The Black Library Guardians are the Harlequins, Guardian-Scribes and White Seers who watch over the Eldar’s vault of forbidden Chaos lore. They matter because the Library holds knowledge that could doom or save whole civilisations, and almost nobody gets in.
What the Black Library actually is
The Black Library, sometimes called the Black Library of Chaos, is the Eldar’s hidden archive of forbidden knowledge. It sits inside the Webway, the tunnel network that runs through the warp, and its existence is known to very few.
The shelves hold the Eldar’s own studies of Chaos: how it tempts, what forms it takes, which creatures serve it, and what it promises. But the collection isn’t purely Eldar. Any knowledge of Chaos, from any source, tends to end up here, including a copy of the Book of Magnus.
It’s more than a Chaos library either. The archives are said to record the fate of Arhra, the fallen Phoenix Lord, and the nature of the ancient beings called Star Gods.
- Located wholly within the Webway
- Holds psychically locked rooms full of daemon-summoning tomes and grimoires
- Keeps records on Chaos cults across the galaxy
- Some works take the form of coloured gems hanging from a golden-leafed tree beside a pool
Who guards it
Harlequins patrol the passages leading to the Library and come and go as they please. Their Solitaires have the same freedom, which says a lot about how the Harlequins view them.
The entrance itself is held by the Guardian-Scribes, described as the most terrible of all perils in the Webway. Inside, the White Seers maintain the records. The Harlequins keep a constant watch over the darker repositories.
Why it matters
Chaos lore is a weapon. The Library is the largest single concentration of it in the setting, which makes it a target, a resource and a threat all at once.
It’s also one of the few places where the Eldar’s oldest secrets survive. If you want to understand what the Aeldari knew before the Fall, this is where that knowledge is kept.
Getting in, and what’s changed
Few are allowed entry. Ephrael Stern was shown the beginning of the path through the Webway by Kyganil, which gives you a sense of how rare that is.
During the Fall of the Eldar, much was lost, but the Library endured. More recently, echoes of it in realspace were traced to the western fringes of the Ghoul Stars, inside a triangle formed by the Exodite worlds of Syph and Quilan. Then the Great Rift opened, and the situation shifted again.
Key facts
- The Black Library is the Eldar’s archive of forbidden Chaos lore, hidden in the Webway
- Harlequins guard the passages, Guardian-Scribes guard the entrance, White Seers keep the records
- It holds knowledge of Chaos from all sources, including a copy of the Book of Magnus
- Few are allowed entry; Solitaires can come and go freely
- It also records the fate of Arhra and the nature of the Star Gods
FAQ
Who guards the Black Library?
Harlequins patrol the passages and watch the vaults, the Guardian-Scribes hold the entrance, and the White Seers maintain the records.
Where is the Black Library?
It exists entirely inside the Webway, which runs through the warp. Echoes of it have appeared in realspace, most recently near the Ghoul Stars.
What’s kept in the Black Library?
Forbidden Chaos lore from many sources, plus Eldar secrets like the fate of Arhra and the nature of the Star Gods.