The War in Heaven was a galaxy-spanning war fought around sixty million years before the 41st Millennium. The Necrontyr (later the Necrons), backed by the C’tan, fought the Old Ones and their created client races. It’s the deep backstory that explains why the Necrons exist, where the Eldar came from, and why the warp is so dangerous.
What started it
The Necrontyr were an advanced but short-lived species living under a harsh sun. When they met the Old Ones, an immortal race that already dominated the galaxy, the Necrontyr grew bitter. The Old Ones wouldn’t share the secret of their long lives.
The Necrontyr ruling council, the Triarch, also needed something to unite their people after the Wars of Secession. A common enemy was exactly that. So they attacked the Old Ones and kicked off a war that would outlast their own civilisation.
How the war actually went
It went badly at first. The Old Ones had the Webway, better tactics and seemingly endless resources. The Necrontyr were pushed back to the Halo Stars on the galactic edge, little more than a nuisance.
Then the C’tan entered the picture. These star gods were given bodies of living metal by the Necrontyr, and an alliance followed. That alliance changed everything, though the price was biotransference: the Necrontyr traded their flesh for immortal metal bodies and effectively became the Necrons.
The Old Ones responded by creating or uplifting client races to fight for them. The Eldar, Krork, Jokaero, K’nib and Rashan were among them, and these ‘young races’ did serious damage.
How it ended
The Old Ones were destroyed, but the Necrons’ victory was pyrrhic. Countless trillions died, and the war’s psychic fallout let the Enslaver Plague loose on the galaxy. That plague, plus the C’tan’s betrayal and the Necrons turning on their own gods, shattered the Necron empire.
The surviving Necrons went into stasis and slept for millions of years. The Eldar inherited the galaxy and eventually fell into the hedonism that birthed Slaanesh. The Krork devolved into the Orks. So the War in Heaven is the origin point for most of the big players in modern 40k.
Why it matters in 40k
It’s the reason the warp is a nightmare. The war’s death and psychic turmoil stirred the immaterium into something hostile, and the Enslaver Plague showed how bad that could get.
It also explains Necron motivation. They’re more than ancient robots, they’re a species that lost everything to win a war and woke up to find their enemies’ children running the place.
One thing to watch out for: the Eldar have their own mythic ‘War in Heaven’ story, which isn’t the same event. The Necron version is the historical one.
Key facts
- Fought roughly 65-60 million years before the 41st Millennium.
- Necrontyr and C’tan versus the Old Ones and their created races.
- The Old Ones were destroyed, but the Necrons’ victory came at a massive cost.
- The Enslaver Plague and the C’tan’s betrayal shattered the Necron empire after the war.
- The Eldar’s rise, the Orks’ origin and the warp’s hostility all trace back to this war.
- The Eldar have a separate mythic conflict with the same name, which isn’t the same event.
FAQ
When was the War in Heaven?
Roughly 65 to 60 million years before the 41st Millennium, so long before the Imperium, the Emperor, or even humanity existed.
Who fought in the War in Heaven?
The Necrontyr (later Necrons) and their C’tan allies against the Old Ones and their client races, which included the Eldar, Krork, Jokaero, K’nib and Rashan.
Did the Necrons win the War in Heaven?
Technically yes, the Old Ones were destroyed. But it was a pyrrhic victory, the Enslaver Plague and the C’tan’s betrayal left the Necrons ruined, and they went into stasis.
Is the Eldar War in Heaven the same thing?
No. The Eldar have a separate mythic conflict also called the War in Heaven. The Necron version is the historical war against the Old Ones.