Chaos

 "The nature of Chaos is evil, it mirrors the selfish and misguided doings and wills of the intelligent beings in the real universe the entites also represent every thing thats evil and/or terrible in the world such as plague and death. the predatory entities of Chaos, be they "gods" or daemons, exist because living things generate these crimes. So when the human mind turns to petty and evil thoughts the powers of the Chaos gods grow and coalesce into hideous forms shaped by human lust, greed, anger, and fear."  Chaos is a term used variously to describe a mutating and corrupting force from the Realm of Chaos which manifests in the world as the Winds of Magic; the mortal (whether humans or any other race) and daemonic servants of "Chaos"; the Chaos Gods Tzeentch, Nurgle , Khorne and Slaanesh  and as a broad term for all of these together.

Origins
==

The ways of the Chaos gods are evil, watching with amusement as mortals destroy each other and the world. Chaos has the potential to exist in all realms of the world because of the evil with in motals hearts. There are dark, secretive Chaos cults hidden in the Empire, and there are rumors of Chaos worshipers amongst the Dark Elves. However, the true "Realm of Chaos" exists far to the north above the Chaos Wastes, a dead region of icy desert, mountain, and tundra. In the Chaos Wastes are the citadels and monuments of the proud champions of Chaos, those who have proven their worth to the Chaos gods and have earned their blessing. The wastes echo with the perpetual ringing of battle, as brothers fall on each other as eagerly as they fall on enemies, in the hope that one of the Chaos powers will take notice and raise them up as one of their favorites, bestowing supernatural gifts upon them. No one truly knows of the origins of Chaos in the world. Even the long-lived scholars of the Elves can only speculate as to where the forces of Chaos first came from. War, famine, natural disaster and the destroyer known as time have eroded away nearly all indications of the roots of Chaos. What is known is that in the long distant past, the world of Warhammer was paid a visit by an already ancient star faring race of creatures never met by man. These Old Ones arrived on the world and quickly established two gateways on the world which floated above the northern and southern poles. This gateway was linked to the rest of their transportation network, allowing them nearly instantaneous transportation between gates. Time passed, the gates shattered and sent a cloud of warpstone (a green crystal substance formed from condensed Dark Magic which is a strong mutagen and highly volatile) dust high into the atmosphere, from where it drifted all over the planet, causing horrible mutations and giving birth to many of the frightening creatures in the world today. When the gate shattered, it also tore a hole in the fabric of space, allowing in the chaos energies of the Aethyr, the parallel dimension where the Chaos Gods dwell. The denizens of these deities flooded through the newly formed entrance into this world, no longer regulated by the Old Ones' gate, and began a crusade to take over the world. After centuries of daemonic incursions into the physical plane, the forces of Chaos withdrew to the northern Chaos Wastes, as new races began to arise in the world.Later, the High Elves in the first great and Second Great Chaos Incursion, would set up a system of Menhir Stones around Ulthuan which would serve to drain away the Chaos energy spewing forth from the portals to the Realm of Chaos at the poles, and confine the majority of the unstable chaos energies to the areas around the poles. While this greatly reduced the ability of daemons to appear in any place they pleased, magical energy even while being drained to an acceptable point, still saturates the Warhammer World and daemons are commonly associated with the marches of great Chaos war hosts. See Chaos Gods for details of the 4 Patrons

Northmen
The Chaos-worshiping Northmen who dwell in the lands to the north of the Old World, the Chaos Wastes and Norsca. They are a barbaric, tribal people, who gather themselves into warbands to attack each other and the softer civilized men to the south. Living so close to the Realm of Chaos, there are few who are left untouched by its mark. The tribesmen see their mutations as blessings, proof that the gods are watching over them. It is seen as every warrior’s duty to honour the gods, and every god’s right to reward or destroy according to their divine inclination.

Chaos Cults
The promise of power beyond that of ordinary mortals is a temptation to which many succumb. Cults of Chaos followers - The Enemy Within - spread their insidious worship throughout the Old World and beyond. The Witch Hunters of the Empire do their best to root out the followers of the dark gods among their own kind, but with every passing year the power of Chaos grows. As the forces of Order are assaulted from without and within, it is only a matter of time before Chaos becomes too much to contain. A prominent Chaos Cult is the Cult of Pleasure. Worshipers of Slaanesh who partly caused the Sundering, a civil war of the Elves.

Beastmen
Ever since the coming of Chaos, the chaotic nature of the winds of magic has created many monstrous distorted creatures throughout the world. In the dark depths of the great forests of the Old World many of the lesser Chaos monsters thrive. The most common of these are Beastmen, creatures possessing something of the intelligence and stance of men but with a horned and cloven-hoofed bestial form. Beastmen herds are led by the Gors, who are distinguished by having the largest horns. A few Beastmen have an instinctive, animalistic ability with magic; these are the Bray Shamen. Lesser beastmen who are weaker and who have small, stubby horns are known as Ungors. Other Chaotic creatures who often are found around Beastmen include Minotaurs, Dragon Ogres and the four legged Centigors.

Mutants
Distinct from the race of Beastmen, who have existed since the destruction of the Old One's portals, mutants are normal Humans who have suffered (or have been "blessed") by chaotic mutation. Amongst the followers of the Northern Tribes, such mutation is seen as a sign of import or favor by the Great Powers. In the civilized lands of the Empire, Mutants are rooted out and killed by the zealous followers of Sigmar. Some Mutants manage to eke out a living, either through the support of a loving family or by banding together for protection. Many of these bands, intentionally or not, serve to advance the purposes of the Ruinous Powers.

Daemons
Daemons are creatures which exist as aethyric entities in the Realm of Chaos. In places where there is a high concentration of Chaos energy (magic) they can manifest themselves in mortal plane of the Warhammer World, even going so far as to posses mortal beings, usually humans. Daemons are horrifying creatures and are extremely dangerous, especially when they accompany hosts of Chaos on the warpath. Often Daemons will be dedicated to a particular God, and will take take on the aspects of their deity, the greatest of these are called Greater Daemons, huge monstrosities such as the Bloodthirster and Great Unclean One who sweep all before them. Some daemons, such as Chaos Furies, are bound to no God.

[[Category:C]]