Difference between revisions of "Eye of Terror"

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(Updated with information from the 2003 Eye of Terror Worldwide Campaign Event. Also simplified and reformatted celestial regions and objects to make their location relative to the Eye easier.)
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***[[Cadia]] - [[Fortress World]], destroyed in the [[13th Black Crusade]]
 
***[[Cadia]] - [[Fortress World]], destroyed in the [[13th Black Crusade]]
 
*[[Scarus Sector]] — Most populous sector, with no fewer than six [[Hive World]]s
 
*[[Scarus Sector]] — Most populous sector, with no fewer than six [[Hive World]]s
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**[[Scarus System]]
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**[[Thracian Primaris System]]
 
***[[Thracian Primaris]] - Capital - covered in [[Hive cities]]
 
***[[Thracian Primaris]] - Capital - covered in [[Hive cities]]
 
*[[Sentinel Worlds]]
 
*[[Sentinel Worlds]]

Revision as of 00:56, 24 January 2025

Targetdrone.gif This article is about the galactic anomaly. For other uses of Eye of Terror, see Eye of Terror (disambiguation).
The Eye of Terror and its surroundings at the time of the 13th Black Crusade[11]

The Eye of Terror (Ocularis Terribus, Anathema Nonplus Ultra (Ordo Malleus[9]), Ocularis Malifica[16]) is a massive Warp rift, where the Warp co-exists with real space, the largest and most well-known in the galaxy. It is located at the edge of the galaxy, to the north and west of Terra, in the Segmentum Obscurus.[1]

The Eye of Terror is an area of the galaxy where the Warp and realspace overlap. A ship can enter the Warp without a Warp drive simply by crossing its border. The area used to be the domain of the old Eldar empire. When Slaanesh was born, the energy of her birth permanently breached the veil between realspace and the Warp, so now all the planets and stars that existed in that area are now within the Warp. These worlds have become daemon worlds. At the very center of the Eye lies the "byssos"[5], a hole in the fabric of reality through which raw Chaos energy pours out.[6]

Origin

The Eye of Terror is not a natural phenomenon, as it was created by the Old Ones during the War in Heaven, as they fought the Necrons. The Necrons would then seal the Eye of Terror close, but it was later reopened by the psychic shock wave that accompanied the birth of the fourth Chaos God, Slaanesh, during the Fall of the Eldar.[13]

The shock of the birth was so great it could not wholly be contained within the Warp, but spilled out into reality through the minds of the Eldar. Consequently, the Eye covers most of the region of the former Eldar Empire. Other zones of overlap were created, but the Eye is the most significant.[1]

Sometime at the dawn of the Imperium but before the Horus Heresy, the Eye of Terror was discovered by Imperial explorers in what was presumably a fairly remote region of the galaxy, and Imperial scholars named is Cygnus X-1. The Eye didn't come into prominence until it was later discovered by the Word Bearers, who had arrived officially for conquest, but actually on a personal mission for renewed faith, and it was here that they discovered the "Primordial Truth". It would later be visited by the Emperor's Children and the Iron Warriors, intent on an expedition within the eye for the search of the Angel Exterminatus. Before embarking upon this journey, Perturabo had formally named the Eye of Terror.[7][8]

Old star charts all came to map the Eye of Terror with the legend "Abandon hope all ye who enter here".[14a]

The Eye as a Refuge

The Eye of Terror and its surroundings in the present setting[12]

The Eye offers a sanctuary to the worst forms of traitors and heretics forced to flee from Imperial justice.[1]

For the Traitor Legions, the Eye of Terror has been their exile, sanctuary, and safe haven for ten thousand years, from which they strike out at opportune, seemingly random moments. The Eye is also sanctuary for the most heretical renegades, fugitives of Imperial justice, and traitors throughout the galaxy, and all are welcomed as fellow enemies of the Emperor and the Imperium.[1]

Mortals within the Eye are constantly exposed to the effects of Chaos, physically warped so their bodies come to reflect their flawed natures; the Death Guard, for example, worship Nurgle, Chaos God of Decay, so that their bodies become bloated and putrid.[1]

The Fall of Cadia

Main article: Cadian Gate

The Imperial world of Cadia laid nearest to the best-known stable gateway into the Eye; consequently, it is the most fortified and militarized world in the Imperium, the first line of defense against Chaos incursions into real space. It would seem that ships exit through this gateway far more often than they enter it.[1]

Abaddon the Despoiler led an attack through the Eye of Terror during a massive campaign, the 13th Black Crusade, which sealed the fate of Cadia and many other systems.[2][3]

Travel Within the Eye

Before the destruction of Cadia and the formation of the Cicatrix Maledictum, the perimeter of the Eye was thoroughly wracked by Warp storms that effectively formed a barrier that both trapped the Eye's inhabitants and kept out intruders.[10]

Some regions of the Eye are calm enough for ships to travel through in a reasonably safe and predictable way, and an interstellar civilization of sorts (all devoted to Chaos) exists among these regions of the Eye.[1][5]

The only safe and reliable opening in this barrier was the Cadian Gate, and that region was heavily defended and patrolled by the Imperium military.[1][5]

Imperial ships avoid the area around the Eye for thousands of light-years. Ships traveling too close to the Eye can be thrown far off-course - they can also be caught in temporal whirlpools which carry them backwards or forwards in time, or which trap them in limbo forever.[1][5]

Celestial Regions and Objects

The Eye of Terror in the Segmentum Obscurus before the formation of the Great Rift
Galaxy-Rift-Obscurus.jpg
Small cross.pngEye of Terror
The Eye of Terror after the formation of the Great Rift.
The Eye of Terror[17])

Due to the constant threat of raids and incursions, the Imperium is present in one way or another in almost every system within 500 light-years of the Eye. This presence can range from small listening posts to heavily fortified frontier worlds.[2][3][4]

Related Videos

See also

Sources


Chaos
Gods of Chaos Khorne • Tzeentch • Slaanesh • Nurgle • Malice
Chaos Space Marines Traitor Legions • Daemonkin • Armoury • Warbands
Daemons Daemon Prince • Greater Daemon • Lesser Daemon • Daemonic Beasts • Daemon Engines • Daemonic Herald • Chaos Daemon Armoury • Daemon Weapons • Daemonic Gifts
The Lost and the Damned Chaos Cult • Traitor Guard • Mutants • Beastmen • Rogue Psyker • Gellerpox Infected • Armoury
The Traitor Primarchs Alpharius/Omegon • Angron • Fulgrim • Horus • Lorgar • Konrad Curze • Magnus the Red • Mortarion • Perturabo
Notable Characters Abaddon • Ahriman • Blue Scribes • Changeling • Epidemius • Fabius Bile • Horticulous Slimux • Kairos Fateweaver • Ku'Gath • Typhus • Khârn • Lucius • Lufgt Huron • Be'lakor • M'kar • The Masque • Rotigus • Shalaxi Helbane • Skarbrand • Skulltaker • Syll'Esske • Vashtorr
Other Traitor Titan Legions • Chaos Knights • Dark Mechanicum • Chaos Space Fleet • Chaos Vehicles • Chaos Artefacts • Great Rift • Eye of Terror • Maelstrom • Warp
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