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Prince Yriel is the High Admiral of Iyanden. He is a brilliant but reckless commander who carries the cursed Spear of Twilight.
He wears the Eye of Wrath, a monocular device that unleashes lightning, and heavy Aspect Armour. The Spear of Twilight is slowly killing him: legend says it would devour its wielder within a year, though Yriel has carried it far longer. He has commanded Iyanden's fleets, the corsair Eldritch Raiders and Ynnari warhosts. Yriel was Iyanden's greatest admiral and its most arrogant noble. He won an overwhelming naval victory against the forces of Chaos, but the victory left the craftworld undefended at the cost of thousands of Aeldari lives. Spurned, he went into exile and led the Eldritch Raiders as a corsair prince. He came home only when Hive Fleet Kraken threatened Iyanden's annihilation in 992.M41. To save it he took up the cursed Spear of Twilight, which grants terrible power and slowly kills its bearer.
Origins
He is an illegitimate scion of the House of Ulthanash who rose through Iyanden's fleet.
Because he was not of pure Iyanden blood, Yriel faced scorn from the craftworld's aristocracy despite his victories. When he left Iyanden exposed to win a victory of his own, he was condemned and went into exile. He returned when the craftworld was at its lowest ebb, and that return made him a hero.
His ancestry is a source of gossip. His mother was of the House of Ulthanash, though he says he barely knew her, and his father's identity is a mystery. Some say his father was an exiled descendant of Eldanesh's line, uniting two ancient rival bloodlines. Others claim he came from a darker realm, and in Valedor some Drukhari mockingly call Yriel kin. Codex: Tyranids (5th edition) records his first triumph against Hive Fleet Naga in 810.M41. When Admiral Draech's flagship, the Auspicious Illumination of Eternity, was destroyed, the young second-in-command took over and won. On the Exodite world of Halathel, however, the Tyranids overran the World Spirit shrine, and Yriel in his fury ordered every trace of life on the planet scoured away.
Key events
- Commanded Iyanden's fleet for nearly a decade against the warlord Kallorax, culminating in the Battle of the Burning Moon.
- Won a great victory against the servants of Chaos, but left Iyanden unprotected and was scorned for it.
- Exiled himself and led the corsair band the Eldritch Raiders.
- Returned when Hive Fleet Kraken attacked Iyanden and drew the Spear of Twilight from the Shrine of Ulthanash.
- Was killed defending Iyanden against the Nurglite plague fleets, then resurrected by the Ynnari.
In 919.M41, according to Planetstrike, he landed on the backwater world of Yurk and killed a mustering Ork Warboss and his entire ruling caste without losing a single Aeldari. In exile his Eldritch Raiders absorbed two rival fleets, Xian's Black Raiders and the Scarlet Command, making him the most powerful Aeldari pirate in the galaxy. Iyanden: A Codex Supplement says that after the Battle of Dûriel he meant to return the spear and die. Sylandri Veilwalker stopped him with visions of daemons loose among the stars and Aeldari gods reborn.
Gathering Storm: Fracture of Biel-Tan describes his death: he destroyed the daemon Gara'gugul'gor and its space hulk with the Spear of Twilight. Yvraine brought him back and revealed that the spear is one of the lost Crone Swords. The Maelstrom: Lair of the Tyrant describes his raid on the Crimson Eyrie. With the Void Dreamer Kharseth, his Flame of Asuryan and the Jade Kris slingshotted around a gas giant and punched through the station's hull to free Alaitoc prisoners and recover stolen relics. The Jade Kris was boarded and destroyed by Huron's Tyranny Incarnate.
Battles & campaigns
- Battle against the Chaos fleet: His victory exposed Iyanden.
- Iyanden (992.M41): He returned with the Eldritch Raiders and killed a Hive Tyrant with a single blow of the Spear of Twilight.
- Plague Fleets of Nurgle: He fell defending Iyanden and was restored by Yvraine.
Personality
Proud, dashing and reckless, haunted by a curse.
He is proud and reckless, hungry for glory and acclaim. Yet he is also capable of great sacrifice, as his return to Iyanden showed. His pride has been tempered by exile, death and the burden of the Spear, but it has never fully left him.
Weapons & Vehicles
The psycho-crystalline force-blades and hurled Singing Spears of Craftworld Farseers and Warlocks, humming with resonant Warp-harmonics…
A master-crafted blade sheathed in a crackling molecular disruption field that parts ceramite, bone and steel with effortless lethality…
The graceful wraithbone gravitic-accelerator firearm of the Craftworld Aeldari, slicing targets to ribbons with silent, monomolecular s…
Explore all 48 entries in the Weapons & Vehicles armoury.
Connections
Characters (2)
Sylandri Veilwalker guided by · HarlequinsSylandri guided Yriel when he took up the Spear of Twilight.
Factions
- Craftworld Aeldari primary faction
- Ynnari also affiliated
Also in this faction
Some links are thematic parallels (marked "parallel") rather than recorded meetings. See the connections web.
Legacy
Yriel is the Autarch of Iyanden, a brilliant and arrogant naval commander whose use of the cursed Spear of Twilight is slowly killing him. His exile, return and Ynnari resurrection make him one of the Aeldari's most dramatic figures. He embodies the Aeldari tragedy in a single life: genius, pride, self-sacrifice and a doom carried willingly in his hand. Yriel's story is pride, exile and redemption, paid for in his own life force.
Appearances & sources
- Codex: Eldar (2nd–4th Edition)
- Iyanden supplement (6th Edition)