Commander Farsight

Overview

Commander Farsight, O'Shovah, is the most celebrated warrior in T'au history and a renegade who founded the Farsight Enclaves beyond the Damocles Gulf. He wields the Dawn Blade, a mysterious alien sword. He has outlived his peers by centuries, and his independence is a constant challenge to the authority of the Ethereals.

He fights in a custom XV8 Crisis battlesuit and leads a bodyguard of veteran commanders known as the Eight. His Enclaves lie on the far side of the Damocles Gulf, beyond the Ethereals' direct reach, and their constant wars against Orks, Imperials and daemons have made his warriors some of the most experienced in T'au space. O'Shovah, Commander Farsight, was Puretide's star pupil and the hero of the Damocles Gulf. His reconquest of lost worlds made him a legend. He was diverted from the last world, Illuminas, to fight Orks, and on Arthas Moloch something went terribly wrong. Afterwards he took the Dawn Blade, broke with the Ethereals and founded the Farsight Enclaves beyond the Empire's borders. He has fought Orks, Imperials and Chaos for centuries since, kept alive and young by unknown means.

Origins

He was born on the sept world Vior'la, famous for its hot-blooded warriors. He climbed Mount Kanji on Dal'yth to study under Commander Puretide, where he learned the art of war alongside students such as Shadowsun.

O'Shovah was born on Vior'la and entered the Fire Caste academies of Mont'yr years ahead of normal enrolment. His near-photographic recall and his ability to predict how others would act earned him the nickname 'Shoh', or 'inner light', and he set perfect scores in the academy's battle simulations.

Key events

1. Won the Arkunasha War against WAAAGH! Dok, including the Massacre at Ghoul's Gorge.
2. Defended Dal'yth alongside Shadowsun during the Damocles Gulf Crusade, his counterattacks halting the Imperial advance.
3. Led the Farsight Expedition beyond the Damocles Gulf to reclaim lost worlds, agreed by Aun'Va and Aun'Wei.
4. Lost all three of the expedition's Ethereals on Arthas Moloch, where daemonic entities appeared, and took up the Dawn Blade.
5. Turned away from the T'au Empire and founded the Farsight Enclaves.
6. Fought the Tyranids and rebuilt Vior'los after the sacrifice of the Earth Caste scientists.

Arkunasha is where his way of war took shape. His Earth Caste allies intercepted Ork transmissions and passed the results to the Fire Caste. Where the glyphs for Boss, Mek or Dok appeared on a vehicle, Hammerheads and Broadsides concentrated fire on it, slowing the Orks' responses to a crawl. Through O'Shoh's work, the T'au spliced recorded Ork insults into captured networks and timed them so carefully that the clans and tribes started fighting one another. His Kroot ate the Dune Orks' flesh until their own skin could survive the red storms. Stealth Teams picked off the Ork scouts and left whole tribes wandering until they turned on each other. Ambassador Por'O'Kais made sure footage of Brightsword's cadre beating an Ork charge at close range was seen everywhere, and the cautious colony began to enjoy attacking. Before that, Farsight and Commander Dawnstone killed the Arachen Trinity aboard their cocoon-ship in a single Mont'ka strike.

In 997.M41, long after his break with the empire, Hive Fleet Kraken broke into the Enclaves at Vior'los. His Mont'ka doctrine of striking the enemy's leaders did little against a swarm full of leader-beasts. The Earth Caste scientist O'Vesa persuaded him to try Kauyon, the Patient Hunter, and he and seven commanders held a research station. Ob'lotai 9-0, the Broadside piloted by his old team leader's AI engram, picked off the leader-beasts from the roof. The seventh Brightsword cut down battering-ram monsters, and Arra'kon coordinated the flamers of Sha'vastos and Torchstar. The Manta Or'es Por'kauyon then dropped out of the dust to take them all out.

Battles & campaigns

• The Great Reclamation (745.M41): He reconquered the worlds of the Damocles Gulf.
• The Farsight Expedition (760.M41): He retook all but one world, then diverted to fight Orks.
• Arthas Moloch: The Ethereals of his expedition were killed.
• Mu'gulath Bay: He aided Shadowsun during the battle.

Personality

Farsight is honourable, aggressive and haunted. He believes in the Greater Good, but no longer trusts the Ethereals who claim to embody it.

He is a born warrior who prefers to lead from the front, and his aggression is tempered by experience rather than diminished. He cares deeply for his people and the warriors who follow him. His distrust of the Ethereals stems from what he witnessed on Arthas Moloch and from his growing belief that the Greater Good can exist without them.

Weapons & Vehicles

Pulse Rifle, Pulse Carbine & Burst CannonRanged Weapon

The long-range electromagnetic plasma induction rifle of the T'au Fire Caste, outranging and out-punching the Imperial bolter without o…

Railgun & Heavy Rail RifleHeavy Weapon

The terrifying hyper-velocity linear magnetic accelerator of T'au Hammerhead gunships and Broadside Battlesuits, punching solid project…

Power SwordMelee Weapon

A master-crafted blade sheathed in a crackling molecular disruption field that parts ceramite, bone and steel with effortless lethality…

TY7 Devilfish Troop CarrierTransport Vehicle

The sleek, antigravitic skimming armoured transport of the T'au Fire Caste, gliding effortlessly over terrain to deploy Fire Warriors a…

XV8 Crisis BattlesuitsElites · Unit

The iconic jetpack-equipped armoured battlesuits of the T'au Fire Caste, piloted by veteran Shas'ui who drop from Mantas to deliver mob…

XV104 Riptide BattlesuitsHeavy Support · Unit

Towering T'au heavy battlesuits powered by experimental dark-matter Nova Reactors that can outmanoeuvre Imperial walkers and shrug off …

PathfindersFast Attack · Unit

The Fire Caste's forward scouts, whose markerlights paint the targets for every gun in the cadre and who die more often than any other …

Explore all 48 entries in the Weapons & Vehicles armoury.

Connections

Characters (3)

• 
  Aun'Va estranged · T'au Empire

  Aun'Va condemned Farsight's departure.

• 
  Commander Puretide student · T'au Empire

  Farsight learned under Puretide.

• 
  Commander Shadowsun rival · T'au Empire

  Shadowsun replaced Farsight in the eyes of the Ethereals.

Factions

• Farsight Enclaves primary faction
• T'au Empire also affiliated

Related units (6)

XV25 Stealth BattlesuitsXV8 Crisis BattlesuitsXV95 Ghostkeel BattlesuitsVespid StingwingsXV104 Riptide BattlesuitsTX7 Hammerhead Gunship

Some links are thematic parallels (marked "parallel") rather than recorded meetings. See the connections web.

Legacy

Farsight is the most famous renegade of the T'au Empire, a brilliant commander who broke away to found his own enclaves. His enclaves have become a refuge for those who doubt the Ethereals, and his long life and the Dawn Blade have raised uncomfortable questions in T'au society. His relationship with Shadowsun, once a rivalry and now a secret understanding, shapes the politics of the eastern fringe. Farsight's break from the Greater Good raises lasting questions about the Ethereals that T'au lore has never fully answered. Farsight is a hero to his people and the T'au Empire's greatest heretic.

Appearances & sources

• Codex: T'au Empire (several editions)
• Farsight Enclaves supplement
• Farsight: Crisis of Faith (Phil Kelly)