers danced across the gems of the console, unleashing a barrage of laser and missile fire into the neighbouring cruisers.

DE battleship armament. I wonder if the missile fire is the rockets form before, or torpedoes, or what?


Page 320

Aradryan noticed the tiny dilation in Nallim’s eyes as he thought about the strike he would make. The skin of his knuckles paled a fraction more and there was a twitch of a tendon in his wrist. It was a signal as clear as day to Aradryan that his opponent was about to attack.

Testament ot Eldar reflexes and sensory capabilities.


Page 327-328

It was here that Vaul was chained by Khaine to labour in atonement for freeing Isha and Kurnus, and it was in the Forge of Vaul that the Godslayer, the Sword of Khaine, deadliest weapon in all the worlds, was created. When Khaine was torn apart in the duel between She Who Thirsts and the Lord of War, it is said that the Widowmaker flew from his hand and returned to the place of its birth. It waits there now, biding the long aeons until a hand worthy of wielding it pulls it from the anvil in which it rests.

And if Eldar Mythology in this case has even a slightest grain of truth, it would suggest that somewhere in the center of the galaxy is an Eldar artifect of some kind.


Page 334-335

"Eight ships to be plundered and only a single worthy adversary to protect them. "
..
..There was no coherent plan as cargo haulers, gas carriers, bulk transporters and superlifters split from each other in a flurry of blazing plasma trails..

Size of an Imperial transport convoy.


Page 342

"We have detected significant warp breaches at the system limits. Human ships breaking from warp space, I would say. Nearly a dozen of them."
..
"‘The escort for the convoy or more freighters?"
...
"Too distant to say for certain, but warships would be my assumption"

Implied escort for the aforementioend convoy.


Page 342

..pointing at the dead crewman’s chest. Aradryan looked into the ragged hole, seeing ribs splayed outwards, the internal organs turned to a mush.
..
"Do you think a lasgun or shuriken did this?" snapped Laellin, grabbing Aradryan’s arm, forcing him to look at the opened carcass again. "This wound was blown open from the inside by a small explosion."
"So what could cause such an injury, if it was not one of our weapons?"
"A Space Marine’s boltgun, of course,"

The implication *may* be that las and shuriken weaponry could match a boltgun potentially (hotshot lasguns at least could) but Aradryan is pretty arorgant so his opinion may not be worth much.


PAge 349-350

"How long before the escort arrives?"
...
"Two days at most."

Two days at most to reach the planet they're orbiting.. worth at least a couple gees.


PAge 351

The passing Space Marine vessel had targeted the Fae Taeruth with a variety of high-density sensors emanating from its weapon batteries: its guns were locked on!
The distress of the cruiser was matched by Aradryan’s own dread as he saw gun ports sliding open along the starboard side of the strike cruiser. There was no time to activate the holofield, no space in which to manoeuvre away from the worst of the coming bombardment.
Laser, shell and plasma flared from the gun batteries of Gessart’s ship, pounding the flank and mast of the Fae Taeruth. Still enmeshed with the infinity matrix, Aradryan felt every blow as a faint wound on himself, an ache spreading up his spine as the pounding continued, smashing the mast of the primary stellar sail. Secondary flares of pain registered in Aradryan’s mind as gun decks exploded and holds filled with human prisoners were breached, belching atmosphere and corpses into the void.

Aradryan's poitn of view of Gessart firing on the Eldar starships. Implies that the gunfire strikes in under a second again (seconds to lock on, and Aradryan still has no time to activate holofield or maneuver away. Bear in mind we ALSO know from '13th Legion' (last Chancers omnibus) that Eldar can manuver and change direction within 1-2 seconds tops too soo... we're talking several hundred to several thousand km/s easily for shell fire at least.


Page 351

The lights in the chamber had dimmed as the Fae Taeruth struggled to redirect her available power to maintaining the integrity of her compromised hull.

Eldar structural integrity field. That would imply the hull is more than just physical resistance against attack.


Page 374

In the holo-display two small stars appeared, each deep red in colour, jettisoned into the wake of the Naestro. Aradryan realised they were some kind of munitions, but was not sure of what type. The pursuing pair of cruisers had time and space to avoid a direct contact with the two stars, though they lost some momentum doing so.
...
The star expanded into a ball of red lightning, flaring from one side of the webway to the other. The detonation caught the second star in its arcs of energy, causing a secondary explosion. The tubular passage of the webway was filled with a storm of power that sped along the walls and rippled along the hull of the Commorraghan cruiser. The energy wave expanded, catching up with the Naestro in a few moments.
...
Looking back at the display, he saw that both Commorraghan cruisers had ploughed on through the psychic storm, the flares of energy dripping from their hulls like water off the oiled skin of a marine beast.
...
"Some kind of psychic shielding," Jain reported. "No lasting damage detected."

Some sort of psychic or warp mine (or rear firing torpedoes), which the DE can shield against psychically.

Page 381

Panic gripped him as he looked into the uncaring eyes that regarded him from every direction, dozens of them judging him silently.

Dozens of seers, farseers, autarchs, etc.


Page 387

"There is a moment of imbalance"
...
"What sort of imbalance?"
"A human psyker, one of the Space Marines, has been protecting the enemy against our interference, masking his part on the skein."

Again Librarians can fuck with the skein and complicate things for Eldar.


Page 389

..a hail of shuriken fire whistled in front of him, ripping apart the arm and shoulder of a human soldier, his grey uniform torn to thin tatters.

Effect of shuriken fire of unknown quantity and duration.

Page 395-396

De’vaque’s arrival was heralded by a squadron of four tri-rotor aircraft soaring across the dome. Bubble-like gun mounts dotted their underbellies, twin-barrelled cannons swivelling to survey the scene below. Behind them came a smaller craft with a single rotor, flitting left and right as it evaded possible anti-aircraft fire. A blue blazon was painted on the nose of the craft and Aradryan saw that it was a leaping fish leaving a trail of sparkling diamonds. Seeing this, Aradryan realised that the design was the same as the mosaic that had been on the floor of De’vaque’s yacht: a personal symbol or family heraldry.

Imperial aircraft forces. The interesting thing is that it implies its De'vaque's PDF assets probably, which in turn begs the question of whether or not the troops invading are De'Vaque's own dtroops, or what.

Page 399

"Ships from a dozen craftworlds have exited our webway portal.."

at least a dozen craftworlds in addition to Altaioc.


Page 400

"But not before our surviving ships have departed.’ added Aradryan, still staring at De’vaque. "They know where there are weapons that can scorch entire worlds in moments and extinguish stars. Destroy Alaitoc and the whole eldar race will respond, and a hundred human worlds will die."

Depending on the world, they probably could afford it in the long term, but then again some worlds are more important than others and it wouldn't surprise me if the Eldar targeted vital worlds. In any case access to weapons that can mass-extinct worlds in seconds (hundreds or thousands of teratons a second) or fuck over stars is considerably better thna Imperial tech. how widespread and replicable it is.. I dunno.


Page 401

The boom of the pistol caused Aradryan to jump. De’vaque’s head disappeared in a cloud of blood and bone and his headless corpse collapsed to the pavement.

bolt pistol headsplosion.

Page 403

There were thousands of dead, too many for the Dome of Everlasting Stillness.

Eldar casaulties form the battle. It doesn't doom the population although its hardly trivial losses for them. Tens or hundreds of thousands perhaps?

PAge 404

Nearly a third of Alaitoc lay in ruins, from rim to core, the swathe cut by the Imperial troops a scar that would take generations to heal. Some domes would never recover. They would be let free from the base of the craftworld and sent into the fiery heart of dying Mirianathir, to be reborn one day as particles that would fuel the craftworld again.

Extent of damage to Altaioc. The interesting thing is that the 'self-healing' ability is implied to be tied to the sun, but they're not tapping just energy, but perhaps even some matter.

Page 406

"I glimpsed the narrowest of futures, possible only by the most complex chain of events, and hence far more unlikely to happen than likely. Yet for my own selfishness, I manipulated people and fate to satisfy my curiosity and sate my fear, and in doing so I brought about the very catastrophe I sought to avoid."
..
"I manipulated Korlandril, and through him Arhathain, to make the council of seers investigate my glimpse of Alaitoc’s doom. From that moment, a sequence of thread came together which turned a remote possibility into a self-fulfilling prophecy. The more we looked, the more we were likely to bring it about, because as soon as we found the danger and saw your part in the doom that would come.."

One of the dangers of Farseeing and the skein, the way the warp can be manipulated by thought and emotions means that its all too possible to influence the future rather than merely watch it. This might have some tangible benefits to the farseer if they can pull it off positively (indeed I suspect they and other psykers do do this sort of manipulation), but the complexity of the univers and the variables involved means it can backfire, too. Small wonder the Eldar favor a subtle, gradual and very indirect approach to the warp!

Page 406-407

" I sent warning to you, across the gulf of space through the eternal matrix that underpins the webway."
...
"My dreams... They are coming for us. We will all burn. Such nightmares I have never known"
...
"Had I not implanted that psychic message in your dreams..."

Thirianna is able to send warinings to Aradryan through the webway's 'eternal matrix' - which I gather is the greater infinity circuit - albeit in the form of a dream. Again long distance communication is possible.

Also, this eternal matrix, if it is linking all exodite and craftworlds together, probably is an aspect of that Ynnead. that might arise (at least thats what may connect them all.)

[Connor MacLeod]

Well I've returned... sort of. I've been busy with alot of other stuff IRL, and online I've gotten caught up in becoming a moderator on SB (which sucks up alot of free time) and there was heaps of drama there even before that (and a new spinoff forum, we've heard that story before...)

Anyhow, the long and short of it is, I'm probably not going to be posting regularly anymore. In fact, I may not even be updating much of my stuff here anymore. Part of me is thinking of moving it elsewhere, and its been on my mind for quite awhile, because I'm willing to bet Mike isn't going to want to run the board forever. I may experiment with posting it on SB (I was thinking of trying out IA12 there to see.) but we'll play that by ear. I may pursue other options.

In any event, there are still certain things I want to 'close out' in case I don't, and I do have a few updates to post. So now we'll do the Dark Eldar novels by Andy Chambers: Path of the Renegade, Path of the Incubus, and PAth of the Archon. Of the two series, I think the Dark Eldar ones are far superior - they're written more captivatingly and have a better pacing, the stories are more self contained and seem to build on each other better. Gav I think was pretty ambitious with the Eldar novels, and I'll give him credit for trying to give an itneresting 'poitn of view' approach... it just didn't realyl work for me with the constant repetition - it disrupted the pacing and the ending just didn't feel compelling enough. But the DE novels stand out in contrast, and make up for the endless sea of SPACE MARINE you have to deal with.

I'll alos lay out from the get go this is a single infodump - 3 novels, 6 posts. I dont know if I'll get back anytime soon (or have inclination to) so you get what you get. Also if you want to contact me I can still be reached here, but I'm also over on SB. Go there to check for updates.

So we begin with Path of the Renegade. This is the 'introductory' Dark Eldar novel: It covers the lesser tiers of Dark Edlar society, introduces us to the various characters and concepts of the Dark Eldar, and generally sets up the framework for the larger story connecting each self contained one - one series of events linking together. In this one, we have a plot against Vect to stage a Coup, and in doing so dangerous powers (read: Chaos) are unleashed. Its a good start, and draws you into the series quite easily, and I would recommend it. So enjoy.

Part 1:


Page 12

The Dark Kin’s reaction was instantaneous. Half of them turned their weapons on the tree-line and rip-sawed at the foliage with streams of poison-laced hypervelocity splinters. The others grabbed their fallen comrades and dragged them unceremoniously back through the portal.

Splinter weapons are Hypervelocity.

Page 19

Unfortunately for the ambitious archon he had reckoned without the tyrant’s command of ancient failsafes within the city. Before the horde could debouch into other districts the whole of Talon Cyriix spur was sealed off from the rest of Commorragh by impenetrable shields of energy. Trapped, denied the blood and souls they had been promised, Ysclyth’s untrustworthy daemonic allies turned on him and sated themselves on his holdfast before disappearing whence they came.

Daemonrpoof shields. One of the many ways VEct maintains power and denies his enemies.

Page 22

Once upon a time the whole Great Wheel of the galaxy had been the plaything of the eldar and a portal like this could have led anywhere, connecting to others like it on a million different worlds.

Implied scope of the Eldar race pre-Fall.

Page 25

Yllithian had dressed for the occasion in a suit of angular black armour that was possessed of its own fierce little war spirit. It was clever enough to extrude monomolecular blades on command or playfully nip off a crippled limb to save its wearer’s life.

Dark Eldar armour.
Page 27

The vessel that struck Shaa-dom was one of those built by the upstart younger races – huge and crudely made, armoured in thick slabs of ignorance and wishful thinking. It tore through the supposedly unbreakable wardings between El’Uriaq’s realm and the Sea of Souls like a bull charging through cobwebs. El’Uriaq and the core of his warrior elite were immolated instantly when the ship crashed into his palace, but what came after proved to be the worse fate. The open breach left behind in the warding attracted a swarm of horrors from beyond.

That wacky Vect. If he gets an upstart he's either giving them black holes as gifts or crashing Imperial starsips into their front lawn.

Page 30-31

The manifold gifts of the eldar extended to very considerable psychic prowess and their ancient civilisation had been built as much with thoughts as with hands. But after the Fall the use of psychic powers became a sure way to attract daemons, effectively signing the sorcerer’s death warrant along with any other unfortunates in the vicinity.
It was a hard vice to resist, akin to losing a limb, but the eldar kindred of Commorragh and its satellites soon learned to shun their psychic gifts, and to destroy those that pursued them despite the consequences. Now every scrap of their mental training focused on internalising their powers and hiding their presence from She Who Thirsts. The few that still pursued such knowledge, like Archon Ysclyth, usually came to a sticky end however clever they thought they were. Some still dabbled in the meaner warp-arts, using cards and grimoires and other fetishes to protect themselves. Rune-casting to see the future was another crime replete with its own set of horrid punishments for anyone involved in it.

Dark Eldar and psychic powers - as in they don't use them the way their Craftworld/Exodite kin do. They seem to be more for hiding and physical enhancement more than anything. Which means they don't seem to do bonesinging or use psychic means of detection or scrying or divination either.

Page 36'

The eldar of Commorragh had discovered many ways to conquer death. Over the centuries the cult of haemonculi, the artist-surgeons and torture-scientists of the dark city, had perfected unnatural methods to preserve themselves against the tide of years and to be remade from even the smallest morsel of their flesh. True death was a rarity among the highborn, and all the more feared because of it. Who knew what the practitioners of the arts of flesh might be able to achieve?

Dakr Eldar cloning.

Page 48

Once he had satisfied himself that his earlier consultation with Syiin would be buried beneath a dozen other inconsequential reports from the tyrant’s spies he made his way to a docking port in the highest reaches of his domain. Here, the titanic vista of Commorragh beneath its circling crown of captive suns could be viewed in some small part. Impossibly high structures of metal, crystal, flesh, bone and polished stone rose at every side; thousand-metre images of kabalite archons seemed to battle against spiralling starscrapers that clawed their way upwards from the depths.

DE engineering in Commorragh.

Page 49-50

Nyos’s personal grav craft was a creation of quite stunning beauty. The curving armoured plates of its fiercely jutting prow were inlaid with ruby and alabaster depicting the White Flames. The graceful lines of its long, narrow-waisted hull swept majestically backwards before flaring to accommodate the pods containing gravitic engines at the rear. Nyos mounted the open platform at the centre of the barque and settled himself in a richly appointed throne that was twin to the one in his audience chamber. His incubi moved to take their positions at long-throated splinter cannon and disintegrators ranged on mountings around the hull. At a nod to his steersman Nyos’s craft smoothly ascended and slid away from the docking port.
...
The scourges arrogantly dived past the craft before spiralling outwards to form a wheeling defensive sphere surrounding it. The hiss and snap of their altered wings was clearly audible through the layered shields protecting the barque.
...
The faintest breeze blew through the barque’s protective fields from the rushing winds outside. Nyos gestured to the steersman, Faster.
Even the peerless dampening fields of the barque could not entirely shield its occupants at such speeds. The incubi braced themselves and swayed with the craft’s motion as they careened past obstacles close enough to touch.

DE craft and its various systems. Note the shields and inertial dampers.

Page 51

The lower reaches of Commorragh were spreading out before them now, the spire canyons giving way to the old trade districts and docking spurs that clustered around the feet of High Commorragh. In the spires this was known as the Ynnealidh, the necropolis below, where the uncounted billions of the dark city laboured, sweated and died.

"Lower Commorragh" has billions, although that almost certainly includes the slaves which are not neccesarily Eldar.

PAge 53

Metzuh’s main claim to fame was that it formed a natural crossroads of sorts thanks to its possession of several of the larger dimensional gates leading to the satellite realms of Commorragh.
Nyos always contemplated the satellite realms with some ambivalence. Commorragh had originally been just one of the extradimensional enclaves made by the eldar. There had been numerous other port-cities, fortresses and private estates created. Over the centuries Commorragh had reached out across the webway and subsumed one after another of them like a slowly spreading parasitic growth. The conquered satellite realms were slaved to Commorragh, their gates locked permanently open to allow the eternal city to plunder their contents at will. Shaa-dom was one of the few that had raised a creditable attempt at secession, but the tyrant was too strong and too ruthless to let anything go once it was in his grasp.
The satellite realms seemed to breed a special kind of madness notable even in the dark city.

Commorragh isn't just a single city anymore, but it icnludes other conquered territories which gives you an idea of the scale and perhaps numberso fthe Dark Eldar (EG they're alot bigger than we were used to thinking before.) Of course this also means they fight amongst themselves as much as they might fight amongst the other Eldar or races of the galaxy.

Page 54

After he seized control Vect’s laws demanded only the mightiest should rule the kabals, his cynical attempt to wipe away the nobility and replace it with some grubby meritocracy.

Guess the guy can't be all bad. really it does suggest Vect perhaps has higher aspirations than just rehashing the old ways and means of doing things. He seems to b conquering and unifying the Dark Eldar race. Perhaps he intends to conquer the galaxy?

Page 61-62

"At its most elemental level the process is simple," Bellathonis said emphatically, eyes shining with black intensity. "My brother haemonculi insist on mystifying the procedure but only two steps are required."
...
"Firstly the body must be regrown. For this, the smallest fragment of the subject can be used – even ashes will suffice."
"Secondly – the animating spirit must be recalled into the body and then nourished with sufficient pain and suffering of another." The second horrid digit lowered to join its twin.
"If these two requirements are fulfilled it is my belief that any regeneration may be performed. Death cannot hold us with either weight of years or violence if we have but the will to survive!"
"I was led to understand there were terrible risks involved, that overly ambitious attempts had triggered Dysjunctions in the past."
...
"The key to restoring the long-dead is a secret they all seek – after all, what greater power could a coven wield than life or death itself? Their future would be assured for all eternity. So each coven pursues its own ends and tries to foil the attempts of the others, not least through stories of dreadful failures and dire consequences. Pure hypocrisy."
"So if you were provided with the requisite means – a viable fragment and a sufficient source of suffering – you believe you could return one lost for hundreds or even thousands of years?"
...
"The resonance of dark energies required to return one so far behind the veil would be immense. The empathic connection to the source could be nothing less than perfect…"
...
"You are correct in surmising that, to put it in crude terms, quality and not quantity is required for the undertaking. A single subject of the right characteristics would bring better chances of success than a pen full of slaves… Yes, a pure heart…"

Dark Eldar 'resurrection.' It makes alot of sense in context, when you consider that reincarnation is a valid concept in the 40K universe and the warp (the Eldar can't reincarnate because of Slaanesh, and ancient human shamans used to reincarnate, and we know about the Perpetuals now from the HH series..) since a soul in theory exists in the warp perpetually until 'reborn', it shoudl be possible to become 'alive' again if you simply have a suitable vessel (a cloned one or a newly born one - works either way.) It's alot like possession in that respect.
There's limitations of course. The longer one is dead the harde rit is to do and the more power it takes: I gather that the power involved grows with time because a soul that has spent a long time in the sea of souls becomes more 'entrenched' in it - harder to break free or sort out of the mess. The power may in fact act as a beacon or a line to draw the soul in (hence the relationship.) Although this idea has dangers as well (drawing the wrong soul, or a daemon for example.)
It also echoes some of what Jaq Draco tried to do in Chaos Child (needing a body, trying to draw a soul back from the Warp, etc.) so there is precedence.
Also when it comes to the sort sof rituals the Drk Eldar do (pain and ushc) there is a difference between quality and quantity of warp connections, although the latter is in terms of purely Eldar vs Dark Eldar (DE don't use their powers and actually train to suppress them, so they may not be useful by definition.)

Page 64

"Some have sought increasingly esoteric subjects, particularly among the human chattel, but thus far without success. Others have attempted to substitute quantity with notably disastrous outcomes. I have theorised for some time and to any that would listen that the lesser races lack a powerful enough connection to the Sea of Souls to serve such a purpose."

More on the 'quality vs quanitity' issue. Again it relies on the strength of the connection ot the warp.

Page 65-66

"Vlokarion was fascinated by the muddy branches of our race that turned aside from the true way to mire themselves in primitivism and monasticism."
...
"See here the unbroken line of the ancients leading to their inheritors in Commorragh. See here the twin branching paths of the sterile eldar of the craftworlds and the simpleton followers of Isha, the Exodites."
...
"Vlokarion believed that during the Fall the racial soul of the eldar was divided like colourless light striking a prism. The division led to each branch of our race embracing, or rather expressing, different parts of our nature to the exclusion of others."
The broad, straight path leading from the ancients to Commorragh bore a version of the mark of Khaela Mensha Khaine, the dragon-rune denoting Fury. Bellathonis pointed out a prominent rune on the craftworld path, a variant of the sign of Asuryan – Discipline. Finally he pointed to a different rune on the Exodite path, this one showing the sign of Isha – Purity.

An interesting insight into the Eldar, wouldn't you say? There are at least 3 main 'factions' the Exodites, Dark Eldar, and the Eldar, all of whom represent Isha, Khaine, and Asuryan repsectively. All 'aspects' of the same 'racial soul' - and their gods are tied to it. When you think about it it makes sense - the Orks 'racial soul' is tied in with their Gods. Tyranids 'souls' such as they are are tied in with the Shadow in the Warp. The same is almost certainly true of humans. and the Craftworld Eldar are trying to create a new god from their souls - the god of the dead.
We also know Slaanesh are partly tied to the Eldar through the Fall, so part of that racial soul got co-opted (hence the danger they are in.) Of course one wonders where the Harlequins (who represent Ceoragh) and the Outcast/Pirates/Rangers and others of that type fall.
I love little details like this. They always fit in with eealrier fluff (again the Realms of Chaos books, the Heresy stuff, Inmquisition War and Eye of Terror, etc.) and they give an interesting insight into the nature and function of gods and how the races interact with the warp. In this case, the gods are literally created by people's beliefs (and thoughts) in the warp, and vice versa.
Page 67

"Vlokarion proved on many occasions that the quantity of dark energy that could be harvested from eldar subjects exceeded that of the slave races many times over,"
...
"and the Exodites most of all. He speculated that with a pure enough specimen to work with he could resurrect the greatest legends of eldar history."

This might suggest the Exodites are even stronger psykers than craftworld Eldar. who are (obviously) more powerful psykers than the lesser races like humans.

page 67-68

"A pure heart could be found on a maiden world, among the Exodite clans. The Exodites bind their souls to what they call the world spirit of their home planet in order to escape She Who Thirsts, just as our deluded kin on the craftworlds hide their dead from Her by binding them into the very fabric of their vessel."
...
The eldar of the craftworlds chose to hide forever, clinging to their psychic gifts in sterile little facsimiles of the home worlds and never venturing forth. The regressive Exodites were no better than those of the craftworlds, living in the mud of a single world and calling that their whole universe. True eldar, the ones the milksop eldar of the craftworlds called the Dark Kin, chose to live forever and took what they needed from the slave races to survive.
...
"In the course of my studies I have discovered a caste that would be ideally suited for our purposes, ascetic warp-shapers that form a life-long spiritual bond with their home world. Once removed from that… embryonic environment I believe a member of this caste could be employed as a living conduit of dark energy."
...
" The caste in question is seldom mentioned even in the oldest records, and to the best of my knowledge no member of it has been brought to the eternal city alive."
...
"Some claim that their existence is entirely mythical." Bellathonis continued, "possibly even a concoction by Vlokarion to misguide his rivals. However, Vlokarion himself mentions that they seldom leave their shrines buried deep in the heart of their worlds, and that these places are normally completely inaccessible to outsiders."
...
"But if you could find such a worldsinger and bring them to me I feel confident that I could resurrect Eldanesh himself."

More interesting details regarding Craftworld Eldar and the Exodites. We know from various novels (like Daemon World) that Eldar Maiden worlds are much like craftworlds - they're custom-tailored, living, and self-aware planet sized entities.. almost like living things. In some ways I'm tempted to say Craftworld (and perhaps Maiden worlds) form some osrt of mini-deity with all this.
We also learn of some super-psyker 'caste' on Maiden worlds.. soemthing like a Farseer or a bonesinger perhaps but far above that. hard to say yet.

Page 73-74

The arenas fulfilled a vital role in Commorragh society. The miasma of pain and fear they generated, the excitement of murder and wanton slaughter witnessed at close hand invigorated and rejuvenated the spectators. This is no mere pastime or simple diversion for the jaded hosts of the dark city. Without the crimson displays of the arena Commorragh would soon collapse in upon itself to slake its eternal thirst for suffering.

The importance of arena and bloodsports to Dark Eldar society (under Vect)

Page 78

Rank upon rank, row upon row of fantastically armed and armoured warriors from a hundred different kabals flowed into the arena.

Number of Kabals present at this arena.

Page 79

Archon Xerathis of the Broken Sigil swept over the arena on a spoked wheel festooned with the mnemonic projectors and psychic amplifiers he used to convey his messages of terror and discord to the trembling populations that fell beneath his hand.
...
. The dimension-warping properties of the observation tiers would ensure that every viewer in the arena could witness the action from scant metres away.

The tech and systems of the arena. The dimension-warping aspects are most interesting.

Page 81

. Eternal, unblemished youth was the aim of every Commorrite but even for one so wealthy and powerful as Kraillach the growing weight of years could not be easily turned aside. Over the centuries more and more suffering was needed to fill the unceasing hunger inside, and the restorative properties of the process became increasingly short-lived. Kraillach lived his life in an unceasing cycle of orgies and debasement, feeding almost continuously on wretched slaves and unsatisfactory underlings. His current state had no doubt been induced by the lack of sufficient stimulation during his journey from his palace.

There is a point of diminishing returns when it comes to sustaining oneself on the sorts of sensations Dark Eldar absorb, which is a pretty big drawback for them . Sort of a 'tolerance' really.
Page 84

The dimension-warping technologies artfully concealed within the arena structure permitted a spectator to cast their presence into the midst of the action, feeling the blood drops on their face and hearing the death-screams ringing in their ears. They also permitted Xelian, Kraillach and Yllithian to converse together inside a co-sensual reality safe from outside observation.

Page 92

They fought a brave but futile battle against eldar superiority in both numbers and technology that supplied a few images worth showing: a howling, bearded human thrusting a bayonet into the guts of a kabalite warrior, a barrage of laser bolts knocking another eldar off his feet.

Human weapons sem to have some effect on DE armour at least.
Page 92

A hundred thousand hungry souls rode behind the human sow’s eyes as she hurried to open the locks to the deathworlders’ cell. They felt her fear and avarice for the reward she had been promised burning inside her as she pulled the door open.

Number of De in the arena at least.. 100 kabals means 1000 warriors on average.

Page 93

The first lost fingers on the rifle’s monomolecular blades but got a grip somehow and held fast even after the guard reversed his grip and punched a curved blade into his attacker’s guts.

More mono.

Page 99

. Energy weapons suddenly flared through the struggling mass of warriors, the vivid emerald stars of disintegrators firing on full automatic. Screaming, kicking bodies could be seen as glowing after-images as they burned like candles in the hellish glare. Gaps were torn in the ring of Vect’s kabalite warriors and the struggle hung momentarily in the balance.
...
Livid green sparks of high-energy plasma ricocheted off the imperturbable dark metal without so much as scorching the surface. Despite the lack of visible effect the feeble attack was apparently enough to exhaust Vect’s patience. Disintegrators and dark lances studding the ziggurat abruptly swept the terrace with the fury of an angry god. Entropic darklight beams and plasma bolts rained down and obliterated the scene. All that was left of Narthellyon, his retinue and the Black Heart kabalite warriors fighting them, was a patina of blackened holes punched into the stonework. The awesome display of firepower did much to quiet the fighting in other parts of the arena. The tyrant’s visage appeared again, leering at the carnage with a cruel smile on his lips.

DE energy weapons, vehicle and smallarm in action.


Page 120

As he dropped the hellion brought up his hellglaive and triggered the splinter pods on his skyboard, spraying a stream of near-invisible hyper-velocity splinters from its built-in weaponry.

More HV splinters.

PAge 142-143

" Did not Archon Kelithresh perish to a singularity inside a casket presented to him as a tithe?"
"Indeed, my archon, he and his whole sub-realm with him. They say it was Vect’s work."
...
Brilliant minds in Commorragh had spent thousands of years devising peerless tools for stealthy sabotage and assassination. Compounds of poison and explosive that were to all intents and purposes undetectable had been perfected long since. Nonetheless the vestibule itself was a richly appointed but heavily armoured blast chamber cunningly designed to baffle and deflect unwelcome energies away from the body of the palace. The damage that could be caused in the vestibule was severely limited without resorting to a dimensional warp or singularity, and those could be detected with ease.

A bit on DE weapons of destruciton and assassination, and hints about their strucutral durability. Note the implied fact they can create and use singularities to at least some degree. as well as dimensional weapons (but not by choice)

Page 144

He now wore a form-fitting augmetic suit of jewel-like armour plates that shimmered richly behind iridescent force fields. As Kraillach walked he was surrounded by perfect Kraillach doppelgangers created by the protective fields, a host of illusory projections of himself that made it impossible to tell his true location. He bore Quasili, a metre-long blade of living metal that was old when Commorragh was first founded; a relic of the Golden Age, it could split the very vault of heaven.

Archon wargear

Page 145

Lithe, half-naked wyches somersaulted away from the deadly streams of hyper-velocity splinter rounds sweeping across the scene.

More HV.

Page 148-149

Close to a thousand years before the fall of Shaa-dom a celebrated sculptor named Jalaxlar had enjoyed fantastic acclaim when he revealed his latest works in Commorragh. His amazingly life-like renditions displayed eldar caught in various poses of shock and horror rendered in a black, glass-like crystal. Jalaxlar earned immediate patronage from some of the most powerful kabals but incurred fierce rivalry from others. The very same evening his studio-laboratories were raided and smashed apart. Among the ruins Jalaxlar’s secret was revealed.
The insane sculptor-scientist had isolated a viral helix that was capable of rapidly vitrifying living tissue, transforming warm flesh into cold, crystalline glass within a few heartbeats. His stunning display of artfully posed statues were in point of fact made with the unwilling assistance of his first victims – friends, callers and assistants. The virus was accidentally released in the destruction of Jalaxlar’s workshops and spread through the city with frightening speed. Thousands of Commorrites fell victim to the resulting ‘plague of glass’ before a haemonculi coven known as the Hex succeeded in releasing an anti-virus to quell it.
Naturally the glass plague had gone on to be weaponised and used in many guises, occasionally re-emerging naturally as a rogue mutation that temporarily defied the common anti-viral agents before they could be adjusted. The strain that had been released inside the palace was an obscure one. Several quarts of it had been concealed in liquid form inside the ‘gift’: a stone urn designed to release it as an aerosol when triggered. The black smoke they had seen came not from the explosion as Kraillach had supposed, but from the virus battling anti-viral agents in the air of the palace. In this case the anti-viral agents had failed and those without their own inoculations of defensive nano-phages had fallen prey to the vitrifying plague.
The glass plague meant True Death. There was no rebirth from it as no cell of living tissue survived for the body to be remade from. The precious soul was denied the slightest grip on life and slipped easily out of the altered vessel into the waiting maw of She Who Thirsts.

The Glass Plague. Note the 'nano-phage' defense mechanisms and such.

Page 159

Darklight beams scored the shields of Yllithian’s barque leaving retina-burning entropic blooms as they were barely shunted aside by the straining projectors.

Defensive shields on vehicles (At least an Archon's vehicle) block weapons fire.

Page 173-174

he White Flames kabal controlled docking rights along the Ashkeri Talon, reserving fully eighteen of the kilometres-long anchorage-spines for the exclusive use of themselves and their allies. Life among the crowded spires of Commorragh made it easy to forget that the city was originally built as a transit point, a nexus in the webway with hundreds of thousands of connections to skeins of that curious sub-realm.
..
The sprawling city consumed resources at a ravenous rate, and every day thousands of ships had to disgorge stolen cargoes to slake its hunger. By controlling even a fraction of the docking facilities around the city as he did, immeasurable wealth flowed into the White Flames’ coffers.
..
Today the anchorage-spines were occupied solely by warships. Gigantic, shark-like Torture-class cruisers took up entire spines all to themselves, greedily swallowing lines of warriors into their open maws. Smaller Corsair-class frigates were jostling together among other anchorages, loading their own payloads of torpedoes and strike craft.

DE craft are kilometres long, they need 'thousands' of slave ships daily to meet the needs of Corrmorragh (which gives an idea of DE economy and taxation) and the scope of their webway connections to the galaxy at large.

PAge 179

He congratulated himself that he had brought an elixir with him for just such an eventuality, a substance distilled from the synapses of a slave-scholar. He fumbled through his hide robes before triumphantly bringing forth a tiny crystal vial. Unscrewing the stopper he allowed a single drop of the viscous liquid to fall on his quivering pink tongue.
Syiin was still savouring the zesty taste when the correct route through the labyrinth came to him as if it had been sketched in lambent neon in his mind’s eye.

DE memory-enhancement drugs.

Page 185-188

The contents of the chamber would have beggared a kabal to collect, the wealth it represented could have purchased a fleet or bribed a fortress. These rare and deadly treasures were examples of the very finest devices of excruciation.
The spheres were Animus Vitae, sentient ribbons of razor-edged metal tightly wound together. At a command, they would explode outwards to ensnare a victim before contracting again just as quickly to slice apart their helpless prey with delightful precision
...
Syiin’s eyes strayed to a small, black box with ornamental blades projecting from each corner. He recognised it as a Casket of Flensing. Opening it with the correct command words would unleash a host of invisible assassins upon the target, gnawing through armour and flesh alike in a whirlwind of unseen teeth. Syiin had even heard tales that the ethereal creatures in the casket would bring the skull of their victim back to their master when the work was complete, the brain inside still delectably intact.
...
A shard of thick, angular crystal lay on a shelf close by. Syiin hissed when he saw it, moving carefully to ensure his reflection wasn’t caught in the shard’s mirrored surface. It was a Shattershard, legendary creation of the demented genius Vorsch. Each Shattershard had been made from a remnant of a complex dimensional gateway called the Mirror of Planes. After the portal’s destruction Vorsch had painstakingly tracked down every fragment and weaponised it. By some strange dimensional sympathy understood only by Vorsch, catching a victim’s reflection in the shard and then shattering it would cause the victim to shatter into pieces too. Syiin had believed there to be few, if any, Shattershards left in the city but here one lay.
...
It was a little three-sided pyramid no taller than his thumb, made of a dull, coarse material akin to charred bone. Silvery runes etched into its surface warned of the dire consequences of activation.
It was a runic gate, a portable key for entering the webway, but this particular gate led to a fragment of the labyrinth dimension that had fallen into madness and dissolution.
...
Careless of their shots Rhakkar had stalked forwards and cast a small, dark tetrahedron into the slaves’ midst.
Syiin had witnessed only a black-purple flash that disappeared in the blink of an eye – the gate opening for a fraction of a second – before the tetrahedron dropped to the ground inert and lifeless. In that brief instant every slave within a dozen paces of the spot was smashed into bloody pulp, crushed into walls and floor that were rent and scored as if they had been raked by monstrous claws.
...
Impossible entities thrived in the forbidden places, he had said, things that would use an open gate to reach out and lash at anything within grasp of their pseudopods. By setting the gate to open just a chink for a fraction of a second an unwelcome lengthier incursion was avoided and the gate became an effective weapon.

More DE toys of destruction and assasination. Pretty self evident.

[Connor MacLeod]

Part 2
Page 190-192

The webway was an extradimensional marvel engineered by entities that pre-dated even the eldar. Its lattice was formed out of the very stuff of the warp and it burrowed between the material and immaterial worlds, part of both and yet separated from either. The eldar had discovered the webway early in their history, their quick minds soon learning its labyrinthine paths and mastering its ways. At its height eldar civilisation had built great port-cities, palaces and secret realms at interstices of the network, and in so doing it had unwittingly created the final strongholds it would occupy after the Fall.
At certain points the tunnel branched, splitting through immense hanging gateways of wraithbone and golden metal inscribed with eldritch runes of channelling and protection. They passed many smaller passageways leading off the major route, entrances only large enough for foot troops and light vehicles to reach some planet-based web portal. Much of the labyrinth dimension was only accessible thus; the greater ship-bearing arteries were rarer and infinitely more precious.
The webway of modern times had altered drastically since those golden days of empire. It had been torn open by war and disaster in a thousand places. Whole regions had been rendered inaccessible by the splintering of the pathways, while in other areas the wardings had collapsed, admitting strange beings from different realities. Travelling the labyrinth dimension was inherently dangerous in modern times. It took skill, intellect and experience learned through countless millennia to chart a safe course through the multi-dimensional maze of arteries and capillaries formed by the interdimensional network.
...
The eldar of Commorragh had become the masters of the webway, it was their hunting ground and their limitless domain. They slew any that they found within its fabric, although its infinite dimensions meant that it was rare to encounter such impudence. The eldar of the craftworlds still dared to use the labyrinth dimension on occasion, but they hurried quickly from one sanctuary to another only at times of need. The young races lacked the wit and sophistication to enter the webway; indeed many of its portals in the realspace carried deadly safeguards against their interference.
The greatest threat in the labyrinth dimension was from warp entities, daemons from beyond the veil that swarmed and hammered incessantly at the psychic wardings that held its arteries frustratingly just out of reach. In several places vast spirals of psychically active wraithbone surrounded the ethereal tunnels, repairing and reinforcing it against the insubstantial claws forever scrabbling at the outer walls.

The webway. The interesting points are how rare starship portasl are compared to 'personal' or vehicle ones, and how its safety (vs the warp) is only relative. It's still dangerous, apparently. Also interesting in how they imply it was merely 'found', not bequeathed, or created by them. They might have expanded it though.

DE seem to think their mastery of the webway is s uperior to othres. No mention of Harlequins however. Also rather itneresting they ignore the Necrons.. which suggests they're either not an issue now or they never considered them a worthwhile threat (unlike the craftworlds, it seems.)

Page 195

Molecular de-bonders planted in advance of the raid instantaneously vaporised the great shielding mound and a kilometre of surrounding jungle. The ancient order of wardens that had faithfully guarded the portal for centuries vanished in the blink of an eye. A vast torus of glowing plasma was still rising into the air above the spot as the first Raider craft emerged from the newly reopened portal and sped away into the night.

More DE toys. Even assumgin vaporization isn't literal (eg its just blowing shit up) we've got to be talking about blowing a crater many tens of m in diameter out of the ground, nevermind the blast effects, which will be GJ/tons of TNT. Literal vaporization (it goes without saying) will be much higher. That said we dont know how much 'explosive' or whatever was used.

Page 201

"They look like Old One sigils to me. They must have made this place long ago."

Mention of the Old Ones. They had a hand in making the Maiden Worlds too, it seems.
Page 201

There was a sharp cracking sound and Morr’s eyepiece exploded into tiny shards of broken crystal. The towering incubus swayed for a moment and then he toppled like a felled tree. The others were too surprised to move for a heartbeat. Another sharp crack sounded and Xyriadh’s – or perhaps Vyril’s – head dissolved in a spray of crimson.

Eldar Ranger sniper rifles. Headshot splosion. Although in the Incubus' case it only damages the eyepice which gives you an indicator of how tough their armour is.

Page 203

Kharbyr dodged across the open ground counting himself lucky that their enemies were using needle rifles. The single-shot weapons made superlative sniper rifles but under the circumstances automatic fire would have served their attackers better. The distinctive cracking sound made by the toxin-coated slivers breaking the sound barrier told him he was dealing with amateurs. Experienced assassins always dialled down the muzzle velocity of their weapons to ensure there would be no such telltale giveaways.

The Rangers are using needle rifles. Apparently they're not just toxin weapons in this case. They also are clearly supersonic if not hypersonic (splinter weapons are hypervelocity after all.) and their velocity is adjustable (subsonic to super/hyper sonic at least. They're also distinctly semi-automatic, although it implies there might be fully automatic weapons of this class (amongst the Eldar, at least.) Or they may be referring to Shuriken weapons.

Page 209

Sindiel’s bitterness seemed to surprise even him. He had tried to explain what life on a claustrophobic craftworld was like with its myriad restrictions and unwritten laws. Resolving conflicts through confrontation, for example, was anathema in a society where everyone was guided through every step of their lives. Each life, every experience they had, was pigeonholed and mapped out almost from birth. Failure to conform to the constant subtle pressures to fit in with the other castaways led to censure in the form of a kind of living social death.

Another view of Craftworld eldar from outside.

Page 220

"I can use a temporary burrowing to enter the webway! There’s a hidden path"
...
Without waiting for an answer he drew a small object from his cameleoline robes and cast it into the air. It hung there, turning slowly at head height, a multi-faceted spindle of caged wraithbone. Sindiel sang desperately to the thing as it spun, now slower, now faster, in time with his tune. A silver teardrop wavered into focus beneath it and expanded, seeming as fragile and insubstantial as a soap bubble.

Temp webway portal. Acquired from (I think) a Harlequin.

Page 220

There were no signs of planetary defences or, worse yet, interfering craftworld eldar forces. Yllithian suspected that the alarm had gone out; a faint ripple detected in realspace shortly after they had emerged from the labyrinth dimension probably indicated a scout vessel fleeing back to its home craftworld with the news. That mattered little, the raid would be long over before the fools had finished debating and runecasting to determine if they should get involved.

Implies some fairly rapid detection of Eldar craft and their exit.
Page 220-221

Finally only Morr remained, his single eye glaring balefully around the desecrated shrine.
"Only the naïve try to forgive and forget!" he snarled to the raging spirits. He spat two more words before contemptuously turning his back and stepping through the portal. The portal vanished, leaving only the incubus’s final words to resonate around the shrine like the tolling of a great bell.
"Arhra remembers."

I'm not sure what the context really is here, but Arhra is the Fallen Phoenix (King) of the Striking Scorpions, who also seems to train the Incubi.
PAge 243-244

It appeared that the inhabitants of what came to be called Iron Thorn had been few and found themselves completely trapped in their sub-realm by the cataclysmic damage inflicted on the labyrinth dimension during the Fall. Some emergency or critical shortage of resources had forced them to take desperate measures to ensure their survival. In the end, either by accident or design, they had introduced a form of aggressively replicating nano-machinery into the environment of their sub-realm.
By the time the portals to Iron Thorn had been forced open by Vect’s forces no one could tell how long the tiny machines had been at work or what their original purpose had really been. It was only apparent that some weird strain of accelerated machine evolution had occurred over the centuries in Iron Thorn. The practical outcome was that the nano-machines had gradually converted almost everything in the sub-realm to a skeletal framework of pure iron. The original inhabitants of Iron Thorn had survived after a fashion, although the curious machine half-life they exhibited bore little resemblance to that of their previous forms.

Gotta love DE tech for its weirdness.
Page 248

"A warp-dabbler casts runes or cards or bones to tell the future. This one has no hands."
...
"Had you pursued your arcane studies sufficiently you would know those are only safeguards – psychic fuses, if you will. Angevere can peep beyond the veil all on her own with sufficient inducement."

The use of runes, and quite possibly cards and other means. It acts as a safeguard or shield.. an intermediary or catalyst that (I suspect) keeps the user one step removed from the process, and thus relatively safer. The tradeoff seems to be a slight reduction in the ability ot safely draw power (or draw it fast) givne the differences between humans ane Eldar. It's also quite possibly it degrades precision or efficiency (Makes it harder to read or detect or observe things.. scrying and divination in particular. As opposed to directly viewing it in the Warp.)

Page 249

Like all Commorrites he had a deep repugnance spiced with a mixture of terrible fascination and atavistic fear when it came to the warp-touched. All eldar possessed an intuitive psychic ability; it built their first golden empire and almost destroyed them by creating She Who Thirsts. Most in Commorragh used drugs and intensive training to seal off the dangerous psychic conduits in their minds. Some broke Vect’s laws by embracing their gifts and flirting with them briefly – typically to the great woe of anyone in the vicinity – before being consumed by She Who Thirsts, if Vect’s castigators didn’t find them first. Only a bare few survived long enough to gain any true insight.

More on psykers in Cormorragh.

Page 263

Sindiel carefully placed a targeting reticule on the gunner’s face and then zoomed the scope view out so that he could see Morr and the others. A mental impulse was all it would take to fire the needle rifle and send its deadly shard of poison hurtling across the intervening space.

Interesting aspect of needle rifles. Thought activated and a pretty fancy scope (again.) And this time they're poisoned shards - non hed exploding.

Page 271

Morr resolutely stood his ground and reduced a hellion to a flaring cinder with a lucky bolt of entropic energy.

Vehicle mounted dark lance. Might mean cremation, but dark lancess aren't 8quite* thermal weapons neccesarily.

Page 276

It was not so much concern about the destruction wrought on the maiden world that troubled him. Yllithian cared not one whit that the desecration of the World Shrine on Lileathanir had induced convulsions in the planet that probably set its carefully metered development back by thousands of years. Truth be told he took some pride in having a hand in that atrocity, albeit unrecognised.

An indication of the scale of awareness of (And contorl of) A Maiden world by its consciousness. also without the worldsinger it can be crippled. Bravo Dark Eldar.

Page 286

Sindiel hefted a stubby-looking blaster he carried that seemed to be entirely constructed of hooks and blades. Xyriadh had also exchanged her splinter rifle for a monomolecular shredder, a similarly dangerous looking weapon that projected clouds of monofilament mesh.

More DE weapons. The blaster I belive is mentioned and is a form of plasma/disintegrator weapon.
Page 293

Kharbyr recovered sufficiently to redeem some shred of his ego by shooting the last daemon in the face. Psychically infused splinters from his pistol cratered its head as if it were made of soft clay, the daemon collapsing into a cloud of sickly sweet vapour.

splinter weapons firing non poisoned psychic rounds. Or mayb ethe daemonic eqiuvalent of poison, either way variable ammo!

PAge 304-305

"A terrorfex is made out of wraithbone, you see, and that’s hard to find as it cannot be made in Commorragh. Wraithbone has to be… harvested from the divergent branches of the eldar, like the craftworlders and your own people. We have a lot of other uses for that resource I can assure you, and hence few terrorfexes are made these days. "
...
"The way the terrorfex works is by psychically inducing visions so nightmarish that the victim is rendered helpless. The wraithbone is imbued with negative energy to act as a sort of catalyst. All it does really is to blow open the gates, so to speak, and allow your own worst fears to reign supreme. You’re placed into a personal hell of your own making."

Terrorfexes.

Page 315

Yllithian gasped as one of Bellathonis’s wracks, the one named Xagor, hurled himself at the reborn archon with a knife naked in his fist. His hand darted for his own weapon to cut down the deranged fool before he could harm El’Uriaq. He was too slow to affect the outcome. A single glance from El’Uriaq and the weapon in the wrack’s hand flashed into a mass of molten metal. The wrack screamed and collapsed, his hand burned away to the wrist. The undercurrent of psychic energy in the chamber thickened until it seemed to drip from the air, dense and treacle-like.

A psychically active Dark Eldar in action. Assuming the knife weighs half a kilo and made of iron.. we're talking maybe half a megajoule to melt to a MJ or more (for bigger.)
Page 322

He had grown wary of trusting to his doppelganger field to protect him after the fight with Xelian. He’d had this new protective device made by his artisans, a phasing shield that converted potentially deadly amounts of incoming energy into heat and light that was reflected outwards at the attacker. Kraillach cast the intricate belt back on the table petulantly. While it made for an excellent defence against high-energy weapon strikes, the shield was nowhere near as effective against the slow assassin’s blade.

DE conversion shield basically. Former defense was doppleganger field.

Pae 348-349

In Yllithian’s secret consultations with Angevere she had said that Morr had returned to the hidden shrine of Arhra, Father of Scorpions. It was a reference to the legendary place where all incubi were said to learn their killing arts.

Incubi are taught (probably) Striking Scorpion like Aspect Warrior Arts, only for Dark Eldar purposes, it would seem. That explains much.

Page 368-369

Slowly but surely he had been expelled into the chilly outer darkness of social seclusion, there to watch others undertake their meaningless journeys along different paths; gardener, sculptor, entertainer, philosopher, artisan, warrior, on and on. It appeared to him that their aim was a lifetime of well-rounded mediocrity and he despised them for it.
He had briefly flirted with the warrior path but found it to be the most tiresomely restrictive and ritualised of them all. Everything on the warrior path seemed focused on how to stop being a warrior, how to deny that part of the psyche that lusted for violence. When he was offered the opportunity to leave his beautiful prison and escape into the wider universe he’d jumped at the chance – even now he remembered the weary shrug the seer had given when Sindiel asked him what would happen if he chose not to go.

Craftworld paths and aspect warirors again. I suspect its alot similar to what we learn int he Eldar PAth novels.

PAge 372

Without really knowing why he’d concealed the smooth sphere of chalcedony from his companions and began to study it without their knowledge. After much secret experimentation he’d found the sphere allowed him to communicate with an earnest-seeming prince from the dark city..

Dark Eldar have magic communication stones.
Page 373-374

Commorragh seethed with teeming multitudes more numerous than a thousand craftworlds, a million. From Sindiel’s perspective it seemed as if his entire race was gathered in this one city, the craftworlds and Exodites merely country cousins that were indulged despite their introverted ways. The proud remnants of eldar power and majesty resided firmly in Commorragh, dark though it might be.
...
Commorragh needed a martyr to break its chains and only he, Sindiel, had the strength and clarity to help his enslaved brethren in their hour of need. From there Sindiel had done most of the work by convincing himself that one life being sacrificed to save billions was a small price to pay.

Scope of Comorragh. Given hundreds fo thousands/millions ofr at least some Craftworlds, we'd be talking billions, maybe even trillions of Eldar. I'd imagine the Exodite and Craftworld populations were a respectable fraction of that (Implying thousands/ of Craftworlds and Exodite planets in the galaxy. Probably more colonies than craftwolrds.)
On the other side of the coin, working backwards from the 'bililons' we also get thousands of Craftworlds, and a population of millions perhaps. Alot of this depends on how you view the Eldar population as a whole (Are they merely in decline as a society, or are they actually dying out towards extinction? Or are only parts - eg the Craftworld and Exodites - dying out?)
Page 375

..it was a creature of some kind, a guardian sculpted by the haemonculi from living flesh. He could make out scarred skin stretched over bunched shoulders and thick haunches. The thing was squatting in the centre of the causeway, head tucked down and out of sight beneath slab-like arms. A miniature forest sprouted from its thick spine, rows of syringes and bio-pumps that were burbling quietly as they circulated whatever acidic ichor had been used to replace its blood. Sindiel felt absurdly relieved that he couldn’t see the thing’s face.

Haemonculi craftsmanship.
Page 377

The feeble impact of his knuckles barely scuffed the iron-hard flesh that they struck, but the device still bound to his wrist was infinitely more effective. Invisible strands of gossamer wire shot out of the concealed weapon, slipping through his sleeve, through the creature’s scarred hide and into its flesh as easily as if they were all made of water.
...
Sindiel’s hidden weapon was Motley’s parting gift to him in Iron Thorn: an ancient type seldom seen in the later ages of the eldar, called a harlequin’s kiss. In the brief instant that the kiss touched the guardian’s flesh, metres-long monomolecular filaments were sent looping throughout its body. As tough as it was the altered creature could not survive having its insides reduced to the consistency of soup by the unfurling wires.

Harlequin's kiss.
Page 402-403

The philosopher-poet Pso’kobor, replete after unknowingly dining on pantopherol and tocotheric, simultaneously ruptured every blood vessel in his body with explosive force. He exsanguinated himself in a fine, red mist.
The xeno-trader Mayylaenidian Vir twisted horribly as his bones were broken by his own spasming muscles. He howled wildly as his spine curved so far backwards his head emerged from between his knees before a final sickening crack made him silent. Even afterwards the muscles of the corpse continued to writhe and twist with a life of their own.
The myrmidon Kolaxian burst into flames, spontaneously combusting like a tallow candle beneath a blowtorch. Flaming drips of fat showered as the luckless warrior staggered between tables and was fended off by his compatriots.
The overseer Azurnal fell to a creeping vari-form of the glass plague, having had his own phagic inoculations against the deadly viral helix selectively neutralised by the delicious mirepoix he had tasted earlier. Sheets of black crystal shot through with lambent green slithered languorously down his legs and arms as he screamed for help that would not come.
The archon Slithiyyius collapsed in the midst of his bodyguards, fallen prey to a foe their blades could not stop. Skin sloughed off him in untidy lumps as he rapidly turned into a pile of corroding bones and necrotising flesh.

Dark Eldar poisons in action.

Page 408-409

"The viral helix is highly mutable, a living thing seeking to spread and flourish, to overcome the barriers to its growth. The protection they had against the glass plague was a physical thing, tiny machines that destroyed the virus before it could grow. It was only a hope that you could help it grow fast enough to overwhelm the machines, but it was the best hope we could find"

We learn a few things. Dark Eldar use nanotech in their bodies as preservative/protective measures. The Glass plague is a living thing, of a sort. And worldsingers on Exodite worlds have the ability through their songs (and psychic powers) to control or influence all forms of life in various ways (growth for example.) Given their need to guide and influence Exodite worlds development (and the catastrophic consequences of their absence) this makes a great deal of sense.

[Connor MacLeod]

Next up: Path of the Incubus. This follows on events from PAth of the Rengade, where an Incubus (Morr, introduced int eh previous story) tries to rectify the aftermath of the coup attempt. The players in that coup are not totally done, and plots for a second attempt are prepared. This novel continues the 'introducing concepts' element, this time focused on the Incubi and the aspect warriors and the fallen Phoenix Lord. Its more a bridging for the conclusion, but its still pretty good all told.

Again two parts:


PAge 10-11

Here another brief moment of explanation is in order. It is best to imagine Commorragh as a bubble maintained by equal pressure across its entire membrane. If the membrane is breached the external pressure forces what is without to come within to the great detriment of anyone in the vicinity at the time.h
Over the centuries Commorragh has incorporated many other little pearls into its bubble, encrusting itself with a hundred stolen realities to be enslaved and exploited. Ripples in the surface of the membrane can also dislodge these satellites realms, setting them free to drift and realign chaotically.
These phenomena are collectively known to the inhabitants of Commorragh as a ‘Dysjunction’, and most rightly feared. This tale revolves around the Dysjunction the noble’s schemes accidentally brought about, its effects and its resolution.

explanation of events from the past novel and the Dysjunction, as well as what Cormorragh is fundamentally in structure and such. Basically it seems that (in an ocean-going analogy) its like rupturing the hull of a submarine deep underwater. Only with daemons. The problem is magnified by the hundred-plus other locations incorporated into Cormorragh, as ruptures in the basic structure can compromise their 'integrity'.



Page 15

The powered edge of the blade was inactive but its inherent weight and molecule-sharp edge still sheared through flesh and bone as though it was little more than wet tissue paper.
..
The incubus viciously swatted at another gloomwing with his great double-handed blade, his klaive to use its correct title.

Klaives even without the powerfield seem to be insanely sharp and penetrative. One has to wonder how the powerfield enhances this - some sort of explosive or thermal damage on top of the improved cutting, perhaps?



Page 16

Traditionally all klaives feature an impaling spike or disembowelling hook projecting forward a hand’s span or so from their flat tip.

Extra features of the Klaive, to make them more Dark-Eldery.



Page 19

an unbroken plunge until it hit monofilament nets strung above the forges, cell blocks and practice areas at the bottom of the pit.

Dark Eldar have monofilament thingies.



Page 34

He thrust something tiny towards Morr, something small enough that it was barely visible pinched between Motley’s gloved thumb and forefinger. An insect, seemingly, but surely no living insect was ever spun so finely from metal and crystal as the spying device Motley held.
..
Motley crushed the spy fly between his fingertips and blew away the dust of its wreckage.

Some sort of Eldar, or Dark Eldar observation device. not unlike the Jokaero spy flies from Inquisition War, but much more Eldar-y. And also apparently fragile.



Page 35-36

"Now is not the time to make the supreme sacrifice trying to hold this one portal in a city of a million portals!"
..
The portal throbbed and shimmered before them both uncertainly, a threshold to the webway, itself a path to a billion other places known and unknown, hidden and obvious, open and forbidden.

Cormorragh has a million portals. Whether this is the sum total the DE have or know about, or if its just one locale amongst many (hundred or so satellite realms, remember.) we dont know. Its also implied there are a billion (at least) portals throughout the webway. At least that many that the Dark Eldar know of, anyhow.



Page 36

The place Morr must go to was well hidden, but forbidden to none. Any might seek the hidden shrine of Arhra; the true question was whether they would survive to leave it.

the shrine where Incubus are trained is hidden (presumably so the Striking Scorpions can't come along and wreck it.) but its not exactly forbidden territory. Got to bring in recruits somehow, but if anyone doesnt measure up their SOL.



Page 39

The crystalline blades of Aez’ashya’s gauntlets had already regrown. Fragments that they had left in Sybris’s wounds would keep them bleeding freely despite the best efforts of her skinsuit to seal the cuts.

Hydra gauntlets, designed 'frangible (mentioned later) to promote increased bleeding. Wych skinsuits can seal against bleeding if not interefered with, which for a Dark Eldar blade fanatic must be useful.



Page 42

The wrack was suddenly holding an object in its normal hand, a flat, finger-thick metal pentagon with a spiralling groove in its surface.
..
It didn’t even look valuable to him, but he also knew that in Commorragh looks could be deceptive. An object that small could still hold the compressed form of something much, much bigger. Like a small starship, or a portal to another world, or a bomb large enough to ensure that no part of Kharbyr would ever be recovered.

Or black holes. we've seen Dark Eldar can cram any number of things into vary tiny packages. It seems to be a quit ea gift of theirs, no pun intended. I imagine its more a form of warp portal/dimensional rift sort of thing rather than matter compression/mass shrinkage.
A comment on DE explosives tech, really. Something finger sized (seeming) that can fit in the hand can carry enough explosive to obliterate someone (at least single digit MJ, if not triple digit for full vaporization.) Compared to an M67 grenade it would be at least 6-7x more powerful, but of course if it can hide much bigger things the bomb could also be much bigger



Page 45-46

As it was Motley spotted the first tiny bulb of metal tumbling through the air, caught it and threw it back in one fluid motion. A blast of static lightning lit the tunnel where it landed that illuminated running figures in its crawling afterglow. Haywire, Motley opined to himself, they were using Haywire grenades to try to knock out the gate.
..
Motley darted for the dying portal just as a shower of small grenades came tinkling down in his wake.
A vicious pattern of detonations raged around the gateway, electro-magnetic discharges and gouts of plasma (some of the assailants having already escalated their intentions from capturing to killing)..

Dark Eldar grenades. Apparently Haywires will work on webway portals (at least those the Dark Eldar have access to), and plasma grenades are for killin. both are very small compared to Imperail grenades.



Page 47-48

By his nature Yllithian was not a creature given to regrets. All in all he shared the almost pathologically forward-facing attitude of his race. The past was the past and nothing more could be said; such was the healthy attitude of the average Commorrite – saving, perhaps, for the propensity to recall slights, vendettas and feuds with crystal clarity. Even so Yllithian felt the bitterest regret now. Not regret for unleashing otherworldly forces beyond his capacity to control by resurrecting the beast El’Uriaq. Not regret for the overweening hubris that had caused the deaths of his allies, nor for the mass murder in the accursed El’Uriaq’s banquet hall left now so ominously silent behind him. No, Yllithian’s only regret was that he had been unlucky enough to get caught up in El’Uriaq’s downfall.

A comment on Dark Eldar mindset and philosohpy. The past isn't of much used to them (unlike the Craftwordlers who seem to dwell on the past more.) although they seem to live more in the present. They are capable of regret, if in an abstract, self-centered manner.



Page 48-49

The master haemonculus, Bellathonis, had contrived to release the Glass Plague upon El’Uriaq and his guests. It was a viral helix created to turn living flesh in glass, meaning a true death for a Commorrite as their body was completely destroyed in the process. No regeneration, no resurrection was possible from the Glass Plague and so any Commorrite of any value was normally immunised against it. That had been the clever part – the haemonculus had persuaded the Exodite witch, the worldsinger, to turn the plague into something that could overcome any form of defence. Being able to communicate with lower forms of life seemed such a safely mundane ability until someone used it to bypass your immune system.

Glass plague from the last book. Or rather, the modified system that bypassed normal Dark Eldar immunities. Rather nasty that, as it indicates just what a unified Eldar culture might be capable of inflicting on others.
Also to prevent Dark Eldar resurrection (regeneration) you need to totally destroy/transform the flesh.



Page 57

For once the angry sentience of the djin-blade seemed to be entirely on her side with none of the unexpected twists and turns it liked to make at inopportune moments. The enraged spirit of the previous archon of the Soul Cutters, Axhyrian, was trapped within the crystalline djin-blade and made a ready source of energy for Bezieth to call upon when she needed it. Axhyrian’s rage could make for a treacherous weapon, but right now Bezieth needed every advantage she could lay her hands on.

Dark eldar Djin-blade. Has some similarities to daemon weapons, although it contains the soul of Dark Eldar (or at least this one does.), but it has many of the same advantages/drawbacks albeit on a lesser scale.



PAge 59-60

The pulsing, crackling spider web of light around the Beryl Gate was dimming. Bezieth glanced up to see images in the warding, like great towers or tentacles or tornadoes, vast, titanic forces that were all thrusting blindly at the gate from impossible angles.
..
The awful light was continuing to dim despite their attempts to bludgeon their way through; the glowing cracks were fading as if they were composed of cooling metal. The daemonic horde wavered in and out of existence as the eons-old failsafes of the warding struggled to seal the breach.
..
The Beryl Gate was gone, replaced by a shifting, multi-hued star that now doubtless led to many places other than the Aviaries of Malixian the Mad. Too many places. The void beyond the warding looked bloated and menacing, storm clouds ready to break.

Cormorragh seems to have built in defenses against Warp incursion/breaches. not surprising, since its a part of the much larger webway, and those seem to have some sorts of innate 'defenses' against intrusion or foreign invaders as well. It also points to the webway as being self-sealing, which is probably useful as then the DE or Eldar probably would hAVE no webway by this point./



Page 61

The blade was stronger than ever, glutted on stolen daemonic power. It twisted treacherously in her tired grip, the razor-edge slipping sidewise to bite deeply into her thigh. Bezieth felt the sudden, cold rush of adrenaline from a really serious injury.

Downside to Djin blades, it seems. As Is aid they seem to share that same 'battle of wills' treachery Daemon blades do. What's more, they seem to have an innate ability to drain/absorb the life/psychic energy of living beings or daemons.



Page 68

Periodically shockwaves ran through the foundation strata, either more of the city wardings being breached or the unthinkable megatonne impacts of falling debris that had been shaken loose from High Commorragh.

'megatonne' impacts hitting Cormorragh, but not breaching or doing serious damage (relatively speaking.) Whether its megatonne in terms of mass or energy, who knows,


Page 69

...for now the plague has been placed into temporary remission by the antigens I was fortuitously carrying about my person. We must seek a more permanent solution at my laboratory, or whatever is left of it. In the meantime there will be considerable discomfort, I’m afraid, as the irreversibly transformed tissue sloughs away.

Temporary delay to the Glass Plague, via Haemonculus.


Page 73

The blade was still attached, a hand-long, serrated fang of monomolecular-edged steel. Aez’ashya grinned and plunged the blade into the metal beneath her, the molecule-fine tip shearing through it just as readily as if it were soft flesh. With a firm handhold to work with she began to work her way slowly upwards to safety.

A good indicator of the penetrative/cutting abilities and strength of Dark Eldar mono-edge weaponry, although we dont know the kind of metal exactly either.


Page 84

The World Shrine had existed within the roots of the mountain safely protected by hundreds of metres of solid rock. It had been only reachable through the most secret of the ghost paths with no physical connection to the outside world.

Considering its basically the repository for a Maiden World's souls, big shock.



Page 90

To describe Motley’s sight as cat-like or hawk-like would do disservice to all of the noble beasts involved. Suffice to say that his vision was of a fine acuity and ranged into wavelengths not normally enjoyed by either mammalian or avian life.

Eldar vision.



Page 91

Motley wondered if what they saw leading the younger Morr was an avatar of Arhra made manifest. Legends about the father of the incubi were manifold. Most of them were false or contradictory but all agreed on one key point – that Arhra himself was destroyed long ago, and that the foundation of the incubi was his one abiding legacy.

Fate of Arhra, at least rumoured.


Page 92

At the foot of the folded, curving masses of pale stone lay the vast wreck of a vessel. Blunt ribs of rusting iron poked through a patchy hide of rotting armour plates along its broken-backed kilometre of length. Great turret housings on the upper surface of the wreck pointed the frozen fingers of their cannon seemingly at random into the sky.
..
Motley became aware of more and more detritus lying in the sands at the bottom the coral canyons; metal components mangled and rusted beyond recognition, the half-buried wreckage of many smaller machines ranging in size and design from skeletal-winged flyers to smaller cousins of the great vessel they were approaching. And bones. Bones and teeth were everywhere, sometimes in such density that they covered the sand completely. Thousands, perhaps millions, of bones stretching as far as the eye could see.

We dont know what kind of starship it is, ork or Human perhaps given the projectile weapon affinity.

Page 99

"In time of most dire need the attention of the far-wanderers can be summoned to this place. They are haughty and judgemental but their powers are great and it is said they will help if they perceive the need."
..
A sequence of runes touched in the proper order would send out the call,..

Maiden worlds can send a distress call out to Craftworlds.


Page 102

Each of them wore sapphire-tinted armour of subtly varying design, but all were well-proportioned and heroic-looking like animate statues. Their full-faced helms were adorned with tall crests marked in alternating bands of blue, white and yellow. They carried long-necked ancient weapons Sardon knew only as Tueleani – star throwers that were reputedly able to slice through a pack of charging Carnosaurs or the bole of a forest giant with equal alacrity.

Aspect warriors with, I suspect, Shuriken catapults.


Page 107

Motley increased his pace, each bounding stride taking him five or more metres at a time.

Running/bounding speed of a Harlequin.


Page 111

Just one step need be miscommunicated to send the victim off-course into a maze of monofilament nets, singularity traps, blood wasp collectives and corrosive mists from which there will be no return.

Haemonculus traps laid down among pathways used only by same. traps are security measure and assasniation device


Page 120-121

"Perhaps you had imagined all maiden worlds to be virginal paradises like Lileathanir? Not so, Ushant. My elders told me that the world was once covered by mighty oceans, but in my time they had become little more than deserts. The Exodite clans were hardy and endured, some even thrived. They remained numerous if not prosperous throughout the slow draining of the seas. Fourteen centuries before my birth the clans gathered to fight off an invasion entering Ushant through the gate that we just used"
..
"The clans were victorious but they became cursed in the process. In the conflict they learned new ways of making war from their enemies. Crude, indiscriminate, effective ways. Once the immediate threat was overcome the clans turned their war machines on each other.’"

Reasons given were 'pride, honour and stupidity' in equal measure. Its indcative yet again that some Eldar alway smanage to buck convention, these making war the way the Imperium does.


page 122

Motley pursed his lips but did not speak as he wondered which craftworld it was that had so thoroughly bungled their guardianship of Ushant. Each craftworld accepted nominal responsibility for a number of the maiden worlds scattered across the great wheel. Some viewed the maiden worlds as the hope for the future of the eldar race, the seeds from which the eldar might once more grow to prominence on the galactic stage. Other craftworlds viewed the maiden worlds as no more than a burden, mere primitive backwaters, the resource-sucking wreckage left behind by a failed survival plan.

A bit of a reference to some older Eldar fluff (epic I think) but it menas that for every Craftworld there are probably multiple Maiden worlds.


Page 126-127

She attacked silently, cutting down two of the dancers before they even registered her presence. darklight beams suddenly slashed across two more of them, vaporising the leaping bodies in nebula-dark explosions of matter.

Darklight weaponry. If literal vaporization triple digit MJ. If only exploding, single digit MJ (at least). Otherwise its purely technobabble.

PAge 127

Hypervelocity splinters and disintegrator bolts ravened across the chamber as the rest of the Metzuh survivors opened fire..

hypervelocity splinter fire.


PAge 137-138

"Tell me again why you aren’t growing me a new body right now."
"Aside from the fantastically high chance it would be subject to possession at a time of Dysjunction, my archon? The other reason is that it could not possibly be ready in time. A third reason, if you desire it, is that it would have to be vat-grown and you have already made your feelings on that subject perfectly clear."

Problems with growing a new body, at least during a time of warp unrest


Page 166

Now the only things moving were fires burning out of control. In the multi-hued void a thousand more rosettes of flame burned brightly – the hulls of shattered ships being consumed by their own fusion fires as they drifted helplessly.

At least a thousand ships in Cormorragh, and that they may be fusion powered in some fashion.


Page 172-173

The harlequin found himself wondering if the sub-realm of the shrine was really a sub-realm at all, or the dreams of Arhra made solid. What Motley truly knew of Arhra could be comfortably inscribed on a napkin while leaving enough room for a sonnet or two, but he mentally reviewed the little he did know. Arhra, so the legends recounted, was one of the legendary Phoenix Lords that had appeared in the immediate aftermath of the Fall. As the scattered, pitiful remnants of the eldar race struggled to survive in a hostile universe the Phoenix Lords had come to teach them the ways of war.
Different branches of the eldar told different tales of the origins of the Phoenix Lords. Some believed them to be the last fragments of the gods, driven like Khaela Mensha Khaine into taking mortal form to escape the depredations of Slaanesh, the entity that the eldar call She Who Thirsts. Others maintain the Phoenix Lords were the ancestor spirits of the mightiest eldar warriors to ever live, called forth to save their people once more. Yet others believe they were something new, beings sprung from those that lived through the Fall and became something greater. Gods, demi-gods or ghosts, the Aspect Warriors they trained never spoke of their mysteries.
Arhra was known as the Father of Scorpions, and his disagreements with the other Phoenix Lords were said to be deep and vitriolic. The Phoenix Lords preached discipline and caution, a slow rebuilding around the preserved kernel of the eldar of the craftworlds. They foresaw that the heightened passions of war could destroy what was left of the eldar in the centuries that followed. Motley knew that Aspect Warriors learned to adopt a persona, a ‘war aspect’ that could insulate their souls from the carnage and prevent them developing a taste for it. As with so many other things, the craftworld eldar saw the allure of bloodletting and senseless violence as a gateway for Chaos to enter their hearts and complete their ruination. What Arhra believed was a secret known only to his followers, the incubi.

Motley the Harlequin contemplates the Phoenix Lords, and specifically Arhra the fallen Phoenix Lord. Its interesting in how it seems to combine and retell alot of the past fluff, which did indicate Arhra had fallen to Chaos, although no details were ever given (or if they were, I don't remember them up to now.) That remains one of the high points of the novel - Andy Chambers makes a good point of couching alot of the new stuff in mystery and mythology and presenting alot of interesting 'alternate' interpretations. Like with the Phoenix Lords possibly being Avatars of gods that took physical form to escape Slaanesh (like Khaine.) That idea alone has tons of interesting merit, both in the idea of a god taking physical form (Which sounds alot like the Emperor, and stuff I heard and posted about Realms of Chaos ages ago.) and the fact it suggests that possibly some other Eldar gods, or parts of Eldar gods may be existing somewhere.,
As it is we know the 'ancestor spirits' are closer to the truth, but each idea has a kernel of truth all its own.


Page 173-175

"After the great cataclysm of the Fall the eldar peoples were left scattered and leaderless. Debauchery and hedonism had eroded any form of discipline they had and left little knowledge of how to defend themselves. The eldar survivors were preyed upon by the slave races and driven from one place to another as they wavered on the verge of extinction. Finally a group of heroes arose who could stand against the enemies of the people. These were the Phoenix Lords the craftworlders speak of, some called them heroes that because they believed them to be reborn of the essence of their dead gods. Asurmen was the first but others quickly followed, including Arhra himself."
"The heroes fought on behalf of the people, and they taught others to fight to protect themselves. Each hero gained a following of devotees committed to their particular style of combat: Asurmen’s warriors were fleet of foot and deadly in their aim, Baharroth’s hawks took wing and fought from above, Maugan Ra’s killers reaped souls from afar, while Arhra’s followers learned to fight with the true gift of fury."
"Arhra taught his followers how to direct their fury with discipline, how to harness the power of their rage and strike out with it. Soon none could stand before them. The other heroes quarrelled with Arhra’s methods. They wished the people to learn to lay down and take up the role of warrior at need as if donning a mantle, they wished to abandon the peoples of Commorragh and fight only for the craftworlds. Arhra saw that the long fight against Chaos would require true devotion from all of the peoples, not weak compromise for the benefit of a few. He refused to accept the heroes’ ideals and went his own way."
"Followers flocked to Arhra’s shrines and he tested them for their worth. The weak and corrupt he slew, he taught discipline and martial skill only to those possessed of sufficient fury to stand against him. Where Chaos threatened Arhra always stood against it. It is told that in his final battle Arhra stood alone and without respite through days and nights when the other heroes failed to come to his aid. At last Arhra was pierced through the heart by the dark light of Chaos. What returned to the shrine showed Arhra’s face yet burned with an unholy fire that drove Arhra’s students into terror and madness."
"When all seemed lost the students heard their master’s voice from amid the flames. It bid them to marshal their fury and stand against him, that now was the ultimate test of their discipline. Such was their devotion that they obeyed despite their terror. They slew Arhra’s corrupted mortal form and partook of his untouched spirit, taking it into themselves so that the way of Arhra should endure for ever more."

Morr actually speaks about the legends of Arhra. Again its a bit of a blending of ideas, including some of the earliest fluff with him having 'fallen' to Chaos. However instead of being some Chaos Eldar thingy it seems more like he fell, was destroyed by his own disciples at his own behest, and then fragmented Khaine style and passed amongst said disciples. So he exists, but in a highly dispersed form.
The main thing is how it presents an alternate, non Craftworld view of things, one that is naturally more positive about its own role and purposes,e ven though the Incubi are ostensibly aligned with the Dark Eldar. Again much like with the Harlequins, this novel is good because it does away with the simple black/white paradigms of the eldar. Craftworld eldar can be as bad as the Dark Eldar (or worse) in some ways, whilst you can have Dark Eldar who are not completely selfish, sybaritic and torturing bastards. Its rather refreshing.
Likewise the differences in teaching philosopy seems to be the main difference between Incubi and Aspect Warriors. you have to wonder if there are others, given that there are supposedly lots of Aspect Shrines we never even hear of and there are some that are rare or mentioned but never represented ingame (Crystal Dragons and Shining Orbs of Zandros being good examples.)
In any case the main thing about Incubi that is distinctive (aside from their philosohpy that grants them the discipline and mentality of the Aspect Warrior despite their Dark Eldar affiliations) and how they achieve it (the difference in philosophy with other Aspect Warriors), is their utter opposition to Chaos, which is something akin to what the Harlequins profess.


Page 177

As quick as thought the bloodstone tusks affixed to Morr’s helm flashed with baleful energy. Spears of ruddy light transfixed one of the advancing incubi and sent them reeling back in the grip of a palsied shiver.
..
..the third recovered from Morr’s opening blast of neural energy.

Incubi have their own version of the Scorpion Sting, which seems tob e a neural disruptor/paralyzer. Useful for a melee-primary combatant.


Page 178

The warrior reeled for a second more before collapsing back with blood leaking from every joint and seal in his armour. He was a victim of the harlequin’s kiss – a simple, deadly weapon unobtrusively strapped to Motley’s forearm. The tubular device contained a hundred metres of monomolecular wire tightly wound like a spring. By punching forward the monomolecular filaments were sent looping outward and then instantly withdrawn. If the tip of the wire pierced a target’s flesh the unfurling wires would turn their innards into the consistency of soup in a split second.

Harlequin's Kiss in action. Note the hundred metres of monowire, although its still a point blank weapon (in this context. If we figure at least a fifth of a second (Faster than human) to a tenth of a second (at least comparable to Space Marine) you would expect the wire to extend and retract at speeds of hundreds of metres a second, easily, perhaps a few km/s. Such a monowire could make quite a mess of poeple, I'd think.



PAge 180

Motley struck faster than a snake, punching his harlequin’s kiss up where the incubus’s helm met his cuirass – precisely at the point where the weaker neck seal could not resist the deadly, unfurling wire. The incubus’s head left his body in a spectacular gout of crimson, the gore-slicked, hair-fine medusa’s nest of coiling wire visible for a fraction of a second before it retracted inside the harlequin’s kiss.

Implies that the Incubus armour might be resistant to a Kiss unless hit by weak points. Again note the fraction-second operational duration.




PAge 193

Sardon became aware of the invisible conduits of power running through the place, the pulsating life force of the planet whirling past on its eternal loop through the foci spread across its surface. Barrows and cairns and obelisks knit the psychic flow into a lattice, a self-propagating diamond compounded of the spirits of every being that had ever lived and died on Lileathanir. Their essence girdled the world, insulating it from the hostile universe beyond with a psychic shield so dense that no corruption could breach it. The world spirit of Lileathanir had become a mighty thing, the land had become it and it had become the land.

Psychic conduit/linkage and apparently psychic defenses (against slaanesh) of the World Spirit.


Page 194

Beyond and around them roamed the hiss and whisper of dead spirits, their dry voices rustling horribly on the edge of perception. The billions of dead souls trapped in the Lileathanir matrix flowed around her like smoke, individually no stronger than any single mortal but collectively… Collectively they became the world spirit and a gestalt psychic power capable of so much more.

World spirits seem to share much in common with Infinity circuits, including in terms of 'power'.
Also billions of spirits. Assuming 10,000 years timeframe we're talking hundreds of thousands, or millions per year. More likely its greater, as assuming a 200 year or so generation we'd be talking many millions per generation, easily. Gives a good idea of Exodite populations, which in turn likely hints at Craftworld populations being similar.


Page 212

A tall warrior in segmented and bladed amour of an ancient pattern now stood between Morr and the statue. The newcomer was armed with the metre-long hooked-tipped double swords that the incubus call demi-klaives, held now loosely at his sides.
..
"He has no name for he never speaks. We call him Drazhar – the living sword," Morr said with something like reverence. "He is the deadliest of our brotherhood, the undefeated, the true master of blades."
..
"Drazhar has slain hierarchs but he does not claim their place. Some say he is Arhra reborn and yet he slays those who attempt to venerate him. Drazhar exists only to kill."

[Connor MacLeod]

Part 2

Part 2

Page 219

If the Supreme Overlord received word that entire tiers of low Commorragh were lost he would activate certain ancient failsafes. These served to lock areas off from the rest of the city with impenetrable fields of energy. Vect had used them before when incursions from beyond the veil grew to the point where they threatened the city.
Assuming the outer wardings held the entities would be trapped, growing progressively weaker as they destroyed all the living creatures capable of sustaining them. When the time was ripe the overlord’s forces would re-enter the sealed area and make it a point to hunt down anyone still alive on the not unreasonable assumption that they must have been possessed to survive. Talon Cyriix had met a similar fate back in the day when one of its archons decided that allying with daemons was a good way to overthrow the Supreme Overlord.

Comorroagh has anti-Chaos failsafes - wardings that act like bulkeheads and compartmentalization to contain damage and quarantine outbreaks, although in the case of Daemons it would take centuries for them tod ie out due to lack of food.






Page 231

His barque had inbuilt force fields that would shrug off the lightning if he had the misfortune to be struck.

Archon's conveyance has force fields that can withstand lightning.


Page 236

But they still had autonomy, that most precious of gifts to automata. Cho wove back and forth happily on the spurious justification of testing attitude controls. Vhi aggressively probed the surrounding sub-strata for information nodes and test-fired its weaponry with joyous abandon at anything that moved.

Dark Eldar pain engines. THey're actually kind of amusing as 'characters' because they exhibit a sense of awarness and personality (and pride in their separate ways of performing their tasks) as well as distinct male/female personalities. They also have egos, and can't to share information and show up the other. This little subplot is yet another of those elements in the story, along with the wordplay that always gave me chuckles.




Page 242

" Is this how you want to be remembered? Struck down in your own shrine to no purpose when you could have saved billions?"

Implies perhaps that the total Eldar population in the galaxy (at least at the current time) is on the order of billions. Given estimates on Craftworld sizes and numbers, the implication of the Dark Eldar's sizes, and the exodites, its probably a reasonable approximation. Although in this context it might also just refr to saving the Dark Eldar alone.



Page 246

A twisting funnel descending towards them, a mass of dark-winged specks dropping from clouds the colour of bruised meat. Streams of hyper velocity splinters and darklight beams from Yllithian’s retinue converged on the approaching mass and blocked it as thoroughly as if an invisible wall had been thrown up in its path.

More hypervelocity splinter weapons



Page 248

The curving, armoured prow of Yllithian’s craft instantly crackled with power, fat sparks dripping from it as it projected a directional wave of electromagnetic force ahead of the racing barque, an atom-splitting ram-blade of force. Daemons caught in the path of the ram decohered instantly, exploding in bright webs of lightning as it plowed forward relentlessly through the infernal flock.
..
..the shock prow was a recent addition made at his own instigation after recent events.

Seems to be a cross between the prow barrier on a Wave Serpent and a powerifeld.



Page 256

Motley hurled a photonic flare that split the stygian vault with a blazing white thunderbolt. Even through closed eyes purple spots danced in his vision, for the armoured incubi the effect was multiplied a thousandfold. With their senses unexpectedly blasted by their cornered prey the iron ring of incubi staggered and broke for a moment.

The implication of this being that either the photonic flare was so powerufl it overwhelmed any attempt to block the flash, or that Incubus helments provide no protection against sudden flashes of light like that.



Page 256

Meanwhile Motley cast a small silver spindle into the air that hung in place and spun around its axis emitting a trilling whine. The harlequin sang desperately, pitching his tones within the shrill warbling of the spindle. A swirling purple teardrop wavered into focus beneath it and expanded rapidly like a slit pupil opening.

Harlequins can make temporary warp gates into the webway, or at least to travle with.




Page 261

Motley snapped his leg up and out so fast that even the Aspect Warriors didn’t have time to react. A perfectly executed nerve-kick to Morr’s temple dropped the towering incubus like a felled tree – a slight sway and then a gathering rush before he crashed to the ground.

Harleuqins seem to have an extensive knowledge of nervs, at least in Eldar physiology.



Page 262

"As I recall Biel-Tan claims jurisdiction over a great many maiden worlds."

"They are the future of our race," the warlock said sharply.

"Not to mention excellent recruiting grounds for Biel-Tan’s efforts to reforge the old empire," Motley remarked impertinently. "Lots of eager young Exodites ready to fight and die for a great cause with the right grooming. You should be careful, Caraeis – your bias is showing."

The Maiden worlds for some craftworlds also are 'recruiting grounds's eeming to provide fresh troops or members for craftworld society, which is an interesting poitn as it suggests a fairly exploitative element to Craftworlders and their relationships with the Exodites, which bears certain similarities to the Dark Eldar as well (which may reflect Motley's use of 'bias.' ) One of the interesting things about the book is the way it tries to reflect a more complex interplay in Eldar society. It isn't just 'craftworld good, Dark Eldar bad.' but its the same sort of 'gray area' stuff you get with the Imperium. Indeed its fair to say that the Craftworld eldar in this novel (and Caraeis in particular) come off as looking rather poor. The Harlequins, by contrast, consistently represent their role as the elements of Eldar society that keep all the others bound in some fashion - the Harlequins are essentially neutral and travel anywhere, and their view of the Eldar is much more complex than simple good/bad, as we will discover.




Page 264

The correct interpretation of rune casting is a nuanced art form that takes quite literally a lifetime to master, as evinced by the craftworld eldar in their Path of the Seer. Eldar runes embody symbolic concepts deeply rooted in ancient mythology and philosophical schools of thought that were already old when the eldar race was young. Runecasting came down fundamentally to interpreting the alignment of the psycho-active wraithbone runes when they were set ‘adrift in the ether’ to reproduce in microcosm an idea of the emergent patterns in the macrocosm.

Eldar rune shit.




Page 276

He fished a small object from his sleeve, a thin oblong of crystal embossed with stylised masks that laughed and cried. He surreptitiously breathed on it once, polished it and then flipped it back through the gateway where it vanished like a puff of smoke.

Some sort of beacon possibly, or device used to summon aid from the Harlequins.




Page 277

"The safety of “others” is actually at the foremost in my mind," Motley said brightly, "probably more so than yours. The difference lies in who those “others” are. From your outlook you would regard two thirds of our race as not being worth taking any risks for."
..
"You would accuse me of caring nothing for the Exodites – that is untrue."

"Oh, so just one third are disposable then? Who set you up as judge, Caraeis?" Motley asked in outrage. "Of course the webway is a little unstable – that’s because Commorragh is in the process of being broken apart! Meanwhile you delay and prevaricate to do your best to ensure that the process is completed!"
..
"The foul perversion of Commorragh has gone on too long already, I would rejoice to see it ended in my lifetime."

"And so you would sacrifice Lileathanir too?" Motley mocked. "Because that’s what Commorragh will take with it at the very least. More likely is that the entire webway finally unravels, and our race is left stranded, scattered through the stars as we finally fade away into nothing."

"You want to know something interesting, Caraeis? Commorrites refer to themselves as “true eldar”. The way they see things they have continuity with the pre-Fall days that neither the craftworlds or the Exodites can lay claim to. If you really want to reforge the empire you should ask the dark kin, they’re the ones that really remember it."

Its an interesting discussion in how it plays into the 'nature of the race' as alluded to earlier. The Harlquins believe the Dark Eldar, Craftworld Eldar and Exodites are still the same single race, and treat it as such, whilst the individual cultures take their own views on the matter. What makes it so interesting, however, is the role the webway plays in it. All Eldar make use of it, or variations of it, to travel or to protect themeslves, and it literally links them all together symbiotically. The Dark Eldar inhabit it, the Craftworlds and Exodite worlds are bound to it. So much so that to affect one can affect that very whole, which is precisely what the Dysjunction is. Dark Eldar devastating a Exodite World Shrine so much that its World Spirit is adversely affecting the webway because of that connection.

In the end they're all bound together and what can harm one can harm thewhole.

The implication of Motley' sstatements is interesting, as it would also imply that the Craftworld and Exodite eldar have broadly similar populations to the Dark Eldar if we take the 'thirds' thing in a particular context. Of course that's not the only interpretation or the most likely (as in they're one part of a three-culture 'group'.)



Page 296

Legends of Vaul, the smith-god, were known even beyond the eldar race and the idea that some great treasure was still hidden on Caudoelith seemed to be unshakable.

Apparently Eldar religion or its pantheon shares similarities with other (probably including humans) races mythologies.




Page 297

Caudoelith of old had tens, if not hundreds of thousands of individual portals into the webway. Everything from huge ship gates capable of accepting the most grandious of aether-sailing vessels to interconnected individual portals that allowed instantaneous travel to any corner of the galaxy within a few steps.

The fighting and the Fall had put an end to all that. Only a handful of the original gates had survived but that still made Caudoelith a vital nexus in the material universe, a connection point between innumerable strands of the webway that were normally inaccessible from one another.

At its height the planet had tens or hundreds of thousandss of warp portal connections.

Given the aforemention implication of billions of worlds connected, that could give you Eldar population and shit of at least hundreds of thousands if not millions, and worlds by the thousand if not tens of thousands.

Oh and galaxies crossed in 'a few steps'.




Page 303

"You can read Yllithian’s thoughts? How so?"

"Unfortunately I can’t read his mind, but I can see what he sees, hear what he hears and hence also hear what he says. It’s in the blood, you might say… That is an awfully large number of daemons up there"

Haemonculus ' knowledge of creating bodies and shaping flesh is such that they can engineer an ability to 'see' through another living being's senses.




Page 310

A shower of tiny objects dropped from the Raider into the seething mass, metal seeds that blossomed into fiery gouts of plasma wherever they landed. Whip-thin bodies flashed to fire in the sudden glare, then withered into ash in a heartbeat.

Plasma grenades cremating unknonw number of ghoul thingies. We dont quite know how many greandes, but we know Raiders carry aobut ten people, and assuming a double handful per Kabalite, we're talking maybe 100 grenades. 2 Ghouls cremaded is perhaps at least 400-500 MJ if not several GJ, so suggests single to double digit MJ energy output minimum per plasma grenade.




Page 310-311

Merciless fingers of splinter fire lashed down at the survivors, cratering flesh and splintering eyeless skulls.

Splinter fire blowing apart skulls in unknown number of shots (not surprising if hypervelocity) and making sizable wounds in flesh.




Page 315

He ran through the thousand and one mantras he had been taught about the hideous dangers that were inherent to uncontrolled passions for a psyker.

The runes, the mask, the Path of the Seer itself, all were ways of insulating him against the perils of the warp and lending him enough protection to safely wield the limitless power it represented. If his underlying will lacked focus and discipline it meant that nothing could protect him. If his connection with the warp became too personal, if he bared his soul even once to the daemons then he was lost and his time on the Path of the Seer would be over.

Emotional control therefore is perhaps one of the best safeguards against the dangers of the warp (possession and the like, especially for an Eldar. Lose the mask, or the runes, or the Path, and they risk their soul quite literally. They all act as barriers/channels and filters for that power, providing a means of safely (if indirectly) tapping it.

If humans could learn to do this their psychic powers would probably be much more refined and safer, but they generally lack the lifespans and (I suspect) patience or raw psychic affinity to do it.





Page 324-325

Secure communications were always problematic in the eternal city. Even after millennia of dedicated efforts by paranoid archons to find ways to prevent it any signal could be intercepted or blocked or broken by a clever enough foe. Even supposedly unbreakable line of sight energy pulses could be interfered with, redirected or eavesdropped on.

Assuming you could get over those difficulties the simple fact of accepting any kind of communication also accepted the possibility that it had been tainted in some fashion. An innocent-seeming message might, for example, be corrupted to introduce a command into your armour systems to cut your own head off, as occurred most notably to the unfortunate Resy’nari Kraillach on receiving what was ostensibly a report of his victory over Ly’lendel the scrivener. How can you communicate when you don’t trust one another or anyone else? It was a pretty problem however you sliced it.

There is no such thing as truly 'secure' communications in Cormorragh. And such is the nature of Dark Eldar society that messages can be used as assasination tools (some sort of direct or psychic hacking, so to speak.) such as reprogramming (fatally) an Archon['s armour. Its interesting as well in the sense it implies a degree of automation in Archon gear if not Dark Eldar gear in general.




Page 326-327

The problem rested squarely with the inherent deviousness of the Commorrites themselves. In realspace everyone focused on working together as smoothly possible, the city-games were suspended for a time in the interests of efficiency. In Commorragh itself even something as simple as a rival receiving a message offered boundless opportunities for mischief. Because of that signals had to be routinely encrypted, decrypted, re-encrypted, quarantined and subject to the equivalent of red-hot pokers and pincers before they could be safely brought anywhere near the attention of a living recipient. Even then there were no guarantees that some slippery foe hadn’t found some new and exciting way of getting something past your defences. It all took up an inordinate amount of time and added uncertainty to a situation that was already dangerously fluid.

One of the chief problems of the lack of secure/reliable communications is that it makes communications very indirect, or imposes such a lag in communications (to ensure the safety of said message) that it can compromise the Dark Eldar's normally fast and maneouvrable attack style - that is they can fight and move as fast as the other Eldar factions, but they lack the coordination (and probably the trust and discipline) to make full use of it much of the time.




Page 328

Yllithian examined the flat crystal plaque and turned it over in his hands: a biphase lattice genecoded to a single sender and recipient – unbreakable, unforgeable and unalterable – theoretically at least. It bore the mark of Vect and it no doubt contained his orders, sealed in such a way that they could quite literally be seen by Yllithian’s eyes only.

Dark Eldar secret document technology.. Again reflects either the inherent paranoia or the lack of secure communications of Dark Eldar society. If not both.




Page 337-338

..dragging the prow of the Raider up towards the rapidly approaching opening. Even the craft’s gravitic compensators could not eliminate all of the crushing g-forces generated by the manoeuvre and his vision darkened as the sleek craft reluctantly obeyed.

Dark Eldar Raider has inertial dampers, but they're not perfectly efficient. THe fact they black out, assuming Eldar have acceleration tolerances comparable to a human, implies the Raider is pulling at least 10 gees in the manuever, but probably omre than that.



Page 342

Imagine a lantern. It’s an old kind of lantern containing a flame for light, with glass walls and a wire cage to hold them in place. Now imagine that the flame is a dying sun, fat and sullen, caught between walls not of glass but of extra-dimensional force that have pulled it outside the material universe and into the shadow-realm of Commorragh. The lantern’s cage is now of steely webs endlessly spun by countless spider-constructs. These webs hold in place distant, horn-like towers that regulate the unthinkable cosmic flux to keep the whole ensemble under control. This is an Ilmaea, a black sun, and such is what the dark kin use to light their eternal city.

Several such captured suns orbitted Commorragh, artefacts of past ages when eldar power waxed so strong that such prodigious feats were no great undertaking. In realspace a single Ilmaea could swallow all the vastness of the eternal city at a single gulp, but each is constrained like a prisoner bound in a cell with only a single chink opening into the world. Their baleful glare lights the frosty spires of High Commorragh and lends a sullen, animal heat to Low Commorragh even as their dying agonies are tapped to supply limitless energy to their captors.
..
In the context of a Dysjunction the Ilmaea formed vast, open portals that had the potential to turn into giant fusion bombs without warning..

The power sources for Cormorragh and Dark Eldar society as a whole. Exactly how the star is trapped and maintained is up for debate (technobabble or not, or to what degree technobabble) but the results are certianly impressive even for past achievements. Sort of like a more magical variation on that Dyson sphere stuff, expce tusing more inter-dimensional crap.



Page 350-351

The incubus looked shockingly aged in the warm sunlight: his cheeks were sunken and cadaverous, the creases around his mouth and brow were more deeply defined, his skin dry and lifeless, the dark wells of his eyes were lit by disturbing gleams of hunger and madness. It was as if Morr had aged fifty years within the last few hours in the webway. The incubus caught Motley’s expression and smiled mirthlessly.

"The hunger is upon me. She Who Thirsts demands her due. Soon I must slay to renew myself or I will become one of the Parched, a mewling half-minded thing existing only on what scraps She might choose to let fall from her table."

Incubi apparently draw sustenance much like the Dark Eldar do, but it seems they do so in a different way. Rather than by indulging in suffering or torture to do so, the Incubi seem to rely on the training and nature of their Aspect to provide that sustenance (gained through kills, it seems.) I suppose the whole 'discipline and honour' thing precludes normal Dark Eldar behaviorus by and large.



Page 352-353

"Because the eldar race is more than just the sum of its parts. After the Fall three completely different societies emerged from the wreckage of what came before: Commorragh, the craftworlds and the maiden worlds. Each of them has preserved some part of what was lost – yes, even Commorragh as much as many would wish to deny it. Each branch has prospered in its own way, or at least not collapsed totally, over all the centuries since the Fall and that tells you something in its own right – these are stable societies. Each has learned to adapt to a terrible new universe that has no rightful place for them in it."

"So you believe that each should be preserved"
..
"Oh it extends beyond mere preservation, my dear, cynical friend. There is a fatal flaw present in all three of our societies – all of them look only inward and believe themselves to possess the one, true path forward. If they plan for the future at all it’s only with their own people in mind and most can’t even think that far. Survival has become the absolute watchword of the eldar race, a sort of siege mentality that has ruled over us for the last hundred centuries. It’s leading to stagnation, a polar opposite from the excess that brought forth She Who Thirsts, and so now instead of entropy we fall prey to stasis; a slow, cold death."

"Not everyone thinks that way, of course, there are some in each generation that look up from the mire created by their forefathers and glimpse the stars again. We can still learn from one another, support one another. A shred of hope still exists."

Motley presents his, or rahter the Harlequin, view of the Eldar race. Again its notable in how the 'point of view' shifts depending on whose viewing it is . The Exodites are leery of both the Craftworld and Cormorragh Eldar, yet they distrust the latter more as the former ae their protectors (But not their friends, which the Harlequins are.) The Craftworld Eldar have a complex view of their kin - the Exodites for example are either looked down on as primitives, or exploited (Essentially) as fodder, or seen as a burden or otherwise ignored, whilst their view on Dark Eldar is fairly obvious. The Dark Eldar's view of the Craftworld kin is again self explanatory. But the Harlequin way seems to be the most complex and broadest in scope - they're all different and distinct facets of the same race, an idea that was expounded on in the first book as well. What's more, the Harlequin view goes beyond simply 'regaining lost empires' or 'stay true to the Eldar path' but an actual re-unification - the Harlequins believe the Eldar are far weaker kept apart in their 'facets' than they would be united, and based on this series there is quite some truth to that.

Furthermore, I rather like the scene for the nugget of optimisn amidst all the dark and gloom really. The Eldar, like humanity, may have been dealt a severe blow, but they're not going to submit quietly or give in without a fight. Its what gives that balance and meaning to the 'grim darkness' thing that is supposed to be 40K - things are bleak, but that hardly means one gives up hope or gives in. There can be no despair without some hope to blance it off against.

I should note that Motley's explanation echoes his earlier comment about 'one third' and 'two thirds' the eldar races, its less proportion and more different 'parts'.




Page 354

"Archon Kraillach, along with Yllithian and Xelian, wanted to bring someone back who was long-dead – impossibly long-dead. Yes it went horribly wrong but how did they do it? By going to someone who had the power to achieve the impossible–"

"The haemonculus?"
...
"No, no, no! The worldsinger – you know, the muddy-footed primitive with supposedly nothing to offer to the magnificent grandeur that is Commorragh. They needed her to make their scheme work and they went to considerable efforts to get her because she could do something that no one in Commorragh could do. Doesn’t tell you that the Exodites are far from being beneath your contempt? That they have achieved something in their own right worthy of praise and emulation?"

As I noted before this series is sort of a vindication of the idea that Eldar are 'stronger together than they are apart' - if the facets of Exodite and Craftworld and even Cormorragh (and perhaps even Harlequin) society could be reunified, things would probably not be so bleak, stasis and survival oriented. They'd also probably get quite a bit nastier when it came to dealing with other races



Page 357

The slope of rubble that had buried the cells was shifting, individual chunks of it slipping and rolling down to the floor. A dull spot of cherry red appeared in the midst of the fallen masonry, brightening through orange to yellow to white within a few heartbeats. Waves of palpable heat flowed from the glowing spot and an awful grinding noise could be heard behind it.
..
..the rubble slope exploded in a shower of molten rock and something sleek came surging through the white-hot debris. Bellathonis had only the briefest impression of a silvery carapace and scorpion-like tail before he darted out of sight behind the sled.

Talos pain engine tail weapon, melting/blasting through wall in aseconds. We dont know the exact properties, aside from the fact the hole must be about a metre or two per side (it allows the pain engine through, albeit a cut down one). Assuming a 10 cm thick wall made of silicon Figure between a 700K (to 1000K) and 1380K (up to 1680K) temp, and a specific heat of around 700-1000 j per kg*K., you get between 490 kj and 1.45 MJ per kg. you get between 233 and 932 kg melted in a matter of seconds. Call it at least 114 MJ to 1.35 GJ at least total, spread out to double/triple digit megawatts over a 2-5 second timeframe, approximate. Roughly consistent with other 'melta' or heat ray style weapons, for whatever that's worth, but its still more of an approximation than anything.



Page 358

Even machine-life could be hurt with an agoniser, circuits as well as nerves could be induced to a pitch of screaming pain by its touch.

Talos pain engines are 'machine life' and seem to run on electricial systems which make them as vulnerable to agonizers effects as living tissues (nerves and shit) are.



Page 365

Splinter fire scythed down the shambling, putrescent figures like ripe wheat. The hell-born vitality of the fiends availed them little protection against the kind of poisons the White Flames warriors were using: fleshrot, inkblind, scald-lotus, wryther and a dozen other deadly toxins burned, blinded and twisted the stolen bodies of the possessed into useless, fleshy prisons. Warriors armed with Shredders were moving up to liquidate the surviving possessed even as Yllithian’s incubi bodyguard cut a path through the flopping, flailing mass.

At least some of Nurgles minions (cultists at least, possibly evne Marines) are highly vulnerable to dArk Eldar toxins and other weapons.



Page 380

A chain of explosions whipped across Yllithian’s shadow field. Dark ink-blots enveloped each impact as the entropic forces of the field dissipated the energy into shadows and dust. Other eldar around him were not so well protected and detonated in bright crimson novas as the mass-reactive rounds penetrated their bodies.

Dark Eldar Shadow field vs bolter rounds.



Page 391

The haemonculus had never imagined that it would end like this. The very least of his kind were unnaturally long-lived – nigh immortal – and his newly stolen body had been young and fit. Even so the relentless vortex produced by the spirit syphon was stripping away centuries of Bellathonis’s lifespan in seconds. Seconds more and he would be nothing but dust and mouldering bones.

The feedback loop ceased abruptly, leaving Bellathonis and Xagor feebly groaning in an advanced state of decrepitude.

Cronos parasite engines' spirit syphon. Accelerated aging/decrepitude. Ages living flesh by centuries in seconds, and takes the energy of htat process into itself.



Page 402

The incubus laughed mercilessly down at him from the head of the crimson serpent before he spoke in a voice like the dry whisper of billion dead souls.

Size of the World Spirit's psychic repository. May or may not be all Eldar, though, since it takes in any life that dies on such a place.



Page 404-405

Each defensive rune absorbed unthinkable amounts of psychic power as it flared and failed, enough to destroy cities and continents, but the rage of Lileathanir was an unstoppable, insatiable thing. Layer by layer, rune by rune the defences were stripped away.

Multiple rune-baesd 'shileds' deflecting psychic power rated at destroying cities or continetns. By what means we dont know but it certainly sounds insanely impressive. RAther consistent with the Harlequin view of Eldar and DArk eldarrea Mechanism of destruction and the literal or hyperbole of the statement is not considered.



Page 413-414

The material existence we defer to and rely upon and believe in is illusory; it gives the impression of solidity when in point of fact there’s nothing in the universe more destructible and short-lived. It appears from nothing and it goes to nothing while only the soul endures.

And you see that’s really the key: Immortal souls adrift in an endless sea of aeons eternally at war with themselves, being driven by passions so strong, so primal they have become entities we have come to call gods. Little do those poor souls know that it’s their own belief that gives shape to what oppresses them and that they lend it their strength with every struggle. Poor, lost, immortal souls; they can be crushed, they can be consumed, they can be enslaved, they can be corrupted, but they can never, ever be completely destroyed.

And souls can always be reborn.

The ending to 'Path of the Incubus' is perhaps my favorite part, simply because it ends a novel on the Dark Eldar (which isn't wholly about the Dark Eldar) on a feeilng of hope, reinforcing the beliefs of the Harlequins in the notion that the Eldar race is not doomed and may rise from the ashes, so to speak.

Likewise, the ending introduces something that borrows in some ways form older fluff, but with broader and even new implications depending on how you interpret it. It enables a sort of 'conservation of souls' - like matter or energy, they cannot be destroyed or created, they simply can be 'changed' into another form or state. They can be 'enslaved' or absorbed, or altered, but they still retain some essential 'untouched' element. That plays on alot of earlier fluff (especially Eldar, but not just Eldar as some of it applies to humans with the Emperor/New Man stuff) with regards to the warp and reincarnation psychic souls were prevented from reincarnation because they were being consumed/absorbed, much as Slaanesh absorbs the Eldar souls and prevents their rebirth. But functionally Slaanesh like all warp entitites, is created/sustained by the thought/emotion of living beings (which again is older fluff - the warp is merely a reflection of living beings and is no more or less evil or good than thoes living things that create it. THey're sort of a 'self fufilling' prophecy in thta regard.) and largely are just a massive pile of accumulated souls/thoughts/emotions in a gestalt-like state.and having achieved sentience via reaching a 'critical' mass. And like souls themselves, that 'state/sentience' can be undone or altered, by discorporating that mass (freeing the souls from consumption or slavery, so to speak.) The idea may thus be that using one god to 'destroy' another (EG slaanesh by Yneead, or by the Eldar's attempt to manipulate humanity's 'god' into the same via Illuminati) is one way, although the Harlequins clearly believe in another, as yet unstated, possibility.

And like most ideas introduced in this novel, the ideas go beyond just the Eldar. Humans, Orks, etc. any creature with a strong psychic connection or 'soul' could be reborn (we know of human shamans in the New Man stuff being reborn or reincarnated, after all.) and the whole 'gestalt' thing can apply to humans as well (again the New Man, especially in the 'avatar or god taking human form' aspects mentioned earlier. I also rather like the idea that Ork mentality and culture is the way it is because their own souls are perpetually reborn. Orks may not fear death because on some level they know they never truly die, and their uncomplicated view of things (compared ot humans) makes such things easier to accept.

As I said, they may be based on 'old' ideas in fluff, but they offer so many interesting and deep possibilities even in a 'modern' context, which just makes me like the ending that much more.

[Connor MacLeod]

Last novel path of the Archon. It concludes the coup against Vect in truly spectacular fashion, and it shows us in vivid detail just why he's in charge of the place for thousands of years. WE get a good glimpse of not only Vect, but his court and the people who surround him, as well as yet more elements of the Dark Eldar soceity narrated (this time including the Mandrake.s) The buildup is reasonably worth the wait, all things considered.

Two parts again.

Page 8

Commorragh, the unique node lodged into the vast interdimensional labyrinth of the webway, itself the key to the eldar race’s galaxy-spanning empire. Commorragh, the city of portals, from whence its denizens can range across all that remains of the ragged, oft-torn webway to take what they will from a thousand tremulous realities.

Which implies perhaps that Commorragh ties into dimensions/realms other than the 40K one and the warp. Given how the shadow realm of Aelindrach is later on, this may not be that far off.



Page 14

My purpose is simple. When we are together my creator’s enemies cannot tell us apart. Sometimes he speaks, sometimes I speak. I laugh inwardly to see their eyes flicker uncertainly between us as they try to determine which of us is the master and which of us is his shadow. It is our secret to keep and ours alone. A shared, precious thing.
His true name is Asdrubael Vect, and the titles of supreme overlord, great tyrant, Archon of Archons and many others belong to him. I have no name, but behind my back those who know what I am call me ‘the Geldling’. They may hold me in contempt, but at times like these it is I who stands unbowed by the aura of black menace that clings to Asdrubael Vect while others quail. I exist to be destroyed and if that becomes my master’s desire then it is my pleasure and my duty to obey.

Vect has at least one body double created to be utterly loyal to him, and to emulate him in all ways so as to sow confusion and discomfort in his minions/enemies/allies. Knowing Vect, I'm willing to bet he has more than one and they don't even know amongst themselves which is the real Vect (or that others exist.) No doubt whoever created them is dead, as this seems to be Vect's MO in dealing with any potential threat or secret.




Page 16-17

This is an Ilmaea, one of the captured suns that were enslaved to heat and light Commorragh long aeons in the past. The star appears to be caught within a gossamer net so fine that it is almost imperceptible against its constrained bulk. In reality the half-seen net is unthinkably vast and the star itself is shrunk to a fraction of its normal size, imprisoned in a pocket of dimensional space like a prisoner in an oubliette.
Angry flares roil from the Ilmaea’s circumference, yet it is clearly quietening now with each black arc of fire weaker and smaller than the last – a reverse of its situation just minutes ago. Vect gestures at the crystal and the view shifts closer to one section of the net surrounding the Ilmaea. It is revealed to be a network of vast structures connected by billions of kilometres of cables. Flights of dark, dagger-like kabalite craft are diving from a towering edifice, a rain of black knives plunging towards Commorragh.

Some detial about Commorragh's captive stars and perhaps the means of capture. The 'net' kind of reminds me of a variation of a dyson sphere in that respect.




Page 18-19

Over the centuries the supreme overlord had spun a web of subtle interdependencies through Commorragh to the point where he could command these particular Archons with every confidence of being obeyed. Their kabals and their strength were reliant on the existing order in the eternal city and thus any threat to that order also represented a threat to them as individuals too.

One of the means by wich Vect maintains his power base - he's basically indispensible to everybody, and everyone owes him. One big thing you discover about this novel is the man's ability to plan ahead/invest in the future as much as his resources are phenomenal. He's like a Dark Eldar Vetinari or Palpatine (only less cackly and lightning-throwing.)




Page 25-26

The slightest scratch from Sythrac’s deadly huskblade was enough to turn a victim’s body to dust. With its mortal form destroyed the quarry’s soul was left naked to be devoured by the Archon’s voracious spirit-traps. Hundreds, possibly thousands, of souls had been captured within Sythrac’s armour, where complex bio-harmonics diverted their stolen energies to invigorate his ancient body. Now Sythrac was determined to turn his skills to the relentless pursuit of those that had threatened his home.

Huskblades seem to destroy phyiscal matter but not spiritual. Also Dark Eldar (some at least) seem to have armour that mimics the effect of Exarch armour, to an extent, although it seems to be a means of life-extension more than anything (countering the life-force loss from the Dark Eldar connection to Slaanesh). And spirit traps.



Page 30

She caught sight of Vect’s Medusae squatting apparently forgotten a short distance from the throne. The creature’s current host was a grey-skinned, gangling specimen of the slave races. The Medusae itself clung to the host’s head and spine like obscene bunches of fruit, the individual brains of the Medusae collective pulsating gently as they drank in the sensations their host provided them with. Later, Vect had only to pluck one of those obscene fruit and taste of it to relive everything that happened here through the Medusae’s expanded perceptions.

Yet another tool that helps Vect maintain power - not even your mind is completely safe from Vect. Whilst we don't know for sure the exact range, it seems to be pretty large as later on Vect (or his Geldling(s)) sample the fruit and he's made aware of events far outside his citadel, so one presumes the range is at LEAST kilometres, probably more.




Page 34

Their angle of descent immediately shifted, the crushing G-forces Yllithian should have experienced almost entirely mitigated by the craft’s compensators. Behind them Yllithian could see the rest of his force altering their course to stay with him.

Ylithian's barque, which is also shielded as we discover, has its own grav compensators. Apparently they comepnsate for quite a few gees (limits of human/eldar tolerance?) in the process, although (at least in this small/compact form) they are not 100% perfect. I'd guess mybe being able to pull a few tens of gees as a wild ass guess.



PAge 36

They would be monoscythe missiles, Yllithian concluded, diabolically clever devices that detonated into a toroidal ring of planar force. Objects caught in the explosion of a monoscythe would be sliced in two as neatly as if a giant scalpel had passed through them – which wasn’t far from what actually happened on a molecular level.

Monoscythe missiles in the fluff before were depicted as magical forcefield decapitators, but in principle here it seems like that's more a 'preprogrammed height' thing and they can literally slice anything in their area of effect apart. Sort of like a seismic charge mixed with a razor blade.

Monoscythe missiles also reflect that mono-molecular in 40K reflfects' sharp as a scalpel'

Page 39

. Under the stresses of the Dysjunction the thousands of kabals across Commorragh that Vect deliberately kept weak through his scheming had turned upon each other. They were fighting tooth and nail in an almost reflexive effort to grab a bigger slice of the pitifully small pie the tyrant habitually forced upon them.

number of Kabals in Commorragh. If we knew the approximate numbe rof Dark Eldar in a Kabal we could maybe get esitmates of Dark Eldar population. Millions at least, probably (hundreds or thousands of dark eldar, probably.)



Page 41

As they got closer a notable circle of devastation could be seen radiating outwards from the fortress like the charred spokes of a wheel. It was ready evidence of hellish energies that had been unleashed by its defences.
Yllithian could see that a dark, skeletal spire nearby had been partially slagged and melted down to half of its original height. He decided he would definitely shed no tears if that indicated the annihilation of the ever-adversarial Venomyst kabal that had dwelled there. Other surrounding spires showed cleaner cuts made in them by monofilament and darklight weapons. There had been trouble here, but evidently nothing the fortress and its defenders couldn’t handle.

Kabal fortess defenses and their implied devastation (fuck collateral damage!). This is Ylithian's obviously.



Page 43-44

It seemed impossible that the hook-winged jetfighters could come unscathed through the flickering storm of darklight beams, disintegrator bolts and hyper-velocity splinters that Yllithian’s warriors threw up, yet they did.
..
Paired darklight beams punched efficiently through the Raiders and Ravagers closest to Yllithian’s barque as if they were made of paper. The air was filled with the shriek of explosions and scything metal as the craft were spectacularly torn apart.
Yllithian saw little else as twin retina-burning scars of purple-black splashed across his vision. Yllithian’s barque shuddered in midair as the craft’s energy shields just barely shunted the lance strikes aside.
..
Thick, shaky lines of static were crawling across the ordinarily invisible sphere of energy that protected his personal craft. Yllithian reckoned it would not withstand another hit. Should two of the Razorwings decide to target his barque it would all be over.

Once again hypervelocity splinter rounds, as wlel as the effect of Darklight weapons (dark lances.) Ylithian's barqu can stand up to one or two barrages of twin Dark Lance fire, but two or three guarantees destruction.




Page 65

The Talos-engine designated as ‘Vhi’ by its creator was locked in a state of confusion. Multiple contradictory inputs were triggering a series of cascading protocol conflicts in its mind-state. Vhi was caught re-examining the available data thousands of times per second while it assessed the unexplained event..

Speed of processing information for a Talos engine.


Page 74

Kharbyr nodded to himself. Tales of strangeness like soul-transfers, body-swaps, transmigration and a thousand others were nothing new in Commorragh. It was common knowledge that for the right fee a haemonculus could reconstruct a body from ashes, or that death was a mere inconvenience for the wealthy elite. Some of those wilder stories had to have a grounding in reality.

(rumoured) capabilities of haemonculus. Apparently you don't even need a small sliver of tissue - your cremated remains can be brought back to (phyiscal) life.



Page 85

"During the raid a small group kidnapped a worldsinger from her shrine. As a result of this the world spirit of Lileathanir became enraged and struck back – first at the raiding force to drive it away and later at the raid’s point of origin – Commorragh."
For all his avowed contempt for talk of gods and daemons Vect fully comprehended the implications of Motley’s story. As supreme overlord of Commorragh, Vect understood that repositories of souls like a maiden world’s world spirit or a craftworld’s infinity circuit represented a source of real power in the metaphysical realm of warp space – raw, atavistic and potentially supremely dangerous power.

Which speaks of far more interrconnection (via the webway, probably) amongst the various Eldar socieites than previously thought. We knew from the Gav Thorpe Eldar novels that there were lines of communication and similar through the webway (path of the seer) and it would seem that similar exists here. Those linkages (tied to infinity circuits and similar), whatever they are, can also be used for attack, and it seems that a world spirit decided to attack Commoragh (with disastrous effect) that way. Apparently a Craftworld could do similar.

It's quite likely that Vect dominance of the Dark Eldar is to curb their excesses amongst their kin as a self-preservaiton measure - should the kabals piss off too many exodite worlds or craftworlds, their infinity circuits might cooperatievely 'attack' the Dark Eldar city and perhaps even destroy them.



Page 95-96

The haemonculus’s wisdom was vindicated an instant later when the entrance was lashed by blasts of cold fire. The air was already freezing but now became life-sapping in its own right as the temperature plummeted. If any flesh had been directly exposed to the mandrakes’ bale-fire it would have shattered like glass.

Mandrake command of cold They can be literally frozen solid in a matter of moments. We dont know how many that is, the exact temperature, or how many are involved, but if we assumed going from 300K to, say, 200K in a area a few metres in diameter (3-4) they would have to remove nearly 2 megajoules from the atmosphere. Even amongst dozens or hundreds of Mandrakes working together, that is fairly impressive.



Page 104

"Strange for you to come to me now – I had not foreseen it in the shadow-skein nor was it shown by the carven ones. I know all, I see all and yet you are a mystery to me. How can this be?"
..
"The Dysjunction. Of course, such glorious terror, such rampant fear. No wonder I could not see you in it. I think no one before you has ever come to the shadow-realm seeking safety."

As noted before, the realm of Aelindrach seems in many ways to be quite similar to the warp. This is not surprising, as Mandrakes in pre-5th edition were generally entities tied to the warp, after all. Aelindrach's properties seem to be tied to belief/emotion and similarily arbitrary (eg things like gravity only affect you if you believe they do, as we discover later.) Likewise your perceptions and the permanance/reality of things are malleable in this realm. We knwo from the 5th edition codex that the realm exists in multiple dimensions, this may be one reason why.

But more pertintently, we learn here that there is some sort of 'predictive' element to the shadow-realm, just like the warp. It is also termed as a 'skein', and seems to be tied to emotions (at least negative ones, like fear.) which makes a certain bit of sense - to track/hunt prey as well as travel through that shadow realm as they do, you'd need something to navigate by. That said, it is not neccesarily precognitive, since nothing about the realm indicates that time is malleable like it is with the warp.



Page 112

With the advent of the Dysjunction the most immediate neighbours of the Twisted Sword and the Flayed Mask had seized the opportunity to rid themselves of the avaricious pair forever. The fighting that ensued had turned into a bloodbath. Armies of slaves armed with improvised weapons had been hurled across the processional to be slaughtered in their tens of thousands. Above them armadas of aerial craft locked in combat so fierce that their progress could be marked by the constant rain of burning wreckage and plummeting bodies.

Kabals can amass slave armies of at least tens of thousands to throw at each other.




Page 114-115

As each Voidraven bomber swooped down it birthed a quartet of the streaking projectiles. The Shatterfields produced their own unique detonation signatures on impact – a double blast with the two explosions microseconds apart. The first detonation plunged the ambient temperature around the target to absolute zero so that it flash-froze everything in the area. The second detonation then propagated a vicious shockwave to shatter anything affected by the first. Seen through the displays the explosions flashed black then white as shattered, crystalline debris was thrown up into the air by the secondary blasts.

Shatterfield missiles. A bit more sadistic/artistic than monoscythes.




Page 115

Motley remained silent, too stunned by what he had seen to interject. He knew that the city had suffered terribly already; millions, perhaps even billions must be dead. Even so the level of violence Vect was willing to casually unleash against his own unruly subjects was coming as something of a shock.

potentially billions dead in the city. We don't know for sure that these are just Dark Eldar lives or include the slaves, but given Eldar attitudes and concerns (even the Craftworlders do not neccesarily rank other beings as highly as themselves, and Dark Eldar are less likely to) it is quite possible it IS Dark Eldar, especially given the shock Motley (A Harlequin) also displays - their greatest concern IS for the Eldar race as a whole, after all.

In any caes there must be far more than a few billion in the city as well, since it is far from totally gutted/wiped out by the events of the dysjunction.



Page 118-119

As the Black Heart advanced on the latter, concealed weapon ports swung open and bulbous-looking cannon appeared. Motley’s heart clenched at the sight of the weapons; he knew their kind and could only watch with horrified fascination at what happened next.
The weapons belched forth not fire or lightning but gossamer sprays of dark strands so fine that they were almost imperceptible on the ziggurat’s displays except as a blurring in the air. Where the dark clouds drifted into the vanguard of the Black Heart’s force the Raiders and Ravagers seemed to simply unravel at their touch. Slivers of metal and flesh rained down from the stricken craft as the dark strands glided effortlessly through them.
..
The defenders were using monofilament webs, nets of wires so fine that they slipped between molecules, severing sub-atomic bonds as they went. Motley used hand-held weapons of similar ilk and witnessed first-hand their truly awful effectiveness at flensing through armour, flesh and bone with the lightest touch. The very idea of using monofilament weaponry indiscriminately on such a scale as he’d just seen made him feel a little queasy.

Monomolecular artillery employed on a large scale. Despite its seeming silliness it seems that it can be quite nasty - sort of like razor-edged gas/chemicla weaponry. Indeed Motley's reaction seems to suggest that such indiscriminate use is on par with NBCweaponry.



Page 120

The Black Heart craft had rallied out of range of the monofilament cannon. No more than one in ten of them had been lost in the initial encounter yet the remainder now circled like frustrated hornets, apparently unwilling to try their luck again.

The Black Heart had dozens, perhaps of grav-craft, at least, since the yonly lost a handful (or more) in the monofilament attack above.




Page 121

The void mines detonated in two stages much like the Shatterfield missiles. However, in this case the first warhead was in itself harmless. It created a momentary ripple in the fabric of reality, an impenetrable sphere of force to contain the detonation of the second warhead – a single particle of pure darklight energy. The void mine’s destructive potential was so vast and unpredictable that it had to be limited to give the Voidravens a chance to escape the danger zone. Black, crackling spheres began to spring into being at the base of each spire. Some of the Voidravens demonstrated their pinpoint accuracy by dropping their mines directly into the open wounds they had torn in the spires with their void lances. In a few heartbeats the speeding aircraft had vanished into the thin upper air of High Commorragh leaving a trail of destruction in their wake.
Both spires were now deeply pockmarked around their bases as though a giant had been scooping out their innards with a spoon. Motley watched in horrid fascination as the double helix of lustrous jade lurched drunkenly to one side and began to slump against the tiered silver blades of its neighbour.

Yet another Dark Eldar weapon, void mines. They use 'anti-particles' of a sort, but it seems to behave like a magical disintegrator/black hole/vortex weapon for all intents and purposes Their areas of effect are also precisely limited by the 'ripple' of reality that contains them (not unlike some depictions of thermal detonators.)



Page 122-123

The fighting was a symptom of a deeper disease. It was ever the way with the Chaos powers that their agents would spread disorder wittingly or unwittingly as they went about their work. As the host society broke down it became ever more vulnerable to their blandishments until the slow dissolution became an unstoppable avalanche.
Motley had heard similar tirades from members of another race – the human race, the latest and most contemptible of the mon-keigh to lay claim to the galaxy. Brutish and contemptible they might be, but the humans had yet to fall completely to Chaos as the eldar had done. The humans had wobbled on the edge of the abyss repeatedly but each time they had avoided their own destruction by doing precisely what Vect was doing now – excising the infection before it killed the host. It was frightening to think that there was something to be learned from a race that was so backward in so many other ways.

One of the interesting and underlying plots here is that the events have been building up to this were the result of Chaos manipulation on a subtle yet highly epic scale. This would, of course, explain the harlequin's involvement (at least one of them) if true, and it shows that the attitudes of the Dark Eldar maty make them blind to the attentions of the Chaos Gods (which will be elaborated on later.)

We also learn a Harlequin POV with regard to Chaos, the Fall, and humanity's attitude. Once again Motley seems to share the Eldar perspective that humans foolishly toy with things they don' t understand and thraten their own destruction (and the destruction of others.) We also learn that, despite the grimdarkitude of the highly brutal totalitarian society the Imperium represents, it has also been amazingly effective (Thus far) at averting the sort of catastrophe the Eldar suffered. Score one for utter ruthlessness, I suppose. (and I agree with motley - it IS frightening.)

I also have a sneaking suspicion we see yet another reason why Vect in power is a good thing - he prevents the Dark Eldar from fucking themselves and everyone else over by their own foolishness too. And with similar ruthlessness.



Page 132-133

This was that moment. In a rare uncoordinated moment the incubi left a blind spot in their coverage of Yllithian. A blade instantly appeared in the gap between the incubi’s armoured shoulders and arrowed towards Yllithian’s chest in an unstoppable thrust. By sheer bad luck Yllithian saw the attack when it was only inches away and tried desperately to twist aside much too late.
The failures continued to compound themselves as Yllithian’s shadow field flared microseconds too late to rob all the power from the thrust, the blade surging onwards through a billowing cloud of entropic energy that was slowing it, but not stopping it, as it darted for Yllithian’s heart. The needle-sharp point punched through Yllithian’s concealed armour with surprising ease, tearing through the diamond-hard matrix as if it were no more than thick cloth. As the questing point dug deep into Yllithian’s flesh he began to scream, in the full expectation that he was using up his last breath. Then it happened…
…Somewhere in the roiling uncertainty of the void an ancient and unthinkably alien entity stirred minutely. Strands of Fate were split and re-woven by a movement that was no more conscious than the quiver of an eyelash. The entity settled again, satisfied…
…In Yllithian’s garden there was a blinding yellow flash. The stabbing blade shivered and sprang away as if it had struck a stone. Yllithian staggered back, trying to blink away the bright spots that were dancing before his eyes.
..
The blade that she stabbed him with was still gripped by the severed arm, the weapon itself twisted and fused as if it had been heated to unthinkable temperatures.

Dark Eldar assassin (which seems to be another Archon, but possibly a Vect agent) is able to exploit (and recognize) a momentary gap and attempt to assassinate Ylithian. His shadowfield operates on microsecond timeframes (for activation) and can onyl slow but not stop it, and the tip penetrates his armor which is 'diamond hard'.

And then... he's saved by Tzneetch or some Tzneetchian entity manipulating probability to save him. (which also seems to have firctional effects, judging by the blade.) Another indicator that Chaos is playing a role in events in Dark Eldar soceity.




Page 134

He was half collapsed into the fountain, his corpse puckered with innumerable red craters where splinter rifles had torn apart his flesh, already blackened and bloating from the scores of different toxins racing through it.

splinter fire blowing craters in dark Eldar flesh, thereby causing physical damage as well as the toxin effects. Given they don't always do that one imagines they can control the lethality of the splinters both in terms of the toxin and the kinetic effect.




Page 159

Sythrac allowed a fraction of the power from the captive spirits in his armour to flow through him. The running trueborn seemed to slow down in his altered perception, drifting slowly towards him with blurring images of their past and future locations multiplying backwards and forwards along their course.

Interestingly it seems that the aforementioend Exarch-like suit storing spirits grants some sort of preternatural sight akin to precog, showing intentions and suchlike, rather than just merely boosting physical performance.



Page 160

Sadly such finesse was entirely lost on Sythrac’s opponent as the huskblade fulfilled its primary function and desiccated the trueborn’s body in the blink of an eye. The raw-meat red armour collapsed, empty, as the shrivelled husk disintegrated into dust.

Huskblade dries out corpse in a fraction of a second.




Page 160

Sythrac dropped flat an instant before Vhigis’s blast pistol spat a retina-scarring ray of darklight through the spot where he had been standing just a split second before. The first trueborn, the one who had tried to feint, caught the blast squarely between his shoulder blades. There was a flash of heat and light as the trueborn’s chest was vaporised by the hit and then his body collapsed beside the empty armour of his sibling.

Darklight weaponry 'vaporizes' chest triple digit kj to single digit MJ maybe, depending on how much chest destroyed if we treat it as simply 'exploding'. If its literal vaporization, double digit MJ.



Page 161

The witch-sight of the spirits showed Archon Vhigis levelling his pistol again before he had even finished speaking. Sythrac turned aside and the bolt creased past him by a hair’s-breadth. He allowed more of the captive energy of the armour to flow through him, the thousand ghosts stung into action screaming and roaring in his mind. Vhigis’s movements became slower still and Sythrac closed the distance between them in seven preternaturally long strides.

More precog from the suits - it seems to also involve alteration of perceptions. It may also improve his movement.




Page 162-163

Sythrac opened the fingers of one gauntleted hand over the crumbling remains. The gesture revealed a soul-siphon embedded within the gauntlet’s palm, a cold, blue circle of light. The spirit-trap glowed spectrally as it extended an aetheral vortex across Vhigis’s desiccated corpse. The Archon’s soul, even as it cried in horror at the ineffable claws of She Who Thirsts closing around it, was snatched up and drawn inside Sythrac’s ornate armour to be trapped, stored for Sythrac’s pleasure. Archon Vhigis of the Flayed Mask joined innumerable others in the ghostly menagerie contained in the network of softly glowing soul stones which festooned Sythrac’s armour. The Archon was reduced to less than a helpless prisoner; a power supply, perhaps a source of secret knowledge..

The 'spirit trap' siphoning off the soul from a destroyed eldar. Once again note that it seems to have Exarch-armour like qualities, even to the point of spirit stones. Its a 'power source' as well as providing access to (presuambly) the minds/memories of the victims.

Apparently Eldar souls once 'freed' from the body are not instantly gobbled up by Slaanesh either, at least not in Commorragh.



Page 167

Vaellienth’s squad had swarmed through Sorrow Fell with a thousand others of the Black Heart kabal all racing with one another to be the first at the kill.

There are at least a thousand Dark Eldar in the Black Heart cabal.




Page 170

..Vaellienth shot her in the mouth, the hyper-velocity splinter round partly decapitating her as it opened a grotesque second mouth in the nape of her neck.

another splinter round, hyper-velocity, causing physical damage to tissue. This time, blowing a huge hole through the neck and nearly decapitating it (blowing a huge exit wound in the bakc of the neck in the process.) My guess would be fragmentation on penetration, like some kinds of projectiles (5.56 NATO for example). The fragmenting would spread the toxin throughout the tissue at the same time, and speed delivery perhaps.



Page 178

The warriors in the chamber were fully armed and armoured. Kharbyr noticed a preponderance of heavier portable weapons than normal among them; snub-nosed monofilament shredders and darklight blasters seemed a particular favourite.
+A large part of the schism from before The Fall was centred around the concept of Form. The conservatives saw their form as being something inviolable, the pinnacle achievement of evolutionary forces reaching back to the birth of the universe itself. The radicals believed that the form a soul took was not predetermined but a matter of cosmic accident. They saw no harm in changing their form as they willed once they had access to the technology for doing so. The most extreme transmigrated themselves into animals, ships, structures or even entire sub-realms.+

Pre-Fall Haemonculus and something of the achievements of Pre-Fall eldar. Basically, you could implant your soul into anything, which seems to be tied to the concepts of infinity circuits and soul stones and similar.

Also Dark Eldar personal weaponry.




Page 178-179

+Far more people took to physical modification of a more limited sort. Improved genes, faster reflexes, enhanced senses, regenerative cells, all that kind of thing – on and on ‘improving’ the evolutionary process. This is where what we now call haemonculi come in to play. They started as a sort of loose society of surgeons and scientists who arose to pioneer the most extreme kind of work. For a variety of reasons – most of them ethical and legal – many of them chose to make their homes in the port-city of Commorragh and other sub-realms in the webway.+

Haemonculus (or is that proto-haemonculus) physical 'improvements' and their pre-fall origins further explained. Also why they ended up on Commorragh.



Page 179

+Those who would become the first haemonculi performed some truly radical experiments of their own over time. They created artificial races and adapted existing ones to their purposes. The most stable proved to be the scourges, a transformation that could be undertaken by anyone with the urge to soar on their own wings. It’s entirely possible that some even less savoury creations were brought into being at the same time – like the mandrakes, for example, and a variety of deranged creatures that are now purely the preserve of the beastmasters.+
+Body-sculpting, alteration, eugenics; these proto-haemonculi raced to outdo one another in their pursuit of entirely amoral science even as the rest of the eldar race slid into anarchy...

Yet more experimentation of the Haemonculi - artificially created races, body mods, and eugenics amongst others.




Page 194

The crystals of the scrying chamber remained just as opaque as ever but now it was clear in Vect’s mind where the daemon-seed admitted by the Dysjunction had taken root. This rising darkness could only be coming from Aelindrach. The mysterious shadow-realm had long been a part of Vect’s acquisitions, but too strange, too alien to properly assimilate with the rest of the city. The mandrakes made useful agents but their reticence about their place of origin was always universal and virtually unbreakable. They were lawless and clannish by nature, yet someone or something in Aelindrach was making a concerted effort to expand the shadow-realm and absorb all of Commorragh.

Vect contemplates Aelindrach and its nature. He technically 'rules' it like the rest of Commorragh, but its a bit too alien even for him. This tends to suggest that, whatever its nature, it is closely tied to Dark Eldar society/territory and Commorragh, rather than some truly separate dimension, although it may only reflect that the region is simply a 'gateway' to other dimenisons (which we speculated on earlier anyhow.)

The effect is also distinctive neough that Vect can recognize it in his scrying crystals, at least.




Page 194-195

Vect moved back to his throne and began bringing the lesser wardings into action. At one point the mastery of the wardings had been a jealously guarded secret fragmented among ancient, noble families. Vect had threatened and tortured his way to full understanding, eliminating each former possessor of it as he went. In time the last few bearing any scraps of knowledge came forward to teach him willingly in the hopes that he might spare them. They were proved wrong. Now the secret was Vect’s alone and he held it as part of his great armoury of weapons for use against those that might oppose him.
The greater wardings girdled the entire city, eldritch barriers of force that kept the restless tides of the warp in check and prevented them from swamping the reality that was Commorragh. The lesser wards were originally intended as an additional safety feature that subdivided the city itself. They were capable of placing additional, temporary barriers between the city’s innumerable tiers and districts in case of a breach. Their deployment placed a small but noticeable additional strain on the nigh-infinite energy reservoirs of Commorragh and Vect proceeded with care by only erecting a few carefully selected wardings. Sealing off the whole city would not serve his purposes; it could even have quite disastrous results.

The wardings that hold together Commorragh and protect it from the warp. Vect is the only one with complete control of it (stolen from the former Eldar nobles who held the knowledge) and yet another facet that gives him his extensive dominance of Dark Eldar society (being able to selectively isolate or expose parts of the city at will is a useful tool/threat.)




Page 199-200

Aelindrach, the secret shipments entering through a gate known only to him. As the Decapitator’s alien senses caressed the shadow-skein he learned their deepest desires and the true sources of their mutual rivalry.
Xhakoruakh had lied when he told his outsider allies that secrets could not be kept hidden in the shadow-realm. In fact it took a rare gift to ferret out a secre kept hidden in the shadow-realm. In fact it took a rare gift to ferret out a secret within the deceptive tangle of shadows and angles that was Aelindrach. Few might boast the tenacity and skill required to make the effort, while the number of secrets to be found was very, very large. However, once the taste of conspiracy was on the Decapitator’s tongue he could hunt it down effectively through the skein. The ghosts of recently made pacts still echoed there, and within them was an interlocking puzzle box of motivations, actions and influences that opened at his touch.

More on the shadow realm, form the Mandrake POV. Again secrets and thought/emotion seems to permeate it (at least Eldar/Dark Eldar thought) although it takes effort to find the truth (which I geuss is the 'shadow-skein' - again it doesnt seem to reflect so much just time and space, but more the thoughts/emotions/actions of living beings.. which is similar to but not completely identical to the warp. If anything, its like a less chaotic version of the warp.

[Connor MacLeod]

And.. final update!

Page 202

The multitudes of dark angles in the cracked plain surrounding the palace were filled with them: mandrakes, ur-ghuls, crawlers, creepers and other nameless things summoned from the depths of the shadow-realm.

Creatures of the shadow-realm.



Page 204

There was a kind of blindness Commorrites suffered in relation to the Chaos gods, Bellathonis thought. She Who Thirsts had such a claim on their souls that it occupied all of their thoughts on the subject – when they gave it any thought at all, which was rarely if it could be helped. Every waking moment was dedicated to eluding the grasp of the daemon-queen and restoring the vitality she drained constantly from every living eldar in Commorragh. Small wonder that she should dominate their world-view.
The other Chaos gods were known to be older than She Who Thirsts. They were ancient, atavistic deities from the dawn of time and seen as being almost as irrelevant by Commorrites as the dead gods of the eldar. That was a conceit, but not too far from the truth under ordinary circumstances. Commorragh had been designed and built specifically to exclude the influences of entities like the decrepit gods of Chaos under normal circumstances. The wardings were supposed to keep Commorragh hermetically sealed from the surging tides of the warp – the preferred playground of the Chaos gods – so that its citizens could exist without succumbing to madness and mutation. That was how the wardings were supposed to work, but during a Dysjunction they could be compromised and what was without could find its way within.

Haemonculi reflects on Chaos gods and the Dark Eldar. Interesting is not just the whole 'blindness' aspect, but the implication that the other Gods pre-date the Eldar (meaning tens of millions of years old) We know about the constant 'draining' effect of Slaanesh, but it seems that the obsession with that means it can eclipse the actions of the other Chaos gods. Dark Eldar society, as well, seems to be rather atheist for all intents and purposes, which perhaps leads them to further underestimate the Chaos Gods (which was one fo the big mistakes the pre-Heresy Imperium made.)

The wardings of Commoragh also seem toh ave a strong effect at weakening the influence of the Chaos Gods in the Dark Eldar city.. normally at least. That would of course explain why creating the dysjunction was important - to create cracks thorugh which their influence could slip through.




PAge 206-207

When the all-destroying lucent beams wielded by Azoruakh’s defenders stabbed down from the cliffs for the first time he was initially dazzled and then fascinated by them. The energies being employed clove smoking trails through the very fabric of Aelindrach; even the ground beneath the victim’s feet was blasted upwards in sooty columns at the beam’s touch. Such power was entirely in keeping with the effects of disintegrators and darklight weapons in more normal surroundings, but the shadow-realm was notoriously opaque to those kinds of high-energy discharges.

Beam weapons of unknonw nature which have some disintegrator-like effect in the shadow realm.



Page 210

Bellathonis ascended to join them through sheer force of will, briefly decoupling his false perceptions of Aelindrach’s solidity and gravity to float up as easily as if he’d been wearing a gravity harness.

Again Aelindrach seems ot operate on 'belief' and perception more than fact (in that the Haemonculus can levitate if he 'forgets' about gravity.)



Page 214

"When I saw the beams being used against us I made a realisation about them," Bellathonis had explained. "They were based on a principle of resonance that is sometimes referred to as cataclysmic harmonics. In the context of Aelindrach such weapons perforce have to rely on the perceptions of their victims to convey more of their effect than would ordinarily be the case."
"So how did your creatures overcome it?"
..
"I partially blinded and deafened them. An eye and an ear drum were removed from each on the battlefield. That, plus their inherent resistance to pain and damage, rendered the light and noise of the beams survivable for them over a limited exposure. "

The functioning of the aforementioned mystery disintegrator like beams. Again they seem to play more on the peculiar nature of the shadow realm and its dependence upon perception or belief to have effect more than anything. Dulled or removed senses seem to be a protection, of sorts, although even then they might have an effect. It does imply that they are of use only within the shadow realm, however.



Page 226

He now stood in his chambers facing a dark mirror almost as tall as himself that had a rim of twisting leaves rendered in molecular carbon.

Molecular carbon.


Page 239

Many of the weapons that had been so lovingly crafted in these workshops were made not merely to kill but to inflict the maximum amount of harm. Rifles that launched high-velocity splinters of complex crystallised toxins, neural agonisers, flesh-shredding flails, envenomed blades, on and on; a whole list of horrors created with all the wicked ingenuity of long ages spent plotting in the dark.

Dark Eldar weapons design.



PAge 239

It was all very different from the equivalent spaces on the eldar craftworlds. There in light, open halls the psychic bonesingers drew their creations into existence from the very stuff of creation. Wraithbone and other psychoplastic materials would be shaped into the necessary forms over months or years, each a unique expression of those dedicated to its creation. There were no such methods available to the psychically blunt dark kin. They, or more accurately their slaves, physically shaped their weapons with tools and machines from the very quintessence of diamond or steel, forged them in plasmatic fires and instilled them with energies stolen from the stars themselves.

Eldar vs Dark Eldar construction - differences in materials, etc. Dark Eldar are 'blunt' and construct out of physical materials and physical processes. Note the 'palsmatic' fires. They also seem to be star powered (batterieS?)


PAge 241

A massive net of firefalls was drooling slowly down from the upper tiers. Long, glutinous strings of molten metal and rock spilled down the structures on both sides of Motley. The strands were braiding and twisting their way down as they ate into the fascia of the buildings and re-sculpted it into a smoking, vertiginous wasteland. The radiant heat was fierce against Motley’s exposed skin as he stared at the spectacle in wonder.
It could only be the by-product of some unimaginable blaze occurring higher up in one of the spires. Perhaps a ship had crashed and its fusion-fuelled heart was burning its way downwards, or a blaze the size of a city had generated a self-sustaining firestorm fed by its own rotating winds until it roared white-hot. He shook his head ruefully. The firefall could equally be the result of weaponry unleashed by the dark kin themselves.

Dark Eldar craft seem to be fusion powered, the magnitude of such (and weapons) comparble to city-sized firestorms (city destroying weapons?) It also seems to be significantly thermal either way.


Page 244

Where had the assailants come from? Motley was not easy to take by surprise; he should have been able to sense their presence and intentions long before actually seeing them.

Harlequins - motley, at least - has some sort of precog or psychic senses that can detect assailants and their intentions.


Page 245

Malys smiled slyly in return before coquettishly snapping open a fan of blades...
..
She flicked her fan almost casually towards Motley. With the gesture monomolecular shards no bigger than a fingernail detached from the fan and streaked towards his exposed throat. The Harlequin twisted sharply at the waist to avoid the micro-blades but kept his eyes locked on hers.

Dark Eldar Blade fan, that shoots fingernail-sized monomolecular blades.



Page 245

So saying she drew her sword with her free hand and flourished it at Motley. With a blade measuring over a metre it was unusually long for a single-handed Commorrite weapon. The first third of the weapon below the point was elegantly curved in the fashion so beloved of Commorrites and the metal was inscribed with flowing runes that glowed with inner fires.

Dark Eldar swords are typically shorter than a metre long.



PAge 252

"Second – Asdrubael Vect is partial to weapons. He likes unexpected, devastating, irresistible weapons best of all. It’s not like he’s incapable of subtlety, quite the reverse. But unlike a lot of us here in Commorragh – and I’m including myself in that sweeping statement – he understands when the time for subtlety is over. When that happens he gets the biggest weapon he can find and ends the fight before anyone else has a chance to realise how far he’s about to escalate it."

Difference between Vect and other Dark Eldar when it comes to threats. He cares nothing for appearances and only for efficiency/effect. But he's complex either way (employing multiple weapons to counter a threat)


Page 260

The ur-ghuls, unable to make an impression on the upper towers of Commorragh, slunk back into the shadows. thousands of survivor-fortresses clinging on in Low Commorragh it seemed a victory, a moment of respite amidst the disaster-strewn times of the Dysjunction.

Thousands of fortresses in Low Commorragh.


Page 261

"Single cut left to right. Large, straight-edged power weapon. Very clean, very precise," Xagor chattered nervously. "Cranium entirely absent. Assume taken by attacker."

One Mandrake, if not others, either have power weapons, or they can emulate their effects.


Page 264

Bellathonis glanced uncertainly towards the pit in the centre of the room. Portals in Aelindrach commonly appeared as dark rifts or crevices without any of the ornate arches and over-engineered fail-safes to be found around warp gates in Commorragh itself. Now, with the shadow-realm expanding its boundaries almost organically as it bled into Commorragh, such strictly defined delineation points were becoming blurred.

The Shadow realm has its own rifts and portals, but they seem to differ from warp portals in key respects.


Page 269

The geno-engineered creatures were, in contrast to so many of their kind, permanently fertile and laid their eggs in anything they penetrated with their freakishly oversized ovipositors. The larval offspring hatched in seconds and burrowed deeper so that they could metamorphose just as quickly into their bloodthirsty adult forms.

Blood Wasps. apparently Haemonculus engineering has some abilities that can compete with the 'Nids.


Page 273

The charging figures were misshapen giants, monstrously over-muscled, with metal blades and bone spikes jutting out from them at all angles. Kharbyr had seen their kind before – grotesques. He knew the haemonculi used them as guards or gladiators. He’d never seen a grotesque in its berserker state before.
In the narrow confines of the corridor the hulking grotesques could barely fit two abreast, while seven or eight of Yllithian’s warriors could shoot at a time. Simple mathematics said the grotesques should have been cut down almost immediately. Instead they stormed forwards despite missing limbs, cratered torsos and, in one memorable case, a missing head.
Kharbyr came up into a crouch and raised his own pistol to shoot. The compact, spiral-barrelled weapon seemed faintly ludicrous in comparison to the ravening energies around him but he fired it anyway. The grotesque that he hit swelled obscenely in the course of a few seconds until its straining flesh burst open in a welter of blood. The grotesque lumbered a few steps closer sporting a ragged, bloody crater where its chest had been, before it was cut down by another flash of energy.

Grotesque durability. Also, the ability of a haemonculus weapon. Not unlike the shrieker ammunition Death Jesters use, in some ways.



PAge 276

He kicked the clawed wrack in the chest and shot one of the knife-wielders with his pistol. The shot wrack swelled and then exploded with an obscene slobbering noise.

Haemonculus pistol again, and once again it seems to turn living bodies into bombs.



Page 277

ith a flash of inspiration Kharbyr suddenly realised that the cumbersome-looking weapons the wracks were using were hex-rifles. Xagor had once told him hex-rifles typically fired a crystal cylinder that had been impregnated with the glass plague. Kharbyr hastily pulled his knife out of the wrack before the fast-spreading crystalline transmutation brought about by the glass plague could seal it inside the wrack’s guts permanently.

Hex rifles.



Page 280

Yllithian gestured and two of his trueborn emerged from the ranks behind him carrying a skeletal-looking device between them. It was a long, narrow aggregation of blocks and sheets of metal overlaid with glass-like circuitry.
..
"The warhead," Yllithian replied coolly, "from a void mine. Normally there are two sections to a void mine. The first projects a sphere of force intended to contain the detonation of the second within safe parameters. In this example that part has been removed to leave the primary detonator unhindered – that’s a speck of pure darklight that I’m told would annihilate this entire labyrinth and a good chunk of the surrounding city if it were triggered."

An un-contained void mine is considerably more devastating than a contained one. And quite man-portable, it seems. We don't know how bit the maze is, or how much city, but it sounds non trivial.
What's more Ylithian mentions having planted more than one. If true they're probably less bulky than most explosives of that type.



Page 283

Through some means the Archon of the Poisoned Tongue appeared able to mask her comings and goings even to someone as psychically adept as himself. The psychic threads of causality he could read from the street and its buildings were too confused and traumatised to yield any useful hints.

At least some Dark Eldar can block psychic detection, and the nature of the Harlequin's 'reading' of the skein, I suppose.


Page 284

Motley wondered if it were perhaps the influence of a sub-realm as he started strolling along the street and whistling a jaunty tune to see what it might draw out. Around him the shadows deepened swiftly as the temperature dropped inexorably. There were a multitude of separate realities that Vect had annexed over the centuries to expand his eternal city. Most of the sub-realms had their own distinct characters. Some of them were very much at odds with what was generally agreed on as the normal consensual skein of existence for eldar–
Aelindrach. It could only be Aelindrach.
Motley stopped whistling. To his hyper-attuned senses the surrounding darkness was no longer empty

Again Commoragh seems to be multiple 'realities' or connectd to such, either natural or artificial. Also, Motley is able to recognize and even 'sense' Aelindrach's nature.


PAge 285

The weapon was called a ‘harlequin’s kiss’, a term that always amused Motley with its grim irony – some nameless death jester back at the dawn of time no doubt liked the imagery of victims being rendered weak at the knees by the horrifically simple but deadly weapon. The mandrake he had struck immediately collapsed like a boneless sack of meat, which was effectively what the looping coils of the harlequin’s kiss had turned it into.

Harlequin's kiss in action. It doesn't seem to need to punch 'into' the body to trigger, and it massacres Mandrakes as easily as any other living being.

Interestingly enough as well, Motley has no compunction slaughtering Mandrakes, whereas he holds back quite often against other Dark Eldar. Does this suggest, in turn, that Mandrakes are no longer considered 'true' Eldar? might they not even be Eldar to begin with, despite the codex calling them such.



Page 297-298

The figures had the distinctive curving forms of Wraithguard and Wraithlords – the animated guardian-constructs built by craftworld eldar to carry the souls of their dead. Motley squeezed through the cracked wall in a daze. As the trapped souls within sensed his presence the swell of grieving mind-voices grew more frantic. Motley resolutely tried to block them out.
With closer examination he recognised that the machines were not craftworlder Wraithguard and Wraithlords. They embodied many of the same aesthetics but had undoubtedly been constructed by Commorrite hands. The ordinarily fine, clean lines of the craftworlder’s designs had been weighted down with masses of additional armour and weaponry. Many had had some of their long limbs amputated in order to keep them quick and agile despite their extra burdens of blades and energy projectors, sacrificing their traditionally compact eldar-like forms for greater performance. Everything about the Commorrite copies seemed to add a vicious tension to the original designs.
The machines were constructed out of wraithbone and other psychoplastic materials Motley would have expected to see on a craftworld. The dark kin had no ability to create wraithbone for themselves and only limited ability to shape it. However, the unique properties of craftworlder materials meant they were highly prized by Commorrites. Every piece of wraithbone used for the constructs had to have been stolen from the craftworlds or the webway itself. The contents of the vault represented an unimaginable horde of plunder in Commorragh, but that was not what Motley found most horrifying about it.
There were clusters of spirit stones embedded into the construct’s carapaces. Each of the war engines had a dozen or more of the glowing gems sunk into their gleaming metal bodies around their foreheads and shoulders. Motley knew that every one of the stones contained a soul caught at the moment of death to keep it safe from the clutches of She Who Thirsts. The spirit stones represented a most despicable theft from their resting place, an act that went beyond grave-robbing to the literal enslavement of the dead.
It was not without precedent, certainly, for spirit stones were a rare and precious commodity in Commorragh, just like wraithbone. They were stolen, hoarded and fought over, twisted into psychically attuned artefacts that the Commorrites could create by no other means.

Vect's castigators. He's apparently stolen and corrupted a huge number of Wraithguard/Lords. Quite probably Wraith Knights for all we know by now - and turned them to his own use.

We also learn that Commorragh cannot make wraithbone or psychoplastics and can only shape it to a limited degree. Wraithbone, and soulstones, are also considered highly valuable in Dark Eldar society. Considering how we learn few weapons aside from disintegrators and other darklight weapons can hurt them, you can see why these would be considered useful tools for Vect.


Page 299

. Beyond them the blue light and mist made it hard to see exactly how many more still stood further inside. There might be hundreds of them in there, thousands even.
..
The crushing truth was that he could not do anything to help the captured spirits. Filling every pocket he had wouldn’t have emptied a thousandth of the spirit stones from their settings, and the kabalites certainly weren’t going to let him saunter out carrying even such a small fraction of the fortune on display.

Estimated numbers. Given his later statements, thousands seems like a likier estimate.


Page 305

She found Vect in a low-vaulted chamber that was entirely dominated by a three-dimensional representation of Commorragh traced with floating skeins of light. Vect stood in the midst of it all like some unthinkably vast monster wading through the thousands of cubic kilometres of volume it represented.

Vect has a real time 3d map of his city, and it evidently encompasses thousands of cubic km.. trillions of cubic meters.



Page 309

With Vect’s gesture in Corespur hundreds of stasis-sealed vaults across the city responded to the final input of their fail-safe codes. Monolithic mag-locks that had not moved in centuries rotated in their housings before slamming open with a sound like the tolling of sombre bells. Metre-thick doors began to grind slowly open with a low, rolling thunder that reverberated from the heights of Corespur down into the depths of Low Commorragh. Within the vaults thousands of smooth-skinned war machines shook themselves into wakefulness. The tortured, insane ghosts inhabiting their shells awoke to the light of another dawn that was to be marked only by perfidy and horror.
Ancient heroes, ordinary citizens, traumatised veterans, innocents, criminals, the insane; all became one inside the nightmarish mannequins they had been sealed into. As they were roused into wakefulness their composite personalities were goaded on by falsehoods and lies. The unending wars they fought were each their own version of reality. Some saw themselves emerging from their vaults into a shining city bathed in golden sunlight beset by nightmarish monstrosities. Others saw only a smoke-wreathed battlefield refilled with mortal enemies from the past. Some of the captive spirits believed that they fought to protect their long-dead loved ones, others that their opportunity for vengeance had come at last, for others unreasoning fear or rampant murder-lust were motivation enough to lash out at the living.

Vect unleashes his Castigators, and the means of their 'control' by manipulation and lies (probably part of the modifcations). He also has hundreds of vaults each containing thousands (given the earlier estimate by motley) impiles hundreds of thousands, if not millions. That's.. quite a force Vect has to maintain his control, and yet another tool at his command. And not even his greatest, yet.



Page 314

Bellathonis watched in fascination as a pair of Castigators advanced to meet the mandrakes’ rush. He could see at once that they were not purely machines like the Talos pain-engines, but rather housings for a living consciousness. The Castigators’ monomolecular claws pierced the pitch-black mandrakes like lightning bolts while the mandrakes’ own saws and sickles glanced from impervious metal. One of the war machines fired its distortion whip at point-blank range, a brief twist in reality pinching out its enemies so thoroughly that it was as if they had never existed at all. The other Castigator appeared to favour its claw-like blades more and sliced the last mandrake apart with the fluid grace of a knife-limbed dancer.

Two castigator weapons of note - distortion 'whips' - some variation of distortion cannon, presumably, and monomolecular claws. Also note that D-weaponry seems uncommon in Commorragh, probably because of its ties to the warp.



Page 332-333

housands of different forms of data storage were ranged on the steep shelves in the body of the library, everything from clay tablets, scrolls of flayed skin and engraved bone steles to optiotronic pearls and crystalline wafers that could store more than the sum total of a hundred physical libraries. The subjects painstakingly collected by the coven ranged widely across arcane science and eldritch sorcery: hybridisation, eugenics, surgery, anatomy, bodily modification, dissection, vivisection, torture, the healing arts, biomechanics, toxins, pathogens…

Haemonculus library. Crystal wafers that can store 100 libraries.. not too precise but if we used, say, the Library of congress as an example: 150 million items including nearly 24 million books. Assuming they were all 400 page booksIn text terms that probably comes out (depending on format) to at least a couple hundred kilobytes to several megabytes. Several hundred terabytes to petabytes by that estimate, which should be a very broad order of magnitude estimate either way.



Page 341

Vhi lavished the energy necessary into firing a bolt from its heat lance to clear a wall in its way, bursting through it in a storm of molten shrapnel that had a high probability of inflicting collateral injury and inducing panic.
Vhi’s sensors created a detailed snapshot of the space it had breached in less than a millisecond. It registered the teardrop-shaped space of the library, the stepped shelves and their contents, the cupola above and the forest of banners below in precise detail.

Assuming a 10 cm thick, 2x2 m stone wall raised to the melting point (call it around 900 kj per kg) would be aorund 800 MJ. Also it can operate again on millisecond timescales.



Page 347

Its scorpion tail whipped around as Yllithian steadied his pistol in both hands and fired, hitting it squarely on its curved prow. The blaster bolt punched a fist-sized crater straight through the armour and into the machine’s delicate innards. It seemed to stagger in the air and then dipped forwards to accelerate, gathering itself to lunge at Yllithian like a wounded animal.

Damage of a blast pistol. IT seems rather explosive, making holes bigger than the probable diameter of the beam. Figure double/triple digit kj maybe to punch a hole in iron that size.



Page 357

The razor-flail was a Commorrite weapon that ably demonstrated its origins both in its multifaceted fighting style and its inherent dangerousness to its wielder. In essence it was a segmented sword with a flexible core. That allowed it to be wielded like a whip or, as the name suggested, a razor-edged flail. However, the segments could be brought together and locked with a mere flick of the wrist, instantly transforming the flexible razor-edged flail into a rigid, saw-toothed sword or vice versa.

Leave it to Dark Eldar to make sword-whips.




Page 376

In the course of a few seconds they grew from miniscule dark scratches outlined against the battle plain into baroquely bladed swords aiming straight for the heart of Xelian’s swarm. A lethal web of darklight beams, disintegrator pulses and hyper-velocity splinters criss-crossed between the two forces in the instant before impact. Reavers exploded, Raiders gouted flames and fell away before Xelian’s force smashed into their challengers with a physical shock that resounded throughout the spires of High Commorragh.

Depending on the distance you figure, at least several hundred metres to several kilometres effective range.


Page 378

Vect watched the battle develop, ignoring the pleas and entreaties of the Archons to take action. The battlefield appeared as a roiling cauldron of violence: frothing and bubbling, with black and red jets flaring between a thousand chained lightnings. Hundreds of predatory machines dived to their doom carrying their fragile cargoes of flesh with them. Energies were unleashed that atomised metal and burned the air itself. Brave warriors and cowards alike were blasted, stabbed and shredded out of existence in their thousands by the impartial whims of fate. Vect smiled to see it all, a fitting final act.

Battle between one Kabal and part of Vect's larger forces encompassing hundreds of vehicles and thousands of soldiers. Again gives you approximate ideas of the size of Cabals, although Vect's as a whole is bound to be significantly larger.



Page 391-394

In later times it would become known as ‘The Gaze of Vect’. All Commorrites would shudder to remember the day when Asdrubael Vect called down the Ilmaea to scour the darkness from High Commorragh. All the horrors of the Dysjunction came to be forgotten in the face of the retribution it incurred.
Around the White Flames fortress the air shimmered with heat haze under the focused glare of the Ilmaea as the temperatures skyrocketed. Within seconds mandrakes and ur-ghuls were physically shrivelled in the hideous blaze, their withered forms immolating like scraps of paper beneath a blowtorch. The great, seething mass of the shadow horde caught on the plain was utterly annihilated, torn apart and burned to ash by the unrelenting suns. The handful of survivors fled shrieking into the deepest darkness of Aelindrach to nurse burning scars that would never heal.
...
The ring of flames tightened inexorably around the lone white spire and the heat soared still higher. The super-heated air itself burned as the ring closed, a titanic vortex of fire grew, spinning faster and faster as it reached up into the heavens. The fortress shuddered and smouldered under the assault, but still stood defiant as the fiery pillar roiled higher still. Its head split to become hydra-like as it reached out to touch the face of the Ilmaea themselves…
Raw plasma siphoned into the spinning funnel directly from the bloated bodies of the caged suns. Their coronas were momentarily joined as they poured their fusing mass onto the fortress below. The White Flames fortress was engulfed in the living blood of the suns, pounded by unthinkable energies in the whirling atomic firestorm. No clever construct or adroit technology could keep such energy at bay for long.
Emitters failed and relays melted, the impenetrable shields of force protecting the fortress collapsed suddenly and catastrophically leaving the structure itself exposed. The inrush of elemental forces ate through stone and drank metal. Organics, the fragile inhabitants of the fortress, flashed into expanding gas in a split second. The whole great edifice with its high white walls and sloping gables, its rooftop gardens and bladed oubliettes, vanished with an ear-splitting roar.
With their work of destruction complete the Ilmaea split their cyclopean gaze once more, the firestorm dissipating over a bubbling lake of molten metal and stone that slowly drizzled through gaps in the foundation strata to fall into Low Commorragh as a killing rain. The work was not over. The fiery presence of the Ilmaea rushed outwards again, expanding to burn back the encroaching shadows of Aelindrach from Commorragh.
The darkness that had spilled from the shadow-realm’s boundaries recoiled like a living thing, fleeing before the unmasked faces of the captured stars. Flames and destruction followed in their wake as the guttering fires begun by the Dysjunction roared into fresh life. The city would suffer beneath the burning lash for many hours, but never again did the Ilmaea focus fully on a single stronghold as they had on the White Flames fortress.
Through the billowing smoke and livid flames came marching Vect’s Castigators. Their metal hides were invulnerable to the heat, just as their insensate minds were immune to the pain.

Vect's ultimate weapon - he turns Commoragh's captured suns on the city itself in an impromptu orbital bombardment of combined EM radiation and focused plasma. Obliterates Ylithien's shielded fort quite easily (reduced to lava.. probably terajoules if not petajoules - cremating probably thousands alone is going tob e nuclear level firepowera s it is, and that was before the plasma) but he uses it to burn away the shadow'-realm's tait (apparently Mandrakes are highly vulernable to light.

Castigators, however, aren't even harmed, which gives an idea of their durability and Wraithnkights/Lords as well.


Page 410-411

n the case of Commorragh this demands a being of pure terror. A creature so dark and vengeful that it can hold a gigantic city in thrall through the mere threat of its intercession. An entity so malevolent that it will hold the all-destroying power of Chaos at bay without regard to the cost. The Commorrites, the unrepentant survivors of The Fall, strive endlessly towards anarchy, but deep down in their black hearts they acknowledge their need for the most autocratically mandated order possible to survive as a species.
..
Perforce all Archons, the leaders and exemplars of Commorragh, have become lesser reflections of Asdrubael Vect: violent, brilliant, manipulative and ambitious. Beneath Vect’s rule they can be nothing less than absolutes that have burned away all other considerations other than their lust for power.
..
Such is the Path of the Archon.

There's an interesting dichotomy in this... Vect is both the epitome of the Archon.. the most ruthless and selfish of the lot.. and yet he is also the single factor that saves his kind from total extinction - recalling Motley's earlier parallel between the Dark Eldar and Humanity in that regard. For all Vect is hated and feared, he is ultimately neccessary to the continued existence of the Dark Eldar as they are, because he balances out their excesses, culling them so the race as a whole does not go too far out of balance (not unlike a gardener maintaining a garden. In doing so, at the same time, he obeys Dark Eldar nature and ensures his own survival and dominance whilst continuing to push those beneath him to become even more like thier natures. Its amazing and perverse at the same time as a means of post-Fall adaptation (especially in contrast to the Craftworlders and Exodites.)

And that is an interesting part of the whole trilogy, as the epilogue discusses. Not only is it telling a specific tale of events in the Dark Eldar city, but it gives insights into different facets of Dark Eldar society, as well as its siblings (Exodite and Craftworld) - each story as described becomes a sort of morality tale with contrasts, which is interesting in its own way because of the symbolic value as well as their connective value to the overall story and theme. In Path of the Renegade you had three 'rebels' - a pathfinder , a Haemonculus (Bellathonis), and of course Ylithien - all figures who sought to rebel against the restrictions of their society, and whose actions had consequences. In Incubus, you had the Aspect Warriors - Morr the Incubus, an Eldar Warlock, and Dire Avengers - representatives of different philosohpies - or two different aspects of the same philosophy - symbols of obedience, duty, honour and order, albeit in different ways. They were both in many ways inflexible and dogmatic - the complete opposite of the Rebels and their quest for freedom.

And lastly, another potential point brought up is that each book, in its way, may reflect a facet of the larger eldar societies that were spawend in the fall - the Exodites, craftworlders, and the Commorites. One of the continued, underlying themes of the story (and what Chambers tried to craft - and did a fairly good job at) was that each race was a fragment of their former whole, and that one could glimpse greatness if they could be brought together, evne though they are separated by distrust and differences of belief... and also enslaved to tunnel vision by their respective 'paths' - the Exodites represent 'freedom' (or renegades) by their efforts to flee from their fate. The Craftwordlers represent 'order' or stagnation.. self sacrifice which is the denial of their natures (the 'Paths').. and the Dark Kin... the ones who embrace their natures to the exclusion of all else, no matter the consequences and even if it puts their whole society at risk.


Page 412

This seer and the aspect warriors were trained to be so narrow-minded that they regarded Morr as being ill-disciplined and dishonourable even when he offered his own soul to save the souls of billions.

Referencing 'Path of the Incubus.' and references himself sacrificing his life to calm the World-spirit of the exodite world he helped raid, which in turn saved his temple and Commorragh (which means the population is, probably, billions, and probably dark eldar.)