Difference between revisions of "Fall of the Eldar"

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|quote = ''Words can never express the true horrors that our people have suffered, the bloody scourge that we brought down upon ourselves. Instead, dear foes, let us show you with deeds.''
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|source = '''The Proclamation of Woe''' delivered by the [[Harlequin]] sorrowsinger prior to the ‘The Fall of the Eldar’{{Fn|6}}
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The '''Fall of the Eldar''' occurred over ten thousand years ago and ended the [[Eldar]] supremacy of the Milky Way galaxy. The Eldar were at the height of their empire, holding sway over the vast majority of the galaxy. Their worlds were paradises full of peace and cultural achievement, until their dominion was all but destroyed.
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{{HarlequinsPortal}}
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{{SlaaneshPortal}}
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The '''Fall of the Eldar''' occurred in [[M31]]{{Fn|12}} and ended the [[Eldar]]'s supremacy in the [[Galaxy]]. Before the Fall, the Eldar were at the height of their [[Eldar Empire|empire]] and held sway over the vast majority of the galaxy; their worlds were paradises and full of peace and cultural achievement, and then it was all but destroyed.{{Fn|2}} It is said that trillions of Eldar died in the cataclysm, and all who remained were the [[Dark Eldar]] and [[Harlequin]]s within the [[Webway]], the [[Craftworld Eldar]] aboard thier [[Craftworlds]], the [[Exodites]] on their maiden worlds.{{Fn|12}} Despite what contemporary Harlequin stories say, the death of their empire occurred in slow and agonising stages, not all at once.{{Fn|13}}
  
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Long ago, the [[Old Ones]] prophesied the Eldar's fall, but their warning was ignored and forgotten over time. The Eldar came to believe that all races were below them, going so far as calling them barbarians. This proud and arrogant attitude was supported by their advanced technology and control of the [[Webway]]s. They created many beautiful things, lived long lives, and returned to the [[Warp]] upon death. Slowly, the pride of the Eldar overcame their caution and they became ever more proud and arrogant. They had long since outgrown the need for physical labour as their technology provided all, leaving them with only their own desires to satisfy.
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==History==
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[[File:FallOfTheEldar.jpg|thumb|right|400px|The Fall of the Eldar, juxtaposed with the violence of the [[Harlequin]]s{{Fn|10}}]]
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===Children of the Stars===
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{{main|Eldar Empire}}
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Even before this time, it had been feared that the Eldar would fall. The [[Old Ones]] warned the Eldar about it, but their predictions and warnings were forgotten and ignored over time. The Eldar came to believe that all races were below them, even so far as calling them barbarians. This proud and arrogant ideal seemed proven by their advanced technology and control of the [[Webway]]. The Eldar created many beautiful things and lived long lives and when they died, their spirits returned to the [[Warp]].{{Fn|1}} It was a golden age, lasting millennia.{{Fn|7}}
  
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Many gave in to their hedonistic desires and cults sprang up on all Eldar worlds, each dedicated to a different aspect of arcane knowledge and sensual excess. Gradually, the Eldar society grew more and more divided. The people became increasingly corrupt, delving into vicious practices verging on sadism. Insane killers prowled the streets in search of victims, attempting to find new ways to satisfy their needs, but no violent act could slate their unquenchable thirst. Soon the streets were running with blood, and the bestial roar of crowds could be heard throughout the Eldar empire.
+
Slowly, the pride of the Eldar overcame their caution and they became ever more proud and arrogant. They had long since outgrown the need for physical labour as their society provided all, leaving them with only their own desires to satisfy. Even military conquest was waged by their machine creations, and many found themselves without purpose.{{Fn|1}}
  
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However, the degeneration of the Eldar did not happen without resistance. Many Eldar free from the corruption - from raving madmen to genuine survivalists - fled their homeworlds in assorted spacecraft. After battling numerous dangers in space and disasters at the hands of natural predators and Ork incursions, these '[[Exodites]]' (named from their 'Exodus') settled untamed worlds far from Eldar space, at the fringes of the galaxy. Life was difficult for a people unfamiliar with physical labour and plagued by self-denial.
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====Descent into Depravity====
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As the millennia passed, the magnificence of the [[Eldar Empire]] gave way to complacency, corruption, indolence, and spiritual decay as many gave in to hedonistic desires.{{Fn|7}} Pleasure cults sprang up over the Eldar lands, and the pantheon of [[Eldar Gods]] was gradually abandoned in favour of personal deification through insane excess – the Aeldar would not become gods, however.{{Fn|7}}
  
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As a direct result of this foul depravity, a new [[Chaos]] god was spawned: [[Slaanesh]], the consequence of the Eldar's lusts and desires. No other creature of the Warp had as violent a birth as Slaanesh, or was as powerful or monstrous. Shortly before the Chaos god's birth, the Eldar had been plagued with premonitions of the dark deity. Yet, like the Old Ones' prophecy, they were ignored. The Eldar slew each other and feasted on the corpses of their fellow kin while the worlds around them burned. With a horrible scream that pierced the galaxy, Slaanesh was born. There was not a single Eldar who didn't feel the painful psychic backlash.
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In these new cults, dedicated to the different aspects of arcane knowledge and sensual excesses, people became more and more corrupt, delving into vicious practices, verging on sadism. Sadistic killers prowled the streets in search of victims, attempting to find new ways to satisfy their needs. It became harder and harder to satisfy their decadent desires, so these acts became more violent. Soon the streets were running with blood and the bestial roar of the crowds could be heard throughout the Eldar empire.{{Fn|1}} For long dark years the [[Eldar]] turned upon themselves, sinking to sickening depths: torturing and killing their own kind, eating their own dead, and mutilating their once-great civilisation.{{Fn|11}} Law and order broke down and some Eldar left their worlds as refugees, seeking a more peaceful existence.{{Fn|1}}
  
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The epicenter of the explosion lay within the heart of the Eldar homeworlds, where most of the Eldar population was concentrated. Many Eldar in a thousand light-year radius died, their spirits sucked into the Warp, and many fleeing [[Craftworld]]s were overtaken. Far from Eldar space, most of the Exodite worlds survived the Fall. The Eldar were now a scattered race, bound to be hunted by the Great Enemy for the rest of eternity as chastisement for their depravity. Some Eldar believe that there is a final hope: [[Ynnead]], the Eldar God of Death, is slowly growing in the collective [[Infinity Circuit]]s of the surviving Craftworlds. When enough Eldar souls join the Circuits, all the Craftworlds will unite and create one massive Infinity Circuit, giving Ynnead life as a new power in the Warp. It will be strong enough to battle and subdue Slaanesh, redeeming the Eldar race once and for all.
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However, the degeneration of the Eldar did not go without resistance. Harlequins continued to perform the ancient dances and mythic cycles, seeking to remind the Eldar of all they were abandoning.{{Fn|7}} Some among the Eldar, derided as fanatics obsessed with self-denial and suffering by their hedonistic brethren, fled their homeworlds in a great Exodus. These [[Exodites]] would settle untamed worlds far from the core of the Eldar Empire, leading difficult lives at the fringes of the galaxy.{{Fn|4}} Yet others remained, only fleeing when doom seemed certain aboard [[Craftworlds]].{{Fn|2}}
  
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The area that was the center of the Eldar empire became the [[Eye of Terror]]. The ancient [[Crone Worlds]] of the Eldar are now the homes of the [[Daemon Prince]]s and of the [[Chaos Space Marines]].
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===Birth of a Dark God===
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The gestalt psychic outpouring from the Aeldari descent into perverted madness nurtured a new deity in the warp{{Fn|7}} and as a direct result of their foul depravity, a new [[Chaos God]] was spawned: [[Slaanesh]], formed mainly by the Eldar's lusts and desires. For years before, the Eldar race had been plagued with the images of the sleeping entity. The Eldar slew each other and feasted on the corpses of their fellow kin, while the worlds around them burned. As Slaanesh was born, there was not a single Eldar who did not feel the pain. With a [[psionic]] cry, Slaanesh assaulted the universe and the spirits of the Eldar were drawn from their bodies and sucked into the warp. No other creature of the Warp had such a violent birth as Slaanesh, or was as powerful or monstrous.{{Fn|3b}}
  
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====The Dying====
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[[File:TheDying.jpg|thumb|right|400px|[[Eldar]] [[Crone World]] after the ''Dying''.{{Fn|10}}]]
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Slaanesh entered existence with a hungry howl{{Fn|7}}, a psychic implosion the epicentre of which laid within the heart of the Eldar [[homeworld]]s where the Eldar population was concentrated, tearing [[Realspace]] asunder leaving the malignant wound known as the [[Eye of Terror]].{{Fn|4}} The overwhelming majority of the Eldar spread across thousands of light years died, their spirits sucked into the warp to be devoured by Slaanesh, even fleeing [[Craftworld]]s were overtaken.{{Fn|2}} The ancient worlds of the Eldar are now [[Crone World]]s - now home to [[Daemon Prince]]s{{Fn|3b}}, and tombs of the greatest Eldar artefacts.{{Fn|4}}
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====The Murdered Pantheon====
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''Main article'': [[Eldar Mythology#Fall of the Gods|Fall of the Gods]]
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[[Slaanesh]] slew the [[Eldar Mythology#Gods|Eldar Gods]] viciously — [[Lileath]], [[Asuryan]], even the old, blind [[Morai-Heg]] were murdered by Slaanesh. [[Khaine]], the mightiest warrior of the gods did battle with Slaanesh in the Warp and was cast down, eventually shattered into a million pieces that became his [[Avatar]]s.{{Fn|3a}}
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===Aftermath===
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Far from Eldar space, many of the Exodite worlds survived the Fall{{Fn|4}} as did many craftworlds, their [[wraithbone]] ships protecting against Slaanesh's howl.{{Fn|2}} Already outside of realspace, the pleasure cults of the mercantile city of [[Commoragh]] survived as the [[Dark Eldar]].{{Fn|9}} Small numbers of renegade [[Chaotic Eldar]] survived within the Eye of Terror, to the rest of their race they were forever lost.{{Fn|8}} The Eldar were now a scattered race, to be hunted by the [[Great Enemy]] for the rest of eternity.{{Fn|3b}}
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The eruption of psychic energy blew away the [[warp storm]]s that had made interstellar travel impossible for thousands of years{{Fn|4}}, allowing the [[Emperor]] to launch the [[Great Crusade]] which would create the Imperium.{{Fn|5}}
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==Sources==
 +
*{{Endn|1}}: [[Asurmen: Hand of Asuryan (Novel)]] - ''III''
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*{{Endn|2}}: [[Codex: Craftworlds (7th Edition)]] - ''The Doom of the Eldar''
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*3: [[Codex: Craftworlds (8th Edition)]]:
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**{{Endn|3a}}: pg. 9
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**{{Endn|3b}}: pg. 8
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*{{Endn|4}}: [[Codex: Eldar (4th Edition)]], pgs. 4-7
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*{{Endn|5}}: [[Warhammer 40,000: Compilation]], pg. 20
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*{{Endn|6}}: [https://web.archive.org/web/20230509184012/https://www.warhammer-community.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Faction_Support_Harlequin.pdf Harlequin Troupe Kill Teams]'' (saved archive, last accessed 26 March 2025)''
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*{{Endn|7}}: [[Codex: Harlequins (8th Edition)]], pg. 28 - ''Overture of Ages''
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*{{Endn|8}}: [[Codex: Eldar (2nd Edition)]], pg. 20
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*{{Endn|9}}: [[Codex: Drukhari (8th Edition)]], pgs. 8-9
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*{{Endn|10}}: [[Revelations (Comic Series)]], Issue #2
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*{{Endn|11}}: [[Rogue Trader: The Koronus Bestiary]], pg. 44
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*{{Endn|12}}: [[Codex: Eldar (6th Edition)]], pg. 20
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*{{Endn|13}}: [[Fabius Bile: Manflayer (Novel)]], Chapter 4
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[[Category:Drukhari]]
 
[[Category:Eldar]]
 
[[Category:Eldar]]
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[[Category:Harlequins]]
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[[Category:Craftworld Eldar]]
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[[Category:Exodites]]
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[[Category:Eldar Mythology]]
 
[[Category:Slaanesh]]
 
[[Category:Slaanesh]]
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[[Category:Timeline]]
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[[de:Fall der Eldar]]
 
[[de:Fall der Eldar]]
 
[[fr:La Chute]]
 
[[fr:La Chute]]
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==Sources==
 
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[[Codex: Eldar (2nd Edition)]]
 

Latest revision as of 08:30, 25 February 2026

Words can never express the true horrors that our people have suffered, the bloody scourge that we brought down upon ourselves. Instead, dear foes, let us show you with deeds.

The Proclamation of Woe delivered by the Harlequin sorrowsinger prior to the ‘The Fall of the Eldar’[6]


The Fall of the Eldar occurred in M31[12] and ended the Eldar's supremacy in the Galaxy. Before the Fall, the Eldar were at the height of their empire and held sway over the vast majority of the galaxy; their worlds were paradises and full of peace and cultural achievement, and then it was all but destroyed.[2] It is said that trillions of Eldar died in the cataclysm, and all who remained were the Dark Eldar and Harlequins within the Webway, the Craftworld Eldar aboard thier Craftworlds, the Exodites on their maiden worlds.[12] Despite what contemporary Harlequin stories say, the death of their empire occurred in slow and agonising stages, not all at once.[13]

History

The Fall of the Eldar, juxtaposed with the violence of the Harlequins[10]

Children of the Stars

Main article: Eldar Empire

Even before this time, it had been feared that the Eldar would fall. The Old Ones warned the Eldar about it, but their predictions and warnings were forgotten and ignored over time. The Eldar came to believe that all races were below them, even so far as calling them barbarians. This proud and arrogant ideal seemed proven by their advanced technology and control of the Webway. The Eldar created many beautiful things and lived long lives and when they died, their spirits returned to the Warp.[1] It was a golden age, lasting millennia.[7]

Slowly, the pride of the Eldar overcame their caution and they became ever more proud and arrogant. They had long since outgrown the need for physical labour as their society provided all, leaving them with only their own desires to satisfy. Even military conquest was waged by their machine creations, and many found themselves without purpose.[1]

Descent into Depravity

As the millennia passed, the magnificence of the Eldar Empire gave way to complacency, corruption, indolence, and spiritual decay as many gave in to hedonistic desires.[7] Pleasure cults sprang up over the Eldar lands, and the pantheon of Eldar Gods was gradually abandoned in favour of personal deification through insane excess – the Aeldar would not become gods, however.[7]

In these new cults, dedicated to the different aspects of arcane knowledge and sensual excesses, people became more and more corrupt, delving into vicious practices, verging on sadism. Sadistic killers prowled the streets in search of victims, attempting to find new ways to satisfy their needs. It became harder and harder to satisfy their decadent desires, so these acts became more violent. Soon the streets were running with blood and the bestial roar of the crowds could be heard throughout the Eldar empire.[1] For long dark years the Eldar turned upon themselves, sinking to sickening depths: torturing and killing their own kind, eating their own dead, and mutilating their once-great civilisation.[11] Law and order broke down and some Eldar left their worlds as refugees, seeking a more peaceful existence.[1]

However, the degeneration of the Eldar did not go without resistance. Harlequins continued to perform the ancient dances and mythic cycles, seeking to remind the Eldar of all they were abandoning.[7] Some among the Eldar, derided as fanatics obsessed with self-denial and suffering by their hedonistic brethren, fled their homeworlds in a great Exodus. These Exodites would settle untamed worlds far from the core of the Eldar Empire, leading difficult lives at the fringes of the galaxy.[4] Yet others remained, only fleeing when doom seemed certain aboard Craftworlds.[2]

Birth of a Dark God

The gestalt psychic outpouring from the Aeldari descent into perverted madness nurtured a new deity in the warp[7] and as a direct result of their foul depravity, a new Chaos God was spawned: Slaanesh, formed mainly by the Eldar's lusts and desires. For years before, the Eldar race had been plagued with the images of the sleeping entity. The Eldar slew each other and feasted on the corpses of their fellow kin, while the worlds around them burned. As Slaanesh was born, there was not a single Eldar who did not feel the pain. With a psionic cry, Slaanesh assaulted the universe and the spirits of the Eldar were drawn from their bodies and sucked into the warp. No other creature of the Warp had such a violent birth as Slaanesh, or was as powerful or monstrous.[3b]

The Dying

Eldar Crone World after the Dying.[10]

Slaanesh entered existence with a hungry howl[7], a psychic implosion the epicentre of which laid within the heart of the Eldar homeworlds where the Eldar population was concentrated, tearing Realspace asunder leaving the malignant wound known as the Eye of Terror.[4] The overwhelming majority of the Eldar spread across thousands of light years died, their spirits sucked into the warp to be devoured by Slaanesh, even fleeing Craftworlds were overtaken.[2] The ancient worlds of the Eldar are now Crone Worlds - now home to Daemon Princes[3b], and tombs of the greatest Eldar artefacts.[4]

The Murdered Pantheon

Main article: Fall of the Gods

Slaanesh slew the Eldar Gods viciously — Lileath, Asuryan, even the old, blind Morai-Heg were murdered by Slaanesh. Khaine, the mightiest warrior of the gods did battle with Slaanesh in the Warp and was cast down, eventually shattered into a million pieces that became his Avatars.[3a]

Aftermath

Far from Eldar space, many of the Exodite worlds survived the Fall[4] as did many craftworlds, their wraithbone ships protecting against Slaanesh's howl.[2] Already outside of realspace, the pleasure cults of the mercantile city of Commoragh survived as the Dark Eldar.[9] Small numbers of renegade Chaotic Eldar survived within the Eye of Terror, to the rest of their race they were forever lost.[8] The Eldar were now a scattered race, to be hunted by the Great Enemy for the rest of eternity.[3b]

The eruption of psychic energy blew away the warp storms that had made interstellar travel impossible for thousands of years[4], allowing the Emperor to launch the Great Crusade which would create the Imperium.[5]

Sources

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