Harlequin
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This article is about the faction; for the Harlequin known as Rillietann, see Rillietann (Harlequin). |
For the Harlequins there is no distinction between art and war; they are the archetypal warrior poets, travelling the labyrinthine expanses of the Webway, bringing enlightenment to their audiences and certain death to the servants of darkness.
The Harlequins, or Rillietann[1][33a] (a word synonymous with Troupes),[1] are warrior troubadours[37], a unique Eldar faction which splits their time between being talented battlefield fighters and theatrical performers. They exist outside of normal Eldar society and hold no allegiance to any Craftworld, Kabal, or other form of authority other than to their own belief in the Eldar deity Cegorach, the Laughing God.[1]
Overview
Harlequins carry out several self-appointed duties since their first reappearance after the Fall of the Eldar, the most central of which is putting on theatrical performances of Eldar History. Their belief system is intertwined with the Fall, as Cegorach is one of the few Eldar deities reckoned to have survived it in some way. The Harlequins believe that his intrinsic light-hearted personality ensured he kept his distance from the depravity and corruption that became Slaanesh and that he survives to this day, often taking the form of a Harlequin himself - with those that meet him in this guise only becoming aware of his presence after he has left.[1]
As the Eldar are a scattered race, Harlequins constantly tour the domains of their species (as well as other places; Harlequins believe other species should be told the stories of the Eldar as well) in their duty to perform. The dual-aspect of their nature serves them well when abroad in the galaxy, as Harlequins are reckoned to be the deadliest combatants of all the Eldar. Their acrobatic and deceptive skills, as well as their unique weapons and equipment, render them such mystifying and terrifying enemies that some of the less-developed races of the galaxy have incorporated them into their mythology as magical spirits or eldritch monsters.[1]
The Great Stage
Harlequins are able to move across the galaxy by traversing the Webway, the quasi-dimensional creation of the race known as the Old Ones. It is said that Cegorach is the only being in existence who knows every single path through the webway. This might explain how his disciples possess such an intimate knowledge of its twists and turns, for the Harlequins walk the webway without fear, appearing and disappearing at will. So well versed are they in the webway’s secret routes that many other Aeldari have credited the servants of the Laughing God with supernatural powers. The Harlequins utilize their knowledge of the webway’s hidden paths to outmanoeuvre their foes and strike from unexpected quarters. In this way, entire masques of Harlequins can position themselves in ambush, guaranteeing the element of surprise.[14e]
The Black Library
The Harlequins, along with other mysterious guardians, watch over and protect the Black Library inside of the webway. It's said that they use its vast collected secrets to aid them in the war against Chaos.[11b]
Since the Fall of the Eldar, a crystal tome bounded with chains of light has rested upon an obsidian plinth at the heart of the Black Library. As fabled events came to pass, so those chains faded one by one until the tome opened shortly before the opening of the Great Rift. Revealed within were writings said to have been written by Cegorach himself, telling of a final act that changed utterly the tale of the Fall. Instead of the ultimate victory of Chaos in the Rhana Dandra, the final act tells of Cegorach's ultimate jest that would trick Slaanesh into expending all of her energies to save the Eldar instead of destroying them. How such an event could come to pass remains unclear.[14c]
Recruitment
The Harlequins fight alongside us, that much is certain. But do they fight with us? For us? That, I have less faith in. Whatever they once were is gone, subsumed by their masks, their saedath, their Laughing God and his enigmatic agenda.
So must I wonder; are we aught more than tools to them? Or do the servants of Cegorach use us and our Drukhari and Exodite cousins just as we manipulate and direct the younger races of this troubled galaxy? If so, to what ends? Their strength is welcome, but their intentions trouble me deeply.
No Eldar is born a Harlequin, all of their number are recruited among greater Eldar society, be they Craftworlder, Dark Eldar, or Exodite and every Eldar culture has strange and cautionary tales regarding Harlequin recruitment.[14a] Eldar are supposedly drawn from amid bustling crowds, or beckoned into the shadows by a masked figure only they can see, or vanish from their personal chambers, or swept up in a Harlequin performance and stolen away, or lose a wager with a Troupe Master, or follow mysterious laughter into a Webway Gate.[14a] Solitaires deliver new members to the Troupe.[37] Whatever the means of joining the Harlequins, to be taught their ways means undertaking a ritual[37] and erasing all that has come before including friends, family, and purpose. Once an Eldar becomes a Harlequin, every aspect of their old identity is erased.
Each Harlequin joins a Light, Twilight, or Dark Troupe and assumes a new role at the direction of their Troupe Master. These roles - each known by a ritual character name such as the Sun Prince or Shaimesh the Poisoner or Webway Witch - inform every facet of the Harlequin's new personality. Just as the Eldar on the Craftworlds funnel every aspect of their psyche into a single Path, so the Harlequins turn their minds absolutely to playing their allotted role. Known as the Theyldh, this process of becoming their "true" self is far more intense than anything experienced by any other performer in the galaxy.[14a] As the 41st Millennium comes to a close more and more Eldar vanish into the Webway, forsaking their past lives and taking up a Harlequin mask.[11b]
History
Harlequins date back to the ancient Eldar Empire. They first appeared amid the hedonistic debauchery of the pre-Fall Eldar to perform the dances of their ancient mythic cycles, seeking to remind their people of all that they were throwing away. However, many amongst their audiences reacted with hostility, forcing these early Harlequins to become proficient in combat. In this way, the Saedath becomes forever entwined with the Harlequin dances.[14g]
The Fall of the Eldar
In M31, the civilization of the ancient Eldar Empire is annihilated by the catastrophic birth of Slaanesh.[7e] During the Fall of the Eldar, the Laughing God Cegorach managed to escape destruction at the hands of Slaanesh. Many followers of Cegorach are hidden safely away within the Webway and survived the disaster intact.[14g] In the wake of the Fall of the Eldar through M32, other surviving worshippers of the laughing god disappear into the Webway without explanation.[7e] Within the Webway, Harlequins prepare for a war that would consume their future utterly.[14g]
Return to the Stage
On 641.M33, after centuries of isolation, the Harlequins made their spectacular return when the Masque of the Midnight Sorrow burst from the Webway onto the world of Llayen Nuadh to drive back a horde of Slaaneshi Daemons and rescuing an embattled Ulthwe warhost in the process.[14g] However, it is not until 666.M33 that the harlequins first perform The Dance Without End, horrifying the audience as the Solitaire is seen for the first time.[7e]
In 358.M40, the forces of the Masque of the Silent Shroud face Waaagh! Gutrippa on Sheng's World in the War of Mirrors. Impossibly outnumbered, only a handful survive. Meanwhile the Waaagh! destroys itself in the confusion it has sown.[7e][14g]
In 454.M40 the Masque of the Soaring Spite aided the Wych Cult of Strife in the defense of the Exodite World of Rhildhol against the Nurglite Warband of Lord Fulgulus[7e] who had been systematically poisoning the planet's rivers, lakes, and forests. Fulgulus is the last to fall, pierced by the twin blades known as the Serpent's Fangs.[14g]
In 778.M40 the Masque of the Dreaming Shadow infiltrate the chronostatic Tomb-Fortress of Nemesor Torlak on Pardassos, sabotaging the tomb complex's temporal matrices and triggering a singularity cascade that exterminates most of the planet's Necrons. The Masque's Death Jesters ambush Torlak and his Lychguard in the confusion.[7e]
In 998.M40[7e] the Imperial forces of an Adeptus Mechanicus Explorator Fleet attempt to plunder Archaeotech from the Dead World of Karadox. The Masque of the Midnight Sorrow executes hit-and-run attacks at dig teams and their guards to prevent the Imperials from taking the forbidden technology and unleashing the horrors it holds.[14g]
The fortress world of Magnor Prime, defended by the Astra Militarum, comes under sustained attack by the Night Lords. Just as the terror raids bring the Imperial forces to the brink of revolt, Harlequins of the Masque of the Veiled Path appear as though from nowhere offering the Imperial officers intelligence letting them deploy their surviving troops to counter enemy attacks before they arise, turning the Night Lords from ambushers to ambushed. After a fortnight, the Harlequin forces show themselves to the Night Lords, who melt away into the warp.[14g]
The 41st Millennium
In 056.M41 the Masque of the Frozen Stars removed Imperial Knight House Terryn from the Maiden World of Velos in a Saedath known as the Giant's Lament.[7e] Not a single super-heavy war engine makes it back to its landing craft.[14g]
The Tzeentchian Sorcerer Yelgth'ir is slain in his inner sanctum by a Troupe Master of the Masque of the Weeping Dawn. Across the galaxy the fates of three planets are altered for the better as Necrons do not awaken.[14g]
In 215.M41 Harlequins of the Masque of the Veiled Path double-crossed the Imperial Navy after a surprising offer of help in defence of a base at Roth against pirates.[14g] Instead, the imperial officers were vented into the void of space.[7e]
From 785 to 795.M41 the Masque of the Dreaming Shadow would engage in a campaign to purge Necrons from the tomb world of Maedrax[7e], following a forced retreat of Ulthwé at the hands of the Blood Angels in 783.M41.[14g]
After the collapse of a Necron Dolmen Gate allows a horde of Khorne Daemons to spill into the Webway, the Masque of the Veiled Path diverts the Daemons to Magnor Prime which they had defended nearly a millennium prior. The resultant war leads to the mutual destruction of both Imperial and Chaos forces. The Black Library remains undisturbed.[14g]
With the aid of Shadowseers from the Masque of the Midnight Sorrow, Inquisitor Sophia Vilimas is able to defeat the Alpha Legion on Safehaven in 948.M41 and a massive Daemonic incursion is prevented.[14g] For their aid, the seers inform Vilimas that she now owes them a debt.[7e]
In 990.M41[7e] a Great Harlequin wins the Cult of Seventh Woe's Dance of the Blinding Blade in Commoragh with impossible speed and skill before vanishing. Rumours begin among the Commorites that the attendant had been none other than Cegorach himself.[14g]
In 991.M41[7e] Harlequins of the Masque of the Dreaming Shadow bring a warning to the Tech-Priests of the Forge World of Noctillus Dhega-Nox, but are met with Skitarii instead. Thirteen days later the Harlequins return in force and strike at high-value targets across the planet – the Imperial Titan manufactorum, fuel supplies, and munitions macrofactorums are attacked and Archmagos Fabricatus Phogali is assassinated. Furious, the Magi call for military assistance from nearby Imperial worlds. When the Imperial forces arrive, they are suddenly engaged by the invading warships of the Oruscar Dynasty of Necrons.[14g]
In 993.M41[7e] several masques combine their forces to topple the Echospire of the Shrine World of Baedros, earning the enmity of the Space Wolves.[14g]
The Harlequins are seen in unprecedented numbers.[14g] Through a string of bloody battles in 996.M41[7e] the Masque of the Midnight Sorrow trap sixty-six Heralds of Slaanesh within runic stones uncomfortably similar to Asuryani Waystones. Each stone is entrusted to the care of a different troupe's Troupe Master and worn on the breast, the purpose of the practice is unclear but is shocking to their Craftworld kin.[14g]
In 997.M41 the Masque of the Veiled Path trick the Khorneate Warband on Jai'Hallaer into the razor-edged landslide of the planet's Shattered Rift.[7e]
In 998.M41 Ahriman's Thousand Sons invade the Webway to reach the Black Library. They are rebuffed by the coalition of Masques, aided by Craftworlds Ulthwé and Lugganath.[7e]
In 999.M41, to prevent Hive Fleets Leviathan and Kraken from combining at the Maiden World of Dûriel[7e] (also known as Valedor), the Harlequins broker an alliance between Craftworlds Biel-tan and Iyanden along with the Dark Eldar to fight an apocalyptic war that sees the planet annihilated in the name of victory.[14g] Following the destruction of Dûriel, deep within the Black Library the Crystal Tome of Cegorach laid open.[14g]
In the closing days of the 41st Millennium, the Masque of the Midnight Sorrow, through the Death Jester known as Inriam's Shade, worked with Eldrad Ulthran of Ulthwé to bring about an early awakening of Ynnead. They planned to flood the carrecenad surface of Coheria with the souls of two warhosts (one of Ulthwé and one of Saim-Hann) while the crystalised Farseers of Ulthwé's Dome of Crystal Seers would serve as conduits to the Infinity Circuits of every craftworld across the galaxy, in order to temporarily join the spirits of all craftworlds into one place in Reality. This would create a psychic beacon magnitudes brighter than the Astronomican which could guide Ynnead's abstract soul from the immaterium into reality. The consequences of this plan would not be without incident, as fleets in Warp Travel across the galaxy would be thrown off course and every Craftworld would be left temporarily as inoperable dark husks as their Infinity Circuits would be left bare awaiting Ynnead's intervention. However, the Battle of Port Demesnus foiled the plan when Deathwatch agents employed a stasis bomb, an act which defied farsight, and the newly formed skeins of fate revealed Ulthwé's destruction. The Harlequins retreated, as the energies they brought together were cast into the void.[42] Those energies were not lost, rather their divine anima found its way to Yvraine in the arenas of Commorragh.[14g]
The Great Rift
The formation of the Great Rift battered the Webway with shockwaves, opening closed gates into Real Space, re-opening closed labyrinthine sub-dimensions, collapsing stable sub-realms, and overloading gates into screaming rents that empty straight into the Immaterium.[14g]
Following the opening of Khaine's Gate within Commorragh and the assassination of Asdrubael Vect, the Masque of the Veiled Path stages a wake unlike any other for Vect, with all but Lady Malys in attendance. In the midst of their performance, the Harlequins released airborne hallucinogens which turned ally and enemy Archons against each other. Vect himself arose from a column of dark energy and declared himself the Living Dark Muse as the Harlequins of the Veiled Path vanished into the webway with the unassailable Supreme Overlord of Commorragh in their debt.[14g]
Following the fracture of Biel-tan its disparate fleetborn elements clashed over the remainder of the Swordwind. Disaster was averted when the Masque of the Frozen Stars travelled across the warships warning of the Daemonic threat over the Exodite Worlds known as the Three Sisters. The Harlequins led the Swordwind to purge the worlds, and eventually to fall upon the Hive World of Khazhar where players lowered the city's void shields to give the Swordwind the opportunity to strike.[14g]
Upon Nykos Secundus during the Noctis Aeterna the Solitaire known as the Spectre of Despair stalked Imperial Governor Sylas Ghorondine relentlessly across every world in the system. Ghorondine released an Eversor assassin against the Solitaire, whose bioplasmic meltdown as the Solitaire dealt its deathblow obliterated the Eversor, the Solitaire, and Governor Ghorondine.[14g]
Within the Webway the Masque of the Dance Without End locate an intersection where the Crystal Labyrinth of Tzeentch was overtaking the passages. The masque perform a slow and sombre dance falling to slumber and projecting their dreaming selves into the twisted mirrors to fight the invading Daemons within their mirror domains.[14h]
Several Masques of the Shattered Mirage begin a campaign of violence against a Red Corsair-held Blackstone Fortress which lurks on the fringes of the Maelstrom. Together with a rogue faction of Yme-Loc Asuryani they retake the Talisman of Vaul.[14g]
The Great Unclean One Rotigus moves across the Maiden Worlds and Exodite Worlds of the Eastern Fringe, bringing with him the storm rot and foul waters of the Deluge of Nurgle. On each world so beset, the Masque of the Frozen Stars appear, fighting their way to each planet's World Spirit to perform dances of startling beauty which move all present Aeldari to tears. With their tears cleansing waters that glow like moonlight sweep across the landscapes in monsoons to undo the corruption of Nurgle.[14g] Rumours spread among the Exodites that if enough Eldar weep for their Maiden Worlds their combined sorrow might somehow release the goddess Isha from her imprisonment within Nurgle's foetid manse.[14g]
Explorator Fleet Ulm-Ohm-7 puts down upon a nameless world covered in ghostly ruins. There they are ambushed by the Death Jesters of the Masque of the Reaper's Mirth, who engage in a contest to inflict the most iconic demise, culminating in an act of sabotage where five-hundred Skitarii are crushed instantaneously by the collapse of a void-shield generator.[14g]
The Imperial Agri-World of Methuselax is overrun by a splinter-fleet of Hive Fleet Hydra, risking the critical Webway that sits at its south pole. The Masque of the Soaring Spite lead an airborne coalition of Saim-Hann Asuryani with Drukhari Wyches to destroy the threat, leaping from Starweavers onto the carapaces of brood-beasts and back before igniting plasma charges. Casualties are high, but the Hive Sheets abandon the planet leaving behind a Dead World but a safe Webway Gate.[14g]
The souls of the destroyed Craftworld of Theminarae call to the Harlequins to lay their souls to rest now that the Warp Storms which covered their world have abated. Upon the craftworld, the Harlequins slay Human Chaos Cultists and encounter Dark Angels before discovering the world is a Tomb World – together with the Imperium they destroy the awakening Necron force.[40]
Iron Warriors lead by the Sorcerer Gharros raise a fastness known as the Indomitasmium on the Death World of Toros before they are beset by the Masque of the Silent Shroud who clear the fortress chamber by chamber, an eerie silence befalling the Indomitasmium which renders those within it deaf, blind, and dumb. Weeks pass as the Harlequins accept painful losses to upkeep their siege, driving cultists mad with terror. Gharros launches a final breakout attempt, but is stymied as the Shadowseers steal the words to his summoning ritual from his mouth before he speaks them. As the Iron Warriors prepare to make a last stand at their landing craft, Craftworld Iyanden arrives to unleash orbital bombardment.[14g]
Masques
Harlequins have no formal leaders, being a collective of like-minded players each profoundly aware of their role.[14b] They perform around the galaxy as Masques. Each masque is a company comprised of Troupes and specialist performers.[1] Each Harlequin performs their role, even on the battlefield in the Saedath, such that Masques function with brutal efficiency, able to operate with extreme cohesion and coordination despite lacking a formal military chain of command and having little direction upon the battlefield.[14b]
In a similar way, each Masque performs a role with the greater Grand Masques, joining with other Masques that perform the Mythic Cycles to enact Cegorach's will throughout the webway and beyond.[14b]
The Classical Structure of a Masque[14d]
- Great Harlequins[2a] (ardathair)[1]
- Troupe Masters[14d] (athair)[1]
- Shadowseer[2a] (athesdan and esdainn)[1]
- Death Jesters[1] (aargorach)[1]
- Mimic[1] (athistaur)[1]
- Skyweavers[14d]
- Starweavers[14d]
- Voidweavers[14d]
- Solitaire[1] (arebennian)[1] - The Soloist
Saedath
Each of the Masque's mythic plays has a battlefield counterpart, known as the Saedath or Masque Form. Essentially a strategic battle plan with an allegorical aspect, these inform target priority, overall strategy, and by which troupe division the conflict will be led. The appropriate Saedath is chosen based upon mythic cycles, ritual significance, or even the time of day.[14b] Cegorach's Revenge is the most performed Saedath by all Harlequins. It is the military counterpart of the Fall of the Eldar.[14b] Other Saedaths are performed less often, and yet others are performed by a particular Masque.[14f]
The Dance Without End
"The Dance" is the greatest of the Harlequins' plays. Its Saedath, Cegorach's Revenge, tells of the Fall of the Eldar. It is performed rarely as only Solitaires (who often stay distant from even the rest of the Harlequins) are capable of playing the role of Slaanesh. Nine troupers dance the part of the old race, while three Avatars dance the part of the Fallen Gods. As the dance reaches the climax of the Fall, the Solitaire leaps into view, appearing as Slaanesh.[1]
One by one, seven figures appear behind Slaanesh to mingle with the old race. First are four Mimes, appearing as daemons who pass their sensual and disturbing movements to the rest of the dancers. Secondly come three dark figures, the Death Jesters, their suits displaying skeletons as they leap and slay among the fallen gods, bringing their inert forms to the feet of Slaanesh. As the last god falls, the Warlocks emanate a psychic scream that echoes through the minds of the audience. The scream becomes a laugh of madness and depravity. As the High Avatar enters, there is within the laugh, another, ironic laugh. As the Laughing God, he strolls casually onstage, laughing at the cosmic folly of the fallen. For a moment he is lost among Slaanesh's servants, then leaps clear of their tumbling to face them. One of the dancers he drags free of Slaanesh, the writhing figures on the dancer's suit dissolving and taking on the lozenge pattern of the Laughing God. The rest of Slaanesh's servants fall or flee, at which point Slaanesh confronts the Laughing God. The battle, which seems to go on forever, ends suddenly, unresolved.[1]
In the year before M42, the Tale of the Fall altered instead prophesying the coming of Ynnead and the Rhana Dandra.[14g] Some Masques have introduced Ynnead to their cast, a twilight role cast variably as a saviour, liar, or fool and time-waster depending on the masque.[14g]
Notable Grand Masques
- Masque of the Dance Without End[7b]
- Masque of the Dreaming Shadow[7b]
- Masque of the Frozen Stars[7a]
- Masque of the Midnight Sorrow[7c]
- Masque of the Reaper's Mirth[7b]
- Masque of the Shattered Mirage[7b]
- Masque of the Silent Shroud[7b]
- Masque of the Soaring Spite[7b]
- Masque of the Twisted Path[7b]
- Masque of the Veiled Path[7b]
Technology
Harlequins possess several distinctive pieces of costuming/equipment, most notably their Agaith: false-faces. These masks come with various Eldar forms of auto-senses and respirators, and, with the exception of the blank Shadowseer masks, are highly ornamented. Avatars typically possess a more advanced version equipped with holo-generators that allows it to not only adopt numerous styles, but record and replay whatever the Harlequin has seen. This is normally used to replay the death-agonies of enemies... to other enemies. These morale-breaking devices are called marathags ("Face of Death").[1]
Even compared to other Eldar, Harlequins are graceful and lithe; they augment this natural prowess with so-called 'flip-belts' that generate a small anti-gravitic field around them and allow them to leap unnaturally high. They also wear holo-suits; sophisticated substitutes for armour that also aid theatrical performance. When set to battle-conditions, whenever the Harlequin moves, their image is shattered into a cloud of crystal shards that dance and swirl around with vigour proportional to the speed the Harlequin is moving.[1]
Harlequins are also noted for their exotic and deadly combat weapons. The most gruesome of these is the Harlequin's Kiss, which resembles a sharpened tube, tapering to a wicked point, fixed to a warrior's forearm. The tube is actually filled with monofilament wires. When the Kiss is punched into a victim, the wires uncoil and flail around, slicing the victim apart from the inside.[1]
Harlequins are taught a means to navigate the currents of the Webway without a map, which they teach to the White Seers.[41] Although Solitaires are said to be the only Harlequins which know the correct paths to the Black Library of Chaos whose routes they guard.[3]
Harlequins, unlike Craftword or Exodite Eldar, do not wear or use spirit stones to preserve their souls from being devoured by Slaanesh upon their death. Instead, the Harlequins possess a secret that allows their souls to escape Slaanesh's jaws. However, it's not a secret they're willing to share with their wider Eldar kin.[11a]
Acquisition
Harlequin forces will on occasion use Imperial Robots and vehicles, including the Rhino and Land Raider, which they bedeck in banners of their Masque, festoon with gaily coloured bunting, and repaint in their distinctive colours and patterns including garish stripes, dots, and multicoloured lozenges.[33] These assets are acquired by various means, including looting, and are abandoned when they break down. Acquired robots are sometimes used in performance of The Dance, a clumsy and amusing counterpoint to the grace of the harlequins.[1]
Notable Locations
- Arcadia[39a]
- The Black Library of Chaos[14e]
- Cegorach's Pavilion of Mirth[14e]
- The Maze of Whispers[14g]
Notable Harlequins
- Ailill Nuada, Shadowseer of the Conclave of Tears[22]
- Duruthiel, Great Harlequin of the Masque of the Fading Dawn[15]
- Idraesci Dreamspear, Great Harlequin of the Masque of the Midnight Sorrow
- Jewyadin[25]
- Kelseth[26]
- Kle'eyr[27]
- Kyganil[16]
- Lathrangil[1]
- Lavena the Joyful[39b]
- Lhaerial Rey, Shadowseer of the of the Masque of the Ceaseless Song[24]
- Lord of Thorns,[30]
- Motley[28]
- Ni'iless[29]
- Sylandri Veilwalker, Shadowseer of the Masque of the Veiled Path[23]
- Yvraelle[39a]
Notable Vehicles
- Viorag Naggath ("ship of fools") – Voidship lost to the Warp[43]
Images
Harlequin Troupe (7th Edition)
Development History
 |
In an interview for White Dwarf, Jes Goodwin, the original designer and sculptor of the Space Elf line,[36] explained that as Harlequins introduced in September 1988 predate the Craftworld Eldar Aspect Warriors introduced in July 1990, as the Aeldari infantry elite in Rogue Trader, and making them arguably the first distinct Eldar faction.[36]
Like their Craftworld and Commorrite brethren, the Harlequins are a distinct and separate force whose equipment and vehicles echo their kin, in part to maintain the faction's distinct Aeldari identity but which also hints at common ancestors of equipment, ur-weapons, and patterns of vehicles from before the fall of the great Aeldari Empire.[36]
See also
Sources
- 1: Warhammer 40,000: Compendium: pgs. 184 - 198
- 2: Codex: Eldar (2nd Edition):
- 3: Realm of Chaos: Slaves to Darkness, pg. 215
- 4: Black Library: Masque of Vyle Novella (last accessed 20 March 2015)
- 5: Games-Workshop Solitaire (last accessed 20 March 2015)
- 6: White Dwarf 57 (2015) — "Codex: Apocrypha"
- 7: Codex: Harlequins (7th Edition), (E-Book):
- 8: White Dwarf 55 (2015):
- 9: White Dwarf 54 (2015):
- 10: White Dwarf 56 (2015):
- 11: Codex: Harlequins (7th Edition):
- 12: Atlas Infernal (Novel), Foreword
- 13: Codex: Chaos Daemons (8th Edition), pg. 64 - The Last Dance
- 14: Codex: Harlequins (8th Edition):
- 15: Heirs of the Laughing God: A Deadly Wit (Audio Drama), Track 2
- 16: Warhammer Community: Heroes, Heretics and a Squirrel (posted 4/4/2020) (last accessed 4/2/2020)
- 17: Warhammer 40,000 9th Edition Rulebook, pg. 160
- 18: Kill Team 2021 Core Book, pg. 21 - Theatres of War
- 19: Warhammer Combat Cards, card description
- 20: Lelith Hesperax: Queen of Knives (Novel), Chapters 2-3
- 21: Ahriman: Undying (Novel), Prologue
- 22: Deathwatch: The Outer Reach, pgs. 62–63
- 23: Iyanden: A Codex: Eldar Supplement (E-Book), pg. 48
- 24: Throneworld (Novel), Chapters 4-6
- 25: Warhammer 40,000: Rites of War — Scenario Six: To Walk Through Crystal Dreams
- 26: Warhammer+ The Exodite (Last accessed on 1/24/2024)
- 27: Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II - Retribution — The Dance Blade of Kle'eyr, wargear selection screen
- 28: The Masque of Vyle (Novella), ch. 1
- 29: Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Soulstorm: Eldar Campaign — Ni'iless, Honour Guard unit info
- 30: Kill Team: Commanders, pg. 11
- 31: Ghost Warrior: Rise of the Ynnari (Novel), Chapter 1
- 32: Gathering Storm: Fracture of Biel-Tan"
- 33: White Dwarf 105 (UK):
- 34: White Dwarf 107 (UK), pg. 47
- 35: White Dwarf 511, pgs. 58-65
- 36: White Dwarf 127 (2016), pgs. 9-10
- 37: Warhammer 40,000: Rites of War Instruction Manual, pg. 57 (last accessed 12/2/2025)
- 39: Dawn of War: Tempest (Novel):
- 40: Revelations (Comic Series) – Issue 2
- 41: The Curse of Shaa-Dom (Short Story)
- 42: Warhammer 40,000: Death Masque, pgs. 2-18
- 43: Warhammer Monthly 27 – Pariah: The Daemon Heart
Uncited
 |
- Codex: Dark Eldar (5th Edition), pg. 42
| Harlequin Forces | |
|---|---|
| Command | Great Harlequin • High Warlock • Mimic |
| Specialists | Shadowseer • Death Jester • Solitaire |
| Troops | Trouper • Troupe Master • Mime |
| Vehicles | Harlequin Dreadnought • Harlequin Jetbike • Skyweaver • Starweaver |
| Heavy Support | Voidweaver |
| Fortifications | Webway Gate |
