Hello, I'm Ghost59.  Your guide into the lore of Warhammer 40k. This is another post, in a collaborative effort to spread Warhammer, TES and the Witcher all through #Gaming.  My good friend  cyber and  Veration handle  the elder scrolls as well as the  witcher  lore.  Links below to check it out  out their work.   https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/212212758?page=0&sort=0&showBanned=0&path=0 https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/212283255?page=0&sort=0&showBanned=0&path=0 Today we will be getting three posts from me instead of just the one once a week or month.   The two topics are some what related  and those two tops are: The rise of the Eldar empire, The fall of the eldar empire and the birth of a dark god. The warp  or the empyrean also known as the sea of souls.   This post will talk about the rise of the eldar empire, their technology and the culture. The ancient history of the Eldar stretches back  over the millennia to a time when they dominated the star completely.  Yet, for all their splendour and might the Eldar would bring a terrible curse upon themselves that would render their empire of forever but today we shall talk about the rise.   [b]Children of the Stars[/b] You see, the Eldar were the only race left almost untouched by the war in heaven.  They had ruled the galaxy with an iron fist, there was no race that could touch them.This took place over a million years ago, when they ruled the stars as the undisputed masters of their own destiny. Such a position was in their right,  they thought and  their preeminence was beyond the doubt. In many ways, the Eldar had a  good reason for such hubris, for no other race posed as a serious threat to their wealth and stability for the time immemorial.  They were convinced that they no longer had anything to fear from the galaxy at large, and that they maybe have been right for the time being but the real threat would not reveal itself until it was too late for them. For this threat would come within and not be an external  threat like they would imagine.  The doom that they would face,  when it finally came took a far more subtle and dangerous than any alien invasion.  At that point in their history, was beyond their reach and nothing was forbidden. The ancient race would continue their glorious existence unaware or unwilling to acknowledge to see that dark fate that awaited them.  They plied the stars at will, experiencing wonders of the galaxy and immersing themselves completely in the endless sensations that it offered them.  Suth technological mastery of the eldar that worlds were created specifically for their pleasures and stars lives and died at their whim. On hundreds of idyllic planets seeded across the stars, the Eldar pursued their inclinations as they will,  indulging every dream and investigating every curiosity.  They had mastered the labyrinth the dimension of the web way. They had expanded their realms into the furthest corners of reality and learn much about the universe that would since been forgotten. When their spirits eventually left their mortal bodies they dissolved peacefully back into the aether to be reborn again, for the warp did not thirst for the eldar souls then as it does today.  There were, of course many wars.  Even  when the galaxy was young there  upstarts races seeking to gouge out their petty empires of their own and the eldar would wage wars against their small empires. Some of these small empires were nercon dynasties that ravaged the dozens of star systems and cost trillions of lives.  Most of these conflicts were so short lived that the ease of victory left the eldar more sure of their ascendancy.  Even the greatest of all their wars, know in the mythic cycles of the craft world as the war in heaven, did not humble them.   In their hearts the eldar reigned supreme and no other power could end their dominance. This would be the greatest down fall for the ancient eldar race. [b]Anatomy and Physiology[/b] Superficially, the eldar appear very similar to human in their anatomy but the comparison Can only be made on superficial basis,  for their minds souls of the eldar are truly alien. The Eldar stand taller than a man, with long cleaner limbs and handsome striking features. Their skin is pale white and unblemished as polished marble yet surprisingly supple strength hiding beneath it. Their keens ears are pointed and their eyes slanted posses a penetrating quality more akin to hunting cat than man. The most fundamental difference can be seen in when the eldar move,  for each radiate an inhuman elegance and poise. This especially evident in the sinuous grace with which they fight and the dexterity with their field weaponry. Every gesture is Laden with a subtle intent and their reflexes are dazzlingly fast.  A casual, languid gesture can end in a pinpoint thrust should the necessity Every gesture is laden with subtle intent, and their reflexes are dazzlingly fast. A casual, languid gesture can end in a pinpoint thrust should the necessity arise. On closer inspection, every aspect of the Eldar physiology betrays their alien nature. Their hearts beat at twice the speed of a human's, and their minds race through possibilities and process emotions so fast that even the so-called geniuses of human history appear dull by comparison. Even their lives are greater in span -- the Eldar enjoy lives of rich sensation and wonder that can stretch over a millennium, unsullied by illness, frailty or disease. All Eldar can manipulate mental energies to a degree. Each is psychic to one extent or another; it is said the ancient Eldar could read thoughts at a glance, whilst those who trained their minds for war could crush a foe's weapon with a simple narrowing of their eyes. Even the complex technology of their race is based upon psychic engineering, the manipulation of and even creation of matter using mental energies alone. But such raw power has its price. The Eldar mind is far more inclined towards extremes than that of a human. To an Eldar, all of life's experiences are available on a far grander scale: the individual rewards of study, the exhilaration of battle, and every imaginable pleasure or sensation in-between. An Eldar will at some point climb the most noble peaks of accomplishment, just as he will plunge into the darkest abyss of doubt. Their capacity to experience emotion enables them to attain transcendent bliss or, in contrast, experience soul-wracking sorrow. This spiritual intensity is writ large throughout their culture, manifesting in sublime works of art and music, but also giving rise to a darkness that threatens to engulf them all. No creature, not even an Eldar, can taste such rich fruits in an uncontrolled way without consequence; for an Eldar to yield absolutely to his desires would destroy him. Such was the fate of their ancient empire, whose depravities brought about the Fall of the Eldar race itself. The Eldar are quite long-lived by human standards, and most will live for more than a thousand standard years unless they die from accident or disease. As a species, the Eldar have a universally high level of psychic ability, which also serves as the foundation of their technology, though a side-effect of this neurological make-up is that an Eldar experiences emotion, both pleasant and painful, far more intensely than any human being. The Eldar that actively cultivate their psychic potential seem to exhibit a much-extended lifespan as well, one proportional to their prowess. In this way the leaders and Seers of the Eldar may live for several thousand standard years. One matter of note is that the Eldar have sometimes referred to humans as "mammals" typically with a derogatory label in the Eldar Lexicon like "the Mon-Keigh", implying that for their part, the Eldar evolved from something else, something more advanced than the primates that are the ancestors of Mankind. The Eldar's physical attributes and physiology indicate that they are descended from a wide range of potential ancestors that include aquatic organisms or avian creatures, although some type of reptile seems most likely (despite their current humanoid appearance, the Eldar's ancestors may not have had a head with two eyes, or an upright body with two arms and two legs at all considering they were genetically altered by the Old Ones!) However, given the Eldar's legendary arrogance, this may also simply be a way for them to put themselves above the other intelligent races of the galaxy, particularly the humans who are currently the most dominant intelligent species, much to the Eldar's disdain. The Eldar likely see themselves as completely separate from the normal classifications of animal groups. Indeed, they may not even have naturally evolved at all, as they are actually the genetic creations of the Old Ones, much like the Orks, created to defend the galaxy and the Old Ones' civilisation from the depredations of the Necrons and their C'tan masters my master post:[url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/212418068?showBanned=0&path=0]Master post[/url]