Chaos
Chaos is the psychic energy that composes Warp space. More generally, "Chaos" refers to anything related to Chaos, including its influence, the Gods of Chaos, their followers, and the Warp. Chaos is almost synonymous with the Warp - the two concepts are inseparable: Chaos is the limitless ocean of spiritual and emotional energy that defines the Warp. It is a great and raw force of change and power, and is both physically and spiritually corrupting. The most gifted mortals, psykers, can utilize this energy, thus making them capable of abilities which transcend the laws of the material universe. However, the malevolent power of Chaos can gradually corrupt a psyker, tainting his mind and body.
The iconic symbol of Chaos is the eight-pointed star, representing the infinite possibilities of Chaos.
The Forces of Chaos
The forces of Chaos are made up of three types:
Daemons
Template:Main Daemons are entities of the Warp, horrific creatures brought to the battlefield by the whims of sorcerers. They are often armed simply with claws that rip and tear the enemy to shreds; some use psychic based powers. The lesser daemons tend to be very poorly armored and fall in great numbers to rapid fire weaponry.
The Lost and the Damned
Template:Main The Lost and the Damned are a broad range of renegades and mutants, including degenerated humans and mutants of the Daemon Worlds and renegade Imperial Guardsmen. They are also often poorly armored but come in vast numbers.
Chaos Space Marines
Template:Main The Chaos Space Marines are those who fell under the sway of Warmaster Horus and rebelled against the Emperor in an attempt to bring the material galaxy under the control of Chaos. A full nine legions left the side of the Emperor and joined Chaos, some choosing specific deities to worship while others went to Chaos Undivided.
The Gods of Chaos
There are four great Powers of Chaos. Each are given form and fed by the emotions manifested by sentient beings in the material universe.
The Chaos Powers and the emotions that gave rise to them:
- Khorne is born of hate and rage.
- Nurgle is born of despair and fear of death.3
- Slaanesh is born of lust and hedonism.
- Tzeentch is born of ambition, hope, and the desire for change.
Ancient History
At the dawn of time, the Old Ones took some of the primitive races, guiding their development to suit a specific purpose. The Warp at this time was not the hostile place it was in later ages. Once the Necrons arose, the Old Ones created races to battle the threat they posed, creating races with stronger ties to the Warp, giving them psychic power to turn the tide against the Necrons. One of these races was the Eldar.
Just before the birth of the Emperor, three of the Chaos Gods, Khorne, Tzeentch, and Nurgle had already begun to take form in the Warp, although it would take until the end of Earth's Middle Ages for them to fully awaken. Slaanesh had not awoken until around M29, marking the end of the Eldar Empire and the end of the Age of Strife, as well as the beginning of the Great Crusade and the rise of the Imperium.
The rise of Chaos and the first three Chaos Gods, as described, seems to correspond to the development to humanity, implying that Mankind, of all the sentient species, were primarily responsible for the disharmonizing of the Warp and the birth of the first three Chaos Gods. Although, without question, all sentient species played a role in the birth of the Chaos Gods, it seems that mankind has an especially close relationship with Chaos, or that mankind's nature is particularly aggressive and unstable.2
Sources
- 1:Realm of Chaos: Slaves to Darkness (1988), p. 213
- 2:Realm of Chaos: The Lost and the Damned (1990), p. 176
- 3: Codex: Chaos Space Marines (4th Edition) (2007), p. 10
The Forces of Chaos are a considerable menace, and in some rare cases the Imperium of Man and the Eldar have considered them enough of menace to temporarily ally against them. All Chaos forces attempt to advance the agendas of their particular gods, making them enemies of virtually all other civilizations, but this also makes them prone to fighting among themselves. Some Chaos forces will even attack anything they come across for the sheer sake of causing destruction. Increasing their threat, they can corrupt beings of any species they encounter to join them.
Although Chaos Space Marines wield weapons that are out of date compared to what the Imperium uses, the technological stagnation of the Imperium generally negates any potential gap in equipment, and some of the older equipment used by Chaos forces is in fact technologically superior to new equipment produced by the Imperium.
In Debates
Chaos frequently appears in debates as a factor that would pose a danger if if an outside faction were to invade the Imperium.