Ynnead Protects...in a way at least...

The oldest and strongest emotion of the Eldar is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown. Cast off the fear of the beyond, my kin, and join us in exaltation of the whispering king. - Khalfhirin, Prophet of Ynnead




Idravain thought back on the muddled centuries of his life. Way back when he was first living, he recalled having been born during the terrible 500-year spiral as Altansar was inexorably pulled back into the depths of the Eye. His early life was a desperate and futile struggle against the colossal psychic gravity well that dragged them under. Moments after they were submerged, the assault began. Valiantly they fought, but the craftworld was swiftly reduced to lifelessness. Idravain had died there, among his kin. Aimlessly, the hulk drifted through that warped and twisted realm, and for millennia nothing stirred on the dead craftworld.

With bleary eyes, Idravain had woken. Unsteadily, he had pulled himself to his feet. Many of his kin had already risen, and it was only then that he saw the horror of their visages. They may have been walking confused as living Eldar would, but they looked like revenants. Their mortal wounds had been restitched, but incompletely. Limbs were functional, but bones exposed themselves through torn flesh and greying skin. It was only through the dreaming of their seers that they discovered what had occurred.

The nascent God of Death had cast a thinning veil over the craftworld, resurrecting its fallen people. However, as yet unborn his powers were incomplete. The Altansari were resurrected in soul, but not in body. In this state, they cowered behind the veil for centuries. Or perhaps millennia, it was hard to tell. Time ebbs and flows like tides in the warp. Cowered until their salvation came. Maugan Ra, son of Altansar, struck deep into the Eye and found his people. Blazing with soulfire, he led them back to the materium.

Until the birth of Ynnead, Idravain had cowered still. Like the rest of his kin, he feared greatly how the still-living Eldar would react to their condition. Now though, he wore his condition as a mark of pride. Many times he had fallen as he fought for Yvraine. Each time he had risen again. Each time a little less living. He saw these defects as a blessing from Ynnead, a clear sign of her favour. He bore them with honour, for all to see. He was chosen by Ynnead, and would fight until his purpose, whatever that might be, was complete.

For the Eldar, symbolism isn't just important, it's an inescapable fact of life. Given that the genesis of the Ynnari featured a prophet and a guardian (Yvraine and the Visarch), I thought that it would make sense that the Ynnari cells would gravitate towards a similar setup of prophet and guardian.

Also, one of the most brilliantly evocative bits of fluff from the Gathering Storm books was that the reason the Altansar Eldar never took their helmets off is because they looked like exquisitely preserved corpses. That's a spine-tinglingly good idea :) too good not to follow up!

Hope you like him!