The Black Ships are the grim vessels of the Imperium tasked with gathering psykers from across the galaxy and bearing them to Holy Terra. Operated by the Imperial Agents of the Adeptus Astra Telepathica, these funereal starships ply their sombre trade endlessly, for the harvest of psykers is a duty upon which the survival of Mankind depends.
Across a thousand worlds, latent and rogue psykers are rooted out and consigned to the holds of the Black Ships. Some are unwilling passengers, torn from their families; others are witch-cursed dangers whose powers threaten all around them. Chained and warded, they endure a dread voyage from which none return to the lives they knew.
Upon reaching Terra, the psykers face a terrible fate. A rare few of great strength may be trained to serve as Astropaths, Navigators or sanctioned witches. The vast majority, however, are given up to feed the Golden Throne, their souls consumed to sustain the God-Emperor and light the Astronomican that guides Imperial fleets through the Warp.