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Adeptus Arbites - Arbitrator: Arbitrators are guardians of order and the rule of law within the Imperium. Implacable, unrelenting, and nigh-on impossible to kill; they are the Emperor's justice manifest.They are the most common rank of Arbitrator an ordinary Imperial citizen will come into contact with, usually to their misfortune if they have broken the law. |
Adeptus Arbites - Regulator: Regulators are Arbitrators who specifically take the law to the known criminal underworld of a city or world, specially trained to hold their own against any who challenge the Emperor's law. |
Adeptus Arbites - Enforcer: An Enforcer is an Arbitrator who is taught how to keep order in the most desperate situations like riots and other civil disturbances, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with their fellow Arbitrators. They should not be confused with the local planetary law enforcement officers who are called by the general term "Enforcers." |
Adeptus Arbites - Trooper: The most junior rank within the Adeptus Arbites hierarchy, a Trooper is drilled in combat and their legal and law enforcement duties to the Imperium. They are stout of heart and eager to enforce the Emperor's law. |
Adeptus Arbites - Other Arbites Specialists: Specialists are those Arbitrators of various rank who have been trained in the functional methods and skills of particular specialised disciplines that enhance the mission of the Adeptus Arbites. |
Adeptus Arbites - Arbitrator Detectives: Arbitrator Detectives, often bearing the rank of Investigator, spend the most time in the field of any of the Arbites, usually under deep cover as they seek to root out particularly egregious criminal conspiracies or even heretical taint.A rare few Detectives may be psykers. |
Adeptus Arbites - Chasteners: A Chastener is a specialised Arbites agent found in the Precincts of worlds in the Calixis Sector. The task of the Chastener is to interrogate prisoners in the Arbites Precinct House by any means they see as necessary, including artful forms of mental and physical torture.Treatment at the hands of these men and women usually ends in death, although a death in which one is absolved of one's sins against the God-Emperor, provided one confesses.Chasteners are often trained in the interrogative arts by the senior Inquisition agents known as Interrogators. |
Adeptus Arbites - Chaplains: The Chaplains of the Arbites are the spiritual overseers of the Adeptus Arbites who are also considered members of the Ecclesiarchy as well as the Arbites, like other clergy of the Imperial Cult.A number of Chaplains are always to be found in Arbites installations. |
Adeptus Arbites - Cyber-mastiff Handler: Cyber-Mastiffs are the sniffer dogs of the Adeptus Arbites. These cybernetic animals form their own squads, consisting of a paired Cyber-Mastiff and its handler, but there are no specifics as to how many pairs form a squad.Cyber-Mastiffs are often employed to sniff out any hostiles that might have hidden themselves in the wake of an Arbites advance, but are still fully capable of defending themselves and their handlers. They are controlled by verbal commands from whoever is paired up with them, and are keyed to their owners' voices/smells to prevent enemies from giving them counter-acting commands.Cyber-Mastiffs can be biological animals or purely mechanical creations, though many are actually normal canines who have received some form of cybernetic upgrade from the Adeptus Mechanicus. |
Adeptus Arbites - Planetary Enforcers: Arbitrators are not, typically, concerned with everyday crimes, such as murder or theft. These are the purview of the colloquially named Enforcers (known locally by as many names as there are planets in the Imperium).These native planetary Enforcers often mimic the Arbites in appearance, but their local ties and often less rigorous standards mean that they are far more susceptible to corruption. The objectives of local Enforcers and Imperial Arbitrators often overlap, and the two work in conjunction when it is mutually beneficial.However, there are also occasions when they come into direct conflict. While the effort put into maintaining this justice varies greatly between one planet and another, the individual planetary governors are charged with keeping the peace on their world.The justice (or lack thereof) on a planet falls to the Enforcers of that planet's law, who may find themselves working under the Arbitrators during an investigation, or indeed being trained by them.Of course, these lines occasionally blur. When powerful men and women, such as Ecclesiarchical leaders, Inquisitors, or even Rogue Traders, pull strings or demand the services of particularly skilled Arbitrators or Enforcers, the distinction can become hazy or non-existent. |
Adeptus Arbites - Mortiurge: A Mortiurge is an Arbitrator who takes on the role of a sanctioned killer rather than a servant of the law, but their presence within the Adeptus Arbites is considered by most a necessary evil.These specialised agents stand out from the ranks of the cold-blooded killers of the feared Arbites Castigation Detachments due to their particular skill and callous dedication to their lethal duty. These individuals are specially trained to operate independently both as snipers and close-quarter gunfighters.A Mortiurge operates alone, singled out from their fellows by their differences in purpose and the blood on their hands. In truth little more than judicially-recognised assassins, Mortiurges are often also employed to keep other law-enforcers in check when the need arises.As such, these singular killers are often shunned by their colleagues and quickly learn to keep their distance from other Arbitrators, lest one day they be called on to slaughter a friend and ally. |
Adeptus Arbites - Suffering Marshal: An Arbitrator rank found only on the harsh and brutal world of Iocanthos in the Calixis Sector, a Suffering Marshal is a stalwart and resourceful agent of the Arbites assigned to track down skilled fugitives who flee to Iocanthos to escape Imperial Law.These lone operatives must remain resolute in their duties, whose dedication to the Imperium and its laws drive them on, alone, for as long as it takes to catch those who would jeopardise the planet's chief export of Ghostfire, a crop used to make combat drugs.Suffering Marshals are given a great deal of personal discretion in so far as how they go about their duties, a necessity of their work, but one that many more traditional Arbites consider to be dangerous. While each Marshal is called upon sooner or later to track down specific fugitives and deliver righteous punishment, it is also their duty to know intimately the frontiers in which these criminals will eventually try to hide.They are free to travel the planet, with massive banners to signal their position to the locals. Called "Flags" by many because of their identifying banners, local settlements and tribes will flock to the Marshal for judgement in tribal affairs.In this way, these solitary agents of the Adeptus Arbites become experts on the customs, environments, and populations of dozens of frontier outposts and locales, and are adept at learning new mores and cultures quickly. |
Adeptus Arbites - Verispex Adept: A Verispex Adept is an agent of the Adeptus Arbites on the world of Scintilla in the Calixis Sector, trained by the Inquisition in a variety of detection arts. It is the Verispex who uses their own immense knowledge, both learned and implanted, to follow the minute traces of physical evidence left by even the most careful suspect who has transgressed Imperial Law.Due to the extreme investment the Adeptus Arbites and the Ordos of the Inquisition must make in order to train a single Verispex, these scholarly agents are highly valued and often kept far from the front line of Imperial law-keeping. This is, however, not always a possibility.Whenever a Verispex Adept is sent into the field, they are accompanied by an Inquisitor or a Judge's most capable retainers. Arbites Verispex Squads are the Imperium's equivalent to real world police forensic crime scene investigation teams. |
Adeptus Arbites - Arbitrator Squads: A standard Arbites Patrol Group or Squad will either consist of five, ten, fifteen or twenty Arbitrators, led by a squad leader (included in the number of the squad, and usually called a "Proctor") and armed with Shotguns, Suppression Shields and Power Mauls, as well as an array of grenades (Frag, Krak, Smoke, Blind, and several other types, depending on the situation).Arbitrators are trained to intermingle with other squads in the event of casualties, meaning that even if one squad loses several members, it can easily disperse to fill the gaps in nearby units, or fall back for reinforcements and resupply before plunging back into the fighting once more.Traditionally, larger squads of fifteen to twenty Arbitrators are only used in extended combat actions; where greater numbers are needed for tougher jobs such as storming a gatehouse or defending a vital area. In serious attacks, Shock Troop Squads (Arbitrators trained in paramilitary techniques to break enemy positions), organised into units of ten, will lead the way.Although these grim-faced men and women are equipped in exactly the same way as the standard Arbites Patrol Squads (albeit with larger grenade and ammunition stores, since they cannot be expected to fall back and restock as frequently as their more mundane counterparts) they probably receive extra training, as they are considered the elite troops of an Arbites Precinct, similar to real-world SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) teams.Accordingly, both the Adeptus Arbites and many local planetary Enforcer cadres have need of hardened men and women whose talent lies in dealing death and summary execution rather than upholding the law or maintaining order.These troopers make up the infamous Kill Squads under the direct jurisdiction of the local Imperial Commander and are used to guarantee their power; they also form the feared Arbites Castigation Detachments tasked to deliver the Emperor's wrath on the recidivist and those who would contravene high Imperial Law without fear or favour. |
Adeptus Arbites - Wargear: The closest real life equivalent of the Adeptus Arbites -- disregarding the Arbitrator's right in Imperial Law to suspend habeas corpus and serve as judge, jury and executioner -- is an American police SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) team or a national paramilitary force such as the Spanish GEO or French GIGN, and their equipment reflects this homage.Often operating in dense urban environments, Arbites are equipped with combat shotguns and bolters with Executioner rounds; this is a type of special bolt ammunition with homing capabilities.They are also generally armed with Shock Mauls for melee combat, Electro-Net launchers and pulse-charged bolas for capturing perpetrators alive, grapplehooks and stingers, and escorted by cybernetically-enhanced Cyber-Mastiffs for hunting hidden lawbreakers.For protection, Arbitrators wear black Carapace Armour with their signature jaw-exposing helmets. Arbites make use of Combat Bikes for patrols and Repressor armoured personnel carriers, a variant of the Space Marines' Rhino, for riot response and patrols in violent urban areas, as well as heavier tanks such as the Leman Russ in true combat situations such as a rebellion or uprising.However, in such extreme circumstances the Arbitrators are almost always required to call in true Imperial military forces like the Astra Militarum or the Space Marines.Commonly utilised wargear for the Adeptus Arbites includes the following: |
Adeptus Arbites - Shock Mauls: Shock Weapons are designed to be generally non-lethal, assaulting the victim with incapacitating force through electrical shocks released on impact.As Shock Weapons have little or no destructive impact on flesh other than minor electrical burn marks, they are useful for crowd control and "encouraging" workers such as shipboard press gangs or other forced labour.A Shock Maul (also called a Power Maul) resembles a club surrounded in an electrical energy field which disrupts the surface of solid matter. The depth of the field can be adjusted to bash a hole through a wall or merely administer an irresistible knock-out blow to subdue a victim.Common variants utilised by Adeptus Arbites include:Agni Pattern Power Maul - A relatively small and inexpensively manufactured model of Power Maul, this weapon is weighted towards the hilt, and as such is regarded by some Power Weapon connoisseurs as somewhat graceless. It is common in "second line" precincts (as they are locally known) where trouble is not particularly expected, or among vehicle crews who value its handy proportions. Like all true Power Mauls, it has energy settings which can be adjusted to the circumstances.Cyclopea Pattern Power Maul - A huge and intimidating two-handed weapon unique to the Calixis Sector, this Power Maul contains a monstrously overcharged disruption field which actively shatters the bonds between the molecules contained within items it strikes. Resembling a feudal mace, this maul has only one power setting: maximal. Potent enough to crush groundcars or send shattered opponents flying dozens of feet with a single stroke, this weapon is reserved for the most intense riots. It is designed to awe and terrorise the enemies of the Adeptus Arbites, and to send entire mobs cowering before the user.Lathe Pattern Power Maul - A light, slender, and elegant model of Power Maul, this unusual weapon (crafted only on demand in the Calixis Sector) has a spiked handguard and a long, straight, un-weighted haft. It must be handled more like a sword than a club, which some users find frustrating, and critics have labelled the weapon fussy and difficult to master. However, the Arbitrators manning the Precinct Fortresses of the Lathe Worlds find that the slender profile is highly effective in the dense corridors of the manufactoria. Those who take the time to familiarise themselves with the pattern's idiosyncrasies declare it one of the finest examples of a Power Maul ever made. The apparent fragility of the design is misleading, and the versatile power field is more than capable of inflicting the same damage against opponents as models with a more brutal heft.Ultima Pattern Arbites Power Maul - This pattern of Power Maul is a versatile, one-handed weapon with two power settings. At its low setting, the maul's head delivers an electrical shock powerful enough to stun (and sometimes kill) its targets, just like a regular Shock Maul. At the high setting however, the energy forms a crackling power field that can sunder steel, armour, and flesh. The Power Maul of the Adeptus Arbites is as much a symbol of Imperial authority as it is a weapon, and one that is seared into the minds of petty criminals and serious recidivists alike. While rank-and-file Arbitrators make do with simple Shock Mauls, veteran Proctors or the feared Judges prefer to wield the far more impressive Ultima Pattern Power Maul. |
Adeptus Arbites - Shotguns: The Shotgun is an ancient Imperial weapon, much the same as the Heavy Stubber, which fires solid slugs that burst into submunitions to spread out over a wider area.The Adeptus Arbites utilise the shotgun for crowd control and urban conditions and have developed special "Executioner" shells for them:Vox Legi-Pattern Arbites Combat Shotgun - The primary weapon of the Adeptus Arbites is the Combat Shotgun. It is valued for its stopping power, simplicity, reliability, and for its ability to intimidate. Even the most dusty, ancient Judge haunting the Halls of Judgement on Terra will have cut his teeth on the brutally effective shotgun drills which form the foundation of all Arbites combat training. A large variety of different shotgun patterns are used in different Arbites Precinct Fortresses across the galaxy, depending upon the proximity of the local Forge Worlds. The Vox Legi-Pattern is particularly widespread amongst the Arbitrators of the Periphery Sub-sector, and is broadly typical of the weapons favoured by the Arbitrators of the Calixis Sector. Effectively a large-bore, locally manufactured version of the Shotgun designs used by many planetary Enforcers, the Vox Legi is a devastating and adaptable weapon that fires shotgun shells nearly the size of those employed by the Adeptus Astartes. The increased size of the weapon reduces its ammunition capacity compared to that of other shotguns, but it still remains more powerful and adaptable than a standard shotgun. Most patrolling Arbitrators take advantage of this flexibility by carrying a variety of shotgun shell types so that they can employ different tactical options. Over-engineered by a considerable margin, the weapon is also perfectly capable of being used as a large club -- indeed, it is expressly designed with this secondary purpose in mind. It is also designed for maximum psychological impact, with a very audible pump action (standard Arbites riot training makes use of this). The sound of a hundred Arbitrators simultaneously chambering their weapons has ended countless riots in a single instant over the millennia.Executioner Shotgun Shells - These rare and specialised shells (whose use is often limited to the upper echelons such as Judges and important Castigators and Mortiurges of the Adeptus Arbites) contain miniaturised propulsion and stabilisation systems allowing the shell to lock on and track its target. The mechanisms that achieve this are little understood and extremely hard to replicate, and so remain within the purview of those Magos-Munitorium that provide the Arbites with their sanctioned and ordained arms. |
Adeptus Arbites - Ranged Weapons: The Adeptus Arbites are a paramilitary force, and as such employ a vast variety of ranged weapons. The amount of military grade equipment they possess is infamous, and a constant warning to any rebellious planetary governor. The armouries of most hive city Precincts are capable of equipping an army ten times the size of the actual Arbites complement within their walls, or of sustaining a siege for solar months on end.Bulldog Heavy Stubber - Although mistakenly regarded by many as a pure police force, it is far from unknown for the Arbites to engage in suppressing what are, in effect, full blown wars between opposing national, or even planetary, forces. As such, they have access to powerful heavy weapons to ensure that they are able to fulfil their divine mandate. The Arbites value reliability, tactical flexibility, and a menacing appearance in their weapons, and these qualities are expressed fully in the Bulldog Heavy Stubber. The Bulldog is regarded with great affection by its proponents, whom it has served faithfully since the time of the Angevin Crusade in the Calixis Sector. The weapon can be switched between belt or magazine feed easily, can accept a variety of exotic ammunition types without complaint, and can be carried at the hip in a gyro-mount or mounted on an Arbites Rhino.Ius Automatic Pistol - Normally used as a backup weapon alongside the Arbites shotgun, the Ius is ubiquitous amongst both the Calixian Arbites and planetary enforcers of Scintilla. This weapon is a solid and unspectacular yet utterly reliable Autopistol, crafted by the gunsmiths of Gunmetal City on the world of Scintilla, the capital of the Calixis Sector, to be as sturdy as possible. Typically issued to junior ranks within both organisations, this weapon is designed to be foolproof and to withstand punishment that would damage other firearms. Many of these humble weapons are thousands of standard years old, having served generations of lawmen and women in some of the toughest hive cities in the galaxy.Raffir Ringleader Pistol - Gifted to the Arbites as part of the planetary tithe by the Raffir clan manufactory smithmasters of Hive Subrique, these beautiful Autopistols are produced under licence using ancient Adeptus Mechanicus archprints. The pistols produced are huge, intimidating shock-and-terror weapons, designed for the execution of high profile targets at the height of anti-Imperial riots. These weapons are issued to senior Arbites officers, not so much for their accuracy or utility in a firefight, but for the damage they inflict on both the person of rabble rousers and on the morale of their followers. |
Adeptus Arbites - Armour: Adeptus Arbites Carapace Armour - The appearance of the Adeptus Arbites strikes fear into the hearts of criminals and the lawless. The task of crafting the signature Carapace Armour of the Adeptus Arbites falls to a variety of worlds within various sectors of the galaxy. A given sector's Adeptus Arbites sees to the manufacturing of equipment for its Fortress Precincts on many different Forge Worlds, so that it would require a sector-wide revolt to jeopardise the supply lines. Arbitrator Carapace Armour is constructed from dense plasteel plates overlaying a synthetic polyplastic fibre weave that must be produced in an orbital null-gravity manufactorum. Arbites Carapace Armour is designed to be clipped together and worn over a light, breathable bodyglove, the armour carefully constructed and tailor-made to the proportions of the Arbitrator concerned. Given that the armour must be worn for hours at a time, often during periods of extreme physical exertion, it must be light and comfortable, and it succeeds surprisingly well on these fronts. The armour is completely unpowered, though it is often equipped with a number of mag-strips which permit weapons and other equipment to be attached directly to the armour without the need for clumsy straps and external clips. The Carapace Helm is equipped with a micro-bead (or "vox-torc") and is open at the mouth to allow easier verbal communication. The helm is, however, capable of being hermetically sealed in seconds; and has mountings for a rebreather, which is usually magnetised to the belt when not in use. It also contains polarising lenses which react instantly to light over a certain lumen level, and which have the effect of negating photonic Flash Grenades completely. A beneficial side effect of this approach is that it makes it impossible to see which direction an Arbitrator is looking. The armoured gloves are cunningly wrought devices colloquially known as "lock gloves" in Low Gothic terminology, which count as Recoil Gloves. The armour has a number of magnetised attachment strips that are capable of carrying the Arbitrator's weapons and equipment. Typically, an Arbitrator in the field will be equipped with a holstered Ius automatic pistol, three clips of ammunition, a rebreather, a Vox-torc, a lamp pack that can be handheld or swiftly attached to any Arbites weapon, a Power Maul, two grenades (of any type), and two pairs of magnacles in addition to a basic weapon and ammunition. The armour has a very large mag-strip on the back which is capable of mounting a single basic weapon of up to 10 kilograms in weight.Arbites Riot Armour - The Arbites are often called to break up riots. Whatever the nature of the disturbance, whether it be a queue war involving disparate packs of petitioners outside Administratum scriptoria, or desperate food riots aimed at snatching resources from tithe shuttles, the Arbites will not falter before the mob. When facing large, ill-disciplined multitudes armed with cobblestones, planks, or staves, the Arbites will attach panels of protective cushioned wadding over parts of their Carapace Armour to protect against impact damage. These pads are often brightly coloured, and are designed not only to protect the Arbitrator, but to signal to rioters that they are about to be routed. Riot Armour is a simple, but encumbering, collection of cushioned pads that are attached to vulnerable parts of standard Arbitrator Carapace Armour when facing riots.Judge Armour - Judges have the authority to requisition whatever equipment is held within the armouries or Cold Vaults of their planet's Precincts, and as such will wear whatever they want in the field. Some pride themselves on wearing the same battered Carapace Armour they wore when patrolling decades before as a humble Arbitrator; however, most accept that their superior station as a lord of the Emperor's justice demands more spectacular and intimidating garb. Judges will typically wear the finest examples of Carapace Armour available, constructed by master artisans, together with antique flowing robes and elaborate headdresses from different periods of humanity's judicial history. A Judge's armour will vary from world to world, as he or she seeks to refine their appearance so that it causes the most awe and fear in an individual planetary population. Judge Armour is broadly similar to normal Arbites Carapace Armour in terms of its level of protection, but it incorporates theatrical and gaudy elements which suggest (in local historical terms) the power and majesty of the Arbites.Hydraphur Pattern Judge's Carapace Armour - The distinctive matte-black and red light Carapace Armour of the Arbites is as distinctive as it is intimidating, and the armour of an Arbites Judge is only more so. The armour of a Judge is designed to reflect his authority as the Lex Imperialis made manifest, and to sow terror in the criminal and malcontent. It shares the same basic pattern as Arbites Carapace Armour, but incorporates a storm coat and helm topped with a massive golden eagle. Judge's Carapace Armour has a helmet equipped with an integral encrypted micro-bead, good quality photo-visor (granting him Dark Sight and allowing him to ignore photonic Flash Grenades), and a vox-amplifier (allowing the user to amplify his voice to near-deafening levels). A small stab-light can also be attached to the shoulder plates. These systems are powered by a small Charge Pack (equivalent in size and cost to a Lasgun Charge Pack) that must be replaced after a week of continuous use.Verispex Armour - The Verispex Adepts on loan from the Inquisition are individuals with a unique perspective on the galaxy, a skewed outlook gained by years of focused study. These crime-teks do not require the same standard of protective armour as frontline Arbitrators, yet they are still operating alongside Arbites agents, and must be clothed in garments that express their standing. Verispex armour symbolically resembles Arbitrator carapace armour, but is far lighter and more comfortable. It contains a variety of special tools and scanners, including an auspex, chrono, combi-tool and data-slate. |
Adeptus Arbites - Suppression Shield: Hydraphur Pattern Suppression Shield - Suppression Shields are common equipment for the Adeptus Arbites, although upon seeing their effectiveness, many other organisations and individuals have moved to obtain them. The Suppression Shield is both a bulwark and a weapon, a heavy slab of ceramite large enough for the wielder to take cover behind. Each has a built-in arc-lumin at the top, and a powerful shock-plate in the shield's centre. If the wielder strikes with the shield, he can discharge the shock-plate on impact, delivering a powerful electrical blow. Suppression Shields have the Recharge quality, since the shock-plate takes time to build to dangerous levels. It can still be used as a weapon while it is still recharging. Arbites Suppression Shields are also designed with lockgrips on the upper corners. Crusader Suppression Shields are designed for combating the malefic and Warp-spawned powers, and are inscribed with hexagrammic wards.Synford Pattern "Lockshield" - The Arbites commonly make use of heavy ceramite shields during operations of all types. These are rectangular plates, worn on one arm, which are typically equipped with a heavily armoured viewport that offers protection to the operator. The Synford "Lockshield" is a relatively standard example of the type, but with one unusual and defining feature. The Lockshield, like most Arbites shields, is designed with an armourglass viewport and a firing port through which a basic or pistol weapon can be fired without penalty. It also contains a powered vox-hailer linked to the vox-torc of the most senior Arbitrator present, allowing that officer to rebuke and remonstrate over even the most deafening racket. It contains mag-strips on both sides, which enable prisoners to be secured directly to the shield by magnacles. Its most unusual feature is its ability to lock solidly with adjacent Lockshields to create an armoured wall behind which Arbitrators can advance as a unit, thus giving the shield its common name. The shield can be locked using mag-strips to shields adjacent to it; the Arbites use this to create walled "Lockshield" formations during particularly lethal riots, or to advance large groups of Arbites down wide, fire-swept corridors. |
Adeptus Arbites - Adeptus Arbites Titles and Uniforms in the Calixis Sector: Lord Marshal Luthir Veremonn Goreman of the Calixis Sector, the commander of the Calixian Great Precinct, allows his Precincts to give titles that strike fear and awe into the local population. This practice allows a certain flexibility when interrogating suspects and determining duties. It is quite possible that no two agents in a Precinct have exactly the same title. Each Judge uses this freedom as they sees fit, some creating convenient ranks to identify specialisations, and others treating them almost as nicknames, easy monikers for identifying who is capable of a task.In an effort to make it easy for each Arbitrator to identify the role of their colleagues from other precincts, Goreman has instituted a system of armbands, sashes, and collars. A red collar, for instance, shows that an Arbitrator has been trained and proven capable of detailed investigations. Sashes are also used, so that an individual may be identified as having more than one area of expertise, such as the brown sash of the Chastener. Finally, a thin armband may be worn on an Arbitrator’s upper arm, to signify further specialised skills and experience. |
Adeptus Arbites - Servitors: The Arbites will, on occasion, make use of servitors, but generally not to the same extent as other branches of the Adeptus Terra. The Arbites pride themselves on being a disciplined and self-reliant force, and there is an unspoken belief in many precinct-fortresses that excessive reliance upon Servitors fosters a spirit of dependence far removed from the proper, spartan ethic of the organisation.Despite this, some servitors do serve to the best of their limited abilities within the Arbites, typically performing duties which can free Arbitrators to carry out their law enforcement roles. For example, emplaced Gun Servitors are used extensively within Precincts for sentry duty, and a handful of other heavily modified designs are used for other more specialist roles.The Arbites also have in their service cyber-constructs such as Cyber-Mastiffs, cyborgs that incorporate the instincts of animals. Both canids and avians are employed for this purpose. Such animals are usually crafted in special Adeptus Mechanicus facilities, such as Hive Subrique, which provides the vast majority of such constructs for the Calixian Arbites. |
Adeptus Arbites - Notable Arbitrators: Lord Marshal Luthir Veremonn Goreman - Luthir Veremonn Goreman is the Lord Marshal of the Calixian Great Precinct, located in the Calixis Sector on the sector capital world of Scintilla. Born into a family of butchers and flesh-thieves upon the world of Sinophia, he came into contact with a wandering Confessor who had once been a former Enforcer from Scintilla who had left her post following a religious awakening. Listening to her holy words, Luthir's soul was stirred to zealous conviction in the benevolent Emperor. Of all the expressions of the God-Emperor's will that she was able to teach him, her experience as an Enforcer was the one that resonated with him the most. Departing his world, he struck out on his own and became a part of the local enforcement militia of the Horst-Kosada hive city. Following a cull of these Enforcers due to corruption by the local Arbites, he went from being a suspect to being a recruit during his interrogation. His reputation was cemented over many long, dedicated standard years of service. His iron will, the force of his personality, and the constant, simmering anger that sometimes blunted his undeniable charisma marked him for Arbites command. Goreman's vigour for his job is not born out of a positive inspiration to bring order but by his smouldering hatred of those who disrupt it. It was his idea to create the Divisio Immoralis, a new Arbitrator taskforce intended to deal with the myriad threats now confronting the sector. Goreman is known to have little respect for the vast majority of citizens who comprise the Calixis Sector's populace. Every time Goreman looks out upon the mass of Imperial citizenry he sees exactly the same thing he remembered from his homeworld of Sinophia: dissipated, lazy, disobedient wastrels slouching through aimless and worthless lives. To him, the Imperial Adeptus Terra is the only worthy creation of human society, to serve in it the one worthy ambition. The Adeptus, under the guidance of the Immortal Emperor, shows the rest of humanity what they could be had they the discipline, the faith, and the strength. Those outside the Adeptus are contemptible, and should think themselves lucky they are allowed to toil to support it; those who disobey or disrespect the Adeptus, or even court ambitions outside it, are beneath contempt. Luthir Goreman is of average height and lean of build, which surprises people who have seen the portraits and statues portraying him as a muscular giant. His complexion is pale, his eyes and hair grey, and his features broad, stern and handsome. He wears a black and gold Arbitrator dress uniform for most of his duties, with his rank pins and medals arranged on a separate banner that is carried to formal occasions by an adjutant. He always has a small purity seal pinned to his left lapel, copying a verse of Imperial scripture onto a new parchment each morning and having a garrison preacher bless and attach the seal at his private morning prayers.Marshal-in-Chief Kae Drusil - Senior Arbitrator Kae Drusil is marshal-in-chief of the Divisio Immoralis taskforce within the Calixis Sector. She was recruited into the Arbites following the assassination of her Great-Aunt and the rest of her noble household at the Universitariate she was attending at the age of fifteen. She remembered the Universitariate Enforcers and the interrogation by an unknown Judge. The Judge, whose name she never learned (and never sought), saw Kae's faith in the law, and her anger. He believed that these two traits would make her a fine recruit for the Arbites, and he was correct. As far as Kae Drusil could tell, the interrogation was her recruitment examination. Her belief in the incorruptibility of the Arbites and the inevitability of a future rule of perfect law had been demolished beyond repair by the things she was forced to do during a mission that was conducted under the auspices of the Inquisition. Approached by Lord Marshal Goreman, Drusil agreed to command the Divisio Immoralis, the Lord Marshal's new experiment in Imperial law enforcement.Arbitrator Primus Naxander Durantis - A man with nearly two decades of experience in the Calixis Sector, Arbitrator Primus Durantis is the commander of the voidship Intervention, a unique "Castigator" patrol cruiser. Now in his late fifties (and with limited access to rejuvenat drugs), Durantis views his rank with a mixture of honour and resentment, eager to bring justice to the stars but also struggling with the fact that he can no longer so readily lead his men in combat as he did earlier in his career. Unwilling to let all his old duties fall away in place of newer ones, Durantis still interrogates many suspects personally, his scarred visage serving to intimidate the weaker-willed of his captives. He is a shrewd interrogator, having learned a great deal working alongside many skilled Chasteners over the years, and his eye for detail is sharper than ever.Judge Citro Envedine - Judge Envendine is an ambitious and politically astute agent of the Calixian Arbites. The Precinct Astra is the brainchild of Judge Envendine as a means of prosecuting the habitual lawbreaking of several Rogue Trader Houses around the Calixian entrance to the Koronus Passage into the Koronus Expanse. He bought two salvaged voidships that had been pried from a space hulk's embrace. Utilising these two vessels, the Calixian Judges were able to prosecute the Emperor's laws, bringing Renegade members of Rogue Trader houses and pirates to justice.Judge Orrik Von Darnus - Orrik Von Darnus was a very senior Judge of the Calixis Sector almost a millennia ago, and had turned to intellectual pursuits late in his career, devoting nearly a century to research and analysis of the Pax Imperialis and how it is implemented in the Calixis Sector. Though he wrote many books and treatises, his seminal work in the late 40th Millennium was The Promise of the Pax Imperialis, a volume so large that a printed copy requires two cargo-hauler Servitors to move. Later scholars argue whether Von Darnus wrote The Promise in an attempt to simplify the application of Imperial Law in the Calixis Sector, or simply because the old man derived far too much pleasure worrying away at thorny issues of legal precedent. Von Darnus's primary arguments focused on the idea that the Calixian Arbites' attentions should focus on crimes of sedition, treason, and actions that undermined the Adeptus Terra, while leaving most "lesser" crimes to a planet's local Enforcers. He went on to say that as isolated as the sector was from the rest of the Imperium, such crimes posed the greatest threat to Imperial rule, and should be prosecuted aggressively. Even now, a thousand standard years later, many senior Calixian Arbitrators regard Von Darnus's writings as something of an authority on the implementation of Imperial Law. Currently, Lord Marshal Goreman's opinions cemented the high regard with which many Calixian Arbites hold Von Darnus's works. The Lord Marshal has a habit of quoting The Promise of the Pax Imperialis when pronouncing rulings, and is said to keep a near-complete collection of Von Darnus' books in his personal offices on Scintilla.Detective-Commander Jaanyi - Detective-Commander Jaanyi "The Brute" Doyenko, Great Precinct Master of Espionists, doesn’t like his nickname. He doesn’t have to hear it very often, since only Lord Marshal Goreman will ever use it to his face, (usually when he wants to get a rise out of him), but just the knowledge that it’s universally used behind his back is enough to bring a scowl to his craggy, chem-burned face. He understands why he has it, of course. Anyone glancing into the quiet cloisters of the Detective chambers will see Jaanyi Doyenko standing out like a battle-tank in a procession of nobles' sedan-chairs. The eldest son of an Administratum Adept on Fenksworld, he grew up aboard a giant convoy of land-trains slogging back and forth between Nova Castilis and the hellhole of Volg, carrying subsistence supplies, basic trade goods, and cage-loads of condemned exiles. Jaanyi grew up strong, brawny, and prideful. His mother was an Imperial Adept, and he exacted the respect he felt his family was due from the convoy labourers with his brass-knuckled fists. When he was fifteen his family was killed in a scum-raid, Jaanyi escaping from the massacre and disappearing into Volg’s hellish warrens. There he spent five years living by his wits and muscles while he hunted down and murdered all he could find of the gang who had killed his family. Finally, he was tracked down by bounty hunters on a surprising contract: the Adeptus' files had shown a son unaccounted for when Shima Doyenko was killed, and they were following procedure by recruiting him for the Schola Progenium. One of the most difficult decisions Jaanyi ever made was to walk away from Volg and his unfinished vengeance, but inside his hulking body was a keen mind. He told himself that here was a chance to carry his family's name off Fenksworld and into the stars, rather than give the scum the final victory by sputtering out from chem-poisoning or dust choke in this lightless Fenksworld sump-hole. His last act before he clambered aboard the dune-crawler was to turn and spit down the stairwell up which he had climbed out of Volg. Then he put the place at his back forever. Doyenko was an oddity at the Schola. He was already years older than his eldest classmates and had endured a lifetime's worth of trauma and violence. There was talk among the instructors of fast-tracking him into the military streams, putting his proven capacity for violence to work as a Storm Trooper or trainee Commissar; some even wondered if he was too old for the Officio Assassinorum recruiters. Doyenko knew where he wanted to go, however, and had already made his contacts. When the Schola received a joint petition from Doyenko and the Arbites recruiters for early release from the Schola they let him go, and Doyenko was already in training aboard the Arbites carrier by the time they broke Warp for Scintilla. He mastered the basic training quickly and thoroughly, and was soon back in transit for a Chastener's posting at Malfi. That posting revealed Doyenko's real and unexpected gifts. His work hunting his quarry as a Chastener brought out the chilled edge of his intellect and his intuition for analysing people's motives, relationships, and actions. After a couple of rapid promotions up the Chastener ladder he transferred into the ranks of the Detectives and for the first time since his youth aboard the land-train he felt he knew where he belonged. This was work he could really throw himself into, unravelling Malfi's baroque culture of intrigues and studying its threads and shadows for threats and insults to the God- Emperor's laws. Doyenko's work was invaluable in the timely prevention of the Braquerade Coup, and as deputy to the Chief Detective-Espionist he drew on his old skills to pose as a hive scummer and infiltrate the Fourth Ashen Resurgency from the ground up, exposing the layers of manipulation that led back to its secretive masterminds. After the attempted assassination of Lord Goreman's previous Detective-Commander, Doyenko was brought to Scintilla both to follow the assassin's trail back to its origin and to act for Detective-Commander Ilkram during her convalescence. When it became clear that Ilkram's injuries would never permit her to return to her old role, Goreman appointed Doyenko to the office and he has validated the Lord Marshal's decision many times over. Jaanyi Doyenko is a great slab of scarred flesh packed into an oversized regulation uniform. His face is heavy-boned, usually unshaven, and pitted from long-ago acid burns. His eyes are deep-set, dark, and unfriendly. His left shoulder is packed with augmetics and he often fidgets with it, sometimes even slipping off his tunic to work the kinks out of both flesh and metal. He wears a brown Chastener sash as well as his red Detective's collar, and a solid-slug pistol in a thigh holster. He is an expert with this and will often be found in the Fortress gun-range, intimidating his colleagues with his size, his glowering features, and the speed and accuracy of his shooting.Judge Jeremiah Pavo - Judge Pavo gained his place among the Adeptus Arbites after revealing a plot to corrupt fellow members of his Schola Progenium on Avellorn. After containing the Bureau of Standard Measures Queue Wars and detaining over 10,000 participants, he was asked to join the retinue of Inquisitor Tannenburg of the Ordo Hereticus. He has proven to be a valuable asset to the Inquisition and an example of the skill and determination of all Arbitrators.Captain Virgil Ortega - Wielding a Shock Maul and Combat Shotgun, Captain Virgil Ortega commanded the Adeptus Arbites on the planet of Pavonis during a time of great riots and disorder against the Planetary Governor and her cartel. When the situation led to the arrival of a company of Ultramarines and an Inquisitor's investigation, the Planetary Defence Force openly attacked the capital city, starting with the bombing of the precinct house. Ortega led his fellow Judges into battle, charging from the ruins into the city square, in front of a statue of the Emperor himself. The battle that followed was the stuff of legend, the few and faithful fighting against those who would betray the Emperor, however the sheer number of tanks and soldiers of the traitor Planetary Defence Force legions slowly began to whittle away at the Arbites' numbers. Holding his few remaining men together, Captain Ortega slowly fell back to the weapons cache located beneath the Precinct house. They were able to hold back their pursuers for a while there, having an almost limitless supply of heavy weapons and ammunition, but when it became apparent that they were fighting a losing battle, Captain Ortega and his loyal Arbites came to the decision that the precious store of weapons and ammunition could not fall into the hands of the enemy. Fighting back waves of planetary defense force troops, Captain Ortega and his remaining Arbites wired and readied all of the explosives in the cache. They came very close to failure as their position was nearly overrun, but with his remaining Judge, Sergeant Collix, covering his advance, he ran into enemy fire and as his life slipped away he detonated the munitions, dying with the rest of his men.Senior Arbitrator Leukala Mhal - Senior Arbitrator Leukala Mhal, Marshal-Commodore of the Calixia Castilis Precinct Fleet, is the Calixis fleet’s commander, its figure head, and its lucky charm. She and her four sisters were void-born aboard an armed trader pressed into service for the tense and bloody Second Sepherine Interdiction. When a miscalculated trajectory resulted in the ship arriving ten days overdue at the Arbites blockade, the shipmaster was fined not only part of his pay, but also some of his cargo, ship’s supplies, and crew. Although the youngest of the five, Leukala volunteered herself to the cull to spare her sisters the pain of separation, and joined the frightened throng shuffling through the transit locks off the ship that had been her world for thirteen years. Most of the tithed were put straight into menial positions, but any young enough to be potential recruits were sidelined for aptitude testing. Leukala, made fierce by desperation, passed the tests with honours and when the Interdiction ended and the Arbites squadron moved on, she was riding in the garrison decks in the uniform of a trainee. From there the records show little about Arbitor Mhal apart from her presence aboard a series of Precinct ships, until the bloody guerilla war with xenophile raiders through the Drusus Marches. The traitors’ strange weapons and fearsome boarding actions took a heavy toll on the Arbites crews and many younger Arbitrators found themselves yanked up the promotion ladder. Mhal rose to the challenge, commanding ships’ troops and crew sections with an equal measure of resourcefulness, charisma and quickly demonstrating an intuitive grasp of shipboard combat. It took three years for the Arbites and the Imperial Navy to turn the tables, hunt out the raiders, and exterminate them. At the final triumph aboard the Arbites flagship Radiant Decree, the raider chieftain was dragged the length of the ship in chains and ceremonially flushed from the airlock with his hands nailed to the small of his back and his writ of execution branded into his chest. Mhal was there to watch as Provost-Commander of the Radiant Decree’s fighting Arbitrator contingent. Within five years she was commanding a ship of her own, a squadron within ten more years, and when the newly-appointed Lord Marshal Goreman needed a commander he trusted to efficiently run his very small, and thin-spread fleet there was only one name he had in mind. Marshal-Commodore Mhal has never lost the unflagging drive that propelled her through the recruitment trials, and works herself and her fleet calmly and efficiently, but relentlessly. She hates inactivity, always restless for the next mission, the next challenge, the next task—she even walks with an odd forward-leaning gait, as though desperate to arrive where she’s going that few seconds sooner. The Radiant Decree is now her flagship, but when that ship is in port for any lengthy refits she will transfer her flag to one of the other two ships so as to be back out and in active command again. Her temperament is an excellent match for the Lord Marshal’s, and just the right one for the small and overworked fleet she commands. For her the relentless work is a given, rather than a burden, and her own unflappable demeanour and endless energy are an inspiration to her command. Her personal charisma and strong leadership have turned the usual prejudices about void-born inside out and "The Lady" has become something of an iconic figure to her fleet. Portraits of her adorn many halls and quarters, and fleet folklore holds that any ship with her aboard will always prevail and return to dock safely. She has never set foot on a planet’s surface in her life, and has no plans ever to do so. Leukala Mhal is a startlingly tall woman of slender build, with the trademark pallor of the void-born. She has long, haughty features and blue-grey eyes with prominent epicanthic folds. Her hair has been a glossy gunmetal-grey all her life; more recently it has turned the lighter grey of advancing age. She wears it in a thick, braided cable across her shoulders. She usually dresses in a formal Arbitor-General’s cloak over neat shipboard fatigues, the cloak pinned carefully so it won’t billow or tangle in low gravity.Sergeant Collix - Collix served on Pavonis fresh from the academy until the day of his death. When Pavonis could not produce tithe taxes to the Imperium, a force of Ultramarines led by Uriel Ventris traveled to the planet, accompanied by a young adept by the name of Ario Barzano, who in turn was actually a high ranking Inquisitor investigating heresy and the presence of Necrons on the world. The planet's separate factions rebelled against the governor and the Arbites, striking hard in the city square and the Arbites Precinct house. Some two hundred Judges survived the initial attack, and fought the renegade Planetary Defence Force troopers in a bloody battle. Together with his comrades, Sergeant Collix held a weapons cache and defended it to the last man. Never yielding in his faith, though mortally wounded, Sergeant Collix continued firing a Heavy Stubber into charging masses of traitors and heretics as he lay dying, buying time for Captain Ortega to detonate the munitions stores, leveling the cache, along with the entire renegade force in the city.Judge Jenna Sharben - Jenna Sharben served alongside Captain Virgil Ortega and Sergeant Collix on Pavonis. She was kidnapped along with the planetary governor and an Inquisitor. She was the only member of the Adeptus Arbites team on Pavonis to survive after the rebellion. She was later killed in a Tau invasion of Pavonis.Proctor Noles Rotlan - Proctor Rotlan is a tall imposing man, as is often the case with members of the Adeptus Arbites. Unlike most of his fellows, though, Rotlan has an active imagination, which has served him as an asset, turning him into one of Sepheris Secundus’s chief investigators. However, he is not popular with the local nobles as he is too skilled by far (in their opinions of course) at ferreting out their schemes to hide resources from the Queen and the Imperium. The ongoing troubles with the Broken Chains have allowed his many baronial enemies to accuse him of incompetence—a charge that he is finding difficult to fight as the mutant terrorists continue to evade his best efforts to locate and neutralise them.Marshal Primus Jamahl Byzantane - Marshal Primus Jamahl Byzantane was a long-serving Marshal of the Adeptus Arbites who was assigned to service on the world of Belatis shortly before the start of the Gothic War in the early 41st Millennium. Byzantane fought a losing battle for the control of Belatis with already present and active Chaos Cult cells, and ultimately had to abandon the planet altogether when it became the next target of Abaddon the Despoiler's Planet Killer.Arbites Senioris Shira Lucina Calpurnia - An Arbites Senioris, Shira Calpurnia was born on the world of Iax in the Realms of Ultramar. Shira's family, the Calpurnii, are one of the oldest and most prominent of Iax, and like many such families in Ultramar, has an illustrious pedigree and long history of service to the Imperium; there have been other Arbitrators within her family, as well as senior commanders of the Imperial Guard and Imperial Navy, and at least two Battle-Brothers that served in the Ultramarines Space Marine Chapter, including a 1st Company Veteran who died during the Battle of Macragge fighting against the Tyranids. After being recruited into the Adeptus Arbites, Shira trained on Machiun. Her career then took her to postings across the Ultima Segmentum including; Drade-73, MG-Dyel, Hazhim, Don-Croix and Epheada before reaching the rank of Arbiter Senioris and being posted to the world of Hydraphur in the Segmentum Pacificus. |
Adeptus Arbites - Adeptus Arbites and the Inquisition: The Adeptus Arbites exist to maintain the laws and codes of the Imperium. The adepta maintains facilities on every world with a sizeable population, from which the Arbitrators sally forth to impose order and bring justice to the guilty.It is the responsibility of the local Imperial Commander to maintain a body of so-called "Enforcers" to impose local laws -- the Arbitrators are present to impose those laws that apply across the entire domains of Man, and they stand above all local authority.This being the case, the Adeptus Arbites have much in common with the Inquisition, and the bodies often find themselves allied against a common foe. All too often, an Arbitrator's investigations into localised criminal activities turns up links to far more terrible deeds.Many Inquisitors maintain contacts and agents within the ranks of the Adeptus Arbites, who intercept reports that might indicate matters in which the Inquisitor should take an interest. On many occasions an Inquisitor has turned up, seemingly out of the blue, to aid an Adeptus Arbites task force against foes the Arbitrators had little chance of defeating alone.Inquisitors quite often requisition the services of the Adeptus Arbites. The Arbitrators are highly professional and devoted servants of the Imperium, and so make ideal allies against the foes of Mankind. Furthermore, the Arbitrators are often gifted with local knowledge the Inquisitor can rarely hope to match, and are able to track down key local figures, from potential allies to outright enemies.The Adeptus Arbites maintain substantial, grimly imposing precinct-fortresses on the worlds they occupy. These fortresses are armed and armoured to a very high level indeed, and often form a bulwark against rebellious uprisings. As each precinct-fortress has its own astropath, the Arbitrators are often able to send telepathic word to the Imperium of an uprising that might have engulfed the world's government entirely.All too often, an Adeptus Arbites fortress-precinct has proven the last redoubt against anarchy, the few hundred Arbitrators within holding out with grim determination until aid can arrive from off-world. Sometimes a single Inquisitor and their cadre of Acolytes might be the sole reply to the call for help, but with Inquisitors being the uniquely puissant individuals they are, that might be all that is required to put down the rebellion.Following such incidents it is not uncommon for one or more Arbitrators to become permanent members of an Inquisitor's cadre, and the precinct authorities rarely object, considering it an Arbitrator's duty to aid the Inquisition.Indeed, following the fall of Precinct Omega–14 on the world of Baraspine after a localised uprising against what criminal elements referred to as "arbitrary brutality," Inquisitor Vallax recruited every one of the seventy Arbitrators who survived. This elite cadre then took the Emperor's law to every world in the Adrantis Nebula sub-sector of the Calixis Sector, ruthlessly punishing countless thousands of criminals.While the Inquisition is likely to find a ready ally in the Adeptus Arbites, it is extremely rare indeed for the two organisations to find themselves coming to blows. Arbitrators and Judges are nigh-incorruptible, and always serve many light years away from their own homeworld so that they never become embroiled in local politics. This is not to say that no Arbitrator has ever turned from the Emperor's light, of course, and those few that have fallen have inevitably fallen the furthest.Such was the case when Marshall Gorr of the Frontier World of Kudrun one day pronounced that the entire population of the planet was guilty of concealing seditious thoughts, and attempted to round up 100,000 citizens. Needless to say, the people revolted, and Gorr was murdered at the hands of an outraged mob. After the event, an Inquisitorial investigation determined that Gorr had come into psychic powers, perhaps those of the telepath, late in his life, and had lost his sanity. |
Adeptus Arbites - Game History: Borrowing heavily from the British comic book Judge Dredd's imagery, the Adeptus Arbites were first mentioned in 1st Edition's Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader, but were only introduced as a playable force in the 2nd Edition of Warhammer 40,000, and have since appeared in the spin-off games Necromunda and Inquisitor.They appear as "play-as" equivalents to Inquisitorial Storm Troopers (although armed with Shotguns) in the Witch Hunters supplement. Also, the organisation is the focus of three novels by Matthew Farrer -- Cross Fire (2003), Legacy (2004), and Blind (2006). |
Adeptus Arbites - Sources: 13th Legion (Novel) by Gav Thorpe, Chs. 4, 6-7Black Crusade: Hand of Corruption (RPG), pp. 88-89, 128-129Codex Imperialis (2nd Edition), pp. 12, 34-35Codex: Sisters of Battle (2nd Edition), pp. 5–10Dark Heresy: Ascension (RPG), pp. 21, 38-39, 43-44, 47, 70-73, 141-142, 147, 154, 177-178, 180Dark Heresy: Core Rulebook (RPG), pp. 50-55Dark Heresy: Book of Judgement (RPG), pp. 6-8, 16-17, 23-29, 42-43, 44-45, 48-49, 54-55, 61-69Dark Heresy: Disciples of the Dark Gods (RPG), pp. 166-168Dark Heresy: The Radical's Handbook (RPG), pp. 54-55Dark Heresy: The Inquisitor's Handbook (RPG), pg. 143Dark Heresy: Purge the Unclean (RPG), pg. 103Dark Heresy 2nd Edition: Beta Core Rulebook (RPG), pp. 32-33Rogue Trader: Hostile Acquisitions (RPG), pp. 6-11, 82-83Warhammer 40,000: Rulebook (Digital Edition) (7th Edition), pp. 275, 280-281, 541, 544Warhammer 40,000: Rulebook (6th Edition), pg. 148Long Arm of the Emperor's Law: Adeptus Arbites in Inquisitor (Specialist Game)Codex: Tyranids (1st Edition)Necromunda Enforcers: Justice in the Underhive (Specialist Game)Cross Fire (Novel) by Matthew FarrerLegacy (Novel) by Matthew FarrerBlind (Novel) by Matthew FarrerNightbringer (Novel) by Graham McNeillExecution Hour (Novel) by Gordon RennieWarhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader (1st Edition), pg. 139 |
Adeptus Astartes Aviation - Adeptus Astartes Aviation: The transhuman warriors of the Adeptus Astartes maintain their own combat aviation arms led by their Techmarines who serve as pilots to provide tactical air support for their ground-based battle-brothers.Space Marine aircraft squadrons hurtle down from orbit, spat from launch rails and embarkation decks aboard their sleek and deadly warships.These elite aerial formations punch through their enemies, executing fearless headlong attack runs to smash their targets from the sky or obliterate them on the ground. |
Adeptus Astartes Aviation - Role: Well-armoured, heavily-armed and flown by warriors possessing superhuman skill and swiftness, few aircraft squadrons can match those of the Adeptus Astartes for combat effectiveness. Space Marine pilots do not have the numbers possessed by most of their enemies, but neither do they need them.From the sleek Stormhawk Interceptors to the hulking Stormraven gunships, Space Marine aircraft represent the pinnacle of Imperial vehicle technology.Replete with the secrets of the Omnissiah, built upon the ancient wisdom of treasured STC templates, these exceptional aircraft are as robust as they are festooned with firepower. The thrust generated by these centuries-old combat aircraft would be too much for an unaugmented human to handle, and would likely kill them with sheer g-forces.The pilots of the Adeptus Astartes have no such problems, applying their enhanced strength and reaction times to squeezing an incredible level of performance out of their aircraft.Every manoeuvre performed by Adeptus Astartes squadrons is perfectly coordinated, every volley of firepower deadly accurate. Return fire splashes from their armoured hulls, if it strikes home at all. So resilient and powerful are Space Marine aircraft that even a single squadron of them can tear apart a much larger air or ground force.The combat doctrines of different Space Marine air forces vary depending upon the temperament of the Chapter from which they hail. Blood Angels pilots take to the skies with the instinctive skill imparted by the legacy of their winged Primarch Sanguinius, for example, flying with an aggression that would be suicidal in lesser warriors. By comparison, White Scars pilots glide upon the winds like hunting hawks, circling their prey before striking in sudden stooping dives.Whatever differences of character exist between the Chapters, in almost all cases, it is their Techmarines who pilot their fighters and gunships. It is a testament to the versatility and skill of these warrior-artisans that the Techmarines who operate tanks and artillery, or effect battlefield repairs upon their Chapter's machineries, are the same that fly to war in the pilot seats of their aircraft.During isolated operations, it is common for Techmarine pilots to fly solo, supporting their battle-brothers on the ground with only the aid of their crafts' Machine Spirits (artificial intelligence routines). In more protracted campaigns, or when the enemy deploys a strong aerial presence, the Techmarines will instead band together into squadrons, groups and divisions in order to maximise their strategic impact and survivability.In such groupings, those Techmarines with the closest rapport with the Machine Spirits of their aircraft normally assume the role of squadron leaders. It is also during long and bloody campaigns that the greatest Techmarine pilots rise to ace status, earning unique honours within their Chapter for their feats of incredible aerial combat, while spreading abject terror amongst the enemy. |
Adeptus Astartes Aviation - Grey Knights: Disciplined psychic warriors with minds hardened against the horrors of the Warp, Grey Knights Techmarines pilot their Stormraven gunships into battle no matter the insanity they face.Through skies of screaming fire and melting, ghoulish visages, the Grey Knights' Stormraven squadrons fly pure and true. The foul energies of the Empyrean cannot penetrate the wards worked into the gunships' hulls. The cacophonous howls of the daemons without find no purchase upon the souls of the holy warriors that ride within the Stormravens' holds.Most commonly, the primary role of Grey Knights Stormravens will be as combat transports, squadrons of silver-hulled aircraft swooping down to disgorge the elite battle-brothers of the Grey Knights into the very heart of battle. In the process, the Techmarine pilots may find themselves dogfighting with monstrous winged Daemons, weaving between coruscating Warp blasts or around savage axe swings that could split a gunship in two.Throughout it all, the pilots remain utterly fearless, their formations perfect and their blessed weapons blazing to hurl the Warpspawn back to the hell from which they came. |
Adeptus Astartes Aviation - Dark Angels Ravenwing: Swift and sinister, the aircraft squadrons of the Dark Angels flit across the shadowed skies like flocks of ominous carrion crows. They are darkness and death, the shroud that falls inescapably upon the heretical and the guilty and erases them from the galaxy without a trace.The Dark Angels are unusual amongst the Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes in that their aircraft are not piloted by the Techmarines of their armoury. Instead, these agile hunting craft are flown into battle by the expert operatives of the Dark Angels 2nd Company, the Ravenwing.The Ravenwing are tasked with rapidly locating and violently eliminating the enemies of the Emperor. They are an elite brotherhood, highly specialised in their methods of warfare to the degree that not a single Battle-Brother of the Ravenwing fights on foot. All are trained to ride into battle astride roaring Space Marine Assault Bikes, to pilot the anti-grav skimmers known as Land Speeders, or to fly the infamous Nephilim Jetfighters and Ravenwing Dark Talons that make up the Dark Angels air force.Ravenwing operatives are trained to gather extensive battlefield information at all times, drinking in every scrap of Vox-intel, energy signature recognition and augur-analysis to build an unparalleled strategic picture of the battlefield around them. They specialise in locating even the most elusive prey and running them to ground, forming an ironclad net of machines and potent firepower, all directed by warriors as meticulous as they are merciless.In short, the seamless coordination between the ground forces and aircraft squadrons of the Ravenwing makes them one of the finest hunting forces in the galaxy. The hidden reason for this specialisation is bound up with the Dark Angels' hunt for the Fallen.It is a quest that entirely consumes the shadowed upper echelons of the Chapter, and one that must never come to light in the eyes of any other Imperial institution. The Dark Angels field dozens of aircraft squadrons and can further augment these with the wings of their Successor Chapters -- the Unforgiven -- turning the skies black with aircraft should such measures be necessary to keep their secrets. |
Adeptus Astartes Aviation - Space Wolves: Just as the longboats and spear-galleys of the Fenrisian tribes bear their warriors into battle, so do the Stormwolf and Stormfang Packs of the Space Wolves ply the storm-tossed skies of countless alien worlds, ferrying the warriors of the Great Companies into the Allfather's galactic wars.Fenris is a Death World, an elemental maelstrom of ice storms and fiery volcanoes in which only the hardiest can hope to survive. The skies of this deadly planet are wild and turbulent, riven by tempests whose winds scream at hundreds of Terran miles per hour. It is in such conditions that the Iron Priests of the Space Wolves learn their skills as pilots.Iron Priests fly by their instincts as much as by their instruments. They quickly learn to trust their guts amid magnetic fluctuations and blinding ice-storms that can render even the most powerful Augurs useless. The warriors of the Space Wolves possess the sharpest senses of any Chapter, and it is from these senses that the Fenrisians get their near-supernatural ability to retain pack coherency and locate their targets in even the most impossible conditions.Microscopic changes in air pressure, particulate scents scattered upon storm winds, the faintest visual shadows glimpsed in the corner of the eye, all provide the Iron Priests with a wealth of information by which to fly.This is not the only way in which the Space Wolves pilots allow instinct to guide them. Rather than deal in formal ranks, a group of Iron Priests forming a Pack will swiftly establish who amongst them is the alpha. This individual assumes Pack command, deferring in turn to those they sense are most worthy of the honour of being group and wing commanders.All Space Wolves are superstitious by nature, and their Iron Priest pilots are no exception. Alongside their ad hoc Pack markings, many pilots daub runes in wolf's blood upon the hulls of their aircraft, or else hang tribal fetishes from gunports and rivets; this is meant to draw the eye of Morkai, and ensure his blessing in the battles to come. |
Adeptus Astartes Aviation - Adeptus Astartes Aircraft: Caestus Assault RamCorvus Blackstar (Deathwatch only)Dark Talon (Dark Angels and Unforgiven only)Fire Raptor GunshipNephilim Jetfighter (Dark Angels and Unforgiven only)Overlord (Primaris Space Marines)Space Marine Landing CraftStorm Eagle GunshipStormbird (Pre-Heresy Space Marine Legions, no longer in use)Stormfang Gunship (Space Wolves only)Stormhawk InterceptorStormtalon GunshipStormraven GunshipStormwolf (Space Wolves only)ThunderhawkThunderhawk TransporterXiphon Interceptor |
Adeptus Astartes Aviation - Sources: Death from the Skies (7th Edition), pp. 8-11, 26-33 |
Adeptus Astra Telepathica - Adeptus Astra Telepathica: The Adeptus Astra Telepathica, known as the Divisio Astra Telepathica or simply as the Astra Telepathica before the Horus Heresy, is an adepta of the Adeptus Terra responsible for the recruitment and training of psykers in the service of the Imperium of Man.In the time before the reformation of the Imperium after the Horus Heresy in the Time of Rebirth, the Astra Telepathica was responsible for overseeing the psychic beacon of the Astronomican and for administering the communications duties of astrotelepaths. The former duty was eventually handed over to a new organisation, the Adeptus Astronomica, after the end of the Heresy. The Adeptus Astra Telepathica is currently headquartered in a vast palace complex on Terra called the Obsidian Keep.The Adeptus Astra Telepathica finds, recruits and trains the majority of Imperial psykers, who become known as Sanctioned Psykers. Most die during testing, but those who survive might become sanctioned into duty with the Astra Militarum or become astropaths of the Adeptus Astronomica. Some very few might even take up service with the Inquisition, rising to become psychically-potent Inquisitors themselves.Though never fully trusted, the Adeptus Astra Telepathica-trained Primaris Psykers or formations of Wyrdvane Psykers are valuable assets to any Imperial military commander, even if they are deeply feared by their superstitious comrades. |
Adeptus Astra Telepathica - Founding: Before beginning the Great Crusade to reunite the lost Human colony worlds of the Sol Sector and beyond in the late 30th Millennium, the Emperor of Mankind first ordered the construction of the Astronomican on Terra. The purpose of this colossal endeavour was that the entire device was to serve as a focus through which the Emperor could direct His fathomless psychic energies to generate a partly self-sustaining navigational beacon for the commercial and military starships of the Imperium.The resulting psychic navigational beam generated by the Astronomican was able to cut through the Warp across the galaxy. Those attuned to its frequencies and modulations, the sanctioned Human mutants known as Navigators, were able to use it as a beacon and pole star when plotting journeys through the Immaterium, cutting travel times from solar months to mere solar days while dramatically increasing the safety of such traverses.In addition to this invaluable beacon among the stars, the forging of the Imperium during the Great Crusade would not have been possible without the creation and skills of the Astra Telepathica. This special corps of interstellar telepathic communicators was created by the Emperor during the final months of the Unification Wars, as the Emperor had foreseen the absolute future need for a means to communicate across the depths of space if a new interstellar Human empire was to be created.Though a psyker Himself, the Emperor did not favour the use of psychic talents in others, and was well aware of the dangers inherent in any contact with the Warp. The Age of Strife on Old Earth had been afflicted by many "witch-kings" and Daemon-possessed psykers whose existence embodied those dangers, some of whom the Emperor had personally slain. However, He was able to identify those psykers strong enough to resist the temptations of the Warp. These men and women were then employed in a variety of special roles in the newborn Imperium.Amongst these so-called "Sanctioned Psykers" were the astropaths, "astro-telepaths," capable of telepathically communicating with others of their kind over vast interstellar distances through phantasmal visions, empathic transmission and oenological vision allegory rather than words. This was an essential talent for the success of the Imperium due to the vast distances that separated its inhabited worlds. The only practical means for the Imperium to maintain any semblance of unity across interstellar distances was to make use of astropaths, but such psychic communication could prove as temperamental as the Warp itself. |
Adeptus Astra Telepathica - City of Sight: The headquarters of the Astra Telepathica during the Great Crusade and the early days of the Horus Heresy, known as the City of Sight, was built within a section of the Emperor's own Imperial Palace in the Himalazian (Himalayan) Mountains. There was no trace that anyone lived in that forsaken part of the palace. Potential Sanctioned Psykers spent many standard years within its bleak towers, learning how to harness their abilities for the betterment of Mankind.Where other regions of the palace were celebrations of the Unity wrought by the extension of the Emperor's rule over all of Terra, the builders of the City of Sight seemed to have gone out of their way to craft something calculated to weigh on the soul.Beyond the domain of the astro-telepaths, the architecture of the palace was raised up in glorification of Mankind's achievements, its statuary fashioned to remind the grateful populace of Terra of all that had been rebuilt in the wake of the terrible, world-spanning wars that had almost dragged the species down into extinction during the horrors of Old Night. But none of this could be found in the City of Sight. Beyond the threshold of the main entrance to the city that was known as the Obsidian Arch was a forest of iron towers, lightless garrets and silent thorough-fares.The streets of the main portions of the Imperial Palace beyond the glossy black archway were alive with the heaving, vibrant mass of Humanity, but only solitary ghosts in hooded green robes populated the streets of the City of Sight. The students and adepts of the Astra Telepathica mostly travelled by means of a network of tunnels and crossways cut into the rock beneath the city. Very few came above ground if they could help it, for the feeling of sunlight on their skin was just another reminder of what they had lost. The city walls and the rock below were also threaded with psi-disruptive crystals, which made it quieter as well for those with the telepath's gifts. Travelling above ground was noisy for an astropath. They were telepathically inundated with the noise of undisciplined thoughts, random chatter and wild emotions. Though they were taught to tune this psychic cacophony of thought out, it was always in the background of their minds. It was easier for the telepaths to travel where they did not have to hear it.Within the City of Sight, its gloomy precincts had few statues raised there. Though many of the pale, columned buildings within were grandly shaped and heroically proportioned, they were brooding, monolithic structures that pressed down on the skin of the mountains, absorbing all the available light and warmth of the day. A notable building within the City of Sight was the Gallery of Mirrors, a vast, cathedral-like edifice through which successful initiates passed on their way to the awe-inspiring caverns beneath the city.Far beneath the Imperial Palace in the Imperial Dungeons, they would kneel before the Emperor and undergo the painful soul-binding ritual, to have the impossibly complex neural pathways of their mind agonisingly reshaped to better resist the dangers and temptations of the Warp. It is speculated that the mirrors were there to give the aspirants a last look at their faces before their eyes were seared from their sockets by a force so potent it was beyond imagining.Another notable structure was the Whispering Tower. It shone with a warm lattice of silver light, though it was a light that existed beyond the sight of most mortals. Yet for all its brightness, its glow was eclipsed utterly by the burning lance of light of the Astronomican that speared from the hollow mountain and into space, like an interstellar beacon for those Imperial starships that traveled the myriad currents of the Immaterium.The vast chamber at the heart of the Whispering Tower was fashioned in the form of a great ampitheatre, shaped by the ancient "cognoscynths" who had first raised the City of Sight many thousands of standard years earlier, long before the Imperial Palace had been constructed. That sect's unrivalled knowledge of psychically-attuned architecture had been hard-won in a long-forgotten age of devastating psi-wars during Old Night, but their arts were long dead, and the skill of crafting such resonant structures had died with them.Amid the blackened mindhalls of the City of Sight, the Whispering Tower was able to reach the farthest into the gulfs of space between the stars, utilising thousands of high-ranking astropaths seated in ever-ascending tiers to sharpen the focus of their gestalt-consciousness. Rising through the central spine of the Whispering Tower was a long spiral staircase that led to the upper wing that housed the Oneirocritica Alchera Mundi, the great dream library of the City of Sight. Towering shelves, rearing hundreds of metres into the air, filled the sections of the Oneirocritica Alchera Mundi.Groaning stacks radiated from the central hub filled with interpretive texts, dream diaries, vision logs and the many books of common astropathic imagery. Every astro-telepathic vision received and sent from the City of Sight was stored within, a complete record of communication that passed between Terra and the wider galaxy. Scores of hunched astropaths drifted through the stacks like green ghosts, seeking clarification for a vision, while elder telepaths added freshly approved symbols to the ever-growing library.The lowest level of the Whispering Tower was the novitiates' level. This chamber had been hacked from the bedrock of the mountains and faced with ceramic tiles of bottle green. It had the feel of a medicae chamber, and a number of locked doors led deeper into the guts of the tower. Some led to the novice libraries, where new additions to the tower learned astropathic shorthand, common symbols and the basic mantras of the nuncio. Others led to the novices' cells, some to communal facilities for eating and ablutions, and the remainder ended in hermetically-sealed isolation chambers.Not everyone who navigated these passages was blind, and bare lumen globes hung from the brickwork ceiling on linked loops of brass cabling. Along the long passageway that led to the novices' cells were reinforced doors that punctuated its length, each one marked with a number and a name. Each marked cell was where an initiate of the Scholastica Psykana slumbered, meditated and prayed. The interior of these cells were bare and devoid of anything that might have indicated who had lived there before.This was sensible, for any lingering psychometric sense of a previous occupant would influence an initiate's dreaming. A cot bed usually lay along one wall, with a simple footlocker at its base. A small writing desk and chair sat opposite the bed, and a black notebook lay on a blotting pad, next to an inkhorn and pen. Empty shelves lined the wall above the desk, ready to be filled with an astropath's steadily growing oneirocritica collection. The shelves were short, for a novice would take time to build a comprehensive library of imagery, symbolism and dream recordings.Within the depths of the Whispering Tower was a domed chamber known as the Cryptaesthesian that continuously echoed with the myriad voices of an astropathic choir. At the dome's apex was a crytalline lattice pulsing with internal illumination that cascaded from its multi-angled facets in a waterfall of shimmering light. Within this chamber, astropaths trained in the art of the Cryptaesthesian could interpret meaning from the psychic waste of every communiqué that passed through the City of Sight. To sift through the vast quantity of psychic debris that was left in its wake was a task few relished.Following the treachery of the Warmaster Horus and the start of the civil conflict known as the Horus Heresy, the astropathic choirs operated beyond capacity to satisfy the demands of waging a distant war against Horus Lupercal's rebellion. Aetheric space was continuously awash with telepathic communication, and messages were hurled into the void that screamed for help or simply blared hatred. The trap chambers beneath the iron towers of the City of Sight were filled with psychic residue from the thousands of messages, and the Cryptaesthesians could barely keep up with the brutal pace.In the face of treason, every message sent to Terra had to be carefully scrutinised, no matter how mundane it might appear. The bleed of psychic waste within the Cryptaesthesian was scoured for signs of encryption that might be a communication intended for embedded agents of Horus within the Imperial Palace itself.The inhabitants of the City of Sight were devastated just before the start of the Horus Heresy when Primarch Magnus the Red's attempt to use sorcery to warn the Emperor of Mankind of Horus' betrayal led him to breach the psychic wards around the Imperial Palace protecting the Emperor's Webway Project from assault by Warp entities.Magnus' brute force assault on the Imperial Webway's wards allowed the power of the Warp to briefly invade Terra. Millions of astropaths and other psykers died as their minds burned out or Daemons tore them apart. Miniature Warp storms consumed entire settlements and flattened structures across the world. |
Adeptus Astra Telepathica - Reign of Blood: During the Age of Apostasy, a second period of civil war in the Imperium of Man that occurred during the early 36th Millennium when the Imperium's government was essentially seized by the corrupt High Lord Goge Vandire, he ruled the Imperium according to his own wishes instead of in accord with the Emperor's will. This lamentable period of history is known in Imperial annals as the "Reign of Blood." During this time, Vandire had considerable trouble bringing the Adeptus Astra Telepathica under his control. Lord Phaedrus, the Master of the Adeptus Astra Telepathica, was a potent psyker and as such was not swayed by Vandire's charisma or charm.Phaedrus saw through Vandire's veil of lies and deceits, and understood the corrupt high lord's true intentions. Vandire realised that Phaedrus was using his considerable psychic abilities to stay one step ahead of him, and simply killing Phaedrus would never do, for he would just be replaced by a powerful psyker of equal potency. To remove Phaedrus required a much more cunning plan.Luring the Master of the Astra Telepathica into a trap, Vandire utilised the innate anti-psyker abilities of a Culexus Temple Assassin to nullify Phaedrus' psychic abilities. The helpless Phaedrus was then strapped into a specially prepared life-support machine, where the Culexus Assassin permanently severed Phaedrus' ability to tap into the Warp, making him incapable of using psychic powers.Such an operation would have normally killed the powerful psyker, but with the life-support system and a bribed Magos Biologis, Vandire was able to keep Phaedrus alive. Robbed of his psychic powers, Phaedrus was utterly distraught, which resulted in his multiple attempts to take his own life. But Vandire was always there to thwart him, removing the blade from his hand or to loosen the noose around his neck. In the end, Phaedrus was broken and Vandire achieved his aim: control over the Adeptus Astra Telepathica.If Phaedrus did his bidding, Vandire promised that he would not disclose the loss of his psychic capabilities to his subordinates, who would have immediately replaced him, and even worse, pitied him. With his powerful position put in jeopardy, Phaedrus had little choice in the matter and acquiesced to all of Vandire's heretical demands. |
Adeptus Astra Telepathica - Organisation: The Adeptus Astra Telepathica in the 41st Millennium is divided into a recruitment body (the League of Blackships) and a training body (the Scholastica Psykana).These two departments of the adepta are united under the leadership of the Master of the Adeptus Astra Telepathica and their advisory council of several hundred senior officials drawn from its two divisions. |
Adeptus Astra Telepathica - League of Blackships: During the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras, the Divisio Astra Telepathica possessed a militant arm which was referred to internally within the records of the Adeptus Terra as the Departmento Investigates. But they were known throughout the galaxy as the Sisters of Silence, the Silent Sisterhood and the Witchseekers.The Silent Sisterhood was an all-female Imperial order of Witch Hunters dedicated to the elimination of psychic threats to Mankind. Their primary base of operations was the Somnus Citadel on Luna, the moon of Terra. Their purpose was to hunt and kill rogue Human psykers whose activities presented a terrible danger to the people of the newborn Imperium of Man.The Sisters of Silence were well-trained warriors, and with the added benefit of their natural and innate anti-psyker abilities they were dangerous opponents to the psychic enemies of Mankind. Unlike other living beings, these women sworn to silence possessed no presence in the Warp and were therefore unaffected by all forms of psychic power.There were many names for them in the multitude of Human cultures to be found across the galaxy: Untouchables, Pariahs, Blanks, psychic Nulls. All of the members of their order were non-psychic, for they bore the Pariah Gene which made them immune to all forms of psychic assault and rendered their minds unreadable by telepathy.The sisters operated the Astra Telepathica's infamous Black Ships, which ranged across the galaxy following behind the Great Crusade's expeditionary fleets in search of Rogue Psykers to capture or expunge, seeking to collect and carry them back to Terra where they would be tested and their eventual fate decided.Though few in number, the Sisters of Silence commanded great respect within the Imperium and most servants of the Emperor regarded them with some awe. Few would willingly stand in their way or interfere with their activities and few indeed were those who were comfortable in their presence.After the Horus Heresy, it was long believed that the Sisters of Silence were either destroyed long ago or were ultimately folded into the organisation of the Imperial Inquisition. They disappeared from Imperial history for nearly 1,500 standard years, until the Imperium faced annihilation at the hands of the massive Ork WAAAGH! led by the warlord known only as The Beast in the 32nd Millennium. The last vestiges of the Silent Sisterhood would play a key role in defeating this Ork WAAAGH! and diverting disaster.Though officially disbanded after the Age of Apostasy in the 36th Millennium, many enclaves of the Silent Sisterhood still fought for the Imperial cause, albeit in a more secretive and elite capacity than before. With the resurrection of Roboute Guilliman as the lord commander of the Imperium and Imperial Regent after the birth of the Great Rift in ca. 999.M41, the Silent Sisterhood has begun to serve more openly alongside Imperial military forces such as the Indomitus Crusade once more. Though still small in number, it is now possible once again to see one or more of the Sisters of Silence accompanying the Black Ships on their vital duties.In the 41st Millennium, where the strict anti-psyker strictures of the Council of Nikaea were long ago partially relaxed following the reformation of the Imperium in the wake of the Horus Heresy during the Time of Rebirth, the League of Blackships now forms the recruiting division of the Adeptus Astra Telepathica.The League consists of a substantial fleet of black Imperial starships charged with collecting and transporting psykers taken from worlds across Imperial space as part of the Imperial Tithe to Terra. The Black Ships are feared transports filled with mournful psykers held in cavernous, psi-shielded holds to be taken back to Terra to feed the voracious psychic appetite of the Emperor in an ongoing attempt to maintain the power of the Astronomican's psychic beacon. Only those psykers with the strength of mind to withstand the constant soul-numbing despair that permeates the Black Ship may crew it, so mentally traumatic is such duty.The Black Ship fleet travels constantly throughout the Imperium. Each Imperial world is visited every one hundred Terran years or so by a Black Ship. When a Black Ship nears an inhabited Imperial planet, its planetary governor is instructed to prepare the customary levy -- a tithe of psykers.Once the levy has been collected, the Black Ships' captains make an initial evaluation of their cargo before proceeding to the next world in their circuit. When the ships are full they return to Terra and the psykers are transferred to the Scholastica Psykana before the ship leaves again to continue in their eternal search for new psykers.It is common for Inquisitors of the Ordo Malleus or Ordo Hereticus to travel aboard the Black Ships, as this gives them a good opportunity to investigate a planet's potential for psychically-based corruption. |
Adeptus Astra Telepathica - Scholastica Psykana: The Scholastica Psykana, the training division of the Adeptus Astra Telepathica, is a vast teaching institution devoted to the training of young psykers, who are taught how to develop and control their powers to serve the Imperium. Most of the psyker recruits are drawn from the levy collected by the Black Ships, others are handed over by the Inquisition, the Adeptus Arbites, the Scholas Progenium or through other Imperial channels.The future of each psyker depends on their abilities and character. Initial evaluation divides the levy into several groups depending on their innate psychic power, individual character and willingness to learn. The youngest psykers are preferred by the Scholastica Psykana, as these frightened boys and girls are the easiest to train and indoctrinate. Such psykers are soul-bound to the Emperor, a psychic ritual that reshapes their cerebral cortexes and hardens their minds and souls against possession by the Daemonic entities of the Warp. It is invariably those psykers recruited as children who are given further training to fill important positions in the Imperium as Sanctioned Psykers (one well known example being the Inquisitor Gideon Ravenor).Those psykers of a levy who are deemed weak in character or psychic power, too dangerous to train or too old to have their bad habits changed, are instead sacrificed to the Emperor, their life forces leeched from their bodies to sustain the Master of Mankind and power the Astronomican beacon that aids all Imperial interstellar travel.The first ranking of psykers (referred to as "primary psykers") are those whose powers and strength of character are sufficient to resist possession and Daemonic corruption under normal circumstances, and they are chosen to serve the Imperium in the highest capacities, rarely being forced to undergo the soul-binding ritual. After receiving five Terran years of basic training at the Scholastica, they are sent for further training and service in another Imperial organisation depending on where their abilities are judged best suited.The very young may be handed over to and indoctrinated into the Space Marines as Chapter Librarians; some may enter the Astra Militarum to begin their training as combat Primaris Psykers; the most talented may become Inquisitors or even Grey Knights.The majority of the discovered psykers in a given levy form the second rank of psykers. They are trained for service as astropaths (i.e. astro-telepaths). Astropaths are psykers specialised in interstellar astro-telepathic communication, being able to send and receive telepathic messages instantaneously over vast distances in the form of images and symbols that are psychically resonant with each astropath's own mind. The astropaths perform one of the most vital tasks in the Imperium; telepathy is the only practical means of instant interstellar communications in the galaxy-spanning Imperium of Man.Some primary and secondary psykers are given over to the Adeptus Astronomica, a smaller Imperial adepta in which the psychic recruits continue their training to serve and maintain the Astronomican. |
Adeptus Astra Telepathica - Black Sentinels: Following the great Imperial conclave on Nikaea in 001.M31, new strictures were laid down by the Emperor in regards to the use of psykers within the Imperium. It was decreed that the astropaths within the Whispering Tower would remain under the constant vigil and scrutiny of the Black Sentinels, a specially trained force of psyker killers, gaolers and executioners all in one.Each of these stalwart warriors was encased in beetle-black armour with contoured breastplates of burnished obsidian, their faces concealed by a reflective tapered helm, not unlike an early make of Space Marine Legion power armour. Their helmets were specially lined with psi-shielding to protect them from the latent mental pressure generated by the innate powers of the psykers within the City of Sight.Each Black Sentinel was armed with long, black-bladed lances, their hafts topped with sparkling crystalline spearheads. But they were also trained in the use of the extensive arsenal of weapons possessed by the Imperium's armouries.The Black Sentinels were also responsible for protecting the physical aspects of the city from any threat without, as well as the psyker threat within. |
Adeptus Astra Telepathica - Adeptus Astra Telepathica and the Inquisition: The Adeptus Astra Telepathica is responsible for the operation of the fearful Black Ships. These vast, ancient vessels ply the space lanes on solar decades-long circuits of the Imperium, gathering at each planet they visit all of the Human psykers born to that world. These are interred in soul-shielded holds, and eventually brought to Terra when the vessel's holds are full, there to be judged worthy of a life in service to the Imperium, or a death in communion with the Emperor. Plenty never even make it to Terra, being judged by their keepers as too dangerous to live a minute more, even in the bleak holds of the Black Ships.Due to their mission, there is a fair amount of interaction between the Adeptus Astra Telepathica and the members of the Ordo Hereticus. One of the few obligations of Imperial Commanders is that they conduct regular psyker-purges and render up those they find when the Black Ships arrive. The Adeptus Astra Telepathica employs all manner of arcane enumerations in order to predict the number of psykers the population of any given world is likely to spawn in a single generation, and the quantity grows each year. So, when a world's offering comes up short of this prediction, the Adeptus Astra Telepathica has cause for concern. If the adepts' fears are great enough, they call upon the Inquisition to investigate matters.The consequences of a world failing to hand over its psyker population are too terrible to comprehend, and so it is not uncommon for the Adeptus to supply the Inquisitor with specialised Imperial Sanctioned Psykers, should they be needed, in order to combat the threat.Psy-cults are pernicious enemies indeed, able to dominate entire segments of a population. Other groups trade in psyker-slaves, drugging the poor unfortunates and subjecting them to all manner of ritualised trauma in order to ride the wave of thrilling madness they telepathically radiate. Others, such as criminal figures, seek to use the psykers' talents to their own ends. Ultimately however, such misdeeds always lead to disaster. An enslaved psyker escapes and wreaks revenge against all within a dozen kilometres; the cult delves too deeply into forbidden knowledge and mass possession and Daemonic incursion ensue; the unbound psyker loses control of their powers and death and insanity are unleashed.Only the greatest of Witch Hunters can hope to prevail against such foes, and even they request the aid of the Adeptus Astra Telepathica in combating their foes. In addition to such aid being provided, Inquisitors, in common with every branch of the Imperium, rely upon the services of astropaths for communications across the void. These adepts are provided to the many arms of the Imperium by the Adeptus Astra Telepathica, and pledged to the service of the organisation they serve. In the case of the Inquisition, many Inquisitors prefer to maintain the permanent services of a trusted astropath, that their communications might remain secure and uncorrupted by the actions of their rivals and enemies.Another reason for the relatively close ties between the two organisations is that a large number of Inquisitors are gifted with psychic powers themselves, and therefore were trained in their use by the adepts of the Telepathica. In fact, such Inquisitors owe their very lives to such adepts, for they might have been judged undeserving of life or too weak to control their powers, or else consigned to the Adeptus Astronomica.It is not uncommon for Inquisitors of the Ordo Hereticus to serve on board the Black Ships themselves, witnessing first hand the methods the Adeptus uses to suppress and control its charges. Arriving at a world, the Inquisitor is able to lend their aid in the gathering of the cull, to ensure that no psykers are withheld, and to make sure the Emperor receives His due. |
Adeptus Astronomica - Adeptus Astronomica: The Adeptus Astronomica has the duty of maintaining the Astronomican for the Imperium of Man, the psychic beacon in the Warp directed by the mind of the Emperor that provides guidance for the mutant Navigators that pilot all Imperial starships in the galaxy. They recruit new members through the auspices of the allied Adeptus Astra Telepathica.The Astronomica is largely composed of psykers; its non-psyker members are hereditary servants. The organisation is based in Terra's Forbidden Fortress, where even the Adeptus Arbites' judges and Inquisitors must receive an invitation to lawfully enter.The adepta's head is the Master of the Astronomican, who represents the organisation as a High Lord of Terra and a member of their Senatorum Imperialis. |
Adeptus Astronomica - History: Before expanding the Great Crusade to the stars beyond the Sol Sector in the late 30th Millennium, the Emperor of Mankind first ordered the construction of the Astronomican on Terra.The purpose of this colossal endeavour was that the entire device was to serve as a focus through which the Emperor could direct His fathomless psychic energies to generate a partly self-sustaining navigational beacon for the commercial and military starships of the Imperium.The psychic navigational beam generated by the Astronomican was able to cut through the Warp across the galaxy and those attuned to its frequencies and modulations, the sanctioned Human mutants known as Navigators, were able to use it as a beacon and pole star when plotting journeys through the Immaterium.Originally, the Astronomican was powered solely by the Emperor, but this duty was eventually shifted to a great choir of 10,000 psykers instead, heralding the birth of the organisation that would become the Adeptus Astronomica.In addition to this invaluable beacon among the stars, the forging of the Imperium during the Great Crusade would not have been possible without the creation and skills of the Astra Telepathica.This special corps of interstellar telepathic communicators was created by the Emperor during the final months of the Unification Wars, as the Emperor had foreseen the absolute future need for a means to communicate across the depths of space if a new interstellar Human empire was to be created.As a psyker Himself, the Emperor understood the use of psychic talents in others, and was well aware of the dangers inherent in any contact with the Warp.The Age of Strife on Old Earth had been afflicted by many "witch-kings" and Daemon-possessed psykers whose existence embodied those dangers, some of whom the Emperor had personally slain. However, He was able to identify those psykers with minds and hearts strong enough to resist the temptations of the Warp.These men and women were then employed in a variety of special roles in the newborn Imperium. Amongst these so-called "Sanctioned Psykers" were the astropaths, "astro-telepaths," capable of telepathically communicating with others of their kind over vast interstellar distances through phantasmal visions, empathic transmission and oenological vision allegory rather than words.This was an essential talent for the success of the Imperium due to the vast distances that separated its inhabited worlds. The only practical means for the Imperium to maintain any semblance of unity across interstellar distances was to make use of Astropaths, but such communication could prove as temperamental as the Warp itself. |
Adeptus Astronomica - Present Mission: In the present-day Imperium of the late 41st Millennium, capable psykers not talented or disciplined enough for use by the Adeptus Astra Telepathica are handed over to the Adeptus Astronomica for a different kind of training. The task of the Adeptus Astronomica is to train the young psykers they receive from the Adeptus Astra Telepathica, so that they can serve in the Chamber of the Astronomican.The whole organisation is basically a training institute run by a class of older members known as Instructors. Some of the Instructors are given the title High Instructor and specialise in a certain area of teaching. The day-to-day administration of the Astronomica, such as maintenance of its facilities, are taken care of by a body of administrative functionaries and hereditary servants.Young psykers recruited from the Adeptus Astra Telepathica are initiated into the Astronomica as acolytes. They are taught not just how to use and control their psychic powers but are introduced to the Lore of the Astronomican. They learn the value of their lives, study philosophy and are gradually brought to a deeper understanding of the universe and the nature of the Warp.Those who achieve this mystic state become the Chosen and are eventually called to serve in the Chamber of the Astronomican beneath the Himalazian (Himalayan) Mountains alongside 10,000 other Chosen. Their psychic energies will be used by the mind of the Emperor in the Warp to power the Astronomican as He directs its psychic beacon across the galaxy.In only a few short solar months each Chosen will die, their psychic and life energies completely drained by the sheer intensity of the demands the Emperor's mind will place upon them. As such, new Chosen must constantly be culled from the populations of the Black Ships of the Adeptus Astra Telepathica.Due to their duties, members of the Adeptus Astronomica are rarely seen off of Terra, though the instructors and high instructors as well as the non-psychic functionaries who are responsible for the continued maintenance of the Astronomican are allowed to travel freely.Similar to the tech-adepts of the Adeptus Mechanicus, the Adeptus Astronomica is considered a form of religious order in the 41st Millennium and its members wear clothing similar to other devotees of the Imperial Cult, including blue, hooded robes.The status of Chosen is considered a great honour among the Imperium's Sanctioned Psykers. To fall short of attaining this goal is not a failure; rather they go on to become instructors or are absorbed as administrative functionaries in the Forbidden Fortress.Those adepts of the Adeptus Astronomica who do achieve Chosen status are considered above the instructors and even the Master of the Astronomican in rank.Their heads are shaven and they wear yellow robes and the scarlet badge of the Chosen. The rest of their lives are spent in prayer and contemplation until they are called to serve in the Chamber of the Astronomican. |
Adeptus Astronomica - No Victory Without Toll: Only the Emperor's mind is powerful enough to survive directing the raw forces supplied by the servants of the Adeptus Astronomica to shape the psychic beacon of the Astronomican. The same survivability does not hold true for those members of the Adeptus Astronomica themselves, for their fate is a sad one.The efforts of generating so much mental energy soon destroys them, leeching their souls and reducing them to empty husks. Many die every day, but they are not the only psykers who are asked to make the ultimate sacrifice, for the Emperor cannot eat as men eat, or drink or breathe air.His life has long since passed beyond the point where such things can sustain Him and the only viable sustenance for the Emperor is Human life force –- souls -– and He has an insatiable appetite. Not just any Human will suffice for the Emperor's table, for the donor must have psychic powers.Therefore, the Imperium is scoured by the vast flotillas of the Black Ships in a tireless search for emergent psykers. During their long, crowded journey back to Terra, some of the psykers will be found to have the strength of mind to be recruited into the Adeptus Astra Telepathica or become trained by the Adeptus Astronomica, but many more will serve their Emperor in a more gruesome way.They are given wholly to the weird machinery that surrounds the Master of Mankind and their souls are siphoned, slowly and agonisingly, to feed His mighty spirit. Many hundreds, even thousands, must die in this way every solar day for the Emperor, the Imperium, and all of Humanity to survive.The Emperor's dream of a new age of enlightenment, a time when Mankind was freed from superstition and ignorance, has turned into something far different. His Imperium has long endured, but only by virtue of an oppressive and necessarily harsh rule carried on in His name.It is an age of tyrants and of unreason, an era of stagnation and intolerance. His people have regressed into religious obfuscation while the Emperor sits immobile, His thoughts unknown; for the creature whose will extends over a million worlds is unable to lift a shrivelled finger for Himself. |
Adeptus Custodes - Adeptus Custodes: The Adeptus Custodes, known as the Legio Custodes during the era of the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy, and colloquially as the "Ten Thousand," is the Imperial adepta responsible for protecting the Imperial Palace and the physical body of the Emperor of Mankind, as well as serving as His most important emissaries, His companions, and the keepers of His many secrets. The Custodes is an elite cadre of genetically-engineered transhuman male and female warriors who are even more potent in combat than the Adeptus Astartes. They are to the Space Marines as the Emperor is to His primarchs, and it is rumoured that each was created by the Master of Mankind personally. His might permeates them, burns in their eyes and flows through their veins as surely as their blood. As such, the Adeptus Custodes are widely regarded as the deadliest warriors in the galaxy, Human or otherwise.Where Space Marines represent the mass-produced, genetically-engineered soldiers of the Imperium of Man, the Adeptus Custodes are a force of individual warriors, each a bastion in their own right and a sentinel of unmatched capability and singular purpose created to counter any possible threat -- Human, alien or Daemonic. These warriors have stood in the presence of the immortal Emperor of Mankind since before the time of the Unification Wars. For ten thousand Terran years and more, the Custodians have stood watch over their lord and master, serving as the Emperor's personal heralds and praetorian bodyguard.During the Great Crusade these resplendent warriors guarded the Emperor wherever He went and swore to give their lives to protect His. After His incarceration in the Golden Throne following the Horus Heresy ten standard millennia ago, they have taken a far more limited role in the Imperium of Man. They almost never leave Terra and only very rarely are seen outside the Imperial Palace as they watch over their recumbent master and patrol the precincts of the Emperor's palace, ever vigilant of threats. It is only the Adeptus Custodes who decide who may enter the Sanctum Imperialis of the Emperor at the heart of the Inner Palace, and when they may do so.With the birth of the Great Rift in the Era Indomitus, and the resurrection of Primarch Roboute Guilliman as the lord commander of the Imperium and Imperial Regent, the Adeptus Custodes have been forced to take a more active role in galactic affairs. A force of Custodians has followed Guilliman's Indomitus Crusade out into the galaxy, often serving as the heralds of a Torchbearers fleet bringing the Primaris creation technology to existing Space Marine Chapters.This was done both to reassure the existing Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes that the gift of the Primaris Space Marines was ordained by the will of the Emperor, but also because in this new era of constant threat, the Custodes have come to a hard realisation: sometimes, the best defence is found on offence.Quick Answers What is the primary role of the Adeptus Custodes in the Warhammer 40k universe? In the Warhammer 40k universe, the Adeptus Custodes, or Custodian Guard, are the Emperor of Mankind's bodyguards. These individual transhuman warriors of both sexes, unmatched in capability, are designed to counter any threat. Their loyalty to the Emperor is absolute and unquestionable. They've served the Emperor since the Unification Wars, a period spanning ten thousand Terran years. Besides their protective role, they also function as a military force since the start of the Era Indomitus led them to leave the Imperial Palace for the first time in ten millennia, wielding authority over nearly all other Imperium organisations. Provided by: Community Who is the only authority the Adeptus Custodes answer to? The Adeptus Custodes, known as the Custodian Guard in the Warhammer universe, exclusively answer to the Emperor of Mankind. They operate beyond all law and command, with the exception of the Emperor's direct authority. High-ranking Imperials, including the High Lords of Terra and Lord Commander Guilliman, can merely request their assistance, but not issue orders to them. Each Custodian is also an individual lord of the Imperium. Provided by: Community What is the significance of the Custodes symbol in the Warhammer 40k lore? In Warhammer 40k lore, the Custodes symbol, the Raptor Imperialis, originated during the Unification Wars, and was the original symbol of the early Imperium. The Adeptus Custodes, or Custodian Guard, are exclusively permitted to use it as their main heraldic icon. Provided by: Community What is the ancient declaration made by the Emperor of Mankind about the Adeptus Custodes? The Emperor of Mankind declared the Adeptus Custodes, or Custodian Guard, as his personal bodyguards during the Unification Wars. Their lives are pledged to his safety, their loyalty unquestionable. Only the Emperor has authority over them, with no other commander in battle or service than those they choose to accept. Provided by: Community How does the loyalty of the Adeptus Custodes contribute to their role as custodian guards? The Adeptus Custodes, or Custodian Guard, are fiercely loyal protectors of the Emperor of Mankind. Their loyalty is not given lightly, but once earned, it is unshakeable. This profound loyalty, combined with their individualistic fighting styles and unique armors, makes them formidable opponents. Even powerful sorcerers find their mental assaults ineffective against the Custodes' unwavering conviction. Provided by: Fandom{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","name":"Adeptus Custodes","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What is the primary role of the Adeptus Custodes in the Warhammer 40k universe?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"In the Warhammer 40k universe, the Adeptus Custodes, or Custodian Guard, are the Emperor of Mankind's bodyguards. These individual transhuman warriors of both sexes, unmatched in capability, are designed to counter any threat. Their loyalty to the Emperor is absolute and unquestionable. They've served the Emperor since the Unification Wars, a period spanning ten thousand Terran years. 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Adeptus Custodes - An Order of Demigods: The Adeptus Custodes: It is a name spoken in reverent whispers, for these warriors have stood in the presence of the immortal Emperor of Mankind, and are charged with His protection. His greatness runs in their veins, undiluted by the passage of aeons. They have been called the Emperor's right hand, for they act with His authority and fight in His name.Only now, as the threat of Chaos grows ever greater and takes its dreaded toll, does that gilded hand reach out and become an eagle's claw. The Custodian Guard are the talons of the Emperor unsheathed, and they will tear the corruption of Chaos from the Imperium no matter the cost.Near-immortal are the Adeptus Custodes, for the golden elixir of the Emperor's own blood runs in their veins. Though outwardly resplendent, there is a scar upon the soul of the Custodian Guard, an inescapable disgrace that has tainted their history and lives in the heart of every warrior, from fresh inductees to veterans over a thousand Terran years old.Clad in baroque, golden Custodian Armour and armed with priceless relic weaponry, the Adeptus Custodes make for a magnificent sight. They tower over mortals; each has the statuesque physique of an ancient hero, close to nine Terran feet in height even without their scarlet-crested helm. Yet for all their might, for all their bravery, the Custodians were unable to prevent the Emperor from falling to His traitorous son, the Primarch Horus.For millennia, the Adeptus Custodes have formed the unyielding core of the Emperor's multi-layered defences. Those Custodian Guard charged with the physical protection of the Master of Mankind spend every waking second devoted to their task, refining their warrior skills and constantly testing and updating their own strategies to ensure the sanctity of the Emperor's throne. They are His last line of defence against a hostile galaxy hell-bent on Humanity's destruction. If they fail in their task, the Imperium of Man will collapse from the inside out. Their duty is so sacred, their reputation so profound, that even Space Marines and Inquisitors kneel before them.Though few truly realise it, Humanity teeters upon the precipice. Aliens and fiends hurl themselves against the Imperium's borders even as the rot of treachery and the mutating curse of Chaos gnaw at it from within. Under such impossible duress, Mankind cannot endure.Once, the most part of the Adeptus Custodes would have stood stoically by as the Emperor's foes advanced upon Terra, each lordly champion stern and immobile until the foe crossed the pitch-black moat of the Sol System and hammered upon the palace walls themselves. After all, to keep vigil is the oath they swore to fulfil, and they have never abandoned it, even as thousands of worlds have burned.Now that sovereign duty has changed. In Mankind's darkest hour, a legend has emerged from the annals of history -- the Ultramarines Primarch Roboute Guilliman, an icon of authority. The coming of this legendary High Lord has galvanised the Adeptus Custodes, and after long consultation, seen them reorganised and given new life. The golden brotherhood now numbers not only guardians, but also crusaders.Alongside the female order of anti-psykers known as the Sisters of Silence, the Adeptus Custodes bring war anew to the enemies of the Imperium. All shall learn to fear their golden warships, for they herald swift and unmerciful slaughter. These are heroes of fire and blade, and they will not stop until every threat to their immortal master lies slain. |
Adeptus Custodes - The Firstborn: The origins of the Custodian Guard are shrouded in myth and legend. The ancient Legio Custodes were the bodyguards and sworn protectors of the Emperor and His chosen emissaries, and when the need arose, His most deadly executioners. Genetically engineered male and female warriors of unswerving loyalty and unshakable purpose, their might and skill-at-arms was greater even than the Space Marines of the ancient Legiones Astartes, while their weapons and wargear were uniquely potent, representing the apex of the Imperium's technology. Their history is a long one, and for centuries they have walked in the Emperor's shadow as His praetorians and the protector of His secrets.The Legio Custodes are by many accounts the Emperor's true firstborn, prefiguring even the gene-crafted Thunder Warriors of the Unification Wars. They are His first genetically-engineered, psycho-indoctrinated warriors, perfected weapons crafted by the Emperor's genius from the dread lore of the Dark Age of Technology.They are in almost every measurable way superhuman: stronger, faster, more acute of senses and more resilient than even the doomed Thunder Warriors or the Space Marines who would follow them, and so far beyond the limits of an unaugmented Human as to be almost godlike in comparison. Indeed, only the primarchs and above them the Emperor Himself exceeds them in corporeal might, and to meet them in open conflict is to court death for Human or alien alike.They are rare creatures, these firstborn of the Emperor's gene-craft. Such was their psycho-physical design, and the intricacy and sophistication of the gene-craft involved, that the modifications which went into their creation required such strict biological and psychological criteria that only a mere one in many thousands of potential candidates might prove suitable for the simplest of the steps involved in the Legio Custodes creation process.Even of this small pool of candidates, survival through the multiple solar decades of alchemical augmentation and psycho-memetic training were far from guaranteed. In this fact can be seen a pattern also replicated in the Space Marine Legions, only to a far greater degree. While the numbers of the Legiones Astartes were prevented from growing beyond perhaps a million at their greatest strength by the temporal and biological limitations inherent in the means of their creation -- a paltry sum compared to the billions of others who took part in the Great Crusade -- the Legio Custodes could never have operated on the scale of the Space Marine Legions, even if the attempt had been made.As a result of the inherent difficulty of their creation, the number of active Legio Custodes warriors never, it is believed, exceeded 10,000. This figure was first attained towards the middle stages of the Great Crusade and maintained diligently enough that the "Ten Thousand" itself became a cognomen for the Custodian Guard in the works of the Remembrancers and the notaries of the Imperial Court since, whatever its literal accuracy.Certainly no more than a thousand have ever been seen together at any one time, and then only once at the famous Battle of Gyros-Thravian, fought during the Great Crusade against the Ork Warlord Gharkhul Blackfang and his vast Greenskin horde. The primarchs Horus, Rogal Dorn and Mortarion and their Legions were vastly outnumbered and close to defeat when the Emperor led an assault from His golden battle barge, the Bucephelus. At the head of a thousand Custodians, the Emperor struck at the very heart of the Ork horde, confronting Gharkhul atop a towering Gargant.As the Emperor decapitated the giant, black-skinned Ork, the Custodians laid waste to the warlord's prime warriors. It is said that within moments over a hundred thousand Greenskins died and the WAAAGH! was broken. Legend has it that only three Custodians fell at the battle, their names enshrined forever and engraved on the Emperor's armour thereafter. |
Adeptus Custodes - Wrought by the Emperor's Hand: It is not an uncommon belief to suppose the Custodian Guard were themselves some variant of the Astartes -- if so crude a term might be applied, an "advanced" form, perhaps even a second, improved iteration. While this explanation might seem to fit the facts, particularly to those without intimate knowledge of the Imperium's birth pains during the final acts of the Unification Wars on Old Earth, it could not be further from the truth.The bloody chronicles of the Unification Wars, particularly in their earliest stages when the Emperor first rose from the nightmarish bloodshed of Old Earth's long night in the late 29th Millennium to cast down the reign of the warlords and monsters that had carved Mankind's birthworld into a thousand slaughter-haunted pieces, are difficult now to comprehend. Many are rightly sealed from the Imperium's scholars and even the Terran Court, the dangerous truths within suppressed. But in those dark chronicles the Custodian Guard, in some form or shape, have their part as far back as any can record or those few souls who survive yet from those times can remember.Upon the pillars of the Black Manse of Nas'sau, capital of one of the earliest of the techno-barbarian holds to submit before He who was to later be known as the Emperor, inscriptions record the "Lord of Lightning" coming before their warlord-kind flanked by His "four giants of crimson and gold," demanding surrender.Solar decades later, according to detailed extant records preserved in the Trans-Nordyc Akashic archives, a companion guard of thirty "Custodians," bearing Guardian Spears, clad in Augment Armour and personally commanded by the Emperor, fought at the head of the newborn Thunder Legion in the assault against the formidable Maulland Sen Confederacy. One of their number is even recorded as being responsible for striking the head of the Confederation's Tyrant-Prophet from its shoulders in the aftermath of the campaign's climactic "Battle of the Red Frost."Solar decades later, it would be the Custodian Guard in their hundreds, in a form akin to their most modern aspect, who would be charged with leading the cull of those same Thunder Warriors who had once served the Emperor and who had then rebelled against Him in the wake of their forcible disbandment and internment as their mental instability, metabolic collapse and anger over their shortened life spans led to violence.Only this time the Custodian Guard would be accompanied by the new gene-crafted warriors meant to replace the Thunder Warriors; the first few thousand prototype Space Marines, most of whom would go on to form the nascent Ist Legion, later known as the Dark Angels.The evidence then is clear; since before the first worlds were conquered as the Great Crusade left the Sol System, since before the taking of Luna and the Treaty of Olympus Mons, since before the Cataclysm of Ursh and the fall of the Yndonisic Bloc, before the Space Marines and before the Thunder Warriors, the Custodian Guard have walked at the Emperor's side. |
Adeptus Custodes - Incarnate Purpose: To accomplish the ends to which the Legio Custodes were designed, not only is a Custodian's superhuman physical power honed to a razor's edge, but so also is the individual Custodian's intellect, mental fortitude and martial skill developed with ruthless application and zeal.The result is the creation not simply of a preternaturally deadly fighter or master assassin -- though they can readily serve as both -- but to create a being whose perception and apprehension of threat and how to counter it is literally beyond the natural limits of Humanity or the powers of a machine. By means unknown and unknowable beyond the Emperor's own forbidden laboratories are the minds of the Custodians programmed and fortified, filled with an encyclopaedic knowledge of all the arts of death, deceit and destruction they might encounter in their duty, and how both to counter and employ them. Beyond even this their education is prodigious, for they are not simply the Emperor's protectors in intention. They were also made to be His companions and with Him they were armed to converse on such matters of warfare, politics and philosophy as He wished when He still walked among mortals.Most importantly, their psyches are also crafted and shaped as a master gemsmith might cut and polish a perfect stone, fashioned to precise order and pattern, a pattern to which loyalty and discipline, duty and unflinching obedience to the Emperor goes deeper than blood and bone, deeper than conscious thought or unconscious desire. If at any stage in the process of Custodian augmentation the merest flaw is encountered, as with the gemsmith's search for the perfect stone, the flawed subject is discarded.The product of these amassed arts, arcane, academic and militant, is a body of warriors who are living weapons. These made up the Legio Custodes and later the Adeptus Custodes itself, the Ten Thousand. As an organisation, it was in many ways both alike and unalike to the ancient Space Marine Legions in formation and structure, a paramilitary force unique in Human history, inviolate in action and answerable only to the Emperor.While each Legion was, at least at conception, a highly stratified and self-contained military organisation designed to be the shock troops and principal military agency of the Great Crusade, the Legio Custodes was similarly self-sufficient and self-contained, but was never armed or expected to prosecute a full war, but instead to utterly dominate whichever particular close battle in which they fought. Their base of operations is Terra itself and their own domains interwoven with that of the Emperor.They hold few voidships of their own, but could command by edict any such vessel of the Imperialis Armada or the later Navis Imperialis to their task, and in fact requisition anyone or anything within the Imperium in extremis to serve their most sacred and undaunted task; the protection of the Emperor and His works from all the foes of Humanity. Whether serving as part of a detachment acting as the destroyers of some ill-fated foe, or tasked as a bodyguard for the Emperor or some element of His household, or even where a handful of Custodians might be deployed to act as the personal protectors of an Imperial emissary or Lord Militant, they are tireless, vigilant and remorseless.They are armed, created and trained to be the match and the death of anything they might encounter face-to-face, be that Human, xenos or machine, in any circumstance of single combat, counterattack to ambush or close-range assault. Again and again has history seen the Custodian Guard stand off and defeat odds that seem beyond reason or belief. It has seen them slay monsters foul enough to have been dredged up from pure nightmare, and defeat and slay assassins born of arts both dark and subtle beyond Human ken.Tested again and again, be it on alien worlds untrodden by Humanity, or within the tangled under-hives of the domains of Mankind lost to the Age of Strife, or the twisted palaces of alien warlords, the Custodians proved themselves warriors of terrifying ability. Their service and their mystery saw the Legio Custodes and the later Adeptus Custodes quickly become a legend equal in wonder and terror even to those alongside whom they served and in the echoes of whispered stories in every corner of the burgeoning Imperium.To the common soldier and planetary governor alike, the golden-armoured image of the Custodian Guard was a visible sign not only of the Emperor's direct protection and the embodiment of His will and agency, but also the omen of His unstoppable wrath, as personal and as terrifying in their way as the Angels of Death, His Space Marines, were impersonal and all-conquering avatars in the minds of many of the Great Crusade itself. |
Adeptus Custodes - Horus Heresy: After the breaking of the Orks upon Ullanor, the Emperor returned to Terra, taking His Custodian Guard with him. The seeds of doubt He left behind among the Space Marine Legions soon became the roots of treachery, for there is darkness in every Human soul, and the Ruinous Powers have always known how to exploit it. Before a single generation had passed, the insidious taint of Chaos had infected a full half of the Emperor's primarchs, Horus foremost amongst them. These Arch-traitors spread the moral decay to the Legiones Astartes they led, and the galaxy was lit with the fires of strife and civil war.At the climax of the Horus Heresy, the Custodian Guard fought monstrosities without number, for those in the Traitor Legions powerful enough to reach the gates of the Imperial Palace were twisted body and soul by the baleful gifts of Chaos. A thousand victories were won by the Custodian Guard, but they all turned to ash when the Master of Mankind teleported aboard Horus' flagship, the Vengeful Spirit, at the height of the Siege of Terra. There, a strike force of Legio Custodes fought the fiercest of Traitors to protect their master. They were found wanting.Though Horus was defeated by the Emperor in single combat at the last, it was at an unimaginable cost; the Warmaster cast down the angelic Primarch Sanguinius, and dealt the Emperor a mortal blow before being slain in turn. Though the Emperor's psyche remained active within His shattered body, since that day, the Custodian Guard have stood vigil over little more than a broken corpse, wizened and immobile upon a slowly failing life support system. |
Adeptus Custodes - Time of Rebirth: The Custodians have long worn the shroud of shame after that fateful day. In grave ceremony they donned black cloaks to symbolise the pall of darkness that had fallen over their order. The Emperor's realm, wracked by the tempest of heresy, was reforged by those primarchs that survived the great upheaval. Largely through the efforts of the Ultramarines Primarch Roboute Guilliman as the first lord commander of the Imperium, the byzantine organisations of the Imperium were reordered during the period remembered as the Time of Rebirth in such a way as to ensure that no one faction or power could again threaten Terra or the rule of the Emperor.In doing so, these organisations also relinquished some of their military strength. The Legiones Astartes were divided into far smaller Chapters of a thousand Space Marines each during the Second Founding.The Legio Custodes, though it kept its numerical strength of ten times that number, was reforged as the "Adeptus Custodes" before the time of the Second Founding, becoming castellans of the Imperial Palace whose sole and solemn duty was to protect the Emperor from final death. |
Adeptus Custodes - To the 41st Millennium: Even in the days before the Horus Heresy, it was a rare and blessed thing to see a member of the Legio Custodes, and due to the confinement of the Emperor to the Golden Throne, it has become an almost unthinkable event for a present-day citizen of the Imperium.Even during the Siege of Terra, only a handful of Custodes joined the Emperor when He made His assault upon Horus' flagship, the Vengeful Spirit. Since the death of Horus and the mortal wounds he inflicted upon the Emperor, the Legio Custodes, renamed the Adeptus Custodes after the Time of Rebirth and the reorganisation of the Imperium conducted by Guilliman in the early 31st Millennium, has taken a more limited role by acting solely as the protectors of the physical form of the Emperor on Terra and the primary providers of security for the Imperial Palace.The Adeptus Custodes are the Auric Mortalis ("The Golden Death"), the dread guardians and only living beings permitted to be in the presence of the Emperor unencumbered. Now ensconced deep within the Sanctum Imperialis of the Inner Palace on Terra, they continue their eternal watch over the recumbent form of the Emperor upon the Golden Throne.Despite their long vigil, the Adeptus Custodes have continued to play an important role during some of the most tumultuous times in Imperial history. The Custodians were instrumental in ending the rule of the High Lord Goge Vandire during the Age of Apostasy in the 36th Millennium. It was the actions of a few members of the Adeptus Custodes, utilising secret passages within the Imperial Palace known only to themselves, that brought the Sisters of Battle, then known as the "Brides of the Emperor," to fully realise the acts of base treason perpetrated by Vandire. After their leader, Alicia Dominica, was brought before the Emperor Himself by the Custodes through the secret passages of the palace, she returned and executed Vandire personally for his apostasy and betrayal of the Master of Mankind.No one knows for sure how many hidden coups, secret rebellions and misguided attempts at assassination the Adeptus Custodes have foiled. That their martial skills remain so sharp after ten thousand standard years, however, is evidence that they have not stood an idle vigil. They have been called the Emperor's right hand, for they act with His authority and fight in His name. Only now, as the threat of Chaos grows ever greater and takes its dreaded toll, does that gilded hand reach out and become an eagle's claw. The Custodian Guard are the talons of the Emperor unsheathed, and they will tear the corruption of Chaos from the Imperium no matter the cost.In the 41st Millennium, the personal sanction of Roboute Guilliman, the resurrected primarch of the Ultramarines, sent shock waves through the Adeptus Custodes. After ten thousand Terran years of mourning, the Custodian Guard have cast off their black cloaks and taken to the sea of stars once more. The fires of battle will absolve them, a baptism of blood that washes away the stain of their one great failure. Now, they crusade once more against the dying of the Emperor's light, a vengeance long-awaited finally within reach of their blades. |
Adeptus Custodes - Into a New Age of Darkness: The hour of action is nigh as the Era Indomitus dawns. With the surge of Chaos activity across the galaxy in the wake of the Great Rift's birth and the threat of eternal damnation more real than ever, the Adeptus Custodes have taken their vow of protection to its logical extreme -- they will see the destruction of those forces who pose a threat to the sanctity of Terra. First amongst these are the dread hordes of Chaos.The best form of defence is attack. It is a maxim that has survived through the millennia, and with good reason. Of late, it has become the mantra of all Adeptus Custodes commanders. In conjunction with the alpha-level astropaths and doomscryers that dwell within the Imperial Palace, these officers launch terrifyingly effective strikes at those whom they deem a threat to the Emperor's works. More than one galactic tyrant, laying plans for a crusade that he envisages culminating on Terra itself, has found the warriors of the Emperor descending from the heavens to strike him down before he has even taken to his ships.There are those who believe that the Adeptus Custodes stand immobilised by ritual and rote, but they are sorely mistaken. Only the Custodian Guard know what occurs behind the Sanctum Imperialis' colossal doors, and the lengths to which they have gone to keep their vigil. Their sacred task has by no means led to inactivity.Hundreds of wars have been fought by the Adeptus Custodes over the aeons -- some in Terra's defence, some in secret, and some further afield. Even when the din of war recedes, these warriors work to test and refine the protective aegis they hold before their master, sending agents into the Sol System to divine likely routes of infiltration and assassination so they can stay ahead of even the most inventive enemies. The Adeptus Custodes have long honed strategies and tactics in case they should be called upon to join the frontline fight for Humanity's survival. The day of that remit has finally arrived. The resurrected Primarch Guilliman, restored to his ancient role as the lord commander of the Imperium and Imperial Regent, has met alone with his father, the Master of Mankind, and emerged with a clear vision of Humanity united in battle.Those Custodian Guard known as the Companions -- the three hundred warriors charged with the direct defence of the Emperor on the Golden Throne -- remain by His side, just as the colossal edifice of His palace continues to be bolstered by a standing army of golden heroes. The rest have taken to the stars. They have done so in no small force, for this majestic legion still numbers ten thousand blades and more.With the Sanctum Imperialis secure under the vigil of the Companions, the crusaders are free to pursue the war of aggression they have long desired, putting into place war strategies perfected over the centuries through fractal thought exercises, cogitator-spawned algorithms, long study and even simulated conflicts waged in hallucinariums. These give the Custodians a tactical edge that allows them to counter the enemy's actions before they have begun. |
Adeptus Custodes - Rise of the Primarch: In the last days before the gathering storm broke and the Great Rift tore the void in two, a bright light of hope was kindled within the galactic empire of Ultramar. Through great sacrifice and unnatural artifice, Roboute Guilliman, primarch of the Ultramarines, was restored from the brink of death. His coming would herald great changes for the Imperium. When the Traitor Legions fell upon the Imperial Palace at the culmination of the Horus Heresy, Roboute Guilliman and his Ultramarines were too far away to fight in their father's defence. Perhaps, had it been otherwise, the fate of the galaxy would have been very different.Whatever the case, following his revival Guilliman was determined that he would not make the same mistake twice. Seeing the darkness rising to swamp the Imperium, he launched a desperate crusade across the stars that brought him by strange and bloody roads to the Throneworld itself. Guilliman was welcomed with all honour on Terra, permitted audience with the Emperor by Aquila Commander Kalim Varanor and reinstated as lord commander of the Imperium and Imperial Regent by an assemblage of the High Lords of Terra.Though the returned primarch remained outwardly stern and regal, he had been shaken to the core by what had become of his father's empire. He quickly began instating changes that would permit the Imperium to fight back against the onrushing hordes of Chaos, bulldozing the bureaucratic stubbornness and hidebound pedantry of the Adeptus Terra as he went. |
Adeptus Custodes - Battle of Lion's Gate: Guilliman's return came not a moment too soon, for he had not been long at his labours when the cascading fury of the Great Rift washed over the Sol System. Though not directly struck by Warp Storms, Terra bore the brunt of empyric shock waves that temporarily extinguished the light of the Astronomican during what became known as the Noctis Aeterna, and wrought havoc and misery from the planet's highest spires to its deepest crypts. The Adeptus Custodes found themselves putting down riots, doomsday cult uprisings and rampaging packs of luckless petitioners driven to madness and cannibalism. Bands of Custodian Wardens stood their ground in the shadowed undervaults far beneath the Imperial Palace as runic sigils burned out and timeless horrors burst from their containment cells.Worse was to follow. Seeking to strike the decapitating blow that would bring the Imperium to ruin, a vast horde of Khornate Daemons tore through the skin of reality and assaulted the Lion's Gate of the palace, initiating what became known informally as the "Second Battle of Terra." Legions of howling Daemons surged towards the Emperor's palace in a crimson tidal wave, and a frenzied battle ensued. The battleship-sized gun emplacements flanking the Lion's Gate blasted glowing craters in the diabolical horde, but alone they had no hope of prevailing. Led by Roboute Guilliman and Captain-General Trajann Valoris, a combined host of the Adeptus Custodes, Ultramarines and Sisters of Silence marched out to meet the Daemons before the walls of the Imperial Palace.In scenes that echoed the horror of the Siege of Terra ten millennia before, the golden warriors of the Adeptus Custodes faced the Blood God's savage butchers blade to blade. This time, led by some of the Imperium's greatest champions and driven by a furious determination never to fail again, they prevailed.One by one, the eight Bloodthirsters that led the attack were blown apart or cut down. The cost in lives was great, with noble defenders who had stood guard over the Emperor for thousands of Terran years brought low by the brazen weapons of Khorne's hateful Daemons. Yet even as the skies boiled blood-red and carmine rains slicked the ground, the Blood Legions of Khorne faded from reality with howls of frustration and rage. |
Adeptus Custodes - Marshaling for War: The Battle of Lion's Gate proved a stark truth. While great swathes of witnesses to the Daemonic incursion were corralled and executed by the Inquisition, and efforts made to obliterate all evidence of the conflict, the masters of the Adeptus Custodes formally recognised that Terra's defence could no longer be guaranteed without greater proactive measures. The servants of the Dark Gods had bypassed the defences of the cradle of Humanity.Behind locked doors, complex wards and layers of psy-protections, Trajann Valoris and Guilliman ratified a formal amendment to the role of the Adeptus Custodes. The Imperial Palace must still be guarded, of course, and the Companions' watch must continue within the Emperor's throne room. However, as a logical extension of the vows of duty they had sworn, the Adeptus Custodes committed to greatly extending their extra-solar activities. Aided by oracular doomscryers and alpha-level astropathic intercepts, and guided in part by the continued efforts of the Eyes of the Emperor, more Custodes Shield Hosts than ever before struck out from Terra. The aim of these forces was to exterminate utterly the most deadly threats to the Emperor Himself.This mission might take them all across the galaxy, even into the shadows of the Imperium Nihilus beyond the sprawl of the Great Rift to the galactic north, but always their focus would be the sanctity of Terra. In this capacity a number of Shield Companies attached themselves to Guilliman's Indomitus Crusade, reprising the role of the Emperor's emissaries in bearing Primaris Space Marines reinforcements and the Primaris-creation technology to the beleaguered Space Marine Chapters, and ensuring they understood that this was a gift from the Master of Mankind himself. It was not to be squandered or refused.Other Shield Companies relocated to permanently garrison the Sol System's outer defences, or travelled further afield in order to watch over the primary Warp routes that remained stable paths to the Throneworld. Others still took even more esoteric mantles, becoming hunters after arch-heretics, questors for artefacts crucial to the ongoing survival of the Imperium, or redoubling their efforts in their wars against Humanity's hidden foes. Not since the Great Crusade had so many Custodians bestrode the stars. |
Adeptus Custodes - Indomitus Crusade: The Adeptus Custodes, for long millennia the bodyguard of the Emperor, were charged with the unthinkable -- to leave His side and strike against those who would see the Master of Mankind dead. Just as a spring tightly wound uncoils with all the more force, the Adeptus Custodes have taken war to the enemies of the Imperium with extreme alacrity and vigour in the Era Indomitus.It is tradition that when one of their number falls, Terra mourns, and the giant Bell of Lost Souls is rung in memoriam; with a new era of war upon them, that sonorous toll has been heard more frequently than ever. They do not fall easily, however, for they have access to the finest weaponry, and the museum-arsenals of the Imperial Palace are theirs to use as they see fit. Few post-Horus Heresy variations of tank, aircraft or weapons systems are at their disposal, but they are perhaps stronger for it -- every weapon the Custodian Guard uses to wage war has earned its place a hundred times over. Their armoured support elements were perfected when the Imperium was still in its infancy, and they remain just as potent, their Machine Spirits more bellicose and powerful than any latter-day equivalent.The Adeptus Custodes employs squadrons of gold-hulled gunships -- some of these are the very same craft used during the Horus Heresy, painstakingly maintained and blessed each day with sacred oils and unguents. When a direct vector of invasion is called for, the Adeptus Custodes utilise Godstrike Pattern teleportarium arrays, appearing in the midst of the fray in storms of golden light. Their starships have ancient translocation bays where blessed incense drifts in the chill air, each station permanently attended to by high-ranking tech-priests and blessed to such a degree that even Contemptor Dreadnoughts can be teleported straight into battle. The warriors inside, their armour proof against the wrenching forces of this arcane technology, shake off their disorientation in a heartbeat before launching thunderous assaults their foes could not have seen coming.The willpower and fortitude of the Adeptus Custodes is such that even the most fiendish sorcerers find their mental assaults rebounding from a wall of sheer conviction. The Custodians share the blood and genetics of the Emperor, after all, and their loyalty to their primogenitor is unshakeable.If the Adeptus Custodes could be said to have a weakness, it is that they fight as individuals rather than squads of soldiers, as proud lions rather than cunning wolves. Each wears armour crafted to his or her particular physique, fights in whatever style they deem most effective, and is given free rein to attack or defend as they see fit. This makes them a terrifyingly effective combatant -- a single Custodian can break a charging horde by themself, though they may take a few good hits in the process.To outsiders, their supreme self-confidence may seem like arrogance. They pay little heed to mortal men, and even the Adeptus Astartes are kept at spear's length as every Custodian blames them for their former transgressions against the Emperor. Yet the reason is a noble one. Every act, thought and deed of a Custodian is made for the furtherance of the Emperor's cause, and therefore the survival of the Human species. Those who stand in the way of such paragons of surety do not last long. |
Adeptus Custodes - Timeline: Tale of the Ten Thousand: From out of the mists of time stride the Adeptus Custodes. Their long path leads from the darkness of Old Night, through the fires of the Horus Heresy, and out of the shadows of ten thousand Terran years of ignorant obfuscation into the cold light of the present. In all of those hundreds of centuries the Custodians have never faltered, and they never shall. |
Adeptus Custodes - Era of Glory and Shame, M30-M32: Unification Wars (Late M29-712.M30) - The bloody chronicles of the Unification Wars, particularly when the Emperor first rose from the nightmarish bloodshed of Old Earth's long night to cast down the reign of the warlords and monsters that had long lorded over the birth world of Mankind, are fragmented or have been sequestered and suppressed from the Imperium's scholars and even the Terran Court. But in those dark chronicles the Custodian Guard, in some form or shape, have their part as far back as any can record or those few souls who survive yet from those times as Venerable Dreadnoughts can remember. Various extant accounts record the Emperor being flanked by "giants of crimson and gold" during several different campaigns of the Wars of Unification demanding the surrender of a tyrant or techno-barbarian warlord. Later, these few "Custodians," now numbering in the hundreds, would later be recorded as leading the cull against the proto-Astartes of the Thunder Warriors following their revolt against the Emperor. Since before the first worlds were conquered as the Great Crusade left the Sol System, since before the taking of Luna and the Treaty of Mars, before the Space Marines and before the Thunder Warriors, the Custodian Guard have walked at the Emperor's side.Great Crusade (ca. 798.M30-005.M31) - The Emperor united all of Terra beneath his rule and struck out into the galaxy at the head of his armies of unification. The Great Crusade sweeps through the void like a tidal wave, uniting the scattered worlds of Humanity and driving the myriad xenos races into the shadows. The Emperor leads the greatest battles of this era in person, and always at His side stride the peerless warriors of the Legio Custodes. Clad in gleaming auramite, wielding blades that crackle with fell energies, the Ten Thousand cut down all that stand before them, and stamp Mankind's glorious authority upon the stars.Battle of Gyros-Thravian (ca. 900s.M30) - The Battle of Gyros-Thravian was a campaign of the Great Crusade fought against the extremely powerful Ork Warlord Gharkul Blackfang, one of the most powerful Ork leaders ever encountered to that time. Three full Space Marine Legions, including the Luna Wolves, Death Guard and Imperial Fists, were deployed to face the Greenskin menace. Despite the strength arrayed against the Orks, it was the Imperial forces who were soon on the verge of defeat. It was then that the Emperor Himself, aboard His flagship Bucephelus, came to the aid of His sons. He personally led a force composed of 1,000 Legio Custodes into the heart of the mighty Ork horde. Blackfang was confronted by the Emperor and killed atop his Gargant while the Custodians proceeded to lay waste to the rest of the Greenskin horde. The Custodians accounted for the slaughter of the Orks, slaying over 100,000 of the savage xenos, with the loss of only three Custodians. Following their momentous victory, the Emperor commemorated the Custodians' sacrifice by engraving the names of the three fallen Custodians into His own personal power armour.Battle of Prospero (734.004.M31) - After the Triumph at Ullanor, the Emperor returned to Terra to apply Himself to a task of utmost secrecy and importance. The Great Crusade continued under the Warmaster Horus of the Luna Wolves, but dark powers were at work, attempting to pervert the favoured primarch's rule and sow discord throughout the nascent Imperium. The first outward sign of the coming catastrophe was the Burning of Prospero. Magnus the Red, primarch of the Thousand Sons, unleashed forbidden sorceries that wreaked havoc upon Terra and the Emperor's secret Webway Project, though most will never know whether this act was one of aggression or an attempt to deliver a desperate warning of Horus' fall. In the end, the truth is immaterial; the Emperor unleashed a censure force under the command of Constantin Valdor and Primarch Leman Russ of the Space Wolves, charged with apprehending Magnus on his homeworld of Prospero and returning him to Terra to answer for his acts. Matters escalate rapidly due to Horus' malevolent intervention and the mission of capture becomes one of wholesale annihilation, Valdor and his Custodians fighting alongside the Space Wolves to overcome the sorcery of Magnus' sons.Horus Heresy (005-014.M31) - The Warmaster Horus openly declared his allegiance to the Dark Gods of Chaos, leading fully half of his brother primarchs and their Space Marine Legions in rebellion against the Throne. Civil war consumes the Imperium, a swift-spreading conflagration that threatens to turn to ash all the Emperor has built. Yet as His sons and their Legions battle across the stars, the Master of Mankind is nowhere to be seen. In truth, He and his Legio Custodes are engaged in their own desperate conflict, fighting upon a trans-dimensional battlefield within the Webway that the Emperor sought to tame for Mankind's use, thus protecting them forever from the machinations of Chaos. Tragically, this existential war keeps the Custodians from exacting the Emperor's vengeance upon His wayward sons -- the Ten Thousand do not take a major role in the battle for the Imperium until the foe is beating at the very gates of the Imperial Palace.Siege of Terra (014.M31) - At the culmination of the Siege of Terra, the Emperor led a last-ditch boarding action against Horus' battle barge, the Vengeful Spirit. He meets Horus in single combat and defeats him at last, but the cost is appalling. Though they cut down Traitors and Daemons beyond count, the Legio Custodes are unable to prevent Horus from crippling the Emperor, and leaving his father's mind and soul trapped in a shattered husk of a body. Grief-stricken, the Custodians bear their master's failing body back to Terra, there to be interred forevermore within the life support machineries of the Golden Throne. They swear a penitent's oath and don the mourning black, consigning themselves to watching over their fallen lord for the rest of time.A Legend's End (ca. 014-021.M31) - The Emperor's surviving loyal sons lead a furious war of vengeance, hounding the Traitor Legions across the galaxy. This period will come to be known as the Great Scouring, and it is a time of violent catharsis and retribution. Yet the newly reorganised Adeptus Custodes takes no part in it, standing their sombre watch upon the Throneworld and contemplating their ultimate failure. Though records conflict as to how and when, it is during this period that Captain-General Constantin Valdor disappears from Imperial histories, along with his weapons and armour, which never make their way to the Custodes' Hall of Armaments within the Imperial Palace complex. The Custodians elect Valdor's successor as Captain-General and Chief Custodian from amongst their ranks and continue their watch.War of the Beast (544-546.M32) - Still recovering from the events of the Horus Heresy, the Imperium is again beset. This time it is the Ork menace of a powerful Warlord, known only as The Beast, that almost overruns Mankind, bringing their war all the way to the gates of Terra itself. Bound by oath and duty, the Custodians take little part in the sprawling conflict, save to strike down a force of Aeldari who attempt to cut a path to the Emperor's throne room during the chaos and confusion. |
Adeptus Custodes - Era of Vigilance Unstinting, M33-M39: Siege of the Eternity Gate (Unknown Date) - Capitalising upon contacts within the Fartraders' Guild of the Yndonesic Hives, the Cult of the Hedonic Lord seize control of much of the Eternity Gate spaceport on Terra in the Outer Palace comnplex. Repeated attempts are made by the Adeptus Arbites to break the Heretic barricades, but every attack is hurled back by tides of fanatics. Meanwhile, word escapes the space port that the cultists are re-purposing hundreds of heavy landers and atmospheric barges for an all-out attack upon the Imperial Palace. Identifying the cult activity as now posing a direct threat to the Emperor's safety, a Shield Host of the Adeptus Custodes launches a blistering attack. Land Raiders and Venerable Contemptor Dreadnoughts smash through the cult's barricades, even as sleek squadrons of Vertus Praetors strike at the Heretics from above. Bands of Custodians tear through the Chaos Cultists with merciless efficiency, driving their victims before them and trapping them in macro-hangar level 142. There the Cult of the Hedonic Lord are slaughtered to the last, and their deviant dreams of an attack upon the Golden Throne ground to dust.Blood Will Tell (Unknown Date) - Leotydus Dat-Hastael runs a successful Blood Game, spending over a solar decade in hiding, evading every ward and sentry to finally reach the Sanctum Imperialis with blade in hand. Precautions are put in place to seal off his route of ingress, just in time to catch the elite Drukhari killer known as the Blade of Ptesh as he attempts the very same route as Dat-Hastael in his efforts to slay the Emperor on behalf of a mysterious and exceptionally persuasive patron. The Blade's ambitions, and indeed his life, meet a merciless end, though he refuses to the end to give up the identity of the one who sent him.Envoys to the Omnissiah (999.M37) - During Abaddon the Despoiler's 8th Black Crusade, a combined force of Night Lords and Iron Warriors captures the Andromax System and a direct threat to Terra is identified. Initially, the notoriously insular Fabricator-General Uixot of Mars refuses to pledge his aid in eliminating the Heretic Astartes. However, when a diplomatic mission from the Adeptus Custodes attends his forge-temple in person, the Fabricator-General's ego is stroked and his mind swayed. Mere solar months later, a combined force of Minotaurs Astartes, Adeptus Mechanicus war maniples and Custodians from the Dread Host annihilates the Traitors in their captured strongholds.The Ominous Gift (Unknown Date) - Halo Belt Augurs surrounding the Sol System reveal the Space Hulk Ominous Gift advancing inexorably out of the dark void towards Terra. Using his status as a High Lord to overrule objections by the Imperial Navy, Captain-General Aesoth Koumadra orders a strike by several Shield Companies to gut the spacecraft from the inside and ensure its corruption is wholly purged. Those outside the Adeptus Custodes do not understand the significance, but the attack is led by the Lockwarden of the Shadowkeepers and a band of his black-armoured comrades. The Ominous Gift is destroyed -- the wider Imperium need never know any more than that.Guardians of Greatness (Unknown Date) - A controversial act of insubordination sees Lieutenant Nathasian of the Cadian 86th Regiment slated for execution. Yet he is spared when a band of grim-faced Custodians from the Aquilan Shield appear at his side in a blaze of golden light, and wordlessly cut down his would-be Commissariat executioners. With his remarkable bodyguards at his side, Nathasian is free to exercise his flair for unconventional tactics, which soon sees his promotion to Commander Army Group, then to Warmaster of an entire Imperial Crusade. The Shuddering Stars are swept clear of Ork tribes, stopping WAAAGH! Dakskrag in its tracks before it can descend upon the Sol System. In the wake of Nathasian's triumph over the Greenskins, his bodyguards depart as suddenly as they had arrived and -- never ones to rescind a sentence -- the Commissariat sees Warmaster Nathasian dead before the solar day is out. |
Adeptus Custodes - Era of Baleful Premonitions, M40-M41: The Mind Thieves (Unknown Date.M41) - For twenty standard years, Shield-Captain Tybanus Lencilius pieces together scattered clues until at last he unearths an insidious scheme by a conclave of Radical Thorian Inquisitors to steal psykers destined for the Emperor's table and slowly starve the Master of Mankind. Sensing a deeper level still to this perfidy, Lencilius continues his investigations with cold, deliberate patience until at last he has concrete proof: the Inquisitors have struck a deal with High Lord Sennaca, who is contriving to hide their activities in exchange for being allowed to sell the stolen psykers on to wealthy Imperial nobles for exorbitant fees. At last the Shield-Captain is able to release his pent-up fury, assembling a combined force of Custodians, Sisters of Silence and Imperial Assassins to pull the corrupt operation up by its roots. Neither the Thorians nor Sennaca, nor any of his inner circle, survive the vengeful purge that follows.The Years of Madness (Unknown Date.M41) - A time of strange omens and ominous whispers engulfs Terra, beginning with the disappearance of the notoriously conservative Captain-General Galahoth. Battling the stagnation of Galahoth's rule, the Adeptus Custodes find themselves facing a shocking increase in cult activity -- both heretical and xenophile -- throughout the Sol System. Doomsday sects trigger queue-wars between the pilgrim tribes within the Emperor's palace itself, and the Custodians are forced to exercise their authority in the bloodiest fights they have seen in centuries. Reports from the Dark Cells cite a growing sense of agitation amongst the hidden inmates, and numerous support servitors have to be destroyed by the Shadowkeepers after they exhibit sudden, violent madness. Worse is to follow as possession is revealed amongst a sub-sect of the doomscryers themselves, though not until the false predictions of the fallen psykers send Captain-General Andros Launceddre to his death at the Battle of the Gilded Pyre. It is amidst this climate of spiralling paranoia and danger that Captain-General Trajann Valoris is elevated to command the Ten Thousand, and he wastes no time in taking steps to regain ironclad control of Terra's defence.To Stand Against the Storm (999.M41) - In the wake of Valoris' rise to power, the Adeptus Custodes enjoy their most proactive century of martial and covert action since the fall of Goge Vandire. They annihilate dozens of hidden cults, purge the polar underhives of Terra, eliminate a vermillion-classified xenos threat amidst the Plutonian void-fortresses of the Sol System, and launch thirty-two separate extra-solar interdiction strikes. Several, it is rumoured, even utilise shattered spars of the Webway to reach their targets. As word reaches Terra of ever increasing Warp Storm activity, and cries for help sweep in from every corner of the galaxy, Valoris assembles the High Lords of Terra to discuss their response to this gathering storm. Yet it is at that moment that word reaches their closed session of an incredible disturbance on the surface of Luna, of demigods battling through the airless void at the head of great armies, and of a Primarch restored by the strangest of roads. Roboute Guilliman has returned on his Terran Crusade, and Valoris knows that nothing will be the same ever again... |
Adeptus Custodes - Era of Relentless Aggression, M41-M42: Note: All dates from this point forward are provisional due to errors in the Imperial Calendar, meaning these events could actually have occurred at any time from the early 41st Millennium to the early 42nd Millennium.Battle of Lion's Gate (ca. 999.M41) - Barely has Roboute Guilliman returned to Terra when the empyric bow waves of the Great Rift sweep over the Sol System. Riding their boiling crests comes a horde of Khornate Daemons, who burst through the skin of reality to assail Terra itself in what is also known informally as the "Second Battle of Terra." Though this is the Adeptus Custodes' nightmare scenario, they enact their Catastrophe Protocols with unshakeable calm and self-assurance. Storming out to meet the invaders alongside Guilliman's Ultramarines and a sizeable complement of the Sisters of Silence, the Custodians successfully deflect the Blood God's attempt to behead the Imperium with a single strike. Victory is bought at a steep price in irreplaceable lives, but it is victory nonetheless. In the battle's aftermath, Valoris and Guilliman quickly reach an agreement: the role of the Adeptus Custodes must change, for they can no longer effectively defend the Golden Throne from behind the palace ramparts alone.Indomitus Crusade (ca. 999.M41) - Roboute Guilliman announces the Indomitus Crusade, a desperate and determined undertaking by a combined Imperial force to drive back the rampaging armies of Chaos. As part of this crusade, the Ultramarines Primarch intends to bear Primaris Space Marine reinforcements and the secrets behind their creation to the far-flung and hard-pressed Space Marine Chapters. On the eve of his decision, a large number of Emissaries Imperatus step forwards, compelled by the spirit of the Emperor to accompany the crusade. These will be the envoys who bring Guilliman's gift to the Adeptus Astartes; their presence will ensure that even those Chapters the Primarch does not visit in person understand the gravitas of what they are offered, and set aside whatever mistrust or conservatism they might have in order to embrace the Emperor's beneficence in their hour of need.Carnage on Gathalomor Prime (Unknown Date.M42) - The Gathalamor System comes under sustained attack from the Heretic Astartes of the Word Bearers Traitor Legion. As their Dark Apostles summon creatures from beyond the veil, the fight turns viciously against the Imperial defenders. The Mordian 84th Regiment and the Sisters of the Order of the Argent Shroud dig in to stage their last stand in the grim ruins of Gathalamor Prime's macro-cathedrum, their prayers for salvation ringing out to the screaming skies above. Sure enough, even as hordes of Traitors and abominations mobilise to attack, the Emperor answers the cries of his followers. Teleport flares erupt through the Heretic lines, gold and silver lightning leaping as a combined force of Custodians and Grey Knights storm into battle. Bolters roar and crackling blades tear through Heretic flesh, Trajann Valoris and Grand Master Aldrik Voldus leading an assault that sees the Traitor army shattered into battling warbands. Inspired by the sudden arrival of veritable demigods, the Mordians and Sisters of Battle advance, hymnals rising from their ranks over the roar of Flamers and the scream of massed Lasgun fire. Blood slicks the streets around the macro-cathedrum, corpses piling in gory heaps as the Word Bearers and their Daemonic allies fight back furiously. Yet after three solar days and nights of unremitting savagery, the Chaos host is broken in the Battle for the Statue Steps. With fresh Imperial reinforcements flooding in to the wider Gathalamor war zone, the Custodians set course for Terra, leaving the Grey Knights to deal as they see fit with the unfortunates that they rescued from the macro-cathedrum.Giants and Gods (Unknown Date.M42) - Fighting alongside the Knights of House Krast, a Shield Company of the Adeptus Custodes storms the battle lines of the Necron Tomb World of Trynnect. They smash through the android xenos and obliterate the cabal of Crypteks at its heart, thus preventing the awakening of the ancient C'tan star god Zul'channec within the northern bounds of the Segmentum Solar.The Echovault (Unknown Date.M42) - Led by the ambitious Chaos Lord Hadrexus, a sizeable contingent of Black Legionaries fall upon the world of Dakhorth. They sweep aside the planet's defending regiments and advance to secure the ancient xenos ruin known as the Echovault. Before they can lay claim to this mysterious structure, two of the warships known as the Moiraides appear in orbit. The Custodians of the Dread Host deploy in force, securing the mountain pass that leads to the Echovault with squads of Custodian Wardens who hold firm against wave after wave of attacks. Meanwhile, multiple Shield Companies strike at the flanks of the Traitor force, pulling their formation apart and dividing their strength. Finally, a decisive force of forty Allarus Terminators teleports into the very heart of the Black Legion lines, tearing their command structure apart and slaying Lord Hadrexus and his Chosen to the last. Though dozens of Custodians fall during the fighting, they smash the Black Legion invaders utterly and send their remnants fleeing back into the Warp. As for the Echovault, it is left undisturbed, and a permanent garrison of Custodian Wardens left to watch over it.The Dangers of Excellence (Unknown Date.M42) - Amidst the horrors of the ongoing war against Chaos, it is deemed heresy for Administratum clerks to suggest the Adeptus Custodes could ever lose a battle, regardless of the odds. Fearing for their safety and their souls, many Adepts record campaigns as Imperial victories even before the first shots are fired, should so much as a single Custodian be reported active in that war zone. Needless to say, more than one star system is lost to subsequent disaster despite the Custodians' endeavours.Vadrian's Quest (Unknown Date.M42) - For millennia, the Adeptus Mechanicus has striven to maintain the esoteric technologies within the Golden Throne. Despite their best efforts, systems continue to fail, and no one still living knows how to repair them. Perceiving such dangerous ignorance as a manifest threat to the Emperor's safety -- and thus falling beneath the purview of the Adeptus Custodes -- Shield-Captain Heraclast Vadrian consults with Trajann Valoris and receives permission to seek a solution. He gathers a band of his finest warriors aboard the Cruiser Scion of Argo, and sets off following a lead that points to the lost Forge World of Morvane.On the Plains of Pallus (Unknown Date.M42) - Following the disastrous collapse of Lord Commander Ustrin's Victorium Crusade, Heretic forces break through the Imperial lines on a system-wide scale. Their advance is spearheaded by the Renegade armoured companies of the Vostokh 7th Regiment, led by the traitorous Marshal Griegor, whose battle tanks repel every Imperial force sent to stop them. At last, upon the rocky plains of Pallus, Griegor meets his match. Screaming into battle upon their ornate steeds come Shield-Captain Aadilus and his company of Vertus Praetors, Melta Missiles streaking from their Salvo Launchers to annihilate the lead vehicles of the Vostokh spearhead. The Traitor tanks open fire with everything they have, seeking to swat the seemingly outmatched Jetbikes from the air. Yet the Praetors weave effortlessly between the shots, weathering those blasts that do hit home and suffering only scant casualties before they split into hunting packs and begin criss-cross strafing runs over and between the enemy armour. More Renegade vehicles explode by the moment, the Vostokh gunners panicking as they find themselves unable to track their hurtling tormentors. Like a shoal of razorfish, the Custodians pick apart their enemies, losing less than a third of their number as they annihilate the enemy's numerically superior army. Marshal Griegor's Shadowsword is the last vehicle slain, its immense main gun proving worse than useless against the agile and resilient Vertus Praetors who reduce it to molten wreckage in a matter of solar minutes.Silent Crossing (Unknown Date.M42) - Since the inexplicable escape of Cypher, the mysterious Fallen Angel, from a high-security cell in the Imperial Palace, the Custodians charged with apprehending him have tirelessly attempted to reacquire their captive. Unable to find him on Terra, and following a trail of fading clues, Shield-Captain Daryth and his men have pressed out into the stars to continue their mission. Now they enlist the aid of the Sisters of Silence, bringing a band of the elite Witch Hunters aboard their frigate, Sol's Arrow, before making the perilous crossing of the Great Rift. The presence of the Silent Sisters seems to calm the madness of the Empyrean, at least enough to aid the Custodians in making their dangerous journey into the Imperium Nihilus. Amidst the madness, their Augurs do not detect the heavily-shielded Space Marine Strike Cruiser that follows in their wake, its hull night-black and its insignia veiled.The Osseus Tower Falls (Unknown Date.M42) - The Haemonculi of the Twisted Spiral raise a vast bone fortress to float amidst the gaseous atmosphere of Othana V in the Vordrast System. As their raiding skiffs strike at the planet's gas-mining platforms -- which directly serve Adeptus Custodes star keep Prescience -- it is clear the threat cannot be ignored. Several Shield Companies launch strikes against the xenos, with the Allarus Custodians of the Gilded Fist leading the attack. Teleporting into the nightmarish Osseous Tower, they overcome every fiend and abomination that assails them, before destroying the tower's gravitic membranes and sending it tumbling down to be crushed in Neptune's high-pressure depths. The surviving Drukhari flee aboard sleek warships that swiftly vanish into the Webway, while the Custodians evacuate in good order. Disquiet spreads, however, when several Custodians are found to be missing without trace at battle's end.The Wyrmslayers (Unknown Date.M42) - A Genestealer Cult calling themselves the Wyrms of the Ur-tendril are discovered by Ordo Xenos agents, entrenched amongst the Nordafrik under-archives on Terra. Captain-General Valoris refuses a request by the Deathwatch to send Kill-teams against this threat, instead leading the purge in person at the head of a huge Adeptus Custodes Shield Host. The Cult put up a brutal fight, their sheer numbers and fanaticism allowing them to drag down one Custodian after another and tear them limb from limb. Yet for every one of the Custodians that falls, hundreds upon hundreds of malformed cultists and Aberrants are slaughtered. At last, Valoris himself beheads the monstrous Broodlord that ruled over the cult. He orders the creature's disturbing inner sanctum burned despite the protests from the Ordo Xenos investigators -- Valoris refuses to let anyone other than his comrades witness the foul mural that decorates the sanctum's back wall, of a nest of fanged tendrils emerging from the heart of Sol itself to devour Terra whole...Zagstromp's Doom (Unknown Date.M42) - The Orks of WAAAGH! Zagstomp overrun the Iron Warriors' Citadel of Miseries after a gruelling three-year siege. Grown massive and powerful on a diet of constant warfare, and equipped with the looted tanks and war engines of the butchered Iron Warriors, Zagstomp's hordes board their ramshackle warships. Before they can attempt to punch their way into the Warp, Custodians of the Solar Watch materialise within the engine decks and mek bays of the Greenskins' capital ships. Guns blazing, the Custodians hold off the Orks long enough to plant vortex implosion detonators on every ship. The survivors then teleport back to their own ships and jump away into the Warp. In attempting to give chase, the Orks trigger the Vortex bombs, and their vast fleet -- which Imperial doomscryers warned would appear on the fringes of the Sol System if left unchecked -- is consumed by the ferocious energy storm that follows.Duty unto Death (Unknown Date.M42) - Amidst the shadows of the Imperium Nihilus, a small Imperial fleet finds itself beset by a pair of wayward Tyranid Hive Ships. The Imperial flagship, the Terra Nostra, is transporting Primaris Space Marine gene-tech under the protection of Custodian Wardens. Seeing that the fleet will soon be overrun, the guardians' Shield-Captain orders an emergency teleport to the nearby Death World of Loqe II. Pursued by Tyranid swarms, the Wardens retreat into the fume-choked volcanic highlands and prepare to defend their precious cargo to the last. Wave after wave of Tyranids surge up the perilous lava-channels, but the Custodians -- cleaving to their oaths of indomitable defence -- repulse every attack. A solar month later, a relief force of Marines Malevolent arrives in orbit and drives the Hive Ships away with thunderous firepower. On the planet below they find a single living Custodian Warden, grievously wounded yet still standing guard over the untouched boon of advanced gene-technology amidst a fortress of heaped Tyranid corpses.Into Shadow (Unknown Date.M42) - Upon the direct orders of Trajann Valoris, a small, fast-moving force of Custodians makes haste for the ruined remains of fallen Cadia. Details of their mission are suppressed, even amongst their comrades, but they are accompanied by a number of warriors drawn from the ranks of the Shadowkeepers. |
Adeptus Custodes - Organisation and Structure: From outside, the organisation of the Ten Thousand seems byzantine. When they deign to account themselves at all to other Imperial bodies their ranks appear complex and highly stratified. Yet much of this is tradition, or else purposeful misdirection; in practice, the Adeptus Custodes use a robust and easily adaptable system to organise their forces.The full details of the organisational structure, disposition and regulation of the Adeptus Custodes are shrouded in secrecy as befits an institution dedicated to ultimate security. Those outside its ranks, even though they operate close to the Senatorum Imperialis and the highest levels of the Divisio Militaris, cannot hope to know more than a degree of detail which is purely observational, and likely barely scratches the surface of the no doubt byzantine Custodes. What can be outwardly observed is contained here within this account, as are the various details and titles with which the Custodian Guard openly interacts with the other organs of the Imperium's power.The first mystery that outsiders must cope with is that of identity. The Custodian Guard are themselves effectively ageless and as unchanging as granite, and just as impenetrable to outsiders. They each profess to a given name, often a compound drawn from the lore of Ancient Terra's roll of kings and tyrants, gods and legends. Whether or not this represents some humour or deliberate irony on the Emperor's part given the Custodian's role is something that it is perhaps unwise to speculate on. Such true names they knew as part of their birth and origin are likely obliterated by the process of their creation, but the myths that have grown up around the Adeptus Custodes have long held that each Custodian Guard garners over his centuries a long list of additional names and titles granted purely by the Emperor for their deeds, history and character. Such names are held as a secret of their Order and never betrayed to others, though some myths would have it that this roll of honour is graven in hidden fashion upon their golden armour or even etched microscopically into their very bones. It was said that Captain-General Constantin Valdor obtained 932 names prior to the assault of Horus upon Terra.In terms of structural organisation, it is apparent that the Adeptus Custodes is unique unto itself in terms of form, offering little in common with the rest of the Imperium's agencies of warfare such as the Astra Militarum or the Adeptus Astartes. This is only fitting as the Adeptus Custodes, like other elements of the so-called "Talons of the Emperor," can be more accurately described as a paramilitary rather than a strategic force, neither geared nor equipped towards the fighting or winning of wars, but to its duties of protection and execution. The Adeptus Custodes operate as a military force, a gathering of champions each of whom possesses unassailable authority over virtually any other organisation in the Imperium. Conversely, no Imperial agent can give a Custodian orders. Even such worthies as the High Lords of Terra and Lord Commander Guilliman are able only to request -- not demand -- their aid. |
Adeptus Custodes - Adeptus Custodes Hierarchy: As befits such a body of elite warriors, the internal hierarchy of the Adeptus Custodes is remarkably flat. The overall command of the Adeptus Custodes of course lies within the purview of the Emperor directly, but serving as the head of the Order is a single officer; the Captain-General, and due to the importance of the Adeptus Custodes in the governing of the Imperium, since they always stand the closest to the Emperor, the Captain-General often holds a position amongst the ruling High Lords of Terra on the Senatorum Imperialis. The Captain-General commands the Ten Thousand, inheriting a post that has been passed down from one gallant leader to the next ever since the mysterious disappearance of Constantin Valdor. The Captain-General has absolute authority over the Custodes, acting as the ritual proxy for the Emperor Himself and speaking with the voice of the Master of Mankind.Immediately below the absolute authority of the Captain-General were the two Tribunes, the senior members of the Custodian Tribunate; a senior cadre of ten veteran Custodians, forming the Adeptus Custodes' council of war and policy who acted as advisors to the Captain-General. This body has the incomparable privilege of providing their services as counsel to the Emperor Himself should He so desire it, and in the matters of the security of the Imperial Palace's inner sanctums and the person of the Emperor, no higher authority exists. Membership of this body changes periodically to ensure a blend of established wisdom and fresh ideas. A Custodian must have earned at least ten names before he can serve on the Tribunate, and have led his comrades victoriously in battle on at least three occasions. Once he joins the Tribunate, a Custodian must serve for at least ten Terran years. During this time he will not see the front lines, for he is too busy bending all of his considerable intellect to supporting -- strategically and diplomatically -- the Captain-General.Below this ruling council can be found the Custodian Prefectorate and the Shield-Captains. The distinction between the two, not apparent entirely to outsiders, is one perhaps of seniority and function, with the title of Prefect accorded as a reward of veterancy and favour in service by the Emperor, while the rank of Shield-Captain indicates an active field command over a particular detachment or deployment of the Custodes. These two ranks fulfill the roles of inspiring leaders, gifted generals and selfless champions. Their titles vary enormously, from "Supreme Castellans" and "Aquila Commanders" to "Master Guardians," often borne in accordance with the specific duties to which they have been assigned. It is Shield-Captains that take charge of the Adeptus Custodes' military engagements; one is typically afforded overall command of an operation, while several others of his rank may lend him their strength and wisdom in a supporting capacity.The warriors of the Adeptus Custodes are a department of the Adeptus Terra, the Imperial government, but its members are answerable only to the Emperor and their own leaders. The Custodes' nerve center and headquarters is the Tower of Hegemon within the Imperial Palace, while a small elite of three hundred Custodes, known as the Companions, form the Emperor's personal bodyguard and never leave His side.Although the Legio Custodes originally numbered ten thousand, approximately five Terran years into the War Within the Webway during the Horus Heresy they had been reduced to around only a thousand Custodians due to the incessant warfare against the entities of the Warp. However by the late 41st Millennium, the Adeptus Custodes had rebuilt their original strength of 10,000 warriors. |
Adeptus Custodes - Sodalities: Below these ranks, the Custodians seem to be peers as in the manner of a warrior caste or aristocracy, rather than links in the more familiar hierarchical chain of command found elsewhere in the Imperium's armed forces. Their functional titles adapt to their chosen role and panoply of war in whichever command they have been included, with the following broad distinctions applied in communication with external forces on a tactical level, their titles drawn from various ancient historical Terran sources.The remainder of the Custodians possess roughly equivalent status to one another, forming loose warrior bands traditionally known as "Sodalities." There are varying strategic roles within the organisation to which some Custodians find themselves better suited. However, whether this be the rapid Jetbike troops of the Vertus Praetors, the heavy assault specialists of the Allarus Custodians, or the unwavering Custodian Wardens, they still operate within a meritocracy that sees them afforded whatever honour their comrades believe them worthy of. |
Adeptus Custodes - Shield Companies: A singular force of the Adeptus Custodes is referred to as a Shield Company. The numbers within such a formation can vary considerably, hand-picked by their Shield-Captain for the task at hand and ranging from a small band to a sizeable army complete with Jetbikes, tanks and Dreadnoughts. Under normal circumstances, a Shield Company includes no more than one Shield-Captain and perhaps thirty to forty Custodians. |
Adeptus Custodes - Shield Hosts: When a larger force is required, multiple Shield Companies gather into forces known as Shield Hosts. Led by a Captain-Commander and their conclaves of Shield-Captains, and boasting tens, sometimes hundreds of Custodians, Shield Hosts have the martial strength to crush enemy armies and bring entire star systems to heel. The gathering of such might is a momentous undertaking -- a Shield Host is only assembled to accomplish those tasks that no other Imperial military force could be trusted with, and its warriors march to war with a singular and implacable determination to enact the Emperor's will. |
Adeptus Custodes - Chambers: All Custodians belong to a caste or "chamber" determined by their tactical role. |
Adeptus Custodes - The Companions: The Companions, known in ages past as the Hetaeron Guard, are a three-hundred-strong force that forms the direct bodyguard of the Emperor while He sits upon the Golden Throne. They are hand-picked for their duties by the Captain-General, who chooses his candidates based upon painstaking assessments of each warrior's performance in training and battle, as well as their mental acuity, spiritual fortitude and countless other indicative factors. There can be no more important duty in all of the Imperium than to shield the Emperor Himself. As such, no consideration for rank or veteran status is given when appointing Custodians to the Companions, and those passed over in favour of younger or less-experienced candidates take no offence.The vigil of the Companions is unending, and though they are of course rotated out for brief periods of rest, it is still a purgatorial duty. Arrayed in ranks around the Golden Throne, these wardens stand for incredible lengths of time, unmoving, unspeaking, poised constantly upon the cusp of battle readiness in case the slightest threat were to present itself. It is mentally and spiritually exhausting, even for the demigods of the Adeptus Custodes, and so when the Captain-General judges that a Companion has served long enough they will be rotated out with immediate effect, replaced by a fresh inductee to their ranks. Again, this is no mark of dishonour, merely a pragmatic admission that even a Custodian cannot perform such a taxing duty indefinitely. The longest any individual has stood the Companion's Watch was Astoran Kalos, who endured for a full Terran century before at last surrendering his place amongst the silent ranks.Those who have served amongst the Companions are more likely to lend their talents to the grim bodyguards known as the Aquilan Shields. Such Custodians have protected the lives of the greatest and most august personages in the Imperium, most notably the High Lords of Terra themselves. From the Master of the Navigators' Guild to the High Logisticar of the Adeptus Administratum, the Lord Militant of the Imperium to the shadowed Grand Master of the Officio Assassinorum, former Companions have acted as guardians for them all. To the Ten Thousand such duties are simply an extension of their vows to protect the Emperor, in this case by safeguarding those assets most important to the successful running of His Imperium. Still, it is a role that has earned the Adeptus Custodes much favour in the eyes of Terra's noble elite. |
Adeptus Custodes - The Hykanatoi: The Hykanatoi caste is the main strength of the Custodian Guard, and the majority of its warriors are members of it. They are the bearers of the Guardian Spear, the bodyguard of the Emperor and the executioners of any who would offer threat or opposition to His will. They are the image of the golden-armoured warrior that is summoned in fear and awe when the Adeptus Custodes is brought to mind. Their numbers include variations of force, wargear and panoply such as the Sentinel Guard and Custodian Guard proper, as well as the elite Hetaeron Guard -- the most skilled fighters among a force of warriors whose martial skills are already well beyond Human. |
Adeptus Custodes - The Tharanatoi: Though there are few opponents that the Hykanatoi cannot deal with, they are not a rounded military force in the sense that they are not configured to deal with exigencies such as siegecraft or attrition warfare that fall outside their purview. However, the Adeptus Custodes still maintains the ability to deploy its forces as heavy shock troops should the need arise, or indeed to counter a foe that directs overwhelming force against it in high-intensity warfare. These counterassault forces are known as the Tharanatoi, and encompass custom-modified suits of Terminator Armour optimised for use by the Custodian's superhuman frame, as well as vastly potent portable firepower such as carried by the Sagittarum Guard, whose weapons include those few dark relics known as Adrathic Weapons -- disintegration beams of phenomenal destructive potential, long gathered to the Emperor's household and entrusted to no other. |
Adeptus Custodes - The Kataphraktoi: Long before the Emperor's retreat and seclusion on Terra after the appointment of the Warmaster Horus to command His forces, the principal role of protection and defence the Custodian Guard engaged in was a mobile one. They went wherever their master did, no matter what blasted alien world or lost cityscape of ancient glory He trod. In this the elements of speed and mobility were paramount to their success, as was reconnaissance and counterstrike in lightning response to threat. Those of the Legio Custodes who specialised in such tactics and the means of employing them were called the Kataphraktoi; they flew interceptors and gunships of sublime sophistication and power, and piloted a range of repulsor-lift grav-vehicles; tanks, transports and strike skimmers, Jetbikes and interface flyers advanced beyond anything else in the Imperium's arsenal. |
Adeptus Custodes - The Ephoroi: The division of the Custodian Guard about which the least can be said for certain, the Ephoroi were those of the order that were tasked with covert operations, countersurveillance and the vitally important task of simulated attack and infiltration. It was they who tested the Legio Custodes defences and preparations just as foes would, as well as conducted their own hidden missions to dispose of potential threats within the Imperium, and enact final and sometimes utterly secret justice as the Emperor's will demanded it.There are those who have posited that where the Ephoroi ended and the powers that controlled the Officio Assassinorum began at certain junctures was difficult even for the wisest of the High Lords of Terra to discern, and it is certain when they wished that the Assassins of the Temples of Terra were the Legio Custodes to command.According to ancient Imperial records it is clear from the Custodians' participation in the so-called "Blood Games" -- a series of war games in which Custodians sought to identify all of the possible ways that the Imperial Palace could be infiltrated or assaulted -- that Custodians were trained in the arts of assassination, both improvised and professional, in order to counter possible attempts on the life of the Emperor.It was not uncommon for several Custodians to be on detached duty for these Blood Games so that the Legio Custodes remained vigilant against developing threats to the Emperor's person. Furthermore it is clear that the Custodes were also well-versed in the political etiquette of Terra, and have been known to act outside of Imperial law, to infiltrate influential Imperial noble houses and to investigate any potential threats to the rule of the Emperor.This aspect of the Custodian mindset was advantageous, given that the Captain-General of the order often shared a seat upon the War Council, the later Council of Terra and its direct descendant, the Senatorum Imperialis, which allowed him to navigate the political manoeuvring of the Imperium's various organisations while still remaining an awe-inspiring warrior. |
Adeptus Custodes - The Moritoi: The smallest and most singular division within the Legio Custodes was the Moritoi; the "honoured dead who walked." Just as with the Legiones Astartes, it was possible for a Custodian Guard, having suffered injuries so terrible that even they could not recover from them but within whom the vital spark of life remained, to be interred within the cybernetic life support sarcophagus of a Dreadnought.The first of these was made while the Unification Wars were being fought, in a modified Ur-Gholem Pattern Dreadnought, the first iteration of its kind intended for use within the Thunder Legions, and as the number of Dreadnought patterns and subtypes within the Imperium's arsenal increased across the Great Crusade's decades of warfare and innovation, so too did the Legio Custodes keep pace with these developments.Though they remained relatively rare, with less than perhaps a hundred Dreadnoughts of the Legio Custodes in service at the time of Magnus the Red's folly and the subsequent attack on Prospero, they represented a phenomenally powerful concentration of force.Most had their chassis upgraded to the Achillus Pattern, a variant of the Contemptor Dreadnought manufactured with materials and technologies far beyond even the vaunted war machines of the Legiones Astartes. |
Adeptus Custodes - The Dankanatoi: The Dankanatoi was a chamber of the ancient Legio Custodes that was founded in the final years of the Horus Heresy. Unleashed upon the last dregs of Horus' failed rebellion as they fled Terra, these warriors proved a potent weapon for the battered Loyalist host.Indeed, even in the long years of strife that followed the dark age of the Horus Heresy they remained active, hunting Traitors and xenos invaders alike long after the official end of the Great Scouring. |
Adeptus Custodes - The Eyes of the Emperor: Though functionally immortal, even the warriors of the Adeptus Custodes eventually tire. Some suffer physical hurts that impact upon their ability to perform their duties, with lost limbs, artificial eyes or augmetic organs lessening their physical perfection. Others find their mental faculties beginning to erode, however slightly, acknowledging that their reaction times or mnemic awareness are not quite what they once were. For the vast majority of warriors, a tenth-of-a-second reduction in the speed at which blows are stuck or parried might be considered negligible. For a Custodian, it is error enough to necessitate that their watch come to an end.When a Custodian judges themself no longer fit for duty they surrender all of their equipment to the Hall of Armaments and vanish into the void of the galaxy clad in hooded black robes. Such noble exiles still serve the Emperor, however, for wherever they travel they observe. Some work alone, dark and ominous figures slipping through the shadows of the Emperor's realm. Others cultivate networks of informants and agents, using fear and intimidation to secure compliance where loyalty and honour will not suffice.Should they bear witness to a situation developing that they believe might threaten Terra or the Emperor, these watchers use secret channels to communicate a warning to the Captain-General. So do response forces of the Adeptus Custodes launch punitive and often pre-emptive strikes throughout the Imperium, forewarned of danger by the Eyes of the Emperor. |
Adeptus Custodes - Custodian Ranks: There are many ranks within the Adeptus Custodes, the highest of which is that of the Captain-General. Following in the footsteps of historical titans such as Constantin Valdor, this lordly warrior is entrusted with an autonomy that eclipses that of even an Adeptus Astartes Chapter Master. Occasionally chosen to serve as one of the High Lords of Terra, the Captain-General has ruled over the Adeptus Custodes since the Order's inception, and is tasked with the solemn duty of safeguarding the Golden Throne and directing the gleaming warriors that guard it. Under his auspices are Supreme Castellans, Aquila Commanders, Shield-Captains and a dozen ranks besides.The Custodian Guard have always fought as champions rather than soldiers. They see unthinking loyalty, such as that of a dynasty or a conventional military structure, as a weakness ripe to be exploited -- after all, it was such a culture that saw the Legiones Astartes turned against their creator. Only those who win the respect of the Adeptus Custodes can hope to command them, but should such a leader unite them, their loyalty will never fade.Captain-General of the Adeptus Custodes - The senior-most officer within the ranks of the Adeptus Custodes, the Captain-General is the Emperor's most trusted companion and guardian, a watchman of inviolable purpose and all but unmatched fighting skill. Due to the singular importance of the Adeptus Custodes, who stand the closest to the Emperor in eternal vigil, the Captain-General holds a position amongst the ruling High Lords of Terra on the Senatorum Imperialis.Custodian Tribune - During the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy, below the absolute authority of the Captain-General was the Custodian Tribunate; a senior cadre of perhaps ten in number, which formed the Legio Custodes' council of war. This body had the incomparable privilege of providing their services as counsel to the Emperor Himself should He so desire it, and in the matters of the security of the Imperial Palace's inner sanctums and the person of the Emperor, no higher authority existed. By the era of the 41st Millennium, sadly, there were only two such positions that were still maintained by the Adeptus Custodes, though the rest of the Custodian Tribunate of Shield-Captains still existed in its advisory capacity, as noted below. One of these two Tribunes, known as the "Tribune of the Stratarchis," served as the commander of all the cadres of Custodians operating off of Terra and spread across the wider galaxy, taking the fight to the myriad enemies of Mankind. The other served as the Tribune of the Hetaeron Guard -- the personal Companions of the Emperor -- who oversaw the security of the Sanctum Imperialis and the Golden Throne itself.Captain-Commander - "Captain-Commander" is a title given to those Adeptus Custodes Shield-Captains who command entire Shield Hosts in battle. Though it is more an honorific than an official rank within the order's formal hierarchy, those Shield-Captains who earn it richly deserve the accolade due to their demonstrated martial prowess and strategic mastery, an elite among the elite.Shield-Captain - The rank of "Shield-Captain" is a generalisation used when referring to one of the many senior ranks within the Adeptus Custodes who often command squads, Sodalities and Shield Companies of their fellow Custodians and sometimes larger formations such as Shield Hosts if they serve as captain-commanders, though the upper command hierarchy of this elite paramilitary organisation is far from transparent to outsiders -- perhaps deliberately so. Within the Adeptus Custodes such senior ranks range from "Prefect" to "Lictor," "Proconsul" to "Tribune," "Aquila Commander" to "Supreme Castellan," and follow the ancient patterns of Terra's lost history. Elevated both through the trust held among their peers for their judgement and skill, but first and foremost advanced by the direct approval and in some cases intervention of the Emperor Himself, these are warriors not only of consummate and superhuman ability, but also rare insight, acumen and knowledge. Afforded the rarest of and finest of the Imperium's arms, each of these legendary fighters command the formations of the Adeptus Custodes against all manner of threats against the Emperor, His works and His domains.Prefect - The honorific title of "Prefect" is accorded to a Custodes Shield-Captain as a reward for veterancy and a sign of favour in service to the Emperor.Blade Champion - A Blade Champion is a fearsome melee warrior-hero of the Adeptus Custodes. Each has been afforded one of the greatest honours amongst the Custodes, for after achieving many great deeds, their names are now etched within the Tome Eternal which sits in the Emperor's own Throne Room.Custodian - The lowest rank a Custodian can hold in the order, it is still a position that allows them to outrank almost any other officer of the Imperial military, including most Adeptus Astartes. |
Adeptus Custodes - Custodian Tactical Formations: Custodian Warden - Custodian Wardens can be recognised by the ceremonial robes that they wear over their armour. These are a mark of their veteran status, for every Custodian Warden has seen at least five Terran centuries in the Emperor's service. Those Wardens that do not carry the iconic Guardian Spears of their order wield heavy-bladed Castellan Axes, which lend themselves to an elegant and brutal combat style. The Wardens can also fire concentrated volleys of bolt fire from the hafts of their weapons, scything down those who attempt to stay out of their blades' devastating reach. The Wardens are known amongst their comrades as level-headed and endlessly patient watchmen. Upon accepting the robes that mark their station they swear binding oaths to fight as immovable sentinels, a living fortress of auramite and sinew that no foe will ever breach. Each Warden's oaths are personal, written by the Custodian themself after a full Terran year's contemplation sat in meditation upon the precipitous ledges of the Gallowtower of the Imperial Palace. To break their vows would be worse than death to these warriors, and their determination to uphold them bolsters their already formidable wills to something of truly frightening intensity.Custodian Guard - When Shield Companies of the Adeptus Custodes strike out to do battle with the enemies of Mankind, it is the Custodian Guard that form their backbone. These warriors are rank-and-file infantry only insomuch as their numbers are greater than those of the other, more specialised Adeptus Custodes warriors. Even a single one of their number is a terrifying force of destruction, his every shot perfectly placed, his every cut, thrust and stab a masterclass in bladesmanship, footwork and combat awareness that sees enemy corpses fall like dead leaves at his feet. Ferociously strong, phenomenally resilient, utterly without fear or doubt, the Custodian Guard are the equal of many foes' most elite warriors. Their traditional armament is the Guardian Spear, a golden halberd so heavy it would take several men to lift it. Conversely, some Custodian Guard prefer to enter battle armed with a Sentinel Blade and Storm Shield. The Sentinel Blade is a broadsword of daunting size, so large its hilt is flanked with the double barrels of a Bolt Caster that can lay down a hail of short-range fire. It is a testament to the strength of the Custodians that they can wield these powered blades one-handed. When coupled with the armoured bulwark of the Storm Shield -- whose protective powers are augmented with a built-in energy-shield generator -- this potent combination allows the Custodian Guard to cut their foes apart while weathering even the most devastating of attacks.Vexilus Praetors - A Vexilus Praetor is a veteran of one of the Adeptus Custodes' Shield Companies, who bear aloft proud standards known as Vexillas, to war. More than just standards to inspire adulation or terror, their built-in technologies provide invaluable battlefield support to the Custodians fighting in their shadow. Each Vexilla is created on Terra, painstakingly fashioned over a period of one hundred standard years by the oath-sworn artisans of the Tower Aquilane. Upon their completion, these beautiful standards are borne amidst processions of craft-thralls, Adeptus Ministorum Priests and heraldic Servitors to the Auric Eyrie, where they are held upon stasis-podia until required. Each Vexilla is a towering banner topped with the Imperial Aquila, the ultimate symbol of the Emperor's authority. The Custodes alone are permitted to display it as their foremost heraldic icon, and its inspirational effect upon those around them is nothing short of electric. Hefted high above the anarchy of the battlefield, the Vexilla forms a golden beacon of truth and light that fills true servants of the Emperor with awe. Beneath the winged shadow of the Aquila, even the humblest defender of Humanity feels the touch of the Emperor upon their soul. Meanwhile, the enemies of the Imperium cower in dismay; dread clouds their minds and saps their strength at the thought that the Emperor's greatest warriors are poised to tear them apart.Hetaeron Guard - Part of the inner circle of the Adeptus Custodes, the Hetaeron Guard served as the Emperor's closest protectors, aides and confidants, leaving His side rarely but for the direst of circumstances during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras. Selected individually for their service by the Master of Mankind, they represent some of the most potent fighters in the Imperium, almost like demigods of the battlefield. During the earlier years of the Great Crusade, when the Emperor still walked amongst Mankind, the Hetaeron were a regular feature upon the worlds deserving of His attention. Yet as His actions were turned elsewhere, His inner guard would follow too, becoming almost a myth in their absence. In the 41st Millennium, it is said that only 300 of these elite Custodes serve as the personal guard of the Emperor, now called the Emperor's Companions as noted above. They are charged with the eternal vigil over the the Emperor's Sanctum Imperialis chambers at all times and are privileged to always be in His physical presence.Allarus Custodians - The Allarus Custodians deploy with sudden fury to tear the throat from the enemy army. These warriors wear suits of Allarus Pattern Terminator Armour, expertly crafted battle-plate whose worth can be measured in worlds. Allarus Armour is a marvel of craftsmanship. It provides its wearer with an exceptional range of movement and near-unencumbered speed, augmented strength and resilience, and the survivability to stride unharmed from the blast of a Macrocannon shell. Coupled with the protective blessings of the Emperor, Allarus Terminator plate is arguably the most effective man-portable combat armour in the entire Imperium. Just as well, for the battles fought by Allarus Custodians demand nothing less. Their weapons, too, are formidable. They heft Guardian Spears twice the height of a man, or swing massive Castellan Axes that can bisect a Chaos Lord or lop the head from an Ork psyker with a single blow. To supplement these weapons, Allarus Custodians also wield Balistus Grenade Launchers upon their left forearms, which are capable of launching Concussion Grenades that explode amidst bursts of electro-exorcist chaff and overwhelming light and sound. Hand-picked by the Captain-General from amongst the most bellicose of the Ten Thousand, Allarus Custodians relish the chance to plunge into the most lethal battles. So aggressive and heroic are these warriors that, when the situation demands, they have been known to splinter their units entirely after the initial strike and scatter through the enemy's rear lines. Fighting as lone figures, the Allarus Custodians eliminate key targets, sow anarchy and confusion through unsuspecting forces, and completely destabilise the foe's formation before fresh Adeptus Custodes forces arrive to end the conflict. It is an effective tactic that has seen more than one Heretic fortress fall from within.Aquilon Terminator Sodalities - These elite warriors wear a pattern of Tactical Dreadnought Armour, known as Aquilon Pattern Terminator Armour, that was specifically developed for ancient Legio Custodes use. Advancing yet further upon the Cataphractii Pattern Terminator Armour, the Aquilon Pattern took into account the enhanced physique of the Custodians as being able to bear more weight and strain than even a Space Marine, and so is fitted with additional integrated power systems and capacitors which make up for some of the limitations of the origin-pattern. This enables the Aquilon Pattern to retain the Cataphractii pattern's famous durability, but allows for a higher degree of speed and manoeuvrability the former lacks. Within the ranks of the Legio Custodes, Aquilon Terminator Sodalities were only employed rarely, and only as need dictated, particularly on those rare occasions where they were required to operate under conditions designated as "Zone Mortalis" or required to storm a breach. These elite squadrons are still deployed by the Adeptus Custodes of the 41st Millennium.Sentinel Guard - Sentinel Guard Squads were the defensive formations of the Legio Custodes, designed to function as a mobile bulwark to protect emissaries on hazardous ground and hold defensive lines against the most grievous onslaught in open battle. In order to achieve this, they were equipped with energy field-reinforced Praesidium Shields -- a precursor technology to that later employed by the prototype Legiones Astartes Storm Shields -- which were able to resist the heaviest weapons fire. When deployed outside the walls of the Imperial Palace, their charge was often to protect key aspects of allied detachments and resources liberated from the enemy. However, it had been witnessed during large scale sudden assaults that their close formations also served to disrupt enemy lines. While they still retained the loose unit structures of the Legio Custodes, the Sentinel Guard by their nature utilised a greater synchronicity between warriors in service to the various phalanx formations that could be required of the squad at any given moment. It is unknown if this particular formation is still deployed by the Adeptus Custodes of the 41st Millennium.Vertus Praetors - Vertus Praetors are airborne warriors whom act as the eyes and ears of their Shield Companies, soaring over the battlefield and Voxing word of the enemy's movements. Squads of Vertus Praetors swoop into battle astride powerful Dawneagle Jetbikes. Veteran warriors who have seen battle on a hundred worlds, these Custodians know the true value of speed: not simply to bring the enemy to battle, but to direct their might precisely where and when it is needed most. Wherever they see their comrades hardest pressed, there the Vertus Praetors strike like golden lightning to bolster them. Each Vertus Praetor is a master combatant who has already honed his superhuman skills amongst the ranks of the Custodian Guard. They are expert marksmen, able to place perfect kill shots even while screaming at breakneck pace through tangled ruins or dense forests. Their close-quarters prowess is no less exceptional; a Vertus Praetor can open the throat of a heavily armoured foe in a single pass. They can analyse even the most chaotic conflict in a heartbeat, reacting with incredible speed to evade obstacles and run down their foes, processing battlefield developments with breathtaking rapidity. The exceptional skill of the Vertus Praetors is augmented by their superlative wargear. As well as being protected by auramite armour, these warriors wield enormous Interceptor Lances. Taller end-to-end than an Ogryn, and perfectly weighted, these fearsome weapons boast adamantium blades wreathed in disruptor fields. Vertus Praetors are masters of hit-and-run strikes, driving their lances clean through their precisely chosen targets before ripping them clear again as they speed past.Agamatus Squadrons - The Agamatus Squadrons were active during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras and specialised in the use of the heavy duty, plasma motor-boosted Gyrfalcon Pattern Jetbike as their steeds in battle. The increased power of the design supported not only the heavily armoured Custodian Guard, but also allowed it to mount a powerful Iliastus Bolt Cannon as its on-board armament. The Agamatus Squadrons exploited these war machines to operate both as a rapid response and suppression unit in the field. In this they operated much in the manner of the elite cavalry forces of ancient times, screening the main Legio Custodes force from potential encirclement, reacting quickly to blunt enemy attacks, and hunting down mercilessly any foe which broke and fled before the might of the Custodes, ensuring the utter extermination of the enemy. These squadrons are still deployed by the Adeptus Custodes of the 41st Millennium.Pallas Grav-Attack Squadron - Pallas Grav-Attack Squadrons of the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras specialised in the use of the Pallas Grav-Attack vehicle, utilising it as a highly manoeuvrable hunter-killer that was equivalent to the Legiones Astartes Land Speeders, and for its rapid strike capacity greater than that which could be afforded by the use of ground troops alone. These Legio Custodes squadrons often used the superior agility of these advanced vehicles to inflict devastating hit-and-run assaults on the enemy or to hunt down fleeing targets. In addition, these abilities allow the Pallas Grav-Attack Squadrons to be used as reconnaissance units or as skirmishing forces large enough to pin or delay the enemy in place as the main bulk of the Adeptus Custodes detachments are deployed. These squadrons are still deployed by the Adeptus Custodes of the 41st Millennium.Sagittarum Guard Sodalities - Though less common within the ranks of the Legio Custodes than their peers, those warriors who comprised the Sagittarum Guard Sodalities nevertheless fulfilled a number of vital roles within the Custodians' order of battle. Their art of war, in contrast to the rest of the Custodian Guard, was focussed on the slaying of the foe primarily at distance and upon the devastating application of firepower on the battlefield. In addition, the Sagittarum had entered legend as the hawk-sighted sentries of the Terran walls, charged with vigilance over the external borders of the Imperial Palace in ready anticipation of attack. Through solar decades of duty, their ability to recall movement patterns, faces and speech even years after the original incident was honed even more so than that of their peers, and as such their enhanced ability to analyse crowds for anticipated response grew in import upon the battlefields of the Great Crusade. Their skillset was cultivated so that they could precisely exercise the greatest threats of an enemy assault, annihilating it in the actinic fire of their deadly weapons. This particular formation is still deployed by the Adeptus Custodes of the 41st Millennium.Venatari Custodian Squads - The Venatori Custodians are tasked with serving as part of an airborne assault force of Custodians through the use of a sophisticated pattern of winged Jump Pack called Auramite Pinions. While Custodes Shield Companies patrol the vast hallways and cavernous rooms of the Imperial Palace on Terra, the Venatari are elevated above, making their domain among the rooftops and spires, overseeing and assessing the threat of all who enter or leave. Their predatory instincts have earned the Venatari the nickname of "the Emperor's Hunting Eagles," standing as immobile and vigilant as the birds of prey of Old Earth atop the mountain peaks before swooping into a killing dive. Veterans of the Custodes' "Blood Games" in which they test each other to penetrate the Imperial Palace's defences, their ranks contain those with the proven skill to master the rare and sophisticated flight system and archeotech weapons they use. Venatari Custodian Squads were used by both the ancient Legio Custodes and the present-day warriors of the Adeptus Custodes in the 41st Millennium. |
Adeptus Custodes - The Shadowkeepers - Wardens of the Dark Cells: There are terrible things locked away beneath the Emperor's palace, eldritch terrors from the depths of Old Night that could annihilate the Imperium. To the Shadowkeepers falls the duty of standing guard over them unto the end of time. The Shadowkeepers hold the keys to the rune-locked portals hidden deep beneath the Imperial Palace. They alone know the ways by which the runic locks may be disengaged, the wards unbound and the sanctic circles breached. They alone know that these things must never happen, for the Dark Cells hold such horrors at bay that Mankind's sanity would not survive their release.A full Shield Host is devoted to this grim responsibility, over a hundred Custodians patrolling the dark and silent corridors, vigilantly watching over the last terrors of Old Night. It is a task that would soon drive most men mad, for though neither sight nor sound can escape the forbidden cells, the air of those corridors is charged with dread.A perpetual menace thickens the shadows and makes them crawl. Even the superhumans of the Adeptus Custodes are forever on edge in those dark oubliettes, for the sense of unspeakable threat never wanes. It is a testament to the discipline and spiritual fortitude of the Shadowkeepers that they stand their guard unflinching, sometimes for solar decades at a time.The ranks of this shield host include many Custodian Wardens, whose oaths of protection help them to focus upon the task at hand to the exclusion of all else. The leaders of these forbidding sentries carry ancient weapons of mysterious provenance, their use intended as a last resort should anything ever break free from the Dark Cells.For ten thousand Terran years the Shadowkeepers have performed their duty, yet the coming of the Great Rift changed everything. With the power of Chaos spilling raw and seething into the spaces between the stars, new abominations have come to light. Worse still are the cells that stand suddenly empty, the entities and artefacts once contained within spirited away by some unholy force to curse the galaxy once more. Fearing the consequences of such dread remnants of the Age of Strife falling into the wrong hands, the Shadowkeepers at last sent warriors out into the galaxy. These jailers must trammel that which should not be, slaughtering all who seek to impede them, before returning their foul prizes to the cells where they belong.There have been many Shield-Captains charged with mastery of the Shadowkeepers. This appointment confers the title of Lockwarden, a name that is borne in perpetuity and garners solemn respect from every other member of the Ten Thousand. The Lockwarden must be the sternest of all guardians, the most unrelenting and alert gaoler on the face of Terra. Moreover, should any creature or relic escape the Dark Cells, or newly emerged threat need to be imprisoned therein, it is the duty of the Lockwarden to personally oversee the operation.The current incumbent of this position is Shield-Captain Borsa Thursk, who has been Lockwarden for a standard century and a half. He is a grim and frighteningly intense warrior whose utter fearlessness and steely vigilance make him ideal for his role. It speaks volumes about the dire condition of the galaxy that Thursk left Terra but twice before the breaking of the storm, yet he has barely set foot there since the Great Rift yawned wide. |
Adeptus Custodes - The Aquilan Shield - The Gilded Guardians: Certain servants of the Emperor bear great responsibilities deemed directly relevant to the safety of Terra. Such esteemed figures are afforded the protection of the Aquilan Shield, at least until their usefulness is thought to be at its end. As the doomscryers of the Imperial Palace sift the tides of the empyrean for warnings of disaster, they also take note of those who -- through example, thought or deed -- are likely to avert such catastrophes before they threaten the Golden Throne. These fated individuals are honoured with the protection of the Aquilan Shield, for in this way a small band of Custodians can ensure a significant martial or spiritual asset survives to act in the Emperor's defence.The Aquilan Shield are an informal brotherhood laced through the ranks of the Adeptus Custodes. They typically operate in small warrior bands, journeying across the stars to stand watch over their charges wherever they may be. No warning is given nor permission asked -- the warriors of the Aquilan Shield appear as if from nowhere, avatars of the Emperor's will who announce their quarry to be under the protection of the Master of Mankind. Such an honour is beyond compare, and is never refused no matter the circumstances or the individual chosen.The Aquilan Shield have acted as bodyguards to High Lords, Sororitas Canonesses, Lord Inquisitors, Astra Militarum Generals and Space Marine Captains. They have even protected two Crusade leaders bearing the title of Warmaster, staunchly ignoring the historic associations with he who first held that rank. Yet they have also appeared amidst flares of golden light to watch over firebrand frontline preachers, bewildered militia leaders and others of apparently little import. The only unifying factor amongst them all is that, while attending their duties beneath the gimlet gaze of the Emperor's own guards, these individuals are expected to achieve incredible things in the defence of the Throneworld.The Aquilan Shield fight to ensure such a future comes to pass, shielding their charges from harm until the exact moment the usefulness of the person under their protection is deemed spent. At that point they depart without a word, leaving those they guarded to look to their own defence. Tragedy often follows, but this is of no concern to the Aquilan Shield -- providing it does not jeopardise the safety of the Golden Throne. |
Adeptus Custodes - The Dread Host - Instruments of the Emperor's Wrath: Fear is a familiar weapon to the Imperium, used to deter enemies and keep seething populations in line. Yet there is no terror as pure and absolute as that invoked when the Emperor's own fury is unleashed to punish his foes. The Dread Host represents a breathtaking concentration of military might. It numbers hundreds of Custodians, organised into multiple Shield Hosts and transported aboard a trio of pre-Heresy warships known as the Moiraides. The nature of this army is simple: they are the deliverers of the Emperor's judgement, his anger and his punishment made manifest.Not for them the pinpoint rapid strike, the hidden war or the measured defensive action. Instead, the assembled Shield-Captains of the Dread Host identify the most visible and dramatic threats to the Segmentum Solar and unleash upon them such overwhelming annihilation that it sends shock waves rolling through the Warp itself. Sometimes one warship is sent, sometimes two; only a handful of times in the entire history of the Imperium have all three of the Moiraides loosed their passengers against a single foe. Yet always the effect is the same. Spearheaded by dozens of Allarus Custodians, the Dread Host fall upon their victims with unstoppable force.They slaughter the enemy's warriors and reduce their war engines to wreckage. They cast down their false idols and set them aflame. They topple their cities, sunder their strongholds, and butcher their allies and followers. They make grisly examples of those who would dare lead such a challenge to the Emperor's dominion, ignoring all attempts at surrender and foiling all bids at flight. By the time the Dread Host are done with their war, nothing remains of their chosen victims but the gruesome tales of their brutal demise at the Emperor's hand.The Dread Host have smashed Ork WAAAGH!s, obliterated rebellious star systems and crushed Traitor crusades. They have fought against enemies thousands of times their number and humbled them through strategy, speed and strength. With every campaign they spread the terror of the Emperor's wrath. The breathtaking bloodshed and absolute destruction they leave in their wake has dissuaded hundreds of uprisings and invasions before they could even begin. |
Adeptus Custodes - The Solar Watch - Castellans of the Blessed Worlds: The Sol System is amongst the most heavily fortified of Mankind's stellar holdings. The Adeptus Custodes consider its worlds, star forts and space lanes to be extensions of their master's palace, and ensure they are guarded accordingly. From the vast orbital fortresses of Luna to the cloud-keeps of Jupiter and the deep-space star forts of the Halo Belt, Humanity maintains hundreds of strongholds throughout the Sol System. Billions of weapons point menacingly into the dark gulfs of space, ready to unleash spectacular devastation upon any foolish enough to threaten Mankind's seat of power. Armoured towers and gargoyle-festooned bastions loom over every approach, sanctified against the foul machinations of the Emperor's many foes. Entire fleets of Imperial Navy ships prowl the space lanes, vigilant for the slightest threat. Yet perhaps the most formidable of all Terra's outer defensive measures are the Custodians of the Solar Watch.Consisting of several Shield Companies of varying strength, the Solar Watch swear binding oaths to keep guard over the outer bastions of the Throneworld. They see themselves as the first true line of defence for the Imperial Palace, and believe that it is their duty to ensure that no external threat ever makes it as far as Terra. To this end, they constantly patrol routes between the worlds and void structures of the Sol System, ever vigilant for danger.Though they typically travel via naval craft and intrastellar trade ships, the Solar Watch maintain a formidable concentration of Venerable Land Raiders, and are typically able to deploy forces that are predominately, if not entirely, mechanised. This allows them to respond swiftly, and with overwhelming force, to any potentially threatening situation that may develop. While such dangers are not common within the Sol System, they are certainly not unheard of; the Solar Watch have been instrumental in bringing an end to Daemon-worshipping cults, Inquisitorial coups and subtle xenos incursions on every world bar Mars. While their authority technically extends to the red planet, the Adeptus Custodes are wise enough to maintain cordial relations with the servants of the Omnissiah, and so travel to that world only occasionally, trusting the Cult Mechanicus to police its own deviants.The more aggressive of the Captain-Generals have traditionally charged the Solar Watch with performing sporadic Talon Sorties. These involve the watch gathering Shield-Company-strength forces and launching strikes against prevailing threats in the star systems closest to Terra. The Solar Watch do not waste their resources in war zones already heavily invested in by Imperial forces. Rather, they sally out to destroy developing threats or eliminate enemies that have broken existing Imperial lines. Deploying aboard their Venerable Land Raiders, they slam into their enemies in fast-moving armoured spearheads. Prioritising the slaughter of command elements and heavy combat assets, the Solar Watch cripple their enemies' capacity to function as an army of conquest before abruptly withdrawing, leaving lesser Imperial forces to mop up what remains. After all, the duty of guarding the Sol System is a vital one, and the Solar Watch cannot leave their posts for long. |
Adeptus Custodes - Emissaries Imperatus - Heralds of the Golden Throne: In the days of the Great Crusade, the Emperor often entrusted crucial messages or artefacts to be borne by his Custodians. It is a duty they still fulfil now, speaking with the authority of the Master of Mankind Himself. Though the Emperor has long been confined to the Golden Throne, there are those amongst the Ten Thousand who claim to hear their master's voice during their meditations, and to feel his hand guiding them. To their comrades there is no implication of divine intervention in this, for the Custodes have never viewed the Emperor as a god. They merely see their liege's indomitable will at work, reaching out from His shattered frame to direct His praetorians as He did when He could still walk amongst them.Those who feel the Emperor's guidance the keenest become Emissaries Imperatus. They band together in like-minded groups and, through discussion and meditation, interpret what it is that the Master of Mankind wishes them to do. With the tacit approval of the Captain-General, they bear the Emperor's words across the Imperium to commanders who must hear them, or occasionally unlock some ancient device from the palace vaults and bequeath it to whichever champion can wield it best. Their words have redirected entire Crusades, and seen threats intercepted and archeotech riches won that might otherwise have passed the Emperor's servants by.For thousands of Terran years the Emissaries Imperatus have been seen abroad, but rarely and in small numbers. Yet with the return of Guilliman and the commencement of the Indomitus Crusade, their activity has increased considerably. When the Primarch announced his intention to bear the secrets of the Primaris Space Marines to the Loyalist Chapters, there was some resistance from the Adeptus Custodes, who feared strengthening those who might one day rebel against the Emperor once again. Yet dozens of Emissaries Imperatus stepped forwards to intercede, stating this was the will of the Emperor. They accompanied Guilliman's Crusade, many of them taking to the air as Vertus Praetors, the quicker to deliver messages of reinforcement to the embattled Space Marines. The presence of the Adeptus Custodes also ensured that even the most traditional Chapters accepted the Primaris warriors into their ranks. One does not decline a gift from the Emperor's own hand, after all. |
Adeptus Custodes - Custodes Creation and Training: As has been mentioned, the Custodian Guard and the Space Marines are related in form, as perhaps might be expected of works of the same creator's hand, but they are very different in function and capacity. There are of course similarities between the two. Both are physically transformed well beyond "natural" Human limits in terms of strength, endurance and fortitude, and fitted for inhuman environmental adaption and resilience, though in this the Adeptus Custodes are the markedly superior of the two in might, if not in adaptability.Both are subject to extensive psychological and cognitive conditioning, and are physically and mentally reworked to render most of their baser drives inert and their beings rechannelled towards aggression, goal acquisition and the fulfillment of duty. As a further safeguard against distraction and as a biological control, both are of course incapable of procreation. In both cases all that is left are beings of singular purpose; in the case of each Astartes, what is created is a living engine of conquest that cares for little else, and in the Custodian Guard, each is created protector of unrelenting diligence and savage capability -- a watchman or watchwoman whose vigilance will never tire.What also differs truly between the two, Custodian Guard and Space Marine, is not just their functional purpose, but the extent of their augmentation and the means by which it is accomplished. While the process through which the Adeptus Astartes are fabricated from a Human being is well-enough documented in its outline, though its details are, of course, rightly held secret by those parties involved in the process on a Chapter by Chapter basis, genuine facts about the manner in which the Custodian Guard are created are very few, even within the hands of the Imperium's hierarchy. This is because -- as with all else about the Custodian Guard -- it is a matter for the Imperial Household alone, and that authority is one none may gainsay or question. What is known, however, marks them as different.Firstly, there is the matter of the age of the candidacy. For a male or female child to become one of the Adeptus Custodes, it is known that they must begin the process in their late infancy and certainly before adolescence has taken hold on their physical structure. This stands in stark contrast to the Space Marines whose implantation with the gene-seed is only possible after the onset of male adolescence and best served before the candidate reaches his full physical maturity.This may link to a second of the few known facts about the creation of the Adeptus Custodes: that the gene-craft and alchemistry that transforms them is as absolute as it is subtle, and worked upon the smallest conceivable microscopic level of their genome and cellular structure. It is a process that effects such change on the mortal Human form that, when complete, unless they suffer such massive bodily harm as to forcibly end their lives, they are effectively immortal, without perceptible ageing taking place after full maturity.Not then for the Adeptus Custodes the pattern of surgical grafting and organ implantation that creates a Space Marine, no such crudities of augmentation at all mar the Custodian; what creates them is as invisible as it is potent, worked upon the core genetics and at a deep cellular level, and perhaps tailored to each specific inductee. There are those who insist that so invisible and yet so powerful is this process that it crosses over into a metaphysical realm of biomancy and psychic manipulation on a level unguessed at. Given that it is said that the Emperor Himself has overseen the creation of every single Custodian Guard who has ever lived, this may well be true.The peerless warriors who then result from this arcane process are a rare breed indeed, and not to be squandered recklessly on the battlefield. They were created with a single purpose in mind; to be the Emperor's own elite guard. They were a force created both to defend the Emperor from physical harm wherever the Great Crusade might take Him, to stand watch over His private domains and most guarded secrets, and to serve as the direct agents of His will -- as His personal emissaries -- be that will to protect, to venture, to claim, to keep secret, or to execute without remorse.Each Custodian is further blessed with protections that leave them resistant to the powers of both the psyker and the Null, making them perfectly suited to fight alongside the Sisters of Silence. Additionally, they never exhibit psychic powers of their own as, though battlefield psykers are undoubtedly powerful living weapons, they are also incredibly unstable ones. Their minds are prone to invasion by Warp entities, and this is a danger no Custodian will ever face. It appears that the Emperor wished for no chink in the defences of His bodyguards, thus granting them no gift of psychic ability. |
Adeptus Custodes - Role and Capabilities: The Custodes are warriors unmatched in the galaxy, genetically-engineered by the Emperor Himself. The Emperor engineered few of these warriors once the swifter method for creating superhuman warriors using Space Marine gene-seed became more viable. The martial capabilities of the Adeptus Custodes remain largely unknown at the present time. What is known is that they possess skill beyond even a "normal" member of the Adeptus Astartes.It has been said that the Adeptus Custodes are to the Emperor what the Space Marines are to the primarchs; that the Emperor's own genetic matrix was used in their creation and through this their loyalty to Him is assured. Others argue that the Custodians are not like the Emperor in the way that a Space Marine is like his primarch, and that some other source was used as a template for their physical and psychological form; a source that was lost during the anarchy of the Age of Strife. The truth will likely never be known.The Adeptus Custodes are similar to the Grey Knights, the elite Chamber Militant of the Ordo Malleus branch of the Inquisition, in that both are elite, secret organisations with close genetic ties to the Emperor. Custodes are unique as they have neither a known primarch nor do they use Astartes gene-seed to produce their genetic modifications, since gene-seed can only be used upon Human males. Every Custodian stands a full head taller than a Space Marine and it is said that they were almost the same size as a primarch. In fact it was said that Constantin Valdor, Captain-General of the Legio Custodes and Chief Custodian to the Emperor during the Horus Hersey, was the same size as the Traitor Primarch Alpharius of the Alpha Legion.Only 300 Custodes serve as the actual personal guard of the Emperor, called the Hataeron Guard, the Companions of the Emperor, who guard the Emperor's chambers at all times. These are the Custodes that are privileged enough to be in the Emperor's physical presence. The Companions fall under the command of a Tribune, one of the Custodian Tribunate; a senior cadre that formerly consisted of ten in number, forming the Adeptus Custodes' council of war and policy.In the matters of the security of the Imperial Palace's inner sanctums and the person of the Emperor, no higher authority existed. In rank below the Tribune can be found the Centurions or Shield-Captains. Each unit of Companions is led by a Centurion. It was one such Centurion that led a small group of Companions to meet Alicia Dominica, head of the Brides of the Emperor (later the Sisters of Battle) during Goge Vandire's Reign of Blood in the Age of Apostasy during the 36th Millennium.One of the Companions, Constantin Valdor, was the Captain-General and Chief Custodian of the Legio Custodes during the Horus Heresy. He was the most honoured of all of the Emperor of Mankind's creations. No other being had served the Emperor for as long as he, save for the Imperial Regent of Terra, the potent psyker Malcador the Sigillite. Valdor was a proud and respectful warrior unmatched in his devotion and loyalty to the Emperor. Valdor was ever-present at the Emperor's side, always protecting Him from unseen enemies and he saved the Emperor's life innumerable times. Along with Malcador, Valdor was the Emperor's most trusted friend and advisor.Constantin Valdor was one of the first High Lords of Terra chosen after the end of the Horus Heresy to guide the Imperium forward following the Emperor's internment within the Golden Throne. He also had a close relationship with Primarchs Rogal Dorn and Leman Russ, although initially Russ and Valdor did not see eye to eye.Dorn was ever-present at the Imperial Palace during the Great Crusade and so Valdor and the primarch spent much time together. On the other hand, Leman Russ only earned Valdor's respect after Russ wounded Horus using the Spear of Russ, though not unfortunately killing him as intended.The two then served together in combat during the Fall of Prospero when the Custodes and the Space Wolves joined to punish the Thousand Sons Legion of Magnus the Red for his continued use of sorcery despite the edicts of the Council of Nikaea. There is no record of when or how Valdor was killed or if he was even killed at all. He eventually stepped down from the Senatorum Imperialis as a High Lord so that he could continue to devote all of his attention to protecting his beloved Emperor, now encased within the Golden Throne.However, other accounts of the Custodians' exploits provide a different version of the relationship between the Astartes and Custodes. These records indicate that though the Custodians are slightly larger, on average, than Space Marines, their fighting skills are more or less equal. While Space Marines don their armour ritually and in the presence of their squadmates in order to focus themselves entirely on their martial calling, Custodians arm themselves alone and in silence, reflecting on the varied duties they must perform in the service of their master.As bodyguards, the Custodes not only protect the Emperor's person but also maintain scrupulous surveillance on all the other factions of the Imperium to police their loyalty, infiltrate the households of suspicious individuals among the Imperial nobility, and enter deep cover to test the strictness of their own security within the Imperial Palace, exercises which are called "Blood Games." Additionally, these records also confirm that each Custodian's name consists of numerous components typically awarded for feats of arms; Valdor's full name, for instance, is over nine hundred components long. |
Adeptus Custodes - Magisterium and Misericordia: One of the singular features of the ancient Adeptus Custodes as an organisation, and the power of its individual Custodians, is their place in the scheme of the Imperium's law. While an accredited Imperial planetary governor is effectively tyrant of their own world within the edicts and parameters of wider Imperial Law, and few would gainsay the Adeptus Astartes in any demands they were to make, the Adeptus Custodes are alone officially afforded the power of the Magisterium Lex Ultima in the high form, which is to say they are beyond all law and all command save for the direct authority of the Emperor Himself. In addition to this, each one is a noble lord of the Imperium in their own right. This fact is symbolically represented not only by the right to still carry the single-headed raptor and lightning bolt heraldry of the Unification Wars campaign, but also by the carrying of the Misericordia.For long standard centuries of unbridled internecine carnage on Old Earth during the Age of Strife, the Blade of Mercy or Misericordia came to represent the complete power of life and death the techno-barbarian warlords held over the mass of Humanity which toiled beneath their yolk and suffered at their whim. From the dust wastes of Ursh to the Manakonite Temples of the No'rad ice hive, the bearing of such a blade, usually in the form of a long dagger or short sword made to perpetrate a single, killing thrust, came to symbolise the dread authority of the executioner-judge.Beyond the power it represented, the Misericordia might also be used in practice to carry out a "clean" sentence of death on a transgressor, or to offer terminal surcease to a warrior grievously wounded in battle at their master's discretion, in either case living up to its name as an agent of mercy as well as death. When the Emperor came to mastery of Terra and ended the bloody cycle of the warlords' reign, His agents and judges, and only they, came to carry the Misericordia as His mastery eclipsed all others, and it is a tradition the Adeptus Custodes still uphold.When an aspirant ascends to the ranks of the Adeptus Custodes, they are presented with a beautifully fashioned knife known as a Misericordia. These weapons are filigreed with gold and theldrite, their hilts moulded to the owner's unique grip and their blades imbued with micromolecular dissonator Machine Spirits that allow them to slice through the thickest armour as though it wasn't there at all.More than a lethal sidearm, the Misericordia signifies something greater. As the Emperor led His wars of unification, his Custodians are believed to have co-opted the term for their own use. No longer would the Misericordia be a symbol of tyrannical rule. Instead, it came to represent the right of the bearer to act as the arbiter of the Emperor's judgement, and to put to death those tyrants, lunatics and demagogues who stood against Him.The Misericordia still shows its wielder to be the Emperor's sanctioned executioner, yet since His fall these blades bear a second, grimmer meaning. They have become weapons of vengeance, to be turned upon those who betrayed the Emperor and left Him a broken shell. Every time a Misericordia is plunged into a Traitor's heart, so it is said, a minuscule measure of revenge is exacted on behalf of the Emperor Himself.Though the Custodians are typically immune to such superstition, there are those amongst their ranks who harbour the hope that if enough Traitor blood is spilt with these blades, it may in some way restore their master. Another school of thought, the adherents of which are known as the "Miserians," believe that through the wounds inflicted with Misericordia they will slowly bleed the great descendants of Horus, inflicting a death by a thousand cuts upon the Black Legion and their masters. Thus, though Custodians have the right to carry their Misericordia or not as they see fit, it is rare indeed that they go to battle against the Heretic Astartes without these blades at their hips. |
Adeptus Custodes - Martial Ka'tahs: Custodians spend their years perfecting the Martial Ka'tahs of the Custodes -- their ancient systems of melee martial arts -- in the Colosseia Auris within the Imperial Palace.The Adeptus Custodes have developed many thousands of different martial ka'tahs -- unique fighting stances, martial arts and battlefield techniques. These they have evolved over millennia using ancient lore, paintings and statuary, as well as their experiences in war against all manner of Human and xenos peoples. The Custodes have developed many other ka'tahs in the same manner, such as the Politik, Oratorial and Philosophik ka'tahs, all of which have many hundreds of unique disciplines and styles within them.Some of these potent fighting styles are utilised only by the Blade Champions' order, making them capable of eliminating countless enemies with their deadly Vaultswords.Behemor - This ka'tah's clinical strikes prevent even the toughest hide or armored hull from withstanding the Blade Champions' blows.Calistus - Calistus is the art of keeping up relentless fire while advancing against the enemy.Conservi - Conservai emphasises seeing the bigger strategic picture over and above the slaughter of enemies.Dacatarai - This aggressive fighting style has been adapted by the Custodes to deal with hordes of foes who vastly outnumber them.DecapitasGoliatHurricanis - The ka'tah of Hurricanis lets the Blade Champions carve their way through enemy ranks in a blur of blade and blood.Kaptaris - Kaptaris is optimised to trap enemy units in close combat with the Custodes, where the elite warriors can eliminate them.Rendax - Masters of Rendax are superlative monster and war machine hunters.Salvus - Masters of Salvus are preternaturally skilled marksmen with any form of ranged weaponry.VanquisVictus - The execution techniques of the ka'tah of Victus have been used by Blade Champions to claim the lives of countless tyrants and warlords. |
Adeptus Custodes - Arms and Armour: Since ancient times, the Adeptus Custodes' panoply of arms and armour, its wargear and even the vehicles and support systems it employed are often unique to the Adeptus Custodes and them alone. Whether ancient relic or newly-made, these items were not only customised exactly to task, but were also produced without any regard to the consumption of resources or rarity of component or lore required; to arm and outfit the Legio Custodes to the optimum, nothing was spared.This supremacy is evident from the auramite alloy-reinforced Custodian Armour the Custodian Guard wears, each a planet's ransom in worth, to the plethora of repulsor-lift grav-vehicles still under their control, most of which were derived from designs brought back by the great technoarchaeologist Arkhan Land and forbidden for use by any other. Likewise, their singular weapons, be they blade or bolter, are masterworks, produced by entire sequestered sub-cults of the Adeptus Mechanicus and clades of hereditary artisans beholden to no other and tasked alone in the Adeptus Custodes' provision.Entire bloodlines of exceptionally skilled artisans dwell within gilded towers on Terra, their purpose to fashion the auramite armour and perfectly balanced weapons for each new Custodian. Certain names such as the Clan Halbrinmir or the Clan Gestaxtis are renowned for their martial masterworks, and their augmetically enhanced artisan-barons are famed for the wonders they have wrought.Even greater than these resources at their disposal is the Custodes' ability to draw upon any facet of the Imperium's war machine and uncounted hosts it needed to meet its ends, extending its potential power to unguessed-at-levels. The Adeptus Custodes have access to an incomparable armoury of technology, much of it dating back thousands of Terran years. From the sleek Dawneagle Jetbikes of the Vertus Praetors and the magnificent Allarus Pattern Terminator Armour, to Land Raiders and Contemptor Dreadnoughts that saw battle during the Great Crusade, such equipment epitomises the proven excellence of all Adeptus Custodes materiel. The tools of war wielded by the Emperor's guardians never fail or falter, for they are handmade by the Imperium's most skilled smiths and maintained to the most painstaking standards imaginable. Just as the warriors who protect the Golden Throne must be utterly without fault or weakness, so must be the equipment they rely upon to discharge their duties.The reason for this supremacy above all in arms is a simple one, for not only are the Adeptus Custodes fitted to match any potential threat from without, but also from within, and a clear demarcation was enforced between the potency of the Custodes' arms, and those of any other Imperial forces, not least of all the Space Marines, who they already overmatched in physical might. It is perhaps one of the great questions of lost history: what might have been in the wars of the Horus Heresy had the Legio Custodes not been so heavily waylaid by the disastrous consequences of Magnus the Red's great sin on Terra and more able to take an active hand, had not so many of them been trapped for standard years in a terrible parallel war all but entirely hidden from the eyes of the cosmos? But that is a darker tale yet, and the weighty duty of a different record than this to tell.These incredible armaments, the endless training regimes that the Custodians undergo, the years-long holo-conflicts through which they battle, and the shadow-shrouded wars they fight in the Emperor's name throughout the Sol System and far beyond -- all these factors ensure that the Ten Thousand are the finest fighting force in the entire Imperium. |
Adeptus Custodes - At Present: Before the Emperor's internment within the Golden Throne, the Custodes had access to some of the most advanced wargear within the armouries of the Imperium. However, in the years between the Horus Heresy and the birth of the Great Rift, they took a far more limited role in Imperial affairs, and almost never left Terra and only very rarely left the Imperial Palace. It is unknown how limited the Custodes' wargear choices are due to the unknown workings of this elite and reclusive paramilitary specialist force that remains an organisation apart from the rest of the Imperium.They would also more than likely remain aloof in regards to the composition of their wargear and equipment as well as their overall tactical capabilities. Whenever the Custodians were seen outside the walls of the Imperial Palace, as rare as that was, it was in their martial aspect. Mortals would fall on their faces as if before gods. To them, these gold-clad transhuman warriors seemed as if they were wrath incarnate, created for destruction and nothing else. But this was far from the truth, for the Custodes were the Emperor's companions once, the ones in whom He confided, acting as His counsellors and His artisans.The Custodes had been created to be the guardians of a new age and were charged to be strong enough to keep it secure. But in this sacred duty they failed. Following the internment of the Emperor into the Golden Throne after the defeat of Horus on his flagship during the Siege of Terra, the Custodes outwardly wore the mark of their failure in the black robes that covered their auramite. It was a permanent reminder, replacing the traditional cloaks of blood-red that once adorned their battleplate. It weighed heavy with every Custodian, for they knew more of the nature of the fall than most.This bleak colour change reflected that the Custodians were in permanent mourning for failing to protect the Emperor in His hour of need. But with the return of the Avenging Son, the resurrected primarch Roboute Guilliman, the Adeptus Custodes have cast off their black cloaks and now don their crimson cloaks of old. Taking to the sea of stars, they now bring the battle to the Archenemy, intent on absolving themselves in the baptism of fire and blood for their failure in their duties ten millennia earlier. |
Adeptus Custodes - Uniforms and Heraldry: Each Custodian's armour and weapons are crafted specifically for them by hand. Thus, each suit of power armour is an individual work of exceptional craftsmanship with its own unique flourishes and decorations. Yet all Custodians maintain certain standardised elements to their wargear that help them to quickly identify one another's place both on and off the battlefield. The numbers below correspond to the image at right.The right shoulder guard of a Custodian's armour depicts the Imperial Aquila, a sigil of eternal vigilance and a sign of the Custodian's mandate to enact -- by force if necessary -- the will of the Emperor Himself.The gems set into each Custodian's armour are individually mined from deep beneath the surface of Terra and hand-cut by skilled artisans. Their colouration is flawlessly precise, an art form in its own right, not only across the Custodian's armour, but across that of their entire Shield Company. When a Custodian switches from one such organisation to another, the stones will be carefully extracted from his or her armour and replaced with those of an appropriate colour if needs be.The colour panels on the Custodian's left shoulder guard show clearly to which Shield Company or Shield Host they belong. The latter organisational tier takes precedence for these purposes. This colouration will often match the Custodian's tabard, along with any robes they may wear.All Adeptus Custodes armour is made from the incredibly rare substance known as auramite. Its natural colouration is a lustrous gold, a hue entirely appropriate for the Emperor's personal guardians. However, through closely-guarded alchemical processes, auramite can be tinted, or its colour changed altogether on a molecular level. It is a painstaking and costly process, but considered far more suited to the Custodians' importance than simple repainting.The haft or hilt of a Custodian's weapon -- in this case a Guardian Spear -- is sometimes worked -- or, in many cases, reworked -- to match the colouration of their armour. This is not standard amongst all Shield Companies, however. |
Adeptus Custodes - Great Crusade and Horus Heresy Eras: Constantin Valdor - Constantin Valdor was the chief custodian and Captain-General of the Legio Custodes during the Unification Wars, the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy. Just prior to the outbreak of the Horus Heresy, Valdor was charged by the Emperor to accompany the Primarch Leman Russ of the Space Wolves in bringing the Primarch Magnus the Red of the Thousand Sons to account for breaking promises he had made during the Council of Nikaea which had strictly forbidden the use of sorcery and psychic powers within the Imperium. Valdor, with a contingent of the elite Custodian Guard, fought alongside Russ and the Space Wolves during the Fall of Prospero. He and his forces were responsible for killing at least three of the greatest psykers of the Thousand Sons Legion and routing a force much more numerous than their own. He was also responsible for saving Bjorn the Fell-Handed when his arm was corrupted by the sorcerous powers of a Thousand Sons psyker. Valdor sliced Bjorn's arm off to prevent the corruption from overrunning his body. After Horus' betrayal became known to the Imperium, Valdor was present during the meetings of the Officio Assassinorum's Clade Sires and Siresses. It was Valdor who suggested that an Assassin from each Clade operate as a team to assassinate Horus, rather than act alone as was the standard mode of operation. It is said that Constantin Valdor epitomised all that it means to be one of the Adeptus Custodes. Stoic, watchful, fiercely intelligent and -- when required -- a truly inspirational leader, Valdor was a true hero of the Imperium who never once faltered in his duty. It is not recorded what became of Valdor after the Emperor's internment in the Golden Throne, but there are those who believe he serves the Emperor still...Mikaelor Cobernus - Cobernus was a Shield-Captain of the Legio Custodes during the 31st Millennium.Ra Endymion - Ra Endymion was a Tribune of the Legio Custodes during the Horus Heresy and the commander of the Custodians who fought in the Imperial War Within the Webway. He was born on Terra during the Unification Wars to Koja Zu, the Minister of the Anuatan Steppes, around the time of the Battle of Maulland Sen. Ra's mother was executed by Constantin Valdor for the high crime of stealing Terra's last remaining ocean when Ra was only four years old. He was then taken by the Legio Custodes as a potential candidate. The young boy received his name 'Ra' in honour of the ancient Gyptian sun god and eventually rose to become the leader of Squad Dynastes, who were later dubbed the Lords of Terra by the Emperor Himself. This squad was composed of twenty sons and nephews who had been taken as tributes from various defeated Terran rulers and warlords. By the opening years of the galaxy-wide conflict known as the Horus Heresy, Ra had earned eight-hundred and seventy-one names in honour of valorous deeds and was raised to the rank of Tribune. Following the Crimson King's folly, when he tried to warn the Emperor through sorcerous means, the wards placed on the Imperial Webway deep within the Imperial Palace's dungeon were breached, which allowed the legions of Chaos to encroach upon the Emperor's Palace. Five years into the war, things began to go badly for the Imperial forces, as the neverending legions of Chaos threatened to breach the sanctity of the Palace's dungeons. With the deaths of both Tribunes Kadai Vilaccan and Jasac, Ra Endymion was given sole command over the Custodians fighting the war within the Imperial Webway. When the derelict city within the webway known as Calastar (also known as the 'Impossible City') fell to the invading Daemonic hordes, the Emperor finally left the Golden Throne in order to cover the retreat of the decimated Imperial forces and to confront the Daemon Drach'nyen. In a final epic confrontation, the Daemon took the form of a Stone Epoch war-chief, the first Human to have taken another Human life, and the Neverborn impaled the Emperor, claiming that it would be His death. But the Emperor tore the Daemon, now in the form of a great Daemonic sword, from His body and with armour-boosted strength and powerful telekinetic force, He hurled it from His grip at Ra. The sword impaled the Custodian causing the Daemon to be bound within him. The sword quickly disappeared, for it was now bound within the Custodian's body, caged within Ra's flesh. The Daemon within him could not be killed, not even by the Emperor Himself, only imprisoned. As the last remaining Imperial forces retreated from the webway, the Emperor ordered Ra to run deep within the myriad tunnels of the webway as far as possible. Ra's ultimate fate is unknown.Kadai Vilaccan - Kadai Vilaccan served as a Tribune of the Legio Custodes during the Horus Heresy in the 31st Millennium. He fought and eventually died five Teran years into the fighting during the War Within the Webway only two solar weeks after the death of Tribune Jasaric.Jasaric - Jasaric, known also as Jasac, was a Tribune of the Legio Custodes during the Horus Heresy in the 31st Millennium. He had the honour of being one of the original thirty Custodians created by the Emperor of Mankind, and had fought by his liege's side since the Terran Unification Wars, and was present during the Battle of Maulland Sen. He fought and eventually died during the fighting in the Imperial Webway War. He was succeeded by Tribune Kadai Vilaccan.Helios - Helios served as a Tribune of the Legio Custodes during the Horus Heresy in the 31st Millennium. He fought and eventually died during the fighting in the War Within the Webway. He was succeeded by Tribune Jasaric.Ixion Hale - Ixion Hale served as a Tribune of the Legio Custodes during the Horus Heresy in the 31st Millennium. Hale's ultimate fate is unknown.Diocletian Coros - Diocletian Coros was a Prefect of the Hykanatoi and served as a part of the Legio Custodes during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy in the 30th and 31st Millennia. He fought in the War Within the Webway under the command of Tribune Ra Endymion. He was charged with organising a fresh wave of Imperial forces to resist the encroaching Forces of Chaos, which included the condemned prisoners of the fallen Imperial Knight House Vyridion, who would aid the beleaguered Imperial forces at Calastar just as the Chaos hordes began to overrun it. During this battle, Diocletian fought at the sides of both Ra Endymion and the Emperor Himself, and eventually battled his way back to Terra and escaped the confines of the Imperial extension into the Webway just before the Emperor sealed the portal, effectively ending the War Within the Webway. Following the battle, the Emperor began to show Diocleitan visions of both His and Terra's past, much as he had once done with Ra. This could be an indication that Diocletian was raised to the status of Tribune following Ra's disappearance into the Webway. Diocletian's ultimate fate is unknown, though he was later the author of the tome known as The Master of Mankind, a description of Coros' interactions with the Emperor that would still be available to the Adeptus Custodes over 10,000 standard years later.Aquillion - Aquillion served as the Occuli Imperator, the "Eyes of the Emperor," the Custodian who was assigned to watch over the Primarch Lorgar and his Word Bearers Legion after they were found to have violated the Emperor's trust during the Great Crusade by spreading their belief that the Emperor was a God to newly conquered Human worlds. Aquillion and a team of four other Custodians (Vendatha, Sythran, Nirllus and Kalhin) were assigned to the Word Bearers Legion after that Legion's humiliation on the world of Khur and the destruction of that planet's capital city of Monarchia by the Ultramarines Legion on the order of the Emperor. Aquillion used a two-handed Power Sword in combat rather than the standard Guardian Spear. Aquillion and his four-man-team were all eventually slain by the Word Bearers so that they could not inform the Emperor of Lorgar's betrayal. The leader of the Daemon-possessed Gal Vorbak, Argel Tal, decapitated Aquillion by biting his head off.Zhanmadao Navenar - Zhanmadao Navenar sreved as a Prefect of the Tharanatoi of the Legio Custodes during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras in the 30th and early 31st Millennia. Navenar's ultimate fate is unknown.Mikaelor Cobernus - Mikaelor Cobernus served as a Shield-Captain of the Legio Custodes during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras in the 30th and early 31st Millennia. Cobernus' ultimate fate is unknown.Honoris - Honoris served as a Shield-Captain of the Legio Custodes during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras in the 30th and early 31st Millennia. Honoris' ultimate fate is unknown.Kalhin - Kalhin was one of the four other Custodians assigned to serve under the command of Aquillion to watch over Lorgar and the Word Bearers. While attempting to kill the traitor Cyrene Valantion, Kalhin was shot down by Incaradine, the mechanical Conqueror Primus of the 9th Maniple of the Carthage Cohort of the Legio Cybernetica.Nirallus - Nirallus was one of the four other Custodians assigned to serve under the command of Aquillion to watch over Lorgar and the Word Bearers. Amongst his fellow Custodes and the warriors of the Word Bearers, Nirallus was considered the "swordmaster" for his skill with his Custodian Spear. He used this skill to slay Malnor, one of the strongest of the Daemon-possessed Gal Vorbak, but was torn apart seconds later by two other members of this warrior elite of the Word Bearers Legion.Sythran - Sythran was one of the four other Custodians assigned to serve under the command of Aquillion to watch over the Primarch Lorgar and the Word Bearers Legion. He was part of the elite Squad Dynastes, called the Lords of Terra by the Emperor Himself, which comprised twenty souls, each one a scion of an extinct royal Terran bloodline, taken as tribute in conquest during the Unification Wars and inducted into the Ten Thousand. Before leaving Terra to watch over the Word Bearers Legion for 50 standard years as part of the XVII Legion's punishment for violating the Imperial Truth during the Great Crusade, Sythran swore an oath that he would not speak again until he set foot on Terra once more with this duty complete. He kept this promise until the moment of his death at the hands of the Gal Vorbak, when he mocked the Word Bearers' Chaplain Xaphen just after killing him for his betrayal of the Emperor.Vendatha - Vendatha was one of the four other Custodians assigned to serve under the command of Aquillion to watch over Lorgar and the Word Bearers. Vendatha was used as the tenth sacrifice to summon Ingethel, the Daemonic Emissary of the Chaos Gods.Zerin - Zerin was a participant in a "Blood Game" alongside Amon, Haedo and Brokur. Out of the four, Zerin did the worst, as he did not even make it into Imperial Territory before he was caught by his fellow Custodians in the city of Irkutsk.Iacus - Iacus was one of the 15 Custodes sent to watch over the Word Bearers Legion who was not assigned to watch over the Primarch Lorgar with Aquillion. Iacus and his fellow Custodes watched over First Captain Kor Phaeron and First Chaplain Erebus instead. Before the Word Bearers' treachery came to light, Iacus and all his Custodes had fallen in battle alongside the Word Bearers, never knowing of their betrayal.Arcatus Vindix Centurio - When on Terra the Emperor Himself imprinted the genetic knowledge of the primarch-programme onto Corvus Corax, he also ordered a squad of his very own bodyguards to accompany the Primarch of the XIX Legion back to Deliverance to protect the sensitive knowledge. Although the knowledge imprinted into Corax's mind would slowly fade, the Custodes would continue their Emperor-given task to protect and watch over the Primarch of the Raven Guard. As leader of this new bodyguard and the man whose task it had been to watch over the Raven Guard during their stay in the Imperial Palace, Arcatus Vindix soon became a figure of influence within Corax's war council, as the Raven Lord enjoyed debating with the leader of the Custodians when not on the front lines or even in the heat of battle. Whereas Corax always marvelled at Horus' temerity to declare war on the Imperium, Arcatus had a quite different point of view -- Horus would never have turned Traitor if he hadn't been sure from the beginning that he would win. Alongside the ever-active Raven Guard, Arcatus and his brothers saw much combat, participating in the Raid on Kapel-5642A and the Day of Vengeance on Carandiru. Once the Raven Guard had sufficiently recovered from its losses in the Drop Site Massacre, Arcatus was given leave to depart and return to Terra. Accompanied by the Imperial Fists of Captain Noriz aboard their Strike Cruiser Wrathful Vanguard, Arcatus and his men reached the Sol System in the wake of the Battle of Pluto and where challenged by picket ships of Battlefleet Solar. Upon hearing a preagreed codeword, Arcatus and his men immediately turned their weapons upon one particular member of their party, the former Raven Guard Librarian Balsar Khutturi who had broken the Edict of Nikaea on the orders of Corax. Captain Noriz and every Imperial Fist on the Wrathful Vanguard chose to assist Khutturi, a fellow Space Marine alongside whom they had fought for several Terran years. While the Custodians tried not to harm the Imperial Fists, Captain Noriz's obstinacy in aiding his friend led to his unfortunate demise at the edge of Arcatus' Guardian Spear. With the blood of his friend still fresh on the Custodes' blade, Balsar Khutturi launched himself at Arcatus but ultimately refrained from using his psychic powers. Knowing he could not beat the Custodes, the Raven Guard surrendered to their will, thus passing the test set for him by Malcador the Sigilite who wished to recruit him as one of his Knight-Errants.Brokur - Brokur took part in a "Blood Game" alongside Amon, Haedo and Zerin. Brokur emerged as the runner-up in the contest as he made it to The Hegemon before he was caught. Valdor had not expected anyone to get closer to the Imperial Palace than Brokur, but Amon succeeded in infiltrating the Palace itself.Saturnalia Princeps Carthagina - Saturnalia was a member of the Legio Custodes during the Horus Heresy era. He was assigned to the Psi-Hunter Team charged with the task of capturing the Outcast Dead -- the surviving members of a small Legiones Astartes honour guard known as the Crusader Host that was stationed on Terra. The fugitive Astartes were members of the Traitor Legions that had sided with Horus in his rebellion against the Emperor during the Horus Heresy. They had been imprisoned in the maximum security prison known as The Vault since they could no longer be trusted, but they managed to stage a break-out and escape. Saturnalia became part of the hunt team led by the Seer Hunter Yasu Nagasena to track down the Outcast Dead in an attempt to regain his honour after letting the Outcast Dead take his prisoner, the Astropath Kai Zulane. During the final battle with the Outcast Dead in the Temple of Woe, Saturnalia managed to kill Subha, a World Eaters Berserker. Subbha's twin, Asubha, attacked him and drove a Custodian Guardian Spear through Saturnalia's head, just as Saturnalia managed to stab Asubha in the heart with his own Guardian Spear.Haedo Emankon - Haedo Emankon took part in one of the many "Blood Games" alongside Amon, Zerin and Brokur. Of the four participants in the contest, Haedo was the third most successful, as he made it to Cebu City before he was caught. Haedo Emankon was later charged by Constantin Valdor to gather incriminating evidence on a member of the government of unified Terra who was suspected of treason against the Emperor alongside Amon Tauromachian.Khorarinn - Khorarinn was a member of the Legio Custodes during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras. Following the Istvaan III Atrocity, Khorarinn was assigned to work alongside the Knight-Errant, Agentia Primus Nathaniel Garro, a former Battle-Captain of the traitorous Death Guard in determining the loyalty of a ragtag refugee fleet that sought sanctuary within the Segmentum Solar. They were led by the loyalist World Eaters Captain Macer Varren. Khorarinn was highly suspicious of Varren's motives as well as Garro, as they were both formerly members of known Traitor Legions. Further tension was built up between Garro and the Custodian when the latter threatened to kill Tylos Rubio should he utilise his psychic powers in direct violation of the Emperor's Decree Absolute, as laid down during the Council of Nikaea. Ironically, he showed respect towards the White Scars Captain Hakeem, an unexpected member of the refugee fleet, who turned out to be a traitor who was loyal to the Warmaster. Hakeem and his traitorous White Scars would eventually go on to kill Khorarinn as those whom the Custodian accused of disloyalty attempted to save his life.Amon Tauromachian - Amon Tauromachian was a member of the first circle of the Legio Custodes during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy in the 30th and 31st Millennia. Amon was present during the Triumph of Ullanor, where Horus Lupercal was invested by the Emperor with the title of Imperial Warmaster and command over all the Imperium's armed forces and overseeing the final stages of the Great Crusade. When he was manning a checkpoint alongside a fellow Custodian, Haedo Venator, as well as seven Null-Maidens of the Silent Sisterhood, Primarch Magnus the Red was impressed by Amon's stoicism and dedication and predicted that there were great things ahead for him. Many years before the start of the Heresy, Amon was present at the Council of Nikaea to watch over the trial of Magnus the Red for his use of sorcery. Whilst protecting Kasper Hawser, a skjald of the Space Wolves, Amon was attacked by a minion of Chaos in the disguise of a Thousand Sons Space Marine, but managed to survive the encounter thanks to the efforts of the Astartes of the Space Wolves. Amon was later charged with protecting the Emperor when Terra began the process of fortification to withstand the coming assault by the Warmaster Horus and his Traitor Legions. After news of Horus' betrayal reached Terra, Amon was tasked with taking part in the "Blood Games", a rite all Custodians endured and one which set them against the formidable defences of the Imperial Palace in the hope of improving the Custodians' defence of the Emperor through the exposure of flaws in his protection. Following his success in the "Blood Games", Amon Tauromachian and a fellow Custodian Haedo Emankon were sent on a dangerous mission by Constantin Valdor, the Chief Custodian, to gather incriminating evidence on a member of the government of unified Terra, who was suspected of treason against the Emperor but who was in actuality a double-agent working for the Imperium. Amon would go on to be regarded as one of the greatest members of the Legio Custodes. His ultimate fate is unknown.Sumant Giri Phalguni Tirtha - Tirtha was a Veteran Custodian, whose name was said to bear at least seventy-six awarded titles. He was one of the gaolers at the high security Imperial prison on Terra known as The Vault. It was not known how Tirtha had come to Khangba Marwu. He bore no obvious injury and was in prime physical condition, but rumour said he had once questioned an order from the Captain-General, Constantin Valdor. Tirtha was charged with the duty of guarding an extremely dangerous group of prisoners known as the Outcast Dead, the remnants of the Astartes honour guard known as the Crusader Host that was stationed on Terra whose parent Legions had turned Traitor and sided with Horus. Tirtha was killed during the Outcast Dead's successful escape attempt from The Vault, when Atharva of the Thousand Sons took control of an elite soldier with a Plasma Gun and made him shoot Tirtha in the stomach.Uttam Luna Hesh Udar - During the Horus Heresy era Udar was the lead gaoler of the subterranean high security prison built to detain those individuals deemed hostile to the Emperor and isolated from the world above. Built beneath the Himalayan peak known as Rakaposhi, only the most senior Custodians bothered to use its original name, Khangba Marwu, and for those condemned to its cells, who would never again see the light of day, it had an altogether more prosaic name. They knew it simply as The Vault. Udar was removed from the fighting ranks of the Legio Custodes after being exposed to an Ork bacteriological pathogen, whose aftereffects greatly reduced his reflexive response times to a level below the minimum required for frontline service amongst the Custodians. A proud man, he took his removal from the front lines hard, but eventually adapted and took to his new role as a gaoler at The Vault with the same determination and attention to detail that had seen him come the closest to the full infiltration of the Imperial Palace in the Blood Games until his peer Amon Tauromachian Leng bested him. During his tenure, Udar was charged with watching the last remnants of The Outcast Dead -- a small group of Astartes warriors drawn from the Traitor Legions that were the last of the Crusader Host, an honour guard of Space Marines comprised of representatives from each of the 18 Space Marine Legions that served on a rotational basis within the Imperial City outside the Imperial Palace on Terra. Udar met his ultimate fate when The Outcast Dead engineered a successful escape attempt. Udar was slain when he confronted one of the berserker World Eaters Astartes in close combat. The berserker in question, Sergeant Tagore, ripped out a section of Udar's spine through his chest, just as Tagore had promised he would during his confinement.Sagittaras (Sagittarus Malacque) - Sagittarus was one of the first thirty Custodians created by the hand of the Emperor of Mankind and served alongside his liege as His personal Honour Guard during the Terran Wars of Unification. Choleric and wild, he was the first Custodian to be wounded unto death, and interred within the sarcophagus of the Contemptor Pattern Dreadnought as a part of the Legio Custodes Moritoi.Vetiranio Shapura - Shapura, once a Prefect and senior officer of the Legio Custodes, was a figure of some legend within the annals of the Great Crusade. His was the distinction of being perhaps the third or fourth of the Custodian Guard (records differ) ever to be interned within the sarcophagus of a Dreadnought. The glory of his fall was that it occurred in the act of protecting the Emperor Himself from direct bodily harm during a perfidious attack in which the Imperial flagship, the Bucephalus, was successfully boarded by the forces of the xenos Rykogene with the aim of slaying the Master of Mankind. It was an attack for which the species would ultimately pay for by its extinction. The honour of the Ferrum Aquila, seen on the shield his Dreadnought-form carries, attests to Vettranio Shapura's sacrifice still.Abram Hasrubal - Moritoi Excelcis Abram Hasrubal was one of several Legio Custodes Dreadnoughts who served in the forces dubbed the 'Talons of the Emperor' as a part of the Censure Host sent to Prospero, envisioned as part of a reserve in case of emergency. As matters transpired, the Dreadnoughts of the Moritoi were utilised as part of the Custodes' first wave, dispersed through mixed units of Custodian Guard and the Silent Sisterhood to strengthen them and contend with Thousand Sons heavy units when encountered. Hasrubal was one such, attached to the splinter command of Prefect Tern Lanais in the assault on the pyramid of Lhis'Ta on the northern edge of the great plaza of Tizca.Primarus - Primarus was a Custodian who had been interred within the adamantium, cybernetic sarcophagus of an unknown model of Dreadnought, to continue fighting on behalf of the Emperor during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras. His ultimate fate is unknown.Senitorus - Senitorus was a Custodian who had been interred within the adamantium, cybernetic sarcophagus of an unknown model of Dreadnought, to continue fighting on behalf of the Emperor during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras. His ultimate fate is unknown.Gathas - Gathas was a member of the elite Squad Dynastes, called the "Lords of Terra" by the Emperor Himself which comprised twenty souls, each one a scion of an extinct royal Terran bloodline, taken as tribute in conquest during the Unification Wars and inducted into the Ten Thousand. He fought and eventually died during the fighting in the Imperial Webway War under the command of Tribune Ra Endymion.Mycorian - Mycorian was part of elite Squad Dynastes, called the "Lords of Terra" by the Emperor Himself which comprised twenty souls, each one a scion of an extinct royal Terran bloodline, taken as tribute in conquest during the Unification Wars and inducted into the Ten Thousand. He fought and eventually died during the fighting in the Imperial Webway War under the command of Tribune Ra Endymion.Juhaza - Juhaza was part of elite Squad Dynastes, called the "Lords of Terra" by the Emperor Himself which comprised twenty souls, each one a scion of an extinct royal Terran bloodline, taken as tribute in conquest during the Unification Wars and inducted into the Ten Thousand. He fought and was badly injured during the fighting in the Imperial Webway War under the command of Tribune Ra Endymion. Juhaza's ultimate fate is unknown.Solon - Solon was part of elite Squad Dynastes, called the "Lords of Terra" by the Emperor Himself which comprised twenty souls, each one a scion of an extinct royal Terran bloodline, taken as tribute in conquest during the Unification Wars and inducted into the Ten Thousand. He fought in the Imperial Webway War under the command of Tribune Ra Endymion. Solon's ultimate fate is unknown. |
Adeptus Custodes - Post-Heresy Era: Trajann Valoris - Trajann Valoris is the current Chief Custodian and 17th Captain-General of the Adeptus Custodes and perhaps the deadliest individual warrior in the entire Imperium. There are no records in the Imperial databanks on his martial conquests or his ascent into the order. For as long as any living mortal can remember, Valoris' name has been spoken of with nothing short of reverence, for many considered the Captain-General to be the personal representative of the Emperor Himself. Even the High Lords might be mocked, when in wine or in anger, but to do so with the Captain-General was simply beyond imagination. For to mock Valoris was to mock the Emperor Himself. Such blasphemy would not go unpunished, and would inevitably result in a transgressor's untimely death. While the two Tribunes of the Adeptus Custodes were generally occupied with the many ritual purposes of the order, the Captain-General had no set remit, but governed the forces under his command with complete freedom, to the extent that if the Ten Thousand had dealings with any part of the Adeptus Terra, they were carried out through him. Though the Captain-General of the Adeptus Custodes traditionally served among the High Lords of Terra only under the most dire of circumstances, such as during the War of the Beast in the mid-32nd Millennium, it was only the persistence of Chancellor Lev Tieron that persuaded Valoris to assume the seat on the Senatorum Imperialis that had been left vacant for some time following the death of Lord Brach, the Chancellor of the Estate Imperium.Andros Launceddre - Andros Launceddre was the Chief Custodian and 16th Captain-General of the Adeptus Custodes. Launceddre was also the immediate predecessor in those offices of Trajann Valoris. During the Years of Madness, possession was revealed amongst a sub-sect of the doomscryers themselves, though not until the false predictions of the fallen psykers sent Captain-General Launceddre to his death at the Battle of the Gilded Pyre (later recounted in the Custodians' chronicles as the Battle of Black Pyre). It is amidst this climate of spiralling paranoia and danger that Captain-General Trajann Valoris was elevated to command the Ten Thousand, and he wasted no time in taking steps to regain ironclad control of Terra's defences.Calladayce Taurovalia Kesh - Calladayce Taurovalia Kesh is a skilled Custodian Guard who has been chosen to take part in the Blood Games intended to test the defences of the Imperial Palace multiple times, due to her flair for grandiose and unexpected stratagems, making her an excellent foil for those of her comrades seeking to hone their protective skills. In her last Blood Game during the Era Indomitus, Kesh attempted to win by teleporting a compact cyclonic warhead next to the Emperor's Golden Throne. She was going to accomplish this by using the teleporter aboard the Navis Imperialis Cobra-class Destroyer Vigilant Flame of Battlefleet Solar, which she had commandeered. As a member of the Adeptus Custodes, the Vigilant Flame's crew innocently followed her orders to travel to Terra with her secret cargo, ostensibly so she could complete an important mission. Having been sworn to secrecy by the Custodian, the crew of the Vigilant Flame even repeated her fictional cover story to the Terran defence forces that they were transporting an attache from the Hive World of Necromunda. Though they became increasingly doubtful of Kesh's purpose, the destroyer's crew continued to obey her -- except for the Vigilant Flame's Vox Officer Ewa Bhattoor. Increasingly suspicious of the Custodian's motives, she secretly transmitted a distress signal over the ship's vox system, which was received by the Adeptus Custodes officers charged with guarding Terra. In response, Shield-Captain Nicodaemius teleported aboard the destroyer with a squad of his fellow Custodians and confronted his old friend Kesh, putting an end to the Blood Game eight-hundred and seventy three solar days, sixteen solar hours and nine solar minutes after it began.Galahoth - Galahoth was the Chief Custodian and 15th Captain-General of the Adeptus Custodes. A notoriously conservative Captain-General, the Adeptus Custodes suffered stagnation under his rule. Galahoth disappeared sometime in the latter years of M40 or early M41, which heralded the so-called Years of Madness, a time of strange omens and ominous whispers that engulfed Terra. There was a study increase in cult activity -- both heretical and xenophile -- throughout the Sol System, which included the Throneworld as well. He was succeeded by Andros Launceddre.Aesoth Koumadra - Aesoth Koumadra was the Chief Custodian and Captain-General of the Adeptus Custodes sometime between the 33rd and 39th Millennia.Beyreuth - Beyreuth was the Chief Custodian and Captain-General of the Adeptus Custodes during the War of the Beast in the mid-32nd Millennium. During this crisis, he led the Custodian Guard in battle against the Harlequins of the Troupe of Joyful Tears, when they managed to breach the sanctity of the Imperial Palace, intent on personally delivering a message to the Master of Mankind Himself. Only Shadowseer Lhaerial Rey and Death Jester Bho reached the chamber that led to the Sanctum Imperialis, they were able to kill dozens of Custodians, all the while as the Shadowseer insisted that she had come in peace. She explained that she had been sent on behalf of Ulthwé Farseer Eldrad Ulthran to deliver an important message to the Emperor. But the Adeptus Custodes would not relent in their sworn duties, and so, pressed their attack against the xenos interlopers, killing Bho and impaling Lhaerial to the ground with a Guardian Spear. As the Shadowseer continued to insist on meeting with the Emperor, the enraged Captain-General was about to give the order to kill her, until the timely intervention of Inquisitor Lord Veritus saved the Harlequin's life. Using his position as the Inquisition's Representative to the Senatorum Imperialis, Veritus forced Beyreuth to release Lhaerial to him so that he could interrogate her. After the tragic event known as The Beheading occurred, the de facto rule of the Imperium fell to the sole remaining High Lord of Terra, the Officio Assassinorum's representative, Drakan Vangorich, who reminded Beyreuth of the fact that the Eldar nearly breached the threshold of the Eternity Gate. This argument convinced Beyreuth to join Imperial politics and to take his place amongst the esteemed ranks of the Senatorum Imperialis alongside Vangorich.Heracleon - Heracleon is one of two Tribunes who serves in the Adeptus Custodes of the present era. He serves as the master of the Hataeron Guard, the elite cadre of Custodians who oversees the personal security of the Emperor within the Sanctum Imperialis itself.Italeo - Italeo is one of two Tribunes who served in the Adeptus Custodes of the present era. He commanded the few Custodian forces that were abroad fighting the myriad foes of Mankind in holy warfare. Often, he would be impossible to reach by summons due to the inherent danger inherent in his duties. Following the destruction of Cadia, and the formation of the Great Rift, Italeo was mortally wounded during the Battle of Lion's Gate, while fighting against a massive incursion by the forces of the Khorne, though he managed to kill one of the Bloodthirsters who was leading them, before his death. Following his death, Italeo was succeeded by Maldovar Colquan as Tribune.Maldovar Colquan - Maldovar Colquan is one of two Tribunes who served in the Adeptus Custodes if the 41st Millennium. Maldovar spent many years in service, holding vigil over the Emperor as a member of the elite Hataeron Guard. Following Itaelo's death during the Battle of Lion's Gate while combating the forces of the Blood God, Maldovar was chosen to replace him as Tribune. Following the resurrection of the Ultramarines Primarch Roboute Guilliman, who was later acknowledged as the acting Lord Regent of Terra, Tribune Colquan served as a liaison between the acting Lord Commander of the Imperium and Captain-General Valoris. He later joined the assembled Terran forces and took part in Lord Guilliman's Indomitus Crusade, to take the fight to the Archenemy. Tribune Maldovar led the Custodian contingent for well over a Terran century and took part in many notable campaigns, including the Battle of Raukos, which signaled the end of the century-long Crusade. While Colquan served Guilliman faithfully, the Lord Commander could not help but take notice that the Tribune, like many Custodians, had remained superlative individual warriors. But the Adeptus Custodes had rarely served as generals since the old times, and centuries of isolation had dulled what command abilities they had once possessed. The Tribune's contempt for baseline Humanity also troubled Guilliman, a sentiment that was all too often shared amongst Colquan's fellow warrior elite. The Custodians had spent their lives guarding the Emperor, yet they had forgotten who the Emperor guarded in His turn. He chastised Colquan to be more forgiving.Aadilus - A Shield-Captain of the Adeptus Custodes, he commanded Custodian Vertus Praetor forces against the Vostokh 7th Traitor Imperial Guard regiment during the Victorium Crusade sometime after the formation of the Great Rift.Adronitus - Adronitus is a Shield-Captain of the Adeptus Custodes. Following the conclusion of the Terran Crusade led by the resurrected Ultramarines Primarch Roboute Guilliman in ca. 999.M41, Adronitus confronted the Emperor's son before the Eternity Gate. He granted the Primarch permission to enter within the sacred space of the Sanctum Imperialis to commune with his father, the Emperor. Just before entering the chamber, Guilliman ordered the Custodian Guard to seize the Fallen Angel Cypher who had aided the Primarch on his journey in return for an audience with the Emperor. But Guilliman had no intention of allowing a man of uncertain intentions like Cypher to see his father. Adronitus had Cypher placed in the Custodian Guard's remit, and escorted the Fallen Angel to a prison cell located deep beneath the Imperial Palace complex. However, within only solar hours, Cypher would somehow escape his latest prison through unknown means.Daryth - A Shield-Captain that was charged with capturing the Fallen known as Cypher, following his escape from the prison cells deep beneath the Imperial Palace. Following a trail of fading clues, Shield-Captain Daryth and his men have pressed out into the stars to continue their mission. Now they enlist the aid of the Sisters of Silence, bringing a band of the elite witch hunters aboard their frigate, Sol's Arrow, before making the perilous crossing of the Great Rift. The presence of the Silent Sisters seems to calm the madness of the empyrean, at least enough to aid the Custodians in making their dangerous journey into the Imperium Nihilus. Amidst the madness, their augurs do not detect the heavily shielded Space Marine Strike Cruiser that follows in their wake, its hull night-black and its insignia veiled.Yorta'karin Desmodages - A Shield-Captain that currently serves in the modern-era Adeptus Custodes.Anatolyn Ganorth - A Shield-Captain of the Fury of Terra Shield Host, which defended the Imperial world of Elysia from invasion by Heretic Astartes, following the formation of the Great Rift. Led by Captain-General Trajann Valoris himself, Ganorth has been chosen to act as his naysmith and to fight valiantly at Valoris' right hand.Rothrian Ganyth - A Shield-Captain that currently serves in the Adeptus Custodes of the 41st Millennium.Tybanus Lencilus - A Shield-Captain that currently serves in the Adeptus Custodes of the 41st Millennium.Tybalus Maxin - A Shield-Captain that currently serves in the Adeptus Custodes of the 41st Millennium.Oldorian Mefistal - A Shield-Captain wko serves in the Dread Host.Archturus Paliades - A Shield-Captain that currently commands the Gilded Talons Shield Company.Nathadian Steale - A Shield-Captain of the Fury of Terra Shield Host, which defended the Imperial world of Elysia from invasion by Heretic Astartes, following the formation of the Great Rift.Thetus - A Shield-Captain of the Solar Watch, he led a Shield Company that purged a cabal of xenos flesh-witches on Yorlos.Heraclast Vadrian - Following the formation of the Great Rift, Shield-Captain Vadrian became concerned over the continual decline of the Golden Throne's functions and the threat it posed to the Emperor's safety. After bringing up his concerns to Captain-General Trajann Valoris, he was granted permission to seek out a solution. He gathers a band of his finest warriors aboard the cruiser Scion of Argo, and sets off following a lead that points to the lost Forge World of Morvane.Valerian - Valerian served as a Shield-Captain in the Adeptus Custodes of the 41st Millennium as a part of the Palaiologian Chamber of the Hykanatoi. While taking part in one of the Custodes' Blood Games, he was asked by Heracleon, the Tribune of the elite Hataeron Guard, to join their order. Having long striven to become a member of the Companions, Valerian eagerly accepted this great honour. Led to the Last Door of the Sanctum Imperialis, he prepared himself to face the Hataeron Guard's first trial -- to cross the threshold of the Last Door and enter the presence of the God-Emperor. But after catching a glimpse of the Master of Mankind, Valerian could not compel himself to take a step, for his body refused to obey him. Valerian felt great shame and embarrassment, having failed this first of many trials, and so, he returned to his former duties on the Outer Walls of the Imperial Palace. But he would later make up for his perceived shortcomings, when he helped to valiantly defend the Palace defences during the mayhem and madness that ensued following the aftermath of the formation of the Great Rift, and the subsequent Battle of Lion's Gate.Kalim Varanor - An Aquila Commander who welcomed the newly resurrected Ultramarines Primarch Roboute Guilliman upon his arrival on Terra with all honour. He eventually permitted the Primarch audience with Emperor. (Note: Conflicting accounts report that it was actually Shield-Captain Andronitus that received Primarch Guilliman and allowed him entrance. Which account is accurate is currently unknown.)Navradaran - An notable Custodian of the Adeptus Custodes' mysterious Ephoroi, by the time of the 13th Black Crusade, Navradaran was one of the few Custodians to venture out of the Imperial Palace and into the wider galaxy. A friend and mentor to Shield-Captain Valerian, Navradaran shared his great admiration for the Human spirit and taught the Shield-Captain to learn to tolerate their presence and accept them as more than mere nuisances. Under Captain-General Trajann Valoris' orders, he helped to collect the scattered remnants of the Silent Sisterhood and brought them back to Terra, but by the time they arrived, the Battle of Lion's Gate was already underway.Hasturius Calaxor - A notable Venerable Contemptor Dreadnought who has served within the ranks of the Adeptus Custodes for millennia. When he was still living, Hasturius Calaxor originally served in the ancient Legio Custodes, and came to prominence during the Horus Heresy during the defence of the Imperial Palace during the Siege of Terra. He held the Enlightener's Stair single-handedly against the turncoat soldiers of the 9th Terran Wardens. It was he who also rallied the Gospodor Heavy Infantry with his inspiring examples of bravery, and led them to retake the Dome of the Architects from Dortha Kol's Sons of Horus Legionaries and finally driving Kol's warriors to destruction and felled the traitor Warhound Titan Warp Jackal as well. These heroics saw Calaxor promoted to the rank of Shield-Captain, after which he led three further highly successful counter-offensives before the siege's end. He went on to earn himself many more names in the centuries that followed. After many centuries of faithful service, he finally fell in battle on the Dead World of Palathrix, his sheer force of will kept him alive long enough to be interred within a Dreadnought sarcophagus. He became Venerable Ancient Calaxor, and assumed a new role within the Ten Thousand, becoming a living war engine and strategic advisor both amidst the ranks of the Adeptus Custodes.Darian - A notable Venerable Contemptor Dreadnought of the Adeptus Custodes who served with the Fury of Terra Shield Host, led personally by Captain-General Trajann Valoris, which fought against the massive Heretic Astartes assault against the Imperial world of Elysia following the formation of the Great Rift.Eratorius - A notable Venerable Contemptor Dreadnought of the Adeptus Custodes who served with the Fury of Terra Shield Host, Second Shield Company (Vanguard Detachment), led by Shield-Captain Steale, which fought against the massive Heretic Astartes assault on the world of Elysia.Euramedes - A notable Venerable Contemptor Dreadnought of the Adeptus Custodes who often serves with the Gilded Talons Shield Company, under the leadership of Shield-Captain Archturus Paliades, following the formation of the Great Rift.Talorian - A notable Venerable Contemptor Dreadnought of the Adeptus Custodes who often serves with the Gilded Talons Shield Company, under the leadership of Shield-Captain Archturus Paliades, following the formation of the Great Rift.Uriaxes - A notable Venerable Contemptor Dreadnought who fell atop the walls of the Emperor's Imperial Palace during the War of the Beast in the mid 32nd Millennium. Though he was broken in body, he still wished to continue to fight for the Master of Mankind. He has continued to fight on through the millennia, during several notable events in Imperial history. He fought against the Dark Mechanicus on Ghosaris during the Moirae Schism as well as against the Blood Cults of Tsydon. Uriaxes still actively serves, fighting in various campaigns throughout the galaxy following the formation of the Great Rift, in an attempt to repay the debt he owes the Master of Mankind.Ynnades - Ynnades was one of the Adeptus Custodes' Revered Fallen -- a mighty Contemptor-Galatus Dreadnought. The entombed warrior had been roused from his centuries-long slumber when Terra was engulfed by mayhem and chaos, following the formation of the Great Rift. He would later take part in the valiant defence of the Imperial Palace during the Battle of Lion's Gate against a massive incursion by the forces of the Blood God. |
Adeptus Custodes - Non-Custodes Personnel: Armoury Thrall - Armoury Thralls are mortals who have continued to serve as bonded servants to the Adeptus Custodes since the earliest years of the Imperium. Capable warriors in their own right, they carry extra ammunition and armour sealant for their Custodian masters while they are in battle. Following closely behind them while they perform their duties, when the Bolt Casters built into their Guardian Spears or Sentinel Blades run empty, the Custodians throws the weapon to an Armoury Thrall or casts them into the ground. The Armoury Thrall then proceeds to gather the discarded weapon and reload it and then is strong enough to throw the weapon back to the Custodian. |
Adeptus Custodes - Standard Wargear: Custodian Armour - The panoply of the Adeptus Custodes represents the pinnacle of the armourer's art. Far more sophisticated than production-model Space Marine Power Armour, it is fashioned with rare auramite alloy such as that used for the armour the Emperor Himself wore in battle. Each suit is unique to the Custodian Guard who wears it, and it is fitted with arrays of proximity sensors and Refraction Field generators to further enhance its defences.Praesidium Shield - Ornate precursors to the later Storm Shield, the Praesidium Shields of the Adeptus Custodes are forged from all but indestructible layered Ceramite and resilient alloys reinforced with built-in field generators.Aquilon Pattern Terminator Armour - This is a variant of Terminator Armour uniquely designed to operate in conjunction with the physiology of the Adeptus Custodes. Its origins lie with the Cataphractii suits of the Space Marine Legions, but with far greater power capacity and customised neuro-fibre uplinks, it is said, redesigned by the mind of the Emperor Himself for His elite forces.Teleporation Transponders - Although more often employed in the role of bodyguards and sentinels, when the Emperor was active during the Great Crusade, the Legio Custodes often made use of the teleportarium of their Imperial warships to swiftly gain planetfall. Such mechanisms employed for this were the most advanced of their kind and little was left to chance in their operation.Refraction Fields and Iron Halos - Although relatively rare owing to the resources and arcane lore required to construct them, a variety of personal defence energy shields are nevertheless common in the armoury of the Emperor's direct servants, serving both as a badge of office and a means of protection.Magisterium Vexilla - The ancient icons and standards borne by the Legio Custodes represented the inviolable and nigh-omnipotent authority of the Emperor. In particular was the Magisterium, a seal of ultimate sanction and the might of Mankind. Their mere presence on the battlefield is enough to fill those loyal with resolute zeal and wrack those who face His wrath with fear and dread. Moreover, these banners and icons were also technological artefacts containing Vox relay systems and subsonic inducers, augmenting their battlefield role far beyond the merely symbolic.Arae-Shrikes - Ancient devices of the Dark Age of Technology which twist and distort electromagnetic signals, these counterintelligence devices are considered blasphemous in principle and arcane function by the ancient Mechanicum, and persist only in the hands of the Emperor's retinue. By the use of malifica-djinn and hostile blight-code, they pervert the data-readouts of unshielded Cogitators and telemetry plotters with lying reports and malign falsehood, and what they cannot deceive, they simply blind and deafen with a shrieking multi-frequency cacophony.Misericordia - The Misericordia (High Gothic: "blade of mercy") is a bladed melee weapon in the form of a long dagger or short sword that was carried by the Custodians of first the Legio Custodes and after the Horus Heresy, the Adeptus Custodes. The blade was symbolic, intended to represent that the Custodes were beneficiaries of the Magisterium Lex Ultima which placed them above the reach of all Imperial Law save for the commandments of the Emperor of Mankind Himself. The Misericordia was designed to deliver a single, mortal blow, and despite their symbolic nature, were sometimes used by individual Custodians to carry out a death sentence or offer the Emperor's Peace to a mortally wounded and suffering warrior.Custodian Jump Harness (Auramite Pinions) - A form of winged Jump Pack used by the Venatari Custodians.Tarsus Buckler - The Tarsus Buckler is a small, auramite shield used to protect a Venatari Custodian while in combat. |
Adeptus Custodes - Assault Weapons: Guardian Spear - The signature weapon of the Adeptus Custodes and in many ways their symbol of office is the Guardian Spear. Elegant and deadly, it is a potent and unique design incorporating a Power Blade and a highly advanced integrated Bolter weapon, and in the hands of a Custodian Guard it can strike and parry at blinding speed despite its size. More rarely, these weapons mount not Bolters but advanced specialised sub-weapons such as compact Meltas or even Adrathic Disintegration Beamers, issued against the deadliest of expected foes. The most beautifully wrought and deadly weapons of the Custodians' arsenal are the Paragon Spears, storied weapons wielded by the most noted Shield-Captains and Tribunes among the Ten Thousand.Castellan Axe - A weapon most commonly utilised by Custodian Wardens, a Castellan Axe is a heavy-bladed weapon. These weapons lend themselves to an elegant and brutal combat style that sees the wielder use their exceptional strength in conjunction with their axe's momentum, launching thunderous sweeps that switch direction with breathtaking suddenness to cleave through their victims' guard and hack off heads and limbs. The Wardens can also fire concentrated volleys of bolt fire from the hafts of their weapons, scything down those who attempt to stay out of their blades' devastating reach.Sentinel Blade - This is another unique weapon of the Adeptus Custodes, brutal where the Guardian Spear is precise. The hyper-pulse disruption field generators found in the warblade are able to tear apart flesh and metal on contact, while built-in to the blade is a double-barrelled Bolter able to lay down a hail of fire at short range.Solerite Power Gauntlets and Power Talons - First fashioned in the pattern of ancient relics to arm the elite of the Thunder Warriors, the Solerite Power Gauntlets and their raptor-taloned variants are potent weapons. They differ from the standard Power Fists and claws utilised by the Adeptus Astartes in both the near-irreplaceable artefact power coils which energise their disruption field generators and the nigh-indestructible materials their casings and blades are fashioned from, forged as they are in furnaces recovered from the ancient Tempest galleries near Terra's molten core.Interceptor Lance - Am Interceptor Lance is an enormous Power Weapon with a deadly spear tip, utilised exclusively by the Jetbike-mounted Vertus Praetors. Taller end-to-end than an Ogryn, and perfectly weighted, these fearsome weapons boast adamantium blades wreathed in disruptor fields. Vertus Praetors are masters of hit-and-run strikes, driving their lances clean through their precisely chosen targets before ripping them clear again as they speed past. The result is as devastatingly effective as it is explosively gory.Venatari Lance - A Venatari Lance is a two-handed Power Weapon wielded by the Venatari Custodians that also contains a single-barrel archeotech repeater for ranged combat.Vaultsword - A Vaultsword is a type of archeotech power sword that is used by the elite Blade Champions of the Adeptus Custodes. They can be wielded either as single greatswords, known as "Klaimors," or paired with a slightly smaller "Nemis" blade as the Blade Champion's chosen Martial Ka'tah discipline required. |
Adeptus Custodes - Ranged Weapons: Adrathic Weapons - Relics of the Dark Age of Technology believed to be all but unique to Terra, Adrathic weaponry uses a potent but dangerously unstable energy beam to sever the internal bonds of matter, causing objects caught in their path to unravel in a spectacularly destructive manner, leaving only a flaring after-image of what was. Such weapons were legend during the Age of Strife, and devastating wars were fought on anarchic Old Terra solely over the possession of some unearthed cache of Adrathic Weapons and the promise of the power they held. When the Emperor came to dominion and ended Old Night on Ancient Terra, all Adrathic Weapons were given over to Him on pain of death, not simply to the one who retained them but to their entire land and nation such was the importance He placed on controlling this technology. These weapons have remained in His care ever since, and only His own personal weaponsmiths gained and kept the knowledge of how to replicate them in small numbers, much to the jealousy of Mars.Adrastus Bolt Caliver - Developed as a hybrid of later pattern Imperium Bolter weapon designs and Dark Age of Technology "Adrastite" disintegration beam weapons prohibited from general Great Crusade issue, the Adrastus Bolt Caliver is a potent shoulder arm serving as a portable heavy weapon for the Adeptus Custodes. This combination weapon is able to unleash a fusillade of explosive rounds at long range with the potency of the Heavy Bolters carried by the Adeptus Astartes, or at shorter ranges fire a disintegration beam able to rip a target apart at a molecular level, causing its victims to cease to exist in a howling flare of energy.Lastrum Storm Bolter and Bolt Cannon - This pattern of Bolter weapon is named for the weaponsmiths of the Lastrum Core Clan of the Appolyne workshops of Terra. Other than being exemplars of their kind in terms of skill of fabrication, they would not be remarkable save for their uniquely powerful ammunition. Rather than the usual "Kraken" type bolts utilised by the wider sweep of the Adeptus Custodes, the artisans of the Lastrum clans hand manufacture only customised mass-reactive heliothermic warheads for their bolt shells. Once within their target, these burst into brief, but sun-hot incendiary detonations, incinerating their victims from within. These shells are uncommonly dense, requiring a far stronger charge to launch than common bolt shells, and only the Lastrum's uniquely sturdy construction for a weapon of their size can withstand the stresses of their repeated firing. The sheer resources and artifice of these weapons were immense, and they could never hope to be mass produced to arm the Space Marine Legions, and even the output of entire generations of the Lastrum themselves could barely satisfy the Legio Custodes' demands.Archeotech Kinetic Destroyer - Kinetic Destroyers are master-crafted Archaeotech Pistols used only by the Venatari Custodians. |
Adeptus Custodes - Adeptus Custodes Battlefield Support Weapons: As with much of their personal armoury, the weaponry of the Adeptus Custodes' unique war machines is an expression of the height of the Imperium's technological capacities. Many can be described as paragon variants of well-established Imperial patterns such as the Arachnus Blaze Cannon, which were recognisably developments of widely used Imperial las technology, but built with esoteric and powerful components which could never be replicated en masse. Others, such as the Iliastus Accelerator Cannon, were however at the cutting edge of new military developments, incorporating technologies gleaned and tested on the frontline of the Great Crusade. |
Adeptus Custodes - Vehicles: Coronus Grav-Carrier - Perhaps one of the most well-known of the vehicles used exclusively by the Adeptus Custodes, this transport was already widely utilised across the Legio Custodes in the closing decades of the Great Crusade, replacing the limited numbers of the relic Jocasta Pattern Grav-craft that had survived the Unification Wars on Ancient Terra. The use of heavily protected grav-craft by the Legio Custodes granted their force a degree of speed and agility that could not be matched by the grinding armour of other forces of the Imperium, allowing them to deploy, redeploy and evade without the danger of being easily pinned down by enemy troops or hazardous terrain. The Coronus Pattern also served as the inspiration and technological basis for the Pallas and the Caladius grav-craft, developed to meet the specific strategic needs of rapid attack and line of battle tank, respectively. It is unknown if this unit is still deployed by the Adeptus Custodes of the 41st Millennium.Caladius Grav-Tank - Based upon the technology of the Coronus, the smaller Caladius grav-tank was designed to utilise the firepower afforded by the heaviest elements of the Legio Custodes' arsenal on a highly-mobile, protected platform. Given the fusion of advanced systems and weapons, the Caldius was perhaps the most powerful battleline armoured unit of its size in the Imperium's forces, utilising technologies and materials derived not only from the Dark Age of Technology, but from developments made as a result of the Great Crusade's two centuries of warfare. The principal armament of the Caladius was a double-barrelled Iliastus Accelerator Cannon, an advanced weapon which became a precursor to the more mass-produced cannon retro-developed into the armament of the Legiones Astartes Sicaran Battle Tank, which fulfilled a similar role to the Caladius as a high-speed armour destroyer. A less common variant was the "Caladius-Annihilator" which featured an enhanced capacitor-fed Arachnus Blaze Cannon that is potent enough to pose a threat even to super-heavy armoured vehicles. It is unknown if this unit is still deployed by the Adeptus Custodes of the 41st Millennium.Dawneagle Pattern Jetbike - These mounts are utilised exclusively by the airborne warriors known as Vertus Praetors. The Dawneagle jetbike is an incredible vehicle, a crusade-era relic wrought in auramite and adamantium. These bikes are almost as large as light fighter craft and - while they are still grav-skimmers - can deliver a near supersonic turn of speed. Their hulls are phenomenally durable, allowing their riders to slam through walls and enemy warriors without being unseated, and they react pugnaciously to the slightest touch of the controls, able to jink effortlessly through incoming fire. When armed with Hurricane Bolters, the Dawneagle can plough bloody furrows through enemy hordes. However, it is when equipped with salvo launchers that Vertus Praetors truly come into their own as lightning-fast tank hunters. They scream across the battlefield, rapidly outflanking and encircling the heaviest enemy vehicles before annihilating them with strafing runs of melta missiles. Even enemy aircraft are not safe, for by combining their fire the Vertus Praetors are able to weave airborne webs of flakk blasts into which hurtling enemy aircraft slam with terminal results.Gyrfalcon Pattern Jetbike - One of a number of customised Jetbike designs utilised by the Legio Custodes Agamatus Jetbike Squadrons, the heavy duty, plasma motor-boosted Gyrfalcon Pattern Jetbike served as the Custodians' steeds in battle. The increased power of the design supported not only the heavily armoured Custodian Guard, but also allowed it to mount a powerful Iliastus Bolt Cannon as its on-board armament. The Gyrfalcon was more powerful even than the Scimitar Pattern Jetbike associated with the Legiones Astartes, a heavy-design more akin to an armoured one-man speeder than a true Jetbike. In addition, it augmented its grav-repellor systems with a plasma-thrust motor for huge temporary bursts of speed. The Agamatus Squadrons of the Legio Custodes exploited these war machines to operate as both a rapid response and suppression unit in the field. It is unknown if this unit is still deployed by the Adeptus Custodes of the 41st Millennium.Pallas Grav-Attack - Designed, it is reported, to incorporate advanced manoeuvring and autonomous response systems recovered by the great Techno-archaeologist Arkhan Land, the Pallas Pattern grav-attack was one of the most recent designs entering service with the Legio Custodes prior to the Burning of Prospero. Clearly based upon the lineage of the Coronus and Caladius grav-vehicles, it was smaller than either, a single-seat high-speed attack skimmer analogous in role to the Land Speeder more commonly employed by the Legiones Astartes. Designed as a high-manoeuvrability hunter-killer, the Pallas Pattern grav-attack squadrons provided the Legio Custodes with a greater rapid strike capacity than could be afforded by the use of ground troops alone. In this it replaced standard pattern skimmers as well as larger war machines such as the ancient Jocasta Pattern grav-attacks, themselves relics of the Unification Wars, and considerably smaller Hermes Pattern grav-sleds, which while highly agile and swift, offered little in the way of combat survivability. It is unknown if this unit is still deployed by the Adeptus Custodes of the 41st Millennium.Orion Assault Dropship - Created as a dedicated super-heavy assault dropship for the Legio Custodes, the Enyalas Pattern Orion can carry a full task force of the Emperor's Talons into combat. Protected by frontal armour superior to that of the Legiones Astartes Thunderhawk gunship, its Arachnus Heavy Blaze Cannon and Heavy Bolters can swiftly clear a landing zone of hostile infantry and armour with brutal efficiency, allowing the units within to deploy before it soars back into the sky to unleash death upon any foe who dares approach. It is unknown if this unit is still deployed by the Adeptus Custodes of the 41st Millennium.Ares Gunship - The Ares Gunship was a type of anti-gravtic Imperial aircraft used by the Legio Custodes during the Unification Wars, the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy. It developed a fearsome reputation at that time as a potent fire support weapon for Custodian infantry forces known to strike terror in those who faced it. It is unknown if the Orion is still in use by the Adeptus Custodes of the 41st Millennium. |
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