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Spirit stone

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The Eldar spirit stones are small, seemingly precious stones carried on an Eldar's chest, used to save their souls from destruction by Slaanesh.

Overview

Spirit Stones are made out of psycho-receptive crystals called waystones,[1] which are grown from something similar to Wraithbone.[4] At the moment of the Eldar's death, the stone acts like a 'psychic trap', absorbing their psychic self and preventing it from entering the warp and being consumed by the nemesis of the Eldar race: Slaanesh.[3a]

The Waystone can then be brought back to the Eldar's own Craftworld and embedded into its wraithbone core where it will grow into a larger spirit stone.[3a] Once the stone is implanted, the Eldar's soul can travel freely through the wraithbone, mingling with other Eldar souls and forming part of the communal spirit of the Craftworld itself.[3a] All the souls within a Craftworld collectively exist inside the Infinity Circuit.[3a] In times of dire need, the Eldar are also able to retrieve the spirit stones of long dead Eldar heroes and place them into the artificial bodies of Wraithguards and Wraithlords.[3b] These constructs are then piloted by the Eldar soul, which experiences reality as a dream. This process is considered necromancy in Eldar culture and is only used as a last resort. The Eldar Warlocks who specialize in this process are known as Spiritseers.[3c] Iyanden, an Eldar Craftworld with a very small population is known for its greater use of these 'living dead'.[3b]

It is believed by some Eldar that when enough Eldar souls have been gathered within the Infinity Circuit's of the Craftworlds, a new god will emerge: Ynnead, Eldar God of the Dead. It is hoped by Farseers that this god will be powerful enough to vanquish Slaanesh, freeing the Eldar from their doom. Spirit Stones are also an Eldar vehicle upgrade that allows the spirit to control the vehicle in case the pilots are incapacitated, similar to the Power of the Machine Spirit.

One primary source of spirit stones is the old Eldar homeworlds, now known as Crone Worlds. Acquiring new spirit stones is extremely dangerous, as the Crone Worlds exist within the Eye of Terror. In Eldar Mythology the spirit stones were created by Vaul from the Tears of Isha. This is taken as a metaphor for the crystallization of the psychic energies of the Eye.[Needs Citation]

Notes

The graphic novel Daemonifuge features these stones in passing, but names them Soul-Stones.[Needs Citation] However, the Eldar Codices name them as Spirit Stones.[2]

When a Spirit Stone is destroyed the soul once contained is lost to the warp, where it will presumably be devoured by Slaanesh.[3a]

Eldrad Ulthran, the legendary farseer, was somehow able to not only imprint multiple spirit stones, but he was also able to do so while still alive.[3d] There is a canon conflict over whether or not he has ever died,[3d][5] but if he did die, this rendered most (but not all) of his spirit stones inert.[3d]

Interestingly, in the novel Dawn of War (Novel), a Spirit Stone is smashed by a Power Axe, resulting in an incredibly loud metallic ringing, and then an explosion that not only destroys the Power Axe, but also sends Trythos, the Space Marine wielding it, flying a few metres away.

See also

Sources

Uncited