# Fluff on Eldar Children?



## Warlock in Training (Jun 10, 2008)

I am a pretty big Eldar fan, and read Path of the Warrior, and few others with Eldar. Something occured to me though. There is like no mention in anything I read (Codexes or otherwise) on the Children of Eldar.

What is the age they are considered adults?

What is the birthing process for them? Easy? Life threatening? On a field of grass or hospital like place?

Where are the children kept at in the Craftworld?

How are they taught?

Is their family ties and Hierarchy?

Any help on this be great. I know they are a dying species and all, but they still give birth, if at a low rate to humans.


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## locustgate (Dec 6, 2009)

Warlock in Training said:


> I am a pretty big Eldar fan, and read Path of the Warrior, and few others with Eldar. Something occured to me though. There is like no mention in anything I read (Codexes or otherwise) on the Children of Eldar.
> 
> What is the age they are considered adults?
> 
> ...


I think around 100 years.


Child-of-the-Emperor said:


> From Eldar 6th:
> 
> "The Eldar, whose maturation patterns spans nearly a century..."


I don't know about birthing but conception is weird.

In the of Mars books a farseer has a vision of having 2 kids "the sound of their laughter", she also has 2 children beds in her quarters, so I would imagine that they sleep in their parents quarters.

The rest I don't know.


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## emporershand89 (Jun 11, 2010)

What about Tau children, Ork hatchlings, Dark Eldar newborn? The writers rarely approach it because children are usually inconsequential in the scheme of the entire galaxy; and events thereof. In the case of the Eldar my experience with Fluff leads me with the following impression.

What is the age they are considered adults?

Relatively a bit older than humans since Eldar live almost twice as long as us. My impression is within the 20's they move from childhood to Adult status. This usually involves them choosing one of the many "Paths" that an Eldar follow.

What is the birthing process for them? Easy? Life threatening? On a field of grass or hospital like place?

Well as poetic a birth in a grass field would be it probably wouldn't be doable for the Eldar. Their anatomy is actually quite frail for creatures lasting a century or more so I cannot imagine that they have children often. Probably in a Medical Center aboard their Craft worlds.

Where are the children kept at in the Craftworld?

Good question, probably in Temples where they are raised and trained.

How are they taught?

By other Elder, probably a teacher/Master. Assisted by machines they are taught in the ways of their race and the Arcane magic that intertwines with their society. 

Is their family ties and Hierarchy?

This......is a good question really. I really have no answer as I've never heard of the situation.


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## locustgate (Dec 6, 2009)

emporershand89 said:


> What about Tau children
> 
> What is the age they are considered adults?
> 
> Relatively a bit older than humans since Eldar live almost twice as long as us. My impression is within the 20's they move from childhood to Adult status. This usually involves them choosing one of the many "Paths" that an Eldar follow.


Varies kids from great family lines, i.e. shadowsun, are raised by the family, others shrug, teached in schools and if they show really great potential they may apprentice under a master.

Eldar live for nigh infinity (barring having their soul slurped up like a snail, being stabbed in the face by a SM), living twice as long would be around 140, for modern humans, er 200(?) for a pretty healthy+safe civilized world. As I said the 6th ed codex says they are 'maturation' takes a century.


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## Serpion5 (Mar 19, 2010)

emporershand89 said:


> Relatively a bit older than humans since Eldar live almost twice as long as us. My impression is within the 20's they move from childhood to Adult status. This usually involves them choosing one of the many "Paths" that an Eldar follow.


Eldat can live for Millennia, not just twice as long as humans. Eldrad Ulthran was an accomplished seer during the age of the Horus Heresy (suggesting he was already at least centuries old) and continued to be a steadily more powerful seer when the time of current 40k was reached. 

Older necron and eldar lore suggests the eldar do have a lifespan, but it is more likely measured in the thousands of years than in the mere hundreds. 



emporershand89 said:


> Well as poetic a birth in a grass field would be it probably wouldn't be doable for the Eldar. Their anatomy is actually quite frail for creatures lasting a century or more so I cannot imagine that they have children often. Probably in a Medical Center aboard their Craft worlds.


Eldar are physically superior to humans in many aspects. They are nowhere near as frail as their appearance suggests. 



emporershand89 said:


> By other Elder, probably a teacher/Master. Assisted by machines they are taught in the ways of their race and the Arcane magic that intertwines with their society.


There are paths for nearly every aspect of eldar life. A path of early teaching seems likely. Or it could simply be a duty of the parents.


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## Moriouce (Oct 20, 2009)

In the path of the Outcast it is described that they have sex and I even think it is said they can choose to get pregnant or not. 

In path of the seer the main character has choosen to cut het ties to her father after the mother died. But she is required to accept her father in order to become a seer. He is a bonesinger and with their family bond could make powerful runes for her. 

In the BRB it says from a quote that many Young eldars go onto the path of the Outcast because they can't stand the rigid paths. 

I guess children are under strict education from the beginning. They apperently slep at their parents quarters. With all the presure some of them leave the craftworld early. This is the main reason the eldars dwidles in number to the author.

Even if they are adult at 100 years of age. Because of how long they live and how fast they develope and live I think you could compare it to a human reaching adulthood before the age of 5.


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## locustgate (Dec 6, 2009)

Moriouce said:


> Even if they are adult at 100 years of age. Because of how long they live and how fast they develope and live I think you could compare it to a human reaching adulthood before the age of 5.


Not to say they don't live forever, but how would you decide what is 5 for a race that lives forever, I would think that 100 is more along the lines of what 18-20, if they grow similar to humans then they would usually stop growing then. 

EDIT: Physically at least.


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## emporershand89 (Jun 11, 2010)

locustgate said:


> Eldar live for nigh infinity


Some several thousand years, but they certainly are not immorlatal. I confess I didn't think they lasted as long, but the below paragraph from a post on Dakka Dakka really explains the gist of it.......



> The Eldar are for all intents and purposes immortal, unless one of two things happen. First, the Eldar obviously die if they are killed. Second, if they become a seer and their body completely crystalizes. Other than that they live for thousands upon thousands of years. I should explain the cryistalization though. As Eldar get older their psychic powers develop and eventually they feel the urge to become a Seer. Once an Eldar becomes a Farseer, their days are numbered. The constant exercize and utilization of their powers have an effect on their body as it begins to adapt to wielding such psychic force. Their body slowly turns into a psychoconductive crystalline substance, and it slowly consumes theri body over a period of thousands of years. Unless they are killed violently, eventually their whole body will begin to crystalize and they will take up their position in the Hall of Crystal Seers where they will eventually become nothing but psychoreactive crystal statues of themselves and their mind and body will be spent facilitating the Infinity Circuit.


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## Moriouce (Oct 20, 2009)

What source does he have?


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## Serpion5 (Mar 19, 2010)

I believe that is explained in Path of the Seer, as well as touched on in at least one edition of the codex. I haven't read the current one but I'm pretty sure it was mentioned in the last. 

In any case, the description is accurate from what I know.


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## Moriouce (Oct 20, 2009)

I don't remember it from path of the seer but my first thought is that is contradict the fall. If the urge grows to strong to become a seer. It should have been enough to keep the Eldar from the fall. 

This explanation sounds to Tolkien elbes that anything. 

But then again I need to reed path of the ser again.


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