About Necrons, C'tan and Eldars

Not much is known of the Necrons or the god-like C'tan. What is known has been gathered from Eldar legend, transcribed and archived by out Imperial servitor-scribes of the Ordo Xenos.

+++Commit to: Imperial Record+++
+++EST 03/8567INQUISITORIS 8353/1453+++
+++Crossfile to: Aliens/Ultima Segmentum+++
+++Xenos/text: Eldar+++
+++Input Date: 998.M41+++
+++Input Clearance: Inquisitor Malachai+++
+++Authors: MUNG, Ralamine, Langstri, Obelius+++
+++Thought for the Day: Blessed are the Ignorant+++

My Lords,
First, may I apologize for the inevitable delay of these texts. As well as the infamous vox-record of an exchange between His Revered Highness Inquisitor Horst and Tech-Priest Alagos, I have included a transcription from a witness of a Harlequin dance that I believe may be of relevance. I also thought it fitting to include an approximate translation of a fragment from the Seven Scrolls of H'sann, a collection of ancient texts uncovered and translated by my mentor Obelius Mung over the last 30 years. This is in itself valuable as evidence that the Eldar have detailed knowledge of the Necron threat. However, in light of the appearance of puissant xenos entities leading Necron raids, I believe the content bears further examination.
As all historians know, many an obscure truth is shrouded in legend.
Your servant in life and beyond,

Ralamine Mung

THE BIRTH OF FEAR
 
There was a time when the Eldar were not wracked by fear, and did not live their lives in mortal apprehension of the dark fate that awaited them upon death. A warrior could meet foes without a thought for his mortal shell; his soul would live on, reborn as a phoenix from the flame.

In that manner did the Eldar join their gods to wage war against the Yngir, the immortal star-spawn that plagued the universe with their eternal thirst and undying warriors. Their minions, the silvered host, parted like a sea before Khaine's wrath, and his followers, the most battle-hardened of all, blazed a flaming path across the galaxy.

Ulthanash and Eldanesh, noble kings of their houses, fought at Khaine's side. Lanthrilaq the Swift and Jaeriela Thrice-Blessed led their peoples, and none could stand before them.

Then came Kaelis Ra, the Death-bringer. Its rampage stained the stars with blood, and none could stand against it, for it wielded the power of death itself. Populations fell before its scythe, its very gaze killed even the greatest of Eldar heroes. Those that died lost everything, even their souls.
But the gods of the Eldar had strengths other than force of arms. The greatest among the Soul-Dancers had begun to convince the C'tan to turn their hunger inward, to consume their brethren in unholy feasts of star-flesh. Kaelis Ra took its blade to its kin and butchered them without mercy as it had the sons of Isha.

While the Death-bringer sought ever darker ways to slake its unquenchable thirst, Khaine was not idle. He struck a bargain with Vaul the Smith-God; in exchange for Kurnous's and Isha's release from Khaine's dungeons, Vaul would forge one hundred swords for Khaine's war against the Yngir. Thus were born the Swords of Vaul, the Blade-Wraiths.
Khaine led his people to war once more, his rage incandescent, the remnants of his army aflame with the heat of vengeance. A hundred Eldar, each armed with a Blade-Wraith, faced a horde of silvered Necrontyr so vast the horizon glittered with metal bodies in every direction. Yet they knew no dread.

The Eldar fought in a great circle, the Swords of Vaul flashing, and the Necrontyr could not penetrate their defense. The soul-might contained within the swords invigorated their wielders, and every blow smashed apart an unholy foe. Khaine was unstoppable, and his warriors fought with the knowledge that their god was pleased.

The battle lasted seven days and seven nights before the Eldar began to fall. The Yngir's servants had found a weak spot in the circle; Lanthrilaq the Swift was tiring, his face pale, his imperfect sword dull and blunt. The ring of warriors buckled and broke, and the ground shook as Khaine bellowed his anger. Vaul had cheated him. One of the swords was lifeless.
From the ground beneath them burst Kaelis Ra, the Nightbringer, and the Eldar fell back for they knew their doom was at hand. With a gesture, Kaelis Ra slew all those near it. With a glance, it condemned the souls of great warriors to an eternity of dust. With a great roar, Khaine leveled his spear and charged.

Scythe and spear clashed over a mound of corpses in a struggle that tore the skies asunder. Khaine's speed and skill were breathtaking, but the Nightbringer was a being of shadow. The Spear of Khaine could not find its mark. Kaelis Ra let its foe exhaust his rage with the patience of death.
Without warning, the Nightbringer swung mightily with his scythe and aimed for Khaine's throat. But Khaine had heeded the counsel of the Laughing God well. As the Nightbringer's form became solid to deliver its blow, Khaine lunged, and the tip of his spear drove clean through the Yngir's chest.

Kaelis Ra burst apart in an explosion of silvered shards that nearly cleft Khaine in two as the Yngir's essence tore free of physical form. The silvered warriors around him fell to the earth as the impact spread ever outward, returning to the ground from whence they came. Soon, only Khaine remained, howling his victory.

However, all was not well. Shards of the Yngir's flesh, driven deep into Khaine's body by the cataclysmic demise of his foe, melted in the fires of the War God's wrath. The silver poison flowed into his bloodstream and forever tainted his physical incarnation with the aspect of the Reaper.
Kaelis Ra cannot truly die, for it is death incarnate. Raging at its defeat, its quintessence howled throughout space, entering every one of the Eldar race and cursing them with the terror of the grave. Thus it was that the seed of the Eldar's downfall was sown, and ultimately, the way of reincarnation was closed to them forever.

source:
http://web.archive.org/web/20080103133732/us.games-workshop.com/games/40k/necrons/extras/dawnofctan/default.htm