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I've just finished reading 'The Path of the Outcast and the Seer'. Could someone please explain to me in detail the basic principals and events in a normal eldar's life- the paths, desires, death, etc/

http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Eldar#.UQgu5PKoT2k

In your own words please-it’ll be easier for me to understand.

Didnt you read the path of the warrior?

That book has many chapters on the regular eldar.

 Phosis T'Kar Jr wrote:
In your own words please-it’ll be easier for me to understand.

That would take ages. Which is why we have lexicanum.

But here's a very basic idea.

These days very few new Eldar (not Dark Eldar) are born, because the emotional ties that are needed for such a relationship can lead to extreme emotions which are a big no no for Eldar. So already you can get the idea for the kind of fun loving and lighthearted setting in which Eldar are born to.

I don't know much about Eldar children. They probably receive basic education and are taught the importance of the paths and restraint of emotions. Undoubtedly they are told about the Fall and Great Enemy through mythic cycles and other stuff.

Anyways, the Paths are essentially ways to control ones emotions by focussing solely on one thing. For example, one of the most common paths is the way of the artisan, in which an Eldar would focus completely on the creation of whatever they want to specialise in. By focussing entirely on the creation of that object, they can ignore their other envies, such as the lust to travel the stars or that nagging desire to shed blood.

An eldar will walk many paths in their lifetime, and each path is regarded as equal to another, with the exception of the path of the outcast, which isn't actually a path as such but rather a rejection of the strict constraints of "normal" paths. Some Eldar may fall prey to the path and become so engrossed in it that they cannot leave it, and their only desire is to remain on that path. This is what happens for Exarch's on the Path of the Warrior, or Farseers on the Path of the Seer. This can be good (ie Seers and Exarchs) or it can lead an Eldar to madness. For example, a Striking Scorpion exarch who just becomes too obsessed with killing can fall from grace and become a Dark Eldar or even worse. See Ahra the Fallen Pheonix (not strictly an Exarch, but a good example).

Basically the whole point of Eldar (not Dark Eldar) life is to survive at all costs while keeping their sanity. As Inquisitor Czevak once said: "the mind of the Eldar (farseer?) stands on the brink of spiritual destruction. That he does not fall must be due to balances and constraints only the eldar could understand" or words to that effect.

Now death. Before the fall, Eldar died and their souls were dissolved peacefully back into the warp to be reborn again (from the codex somewhere), much like the souls of men. However, once Slaanesh was born, the warp was no longer safe for Eldar souls, and any eldar soul that goes unprotected into the warp is consumed by Slaanesh. Which is why Eldar have spirit stones! These little wonders capture the soul of the recently deceased eldar and hold their spirit within. They are then placed into the Infinity Circuit, basically a massive wraithbone matrix running throughout the Craftworld and holding all the souls of the departed eldar. This is the World Circuit ( is that it's name?) for the exodites.

Deceased eldar can be resummoned to their spirit stones to continue to help the living (wraithguard) or give them advice. Many of the older eldar spirits have great knowledge and are regularly called upon in order to advise the living for particular things.

Anything else? Some extra details:

Eldar gods are dead apart from Cegorach and fragments of Khaine (avatars). Some believe Isha is being held in Nurgle's garden. We have no proof.
As more Eldar die, a god of the dead, Ynnead, gains power. Once all Eldar are dead (Darkies included), Ynnead will have enough power to kill Slaanesh. This will happen after the Rana Dandra, final battle against chaos.
Harlequins are neither Eldar or Dark Eldar, they are a separate case which interacts with both sides. They guard the Black Library and live in the Webway.
Speaking of the Webway, its how Eldar get from place to place almost instantly. Its a complicated thing and not entirely safe... I recommend you read the lexicanum article.

In fact, you should read the eldar codex and pretty much all of lexicanum articles on the eldar if you want to understand eldar fluff not directly related to fighting battles.

Hope this helps.

Thanks, this helped

So do they have the path of the childbearer? It would seem to be a solution to the problem, especially if they start generating childbirth exarchs (comes with Iron Abs and Food Frenzy as exarch powers)

Breeding, for Eldar, is a long process. Their biology is such that pregnancies are nearly impossible to be unwanted or unexpected. If I remember correctly, an Eldar female and her partner needs to have sex several times over a period of time in order for there to be a chance of pregnancy.

ooookay
Let's just say they don't really enjoy such experiences

I don't think it's a matter of not enjoying it, I think it more a matter of having suppressed emotional states for so long, that pair-bonding is probably not particularly common, and the suppression of the emotional state of desire has lead to a society that, unlike Humanity, does not spend a goodly portion of its collective time shagging.

Good Point



Automatically Appended Next Post:
One more thing to ask- what is this thing about Khaine's Touch?

 Phosis T'Kar Jr wrote:
Good Point



Automatically Appended Next Post:
One more thing to ask- what is this thing about Khaine's Touch?

Selym wrote:

 Phosis T'Kar Jr wrote:
Good Point



Automatically Appended Next Post:
One more thing to ask- what is this thing about Khaine's Touch?

Shame on you Selym

Khaine's touch is what an Eldar feels when anger etc becomes too much to bare. So they go on the pathof the warrior to channel their hate and bury it in their subconscious. When an eldar becomes an aspect warrior, he/she doesn't remember what she does as a warrior when he/she is not at war, to protect their minds. But it also relieves their anger/hate.

Von Chogg

Their elves and their going extinct, what their to know.

ZSO, SAHAAL wrote:
Their elves and their going extinct, what their to know.

Incorrect, they are protected by the Infernus Gamius Diabolus workius also known in low gotic as Games Workshop

ZSO, SAHAAL wrote:
Their elves and their going extinct, what their to know.

Technically everyone in the galaxy is going extinct due to either chaos, nids or crons. What's there to know about any of them?

Technically everyone in the galaxy is going extinct due to either chaos, nids or crons. What's there to know about any of them?

Everyone seems to talk about Chaos vs humanity, isn't Chaos primarily both served and fueled b y humanity, wouldn't Chaos victory only make humans stronger?

ZSO, SAHAAL wrote:

Technically everyone in the galaxy is going extinct due to either chaos, nids or crons. What's there to know about any of them?

Everyone seems to talk about Chaos vs humanity, isn't Chaos primarily both served and fueled b y humanity, wouldn't Chaos victory only make humans stronger?

Yes, it would...

FOR CHAOS!!! [/end fun]

But really, the only reason humans fight it is because they're scareed of the utter horrifying insanity that is chaos. They don't know any better.
...But I do.. hehehe...

Chaos corrupted entire Xenos species long before Humanity ever crawled out of the primordial ooze. While the current Great Four are certainly major players, they aren't the only sentiences of note in the Warp. Gork and Mork are far, far older, as are the Eldar gods, just to name a few. What other Xenos religions, throughout history, created abstract thought-forms within the Warp in days of ancient history, which are now unknown because some corrupting calamity befell those societies? We may never know.