I looked at the Aeldari Harlequin as the Aeldari Harlequin looked back at me.
Neither of us was saying anything and just kept staring at each other to the point where it was annoying. It lasted for several minutes straight, until the Harlequin started loudly laughing out of nowhere.
I suddenly felt that something was wrong about the Harlquin whne the Aeldari's Psyhci Presence suddnely changed to soemthing that was very distinctive yet very familiar... and most importantly it was countless times move powerful than the Psychic Presnece of even Esdeath next to me.
Which could mean only one single thing.
Divine Possession by God.
Harlequins were the only Aeldari group still overseen and worshipped their God... much to the contrary of the other Gods of the Aeldari, who were either killed by Slaanesh or incapacitated in other ways.
"Cegorach, I presume?"
I asked asI looked at the Aeldari Harlequin.
Cegorach, also known as the "Laughing God", as well as the "Great Harlequin", the "Great Fool" and the "First Fool", the Aeldari God of Creativity, Artists, Deception and Trickery, is one of the Gods of the Aeldari Pantheon and the central figure of the religion of the Aeldari Harlequins.
Alone among the Aeldari Gods, Cegorach is believed to have survived the Fall of the Aeldari unscathed and escaped the fate of the rest of the Aeldari Pantheon, who were consumed or badly fractured by She Who Thirsts.
According to legend, this Aeldari Deity survived because his mocking nature distanced him from the collective psychic corruption and decadence of the ancient Aeldari Empire, whose reflection in the Empyrean eventually became the Chaos God Slaanesh.
Laughing God escaped into the Webway and hid amongst its myriad tunnels. These tales suggest that he remains there still, unassailable, laughing at the Chaos Gods as he hatches bitter plans for revenge.
Those Aeldari who follow him, known as the Harlequins, are protected from Slaanesh's eternal thirst for Aeldari souls in a different way from their Craftworld brethren.
While Craftworld Aeldari or Asuryani wear Spirit Stones, which absorb their souls when they die to prevent them from being devoured by Slaanesh once they enter the Warp, the Aeldari Harlequins are directly protected by their faith in their God's power, becoming one with his own Warp emanation upon their death.
"Yes! Yes! And to the third, Yes! My dear foreigner!"
The Laughing God said jovially as I cringed but didn't say anything about that... it seemed the Laughing God was clearly aware that I wasn't the being of this Universe, which wasn't that particularly hard to see.
Practically, any Tier 12 being would be able to tell that.
"What do you want from me?"
I asked because Arcitect managed to gather the latest information about the Harlequins acorss the Galaxy from the Imperial Networks. In recent years, the war of Harlequins against Chaos has been characterised by a newfound urgency. Full Masques have become an ever more common sight among the stars.
Appearing from the Webway, they can be found performing within the realms of their Asuryani, Exodite, or Drukhari kin or battling the galaxy's disparate intelligent races in vicious campaigns of apparently random violence.
"A deal... a grandest deal that was ever done in the Galaxy and one that would decide the fate of my species!"
Cegorach jumped in front of me as he threw his hands in the air, though it wasn't really correct to call him Cegorach, as the Laughing God was only possessing this Harlequin to speak with me in the Realspace.
The last God of the Aeldari couldn't safely enter the Realspace because he would risk attracting the attention of Slaanesh... not to mention that the Warp Gods are beings of the Immaterium, not flesh and blood like me or Esdeath beside me.
Basically speaking, he lacked a physical body, and any physical body that he possessed would be created from the solidification of the Warp Energy, instead of being a true creature of flesh and bones.
"A deal? Any deals with your kind either ended terribly on the cost of the other party or your kind backstabbed them in the back..."
I said as I studied the expression of the Aeldari God.
"And what fool would make a deal with the God of Deception and Trickery?"
It was beyond stupid to believe a literal God of Deception and Trickery, and even right now, after dealing with many Deties, Beings of Law, and other people that were strongly aligned with the domains of Deception and Trickery, I was still highly suspicious about their every single move.
It wasn't like I didn't have means of delaing with the beings like that... but rather be safe than sorry.
Some of them despise clearly lacking strength and power, were still very hard to deal with.
"The Rhana Dandra is nearing Outsider... and the End of All Days would consume us all."
The Rhana Dandra or "End of All Days" in the Aeldari Lexicon, is the legendary final battle of the Aeldari species against Chaos that will end with the destruction of both, as prophesied in Aeldari Mythos.
An account of the battle is given in the sacred Aeldari text called the Asuryata, which predicts the destruction of the Aeldari and their remaining Gods in the battle. This was something that even the Federation was aware that the Aeldari possessed, but nobody really took it that seriously.
Everyone took it just for prophecy.
"Not me... as you say... I am an Outsider to all of this and it doesn't have anything to do with me."
I said as Cegorach, possessing the body of the Harlequin, leaned over as he studied my face or observed something.
"That may be true... yes, yes! But once The Final Act happens, you will also lose a lot! You are not immune to the greatest Jest, my dear!"
The Laughing God clapped as I frowned heavily because I caught on to his meaning... he was talkign about something that I wasn't aware of and that it was also something that was immensely benefical for me.