Terradon
Fhanados
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This is a little side project of mine. A long time ago my wife (then-girlfriend) expressed a vague interest in Warhammer. The only model line she liked was the Dark Elves, mainly because of Wyches, so I bought her the army book and worked out a Wych army for her - even getting a few units second hand. Things were looking good! Then she read the army book... She was very off put by the violent nature of the Dark Elves, and combined with her first glimpse at what the rules look like scared her away.
Now that AoS is in full swing I think it's time to revisit her army in the form of Aelfs. Now that there's no such thing as a Dark Elf I've devised a bit of background for a new and improved Aelf army incorporating Exiles, Highborn and whatever Wood Elves call themselves these days. Before I get to modelling though, it's time for some background shamelessly stolen from multiple video games!
The Kae’Dorei – Pure Aelfs
Hysh, the Realm of Light harbours many secrets. Its radiance and purity, both of its peoples and the lands themselves made the conquest of Chaos seem unlikely. Even during the early days after the Time of Myth had ended and the Time of Chaos was on the ascent it was not until entire nations had been exterminated by the unrelenting tides of evil that the realisation had sunk in. Their gods were gone, the war was lost, their kingdoms were condemned to be a footnote in history.
Before this great doom fell upon the people of Hysh it was undoubtedly one of the most vibrant and established realms. Mighty kingdoms and empires spanned its continents, built by pale stone and yellowed clay, sustained by produce harvested from golden fields under the warm light of its many suns, the rich cultures and knowledge fuelled by faith in the divine and the pursuit of knowledge that only comes with a population without fear of the world it dwells within.
It is unsurprising then that Hysh boasted a great population of Aelfs, more than any other realm could lay claim to. Though haughty and arrogant perfectionists, all Aelfs are keen of mind and have a peculiar attunement to magic. Few could resist the temptations of luxurious living coupled with a limitless pursuit of knowledge and all things arcane. The Realm of Light was therefore home to several burgeoning Aelf kingdoms alongside those of mankind. Aelf settlements were not an uncommon sight within human empires as well – indeed several kingdoms came to be governed by a ruling class consisting entirely of Aelfs and while violent disputes between neighbours was common all out war was unheard of for generations.
It is from this Aelf saturated society that the Kae’Dorei emerged – the so called “Pure Elves”. The original Kae’Dorei were refugees; Aelfs of all origins brought together in the lower class conclaves of the poor displaced Aelfs of the other realms. While the kingdoms of Hysh busied themselves in their own glory, wilfully ignorant of the insidious return of Chaos beginning to plague the other Realms the Aelf refugees formed a coherent society of their own, deciding that it was better to rule themselves than be subject to the rule of fools.
Eventually this self proclaimed independence led to conflict and the Kae’Dorei were exiled. Refusing to settle in nearby kingdoms they accepted aid when it was offered to them but otherwise set off in a search for a new home – somewhere unspoken for by moronic kings, greedy emperors and blind scholars. After some time this led them to one of the great seas of Hysh, a crystalline ocean so clear that one could see a hundred metres down with the clarity of peering through glass. So it was that the Kae’Dorei set off to sea in the elegant ships that only Aelfs can build, seeking their destiny on some unclaimed shore.
The Purelands
The Purelands is situated on an island the size of a subcontinent. A huge ring of jagged black obsidian glass cliffs encircles the entire island, broken only by the occasional mountainside fortress or coastal town that keep watch over the deep azure seas that surround it. Shipwrecks along this deadly coastline are common, and those hardy enough or lucky enough to survive usually find themselves permanent residents of these spartan seaside villages and spend the rest of their lives eking out a sparse living in these harsh conditions. Very few, even among the villagers know the truth of the bounty that lies just beyond the pinnacle of the seemingly unpassable cliffs.
The whole island is in fact the crater of an enormous volcano from the Realm’s very formation untold millennia ago well before the coming of Sigmar or any of the other gods from the World that Was. There are few secret passageways through the mountains that lead to the crater, all of which are fiercely guarded by the seemingly abandoned fortresses carved out of the smooth black stone that makes up the mountainside. Even then, if one was to find one of these trails unguarded their journey would still be perilous and likely seem fruitless – for once you cross the zenith of the mountains you would be greeted by more jagged mountains for miles and miles, all shrouded in thick white mist.
It is at this point that a normal mind would fall to despair and give up their pursuit of adventure. The Kae’Dorei were not such people, and by chance finding the shore were wrecked upon entirely devoid of inhabitants set about establishing themselves in the abandoned towns and castles and sending scouting parties into the mists on a somewhat regular basis. They had not travelled so long or so far merely to become underfed fishermen dwelling on the rocky face of an uninhabitable cliff like some starved seabird. No, they journeyed into the fog and what they found changed the history of their peoples forever.
Once below the mist one can see the Purelands for what it truly is – a twilight realm of silver and gold lush with forests of all kinds. Untouched for untold ages the wild woods of the Purelands is home to great trees of a size and age rivalled only by those in Ghyran the Realm of Life. Lush rainforests, gnarled woodlands, peaty swamps and wildflower meadows abound in equal measure and beauty within the massive caldera. Thousands of species of plant and tree are found nowhere else in all the 8 realms, and the soil is rich and fertile and it was in these lands the Kae’Dorei would make their home.
An Empire Found and Lost
At the base of the inner cliffs, sheltered from the many suns of Hysh were the swamps of the Purelands. Water from the mists above, from the storms above them, and the melting snow from the mountain peaks trickled down to feed the wetlands with the purest water. It was here where the Kae’Dorei made their first inland settlements; small villages of floating huts anchored to the more solid islands within the marshes and linked by bridges and walkways. The simple yet elegant designs formed a stable base of operations for further forays into the heart of the Purelands and the constant supply of fresh water and food kept the adventurers well stocked and promoted a healthy growth in population that had not been experienced since before their exile over a century earlier. This signified a turning point for the Kae’Dorei and is recorded in their written history as the first days of their Empire.
In truth, it took nearly another generation of exploring before the stable foundations of their civilisation could take root further inland. Despite its beauty and its bounty the Purelands was a dangerous place where many creatures dwelled. The natural beasts that once inhabited these lands had spent millennia being saturated by magic, for the power that infused the winds of Hysh had pooled in the crater and mixed with that of Ghyran, which the Aelfs could sense in the air but had not yet been able to locate the source of. Combined this formed an incredibly pure force, nigh incorruptible, but its concentration in the crater had led to a myriad of new and deadly creatures being born and many of these creatures held the trespassing Aelfs in no high regard.
Over time through battle and through nurture the Kae’Dorei had made a large segment of the Purelands habitable. Hostile beasts were either driven away or tamed, and this new blended magic had become a useful tool in establishing the new Aelf Empire. Dangerous areas of forest were blocked off with impenetrable thickets of trees and vines, treacherous marshes had paths reinforced from below with the roots of swampland vegetation and food plants were seeded all throughout the cultured lands by the sides of walkways or the forests surrounding settlements. The settlements themselves took on a austere aspect similar to the ancient fortresses that lined the outer cliffs – simple blocks of unadorned stone formed fairly uniformed buildings, decorated only by the personal belongings of its occupants. From the perspective of an outsider it would seem more like the architecture of a militaristic human nation than one of and Aelf kingdom so in harmony with its surrounds – but it was that harmony with the land that the Kae’Dorei chose to emphasise in their culture rather than the grandeur of the other Aelfs from the old kingdoms and empires from which they fled.
In less than two hundred years since the first of these stone townships was built the rest of the Purelands was pacified and the great Empire of Kae’Thalas was officially named. With the Purelands thoroughly under their control the Kae’Dorei meticulously sculpted and mapped the landscape. Vast tracts of wilderness were reshaped to suit the needs of Kae’Thalas, but to an observer it would appear as natural and untouched as the ancient land had been before the coming of the Aelfs.
It was during this age of consolidation that the source of the Life magic that saturated the lands was found – a realmgate connecting to Ghyran. It appeared as a small cave situated atop a small plateau hidden among a sea of trees. Although barely the height of an Aelf a powerful wind blew from the gate, carrying with it pollen, seeds and the magic that was the source of all life in the Purelands. This was to become the heart of their great Empire – and a great stone palace was carved from the earth with the Realmgate situated above the throne. The Palace of The Wind was a beacon of life and light, untouched and untainted. Whoever sat on the throne was infused with the same magic as the land and gifted with many powers; long life, radiant beauty and an unmatched mastery of life and light. Under the rule of such a being the Empire would be eternal, or so they thought.
As soon as their Empire was complete it began to break apart at the seams. Over the centuries several distinct groups had emerged, and a conflict in interests coupled with the absolute freedom imparted on individuals by the Kae’Dorei law (or lack of law in general) saw factions splinter off and form their own kingdoms. The Purelands had been carefully crafted to be a single united nation, and fragmenting as such caused massive strain on the Empire’s resources and booming population. The ensuing civil war was swift and merciless – those that would not join the Empire were killed, and those that resisted its dominion were ruthless in their defiance. In five short years the civilisation was in ruin and fully two thirds of the Kae’Dorei were dead.
More to come!
Now that AoS is in full swing I think it's time to revisit her army in the form of Aelfs. Now that there's no such thing as a Dark Elf I've devised a bit of background for a new and improved Aelf army incorporating Exiles, Highborn and whatever Wood Elves call themselves these days. Before I get to modelling though, it's time for some background shamelessly stolen from multiple video games!
The Kae’Dorei – Pure Aelfs
Hysh, the Realm of Light harbours many secrets. Its radiance and purity, both of its peoples and the lands themselves made the conquest of Chaos seem unlikely. Even during the early days after the Time of Myth had ended and the Time of Chaos was on the ascent it was not until entire nations had been exterminated by the unrelenting tides of evil that the realisation had sunk in. Their gods were gone, the war was lost, their kingdoms were condemned to be a footnote in history.
Before this great doom fell upon the people of Hysh it was undoubtedly one of the most vibrant and established realms. Mighty kingdoms and empires spanned its continents, built by pale stone and yellowed clay, sustained by produce harvested from golden fields under the warm light of its many suns, the rich cultures and knowledge fuelled by faith in the divine and the pursuit of knowledge that only comes with a population without fear of the world it dwells within.
It is unsurprising then that Hysh boasted a great population of Aelfs, more than any other realm could lay claim to. Though haughty and arrogant perfectionists, all Aelfs are keen of mind and have a peculiar attunement to magic. Few could resist the temptations of luxurious living coupled with a limitless pursuit of knowledge and all things arcane. The Realm of Light was therefore home to several burgeoning Aelf kingdoms alongside those of mankind. Aelf settlements were not an uncommon sight within human empires as well – indeed several kingdoms came to be governed by a ruling class consisting entirely of Aelfs and while violent disputes between neighbours was common all out war was unheard of for generations.
It is from this Aelf saturated society that the Kae’Dorei emerged – the so called “Pure Elves”. The original Kae’Dorei were refugees; Aelfs of all origins brought together in the lower class conclaves of the poor displaced Aelfs of the other realms. While the kingdoms of Hysh busied themselves in their own glory, wilfully ignorant of the insidious return of Chaos beginning to plague the other Realms the Aelf refugees formed a coherent society of their own, deciding that it was better to rule themselves than be subject to the rule of fools.
Eventually this self proclaimed independence led to conflict and the Kae’Dorei were exiled. Refusing to settle in nearby kingdoms they accepted aid when it was offered to them but otherwise set off in a search for a new home – somewhere unspoken for by moronic kings, greedy emperors and blind scholars. After some time this led them to one of the great seas of Hysh, a crystalline ocean so clear that one could see a hundred metres down with the clarity of peering through glass. So it was that the Kae’Dorei set off to sea in the elegant ships that only Aelfs can build, seeking their destiny on some unclaimed shore.
The Purelands
The Purelands is situated on an island the size of a subcontinent. A huge ring of jagged black obsidian glass cliffs encircles the entire island, broken only by the occasional mountainside fortress or coastal town that keep watch over the deep azure seas that surround it. Shipwrecks along this deadly coastline are common, and those hardy enough or lucky enough to survive usually find themselves permanent residents of these spartan seaside villages and spend the rest of their lives eking out a sparse living in these harsh conditions. Very few, even among the villagers know the truth of the bounty that lies just beyond the pinnacle of the seemingly unpassable cliffs.
The whole island is in fact the crater of an enormous volcano from the Realm’s very formation untold millennia ago well before the coming of Sigmar or any of the other gods from the World that Was. There are few secret passageways through the mountains that lead to the crater, all of which are fiercely guarded by the seemingly abandoned fortresses carved out of the smooth black stone that makes up the mountainside. Even then, if one was to find one of these trails unguarded their journey would still be perilous and likely seem fruitless – for once you cross the zenith of the mountains you would be greeted by more jagged mountains for miles and miles, all shrouded in thick white mist.
It is at this point that a normal mind would fall to despair and give up their pursuit of adventure. The Kae’Dorei were not such people, and by chance finding the shore were wrecked upon entirely devoid of inhabitants set about establishing themselves in the abandoned towns and castles and sending scouting parties into the mists on a somewhat regular basis. They had not travelled so long or so far merely to become underfed fishermen dwelling on the rocky face of an uninhabitable cliff like some starved seabird. No, they journeyed into the fog and what they found changed the history of their peoples forever.
Once below the mist one can see the Purelands for what it truly is – a twilight realm of silver and gold lush with forests of all kinds. Untouched for untold ages the wild woods of the Purelands is home to great trees of a size and age rivalled only by those in Ghyran the Realm of Life. Lush rainforests, gnarled woodlands, peaty swamps and wildflower meadows abound in equal measure and beauty within the massive caldera. Thousands of species of plant and tree are found nowhere else in all the 8 realms, and the soil is rich and fertile and it was in these lands the Kae’Dorei would make their home.
An Empire Found and Lost
At the base of the inner cliffs, sheltered from the many suns of Hysh were the swamps of the Purelands. Water from the mists above, from the storms above them, and the melting snow from the mountain peaks trickled down to feed the wetlands with the purest water. It was here where the Kae’Dorei made their first inland settlements; small villages of floating huts anchored to the more solid islands within the marshes and linked by bridges and walkways. The simple yet elegant designs formed a stable base of operations for further forays into the heart of the Purelands and the constant supply of fresh water and food kept the adventurers well stocked and promoted a healthy growth in population that had not been experienced since before their exile over a century earlier. This signified a turning point for the Kae’Dorei and is recorded in their written history as the first days of their Empire.
In truth, it took nearly another generation of exploring before the stable foundations of their civilisation could take root further inland. Despite its beauty and its bounty the Purelands was a dangerous place where many creatures dwelled. The natural beasts that once inhabited these lands had spent millennia being saturated by magic, for the power that infused the winds of Hysh had pooled in the crater and mixed with that of Ghyran, which the Aelfs could sense in the air but had not yet been able to locate the source of. Combined this formed an incredibly pure force, nigh incorruptible, but its concentration in the crater had led to a myriad of new and deadly creatures being born and many of these creatures held the trespassing Aelfs in no high regard.
Over time through battle and through nurture the Kae’Dorei had made a large segment of the Purelands habitable. Hostile beasts were either driven away or tamed, and this new blended magic had become a useful tool in establishing the new Aelf Empire. Dangerous areas of forest were blocked off with impenetrable thickets of trees and vines, treacherous marshes had paths reinforced from below with the roots of swampland vegetation and food plants were seeded all throughout the cultured lands by the sides of walkways or the forests surrounding settlements. The settlements themselves took on a austere aspect similar to the ancient fortresses that lined the outer cliffs – simple blocks of unadorned stone formed fairly uniformed buildings, decorated only by the personal belongings of its occupants. From the perspective of an outsider it would seem more like the architecture of a militaristic human nation than one of and Aelf kingdom so in harmony with its surrounds – but it was that harmony with the land that the Kae’Dorei chose to emphasise in their culture rather than the grandeur of the other Aelfs from the old kingdoms and empires from which they fled.
In less than two hundred years since the first of these stone townships was built the rest of the Purelands was pacified and the great Empire of Kae’Thalas was officially named. With the Purelands thoroughly under their control the Kae’Dorei meticulously sculpted and mapped the landscape. Vast tracts of wilderness were reshaped to suit the needs of Kae’Thalas, but to an observer it would appear as natural and untouched as the ancient land had been before the coming of the Aelfs.
It was during this age of consolidation that the source of the Life magic that saturated the lands was found – a realmgate connecting to Ghyran. It appeared as a small cave situated atop a small plateau hidden among a sea of trees. Although barely the height of an Aelf a powerful wind blew from the gate, carrying with it pollen, seeds and the magic that was the source of all life in the Purelands. This was to become the heart of their great Empire – and a great stone palace was carved from the earth with the Realmgate situated above the throne. The Palace of The Wind was a beacon of life and light, untouched and untainted. Whoever sat on the throne was infused with the same magic as the land and gifted with many powers; long life, radiant beauty and an unmatched mastery of life and light. Under the rule of such a being the Empire would be eternal, or so they thought.
As soon as their Empire was complete it began to break apart at the seams. Over the centuries several distinct groups had emerged, and a conflict in interests coupled with the absolute freedom imparted on individuals by the Kae’Dorei law (or lack of law in general) saw factions splinter off and form their own kingdoms. The Purelands had been carefully crafted to be a single united nation, and fragmenting as such caused massive strain on the Empire’s resources and booming population. The ensuing civil war was swift and merciless – those that would not join the Empire were killed, and those that resisted its dominion were ruthless in their defiance. In five short years the civilisation was in ruin and fully two thirds of the Kae’Dorei were dead.
More to come!
No pants here!