40K & AoS Pantheons of the Aeldari & Aelves: Gods of Space and Magic – PRIME
Warhammer’s Aeldari and Aelves revere an almost identical pantheon, but they are not quite a mirror image.
Dark Reflections
The Aelves of the Realms and Aeldari of the 41st millennium bear many similarities beyond just pointy ears and a disdain for the “lesser races”. They were created as warriors and defenders by the enigmatic Old Ones, they excel at the “magic” of their respective universe, and they treat every endeavor from leisure to warfare as an art form. Their souls also bear particular interest to the Chaos God Slaanesh, and he hungers for them above all others.
But perhaps the most well-known of their similarities are their gods, though how they pay homage to them differs greatly (especially considering that the Aeldari gods are dead, devoured by the Dark Prince Slaanesh). Here’s a look at how a few of the gods of the Elder Race cross over each universe and how the worship of them differs.
Khaine
Perhaps the most well-known of the gods is Khaine, God of War and Murder, the Bloody-Handed, so-called because he murdered a mortal Eldar champion named Eldanesh, and the creator god Asuryan cursed his hands to always drip with Eldanesh’s blood. He is one of only two gods to survive the awakening of Slaanesh and is both revered and feared by the Aeldari for his assault on the Dark Prince. Khaine could not defeat Slaanesh, but neither could Slaanesh best him, rather shattering his psychic presence in the Warp and scattering him deep into the Infinity Circuits of the Aeldari Craftworlds across the galaxy. Whenever the Aeldari have need of great strength, they select one of their Exarchs to perform the Rite of the Young King, sacrificing himself to the shard to become an Avatar of Khaine, a warrior of flame and iron to smite the foes of the Craftworld.
However, the High Elves of the Old World do not view Khaine with such reverence, and even his Dark Elf worshippers are seen as crazed zealots. To them, he is one of the Cytharai, the Dark Gods only spoken of in hushed whispers, and until the betrayal of Morathi and Malekith, their open worship was outlawed. Ironically, Khaine is not the only Cytharai that features heavily in Aeldari lore, as the Elvish Goddess of Death Morai-Heg is the patron goddess of the Howling Banshees, and Drazhar, greatest of the Incubi, is believed to be Eldrazor reincarnated. The followers of Khaine bathe themselves in blood, working themselves into hysterical frenzies and unleashing carnage onto their enemies.
However, they are no less dangerous in peacetime, and every Dark Elf city had a yearly Death Night where the servants of Khaine would scour the streets looking for victims to sacrifice to their bloody god. Those fortunate enough to survive the night may be taken as zealots themselves or, in the rare case that a male survives, trained as an assassin. In the Age of Sigmar, Khaine is no more, and the Dark Sorceress Morathi had been siphoning power from his false worship. Now, with the events of Broken Realms, Morathi has ascended to become the new Khaine, but the terrible ritual caused her soul to schism, splitting her into a beautiful sorceress and a horrifying winged monstrosity.
Asuryan
On the other hand, one of the gods of both pantheons that seems to serve mostly the same function is Asuryan, the Creator God and the primary deity of both Aeldari and Aelf. For the Elves of the Old World, Asuryan’s flame was a crucible that all Phoenix Kings had to pass before they could claim the crown. The flames would burn the wielder, causing him extreme pain even through the protective wards placed on him by the attending mages, but should Asuryan deem them worthy, they would emerge from the other side healed and empowered by the Phoenix God. This ritual stems back to Aenarion, the greatest hero of the Elves, who flung himself into the fire unprotected to prove his worth to the Elvish gods and was deemed as such, becoming the first Phoenix King. Every Phoenix King since has passed through the flame to show their worth, but the End Times showed that their claims had all been false and Prince Malekith had been the rightful ruler all along.
For the Aeldari, Asuryan was the source of their incredible psychic power, and his final act of defiance against Slaanesh was to bind his power within the Aeldari race, keeping it from Slaanesh’s grasp. Unfortunately, this also stifled the fertility of the Aeldari Race, leading them on a path of slow decline. Had it not been for the birth of the death god Ynnead, the Eldar would likely have lost their empire to the ravages of time.
The New God
They are not out of the woods yet, as Ynnead must be fully awoken and defeat Slaanesh to reverse the curse on the Aeldari, but if the gods of AoS could imprison Slaanesh and tear the souls of the Aelves from his belly, it isn’t outside the realm of possibility that a god made with the battle experience of a thousand dead Aeldari could do the same.
Do you have a favorite Aeldari or Aelven deity?
