Asuryani Outcasts

"Betrayal is inevitable. Each of us walks the stars alone. What I do not take from you, you will only use as means to take from me."

— Drasar Yl'aqir

Rune of the Outcast

Asuryani Outcasts, known as Anhrathe in the Aeldari Lexicon, are those rare members of the Aeldari species who have taken up the Path of the Outcast and left their home craftworld to wander the galaxy when they find the rigid Asuryani lifestyle suffocating. Some may even leave the Asuryani Path altogether.

Such exile can also occur because these Aeldari have committed some unforgivable crime against their fellow Asuryani, such as walking the Path of Damnation that leads to consumption by the Aeldari's darkest impulses.

There are many kinds of Outcast, each with a varying degree of dissociation from their kin. Some craftworlders simply yearn for the undiscovered vistas of open space, and take the road less travelled -- codified among the people of the craftworlds as the Path of the Outcast -- until their wanderlust is sated.

The majority of these Outcasts eventually return home to take up a new Path and rejoin their people, bringing with them alien treasures and tales of new worlds, fabulous discoveries, and battles on the edges of the galaxy that help to enrich the broader Asuryani society.

Many Asuryani leave the Path entirely, spending Terran years or solar decades in exile. During this time, they must bear the terrible burden of their heightened consciousness without the protection of the rigid self-discipline offered by the Asuryani Path. Their psychically potent and sensitive minds are a beacon to predatory Daemons and in particular to the Great Enemy Slaanesh, so only Aeldari of especially strong character and will can survive for long.

An Asuryani Outcast armed with a Long Rifle.

These Outcasts leave their craftworlds to carve out lives elsewhere, often wandering the galaxy and visiting the worlds of Humanity or seeking to experience the wild and technologically primitive lives of the Exodites of the Maiden Worlds. These inscrutable nomads are welcome aboard craftworlds only briefly, for their minds are dangerously unguarded and can attract predators from the psychic realms of the Warp.

Such Outcasts are also disruptive in another sense, for simply by their presence they can distract young and inexperienced Aeldari from the Asuryani Path, as romantic tales of travel and freedom follow in their wake.

The wildest of all Outcasts become Aeldari Corsairs and raiders. They often continue to trade with and visit their home craftworld whilst plundering the starships of Humans, Orks and even other Aeldari. These mavericks may even sometimes hire out their services as mercenaries to alien races, while many a voyage of exploration has turned into a military venture.

As home -- and the disciplines of the Asuryani Path -- become increasingly remote, the naturally wild and amoral character of the Aeldari resurfaces. Aeldari pirates are quick-tempered and unpredictable, equally inclined to magnanimity and wanton slaughter, and many of their fleets have become infamous.

On occasion, Corsair fleets will join with the ships of a craftworld in response to a common threat, while at other times a craftworld may aid its Corsair -- or, in rare circumstances, even Drukhari -- cousins on a mission of war, all of which adds to the illusion of Mankind that the Aeldari as a whole are little more than a race of piratical raiders and slavers hellbent on indiscriminate slaughter.

It is for this reason that so many Asuryani Outcasts are often confused with their Drukhari counterparts.

Role

Asuryani Outcasts playing an active, but vital role as Rangers.

Sometimes the rigid behavioral constraints of the Asuryani Path are intolerable even for an Asuryani raised among that society to bear; such individuals leave their craftworlds and willingly walk the Path of the Outcast, or even leave the Path all together.

Many Asuryani spend Terran years or solar decades as Outcasts before they return to the Asuryani Path, though most do eventually feel the need to return to Asuryani society unless they have been forcibly exiled from their former home.

Outcasts must bear the terrible burden of their intense Aeldari emotions and psychic abilities without the mental protections offered by the Asuryani lifestyle. Only Asuryani of remarkably strong characters can survive for long as Outcasts.

After standard years of adventure and wandering, or sailing the seas of space with the Aeldari pirate fleets, most Asuryani eventually return to the sanctuary of the Asuryani Path and the warm, collective familiarity of the craftworlds.

There are many kinds and degrees of Asuryani Outcasts. They can serve as Rangers, the scouts of their craftworlds, well-trained survivalists and marksmen able to find the eye sockets and neck joints of even the most heavily armoured enemy troops with their Long Rifles.

The most skilled of the Asuryani Rangers are known as Pathfinders. Others choose to leave their craftworlds and live elsewhere, often wandering the galaxy and visiting the worlds of Mankind or the Exodites. 

Outcasts are not welcome aboard craftworlds except briefly, for their minds are dangerously unbounded and attract predators from the psychic realms of the Warp.

Daemons or other Warp entities can home in on the undisciplined and extremely powerful mind of an Outcast and lodge in the psycho-supportive environment of the craftworld's wraithbone core and Infinity Circuit, threatening the very survival of a craftworld.

Outcasts are also disruptive to the highly structured societies of the craftworlds in another sense, for their presence can distract the young and inexperienced from the Asuryani Path through their romantic tales of travel, plunder and freedom.

An Aeldari Corsair seeking his next target.

The Outcasts rarely divulge the hardships of their lives or their constant mental struggle to maintain themselves uncorrupted by the darker impulses of the Aeldari nature without the aid of the Asuryani Path.

Asuryani Outcasts are extremely pragmatic realists and are often very tough, sinister individuals. In their manner and actions they are often complete opposites of the Craftworld Aeldari.

Those Outcasts who walk this path for too long may ultimately be consumed by the Path of Damnation and so begin to be enslaved by the same lust for suffering and death that corrupted both their Drukhari cousins and the ancient Aeldari pleasure cults that led to the Fall of Aeldari civilisation more than 10,000 Terran years ago. More than a few Outcasts have made their way to Commorragh and found a new home among the sadistic folk of the Dark City.

Not all who leave their craftworlds become wandering nomads or piratical Aeldari Corsairs. A select few Outcasts hear the laughter of the Aeldari god Cegorach in their dreams, and join the enigmatic Harlequin troupes who travel between the realms of their divided kin as performers and messengers, seeking to keep alive a common Aeldari culture.

Many more Outcasts have joined the growing Ynnari movement, flocking to the banner of Yvraine, the prophet of Ynnead, the god of the dead. The elders of the craftworlds have, for the most part, condemned the new faction's radical beliefs as dangerous and misguided, branding those of the Asuryani who turn their backs on the old ways as "the Pathless."

Notable Asuryani Outcasts

• Relhadhar Antariel - An Aeldari Corsair and famed xenos pirate of the Koronus Expanse, has suffered long years of torment at the hands of first the Kabal of the Splintered Talon and then the Wych Cult of the Withered Blade. Antariel’s shaggy white mane falls around a delicate face usually split by a hateful grin, and his arms are badly scarred from some incident he refuses to mention. The pirate’s solid black eyes are as unreadable as those of any of his kin, but the Hawk makes no effort to conceal the rage that nourishes him. Only by nursing a deep hatred and burning thirst for revenge has Antariel survived, doing whatever it takes to stay alive and one day see the open space of the Koronus Expanse again.
• Ilistaneth Anturien -The deadliest and most experienced warrior of the Crow Spirits, Ilistaneth Anturien has been directly responsible for more death than almost any other individual within the Expanse. Cold and utterly ruthless, Ilistaneth harbours a profound loathing for all that is not Aeldari and knows joy only in the moment of triumph. Ilistaneth does not question the instructions given to him by his masters; his hatred for the enemies of his kind dwarfs any empathy he might have for the plight of his targets. A master of many weapons and just as many poisons, Ilistaneth is a terrifying adversary to face, and as many foes have died to his blades with a look of dread upon their face, as have perished at a great distance never knowing the cause of their demise. Ilistaneth possesses a vast and bewildering array of armaments and tools. The most astounding is a Holo-Suit—normally worn by the mysterious Aeldari warrior-troubadours known as Harlequins, gifted to him by a troupe of Harlequins as a reward for slaying a target whose fate interfered with their own.
• Caeluthin Baharrudor, the Stormchaser - The Stormchaser is a legend spoken of fearfully amongst many of the crews that ply the Koronus Expanse, the vicious xenos pirate lord whose fleet emerges to strike vessels caught within the storms and tides of the Warp, attacking when their prey cannot escape, and leaving survivors enough only to whisper his name. The truth is little different. Caeluthin was born to a life of structure and discipline upon the Craftworld of Kaelor, becoming a Mariner and sailing the void for many years before his boredom and wanderlust became too great. Leaving his home in search of something more, Caeluthin became an Outcast, a willing exile from his people for so long as his wanderlust consumed him. Some five centuries later, Caeluthin’s sense of adventure is still strong, and he has risen to become the leader of the Twilight Swords Corsairs, and does not feel he shall ever return to the life he had upon Kaelor. Caeluthin is cunning, but easily bored, and prone to variegated and ever-changing moods. He views humanity with a sense of faint amusement at times, as a man might look at an animal capable of an interesting trick, while in other moods, he deems them little better than vermin, worthy only of annihilation. Overall, he sees humanity as worthless creatures, useless to his plans. This viewpoint conflicts with the guidance of Ela'Ashbel of Craftworld Kaelor, and is the cause of contention as the two sides work together more often. It is possible that the Farseer's council may moderate Caeluthin's views -- or that her preference to use Humanity to further Aeldari goals may have some appeal.
• Alasiel Belanir - Alasiel Belanir is an Aeldari Corsair consumed by a single drive—revenge. His every waking moment is filled by thoughts of fiery retribution upon those that have wronged him. His very essence is now built upon the need to exact vengeance. But it was not always like this. Alasiel spent his youth, like many Asuryani in the region, drifting between the stars aboard a long-forgotten craftworld, one of the magnificent floating cities constructed by the Asuryani to house their people, last trace of their once great culture. Like a great many Asuryani before him, Alasiel walked numerous paths, learning statecraft, art, and warfare. He bent his talents to mastering each of these disparate fields; he knew the risks in delving too deeply into any one path and strove to maintain balance in all he did. It was a battle he often struggled to win. As he grew, Alasiel found the struggle to remain balanced becoming more and more difficult. Even his meditations amongst the spirit stones of his ancestors could not help him. Afraid of becoming subsumed by one path or another, Alasiel, and a crew of like-minded Asuryani, elected to leave the confines of the craftworld and travel the stars alone. Several centuries ago, Alasiel and his crew returned to the craftworld after an extended voyage into the depths of the Koronus Expanse. He was in good spirits and looked forward to seeing familiar faces and spending time with his ancestors in the gardens. As his vessel exited the webway, he was confronted with a scene of carnage. The blackened structure of the shattered craftworld drifted aimlessly through the void, clouded in debris. Alasiel and his crew left the remains of the craftworld much as they found it, an echoing tomb of former glories. Searching the debris around the wreck, he discovered more evidence of the race that performed this violation. He saw wrecks of vessels that looked familiar, ships belonging to a supremely primitive and unutterably arrogant race called humans. Knowing his prey, Alasiel set off in pursuit of his vengeance. He tracked the attackers across the stars, catching their ships in twos and threes. Wherever he found them, he annihilated them utterly, leaving no trace of their existence. Throughout his campaign, he drew ever closer to his true prize: regaining the lost spirit stones of his craftworld. By chance, he discovered the ships carrying the stones were due to meet up with a larger fleet just beyond the rim of the Screaming Vortex. The vile perpetrators had not fled, but had instead been cut down by another force of humans. Knowing he was too weak to tackle the newcomers alone, he bided his time, shadowing them as they moved away through the Warp. Thinking them nothing more than pirates with little knowledge of the treasures they carried, Alasiel approached the lead ships, offering to pay handsomely for the stones. He was greeted by a counter offer. A pompous and self-important insect calling itself Vir Modren offered to return the stones to Alasiel if he would help him better understand some relics he carried in his hold. With little alternative, Alasiel agreed. The relics turned out to be trophies of the Ruinous Powers, monstrous totems of the ancient evils dwelling beyond the veil. Realising what manner of creature he now dealt with, Alasiel feared for the safety of the stones, but was powerless to move to rescue them. Since that day, Belanir has become trapped by the abhorrent Modren, bound to perform certain tasks for him in return for the continued safety of the stones. Resentment and hatred burn deep in this Aeldari's heart, and given the chance, he will gladly murder Modren and his entire race for the unspeakable crimes they have perpetrated against his people.
• Ulthyr Ellarion - Among the few Asuryani who traverse the Calixis Sector, none are as infamous as the corsair lord Ulthyr Ellarion. Some say he remains in order to recover a special Soul Stone, precious to him for some personal reason. Others claim that he revels in the thrill of the hunt, and finds Mankind to be most excellent sport. Battlefleet Calixis has pursued Ellarion's elusive ship throughout the Drusus Marches for over four centuries. Though he has been brought to battle more than once, the Asuryani and his vessel have either triumphed or disengaged in every encounter. Merchant vessels, however, have had even worse luck—over a thousand shipments have been raided by Ellarion's piratical crew. A figure of some myth and legend, Ulthyr Ellarion keeps no counsel but his own, striking when and where he wishes with seemingly no regard for the Imperial Navy’s orbital defences or patrols. More than a few Inquisitors of the Ordo Xenos have lost their lives or vanished into the depths of space attempting to confront this alien marauder and end his predations once and for all. A handful of dedicated Radicals, however, seek Ellarion more to learn from him than to slay him, for he has shown he can be bargained with on a number of previous occasions.
• Garadhûn - A Corsair of the Crow Spirits, Garadhûn serves as the Istaurmen—diplomatic liaison—for his Cruiser Fate’s End. Because of this, he is far more tolerant of humans and other non-Aeldari species than most of his kind. However, the Crow Spirits are renowned for their wanton slaughter of all non-Aeldari they encounter.
• Ebahn Lauma - The master of the Balestorm Avengers is a being known to his enemies as the Black Prince of Slinnar, and to his wayward kin as Ebahn Lauma, meaning "Night Sky" in the tongue of the Aeldari. Like his underlings, Prince Lauma is an outcast of an unknown Craftworld, and he appears blessed of the skill to unite those of his species that might otherwise fall to the path that leads only to the gates of the Dark City under his banner. While outwardly jocular and bloodthirsty, Prince Lauma is in fact utterly dedicated to the welfare of his Corsairs and entirely uncaring of the fate of those he preys upon.
• Illic Nightspear - An Asuryani Ranger of Craftworld Alaitoc, and has wandered the Path of the Outcast for thousands of Terran years, striding the skeins of fate and seeking out the unknown paths that span the galaxy. He is known to different Ranger bands by many different titles; the Sentinel of the Stars, the Wayforger, and the Shield of Alaitoc. To Illic, one name is as good as another. Such is Nightspear's knowledge of the Webway that it is said by the Aeldari that he can arrive unheralded upon any planet, stepping through its portals and out across the galaxy with the ease of a man drawing breath. Whilst this is undoubtedly an exaggeration, Illic clearly knows more of the hidden paths than any other living being save the Harlequins themselves. Indeed, some say that he knows too much.
• Syndilian Shanyr, the Traveller - Among the Asuryani scouts and spies of the Jericho Reach, Syndilian Shanyr is the most mysterious of them all. Originally from the Il-Kaithe craftworld located near the Eye of Terror, Syndilian and others from his people undertook the epic journey through the Maw-Jericho Warp Gate and into the Jericho Reach at the behest of their Farseers. This was a result of what would become known as the Prophecy of the Crooked Path, laid down by the Il-Kaithe Farseers hundreds of Terran years ago, and identifying the role their people would have to play in this region of space. Syndilian Shanyr is an extremely dangerous foe with decades of training and experience in stealth and subversion. It is for this reason that only the tiniest whispers of his presence have ever reached the Imperium, and even the Inquisition has only the vaguest information on him -- little more than a name and some sketchy second-hand reports of a deadly Aeldari assassin. To date, however, Syndilian has yet to be cornered by a Kill-team, and his few brief encounters with other Imperial forces have been brief and very one-sided.

Aeldari Corsairs

The famed Corsair Prince Yriel of Craftworld Iyanden.

Aeldari Corsairs are those Asuryani Outcasts who have deliberately chosen to make their living by raiding the commerce of the other star-faring intelligent species of the Milky Way Galaxy, particularly the shipping of the Imperium of Man. They are a constant threat to Imperial merchant shipping, though they lack the ability to face off against a true Imperial Navy battlefleet of any real size.

Aware that it was the ineffable power of their own whims and intense desires that brought about the downfall of their species and led to the birth of Slaanesh, the uncorrupted survivors of the Fall of the Aeldari, the Asuryani of the craftworlds, have developed a way to control their own inner natures. Every Asuryani chooses for themselves a discipline which they then make it their purpose to master. It may take many standard years to successfully accomplish this, perhaps more than a single, normal Human lifetime.

Each discipline is called a Path, and each Path may necessitate further choices and specialisations. For example, the Path of the Warrior has many Aspects, and whilst all enable the Asuryani to master the skills of combat, each Warrior Aspect brings with it its own special techniques and abilities.

Other Asuryani Paths include that of the Bonesinger, as the psycho-technicians of the craftworlds are called, who craft wraithbone and other psycho-plastic materials to fashion the material artefacts of the Aeldari civilisation. There are innumerable Paths, some of which are chosen only rarely, but each offers its followers a complete way of life during the time which they tread upon it.

Ebahn Lauma, Black Prince of Slinnar, Corsair Lord of the Balestorm Avengers.

Sometimes the rigid constraints of the Asuryani Path are intolerable even for an Asuryani to bear; such individuals leave their craftworlds and become known as Outcasts. Set free within the universe they are dangerously vulnerable without the rigid mental protection offered by the Path.

After many standard years of adventure and wandering, or sailing the seas of space aboard the pirate fleets, most Asuryani eventually return to the sanctuary of the Asuryani Paths. Aeldari pirates are always followers of the Path of the Outcast -- Asuryani who have found their way by ironically turning away from all Paths and abandoning their craftworld.

These eldritch wanderers live quite apart from the orderly, disciplined Asuryani of the craftworlds, and form ravenous bands of pirates, corsairs and raiders. As with other outcasts, some of these eventually return to the Asuryani Path, or may retain some ties to their craftworld of origin.

However, the willful and unaccountable actions of the Outcasts stand far apart from the carefully scryed and considered actions of the Craftworld Aeldari, and for the most part the Farseers show great reluctance for their own peoples to mix with the wayward and dangerous Outcasts.

Aeldari Corsairs making their way through a throng of dead Imperial Adepts.

Outright alliance between fleets acting on the will of a craftworld's Seers and the more volatile, self-serving Aeldari Corsairs is relatively rare, but certainly not unknown. It usually only occurs when a knowledgeable Corsair leader of great influence is present, able to both satisfy the measured desires of the Seers at the same time that he can prove his raw might to the more aggressive Aeldari pirates.

Such leaders, like the legendary Prince Yriel of Iyanden, are rare, but the fleets they command are invariably very powerful and capable of giving even the most potent forces of the Imperial Navy substantial opposition.

Aeldari Corsairs

Some Aeldari Corsairs have been known to hire themselves out as mercenary forces for various foolish and often very wealthy Human factions within the Imperium. A fleet of Corsairs can prove to be a powerful force on the battlefield for their patrons.

But the fickleness of Aeldari Corsairs is legendary and more than one group of these xenos pirates has been known to suddenly change sides or even turn on their Human patrons after a battle is won to seize a greater share of the rewards. In these situations, the Corsairs' employers usually find their own blood coating the Outcasts' potent blades.

Aeldari Corsair Organisation

An Aeldari Corsair of the Koronus Expanse.

• Corsair Prince - An Aeldari Corsair band is usually led by a member of the ancient Aeldari nobility with the title of prince (or princess) who has chosen the Path of the Outcast. To a Human these Aeldari might seem aloof and arrogant, but the remnants of the lost Aeldari Empire's ancient aristocracy are natural leaders, brilliant tacticians and bold warriors in battle.
• Blade Sworn Retinue - A Blade Sworn Retinue serves as the personal bodyguard of a Corsair band's prince or princess and is composed of the finest warriors in the band. They accompany their sworn leader wherever he or she goes. The retinue is composed of close kinsmen, bridge officers or Outcasts whose skills have made them infamous enough for their master to seek them out and swear them to his or her service.
• Void Dreamer - Void Dreamers are the helmsmen and navigators of Corsair starships. They are powerful Aeldari psykers, closely related to Warlocks, but use their powers of divination and prophecy to guide their vessels and protect their crews from the Daemons of the Warp and other dangers.
• Voidstorm Squad - During raids a Corsair prince will gather hand-picked veteran Corsairs together to form a Voidstorm Squad. Equipped for close-quarters combat, these veterans will be in the thick of the fighting or the first to storm a breach during a boarding action.
• Corsair Squadron - The rank and file of the Corsair band are its ship crews, led by their Felarch (a rank broadly equivalent to the bosuns of the Imperial Navy). They are lightly equipped for fast raiding, utilising Corsair Jet Packs, Venoms and Falcons for rapid insertion and battlefield mobility. Corsair squads tend to be much more experienced and battle-hardened troops in comparison to Craftworld Guardians.
• Wasp Assault Walker Squadron - Wasp Assault Walkers are light vehicles that provide Corsair bands with mobile heavy fire support. Corsair bands adapt them for rapid insertion mission alongside the Corsairs, fitting them with jump jets, and jet-supported anti-gravitic systems that enable them to rapidly redeploy where needed as part of a Corsair raid.
• Corsair Jetbike Squadron - Jetbikes form an important part of Corsair attacks, speeding ahead as scouts or sweeping around enemy flanks to encircle the foe before plunging into the melee with deadly effect.

Notable Aeldari Corsair Fleets

• Alai Mercenary Corps
• Alaitoc Warp Hunters
• Balestorm Avengers - The Balestorm Avengers are one of the Aeldari Corsair groups operating within the Jericho Reach, though the region is far from the only one they have haunted over the millennia. Since the Reach's Age of Shadow, however, the Avengers have concentrated their efforts in the Outer Reach and even established a number of havens on the outer verges of the Slinnar Drift. Far from using the lambent clouds of the Drift as a place to hide from vengeful enemies, the Avengers appear to be using them as places from which to watch surrounding space. Exactly what these outcast, piratical Aeldari are watching for remains unknown though some of the masters of the Dead Cabal hold that it must surely relate to the accursed Dark Pattern.
• Black Suns
• Children of Thorns - When voidfarers in the Koronus Expanse speak of the fickle and vicious ways of Aeldari Corsairs, their tales most often speak of the Corsairs known as the Children of Thorns. Clad in glossy beetle-black armour, the proud and capricious warriors of the Children of Thorns are merciless in combat and are said to slaughter their enemies to the last once battle is joined. It is said that one is fortunate to hear the keening war cries of the Children of Thorns and live to tell of it. The leader of the Children of Thorns is a female who long ago cast herself from the strictures of the Asuryani Path to lead her Children of Thorns in bloodshed across the Halo Stars. Her true names long ago discarded, she is now simply known as the Mother of the Shadows. When attacking in the void, the night-black ships of the Children of Thorns prize stealth above all tactics. Only once they have ensured complete surprise and a perfect position of attack, they strike with ferocity and precision, crippling their prey and leaving the ship reeling and boarded by screaming, dark, and graceful shapes that kill and kill until there is nothing left alive and the prize is theirs. Despite their terrifying reputation, the Children of Thorns have had dealings with a number of Rogue Traders in the Expanse and have even made compacts with a few or fought as mercenaries for those brave enough to seal such a bargain. It is perhaps these ties that give the Children of Thorns the phenomenally accurate information that allows them to strike at human craft close to the Maw with such accuracy. One or more Rogue Traders have sealed a compact with the Children of Thorns -- one paid for in the blood of their rivals.
• Crow Spirits - The Crow Spirits are grim, cold killers who seem bent not on piracy but the selective annihilation of humanity within the Koronus Expanse. Clad in glittering armour that shines as if filled with moonlight, they make no sound in battle and are led by witches robed in pale tatters with tall helms of gleaming bone. Their starships are like pale dead things driven by a cold and broken will. Their tattered ethereal sails propel them from the depths of the void to strike at Imperial ships, colonies, and stations in Expanse's Foundling Worlds, Accursed Demesne, and Unbeholden Reaches. Cloaked and unseen until it is too late, the Crow Spirits are borne on a storm within the Warp and realspace that boils and screams with ethereal voices. They destroy and kill with a cold precision -- and then leave, taking no prizes. Who leads these mysterious Corsairs and what their purpose is remains unknown, but some have speculated that they are guarding something, or keeping something from being discovered. At least one Inquisitor of the Ordo Xenos believes that the Crow Spirits have some tie to a notorious Aeldari Corsair in the Calixis Sector -- Ulthyr Ellarion.
• Eldritch Raiders - The Eldritch Raiders Corsair fleet is commanded by the High Admiral, Prince Yriel. Yriel is an Asuryani Autarch of the Iyanden Craftworld and High Admiral of the Iyanden fleet. Yriel is widely considered to be the greatest Aeldari naval genius to have ever lived. Though Yriel and his Corsairs have officially left their Craftworld of Iyanden to raid Imperial shipping, the Eldritch Raiders still respond to the defense of their Craftworld in times of need.
• Ellarion's Raiders - This infamous Aeldari Corsair band plagues the Calixis Sector. Led by the Corsair Lord Ulthyr Ellarion, his elusive warship has been pursued throughout the Drusus Marshes Sub-sector by the starships of the Battlefleet Calixis for over four centuries. Though he has been brought to battle more than once, the Aeldari pirate lord and his vessel have either triumphed or successfully disengaged and lost Imperial pursuit in every encounter. Some say he remains in the region in order to recover a special Soul Stone, precious to him for some personal reason. Others claim that he revels in the thrill of the hunt, and finds Mankind to be most excellent sport. Over a thousand Imperial shipments have been raided by Ellarion's Raiders.
• Golden Squadron
• Myan Agents of Silence
• Scarlet Command
• Sky Raiders - The Sky Raiders was an Aeldari Corsair band that was allied with the two main Aeldari factions from Craftworlds Alaitoc and Mymeara during the full-scale Asuryani retreat from the world of Betalis III in 894.M41 at the end of the Betalis III Campaign. During the massive naval engagement near the Karina Nebula, the Sky Raiders became notorious for the viciousness of their attacks, and later analysis of the remains of their victims was commonly mistaken by less experienced Adepts for attacks more akin to those made by Drukhari hunting cadres. Due to the reputation for ferociousness they gained during the Battle of the Karina Nebula, boarding assaults upon starships belonging to the Sky Raiders were spearheaded by the Astartes drawn from Great Wolf Bran Redmaw's Great Company of Space Wolves. This resulted in very few of the Corsairs onboard the Sky Raiders' vessels surviving the campaign and those ships of the band which did escape were all reported to have been heavily damaged.
• Sky Serpents - Known as "The Serpent," Duke Traevelliath Sliscus is the infamous Drukhari pirate lord of the Sky Serpents Corsairs. Over thousands of Terran years, Duke Sliscus and his Corsair band's reputation has spread from Alpha Prime to the Omegon Belt. The Duke's trio of flagships, stolen from the Kabals of three humiliated Drukhari Archons, are surrounded by a flotilla of Cruisers and other warships that have flocked to his banner. The Sky Serpents' low-orbit raids continue to plague the the worlds of the rich and privileged across the Imperium, their legend growing with every fresh slaughter.
• Sunblitz Brotherhood - The Aeldari Corsair band known as the Sunblitz Brotherhood is believed to be aligned with Craftworld Alaitoc. During the battle for the Betalis System, the pilots of the Sunblitz Brotherhood's fleet were ultimately responsible for the destruction of the Watchful Saviour, Betalis III's orbiting defence platform. Later, the Sunblitz Brotherhood temporarily allied with the ships of the Void Dragons Corsair cadre to patrol the inner regions of the Betalis System. Wreckage recovered from the star system after the campaign ended indicates that this alliance proved tenuous at best, as it appears that more than one Sunblitz vessel was damaged by Void Dragons weaponry during that time.
• Twilight Swords - The Twilight Swords are another Aeldari Corsair group that operates within the Slinnar Drift within the Jericho Reach. Their Corsair lord harbours an abiding hatred for the Corsair lord of the rival Balestorm Avengers, and the two groups have fought a series of bitter wars for no reason that can be ascertained by outsiders to the dispute.
• Ulthwé Steal Eye Reavers
• Void Dragons - One of the most infamous and dangerous bands of Aeldari Corsairs in existence, the Void Dragons operate across the galaxy. The Imperial Navy estimates that they command a fleet in excess of 3,500 warships, and have been encountered in places as far apart as the Cadian Gate, the distant Tau Empire and the Halo Stars. Currently commanded by the haughty Princess Saaraina, the Void Dragons' attacks hold no predictable pattern, and range from ambushes against Chaos raiders near the Eye of Terror, to the mass enslavement of the Imperial penal colony of Vorenz VI, to fighting against the Orks of the empire of Charadon.
• Void Warriors
• Xian's Black Raiders

Sources

• Battlefleet Gothic - Yriel's Raiders
• Chapter Approved - The Book of the Astronomican (Background Book), pg. 43
• Codex: Dark Eldar (5th Edition), pg. 51
• Codex: Eldar (4th Edition), pg. 53
• Codex: Eldar (6th Edition), pg. 55
• Codex: Craftworlds (8th Edition), pg. 11
• Codex: Space Wolves (5th Edition), pg. 52
• Dark Heresy: Creatures Anathema (RPG), pg. 82
• Deathwatch: Achilus Assault (RPG), pg. 141
• Deathwatch: The Outer Reach (RPG), pp. 64-65
• Imperial Armour Volume Eleven - The Doom of Mymeara, pp. 147, 160-163, 165-166, 171
• Imperial Armour - Index: Xenos (8th Edition), pg. 75
• Rogue Trader: Core Rulebook (RPG), pp. 357-359; 376
• Rogue Trader: Edge of the Abyss (RPG), pp. 61, 64
• Rogue Trader: Twilight Crusade (RPG), pp. 102-103
• Rogue Trader: The Soul Reaver (RPG), pg. 61
• Rogue Trader: Fallen Suns (RPG), pg. 24
• Wrath & Glory: Core Rules (RPG), pg. 438
• White Dwarf 119 (UK), "Battlefleet Gothic: Concept Art - Eldar Crew & Ships," by Jes Goodwin, pp. 29-31