craftworld miruaun

Rune and colour scheme

The nearest translation of miruaun in High Gothic is "voices lifted in song"; this idea encapsulates the craftworld's optimistic belief that the Eldar race still has a bright future, if the craftworlds and Exodites can unite together.

When the Phoenix King Asuryan forever separated the Eldar race from their creators (the goddess Isha and the god Kurnous), Isha was said to weep tears that became the Eldar's spirit stones. While she wept, she was heard to sing a lament for her lost children, filled with grief but culminating in a hope that her progeny would eventually come to thrive away from her touch. While she sang, a perfect rose grew at her feet, with white petals, a blue stem and purple thorns.

The Eldar of Miruaun wear these colours in civilian life and when decorating their war panoply. The rose forms their craftworld's rune; isha'roisin, "The Rose of Isha". The rune and several variant designs are shown below.

Background

Miruaun is a reasonably large craftworld positioned towards the outer edge of the galaxy. It is unusual in that it is fairly static, preferring not to stray more than a few hundred light years from a point in space that corresponds with a rare nexus of several webway exits. Within its sphere of influence lie a handful of worlds settled millennia earlier by their Exodite cousins and several virginal maiden worlds. It acts as the protector and defender of these worlds, which it sees as the potential seed for a new Eldar empire.

Miruaun believes that the future of the Eldar lies in strict adherence to the Path, in all aspects of life (not solely war), but also sees the Path reflected in the ascetic doctrine of the Exodites and views them as close kindred. The Dark Eldar however are an abomination to the eyes of the Eldar of Craftworld Miruaun; there is not a single recorded instance of them fostering an alliance in all of their history and they have frequently shed each others blood in open conflict. They see the Dark Eldar as a twisted distortion of the true noble lineage of the ancient Eldar, as well as a painful reminder of the depravity and self-indulgence that led to the downfall of their race. Miruaun simply does not tolerate the Dark Eldar and they will kill any whom attempt to set foot on the Craftworld on sight, without mercy.

With the Craftworld positioned near a nexus of the webway, it is viewed by many Craftworlds and Corsair bands as a hub for commerce and trade. This, coupled with Miruaun's complete rejection of their Dark Eldar kin, can sometimes put the Craftworld in direct competition and conflict with Commoragh. Fortunately the two centres of commerce serve very different clientele, resulting in an unspoken mutual agreement that allows both to continue to operate largely independently. Eldar Corsair bands are tolerated by Miruaun on a per-case basis; the further they tend towards unrestrained, indiscriminate aggression, the more strain it puts on the Craftworld's acceptance. Many pirate fleets have been turned away from Miruaun's docks throughout its history. Some see such a rebuttal as a final insult and vow never to return (or attempt to raid the Craftworld by force, resulting in a swift retaliation by Miruaun's formidable navy); some repent and renounce their more extreme actions in order to regain the craftworld's favour. Ultimately, Miruaun sees most Corsairs in the same light as its Rangers and Pathfinders - lost souls that may be redeemed (or not), but that are fundamentally still Eldar at heart.

The Harlequins are something of an enigma to the Miruanians. They are viewed with a degree of suspicion and distrust due to their unclear motives and utter devotion to Cegorach. They are not forbidden from the craftworld, unlike the Dark Eldar, but nor are they fully embraced as kin either. Miruaun values the Harlequins' aid and will offer its own forces in support of Harlequin raids on occasion if the goal aligns with their own priorities. Some Harlequin bands have fallen out of favour with Miruaun in the past due to the use of deception and trickery to coerce Miruaun's support. The wiser Harlequin troupes limit their duplicity when dealing with Miruaun if they wish to count on their support in the future; others laugh at the apparent dull simplicity of the Miruanian viewpoint and flit away into the webway, preferring to deal with other craftworlds and Commoragh to achieve their ends.

Miruaun is a mostly peaceful craftworld, with an atypically large civilian population and many artists, musicians, poets and sculptors. Its trade links have allowed it to cultivate the largest single curated collection of Eldar art in the galaxy and it also prides itself on its output of new pieces. Miruaun aims to revitalise the Eldar race by establishing new colonies and nurturing the Exodite worlds under its protective sphere, whilst exploring new ideas rather than wallowing in the failures of the past. As such, artworks that were produced in the epoch leading up to the Fall are for the most part unrepresented in the craftworld's halls. The Miruanians prefer to ignore that dark period in their ancestors' history in order to focus on the new and unexplored, whilst simultaneously celebrating the achievements of the ancient Eldar before they were consumed by their own hubris.

Some craftworlds see this attitude as dangerous, believing that by ignoring the ancient Eldar's fall and shunning the Dark Eldar entirely, Miruaun is unwittingly fostering an environment that could lead to a repeat of the calamitous events that birthed She Who Thirsts. Miruaun believes however that through strict adherence to the Path, as taught by Asurmen and his disciples, that they will not repeat their forebears' mistakes. Whether or not this will prove to be correct, remains to be seen.

Military composition

Miruaun is highly reliant on its large navy. It has hundreds of vessels of varying design and size that operate in fluid fleets, redeploying regularly in response to perceived (or actual) danger. At any given time, at least three fleets are usually deployed on permanent patrol to provide first-response support to the Exodite worlds near Miruaun's usual resting spot. The remainder of the ships rotate between patrol duties around the craftworld itself, regular maintenance and running escort for larger trade missions. As a rule, Miruaun rarely engages in raids or pre-emptive strikes unless at the direction of its Farseers as the result of their scrying of possible futures.

Miruaun maintains shrines to most of the major warrior Aspects. It favours Dire Avengers, Fire Dragons and Striking Scorpions primarily. The shrines generally observe traditional colours for their armour and equipment, though all include an element of Miruaun's colours in some form, be it white helms or a simple sash of Miruanian blue.

The prevalance of artists and musicians on Miruaun has also resulted in a large population of Bonesingers, with many Eldar switching between the related paths several times in their lifetimes. Some use their time on this path to create sculpture through the use of the Bonesinger's talents; others take the more common route of aiding in the production and upkeep of the craftworld's war materiel and its internal structure.

Engines of Vaul feature heavily in Miruanian deployments, with Falcons, Hornets and Wave Serpents frequently included. More unusual grav tank designs such as the Warp Hunter, Lynx and the Panther (believed to be unique to the craftworld) have also been recorded. Of particular note is the superheavy transport design denoted "Pegasus". Originally a luxury pleasure vessel, the design was adapted after the craftworld's exodus from the heart of the Eldar Empire millennia previously. It is now utilised as a trade vessel, able to traverse narrower spurs of the webway that prohibit larger ships from entering, and on the battlefield as a robust troop transport. It is named for Asuryan's winged steed from the Eldar mythic cycles.