Yriel is a scion of the ancient house of Ulthanash and the supreme naval commander of Iyanden, a craftworld already half-emptied by catastrophe. Gifted with a genius for war and cursed with a pride to match, he served as his people's High Admiral until a bitter clash with the craftworld's Farseers drove him into self-imposed exile. Rather than bow to their counsel, he abandoned the craftworld altogether.
In exile Yriel became a corsair, gathering a pirate fleet he named the Eldritch Raiders and roaming the void beyond the craftworlds, beholden to no authority but his own. For a time he made himself a legend among the reavers of the stars, raiding where he pleased, his skill undimmed by his estrangement from the home that had spurned him. Yet Iyanden was never truly out of his thoughts.
When the great devourer came, and the tyranid swarms of Hive Fleet Kraken fell upon Iyanden and all but annihilated it, Yriel could not stand aside. He returned with his fleet at his people's darkest hour, but found the craftworld so gravely wounded that ordinary weapons would not suffice to save it. In desperation he broke open the Shrine of Ulthanash and drew forth the Spear of Twilight, an artefact holding the baleful energies of a dying star, so mighty that it slowly burns away the soul of whoever wields it.
With the Spear in hand Yriel turned the tide, slaying a Hive Tyrant with a single stroke and severing its swarms from the will of the Hive Mind. Iyanden was saved, and Yriel was restored to his rank as Autarch and High Admiral, but at a terrible price. The Spear cannot be set aside without killing its bearer, and so it sustains his life even as it steadily consumes it, binding hero and curse together beyond any parting.
In later days Yriel's doom took a stranger turn still. Slain in battle, he was raised again by the prophet Yvraine of the Ynnari, who revealed that the Spear of Twilight was in truth one of the croneswords, the god-slaying blades her cult seeks. Restoring it to its true form, she returned him to life to lead Iyanden once more, weaving his tragic fate into the great and desperate gambit of the Reborn.
Heroes & legends
More Aeldari
AsurmenThe Hand of AsuryanAsurmen is the first and greatest of the Phoenix Lords, the warrior who forged the Path of the Warrior from the ashes of the Fall and founded the first of the Aspect shrines. Born in an age of ruin, he taught his people to master their fury and turn it against their enemies, and from his teaching sprang every Warrior Aspect that followed. Deathless within his ancient armour, he wanders the galaxy still, appearing wherever the Aeldari face annihilation.
BaharrothThe Cry of the WindBaharroth, the Cry of the Wind, is the Phoenix Lord of the Swooping Hawks and the first Aeldari ever to master the art of aerial war. Swiftest of all his kind, he descends upon the enemy like a sudden storm, heralding the dawn assault with blade and lasfire. Though he has died countless times, he rises ever renewed, a symbol of hope and retribution to his people.
Eldrad UlthranThe Farseer of UlthwéThe most accomplished and far-seeing Farseer of the age, Eldrad Ulthran of Ulthwé has guided his craftworld and steered the fate of the wider galaxy for millennia. His schemes span centuries and casually spend the lives of lesser races, all in service to the survival of the Aeldari, and few beings living understand the tangled threads of destiny as intimately as he.
FueganThe Burning LanceFuegan, the Burning Lance, is the Phoenix Lord of the Fire Dragons and the embodiment of Khaine's cleansing fire. Grim and indomitable, he wields flame as both weapon and creed, reducing the enemies of the Aeldari not merely to death but to ash. Prophecy names him the last Phoenix Lord who will fall, the one destined to gather his brethren for the final battle at the end of all things.