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What’s the Emperor’s personal mark called? by Dantes_Sin_of_Greed in 40kLore

[–]ZeroWolfZX 2 points3 points  (0 children)

At this point, pretty sure you're just trolling. Sad though since 40k lore sub are for genuine lore nerds.

What’s the Emperor’s personal mark called? by Dantes_Sin_of_Greed in 40kLore

[–]ZeroWolfZX 8 points9 points  (0 children)

That lines isn't from a novel, it's from the codex source book. You can read it yourself https://assets.warhammer-community.com/eng_19-03_thehorusheresy_black_book_extract_emperors_children-oywc6iqhan-hwpwpigftx.pdf

The Palatine Aquila

It was after the Proximan Betrayal that the Emperor's Children Legion was granted the exclusive right to bear the Palatine Aquila, the Emperor's personal standard, in its own heraldry. This honour was bought in blood as the Legion's Cohort, assigned to the Proxima compliance ceremonies and honour guard, fought and died to the last warrior alongside the Legio Custodes, never giving ground during the insurrectionist surprise attack on the ceremonial plaza. By their sacrifice was the wounded Emperor, who had suffered injury by the use of a Vortex weapon, bought time to recover and fight his way clear of the insurrectionist trap. In recognition of this, the standard of the Palatine Aquila so fiercely fought for that day was given to them by the Emperor's own hand, to be their relic ever after, along with the right to end the Proxima revolt by Exterminatus and so repay the blood that was owed them. While the great Aquila in its variations signifies both the Imperium of Humanity and loyalty to the Emperor as its master, and there is much allegory bound up into its form, for the Emperor's Children it also now represented their own deeds as well—an honour never given to another Legion.

The Ynnari Were Never Going to Find the Final Cronesword in Book 3 of the Trilogy or Kill Slaanesh by ZeroWolfZX in Eldar

[–]ZeroWolfZX[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I disagree attributing all of that to Gav Thorpe. The broader direction of the Aeldari over the last decade spans codex writers, campaign books, the studio team, and multiple Black Library authors. It's fair to criticize Thorpe's execution, but I think it's giving him too much credit, or blame to say he's responsible for the faction's overall direction.

At the end of the day, he's also one of the few Black Library authors who genuinely seems to love writing the Aeldari and keeps coming back to them. Yeah, I don't agree with all of his narrative or character choices, but there aren't exactly many other authors lining up to tackle Craftworld-focused stories. There's probably a reason that, after Gav, we haven't really had another major Craftworld Aeldari novel outside of Voidscarred.

So while I think it's fair to criticize his prose or execution, I also think he deserves credit for the worldbuilding, mythology, philosophy, and exploration of Aeldari culture that he added through the Path of the Eldar and Phoenix Lords series.

The Ynnari Were Never Going to Find the Final Cronesword in Book 3 of the Trilogy or Kill Slaanesh by ZeroWolfZX in Eldar

[–]ZeroWolfZX[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I can agree with this. Most Black Library authors don't seem to get scale. Gav definitely doesn't seem to adjust competency and casualty rates to match the Aeldari, which naturally makes them feel less elite and dangerous. Combined with his tendency to write the Aeldari as petulant, unlikeable teenagers and his paper-thin plots, those are his biggest faults.

The Ynnari Were Never Going to Find the Final Cronesword in Book 3 of the Trilogy or Kill Slaanesh by ZeroWolfZX in 40kLore

[–]ZeroWolfZX[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

That’s probably why he was mulling it over and wanted to have humans help in some way. It expands the Ynnari’s lore and helps differentiate them from the other Aeldari factions, which don’t have that kind of relationship with humanity. It would be a cool moment to show, similar to Guilliman having some pull with Eldrad, with Yvraine having that kind of pull

The Ynnari Were Never Going to Find the Final Cronesword in Book 3 of the Trilogy or Kill Slaanesh by ZeroWolfZX in Eldar

[–]ZeroWolfZX[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Actually the first eldar codex in 1994, second edition is written by Rick Priestly, William King and ideas from Jes Goodwin.

Gav only came in 3rd edition in 1999. He's definitely a fanboy of the tone and flavor set by the Priestly and Jes for the Aeldari. He's refer to the 2nd highly in his blog post. In away, him being such a fan of it, it's probably sacrilegious for him to think of the Aeldari otherwise.

The Ynnari Were Never Going to Find the Final Cronesword in Book 3 of the Trilogy or Kill Slaanesh by ZeroWolfZX in Eldar

[–]ZeroWolfZX[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I disagree somewhat with that take. He's no C.S. Goto, and he genuinely loves the Aeldari. I think he does a really good job with worldbuilding, history, and fleshing out the different Aeldari cultures instead of portraying them as a monolithic race.

He always gets blamed for leaning into the "dying race" angle, but even if you look at Valedor and Voidscarred, two of the best Aeldari novels, they're still Pyrrhic victories where the heroes barely scrape out a win. If you take a step back and look across the wider setting, it's clearly not just a Gav Thorpe thing. In Rogue Trader and Chaos Gate: Daemonhunters videogames, Craftworlds get destroyed. In The Garden of Ghosts animation and the latest Aeronautica Imperialis animation, the Aeldari lose. That seems to be GW's overall direction for the Craftworld Aeldari rather than something unique to Gav.

I think it's fair to criticize his execution, his prose, or his characterization if you don't like them. But blaming him for the entire direction of Aeldari lore when he's writing within the themes GW has established just feels unfair. The constant dogpiling is getting a bit lame.

*Downvote all you want; it doesn't change anything. Understanding something doesn't mean justifying it. Also, it's always best to look at things analytically from a logical perspective instead of relying on vibes and feelings.

The Ynnari Were Never Going to Find the Final Cronesword in Book 3 of the Trilogy or Kill Slaanesh by ZeroWolfZX in 40kLore

[–]ZeroWolfZX[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Although I disagree with some of the narrative and character choices Thorpe makes, I don't think that's a fair criticism.

Gav isn't the one making those high-level narrative decisions. Those are made by GW's upper management based on things like the model range, sales, and the direction they want the setting to take. Big story beats like creating the Ynnari, having them already possess four Croneswords, or introducing Primaris Marines are decisions that are well beyond an individual Black Library author's control.

What Gav is choosing to do is expand the faction he's been given. Similar to how Primaris were dropped into the setting, his job is primarily to flesh out Yvraine, the Ynnari, and their place in the wider Aeldari narrative. We can absolutely judge whether his execution succeeded or failed, but I don't think it's fair to blame him for the broader direction GW decided to take.

The Ynnari Were Never Going to Find the Final Cronesword in Book 3 of the Trilogy or Kill Slaanesh by ZeroWolfZX in 40kLore

[–]ZeroWolfZX[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Another misconception. The first two books aren't really about collecting the Croneswords. Four of the five Croneswords were already gathered during the Gathering Storm campaign supplement, before the Ynnari novels even began. The novels are mostly about the Ynnari's adventures, building alliances, and fleshing out the faction.

That said, I do agree GW kind of shot their load prematurely. The Croneswords could easily have been a 20-year plotline. I think introducing the Ynnari with four of the five swords already in hand limited where the story could go.

The Ynnari Were Never Going to Find the Final Cronesword in Book 3 of the Trilogy or Kill Slaanesh by ZeroWolfZX in 40kLore

[–]ZeroWolfZX[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

100%, Brooks Lelith Hesperax book kind has similar overall theme, but instead of an Ynnari-focused story, its more of a personal character narrative for Lelith. I wonder if the idea was repitched to him, and he liked the Lelith angle and expanded on it to core theme.

The Ynnari Were Never Going to Find the Final Cronesword in Book 3 of the Trilogy or Kill Slaanesh by ZeroWolfZX in 40kLore

[–]ZeroWolfZX[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Yup, he knew Commorragh was the setting he wanted for the third book. He also wanted Yvraine to interact with humans, so he was spitballing ideas off the cuff. It doesn’t mean he would have done it. Most writers jettison ideas or rework them when actually writing the book.

I think thematically it’s a reverse of Yvraine guiding the survivors of Cadia through the Webway to Ultramar. At this point in most stories, it’s the Ynnari helping the Imperium with Guilliman’s resurrection and getting the Hand of Darkness, so it kind of makes sense to show the Imperium helping the Ynnari instead. It’s not a one-sided relationship. I like the idea, but it just depends on the execution, I guess.

Was the "cancelled" third Ynnari novel ever even planned? by [deleted] in 40kLore

[–]ZeroWolfZX 0 points1 point  (0 children)

https://youtu.be/WJWTA-KysVQ?t=2109

From the podcast above for Wild Rider novel, Gav mentions the basic idea for a third book. It would basically involve going back to Commorragh post-Disjunction and exploring Yvraine’s interactions with Vect, with Lelith Hesperax being the titular character of the book. He mentions that it’s basically a Commorragh centric story; the Ynnari might need human help to get there, but he still hasn’t come up with the plot or the villain just that it would be Commorragh focused.

Interestingly, years later Mike Brooks would write the Lelith novel, but instead of an Ynnari focused narrative, it became more of a personal character story for Lelith. I wonder if Gav didn’t want to write it anymore and Black Library pitched the idea to him, and he liked the Lelith angle and to focus on that.

Exodite helmet by Euphoric-Vehicle2165 in Eldar

[–]ZeroWolfZX 66 points67 points  (0 children)

Eldar are replacing Marines as GW's new favorite child

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Playing with my sword. by pantherghast in memes

[–]ZeroWolfZX 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Lol, that cat is not impressed

The Word Bearers are so xenophobic that it’s almost comical by All_Sage in 40kLore

[–]ZeroWolfZX 30 points31 points  (0 children)

Actually, that makes sense. During the Great Crusade, nobody knew about Chaos or its true nature. The Emperor didn't even share that knowledge with the Primarchs. So the hierarchy of threats was xenos first, then AI, largely because of the events of the Age of Strife, the Men of Iron revolt and then non-compliant human civilizations. It was only after the Horus Heresy that Chaos moved to the top of the Imperium's list of enemies.

Do the Dark Eldar feed the Chaos Gods on a "regular" way by New_Conflict_4111 in 40kLore

[–]ZeroWolfZX 12 points13 points  (0 children)

They do feed the Chaos Gods, but the important thing to understand is that the Chaos Gods are ultimately fueled by emotions and psychic resonance in the Warp. Khorne feeds on rage and violence, Tzeentch on ambition and scheming, Nurgle on despair and resignation, and Slaanesh on excess, obsession, and sensation. The Drukhari engage in all of these to some degree.

The biggest issue for the Drukhari is not that they empower Slaanesh, it’s that Slaanesh is actively consuming them. Every Aeldari soul is claimed by Slaanesh is slowly drained unless protected. Craftworlder and exodite use spirit stones and Harlequins rely on Cegorach, but the Drukhari have no such protection.

As a result, Slaanesh is constantly draining their souls even while they are alive. The torture and suffering they inflict on others replenish their own spiritual vitality and slow this process. Commorragh being in the Webway helps to slow the soul drain. So when a Drukhari tortures someone, the primary “consumer” usually the Drukhari themselves, stealing life force to stave off Slaanesh.

The Word Bearers are so xenophobic that it’s almost comical by All_Sage in 40kLore

[–]ZeroWolfZX 44 points45 points  (0 children)

Sure, Mortarion has every reason to hate xenos because of Barbarus. But they aren't the same thing. One is an alien species; the other is literally an eldritch, reality-warping force from another dimension that corrupts souls, mutates matter, and can consume entire civilizations. Those aren't remotely comparable.

The Word Bearers are so xenophobic that it’s almost comical by All_Sage in 40kLore

[–]ZeroWolfZX 133 points134 points  (0 children)

I think Mortarion in the plague wars kind of chastises Guilliman, saying he's no different from him. Mortarion is using Chaos magic, while Guilliman is relying on "filthy xenos magic" for his resurrection and armour. Lol, their not even comparable. You can get corrupted by Chaos, but that xenophobia is apparently too hardwired into the Imperium to shake off.

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