Dark Muses
The Dark Muses were a collection of lesser Eldar powers that represented carnal and selfish vice within their Pantheon.[1a]
Overview
Clandestine worship of the Dark Muses contributed to the demise of the Eldar gods during the Fall. They, along with Kaela Mensha Khaine, remain as the powers that the Dark Eldar continue to respect, if not worship, as the Dark Eldar rarely worship anybody other than themselves. The other Eldar gods are looked upon with scorn and as undeserving of existence for their demise at the hands of Slaanesh,[1a] although Cegorach did not suffer that fate.
Worship of these beings started in the year c. M19-M24 where the traditional worship of the Eldar Gods began to wane as new sects and societies began to rise in power. This culminated in the formation of the Dark Muses who became synonymous with sensual sin and vice who became of the unofficial figureheads of the new order that began to form in Port Commoragh in the Webway.[1b] These consisted of vaunted warriors and dark artists, whose skills the Dark Eldar intended to learn more of, for their own selves. Thus the Dark Muses were formed from the mighty Dark Eldar from ancient times who became folkloric figures who epitomised a particular vice and indirectly led to the Fall of the Eldar.[1c]
Some of the better known Dark Muses include:
- Asdrubael Vect, the Living Muse,[3] the Supreme Overlord of Commoragh who declared himself a living muse following his assassination and rebirth at the Dathedian.[4]
- Hekatii, the Red Crone,[1d] regarded as a warrior without peer and embodying the sadistic joy of gleeful slaughter.[4]
- Lhilitu, the Consort of the Void;[1d] her followers seek mastery at manipulating their peers and rivals wielding both seduction and poison as defly as weapons.[4]
- Qa'leh, the Mistress of Blades,[1d] the skilled and deadly wych modern wyches seek to emulate.[4]
- Shaimesh, the Lord of Poisons,[1d] extols the virtues of betrayal and assassination. An uncharacteristically kept remnant of the Aeldari Myth Cycles, he is the treacherous brother of Saim the Cosmic Serpent.[4]
- Vileth,[1d] Patron to Archons[4], who embodies arrogance and overwhelming superiority.[4] Some who follow her focus on mastering aerial warfare, a literal statement of power and hierarchy on the battlefield.[4]
- Ynesth (deceased).[2]
Sources
- 1: Codex: Dark Eldar (5th Edition)
- 2: Black Crusade: Game Master's Kit, pgs. 14-15
- 3: Codex: Drukhari (8th Edition) pg.47
- 4: Wrath & Glory - Aeldari - Inheritance of Embers, pg. 147
