Chaos

Order versus Chaos is a rather fundamental concept, both in reality and in fiction,

but rarely is it so blatantly utilized than in the Warhammer 40K universe,

where a significant faction of hostile forces are literally called the forces of chaos.

Chaos is sometimes conflated with the word evil, but at least in 40K's case it is a bit more primordial than that.

Chaos in 40K covers both the limitless ocean of energy within the alternate warp dimension, as well as the entities created or corrupted

by this energy. This video won't go into too many specifics about the main gods of chaos,

but I want to provide a general overview of such an important part of 40K.

Chaos in a nutshell is change, in its most fundamental form.

It's inherently unpredictable, and does not obey any of our laws of time, space, or physics.

The massive ocean of energy called chaos fills the dimension known as the immaterial,

a turbulent realm that exists parallel to the real dimension. The warp was not always so

turbulent and violent, however, and in ancient times it was more peaceful. It was still certainly

dangerous, but not nearly as corruptive or violent as it is in the 41st millennium.

The ancient race, known as the old ones, managed to build tunnels through the warp,

bypassing the inherent dangers of chaos while skipping across the stars.

The old ones seem to have a far greater understanding of the warp than any modern species, as they also made new species with

inherent connections to the warp, such as the Cork and the Eldar. As time went on, and more and more

sapient creatures came into existence, their emotions,

thoughts, and beliefs manifested in the warp.

These concepts, many of them dark, such as feelings of anger, fear, despair, pride, and so on,

become part of the ever-churning, swirling mass of chaos within the warp.

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