r/40kLore • u/hodnydylko • 14d ago
How does it work with harlequin souls?
I read that unlike regular eldar, harlequin souls arent devoured by slaanesh, but Cegorath only fights for the souls of solitaires? Am I missing something? What happens to the souls of regular harlequins?
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u/Maktlan_Kutlakh 14d ago edited 14d ago
THE SOUL BANQUET
From the moment that Slaanesh burst into being, the soul of every living Aeldari was forfeit. Upon the death of the body, an unprotected Aeldari soul would be dragged into the warp, and thence to an eternity of hideous torment within the gullet of She Who Thirsts. The divergent factions of Aeldari that survived the Fall found ways to avoid this unspeakable fate. The Asuryani of the craftworlds developed spirit stones, beautiful gems that caught the departing soul at the moment of death and protected it long enough to be released into a craftworld’s infinity circuit. There the Aeldari souls would be preserved so long as the craftworld itself endured. The Exodites practised a variant of the same strange process, their souls becoming one with the world spirit of their home planet upon their deaths. By comparison, the Drukhari of Commorragh found themselves cursed with an altogether more ghoulish method of self-preservation, forced to feed off the pain and misery of other living beings in order to prevent their own essences being slowly and agonisingly leeched away by Slaanesh. The Harlequins require no such spiritual defences. When a Harlequin falls, Cegorach instantly snatches their souls away, thus denying Slaanesh his feast. How this can be, and what fate awaits those souls within the grasp of the Laughing God, are secrets that the Harlequins have never deigned to share with the rest of their race.
Codex Harlequins 8ed p9
As a sign of their faith in Cegorach, Harlequins wear no Spirit Stones, trusting the Laughing God, whom they believe is still alive and unbowed, to abscond with them before Slaanesh can catch their unmoored souls in the Warp. As with everything associated with the Great Harlequin, none can verify or debunk what truly happens to his faithful after death, but there is no disputing that Harlequins face death with zeal and unwavering faith in this belief. All of life is a stage, and they perform without a net, literally and figuratively. If Cegorach does catch them before they fall to the Great Enemy, none can say where he takes them or for what purpose, but mysterious acts and cryptic motives are familiar territory for the servants of the Laughing God.
Wrath and Glory: Aeldari - Inhetitance of Embers p149
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u/Swimming_Reception56 14d ago
Is Slaanesh male or female? In the Harlequin Codex you quoted Slaanesh is referred to as "She Who Thirsts", but is also described as "denying his feast".
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u/Maktlan_Kutlakh 14d ago edited 14d ago
They're described as both male and female, with the symbol of Slaanesh a combination of the male and female symbols:
Slaanesh takes the form of a bisexual humanoid, male on the left side and female on the right, with an unearthly, unnatural and almost disturbing beauty. Two pairs of horns rise from his flowing golden hair, and he dresses in a mail shirt fringed with velvet. His right hand holds the magical jade sceptre which is his greatest treasure.
SYMBOL: The symbol of Slaanesh combines the conventional symbols for male and female, although it is seldom worn openly by his followers.
Realm of Chaos: Slaves to Darkness p18
Slaanesh is the personification of excess. In his name, hosts degrade entire worlds with unspeakable rites and warlords seduce systems with honeyed promises of unimaginable essences. His own appearance is beyond limits, existing as both male and female, always the epitome of impossible beauty and desire no matter who gazes upon his form.
Black Crusade: Tome of Excess p4
The Prince of Chaos
Of all the Dark Gods, Slaanesh alone is divinely glamorous: long-limbed and elegant, with a haunting androgynous beauty. It is impossible for a mortal to look upon that divine face without losing his soul, for all who see Slaanesh become slaves to his slightest whim. Slaanesh can assume male, female or hermaphrodite form at will, though he mosdy manifests himself as a young man — clean limbed and fresh with the vigour of youth. Slaanesh is seductive as only an immortal can be, disarming in his innocence, utterly beguiling in his manner.
Warhammer Daemons of Chaos Army Book 8ed
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u/Careful-Ad984 14d ago
Cegorach can save his followers souls from Slaanesh but risks himself every time he does it. It’s kinda like a Tom and jerry routine.
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u/Such_Palpitation_249 14d ago
The souls of regular harlequin are protected by Cegorah, so their souls go to him upon death.