Belthanos, the First Thorn of Kurnoth, leads the eternal hunt that keeps his master’s spirit in bloom. Cloaked in evergreen and riding atop a Carnelian Greatspite made of pure life magic, he chases down those who would harm Ghyran so that his howling Revenant Seeker and Kurnoth Hunter followers might rip them apart.
The Aeldari once ruled the galaxy, before their civilisation collapsed beneath the weight of its own hedonism. Now the Asuryani sail the stars aboard massive vessels called craftworlds, their citizens keeping to highly disciplined Paths to avoid drowning in the same decadent madness as their ancestors. Each craftworld's Guardians take up arms to defend their dying race, wielding deadly shuriken catapults or power blades, or shredding foes atop their swift Windrider jetbikes.
Reborn from the land she loved in a soaring crescendo of hope, fury, loss and exhilaration, Alarielle the Everqueen is an ancient and powerful being. She is the goddess of life magic; where she treads, atop her immense wardroth beetle, new blooms scream forth in a riot of colour, strength and passion.
Looming ghost warriors many times larger than even the mighty Wraithlords, the war machines known as Wraithknights are still dextrous enough to run through the ruin of a shattered city, leaping from pillar to spar as their arcane weapons bring oblivion to the enemies of the Aeldari.
The air sings with glorious life magic as the children of Alarielle surge into battle. Embittered noble spirits command the fury of the forest, hissing Branchwyches leading from the front as verdant wyldwoods burst forth from the heaving ground. Mighty wargroves advance in defence of life itself, Tree-Revenants striking without warning as relentless Kurnoth Hunters and ancient Treelords crush enemies with inexorable, arboreal strength.
Belthanos leads the eternal hunt that keeps his master Kurnoth’s spirit in bloom. Cloaked in leaves and riding atop a Carnelian Greatspite made of pure life magic, he chases down those who would harm Ghyran so that his howling followers might rip them apart.
An Avatar of Khaine is an ancient deity incarnate – a burning shard of Khaela Mensha Khaine, the Bloody-Handed God of the Aeldari. Awakened for battle, he marches through enemy fire without breaking stride, laughing cruelly as his weapon – the Wailing Doom – cleaves flesh and tastes the blood of his foes with each strike.
With a Spiritseer seated inside the clear plastic canopy, the Hemlock Wraithfighters cowling contains the vehicles spirit stone, as well as being armed with two deadly heavy D-scythes.
Streaking into battle at speeds that render them barely visible to human eyes, Shroud Runners effortlessly outmanoeuvre their enemies while harassing them with pinpoint sniper fire. Each jetbike acts as the mount for a pair of skilled Aeldari Rangers, the pillion rider often entering a marksman’s trance so as to aim and fire while travelling at incredible velocity.
The Spiterider Lancers are Alarielle's elite cavalry, mounted upon agile Dragonspites whose bodies thrum with the energies of Life. Taming one of these ancient insectoid predators is a quest in itself – their forest spirit riders deftly swoop and whirl above the battlefield before suddenly diving into a charge, striking the enemy lines with shocking force. The enemies of the Everqueen are left with nowhere to hide when the Spiterider Lancers are unleashed from the vales.
Aeldari mythology is replete with noble heroes at one with their steeds, and in the Shining Spears, the glories of legend are made manifest. These Aspect Warriors live to joust, which they do at breathtaking speeds upon their jetbike mounts. Their chosen weapon is the long and formidable laser lance, which uses a powerful energy blast to burn an opening in the target – instants before the bulk of the weapon slams home with devastating, piercing force.
A breed of forest spirit only recently-emerged into the ranks of the Sylvaneth, the Gossamid Archers are afforded the power of flight by the zephyrwing spites that clasp their torsos. With impressive speed and mobility, the Archers fly to wherever they're needed on the battlefield, swooping low to shoot at the enemy and evading counter-assaults with a swarm of insectile distractions. A gruesome fate awaits any struck by the shafts fired by these symbiotic skirmishers – the arrowheads contain voracious grubs that devour the target from within.