"The Hataeron are with the Emperor. They alone see Him with mortal eyes. Once inducted into the brotherhood, they never leave His side. And so the first step is greatest. Take it, and witness the most profound sphere of duty."
- —Tribune Heracleon, Adeptus Custodes Hetaeron Guard
A Companion of the Hetaeron Guard stands in stoic silence in the performance of his sacred duty, vigilantly watching over the Master of Mankind.
A Hetaeron Guard Squad is a part of the elite inner circle of the Adeptus Custodes, also known as the Hetaeron Guard, Hetaeron Companions, the Companions of the Emperor and the "Three Hundred". The Hetaeron Guard serve as the Emperor's closest protectors, aides and in ancient times, confidants, leaving His side rarely save for the most dire of circumstances.
Since ancient times there have been only 300 of these elite Custodians that serve as the personal guard of the Emperor. They are charged with maintaining the vigil over the Emperor's Sanctum Imperialis chambers within the Imperial Palace at all times and are privileged to always be in His physical presence.
Only now, with the destruction of the Fortress World of Cadia by Abaddon the Despoiler during the 13th Black Crusade, and the unleashing of the galaxy-wide Warp rift known as the Cicatrix Maledictum, have the Custodians been charged with the unthinkable -- to leave His side and strike against those who would see the Master of Mankind dead.
Unlike their fellow Custodes, the Companions remain within the Inner Palace, continuing to perform their sacred duties as sentinels.
History[]
A pair of Hetaeron Guard in combat during the Horus Heresy.
The Hetaeron Guard is an elite unit of 300 Custodians that formed the inner circle within the Custodian Guard, serving as the Emperor's protectors, aides and confidants. They were noted to rarely if ever leave His side. In its earliest years during the Unification Wars each of its members was individually selected by the Emperor, and they represented the most formidable fighters among the Legio Custodes.
During the Great Crusade these warriors appeared on worlds that were personally reclaimed by the Emperor. Within the Companions of the Emperor, prior rank or status mattered little, as all shared the common bond of having been chosen to serve in the Emperor's inner circle and were able to speak freely with one another. This informality extended even to their relationship with the Emperor, and they all freely advised Him on every matter.
During the final stages of the Siege of Terra, the Hetaeron Guard fought alongside the Emperor as he launched a desperate teleportation assault on Horus's flagship in orbit of Terra, the Vengeful Spirit. Many were then briefly corrupted by Horus's dark sorcery and attacked their master, forcing the Emperor to sorrowfully cut them down before the madness passed.
Following the interment of the Emperor on the Golden Throne, the Hetaeron Guard has maintained an eternal vigil over the Sanctum Imperialis of the Imperial Palace and symbolically wear black cloaks over auramite Custodian Armour blackened as a result of their prolonged exposure to the psychic energies of the Emperor and the core of the Golden Throne. Other sources state that after the Horus Heresy, the Companions instead abandoned their auramite armour for black robes, helms, and loincloths.
One of the two Tribunes of the Adeptus Custodes is the master of the Hetaeron Guard and since the Emperor's internment chooses new inductees to maintain their number. The Hetaeron Companions never leave the Emperor's side, standing unmoving, unspeaking, and constantly ready for battle at the foot of the Golden Throne. Even a Custodian finds this duty physically and spiritually exhausting, and members are rotated out of the Companions when the Captain-General of the Adeptus Custodes believes they have served long enough.
The longest Companion's Watch was a full standard century served by Astoran Kalos.
Many Hetaeron Companions are drawn from the ranks of the Custodian Wardens, or those who wish to pass the five standard centuries of Imperial service in order to join the Wardens. After completing their service in the Hetaeron Guard, Companions often become Aquilan Shields.
Role[]
"Conservus, Restituere, Revivicarem."
- —Inscription over the Last Door into the Sanctum Imperialis
An early depiction of the Emperor on the Golden Throne in the Imperial Palace after the Horus Heresy and His "Ascension", surrounded by the Hetaeron Guard. This image is now considered a far more accurate representation of the Emperor's current reality than others.
The Hetaeron Guard serve as a part of the Custodian caste called the Hykanatoi, the main strength of the Adeptus Custodes. They serve as the personal bodyguard of the Emperor and the executioners of any who would offer threat or opposition to His will.
The Companions of the Emperor are the most skilled fighters among a force of transhuman warriors whose martial skills are already beyond the limits of the merely Human.
During the early 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 personal guard followed, becoming almost a myth among the other Imperial forces in their absence.
Members of this elite cadre were originally selected individually for their service by the Master of Mankind Himself, but following His battle with the Warmaster Horus during the Siege of Terra and subsequent internment within the Golden Throne, the Hetaeron Guard were chosen through prescient dreams believed to have been sent to one of their own by the God-Emperor.
Dreams did not mean the same to Custodians as they did to average mortals, for their minds were irrevocably changed by what they had become during their transformation into the elite guardians of the Emperor. Whatever purpose dreaming had for the mortal psyche was made redundant by their alteration. But there were exceptions -- legendary ones.
These prescient visions were spoken of carefully, reverently, for it was in the form of dreams, long ago, that the Emperor's will was most clearly manifested to the Custodians. There are accounts, written in arcane script and buried in the deepest vaults of the Inner Palace, that tell of detailed testimony from the oldest of the Custodes' order, now all long dead.
The greatest of them all -- Diocletian Exemplar, Thanassar, even Constantin Valdor himself -- were said to have had dreams in which knowledge from the Emperor was passed on.
The Companions of the Emperor were never more than three hundred strong. It was the highest honour among the Custodes to be chosen for duty within that brotherhood. There would be sacrifice, of course, but that counted as nothing besides the opportunity to serve in the most profound way imaginable.
Following the internment of the Emperor in the Golden Throne after the defeat of Horus upon his flagship during the Siege of Terra, the Custodes outwardly wore the mark of their failure in the black robes that covered their auramite armour. It was a permanent reminder, replacing the traditional cloaks of blood-red that once adorned their battle-plate.
It weighed heavy with every Custodian, for they knew more of the nature of the fall than most. The gold of their auramite was also blackened, as if charred by fire. It was said that the Companions' proximity to the Emperor did that, turning their pride into ashes.
This bleak colour change reflected that the Custodians had remained 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 cast off their black cloaks and now don their crimson raiments of old.
Taking to the sea of stars, they now bring the battle to the Great Enemy, intent on absolving themselves in the baptism of fire and blood for their failure ten millennia earlier. But the Companions still remain beside their silent lord, ever watchful, ever waiting for any threat to make itself known.
Adeptus Custodes Hetaeron Guard Squad Composition[]
- 3-10 Hetaeron Guard
Wargear[]
Optional Wargear[]
- Solerite Power Talon
One member of the Hetaeron Guard Squad may exchange their Guardian Spear for one of the following:
- Magisterium Vexilla and Sentinel Warblade
- Magisterium Vexilla and Praesidium Shield
Sources[]
- Codex: Adeptus Astartes (7th Edition), pp. 8, 17
- Codex: Adeptus Custodes (8th Edition), pp. 12, 36
- Codex: Adeptus Custodes (10th Edition), pg. 9
- The Horus Heresy Book Seven: Inferno (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pp. 116, 260
- Watchers of the Throne - The Emperor's Legion (Novel) by Chris Wraight, Chs. 1-2
- Our Martyred Lady (Audiobook) by Gav Thorpe
- The End and the Death: Volume I (Novel) by Dan Abnett,Dramatis Personae, 3:i, 3:vii
- Era of Ruin (Anthology), "The Carrion Lord of the Imperium" by Aaron Dembski-Bowden
| Adeptus Custodes Forces | |
|---|---|
| Command | Captain-General • Custodian Tribunate • Captain-Commander (Guardian Captain-Commander • Allarus Captain-Commander • Vertus Captain-Commander) • Shield-Captain |
| Elites | Blade Champion • Hetaeron Guard • Aquilon Terminator • Ephoroi • Allarus Custodian • Custodian Warden • Vexilus Praetor • Custodian Apothecary |
| Fast Attack | Agamatus Jetbike Squad • Vertus Praetor • Venatari Custodian |
| Troops | Custodian Guard • Sentinel Guard • Sagittarum Guard Squad |
| Dreadnoughts | Contemptor Pattern Dreadnought • Contemptor-Galatus Dreadnought • Contemptor-Achillus Dreadnought • Telemon Heavy Dreadnought |
| Vehicles | Coronus Grav-Carrier • Caladius Grav-Tank • Pallas Grav-Attack • Venerable Land Raider • Rhino • Grav-Rhino • Grav-Raider • Grav-Spartan |
| Aircraft | Stormbird • Storm Eagle • Orion Assault Dropship • Ares Gunship • Aquila Lander • Talion • Equinox Interceptor • Zenith Gunship |