Vaul
Vaul, also known as the Master Smith and the Creator, was the Eldar God of craft and industry[7]. He was brother to the Phoenix King Asuryan[6], and uncle to Kurnous and Isha[7]. It is told that Vaul was without morality, and that his singular purpose was beauty, rather than truth.[14] He gave the Eldar inventiveness, which the aeldari artisans and bonesingers have used to forge wondrous creations, from the glittering structures, imposing statues, and sparkling forests that sprout from a craftworld's wraithbone core to fortress-shattering Engines of Vaul[7].
Contents
History
The War in Heaven
The Dance of Asuryan
This deity was acclaimed to be a craftsman without peer and it was said that he was without morality with his singular purpose being beauty rather than truth.[5] After the Phoenix King Asuryan banished the Eldar from the Heavenly Realms to the Mortal Lands, both Kurnous and Isha came to their uncle Vaul as they were both dismayed for being separated from their children.
Thus, they asked Vaul to aid them in finding a means to regain contact with their offspring and, according to legend, the Smith God took the tears of Isha, from which he fashioned the first Spirit stones. Through such a means, the Eldar were able to communicate with their gods despite being separated from one another and though Asuryan had banished them. Vaul gave one of the spirit stones to Isha whilst the rest were given to her children so that they could speak to one another in secret. Through these secret exchanges, the Eldar learnt from their parents how to use runes and create skeletal structures from Wraithbone.[1a]
However, Kaela Mensha Khaine one day overheard Isha talking through the stone to the Eldar and informed Asuryan himself who was enraged that his command was broken. To punish the perpetrators, he had Kurnous and Isha given over to Khaine to do with as he pleased. But Vaul could not see any harm done to them and thus struck a bargain with the War God who agreed to release the pair in exchange for a thousand enchanted blades within a year's time. The Smith God worked long and hard, he managed to forge all the Swords of Vaul except the last one that lay unfinished on his anvil. In order to trick Khaine, Vaul substituted the last blade with a mortal one, which he delivered to the War God who released his two captives, whereupon the three departed. Khaine was quick to discover the subterfuge and cried out in rage where he called the Smith God a cheat whilst vowing revenge.[1a]
The Dream of Asuryan
After this event Vaul returned in order to reforge the unfinished blade that was intended for Khaine.[1b] In the last days of the War in Heaven, the weapon was reworked into a blade that he named Anaris.[4] With it by his hand, he moved to fight with the War God in a series of battles after being caught by him.[1b] Vaul used Anaris to fight against Khaine in a long and hard battle where he managed to wound his foe but, despite his injuries, the War God's fury managed to overpower the Smith God who was toppled from the heavens. It is said that the result of this fall crippled Vaul, and his final defeat came when Khaine chained him to his own anvil, thus leading to the War God's victory in the War in Heaven.[4] The sword of the now-crippled Vaul was later taken by Khaine who used it to slay Eldanesh.[1b]
Further Events
During the War in Heaven Vaul created the Iron Knights[6], which gave him enough respite to create powerful weapons known as the Talismans of Vaul. Housings for souls of Eldar Seers felled in the War in Heaven they could channel themselves into the Eyes of the Witch, a gift from Morai-Heg to channel energy boundless directly from the immaterium[6]. They could be to be used to destroy the C'tan, should they reawaken.[3b]
Following the emergence of Slaanesh, the majority of the Eldar deities died and were absorbed by this new Chaos God with Khaine and Cegorach being the only known survivors.[2b] Despite this being the case, the wraithsmiths of Craftworld Kaelor held Vaul as their most potent patron with Gwrih the Radiant building many monuments to honour his name.[5]
An Eldar artefact called The Awakening was discovered by the Imperium of Mankind on 2343724.M41 at Rahe's Paradise and was studied by Sister Superior Meritia of the Order Dialogous that concerned the ancient Necrontyr. According to it, "the Vaul-Moon shall bring forth the Dragon" and the Sister's annotations led her to determine that Vaul was the Eldar God of the Forge who was a blasphemous deity that was crippled both physically and spiritually. Her analysis led her to conclude that a "Vaul-Moon" was the Eldar equivalent of a Forge World.[3a]
Recently, many of the feared Talismans of Vaul had been destroyed by the machinations of the Deceiver.[3a]
Notable Creations
- Dominion Genesis vessels - Said to be gifts from Vaul to the Aeldari people so that they might make a garden of the galaxy.[9]
- Blackstone Fortresses - These Talismans of Vaul are said to have been created by the Eldar before the Fall to defeat the Ynir if they ever rose again.[12]
- Crone Swords - Craft from the talons of Morai-Heg's severed hand. From the bones of her five fingers the five Crone Swords were crafted and scattered across the Aeldari Empire.[10][13]
- Asha'qui - A blade tested on Vaul's anvil.[8]
- Swords of Vaul[1a]
See also
Sources
- 1: Warhammer 40,000: Compilation:
- 2: Codex: Eldar (2nd Edition):
- 3: Codex: Necrons (3rd Edition):
- 4: Codex: Eldar (4th Edition), pg 43
- 5: Eldar Prophecy (Novel),
[Help], pg. 150 - 6: Eldar Mythology
- 7: Codex: Aeldari (10th Edition), pg. 13
- 8: Psychic Awakening: Phoenix Rising, pg. 51
- 9: Dominion Genesis (Novel), The Fane, Chapter Two
- 10: The Gathering Storm Companion, pg. 53
- 11: Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II - Retribution: Sword of Dawnlight, wargear selection screen
- 12: Codex: Necrons (3rd Edition), pg. 31
- 13: Gathering Storm: Fracture of Biel-Tan, pg. 39
- 14: Eldar Prophecy (Novel) – Appendix
