Kabal of the Ebon Star

So these guys are far from even started but this is just an effort to work out the background. Funnily enough there's actually nothing about the Kabal in this first post because of the way I'm trying to present things, so to start I've got here an outline of the sub-realm they control, Syrrax. Think Heligan but with more narcotic lianas and venomous repitles.

Syrrax

the Forest Demesne, the Garden of Shaimesh
Cloistered within its own (remarkably stable) sub-realm, Syrrax is the name given to both this cultivated jungle and the pseudo-city of spires that rise like obsidian bones from the surrounding trees. Even then the jungle does not give up its hold on the realm, for upon the tiers and balconies of many of the larger towers sit comparatively more manicured but no less exotic pleasure gardens and orchards. Nearly everything in the lower jungle - and much in the pleasure gardens - is poisonous or venomous, constituting a rich resource of toxins and corrosive substances, as well as a wide variety of narcotic and hallucinogenic ones.

The Garden of Shaimesh, as it is often called, was meticulously designed by Elashath Syl in the early days of the Eldar's "colonisation" of the webway. Showing a streak of malevolent genius which was to become emblematic of the pre-fall Empire - and continues in its Commorrite inheritors - Elashath's aim was to create a perfectly balanced ecosystem consisting entirely of poisonous or otherwise deadly flora and fauna, an aim consummately realised in Syrrax. Simply brushing against the wrong kind of vine is to invite a prolonged and agonising death. Originally created as a vast pleasure garden in the style of a faux-wild jungle in which Elashath and his peers could stroll at leisure amongst the single most lethal and beautiful environment in the galaxy, Syrrax also housed "hunting lodges" - in reality grand palaces staffed by hundreds and containing many suites of rooms - from which House Syl and its allied noble houses could hunt vicious beasts in an environment just as likely to kill them as the creatures they hunted. These lodges have since been extended and expanded to become the towering, jungle-puncturing bastions of Syrrax' resident noble houses and their vassals.

Successions of previous generations have allowed the gardens to fall into disrepair, content to maintain a facade of continuity by building their private gardens into the balconies and buttresses of their expanding towers. For thousands of years the Garden was left to its own devices, becoming increasingly disordered despite the efforts and ministrations of the sisters of Lhilitu who, drawn to such a rich source of poisons, maintain the third largest Lhamaean shrine in one of the forest's smaller towers. This was of no interest to the callous and short-sighted rulers of Syrrax, who were more concerned with their internal bickering and intrigues than the maintenance of their inheritance. The decline only began to reverse with the ascent of Archon Tsaernon Mareth, who instituted the regime of discipline and order the Kabal of the Ebon Star now works under. In the past century or so the sub-realm has been brought to heel, cultivated with purpose once more. Maiden-world portals have been reclaimed from the thickets and tangles they had been lost in, and even the arena of the Cult of the Barbed Heart has been expanded into a modestly sized but nevertheless impressive ziggurat deep in the jungle that draws a respectable crowd of adherents from Commorragh and even the other sub-realms.

Syrrax'zhar; the Archon's Gift
Syrrax itself boasts not only a large (and thus heavily guarded) portal to Commorragh proper, but also a handful of smaller portals leading to forested maiden worlds across the galaxy. These portals are artfully concealed and activate according to an arcane and jealously guarded schedule, so that an unwary wanderer will have to contend not only with the Garden's own dangers but also must take care they do not stumble into realspace. It is through these portals that the Kabal of the Ebon Star have traditionally harvested a key ingredient for the source of much of their wealth. A long time ago, shortly after the fall, the noble houses of Syrrax seeded a number of such worlds with Oerbyss Flower, a hanging vine that will not bud within the webway. The Eldar of Syrrax would naturally not stoop to harvest these flowers for themselves, and so in some cases they will herd slaves through the portals accompanied by the lower-ranking members of the Kabal to watch over them. Most such worlds have since been colonised, however, either by weakling Exodites or primitive humans, and on these worlds the Kabal has cultivated a mythical persona, descending on these settlements when the portals open and they can emerge from (apparently) the forest. In return for being left alone the natives of these worlds leave out "tribute" in the form of garlands or baskets of Oerbyss flower for the "forest-folk" or whatever particular name they have given their apparently benign visitors. Whilst it may be galling to forgo the soul harvest such convenient targets promise, even at their most disorganised the Eldar of Syrrax have recognised that their wellbeing depends upon the reliable flow of Oerbyss petals. Once back in Syrrax, the extract of these flowers is then used along with a single drop of K'Rayl venom - extracted from the creatures long extinct everywhere but the sinister groves of Syrrax - to create Syrrax'zhar, a potent and unique drug that is in constant demand due in part to its rarity. The only place it is freely available and in regular use is Syrrax itself. Consequently, Kabalites of the Ebon Star and Wyches of the Barbed Heart are easily identifiable, since their access to and use of Syrrax’zhar is so frequent that it has dyed their skin a dusky blue-grey, an outward display of their supposed wealth.

In practice the drug enhances and extends sense-perception - particularly strong sensations can be drawn out to last for hours. It has also been described as making the user feel as though there are hot knives under their skin. The combination of these properties and a mild reaction-time enhancement means that it is a popular drug for both participants and spectators in the arenas of Commorragh, as well as having a wide variety of recreational applications; at least for those who can afford it and are prideful enough to acquire a taste for it (which is not asking much for the Eldar). Syrrax'zhar is thus a powerful tool in insuring Syrrax' and the Ebon Star's place within the labyrinthine politics of Commorragh. Allotment of the limited supplies of this drug is used to reward allies and buy-off potential rivals, and the high price it commands ensures the kabal and its allies within Syrrax are very well equipped. This is especially important, since as the sub-realm is increasingly brought under control and becomes more ordered so too must the kabal, as the treasures within Syrrax become ever more inviting to those who would try to lay claim to them. Syrrax has always been a strange jewel, and justifiably envied.