The Emperor is one of the most important figures in the world of Warhammer 40,000. Countless legends surround him, but where does this godlike man actually come from? A book from 1990 provides insight.
Anyone familiar with Warhammer 40,000 will have heard of the God-Emperor of Mankind at least once. He is regarded as the most powerful psyker of all time and is worshipped as a god by many; for the Space Marines, he is seen as their father and creator.
It was only through the Emperor that the Imperium of Mankind could even come into existence. He united the warring peoples of Earth and brought together the scattered worlds under one banner.
However, the origins of the Emperor are significantly older – tracing back to prehistoric times and the first humans. The Emperor is actually an ancient shaman. Or more precisely: He is all the shamans that existed back then.
Most of the information in this text comes from the book Realm of Chaos – The Lost and the Damned from 1990. As is often the case with Warhammer, Games Workshop has never confirmed or denied this information again. Therefore, it is still considered a fixed lore by most fans.
The First Psykers of Mankind
When humans were still nomads, some special individuals emerged from the group of hunters and gatherers who could sense a power that permeates every living being: the Warp.
These people were shamans, the first psykers in the world of humans. For centuries, shamans used their abilities to help mankind. The coexistence of man and nature was a harmony.
The Warp itself is the realm of emotions and the plane of existence into which the souls of humans go. Through their connection to the Warp, shamans were virtually immortal: after their death, their souls could bathe in the Warp and eventually return.
However, all of this changed when the hunters and gatherers became settled and the first cultures formed. For from that point on, humanity was different.
The cover image actually shows a modern
psyker from Warhammer 40,000: Darktide.
Humans Create Their Chaos and Thus Their Own Doom
Since the Warp is shaped by the emotions of psychically active beings – like humans – it reflects what these beings feel most strongly. While this was harmony with nature for early humans, it later became greed, desire, and ambition.
From the Warp eventually emerged what you now know as the Realm of Chaos: a power that seeks to annihilate order. Strictly speaking, it is the distorted nature of humanity.
The shamans, as humans with a special connection to the Warp, sensed that something was changing there. Instead of being reborn, their souls were devoured. Dark powers formed – the Chaos Gods.
Out of fear for the future of the entire species, the shamans finally resorted to a drastic measure: a deadly ritual.
Time doesn’t really matter for the Chaos Gods. For our understanding, Khorne, Tzeentch, and Nurgle formed at various times in human history – such as during the plague or the first wars. Slaanesh, the youngest Chaos God, only arose through the arrogance of the Aeldari.
Thousands of Shamans Reborn as One
After a long debate, the shamans finally decided to collectively take their lives with poison, sending all their souls into the Warp at once.
Not quite a year later, around 8,000 BC, the man who would later become the Emperor was supposedly born somewhere in Anatolia. As the “last” shaman and the “new man,” he carried the memories of all the shamans before him and was meant to live unchanged forever.
Today, the Emperor has sat on the golden throne for thousands of years, which keeps his soul alive by sacrificing thousands of psykers daily. From his place, the Emperor keeps the Chaos Gods at bay and prevents them from consuming reality.
The Emperor’s goal was always to create a world in which humanity can live in peace and prosperity. He himself was an observer for most of the time, only intervening when absolutely necessary. However, there are doubts in the community about his altruism: Is the Emperor in Warhammer 40,000 actually “good”? Fans discuss and come to dramatic conclusions
