Chapter 1: First Contact
Eldrad Ulthran's mind was unlike anything else in the universe. It wasn't just because of his immense intelligence and cunning, but also because of the psychic powers that he possessed. While such abilities were relatively common among the Eldar race, Eldrad's were far, far greater than the rest of his species. The minds of all in the universe were an open book to him, and even more, he read their minds effortlessly, taking in the thoughts of beings throughout the universe with aplomb. Privately Eldrad relished having such power, as it made him feel like a God in his own right, being able to see the thoughts, dreams, and desires of billions, and yet at the same time his own mind was completely untouchable.
But for all of his mental strength he was not quite omniscient. Even Eldrad had a limit, and he could read the minds of all in the universe for only a set amount of time before he reached said limit. He also couldn't read the minds of those he did not know existed, or those who had become tainted by the evil of the Four Powers.
Which was why these new aliens that had been making non-stop attacks on his people still hadn't been defeated. Had he the ability to access their minds freely and without fear of reprisal from their unholy masters he would have already destroyed several fleets worth of the aliens with but a few psychic commands.
They called themselves the Covenant, and were a coalition of various aliens who had all very clearly pledged themselves to the Four Powers. Hence their war with Eldrad's race the Eldar, who had dedicated themselves to stopping the Four Powers and their armies of monsters at any cost.
Already the Eldar had encountered a few of the different races, and saw that each of them had pledged themselves to a different one of the Four Powers. The weakest were insectoid like aliens who flew through the air both planetside and in outer space. Though they exploded when shot just once by any of the Eldar's weapons, they came in swarms and flew in erratic patterns, making them difficult to hit. Judging from the foul smell they were also reported to give off along with their bodies apparently looking like they were decomposing, it was obvious that these "Drones" as the Eldar had dubbed them had pledged themselves to Nurgle, the Lord of Decay.
Next on the hierarchy were small, lithe avian creatures with sharpened teeth that were armed with energy shields that were surprisingly resistant to the Eldar's ballistic weaponry, so Eldar soldiers often had to resort to cutting them into pieces with their chainswords and other melee weapons, or alternatively just bashing their heads in with the butt ends of their guns. They all wore black with some purple, and many adorned themselves with jewelry, which suggested two things: one, that they were a wealthy race, and two that they had pledged themselves to Slaanesh, the most vile of the Four Powers and the personification of self-indulgence. The Eldar knew this particular Daemon Lord well, for it was their own decadence that had spawned the monster in the first place and given it strength enough to kill almost all of their Gods.
After the drones of Nurgle and the avians of Slaanesh, there were massive lumbering behemoths clad in heavy armor that most Eldar weaponry could not penetrate. Warp Cannons did the job, and explosives could damage their armor, but standard armaments often times bounced right off the giants armor. They had over one arm a mighty shield that could be used to deliver bone crushing blows that had already killed many Eldar in just one hit, and in place of their other arm was a massive cannon. The eldritch flames it shot along with the twisting and seemingly random pink stripes and designs on the behemoths sky blue armor both indicated an allegiance to Tzeentch, the Lord of Change.
Finally there was a race of bipedal humanoids with four mandibles who rivaled the Eldar in height when standing up fully. Some even managed to be taller. These beings were fearsome warriors, and many Eldar had already fallen under their plasma weaponry and energy swords. Even worse, these warriors had pledged themselves to not one of the Four Powers but all of them. Some worked for Khorne or Nurgle, others Slaanesh or Tzeentch. And they were by far the greatest of all of the Four Powers many servants.
In the short period of time they had been at war with them, the Eldar had suffered more losses against this "Covenant" than they had during the entirety of the last several decades of war with the Daemons. All of a sudden the Daemons had no less than four new races of servants with which to wage war against the Eldar.
Eldrad scowled. The Eldar had suffered too much already to be bested by some new arrivals to the war between Eldar and Daemons. No, they could not yield, not yet. And as long as just one of Eldrad's soulstones was intact, he knew that he personally would continue to fight, even if it was as a wraithguard and not as the leader of the Farseers. For he had been fighting longer than any other Eldar. He had been there to warn his people of how their growing depravity would condemn them all, and he was there when Fulgrim was corrupted by Slaanesh's evil. And he was still here now, using his incredible psychic abilities and strong tactical mind to see his fleet to victory after victory against the Daemon's latest playthings.
Eldrad allowed for a slight smile of grim satisfaction as he watched his fleet's ships utterly destroy the last of the Covenant vessels they had been fighting. So far while the Covenant had been managing to inflict high casualties on the Eldar, Eldrad's fleet had been faring well, all Covenant falling before either the turbolasers of the Eldar ships guns, or alternatively Eldrad's own psychic power destroying the minds of countless Covenant soldiers.
The latter could only be done sparingly though. Because the Covenant races had already given themselves over to the Four Powers Eldrad knew he could impose his will upon them only occasionally and with restraint, lest the Four Powers influence creep into his own mind and poison it from the inside out. The very idea of becoming another tool for the Four Powers to exercise their depravations sickened Eldrad to no end. So for the most part he was content to let his ships do the killing.
Once the Warps were activated, the innumerable ships of Eldrad's fleet vanished in an instant, off to another destination and to more fighting with the Covenant and their Daemon masters. They didn't have to search long before coming upon another Covenant fleet. The fleet didn't even need to be ordered to fire, and unleashed a hellstorm of ordnance on the Covenant ships in an instant. The surprise attack saw two of the Covenant corvettes blasted to pieces before they could fire a shot, and a third was badly damaged. It managed to return fire for only a few moments before the glorious ships of Eldrad's fleet finished the job.
Then a shot managed to hit the side of one of the Eldar capital ships nearest to Eldrad's flagship, and the whole ship shook violently as the blast collided with its energy shields. The ship turned to face its attacker and entered a fierce missile exchange with it, the darkness of space being very briefly lit with the fires and plasma of the exchange. Yet more vessels came out of slipspace and opened fire on the other ships, Eldrad's flagship included. The vessels wasted no time returning fire, another intense exchange ensuing.
Eldrad watched it all unfold without concern or fear of any kind. Despite the power of the Covenant's plasma weaponry and also their more potent form of faster-than-light travel, Eldrad was still confident that his fleet would prevail once more. The overall war with these aliens on the other hand, was unlikely to be won anytime soon. Eldrad could read the thoughts of his fellow Eldar all over the galaxy, all of whom accepted the mental intrusion without hesitation, such was the fear and respect they showed Eldrad in equal measure. And from these Eldar's thoughts Eldrad could tell that in many places the fighting was not going well. Long had the Eldar struggled against the Daemons of Chaos, and now four entire races reinforced the Four Powers hordes of abominations. Simply put, the Eldar were badly outnumbered and under attack from all sides, and they were likely outgunned as well.
We can't do this alone... Eldrad thought, as did many other Eldar. We need more men. We need...allies.
Unspecified amount of time later
On February 11th, 2525, humanity made first contact with alien life, and subsequently learned that the universe was much more complicated and alive than anyone had ever previously thought.
The first group to be encountered were avian-like creatures armed with weaponry humans had never seen before, as well as energy shields. Following these were no less than five other races, they and the avians, nick-named "Jackals" by humans all being part of the same alliance known as the Covenant. After the initial clamor and confusion died down, the Covenant races agreed to have a formal first meeting with the United Nations Imperium of Man on the Colony world Harvest.
And then they attacked them.
It all happened so fast that no one had any idea what was going on until after the Covenant races had already laid waste to entire cities and killed thousands. Next thing humanity knew it was at war with enemies who were unlike anything they had ever seen before.
A little less than five months later on July 10th, Covenant forces destroyed two UNIM cruisers and badly damaged a third. Afterwards, they broadcasted four messages to every part of the UNIM they could reach, all of them in perfect English:
"Blood for the Blood God! Skulls for the Skull Throne!"
"Feel the glory of Necrosis and rejoice. Nurgle loves you all!"
"Long shall be your suffering. Joyous be your pain"
"Do not ask which creature screams in the night. Do not question who waits for you in the shadow. It is his cry that wakes you in the night, and his body that crouches in the shadow. He is Tzeentch and you are the puppets that dance to his tune..."
After each of these four messages was played, a fifth followed: "Your destruction is the will of the Four Powers, and we are their instruments"
So it was that UNIM Space Marine Private First Class Donald Burt found himself engaged in heavy fighting with the various armies of the Covenant, and it took only one disastrous firefight with them to tell him all he needed to know.
I really, really, really fucking miss fighting Innies...
A plasma grenade went sailing through the air. Donald dived out of the way, rolled, and shot the Grunt who had thrown it in the head. It hadn't taken long for the marines of the Gray Knights to figure out that the grenades used by the Covenant could "stick" to you, and that if you got tagged with one you were history. There was simply no way to sugar-coat it. Thus the marines of the Gray Knights corps had already trained themselves to kill Grunts the second they saw them priming one of those glowing blue grenades.
Donald unloaded his assault rifle's ammunition into the body of an Elite, the bullets managing to dispel the creature's energy shields. The Elite roared and ran at Donald, tackling him to the ground. Drawing an energy sword in one hand, the alien clad in blood-shine red armor roared in perfect English: "Blood for the Blood God! Skulls for the Skull Throne!"
Donald jammed the butt end of his assault rifle into the Elite's body, staggering it for a moment. Wasting no time, Donald reloaded his assault rifle and pumped the Elite full of bullets, sending purple blood flying and felling the alien.
As Donald staggered to his feet, he could see the other members of his company struggling against the encroaching mess of Grunts and Elites. Most of the aliens wore red armor and fought with a zeal that the Gray Knights were ill-prepared for. Everywhere Donald looked marines were mercilessly gunned down or hacked to pieces by the elite's energy swords, all the while the monsters roaring again and again: "Blood for the Blood G-d! Skulls for the Skull Throne!"
But not all of the Grunts and Elites were clad in crimson red armor. Others wore greens and brown, and gave off a remarkably bad smell that made Donald sick to his stomach. The manure back on his family's farm smelled leaps and bounds better. These aliens armor also looked to be rusting, and their flesh appeared to be in a state of decay. Were it not for the fact that they fought almost as fiercely as the Elites and Grunts in red Donald and his fellow Gray Knights would have thought that they were corpses.
A few such Grunts and Elite ran at Donald, who drew his magnum and shot the Grunts in the heads before the plasma fire of an Elite in rusting green armor forced him to backpedal. The steel-gray armor that gave the Gray Knights their name was sturdy, but it wasn't indestructible. As Donald retreated behind cover, another Gray Knight rushed in and cut the Elite shooting at Donald down. Kicking the dead alien for good measure, the Gray Knight motioned to Donald to come out from behind cover. Donald acquiesced, and joined his fellows in continuing to trade shots with the Elites and Grunts.
But then, just as the battle was going well, a third race joined the fray.
"What the hell are those things supposed to be?" asked one of the Gray Knights horrified.
"They look like giant bugs to me" Donald said nonchalantly before shooting at one. It exploded in a shower of mucus-colored blood. "They're pretty fragile too"
Fragile they may have been, but the arrival of the insectoid aliens caught the Gray Knights off-guard, giving the surviving Grunts and Elites time to advance, unleashing a merciless volley of plasma fire that cut down some of the Gray Knights and forced the others back. The insectoids also unleashed a volley of plasma fire, and yet more Gray Knights fell to this before the retaliatory gunfire drove them away. But by that point the Elites and their Grunt cronies were right on top of Donald and the few surviving Gray Knights.
The Gray Knights fought fiercely, drawing their swords to meet the Elites energy swords. Though it was now the 26th Century, the leaders of the Gray Knights corps had argued that just as knives had continued to be used even as guns became more advanced by the day, so too then did swords still have a place. Hence, the Gray Knights wielded blue blades made of the finest materials available, and it was just one more reason they were called what they were.
When the fighting finally ended, over half of the Gray Knights and all of the Covenant aliens lay dead. Donald was still standing, sweating and panting uncontrollably underneath his full-face covering helmet as he held his assault rifle loosely in one hand and his now bloodstained sword in the other.
"I want this war to be over already..." Donald muttered under his breath.
"Amen to that" another one said as he looked out at all of the dead Gray Knights. "If I never have to hear the "Blood for the Blood God" rant ever again it will be too so-"
A fearsome sounding voice tore through the air: "Blood for the Blood God! Skulls for the Skull Throne!"
"...shit"
Looking out, Donald and the surviving Gray Knights saw another small army of Grunts and Elites, all of them clad in bloodshine red armor and armed to the teeth.
"I'm thinking we may want to make a tactical retreat captain" Donald said to his commanding officer, Captain Jerome Munroe.
"The Gray Knights do not retreat" Captain Munroe said resolutely. "We stand and fight for humanity, no matter what!"
A plasma bolt whizzed through the air and just narrowly missed Munroe's helmeted head.
"All due respect sir, but I think that in this scenario discretion is the better part of valor"
"...point taken Donald. Gray Knights, fall back to higher ground!"
The other Gray Knights nodded and fled as the Grunts and Elites came up the hill after them. Falling back further and further, the Gray Knights were shot at repeatedly by a hail of plasma fire from the Grunts and Elites, all the while the red armored aliens shouted again and again: "Blood for the Blood G-d! Skulls for the Skull Throne! Blood for the Blood G-d! Skulls for the Skull Throne!"
"I guess its too much to hope that some miracle could maybe fall out of the sky and bail us out" one of the Gray Knights muttered.
-X-
Eldrad had called for all of the six Phoenix Lords to meet him on his flagship, telling them that he had urgent news to give to them all.
The first to arrive was Asurmen, and this was fitting, for he was rumored to be the very first of the Phoenix Lords. He wore sea blue colored battle armor with massive shoulder pauldrons featuring red jewels in the centers. Over his shoulders he also wore a cape that was blood red in color, and covered his face completely with a white mask that looked a screaming man with green pupilless eyes. Over this he had a large, red cone shaped helmet that boasted a magnificent black and white crest. In all he cut an impressive figure, as was to be expected from a Phoenix Lord.
"Greetings Lord Asurmen" Eldrad said with a bow of respect.
"Greetings Farseer Eldrad" Asurmen replied emotionlessly. "What is this news you have that is so great that you request the presence of all of the Phoenix Lords?"
"The others have not yet arrived Lord Ausrmen. I want you all here before I tell you what I have learned, as it affects us all and could very well change the entire course of the war in our favor"
Asurmen nodded wordlessly and took his seat at a massive silver-gray colored circular table that had six seats, one for each of the Phoenix Lords. In the center of the table was the symbol of the Eldar, and to the sides were the symbols of the two surviving Eldar G-ds: Khaine, the Bloody-Handed G-d of War, and Cegorach, the Laughing G-d and the deity the dreaded Harlequins worshipped with a fanatical zeal.
Next to arrive were Baharroth of the Swooping Hawks and Jain-Zar of the Howling Banshees, the former arriving mere moments ahead of the latter. The two Phoenix Lords were easily just as imposing as Asurmen, with Baharroth covered head-to-toe in dark steel gray armor. Even his wings were steel gray as opposed to the white wings of all the other Swooping Hawks. Jain-Zar wore white and black armor with a mask similar to Asurmens, and long majestic raven-colored hair.
"Greetings Farseer Eldrad" both Phoenix Lords responded, before Baharroth added: "Hope I didn't miss anything, was too busy beating Jain-Zar here to the meeting"
Jain-Zar snarled in anger but said nothing. Instead she turned to Eldrad Ulthran: "I hope this meeting does not prove to be a waste of time" Jain-Zar said harshly. "We've lost too much already to waste anymore of our efforts on trivialities."
Eldrad shook his head. "Trust me Lord Jain-Zar, this is quite important. In fact, it may just be the change of fortunes we've been needing ever since the Covenant first appeared."
"So you have already said" Asurmen interceded. "My own forces and agents have reported diminished activity by the Covenant in many sectors. Its as if they've all withdrawn."
"That's because they have" Eldrad said. "I'll wait till the others arrive before saying anymore, as I hate to repeat myself. Not to mention that this concerns all of us, so I want us all to be here"
It was not long after this that the Phoenix Lords Karandras and Feugan arrived, the leaders of the Striking Scorpions and Fire Dragons respectively. Like all Striking Scorpions, Karandras wore green armor vaguely resembling a carapace in design with a full-face covering helmet adorned with a large bronze crest-piece resembling a scorpion's tail that was itself adorned with green dreadlocks. He was armed with a chainsword of unique design, and in place of his other hand was a crab claw, a side-effect of Slaanesh's minions trying and failing to possess him so many centuries ago. Karandras relished using it against Slaanesh's minions every chance he got, and all other times wore it proudly as a symbol of his victory over the evil lord of self-indulgence.
Feugan wore red orange armor that featured large spiked shoulder pauldrons, a massive and sinister looking helmet with great "wings" on both sides, and a golden clawed gauntlet over one of his hands. The chest and groin pieces of his armor were adorned with the skulls of beasts slain and skinned by him long ago, and grasped firmly in his golden gauntlet hand was a sinister axe-like weapon that was unique to him.
"We are here" Feugan said laconically. Eldrad nodded. "That leaves only one. Taking his time as usual"
"The Harvester of Souls goes where he pleases Farseer" Jain-Zar pointed out. "And none of us can do a thing to change that"
The Harvester of Souls, the last of the Phoenix Lords, and also the most powerful, was Maughan-Ra, leader of the Dark Reapers. A cold and merciless executioner, Maughan-Ra's exploits were legendary, to the point that his fellow Eldar rightly feared him more than the Daemons of Chaos did. Perhaps the greatest story of all concerning his terrible power was when he single-handedly defended the entire planet of Stormvald from a Covenant fleet that had already glassed two other Eldar worlds and been gradually overrunning entire Eldar territories. More recently he went into the Eye of Terror to save the lost Craftworld of Altansar, which was also Maughan-Ra's homeworld and where he founded the Dark Reaper aspect shrine.
In all, Maughan-Ra was more than a match for any other being in the galaxy, and no Eldar ever dared to stand in his way, for even if the tales surrounding him had been embellished, all of the other Phoenix Lords along with Eldrad had witnessed his power firsthand enough times to know that he was still incredibly powerful.
But then, after a time, the door to the meeting room on the bridge opened once more and Maughan-Ra stepped through, barely managing to fit through the door due to his massive, bulky form. He was clad from head to toe in bulky black armor with a skeleton motif, with designs representing the entirety of an Eldar's skeleton all over his armor, up to his helmet which was in the visage of a sinister looking skull with an amethyst colored jewel in the center of the forehead. His shoulder pauldrons were designed to look like two large skulls, with the eyes filled with the same amethyst colored jewels as the one in the center of his forehead. In his hands he held his signature weapon, a massive Maugetar with a large bone colored blade attached to it as a fearsome bayonet.
In all his appearance was both awe-inspiring and utterly terrifying in equal measure, just like Maughan-Ra himself.
Maughan-Ra said nothing as he entered, merely surveying the room and looking at all of his fellow Phoenix Lords before standing near the table rather than taking his seat.
"Now that you're all here I'm going to get right to the point" Eldrad said. "And I'll be doing it my way, so ready your minds"
"I resent having to open up my mind Farseer" Feugan mumbled before adding: "But I shall do it nontheless"
Eldrad nodded wordlessly and used his psychic powers to show the Phoenix Lords what he himself had already borne witness to, feeding them images and memories with incredible force. Lesser beings might not have been able to take such an intense mental experience for long, but the Phoenix Lords were anything but lesser beings.
They saw...
The Covenant in all of their forms, fighting ferociously against an enemy, and drawing blood as they always did, but it was not Eldar they fought. It was another race.
Humans was their name. Physically they resembled the Eldar, but shorter and less beautiful on average, with most of the males possessing facial hair that the Eldar found disgusting. They, like the Eldar, had a very robust military with many different types of soldiers, but like the Eldar they struggled against the Covenant. The Covenant had attacked them only very recently, and it was clear humanity was still reeling from the shock of learning that they weren't the only intelligent life in the universe and that what other life there was was out to kill them all. The Phoenix Lords heard the same messages the humans had heard given to them by the Covenant, how their destruction was the will of the Four Powers, and how already tens of thousands of humans were dead...
The images and memories ceased, and the Phoenix Lords all returned to reality. They did not stay silent for long before Baharroth, quick in everything, spoke first: "So the Covenant found some new things to kill. Why should we care?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Eldrad asked. "These humans could be the allies we've desperately needed for so long now."
"What? How dare you suggest such a thing Farseer" Karandras said. "Align ourselves with those primitive apes? I'd never lower myself to working with such creatures"
"I concur" Jain-Zar said, her voice filled with contempt. "It'd be horribly dishonorable to so much as consider it"
"Don't let your arrogance blind you Phoenix Lords" Eldrad said. "Yes, these creatures are primitive, but the simple truth is that we as a race are declining, and have been for centuries now. And as our numbers thin the armies of the Four Powers grow and grow. We're outnumbered, and we've been outnumbered for almost the entire war. Now its finally begun to take a toll. We need more men. If that means pursuing a temporary alliance with the Mong Ki, then I say so be it."
"I don't know Eldrad" Feugan said. "I think I agree with Jain-Zar and Karandras. I don't like the idea of putting my faith in such crude savages. I'd rather take my chances"
"I say why not do it?" Baharroth said, intervening. "Let the Covenant and the Four Powers butcher another race for a change. The Mong Ki should at least make for good cannon fodder"
"I for one believe that the Farseer makes a strong argument" Asurmen said. "And when the only counter-argument that can be offered is hubris, I am inclined to agree with Eldrad on this. We should pursue an alliance with the apes. The enemy of our enemy should be considered a friend"
Jain-Zar scoffed. "Bah. Let the Four Powers wipe them out. The humans could never be of any use to us"
"I disagree" Eldrad said. "For all their crudeness, the Mong Ki know how to wage war and how to kill, and those are skills that are always welcome in our fight against the Four Powers. But in any event, we are going around in circles. I say we put it to a vote. All in favor of pursuing an alliance with humanity, say aye"
"AYE!" said Baharroth. Eldrad himself said "aye" as well, followed swiftly by Asurmen. Jain-Zar, Karandros and Feugan all remained silent. That left Maughan-Ra as the tie-breaker. All turned to face him.
"And you Lord Maughan-Ra?" Eldrad asked. "What say you in this?"
For a moment, Maughan-Ra was silent, but then he spoke: "I have heard much talk, and seen many sights. Neither means much to me. From what I know, these apes fight the same foe we do. Kill the same enemies who have committed gross injustices against our race. I am in favor of anything that will bring about a total end to the Four Powers and the Covenant. Therefore, if these apes can help us bring more death to our enemies, then I say so be it. I vote in favor of an alliance"
"Then it is decided" Eldrad said. "We shall make contact with humanity and work with them against the Covenant"
"I hope you know what you're doing Farseer" Jain-Zar said harshly.
"I am the greatest of the Farseers and my psychic abilities are without equal" Eldrad said. "I always know what I'm doing"
-X-
Plasma bolts whizzed through the air and slammed against the Gray Knights cover again and again in a continuous monotony. But for all of that the rubble Donald, Captain Munroe, and the two other surviving Gray Knights had all taken cover behind was holding. But despite that the Gray Knights knew that they could not hide behind cover forever. The Covenant forces were advancing, the Gray Knights could tell by both the increasingly foul smell in the air and the ever-loudening "Blood G-d" rant of the red armored aliens.
"We're all going to die..." one of the Gray Knights muttered.
"Maybe" Captain Munroe said. "But if we are, we're taking a piece of those xeno bastards with us. Once the Covenant close in, unleash all of your remaining frag grenades on my signal."
"Understood" the Gray Knights all said in unison. As they prepared themselves they could hear, and smell, the Covenant forces getting closer and closer to their position. It wouldn't be long before the Covenant forces were right on top of them. As they neared ever more, Captain Munroe was all set to give the order to throw the grenades.
But before he could, the sounds of powerful gunshots tore through the air. As the confused Gray Knights listened behind cover, they could hear an unknown force attacking the Covenant troops from behind, the aliens screaming in both shock and pain as they were all cut down. After the last of the Covenant aliens fell down dead, a voice called out to the Gray Knights: "You can come out now. The Covenant are all dead"
The Gray Knights hesitated for a moment before one of them looked out with his sniper rifle. After getting a good look at who the Gray Knight's saviors were, he turned to his fellows: "They're not Covenant, but they're not humans either..."
"Are you going to come out or not?"
The Gray Knights slowly came out from behind cover one by one, all of them keeping their guns raised and aimed at the strange blue and red armored humanoids who now stood over dozens of dead Covenant.
"We are the Eldar" one of the ones in blue armor said. "And we are here to seek an alliance with humanity against the Covenant"
Author's Note: Went back and made a few changes to the early chapters like this one. For one, I changed the UNSC to UNIM (United Nations Imperium of Man).
Also, as one of my more..."passionate" critics so eloquently pointed out, I made a mistake regarding Fulgrim. As I mentioned earlier, my knowledge of Warhammer 40k is basic at best, so inevitably things like accidentally making Fulgrim instead of an Eldar happen. Ah well. So yes, here Fulgrim was an Eldar instead of a Primarch. If it makes you feel any better, think of him as an Eldar Primarch.