Custodes...

The gargantuan ship hovered over the refugee camp, shining like a beacon of gold in an endless darkness, which was amazing considering the fact that it was morning. Rays and beams of sunlight glimmered off its shimmering surface, the images and sculptures of saints and heroes set alight in a radiant burst of resplendent gold. The weapons that jutted out of its sides were so utterly massive that a single shot from any of them would've surely been enough to reduce an entire Hive City to ashes and rubble, or rain ruin upon heretic and traitor legions.

Gasps echoed around me and, one by one, the people fell to their knees, including Duncan and excluding most of the children here, like Katarinya, which was understandable. I glanced around, briefly, and there I felt their zeal, their faith soaring to even greater heights than ever before, like great pillars of flame rising from the earth and into the clouds in the sky. [Concept Shaping] was a strange ability, honestly. And the worst part was that it didn't come to me with the same instinctual knowledge as [Flesh Shaping], [Warp Shaping], and [Tech Shaping] did. But, I'd figure it out eventually, of course. It didn't matter for now. Something else required my immediate attention.

They were here, the emperor's chosen bodyguards, his greatest and most perfect warriors, handcrafted by the Master of Mankind himself and second only to the Primarchs in stature, the Adeptus Custodes themselves, the Golden Guard, the Watchers of the Throne. There were stories of them – few stories, but no less great. It was said that they and they alone marched with the God-Emperor during the earliest days of his crusade to unite humanity, before the Astartes were ever conceived and created; it was they who laid waste to his enemies and brought entire nations and worlds to heel. And I would be fighting alongside them now. Just the thought of it was enough to make me feel giddy with excitement, something I'd honestly not felt in a very long time.

Beside me, Katarinya leaned closer, having risen from her sleep. Her eyes were wide with fear and awe. I smiled at her as I looked down. "Don't worry, Katarinya. That mighty vessel belongs to the Custodian Guard, the Aquilon Shields, the Emperor's finest; they are here to take us away from this planet to better serve the Imperium."

Katarinya nodded, but did not speak. I knew, however, that she believed me.

Duncan turned to me, his eyes similarly wide. He wanted to speak, because I felt his question before he even had the chance to ask it, but Duncan shut his mouth and the words never left his lips. I raised a brow, but figured it probably didn't matter that much. Whatever question he had would surely be answered in the coming hours. After all, by swearing to fight at my side until his death, I'd bring Duncan with me into whatever battlefield the God-Emperor saw fit to toss me into. I still wasn't entirely certain as to what I was supposed to do with Katarinya; she was only a child and, no matter how brave she might've been, the places I'd be sent to would hardly suit her.

A great and thunderous roar boomed from the vessel, a terrible but glorious sound, akin to the roar of great and mighty beast that heralded the coming of a golden age. And yet, the sound did not inspire fear or terror. If anything, it seemed to inspire all those who heard, filling their hearts with unbridled will and unbound strength, renewing the fight, the rage, that'd lain extinguished within their souls. The effect, however, wasn't the same for everyone. There were many who were unaffected, many who'd lost hope.

I stood up and looked towards the ship as a radiant pillar of starlight came rushing out and poured over me. It was warm, I noted immediately, and strangely soothing. The people around us scattered, however, fear and surprise spreading in equal measure and intensity among the gathered refugees; only Katarinya and Duncan stayed by my side as inhumanly tall figures in golden armor materialized before us, accompanied by great blue arcs of electrical energies and dazzling shimmers in the air. Teleportation, I recognized... not because I'd seen it in action before, but because I'd overheard a few of the Veterans mentioning it, a favored tool of Astartes Terminators.

There were four figures before us, each of them taller than any of the Astartes I've ever seen, likely as tall as that maddened creature I'd killed with [Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist], but still maintaining distinctly human shapes and proportions, quite unlike the Astartes in that regard, actually, who were... different. But, who was I to question the God-Emperor's divine design. The Master of Mankind himself created these warriors to fight on his behalf and he created them for a specific reason, each of them made for a glorious purpose. Though, I had to wonder... if the Custodes were so much greater than the Astartes... why not just make more of them?

Huh... I guess I'd find out the answer to that question soon.

One of the golden figures stepped forward, a Custodian who bore royal purple colors on his pauldrons and around his waist, bearing a glimmering spear, and I, alongside Duncan and Katarinya, fell to my knees and lowered my head as the Custodian walked towards us. I felt the weight of his presence, the infinitesimally tiny sliver of the God-Emperor within him, a shard of a shard of a shard. He stopped right in front of me, his massive golden boots shining mere inches from my face. Silence reigned for a moment. Not a single soul who bore witness to the shining glory of the Custodes could even open their mouths to speak.

And then, the golden giant, before me, finally spoke in a strangely jovial and, dare I say, friendly tone. "Rise, Perry Anatinus. You are the Emperor's Chosen; you bow to no one, but to the Master of Mankind, the Master of All. To lower your head to anyone is to dishonor your station."

My eyes widened as I nodded. I wanted to argue – desperately. Every fiber of my being wanted to argue, wanted to say that I was unworthy. But I also knew that, indeed, I had been chosen by the God-Emperor of mankind himself and that meant, for better or for worse, I was now... important. The word felt and sounded pretentious, even in the confines of my mind, but I could think of no other word. Quite simply, the very idea that I might stand on equal ground and stature as one of the God-Emperor's Golden Guardians was preposterous. But... was it not the truth? As much as faith dictated otherwise, it was clear to me that, even as I was now, I was already more powerful than any Astartes and I was still growing. So, I did as I was told and pushed myself up. No one else around me had the gall to even raise their heads or open their eyes, such was the purity of their faith.

"Perry Anatinus, you may refer to me as Garahm Thomson," The Custodian introduced himself with a slight bow. "I am the Lord-Commander of the Aquilan Shields and those behind me are my captains; you may refer to them as Khars, Whamuu, and Eshidisi, respectively."

The other three Custodians then did the strangest thing. They took turns taking unnatural, but otherwise ethereally beautiful poses that truly complimented the shapes of their armors, which I just noticed was different from each other in tiny ways. I wasn't sure why they did that, but it was... honestly refreshingly amusing, though I kept that to myself. It was possible that this might've been a cultural norm of some sort that I just wasn't aware of and that commenting on it might be constituted as a form of disrespect – or something. So, I just forced a smile as the Lord-Commander turned to me. "Don't mind them."

"I... will do my best not to mind them, Lord-Commander." I said, not quite understanding what it was I shouldn't be minding about the other three. But, I suppose I'd find out soon enough. Lord-Commander Garahm nodded.

"We were informed that you possess exotic powers and strange abilities." Garahm continued as he, very briefly and very quickly, turned to glance at the crowd that'd gathered around us. It happened so fast, however, that I doubt anyone else, other than myself and the other Custodians, noticed. Amazing. Not even Astartes could move that fast. "Were you healing these people?"

I nodded. "Yes, indeed, Lord-Commander. Many of these fine and brave citizens will likely never be treated properly or, at the very least, will never be treated in a timely manner. The refugee camps are nearly bursting with those who are merely injured and those who require immediate surgery. As I possess the ability to alleviate their burden, to mend their wounds, restore their missing limbs, and cleanse them of sickness, I saw it as my duty to... well... to do so. It is my duty and responsibility to aid the citizens of the Imperium of Mankind in any way I can."

Garahm nodded. "Very well, Perry Anatinus. The four of us shall accompany you as you heal those who require it. By the will of the Emperor, we shall guard you with our lives."

"We shall guard you with our magnificent bodies!" One of the Custodians behind Garahm, Khars, I think, piped.

"Yes, that was already implied." Garahm said, sighing.

"Our thick, throbbing weapons shall taste the blood of all who seek to do you harm." Another one said, though I couldn't tell which one.

"Yes, Whamuu, that is quite unnecessary; please, shut up or, I swear on Mum Everest, I will send you back to the ship for a time out."

"Alright, fine. I will just be here, then, sulking."

"Worry not, brother; I am sure your throbbing spear shall impale many an enemy once we leave this planet."

"Alright, that's it; I'm the only one who gets to talk now. Everyone else is on time out."

I had to suppress my amusement and the chuckle that threatened to bubble free. Were the Adeptus Custodes all like this or was it just these ones in particular? They seemed so... normal, I thought, quite unlike the Astartes who were silent and stoic and solemn in all that they did. Garahm, Khars, Whamuu, and Eshidisi seemed like a bunch of people who, if they were Custodian Guards of the Aquilan Shields, would be great drinking buddies or just friends, in general. They seemed like nice people.

Garahm turned to me, shaking his head. It was honestly strange and unnatural how graceful they were with their movements; something as tall and as big as they were shouldn't be able to move as fast or as fluidly as they did, but the Custodes didn't seem to be aware of that. They didn't care. It was... almost unnerving and I was certain that seeing such a thing would've once filled me with dread if I hadn't, frankly, seen far worse things already and hadn't spent time in the company of the Carcharodons Astra, who were arguably far more dreadful in comparison.

Garahm sighed and I caught the distinct feeling that this behavior definitely wasn't new and that he would've been running a hand over his face now if he could. "Continue performing your healing, Perry Anatinus. We shall not be in the way. No hurries."

I frowned. "Are we not in a hurry?"

Garahm shrugged, his massive golden pauldrons going up and then down in a manner that belied its actual heft. "No, not really; were in no hurry. You can take as much time as you need to heal as many people as you need to. Actually, speaking of people, are the ones by your side special somehow? Because we'll need to make changes to your accommodations if you're bringing them with you."

I blinked and turned to the kneeling form of Duncan and nodded. Katarinya hadn't fallen to her knees, but she'd been quiet this whole time. "Yes, I swore to keep the child safe. The man swore to serve the God-Emperor by my side. We will fight together as brothers."

"Huh, never had a kid on-board before." One of the Custodes, whom I figured was Eshidisi, said. "Thrones be damned, does this mean we cannot eschew our armors and be our natural oiled selves?!"

"Worry not, brother." Khars said. "Our holy anointed body oils will not be wasted-"

"Didn't I put all three of you on time out?!"

This time, I chuckled.

AN: Chapter 35 is up on (Pat)reon wohoo!