Khaine = Khorne

[Deadlift]

I'm really very new to Eldar, but really loving the army and the background so far. But Khaine is made reference to so many times as an Eldar god, his similarities to Khorne seem to me to be quite relevant. Are they the same being from a different perspective ?

[DarkLink]

No, the Eldar gods existed long before the birth of the chaos gods. Khaine isn't as purely violent as Khorne, either. Plus khorne is much more powerful than Khaine was, I believe.

[Rev. Tiberius Jackhammer]

I don't think so, since they operate in different spheres (Khaine now being shards on the mortal plain and Khorne the greatest power in the warp), but there's something of an implied connection, even down to the "bunny ears" headdresses.

If I was asked to write the fluff, I'd probably say that Khaine predated Khorne, and as one of the primary sources of violence for millennia, "shaped" the growing Khorne - like how old fluff said Khorne looked a bit Orky, since Orks are responsible for most of the violence in the galaxy.

[Kaptain Badrukk]

Since we're talking 40k they are separate entities, but operating in the same sphere. In fantasy it's a little less defined.

[Cap'nSmurfs]

Khaine has similarities with both Khorne and Slaanesh, which is why they fought over his powers. It depends on your view of 40k cosmology and how "real" the events of the Fall are. But Khaine isn't just an aspect of Khorne, there's more to it than that.

[Cpt Codpiece]

the way i see it, eldar (40k) and elves (WFB) are both selfish and insular societies.

i see khaine as an eldar khorne. the aspect of violence and war distilled into essence, just as slaanesh is the aspect of wanton desire and pleasure.

[eldargal]

Khorne is the god of violence born of human belief
Khaine is the god of violence born of eldar belief

Due to the heightened psychic nature of the eldar and their greater awareness of their powers Khaine is much more complex in character than Khorne as the different eldar attitude towards violence shapes his nature.

[madlants]

It's very strongly implied that the Eldar gods are actually the Old Ones (a super advanced race that created the Eldar and a bunch of other intelligent species), and Khaine was a powerful old one warrior with serious anger management issues. Since the Eldar were worshiping Khaine (and their other old one gods) at the time Khorne came into existence (during the war with the Necrons), it's very likely that Khaine worshipers provided a lot of fuel for feeding the unborn/recently born Blood God. This could be why there are some similarities. But they're definitely not the same god. Khaine isn't even technically alive anymore. He got smashed to pieces by Slaanesh and the pieces live on as Avatars. Khorne, on the other hand, isn't just alive, but is the strongest god in the Chaos pantheon. There's no way Slaanesh could so thoroughly beat him in a fair, one on one fight like that.

In Warhammer Fantasy, Khaine is a lot less developed, and seems much more nasty and bloodthirsty (he's the main god of the Dark Elves, while in 40k, the Dark Eldar worship nothing but themselves). He might be an aspect of Khorne in Fantasy, although he seems much more interested in sacrifices than glorious death on the battlefield.

[Anggul]

It's more heavily implied that, like any warp-god-thing, they're formed of the emotions of the Eldar, rather than being the Old Ones. The Old Ones created the Eldar, whose gods then formed from them. It's possible that this is basically a symbolisation of how the Old Ones created the Eldar to be a powerful psychic race who were able to use the warp as a weapon against the Necrons and the C'Tan, symbolised by Khaine fighting the Nightbringer etc.

This is backed up in the Iyanden codex, which says that the flame of Asuryan burns brighter when the Eldar themselves are motivated, and dimmer when they are sorrowful and down. It also says that they see it as a herald of their hope, and that they know that it is they that control it rather than the other way around, so the reason they see it as a symbol of their hope is that when it burns brighter it means they're doing better.

[Bigred]

There are subtle differences in Khaine across 40K and WFB.

In 40K he is the bloody handed god, and more associated with bloodlust and martial violence, along with the honorable aspects of it all rolled into one. So you can get things like Dire Avengers being an aspect of his honor, while Dark Reapers are more on the killing side of things.

In WFB he is the god of murder, (not the "honorable" killing of soldiers on the battlefield - but the sacrificing of prisoners and the helpless kind of thing) so he is a much more sinister figure. His big adherents are the Witch cults and the Har Ganeth Executioners. Quite a different vibe than Eldar Aspect Warriors.