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So I read in the leaked pages from the Farsight supplement that generations of Fire Warriors have taken the mantle of Brightsword. Is this finally an indication/confirmation that named Tau commanders are not actually individuals but "lineages" (I think that's the word the supplement uses)? Or is this a one-off thing? Does anyone recall the new dex mentioning this?

I think the new supplement will answer this. Has been rumoured before.

i cant remember in which codex ether the new one or the previous one it says that farsight has live many years longer than a tau should and it says something about their might be multiple farsights taking the role as the commander when he dies

It is the new one, and yes, it marks the passing of the name down as a possible explanation. From that, we can infer that it's not normal for most Tau - otherwise Farsight's continued existence wouldn't be any kind of shock.

Who is supposedly shocked by Farsight's continued existence?

Ethereals probably.

Any Tau that knows he's still around...he's clocking in at 300 now. Most Tau aside from Ethereals only make it to about 40.

A modern comparison would be like finding out Robin Hood was alive and kicking.

If Tau have a practice of taking a lineage name, I doubt any would be shocked by the survival of that name over the course of centuries.

That's exactly my point. The codex says - ooh, hang on, I actually have it here(!):
"...that Farsight himself still lives. This is, itself, a great and confounding mystery..."

Ok - so it doesn't outright say that the Tau themselves are shocked - but it's heavily implied considering much of the Codex is written with a Tau perspective in mind. If that's the case, and they ARE shocked, then the naming inheritance can't be a Tau "thing".

So only one Puretide then?

Yup... Puretide had lots of proteges, mind.
Bear in mind too that a special name like that has to be earned...

So you reckon this is a practice unique to the Farsight enclaves?

*IF* true. It is, of course, just speculation. My personal opinion is that there's something to the mind-control shenanigans from the Ethereals theory, and that this also greatly shortens the Tau lifespan. It would explain three things:

1) why Farsight was suddenly independent when all nearby Ethereals died
2) how he's lived for so long
3) how Ethereals already live much longer.

I've had the same theory for a while.
I don't think it's coincidence that Farsight didn't (couldn't?) break away until after all the Ethereals of the Coalition (or whatever) had been killed. Afterwhich, he slowly realized they aren't needed for survival.
Suddenly he has the audacity (ability?) to ditch the empire, and while away from the Ethereals, live much longer.

It is noteworthy that Puretide and Shadowsun are/were also long-lived. Perhaps it is by the Ethereals' will that some of the more useful Tau (as well as those over whom they can no longer exercise dominion.) live longer...
I think this is one of the many creepy undertones of the race. If you can read between the lines, they are as dark as they other races. Just not overtly so.

In the new codex they explained that some of puretides best pupils were put on ice and they only recently thawed Shadowsun out so should could begin the third sphere expansion. Also the original puretide was copied into a holographic AI so he could continue teaching.

 Super Ready wrote:
*IF* true. It is, of course, just speculation. My personal opinion is that there's something to the mind-control shenanigans from the Ethereals theory, and that this also greatly shortens the Tau lifespan. It would explain three things:

1) why Farsight was suddenly independent when all nearby Ethereals died
2) how he's lived for so long
3) how Ethereals already live much longer.

4) Why an entire galactic civilization was "fast-forwarded" though the process of becoming a space-faring civilization behind a very convenient Warp Storm that cut them off from all trouble, with an entire race pre-formatted to be absolute subject to the Ethereal's control once they mysteriously showed up in Tau civilization during a night full of strange lights.


That's the fun about the Tau. If you emphasis the shenanigans in the background, they're less a "species" and more a huge galactic war-civilization-engineering-and-breeding-programme that makes the Emperor's Primarch/Space Marine programme look like child's play in comparison.

Here the official answer to Farsight, as posted by Thachng:

Well, that settles it...thanks! Though I'm pretty sure posting that up breaches copyright/forum rules, do please be careful.

Well, it doesnt say the origin of the weapon, fueling the discussion whenever the weapon is either Demonic or Necron in origin.

It says that the weapon extends his life because it's made from "crhonopagic alloys" ("Chrono" means "Time"). So whatever is extending his life is probably NOT chaotic in nature (Chaos wouldnt' need a special alloy in order to extend someone's life)

That doesn't rule out the blade being chaotic. It just (mostly) rules out the blade's life extension technology being chaotic.

We also know it was furnished "aeons" ago. Necrons only started awakening recently, so I guess the question is, is "aeons" enough that it goes as far back as during the necrons' time millions of millions of years ago?

"Fashioned aeons ago by the strange race that once inhabited that haunted world"...this to me says not Chaos, Necron or any other known faction, but more a case of we-invented-a-weapon-then-disappeared-forever-plot-device-itis.

He's the tau phantom.

The tau who walks.

Does he have a tame kroothound called "devil"?

The phantom is a lineage - but also a man, and his deeds.

No doubt GW realised something they could 'homage' and did so.