There have been some requests for help with Eldar lore. Not everyone has access to the Eldar Codices, and not everyone has multiple iterations, so as a bit of an Eldar lore nut I thought I'd share the info, in case it might be helpful From the first Codex to feature the Phoenix Lords, Codex Eldar, 1994 edition, page 82: "The Phoenix Lords are the most ancient of the Eldar Exarchs. Like the Exarchs of the Shrines of the Warrior Aspects, the Phoenix Lords are immortal after a fashion. When a Phoenix Lord dies his place is taken by another Eldar who assumes his costume and identity. In this way the Phoenix Lord is reborn into a fresh cycle of existence. His suit contains a spirit stone which contains the spirits of all the Eldar who have become that Phoenix Lord. Yet, no matter how many different individuals a Phoenix Lord may have been, his mind is forever the same, driven by the dominant personality of the first and greatest to wear the suit." From the latest Codex Eldar, 2012, page 56: "Just as with the Exarchs that follow his Path, Asurmen is immortal after a fashion. Should the hand of Asuryan be vanquished, his body and his essence will lie dormant for a time, until discovered by an Eldar whose soul resonates with the spirit-echo that dwells within his armoured shell. The aspirant feels the call of destiny upon him, and if he is worthy, he will don Asurmen's armour, taking his place and thus his identity so that the Phoenix Lord can be reborn to fight once again. No matter how many individuals a Phoenix Lord might have been, his mind is forever unchanged, driven for eternity by the dominant personality of the first and greatest to wear the suit." I do not have the latest (Craftworld) Codex yet. But I wouldn't imagine, given the similarity of these two paragraphs, that it has changed anything about the process So: A Phoenix Lord has one spirit stone, which contains all the souls of those who have ever worn the suit (unlike an Exarch who will have multiple spirit stones, one for each Eldar to become that Exarch). A Phoenix Lord has one personality, that of the first Phoenix Lord to wear the suit (an Exarch exists in a somewhat more 'multiple personality' state). A Phoenix Lord is like a super-Exarch, but with just the one identity. An Exarch (2012 Eldar Codex) "wears upon his suit the spirit stones that contain the departed spirits of all the suit's previous Exarchs. Each Exarch assumes the sacred name associated with this suit, and his spirit mingles with those Eldar who have borne it since the shrine's inception. It is the presence of the spirit-pool of raw psychic energy that gives the suit and the warrior - for the two are indistinguishable - their special warrior powers." Share the lore, share the love
The new book about Asurmen clarifies that anyone deemed worthy can revive a phoenix lord, not just exarchs. The Path series made it almost seem like only exarchs could do it.
I'm going to hijack your thread here. These are from the current Codex: Eldar craftworlds (2015 ) Asurmen, The Hand of Asuryan (Dire Avenger Phoenix Lord): Asurmen is the first of the Phoenix Lords, and his teachings led to the creation of the Aspect Warriors, by whose valour the Eldar race is kept alive. During the time of the Fall, Asurmen abandoned his home world and led his disciples to a barren planet, eventually named Asur in honour its claimant. There he founded the Aspects of Khaine, and his brightest pupils became the legendary Phoenix Lords. Just as the Avatar at a craftworld's heart embodies the bloodthirsty deity Khaine, Asurmen is the warrior ideal of the Eldar made real. He is a demigod of battle whose legend spans across the stars, for Asuryan has given him the ability to cheat death forever, and kings, daemons, and star gods alike have fallen to his blade. Though Asurmen vanished millennia ago, there persists reports of him battling the agents of the Great Enemy from the Eye of Terror to the Eastern Fringe. Some even whisper that in these, the darkest of days, Asurmen has returned to lead his people to war once more. Jain Zar, The Storm of Silence (Howling Banshee Phoenix Lord): A whirlwind of silvered blades, Jain Zar is as deadly a fighter as the Eldar race has ever seen. She is the matriarch of the Howling Banshees, and a fierce heroine to all who follow her teachings - in every Howling Banshee shrine across the galaxy, the candles of night are kept burning for her return. First to learn the arts of the warrior under Asurmen, Jain Zar was a passionate Eldar swordmaiden famous for her speed and ferocity. Once her training was complete she donned the mantle of the Phoenix Lord, she was transformed into the Storm of Silence. Since that day she has traveled the webway extensively, teaching the art of the Scream that Steals and the Ending Blade. Jain Zar's weapons are vicious even for an Exarch of the Howling Banshees - The Blade of Destruction is a long bladed pole-arm with which she delivers deadly lightning strikes with ease. Meanwhile the Silent Death scythes through the foe before they can even get close, lopping of heads and then quickly returning to her waiting hand. Karandras, The Shadow Hunter (Striking Scorpion Phoenix Lord): The eternal master of the striking scorpions, Karandras has become synonymous with the slinking shadows that presage a sudden and violent death. His armoured body may lay hidden and dormant for many decades, lurking in the twilight in between worlds until the Eldar need his intervention. Just as all seems lost, the Shadow Hunter will burst from legend, his ritual weapons ready to destroy the foe. When he emerges from the darkness, he darts into the midst of the enemy in a blur of emerald armour. First comes the white-hot burst of the Scorpions Bite, a mandiblaster powerful enough to penetrate the Terminator armour of the Adeptus Astartes. Then comes the main attack as Karandras somersaults into the fray. His energized gauntlet spits a hail of shurikens before its pincer grip crushes bone. Roaring like a predator-beast in his off hand is a biting blade of immense size, its razored teeth chewing the flesh of all those within reach. So does the Phoenix Lord mercilessly slaughter his foes by the dozen before fading into the shadow once more. Fuegan, The Burning Lance (Fire Dragon Phoenix Lord): Reborn in fire a dozen times since his inception as a Phoenix Lord, Fuegan the Burning Lance is a figure who generates both terror and inspiration. Though his disciples are many, Fuegans quest is not to ensure the Eldars rise from the ashes through patient instruction and cautious strategy. Instead his plan is to cause so much destruction that he becomes one with the very concept, binding the Dragon of myth to his will. In his footsteps, entire worlds are set ablaze. His gaze is flame, and those who earn his wrath are swiftly reduced to ash and smoke. No matter the Exarch that dons his ritual armour, Fuegan always dedicates himself utterly to the systematic persecution of the Eldar race's enemies, pitilessly burning the champions of the lesser races from the tapestry of history. to wound his is to mearly fuel the fires of his anger. Such is the unquenchable wrath of the Burning Lance that legend has it at the Rhana Dandra, Fuegan will be the last to fall - and in falling, the last flame of hope for the Eldar will be extinguished. Baharroth, The Cry of the Wind (Swooping Hawk Phoenix Lord): Baharroth is the Phoenix Lord who most embodies hope for the Eldar race - a slim chance of ascention delivered on the point of a blade. Naturally gifted at swordplay, marksmanship and the limitless scope of aerial battle, Baharroth learned the arts of war under Asurmen when the Fall was still in living memory. In those times, he was vibrant and youthful, rejoicing in the sensation of the sun on his wings. Since then, he has died and been reborn many times> Innumerable battlefields have felt the pure white light of his anger, and countless terrors have fallen before his might. Though he moves with the grace of a zephyr, Baharroth attacks with a hurricane of force. Looping and soaring through flak-churned skies, he places pinpoint blasts of blinding laser fire into those who dare trespass on his domain, sending airborne interlopers hurtling down towards an unmarked grave. His flitting shadow is the first amd last warning his foes are granted, their doom lunging after them out of war-torn skies. Maugan Ra, The Harvester of Souls (Dark Reaper Phoenix Lord): When Asurmen taught the arts of war, it was Maugan Ra who fell furthest from the fold. He fashioned baroque weapons of occult nature, learning how best to kill his prey before they had a chance to strike in turn. Not for his the shining swords of his brethren, but instead dark and sinister artifacts that defied categorization. In Maugan Ras hands, even the most outlandish weapons share the precision of Kurnous' own arrow. This discovery led to the creation of the Maugetar, a weapon that fires plate-sized shuriken, each covered in bio-toxins so virulent even a scratch causes the Phoenix Lords victims to detonate explosively, killing all those nearby. Since then, the most morbid of Asurmens pupils have founded shrines across hundreds of craftworlds, Maugan Ras Dark Reaper disciples valuing the spectacular long-ranged kill above all else. As the 41st millennium winds to its grisly conclusion, the Phoenix Lord has brought hope from the unlikeliest places, rescuing the lost craftworld of Altansar from its incarceration within the Eye of Terror.
The only thing I don't like is how no one is worthy anymore to become an Exarch in their own right. I can understand the Phoenix Lords but why can there be no more Eldar to ascend to become Exarchs themselves?
I always wondered about that. An exarch becomes Karadras in the Path series. So, does that mean all exarchs could eventually be absorbed into phoenix lords?
No, just that instance of an Exarch became the Phoenix Lord. The Exarch is a conglormation like the Phoenix Lords, but they still maintain an individual personal identity unlike the Phoenix Lord. Still, there is no such thing as a 'new' Exarch. There's only the defined warriors who became an Exarch and then another took their armor and their name but not a new identity.
Yea, so there are a limited number. Given enough time, the phoenix lords could be resurrected by exarchs so many times there no exarchs are left. Karadras was brought back after an exarch joined with him. I assume the exarch's armor becomes inert and no longer serves as an exarch's armor. There are only so many exarch suits per craftworld and only so many craftworlds. Hypothetically, all exarchs could stop existing if there was enough time. One here and one there, all absorbed by various phoenix lords.
No, the Exarch's Sprit is contained within the Armor. In this case, the Exarch that became the Phoenix Lord was removed from the store of souls inside that armor.
Literally what I just said. The exarch was removed from their armor. It specifically states that every part of their personality joined with Karandras.
