Arlathan Has Fallen
Disclaimer: I do not own Warhammer, Warhammer 40,000 or Dragon Age. Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 are owned by Games Workshop. Dragon Age is owned by BioWare. This is a work of pure fiction from my own imagination.
Chapter Zero
Deep in the Koronous Expanse, far from the Imperium of Man's prying eyes, on a remote world lost long ago twelve Eldar Corsair ships appeared. As always the Eldar act with purpose and goal, and here above this lost world, the Eldar's goal was to be realised.
On the bridge of the lead Eldar Corsair ship, the Memory of Lament, the air was filled with anger and intensity. The Black Prince of Slinnar, the Corsair Lord of the Balestorm Avengers, Ebahn Lauma tapped his foot angrily as he shot The Stormchaser, Pirate Prince Caeluthin Baharrudor of the Twilight Swords a vile gaze. Caeluthin narrowed his gaze at Ebahn and shook his head.
'I would not be here if it were not for the insistence of Farseer Erandel Voidsinger,' Prince Ebhan Lauma said bitterly.
'And had Farseer Ela'Ashbel not requested my presence in this matter, I would not be here,' Caeluthin retorted.
'I am sorry to interrupt your little squabble, but we have more pressing matters,' Ilistaneth Anturien, Bloody Hand of the Crow Spirits spoke, 'If what the Farseers said was true, then there is something important from our past Empire, which is on that planet below and we must recover it, before some hapless Rogue Trader, Ork Freebooter or worse stumbles upon it.'
'Huh,' sighed Caeluthin, 'I will put aside my differences and past history with Ebahn Lauma, so long as he does the same.'
'Sure, why not,' Ebahn Lauma said and the two Eldar Corsairs brooked an uneasy peace between the two of them.
'Now that we can move on,' Ilistaneth spoke, 'We can get down to business.'
Ilistaneth turned to two Eldar who were standing behind him and addressed them. The first was a female Eldar Corsair.
'Badb Ra, I want you to take a scouting party of Rangers down to the southern swamps, we should establish our base camp there,' Ilistaneth spoke.
'It will be done,' Badb Ra said in the warmest tone she could muster.
Ilistaneth turned to the other Eldar. He was Void Dreamer Caille, who performed a role similar to a Farseer, but was not a Farseer.
'Caille, take some troops and investigate this part of the southern forest,' Ilistaneth said as he pointed to a section on the holographic map, 'It would seem that there is a large amount of wraithbone there.'
'It shall be as dictated,' Caille said with a bow and signaled for a number of Crow Spirit Corsairs to follow him.
'Well while you are frolicking in the forests,' Caeluthin said with an arrogant smirk as he checked the sheath for his power sword, 'I'll lead my warriors to this large tower on the island of that lake. It looks interesting.'
'Just don't get too carried away that you lose sight of the mission,' Ebahn Lauma chided.
'And you, O Black Prince of Slinnar, what will you do?' Caeluthin mused with a laugh.
'I was thinking of paying a little visit to a Mon-Kiegh settlement on the coast line here,' Ebahn Lauma said happily.
From the Memory of Lament and the other Eldar Corsair ships flew out a number of landers, packed full of Corsair Warriors, ground vehicles and prefabricated base structures. It was under the cover of night that the Eldar landers set down near their destinations. Badb Ra's forces would construct a headquarters in the southern swamps; a secondary, research base would be established in the eastern forests, while the two Corsair Princes would do as they pleased, probably raiding and pillaging what trinkets they could find off of the locals.
This world, would be classified by the Imperium of Man as a feudal world, with a pre-black powder level of technology. However, the Inquisition, namely the witch-hunters would have a field day here and so would the Ordos Xenos and the Ordo Malleus, what with all the demons, rogue psychers, Elves and Qunari running loose. However, the Eldar were not too concerned with all of that. There were here for something else, something more ancient and mysterious.
Ilistaneth boarded a shuttle belonging to the Crow Spirits and departed from the Memory of Lament. He returned to his own starship, the Fate's End. Ilistaneth had his own orders from the mysterious leadership of the Crow Spirits. Ilistaneth was a Kaelamen—or Bloody Hand, a term used by the Crow Spirits to refer to one of the two chief advisors to a Crow Spirit ship Craftmaster and he served as a body guard and war advisor to the captain. As he walked to the bridge of the Fate's End to inform the Craftmaster, he wondered why the Craftmaster had not sent the Istaurmen—or Silent Hand, the other of the two advisors a Craftmaster had—to deal with the planning. The Istaurmen was skilled in diplomacy, intelligence gathering, and spying. Then again, the Craftmaster had probably already deployed the Istaurmen to the planet below.
The Kaelamen stepped onto the bridge of the Fate's Hand and greeted the Craftmaster.
'What news do you bring?' the Craftmaster asked of Ilistaneth.
'I bring word that the Black Prince of Slinnar and Prince Baharrudor have come to an agreement and are willing to work together,' Ilistaneth said.
'Good,' the Craftmaster said, 'I would hate to have to remind the two of them why we are here.'
Ilistaneth looked at the Craftmaster for a moment. He could tell that the Craftmaster knew more than he was letting on. That was typical for the Craftmaster, the mysterious leaders of the Crow Spirits usually entrusted vital information to the Craftmaster only. Ilistaneth continued to look at the craft master and then ventured to speak.
'Sir,' Ilistaneth said.
'Yes,' the Craftmaster said as he sat down in his command chair and looked out onto the planet below.
'Is this world, is it a Maiden World?' Ilistaneth asked with some hesitation.
A slight smirk crossed the face of the Craftmaster, 'You could say that.'
That was the most that Ilistaneth would be getting from the Craftmaster. Any other information was strictly on a need to know premise and Ilistaneth would either be told when it became relevant for him to know or would not. He had learned long ago to accept that fact. Besides, information and knowledge of the past and history of this world was not his concern, rather it was the planning and strategies for the warriors that Ilistaneth would concern himself with.
'Tell me, how go the deployments?' the Craftmaster asked.
'Badb Ra and the rangers are establishing a base in the southern swamplands, Void Dreamer Caille has taken a force to the eastern woods as you instructed and will set up a research facility at the ruins like you instructed,' Ilistaneth spoke.
'What of the actions of Baharrudor?' the Craftmaster asked.
'He is leading his forces to a tower on an island near the shore of a large lake,' Ilistaneth answered.
'Huh,' the Craftmaster said, 'Typical, always after treasure and driven by moods of desire and whim. I hope that he can see the greater goal and stay focused on this path, lest he lead us astray.' The Craftmaster turned his gaze to Ilistaneth and said with instruction, 'Make sure that Baharrudor does not forget the mission and if need be, you might have to pick up his slack.'
'Understood, Craftmaster,' Ilistaneth answered.
'Now what of Ebahn Lauma, where doth he take his forces to?' the Craftmaster said as he returned his gaze to the planet.
'He takes his forces to an eastern city,' Ilistaneth spoke, 'I believe he intends to raid and plunder.'
'The Balestorm Avengers are not given to whim and fancy as such like the Twilight Swords are,' the Craftmaster spoke, 'I sense that Ebahn Lauma is following orders of the Conclave of Tears.'
'The Conclave of Tears?' Ilistaneth asked, he had not heard of the Conclave of Tears before.
'They are an order made up of Corsairs, Craftworld Eldar, Dark Eldar and Harlequins dedicated to averting the Dark Pattern in what the Mon-Kiegh call the Jericho Reach. You need not concern yourself with this order,' the Craftmaster told Ilistaneth, 'Just know that they exist.'
'Will do as you instruct,' Ilistaneth answered.
'Good, but I sense that I should have someone keep an eye on Ebahn Lauma, he has a knack for being secretive at times,' the Craftmaster said, half to himself, 'I wonder if that is why the Conclave of Tears selected him.'
Ilistaneth assumed that the last part of the Craftmaster's words were meant for the Craftmaster himself and not for Ilistaneth's ears.
'Know this,' the Craftmaster spoke with seriousness in his voice, 'Ebahn Lauma cares deeply for his charges, many of them he has saved from being consumed and lured to the Dark City. He is not one to mess around, whilst secretive, he does not fool around. Remember that.'
'Aye,' Ilistaneth said, 'Is there anything else you would ask of me?'
'No,' the Craftmaster spoke, 'You may ready the troops and plan your expedition to the ruins north of the southern swamps.'
'I will make ready then,' Ilistaneth said and left the Craftmaster.
The Craftmaster gazed out onto the planet below, and narrowed his gaze slightly. If the mysterious leaders were correct, along with the visions that Farseer Ela'Ashbel had were correct also, then this was the location of something very special and important to the Eldar. What it was the Craftmaster could only guess at, but he assumed it must be a relic from before the Fall, before the advent of She Who Thirsts, back when the Eldar Empire spanned the galaxy. Indeed if this was the case, than the artefact must be a powerful one, one that might be able to change the course of the events in the Jericho Reach, drive back the Tyranids, the Tau and the Imperium of Man and the forces of Chaos.
The Craftmaster wondered if it was a weapon, one lost to the Eldar for generations, or if it might be some technology or even if it might be psychic techniques long ago lost and forgotten. Possibly a copy of some tome that the only current known copy resided in the Black Library. However there was something else that troubled the Craftmaster.
It was not the thought that forces from the Craftworld of Kaelor might arrive, he would welcome the assistance, nor that there might be a Harlequin about, for that would aid in the scouting, no rather he was afraid that the Dark Kin might be here as well. Since the Conclave of Tears was made up of the four major Eldar Factions, the Dark Eldar were one of those four. The Craftmaster knew the Dark Eldar and their decrepit ways were a blight on the Eldar, and anything the Children of the Dark City were after, any motives they had were either for their own Kabal's ultimate goal or some scheme concocted by Asdrubael Vect, the Supreme Overlord of Commorragh. The Craftmaster hoped that the Dark Eldar would not appear, for if so, things would get more complicated and he did not want that. It was hard enough not having Ebahn Lauma and Caeluthin Baharrudor at each other's throats.
Yet the Craftmaster turned his attention once more to the planet below. It had been discovered on accident by a group of Eldar Rangers who were travelling via warp gate. The Rangers had scouted the planet slightly. Ilistaneth was partially right about this world being a Maiden World, there were Eldar Exodites here, but not as any Eldar would recognize them. The Rangers had learned some information on this world that the locals called Thedas. There were Mon-Kiegh, along with those abhumans called Squats along with another race that seemed to be indigenous called Qunarri. Yet what most intrigued the Craftmaster, his mysterious leaders and the Eldar Rangers who had discovered Thedas, were the Exodites that called themselves Elves.
These Exodites, these Elves, were not as tall as a normal Eldar, they were lean and thin like an Eldar, but they were shorter, and looked frailer than the dog-like Stryxis. The thing about these Eldar was that they lived in squalor, under the heel of the Mon-Kiegh who ruled this world. The Rangers had encountered a group of these Elves who lived in nomadic caravans, and in a way and manner similar to most typical Exodites. These nomadic Elves called themselves the Dalish. The Rangers had talked at length with one Clan's Keeper, a woman by the name of Marethari. The Keepers were similar to a Farseer, but had strong political power in their clan. Keepers used psychic powers that were drawn from the Warp, though the Elves called the Warp the Fade and the Veil. But still they faced Daemons like all psykers did, the chance that a Daemon might over take them.
Most of the stories the Dalish told were about how their ancestors were enslaved by the Mon-Kiegh and forced to leave their homeland and become wanderers. Avenging them was the job of Craftworld Eldar, so the Craftmaster, whilst he did feel for their plight, it was not his place to intervene, well he might turn a few of the primitive Mon-Kiegh cities into glass ruins. But no, it was up to the Craftworld Eldar to reestablish the Eldar civilisation here. The one thing that interested the Craftmaster was though, the tales of where the Elves said they originally came from. The storyteller for the Dalish told a story of a land called Arlathan, where the Elves had an advanced civilisation and lived for ages upon ages.
The Craftmaster remembered long ago, when he was a child, being told tales of an Eldar World called Arlathan. The stories went that Arlathan was a powerful world of the Eldar, but far enough from the heart of the empire that it was able to escape the birth of Slannesh. Arlathan was said to retain the old technology of the Eldar Empire. The Craftmaster wondered if maybe Arlathan did fall, not from Slannesh's birth, but rather from lack of resources. The Eldar had probably opened up a portal and left Arlathan. Thus these Elves were refugees from Arlathan. That must be what the Farseers of Kaelor, the Conclave of Tears and the Craftmaster's own mysterious masters were after. They wanted the portal to Arlathan and to reclaim Arlathan for the Eldar.
Deep in the Periphery Subsector of the Calixis Sector, two Torture-Class Cruisers finished their assault on an Adeptus Mechanicus carrier. Dark Eldar slaver boats returned to the cruisers, their storage bays laden full of ill-gotten booty and loot. Exploritors and Tech-Priests were led in chains from the slaver boats and through the landing bay to holding pens for their transport to the slave pits of the Nexus of Shadows. However, there was a Navigator, an abhuman with the ability to see through the Warp with their third eye and could guide the massive vessels of the Imperium of Man across the void.
The Navigator, in her tattered robes was dragged away from the procession train of Tech-Priests. Two Dark Eldar Srybites pulled her to a lift and took her to the bridge. She was dragged before an elaborate and grotesque throne of thorns and blades. The Navigator looked about the room. The vaulted domed room was filled with black-indigo armoured guards with black eyes that gazed into her very soul. There, in this cold room, sitting on the throne was a lithe, beautiful, and somewhat scantily clad Eldar Archon. The Archon she looked at the navigator and smiled. She waved her delicate hand and the Srybites dropped her onto the floor.
A wicked looking being approached her, it was carrying a dangerous looking device. The creature clasped the device to the Navigator's head.
'Alright Mon-Kiegh, let's see where you were going,' the creature spat in a vile voice.
The machine activated and pain shot through the Navigator's head. She dropped to the ground and screamed in agony. From her mind, the device extracted a series of images and displayed them as holograms for those in the chamber to view. The experience was such that the Navigator expired. But this was acceptable for the Dark Eldar Archon.
The Archon she stood up and looked at her crew.
'We are going to this world, we will have a glorious battle! THIS IS A RAID!' she shouted.
Her words were met with the clamouring of weapons and the cheers of her Kabalite Warriors. The Archon had seen what she had wanted to see from the vision that the Navigator had given. It seemed to be the source of where the Adeptus Mechanicus had been harvesting some wraithbone from.