"Asuryan's Fire!"
High Elven Rune representing Asuryan
Asuryan , also called "Emperor of the Heavens", "Keeper of Balance," and the "Creator," is the ruler of the Elven Pantheon and the husband of the goddess Lileath. He is the oldest and greatest of all the Elven gods. He is the creator of the Elven people and the Flame Eternal -- the giver of life -- rests in his hands. The High Elves believe that it is Asuryan's purpose and plan they follow in mortal life and beyond. Whether this is true or not is impossible to say, for Asuryan speaks seldom to his fellow gods, and hardly ever to the Elves themselves.[4a]
Leader of the Elven sub-pantheon known as the Cadai, the gods of the heavens, Asuryan dwells alone in a great pyramid atop the heavens, and watches over the mortal world from his diamond throne. No mortal has ever seen his face, and as such his depictions on Ulthuan are always masked. This mask is divided in two halves, one white and the other black, symbolising Asuryan's role as the Keeper of Balance.[4a]
Asuryan is the judge between the disputes of the gods and rarely meddles in the affairs of the Elves -- indeed, few mortal deeds or plights are significant enough to attract his attention. However, legend tells that it is Asuryan who touches the mind of each new Phoenix King of Ulthuan when he passes through the Flame of Asuryan, in order to better judge their worthiness for the task ahead.[4a]
In battle Asuryan wields a silver bow from which he fires golden arrows.[3a]
Symbology[]
Symbol of Asuryan
Asuryan's symbol is the flaming Phoenix, the Eye of Asuryan,[1a] or a stylised pyramid engulfed in holy fire.
Shrines[]
Asuryan's principal shrine rests upon the Island of Flame, in the Sea of Dreams. The structure itself is an ancient pyramid in which the eternal flame of the Phoenix burns. There, the princes of the Ten Kingdoms of Ulthuan meet to elect the next Phoenix King, who must pass through the Flame of Asuryan for judgement of their fitness to rule by the Elven god. The shrine is guarded by the silent Phoenix Guard.
Beliefs[]
Asuryan is the personification of much of what is good and beautiful about the Elves as a people, the divine manifestation of Elven dignity, culture, and self-belief.[5a]
As protector of the Twin Thrones of Ulthuan, the High Elves revere Asuryan the most, perceiving themselves as his chosen people. They believe that Asuryan has a plan for them, and that he'll never abandon them.
Each candidate to become Phoenix King, once chosen by his fellow High Elf princes, must pass through the Flame of Asuryan in the sacred Shrine of Asuryan. If the chosen one is worthy, the flames will burn the interloper, but after a few seconds, the flame will heal the injuries it inflicted on the candidate, and the new Phoenix King becomes an avatar of Asuryan in the mortal world.
If unworthy, the flames will not heal the burns it inflicted. The flame will also not heal a potential Phoenix King if he leaves the flames too early, as happened in the tragic case of Malekith, who became so embittered that he betrayed his own people during the Sundering and caused them constant suffering over the next six millennia.
End Times[]
The Shrine of Asuryan where the Flame of Asuryan awaits.
For a millennia it was believed by the High Elves that the Flame of Asuryan in the sacred Shrine of Asuryan would not harm the rightful heir to the Phoenix Throne. However, during the final Dark Elf invasion of Ulthuan in the End Times, it was revealed that no Phoenix King since Aenarion himself had survived the Flame of Asuryan without a team of High Elf Mages warding and healing them.
Asuryan cursed Bel Shanaar and all of his successors with overwhelming pride and paranoia so they would eventually destroy themselves out of weariness and madness. In fact, that was the reason Finubar allowed his life to end: he realised he was cursed, and that the only way to escape it was death.
This also confirmed that Malekith, who for a long time was believed to be unworthy of ruling the Asur, was in fact the rightful heir and successor of Aenarion, making the whole line of Phoenix Kings that had come after Bel Shanaar frauds. The reason that Malekith first failed in entering the Flame was simple. He was not truly willing to die for his people. Aenarion, his father, strode into the Flame of Asuryan with the utter belief that he would sacrifice anything, even himself, to save his people from the Daemonic invasions of the Great Catastrophe. This belief held true even unto what was suppose to be Aenarion's death as the flame destroyed his body, but like the death of a Phoenix, Aenarion was reborn anew from the ashes, with the light of Asuryan upon his brow.
Malekith failed in this regard. His selfishness and unwillingness to die and be remade anew was the reason he failed the test. If he had just stayed a little longer, and allowed himself to be fully consumed, then the Known World and the history of the Elves would have been so very different. What would've been a few seconds more of agony was ultimately transformed into a millennia of pain and regret for Malekith. In the end, that's all it ever took to survive the Flame of Asuryan. True self-sacrifice.
Trivia[]
Asuryan, like many other Elven gods, is also worshipped by the Aeldari in the Warhammer 40,000 universe.
Sources[]
- 1: Blood of Aenarion (Novel) by William King
- Warhammer: The End Times - Khaine (8th Edition)
- Warhammer Armies: High Elves (1996)
- Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Tome of Salvation, pg. 125 (RPG)
- 2: Defenders of Ulthuan (Novel) by Graham McNeill
- 2a: Ch. 11
- 3 Sons of Ellyrion (Novel) by Graham McNeill
- 3a: Ch. 15
- 4: Warhammer Armies: High Elves (8th Edition)
- 4a: pg. 53
- 5: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Realms of Sorcery (RPG)
- 5a: pp. 19-20