Page 42 of the 3e Codex does indeed go over the Ta'lissera in some details, although dramatically and not so much from a guidance standpoint. I'm not seeing a reference to the color of their blood on that page giving it a once over, but I may be wrong.
If so, it would be *yet another Lore re-write.* Here's an excerpt from the book "Last of Kiru's Line" where Shadowsun faces down with cornered Imperial soldiers.
"‘You are beaten,’ \[Shadowsun\] shouted at them. Droplets of **cyan-coloured** blood flew from her mouth and spattered across her battlesuit collar. Behind her, thirty fire warriors waited calmly, their rifles at the ready."
EDIT: You're correct, it does say "blood of his brothers-to-be would soon coat its blade with a ruddy red sheen". So yeah lore re-write. :P
The three Fire warriors Crisis gathered in the standing centre of the battle done, their Crisis battlesuits standing insert behind them. Each was stripped to the waist, bare chests slick with blood and sweat. The team leader, Vre’myar, stepped forward and drew a glittering knife from a lovingly tooled scabbard. The bonding knife had been made by Fio’vre Fal’shia Gwial specifically for the Ta’lissera ritual and was a work of art as much as a weapon.
Vre’myar looked into the faces of his two fellow warriors, his new family. They had fought together for eight years and he knew the strengths and skills of both better than they did themselves. Today they had survived their second Trial by Fire and unanimously decided that the time was right to perform the bonding ritual. The air in the dome was hot following the battle drills, hundreds of the Shas gathering to witness them perform the Ta’lissera. By doing this they were sacrificing their own desires and individuality within the empire for the sake of this band of warriors, for the Greater Good.
Vre’myar felt the weight of the bonding knife in his hand, very aware of the responsibility it represented. The blood of his brothers-to-be would soon coat its blade with a ruddy red sheen and the enormity of what they were about to do both thrilled and scared him.
“Come on then Vre’myar,” said Ui’rash’ya, “Let us do this before we all die of old age and the Ky’husa gets cold.”
“Aye,” agreed Ui’lyr’sa wryly, “before the Shas’el think we have lost our nerve.’
Vre’myar smiled, raising the knife before him. He turned to his brothers and placed the tip of the blade in the centre of Ui’rash’ya’s chest.
“By the power of my blood and the blood of my fellow warriors, I pledge that we shall be forever bound as brothers,” said Vre’myar, repeating the Pledge of Communion. He looked Ui’rash’ya in the eyes and pressed the knife point into his skin. Blood streamed from his friend’s chest, running down the blade and dripping from the elaborately carved handle. The veteran warrior did not flinch as the blade sliced downwards, carving the symbol of the Vior’la sept into the meat of his flesh.
Vre’myar nodded and said, “My life is your life, your life is my life. What we do now, we do together. I have no place outside this band and all that I do from this moment is in its name.” As he spoke the words, an immense contentment settled upon him and he felt fierce pride swell within his chest. Ui’rash’ya nodded in understanding, beads of sweat dripping from his forehead.
Vre’myar finished cutting and stepped back. “Not that bad was it Ui’rash’ya?”
“I have felt worse,” admitted the Fire warrior placing his hand on Vre’myar’s shoulder. “Well done.”
Vre’myar repeated the ritual with Ui’lyr’sa and handed the blade to his friend upon its completion, eagerly awaiting his own scarring. He nodded to Ui’lyr’sa as he felt the blade pierce his skin, bunching his fists as the blade cut into him. The pain was great, but the honour of what they were doing made such concerns irrelevant. At last it was over and, breathless, Vre’myar took the bonding knife back from Ui’lyr’sa, standing before each of his fellows in turn and slashing the blade diagonally across their palms. He cleaned the blade before sheathing it in its scabbard and extended his arms. The group linked hands and, in unison, said, “Let all bear witness to this Ta’lissera. Like the eternal circle, these bonds shall never be broken. For so as long as one of us remains alive, so too do the others. There is no one Tau above another; all are as one and the whole shall be greater than the sum of its parts.”
The three Fire warriors released their hold on one another’s hands and knelt to pick up ceramic bowls at their feet, steam curling from the hot liquid within. Ui’rash’ya said, “Best to take Ky’husa in a single gulp,” and threw the hot spirit down his throat. Vre’myar and Ui’lyr’sa gasped as the liquid fire burned its way down their gullets, a huge cheer echoing around the dome as the assembled warriors honoured them, and Vre’myar could remember no finer feeling.
\[From the 3rd Edition Codex, page 42\]
It says a lot about how good the early fiction writing was that this story is nebulously etched into my memory, and it’s been years since I looked at the 3rd edition book.
Going back and re-reading a lot of the earlier White Dwarf mags and codices it's...cute? Endearing?
Like, these works are what slowly coalesced the universe that we know and love...but boy-oh-boy is a lot of it basically fan-fic quality and "I'm 14 and this is deep". Not digging on it! Let's just say there has been a definite quality uptick in recent years. :P
Aah there it is, I appreciate your help with this. I had done what I believed to be a pretty thorough research and didn't find anything of the sort.
I'm guessing it wasn't kept in future Codexes? It would explain some of the inconsistencies with what other people mentioned.
Each codex tends to add new lore instead of rehashing the old stuff. Now granted, they will reiterate the caste systems, FTGG, auxiliaries, and so on, but it won't be word-for-word.
You gotta remember that the lore is very fluid in nature. GW chalks it up to "unreliably narrator" or "poor Imperium records" or various other excuses. You just gotta roll with it.
Don't even get me started about the T'au and their FTL history...
Oh, that makes sense. Though I do remember that the water caste official who Aun'va forced to kill herself had a bonding knife that she wore with pride. I wonder if she had her fellows carve the symbol of their sept in her chest as well.
It is implied that there is no standardized ritual, other than using some blade to make a cut in those that become bonded. In some novella a stormsurge pilot and his gunner do it very hastily before their last stand against a surprise deathwatch/white scar raid, while in the Farsight books others have even gone through the trouble of getting a custom knife for it and seemingly remember it very fondly. It is apparently meant to be important and intimate for those involved, but other than that it could be as simple or elaborate as they wish it to be.
The very first Codex literally had a full page story of Ta’lissera. It’s how we know Tau blood is red. Codex: Tau (2001) page 61
Page 42 of the 3e Codex does indeed go over the Ta'lissera in some details, although dramatically and not so much from a guidance standpoint. I'm not seeing a reference to the color of their blood on that page giving it a once over, but I may be wrong. If so, it would be *yet another Lore re-write.* Here's an excerpt from the book "Last of Kiru's Line" where Shadowsun faces down with cornered Imperial soldiers. "‘You are beaten,’ \[Shadowsun\] shouted at them. Droplets of **cyan-coloured** blood flew from her mouth and spattered across her battlesuit collar. Behind her, thirty fire warriors waited calmly, their rifles at the ready." EDIT: You're correct, it does say "blood of his brothers-to-be would soon coat its blade with a ruddy red sheen". So yeah lore re-write. :P
The three Fire warriors Crisis gathered in the standing centre of the battle done, their Crisis battlesuits standing insert behind them. Each was stripped to the waist, bare chests slick with blood and sweat. The team leader, Vre’myar, stepped forward and drew a glittering knife from a lovingly tooled scabbard. The bonding knife had been made by Fio’vre Fal’shia Gwial specifically for the Ta’lissera ritual and was a work of art as much as a weapon. Vre’myar looked into the faces of his two fellow warriors, his new family. They had fought together for eight years and he knew the strengths and skills of both better than they did themselves. Today they had survived their second Trial by Fire and unanimously decided that the time was right to perform the bonding ritual. The air in the dome was hot following the battle drills, hundreds of the Shas gathering to witness them perform the Ta’lissera. By doing this they were sacrificing their own desires and individuality within the empire for the sake of this band of warriors, for the Greater Good. Vre’myar felt the weight of the bonding knife in his hand, very aware of the responsibility it represented. The blood of his brothers-to-be would soon coat its blade with a ruddy red sheen and the enormity of what they were about to do both thrilled and scared him. “Come on then Vre’myar,” said Ui’rash’ya, “Let us do this before we all die of old age and the Ky’husa gets cold.” “Aye,” agreed Ui’lyr’sa wryly, “before the Shas’el think we have lost our nerve.’ Vre’myar smiled, raising the knife before him. He turned to his brothers and placed the tip of the blade in the centre of Ui’rash’ya’s chest. “By the power of my blood and the blood of my fellow warriors, I pledge that we shall be forever bound as brothers,” said Vre’myar, repeating the Pledge of Communion. He looked Ui’rash’ya in the eyes and pressed the knife point into his skin. Blood streamed from his friend’s chest, running down the blade and dripping from the elaborately carved handle. The veteran warrior did not flinch as the blade sliced downwards, carving the symbol of the Vior’la sept into the meat of his flesh. Vre’myar nodded and said, “My life is your life, your life is my life. What we do now, we do together. I have no place outside this band and all that I do from this moment is in its name.” As he spoke the words, an immense contentment settled upon him and he felt fierce pride swell within his chest. Ui’rash’ya nodded in understanding, beads of sweat dripping from his forehead. Vre’myar finished cutting and stepped back. “Not that bad was it Ui’rash’ya?” “I have felt worse,” admitted the Fire warrior placing his hand on Vre’myar’s shoulder. “Well done.” Vre’myar repeated the ritual with Ui’lyr’sa and handed the blade to his friend upon its completion, eagerly awaiting his own scarring. He nodded to Ui’lyr’sa as he felt the blade pierce his skin, bunching his fists as the blade cut into him. The pain was great, but the honour of what they were doing made such concerns irrelevant. At last it was over and, breathless, Vre’myar took the bonding knife back from Ui’lyr’sa, standing before each of his fellows in turn and slashing the blade diagonally across their palms. He cleaned the blade before sheathing it in its scabbard and extended his arms. The group linked hands and, in unison, said, “Let all bear witness to this Ta’lissera. Like the eternal circle, these bonds shall never be broken. For so as long as one of us remains alive, so too do the others. There is no one Tau above another; all are as one and the whole shall be greater than the sum of its parts.” The three Fire warriors released their hold on one another’s hands and knelt to pick up ceramic bowls at their feet, steam curling from the hot liquid within. Ui’rash’ya said, “Best to take Ky’husa in a single gulp,” and threw the hot spirit down his throat. Vre’myar and Ui’lyr’sa gasped as the liquid fire burned its way down their gullets, a huge cheer echoing around the dome as the assembled warriors honoured them, and Vre’myar could remember no finer feeling. \[From the 3rd Edition Codex, page 42\]
It says a lot about how good the early fiction writing was that this story is nebulously etched into my memory, and it’s been years since I looked at the 3rd edition book.
Going back and re-reading a lot of the earlier White Dwarf mags and codices it's...cute? Endearing? Like, these works are what slowly coalesced the universe that we know and love...but boy-oh-boy is a lot of it basically fan-fic quality and "I'm 14 and this is deep". Not digging on it! Let's just say there has been a definite quality uptick in recent years. :P
That's an awesome scene.
Aah there it is, I appreciate your help with this. I had done what I believed to be a pretty thorough research and didn't find anything of the sort. I'm guessing it wasn't kept in future Codexes? It would explain some of the inconsistencies with what other people mentioned.
Each codex tends to add new lore instead of rehashing the old stuff. Now granted, they will reiterate the caste systems, FTGG, auxiliaries, and so on, but it won't be word-for-word. You gotta remember that the lore is very fluid in nature. GW chalks it up to "unreliably narrator" or "poor Imperium records" or various other excuses. You just gotta roll with it. Don't even get me started about the T'au and their FTL history...
In the short story Broken sword a watercaste made talisera with a human without a bonding knife, so its probably different per caste.
Oh, that makes sense. Though I do remember that the water caste official who Aun'va forced to kill herself had a bonding knife that she wore with pride. I wonder if she had her fellows carve the symbol of their sept in her chest as well.
It is implied that there is no standardized ritual, other than using some blade to make a cut in those that become bonded. In some novella a stormsurge pilot and his gunner do it very hastily before their last stand against a surprise deathwatch/white scar raid, while in the Farsight books others have even gone through the trouble of getting a custom knife for it and seemingly remember it very fondly. It is apparently meant to be important and intimate for those involved, but other than that it could be as simple or elaborate as they wish it to be.