Ynnari: Warhammer 40K Lore Guide

For ten thousand years the Aeldari have treated death as the final enemy. Every craftworlder wears a spirit stone so that Slaanesh cannot drink their soul, and every Drukhari feeds on others' pain to delay the same fate. The Ynnari reject that fear. They follow a god who is not yet fully awake, Ynnead, lord of the dead, and they believe the end of their race can be turned into its salvation. Where they fight, the souls of the fallen do not flee in terror. They rise up to strengthen the living.

The Ynnari are the newest movement within the Aeldari kindreds, drawing followers from craftworlds, Commorragh, corsair fleets and Harlequin Masques alike. This guide explains how the Reborn came to be, who leads them, what the Crone Swords are, the battles that shaped them in the Gathering Storm, and how to collect an army of the god of the dead.

Ynnari at a Glance

The Prophecy of Ynnead

Aeldari myth has long held that the souls of the dead, gathered in the infinity circuits of the craftworlds, would one day merge into a new god, Ynnead, and that when the last Aeldari died, this god would wake and destroy Slaanesh. It was a grim hope: the race would be saved only after it ceased to exist.

Some refused to wait. At the close of M41, the Farseer Eldrad Ulthran and the Harlequins of the Masque of the Midnight Sorrow attempted a vast ritual on the crystal moon of Coheria. Their plan was to turn the moon into a psychic beacon, linking the souls of every infinity circuit, bright enough to guide Ynnead into the material world. Imperial agents of the Deathwatch disrupted it at the Battle of Port Demesnus, and the moon was destroyed. The energy did not vanish. It found a dying Aeldari on the other side of reality.

Yvraine and the Night of Revelations

Yvraine had left the craftworlds long before and fought as a gladiatrix in the arenas of Commorragh. In the Crucibael, the arena of the Cult of Strife, she was struck down by Corag Hai, a priestess of Morai-Heg. As she slipped between life and death, a fragment of Ynnead's will poured into her, and she rose again as the god's emissary. The surge tore open Khaine's Gate and triggered a disaster in the Dark City, which you can read more about in our Drukhari lore guide.

Yvraine fled into the webway with those who chose to follow her: wych Bloodbrides, corsair allies, and a silent swordsman known as the Visarch with a band of Incubi. These were the first of the Ynnari. Daemonettes hunted them through the labyrinth, and from that moment the Reborn and the servants of Slaanesh have been at war.

The Triumvirate of Ynnead

The Ynnari are led by three figures who together embody their god's will.

• Yvraine, Emissary of Ynnead, prophet and psyker. She can draw on the souls of the dead, has healed wounds and even cured Drukhari of their soul-thirst in the lore, and has returned at least one fallen hero to life. She wields Kha-vir, the Sword of Sorrows, and is accompanied by a gyrinx.
• The Visarch, Sword of Ynnead, her bodyguard and champion. His past is deliberately obscure; what matters is that he will die for her without hesitation. He carries Asu-var, the Sword of Silent Screams.
• The Yncarne, Avatar of Ynnead, a towering apparition of the god of the dead that manifests where Aeldari die in great numbers. It wields Vilith-zhar, the Sword of Souls, and its arrival can banish daemons outright.

The Ynnari's power comes from death. Their warriors are nourished by the departing souls of the fallen, friend or foe, and fight harder as the killing around them grows. Their psykers wear the spirit stones of dead Ynnari and speak with the souls inside, borrowing their skills and memories. To traditional craftworlders, who treat the dead with careful reverence, this looks close to sacrilege.

The Five Crone Swords

Ynnead revealed to Yvraine a path to wake him without waiting for the last Aeldari to die: gather the five ancient Crone Swords, weapons scattered across the galaxy since before the Fall. Their story is the backbone of the Ynnari campaign in the Gathering Storm books.

1. Kha-vir, the Sword of Sorrows, carried by Yvraine.
2. Asu-var, the Sword of Silent Screams, which Yvraine drew from the infinity circuit of Biel-Tan, and which the Visarch now bears.
3. Vilith-zhar, the Sword of Souls, found on the crone world Belial IV inside the Eye of Terror, where the Yncarne burst from the earth already holding it.
4. The Spear of Twilight, Prince Yriel's weapon on Iyanden, revealed as the fourth Crone Sword when Yvraine used it to bring the dead admiral back to life.
5. The fifth sword, left behind on Belial IV and later carried into the Palace of Slaanesh by the daemon Shalaxi Helbane.

With the last blade in the Dark Prince's own domain, the Ynnari's quest is stalled rather than finished. In the Psychic Awakening books, Yvraine refuses to despair and searches for another way.

The Gathering Storm Campaign

The Ynnari were introduced in the Gathering Storm series, and their early history moves quickly.

The Fracture of Biel-Tan. Daemons had tainted Biel-Tan's infinity circuit. In desperation the craftworld turned to Yvraine, who pulled Asu-var from the circuit and woke the Yncarne. The avatar purged the daemons, but the corrupted wraithbone shattered and the souls inside were nearly lost. Many Biel-Tani, including the Autarch Meliniel, joined the Reborn.

Ulthwé, Belial IV and Iyanden. Ulthwé's Seer Council refused to commit and exiled Eldrad, but Aeldari from the long-lost craftworld Altansar appeared and pledged themselves. In the Eye of Terror, the Ynnari fought the Haemonculus Urien Rakarth for the Sword of Souls. At Iyanden, besieged by Nurgle, Yvraine revived Prince Yriel and worked with Iyanna Arienal to free the craftworld's dead from their dreaming state.

The road to Ultramar. Guided by Eldrad's visions, the Ynnari concluded that humans would be their best allies against Slaanesh. In the webway they were ambushed by Ahriman of the Thousand Sons, and were saved by the arrival of the Phoenix Lords. On Klaisus they fought beside Saint Celestine, Inquisitor Greyfax and Belisarius Cawl against the Black Legion, and then traveled through the webway to Macragge.

The resurrection of Guilliman. On Macragge, Yvraine's soul-magic and Cawl's technology together brought Roboute Guilliman back to life, the event that launched the Era Indomitus. It is one of the strangest alliances in the setting: Aeldari death-cultists helping to resurrect the Primarch of the Ultramarines.

Allies, Rivals and Later Battles

After Ultramar the Ynnari spread their search across the galaxy. Craftworld Os'tara pledged itself to the cause, and the Ynnari fleet fought alongside an Imperial Navy admiral to recover an artifact called the Spirit Gate. At Saim-Hann, the Incubus Drazhar, hired by Asdrubael Vect, struck at Yvraine; the Phoenix Lord Jain Zar intervened, was later slain and returned to life through Yvraine's prayers, and finally killed Drazhar before going her own way.

The movement's alliances are fluid. Eldrad Ulthran was one of its first champions, and Lelith Hesperax, Prince Yriel and the Phoenix Lords all fought beside Yvraine at one time or another, yet later sources list them as former allies. The Harlequins remain sympathetic, especially the Masque of the Midnight Sorrow, and Shadowseer Sylandri Veilwalker cooperates with Yvraine when it suits her. Vect, meanwhile, never forgave the chaos the Reborn unleashed in his city.

How the Ynnari Differ From Other Aeldari

Craftworlders survive through the Path and the spirit stone; the Drukhari through cruelty; the Harlequins through Cegorach's secret. The Ynnari are the only Aeldari who look at death and see a weapon. That makes them divisive. Traditional Farseers fear that hastening Ynnead's waking could bring about the very extinction it is meant to avenge, and many craftworld councils treat Yvraine as a dangerous heretic.

They are also the most mixed of the Aeldari forces. A Ynnari host might combine Dire Avengers, Incubi, wych gladiators, Wraithguard and corsair skiffs, often marked by touches of crimson. That diversity is their strength: they are less a separate people than a cause cutting across all the others.

Collecting and Playing Ynnari

On the tabletop the Ynnari are an Aeldari army built around Yvraine, the Visarch and the Yncarne, with units drawn from both the craftworld and Drukhari ranges. Their identity is momentum through death: the more units fall nearby, on either side, the more dangerous the Reborn become. They suit players who enjoy aggressive, trading-blows games and who want to mix the elegant Asuryani with the cruel glamour of Commorragh in one force.

For painters, the Ynnari are an invitation to convert. Crimson armor, bone-white details and Ynnead's rune can unite models from very different kits, and an army that reads as a crusade gathered from many kindreds is entirely true to the lore.

Ynnari FAQ

Who is Ynnead?

Ynnead is the Aeldari god of the dead, believed to be forming from the souls stored in the craftworlds' infinity circuits. Prophecy said he would wake only when the last Aeldari died. The Ynnari believe he has already begun to stir and can be fully awakened sooner.

Who is Yvraine?

Yvraine is the Emissary of Ynnead and leader of the Ynnari. She died in a Commorraghan arena and was reborn carrying a fragment of the god's power. She is a psyker who can draw on the souls of the dead and has even restored fallen heroes to life.

What are the Crone Swords?

They are five ancient blades that, according to Ynnead, can wake him without the death of the whole race. The Ynnari hold four of them; the fifth was carried into the Palace of Slaanesh by Shalaxi Helbane.

Did the Ynnari really help resurrect Roboute Guilliman?

Yes. In the Gathering Storm, Yvraine and the Ynnari traveled with Belisarius Cawl to Macragge, and the combination of her soul-magic and Cawl's technology revived the Primarch, beginning the Era Indomitus.

Are the Ynnari good guys?

They are sincere, but not necessarily kind. Their goal is the survival of the Aeldari and the death of Slaanesh, and they will ally with humans when it helps that goal. Their reliance on death and their willingness to gamble with the fate of the race make them heroes to some Aeldari and heretics to others.

Continue Exploring

• The Aeldari (Eldar) — the Fall, the craftworlds and the prophecy of Ynnead.
• Warhammer 40K factions guide — every army, its lore and how it plays.
• The Harlequins — the servants of Cegorach whose ritual set the Ynnari in motion.
• The Drukhari — the Dark City where Yvraine died and was reborn.
• Slaanesh — the god the Reborn mean to destroy.

Browse every guide in the Warhammer 40K lore hub, or name a new Reborn warrior with the elf name generator. To chronicle your own crusade of the dead, Anima is free and runs in your browser with no account: a wiki, a timeline, and campaigns with a live DM screen.