Understanding the Origin Story of Warhammer’s Dark Elves
With over 20 years of passion for painting and collecting these intricate figures, I always seek to expand my knowledge on the rich lore behind each army. The ominous Drukhari, better known as Dark Eldar, have a particularly fascinating backstory tied to the fall of the ancient Aeldari empire.
In this article, I’ll tap into my years of experience analyzing warhammer lore to provide newcomers with a comprehensive guide to the origins of these sadistic raiders. Be sure to also check out our YouTube channel at Warhammer Universe for more great miniature content!
The Aeldari Empire Before the Fall
To grasp the reasons behind the Dark Eldar’s conception, we must first understand the history of their Aeldari ancestors. The Aeldari established a massive, galaxy-wide civilization spanning millions of planets at the peak of their power. With advanced machines handling all labor, these ancient space elves devoted themselves to pursuing various artistic endeavors and philosophical meditations.
Over time, however, many Aeldari became increasingly obsessed with chasing ever-more decadent sensations and hedonistic pleasures. Various pleasure cults emerged dedicated to achieving the height of physical and emotional ecstasy through wild, violent rites. Dissenting Aeldari fled to newly constructed Craftworlds to escape the rising tide of excess.
The Birth of Slaanesh
As Aeldari civilization descended into chaos, the metaphysical imprint of their unchecked decadence stirred a new Chaos God into being within the Warp. The Prince of Pleasure, Slaanesh, burst into existence – immediately devouring the souls of nearly the entire Aeldari race in one cataclysmic moment. The psychic shockwave of Slaanesh’s awakening blasted across the galaxy.
Surviving in the Webway
While most Aeldari perished from this psychic apocalypse, some isolated pockets survived. In particular, Aeldari locked away in the Webway dimension were shielded from Slaanesh’s soul-rending birth screams.
Though now called Drukhari in their tongue, these survivors became known as the Dark Eldar. They emerged from the Webway as terrifying raiders, fueled by an endless thirst to inflict suffering on others. For by bathing in the anguished psychic residue of their victims’ souls, Dark Eldar learned they could regenerate their essence and stave off consumption by the ever-hungry Slaanesh.
Biology: Adapting to the Dark City
Having forged the vast interdimensional metropolis of Commorragh deep within the Webway to serve as their dark capital, the physiology of these vicious Aeldari raiders gradually transformed over generations spent within its eternally twilit spires.
Pale Skin
Deprived of natural sunlight in the Dark City, Dark Eldar skin grew pale and translucent over time. Traces of underlying veins are often visible beneath the surface of their near-white flesh.
Enhanced Physicality
Compared even to their Craftworld counterparts, Dark Eldar are unaugmented by psychic machinery yet demonstrate markedly superior strength, speed and reactions. Their centuries of raiding and arena combat forge supremely lethal warriors.
Atrophied Psychic Talents
Unlike other Aeldari who actively harness psychic abilities through Spirit Stones and Wraithbone constructs, Dark Eldar have seen their innate gifts fade over time. With little access to the Warp in Commorragh and the risk of attracting Slaanesh’s notice, psychic powers are now virtually unknown among these cruel raiders.
Technology: Dark Matter and Anti-Grav Craft
Having severed ties with the psycho-reactive Wraithbone materials used by Craftworld kin, Dark Eldar design their distinctive wargear through masterful dark-matter engineering and physics-defying anti-gravity generators.
Scything shard weapons, splinter rifles, razorflails and other sinister armaments all rely on concentrated dark matter to slice or puncture their victims. The distinctive curves and bat-like profiles of Raiders and Ravagers allow these anti-grav skimmers to skim rapidly above the battlefield.
Webway Portals: Enabling Galaxy-Wide Raids
The immense, nebula-like expanse of the Webway threaded throughout the Warp allows the Dark Eldar to traverse immense interstellar distances with ease. By moving through the alternate dimension of the Webway rather than realspace, Drukhari ships can navigate around the galaxy far quicker than relying on cumbersome warp jumps.
Strategic Webway portals scattered across critical planets let raiding parties burst forth without warning, strike swiftly, and vanish back into the Webway maze before defences can respond.
This supreme maneuverability is key to the Dark Eldars’ dominance as pirates and slavers. Their advanced technology and sudden ambush tactics make them lethal adversaries for most other starfaring civilizations.
Culture: The Thirst for Suffering
Having found the anguish of captives can reinvigorate their fractured souls, a core pillar of Dark Eldar culture revolves around inflicting suffering to gather the psychic run-off from their victims. But rather than seeing torment as mere necessity, Drukhari actively relish and seek out ever-greater methods for causing fear and pain.
This bottomless thirst for anguish, called The Thirst in Drukhari culture, grows ever stronger over time. Dark Eldar Kabals endlessly raid and fight to capture fresh prisoners to torture and extract the vitalizing sting of suffering. Failure to regularly gorge on psychic agony causes Dark Eldar to rapidly age and have their souls drained by the Chaos God waiting to claim them.
Slaanesh – The Great Threat
The Chief God actively seeking to claim Dark Eldar souls is Slaanesh, the very entity birthed by their Aeldari ancestors yet still longing to consume the descendants who fled its birth. Should a Dark Eldar be slain without recently glutting themselves on others’ suffering, Slaanesh will hungrily ensnare their soul.
This dire threat keeps vicious competition and cruelty at the heart of Commorrite society, with Dark Eldar formations constantly warring to prove their superiority and gather more captives for their bodysuit-clad overlords.
Kabals, Cults and Covens
The shadowy cityscape of the Dark City swarms with a menagerie of lethal factions engaged in endless conflict. Major Drukhari sub-groups include the following:
- Kabals – The primary military arm of Commorragh, Kabals are dynastic houses of Drukhari raiders, slavers and mercenaries ruled by an Archon overlord. Warriors elevated to Trueborn status form the deadliest strike teams.
- Wych Cults – Groups of vicious Drukhari gladiatrices who hone their murder-skills in the arena pits of the Dark City. Deadly Wyches thrive under the harsh tutelage of their Succubus mistresses, and take to the battlefield clad in little armor.
- Covens – Congregations of Haemonculus flesh-sculptors who expertly mould living victims into horrific new forms to serve as Grotesque and Talos engine battle-thralls. The highly skilled torturer-surgeons of the Covens stand out from other Drukhari with their elongated headspikes and macabre flesh masks.
Alongside these major players are endless lesser slave gangs, exiled warrior bands, beast handler packs and more who battle for supremacy and resources in the Dark City’s murderously competitive cauldron.
Looking for a much more detailed deep dive into the Dark Eldar? We recommend viewing the Wiki page here
I hope this detailed foray into the origins of Warhammer 40k’s Dark Eldar has shed light on the shadowy past of these cruel Aeldari raiders! Let me know in the comments if you have any other questions on Drukhari lore or painting tips. And don’t forget to check Warhammer Universe over on YouTube for more miniature hobby guidance.
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