The gods of Chaos are the most well-known pantheon from Warhammer 40,000, but some of the peoples have their own deities – even if many of them are already dead. At least one god of the elven Aeldari is still alive and takes care of his flock. More or less…
Chaos is a constant threat to pretty much all living beings in the galaxy, because it seeks to corrupt everything and everyone. Many voluntarily join the four Chaos gods, while others are slowly corrupted or simply wiped out.
However, one species has particularly difficult relations with Chaos: the Aeldari, a once-powerful elven-like race that once ruled the galaxy. Over the millennia, the Aeldari eventually became overconfident – and too greedy.
In search of ever-greater excesses, they no longer hesitated at torture, agony, and the like. Their constantly growing hedonism ultimately contributed to the birth of Slaanesh, the Chaos god of temptation and obsession.
In the massive catastrophe, Slaanesh not only nearly wiped out all Aeldari and condemned their souls for eternity, but also exterminated most Aeldari gods. Only one remains quite active today.
The trickster god of the Aeldari: Cegorach
Cegorach is known by many names: the laughing god, the Great Harlequin, the Great Fool, or the First Fool. He is a “trickster” god, meaning he is known for mockery, (sometimes very macabre) pranks, and for taking nothing seriously. He is also the god of theater and performances.
That is also his gift to the Aeldari: irony and humor. This is meant to allow at least a few of the noble people to escape the trap of constantly growing hubris and not fall to Slaanesh.
According to legend, he survived Slaanesh’s birth only because he had a certain distance from the feeling of excess that led the Aeldari to their doom through this behavior. He reportedly hid behind the war god Khaine while he fought against Slaanesh.
To escape the Chaos gods, Cegorach hides in the web of a Thousand Paths, a kind of branching pocket dimension – where Comorragh lies, the last bastion of the Drukhari, who still indulge in excess today.
Cegorach’s chosen live dangerously
The Aeldari who follow Cegorach’s teachings call themselves Harlequins and are… pretty much just that: witty clowns and actors. Originally, they performed plays and dances that were meant to remind what the Aeldari have forgotten in their excess.
However, since the Harlequins received much hatred in response, they had to practice fighting and today rank among the best warriors in the galaxy. A special feature among them is that they do not carry soulstones.
Normally, Aeldari protect themselves with these special stones, which are supposed to capture their soul after death so that Slaanesh does not get them. Harlequins trust in Cegorach and that the god will take them in after their death.
Even more dangerously live the Solitaires, special Harlequins who live reclusively even among their own kind. A Solitaire can play the “role” of Slaanesh, is a better fighter, and is resistant to psychic attacks. But: he promises his soul to Slaanesh and relies on Cegorach to retrieve it from the Chaos god in death, through some kind of gamble or trick, to escape endless torture.
One of the last guardians of the Aeldari – for now
Cegorach is the last officially still actually living god of the Aeldari, but not the last from the pantheon. Isha, the goddess of fertility and harvest, is supposedly the prisoner of Nurgle, who tests his diseases on her – since she cannot die.
Kaela Mensha Khaine was shattered into many pieces after the battle against Slaanesh, his avatars. Technically, he is still alive, but not… quite.
Some Aeldari, who call themselves Ynnari, are currently doing everything possible to awaken a new god: Ynnead, the god of death. They believe that they can “create” Ynnead with enough psychic power and hope that he can permanently destroy Slaanesh.
So far, it has not been possible to completely awaken Ynnead, but he is slowly beginning to awaken.
Similarly, the situation currently is with humans. Although they already have the God
-Emperor, it is still uncertain whether he is really a true god. And even those who should know are no longer sure: The new leader of the Imperium in Warhammer 40,000 questions whether the Emperor is a god, when he should know better
