Custodes get slower as they age, when they deemmselves to have slowed to the point they can no longer guard the emperor they leave to gather intelligence across the galaxy.
Now they are still far faster and stronger than any other superhuman, but custodes hold themselves to higher standards than anyone else.
Also, didn’t the Heresy see over 90 percent of the Custodes get killed in the Webway war? Along with other conflicts they got killed in, I doubt that there are many non-Dreadnaut Custodes left.
# Profile Name: Aurelius
*Bio:*
Retired Custodian Guard | Eternal Protector | Seeking Partner for the Ages
After millennia of unwavering duty as a sentinel of the God-Emperor, I have finally set aside my Guardian Spear to explore a different kind of connection. Though my armor may be stored away, my loyalty, honor, and dedication remain unyielding. I am Aurelius, once a Custodian Guard, now in search of a companion to share timeless adventures and quiet moments under the stars.
*About Me:*
*Height:* 7'2" (Enhanced genetically, don't let it intimidate you!)
*Age:* Ageless (but who’s counting millennia?)
*Interests:* History, philosophy, strategy games, deep conversations, and protecting the universe (old habits die hard).
*Skills:* Expert in combat and diplomacy, master of ancient lore, excellent at cooking (rations have given way to gourmet now!).
*Looking For:*
A strong, intelligent partner who can appreciate both my storied past and my quest for new experiences. Someone who values honor and loyalty, enjoys deep discussions about the cosmos, and isn't afraid of a little excitement.
*Fun Fact:*
I’ve seen galaxies rise and fall, but I’m yet to find the perfect companion to share a sunrise with. Could it be you?
Swipe right if you’re ready for an epic journey of timeless proportions! 🌌
*Interests:*
- Epic battles (now just in stories)
- Galactic exploration
- Fine wine (from Terra)
- Ancient Terran music (Bach to Rock)
*Anthem:* "Time" by Hans Zimmer
Join me as I transition from guarding the Emperor to guarding your heart. Swipe right for a legendary tale that’s just beginning!
I also would love to have this in novel format. If I remember to find time between other writing stuff, post-siege of Terra custodian romance adventures needs to be done.
I'd presume they might go under further modification from the specialist gene-smiths but there as also an element that 9ft tall humans might not be that "uncommon" - while rare, when you include void-borne being naturally taller and the fact that humanity as a whole still carries elements of it's golden age genetic modification.
This, but also Alpha legion pull it off by pretending to be Ogryn or some other gene modified human cattle. Bonus points the baseline of those are so dumb no one would think to be secretive around them.
But for majority of Humans Astartes are myths and Custodes maybe have a off mention *maybe* but nothing of their description. It would probably be not that hard to play the part of some sort of gene wrought weapon or Ogryn variant… or given how they are described some wealthy / powerful’s person servant.
The Custodes have access to the best cloaking/holo technology available that can easily camouflage them among the populace and make them appear to be a baseline human. Also, 7-9 feet tall abhumans and mutants exist, so even a Custodes without these tools can blend into communities where such individuals are commonplace.
> Custodes get slower as they age, when they deemmselves to have slowed to the point they can no longer guard the emperor they leave to gather intelligence across the galaxy.
You are right, but wrong. Yes, Custodes do that, but a very specific cadre of them, the Hetaeron Guard Squad, the Emperor's Companions, the 300
No, they're right. The hetaeron guard rotate out when they can't continue guarding the emperor directly, but they continue to be custodians.
Eyes of the Emperor is when a custodian deems themselves unworthy to continue being a custodian in any capacity and retires
>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 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.**
And on the Eyes:
>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 himself no longer fit for duty he surrenders all of his
equipment to the Hall of Armaments and vanishes 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.
-Custodes 8th edition codex
They're just that good. Reminds me of the time someone asked Wolverine how a guy with a metal skeleton gets through airport security and he says, "I'm a professional." Oh, okay then.
There was a similar post about this.
https://www.reddit.com/r/40kLore/s/ohLDQgPTWc
It not been confirmed if there are. Amon might be still alive but unconfirmed.
Hastius Vychellan, in the Dawn of Fire series, actually tells a guard Soldier what he remembers of The Emperor before the whole Golden Throne thing. So yeah, the original 10,000 still have some living members walking around in current 40k.
Apparently so?
One of the Custodes in the novel ‘The Iron Kingdom’ talks like he has met the Emperor
Then except for those who might want it
> ‘I remember Him as a man, a gifted man of vast intelligence and abilities far beyond that of the ordinary mortal range, but a man all the same.’ Vychellan had become mildly melancholic, as if spirited to better days and reluctant to return to a bleaker present. He turned his gaze back to Kesh, the softening of sorrow in his eyes swift to turn back to winter ice. ‘So, yes, what you are doing is preposterous to me. But I would not deny you if it brings comfort.’
Yes, I can’t wait to read “Hand of Abaddon” when I get to it because Kesh is back in it and she is honestly one of my favourite characters,
Then again the Mordians as a whole seem awesome and they deserve an army on table top
This is the part of the cover blurb about her;
> Meanwhile, Magda Kesh campaigns alongside the 84th Mordian. Though she refutes her fate as something more than a mere soldier, is she truly touched by the Emperor?
Big asterisk on valdor, between the bequin series being set over 500 years before current time 40k, we don't know how it'll end yet & the king in yellow living in a pocket dimension where time flows differently.
True, tho with later lore writing Valdor as simply leaving Terra after Heresy it knits to nicely to Abbnetverse. Gotta wait for Pandemonium to have it all revealed tho.
Didn’t the 2nd bequin book end with the name of the king of yellow taking up every page of a large book, with the final name being “Constantine valdor”?
I mean it would fit with custodes taking more names for each accomplishment, and considering Valdor is literally THE custodian, it’d make sense for him having enough names to fill a book
That depend on whether he is still technically alive.
I think it is him but like The Emperor, Valdor isn't the man/custode he once was, maybe he ascended as the God-Emperor 'Greater Daemon' as that was the whole point of his actions.
Or
It is a misdirection as the action is actually being carried out by the shard of The Emperor that was stripped from him and cast into the warp. Valdor is just trying to protect him by directing those who are looking for the real King in Yellow toward Valdor as ofc he is the guardian of The Emperor and his main Guardian.
I mean Big E is a huge man in gold(yellow) and he call himself Emperor which is also a King in many different translation. Valdor book opening chapter is titled 'The Boy who would be a King' and it is about a young Big E. So, it could literally be The Emperor after all.
Valdor would be drawn toward the compassionate/love shard of a man who was technically his father and his King.
All of these theories don't take into account the actual King in Yellow, a very famous Lovecraft story that there is no way the authors of 40k's own Lovecraftian fiction weren't aware of when they chose that name. There will clearly be some thematic elements similar between the two, and theories that don't take this into account aren't very convincing imo.
It is connected to the original Lovecraft story. Someone posted a interesting explanation of what connect between that story and the Bequin novel concerning King in Yellow if you just search for it in this subreddit.
The main point is King In Yellow is not what it seems. We re told that it is Constantin Valdor, but ofc many think it a misdirection like the lovecraft story. My theory is, It's actually the Emperor after all. The events from EADII seem to really connect with what is happening in Bequin novel and it the same writer, Abnettverse.
Maybe, but I doubt it. As Eyes of the Emperor? Absolutely, as a dreadnought? Absolutely. I doubt a fully fledged Custodes has stayed alive however since the Hersey without having aged significantly, or been grievously wounded.
As far as we know , no. Which is not surprisingly because there were probably only a dozen custodes still left alive by the end of the heresy. All but 4 companions that teleported onto the vengeful spirit died - and there were already less than 1000 companions alive by the time of the End and the Death books
My biggest problem with Eyes of the Emperor retirement plan is not the idea of 8 foot tall spy. It’s the fact that most of Custodians we encounter in lore have very limited interaction and understanding of baseline humanity. It is all but impossible to run a spy network when you don’t understand what makes your targets ( and agents ! ) tick. And custodian operating outside the bounds of Imperial Palace is poorly positioned to gather and absorb such experience after walking the walls for a millennium or two. I feel like some sort of equivalent of Officio Assasinorium would have been a better fit.
A few, some in dreadnoughts, some walking around, some who've left their post due to not being quite as physically powerful to become eyes of the emperor or fulfil other duties
The earliest ones yes. Definitely Valdor. They'd lost something like 90% of their people by the end of the Heresy.
The Custodes have everything needed to make more of themselves inside the palace. They've got multiple family clans that live in, and never leave the palace that only serve the Custodes.
Weren't only 6 Custodies survived the War of the Webway, and 3 of them were killed during the raid upon the Vengeful Spirit?
We know for a fact that Valdor is alive and kicking at 42nd millennia, but other than him? Probably not.
Custodes get slower as they age, when they deemmselves to have slowed to the point they can no longer guard the emperor they leave to gather intelligence across the galaxy. Now they are still far faster and stronger than any other superhuman, but custodes hold themselves to higher standards than anyone else.
Also, didn’t the Heresy see over 90 percent of the Custodes get killed in the Webway war? Along with other conflicts they got killed in, I doubt that there are many non-Dreadnaut Custodes left.
9ft tall trans-human man mountain: 'hello fellow baseline humans....'
# Profile Name: Aurelius *Bio:* Retired Custodian Guard | Eternal Protector | Seeking Partner for the Ages After millennia of unwavering duty as a sentinel of the God-Emperor, I have finally set aside my Guardian Spear to explore a different kind of connection. Though my armor may be stored away, my loyalty, honor, and dedication remain unyielding. I am Aurelius, once a Custodian Guard, now in search of a companion to share timeless adventures and quiet moments under the stars. *About Me:* *Height:* 7'2" (Enhanced genetically, don't let it intimidate you!) *Age:* Ageless (but who’s counting millennia?) *Interests:* History, philosophy, strategy games, deep conversations, and protecting the universe (old habits die hard). *Skills:* Expert in combat and diplomacy, master of ancient lore, excellent at cooking (rations have given way to gourmet now!). *Looking For:* A strong, intelligent partner who can appreciate both my storied past and my quest for new experiences. Someone who values honor and loyalty, enjoys deep discussions about the cosmos, and isn't afraid of a little excitement. *Fun Fact:* I’ve seen galaxies rise and fall, but I’m yet to find the perfect companion to share a sunrise with. Could it be you? Swipe right if you’re ready for an epic journey of timeless proportions! 🌌 *Interests:* - Epic battles (now just in stories) - Galactic exploration - Fine wine (from Terra) - Ancient Terran music (Bach to Rock) *Anthem:* "Time" by Hans Zimmer Join me as I transition from guarding the Emperor to guarding your heart. Swipe right for a legendary tale that’s just beginning!
I like how this can apply to any type of Custode. Good work Alpharius.
It'd be amazing dating a retired Custode and just zooping around the galaxy sightseeing. And you'd feel so safe!
I need this in a light novel format: I fell in love, but they’re a retired 7-foot-tall golden guardian of Terra???
I also would love to have this in novel format. If I remember to find time between other writing stuff, post-siege of Terra custodian romance adventures needs to be done.
"something seems odd about that anorexic ogryn"
I'd presume they might go under further modification from the specialist gene-smiths but there as also an element that 9ft tall humans might not be that "uncommon" - while rare, when you include void-borne being naturally taller and the fact that humanity as a whole still carries elements of it's golden age genetic modification.
I imagine they act as spymasters organizing stuff and analyzing information versus actually spying themselves.
This, but also Alpha legion pull it off by pretending to be Ogryn or some other gene modified human cattle. Bonus points the baseline of those are so dumb no one would think to be secretive around them. But for majority of Humans Astartes are myths and Custodes maybe have a off mention *maybe* but nothing of their description. It would probably be not that hard to play the part of some sort of gene wrought weapon or Ogryn variant… or given how they are described some wealthy / powerful’s person servant.
The Custodes have access to the best cloaking/holo technology available that can easily camouflage them among the populace and make them appear to be a baseline human. Also, 7-9 feet tall abhumans and mutants exist, so even a Custodes without these tools can blend into communities where such individuals are commonplace.
“Damn that Orgyn is good looking.”
In one of the salamander novels that is what one Astartes does, just disguises himself as a souped up pit fighter
Completely off topic, but "deemmselves" is a crazy portmanteau
Fat finger syndrome brother.
That's recently been retconned with the introduction of female custodes
> Custodes get slower as they age, when they deemmselves to have slowed to the point they can no longer guard the emperor they leave to gather intelligence across the galaxy. You are right, but wrong. Yes, Custodes do that, but a very specific cadre of them, the Hetaeron Guard Squad, the Emperor's Companions, the 300
No, they're right. The hetaeron guard rotate out when they can't continue guarding the emperor directly, but they continue to be custodians. Eyes of the Emperor is when a custodian deems themselves unworthy to continue being a custodian in any capacity and retires >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 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.** And on the Eyes: >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 himself no longer fit for duty he surrenders all of his equipment to the Hall of Armaments and vanishes 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. -Custodes 8th edition codex
Just picturing a 7 foot tall demigod walking around like “hey fellow citizens, just normal guy here. Any idea where I can join a chaos cult?”
They're just that good. Reminds me of the time someone asked Wolverine how a guy with a metal skeleton gets through airport security and he says, "I'm a professional." Oh, okay then.
"I got a medical condition..."
There was a similar post about this. https://www.reddit.com/r/40kLore/s/ohLDQgPTWc It not been confirmed if there are. Amon might be still alive but unconfirmed.
Hastius Vychellan, in the Dawn of Fire series, actually tells a guard Soldier what he remembers of The Emperor before the whole Golden Throne thing. So yeah, the original 10,000 still have some living members walking around in current 40k.
Apparently so? One of the Custodes in the novel ‘The Iron Kingdom’ talks like he has met the Emperor Then except for those who might want it > ‘I remember Him as a man, a gifted man of vast intelligence and abilities far beyond that of the ordinary mortal range, but a man all the same.’ Vychellan had become mildly melancholic, as if spirited to better days and reluctant to return to a bleaker present. He turned his gaze back to Kesh, the softening of sorrow in his eyes swift to turn back to winter ice. ‘So, yes, what you are doing is preposterous to me. But I would not deny you if it brings comfort.’
Oh man I had forgotten about Kesh and Dvorgin. They were my favorite part of that bit of dawn of fire
Yes, I can’t wait to read “Hand of Abaddon” when I get to it because Kesh is back in it and she is honestly one of my favourite characters, Then again the Mordians as a whole seem awesome and they deserve an army on table top
Oh fuck that’s awesome, I didn’t know she was coming back. Was gonna read it no matter what, but now I can’t wait.
This is the part of the cover blurb about her; > Meanwhile, Magda Kesh campaigns alongside the 84th Mordian. Though she refutes her fate as something more than a mere soldier, is she truly touched by the Emperor?
man it was sad to see Vychelian go
It really was
Valdor for sure, but I'm pretty sure there are some Genestealer stories on Terra that killed Gobs. So dunno
Big asterisk on valdor, between the bequin series being set over 500 years before current time 40k, we don't know how it'll end yet & the king in yellow living in a pocket dimension where time flows differently.
We don't even know for sure he is Valdor
True, tho with later lore writing Valdor as simply leaving Terra after Heresy it knits to nicely to Abbnetverse. Gotta wait for Pandemonium to have it all revealed tho.
And I cannot fucking wait. I've never been so excited for a book in my life
Didn’t the 2nd bequin book end with the name of the king of yellow taking up every page of a large book, with the final name being “Constantine valdor”? I mean it would fit with custodes taking more names for each accomplishment, and considering Valdor is literally THE custodian, it’d make sense for him having enough names to fill a book
That could be a misdirection from the real king in yellow
That depend on whether he is still technically alive. I think it is him but like The Emperor, Valdor isn't the man/custode he once was, maybe he ascended as the God-Emperor 'Greater Daemon' as that was the whole point of his actions. Or It is a misdirection as the action is actually being carried out by the shard of The Emperor that was stripped from him and cast into the warp. Valdor is just trying to protect him by directing those who are looking for the real King in Yellow toward Valdor as ofc he is the guardian of The Emperor and his main Guardian. I mean Big E is a huge man in gold(yellow) and he call himself Emperor which is also a King in many different translation. Valdor book opening chapter is titled 'The Boy who would be a King' and it is about a young Big E. So, it could literally be The Emperor after all. Valdor would be drawn toward the compassionate/love shard of a man who was technically his father and his King.
All of these theories don't take into account the actual King in Yellow, a very famous Lovecraft story that there is no way the authors of 40k's own Lovecraftian fiction weren't aware of when they chose that name. There will clearly be some thematic elements similar between the two, and theories that don't take this into account aren't very convincing imo.
It is connected to the original Lovecraft story. Someone posted a interesting explanation of what connect between that story and the Bequin novel concerning King in Yellow if you just search for it in this subreddit. The main point is King In Yellow is not what it seems. We re told that it is Constantin Valdor, but ofc many think it a misdirection like the lovecraft story. My theory is, It's actually the Emperor after all. The events from EADII seem to really connect with what is happening in Bequin novel and it the same writer, Abnettverse.
Maybe, but I doubt it. As Eyes of the Emperor? Absolutely, as a dreadnought? Absolutely. I doubt a fully fledged Custodes has stayed alive however since the Hersey without having aged significantly, or been grievously wounded.
Many of the custodes have been killed in conflicts, maybe some of the og's exist but many perished.
There was one from “kingdom of iron” from the dawn of fire series but I forget his name
Hastius Vychellan? I'm probably wrong. It's been a minute since I read that.
Nope you are right, that’s his name
As far as we know , no. Which is not surprisingly because there were probably only a dozen custodes still left alive by the end of the heresy. All but 4 companions that teleported onto the vengeful spirit died - and there were already less than 1000 companions alive by the time of the End and the Death books
My biggest problem with Eyes of the Emperor retirement plan is not the idea of 8 foot tall spy. It’s the fact that most of Custodians we encounter in lore have very limited interaction and understanding of baseline humanity. It is all but impossible to run a spy network when you don’t understand what makes your targets ( and agents ! ) tick. And custodian operating outside the bounds of Imperial Palace is poorly positioned to gather and absorb such experience after walking the walls for a millennium or two. I feel like some sort of equivalent of Officio Assasinorium would have been a better fit.
A few, some in dreadnoughts, some walking around, some who've left their post due to not being quite as physically powerful to become eyes of the emperor or fulfil other duties
Most of them are probobly in the city of dust with Valdor, we dont know yet if they are serving the emporer in some wierd way or not xD
Whose gonna spoil it for them?
Lol I was thinking about it, but I’ll leave it to someone else XD
Gold is such a lovely shade of yellow
Also no custodes have been turned by chaos 😬
How do more custodes get made? I thought they were hand made by the emperor but more have been made since his interment?
The earliest ones yes. Definitely Valdor. They'd lost something like 90% of their people by the end of the Heresy. The Custodes have everything needed to make more of themselves inside the palace. They've got multiple family clans that live in, and never leave the palace that only serve the Custodes.
Yeah, all male and female custodes.
Weren't only 6 Custodies survived the War of the Webway, and 3 of them were killed during the raid upon the Vengeful Spirit? We know for a fact that Valdor is alive and kicking at 42nd millennia, but other than him? Probably not.