History Characters / Warhammer40000Aeldari

* HopeSpot: Cegorach is allowed to challenge Slaanesh for the souls of Solitaires when they die. As a trickster god he wins often, though whether he [[OffOnATechnicality always wins in some fashion]] or merely doesnt always lose depends on edition and Fanon.

* YinYangBomb: The Ynnari are unique among the game's factions for their ability to include the units from multiple source armies into a single force -- as opposed to allied detachments, which may contain units from another army but are for all intents and purposes separate from the main force. Being able to combine almost every unit from the Asuryani (the "light elves") and the Drukhari (the "dark elves") as well as the Harlequins together into a single army gives the Ynnari a ''lot'' of tactical versatility (and historically some [[GameBreaker rather broken combinations]]).

* HopeSpot: Cegorach is allowed to challenge Slaanesh for the souls of Solitaires when they die. As a trickster god he wins often, though whether [[OffOnATechnicality always wins in some fashion]] or merely doesnt always lose depends on edition and Fanon.

'''[[Characters/Warhammer40000ForcesOfChaos Forces of Chaos]]:''' [[Characters/Warhammer40000ChaosGods Chaos Gods]], [[Characters/Warhammer40000ChaosPrimarchs Chaos Primarchs]], [[Characters/Warhammer40000ChaosMarines Heretic Astartes]]\\

'''Xeno Races''': [[Characters/Warhammer40000Aeldari Aeldari]] ([[Characters/Warhammer40000Asuryani Asuryani]], [[Characters/Warhammer40000Drukhari Drukhari]]) | [[Characters/Warhammer40000Necrons Necrons]] | [[Characters/Warhammer40000LeaguesOfVotann Leagues of Votann]] | [[Characters/Warhammer40000Orks Orks]] ([[Characters/Warhammer40000OrksCharacters Characters]]) | [[Characters/Warhammer40000TauEmpire T'au Empire]] | [[Characters/Warhammer40000Tyranids Tyranids]] ([[Characters/Warhammer40000GenestealerCults Genestealer Cults]])]]-]]]

-->--'''Inquisitor Czevak''' Teachings of the Unholy

'''[[Characters/Warhammer40000Imperium Imperium of Man]]:''' [[Characters/Warhammer40000ImperialFounders Founders]], [[Characters/Warhammer40000Astartes Adeptus Astartes]] ([[Characters/Warhammer40000AstartesChaptersFirstFounding First Founding Chapters]], [[Characters/Warhammer40000AstartesChapters Other Chapters]], [[Characters/Warhammer40000AstartesCharacters Characters]], [[Characters/Warhammer40000PrimarisSpaceMarines Primaris Marines]]), [[Characters/Warhammer40000ImperialGuard Astra Militarum]], [[Characters/Warhammer40000Sororitas Adepta Sororitas]], [[Characters/Warhammer40000Inquisition Inquisition]], [[Characters/Warhammer40000Mechanicus Mechanicus]], [[Characters/Warhammer40000CurrentImperialFactions Other factions]]\\

'''Xeno Races''': [[Characters/Warhammer40000Aeldari Aeldari]] ([[Characters/Warhammer40000Asuyani Asuryani]], [[Characters/Warhammer40000Drukhari Drukhari]]) | [[Characters/Warhammer40000Necrons Necrons]] | [[Characters/Warhammer40000LeaguesOfVotann Leagues of Votann]] | [[Characters/Warhammer40000Orks Orks]] ([[Characters/Warhammer40000OrksCharacters Characters]]) | [[Characters/Warhammer40000TauEmpire T'au Empire]] | [[Characters/Warhammer40000Tyranids Tyranids]] ([[Characters/Warhammer40000GenestealerCults Genestealer Cults]])]]-]]]

'''[[Characters/Warhammer40000XenoRaces Xeno Races]]: Aeldari''' ([[Characters/Warhammer40000CraftworldEldar Asuryani]], [[Characters/Warhammer40000DarkEldar Drukhari]]) | [[Characters/Warhammer40000Necrons Necrons]] | [[Characters/Warhammer40000LeaguesOfVotann Leagues of Votann]] | [[Characters/Warhammer40000Orks Orks]] ([[Characters/Warhammer40000OrksCharacters Characters]]) | [[Characters/Warhammer40000TauEmpire T'au Empire]] | [[Characters/Warhammer40000Tyranids Tyranids]] ([[Characters/Warhammer40000GenestealerCults Genestealer Cults]])]]-]]]

[[quoteright:270:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/harlequin_death_jester.png]]
[[caption-width-right:270:A Death Jester wielding a shrieker cannon.]]

[[quoteright:270:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/harlequin_shadowseer.png]]
[[caption-width-right:270:A Shadowseer wielding a neuro-disruptor and a miststave.]]

[[quoteright:270:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/harlequin_solitaire.png]]

The Age of Technology saw humans spread across the galaxy in the Aeldari's shadow, but near its end the number of human psykers began to rapidly expand. Their inherent instability combined with the psychic feedback in the Warp from the savage hedonism of late Aeldari society, creating vast storms that made the Warp impossible for humans to traverse, contributing greatly to the Age of Technology's collapse into the Age of Strife which almost wiped out humanity. Ironically, Slaanesh's birth expended a titanic amount of energy in the Warp, calming it enough for human psykers to begin to navigate it again, paving the way for the Emperor's Great Crusade and the rise of the Imperium as the Aeldari became a fragment of their former power. In the current setting, humanity's relationship with the Aeldari could generously be called tumultuous. Neither side likes or trusts the other, and much blood has been spilt between, but temporary alliances can and do happen as circumstances arise, as many of the other factions threaten both species equally and the Aeldari's enigmatic scheming does allow for trading with and fighting alongside the upstart ''[[FantasticSlur mon-keigh]]'' when it's needed. The rise of the Ynnari has thrown a new monkey wrench into this equation, as their emissary Yvraine was a key player in the resurrection of Roboute Guilliman.

The Age of Technology saw humans spread across the galaxy in the Aeldari's shadow, but near its end the number of human psykers began to rapidly expand. Their inherent instability combined with the psychic feedback in the Warp from the savage hedonism of late Aeldari society, creating vast storms that made the Warp impossible for humans to traverse, contributing greatly to the Age of Technology's collapse into the Age of Strife which almost wiped out humanity. Ironically, Slaanesh's birth expended a titanic amount of energy in the Warp, calming it enough for human psykers to begin to navigate it again, paving the way for the Emperor's Great Crusade and the rise of the Imperium as the Aeldari became a fragment of their former power. In the current setting, humanity's relationship with the Aeldari could generously be called tumultuous. Neither side likes or trusts the other, and much blood has been spilt between, but temporary alliances can and do happen as circumstances arise, as many of the other factions threaten both species equally and the Aeldari's enigmatic scheming does allow for trading with and fighting alongside the upstart ''mon-keigh'' when it's needed. The rise of the Ynnari has thrown a new monkey wrench into this equation, as their emissary Yvraine was a key player in the resurrection of Roboute Guilliman.

* BodyMotifs

** Asurmen, Phoenix Lord of the Dire Avengers, is called The Hand of Asuryan.

* BodyMotifs: Craftworld Ulthwe uses Isha's weeping eye as its symbol.

* GreatOffscreenWar: Khaine sparked the War In Heaven to stop Lileath's prophecy of his demise because of the Eldar.

* TheHecateSisters: The withered, ancient and blind Morai-Heg is the third of the three major Aeldari goddesses, representing the Crone to Lileath’s Maiden and Isha’s Mother.

* ForgedByTheGods: Vaul is the god of smithing and is credited with forging weapons from swords to the Blackstone Fortresses, arcane SpaceStation[=s=] with the power to [[StarKilling destroy stars]].

'''[[Characters/Warhammer40000XenoRaces Xeno Races]]: Aeldari''' ([[Characters/Warhammer40000CraftworldEldar Asuryani]], [[Characters/Warhammer40000DarkEldar Drukhari]]) | [[Characters/Warhammer40000Necrons Necrons]] | [[Characters/Warhammer40000LeaguesOfVotann Leagues of Votann]] | [[Characters/Warhammer40000Orks Orks]] ([[Characters/Warhammer40000OrksCharacters Characters]]) | [[Characters/Warhammer40000TauEmpire T'au Empire]] | [[Characters/Warhammer40000Tyranids Tyranids]]]]-]]]

The heavy weapons specialists of the masques, Death Jesters are known for their macabre sense of humor and for their propensity for playing grisly jokes on their enemies during battle. In performances, they play the part of Death.

* BlackComedy: Death Jesters have a distinctly morbid sense of humor, which often manifests in battle by deliberately setting up macabrely humorous fates for their foes such as by killing enemy officers at the high point of a rallying speech or scaring sappers into running into minefields they just set up.

The Harelquins' specialist psykers, Shadowseers use their abilities to sow fear and confusion among the enemies of the masques. They hold the distinction of being some of the very few psykers allowed to enter Commorragh. In performances, they serve as narrators and play the part of Fate.

Solitaires are not strictly part of the masques, and instead spend most of their long lives wandering the galaxy alone, briefly joining other Harlequins for a performance or a battle before moving on. They are seen as off-putting and taboo among other Aeldari, and only speak and are spoken to in ritualized, limited manner. The reason for this strange behavior is that Solitaires have no souls, dooming their essence to be consumed by She Who Thirsts -- but also making them immune to psychic influences, and giving them the unique ability to play the part of Slaanesh in performances of the Fall.

* ChaoticNeutral: The in-universe Imperial perception of the Eldar as a whole. It doesn't help that humans have problems telling Eldar corsairs and Dark Eldar pirates apart, but even those who can keep the factions straight note how Eldar of the same Craftworld will aid them in one battle, then go back to killing them in another. The best you can say about the Eldar is that they [[TheChessmaster consistently act in their self-interest]].

* CripplingOverspecialization: This is a species-wide problem for the Aeldari -- due to the immense psychic-power that the Old Ones gave them, they need to devote much more effort than humans do in order to control their emotions and instincts, which often leads them to focus single-mindedly on one task for a duration of time. While this does make them ''extremely good'' at whatever they are focused on, it not only leaves them wanting in other fields, but it also gives them extreme tunnel-vision: Asuryani Exarchs, for example, only think in terms of fighting and conflict, while Farseers only focus their thoughts on what could be, at the expense of what ''is''. The Drukhari {{ZigZag|gedTrope}} this, and can either be seen as the result of the Aeldari losing said control, or alternatively maintaining that control, but diverting it toward gaining pleasure.

* DefectorFromDecadence: The surviving Eldar are all over the map on this one. The Craftworld Eldar and Exodites rejected their ancestors' decadence for the discipline of The Path or a simpler existence on a Maiden World, respectively. The Dark Eldar avert this by willingly continuing the lifestyle that led to the Fall, only modified enough to save their own souls. Corsairs walk a line between these extremes, tending to live lavish and hedonistic lives while not going to the extent of the Dark Eldar.
* DividedWeFall: While this varies depending on the edition, the fact that each of their sub-factions is split into self-governing groups with radically different cultures, and in many cases isolationist tendencies, the Aeldari have very little tying them together beyond a desire to survive. Due to this separation, conflict between the sub-factions, particularly the [[TheFairFolk Drukhari]], is not uncommon and the actions on one group can often cause fatal consequences for others, such as when the Drukhari raids on T'au Septs resulted in an Exodite colony being attacked.

* DyingRace: The whole Eldar race must die so their saviour god can be born but Slaanesh devours Eldar souls so they choose to live as long as possible even if it means the threat of near extinction.

* FantasticRacism: The Eldar were masters of the galaxy for a ''long'' time, and despite the Fall and the resulting destruction of their empire and sundering of their people, that legacy has left them with a substantial species-wide superiority complex. They generally see all other sapient species as, at best, tools to be used and discarded should the need arise (and ignored otherwise), or at worst, a blight to be eradicated. Even the Eldar racial term for humans, [[SonOfAnApe "mon-keigh]]," means "those who are to be exterminated." The 6th and 7th edition rules reflected this in the Allies matrix by having the Craftworld Eldar, Harlequins, and Dark Eldar[[note]]the former two of which get along fine but hate the Dark Eldar, and the feeling is very much reciprocated[[/note]] considered "Battle Brothers", while any other potential allies among the lesser races were "Allies of Convenience" at best. All that said, the Craftworld and Exodite Eldar are probably the friendliest major faction to other species besides the T'au (trading with all types of aliens, helping humanity more often than they hurt it, and generally leaving non Ork/Tyranid/Necron aliens alone unless they trespass on Maiden Worlds) which says more about the [[AlwaysChaoticEvil other races]] than anything else (contrast [[AbsoluteXenophobe the]] [[VillainProtagonist Imperium]]).

* HarmonyVersusDiscipline: The Dark Eldar and the Craftworld Eldar practice each in the extreme.

* HolographicDisguise: A variant. Rather than relying on fallible energy fields, many Eldar units, particularly among the Craftworld Eldar or Harlequins, use "holo-fields" to scatter and displace their image, making it near-impossible for the enemy to land a solid hit on them.
* HumanOutsideAlienInside: The Eldar might look a lot like humans, but are definitely different internally. A dissection in ''Xenology'' reveals that the Eldar have little to no body fat, "teeth" that are outgrowths of their jawbones, ribs in the shape of fused "wings," durable yet flexible bones in general, intermeshed elastic muscles built for speed and movement, a secondary "ribcage" of bony plates beneath their abdominal muscles, and a brain with multiple lobes. Also, the Magos Biologis speculates that their PointyEars [[FantasticArousal are an erogenous zone]]. Of course like most in-universe works, ''Xenology'' may have had inaccuracies due to [[ThroughTheEyesOfMadness some slight problems on the author's part]].

** The Dark Eldar take this to even greater -- and more horrifying -- extremes:

* RubberForeheadAliens: Zig Zagged over the years. Being SpaceElves, most interpretations have the only thing physically separating them from tall, thin, angular humans is pointy ears. Some depictions have them being similar to humans, but more transparently alien.

* SpaceElves: The Eldar race as a whole, but in different directions:
** Craftworld Eldar are types I and II combined.
** Dark Eldar are a particularly nasty blend of types I and III.
** Exodites are type I.
** Averted with the Corsairs; they're just Space Pirates that happen to be elves.

* TheStoic: Pretty much ''all'' Eldar are this, although NotSoStoic comes into play quite frequently.

** During the Literature/HorusHeresy, [[RogueAgent John Grammaticus]] was gifted an Aeldari artefact by the Cabal that allowed him to "cut" spacetime and materialise near the ruins of Ababa Hive on Terra, crossing the length of the galaxy almost instantly.

--->The Orks are the pinnacle of creation. For them, the great struggle is won. They have evolved a society which knows no stress or angst. Who are we to judge them? We Eldar who have failed, or the Humans, on the road to ruin in their turn? And why? Because we sought answers to questions that an Ork wouldn't even bother to ask! We see a culture that is strong and despise it as crude.