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Having read through the novel in 1 day, will list some thoughts and background revelations by the latest Eldar novel Voidscarred which revolves around corsairs and Craftworld Ilmaren:
Craftworld Ilmaren's colors are burgundy and ash
A Bard of Twilight is mentioned, as one who had become lost on the Path of the Player. He had discarded his own name in the service of keeping alive the name of heroes from the past, and others sought to learn from him like how Aspect Warriors sought to learn from an Exarch.
Leagues of Votann get a mention for establishing a multi-species trading zone on the jutting rib of a continent sized void whale corpse in space as they are scavenging the corpse.
One former Dark Eldar Wych's reason for leaving Commorragh was for the freedom to do things other than those things purely meant for survival or heodnistic pleasures as the cutthroat nature of life in the Dark City made it hard to do things that could result in vulnerability, like gazing at a nebula for a full day simply to enjoy the view.
A description of dark curly haired and dark skinned Warlock and a bronze skinned Scorpion Exarch accompanying the main character into the corsair band. (Is this meant to be a racial tokenism as no further mention of their appearance is really made aside from the initial dwelling on their skin color? This is AFAIK the first mention/description of non-white skinned Eldar ever).
Among the corsairs, those of Craftworld or Exodite extraction revile the use of other Eldar as slaves since Craftworlders and Exodites have both been preyed upon in slave raids. One of the key principles the corsairs (or at least the Starsplinter corsairs) believe in is the freedom of people (by which they mean Eldar) to choose their own actions so slavery is anathema to them.
Corsairs wear spirit stones.
Corsair ships have had more physical controls added for the use of less psychically gifted members like former Dark Eldar.
Eldar corsair leaders put on a show of bravado and extravagance partly because they have to, in order to show their power, shore up loyalty among their followers, and intimidate others. A corsair baron pays for 2 food stall items (alien tacos?) at the Trans-Hyperian Alliance trading zone with a finely crafted dagger for example in what seems an unfair trade but he explains it that he has to show he is above such petty concerns as "price".
Eldar Rangers may support themselves during their wandering by bounty hunting and that there may be a galaxy wide network of beings offering bounties.
An example of a Farseer prediction/manipulation that maybe works?: Major Plot Spoilers:
Spoiler:
The Ilmaren former admiral Taenar Leotharan leaves the Craftworld to join the Starsplinter corsairs, disaffected with Ilmaren's conservative nature of shying away from conflict and yet the foresight of the Farseers seemingly not stopping a slave raid led by Lelith. He aids the Baron Myrin Stormdawn, with whom he becomes a lover with, in Myrin's quest to defeat a band of Ork Freebooterz that had attacked Myrin's corsair base. They find the supposed rough location of the Orks and exit a webway gate in deep space at the outer edge of a solar system only to find the Orks attacking Ilmaren Craftworld which had happened to be cruising in that area of empty space. In the process, the Ork fleet is defeated by the combined efforts of the corsair and Ilmaren fleets, and the Orks retreat albeit having taken some captives. Ilmaren abandons the fight as it sees its safety is now assured and sees the captives and corsairs as acceptable casualties since the Ilmaren Farseers are only concerned with the craftworld's safety, not the lives of other Eldar. In the process it is revealed that Taenar had been acting as a covert agent at the behest of a Farseer Caman in order to get the Starsplinters to be in the right place and at the right time to aid Ilmaren. Taenar is outraged at the abandonment of his new comrades and his lover and defects for real this time.
It is further revealed that Farseer Caman had instigated the attack on Myrin's base by planting information into the Ork Kaptin's head, and had been helping the Ork rise in power because this somehow shifted fate against a Chaos cult somewhere else. Having shifted fate against the cult, it was then time to eliminate the Ork, and so the manipulation of Myrin was done and that Ilmaren had deliberately put itself into position to be found by the Ork. The point was to not just have the corsair fleet defeat the Ork fleet but to have Myrin be the leader in order to face and wound the Ork Kaptan with Myrin's void sabre. Even though not killed, the Ork is fated to weaken from his wound and to then be overthrown by another Ork in the future, one that poses less threat to Ilmaren.
When Farseer Caman is criticized for his decisions causing Taenar to really defect and leave Ilmaren along with his fleet, Caman claims to another Farseer that this too was planned and that Taenar would eventually mature and return in the future once he had experienced the freedom of the outcast life. Caman claimed that this was the better result as he claimed Taenar had already been growing disaffected and that it was better to let him go to be an outcast and return in the future, than to try to keep him attached to Ilmaren and cause him to eventually leave permanently to be an outcast. Of course, this could be Caman trying to justify his actions and Taenar's defection rather than a "Just as Planned" manipulation of Taenar.
So supposed wheels within wheels.
Overall it was very nice to have a xenos on xenos novel with next to no reference to the Imperium at all aside from a quote in the very beginning. It also seems to have set itself up for a potential sequel.
This message was edited 17 times. Last update was at 2025/09/24 10:00:41
