i do agree that the eldar get their asses kicked way too much. and also--no space marine has ever soloed an avatar of khaine. and fulgrim choking that one out? yea, that didnt happen. fulgrim barely managed to kill it with a bit of luck. the bullshit is just propaganda. also aeleris--could you explain/elaborate on what you meant when you reffered to killing the crusade fleets at the cost of a few maiden worlds? also, the space marines are actually 100k per chapter--or at least, the codex adherent ones are. 1k isnt even enough to provide any real help to even a single system. i dont think you need to hate the space marines so much. the eldar come packaged with their own nemesis--the dark eldar. GW just generally ignores that fact. hell, they have a pretty strong nemesis thing going with the necrons. i would really disagree that space marines are two dimensional/simple. while the stereotypical one is, when you look closer there is quite a bit of depth. ive always found that i am in LOVE with just about EVERYTHING in 40k. other than centurions, kaldor draigo, ward knights, wardian ultras, newcrons, dreadknights...yea..
Well, I would call the relation between eldar and dark eldar much more complicated than that. After all, while they do have lots of bad moments and hate in the lore, there's good times too, and the alliance matrix chart (or whatever the name was) has eldar as "battlebrothers" with only DE and Tau, while DE have "desperate allies" or worse with everyone else. The eldar (both CWE and DE) really have just two great enemies. Chaos and necrons. Everyone else they pretty much keep as "inferior".
From what I read, they don't want to eradicate each other as much as they're just two radically different cultures that REALLY can't stand each other, but still have some sense of 'hey, let's, like, not kill each other' most of the time. Which is really much to be said for 40k.
DE and CWE have a prolonged fight in the webway. Thousands die. (Ulthwé vs. Jade Knife Kabal, "War in the Webway", 514.M39) Iyanden is screwed when attacked by both orks and 'nids. Wraithkind Kabal arrives and saves them all. "We just find your angst-ridden forays into the world of necromancy extremely entertaining!" is the reply from their archon. ("An unexpected ally", 995.M41) Arhra and Karandras get in a mighty duel, almost kill each other. Karandras runs away, Arhra slaughters all his disciples. ("A Clash of Scorpions", 928.M41) During a long campaign at Massgrave, the 121st Cadian Elite come to be known as "Eldar killers". Then they disappear. Weeks later thousands of headless and armless human bodies with imperial eagle tattoos are found roaming aimlessly along the arched streets of Commorragh's Vault District. ("A Gruesome Lesson", 933.M38) Most tales about the harlequins also include alliances as well as betrayal between the two. Path of the Incubi by Andy Chambers, for example. Yes, it IS complicated.
I suppose it is complicated for the DE. Not very deeply down they know their existance is simply but wholly wrong and have a guilt complex about causing The Fall and still *continuing* the practices that contributed to it. Assigning loyalty or basing some a false belief on outside influences or historical references cherry picked over thousands of years really is only the exception that proves the rule. I can pick lore too... for example, Athenlennil's sentiments in Path of the Outcast. This is an *experienced* seasoned *outcast* of a craftworld and she wants *nothing* to do with a DE who isn't even part of a Kabal and operating on her own at the time. That should tell you something!
Ranger Sindiel from Path of the Renegade, same background, different outcome. Killed his buddies to help Archon Yllithian get an exodite girl. It goes both ways.
