Realm of Chaos

The Realm of Chaos is the realm of the Dark Gods an nightmarish landscape whose trespassers are devoured, grotesquely transformed or damned for all eternity.^[1]

It's also known as the immaterium, the spirit world, the aethyr and the warp, is another dimension - a separate reality from the physical dimension of the Warhammer World which is intrinsically linked to the mortal, material world. It is the source of all magic and within, the physical laws of our universe do not apply.^{Needs Citation}

The nature of the Realm of Chaos

Within the Realm of Chaos, the physical rules of the material world, such as space, time and gravity, do not apply. It is an ever-changing dimension of pure magic that lacks the order and consistency of our universe, and indeed is the source of all magical powers in Warhammer Fantasy. The Realm of Chaos is home to many Gods, daemons, spirits and other magical entities. At the poles of the Warhammer World, there are permanent rifts to the Realm of Chaos which constantly spew raw magic (the "matter" of that dimension) into our world, warping and changing our reality.^{Needs Citation}

The Elves describe the Realm of Chaos as being separated from the physical world by a "veil". This veil can be weakened in certain magically-saturated places in the world, and at various times (such as geheimensnacht and hexensnacht). It can also be torn asunder creating rifts to the Realm of Chaos through which magical energy, daemons and such can pass.^{Needs Citation}

Even when the veil is strong, however, the thoughts and emotions of mortal creatures can influence the warp, creating eddies and tides in the magical energy. Most mortal creatures have an immortal magical soul within the Realm of Chaos. This soul is typically anchored to their physical body during life, but floats free upon death and is then vulnerable to being preyed upon by malevolent . To avoid their souls being eaten by Slaanesh, the Wood Elves and High Elves bind their souls to the physical world in the form of magical trees (The Weave) and waystones, respectively. Other Elves may pray to Ereth Khial to take their souls, stealing them from Slaanesh. Humans from The Empire pray to Sigmar, Morr and other gods to protect their souls upon death. Particularly powerful souls able to influence the warp to a great degree glow brightly.^{Needs Citation}

The most famous inhabitants of the Realm of Chaos are Gods and Daemons. These entities are a form of coalesced magical energy that has gained consciousness and self awareness. The most famous of these are the Chaos Gods: Khorne, Tzeentch, Nurgle and Slaanesh. Each of these is fuelled by a primal emotion/sensation experienced by mortals. For instance as mortals experience anger, it changes the magical energy of the Realm of Chaos and feeds the God Khorne, who grows stronger. Daemons are best thought of as a fragment of their God, with the more powerful Daemons being larger fragments.^{Needs Citation}

It is important to realise however that not all Gods in Warhammer actually exist in the Realm of Chaos. Some are merely objects in the physical world which are worshipped, such as the Great Maw and the Fire Mouth. Others Gods have entered the physical world in physical bodies and remain here still. Indeed, it is also possible for mortals to cross into the Realm of Chaos physically (ie: their physical mortal bodies enter the other dimension) by travelling through a rift. This is what Chaos Warriors do, returning with their Chaos Armour. In addition, mortals may be "blessed" by the Chaos Gods and actually be transformed into a daemon. In 1460 IC, Marius Hollsecher crossed physically into the Realm of Chaos and returned to write the Liber Malefic. Some who do this may become Gods themselves, such as Sigmar.^{Needs Citation}

Locations

Khorne's Domain

The kingdom of Khorne is an unending battle field of brass and blood, and the largest in the Realm of Chaos. It is a hellish land of wastelands stained with blood, bone-strewn plains and rage-spewing volcanoes. The landscape is scarred by craters created by the fall of titanic combatants that serve as monuments to their fervour. In this endless fight pit of desolation the greatest warriors, mortal and daemon alike are constantly tested.^[2a][5]

The center of power of Khorne's domain is his fortress the Brass Citadel.^[2a][5]

Varanspire

Varanspire is the fortress of Archaon located in the Realm of Chaos and is linked to the nexus of gateways connecting the Mortal Realms known as the Eightpoints. It's so large it spans the Mortal Realms with spiked walls, jagged spire, towers and keeps reaching into horror-choked skies.^[3]

Blight City

When the Great Horned Rat ascended to the pantheon of the Dark Gods the sprawling skaven capital a verminopolis called the Blight City was merged into the Realm of Chaos.^[2b][6]

The skaven used arcane machinery to try to expand their Under-Empire, but the machines went awry and the resulting implosion sank the city to the edges of the Realm of Chaos. From this position that straddled reality the skaven were able to gnaw tunnels into the Mortal Realms and beyond.^[2b]

Tzeentch's Domain

At the heart of Tzeentch's domain lies the Crystal Labyrinth of Tzeentch.^[4]

Sources

• 1: White Dwarf Issue 75 4 July 2015, The Nine Realms
• 2: Warhammer: Age of Sigmar
  • 2a: The Blood God's Domain
  • 2b: The Threat Below
• 3: The Realmgate Wars: Call of Archaon 2: Eye of the Storm by Rob Sanders
• 4: Lord of the Cosmic Gate by Gav Thorpe.
• 5: Age of Sigmar faction guide.
• 6: Age of Sigmar: Core Book (2nd Edition) - Nagash's Ire, pg. 66-71