Reviving an Eldar God

[eldargal]

We now know, thanks to the new Dark Eldar codex, that the Eldar gods were weakened by a significant decline in belief prior to the Fall and the Birth of She Who Thirsts. This facilitated Her consumption of the Eldar Pantheon.

So, if Biel-Tan and other Craftworlds (and perhaps the Harlequins) that are attempting to restore the Eldar Empire succeed in re-populating and all these extra Eldar believe in the Gods (even if they think they are dead) could this gradual influx of belief allow some of the consumed Gods to split off from Slaanesh? Khaine to be made whole once more, Isha to break free of Nurgle, the rest re-manifesting etc?

The Gods are Warp entities like Daemons, and we know the Gods split bits of themselves off to create little Warp entities quite often (Greater Daemons). So think along those lines, but involuntary.

Perhaps Ynnead may play a part in it, defeating Slaanesh and allowing the other gods to re-emerge. This assumes all the extra Eldar dead allow it to awaken without the extinction of the Eldar.:rolleyes:

Obviously I'm not saying this would ever happen canonically.

Any thoughts? Tl,dr?

[Gotthammer]

I don't think the old pantheon would be reborn, being dead and all - Slaanesh wasn't consciously created so just having everyone thinking about the old gods wouldn't be enough to bring them back in my opinion. I don't see that the Eldar increasing their psychic presence in the warp would decrease Slaanesh, merely inflate their own.
For instance when Nurgle gains power Tzeentch loses some of his, but not because the warty one is siphoning it off, but the various plagues and ruin brought on the material world stifle Tzeentch's plans and reduce his power supply so to speak (though that was Tzeentch's plan all along I'm sure...).

However, I could see a renewed Eldar empire (in any form) creating new gods - a god of re-birth as opposd to the more pessimistic Ynnead vision. Maybe, given her status as a maternal figure to the Eldar, Isha would gain this mojo and become a protector of the Eldar's power in the warp. Khaine could return if they merged all the infinity circuits or something, say, the Harlequins and the Laughing God doing something in the Webway to link them all up (and with the Exodite's World Spirits). Ynnead could still come around, brough about by the freeing of the spirits massed up in the circuits - they go to Isha, with her link to the Spirit Stones it seems to follow, but the sudden influx of Eldar 'death energy' could be enough to create a new god in the way the overload of 'sexytime energy' created Slaanesh. This Ynnead wouldn't be as powerful as in the grand plan where the Eldar go all Jonestown, but would still be a significant part of their psyche.

It could lead to an interesting tryptych of gods - the loving Isha, vengeful Khaine, and the dour Ynnead. Mix into that the Eldar having to deal with continuing with the paths or abandoning them now their souls are safer it would make a very interesting Eldar plot advancement.

[eldargal]

Well, the way I see it is that the psychic energy that manifested as the Eldar gods was consumed by Slaanesh, becoming part of Her. Their sentience and intelligence is subsumed into Slaanesh, but isn't destroyed, on the principle that Warp energy isn't destroyed (it waxes, wanes and can be transferred from entity to entity). So a surge in belief for the Eldar gods could allow them to re-assert themselves. Obviously this is more likely to be successful with Khaine (shattered but not destroyed or consumed), Isha (weakened and captive of Nurgle) and possibly Ynnead. Cergorach who survived the Fall seems quite sprightly, and given the Eldar know he survived the extra belief in Him might have helped him avoid Slaanesh AND steal souls from Her. A bit of extra belief might make him strong enough to interfere with Slaanesh to a greater degree.

The thing With Ynnead is that he seems to be a gestalt entity consisting of billions of dead Eldar souls in the Infinity Circuit. For him to grow enough to manifest he needs more souls. Well mass breeding and death over time seems to accomplish the same thing as the full extinction of the Eldar race.

[Farseer Uthiliesh]

Interesting points, eldargal. However, you are making a major assumption; is sentience and intelligence preserved upon death? If human souls dissipate in the Immaterium, why is it that the sentience in Eldar souls can survive after being consumed by Slaanesh? Kind of like me consuming chicken, and then when I die the organic matter reforms into chicken (and other animals).

I think that part of the horror Eldar feel towards Slaanesh is that they face oblivion upon death (sans soulstone).

[eldargal]

Quite so, but souls aren't warp entities, they are warp presences.:) The gods were created by the belief of untold billions of Eldar, that belief isn't destroyed, nor is the warp energy that forms the gods destroyed. It has been absorbed by Slaanesh.

Obviously there is no kind of canonical support for this in the fluff, its just my theorising based on what we know of the Warp.

[Farseer Uthiliesh]

Quite so, but souls aren't warp entities, they are warp presences.:) The gods were created by the belief of untold billions of Eldar, that belief isn't destroyed, nor is the warp energy that forms the gods destroyed. It has been absorbed by Slaanesh.

Obviously there is no kind of canonical support for this in the fluff, its just my theorising based on what we know of the Warp.

Well, it's an interesting theory, and I like it.

Ahh, much prefer debating/discussing background than rules. :)

[eldargal]

Yes indeed, it is much easier to have a civil discussion, even if there are serious disagreements, about fluff than rules. With the rules someone is going to benefit more from one decision than another, so there is always an element of conflict. Whereas we should all be able to debate the fluff amicably even if we violently disagree.:)

I'm thinking about writing my theory into my Craftworlds fluff, that one of the reasons they are breeding like Astral Rabbits is to help facilitate the revivification of their Pantheon.;)

[Farseer Uthiliesh]

I'm thinking about writing my theory into my Craftworlds fluff, that one of the reasons they are breeding like Astral Rabbits is to help facilitate the revivification of their Pantheon.;)

:D
Oh come on, no assistance from a Haemonculi? ;)

[Vaddok Sek]

I can definately see the logic in that, after all the chaos gods are able to thrive anywhere they are believed and even just get a foothold anywhere a sentient creature can experience the base emotions that fuel them.
Faith is a very trippy thing in the 40k universe, humans that express faith in the Emperor have accomplished great things against the forces of chaos, such as an instance in the 13th Black Crusade when a world was hit by the zombie plague and the fanatical imperials were untouched by it. Many of the incidents can be explained away by either the person being a very powerful psyker who happened to worship the Emperor, or the whole thing was a settup by a tzeentchean daemon to fulfil a greater plan like the saint in the first Ben Counter Grey Knights book.

All in all, if the gods of the 40k verse's strength/existence increases or decreases as faith waxes and wanes, then the Eldar gods could very well be revived.

I should add how much this discussion makes me think of the books "Small Gods" by Terry Pratchett and "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman.