Zaisuthra
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The following paragraphs contain spoilers for: | Ghost Warrior: Rise of the Ynnari (Novel) |
Zaisuthra was an Eldar craftworld which fled deep into the void to escape the Great Cataclysm and developed in isolation, separate from the culture and organisation of other craftworlds. Its inhabitants did not follow the Path, but continued to worship the dead gods of the Eldar Pantheon.[1a]
History
Zaisuthra was able to escape the Fall of the Eldar and developed inside the Webway in isolation. They continued to worship the Eldar Gods save Cegorach and Ynnead, and were said to even be immune to the predations of Slaanesh thanks to their collective "groupmind".[1f] The Craftworld became the subject of myth for the rest of Eldar civilization, and was said to contain the Gate of Malice which led to the Well of the Dead, the tomb of Eldanesh.[1a]
Later in M42, Ynnari leader Yvraine met with Eldrad Ulthran and Iyanna Arienal, who informed her of the lost Craftworld; she was searching for the tomb of Eldanesh in order to collect the last Cronesword. Yvraine agreed to lead an expedition to discover Zaisuthra alongside a force of Iyanden forces under Iyanna.[1b] Eventually arriving into the Materium at Zaisuthra with the help of the Harlequins, the group met with the Guardian of the Craftworld, Sydari, who was kin of Iyanna's own noble house. Iyanna was shaken by the reality of Zaisuthra, whose inhabitants all shared a collective groupmind.[1c] They were welcomed into Zaisuthra, where they observed its dilapidated state and geriatric population. They soon discovered that the craftworld, despite protections against Slaanesh due to their groupmind, was secretly corrupted instead by genestealer cults.[1d]
Fighting quickly broke out across Zaisuthra between the Ynnari and genestealer-corrupted eldar. Iyanna was captured by Sydari and brought before a corrupted Avatar of Khaine, mutated into a hideous Tyranid bioform. Iyanna rejected joining the Genestealer Patriarchs brood as the rest of the Ynnari battled at Withershield.[1e] Iyanna refused to drink the Patriarch's blood and join the Cult after sensing the battle across the Craftworld. As the Ynnari swept through Zaisuthra to purge the corrupted Genestealer Eldar, Iyanna was able to kill Sydari with the Spear of Teuthlas before being overwhelmed by the power of the Genestealer Patriarch. Together with Yvraine, the two were able to summon Yncarne and send him directly into the groupmind of the craftworld. The Patriarch and most of the genestealer eldar were immediately killed in the resulting psychic feedback.[1f]
This destabilized the entire craftworld, which began to collapse. Yvraine, empowered by the souls of the dead Zaisuthrans, nearly lost herself to berserk bloodlust before the Visarch was able to bring her back. Rather than let Zaisuthra die, they decided to save it from destruction and purge the genestealers in order to preserve the Gate of Malice.[1g] The group was eventually able to reach the Gate of Malice within the craftworld and enter the Tomb of Eldanesh.[1h]
