When the ancient vow was set aside and the Custodians first marched beyond the Sol System in force, it was the Aquilan Shield that led the way. Named for the Aquila itself, this Host embodies the Custodians' original purpose turned outward: absolute, unwavering protection, now extended to any world whose fall would wound the Imperium at its heart. Its warriors favor the classic panoply of guardian spear and auramite plate, presenting an image barely changed from the golden guard of legend, a deliberate statement that the Emperor's authority has not diminished merely because His guardians now walk among the stars.
The Aquilan Shield deploys where symbolism matters as much as tactics: shrine worlds under siege, forge worlds on the verge of falling to heresy, sectors where the presence of the Custodians alone might steady wavering loyalists. Their commanders are chosen for equal parts martial mastery and unshakeable bearing, since an Aquilan Shield Host is often the last visible proof to a dying world that Terra has not forgotten it.
Order of battle
The Aquilan Shield field the units of the Adeptus Custodes, a detachment from the roster:
Other Adeptus Custodes formations
Dread HostWardens of relics and interred war machines, the Dread Host answers when the enemy's threat calls for annihilation rather than defense.
Emissaries ImperatusThe Emissaries Imperatus are the shield-host that carries the Emperor's light beyond the walls of the Palace and out into the darkness of a broken galaxy. When the Indomitus Crusade was launched to reclaim the Imperium, it was Custodians such as these who stepped forward to leave sacred Terra and fight upon distant worlds. Wherever they go they bear the authority of the Master of Mankind made manifest, and they strike with such certainty that no foe endures their opening blows.
ShadowkeepersThe Shadowkeepers are the grim wardens of the Dark Cells, the black-armoured shield-host that keeps watch over the forbidden things imprisoned in the deepest vaults beneath the Imperial Palace. Theirs is the duty of the jailer, to hold entrapped the dread entities and heretical technologies too dangerous to destroy. Should any such horror ever slip its bonds and appear abroad, it falls to the Shadowkeepers to hunt it down and drag it back into the dark.
Solar WatchThe Solar Watch, styled the Castellans of the Blessed Worlds, is the shield-host charged with the eternal defence of the Sol System and the sacred worlds of the Segmentum Solar. Held always at the highest pitch of readiness, its warriors are the first of the Ten Thousand to answer any threat to the Throneworld's approaches, striking with a swiftness that grants the Emperor's enemies no chance to draw breath. Their pale, gold-trimmed ranks stand as a living rampart about mankind's holiest ground.
Discussion
- No comments yet. Be the first to reply.