==The Eye as a Refuge==
[[Image:AOTMap9th.jpg|thumb|right|250px|The Eye of Terror and its surroundings in the present setting{{Fn|12}}]]
{{CMS}}The Eye offers a sanctuary to the worst forms of traitors and heretics forced to flee from Imperial justice.{{CMEFn|1}}
{{CMS}}For the [[Chaos Space Marine|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.{{CMEFn|1}}
{{CMS}}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.{{CMEFn|1}}
==The Fall of Cadia==
{{main|Cadian Gate}}
{{CMS}}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.{{CMEFn|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.{{Fn|2}}{{Fn|3}}
Before the [[Cadia#Destruction|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.{{Fn|10}}
{{CMS}}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.{{CMEFn|1}}{{Fn|5}}
{{CMS}}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.{{CMEFn|1}}{{Fn|5}}
{{CMS}}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.{{CMEFn|1}}{{Fn|5}}
==Notable systems and worlds within the Eye of Terror==
