# What does the Warp look like?



## Unknown Soldier (Oct 24, 2008)

I haven't read every book and codex, so I was wondering if there was a definitive description or picture of the Warp?

In some of my recent fanfic, the character described travelling through the Warp thusly -

'He had seen the Warp before and he did not like it. If forced to describe it, he would say that it is like the gateway to hell, an endless tunnel of blood swirling with a trillion faces of tortured souls begging for death, their cries for mercy interspersed with haunting laughter and ferocious growls as daemonic tentacles and devilish hands tried to claw at every passing ship.'

But for all I know, that description could be totally false. Obviously, we've seen warp travel depicted on Star Trek, Babylon 5 and Stargate, so how does the 40k variant differ?

I would really appreciate your thoughts on the matter.


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## Baron Spikey (Mar 26, 2008)

Warp travel in 40K and 'Warp' travel in any other Sci-FI are nothing at all alike.

Warp Travel in Star Trek or going to Hyper Space in Star Wars are just when the ships go faster than the speed of light, the Warp in 40K is a realm that has no consistent description- it's not a red realm with black light or anything like that.
It's a realm of emotion that can't be viewed by an unprotected human as it's madness, emotion and other sensations as a realm, that changes form constantly.


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## Concrete Hero (Jun 9, 2008)

You should read the eye of terror. They get a glimpse of the 'Heart' of the warp in that


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## Khorne's Fist (Jul 18, 2008)

The description of the warp varies from navigator to navigator. In one book, I think in the Inquisition trilogy, the navigator describes the warp as looking like a wind blown field of grass, in another it's like a mass of colours, with a colour denoting a specific current. The general theme seems to be that each individual's brain interprets what they are seeing differently, in a way to make sure that the senses are not overloaded by what they seeing.


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## Ferrus Manus (Apr 28, 2008)

ive read some books, like the Blood Ravens books and the Flight of the Eisenstien where they are in the warp and the warp is like a ruined city with a very confusing sky, you could look at the front cover of The Flight of the Eisenstien.


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## when in doubt shoot! (Oct 19, 2008)

exactly, The warp is a sea of emotions and thoughts that has a sentience for itself, it appears how you want it to, Some people think the warp is actually all in your head, as no two people have seen it the same


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## cooldudeskillz (Jun 7, 2008)

i reckon the warp is just looks like a black hole, but really dark red instead of black and with lighting boltys everywhere and is home to the killer rabbit from the holy grail


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## Ferrus Manus (Apr 28, 2008)

the warp could look like a whole planet, as in there are different regions, seas, citys, and late night pubs (thats were you will find Slaanesh)


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## Deneris (Jul 23, 2008)

From what I've read, the warp is an ever-changing hodge-podge of energy, emotion, and barely-sentient critters (the daemons) that relies on the thoughts of mortals to take form...


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## BlackApostleVilhelm (May 14, 2008)

the warp is a sea of emotions and as such is not something that mortals who have not been graced by its touch can even come close to understand. since it feeds off of the emotions and thoughts of humans and most other races it is seen differently by everyone. in it lie creatures who have intelligence as we know it but that is as far as it goes. they are made of the warp, which is actually another dimension, and so it is difficult for them to coalesce but when they do it is in the shape of the thoughts that they consume. to try and comprehend its vastness will drive one to insanity, which is why navigators are the only ones allowed to look upon and guide their ships. the tenacity and brightlight that is the emperor and the astronomican is like a lighthouse that is a beacon for those lost amongst the sea of emotions and thought that is the warp. 

ehem sorry if that seems a little eccentric lol


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## Unknown Soldier (Oct 24, 2008)

Thank you very much for the replies. Though the only thing I can think of now is Bill and Ted - 'Our heavy metal album covers totally lied to us dude!'

I like the answer that whomever gazes upon the Warp has a different interpretation of it depending on their own perceptions and emotional states. So for Imperium types, it's a vision of hell and for Chaos types, it's the new Disneyland.

I'm not sure about Navigators being the only humans allowed to look at the Warp without going mentals, as there must be a lot of human Chaos worshippers / rogue psykers / Daemon Hunters who've had glimpses into the maelstrom. I'm not saying it won't effect you in any way, but instant gibbering madness can't be the only result.


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## Lord of Rebirth (Jun 7, 2008)

The warp is everything and nothing at once.

You know recently in readin Battle for the Abyss they keep blabbing about how the warp is infinite but if it was it would encompas the "material realm" to since that exists too.


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## Arkaos (Nov 27, 2008)

lord of rebirth said:


> The warp is everything and nothing at once.


hey that was so gonna be my line! but quite simply the warp is chaos, although there are specific areas belonging to the gods, khornes brass fortress, the palace of slaanesh, a kinda jungle for nurgles realm and tzeentch's crystal labryinth (typo there?) tzeentchs domain sounds fun though: a maze where dead ends pop up when you turn your back and the odd chance that the owner might occasionally pull you apart with his wandering thoughts. at the middle of it all is the impossible fortress that changes shape every second... think of the property value!!!


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## Lord of Rebirth (Jun 7, 2008)

I just realized that my argument against the warp being infinite because it doesn't encompass "real space" in it's lack of order could be denied as the warp is chaos and it's fine if it contradicts itself.

Also who is to say "real space" isn't actually part of the warp in some way.

Then also if you know much about chaos theory it is a basic that infinite chaos is impossible as order is formed which could explain that there are various sub-sections of all reality/possibility such as "real space", the "sea of emotions" described in books like Battle for the Abyss, the various realms of the gods and all sorts of other realms and realities that format to any of an infinite possible sets of rules which would even mean the real world which sees the Warhammer 40k universe as some game/fandom is part of it.


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## Ardias26 (Sep 26, 2008)

In the chaos daemons codex it says the warp doesn't look like anything, since there is 'no matter for light to reflect off', the images of the warp are supposed to be created by the viewers mind so really it could 'look' like anything.


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## when in doubt shoot! (Oct 19, 2008)

that's it, well done you understand (made up) advanced spacial physics! :laugh:

The chaos gods, the inhabitants of the warp feed on mortals emotions, khorne: anger, hate slaanesh: desire, lust, greed etc. 

so, it's safe to assume the warp is like a swirling never ending sea of emotions that is what you want it to be. As said, a normal guardsman or imperial citizen would imagine it as a hellish nightmare, like our vision of hell. (lava, towers of skulls, rivers of blood etc.) While for a servant of the chaos gods it could be completely different. 

True, it doesn't encompass real space according to fluff, so it could be possible that the warp is in a deep dark place in everyones mind (or soul) that everyone has their different interpretations of.


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## Cato Sicarius (Feb 21, 2008)

Only a select few know what the Warp truly looks like, and they are those who have been around since before the War in Heaven, when the Old Ones and their creations calshed with the C'tan and the evil of the Necrons.

Before the War, the Warp was a calm place. One could travel through it and look upon it unprotected without going batshit crazy. During the War however, the Old Ones created such beings as the Jokaero, the Eldar and the Orks. All of these creatures have latent psychic ability, and can use this ability in conjunction with the Warp to create energy (what human psykers do). This was done commonly, and so during the War creatures started to form in the Warp. These became Khorne, Nurgle, and Tzeentch, and their respective minions and realms. With the arrival of the Gods of Chaos, the Warp itself started turning Chaotic, and eventually became the twisted place it is in the 41st Millenium. It was not helped by the Eldar creating Slaanesh, in the 31st Millenium. 

Of course their were other Gods which formed in this realm of emotion. The Eldar got thier own Gods, which some believe are the Old Ones themselves, the Orks have Orky feelings, low cunnin' and brute force, which created Gork and Mork*, and lots of other minor Chaos Gods have formed since then, mainly due to humans.

So really the answer is... your view of it it depends on who you are!

*There was a third God, Bork, but he was dropped in an earlier edition of 40k.


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## BlackApostleVilhelm (May 14, 2008)

i am a dark apostle......and it is beautiful............:cray:


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## Col. Schafer (Apr 15, 2008)

Going by what has been said...

I'm a 15 year old and it looks like hell. Sophmore Lit. & Comp.

I'm also a Col. in the IG so it is burning forest pited with rivers of blood and a red sky filled with black stars.

I'm also and Inquisitor so it is nothing at all.

I'm also an ork, and it is an endless batlefield.

Sorry for rambleing.



The Warp looks like what _ It_ wants to is what I always understood. But I could be wrong.


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## with an iron fist (Nov 25, 2008)

The warp is actually the Emperor's Golden Throne, begging to be flushed.

why do you think the Emperor was trying so hard to keep people from casting their lot with "gods"?


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## G_Morgan (Mar 3, 2008)

lord of rebirth said:


> The warp is everything and nothing at once.
> 
> You know recently in readin Battle for the Abyss they keep blabbing about how the warp is infinite but if it was it would encompas the "material realm" to since that exists too.


You are confused as to what infinite means. Infinite does not mean everything. There are an infinite set of numbers between 0 and 1 but not every number is between zero and one.

Infinite merely means endless but you can have several degrees of endless. In fact picking any two different numbers always leaves an infinite set of numbers between them. So the number line has an infinite number of infinities (otherwise known as an uncountable set).

So it is not necessary for the materium to be part of the immaterium because the immaterium is infinite.


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## Dirge Eterna (Apr 30, 2007)

In the Grey Knights series, as well as _Dead Sky, Black Sun_, it mentions the Warp as being a mass of sickly colors, and a single look drives men insane. I'd imagine it to be a fairly disturbing group of crazy-go-nuts colors, like preschool finger painting, but with a mind-pretzeling arrangement of shapes, colors, patterns, and echoes. In layman's terms, Crayolas, in the microwave, on acid.


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## Lupercal's Chosen (May 8, 2008)

The warp can not be looked into by anyone without the psyker taint and the mutation of a warp eye. Even then every Psyker see's it differently some see it as a blend of colours some see it as a mathmatical algorithem others still see it as a piece of music it all depends on how the psykers mind works.

Abbadon Chosen For what LOSING!!!


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