I don't know how many people play DnD or know about the Drow (dark elves) from that game, but I have always been a huge fan of them throughout my life (mostly teenage years). They are actually what led me to play Warhammer Dark Eldar and Dark Elves.
Anyways, I have been thinking and rethinking about the cultural, historical, societal, political and psychologycial aspects of Dark Eldar society. And the more I do, the more I find them to be alike the Drow.
Unlike Games Workshop's short, brief and totally half-assed creations of Dark Eldar society, all we can glimpse is a TINY fraction of what they are truly like. And worse of all, they are usually from the Imperium's point of view.
Therefore, I believe that it is my duty, as a Dark Eldar fanatic, to fully examine the society in which our beloved Dark Kin lives, to its fullest degree. Remember, this is all theoritical. However, it does include lots of information gleamed from the Fantasy Dark Elves, as well as the fantastically complex societal structures of the Drow from DnD. So, the question remains. Are the Dark Eldar the uncouth, brutal pirates of the 40k Universe? Or are they the lithe, cunning, and graceful terrors who stalk the shadows and kill with a subtleness and beauty that few others can match? I think it is the latter.
Dark Eldar Society
Dark Eldar society, although full of darkness, terror and vileness, is still purely from a Mon-Keigh point of view. What we view as vile, may simply be normal, everyday events to them. From looking at the Codex and conversing with various other DE players, I have concluded the following.
DE society is divided into at least 4 different Castes, if not more. There are the Kabals, no doubt making up the majority of the political aspect of Commorragh. They rule through fear, power play, subtlety, assassinations, and so on. The second are the Wych Cults. These are highly (extremely) skilled combatants, who train ceaselessly in the gladiatorial arenas. They are hired and used by the Kabals to carry out their ends, but oftentimes they persue their own ends as well. Third, there are the Haemonculi, and their insane experiments. They are the ones who create many of the strange weapons of the Dark Eldar, no doubt. Lastly, there have been talkings of "Incubi Sects" (which are not GW-sponsored fluff, from what I know), which are extremely reclusive, martial, and deadly warriors who will occasionally ally with Kabals and such in order to further their own cause. On the whole, DE society is filled with death and danger.
However, this does NOT make them uncouth, savage killers. These words are simply too "uncouth" to be applied to Dark Eldar, in my humble opinion. Who knows what goes on in Commorragh? No one yet -- however, my research and assumptions have led me to believe that Dark Eldar won't likely get their heads chopped off when they walk on the streets everyday. Dark Eldar are not, I repeat, bloodthirsty, psychotic servants of Khorne, nor are they the drug-induced, sex-obsessed servants of Slannesh. They are the Dark Eldar, something completely different, and yes, much more sophisticated lifeforms and culture than those two [Chaos cultures].
Like I said, a DE warrior won't likely get slaughtered for walking in the open. Why? Let's take a look at society in general. First, there will no doubt be some sort of political faction in control of the Dark City. The Kabals most likely represent Commorragh's nobility, the Dark Eldar Aristocracy. It is they who sets up law and order, albeit at a completely different level than what humans percieve. Without order, there can only be anarchy. While Dark Eldar revel in death and assassination, their very nature as exquisite, lithe Eldar will NO DOUBT lead them to a much more subtle appreciation of death, and they way it is performed. In the heat of battle, decapitation is fine, I guess. However, in the back alleys of Commorragh, why should such a thing occur! Such barbarity is unfit for the Dark Eldar. Why should they resort to such ancient methods of death, when poison, gas, or the complex procedure of various killing procedures leave so much more space for the beauty of death? For the Dark Eldar, killing is an ART. It is not enough to simply chop off an limb. No, killing must have value TO IT. The more creative and imaginative you are, the more you are appreciated, hated, and respected in Dark Eldar society.
This again brings me back to the very core of Dark Eldar psychology. They are STILL Eldar, evil or not. They APPRECIATE things of beauty. They APPRECIATE subtleness. They APPRECIATE complexity, craftsmanship, skill, talent, and all of those things. They appreciate good, tasteful food (souls, most likely). Why can't the Dark Eldar love things that have high materialist value? Why shoudln't the Dark Eldar surround themselves with beautiful, dark sculptures, masterly crafted jewelry, ancient, ornate blades, and exquisitely fine armour? To have any less would make them into the savage, uncouth, disgusting species of the Mon-Keigh, as vile as Chaos!!! A Dark Eldar will buy exquisite wine, fine clothing, and beautiful art, without giving a care for the price.
As for they fountains of skulls they take from their enemy, what of it? Why must the skulls remain rotten and disgusting? Who said the Dark Eldar do not have the best, most masterful craftsman created amazing works of art from the skulls and remains of their enemy, ornated with rare stones, metals, and other things we don't know about! Again, the battlefield is a disgusting place, that DOES NOT reflect the nature of Commorragh. Commorragh might be MUCH MORE CLEANER than your typical Imperial city, or even our world (Earth, ie America/England). They are Eldar after all. Who said experimenting for the Haemonculi is all they capture slaves for? This is absurd. The slaves no doubt are made to clean every grime and dirt off the street. Commorragh may be the city of darkness, of perpetual twilight, but it might as well be the damn cleanest place we've seen.
This is what I have gleamed so far of DE society. Next, I will post my assumptions/theories about their political structure, how it works, what kind it is (ie monarchy, democracy, etc), and eventually their form of economics (no doubt purely domestic, no mercantalism, although this might be untrue).
What I am trying to do is take a very find examination of how the Dark Eldar realm works. Thanks for reading, and I would appreciate any responses.
Infrazael Draennonssraav --
Your Fellow Incubi
Anyways, I have been thinking and rethinking about the cultural, historical, societal, political and psychologycial aspects of Dark Eldar society. And the more I do, the more I find them to be alike the Drow.
Unlike Games Workshop's short, brief and totally half-assed creations of Dark Eldar society, all we can glimpse is a TINY fraction of what they are truly like. And worse of all, they are usually from the Imperium's point of view.
Therefore, I believe that it is my duty, as a Dark Eldar fanatic, to fully examine the society in which our beloved Dark Kin lives, to its fullest degree. Remember, this is all theoritical. However, it does include lots of information gleamed from the Fantasy Dark Elves, as well as the fantastically complex societal structures of the Drow from DnD. So, the question remains. Are the Dark Eldar the uncouth, brutal pirates of the 40k Universe? Or are they the lithe, cunning, and graceful terrors who stalk the shadows and kill with a subtleness and beauty that few others can match? I think it is the latter.
Dark Eldar Society
Dark Eldar society, although full of darkness, terror and vileness, is still purely from a Mon-Keigh point of view. What we view as vile, may simply be normal, everyday events to them. From looking at the Codex and conversing with various other DE players, I have concluded the following.
DE society is divided into at least 4 different Castes, if not more. There are the Kabals, no doubt making up the majority of the political aspect of Commorragh. They rule through fear, power play, subtlety, assassinations, and so on. The second are the Wych Cults. These are highly (extremely) skilled combatants, who train ceaselessly in the gladiatorial arenas. They are hired and used by the Kabals to carry out their ends, but oftentimes they persue their own ends as well. Third, there are the Haemonculi, and their insane experiments. They are the ones who create many of the strange weapons of the Dark Eldar, no doubt. Lastly, there have been talkings of "Incubi Sects" (which are not GW-sponsored fluff, from what I know), which are extremely reclusive, martial, and deadly warriors who will occasionally ally with Kabals and such in order to further their own cause. On the whole, DE society is filled with death and danger.
However, this does NOT make them uncouth, savage killers. These words are simply too "uncouth" to be applied to Dark Eldar, in my humble opinion. Who knows what goes on in Commorragh? No one yet -- however, my research and assumptions have led me to believe that Dark Eldar won't likely get their heads chopped off when they walk on the streets everyday. Dark Eldar are not, I repeat, bloodthirsty, psychotic servants of Khorne, nor are they the drug-induced, sex-obsessed servants of Slannesh. They are the Dark Eldar, something completely different, and yes, much more sophisticated lifeforms and culture than those two [Chaos cultures].
Like I said, a DE warrior won't likely get slaughtered for walking in the open. Why? Let's take a look at society in general. First, there will no doubt be some sort of political faction in control of the Dark City. The Kabals most likely represent Commorragh's nobility, the Dark Eldar Aristocracy. It is they who sets up law and order, albeit at a completely different level than what humans percieve. Without order, there can only be anarchy. While Dark Eldar revel in death and assassination, their very nature as exquisite, lithe Eldar will NO DOUBT lead them to a much more subtle appreciation of death, and they way it is performed. In the heat of battle, decapitation is fine, I guess. However, in the back alleys of Commorragh, why should such a thing occur! Such barbarity is unfit for the Dark Eldar. Why should they resort to such ancient methods of death, when poison, gas, or the complex procedure of various killing procedures leave so much more space for the beauty of death? For the Dark Eldar, killing is an ART. It is not enough to simply chop off an limb. No, killing must have value TO IT. The more creative and imaginative you are, the more you are appreciated, hated, and respected in Dark Eldar society.
This again brings me back to the very core of Dark Eldar psychology. They are STILL Eldar, evil or not. They APPRECIATE things of beauty. They APPRECIATE subtleness. They APPRECIATE complexity, craftsmanship, skill, talent, and all of those things. They appreciate good, tasteful food (souls, most likely). Why can't the Dark Eldar love things that have high materialist value? Why shoudln't the Dark Eldar surround themselves with beautiful, dark sculptures, masterly crafted jewelry, ancient, ornate blades, and exquisitely fine armour? To have any less would make them into the savage, uncouth, disgusting species of the Mon-Keigh, as vile as Chaos!!! A Dark Eldar will buy exquisite wine, fine clothing, and beautiful art, without giving a care for the price.
As for they fountains of skulls they take from their enemy, what of it? Why must the skulls remain rotten and disgusting? Who said the Dark Eldar do not have the best, most masterful craftsman created amazing works of art from the skulls and remains of their enemy, ornated with rare stones, metals, and other things we don't know about! Again, the battlefield is a disgusting place, that DOES NOT reflect the nature of Commorragh. Commorragh might be MUCH MORE CLEANER than your typical Imperial city, or even our world (Earth, ie America/England). They are Eldar after all. Who said experimenting for the Haemonculi is all they capture slaves for? This is absurd. The slaves no doubt are made to clean every grime and dirt off the street. Commorragh may be the city of darkness, of perpetual twilight, but it might as well be the damn cleanest place we've seen.
This is what I have gleamed so far of DE society. Next, I will post my assumptions/theories about their political structure, how it works, what kind it is (ie monarchy, democracy, etc), and eventually their form of economics (no doubt purely domestic, no mercantalism, although this might be untrue).
What I am trying to do is take a very find examination of how the Dark Eldar realm works. Thanks for reading, and I would appreciate any responses.
Infrazael Draennonssraav --
Your Fellow Incubi
. I look forward to your next post about your thoughts about the DE.
