Beneath the Imperial Palace, far below the gilded halls where the Ten Thousand keep their eternal watch, lie the Dark Cells, a labyrinth of oubliettes and warded vaults in which the Imperium has sealed away that which it dares neither loose nor destroy. Daemons bound in unbreakable chains, forbidden archeotech, captive horrors and secrets that could unmake worlds all languish in that lightless dominion, and it is the Shadowkeepers who stand as their gaolers.
This is a duty unlike any other borne by the Custodes. The Shadowkeepers do not merely guard against intrusion; they guard against escape, and their vigil is turned inward upon the very things they hold. To walk the Dark Cells is to move among nightmares that whisper and rage against their bonds, and only the unbending will of a Custodian can endure such proximity to horror without faltering. In keeping with their sombre charge, the Shadowkeepers forsake the blazing gold of their brothers for armour of funereal black, chased with gold, a shade fitting for those who dwell in shadow.
Their writ does not end at the threshold of the vaults. Should one of the entities or artefacts under their keeping ever break free and manifest somewhere in the Imperium, the Shadowkeepers are dispatched to reclaim it, hunting the escaped horror across the stars with implacable patience. They are equally adept at capturing the dangerous and the forbidden wherever it is found, for who better to imprison a nightmare than those who have spent their long lives as its keepers?
Adeptus Custodes
Order of battle
The Shadowkeepers field the units of the Adeptus Custodes — a detachment from the roster:
Kindred formations
Other Adeptus Custodes formations
Aquilan ShieldThe first and most storied of the Shield Hosts, marching under the double-headed eagle to defend worlds Terra cannot afford to lose.
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.
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.