Kaelor

Kaelor is an extremely isolated minor Craftworld of the Eldar. Under unclear circumstances, at some point in the distant past, Kaelor made a Webway jump to the edge of the galaxy and has not ventured back towards the galactic centre for several millennia. It has virtually no contact with the outside galaxy, and even the Harlequins barely remember its existence. The Kaelor Craftworld is located in the Segmentum Obscurus in orbit of the Eye of Terror. Kaelor is known to pass through the Calixis Sector, a region normally avoided by the Eldar, every thousand Terran years.

The Age of Anguish
The Eldar of Kaelor have preserved a number of stories relating to the lamentable even, known as the Fall of the Eldar, although the craftworld's history is punctuated with periods in which memory of this most formative and cataclysmic event appears to have been lost. Consider in particular the so-called Age of Anguish, during which a number of the practices designed to protect the Eldar from their own natures as well as from the Great Enemy were either abandoned or questioned. Amongst some of the Knavir Eldar, there appears to remain some scepticism about the historical legitimacy of the various stories of the Fall. On this issue, it might be lamentable that Kaelor has had such scarce contact with the Harlequins throughout its long, isolated history. According to the most common versions of the stories (typically those told by the Rune-Singers of the great houses), the Fall occurred dozens of eons into the ancient period, before the coming of Gwrih the Radiant. It happened at a time when the Eldar civilisation had reached its zenith, when it spanned the vastnesses of the galaxy. Its confidence -- and its arrogance -- knew no bounds. It was at this time that the tendency of the Eldar soul towards extremes of emotion and intellect finally gave rise to the Great Cataclysm. Feeding on their unrestrained hedonism and fuelled by the exotic cults that flourished throughout the breathtaking empire, the great daemonic form of Slaanesh was birthed into the mire of Sha'iel. Hence, according to this story, the Great Enemy is the unholy child of the children of Isha, produced by the uncontrolled nature of the Eldar.

As hysterical and insane indulgence gripped the Eldar, causing the civilisation to collapse under its own decadence and orgiastic violence, those who retained their senses fled. At the same time, the Great Enemy worked its magic in the Warp, tearing the fabric of the materium and producing immense maelstroms of Sha'iel (energy of the Warp) that started to consume the Eldar empire. Some -- known as the Exodine Knovah (the Eldar Knights) -- led populations to new, virgin planets in the furthest reaches of the known galaxy, seeking to hide their souls from the thirsting clutches of Slaanesh. Others fled to the stars aboard massive Craftworlds -- huge, self-contained, space-faring bio-systems like Kaelor. Those who remained behind were no longer recognisable as the sons of Asuryan. It was on these craftworlds that the Eldar Path (Ihnyoh) was developed as a way of protecting the souls of the Eldar from the temptations of their own extreme natures and hence as a way of keeping them from the clutches of Slaanesh, who constantly thirsts and quests after the slightest flicker of the extremist souls of those who first gave it birth.

The Craftwars
The Craftworld of Kaelor remembers virtually nothing of its early history and its earliest known records begin with the Craftwars between Kaelor and the Saim-Hann Craftworld, and even information concerning that event is very scarce. What is known is that following a Webway jump, Kaelor found itself on a collision course with the Saim-Hann Craftworld. The ensuing conflict supposedly ended with a Kaelorian victory, but this is highly doubtful. All that is known is that Kaelor was virtually rent apart in the conflict and is now only held together through incredibly strong psychic bonds. During this time, one Kaelor Eldar, known only as Gwrih the Radiant, came to prominence. Gwrih united the Craftworld in an uneasy peace that has held for millennia; a single line, the Rivalin Dynasty, was chosen to permanently hold the position of Farseer of Kaelor. The other great families were effectively exiled from the Craftworld's capital city, the Sentrium, to the outer reaches of the Craftworld. The Exarchs of the Aspect Shrines are accorded far less stature on Kaelor than on other Craftworlds and they swore an oath to Gwrih that they would never intervene in the political struggles of the Kaelorian great houses.

The tenuous peace that held was so long that it led to a dangerous level of unbounded indulgence and decadence among the population of the Sentrium. What would have been purged as a Chaos-influenced pleasure cult on other Craftworlds became accepted as "normal." The affluence of the Sentrium and the ever greater deprivation of the other great houses could only have one outcome, and events finally came to a head with the outbreak of the Kaelorian House Wars. During the House Wars the Aspect Shrines retained their customary neutrality, and thus the main opposing forces were the Guardian armies of Houses Ansgar and Teirtu. The struggle was long and bloody, but the final victory went to the Teirtu, and the head of House Ansgar was executed, though his heirs were spared. Following the House Wars House Teirtu, led by Iden Teirtu, emerged as the dominant political player on Kaelor, and House Ansgar was vanquished and exiled into the hinterlands of Kaelor. Iden Teirtu moved his house to the Sentrium and effectively held the Farseer under house arrest, as his son had sided with House Ansgar during the war.

Asuryan the Phoenix King
The greatest of all Eldar Gods. Except for the genesis myths about the way that Asuryan separated the gods from the mortal eldar at the beginning of time, few of the mythic cycles relating to Asuryan appear to have been preserved on Kaelor. This has serious implications for adherence to Ihnyoh. The Kaelorian wraithsmiths seem to preserve a version of the legend of the Tears of Isha, in which Vaul (the smith god) caught the tears shed by Isha (the mother goddess) when she heard that her children had been banished by Asuryan. Then Vaul fashioned those tears into Spirit Stones, which would permit the children of Isha to remain forever in contact with her. Despite the ostensibly unsympathetic portrayal of this great god, the eldar of Kaelor, like other Eldar, often refer to themselves as the "sons of Asuryan."

Isha the Mother Goddess
The Eldar of Kaelor, particularly the Seer Houses, preserve a number of the central myths about Isha. They appear to be aware of at least one of the versions of the story of Lileath's Dream, in which Lileath the Graceful (more commonly known as Lileath the Maiden on other craftworlds) told Khaine about a vision of him being ripped asunder by one of the mortal offspring of Isha and Kurnous, the God of the Hunt. According to the Kaelorian version of this myth, the mortal in question is Eldanesh, one of the first great eldar heroes. However, this addition to the story is probably the result of confusing the later Ballad of Eldanesh, in which he attempts to avenge the suffering of Isha by killing Khaine, only to be ripped apart by the Bloody-Handed God.

Similar events are related in the Cycle of the Avatar. Nonetheless, in response to this warning from Lileath, Khaine resolved to hunt down the mortal children of Isha -- the Eldar. He slaughtered many of them before his bloodlust was arrested by Asuryan, the Phoenix King, who took pity on Isha when he saw the glittering beauty of her tears -- one shed for each of her hunted children. Hence, Asuryan separated the heavenly and the mortal realms, forbidding any contact between the two. This saved the children of Isha from Khaine's wrath but doomed them never to see their mother again. In sympathy, it is said that Vaul, the Smith God, fashioned Isha's tears into Spirit Stones so that she could retain some contact with her cherished children.

Ehveline
There is a Kaelorian myth called The Lost Daughter, which is kept alive in a number of Seer Houses, including the House of Yuthran. It is a variation on the classic mythic cycle of the Tears of Isha. In this version, Isha manages to keep one of her most cherished daughters hidden from the Phoenix Lord when Asuryan banishes Isha's children from the heavens. The myth tells the story of how this child was raised in secret by Isha, who taught her the secrets of the universe, until her powers grew so great that it became impossible to keep her hidden from Asuryan any longer. At that time, Isha transported her Ehveline down into the mortal realms, placing her amongst the isolated and well-hidden Eldar of Kaelor for her own protection from the wrath of Khaine and the suspicion of Asuryan. It is said that the Ehveline's immortal soul then commenced a process of cycling through reincarnations in mortal Eldar forms, always in the shape of a beautiful female with startling sapphire eyes. The legend suggests that the incarnation of Ehveline will never appear to grow beyond childhood, since the daughter of Isha descended from heaven before becoming fully grown. This is an interesting and unique Kaelorian myth.

Khaela Mensha Khaine
The Eldar of Kaelor have managed to maintain a number of the central myths surrounding Khaine. However, it appears that some of the details have been lost or embroidered throughout the eons. The rune-singers of Kaelor sing of Khaine as the vanquisher of Kaelis Ra -- the Yngir star-god that raged a war through the heavens. In that cycle (the Birth of Fear), Khaine fights alongside the great Eldar hero Eldanesh and wields the immortal Blade Wraiths fashioned for him by Vaul, the Smith God. Yet the rune-singers also sing the (more reliable?) Cycle of the Avatar, in which Khaine wages war against the Children of Isha, defying Asuryan, the greatest of the Eldar Gods, chaining Vaul to his anvil, and joining forces with the Yngir. According to this cycle, it was Khaine that slew the heroic Eldanesh and condemned the Eldar to mortality. Horrified by the violence of Khaine, Asuryan cursed him, making his hands drip with Eldanesh's blood for all eternity -- hence, Khaine the Bloody- Handed God.

The storytellers of the Farseer's Court of Kaelor often relate only the Cycle of the Avatar, which explains why the War God's name is muttered with disgust by the Knavir eldar. Elsewhere on Kaelor, these myths are usually told in immediate succession, presumably to emphasise the unpredictability of the dual natured god of war and of the eldar soul. In House Ansgar, the Cycle of the Avatar ends with Khaine's demise in his futile battle with the Great Enemy, Slaanesh. It is said that when confronted with this daemonic threat to his people, Khaine threw himself into the battle without hope of victory, but buying the Eldar time to flee from their own Fall into the abyss. It is said that Khaine's ruined body was shattered into pristine fragments of bellicosity and scattered throughout the galaxy, awaiting reinvigoration as an Avatar. From these two myths, it seems that the great houses of Kaelor are keenly aware of the contradictory, heroic and tragic nature of the Bloody-Handed God. Unlike the Farseer's Court, the great houses appear to maintain connections with various Aspect Temples, wherein young Eldar learn to draw their strength from Khaine.

Cegorach
The Eldar of Kaelor retain knowledge of one (contested) story of Cegorach during the War in Heaven, in which the Laughing God apparently tricked star god Kaelis Ra -- the bringer of death -- into turning against his own silvering hordes of Yngir (a more common version of this myth on other Craftworlds replaces Kaelis Ra with the mythical foe of Cegorach, the so-called Outsider -- Khamus. This version tallies well with the Harlequin prophecy of the Return of Khamus, in which the Outsider returns to visit its revenge on the children of the Laughing God). A more popular myth surrounding Cegorach on Kaelor is that he escaped the effects of the Fall even without turning to the disciplined life of Ihnyoh. The Esdainn (Rune-Singers) of the Farseer's Court tell of how the Great Harlequin's mocking and irreverent nature distanced him from the decadence, hedonism and corruption that had enticed Slaanesh into existence. The fact that the Harlequins do not wear waystones has not escaped the attention of the Knavir Eldar, who appear to interpret the Song of Cegorach as a parable that condones an indulgent lifestyle for as long as it is indulged in self-mockery. During the so-called Age of Anguish, it appears that Cegorach became something of an icon for those Kaelorians who sought to abandon the Ihnyoh altogether.

Ihnyoh - the Eldar Path
Like the Eldar of other craftworlds, those of Kaelor enjoy a naturally long life, especially when compared with the other mortal species in the galaxy. Unlike the other craftworlds, however, Kaelorians (particularly the so-called Knavir Eldar) do not seem to adhere very rigorously to Ihnyoh. Indeed, it seems that the storytellers have either forgotten the story of Asuryan or have been forbidden to relate it. Amongst the Aspect Temples, the Exarchs and their Rune-Singers (Esdainn) do seem to retain this knowledge, and a number of the great houses are consequently better informed than the Knavir. The basic shape of the story is conventional: the Path is conceived as a solution to the passionate and volatile nature of the Eldar soul, which, left unchecked in the form of unrestrained self-gratification and decadence, resulted in the Fall. It is a cyclical path that sees the Kaelor Eldar dramatically changing their social role at irregular intervals - the most high profile being the paths of the seer and the warrior, although the Knavir are renowned for avoiding the latter and for lingering in the more artistic paths.

The basic concept (that a healthy mix of variety and discipline will resolve the innate tendency towards excess in the Eldar soul) appears to be widely accepted on Kaelor. However, as on other isolated craftworlds, a small community of outcasts -- known as Rangers -- have turned their back on this Path, believing that it is too restrictive and that the dangers of abandoning it have been exaggerated by eons of mythic embroidery. The rangers of Kaelor have developed a rich mythic tradition of their own, largely centred around the heroic figure of Vhruar the Hidden, who was apparently the first of the Kaelorians to throw off the discipline of Ihnyoh in pursuit of something more essential and natural to the Eldar spirit. Kaelor is, however, almost unique amongst the Craftworld Eldar in so far as its adherence to Ihnyoh often appears to be more formal than substantial, especially amongst the so-called Knavir. It seems that unusually feudal circumstances combined with isolation and distance from other craftworlds may have led to a gradual decline in species-memory about Ihnyoh on Kaelor, particularly in the highest echelons of court society. Consciousness of the Path appears strongest amongst the Seer Houses and the great houses, who maintain close ties with the Aspect Temples.

Asureah
Warriors trained in the Aspect Temples. Although the Eldar of Kaelor readily concede that Khaine was a God of contradictory blessings, the Aspect Temples are still viewed with fear, suspicion and awe by most. As on other craftworlds, however, many Eldar pass through a period in their long lives when they hear the calling of Khaine. Hence, as part of their journey along the Eldar Path, many Kaelorians receive training as Aspect Warriors. One of the unusual features of the Aspect Temples on Kaelor is that many of the Aspects have developed hereditary links with specific great houses, in whose domains they build their temples and from whose domains the majority of their warriors are drawn. Most of the largest Aspects are represented on Kaelor. The Dire Avengers have a number of large temples, supported by the patronage of the powerful House of Teirtu. The Warp Spiders were once as numerous as the Avengers, but their fortunes have ebbed and flowed along with those of their patrons, House Ansgar.

Kaelorians appear to subscribe to a conventional version of the story of the origins of the Aspect Temples. In keeping with the wider traditions, the storytellers of Kaelor explain that each of the Aspects draws its nature from one of the myriad aspects of Khaine. Each represents one of the violent predilections inherent in the eldar soul. Rather than presenting the Aspect Temples as theatres for the indulgence of these predilections, the storytellers present the temples as places of spiritual meditation and physical training, where Kaelorians can learn to harness, control and benefit from their unfortunate natures. This functional view does not appear to be shared by everyone, and the Knavir eldar are well known for their disdain of the temples. Like other craftworlds, Kaelor supports the conventional origination of the Aspect Temples in the enigmatic person of Asurmen, who is reputed to have started the Path of the Warrior shortly after the Fall, believing that the newly nomadic children of Isha would need to learn military discipline to survive in an increasingly hostile galaxy.

The methods of practice he established were designed to condition the Eldar soul to embrace the violence within without permitting it to consume or pollute the purity of the soul. This was the Path of the Warrior. To this end, Asurmen established the first of the Aspect Temples, the legendary Shrine of Asur (which Kaelorians identify as coterminous with the Aspect of the Dire Avengers), from whence his finest students (later identified as the Asurya or Phoenix Lords) spread throughout the fragmented and nomadic sons of Asuryan, carrying with them the teachings of this great warrior. Yet each of the students embraced a different style of combat, reflecting the different ways in which Khaine had whispered into their souls. So it was that Jain Zar established the Howling Banshees, Fuegan moulded the Fire Dragons, Baharroth incepted the Swooping Hawks, Ahra (also known as Karandras on some craftworlds) created the Striking Scorpions, and the sinister Maugan Ra birthed the Dark Reapers.

On Kaelor, these legendary progenitors are called the Asurya, and one version of the mythic cycle tells of the way in which they fled the destruction of the Shrine of Asur when one of their own -- the so-called Fallen Phoenix -- turned against them. Surprisingly, given the history and power of the Aspect on Kaelor, there are no extant records concerning the progenitor of the Warp Spiders, which has led some to conjecture a connection with the Fallen Phoenix. An intriguing local legend speaks of the so-called Lhykosidae (Wraith Spider), which appears to be an unorthodox re-imagining of the concept of the Asurya. It is conceivable that Kaelorian folklore is building towards the conclusion that the Lhykosidae was the Fallen Phoenix, although this hypothesise has never heard or seen explicitly.

The Warp Spiders
The Warp Spiders of Kaelor believe that they draw their name and power from the tiny crystalline creatures that roam the Webway and the craftworld's own infinity circuit, purging them of all non-eldar psychic energy. Hence, the Wraith Spider is held to be a monumental force of purification, returning to Kaelor at its moment of greatest pollution and atrophy. The mighty Kaelorian wraithsmith, Vhaalum the Silver, posited an interesting interpretation of this myth, suggesting that the Wraith Spider was the personification of Wraithbone. Both are entities that directly manifest the energy of sha'iel in material form, albeit one becomes organic and the other mineral. Like the Aspect Temples themselves, Exarchs are viewed by the Knavir Eldar of Kaelor as primitive and vulgar representations of the unsavoury side of the eldar soul. However, no Kaelorian appears to lack a sense of fear and awe when confronted with one.

Asurya
On Kaelor and a number of the other craftworlds, the mythical Asurya are identified with the persona and armour of the first exarch of each Aspect -- those originally trained by Asurmen in the Shrine of Asur at the time of the Fall. It is usually maintained that this glorious armour remains animated by the spirit of the Asurya and continues to fight as the incarnation of an aspect of Khaine forever. An interesting and indigenous idiosyncrasy on Kaelor is the Kaelorians' mythic solution to the problem of not knowing the identity of the first Exarch of the Warp Spiders. The Wraith Spider (Lhykosidae) is evidently a de-material conception of the originator. Rather than seeking to identify the Asurya as a historical or legendary warrior, the Warp Spiders of Kaelor seem to believe that it is an expression of the energy of the little crystalline creatures that guard the purity of the Craftworld's Infinity Circuit. They suggest that the Wraith Spider is somehow an incarnation of that essential energy -- an intriguing interpretation of the meaning of the Asurya.

Notable Places

 * Sapphire Dell - The circular council-area of the domains of Ansgar. It is a circular, blue-metallic pit, lowered into the ground to ensure that the councillors themselves are always on a level lower than those over whom they rule. Its structure is supposed to reflect the political commitments of the ruling House of Ansgar.
 * Sentrium - The name given to the sector in the heart of Kaelor in which the Circular Court is located.
 * Styhxlin Perimeter - The great tectonic divide that was cracked into a chasm through the structure of Kaelor during the socalled Craftwars between Kaelor and Saim-Hann in the period immediately preceding the Radiant Age of Gwrih. The chasm was never materially repaired, but rather it was psychically bonded. Hence, because of a quirk in the properties of Sha'iel-infused space, the long, jagged canyon appears to drop straight through Kaelor and out into the vacuum of space, no matter where you stand to look at it. Since Gwrih the Radiant established the Circular Court, the Styhxlin Perimeter has traditionally been seen as the line of division between the domains of the Knavir eldar and those of the provincial great houses -- the so-called Outer Houses. One Ansgar legend suggests that it was the result of an abortive but deliberate attempt by the farseer to rid Kaelor of the (warlords of the) great houses altogether.

Flora and Fauna

 * Tureir-iug - lumbering sloth - The slightly disingenuous name given to the Waercats of Poupriah, which were domesticated by a group of prospectors from Kaelor several eons ago and then farmed within a number of the eco-domes that are speckled throughout the Craftworld. Despite the clumsiness and disdain implied in the name, the Knavir of Kaelor appear to be very partial to the meat of these creatures -- and their farming is virtually monopolised by the House of Ossian. This is an odd deviation from the norm on Kaelor, where most eldar appear to avoid eating animal flesh for reasons of ritual purity.

Notable Kaelor Eldar

 * Aingeal - The ageless Exarch of the Warp Spider Aspect Temple. The temple has an ancestral connection with the House of Ansgar, since a number of the Aspect's temples are found in the home sectors of the Ansgar and are thus supported by Ansgar tithes. A number of Ansgar have trained in those temples. Aingeal is the mentor of Naois Ansgar and of Scilti.
 * Bedwyr Ansgar - Deceased patriarch of House Ansgar, executed by Iden Teirtu at the end of the House Wars. Like the Teirtu, the Ansgar can trace their family line back to the blood of the Rivalin. The Ansgar have close ancestral connections with the Aspect Temple of the Warp Spiders, and a number of the sons (and daughters) of Ansgar have trained in the temple. Bedwyr is the progenitor of Naois and Ela'Ashbel.
 * Kaswallan Ansgar - The long-passed father of Bedwyr.
 * Naois Ansgar - Son of Bedwyr, heir to the House of Ansgar, and closely connected with the Temple of the Warp Spiders. He is the younger cousin of Scilti and Elder brother of Ela'Ashbel.
 * Ela'Ashbel - Sister of Naois Ansgar and daughter of Bedwyr (allegedly by a different, unnamed mother -- rumours suggest a tryst with the beautiful Lady Ione). A child-seer of incredible power. She is ostensibly under the tutelage of Cinnia in the Seer House of Yuthran. She is famed for her unusual and startling sapphire-blue eyes.
 * Ione - Lady Ione is the senior seer of the Seer House of Yuthran and consort to the Teirtu patriarch Iden. A powerful and popular Knavir Eldar of the old school. Despite some rumours about the precise nature of her relationship with Bedwyr Ansgar, whose children she saved from the wrath of Iden at the end of the House Wars, her reputation remains immaculate.
 * Lairgnen - Exarch of the Kaelor Temple of the Dire Avengers.
 * Lkykosidae the "Wraith Spider" - Kaelorians also tell of a rogue Exarch -- the so-called Lhykosidae or Wraith Spider. This legendary warrior appears once every few millennia to bring justice and peace to Kaelor. He will rise out of the ranks of the Warp Spider Temple, but his powers will transcend even those of the Exarch. Amongst various other theories, it is conjectured that he is a kind of Asurya (or Phoenix Lord), but since Kaelorian lore is ignorant of the origination of that Aspect, this Wraith Spider is said to take on the essential soul of the Warp Spiders, and this is done through a kind of spiritual awakening rather than by finding and donning the armour of a fallen Phoenix Lord, as described by the other main Aspect Temples.
 * Menmon - the Soul Taker - The name of a (probably fictional) Kaelorian Eldar of the Seer House of Yuthran who supposedly learned the secret and forbidden arts of necromantism from a vagabond ranger who made contact with the craftworld during the so-called Age of Anguish. According to legends, the ranger was once a Spiritseer from the Craftworld of Iyanden, and he gifted Menmon with the ability to capture the souls of her fellow Eldar, enabling her to use them in the construction of so-called Wraithguard warriors. Whether or not this legend is based on truth is hard to discern -- its subject matter is so offensive to the sensibilities of the Kaelorians that it has all but vanished from public memory. In House Yuthran, Menmon gives her name to one of the most arduous and terrifying of the various rites of passage through which an initiate must pass in order to gain access to the inner sanctums of the great Seer House. Although the details of the rite are known only to those who have passed through it, it appears to be concerned with defences of the soul.
 * Mhyrune - An extinct family line of famed fabric manufacturers from the Mhyrineq Nebula. In Kaelorian parlance, the word has come to be associated with any type of fabric or thread of extraordinary quality. In particular, the local legends suggest that the ancient weavers used to inscribe mnes of power into each thread that they used in a weave, producing cloth with incredible and peerless psychic qualities.
 * Celyddon Ossian - Head of House Ossian, one of the great houses of Kaelor, and councillor on the Ohlipsean. He is famous for unusually dark skin, golden eyes and his richly ostentatious robes.
 * Gwrih the Radiant - The first Rivalin Farseer and the founder of the Circular Court of Kaelor. Legend has it that Gwrih was a great poet and wraithsmith, bringing peace and unity to his people through the power of his aesthetic glory. At least one version of the story of Gwirh depicts him as one of the original Exodine Knovah -- the Eldar Knights -- who first led sons of Asuryan away from their decaying and degenerate civilisation before the Fall. Very few legends depict Gwrih as a warrior of any kind, and the rune-singers of the great houses tend to pay him little respect in their histories of Kaelor. In fact, it seems that he came to prominence on the back of a massive war between Kaelor and the craftworld of Saim-Hann, although the details and motivation of this so-called Craftwar appear to have been lost.
 * Ahearn Rivalin - Oldest surviving Farseer of the grand Rivalin lineage, the line that has overseen Kaelor since the Fall. His family has witnessed (and designed) the glorious grandiosity of the court and of Kaelor's Radiant Age. Ahearn claims direct descent from Gwrih the Radiant, but the tastes of the Sons of Rivalin are rumoured to be unusually extravagant. Discontented Eldar in the provinces whisper that Ahearn's farsight is failing him and that he can no longer see beyond his own death.
 * Kerwyn Rivalin - Son of Ahearn and direct heir to the Farseer's throne.
 * Oriana Rivalin - The daughter of Ahearn and (slightly) younger sister of Kerwyn. She is the consort of Morfran, the bumbling son of Iden of House Teirtu, and mother of Turi.
 * Turi Rivalin - The son of Oriana and Morfran, hence the grandson of both Ahearn Rivalin and Iden Teirtu.
 * Bricriu Seosahm - Head of House Seosahm and councillor on the Ohlipsean.
 * Scilti - Elder cousin of Naois Ansgar and Ela'Ashbel. In the House Wars, he fought alongside his uncle, Bedwyr, but as a young and inexperienced warrior. He was trained in the Temple of the Warp Spiders in the domain of the Ansgar.
 * Iden Teirtu - Warrior lord and patriarch of the great and powerful provincial House Teirtu, able to trace his family bloodline back into the ancient House of Rivalin, many eons earlier. Iden was the victor in the House Wars against House Ansgar and he is the slayer of their patriarch, Bedwyr.
 * Fedelm Tuireann - Known as Tuireann the Ancient, Fedelm was an old Harlequin abandoned by her troupe on Kaelor as the Craftworld fled the chaos of the Great Fall. Despite being so old, her manner was always youthful, and her appellation has come to be used ironically to indicate an Eldar behaving younger than their age.
 * Morfran Teirtu - The son of Iden and approximate contemporary of the Ansgar heir, Naois. His consort is the fair Oriana Rivalin.
 * Alastrinah Yuthran - The founder of the Seer House of Yuthran. She was a compassionate, beautiful and powerful psyker with a gift for farsight. As the consort of the first Rivalin Farseer -- Gwrih the Radiant -- she established a glorious lineage and a tradition of service in the Farseer's Court. The symbol of House Yuthran -- an eye filled with an ocean of water -- is said to reflect Alastrinah's soul. When she died, the ring from the third finger of her left hand was placed on an altar in the sanctum of the great house, and the sanctum was refashioned to mirror its perfect form; this is the so-called Ring of Alastrinah in which young wyches are initiated into the house. Yuthran wyches of high standing or exceptional power will be granted a duplicate of the ring, fashioned out of psycho-reactive wraithbone, which they wear on their third finger as a sign of their sisterhood.
 * Cinnia Yuthran - Also known as Maeveh of the Hidden Joy -- one of the senior seers in the House Yuthran. She is also a representative of that house at the Farseer's Court. She is heir to the functions and responsibilities of Lady Ione, and is mentor to Ela'Ash-bel.

Kaelor Lexicanum

 * Adsulata (Arachnir) - Senior Aspect Warrior in the Temple of the Warp Spiders, harking from the domain of the Ansgar.
 * Arachnir - A term used amongst the Warp Spiders of Kaelor to indicate a command-rank, junior to the Exarch but senior to the other Aspect Warriors.
 * Athesdan -- Farseer of High Warlock - It appears that this is an archaic term for the Farseer of Kaelor, from the eons during which the office of Farseer carried with it military responsibilities. The word has almost vanished from common parlance, but it is occasionally used by members of the great houses to express ironic disdain for the alleged weakness of the Rivalin farseers.
 * Circular Court ‐ The Ohlipsean ‐ the Circle of Rivalin ‐ the Rivalin Court - The highest consultative assembly on Kaelor since the time of Gwrih the Radiant, who established it as a means of unifying the various great houses in a central council. The houses represented on it have tended to be those with some kind of familial or strategic connection with the Rivalin dynasty, leading to some dissatisfaction and unrest amongst the heads of the other houses.
 * Craftwar - An ancient war between Kaelor and another craftworld. Even the rune-singers of Kaelor appear to preserve very little information about why this war was fought, where it took place, and what happened during it. A number of works of poetry (such as the Tragedy of Ghurius) and several military epics (such as the Arc of Destiny) that claim to depict events from this war exist in the most comprehensive libraries of Kaelor. A copy of the Arc of Destiny that is kept in the House Library of Ansgar claims that the Craftwar was won by Kaelor because of the timely intervention of the so-called Lhykosidae or Wraith Spider. However, the authenticity of all of these documents is highly questionable and for eons they have been declared forbidden by the Rivalin Court.
 * Dhanir - stage, path, way - The term used as a category for the particular social role that a Kaelorian Eldar is currently occupying, be it the dhanir of the warrior, seer, artist or whatever. It is to be distinguished from the more elaborate term Ihnyoh (Way or Path), which refers to the cyclical Eldar Way itself. For most Eldar on Kaelor, Ihnyoh consists of a series of specific dhanir, although some do become stuck in a single dhanir.
 * Dhamashir - The soul.
 * Dharknys - Down-phase - A period of darkness that cycles through each sector of Kaelor, providing an artificial night on the massive craftworld. It is, in fact, a naturally occurring phenomenon (or, at least, the Kaelorians have no technical understanding of how or why it occurs). A plausible theory suggests that it has something to do the ebb and flow of the tidal currents within the Infinity Circuit, which would make it an intriguing indicator of the life cycle of the Craftworld. Dharknys passes into a period of laetnys (up-phase) in a regular cycle, everywhere except within the Shrine of Fluir-haern, where it is always light.
 * Edreacian Wine - An unusual, blue, intoxicating beverage that is unique to Craftworld Kaelor, despite the relatively simple Eldreacian technology used to manufacture it. Many Kaelor eldar assert that it is actually toxic and poisonous to Eldar from off-Kaelor; this has proved to be so for some, but certainly not all. It is usually served chilled, but even at reduced temperatures it lingers on the point of vaporisation, sending out a constant mist of blue. Consequently, the wine is as much inhaled as drank.
 * Esdainn - Warlock, also Rune-Singer - In common parlance on Kaelor this has come to mean any psyker with tendencies towards (and Aspect training in the arts of) war and violence. The evaluative force of the word appears somewhat negative. Interestingly, the Kaelorians appear to have conflated this term with the label given to story tellers or rune-singers, particularly those who relate the great mythic cycles that contain tales of heroism, war and combat. The most famous of these is the young Deoch Epona who, despite her youth, is already a master of her craft. It appears that dedicating one's mind to combat (even to stories of combat) is frowned upon in Kaelorian culture. The unusual non-dualism between acting violently and relating violence might warrant further meditation.
 * Exarch - The keeper of an Aspect Temple. As on other craftworlds, Exarchs on Kaelor are those Aspect Warriors that have become consumed by their violent nature and unable to suppress their love of combat. Hence they become unable to pass out of the Path of the Warrior, remaining stranded in that aspect of their existence until their deaths. Exarchs come to personify the qualities that are expressive of their chosen Aspect, and it is to them that the temple looks for leadership and guidance. Most will never remove their armour, and Kaelorian legend is full of stories of exarchs that became so infused with the psychoplastic substance of their armour that they were literally absorbed into it, leaving a psychic echo of their souls to guide and assist the next Exarch who dons the armour (other craftworlds share similar stories, but the secrecy of the Aspect Temples makes it hard to verify them).
 * Exodine Knovah - Eldar Knights - The mythical nobles who led the fist exodites to salvation before the Fall. Some Kaelorian scholars attribute the origins of the term Knavir to this phrase.
 * Externis - Eldar not from Kaelor.
 * Faerulh - the breath of the lost - A mythic breeze said to emanate from the very soul of Kaelor. The most sensitive minds are said to be able to hear the voices of their ancient ancestors carried on the whispering wind.
 * Fluir-haern - Infinity Circuit - Spirit Pool - To some extent the significance of this hallowed and sacred repository appears not to be fully appreciated by sections of the population of Kaelor. In particular, the so-called Knavir Eldar seem to treat it as a chiefly ceremonial or ritual entity, with little functional or substantial importance. That said, the rituals surrounding the passing of an elevated soul into the Fluir-haern are amongst the grandest and most elaborate in the court. Outside the circle of the Knavir, in the great houses, the importance of the matrix appears to be understood in more conventional terms. The rune-singers of House Ansgar, for example, are clear that the Fluir-haern is a repository for the souls of deceased Eldar, where they are kept safe from the clutches of the Great Enemy, and from whence they can be summoned for purposes of advice and wisdom by the living. According to this interpretation, the Fluir-haern is also apt to whisper its own messages to Eldar with minds sufficiently open to hear it - this "breath of the lost" is sometimes known as faerulh. One version of the Ansgar myth also suggests that, the Fluir-haern will eventually become a psychic force powerful enough to confront the might of Slaanesh with the combined power of millions of Kaelorian souls. This incredible force will be led by the mythical Lhykosidae (the Wraith Spider) in the battle of the End of Days. Hence, Kaelor must remain hidden long enough to build up this psychic arsenal.
 * Harlequin - Riellietann - The children of Cegorach. In common parlance on Kaelor this has come to mean an Eldar with an opaque or mysterious nature. The Eldar of Kaelor appear more than usually suspicious of them. One can only assume that this is because of the low frequency of contact between the Harlequins and Kaelor, although there is probably also an element of the opposite causality.
 * House Wars - The epic wars that shaped Kaelor. The term refers to a complicated series of political and military battles for primacy between the great houses of Teirtu and Ansgar, with the Farseer's House of Rivalin caught in the middle. House Teirtu won this war under the leadership of Iden, who promptly had the patriarch of Ansgar (Bedwyr) executed. For undocumented reasons, Iden's consort, the Lady Ione of the Seer House Yuthran, pleaded for mercy on behalf of Bedwyr's infant son (Naois) and baby daughter (Ela). Rumours and legends have grown up around these surviving heirs, fuelling the suspicions and paranoia of Iden.
 * Ishyrea - Gifted of Isha.
 * Knavir - One of the many names used on Kaelor to describe the terrestrial eldar before the Fall. It has come to have connotations of ancient respectability mixed with naive anachronism. The term is rarely affectionate and has become somewhat abusive. A contested and highly politicised version of the origins of this term suggests that it is a distortion of tire ancient class of Exodine Knovah -- the fabled Eldar Knights who were reputed to have been the heads of great noble houses that led the Exodite Eldar away from the declining Eldar civilisation before the Fall, establishing a second generation of civilisations in other parts of the galaxy.
 * Laetnys - Up-phase - A period of light that cycles through each sector of Kaelor, providing an artificial night on the massive craftworld following the period of darkness (dharknys).
 * Mon'keigh - This term refers to a race of sub-intelligent beasts that lived in the twilight world of Koldo. In acient times, these beasts invaded the eldar lands and subjugated them for many years. The mon'keigh of legend were cannibalistic, misshapen monstrosities, eventually cleansed from the galaxy by the hero Elronhir. This term is used by the eldar of Craftworld Kaelor to refer to a number of non-Eldar species that the Eldar deem inferior, in need of extermination.
 * Momah - The name given to the tiny wraithbone carvings made by the master Wraithsmiths in the Trials of Vaul, during which the smith demonstrates his mastery of the art. The intricate objects are little larger than a finger nail, but they contain many years' worth of craftsmanship and detail. The word has also come to be an affectionate term for a talented or promising infant.
 * Path Finder ‐ Outcast ‐ Ranger - The most famous of the historical rangers on Kaelor is Vhruar the Hidden, who reputedly spent a thousand years searching for the Black Library.
 * Path Stalker - The term that Kaelorian Eldar use to describe an Eldar that has become stuck on one specific dhanir or path, hence escaping from the cyclical nature of the Ihnyoh. The most obvious examples are exarchs, but on Kaelor bonesingers are also placed in this category. Interestingly, unlike on other craftworlds (where equivalent terms often do not exist), the farseer is sometimes not regarded as a Path Stalker on Kaelor, since his status is a result of hereditary social position rather than necessarily a result of his having become stuck in the dhanir of the seer. A related term is Path Finder, which is sometimes used to describe the function of rangers on other craftwords. On Kaelor, however, the term has come to take on a broader significance. Whilst it remains a category that encompasses the rangers on Kaelor, the reason for this is two-fold: first, it is because of the obvious fact that the rangers are engaged in reconnaissance (ie, finding paths), but second, it is because they are self-consciously free of the strictures of the Ihnyoh and thus they are forging a life path of their own. They are not stuck on a single dhanir like a Path Stalker, but they are outside the structure altogether -- attempting to find their own path that feels closer to authenticity. This second rationale contains a darker side on Kaelor, since it also appears to have become appropriated as a self-definition by those Kaelorians who are sceptical about the value of Ihnyoh in the first place. These are hedonists, not rangers. The term entered common usage amongst the so-called Knavir eldar during the Age of Anguish.
 * ''Quihan' - Teacher, or master.
 * Ritual of Tuireann - The coming of age ceremony initiated in the Farseer's Court of Kaelor by Fedelm Tuireann, an old Harlequin abandoned by her troupe on Kaelor as the craftworld fled the chaos of the Great Fall. Despite being so old, her manner was always youthful, and her appellation has come to be used ironically to indicate an Eldar behaving younger than their age.
 * Sha'iel - The energy of the Warp.
 * Sha'ielbhr - Wraithbone.
 * ''Sleehr' - A technical term used by seers and wraithsmiths to describe an imbalance between the material and immaterial energies of an entity. In common parlance it has become a term of derision to indicate a polluted, unbalanced, flawed or offensive personality -- eg. Sleehr-child.
 * Tyro - The term used to label an apprentice or trainee warrior in an Aspect Temple. It indicates the status of one who has not yet been inducted into the temple's secret teachings, or one who has not yet attained sufficient mastery of its arts to be called an Aspect Warrior.