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Exodites
Dragon Warrior vs
Exodite Dragon Warrior fighting a Space Marine of the Salamanders Legion during the
Great Crusade era
During The Fall, the degeneration of the Eldar did not proceed wholly without
resistance. Some Eldar, the more far-sighted, began to openly criticize the laxity
and perversity of their fellow citizens, and to warn against the effect of Chaos
cults. These people were mostly ignored or else treated as narrow-minded fools and
religious fanatics. Soon the general collapse of Eldar society convinced even the
most resolute amongst them that there would be no end to the reign of death and
depravity. Some decided to leave the Eldar homeworlds, and settle new planets free
of the creeping corruption. They were the ones still untainted by the touch of
Chaos, and by now they were few. These Eldar are known as the Exodites.
The Exodite worlds are generally considered backward and rustic compared to the
rest of the space-roaming Eldar (and thus are commonly thought to be the equivalent
of the Wood Elves instead of High Elves), although they still possess a good deal
of the Eldar's advanced technology. One of the pieces of technology they have
maintained is the Infinity Circuit, although on the Exodite worlds these are known
as World Spirits and exist in the form of grids of stone menhirs, obelisks, and
stone circles all crafted from psychoactive crystal. Despite the presence of some
technology, these worlds are often agricultural, however, and it is not uncommon
for groups of Exodites to exist in a primitive, nomadic state, living off roaming
herds of pastoral animals and seasonal harvests. This is the most common image of
the Exodite life among Craftworld Eldar. Many Craftworld Outcasts will find a
refuge among these Eldar, who are generally more accepting.
Many Craftworld Eldar regard the Exodites a sort of rural, backwater group that is
quaint at best. To others, the Exodites represent the foundation of a new Eldar
empire on the edge of the galaxy, composed of the descendants of those far-sighted
and strong-willed enough to escape the touch of Slaanesh. The Biel-tan Craftworld
is one of the chief proponents of the Exodite potential, and will often mobilize
its forces in defense of one of the scattered worlds.
Known Exodite militaries consist solely of the Exodite Dragon Knights. These Eldar
ride various types of reptilian mounts into battle and are known as Exodite Knights
and Lords. The Dragon Knights use a laser lance and wear carapace-style armor.
Asuryani Religion and Mythology

The Craftworld Aeldari cling tenaciously to their folklore and traditions. The
characters and events of ancient legend are commonly discussed and comparisons
drawn between mythic events and those of the present day.
Every Aeldari is familiar with the epic songs and dances that form their mythic
cycles, and references to these tales are immediately understood by others of their
race.
The principal characters of the mythic cycles are the gods, their mortal
descendants the Aeldari, and the monstrous adversaries they fought. The chief and
oldest of all the gods is Asuryan, the Phoenix King and leader of the pantheon. His
first brother is Kaela Mensha Khaine, the Bloody-Handed God. Khaine is the master
of both war and murder, and he symbolises wanton destruction and martial prowess.
Third of the greatest gods is Vaul, the crippled smith god who is often depicted
chained to his own anvil. Isha is the goddess of the harvest, from whom the Aeldari
race is descended.
The youngest goddess is Lileath the Maiden, mistress of dreams and fortune, whilst
the third of the trinity of Aeldari goddesses is Morai-Heg the Crone, an ancient
and withered creature who holds the fates of mortals inside a rune pouch made of
skin.
As well as the many gods there are countless mortal heroes descended from the gods,
who founded the great houses still echoed today upon the craftworlds. These include
the great hero Eldanesh, who was slain by Khaine and whose blood is said to drip
eternally from the war god's hands. Eldanesh had many descendants, the Eldanar, of
whom Inriam the Young was the last.
Rivals to Eldanesh were the descendants of his brother Ulthanash, whose bloodline
exists upon craftworld Iyanden to this day.
At the moment of its birth, Slaanesh decimated the Aeldari pantheon and stole the
gods' power, with only two of their number surviving the Fall of the Aeldari. The
Laughing God Cegorach escaped through guile, while Kaela Mensha Khaine, the
strongest and most warlike of the Aeldari deities, endured through might.
Slaanesh and the Bloody-Handed God fought a titanic battle in the Warp, and despite
Khaine's mastery of war, Slaanesh, glutted with stolen power from the souls of the
Aeldari and the other gods, eventually proved the stronger. But exhausted from the
struggle, Slaanesh could not destroy and consume the Aeldari god outright. Instead,
Khaine was rent into fragments.
Each shard of the war god came to rest within the wraithbone core of a craftworld,
where it took root and grew into an Avatar of the Bloody-Handed God. To this day,
these murderous Avatars of Khaine are still awoken by the craftworlds to lead the
Asuryani to war.
While the Aeldari still revere all the gods of the ancient pantheon and preserve
their stories within the mythic cycles, they do not call on them for aid or hope
for their intervention any longer.
However, a new god, Ynnead, the Aeldari god of death, who is not a part of the old
myth cycles, was long said to be forming from the souls of the Aeldari dead within
the Infinity Circuits of the Asuryani craftworlds. Ynnead's awakening was
dramatically accelerated during the Battle of Port Demesnus in 999.M41 by a ritual
undertaken by the Farseer Eldrad Ulthran.

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Exodites

Asuryani Religion and Mythology

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