Eldrad Ulthran

Overview

Eldrad Ulthran is the High Farseer of Craftworld Ulthwé and perhaps the most gifted seer of his race. He has spent thousands of years weaving the threads of fate for the Aeldari's survival, and he weighs human lives as cheap next to theirs.

He carries the Staff of Ulthamar, which links him to Ulthwé's infinity circuit, and his witchblade, runes and spirit stones let him read futures that others cannot see. His foresight has saved Aeldari worlds many times over, but always at a price paid by someone else. To the Imperium he is both a cunning manipulator and, at times, a reluctant ally. Eldrad is the most famous Farseer of Ulthwé, the craftworld that drifts closest to the Eye of Terror and so lives with the Great Enemy on its doorstep. He thinks in centuries and in whole species. His visions warned Iyanden that Hive Fleet Kraken was coming, he duelled Abaddon on Andante IV when the Warmaster tried to destroy Ulthwé's Seer Council, and in the Gathering Storm he became one of the architects of the plan to wake Ynnead, the Aeldari god of the dead. To the Aeldari he is a saviour. To everyone else he is the reason a war arrives at their door.

Origins

He is vastly old, and has guided Ulthwé since before the Horus Heresy, when he tried to warn the Imperium of Horus's coming treachery.

Eldrad's age is extraordinary even for an Aeldari: he has walked the Path of the Seer for millennia, far longer than most Farseers survive before crystallising into stone. Ulthwé, a craftworld lying perilously close to the Eye of Terror, has long relied on his counsel. Older accounts of his fate around the 13th Black Crusade were superseded by the Gathering Storm narrative, which made him a central figure in Ynnead's awakening.

Key events

1. Tried to warn of Horus's treachery but chose Fulgrim as his messenger; at Tarsus he found the primarch already corrupted by Slaanesh.
2. Through engineered raids against the Orks, raised Ghazghkull Thraka and steered the warlord's Waaagh! toward Armageddon, sacrificing millions of humans to spare ten thousand Aeldari.
3. His warning allowed Iyanden to prepare against Hive Fleet Kraken.
4. Led a long campaign to close the warp rift above the Exodite world Haran.
5. Performed a ritual on the crystal moon Coheria to awaken the god of the dead Ynnead. It succeeded only partly and sent a mote of the god's power across reality.
6. Joined the Ynnari and used his foresight to help guide Guilliman's fleet out of the Maelstrom.
7. Met Abaddon in personal combat on Andante IV, after the Despoiler attacked a webway gate leading to Ulthwé in an attempt to destroy its Seer Council. Abaddon escaped.

Battles & campaigns

• Andante IV: Abaddon attacked a webway gate to draw out Ulthwé's seers; many Aeldari died before Eldrad and Abaddon met in combat.
• Hive Fleet Kraken: His foresight warned Iyanden of the coming swarm.
• The Gathering Storm: He worked with Yvraine to bring about the rise of Ynnead and the Ynnari.

Personality

Brilliant, aloof and coldly pragmatic, utterly devoted to his race's survival.

He sees the galaxy as a web of possibilities and judges every action by its effect on his race's survival. He is capable of great kindness towards his own people, and of chilling indifference towards others. His pride in his own foresight sometimes blinds him to the possibility that he, too, could be wrong.

Weapons & Vehicles

Singing Spear & WitchbladePsychic Weapon

The psycho-crystalline force-blades and hurled Singing Spears of Craftworld Farseers and Warlocks, humming with resonant Warp-harmonics…

Shuriken Catapult & Shuriken PistolRanged Weapon

The graceful wraithbone gravitic-accelerator firearm of the Craftworld Aeldari, slicing targets to ribbons with silent, monomolecular s…

Power SwordMelee Weapon

A master-crafted blade sheathed in a crackling molecular disruption field that parts ceramite, bone and steel with effortless lethality…

WraithknightMonsters & Daemons · Unit

A towering wraithbone walker steered by two Asuryani twins, one living and one dead, who fight as a single mind.

Howling BansheesElites · Unit

All-female Aspect Warriors founded by Jain Zar whose psychically amplified war cries paralyse enemy nervous systems before their power …

Dark ReapersHeavy Support · Unit

Skull-masked heavy weapons Aspect Warriors founded by Maugan Ra who embody Khaine the Destroyer, raining inescapable missile salvos fro…

Explore all 48 entries in the Weapons & Vehicles armoury.

Connections

Characters (6)

• 
  Belisarius Cawl ally · Adeptus Mechanicus

  Eldrad and Cawl's paths crossed on Cadia.

• 
  Abaddon the Despoiler enemy · Black Legion

  Eldrad has opposed Abaddon's crusades for centuries.

• 
  Ahzek Ahriman enemy · Thousand Sons

  Eldrad led the defence when Ahriman broke into the Black Library.

• 
  Slaanesh enemy · Chaos Daemons

  Eldrad has spent millennia trying to protect the Aeldari from the god who devours their souls. He now pursues Ynnead's awakening.

• 
  Sylandri Veilwalker ally · Harlequins

  Sylandri worked with Eldrad to save Cadian survivors.

• 
  Yvraine ally · Ynnari

  Eldrad joined Yvraine's Ynnari and helped awaken Ynnead.

Factions

• Craftworld Aeldari primary faction
• Ynnari also affiliated

Related units (9)

Fire DragonsHowling BansheesStriking ScorpionsShining SpearsDark ReapersAvatar of KhaineWraithknightShadowseersSolitaires

Also in this faction

AsurmenJain ZarMaugan RaPrince YrielThe Visarch

Some links are thematic parallels (marked "parallel") rather than recorded meetings. See the connections web.

Legacy

Eldrad is the most powerful Farseer of his age. He manipulated the threads of fate for millennia to steer the Aeldari away from extinction, often at terrible cost to other races. His alliance with the Ynnari and his part in Guilliman's resurrection show a mind still gambling with the galaxy's future. Eldrad shows the Aeldari way of war at its most cold-blooded: foresight used as a weapon, with other species as the ammunition.

Appearances & sources

• Codex: Craftworlds / Codex: Aeldari
• The Gathering Storm (Fall of Cadia, Fracture of Biel-Tan)