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==Warp travel==
 
==Warp travel==
The warp is an important factor in the survival of the human race. Spacecraft, capable of voyaging thousands of light years in a matter of days, travel across the warp. By such fragile means Humanity is bound together in a single Imperium, led by the [[Emperor]]. The Emperor’s will may be mighty, but his reach is long only because warpspace may be crossed by his fleets.<sup>1</sup>
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{{main|warp jump}}
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The warp is an important factor in the survival of the human race. Spacecraft, capable of voyaging thousands of light years in a matter of days, travel across the warp. By such fragile means Humanity is bound together in a single Imperium, led by the [[Emperor]]. The Emperor's will may be mighty, but his reach is long only because warpspace may be crossed by his fleets.<sup>1</sup>
  
 
A spaceship may enter the warp through the use of [[warp drive]]s. This is the means by which space craft effectively travel faster than the speed of light. This is achieved because warp space is a domain of pure energy, where spacecraft can navigate between streams, as in an ocean. Time also proceeds a great deal slower in the warp than in the material universe, creating a form of stasis. While this solution is effective, it is far from perfect.  
 
A spaceship may enter the warp through the use of [[warp drive]]s. This is the means by which space craft effectively travel faster than the speed of light. This is achieved because warp space is a domain of pure energy, where spacecraft can navigate between streams, as in an ocean. Time also proceeds a great deal slower in the warp than in the material universe, creating a form of stasis. While this solution is effective, it is far from perfect.  
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==Warp entities==
 
==Warp entities==
The warp is utterly hostile and home to many creatures, many of which are hostile to foreign objects from the material universe. Ships travelling in the warp are shielded against attacks from these creatures. Without these [[Warp drive#Gellar Field|shields]] travelers through the warp would be consumed by daemons.
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The warp, though utterly hostile to creatures of the material realm, is home to its own form of life. These are often voracious entities which are drawn to the psychic emanations of mortals of real space - these creatures include the [[Vampyre]], [[Psychneuein]], [[Astral Spectre]], [[Enslaver]], and most powerful of all, the [[daemon|Daemons of Chaos]]. At times these creatures may enter the material universe through areas vulnerable to intrusion, such regions where the space of warp and reality have intermingled and become inseparable, or most insidiously through the mind of an unprotected [[psyker|psychic creature]].
  
The warp is also home to the four [[Gods of Chaos]]: [[Khorne]], [[Slaanesh]], [[Tzeentch]], and [[Nurgle]].
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Ships travelling in the warp are shielded against attacks from these creatures. Without these [[Warp drive#Gellar Field|shields]] travelers through the warp would be consumed by daemons.
  
Dangers of the warp are not limited to demonic creatures, those who spend extended periods in the warp are subjugated to horrible mutations and disease. Also a ship and its crew could emerge from the warp corrupted by the powers of chaos.
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The warp is also the realm of the four [[Gods of Chaos]]: [[Khorne]], [[Slaanesh]], [[Tzeentch]], and [[Nurgle]].
  
 
==Related articles==
 
==Related articles==
*[[Warp drive]]
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*[[Chaos]]
*[[Warp Jump]]
 
  
 
==Sources==
 
==Sources==

Revision as of 11:04, 13 May 2009

The Realm of Chaos

The Warp is a psychic dimension parallel to real space. It is known by many names: warp space, the Immaterium, the Empyrean, the Ether, the Sea of Souls, and also as the Realm of Chaos.

Warpspace is a dimension of random energy known as Chaos. It is the domain of the Chaos Gods. The warp is without form and with its own fluid laws of time and space. Its energies are in constant turmoil, subject to endless disturbances.

Warp travel

Main article: warp jump

The warp is an important factor in the survival of the human race. Spacecraft, capable of voyaging thousands of light years in a matter of days, travel across the warp. By such fragile means Humanity is bound together in a single Imperium, led by the Emperor. The Emperor's will may be mighty, but his reach is long only because warpspace may be crossed by his fleets.1

A spaceship may enter the warp through the use of warp drives. This is the means by which space craft effectively travel faster than the speed of light. This is achieved because warp space is a domain of pure energy, where spacecraft can navigate between streams, as in an ocean. Time also proceeds a great deal slower in the warp than in the material universe, creating a form of stasis. While this solution is effective, it is far from perfect.

Long-distance journeys take months or even years, and the timing itself is unpredictable due to the very nature of the warp.

Warp storms

The Warp is also far from being a safe place to travel through. Great currents and storms can blow starships into uncharted areas of the galaxy and make travel through certain regions impossible due to warp storms which can last for centuries. Ships could find themselves trapped inside the warp, a terrible fate for its passengers as they become playthings for the dark creatures that inhabit that diabolical realm. Sometimes a ship will emerge from the warp centuries after they left yet only a day having passed onboard, while many more just vanish without a trace.

Warp entities

The warp, though utterly hostile to creatures of the material realm, is home to its own form of life. These are often voracious entities which are drawn to the psychic emanations of mortals of real space - these creatures include the Vampyre, Psychneuein, Astral Spectre, Enslaver, and most powerful of all, the Daemons of Chaos. At times these creatures may enter the material universe through areas vulnerable to intrusion, such regions where the space of warp and reality have intermingled and become inseparable, or most insidiously through the mind of an unprotected psychic creature.

Ships travelling in the warp are shielded against attacks from these creatures. Without these shields travelers through the warp would be consumed by daemons.

The warp is also the realm of the four Gods of Chaos: Khorne, Slaanesh, Tzeentch, and Nurgle.

Related articles

Sources