(Too much) background on my Eldar Craftworld - please rate :)

[FarseerMatt]

Reia-Hal Craftworld

CRAFTWORLD HISTORY

In the final years before the Fall and the collapse of the Eldar civilisation, those Eldar still sane enough to be appalled by the spiralling degeneration of their society fled in the giant spaceships known as Craftworlds. Some of these were trading ships, while others were scratch-built generation ships. Reia-Hal was of the latter type, and one of the last to leave. The order for the Craftworld to be built came from the great prophet Farseer Vandora, one of the greatest psykers ever seen among the Eldar at the time, or since by her Craftworld-kin’s descendents. Having remained at home trying in vain to help stop the rapid deterioration of her people’s ethics and sanity until the last possible moment, Vandora only left as her society collapsed around her, rescuing those few of her kin that could still be saved. The million or so Eldar refugees she took with her had a great and terrible understanding of how dire the depravity of their people became in those last days, and were some of the first to hear of the cataclysmic birth of Slaanesh that tore the heart out of their realm and almost all living there – therefore they developed an even grimmer determination to survive and avoid the same fate.

Fleeing the Eye of Terror which had consumed her homelands, Vandora instructed her kin to set course for the other side of the galaxy, far away from the ruin of their empire, and start a new beginning. Their Craftworld was christened Reia-Hal, or “Hawk of the Rising Star”, after the great bird of prey in Eldar mythology who was the son of the Great Hawk and Faolchú. The Eldar legends tell of Reia-Hal the Star Hawk appearing after the War in Heaven as a new star rose in the sky; he gathered up the bodies of the children of Kurnous and Isha whom Khaine had killed and carried them to the sky where they were turned into planets and moons. Eldanesh became the red moon above the Eldar homeworld, and the others were scattered throughout the firmament for the mortal children of the gods to settle. It is this concept of creating new life and hope out of the ashes of tragedy that his name represents and is carried on in the spirit of Reia-Hal craftworld. A hawk with outspread wings and a great 4-pointed star superimposed therefore features prominently in Reia-Hal heraldry. The craftworld rune is Isha’s Chalice (most commonly associated with Biel-Tann) set above and joined to the Soulstone rune. Together they symbolise the preservation and rebirth of the Eldar civilization despite the great cataclysm of the Fall.

It took over 10,000 years for Reia-Hal to traverse the length of the galaxy towards the star that the Star Hawk rose from in Eldar myth, guided all the way by Vandora until she passed into the Craftworld’s Infinity Circuit. Until then Vandora had been the sole chief consul of the Seer Council, but now with her passing Reia-Hal reorganised their Council to be led by a pentamerism of the Craftworld’s most accomplished Seers, who would be known as the Five. Almost traditionally, one of Vandora’s direct-line descendents has always sat on the Seer Council, and often reached the honoured position of one of the Five. The House of Vandora’s current representative on the Seer Council is High Farseer Velora, who has inherited his ancestor’s clairvoyant prowess and is universally recognised as foremost among the Five. Velora himself is a wise and gifted Seer, but even he sometimes seeks out Vandora’s spirit in the Dome of Crystal Seers for advice in particularly difficult times. Such difficult times have been growing ever more frequent, with campaigns such as Medusa V, the 13th Black Crusade, and clashes around the Drasanac nebula to prevent the discovery of their protectorate maiden world of Mironin Raibha ("Preserved Dream").


SOCIAL STRUCTURE

Domestic affairs across the craftworld itself are handled by Eldar on the Path of the Administrator, collectively referred to as the Court of Asuryan after the king of the Eldar pantheon who would often arbitrate the disputes of his fellow gods.

The Reia-Hal have a unique structure to their Seer Council. The council is formed of several “rings” of seers, which are advanced through on a merit basis, with the innermost circle consisting of a small group of council elders known simply as “the Five”. The Five consist of the wisest and most venerable farseers of the craftworld at that time, and handle much of the council’s official communication with other political bodies. The Five are the head of the guiding council by virtue of their prodigious psychic abilities and are considered the ultimate authority on the Craftworld, with many important decision such as the craftworld’s course through the void being made by them or at least influenced by their advice. In turn, many of the Five’s decisions involving the craftworld’s foreign policy are taken with input from other bodies (such as the ancestor spirits of the infinity circuit, or the Court of Exarches in times of war). It is a relatively slow back-and-forth of democratic process, but the conservative caution from the time before Warseer Kamité’s reforms remains in the Reia-Hal psyche, and most of them would rather see a correct decision made than a rash one. Notable exceptions are events that threaten multiple craftworlds such as the 13th Black Crusade or the Medusa V campaign, where the Reia-Hal were quick to decide to stand with their brothers. This is thanks to Vandora, and her principle that they must work together with their kin of the other craftworlds if they were ever to regain what they had lost. Sadly, when it is a matter of domestic interest rather than raw survival, this principle moves closer to being easier said than done.


LAW

Crime in the traditional sense is rare on a craftworld, thanks to the easy availability of most resources and the strong self-discipline that the Eldar path attempts to cultivate. While the Reia-Hal recognise and accept their own volatile natures, they do not tolerate its effects outside the confines of the warrior path. Violence against another Eldar of Reia-Hal meets with mandatory transferral to the Path of the Warrior until they master themselves, or else permanent exile from the craftworld. Though there is no official stigma against such Eldar once they return to the civilian paths, personal resentment on behalf of the victim or their family and friends is another matter.


ECONOMICS

To an outsider the Eldar might seem to be a post-scarcity society, totally self-sufficient. This is not strictly true, and although they do not use currency in the traditional sense, the Reia-Hal do use a system to assign value to their goods. Like most other craftworlds, Reia-Hal’s “finances” are handled by the infinity circuit which tracks a balance of every Eldar’s resource consumption against worthy contributions to the craftworld, which is understood by the Eldar themselves on an innate level. Though esoteric, it is based on the subconscious opinions of the receivers and of the majority population as a whole, which makes it reasonably fair. For example, the work of Farseers is rated very highly by general consensus and they receive a large amount of “credit” for their efforts. Corsair fleets who have undertaken campaigns on Reia-Hal’s behalf can expect to receive hospitality and supplies in return. Poor work ethic, though rare among the Eldar given the deeply-ingrained stigma against hedonism, usually results in exile to the Path of the Outcast. Of course, there are occasional disagreements of opinion, and a feeling of being underappreciated has sometimes driven a Reia-Hal to join the corsair fleets, where the rewards of their individual work are more visceral.

The resource situation on Reia-Hal is governed by the unique nature of Eldar technology, and the craftworld’s own specific design as a generation ship. Most construction is based on warp-based psychoplastics created and moulded by talented Eldar bonesingers, which can be dissolved back into the warp once their use is exhausted. Metals are also used, and these must be obtained from temporary mining stations set up on maiden worlds. The volume required is kept to a minimum by highly efficient recycling processes, where Eldar on the Path of the Artificer use psychically instigated nano-reassembly to return weathered metals to pristine state.

Most domestic energy for homes, industry and machines comes directly from the warp via the channelling medium of wraithbone, energy which is also used to split hydrogen and oxygen from water for vehicle fuel (some of the larger vehicles instead use small fusion reactors). This water is drawn from the various fresh and saltwater seas that cover certain areas of the craftworld, which provide both a source of food and a preserve for the aquatic species saved from their original homeworld.

Food production is largely automated, with large areas of arable land tended by semi-sentient robots overseen by Eldar on the Path of the Agrarian. Like most Eldar, the Reia-Hal prefer the product of Eldar hands to that of automata - such mass-production is restricted to staples where possible, while specialised Agrarians, Treesingers and Herdsmen produce more luxurious foods.

The craftworld’s air is replenished by large forests of trees specially modified to maximise oxygen production, which are separate from the more biodiverse trees found in the craftworld’s nature preserves. Occasionally the craftworld’s soil needs regenerating with minerals drawn from the maiden worlds, though this is mitigated by the negligible growth of the craftworld since its construction. Reia-Hal was built to accommodate many times more Eldar than ultimately succeeded in escaping on it, and the craftworld’s population has not grown as fast as was hoped following the exodus.


SCIENCE

The Path of the Scientist is designed as much for the Eldar’s own personal understanding of the universe as for the good of the craftworld. Although the psychically-augmented technologies of the Eldar are miraculous by the standards of other races, they are still nothing compared to the heights reached prior to the Fall. Some of the Reia-Hal view this as a good thing, but the will to rediscover what they have lost remains strong among the Eldar of the Technologist path.


CUSTOMS

The traditional heraldry of Reia-Hal is dark blue, originally the ritual colour of the Brotherhood of Endobai who venerated the mythical bird dynasty of which the Star Hawk was a scion. This colour can be seen on the ceremonial armour of its guardians and vehicle hulls, although this is often hidden behind gceilfi (a less advanced version of ranger coldras, which retains the adaptive camouflage but without the sensor-baffling properties) on the battlefield. Their Avatar however always wears blue armour, which glows almost white with the heat emanating from his molten skin after he has been awakened. The ceremonial armour of Reia-Hal’s aspect warriors is usually in the colours of their respective shrine, which temporarily supersedes the craftworld’s own colours. Like the guardians, practicality supplants ritual on the battlefield and the armour contains gceilfi adaptive camo.

The inhabitants of Reia-Hal have a particular code when it comes to how their spirit-stones are worn, with female Eldar having them set into the flesh of their forehead at birth, whereas males go by the more traditional route of bearing it on the front of their robes, or on a chain round their neck. This code is a throwback to their original homeworld, where newborn female Eldar would be anointed with a more mundane gem in honour of a similar Urna supposedly worn by the goddess Lileath.

Although the Eldar ceremony of soul binding (roughly equivalent to marriage) is not a requisite of a relationship or of treading the Path of Maternity, it is a deeply symbolic act that all craftworlders honour - in the case of the Reia-Hal, through the wearing of rune-inscribed bracelets by the bound couple. Each pair of bracelets has a unique pattern of runes, the style and order of which symbolise the personalities and shared experiences that connect the two Eldar. Each bracelet also incorporates a small psi-reactive gemstone, which glows when placed near its counterpart.


THE PATH OF WANDERING

It is one of the great tragedies of the Eldar race that a small but significant portion of their young generation choose the physically and spiritually dangerous Path of Wandering early in life. The Reia-Hal tolerate this, partly out of respect for an individual’s right of choice, and partly because they interpret the Path of Wandering as a way to allow an Eldar to face up to the dark passions within themselves, just as the Warrior Path faces up to their bloodlust. Resisting the lure of Slaanesh without the discipline and guidance present on the Craftworld is one of the hardest tests of the Eldar psyche, and for this reason those that master the Ranger path suffer no stigma when they return home to take up more conventional paths.

In 879.M41 Fenix Etherion formed a unique body of elite rangers known as the Shada Kurnous (the “Spears of Kurnous”). They continue to hone their stealth and fieldcraft skills even after returning to Reia-Hal and taking up other paths, and pledge to return to the ranger path whenever the craftworld requests (much as former aspect warriors can return to their path as warlocks). The dangers of retaking any martial path, and the Path of Wandering in particular, are well known. There was significant opposition to Fenix’s proposition, and the Court of Asuryan ruled that an aspiring Shad must undergo a series of trials both mental and physical before being accepted.

Nevertheless, the Shada Kurnous form a valuable corps of professional volunteers that can be called upon at any time (indeed, the Reia-Hal make at least as much use of the Shada as they do their citizen militia) and at any given time there will be many members of the Shada spread across the surrounding systems performing a variety of daring exploration, espionage, infiltration and sabotage missions.

[FarseerMatt]

NOTEWORTHY INDIVIDUALS OF THIS CRAFTWORLD

Aderyn Vandora – The first guiding Farseer of Reia-Hal, revered for steering her kin across the stars and giving them hope after the dark times of the Fall. Though perhaps not as powerful a psyker as Farseer Eldrad Ulthran of Ulthwé, she was still one of the greatest prophets among the Eldar race. In the time of the Eldar empire she devoted much of her life to the study and development of her psychic potential. In a time when the Warp was calmer and the wisdom of the Eldar was deepest, she achieved astonishing feats of psychic prowess and invented over a hundred runes. Some time before the Fall, Vandora forged for herself a psychic ring – an ornate golden loop etched with more than a thousand tiny recesses in which were implanted microscopic psychic runes. Made of the purest and most resilient wraithbone, they represented all of the hundreds of runes Vandora had mastered in the time when the psychic might of the Eldar was at its peak. It acted as a focus for Vandora’s psychic energy and increased her already formidable powers of healing, prophesy and divination. It was through the ring’s power that Vandora first learned of the psychic apocalypse her kin were calling into being in the Warp, a vision that shattered her complacency and revealed to her that her race’s search for perfection in all things had been twisted into a dark obsession with excess. In vain she spoke out against the depravity to which her kin had sunk, but it was already too late. Some heeded her words, most notably the priestesses of Lileath who had been suffering similar dreams, but many more laughingly dismissed her dire warnings. Increasingly tortured by her visions, Vandora travelled to the great conclave, where the few Seers who shared her views agreed that the Eldar civilization could not be saved, and that their only hope was to flee. With heavy hearts, they began to draw plans for the building of the great Craftworlds.

In the final years, Vandora continued to gather those of her kin who were still sane enough to be appalled by the deeds of their brethren, fashioning for them the waystones that would become the mark of her kind. They were forced to band together for protection when their intention to leave their homeworld became known, as the hedonistic mob of the majority population turned against those who opposed their ways. Thus is was that Vandora’s disillusioned followers were forced to begin defending their half-finished generation ship by force of arms, and the exodus to board it when it was finally ready to depart became more of a headlong flight as the refugees were pursued by a mob of insane, bloodthirsty creatures who could no longer be called Eldar. During that running battle, Vandora was compelled to turn and fight as she was confronted by the leader of the mob. Though depraved and half insane, the hedonist Eldar were powerful in equal measure, having expanded the limits of their minds to undreamed potential, and by plundering the depths of his mind Vandora’s opponent could command truly awesome psychic powers of his own. The two clashed in a spectacular psychic duel, and though Vandora finally triumphed and smote the mad Seer down, with his last breath he crushed all his psychic might into a roiling vortex of pure energy and unleashed it with a slash of his witchblade. The burning inferno of soulfire shattered Vandora’s psychic wards and cleaved two fingers from her right hand, taking with it her precious ring. Though two of her warriors dragged the unconscious Vandora to safety the ring was lost, trampled into the dust by the refugees’ howling pursuers.

The refugee ship escaped its home star system, and by the semi-mystical wonders of Eldar medical technology the Healers used cloned cells to restore two new fingers to Velora’s maimed hand, but they could not replace the ring. Despite the loss Vandora was undaunted. She had spent the months leading up to the flight in silent meditation, searching the tangled web of possible futures for the right course of action to take. When the psychic implosion of the Great Enemy’s birth tore at the Craftworld, rocking the ship to its core with the physical shockwaves and piercing the hearts of every Eldar aboard, when the glittering star field behind them disintegrated into the roiling purple horror of the giant warp storm which would come to be known as the Eye of Terror, when those around her were stricken with shock and grief, Vandora’s eyes moistened but she never blinked. When she spoke, it was to give thanks for the few who had been saved. She decreed that their generation ship be named Reia-Hal, and began the task of guiding the nascent Craftworld and the million men, women and children it sheltered on their long exile.

The legendary Ring of Vandora was thought lost forever until the close of the 13th Black Crusade and the reclamation of Belial IV and the surrounding planets, when it was found buried in the heart of a ruined city by Farseer Taldeer of Ulthwe, who was drawn to its psychic call when it sensed that true Eldar had returned to this desolated world once more. The Ring of Vandora was returned to the Reia-Hal Eldar with much rejoicing at this recovery of a shard of their past, and when they brought it before Vandora’s spirit in the Dome of Crystal Seers, she insisted that it be worn by her descendant, Farseer Velora, to use for the good of the Craftworld with her blessing.

Heirann Velora – Farseer Vandora’s latest descendant on the Reia-Hal Seer Council and, as both the most venerable and most highly psychic of the Reia-Hal Seers, he holds the position of High Farseer of the Five. In his time he has travelled many Paths, including that of the Secret Keeper, where he learned everything about the Craftworld’s history and the deeds of his ancestors. This, when coupled with his vast experience and understanding of so many branches of the Eldar Path, makes him one of the wisest Eldar on Reia-Hal. Velora is the most powerful Seer Reia-Hal has ever seen since his first ancestor, and now he also now wears the psychic-amplifying Ring of Vandora recovered from the Belial system, which many of his peers see as a powerful portent. A minority however have criticised Velora for recklessly utilising an artefact that has been steeped in the Eye for so long. They believe that he and Vandora are blind for refusing to believe that even their great works might have been corrupted, and that they will lead Reia-Hal to its doom. Whether their dire predictions have any basis remains to be seen.

Kamita Maté – Farseer Kamité in common conversation. The first-born son of Kariadryl Maté, a respected Bonesinger who had directed the construction of the Starspire (a huge and elaborate Wraithbone tower which has served as a hall of learning on the Craftworld for centuries). In his early years of travelling the Eldar Path, Kamita showed little indication of the warrior he was to become; following in his father’s footsteps he became a peaceful Bonesinger, learning to call Wraithbone forth from the Warp and shape it according to the Craftworld’s needs, then turned to the path of the Healer, being imparted with the extensive and mystical lore of Eldar medicine and, later, learning to channel his psychic energy in order to greatly accelerate the healing process in others.

However, in his early 500s, something happened that would change Kamita’s peaceful outlook on life. It was during the 40th millennium, when Reia-Hal was forced to abandon its galaxy-skirting course and pass through Imperial space to reach its destination that his younger brother Haldir, then travelling the Path of the Mariner, was killed when the vessel he was serving on (the Slid’Isha) was destroyed in a battle with Imperial ships. As he placed his brother’s spirit stone in the wraithbone glades of the Dome of Crystal Seers, a cold fury gripped Kamita and he was drawn for the first time to the Path of the Warrior.

Kamita fought in many battles defending Reia-Hal, and his desire for revenge drove him to spend more time on the Warrior Path than normal for an Eldar. Over time he assumed several Aspects of Kaela Mensha Khaine, donning the war masks of the Striking Scorpion, the Dire Avenger and the Dark Reaper in turn. His anger could have been his undoing, but at the last he pulled back from the brink and left the Warrior Path. This surprised some of his comrades, who had expected him to take up the mantle of Autarch, but after decades of war Kamita’s rage had burned itself out and instead he chose to develop his psychic prowess through the Path of the Seer. It was on this Path that he met and fell in love with his soul-partner, Aerwen. Thanks to her support and the guidance of his mentor Farseer Alarielle, he became a prominent member of the Seer Council and many years later a full Farseer, resolving to dedicate the rest of his life to the Witch Path. Both he and Aerwen were later to be elected as members of the Five.

Through Kamita had left the Warrior Path behind, the extensive knowledge he had gained of strategy and tactics remained, as did the mastery of both hand-to-hand and ranged fighting which almost equalled that of the Exarches he had served under. Due to this Aspect Warrior experience, combined with the clairvoyance and potent psychic powers of a Farseer, Kamita was elected again and again as Reia-Hal’s Warmaster to lead his kin on the battlefield. Though all of the Five have lent their vision to the Reia-Hal strike forces at one time or another (with all of them as well as a number of Seer Council members participating in the particularly dire Medusa V campaign) Kamita is the most often seen on the battlefield, even now that Reia-Hal now has a full Autarch in Suriyana. His once-incandescent hatred has been replaced with a cold, calm fury he now wields in the leadership of his warriors and the annihilation of his enemies.

Aerwenna Valarienn – Another member of the Five, Aerwen is Farseer Maté’s life mate as symbolised by the matching rune-bracelets that they wear. Aerwen’s skill is in communication with the elemental - she has always shared an exceptionally strong bond with the World Spirits of the maiden worlds and Exodite planets. She is Reia-Hal’s emissary of choice to the Exodites and on the battlefield she can channel the wrath of the World Spirits and unleash nature’s fury upon the enemies of Reia-Hal in the form of awesome lightning storms, tidal waves and earthquakes, annihilating them in a dazzling display of elemental energies.

Daian Nimué – Although her psychic talents are great, Nimué is a particularly gifted Spiritseer and communicates the wisdom of the Craftworld’s Dreaming Ones to the Seer Council to aid their decisions. She is the member of the Five responsible for preparing the Ghost Warriors for battle in times of great need and returning them to the peace of the Infinity Circuit afterwards. She is most often seen in the company of Wraithlord Salorehk and conveying the former Autarch’s wisdom to her kin in the councils of war, for Nimué and Salorehk shared a bond of friendship in life that continues in death.

Kyli Tau’ré – The daughter of Farseer Drezatul Tau’ré. A talented Bonesinger and a follower of the Warrior Path in the Howling Banshees Aspect, Kyli served as a Warlock for some time before moving on to more peaceful aspects of the Seer path. Her mentor on this Path was Farseer Maté, and it became increasingly apparent to him that Kyli’s psychic potential was beyond almost any he had seen in a Seer of her age.

Kyli donned the mask of the Warlock once more to thwart a Chaos plot to unleash demons through a warp gate in the Elsinore system, and during the battle she unlocked the full extent of her psychic power and was the primary architect of the crushing victory over the Word Bearers. Shortly after this she elected to give up the cycle of the Path and become a full Farseer, where she believed she had found her calling and where she thought her powers would be of most use to her kin. Due to her exceptional psychic talents, Kyli rose quickly through the ranks of the Seer Council and in an unprecedented event she was elected to become a member of the Five, the youngest Seer to hold such a position in centuries.

Kyli’s lover on Reia-Hal was Warlock Silvanol, and the two were engaged to undergo the ceremony of soul-binding that would mark them as life mates when Abaddon unleashed the 13th Black Crusade. Kyli and Silvanol went to war together as they had done many times in the past, but in one of the final battles of the campaign Silvanol was slain, fighting heroically against a greater demon of Slaanesh. Kyli was left heartbroken by his death, and despite all the support of her friends and family, her pain has not eased in the year that has passed since. Kyli carries Silvanol’s spirit stone with her at all times at his own request, but although she can still talk to him and share her emotions in this way, it is a far and bitter cry from the mortal love they shared, and which can now never be.

Silvarath Rhianol – A great warrior and a powerful battle-seer, Silvanol and his fellow Warlock Kiotyr marshalled Reia-Hal’s Guardians in battle on the rare occasions that their Craftworld had no other choice but to commit its citizen militia to the fray. Silvanol helped to defend his home Craftworld in numerous campaigns such as Medusa V, always fighting by the side of his lover Kyli and saving her from a Word Bearer champion during the Battle of Elsinore, but he met his end fighting by her side during the 13th Black Crusade when the unholy power of a Keeper of Secrets ripped his soul from his body. However, Kyli used her psychic will to rescue her lover’s spirit from the demon and escape with it. Broken-hearted, all she could do was lay it to rest within the Dome of Crystal Seers back on Reia-Hal. However once among the Dreaming Ones, Silvanol expressed a wish to remain with Kyli and continue to support her as he had in life - hence she now carries his spirit stone with her whenever she is in battle or off-Craftworld, the first among the spirit stones she uses for power and guidance.

Salorehk – Reia-Hal's previous Autarch, who was known as Caman Arienal (“the Avenging Angel”) in the songs of her Craftworld. She led her kin in battle for two centuries, until she was finally laid low while fighting valiantly against the forces of the Great Enemy. Even in death she continues to smite the enemies of Reia-Hal as a Wraithlord, and although Reia-Hal makes use of Ghost Warriors only rarely, Salorehk is commonly summoned from the Infinity Circuit into her Wraithlord body to join her kin in important campaigns, where her mastery of grand strategy is valued on the War Council just as her martial prowess is valued on the battlefield.

Fenix Etherion – Ferion to his friends but still always ‘Fenix’ to Laara, who has known him longest. One of Reia-Hal’s most legendary Rangers, Fenix had many dangerous adventures across the Beresa sector with Iolaara (“Laara”) Arailleann - his closest friend since childhood - at least some of which were on his own initiative and not missions assigned by the Craftworld. He first brought himself to the Guiding Council’s attention when he and Laara dared the impossible and rescued the future Autarch Suriyana from the dark city of Commorragh, a mission the Council thought suicidal. The adventure left its marks on him and Laara both, and earned them the lifelong enmity of the Dark Spirits kabal and their leader, the enigmatic "Phoenix". Fenix was appointed Captain of Rangers in recognition of his exceptional stealth and battle skills after his actions at the Battle of Thiama. Though he gave up the Path of Wandering after this, he retained his rank and in times of war picked up his Long Rifle and chameleoline cloak instead of the shuriken catapult of the Guardians, leading squads of Rangers on the battlefield and behind enemy lines. Fenix was also responsible for the creation of the Shada Kurnous, Reia-Hal’s elite Ranger task force, and the Rangers who served under him in battle - many of them friends and relatives of Fenix, such as his second-in-command Idrissan Edresh - were among the first to join. The Shada proved to be a valuable and powerful force in the Reia-Hal arsenal because of their many unique abilities.

Fenix seems inextricably linked to the Ranger Path, and though he had since taken up other Paths and also become romantically involved with his childhood friend Laara, he returned to it once again to act as a mentor to his younger cousin Zarae who had recently embarked upon the Path of Wandering. However, disaster befell them on Kendrel II, and Zarae was killed in an unprovoked attack by several Kroot, led by a Shaper named Kuru. Fenix never forgave himself for her death, and he also secretly swore revenge on the Kroot who had killed her. The kindred to which Kuru belongs are allies of the Tau, and the Tau in turn are currently considered a sort of protectorate by Reia-Hal. Fenix’s fiercely independent and stubborn nature may result in dire consequences for his home Craftworld should he decide to pursue this vendetta.