Dark Elf Culture Unravelled!

[Perius]

I was researching Dark Elf culture (i.e. daily Dark Elf life), and found the book painfully contradictory and unhelpful. As I continued, I found all GW material most unsatisfactory.

I started a thread on the Black Library forums, and was eventually told about this forum. I read the past discussion on the Dark Elf economy, and have come to a series of conclusions about the Dark Elves that follows the chance of their civilization working rather than the "rule of cool."

My conclusions are below. I would love feedback - this is my first post here, but I believe that this is the place to go for Druchii info.

So, without any more ado, here it is...

Conclusions about Dark Elf culture

-The majority of Dark Elves live inside the five cities of Naggaroth (treating Ghrond as an armed camp rather than a city).
- They live in the following class system, starting from the bottom;
o Unruly slaves, captured soldiers (sacrifices)
o Unskilled slaves
o Skilled slaves/playthings
o Bonded Druchii – that is Dark Elves who are not enslaved but who have been forced at some point to forsake their claim to nobility and follow a noble house.
o Client Druchii – the majority of Dark Elf families. They are not bonded to a house, but are the followers of a noble house in order to advance their own cause.
o Patron Druchii, or Ruling Houses – a small minority of houses whose support base is large enough for them to hold places in Malekith’s court, or command armies going to Ulthuan.
- All Dark Elves belong inside the class structure shown above, with the exception of Corsairs, members of the Temple of Khaine and members of the Dark Convent.

Families-

Dark Elves live inside their extended family groups; each family group is ruled by its patriarch. In the case of his death the title descends to his eldest son.
- They are reasonable loyal to their family – it is to other families they are hostile. However, they are not above killing their own to gain advantage.
- They are not encouraged to kill other members of their family, as this weakens the family and thus makes it less likely for the family to survive.
- A Dark Elf family is made up of the patriarch, his wives, his children, and their wives. They are all the property of the patriarch – if a daughter marries, then she instead becomes the property of her husband, and hence his patriarch.
- Dark Elf males may not have any affairs outside of marriage. Slaves and bonded Druchii (concubines and courtesans) don’t count. They may, however, have multiple wives.
- Dark Elf females may have affairs outside of marriage – indeed, they are expected to. However, the husband is expected to try to stop this – he is legally entitled to kill any rival lovers, and to kill any children he thinks are bastard. As he also controls the movements of his wife, he can restrict her to her quarters so as to make the job harder for any rivals. This has led to few married Dark Elf females fighting, although there is no law against it.
- Affairs before marriage are entirely normal – indeed, a canny patriarch (or husband) will order his womenfolk to have affairs in order to entrap enemies in his plots and gain in power. As a result few Corsairs are women, as a daughter fighting at sea is one less seducing useful agents; and a daughter married to a Corsair is totally worthless, as the Corsair is entirely free and so not part of a noble house. Female corsairs do appear, however they tend towards runaways rather than pawns.
- Males will usually marry in order to go up in power; they gain the contacts of their wife and her family. She is married off by her patriarch if her patriarch is bribed sufficiently by the suitor, or thinks that the suitor is a rising star who he wants bound to his family.

Corsairs, Black Arks and Harpies
- Corsairs forsake the ties of family and instead take as their own their fellow Corsairs onboard their ship, with the result of a brotherhood of Corsairs. They elect their Captain, and get as close to trust as a Dark Elf can. If you strike one of them, you strike them all.
- Corsair ships will swear themselves to fleets in a similar way as families will swear themselves to noble families. Fleets can be hired by a noble to take him on a raiding expedition – however, the noble requires permission from Malekith for this.
- Black Arks are giant floating fortresses that work in the same way as a city – the difference being that it moves. Whilst Corsairs of a sort live on them, they lack the tight brotherhood of ship-borne Corsairs, and thus politick away like the best of them. Whilst the Captain of a ship is normally elected, the Captain of an Ark normally inherits. However, he needs the support of the Corsairs below him.
- Heldrakes and the other dragons are only used around Black Arks – on smaller expeditions light frigates are used instead.
- If one of the larger sea dragons (with a castle on its back) dives then the castle will get destroyed. As a result, they are held up by Dark Sorcery.
- The smaller, ridden sea dragons can swim under water for several minutes, as that is as long as the rider can hold his breath. (Elves hold for longer than humans).
- Harpies are not sentient, and are merely pests that fly around the ships. That’s pretty well covered in the latest rulebook.
The Dark Convent
- Members of the Dark Convent are loyal to Morathi alone. They are called “Brides of Malekith”, and so may not marry – however, they can still have lovers, and often misuse their power to make sure their children get into good positions.
The Temple of Khaine
- Members of the Temple of Khaine are loyal to Crone Hellebron, who rules from Har Ganeth. Witch Elves live inside their temples all the time, save on death night where they raid the houses of those opposed to the temple for sacrifices. They can be hired out by families friendly to the temple. Assassins also can be hired out by those friendly to the temple. The Executioners, on the other hand, act as the guards of Har Ganeth.
- The Temple of Khaine only holds manic orgies/blood rituals on certain feast days, and then only in Har Ganeth. Devotees of Khaine may carry out smaller scale ceremonies in their own cities if they wish. However, Witch Elves are only found in Har Ganeth and onboard Black Arks close to the Cult of Khaine.
- The Temple of Khaine rarely blackmails families that have hired its assassins, as it wants ro keep clients.
The City
- A Dark Elf city is ruled by a Drachau, appointed by Malekith. This may be an ex-Black Guard, but is more likely to be the patriarch of the most powerful noble house. Drachau’s are prone, however, to being bumped off by rivals for the post.
- The armed forces of a Dark Elf city are led by a Vaulkhar, a noble chosen by the Drachau (and hence often a client of the Drachau).
- The armies of the Dark Elves are trained through a rota system. The Drachau of a city is asked every decade to send out a certain number of untrained Druchii families for training at Ghrond. He will inevitably choose the families of his allies first, or the families he wants out of the city. For the next ten years the families sent train to fight as a unit with both spears and repeater crossbows; then they return to their city where, under the command of the Vaulkhar, they perform the duties of the City Guard for a decade as the next batch is trained. Upon the arrival of the next batch, they are returned to their homes.

Slaves
- Most Dark Elves are not soldiers – whilst they all know how to fight in alleyways and with knives, they fulfil the jobs of servants (in the case of bonded ones), overseers and animal trainers. However, the majority of jobs, skilled and unskilled, are performed by slaves.
- Slaves are not ill-treated on purpose; the only ones sent to Khaine are the unruly ones and the ex-soldiers. Those in the mines suffer from the same poor conditions as those in the Imperial mines; however, those who are house-slaves or skilled in a craft are well treated.
- Slaves with the right assets are bred in order to create ideal workers/playthings/craftsmen, and the Dark Elves will treat a good slave kindly, as they have noted that this increases efficiency.
- The majority of slaves are human or goblin – however, Dwarfen stonemasons and Asur craftsmen are kept as well. Dark Elves will occasionally befriend a close personal slave, and are not above promising an elven slave freedom in return for an informer in the elven camp. This way Asur can become bonded Druchii.
- Both Asur and becoming human women are likely to become playthings and concubines of Druchii lords (although Druchii ladies are allowed affairs, they are not allowed to sully themselves by having male playthings).
- They are also flesh houses where both elves and human women (and children) are found; goblins and Dwarfs, however, do not make appearances.

The Dark Elves at war
- All Dark Elves are trained to fight from birth, male and female. However, this training is not in how to fight as a regiment, but how to fight as an individual.
- Dark Elves have a code of honour that states that they must never back down whilst another Dark Elf is watching, that they can never interfere in a duel between two Dark Elves, that they must obey orders on the battlefield and that death in battle is the best way to go.
- When Malekith launches a military expedition somewhere he will send a Dreadlord; a noble with a writ of iron that states he is Malekith’s representative. The Dreadlord may be a Black Guard veteran, or a powerful noble. The Dreadlord will be told to bring so many of his own bonded families, and then to ask so many other nobles to bring so many of their own bonded families. This will be his army, and so he is likely to choose those he does not want in the city whilst he is gone, and those who will not let him down on the field of battle. Trained families will generally be picked above untrained. A Drachau or a Vaulkhar will never be picked, as they are needed to rule the city. The standing guard will also not be picked, as the city cannot be left undefended. Should the dreadlord fail, the writ of iron is melted and poured down his throat.

[Calith]

the info looks good, the one thing that I saw was

"- A Dark Elf city is ruled by a Drachau, appointed by Malekith. This may be an ex-Black Guard, but is more likely to be the patriarch of the most powerful noble house. Drachau’s are prone, however, to being bumped off by rivals for the post. "

In the Malus darkblade books it states that the Drachau and to a lesser extent the Vaulkhur are property of Malekith himself and as such any that try to strike at them are striking at Malekith and he will bring swift retribution to them. I know that black libary books are not seen as Iron clad but it is the only reference I have seen noted about them so I was just wondering where you got the information from?

[Perius]

This information grew more from gut feeling than anything else. Everyone at the BL forum agreed that this was Abnett getting sloppy, and that it didn't fit in with the background of Dark Elves bumping off their rulers to take their place.

For instance, the Shade clan were the then rulers of a city, but whilst absent got kicked out by rivals. This wouldn't have happened if they were specially protected by Malekith!

In other words, it's not socially mobile enough for Dark Elves, and removes the potential for ambitious power struggles. No really Druchii, if you ask me!

[Calith]

sorry but I would have to disagree, I know that the shades clan were kicked out but we dont know how long ago that was, or how long ago that the position of Drachau was created. There have been stories regarding shades since the dark elves first moved to Naggaround so I would assume they were kicked out very early as they have already settled in the forests and mountains and wouldnt move back to the cities now so they must have been in them for alot of generations or they would still habour resentment and want revenge. To me it makes sense that the ruler of the city is granted some protection by Malekith otherwise there would be house wars constantly as each fought for that position. It's not as if they still wouldnt die oftern anyway as Malekith doesnt look kindly on failure so one mistake and there would be a new Drachau.

[Slortor]

i really like this stuff - good work!

nice to see all this information collated into one place.

where did you find out about the writ of iron being melted and poured down a failed dreadlords throat? its a great idea - just never seen it before

[Calith]

the writ is mentioned in the malus darkblade book, he was granted one by his Drachau and was informed of the punishment by his half brother Urial, as the writ must be presented by the temple of khaine.

[Amras]

I don't "agree" with many of your points. Firstly I do not think that Dark Elf females are considered to be property of the males. They are equal in power, if not higher in power. After all, are it not females only who are allowed to become Witch Elves, or Sorceresses? Also, I think the idea of an elf being sexually / romantically attracted to a human to be completely abhorrent. Dark elves HATE all other races. They consider them to be worth less than Cold One feces. For any Dark Elf to sleep with a human slave would be at least 1000x as disgusting as we humans find someone having sex with a pig.

for that same reason I do not believe any elf would actually eat the meat of a human either. (unless during some hate-induced witch elf slaughter or something)

I basically think completely different on all your points about the family...

[Khel]

where did you find out about the writ of iron being melted and poured down a failed dreadlords throat? its a great idea - just never seen it before

Page 60 of the Druchii rule book under Commanders

I disagree with your point on Druchii learning to fight for themselves instead of in ranks. The Dark Elf rule book states that Dark Elves are raised from birth to be soldiers and raiders. The life of a Dark Elf soldier is strict and harsh, while fighting for themselves comes natural to such a race like the Druchii. Being a raider also encourages one to fight for themselves.

Your part about female Druchii and being property of the patriarch I think is a bit off. I've always thought of the Druchii family structure as Master (I've adapted to the new names) and wife being of equal power while siblings follow next in power and then lesser Masters (maybe lieutenants or Druchii who have risen to power within the family but they haven't got any family ties to link them with their serving family - Perhaps they are close friends of the family or they are from a separate smaller family which has served under their ruling family for some time) serve below the siblings.

However, I agree with your point on the female structure of the house to either sleep around with other rivals. But the patriarch isn't legally entitled to kill rival lovers, instead, he is allowed to expose his rival and either challenge him to a fight to the death, have him assassinated or expose him/her and have his house disgraced.

[Ramaj]

Also, I think the idea of an elf being sexually / romantically attracted to a human to be completely abhorrent.

Elves don't usually find humans very attractive but dalliances can and do happen more frequently than either race would like to admit. Both DE and HE (to a lesser extent) have been known to keep human pleasure slaves. Serious interracial love affairs are much rarer and consequently they are the stuff of elvish legend. The fluff backs all of this up and it's not just newcomers like Abnett, Lee or Long either. William King, who was one of the original writers for the Warhammer background also confirmed this.

Dark elves HATE all other races. They consider them to be worth less than Cold One feces.

Dark Elves really hate High Elves but they hold all other races in contempt for the most part. They are not deemed worthy enough to hate...until they defeat a Druchii that is! But DE are also pragmatic enough to understand that slaves, no matter how lowly, are their bread and butter. So in this regard they do value them. Druchii also respect battle prowess, cunning and overall skill, particularly in slaves that use their talents in the service of their DE masters.

For any Dark Elf to sleep with a human slave would be at least 1000x as disgusting as we humans find someone having sex with a pig.

Right. Because perversions like bestiality don't exist even amongst a people as depraved as the Druchii and pigs, chimps etc. look '1000x' more like elves than humans do ...

[Amras]

Also, I think the idea of an elf being sexually / romantically attracted to a human to be completely abhorrent.

Elves don't usually find humans very attractive but dalliances can and do happen more frequently than either race would like to admit. Both DE and HE (to a lesser extent) have been known to keep human pleasure slaves. Serious interracial love affairs are much rarer and consequently they are the stuff of elvish legend. The fluff backs all of this up and it's not just newcomers like Abnett, Lee or Long either. William King, who was one of the original writers for the Warhammer background also confirmed this.

Well, it's hard for me to imagine, mostly so for Dark Elves. I could imagine a Wood Elf meeting up with a human, much like Aragorn loves Arwen. For a High Elf to fall in love with a human would be much rarer, considering they hardly visit the human lands for social tee-drinking and they are very aloof and arrogant already. So for a Druchii then, to actually have feelings of *love* towards the lowly insects, the dirty pigmen, that they hunt and murder and drag back towards their dark cities to have have them digging in the mines 'till they die, or tortured for weeks on end without giving them the relief of sweet death to end their horrible pains, because it amuses them, or get them sacrificed on the altar which is all they'll be good for, no I cannot believe that.

Dark elves HATE all other races. They consider them to be worth less than Cold One feces.

Dark Elves really hate High Elves but they hold all other races in contempt for the most part. They are not deemed worthy enough to hate...until they defeat a Druchii that is! But DE are also pragmatic enough to understand that slaves, no matter how lowly, are their bread and butter. So in this regard they do value them. Druchii also respect battle prowess, cunning and overall skill, particularly in slaves that use their talents in the service of their DE masters.

Yeah Dark Elves do indeed *really* hate the High Elves, as shown by Eternal Hatred. Their hatred for their High Elf kin is greater than ANY hatred felt by ANY other race! Normal hatred between Dwarves and Night Goblins? Screw that, the hatred that Dark Elves feel for the High Elves, now THAT'S hatred! A feeling of complete and utter loathing that has been there, and has been strenghtened, by thousands and thousands of of years, from the times when humans were still crawling on all fours as barbaric cavemen, a feeling so strong that any Dark Elf wishes nothing more than the complete and utter destruction of their High Elf cousins in the most painful way imaginable. Of course the Dark Elves hate all other races too, and this then is the "normal", "mellow" kind of hatred (compared to that vs High Elves). To the Dark Elves this feeling of hatred for non-elves is entirely normal while it is in fact still the most powerful kind of hatred imaginable for non-elves... I don't consider that to be just a mellow feeling of dislike

For any Dark Elf to sleep with a human slave would be at least 1000x as disgusting as we humans find someone having sex with a pig.

Right. Because perversions like bestiality don't exist even amongst a people as depraved as the Druchii and pigs, chimps etc. look '1000x' more like elves than humans do ...

Well yes that's what I said I think, that it might be possible for humans and elves to get raped and then killed (or killed and *then* raped, or anything else in between) during the bloody Witch Elf drug-and-frenzy-induced rituals to Khain, but that's about it, IMHO.

[Calisson]

Of course the Dark Elves hate all other races too, and this then is the "normal", "mellow" kind of hatred (compared to that vs High Elves). To the Dark Elves this feeling of hatred for non-elves is entirely normal while it is in fact still the most powerful kind of hatred imaginable for non-elves... I don't consider that to be just a mellow feeling of dislike

How would you explain that DE hate... DE

[Highborn on black dragon]

And I think that the dude had done a great job.

[The skaerkrow]

It's interesting, though the material regarding gender roles is completely off. "Women are property" conflicts with the published canon regarding Dark Elf society, and the army list itself presents a number of female-only archtypes that further invalidate the veracity of the Druchii being a strictly patriarchal society. Unless by "patriarchal" we mean "Malekith."

[Amras]

Of course the Dark Elves hate all other races too, and this then is the "normal", "mellow" kind of hatred (compared to that vs High Elves). To the Dark Elves this feeling of hatred for non-elves is entirely normal while it is in fact still the most powerful kind of hatred imaginable for non-elves... I don't consider that to be just a mellow feeling of dislike

How would you explain that DE hate... DE

I never said they did, and while they do according to the rules ('hate all opposing models') I do not agree with that.

[Ramaj]

How would you explain that DE hate?

Like so :



Sad but true.

[Amras]

...huh?!

[Kloek107]

I don't "agree" with many of your points. Firstly I do not think that Dark Elf females are considered to be property of the males. They are equal in power, if not higher in power. After all, are it not females only who are allowed to become Witch Elves, or Sorceresses?

Well i have to disagree with this. That woman are allowed to become Witch elves is quite logical as its only for woman (a male can't be a Witch). It doesn´t state that woman are higher in power. For men you have Corsairs (as far as i know there are almost no woman corsairs) Then about sorceresses. I forgot where i read it, but there was a prophecy about Malekith and that he only could be killed by some male sorcerer. That is why he forbids male to be in controll of the winds of Chaos. There are though men who can use the powers of chaos, but those are not legal.
But i think woman would be the same level as men. Seeing that Morathi still has quite some power, and Crone Hellebron has a city.

EDIT: Found! in the new DE army book, look at page 62, THE PROPHECY OF DEMISE

Says: "Though will it come to pass that the firstborn son of noble blood shall rise to power. The child will be learned in the darkest arts and he will raise an army of terrible beasts. Thus will the Dark King fall, slain by neither blade nore arrow but by a sorcerous power of darkest magic and so shall his body be consumed in the flames and for all eternity burn." (Caledor was given this prophecy as Aenarion drew the blade of Khaine, Malekith believes it is he to whom the prophecy refers.

[Perius]

Ok, sorry to see that the women are property bit caused anger/confusion/disagreement. I was also of the mind that all were equal - however, at the BL forum I was pointed to a GW quote that;

"In times of peace Dark Elf women are confined to domestic duties, such as managing the household and working out how to kill their husband's enemies."

From this I gathered that, like the repressive Asur society they were born from, the Druchii aren't too keen on "equal opportunities."

As for Crone Hellebron and the Witch Elves, I think that they are special cases - taken from their families at birth and made brides of Khaine, they are a bit like the Vestal Virgins of Rome; they are by no means repressed, but then they are a special religious cult.

Morathi is also, I would remind you, technically just a consort of Malekith. I expect that in all Dark Elf homes the women really rule the roost - its just that conventionally and in theory they are the property of the men. And even then enjoy freedoms their husbands do not!

I work Elves out roughly like this; Wood Elves are equal between genders (in some groups pro-female)

High Elves are heavily pro-male; their womenfolk are cloistered at home, much like those of Ancient Athens.

Dark Elves are sort of a mix; they were born from the Asur, and so still traditionally repress women, but take more liberal attitudes to love, and allow their unmarried women many of the same freedoms as men.

You could even say that the Dark Elves are setting out on the course of female empancipation completed by the Wood Elves but shunned by the High Elves!

[Dialeth]

Hi
think that in Dark elves culture the most important thing is not gender is your power-thirst and how far you will go for it.
So the discrimination in others elves re cause by their weakness

[Perius]

Of course. Please do not misunerstand me and think that, like in Asur or manling culture gender decides everything. In Naggaroth an ambitious, cunning and daring woman can succeed - however, this is most likely to happen through using Dark Elf males as puppets.

Essentially, there are many women in power in Naggaroth - however, they manipulate from behind the scenes, leaving their husbands and lovers to do their bidding. An example would be Anethra Helbane, who uses her son to rule one of the most powerful Druchii clans.

[Highborn on black dragon]

Can someone tell me the date when Death Night takes hold? (didn't want to start another topic, there are plenty of them anyway, and since it's a cultural question i decided to put it here)

[Doriili bariiliia]

I disagree with the OP original post about Corsairs, I think while Corsairs have a certien mobility in them they still in the end are Client Ships that end up pledged to noble house, now there seems to be a couple noble house linked very much to Corsairs to the point that they are pretty much Corsair noble houses.

[Calisson]

Hey, who are you to talk about Corsairs?

I do not base what follows on any reading but on the thread's introduction sentence - and my personal thoughts.

In order to live on a ship, you need a crew spirit.
Not even Dark Elves can escape that, the Sea rules that.
It means trust among themselves.
Rules from ashore do not apply in a ship at sea.

Corsair life means a lot of physical constraints, but also a lot of opportunity:
life ashore one day comes after a similar one, in a society where people don't die when getting old, only murder will grant some very limited social promotion;
people who wish to break their fate can become corsair: after boring days at sea, raiding and looting! Plenty of opportunity to become a leader or become rich.

For the captain, total freedom within the bounds of corsair rules.
The captain can make deals with noblemen ashore, the birth origins are forgotten, only talent counts.

They may be initial bounds with a family, when the ship is gone, the bounds are meaningless.

Who can maintain an alledged pledge with a distant ship? Only the ship's captain, if it is his will, and if the crew is with him.

Some day, the corsair ship will return, and the Corsairs may renew bounds and insert themselves inside a Client relationship - and cease to be Corsairs.

[Irtehdar]

How lovely to see that someone put in the effort of putting this much info in the same place. However I dont agree with the ''women are property'' either. I see them as being equal to men in that if your not Malekith then you suck

Of course. Please do not misunerstand me and think that, like in Asur or manling culture gender decides everything. In Naggaroth an ambitious, cunning and daring woman can succeed - however, this is most likely to happen through using Dark Elf males as puppets.

Just like any sane Druchii male would use a ''lover'' in his power schemes.
Look at it like this. We have a random druchii ''couple''. Lets call them ''Bob'' and ''Mindy''. Now while Mindy uses her ''feminine charm'' to have Bob do her bidding so does Bob manipulate Mindy to achieve his goals. Actually as they are a ''family unit'' many of their goals are the same or atleast very much compatible so Bob and Mindy can work very well together deliberately doing things that logically conflicts with their own personal progress but the power of the alliance between the two surpasses that. Atleast as long as both sides of the ''agreement'' still see a benefit from keeping the relationship going.

Actually now the subject got me thinking. In order to understand all the levels of manipulation and trickery that goes on constantly in druchii society one would have to be druchii.

[Dalamar]

Can someone tell me the date when Death Night takes hold? (didn't want to start another topic, there are plenty of them anyway, and since it's a cultural question i decided to put it here)

GW doesn't give dates for game festivities with translation to real world calendar... all we know it's once a year.

But Mythic came up with a good date for it for the Warhammer Online event (coincidentally called Death Night) - 14th February.