Over the last 12 months i've been sloooowly been creating history for this Craftworld i've been collecting. During that time, i've had quite a few requests from followers of the blog for background, out of general interest or as inspiration for their own custom Craftworld efforts.
I've decided, rather than keeping it all noted to myself, that I would start blogging it here. Be warned, this is going to be very rough, the likes of which will make a doctors handwriting look legible. Whilst a general flow will be evident, changes will occur through the course of time - after all, a smooth river stone does not become polished without going through a crap load of tumbling.
So without further ado, this is a story all about how my life got flipped-turned upside down, and I'd like to take a minute, just sit right there, I'll tell you how I became the author of the Dras'Volharr.
(Bonus points if you know what the theme tune is - Gee guess which generation i'm from)
The Dras'Volharr, translated to Mon'Keigh tongue, Tempest of the Desert's Shadow, are remnants of an outside consul of Eldar far removed from their capricious pre-fall society kin, who enjoyed creating technologies of perfect idealistic balance. Their mindset was built upon a utopian idea that whilst (as all Eldar believe) they reigned in a benevolent sense, it was their responsibility to provide a universe wide foundation of integrated technologies. These technologies were the concepts of an idealistic view which would enable efficient transition of energies for all beings to tap into a unified will (in a sub conscious way), that would help empower and direct akin to a benevolent cosmic mother - a cosmic consciousness of balance in both right and wrong. It was believed that this kind of technology would restore balance, in an altruistic sense, to dissipate the exponential increase in hedonistic activities witnessed over the past few millennia.
As energies in the warp became more tempestuous, the urgency for such a technology had been increasing - as a result, mistakes were made, eureka moments were observed and byproduct technologies were manifested. The Seers became restless, drawing on psychic energies to skein new ways of approaching the task at hand - They could sense the increase of warp instability, which had made their previously impeccable meditations difficult, akin to focusing on the horizon aboard a ship during a storm surge.
Emissaries were sent out to multiple Seer conclaves for assistance, requesting they provide barrier protection to help calm the psychic storm building over time - all so that they may complete their work before an unknown and unforeseen terror should manifest. Some Seers joined the cause, the most powerful of which even provided ancient relics previously unknown to the largest governing Seer Dome Councils to assist in the effort.
The added strength also had its drawbacks, one of which gave few a glimpse of horizon events, sparking a panic causing almost a complete decade of project stagnation - later found to be a defining moment in their history. It was during this period the great Craftworlds were psychically sung into existence - Two sister ships were born, which would house the future Dras'Volharri. The smaller of the two Ainaarin, was completed in a three year period as an immediate stop gap insurance measure, to provide a safe haven for the best and brightest should impending events escalate faster than anticipated. Volharr, at almost twice the size, had begun its song into existence in the final year of Ainaarin's birth song. Over eight years had been spent creating these new living ships, with a further 18 months fitting them with technologies psychically hidden from the cosmos. Almost a decade had been spent ensuring the survival of the future Dras'Volharri.
Each ship was named according to their intended use - Ainaarin, meaning great expectations, a symbol of hope that with aide of on board relics, the future would be bright. Volharr, meaning shadows tempest, was aggressively named as a protector ship of Ainaarin. Volharr had been built with more care and in less of a rush. A living vessel of hope, yet more than capable of war, harboring some of the most destructive technologies ever devised - in a twist of irony, some of these devices had manifested as byproducts of the cosmic balance project the Volharri had worked so hard to realise.
Safeguards were put in place should either of the vessels both be threatened, or all hope lost. Upon creation, an enormous Webway gate was constructed on the Volharri homeworld - in a permanently activated state should evacuation be required. Both ships sat in a neighboring star system, surrounded by a nebula that buffered view from prying eyes. The Seers decreed that should Volharr be crippled beyond use and Ainaarin become vulnerable, activation of the Destra'Tain was sanctioned. A play on words, the device meant, "entrance' end", a jump location that no one could follow to a section of the Webway that had been deliberately collapsed as a sanctuary. Upon activation, Ainaarin would jump and simultaneously set a trigger event to draw upon the energy sources buried in surrounding planets (including the systems Sun) to create a solar system wide instantaneous collapse - viciously splitting the atoms of everything within its field of influence.
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The next installment will deal with cataclysmic events leading up to Volharr's unexpected encounter, Eldar insurgency and Ainaarin's sudden departure - heralding the events that made the Dras'Volharri who they've now become, their evolving mindset and focus as remnants of a once vastly decadent race.
