Lhykhis

Lhykhis, the Whispering Web, Phoenix Lord of the Warp Spiders, armed with her unique, four-armed Phoenix Armour and the crackling power sword Vhattarkan, also known as Weaverender, which is so sharp it can carve the fabric of reality itself, opening up microrifts into the Warp.

Lhykhis, called the "Whispering Web," is the Phoenix Lord and founder of the Craftworld Aeldari's Warp Spiders Aspect Warriors.

Rarely seen in battlefield records of the 41st Millennium, the Warp Spiders' Phoenix Lord was considered apocryphal by Imperial scholars. At one point, she had been absent for so long that even the Aeldari believed her lost.

More recently, however, Lhykhis has returned, becoming one of the more active Phoenix Lords in the Era Indomitus and travelling the length and breadth of the galaxy to defend the Asuryani wherever they need it most. She has an unmatched mastery over the short leaps through the Warp her Aspect Shrine uses to ambush their prey -- unrivalled even by her Exarchs -- and the sudden speed and ferocity of her assaults are why it's taken so long for Imperial commanders to even confirm her existence.

The danger posed by such frequent forays into the Immaterium would give pause to the most hardened Autarchs, but Lhykhis plunges into that hellish realm time and time again without a moment's hesitation.

History

A more detailed look at Lhykhis' unique four-armed Phoenix Armour and her power sword Vhattarkan, also known as Weaverender.

The Phoenix Lord of the Warp Spiders is Lhykhis, the "Whispering Web," who embodies the Aeldari war god Khaela Mensha Khaine's willingness to risk everything for victory, leaping from nothingness to engage the enemy in close quarters before slipping back into the Warp -- where an altogether different kind of enemy awaits.

Lhykhis is considered to be a daredevil even amongst her fellow Phoenix Lords. Despite the dangers, Lhykhis is known for repeatedly plunging into the Warp without fear and uses her keen eye for navigation to go further and more accurately to her chosen destination through the Immaterium than even the most ancient Warp Spider Exarchs.

Yet when the Asuryani need her, Lhykhis always eventually emerges from the Warp to save them from doom. The one-of-a-kind suit of Aspect Armour she wears houses four additional arms -- two armed with a unique pair of Death Spinners while the others end in wicked monofilament weapons reminiscent of the infamous Harlequin's Kiss. Even with this arsenal at her back, Lhykhis' most dangerous weapon is the crackling power sword Vhattarkan, also known as Weaverender, which is so sharp it can carve the fabric of reality itself, opening up microrifts into the Warp.

Because of Lhykhis' penchant for disappearing into the Warp for long periods of time, many Asuryani long believed that the Warp Spiders had no known Phoenix Lord.

However, a report from a unit of the Astra Militarum during the Era Indomitus indicated that a suit of ancient Aeldari relic armour had been found, but was recovered by the Craftworld Aeldari before it could be incinerated by the guardsmen. The scant Human remains left following the attack indicated the attackers were Warp Spiders. The Astra Militarum company commander was summarily executed for lack of foresight and failure to place an adequate guard over the xenos relic. It is likely that this armour was Lhykhis' unique suit of Phoenix Armour that had been thought lost. Its recovery by the Warp Spiders allowed their Phoenix Lord to be reborn once more after a long absence.

Wargear

• Phoenix Armour - This one-of-a-kind suit of Aspect Armour Lhykhis wears houses four additional arms -- two armed with a unique pair of Death Spinners while the others end in wicked monofilament weapons reminiscent of the infamous Harlequin's Kiss. This suit houses the Spirit Stones of Lhykhis which hold the souls of every Warp Spider Exarch to have become the Phoenix Lord since the original Lhykhis first assumed the mantle many Terran millennia ago.

• Vhattarkan (Weaverender) - Lhykhis' most dangerous weapon is the crackling power sword Vhattarkan, also known as Weaverender, which is so sharp it can carve the fabric of reality itself, opening up microrifts into the Warp.

Lhykosidae

Because Lhykhis often was absent in the Warp for long periods of time, many Craftworld Aeldari long believed that the Warp Spiders had no known Phoenix Lord. Instead, those who dimly remembered the truth claimed that the legendary Aeldari warrior Lhykosidae, renowned upon the Craftworld Kaelor simply as the "Wraith Spider," was likely the Phoenix Lord of the Warp Spiders.

This mythical Aspect Warrior exists within the legends of the Kaelorians who claim that he is a rogue Exarch who appears once every few millennia to bring justice and peace to their craftworld. It is said that he will arise from the ranks of the Warp Spiders though his power would transcend that of any Exarch. A copy of the work known as the Arc of Destiny located in the House Library of Ansgar on Kaelor even claims that the Craftwars were won by Kaelor due to the timely arrival of the Wraith Spider.

There were various theories that surrounded Lhykosidae on Kaelor, with some holding the view that the descriptions of the warrior indicated that he was a Phoenix Lord, one of the Asurya, though Kaelorian lore was actually ignorant of the originator of the Warp Spider Aspect. However, other Kaelorians held the view that the Wraith Spider has taken the essential soul of the Warp Spiders with him, being a kind of spiritual awakening rather than finding or donning the armour of a fallen Phoenix Lord as is the case with the main Aspect Temples.

Among the beliefs held by the Warp Spiders Aspect of Kaelor themselves is that the Wraith Spider is a monumental force of purification that stems from the view that the Warp Spiders draw their name as well as power from the tiny crystalline creatures that roam the Webway and craftworld's Infinity Circuit which they purge of non-Aeldari psychic energy. Thus, Lhykosidae is said to return to Kaelor at the moment of greatest pollution and atrophy.

Vhaalum the Silver, who is a mighty Kaelorian wraithsmith, holds his own interesting interpretation of this myth as he believed the Wraith Spider to be a personification of wraithbone except he is a sha'iel, a wraithbone being directly manifested into an organic form.

Sources

• Warhammer Community - World Championships Preview – Aeldari Phoenix Lords step from the webway
• Warhammer Community - Lhykhis the Whispering Web – Who is the Warp Spider Phoenix Lord leaping into the new Codex: Aeldari?
• Psychic Awakening - The Greater Good (8th Edition), "Echoes of Awakening,", pg. 20