Warhammer 40K: Commander Farsight and The Eight
Today, we speak of the T’au Empire’s Commander Farsight and his seven bodyguards known as “The Eight”.
Commander Farsight
First up, the namesake of the Enclaves, O’Shovah, also called Farsight by the Tau Empire.
Shas’O Vior’la Shovah Kais Mont’yr ,aka O’Shovah or Commander Farsight is alleged to lead the Farsight Enclaves still. This would mean that he has lived for at least three centuries, considerably beyond the ordinary lifespan of Tau Fire Caste members. It may be that another has taken up his mantle. Perhaps the real Commander is extending his lifespan through some technological process. One thing that is certain is that the breakaway Farsight Enclave maintains a strongly martial tradition closely based on the Vior’la Sept (lit: “hot-blooded”), O’Shovah’s birthplace.
Early History
Farsight’s first and greatest victories were won in the Arkunasha War. When the Tau colony there was threatened by Waaagh! Dok under Warboss Toofjaw, he led the Fire Warriors in a masterful defense against many times their own numbers. O’shovah became the renowned master of the Mont’ka — the aggressive tactic of the Tau forces.
Damocles Crusade
O’shovah was again called upon to defend the Tau Empire during the incursion of Tau space by the Imperium of Man. The Imperium called the operation the Damocles Crusade. He was a major morale booster during the campaign. Farsight was nearly killed in combat against then-Assault Marines Cato Sicarius and Numitor, pledging revenge against them. After the Imperial forces withdrew, he lead one of several reclamation fleets to recapture T’au worlds lost to the Imperium. He eliminated Imperial deserters and abandoned guardsmen, then continued his explorations well beyond the known Tau space.
Farsight Expedition
Following the Damocles Crusade, Aun’va recommended an expedition to rekindle hope and spirit in the empire, which had been dwindling since the bloody war against the Imperium. In the ensuing Farsight Expedition, Farsight led an enormous Tau fleet across the Damocles Gulf, going into frozen stasis to avoid aging during the long trip. In the ensuing campaign on the far side of the Damocles Gulf, Farsight was initially beaten at every turn by Grog Ironteef, the Ork Warchief of Alsanta. A frustrated O’Shovah nonetheless eventually was able to defeat Grog, and pursued scattered Ork forces to the world of Arthas Moloch.
There, Farsight encountered a terrifying new enemy (likely Chaos Daemons). They emerged from a mysterious portal erected on a great Dais. During the battle, all of Farsight’s accompanying Ethereals were killed by gruesome creatures. Farsight could only attain victory thanks to discovering a mysterious blade he used to close the portal. The experience of battling these foes and gazing into their sinister portal rattled O’Shovah, who realized there were far greater threats than the Ethereals were telling him.
Break with the Empire & Farsight Enclaves
After the incident on Arthas Moloch, Farsight returned to his established holdings on the far side of the Damocles Gulf. Farsight began to secretly become highly distrustful of the Ethereal Caste, suspecting that they may be controlling the Tau by more than simple charisma and wisdom, perhaps employing more sinister methods. In the aftermath of his victory, Farsight came to realize the threat of Chaos and the fact the universe was not the orderly, rational place described in T’au philosophy. In addition, Farsight began to live far beyond the normal life span of a Tau.
The inevitable conclusion that the Ethereals’ control extended beyond simple logic and loyalty to something darker drove him to sickening panic. Farsight chose exile over obedience. Meanwhile, in the Tau Empire, Ethereal Supreme Aun’va had discovered the death of the Ethereals on Arthas Moloch and the establishment of a seemingly independent Tau enclave under Farsight. Contact was severed between the Farsight Enclaves and the Ethereals. It was finally confirmed that O’Shovah had turned his back on the Tau Empire.
Farsight brought unexpected aid to Commander Shadowsun.
Farsight later appeared during the Second Agrellan Campaign, sending in the full might of his forces alongside his former ally Commander Shadowsun. Together, the two managed an effective but ultimately doomed resistance against the Imperium. After the battle, O’Shovah disappeared and made a course for T’lasa to rescue the planet from Hive Fleet Leviathan. Despite his aid to the Empire, the Ethereal Council ordered Shadowsun to immediately capture him, something she secretly leaked to the exiled commander to try and help him get a headstart.
The Eight
Farsight does not lead a conventional bodyguard. Instead he draws from a band of warriors known as The Eight. The Eight is notable for having a number of Shas’o in its ranks, rather than the normal Shas’vre of a bodyguard. It also includes an AI controlling a Broadside, a tau warrior sealed in his suite as a life support aide in the fashion of an imperial dreadnought, and even a member of the Earth caste piloting a modified Riptide.
The Eight are an Elite Cadre of specialists, each with their own distinct fighting techniques. They are:
Bravestorm was a Tau Commander. One of the original recipients of the experimental Battlesuit weapon known as the Onager Gauntlet. During the Damocles Crusade Bravestorm’s Battlesuit was critically damaged at Blackthunder Mesa after he took down dozens of Imperial vehicles. Entombed in life support systems, he was confined to his Battlesuit and serves as part of The Eight.
O’Vesa, also known as Stone Dragon is a skilled Tau Battlesuit pilot and a member of The Eight. He is fact, not a Shas’vre at all, but an old Earth Caste colleague of Farsight. He is kept alive by microdrones of his own invention, and pilots a modified XV104 Riptide.
Brightsword. The original Commander Brightsword served along side Commander Farsight, in the Arkunasha War. Since his death, many Commanders have since taken up the name Brightsword, with seven known so far. All served under Farsight; from the Damocles Crusade and the defense of the Sept world of Dal’yth, to the Farsight Expedition and centuries after the founding of the Farsight Enclaves. The latest Commander Brightsword is part of Farsight’s The Eight. Though half a dozen generations separate him from the original, he has inherited all of that lineage’s legendary ferocity. Like those before him, he has pledged his life to the service of Farsight and the Enclaves.
Sha’vastos is a Tau Commander and skilled Tau Battlesuit pilot and a member of The Eight, Farsight’s elite honor guard. He was the first Tau to be fitted with a Puretide Neurochip. Sha’vastos was saved from his subsequent lobotomy by the intervention of Commander Farsight. His prototype neurochip suffered rapid degeneration after the battle. Farsight had him spirited away in a stasis pod until he could find a cure. Many decades later, O’Vesa recalibrated the neurochip and reawaken the old warrior.
Ob’lotai 9-0 is a skilled Tau Battlesuit pilot and a member of The Eight. The Broadside Battlesuit known as Ob’lotai 9-0 is crewed not by a Tau. It is controlled by a late-generation AI engram of the original Ob’lotai, who taught the young Farsight the basics of piloting Battlesuits.
Commander Arra’kon is a Tau Commander and skilled Tau Battlesuit pilot and a member of The Eight. Borth and trained on Vior’los, Commander Arra’kon was overall military commander of the Farsight Enclaves at the time of Farsight’s return from the desert during the Farsight Enclaves battle against Grog Ironteef. He possesses an analytical mind and the advanced new support system from the recently arrived Vision of Aun’shi. This helps him make the most of his extensive anti-infantry weaponry mounted on his Battlesuit.
Torchstar is a Tau Sub-Commander and skilled Battlesuit pilot. A member of The Eight, Commander Farsight’s war council. Torchstar is the youngest member of the group and a defector from the Tau Empire. He is known as an impetuous Vior’lan whose affinity with fire has seen her immolate hundreds of the Tau’s foes.
The Farsight Enclaves can be seen on the upper left west of Mu’gulath Bay.
Learn how to paint up your own Farsight Enclave with GW-era Duncan.
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Lexicanum
~One wonders what to make of Commander Shadowsun’s subtle support of Farsight?
