Aeldari Craftworlds // Biel-Tan

Project Craftworlds is building up steam, I can say that as I now as I have two completed. If you haven't read about the plan please head to the Craftworld Project Page. I will be attempting to paint at least one model to represent each Aeldari craftworld (where possible), and I will also try to capture key details about each sect, using online sources and through doing this expand my own Aeldari knowledge a bit more.

BIEL-TAN

Biel-Tan - Rebirth of Ancient Days.

Location - Segmentum Tempestus/Ultima Segmentum border. Now fractured.

Colours - White and Green.

Favoured Units - Aspect Warriors

Rune Meaning -  The Reborn: This rune stands for the principle of reincarnation, a fate thought to have befallen every Eldar before the Fall. The symbol denotes the craftworld of Biel-Tan, whose name means 'Rebirth of Ancient Days'. For them, winter has fallen on the Eldar but the Biel-Tan are convinced that spring will soon return.

The Biel-tan Craftworld is famous for its inhabitants' militancy; it is home to more Aspect Warriors than any other craftworld.

The Eldar of Biel-tan are honourable warriors, who have taken it upon themselves to rebuild the lost glory of the ancient Eldar empire, through the destruction of the lesser races who have "usurped" the galaxy, and believe it is glorious to die fighting the enemies of the Craftworld. At the centre of Biel-tan is the Chamber of Heroes where the spirit stones of dead Aspect Warriors are placed. Farseers often come to this room to consult the dead on courses of action.

As well as their traditional colours of green and white, the forces of Biel-Tan sport patterns of dark thorny ivy.

When the Eldar of Biel-Tan goes to war they assemble a warhost known as the Bahzhakhain, which means "Swordwind", "Tempest of Blades" or Frozen Leaves Falling to Cut. The Swordwind's tactic is a single, swift strike taking the enemy by surprise. This tactic works considerably well with the elite fighting skills of the many Aspect Warriors eliminating the enemy before they can respond. The Biel-Tan, therefore, makes perfect use of the speed and maneuverability of the Wave Serpents and Falcon Grav Tanks.

Structure of a Swordwind

Biel-Tan Command

• Autarch
• Avatar of Khaine
• Wraithgate - Functions as a Webway portal to bring Biel-Tan forces quickly onto a battlefield.

Biel-Tan Craftworld Hosts

Aspect Warrior Warhost - Consists of Aspect Warrior squads chosen from the following: Dire Avengers, Striking Scorpions, Howling Banshees, Fire Dragons, Warp Spiders, Dark Reapers, Swooping Hawks, Shining Spears.

Aeldari Guardian Warhost - Consists of one Farseer and Guardian squads. Sometimes this warhost includes Support Weapon Platforms, Wraithguard units and Wraithlords. This formation is traditionally mounted in Wave Serpents.

Biel-Tan Craftworld Troupes

Ranger Troupe - Eldar Rangers and Outcasts.

War Walker Troupe.

Windrider Troupe.

Falcon Troupe.

Fire Prism Troupe.

Night Spinner Troupe.

Engines of Vaul Troupe - Scorpion, Cobra, Storm Serpent or Voidspinners (or any combination of these).

Biel-Tan Craftworld Spacecraft, Aircraft & Titans

Aeldari Spacecraft - One Wraithship or one Dragonship.

Warlock Titan - One Warlock Titan.

Revenant Titan - One Revenant Titan.

Nightwings, Phoenix Bombers, Vampire Raider. - One Vampire Raider.

Biel-Tan Persona

• Anath'lan - Anath'lan was once one of Biel-Tan's most skilled Farseers. Alas, pride caused him to misread the runes, dooming a Maiden World to a bitter demise. Unable to forgive himself, Anath'lan died of grief. His Spirit Stone refused to bond with the Infinity Circuit and guides other Aeldari away from error to this day.
• Avele Swifteye - Known as the Duke of Asteri Reach, Avele Swifteye leads a Corsair fleet out of Biel-Tan craftworld and has continued Biel-Tan's pledge to protect the Maiden Worlds from settlement by lesser races. Swifteye has been known to display the greatest compassion to his defeated enemies if it pleases him to do so. On the world of Yrthal, Avele destroyed half a dozen Human settlements before the fledgling Imperial colony surrendered. He took the surviving forty thousand colonists to a nearby habitable moon, keeping them in stasis aboard his ships while they shuttled back and forth in short warp jumps, and promised that no further hostilities would be taken against them if they did not stray back to Yrthal.
• Macha - Macha is a powerful Aeldari Farseer psyker who had originally sealed a Greater Daemon in the Chaos artifact called the Maledictum on the world of Tartarus. She later sought to prevent its unwitting release by the agents of Mankind. Later events indicate that her destiny had become intertwined with that of Captain Gabriel Angelos of the Blood Ravens Space Marines Chapter.
• Mauryan - Mauryon is a militant Autarch who leads campaigns to purge non-Aeldari presences off Exodite Worlds and Maiden Worlds. A former warrior of the Fire Dragons Aspect Shrine, Mauryon is filled with burning rage and hatred of the "lesser species" that now inhabit these worlds. He has led many a ruthless campaign to purge these "infestations" of both Orks and Humans. One of his greatest challenges came in the early 41st Millennium during the Baran War, where the Autarch managed to defeat both a detachment of Raven Guard Space Marines and an Ork horde under Warboss Snagga-snagga.
• Tyladrhas - Farseer Tyladrhas is known for leading a Biel-Tan Warband against an Ultramarines Space Marine force.
  

• Tagtrill - Like many of the Biel-Tan bloodlines, Tagtrill is a militant Autarch who leads campaigns to purge non-Aeldari presences off Exodite Worlds and Maiden Worlds. As a former warrior of both the Striking Scorpions and Swooping Hawk Aspect Shrines, Tagtrill is filled with a patient hatred of the "lesser species" that now inhabit her birthright worlds. She specializes in stealth actions and has been known to wipe out entire "threats" in well-coordinated dawn raids involving Striking Scorpions aided by Swooping Hawks. Since the sundering of Biel-Tan, Tagtrill has been active throughout the maiden worlds, forming Exodite militia to help stem the tide of feral invaders and seeks out Ynnari whenever possible believing them to be the future of the entire Aeldari race.

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Craftworld Iyanden 21 // Shrine of the Forsaken Obelisk

Hotly following on from lasts weeks post about Dark Reapers; I bring you the first of hopefully many Iyanden based Dark Reaper Shrines. First up this Shrine is a home brewed one, reason being I painted these pre-checking out, fluff and colour schemes. I had always seen the classic black, bone, red scheme but I wanted something new. I knew it had to honor the death theme, but I wanted them to be brighter in colour. With this in mind I went with a more brown or bone colour with pops of red and of course yellow to represent the Iyanden background.

Like all Shrines on a Craftworld, The Shrine of the Forsaken Obelisk stands alone. Those seeking the Shrine are greeted by dark foreboding shadows that reach out to the Aeldari spirit, as if they fear the living. Once inside the Shrine the mood does not lift. In what seems to be a wind swept landscape, stands a Obelisk of pure black stone, seemingly out of alignment with the rest of the world ship. Built into the base of this weird stone is the Shrine of the Forsaken Obelisk. Here the aspirants to Khaine hold a silent vigil awaiting the call for war. When aboard from the Shrine, the warriors are met with contempt as the normal aeldari avoid them and their morbid ways as best a possible.

During war the Shrine of The Forsaken Obelisk, are renown for using overwhelming fire power to devastate their victims. Unlike a lot of the other Dark Reaper Shrines, the Exarch of the Forsaken Obelisk do not use the specialist weapons of their position, instead they choose to use the weapon of the aspect warriors. To become shining examples of what the Aspect can truly be if they allow Khaine to consume them.

As you can see they aren't 100% finished yet. I'm looking to do one more highlight and base these. But I am happy to call these tabletop ready and start looking forward to my project.

I'm intrigued to how others paint their Dark Reapers. So if you are blogger and an Aeldari collector drop me a comment with a link so I can check them out.

Craftworld Iyanden 20 // Aspect Warriors - Dark Reaper Shrine

Welcome back Aeldari travelers. The call of Khaine and Ynnead is growing stronger throughout the webway and more Aeldari wear the masks of war. Today I am going into the fluff and lore of Dark Reapers. Hands up this detail is all over the codex and the web, so if you are long time Eldar fan you don't really need to read this. This is being written purely for my own hobbying pleasure. The first part will be known lore, the second part will be Shrine Names that will become links once I build and paint a unit to match the entry. Then this whole section will be linked to the Eldar Encyclopedia for future path walkers to find one day. Let's dive in.

The Dark Reapers

The Dark Reapers are the most menacing of the Aeldari Aspect Warriors. They exemplify the Aeldari War God Kaela Mensha Khaine in his aspect as the Destroyer, and their skull-masked costume echoes that of their founder and Phoenix Lord, the "Harvester of Souls," Maugan Ra. They specialise in the use of highly-destructive, long-range heavy weaponry.

When Asurmen taught his brethren the arts of war it was Maugan Ra that fell furthest from the fold. He fashioned baroque weapons of occult nature; not the blades of his brethren but dark and malefic artifact that could slay his foes from afar.

As his craft progressed, Maugan Ra learnt that even the mightiest weapon could be wielded with surgical precision. This led to the creation of the deadly Maugetar, the Harvester, and later to the disciplines of the Dark Reaper aspect itself.

The origins of the Aeldari Aspect can be traced to Craftworld Altansar and the Fall of the Aeldari, following the birth of the Chaos God, Slaanesh. Altansar rode out the psychic shock-waves that destroyed the Aeldari realms but was subsequently caught in the gravity well of the Eye of Terror. Although the Aeldari of Altansar fought valiantly against the encroachment of Chaos, they were unable to escape their inevitable doom, and within 500 Terran years of the Fall their Craftworld was swallowed by the Warp.

Nothing remained of Altansar except for Maugan Ra, the mightiest Exarch of Altansar's Shrine of the Dark Reapers. The Dark Reapers represent the War God Khaine in his role as the Destroyer. They are perhaps the most sinister and lethal of all the Aspect Warriors and their dark armour is adorned with symbols of death and destruction.

The Dark Reapers' Aspect Armour is the colour of midnight, and incorporates a complex set of interlocking plates. Although the Dark Reapers are comparatively slow-moving compared to other Aeldari warriors as a result of their heavy armour, this is of little consequence, for their role on the battlefield is to serve as long-ranged heavy weapons fire support for the more mobile Aeldari units. The Phoenix Lord of the Dark Reapers, Maugan Ra, teaches that the kiss of death can be delivered from afar. It is this credo that is central to the way of the Reaper.

Their sacred weapon is the Reaper Launcher, a long-barrelled missile weapon that can create a blistering firestorm of small missiles with a single salvo. The small armour-piercing missiles the Reaper Launcher fires are powerful enough to take down all but the most heavily protected of foes.

The Dark Reapers pride themselves on their accuracy. To absorb the recoil of firing the Launcher and maintain a steady firing position, the powered limb supports include lower leg armour and boots fitted with stabilizers and clamps to secure the Dark Reaper to the ground. Their helmet incorporates specialized range finding sensor vanes which extends out of the helmet of their Aspect Armour and allows a Dark Reaper to achieve target lock on even fast-moving vehicles.

This also creates a mind-link with the Dark Reaper's weapon, allowing them to "see" out of the muzzle of the launcher. The resulting increase in their already deadly accuracy means it is almost impossible for a Dark Reaper to miss his target. Their superb aim enables them to dominate the battlefield, pinning down enemy forces and destroying their chosen targets at will.

The downside to all of their extra equipment, along with the weight of their heavy weapon, is that Dark Reapers are slower and less mobile compared to other Aspect Warriors. However, as their primary tactical role is to provide long-range fire support, this is not seen as significantly detracting from the Aspect's combat effectiveness.

Exarch

Operating in squads of three to five Dark Reapers, one of which may be an Exarch, these units are usually positioned in cover behind the main Aeldari battle line, where they can best support the advance of friendly troops and target the enemy's heavy assets. For added mobility the squad can also be mounted in a Wave Serpent transport.

Every Aspect Shrine of the Aeldari is led by an Exarch, an Aeldari who has been called permanently to the Path of the Warrior. An Exarch has traveled so far down the Path of the Warrior that he or she can no longer leave it and so dedicates him or herself fully as a high priest of Khaine in service to the Aspect of the War God that he or she represents.

Exarchs wear more elaborate and ornate versions of Aspect Armour which incorporates the spirits of their past wearers, granting an Exarch not only wisdom and knowledge stretching across the millennia but a raw pool of potent psychic energy that can be used in combat.

This permanent acceptance of the Aeldari's "war mask" provides Exarchs with enhanced skill and dedication to their craft and entitles them to access their Shrine's oldest and most advanced wargear. As a result, an Exarch of the Dark Reapers wears a more formidable form of Dark Reaper Aspect Armour and instead of a Reaper Launcher, can wield a number of different special weapons, including an Aeldari Missile Launcher, a Tempest Launcher and a Shuriken Cannon.

The skills and wargear of a Dark Reaper Exarch exemplify the already deadly firepower and accuracy that defines their Aspect. A Dark Reaper Exarch's inhuman combat abilities surpass even the talents of regular Dark Reapers, as a Dark Reaper Exarch is perfectly capable of laying down a lethal hail of fire more rapidly without loss of accuracy from any weapon they wield, and of landing pinpoint shots so accurate they can bypass cover and hit targets who thought themselves fully protected.

Notable Dark Reapers Shrines

Shrine of the Broken Storm
Shrine of The Crystal Grave
Shrine of The Forsaken Obelisk
Shrine of The Jade Scythe
Shrine of The Last Midnight
Shrine of The Three Deaths


Sources
Codex: Eldar (7th Edition), pp. 108-110
Codex: Eldar (6th Edition), pg. 36
Codex: Eldar (4th Edition), pp. 34, 66
Codex: Eldar (3rd Edition), pg. 16
Codex: Eldar (2nd Edition), pg. 10
White Dwarf 172 (US), "The Eldar: The Path of the Warrior - Dark Reapers", pp. 5-16
White Dwarf 138 (US), "Alaitoc Craftworld Eldar Army - Dark Reaper Exarch", pp. 20-29
White Dwarf 127 (US), "Eldar" by Rick Priestley, Jes Goodwin, William King & Lindsey D. Le Doux Paton, pp. 13-52
Games Workshop Online Store - Eldar Dark Reapers