Changes: Asurmen

Revision as of 21:52, 6 April 2018

Asurmen Cover Art — Asurmen, the Hand of Asuryan, Phoenix Lord of the Dire Avengers

Asurmen, whose name means the Hand of Asuryan, is the first and oldest of the legendary Eldar Phoenix Lord, those most ancient of Exarchs from whom the Aspect Warriors themselves were created and who are the absolute masters of their Aspect's form of combat. Each is a demigod of battle whose legend spans the stars, imbued with supernatural powers that grant them the ability to cheat death. Asurmen himself is the living embodiment of the warrior, just as the Avatar is the incarnation of the Bloody-handed God himself. It was Asurmen who founded the first of the Aspect Shrines, the Shrine of Asur, the forerunner of the Dire Avengers Aspect. Asurmen is the forefather of the Dire Avengers, most noble and vengeful of all the Aspects. Today, this Warrior Aspect is the most common amongst the Eldar, and their shrines are the largest amongst all the Craftworlds.

History

Asurmen Updated — Phoenix Lord Asurmen leads Dire Avengers Aspect Warriors into battle

In the Eldar mythic cycles Asuryan, the Phoenix King, is the chief and greatest of all the Eldar Gods and the king of the Eldar pantheon. Asurmen, also known as the Hand of Asuryan, was the penultimate warrior of all the Eldar, for his extraordinary powers placed him at the Pinnacle of Might. Prior to the Fall of the Eldar, Asurmen was an Eldar originally from the world of Eidafaeron named Iliathin, who led the Craftworlds away from the ancient Aeldari homeworlds of their now lost interstellar empire. And it was he who founded the first of the Aspect Warrior Shrines, the Shrine of Asur, upon a barren world of the same name his people initially settled.

Asurmen found that he could not give up the Path of the Warrior to follow a different Eldar Path, for he desired to use his skills to protect what remained of his species after the birth of the Chaos God Slaanesh, "She Who Thirsts." From the Shrine of Asur sprang the first Aspect Warriors, and the Path of the Warrior was opened for the very first time to all Eldar. Asurmen then travelled amongst more of the different Craftworlds than any other member of his race, teaching those Eldar who wanted to learn the Dire Avengers' suite of combat skills. Those Eldar learned at the feet of their master, and in turn they assumed the mantle of Exarchs before spreading throughout the galaxy. The first Exarchs, the Asurya, the children of Asurmen, were the greatest of his students and went on to become the Phoenix Lords of the other Aspect Shrines, the first masters of the other specialised Eldar combat disciplines. It was then that the different Warrior Aspects were formalised within the culture of the Eldar Craftworlds, taking as their model the skills and teachings of their founders.

The Eldar world of Asur was destroyed during the Fall and Asurmen's first incarnation ended in battle against the Chaotic legions of Slaanesh, but this was not the end of Asurmen. There would always be another hero drawn to his mould and who would take up the armoured suit and sacred battle-gear of the Hand of Asuryan once more. Asurmen joined the Asurya in founding Aspect Shrines and founded more shrines on more Craftworlds than any other Phoenix Lord. His shrines were all dedicated to his own varied combat skills, considered the most well-balanced amongst all the Aspects and his Aspect Warriors became the Dire Avengers. Soon he vanished again, but tales of his deeds persisted throughout the passing millennia. He was reported fighting against the forces of the Eldar's Great Enemy Slaanesh in the depths of the Eye of Terror. He was also seen on the galaxy's rim, and tales of his valour spread from Craftworld to Craftworld.

Wargear

Ancient Phoenix Lord Armour - Asurmen's ancient suit of Exarch Armour makes use of vambraces that possess integrated Shuriken Catapults. These weapons are connected in such a way that they can be fired by either hand without sacrificing accuracy. This arrangement also leaves his hand free so that he can grasp his Diresword with both hands.
Sword of Asur - Asurmen carries the first known Eldar Diresword, called the Sword of Asur, which contains the Spirit Stone of his long-dead brother, Tethesis, who was killed by a daemon, that he might continue to fight against the minions of the Great Enemy until the end of time.
Master Crafted Shuriken Pistol - Despite being the Phoenix Lord of a Warrior Aspect more renowned for delivering punishing short-range volleys of fire, Asurmen is a phenomenal opponent at close quarters, effortlessly switching between one-handed and two-handed fighting styles with the Sword of Asur. This master-crafted Shuriken Pistol serves him well as a secondary weapon when he favours a one-handed fighting style.

Rune

The rune worn by the Phoenix Lord Asurmen is an ancient symbol of the Eldar warrior spirit. Representing the balance between the fury of emotion and the cold surety of skill, it is synonymous with the Path of the Warrior.

Sources

Codex: Eldar Craftworlds (7th Edition), pp. 15, 77-78, 84, 288-290
Codex: Eldar (6th Edition), pg. 56
Codex: Eldar (4th Edition), pp. 30, 55
Codex: Eldar (3rd Edition), pg. 43
Codex: Eldar (2nd Edition), pp. 37, 82
Warhammer Rulebook (5th Edition), pg. 156
White Dwarf 172 (US), "The Eldar: The Path of the Warrior - Dire Avengers", pp. 5-16
White Dwarf 138 (US), "Alaitoc Craftworld Eldar Army - Dire Avenger Exarch", pp. 20-29
White Dwarf 127 (US), "Eldar" by Rick Priestley, Jes Goodwin, William King and Lindsey D. Le Doux Paton, pp. 13-52

**Phoenix Lords**
Arhra • Asurmen • Baharroth • Fuegan • Irillyth • Jain Zar • Karandras • Maugan Ra

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 ==History==
 [[File:Asurmen_Updated.png|thumb|250px|Phoenix Lord Asurmen leads [[Dire Avengers]] Aspect Warriors into battle]]
-In the [[Eldar Mythology| Eldar mythic cycles]] [[Asuryan]], the Phoenix King, is the chief and greatest of all the Eldar Gods and the king of the Eldar pantheon. Asurmen, also known as the Hand of Asuryan, was the penultimate warrior of all the Eldar, for his extraordinary powers placed him at the Pinnacle of Might. Prior to the [[Fall of the Eldar]], Formerly an Eldar from Eidafaeron named '''Iliathin''', Asurmen was the Eldar who led the Craftworlds away from the ancient Eldar homeworlds of their now lost interstellar empire and it was he who founded the first of the Aspect Warrior Shrines, the Shrine of Asur, upon a barren world of the same name his people initially settled. Asurmen found that he could not give up the [[Path of the Warrior]] to follow a different [[Eldar Path]], for he desired to use his skills to protect what remained of his species after the birth of the [[Chaos God]] [[Slaanesh]], "She Who Thirsts." From the Shrine of Asur sprang the first Aspect Warriors, and the Path of the Warrior was opened for the very first time to all Eldar. Asurmen then travelled amongst more of the different [[Craftworld]]s than any other member of his race, teaching those Eldar who wanted to learn the Dire Avengers' suite of combat skills. Those Eldar learned at the feet of their master, and in turn they assumed the mantle of [[Exarch]]s before spreading throughout the galaxy. The first Exarchs, the Asurya, the children of Asurmen, were the greatest of his students and went on to become the Phoenix Lords of the other Aspect Shrines, the first masters of the other specialised Eldar combat disciplines. It was then that the different Warrior Aspects were formalised within the culture of the Eldar Craftworlds, taking as their model the skills and teachings of their founders.
+In the [[Eldar Mythology| Eldar mythic cycles]] [[Asuryan]], the Phoenix King, is the chief and greatest of all the Eldar Gods and the king of the Eldar pantheon. Asurmen, also known as the Hand of Asuryan, was the penultimate warrior of all the Eldar, for his extraordinary powers placed him at the Pinnacle of Might. Prior to the [[Fall of the Eldar]], Asurmen was an Eldar originally from the world of Eidafaeron named Iliathin, who led the Craftworlds away from the ancient Aeldari homeworlds of their now lost interstellar empire. And it was he who founded the first of the Aspect Warrior Shrines, the Shrine of Asur, upon a barren world of the same name his people initially settled.
+Asurmen found that he could not give up the [[Path of the Warrior]] to follow a different [[Eldar Path]], for he desired to use his skills to protect what remained of his species after the birth of the [[Chaos God]] [[Slaanesh]], "She Who Thirsts." From the Shrine of Asur sprang the first Aspect Warriors, and the Path of the Warrior was opened for the very first time to all Eldar. Asurmen then travelled amongst more of the different [[Craftworld]]s than any other member of his race, teaching those Eldar who wanted to learn the Dire Avengers' suite of combat skills. Those Eldar learned at the feet of their master, and in turn they assumed the mantle of [[Exarch]]s before spreading throughout the galaxy. The first Exarchs, the Asurya, the children of Asurmen, were the greatest of his students and went on to become the Phoenix Lords of the other Aspect Shrines, the first masters of the other specialised Eldar combat disciplines. It was then that the different Warrior Aspects were formalised within the culture of the Eldar Craftworlds, taking as their model the skills and teachings of their founders.
 The Eldar world of Asur was destroyed during the Fall and Asurmen's first incarnation ended in battle against the Chaotic legions of Slaanesh, but this was not the end of Asurmen. There would always be another hero drawn to his mould and who would take up the armoured suit and sacred battle-gear of the Hand of Asuryan once more. Asurmen joined the Asurya in founding Aspect Shrines and founded more shrines on more Craftworlds than any other Phoenix Lord. His shrines were all dedicated to his own varied combat skills, considered the most well-balanced amongst all the Aspects and his Aspect Warriors became the Dire Avengers. Soon he vanished again, but tales of his deeds persisted throughout the passing millennia. He was reported fighting against the forces of the Eldar's Great Enemy [[Slaanesh]] in the depths of the [[Eye of Terror]]. He was also seen on the galaxy's rim, and tales of his valour spread from Craftworld to Craftworld.