Introduction
The first factions we will take a look at is the stoic and noble Craftworld Eldar. The Craftworld Eldar follows a strict rules of life, in order to try prevent the past from repeating itself. The Craftworld Eldar stands for an age gone by, and the glory of the long lost past. This chapter will compare the themes and myths of the Craftworld Eldar to that of the high Elf and other “high born”, fictional civilisations and races. (Games Workshop, 2015)
Discipline and honour
The sense of duty, honour and discipline is something that permeates throughout the Craftworld Eldar narratives. These themes can partly be tied to the idea of the high elven tropes we discussed. These themes are also tied rather closely to many of the myths and stories surrounding the samurai. This discipline is what chiefly separates the Craftworld Eldar from their darker counterparts. (Games Workshop, 2015)
The paths of discipline
To stop themselves from ever again falling to their base needs and desires, does the Craftworld Eldar follow a strict code of conduct, and living. These rules takes the forms of several different paths that an Eldar individual can take. These, as mentioned before, ranges form the artistic, to the philosophical to the practice of warfare. (Games Workshop, 2015)
The ways of the paths are an endless routine for the Craftworld Eldar, for as soon as one is masters, must it be discarded in favour of another one. This way the Eldar mind is always occupied, always training and engaging. Without this constant rigour and measured stimulus would the hyperactive mind of the Eldar slowly turn to decadence and obsessions as the decades of their thousand year old lives carries on. (Games Workshop, 2015)
The artistry of war
The paths of the Eldar are varied, and many of them train in martial as well as civil and artistic matters. This is partly shown in the ways that the Eldar wages war. The ideas of art and war being closely tied together, is far from unique to the Warhammer narrative. The Japanese shogunate samurai was for example said to serve with the pen in one hand and the sword in the other. (Games Workshop, 2015)
While looking at much of the war gear and clothing of the Craftworld Eldar is it not hard to tie further comparisons to that of Shogunate Japan. The back mounted flags being particularly telling. (Games Workshop, 2015)
Perfection in mind and body
The physique of the average Eldar is leaps and bounds above even the most well trained of humans. Their slender yet strong builds capable of moving faster then the human eye can react. Their minds recording and analysing in such speeds that lesser creatures like humans seems to move and talk in slow motion. (Games Workshop, 2015)
Their tall slender build, not to mention their pointy ears further tying them to the Elves we are comparing them to. The Elves, both in Tolkien’s work, and in many of his predecessors, is the elves, especially the “high Elves”, described as otherworldly slender and beautiful, almost beyond mortal comprehension.(Tolkien 1968)
The masters of the stars
The Eldar used to be the undisputed rulers of the stars, the masters of faith and destiny, of life and death. They held ultimate power, and just like the old adages goes, it corrupted them ultimately.
Glory of old
The Eldar, along with the Necrons and the Orks, are the oldest and most long lasting of al the civilisations in the Warhammer 40k narrative. Just like the High Elves of the Lord of the Rings and Eldar Scrolls series Ayleid Elves, are described of being advanced beyond mortal understanding. Their arts and wisdom so advanced that it is completely alien to the human and other mortal species of the narrative. In the case of the Eldar is this fact represented by giving the Eldar technology a distinctly arcane and magical aurora to it. (Games Workshop, 2015 Bethesda, 2016)
Eldar and the other races
Beings of great power, as well as arrogance, doe they once again make a great mirror to the high Elves of many contemporary High Fantasy texts of the time. Their long lives and mastery of the higher sciences and arts putting them, in their own minds, above the lesser races of the world. (Games Workshop, 2015)
This sentiment is echoed al across the Eldar codex, as other races, especially humanity is seen as nothing but an annoyance, or in the best case, a tool to be used and discarded. A telling passage explains how the Eldar would gladly sacrifice the life of hundreds thousands of humans if it meant saving the lives of a single one of their own kind. In other words, for al their nobility, civility and high standards, do these not extend outside of their own ranks. With that said, has the Craftworld Eldar come to the aid of humanity on several occasions, but seemingly only when it serves them directly. This disdainful acceptance of the existence, and sometimes even the help of humanity, is another trope we can find in many fantasy narratives Elves. (Games Workshop, 2015, Bethesda 2016)
A dying star
To follow the same line of comparison, are the Eldars narrative one of falling from grace, and seemingly destined to fall in to obscurity. They represent the Old power that needed to fall before a new one, humanity, could rise. In the Narrative of Warhammer 40k is this turn of event taking place rather literally, as the birth of Slaanesh, directly lead the disappearance of a Warp-storm that has kept humanity trapped on Earth. In other words, the cataclysmic event that brought the Eldar to their knees, was the same that allowed humanity to sally forth and conquer the galaxy. (Games Workshop, 2015)
The myth of humanity inheriting the world from an ancient and more powerful and wise race, is a theme we can see again and again, both in myth and populator culture. One of the more well known examples of this is the emigration of the Elves during the war of the rings, to leave the lands of Middle Earth, to leave it to the mortal races (Tolkien 1968, Games Workshop, 2017).
Magic and myths
the Eldar, and especial the Craftworld Eldar are extremely closely tied, thematically to magic and mysticism in many of its myriad forms. Here more then in any of the other factions and races of the Warhammer narrative, are the concepts of magic and science so closely knit.
The world ships and wraith bone
The massive space faring vessels, known as Craftworlds, are the sole home for the Craftworld Eldar, as well as from where they take their namesake. These massive interstellar vessels are home to billions of Eldar, and comparable to many continents in size. (Games Workshop, 2015)
These massive ships are not built, but rather grown and moulded from a substance, that is called wraith bone. As the name implies is this material described to be organic in nature. It is the material form which al Craftworld Eldar structures, tools and weapons are created. The wraith bone itself is described to function much like living tissue, and the Craftworld ships are very much sentient in their own right. They are not commandeered, as much as they are guided and ordered.
The infinity circuit
The last safe-haven for those Eldar souls that has departed their mortal forms. These are the resting places for the departed, after the warp become a hunting ground for She who thirsts. The souls of the Eldar, are collected by their spirit stones, and then released in to the infinity circuit to join with the collective unconsciousness of the Craftworld. In this way will their memories and wisdom, as well as their sentience live on, until a time where it is safe for them to return to the warp, and be reborn. (Games Workshop, 2015) The concept of returning to the world soul, and then being reborn is one that can be found in both LoTR as well as D&D mythos of the high Elves. (Tolkien 1968)
Runes and song
The wraith bone itself is gown, tended to and moulded by artisans and engineers known as Bonesingers. Using their innate psychic abilities are they able to mould and shape the Wright bone to their own wishes. By its very name does the Bonesinger timidity draw a number of associations to mind in the reader, the bone, here reoffering to the Wraith bone that the artisans work with conjure the idea of death, life, the organic. It conjure ideas of otherness and a certain sense of an organic symbiosis. The term singer is a great way to present how the Eldar thinks of themselves as well as their creations. They are not mere builders or engineers, they are artists and creators, the very act of creating is in and of itself comparable to a artistic performance. (Games Workshop, 2015)
The runic magic of the Eldar is a theme that we have discussed in earlier chapters further ties their race to mysticism and magic. Note that we have seen, for example with the Adeptus Mechanicus the link between highly advanced science and magic, is one that runs trough much of the Warhammer 40k narrative.
Conclusions
S mentioned before does the Eldar serve as the mythical other in the narrative of 40k, the wise fore bearers, the olden once that came before. They neatly work many of the same roles as the High Elves, or simply elves do in many High Fantasy narratives. Be it mysterious allies, guardians of the past or terrifying enactment opponents, do the Eldar fit many of the same needs for an alien, yet familiar counterpart to humanity, this being specificity true in the form of the Craftworld Eldar.
The trifecta of the Elves is a topic defensibly one that we will return to, and in the meantime I suggest the amazing work Light-Elves, Dark_elves and Others; Tolkien Elvish Problem, buy T,A Shippey. Next chapter will we dive in to the Craftworld Eldars supposed dark mirror image, the Dark Eldar.
References
Tolkien, J.R.R. (1968). The lord of the rings. 1, The fellowship of the ring. (2. ed. 3. imp.) London: Allen & Unwin.
Wizards of the Coast (2014). Dungeons & dragons Player’s handbook. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast LLC.
The elder scrolls V Skyrim. (Special edition). (2016). [Rockville, Md]: Bethesda.
Warhammer Armies High Elves ( 8th Edition), Games Workshop, 2017
Codex: Craftworld Eldar (7th Edition), Games Workshop, 2015 (1)
An Unused Frequency 