Post by CELS on Dec 27, 2003 19:07:47 GMT -5
Remember these? I know there was still a long way to go on the Aoideans, figuring out their history, their appearence, abilities, how they shift from the warp to the material realm, how they are born, and... well, pretty much everything really
Still, I'm taking a look at what can be done with these guys, because I'm still in love with the idea of 'ghosts in 40k'.
Off the top of my head, I'm thinking the biggest changes will be to make the race younger, some tens or hundred thousand years older than man, and perhaps just not letting new Aoideans be born at all, since I see this requiring some sort of massive energy source which the Aoideans don't have, and since it proved to be very complicated otherwise. Perhaps limit their abilities in the physical realm as well and forget the idea of armies of Aoideans coming to the aid of humans. They'd be similar to angels, in a way... but of course, the Aoideans don't have a God and are in no way as powerful as angels usually are... still, I imagine they'd behave much in the same way. Showing up now and then with the odd message or visions, or saving a sailor two, but not really showing up in force to change the fate of the universe.
I'm reposting what I have here, so those of you who haven't read about these before can do so now.
Index Xenos – Aoideans
History
The Aoideans are named after the world upon which they were first encountered, Aoide, and are a race of warp beings, independent from the powers of chaos. They have been known to man since before the age of the Imperium, though for the most part only as mysterious characters in legends told by the enigmatic Eldar, or as stories told by old star travellers of guardian angels and helping phantoms. It is only recently that the Imperium and the Inquisition has learned the truth about the Aoideans, and how they came to be.
Once upon a time, the Aoideans were a living race in the materium. They were a race of fantastic psychic powers, a race of great artisans and philosophers, spending most of their time exploring the nature of the warp which nurtured them so. As the Aodieans learned to master the warp, civil wars and conflicts all but ended, and their world united in a search for beauty, truth and love. So great was the glory of their achievements, that it would ultimately be their doom…
Aodiean legends speak of a war of unfathomable proportions raging across the galaxy, and how the Aodieans were forced into participating in this war. Soon, the enemy came for the Aodieans, who, though powerful, were most vulnerable of all. World by world, the enemy crushed the Aodieans, who could not match their brutality or blood thirst. Surrounded and cut off from allies who would not come to their aid, the Aodieans knew only one escape. They would leave this universe behind, and all its cruelty, and go into the warp, where they hide and wait for a time when the wars had ended. Constructing many great warp gates, protected with powerful runes to block the path for their enemies, the Aodieans made a passage to their new home, and, as the enemy fell upon the last of their planets, committed mass suicide, transcending into the immaterium, where they would watch from the calm depths of the warp.
But life in the warp would not shield them from the horrors of war for long. When the three Dark Gods were born, life in the warp changed forever. In their greed and thirst for power, the Dark Gods warred not only between themselves, but also against independent powers of the immaterium. Armies of daemons and chaos-spawn scoured the warp, seeking new conquest. It was not long before the storm of war engulfed the Aoideans once more, and battles of dimensions incomprehensible to man raged in the warp. Again, the Aoideans were forced to flee, forced to hide from the unrelenting armies of Chaos. Though they could not escape back to the materium, the way they had fled to the immaterium so long ago, the Aoideans learned to hide in the warp, and eventually found a way to rebuild their civilisation within the warp. Eventually though, the forces of Chaos learned that the Aoideans had survived, and their armies roamed the warp in search of them. Soon, they learned ways of discovering the Aoideans, and once more, the Aoidean race was destroyed, piece by piece. But this time, there could be no escape other than death.
The change in the spirit of the Aoideans that occurred as a result, has later been referred to as the Waking; when their race awoke from the dream of a life without war, and saw that to ensure the survival of their race and the survival of the principles they lived by, they were forced to fight back. This revolution was not one without conflict however, and the Waking saw many of the eldest and most powerful Aoideans exiled, unable to accept this new and darker philosophy that had dawned on the younger ones.
Much of the old philosophies remained, though, and the Aoideans agreed that they would not choose sides in this war too lightly. Watching the different empires in the materium, the humans, the orks, the forces of chaos, and even the eldar, the Aoideans were unsure if they could dare to come to the aid of any of these, without risking that these turn into the same evil that the Aoideans faced now. On the other hand, the Aoideans realized that they had no chance in facing their enemies alone, and considered themselves a powerful weapon which must be used against chaos. Who would wield this ancient and powerful weapon, remained to be answered.
Physical characteristics
The Aoideans were once bipedal humanoids, similar to men in most respects. Though the average Aoidean would be slightly shorter than a human, the Aoideans would continue to grow almost their entire century-long life, making the old Aoideans both stronger and bigger than young ones, looming far above the average human.
The Aoideans had golden skin, with thin, downy, grey hair covering their body, except for hands, feet and face. Their hands and feet had five digits, like humans, though the length of each digit differed from ours.
The head of the Aoidean was quite unlike that of a human, with two great crests arching backwards from the forehead. These crests were somehow connected to the nose of the Aoidean, which blew air through the crests like horns, to communicate over great distances.
The facial features of the Aoideans were supposedly fairly similar to that of the humans, but with gentler features, flatter and wider noses, smaller mouths, and with ears resembling those of the Eldar, only larger.
The physical manifestations of the Aoideans of the warp vary greatly in appearance. As beings of the warp, the each Aoidean is able to split its life energy into two entities, effectively creating two weaker individuals. This process can also be turned around, and two Aoideans can transform into a single entity, and thus forming a creature of greater power. The characteristics of such combined entities depend greatly on the characteristics of their “parents”.
As a result, the Aoideans vary greatly in size and shape, with some being especially bulky or tall as a sign of their greater power. Some of the oldest Aoideans also tend to assume slightly different forms than the younger, having distanced themselves somewhat from their biological form. These differences can be manifested in virtually any way, the most commonly observed being new limbs, wings or horns.
Being warp creatures in the material realm, the Aoideans have many visual qualities similar to daemons. A common perception is that there’s some kind of aura of light dancing around their form. Damage to their physical manifestation can also cause it to fade, and eventually disappear entirely, presumably sending their essence back to the warp. Other than this, Aoideans retain most of their original appearance.
Still, I'm taking a look at what can be done with these guys, because I'm still in love with the idea of 'ghosts in 40k'.
Off the top of my head, I'm thinking the biggest changes will be to make the race younger, some tens or hundred thousand years older than man, and perhaps just not letting new Aoideans be born at all, since I see this requiring some sort of massive energy source which the Aoideans don't have, and since it proved to be very complicated otherwise. Perhaps limit their abilities in the physical realm as well and forget the idea of armies of Aoideans coming to the aid of humans. They'd be similar to angels, in a way... but of course, the Aoideans don't have a God and are in no way as powerful as angels usually are... still, I imagine they'd behave much in the same way. Showing up now and then with the odd message or visions, or saving a sailor two, but not really showing up in force to change the fate of the universe.
I'm reposting what I have here, so those of you who haven't read about these before can do so now.
Index Xenos – Aoideans
History
The Aoideans are named after the world upon which they were first encountered, Aoide, and are a race of warp beings, independent from the powers of chaos. They have been known to man since before the age of the Imperium, though for the most part only as mysterious characters in legends told by the enigmatic Eldar, or as stories told by old star travellers of guardian angels and helping phantoms. It is only recently that the Imperium and the Inquisition has learned the truth about the Aoideans, and how they came to be.
Once upon a time, the Aoideans were a living race in the materium. They were a race of fantastic psychic powers, a race of great artisans and philosophers, spending most of their time exploring the nature of the warp which nurtured them so. As the Aodieans learned to master the warp, civil wars and conflicts all but ended, and their world united in a search for beauty, truth and love. So great was the glory of their achievements, that it would ultimately be their doom…
Aodiean legends speak of a war of unfathomable proportions raging across the galaxy, and how the Aodieans were forced into participating in this war. Soon, the enemy came for the Aodieans, who, though powerful, were most vulnerable of all. World by world, the enemy crushed the Aodieans, who could not match their brutality or blood thirst. Surrounded and cut off from allies who would not come to their aid, the Aodieans knew only one escape. They would leave this universe behind, and all its cruelty, and go into the warp, where they hide and wait for a time when the wars had ended. Constructing many great warp gates, protected with powerful runes to block the path for their enemies, the Aodieans made a passage to their new home, and, as the enemy fell upon the last of their planets, committed mass suicide, transcending into the immaterium, where they would watch from the calm depths of the warp.
But life in the warp would not shield them from the horrors of war for long. When the three Dark Gods were born, life in the warp changed forever. In their greed and thirst for power, the Dark Gods warred not only between themselves, but also against independent powers of the immaterium. Armies of daemons and chaos-spawn scoured the warp, seeking new conquest. It was not long before the storm of war engulfed the Aoideans once more, and battles of dimensions incomprehensible to man raged in the warp. Again, the Aoideans were forced to flee, forced to hide from the unrelenting armies of Chaos. Though they could not escape back to the materium, the way they had fled to the immaterium so long ago, the Aoideans learned to hide in the warp, and eventually found a way to rebuild their civilisation within the warp. Eventually though, the forces of Chaos learned that the Aoideans had survived, and their armies roamed the warp in search of them. Soon, they learned ways of discovering the Aoideans, and once more, the Aoidean race was destroyed, piece by piece. But this time, there could be no escape other than death.
The change in the spirit of the Aoideans that occurred as a result, has later been referred to as the Waking; when their race awoke from the dream of a life without war, and saw that to ensure the survival of their race and the survival of the principles they lived by, they were forced to fight back. This revolution was not one without conflict however, and the Waking saw many of the eldest and most powerful Aoideans exiled, unable to accept this new and darker philosophy that had dawned on the younger ones.
Much of the old philosophies remained, though, and the Aoideans agreed that they would not choose sides in this war too lightly. Watching the different empires in the materium, the humans, the orks, the forces of chaos, and even the eldar, the Aoideans were unsure if they could dare to come to the aid of any of these, without risking that these turn into the same evil that the Aoideans faced now. On the other hand, the Aoideans realized that they had no chance in facing their enemies alone, and considered themselves a powerful weapon which must be used against chaos. Who would wield this ancient and powerful weapon, remained to be answered.
Physical characteristics
The Aoideans were once bipedal humanoids, similar to men in most respects. Though the average Aoidean would be slightly shorter than a human, the Aoideans would continue to grow almost their entire century-long life, making the old Aoideans both stronger and bigger than young ones, looming far above the average human.
The Aoideans had golden skin, with thin, downy, grey hair covering their body, except for hands, feet and face. Their hands and feet had five digits, like humans, though the length of each digit differed from ours.
The head of the Aoidean was quite unlike that of a human, with two great crests arching backwards from the forehead. These crests were somehow connected to the nose of the Aoidean, which blew air through the crests like horns, to communicate over great distances.
The facial features of the Aoideans were supposedly fairly similar to that of the humans, but with gentler features, flatter and wider noses, smaller mouths, and with ears resembling those of the Eldar, only larger.
The physical manifestations of the Aoideans of the warp vary greatly in appearance. As beings of the warp, the each Aoidean is able to split its life energy into two entities, effectively creating two weaker individuals. This process can also be turned around, and two Aoideans can transform into a single entity, and thus forming a creature of greater power. The characteristics of such combined entities depend greatly on the characteristics of their “parents”.
As a result, the Aoideans vary greatly in size and shape, with some being especially bulky or tall as a sign of their greater power. Some of the oldest Aoideans also tend to assume slightly different forms than the younger, having distanced themselves somewhat from their biological form. These differences can be manifested in virtually any way, the most commonly observed being new limbs, wings or horns.
Being warp creatures in the material realm, the Aoideans have many visual qualities similar to daemons. A common perception is that there’s some kind of aura of light dancing around their form. Damage to their physical manifestation can also cause it to fade, and eventually disappear entirely, presumably sending their essence back to the warp. Other than this, Aoideans retain most of their original appearance.