Eldar Craftworlds (Warhammer 40,000) - History of The Craftworlds

History of The Craftworlds

In the time leading up to the Fall, not all the Eldar that remained on the Eldar Empire's primary homeworlds fell to the lures of hedonism. Many remained free of the depraved corruption, struggling to turn their species from its doom. Unable to do so, many of the greatest Eldar Seers caught glimpses of the darkness to come. The craftworlds were originally large trading ships sung from wraithbone, aboard which lived hundreds of Eldar families. These colossal spacecraft would travel across the galaxy using the webway, trading with the many alien races they encountered before returning centuries later to Eldar homeworlds. When they returned a few years before the Fall, the craftworlds' inhabitants were horrified by the changes in Eldar society. The Eldar seers who had remained behind enlisted their aid to undertake a titanic effort to save their people. Onto each Eldar craftworld, the last uncorrupted people from each Eldar world were loaded from each homeworld, along with works of art, plant life and animals, and whatever else of Eldar culture that could be saved. In these Craftworlds, the final Eldar Exodus began, and only barely in time. The psychic shockwave of Slaanesh's awakening caught some of the Craftworlds and destroyed them, while others were pulled into orbit around the Eye of Terror. The rest drift throughout the galaxy today, their exact number uncertain, as contact with and between them can be difficult and intermittent.

In the ten-thousand years since the Fall, the craftworlds have grown in size between tenfold and a hundredfold to accommodate the new survivors. The Craftworlds probably compose the majority of the surviving Eldar race in the galaxy of the forty-first millennium, although it is impossible to say just how many this is. They are certainly the seat of the remaining Eldar industry, technology, and culture, as they contain the only vestiges of their original homeworlds. Most of the Craftworlds contain special biodomes that house plants and wildlife from their original world, and these are carefully tended. Although each Craftworld is essentially independent in its actions and governance, they will generally offer and accept aid and advice from one another. Although not common, sometimes Craftworld disagreements will cause them to clash with each other on the field of battle, though this is always a last resort.