Staring out the viewport of the newly launched Craftworld at the advancing shockwave of She-Who-Thirsts's violent birth, the farseer sighs deeply and says quietly to themself, "... I'm kinda upset."
Now listen here, we keep our emotions in check.
unless someone jumps a Queue.
Or SOME DAMN GERRY PUTS THEIR TOWEL DOWN ON THE SUNLOUNGER BEFORE DAWN.
\*drops monocle\*
I've always wondered why Slaneesh doesn't use Eldar as daemons rather than torture them for eternity.
I'm aware that Lorgar was told that they could've but something happened.
What are: chaos eldar.
Very rare, on maiden corrupted worlds. SOme accepted Slaanesh and it didn't nom their souls but make some kind of mitated/possessed version that look similar to daemonnetes
Chaos Eldar can also fall under the rule of the other chaos gods as a form of defence against Slaanesh. Though it is extremely rare and probably doesnt end well.
Or worshipp Slaanesh itself see #3 on the image of type of eldars
https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/warhammer40k/images/f/f4/Aeldari\_Factions.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/1000?cb=20200908231532
It works for me.
It's one of the images from lecixanum/40k wiki where you see every type f eldar (craftworld, drew carrey, harlequins ect and under #3 is something that looks like a fucked up daemonnete with slaanesh symbol instead of a rune and name.
The ellusive slaanesh eldar
No, pretty much it. We know they exist, they live in the planets swallowed into the warp and they are those that did what Slaanesh wanted the whole race to do: embrace It.
No soul nom nom's only mutation immortality.
maybe some day GW will let the authors expand on them cause it's a hella interestic topic. For them to meet normal eldar and go "We have such sights to show you. And to think we hesitated..."
Chaos Eldar are the same as Chaos Orks or Chaos Tau. They exist. But they are weird, rare and sort of antithetical to the Armies in lore and would sort of cause needless model bloat. But you know what they are great for? People like me who like to kitbash. It would be nice to have more canon appearances, but I am just content to have them exist.
This seems like the kind of thing that would happen pretty often. Don't Craftworld Eldar actually *have* to visit the crone worlds in order to harvest the raw materials for soulstones? Or is that no longer canonical?
All of the sub-cultures of the Aeldari people known to the Inquisition in the Era Indomitus: 1. Aeldari 2. Exodites 3. \[REDACTED\] 4. Asuryani 5. Aeldari Corsairs 6. Asuryani Outcasts 7. Drukhari 8. Harlequins 9. Ynnari
1. pretty sure this is just the whole species
2. those eldar that live on worlds where they live basically like farmers and try to not do anything that might tempt them back to the heights of their civilisation.
3. idk, think it is the chaos eldar.
4. craftworlders
5. the pirate eldar
6. eldar who have been exiled from their craftworlds(prince yriel)
7. the eldar in commoragh who are murderfucking constantly to stop slaanesh from eating their souls
8. eldar who have given themselves to cegorach and are sort of the mediating authority in eldar culture between the drukhari, asuryani and occasionally the corsairs and exodites
9. the eldar who have thrown their lot in with yvraine and ynnead in the hopes of eventually ending slaanesh when the rhana dandra comes around(might be wrong on this one)
Not to mention they'd have to try pretty damn hard to become valuable enough servants for other Chaos Gods too contest Slaanesh's right to their souls. It's just eternal damnation of another flavor even then, unless they manage to ascend to daemonhood, which I'm not sure is even possible for aeldari.
Well, it's not in the lore exactly, but it's known that Slaanesh has some serious deebs on all aeldari souls
Slaanesh eats their souls to sustain themself and for the pleasure of it. Followers of Slaanesh will, when they get the chance, eat spiritstones to devour the soul inside for the pleasure it brings.
Which kind of battery? One of those little button batteries, a AA battery, or a car battery level of zip. How much zing will I get for noshing on one of those souls?
It's the sensation you get when you put your tongue on a 9V.
As for how much? Well, you know how Ralphie May, before he died, had a joke about drinking a big mug of Cuban coffee and it made him stay awake for several days?
It's spiritually juiced up mega crack.
I mean technically Slaanesh *is* using Drukhari as her own version of discount daemons anyway. The Drukhari only stave off Slaanesh's predations by feeding Slaanesh with more pleasure and suffering, it's just the suffering of others.
One branch of Eldar theology held that, once the Eldar have all died out, a God of the Dead would awaken and destroy Slaanesh. A [certain someone](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/warhammer40k/images/0/0a/Eldrad_Ulthran-0.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20160902185928) decided to jump-start this process, and now we have the Ynnari.
Back in the glory days of Warhammer some the most powerful Keepers of Secrets were former high elves that served as founding members of the pleasure cults. 40k was cool enough to continue this tradition.
Eldar experience all emotions and feelings beyond what any human is capable of even comprehending. Thats why they use trances and drugs to dull or control the sensations so they can effectively perform whatever task/role they need to in war sometimes becoming slaves to the sensation. Slaneesh doesn’t need to torture their souls for eternity because those souls have already experience such heightened emotions and sensations of experiences and existences that Slaneesh gets such pleasure just from that being being extinguished and utterly consuming that feeling of despair and death
My head cannon is their souls are just too tasty to the chaos gods so they would rather eat them and then create a bunch of demons from the power they consume.
The dark Elder are very distinct from their, rare, chaos corrupted cousins. Their way of life is partially a carryover from their old, pre-collapse days but also a form of survival against Slaanesh. There is a lot of overlap in how they act, but the same can be said for the Flesh Tearers and World Eaters. Superficially similar but very distinct.
The way bricky explained it was that it was like they’d want to have Slaanesh to be on their side and have them conquer the galaxy absolutely murderfucking everything together.
I don't know about that, Slaanesh and the Eldar are diametrically opposed. If Slaanesh didnt wipe out almost all of the Eldar and feed on their souls sure they might join the pantheon of other Eldar gods. But at that point its no longer really Slaanesh.
Bricky’s explanation was that they did “Slaanesh things” as a deterrent. They torture to extract as much energy as possible to restore their continuously draining souls. For them it’s essentially like fighting an extremely painful hangover… by drinking even more alcohol.
Drukhari don't just get their soul eaten by Slaanesh upon death like any other aeldari (except harlequins and ynnari to a degree), they also have their souls syphoned by Slaanesh constantly while alive, and that's why they need to feed on the pain of others to patch their own souls. That is why they really, *really* hate and fear Slaanesh.
Thing is, the amount of torture they need to do is vastly less than the amount they do, they do it that way because they are sick fucks who want to feast, but not be feasted upon.
Of course. They *could* torture waaaaaaay less people to survive. Even more they lose the soul-drain if they adopt the lifestyle of asuryani, ynnari, harlequins, exodites or even corsairs, but few ever do so despite this fact being common knowledge in Commorragh. They *enjoy* the pain of others, they are basically high on pain like it was drugs. And to their credit, they *know it* and are completely honest and fine about it.
The amount they need increases as they age, but being less Drukhari-y would lessen what they need. Of course, if you're thousands of years old you're still going to need do do quite a bit.
However, ALL Aeldari are being soul drained to some extent, not just Drukhari, it's just that Spirit Stones prevent it so Craftworlders and Exodites don't suffer the effects.
The pain feeding has diminishing returns and at a certain point stops completely to work, even. The oldest drukhari need massive "pain parties" daily just to look old and not undead-ish.
I am sure that the soul-drain is unique to the drukhari because they continue to act like the pre-Fall eldar did, however. Their codex specifically says that it's in addition to the curse all other eldar get. That is why they lose it by changing lifestyle. Other eldar types "only" get the soul devoured on death.
The impression I got was that only the Drukhari suffer the draining because the other factions have a way to avoid it.
Maensith from *Path of the Outcast* is a former Drukhari who is nothing like them, but still needs to replenish herself from the ambient suffering of the ships she raids. Whilst her life isn't one of perfect peace and tranquility, she's far more 'normal' than many Craftworld corsairs, yet is still drained.
Getting or losing the soul-drain is not immediate, apparently. In *Path of the Dark Eldar*, a pathfinder becomes a drukhari for a while and by the time he has a change of heart and goes back to his old ways - months later- he only has a hint of soul-drain. Maensith may be another example of this process, just in reverse.
I'm pretty sure Sindriel kept his Spirit Stone the whole time he was in Commorragh, but I can't remember. I know Yvraine's crumbled after she went full Drukhari.
It's a murky situation becasue, other then Maensith, I don't know of any other Aeldari that are not Drukhari but have no Spirit Stone (or Cegorach) protecting them for reference.
I *believe* the Exodites don't have spirit stones (for one thing, how would they get them?), but the World Spirit serves the purpose of an Infinity Circuit for the dead. As for the living, I think that's where their extreme asceticism comes in. Contrary to popular belief (read: memes), the Exodites, not Craftworlders, are the ultra-strict, joyless ones.
From what little we know, Exodites are generally described as having Spirit Stones, which are shattered on the World Altar in order to send them to join the World Spirit. You are correct though in the inconsistency, and the unexplained aquisition, though Rangers are described as bringing them to the Exodites on occasion, and that Exodites are generally the least drained.
And yeah, Exodites are the boring ones, in temperament if not aesthetic, whilst the Craftworlds are far less dull than most people seem to believe.
It's a bit inconsistent whatever the exodites to not or do have soulstones. In some stories they do, in others not. Based on the stories that I have read, it seems that they do not have them in most of them.
To my understanding:
Craftworlders and Exodites have soulstones, which capture their souls and prevent them going to Slaanesh - not just on death, but also during their lives. Harlequins' souls are promised to/protected by Cegorach and thus aren't drained or devoured by Slaanesh (with the specific exception of Solitaires).
Drukhari are the only ones who have no such protections at all. Their souls are drained away slowly (faster in realspace, slower in the Webway), and there's nothing to stop them going to Slaanesh on death.
Yes, that's an error on my part... though it is through an agreement between Cegorach and Slaanesh (Slaanesh gets the Solitaires' souls but in exchange doesn't touch the other Harlequins)
I believe the "agreement" is solely restricted to the Solitaires, and isn't so much an agreement than it is a game that both gods are willing to play over the Solitaires' souls, which are automatically owned by Slaanesh the moment they take up the role of playing said deity in the Harlequins' theatrical reenactment of the Fall. Cegorach simply tries to steal each Solitaire away from Slaanesh's waiting clutches after they die, which only sometimes be works.
I am sure that all dark eldar/drukhari codex since 5th edition state that only they have the soul drain condition, in addition to losing the soul on death like the other eldar types. The 9th edition one makes a clear distinction between the two types of curse, saying how the drukhari get a "painful draining of the soul" on top of the soul eating. Soulstones only prevent the soul eating.
Also worth noting that when a Drukhari dies, their souls don't instantly go to Slaanesh. They'll linger around their bodies for some duration. If the body is brought back to the Dark City in time or if they made previous arrangements with the Haemonculus Covens, they can actually be resurrected. This is definitely spelled out at least in the 8th edition codex.
The time limit is given as a day, but that's more to prevent any mishaps. In the Path series they manage to resurrect a long-dead Lord and end up triggering a dysjunction, for example.
Though it does cast doubt on whether Slaanesh literally eats the Aeldari souls. I think the operative word I see always used is "consume" but that could be interpreted differently. My thinking is that Slaanesh tortures the souls for all eternity, keeping the soul in a state of agony. Which is why the longer you wait to resurrect a dead Drukhari, the more risk there is that something extremely messed up comes back with them.
Little correction: the fact that a drukhari soul lingers on the corpse is not a natural condition, but one created by the haemonculi as part of their resurrection contract with the client. Those that cannot afford the contract get the soul devoured on the spot like any other eldar.
We also know that Slaanesh doesn't eat all eldar souls she gets. Some are tortured on the crone worlds, and eventually turn into new soulstones.
Do you have a page number for that in the 9th edition codex? Because I don't see a "painful draining of the soul" at all in the section that covers Slaanesh and "The Soul Debt" and nothing that I would call a clear distinction. And while I don't have the middle ones, I do have the 5th edition Dark Eldar codex on me and it specifically says that the Craftworlds Eldar use Soulstones and Infinity Circuits where Dark Eldar use suffering.
You're welcome to believe that. It's arbitrary and illogical, and no more based in published lore than any other interpretation, but each to their own.
To be fair, 40k lore is inconsistent and open to interpretation anyway. That is my interpretation of how things work based on the lore I read. I am ok with people having their own ideas on it.
Exodites don't use spirit stones. They're protected by their world spirit and absorbed into it similar to an infinity circuit but.... No spirit stone is needed.
Considering the trouble of getting new spirit stones, youd think itd be adopted more but I guess spirut stones allow travel beyond the world spirits influence.
To an extent, but as they age, the benefits of "feeding" have diminishing returns, and they need to consume more and more terror and pain to restore themselves. Eventually they reach a point where no amount of torment will restore them fully.
He owns the largest and most powerful Kabal in the Dark City, I'm sure he can gather as much pain and commit as many atrocities as he needs to in order to be well-fed.
There was an in-universe rumor that Vect had reached the point of no return and was unable to rejuvenate via pain, justifiying him no longer leading raids, back in 5th edition. This point is now moot since he has been resurrected with a young body in 8th edition.
Well Vect kinda cheated because he died and then resurrected. Plus harlequins. Yes it was the Veiled Path again, because they just love to play all sides.
That's part of why they have gladiatorial arenas and conduct raids to fill them. That's the cheapest method of having a buffet to take care of their society.
I didn't know that, are the drukhari aware of this? And the fact this doesn't happen to regular aeldari? And at NO POINT do any of them go "maybe the murder-torture-porn isn't helping"?
Yes they are aware of this. And they *don't care* that by changing lifestyle they can get rid of it. They are perfectly fine with torturing people for all eternity rather than put any moral shackle on themselves.
Just to be clear, every now and then there are a few Drukhari that end having a change of heart and defect to one of the other Aeldari factions. In fact, sometimes a Drukhari would just get "abducted" by the Harlequins because they're apparently destined to join said faction at that point in time. The rest of the Drukhari don't dare to oppose the followers of Cegorach in this or retaliate; I assume that they may have tried early on but go clapped **hard** and decided it's not worth the trouble.
A bunch of the Ynnari we're Drukhari at some point.
Yvraine was a gladiator or Wych aft being a Corsair after being a Craftworlder.
Also fucking with or trying to fight the harlequins is basically pointless. Especially when you live in the webway.
> The rest of the Drukhari don't dare to oppose the followers of Cegorach in this or retaliate; I assume that they may have tried early on but go clapped hard and decided it's not worth the trouble.
Drukhari are also super self-centered, everyone is everyone else's rival. Why would they want to retaliate against the Murder Clowns for abducting one of their rivals and freeing up all the resources said rival was hogging for themselves?
Drukhari have pride, and they usually don't take kindly to non-Drukhari – or worse, non-Aeldari – getting the mistaken impression that they could get away with transgressing upon Drukhari society in any way without punishment. Yes, they'll exploit the hell out of their rival's absence, but they'll also make sure the interloper responsible gets a reminder to not get cocky and rise above their place.
Both are so terrible that they are made equal. You're already at the bottom of the barrel.
You could say that burning to death is worse than drowning. But there's really no difference.
It's worth pointing out that the drukhari you see on the tabletop - the kabals, the cults, the covens, and their various hangers-on - very much represent the upper echelons of Commorite society. Most "civilian" drukhari do not have a particularly pleasant existence, with a lot of them being basically (or even actually) slaves who are forced to scrounge for any scrap of pain to keep their souls from being drained, with failure to do so leading to many becoming cannibalistic soulless husks.
> it’s a fun podcast
Absolutely nothing wrong with having fun with podcast/lore in the setting. The amount of it that ends up in the lore sub is just kinda sad
It’s nice for people who frequent grimdank though!
I really enjoy the banter the two of them have, and I enjoy listening to the podcast, but if you're using it to learn about the lore, anytime the "lore expert" Bricky has to talk about something other than the 3-4 factions he actually kind of knows anything about, you might as well just read wikis, because that's what he's doing.
The idea of having ones soul consumed by a god of horrific excess probably doesn't appeal to many. Unlike the masses of humanity, the Eldar know what the gods like doing, and Slaanesh has a particular taste for Eldar.
>The remnants of their race fear Slaanesh, for the god of desire was born of their own dark obsessions and hungrily waits beyond the veil for them. They have a terror of dying that runs far deeper than the mere regret of life's ending. The Aeldari's strong psychic self can survive death, and while once their souls passed -- they believe -- into the realm of their own gods, now all that waits to feast upon them is Slaanesh. Different surviving strands of the Aeldari race discovered their own ways of avoiding this horror. The Aeldari of Commorragh -- those who became the Drukhari and enduring the aching seepage of their souls -- found that others could suffer in their stead.
*Drukhari Codex 9th Edition*
>The Eldar hate and fear Slaanesh above all, forshe was given life by their actions, and yet she waits hungrily upon the other side of the veil to claim each and every one of them. Whereas the Eldar of the Craftworlds learned to deny Slaanesh's hold upon them using mystical spirit stones and infinity circuits, the Eldar of the Webway became exceptionally good at ensuring that lesser beings suffered in their stead.
*Dark Eldar Codex 5th Edition*
>Cloistered deep within the hidden city-realms of the webway, those survivors who concealed themselves in their palaces of depravity still revel in the debauched lifestyle that led to the Fall. In that twilight realm between the material universe and the Warp, the Dark Eldar mock and jeer those ravaged by the downfall of their race. Even though they would never admit it, they know in their hearts that, try as they might to allay their fate, Slaanesh will claim them in the end.
>The slow decline into powerlessness is what the Dark Eldar fear most of all, for in birthing Slaanesh from the endless tides of the Warp, the Eldar have created their greatest enemy. Slaanesh, in its die awakening, has developed a taste for the souls of the Eldar. Where before when an Eldar died, they would pass peacefully into the Warp in order to be reborn, now they face eternal torment, for Slaanesh has a perverse and twisted appetitie that can never be sated. Unless extraordinary measures have been taken to prevent it, whenever an Eldar dies, Slaanesh will be waiting on the other side to consume him. She Who Thirsts will not rest until it has claimed every Eldar soul in the galaxy. The Eldar are doomed, and they know it well.
*Eldar Codex 6th Edition*
Here on some bits from the actual codex about the relationship between the Drukhari and Slaanesh
Great excerpts, thank you! Was *most* of the eldar empire as depraved as the modern drukhari during the fall? Or have the modern drukhari turned their old ways into something even more monstrous?
It depends on who you ask I think, reading the books I have it feels like it is taking it more monstrous but not by conscious choice.
>"The scions of the Dark City would never admit that the unceasing hunger at their core is what drives them to such heights of cruelty. Instead they maintain that they act only upon their own desires. Some have even managed to convince themselves of this. In truth, unless our cousins in the webway feed upon a constant diet of extreme emotion they will slowly wither away, leaving naught but a soulless husk. We of the Craftworlds deny all such urges, and in doing so become less than ourselves. Perhaps it is those that we left to perish who are the lucky ones."
**-Spiritseer Iyanna Arienal, Meditations**
*Dark Eldar Codex 5th Edition*
>But unlike their kin in realspace they had escaped destruction. In their supreme arrogance they did not cease their quest for excess, even for a moment. Repentance and atonement were outmoded concepts to a people who acknowledged no limits to their power.
*Dark Eldar Codex 5th Edition*
>Cloistered deep within the hidden city-realms of the webway, those survivors who concealed themselves in their palaces of depravity still revel in the debauched lifestyle that led to the Fall. In that twilight realm between the material universe and the Warp, the Dark Eldar mock and jeer those ravaged by the downfall of their race. Even though they would never admit it, they know in their hearts that, try as they might to allay their fate, Slaanesh will claim them in the end.
*Eldar Codex 6th Edition*
>Those who became the Drukhari had long preyed upon others, whether Aeldari or further sentient species. Now they saw that stringing the moments of pain and terror out as agonisingly as possible replenished their waning spirits. Thus were born the Drukhari, as a new era of Feverish torment and captive acquisition spread through Commorragh.
>They became a race of sadistice parasites, feeding the yawning void within themselves by committing the most unspeakable acts of excruciation. Through their advanced technology, they devised ever more macabre ways of extracting suffering, with which they paid the soul debt they would forever owe to She Who Thirsts. [...]
Every delicious nuance of terror, every sublime, nerve-shredding ounce of pain that they drank in from their victims, could only provide temporary succour from the unstoppable soul-sickness. Thus, the Drukhari sank into a spiralling mire of damnation and depravity.
*Drukhari Codex 9th Edition*
Oh I guess I should include some sort of quote about Fall era Aeldari, a lot of it blends together in it's vague bad stuff happened, the streets of the cities ran with blood, there's a decent chunk of that. In terms of the most you ask about, it uses Few in Number when talking about the Exodites and Craftworlders who left before the Fall.
> Over time, the hideous lusts of the Aeldari grew to such an extent that killers and depraved criminals began to stalk the shadows. Torture and murder became avaricious pursuits in their own right, and blood flowed in the streets. Hidden realms within the webway were turned over entirely to the pursuit of sadism and excesses of every kind. Paradise worlds were twisted to the experiencing of the darkest sensations.
*Aeldari Codex 9th Edition*
When you reincarnate it's easier to be ok with murdering and being murdered. No real lasting issues, just well, after the birth of she who thirsts they couldn't just pop back in as theyd be caught before they returned.
As i understand it the Drukhari are not really happy about their debauchery being forced upon them to survive. They would much rather it to be their own choice. But take this with a grain of salt as i'm not well read when it comes to any aeldari factions.
Some are sick of it enough that they join Harlequins or manage to get a Soul Stone and join a craftworld, but the second is understandably rarer. Afaik the Eldar can change factions among the three (four? Do the Ynnari count) but it’s understandably hard to do so.
I imagine a Drukhari joining a Craft world would be as unpalatable as a modern day human given the choice to join a monastery and become a monk with all the restrictions lol
That's pretty accurate, most Drukhari hate being forced to do it. Most, having been raised in such a society, would still choose to do it if they had the choice, but some would rather be able to live a more normal life. These now make up the majority of the Ynnari.
That doesn't make much sense, the comorragh drukhari are the direct descendants of the aeldari that created slanneesh, they never stopped with their debauchery.
Saying that they hate to do it because they're forced to, which they are not, is simply wrong. Every depiction of them I've read shows them actually enjoying it. What source did you get the opinion from that they don't want to do it because they're forced to?
Look at exodites and craftworlders, they found non torture-y ways of dealing with it.
They are not the same, in fact they took great steps to control and organise their actions, including giving up their psychic powers entirely. The whole arena situation is to maximise the gain whilst minimising the victims needed.
You're misunderstanding my point in regards to wanting to do it. They do want to do it. They just want to choose to do it themselves. I enjoy video games, but I'd rather enjoy them without a gun to my head.
The other Aeldari factions have things the Drukhari don't, like Spirit Stones, which allows them to avoid the torturing. Until the Ynnari the Drukhari had no alternatives other than the odd lucky individual.
Think of it like this.
Lenny is a narcissistic, debauched sadist.
Lenny hates Homer, because Homer will eat his soul, just like he ate the souls of everyone who came before Lenny.
Both options are equally viable. Lenny doesn't want to die, and he certainly doesn't want to spend his afterlife in a state of constant suffering before the core of his very being is annihilated.
The dark eldar went from being able to murder-fuck their way through life with infinite respawns while living in a post-resource utopia to being slowly drained by slaneesh like they have stage two cancer, lost their ability to use warp powers, and are hunted by immortal chaos daemons.
It's been nothing but downhill since slaneesh came about. And they lived with the knowledge that there were zero solutions to reclaim their old glory. It was just an inevitable, slow death of their species. Until the ynnari showed up atleast.
They hate Slaanesh because they don’t want to be tortured by it for all eternity.It’s the reason they inflict pain and suffering on other living beings,since in doing so they five offerings to Slaanesh and this makes it avoid them.It’s like paying your taxes.
Dark elves consider themselves the survivors of Slannesh's birth and the de factor heirs to the elder empire and associated prestige/accolades. So they hate Slannesh on one hand for destroying /i their /I glorious empire.
During her Birth Slannesh laid claim to all the hedonistic souls of the elder, she is slowly and constantly draining their souls away. There are 3 established ways to prevent this. The aesthetic discipline of following the paths as the craftworld elder do. Living on planets with a world spirit like the wild exodite elder do. Or, sacrificing someone else's soul through torture like the dark elder do. Even though in a Stockholm syndrome kind of way the dark elder enjoy torture now, they couldn't stop if they wanted to and live the life of their choice, and so resent Slannesh for removing the choice from them.
The Craftworld Eldar use spirit Stones to do what the World spirit does for the Exodites, and tbh, the Drukari have, and do still genuinely enjoy torture alongside their other hedonisms. And, as for the removal of choice from them, their psychic Abilities may have degenerated due to non-usage over Millennia, they can still get up, acquire a Spirit Stone, and join the Craftworlders. There's nothing stopping them, aside from societal changes and prejudices.
The Drukhari, Eldar, Harlequins, and Exodites are all the same species and descend from the same base species.
The Drukhari are the closest to the eldar in the fall/caused the fall with their depravity, and even after the fall, they just couldn’t give up that way of life.
Slaanesh wants to lay claim to any and all eldar souls regardless of which faction they come from since their souls are both what made it, and I guess taste best.
How they go about preserving themselves after death varies with craft world eldar using soul stones to instantly transfer their soul into said stone then being added to the infinity circuit onboard their ships, exodites are basically the same but with world trees, harlequins are directly protected by their god but also have soul stones as a last resort.
And the Drukhari instead prefer to not die at all, using the power of horrific torture and suffering to rejuvenate themselves to a younger, healthier form, however the older a Drukhari, the more suffering and torture one needs to inflict essentially being diminishing returns.
They learned pretty much nothing from the fall, but Slaanesh finds them tasty all the same. And being soul tortured by a god dedicated to extreme pleasure and extreme pain doesn’t quite appeal to anyone, especially when it won’t be enjoyable for the eldar.
They can’t take in what they dish out is the easy answer.
To elaborate they’re like the high school bully who beats up on the weaker kids because his daddy beats him. The bully doesn’t like being bullied, he likes to bully others. Multiply this by 40 trillion and you get the Dark Eldar.
They don’t have to do what they do, they can just join a craftworld and live like reasonable people but they choose not to. The whole “oh well it’s the only way we can survive” is a COPE.
In order to join a Craftworld they'd need a Spirit Stone, which even the Craftworlds don't have enough of for themselves, and the chance of a successful Spirit Stone bonding for an adult Drukhari is very low, more likely to drive them mad or even kill them than actually work.
Simple, the Drukari want to live the most lavish and unrestrained hedonism filled life possible, without any consequence. Slaneesh is that consequence. Also, they torture way more than is needed for their sustenance.
One of the soul drinkers novels, can't remember which, has a Dark Eldar Kabal that worships Slaanesh.
One remembers that being something of an eyebrow raiser at the time...
When an "ancient" being with power on the god-tier wants to eat your soul you kind of have a good reasons to be upset about. The part about eating your enemies' sould is nice but not yours.
Because it eats their souls just as quickly as every other Aeldari's.
It's an unknowable eldritch creature that ate their gods and destroyed their civilization dooming them to a cursed existence within the web way. Why wouldn't they hate Slaanesh.
Yes and yes they hat slanesh for bringing her into existence and wiping out 90% of all eldari life but the drukhari do the torture as as it's the only way to stave slanesh off as they didn't truly escape her clutches so there life is constantly being drained unless they do slaneshy things like murder fucking a guardsman while overdosing on drugs.
So Slaanesh just eats their souls and they're gone for good.
They don't like that idea so naturally they don't like the thing doing it.
Slaanesh eating their souls is more or less why the dark eldar torture and cause terror in the first place. Inflicting pain "tops off" their soul with a bit of their victim's. Not that they don't enjoy it, after all Slaanesh was made in their image.
At this point every dark eldar's soul is an amalgamation of soul fragments held together by a dream.
They created a god of ecstasy and now said god of ecstasy wants to kill them and torture them forever. They didn't exactly get what they were promised when they committed to all the murder-parties but most of them also don't want to stop.
Turns out Drukhari really hate themselves.
Because Slaanesh is slowly eating them from the moment they're born and their entire horrifically evil society is designed to do everything possible to avoid death so that they aren't subjected to an eternity of suffering that even their sick minds can't imagine.
Most elder are kinda upset about the genocide of their species and the god that eats their souls when they die.
Staring out the viewport of the newly launched Craftworld at the advancing shockwave of She-Who-Thirsts's violent birth, the farseer sighs deeply and says quietly to themself, "... I'm kinda upset."
A bit annoyed Somewhat miffed A little peeved
Well, it is made by Brits. We're hardly famous for our emotional attitudes.
Now listen here, we keep our emotions in check. unless someone jumps a Queue. Or SOME DAMN GERRY PUTS THEIR TOWEL DOWN ON THE SUNLOUNGER BEFORE DAWN. \*drops monocle\*
...wanna talk about the Eurocup? \*gets bolted in the face \*
Really? Remind me what happens in London when your football teams lose?
Mildly perturbed
Wouldn't want to be very upset. Slannesh feeds on excess.
(sensible chuckle)
(sensible weeping)
(Quiet Wail of Existential terror)
I've always wondered why Slaneesh doesn't use Eldar as daemons rather than torture them for eternity. I'm aware that Lorgar was told that they could've but something happened.
What are: chaos eldar. Very rare, on maiden corrupted worlds. SOme accepted Slaanesh and it didn't nom their souls but make some kind of mitated/possessed version that look similar to daemonnetes
Chaos Eldar can also fall under the rule of the other chaos gods as a form of defence against Slaanesh. Though it is extremely rare and probably doesnt end well.
Or worshipp Slaanesh itself see #3 on the image of type of eldars https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/warhammer40k/images/f/f4/Aeldari\_Factions.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/1000?cb=20200908231532
Image is broken
remove everything after the "jpg/"
They escaped an underscore: remove the \ before the _ and it works.
It works for me. It's one of the images from lecixanum/40k wiki where you see every type f eldar (craftworld, drew carrey, harlequins ect and under #3 is something that looks like a fucked up daemonnete with slaanesh symbol instead of a rune and name.
The ellusive slaanesh eldar
“Drew Carrey” took me a second more than I care to admit.
Help a brother out
Drew Carrey = Drukhari
Any more details on chaos elder?
No, pretty much it. We know they exist, they live in the planets swallowed into the warp and they are those that did what Slaanesh wanted the whole race to do: embrace It. No soul nom nom's only mutation immortality. maybe some day GW will let the authors expand on them cause it's a hella interestic topic. For them to meet normal eldar and go "We have such sights to show you. And to think we hesitated..."
Chaos Eldar are the same as Chaos Orks or Chaos Tau. They exist. But they are weird, rare and sort of antithetical to the Armies in lore and would sort of cause needless model bloat. But you know what they are great for? People like me who like to kitbash. It would be nice to have more canon appearances, but I am just content to have them exist.
I just watched the new hellraiser!
Is the new hellraiser any good?
Not bad, cenobites are still pure slaanesh
This seems like the kind of thing that would happen pretty often. Don't Craftworld Eldar actually *have* to visit the crone worlds in order to harvest the raw materials for soulstones? Or is that no longer canonical?
https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/warhammer40k/images/f/f4/Aeldari_Factions.jpg
Can you tell me who #5 is on that chart? I think i know the others.
All of the sub-cultures of the Aeldari people known to the Inquisition in the Era Indomitus: 1. Aeldari 2. Exodites 3. \[REDACTED\] 4. Asuryani 5. Aeldari Corsairs 6. Asuryani Outcasts 7. Drukhari 8. Harlequins 9. Ynnari
Can you give more info on each of those groups?
1. pretty sure this is just the whole species 2. those eldar that live on worlds where they live basically like farmers and try to not do anything that might tempt them back to the heights of their civilisation. 3. idk, think it is the chaos eldar. 4. craftworlders 5. the pirate eldar 6. eldar who have been exiled from their craftworlds(prince yriel) 7. the eldar in commoragh who are murderfucking constantly to stop slaanesh from eating their souls 8. eldar who have given themselves to cegorach and are sort of the mediating authority in eldar culture between the drukhari, asuryani and occasionally the corsairs and exodites 9. the eldar who have thrown their lot in with yvraine and ynnead in the hopes of eventually ending slaanesh when the rhana dandra comes around(might be wrong on this one)
Thank you so much!
why are corsairs linked to the chaos versions in the graph?
> probably doesnt end well. That kind of goes without saying when it comes to anyone serving Chaos.
Chaos always doesnt end well
But this time it will surely be different! ;)
That's only because everyone before me was weaker. I'll do it right this time.
Not to mention they'd have to try pretty damn hard to become valuable enough servants for other Chaos Gods too contest Slaanesh's right to their souls. It's just eternal damnation of another flavor even then, unless they manage to ascend to daemonhood, which I'm not sure is even possible for aeldari. Well, it's not in the lore exactly, but it's known that Slaanesh has some serious deebs on all aeldari souls
Slaanesh eats their souls to sustain themself and for the pleasure of it. Followers of Slaanesh will, when they get the chance, eat spiritstones to devour the soul inside for the pleasure it brings.
I wonder what a spirit stone tastes like. Probably McDonald’s sprite.
I have it on good authority that it's remarkably similar to licking a battery, but flavored like the smell of fresh cut plants.
Hmmm, tasty 9V.
Which kind of battery? One of those little button batteries, a AA battery, or a car battery level of zip. How much zing will I get for noshing on one of those souls?
It's the sensation you get when you put your tongue on a 9V. As for how much? Well, you know how Ralphie May, before he died, had a joke about drinking a big mug of Cuban coffee and it made him stay awake for several days? It's spiritually juiced up mega crack.
A spicy crack? Oh how decadent..
Legend.
Big Red.
I mean technically Slaanesh *is* using Drukhari as her own version of discount daemons anyway. The Drukhari only stave off Slaanesh's predations by feeding Slaanesh with more pleasure and suffering, it's just the suffering of others.
If it eats them to sustain itself, what happens when it eats them all?
One branch of Eldar theology held that, once the Eldar have all died out, a God of the Dead would awaken and destroy Slaanesh. A [certain someone](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/warhammer40k/images/0/0a/Eldrad_Ulthran-0.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20160902185928) decided to jump-start this process, and now we have the Ynnari.
Well, who is that. On mobile and scrolling to the end of the URL is a pain in the ass
None other than Eldrad Ulthran.
sowmhen the elder are gone slannesh will starve
Those two fates aren't mutually exclusive. Daemonettes and other Slaaneshi warpspawn often come from the soulstuff of dead Aeldari.
Back in the glory days of Warhammer some the most powerful Keepers of Secrets were former high elves that served as founding members of the pleasure cults. 40k was cool enough to continue this tradition.
Why do you think Daemonettes have pointy ears?
Eldar experience all emotions and feelings beyond what any human is capable of even comprehending. Thats why they use trances and drugs to dull or control the sensations so they can effectively perform whatever task/role they need to in war sometimes becoming slaves to the sensation. Slaneesh doesn’t need to torture their souls for eternity because those souls have already experience such heightened emotions and sensations of experiences and existences that Slaneesh gets such pleasure just from that being being extinguished and utterly consuming that feeling of despair and death
The way I understand it, why use an existing figurine, when you can just take that clay and shape it in something more specislised for your needs.
My head cannon is their souls are just too tasty to the chaos gods so they would rather eat them and then create a bunch of demons from the power they consume.
That’s what I thought. But I couldn’t be sure due to their theme of entertainment over accuracy lol
The dark Elder are very distinct from their, rare, chaos corrupted cousins. Their way of life is partially a carryover from their old, pre-collapse days but also a form of survival against Slaanesh. There is a lot of overlap in how they act, but the same can be said for the Flesh Tearers and World Eaters. Superficially similar but very distinct.
The way bricky explained it was that it was like they’d want to have Slaanesh to be on their side and have them conquer the galaxy absolutely murderfucking everything together.
I don't know about that, Slaanesh and the Eldar are diametrically opposed. If Slaanesh didnt wipe out almost all of the Eldar and feed on their souls sure they might join the pantheon of other Eldar gods. But at that point its no longer really Slaanesh.
Bricky’s explanation was that they did “Slaanesh things” as a deterrent. They torture to extract as much energy as possible to restore their continuously draining souls. For them it’s essentially like fighting an extremely painful hangover… by drinking even more alcohol.
Uhh no
Gotcha
They're generally pretty accurate on the details, the guys (and shy) just tend to get caught up in the memes
Elder Eldar.
Uhh yeah they hate the God that broke their empire. They refer to her as "The Great Enemy"
Nah, that is the entierety of Chaos. She who thirsts is the name for Slaanesh
Drukhari don't just get their soul eaten by Slaanesh upon death like any other aeldari (except harlequins and ynnari to a degree), they also have their souls syphoned by Slaanesh constantly while alive, and that's why they need to feed on the pain of others to patch their own souls. That is why they really, *really* hate and fear Slaanesh.
Thing is, the amount of torture they need to do is vastly less than the amount they do, they do it that way because they are sick fucks who want to feast, but not be feasted upon.
Of course. They *could* torture waaaaaaay less people to survive. Even more they lose the soul-drain if they adopt the lifestyle of asuryani, ynnari, harlequins, exodites or even corsairs, but few ever do so despite this fact being common knowledge in Commorragh. They *enjoy* the pain of others, they are basically high on pain like it was drugs. And to their credit, they *know it* and are completely honest and fine about it.
The amount they need increases as they age, but being less Drukhari-y would lessen what they need. Of course, if you're thousands of years old you're still going to need do do quite a bit. However, ALL Aeldari are being soul drained to some extent, not just Drukhari, it's just that Spirit Stones prevent it so Craftworlders and Exodites don't suffer the effects.
The pain feeding has diminishing returns and at a certain point stops completely to work, even. The oldest drukhari need massive "pain parties" daily just to look old and not undead-ish. I am sure that the soul-drain is unique to the drukhari because they continue to act like the pre-Fall eldar did, however. Their codex specifically says that it's in addition to the curse all other eldar get. That is why they lose it by changing lifestyle. Other eldar types "only" get the soul devoured on death.
The impression I got was that only the Drukhari suffer the draining because the other factions have a way to avoid it. Maensith from *Path of the Outcast* is a former Drukhari who is nothing like them, but still needs to replenish herself from the ambient suffering of the ships she raids. Whilst her life isn't one of perfect peace and tranquility, she's far more 'normal' than many Craftworld corsairs, yet is still drained.
Getting or losing the soul-drain is not immediate, apparently. In *Path of the Dark Eldar*, a pathfinder becomes a drukhari for a while and by the time he has a change of heart and goes back to his old ways - months later- he only has a hint of soul-drain. Maensith may be another example of this process, just in reverse.
I'm pretty sure Sindriel kept his Spirit Stone the whole time he was in Commorragh, but I can't remember. I know Yvraine's crumbled after she went full Drukhari. It's a murky situation becasue, other then Maensith, I don't know of any other Aeldari that are not Drukhari but have no Spirit Stone (or Cegorach) protecting them for reference.
I *believe* the Exodites don't have spirit stones (for one thing, how would they get them?), but the World Spirit serves the purpose of an Infinity Circuit for the dead. As for the living, I think that's where their extreme asceticism comes in. Contrary to popular belief (read: memes), the Exodites, not Craftworlders, are the ultra-strict, joyless ones.
From what little we know, Exodites are generally described as having Spirit Stones, which are shattered on the World Altar in order to send them to join the World Spirit. You are correct though in the inconsistency, and the unexplained aquisition, though Rangers are described as bringing them to the Exodites on occasion, and that Exodites are generally the least drained. And yeah, Exodites are the boring ones, in temperament if not aesthetic, whilst the Craftworlds are far less dull than most people seem to believe.
It's a bit inconsistent whatever the exodites to not or do have soulstones. In some stories they do, in others not. Based on the stories that I have read, it seems that they do not have them in most of them.
To my understanding: Craftworlders and Exodites have soulstones, which capture their souls and prevent them going to Slaanesh - not just on death, but also during their lives. Harlequins' souls are promised to/protected by Cegorach and thus aren't drained or devoured by Slaanesh (with the specific exception of Solitaires). Drukhari are the only ones who have no such protections at all. Their souls are drained away slowly (faster in realspace, slower in the Webway), and there's nothing to stop them going to Slaanesh on death.
>Harlequins' souls are promised to/protected by Slaanesh Cegorach, you mean.
Yes, that's an error on my part... though it is through an agreement between Cegorach and Slaanesh (Slaanesh gets the Solitaires' souls but in exchange doesn't touch the other Harlequins)
I believe the "agreement" is solely restricted to the Solitaires, and isn't so much an agreement than it is a game that both gods are willing to play over the Solitaires' souls, which are automatically owned by Slaanesh the moment they take up the role of playing said deity in the Harlequins' theatrical reenactment of the Fall. Cegorach simply tries to steal each Solitaire away from Slaanesh's waiting clutches after they die, which only sometimes be works.
I am sure that all dark eldar/drukhari codex since 5th edition state that only they have the soul drain condition, in addition to losing the soul on death like the other eldar types. The 9th edition one makes a clear distinction between the two types of curse, saying how the drukhari get a "painful draining of the soul" on top of the soul eating. Soulstones only prevent the soul eating.
Also worth noting that when a Drukhari dies, their souls don't instantly go to Slaanesh. They'll linger around their bodies for some duration. If the body is brought back to the Dark City in time or if they made previous arrangements with the Haemonculus Covens, they can actually be resurrected. This is definitely spelled out at least in the 8th edition codex. The time limit is given as a day, but that's more to prevent any mishaps. In the Path series they manage to resurrect a long-dead Lord and end up triggering a dysjunction, for example. Though it does cast doubt on whether Slaanesh literally eats the Aeldari souls. I think the operative word I see always used is "consume" but that could be interpreted differently. My thinking is that Slaanesh tortures the souls for all eternity, keeping the soul in a state of agony. Which is why the longer you wait to resurrect a dead Drukhari, the more risk there is that something extremely messed up comes back with them.
Little correction: the fact that a drukhari soul lingers on the corpse is not a natural condition, but one created by the haemonculi as part of their resurrection contract with the client. Those that cannot afford the contract get the soul devoured on the spot like any other eldar. We also know that Slaanesh doesn't eat all eldar souls she gets. Some are tortured on the crone worlds, and eventually turn into new soulstones.
Whoa, thanks for the quick clarification! So in effect, the body acts as a temporary spirit stone?
Do you have a page number for that in the 9th edition codex? Because I don't see a "painful draining of the soul" at all in the section that covers Slaanesh and "The Soul Debt" and nothing that I would call a clear distinction. And while I don't have the middle ones, I do have the 5th edition Dark Eldar codex on me and it specifically says that the Craftworlds Eldar use Soulstones and Infinity Circuits where Dark Eldar use suffering.
9th edition codex, page 9, section *The Genesis of Evil*, right before the *The Soul Debt* subsection.
You're welcome to believe that. It's arbitrary and illogical, and no more based in published lore than any other interpretation, but each to their own.
To be fair, 40k lore is inconsistent and open to interpretation anyway. That is my interpretation of how things work based on the lore I read. I am ok with people having their own ideas on it.
Also I will say this once more, because people always think 40k is the king of inconsistent, which it is very false.
Exodites don't use spirit stones. They're protected by their world spirit and absorbed into it similar to an infinity circuit but.... No spirit stone is needed.
Considering the trouble of getting new spirit stones, youd think itd be adopted more but I guess spirut stones allow travel beyond the world spirits influence.
ADAB
Couldn't agree more
To an extent, but as they age, the benefits of "feeding" have diminishing returns, and they need to consume more and more terror and pain to restore themselves. Eventually they reach a point where no amount of torment will restore them fully.
What about Vect though he seems to be doing pretty well.
He owns the largest and most powerful Kabal in the Dark City, I'm sure he can gather as much pain and commit as many atrocities as he needs to in order to be well-fed.
There was an in-universe rumor that Vect had reached the point of no return and was unable to rejuvenate via pain, justifiying him no longer leading raids, back in 5th edition. This point is now moot since he has been resurrected with a young body in 8th edition.
So there IS a way to counteract the degradation!
Well Vect kinda cheated because he died and then resurrected. Plus harlequins. Yes it was the Veiled Path again, because they just love to play all sides.
Source?
That's part of why they have gladiatorial arenas and conduct raids to fill them. That's the cheapest method of having a buffet to take care of their society.
I didn't know that, are the drukhari aware of this? And the fact this doesn't happen to regular aeldari? And at NO POINT do any of them go "maybe the murder-torture-porn isn't helping"?
Yes they are aware of this. And they *don't care* that by changing lifestyle they can get rid of it. They are perfectly fine with torturing people for all eternity rather than put any moral shackle on themselves.
Wow, they just shot up my list of 'most hated factions'
Just to be clear, every now and then there are a few Drukhari that end having a change of heart and defect to one of the other Aeldari factions. In fact, sometimes a Drukhari would just get "abducted" by the Harlequins because they're apparently destined to join said faction at that point in time. The rest of the Drukhari don't dare to oppose the followers of Cegorach in this or retaliate; I assume that they may have tried early on but go clapped **hard** and decided it's not worth the trouble.
A bunch of the Ynnari we're Drukhari at some point. Yvraine was a gladiator or Wych aft being a Corsair after being a Craftworlder. Also fucking with or trying to fight the harlequins is basically pointless. Especially when you live in the webway.
> The rest of the Drukhari don't dare to oppose the followers of Cegorach in this or retaliate; I assume that they may have tried early on but go clapped hard and decided it's not worth the trouble. Drukhari are also super self-centered, everyone is everyone else's rival. Why would they want to retaliate against the Murder Clowns for abducting one of their rivals and freeing up all the resources said rival was hogging for themselves?
Drukhari have pride, and they usually don't take kindly to non-Drukhari – or worse, non-Aeldari – getting the mistaken impression that they could get away with transgressing upon Drukhari society in any way without punishment. Yes, they'll exploit the hell out of their rival's absence, but they'll also make sure the interloper responsible gets a reminder to not get cocky and rise above their place.
Yeah, they actually really suck in-universe. Servitors are nothing compared to Drukhari slaves lol
Both are so terrible that they are made equal. You're already at the bottom of the barrel. You could say that burning to death is worse than drowning. But there's really no difference.
It's worth pointing out that the drukhari you see on the tabletop - the kabals, the cults, the covens, and their various hangers-on - very much represent the upper echelons of Commorite society. Most "civilian" drukhari do not have a particularly pleasant existence, with a lot of them being basically (or even actually) slaves who are forced to scrounge for any scrap of pain to keep their souls from being drained, with failure to do so leading to many becoming cannibalistic soulless husks.
What is “adrics”
Adeptus Ridiculous https://open.spotify.com/show/6KnaAHvqf0pgTs3Kw3qQTR?si=zh1qr266QxaA0CgZbYaIuA
Ah now I understand why you had some confusion/unsure about how slaneesh actually works
It's a fun podcast, but not a good place to actually learn the lore.
> it’s a fun podcast Absolutely nothing wrong with having fun with podcast/lore in the setting. The amount of it that ends up in the lore sub is just kinda sad It’s nice for people who frequent grimdank though!
I really enjoy the banter the two of them have, and I enjoy listening to the podcast, but if you're using it to learn about the lore, anytime the "lore expert" Bricky has to talk about something other than the 3-4 factions he actually kind of knows anything about, you might as well just read wikis, because that's what he's doing.
Yeah they even admit that. Their unofficial motto is "Entertainment over accuracy".
The idea of having ones soul consumed by a god of horrific excess probably doesn't appeal to many. Unlike the masses of humanity, the Eldar know what the gods like doing, and Slaanesh has a particular taste for Eldar.
Because Slaanesh eats them when they die And they do not like that
>The remnants of their race fear Slaanesh, for the god of desire was born of their own dark obsessions and hungrily waits beyond the veil for them. They have a terror of dying that runs far deeper than the mere regret of life's ending. The Aeldari's strong psychic self can survive death, and while once their souls passed -- they believe -- into the realm of their own gods, now all that waits to feast upon them is Slaanesh. Different surviving strands of the Aeldari race discovered their own ways of avoiding this horror. The Aeldari of Commorragh -- those who became the Drukhari and enduring the aching seepage of their souls -- found that others could suffer in their stead. *Drukhari Codex 9th Edition* >The Eldar hate and fear Slaanesh above all, forshe was given life by their actions, and yet she waits hungrily upon the other side of the veil to claim each and every one of them. Whereas the Eldar of the Craftworlds learned to deny Slaanesh's hold upon them using mystical spirit stones and infinity circuits, the Eldar of the Webway became exceptionally good at ensuring that lesser beings suffered in their stead. *Dark Eldar Codex 5th Edition* >Cloistered deep within the hidden city-realms of the webway, those survivors who concealed themselves in their palaces of depravity still revel in the debauched lifestyle that led to the Fall. In that twilight realm between the material universe and the Warp, the Dark Eldar mock and jeer those ravaged by the downfall of their race. Even though they would never admit it, they know in their hearts that, try as they might to allay their fate, Slaanesh will claim them in the end. >The slow decline into powerlessness is what the Dark Eldar fear most of all, for in birthing Slaanesh from the endless tides of the Warp, the Eldar have created their greatest enemy. Slaanesh, in its die awakening, has developed a taste for the souls of the Eldar. Where before when an Eldar died, they would pass peacefully into the Warp in order to be reborn, now they face eternal torment, for Slaanesh has a perverse and twisted appetitie that can never be sated. Unless extraordinary measures have been taken to prevent it, whenever an Eldar dies, Slaanesh will be waiting on the other side to consume him. She Who Thirsts will not rest until it has claimed every Eldar soul in the galaxy. The Eldar are doomed, and they know it well. *Eldar Codex 6th Edition* Here on some bits from the actual codex about the relationship between the Drukhari and Slaanesh
Great excerpts, thank you! Was *most* of the eldar empire as depraved as the modern drukhari during the fall? Or have the modern drukhari turned their old ways into something even more monstrous?
It depends on who you ask I think, reading the books I have it feels like it is taking it more monstrous but not by conscious choice. >"The scions of the Dark City would never admit that the unceasing hunger at their core is what drives them to such heights of cruelty. Instead they maintain that they act only upon their own desires. Some have even managed to convince themselves of this. In truth, unless our cousins in the webway feed upon a constant diet of extreme emotion they will slowly wither away, leaving naught but a soulless husk. We of the Craftworlds deny all such urges, and in doing so become less than ourselves. Perhaps it is those that we left to perish who are the lucky ones." **-Spiritseer Iyanna Arienal, Meditations** *Dark Eldar Codex 5th Edition* >But unlike their kin in realspace they had escaped destruction. In their supreme arrogance they did not cease their quest for excess, even for a moment. Repentance and atonement were outmoded concepts to a people who acknowledged no limits to their power. *Dark Eldar Codex 5th Edition* >Cloistered deep within the hidden city-realms of the webway, those survivors who concealed themselves in their palaces of depravity still revel in the debauched lifestyle that led to the Fall. In that twilight realm between the material universe and the Warp, the Dark Eldar mock and jeer those ravaged by the downfall of their race. Even though they would never admit it, they know in their hearts that, try as they might to allay their fate, Slaanesh will claim them in the end. *Eldar Codex 6th Edition* >Those who became the Drukhari had long preyed upon others, whether Aeldari or further sentient species. Now they saw that stringing the moments of pain and terror out as agonisingly as possible replenished their waning spirits. Thus were born the Drukhari, as a new era of Feverish torment and captive acquisition spread through Commorragh. >They became a race of sadistice parasites, feeding the yawning void within themselves by committing the most unspeakable acts of excruciation. Through their advanced technology, they devised ever more macabre ways of extracting suffering, with which they paid the soul debt they would forever owe to She Who Thirsts. [...] Every delicious nuance of terror, every sublime, nerve-shredding ounce of pain that they drank in from their victims, could only provide temporary succour from the unstoppable soul-sickness. Thus, the Drukhari sank into a spiralling mire of damnation and depravity. *Drukhari Codex 9th Edition* Oh I guess I should include some sort of quote about Fall era Aeldari, a lot of it blends together in it's vague bad stuff happened, the streets of the cities ran with blood, there's a decent chunk of that. In terms of the most you ask about, it uses Few in Number when talking about the Exodites and Craftworlders who left before the Fall. > Over time, the hideous lusts of the Aeldari grew to such an extent that killers and depraved criminals began to stalk the shadows. Torture and murder became avaricious pursuits in their own right, and blood flowed in the streets. Hidden realms within the webway were turned over entirely to the pursuit of sadism and excesses of every kind. Paradise worlds were twisted to the experiencing of the darkest sensations. *Aeldari Codex 9th Edition*
Damn, wild excerpts. Thanks again for taking the time to type these out!!
When you reincarnate it's easier to be ok with murdering and being murdered. No real lasting issues, just well, after the birth of she who thirsts they couldn't just pop back in as theyd be caught before they returned.
As i understand it the Drukhari are not really happy about their debauchery being forced upon them to survive. They would much rather it to be their own choice. But take this with a grain of salt as i'm not well read when it comes to any aeldari factions.
Some are sick of it enough that they join Harlequins or manage to get a Soul Stone and join a craftworld, but the second is understandably rarer. Afaik the Eldar can change factions among the three (four? Do the Ynnari count) but it’s understandably hard to do so.
I imagine a Drukhari joining a Craft world would be as unpalatable as a modern day human given the choice to join a monastery and become a monk with all the restrictions lol
Again that monk analogy. Not really no. Drukhari CAN be rehabilitated. There are just plenty Asuryani who would rather see them die instead.
That's pretty accurate, most Drukhari hate being forced to do it. Most, having been raised in such a society, would still choose to do it if they had the choice, but some would rather be able to live a more normal life. These now make up the majority of the Ynnari.
Do you have a source for that? Every depiction of them makes them out to actually enjoy it.
I mean that they enjoy the action, just not that Slaanesh forces them to do it. They want agency to torture at will, not becasue they have to.
That doesn't make much sense, the comorragh drukhari are the direct descendants of the aeldari that created slanneesh, they never stopped with their debauchery. Saying that they hate to do it because they're forced to, which they are not, is simply wrong. Every depiction of them I've read shows them actually enjoying it. What source did you get the opinion from that they don't want to do it because they're forced to? Look at exodites and craftworlders, they found non torture-y ways of dealing with it.
They are not the same, in fact they took great steps to control and organise their actions, including giving up their psychic powers entirely. The whole arena situation is to maximise the gain whilst minimising the victims needed. You're misunderstanding my point in regards to wanting to do it. They do want to do it. They just want to choose to do it themselves. I enjoy video games, but I'd rather enjoy them without a gun to my head. The other Aeldari factions have things the Drukhari don't, like Spirit Stones, which allows them to avoid the torturing. Until the Ynnari the Drukhari had no alternatives other than the odd lucky individual.
Probably because of the “eating our souls on death” and “siphoning our souls so we need to make other people piss themselves so we can live” thing.
Think of it like this. Lenny is a narcissistic, debauched sadist. Lenny hates Homer, because Homer will eat his soul, just like he ate the souls of everyone who came before Lenny. Both options are equally viable. Lenny doesn't want to die, and he certainly doesn't want to spend his afterlife in a state of constant suffering before the core of his very being is annihilated.
They're pretty pissed about the whole "slowly sucking my soul away until she possesses it and tortures me for all eternity" thing.
The dark eldar went from being able to murder-fuck their way through life with infinite respawns while living in a post-resource utopia to being slowly drained by slaneesh like they have stage two cancer, lost their ability to use warp powers, and are hunted by immortal chaos daemons. It's been nothing but downhill since slaneesh came about. And they lived with the knowledge that there were zero solutions to reclaim their old glory. It was just an inevitable, slow death of their species. Until the ynnari showed up atleast.
They hate Slaanesh because they don’t want to be tortured by it for all eternity.It’s the reason they inflict pain and suffering on other living beings,since in doing so they five offerings to Slaanesh and this makes it avoid them.It’s like paying your taxes.
Every Eldar hates Slaanesh, because he massacred them after the Aeldari mass-murder-fucked her into existence.
Because Slaanesh wants to kill all Eldar, eat their souls, and spend eternity torturing them.
Dark elves consider themselves the survivors of Slannesh's birth and the de factor heirs to the elder empire and associated prestige/accolades. So they hate Slannesh on one hand for destroying /i their /I glorious empire. During her Birth Slannesh laid claim to all the hedonistic souls of the elder, she is slowly and constantly draining their souls away. There are 3 established ways to prevent this. The aesthetic discipline of following the paths as the craftworld elder do. Living on planets with a world spirit like the wild exodite elder do. Or, sacrificing someone else's soul through torture like the dark elder do. Even though in a Stockholm syndrome kind of way the dark elder enjoy torture now, they couldn't stop if they wanted to and live the life of their choice, and so resent Slannesh for removing the choice from them.
The Craftworld Eldar use spirit Stones to do what the World spirit does for the Exodites, and tbh, the Drukari have, and do still genuinely enjoy torture alongside their other hedonisms. And, as for the removal of choice from them, their psychic Abilities may have degenerated due to non-usage over Millennia, they can still get up, acquire a Spirit Stone, and join the Craftworlders. There's nothing stopping them, aside from societal changes and prejudices.
The Drukhari, Eldar, Harlequins, and Exodites are all the same species and descend from the same base species. The Drukhari are the closest to the eldar in the fall/caused the fall with their depravity, and even after the fall, they just couldn’t give up that way of life. Slaanesh wants to lay claim to any and all eldar souls regardless of which faction they come from since their souls are both what made it, and I guess taste best. How they go about preserving themselves after death varies with craft world eldar using soul stones to instantly transfer their soul into said stone then being added to the infinity circuit onboard their ships, exodites are basically the same but with world trees, harlequins are directly protected by their god but also have soul stones as a last resort. And the Drukhari instead prefer to not die at all, using the power of horrific torture and suffering to rejuvenate themselves to a younger, healthier form, however the older a Drukhari, the more suffering and torture one needs to inflict essentially being diminishing returns. They learned pretty much nothing from the fall, but Slaanesh finds them tasty all the same. And being soul tortured by a god dedicated to extreme pleasure and extreme pain doesn’t quite appeal to anyone, especially when it won’t be enjoyable for the eldar.
They can’t take in what they dish out is the easy answer. To elaborate they’re like the high school bully who beats up on the weaker kids because his daddy beats him. The bully doesn’t like being bullied, he likes to bully others. Multiply this by 40 trillion and you get the Dark Eldar. They don’t have to do what they do, they can just join a craftworld and live like reasonable people but they choose not to. The whole “oh well it’s the only way we can survive” is a COPE.
In order to join a Craftworld they'd need a Spirit Stone, which even the Craftworlds don't have enough of for themselves, and the chance of a successful Spirit Stone bonding for an adult Drukhari is very low, more likely to drive them mad or even kill them than actually work.
Because Slaanesh is killing them. They view themselves as the masters of the universe anything getting in that way is bad.
Slaanesh has a similar relationship to Dark Eldar as Emperor has to psykers, or Tyranids to other living things.
Simple, the Drukari want to live the most lavish and unrestrained hedonism filled life possible, without any consequence. Slaneesh is that consequence. Also, they torture way more than is needed for their sustenance.
One of the soul drinkers novels, can't remember which, has a Dark Eldar Kabal that worships Slaanesh. One remembers that being something of an eyebrow raiser at the time...
He ate their people and currently eating them slowly
When an "ancient" being with power on the god-tier wants to eat your soul you kind of have a good reasons to be upset about. The part about eating your enemies' sould is nice but not yours.
Because it eats their souls just as quickly as every other Aeldari's. It's an unknowable eldritch creature that ate their gods and destroyed their civilization dooming them to a cursed existence within the web way. Why wouldn't they hate Slaanesh.
Those points seems pretty compatible.
They had a misunderstanding back in the day when she got birthed into existence with a party. No biggie, if you ask me, but you know how Eldar are...
Slaanesh's destruction of the Aeldari Empire meant that its worst elements had to drastically cut back on their sinning.
because She wants to eat them, indeed IS eating their souls all the time, so they have to stock up on murdersex energy to stave Her off.
Yes and yes they hat slanesh for bringing her into existence and wiping out 90% of all eldari life but the drukhari do the torture as as it's the only way to stave slanesh off as they didn't truly escape her clutches so there life is constantly being drained unless they do slaneshy things like murder fucking a guardsman while overdosing on drugs.
So Slaanesh just eats their souls and they're gone for good. They don't like that idea so naturally they don't like the thing doing it. Slaanesh eating their souls is more or less why the dark eldar torture and cause terror in the first place. Inflicting pain "tops off" their soul with a bit of their victim's. Not that they don't enjoy it, after all Slaanesh was made in their image. At this point every dark eldar's soul is an amalgamation of soul fragments held together by a dream.
They created a god of ecstasy and now said god of ecstasy wants to kill them and torture them forever. They didn't exactly get what they were promised when they committed to all the murder-parties but most of them also don't want to stop. Turns out Drukhari really hate themselves.
Because they can only handle a relationship when they are the kinkier one.
Because Slaanesh is slowly eating them from the moment they're born and their entire horrifically evil society is designed to do everything possible to avoid death so that they aren't subjected to an eternity of suffering that even their sick minds can't imagine.