40K Lore: The Eldar Gods

Today we explore the Eldar Pantheon, a tale of darkest tragedy and the eternal flame of hope…  

Lore via our sister site: Lexicanum

Eldar Gods

The Pantheon of the Eldar is considered to have been destroyed by the creation of Slaanesh. While the Eldar still revere all the gods and preserve their stories within the mythic cycles, they do not call on them for aid or hope for their intervention any longer.

• Asuryan The Phoenix King, Asuryan was the oldest of the pantheon of Eldar gods acting as their chief. While the mythic cycles seem to indicate that he held sway over all the others, he was nevertheless consumed by Slaanesh. He is often depicted in relation to fire and light, his chief symbols. He is the older brother of Khaine, the God of War.
• Gea (or Gia) A consort of both Khaine and Asuryan
• Hoec A mysterious wanderer known to the Eldar who is said to have been one with the Webway and has walked the paths between planets since the stars themselves were young.
• Cegorach (or The Laughing God), God of the Harlequins is the other surviving god of the Pantheon, the Laughing God was the trickster and artist of the pantheon. When all the other gods were destroyed, Cegorach fled before Slaanesh until Khaine rose to do battle with it. The Laughing God took this chance to escape into the realm of the Webway, as only he is said to know all the secrets of its passages. The master of the Harlequins, Cegorach is the only Eldar god that still remains in their original form.
• Isha The Mother of the Eldar race, Isha is a fertility goddess in many respects. She was imprisoned by Khaine for a period of time, until Vaul paid her ransom. She is often depicted crying, and her symbol is a teared eye, symbolic of her sorrow in being separated from her mortal children. Her tears are said to have been formed into runes by Vaul so that she could communicate with her children. It is also whispered the Isha was taken from the jaws of Slaanesh by Nurgle and she currently remains his prisoner.
• Kaela Mensha Khaine God of War and Murder, he was the younger brother of Asuryan. He was one of the two Gods to survive the fall. His body was broken into fragments which later became the Avatars of Khaine found on the Wraithbone cores of Craftworlds.
• Kurnous God of the Hunt, the Father of the Eldar race, and the companion of Isha. He is often shown in conjunction with hounds, hawks, and other trappings of the hunt.
• Lileath (also known as Lilcarth) the Maiden, Goddess of Dreams and Fortune. She is daughter of Isha and also the youngest of the main pantheon.
• Morai-Heg the Crone, God of Fate/Souls.
• Vaul The artificer, Vaul is one of the central gods of the pantheon, and an enemy to Khaine. In order to purchase the freedom of Kurnous and Isha, Khaine demanded one hundred blades from the smith god. Vaul was unable to finish the last blade in time, and so hid a mortal blade amid the others. This fooled Khaine long enough to get Isha and Kurnous to freedom, but when he realised the trick he cried out for vengeance. Vaul finished the final blade, Anaris the Dawnlight, and took it to do battle with Khaine. Though it was the greatest of swords, Khaine was the better warrior and crippled Vaul. The smith is often shown chained to his anvil, the punishment that Khaine set upon him.
• Ynnead God of the Dead. A potential god formed of the souls of the dead Eldar contained in the Infinity Circuit, Ynnead represents the last, faint hope of the Eldar that they will overthrow Slaanesh. The Eldar believe the Eldar souls contained within the Infinity Circuits of all the Craftworlds are collectively forming a new god which will have the power to destroy Slaanesh, freeing their racial soul from destruction. As yet the souls contained in the Circuit can muster only a tiny amount of power compared to Slaanesh – the Eldar believe that only once every last Eldar has died and their souls combined into what they call Ynnead, will it have the power to finally confront and destroy Slaanesh.

Learn More Eldar Mythology Here

~What do you think Cegorach’s final jest to overthrow Slaanesh will be?

Author: Larry Vela

Dad, Gamer, Publisher, Pilot, Texan. All games all the time since junior-high. I started BoLS Interactive in 2006. I’m a lifelong tabletop & RPG gaming enthusiast, and internet publisher working to entertain and inform my readers every day. I've been playing RPGs and Tabletop Games since the 1970s. I'm been playing and covering Warhammer and Warhammer 40K for over 35 years.