Steersman

The Steersmen,^[1] also known as the Crewmembers and Crewman,^[2] are the operators of Eldar Titans.

Overview

Steersman of a Phantom Titan of Fir Lirithion^[2]

Steersmen are the pilot guides of the tremendous Eldar Titans. Steersmen are able to intermesh their consciousnesses with the collection of spirits that reside within the Infinity Circuit^[2] of each Titan becoming one with the machine^[1] – a spirit which grows with each new steersmen that joins the titan (as is reflected within their Spirit Seals^[2]). The links between the Titan's Infinity Circuit and their fellow Steersmen are intimate and all-sharing, which leads to some eccentricities: they answer each other's verbal questions with thoughts and speak each other's sentences in shared conversation.^[8]

Equipment

Phantom Titan Crewmembers of Titan Clan Fir Lirithion, in their jackets and coats.^[2]

Steersmen are easily identifiable by their distinct metal headbands inset with red Spirit Stones^[8] hewn from the tremendous stones of the carrecenad Infinity Circuit within the titans, which contain not just the soul of the original Lord-Phoenix who committed their soul to the titan through Soul-Grafting^[8] and souls of all Steersmen since. These headbands allow them to interface with their Eldar Titan and guide its Wraithbone body, and to link psychically with their fellow their fellow Steersmen during its operation. These headbands are ceremonially bonded with their skulls and root-like tendrils link the Spirit Stone to their brain,^[2] imbuing the titan with a portion of their soul: every Titan is a mixed gestalt of the Steersman that have guided it and the souls within it such that the most venerable of titans is also the most experienced and dangerous. Titans are most often passed down familial lines within Titan Clans, so these Infinity Circuits reflect in themselves generations of family.^[2]

Steersmen are also often seen wearing jackets and coats, the uniform of their Titan Clan which show the clan's runic symbol upon their left side and the rune itself emblazoned upon the back. In battle, steersmen wear close-fitting "boiler suits" which contain life-support systems and semi-adhesive boots which allow the members of the crew to move about the tubes and passageways that criss-cross the titan to reach the cockpit. Steersmen wear a second Spirit Stone upon their chest which, as with all Craftworld Eldar, guards their soul from Slaanesh upon their death.^[2]

Blood Relations

Steersmen most often belong to Titan Clans, families entrusted by the Craftworld to serve as the support for the maintenance and operation of a subset of a Craftworld's titans. The close-knit nature of the families enhance their communication between each other and even beyond death, a fact which further reinforces the notion that Steersmen should be of the same clan.^[2] For this reason, Titan Clan children are often raised from birth with the sole ambition of becoming a Steersman^[1] and to link with their ancestors within their titans^[2] and the Guardians which pilot War Walkers may be these Eldar taking their first steps towards the learning to pilot an Eldar Titan.^[5] Siblings which are not multiples within the Titan Clans are often split to become the Steersmen of sets of Revenant Titans, as such pairs enable the one-pilot Eldar Titans to hunt in packs.^[6]

Ancestral ties to the souls within a titan are not the only means to become a Steersman, although all means do seemingly require blood relations. In cases where an Eldar outlives a sibling, it is not uncommon for the dead sibling to be interred within an Eldar Titan so that the living sibling can become its Steersman.^[6] Wraithknights are exclusively created when twins are separated in this way.^[7] Twins and triplets are revered by all Eldar and are often the only other means outside of a Titan Clan for living Steersmen to create the close link required to pilot the greatest of Eldar Titans: the Phantom Titan.^[6]

Images

Saim-Hann Phantom Titan Steersman Farendis and his crew of fellow Steersmen.^[3]
Eldar Titan Steersman in a Revenant Titan^[6]
Saim-Hann Steersman in a Phantom Titan^[9]