Editing Adeptus Custodes (section)

==Origins & Design==
[[File:1264391028586.jpg|700px|thumb|center|And people bitch about Space Marines and Grey Knights having overdone armour...wait, isn't that [[TTS|Kitten]] third from the right?]]
The Custodians are warriors unmatched in the galaxy, genetically-engineered by the Emperor himself. The Emperor first created these elite warriors back in the old days of his conquest of Terra, making them souped-up and more long-lived versions of the already hilariously OP [[Thunder Warriors]]. In a somewhat dickish move, his preferred recruits for the Custodians were the children of his conquered enemies. I mean, a clever idea really, neuter your conquered foes by taking their children who will never grow up to rise against you, whose parents would not raise a hand against you because their children are held perpetually as hostages. In the "present", they are instead taken from [[Emperor's Children|Terran nobility]]. While the Thunder Warriors were eventually replaced by the far more stable and far less brawny Space Marines, the Custodians apparently still use those ancient methods (but geared towards producing far more stable warriors) and as such lack a gene-seed. Instead, they use a much more complex process of bio-alchemy to attain their superhuman abilities, and this process modifies them at a cellular level. Unlike Space Marines, prospective Custodians are selected in infancy, long before they have any ability to prove themselves as Space Marine aspirants might be able to. As a side-effect, many candidates are driven mad or killed in the process of becoming a Custodian. Also, the process of creating Custodians is only partly standardized: certain unorthodox-but-useful traits may be created or amplified if an initiate shows the unique potential (making Golden Bodyguards quite an internally-diverse bunch of matchless warriors) - much less like Space Marines and much more like ''the witchers'' from Sapkowski's books. Custodians are unique as they have neither a [[Primarch]] nor do they use gene-seed to produce their genetic modifications. They stand a full head taller than a Space Marine. '''Constantin Valdor''', Chief Custodian and first Captain-General to the Emperor during the Horus Heresy, was the same size as the traitor Primarch [[Alpharius]] of the [[Alpha Legion]] (though he was the smallest of the primarchs).

Although the Adeptus Custodes were among the first genetically-modified warriors to be created by the Emperor and still the most advanced of them, they were never intended to be part of a conquering army; such a role was to be filled by the latter [[Adeptus Astartes]] armies. This is revealed both in their mindset and training: While Custodians share a semblance of kinship with one another within the formation, they do not foster the same spirit of brotherhood that is instilled within the Astartes to help them function together as a unit. Indeed, when the Emperor remarks that it is humanity's nature for brothers to fight brothers, one of His Custodians responds that he wouldn't know anything about it because he has no brothers. None of this is to say they weren't made to be extremely potent warriors, they were but their purpose was to fight alongside the emperor as bodyguards rather than as a conquering army. As shown in the webway they were perfectly capable of acting as an army in even the worst imaginable circumstances; it just isn't their primary purpose.

As far as personalities go, Custodians can be as wide and as varied as Astartes. Some, like Diocletian Coros, were single-minded to the point of myopia, and considered the nameless masses not worth his time. Others, like his contemporary Aquillon, were shown to be capable of bonding with a Space Marine and regretting the human costs of a Compliance action. Ra Endymion didn't give a shit about saluting Jenetia Krole because only the Emprah deserves it, but at the same time, he tried to look kind with the Soulless Queen's nine-year-old aide by giving her his winningest smile, which results in a [[fail]] of epic proportions. Tribune Maldovar Colquan in ''Dark Imperium'' is a contemptuous bastard that harbours dislike and distrust of everyone ranging from guardsmen to Guilliman while Valerian and Navradaran from ''Watchers of the Throne'' are surprisingly tolerant and level-headed when dealing with mere mortals showing [[Heresy|blatant weakness]].

When preparing for war, each Custodian prepares and inspects his equipment individually, rather than on military parade. The individuality of each Custodian is further promoted by the fact that the processes required to produce them are not as refined or as simple as that of the Astartes and thus they are not "mass-produced" as the Astartes are; meaning that each Custodian is a unique investment for the [[Imperium]].

Each weapon used by the Custodians is gene-coded to only be used by only that Custodian, although this isn't all that consistent. Argel Tal stole some and used his daemonic powers to unlock them so that they could be used to kill loyalists, which at least is a sort of explanation (albeit a weak, hand-wave-y one), unlike the fucking [[Blood Ravens|bloody magpies]] who have a working Custodian bolter in their armoury, or the [[Minotaurs|Greeks]] who have a Halberd (and let's not even mention the fucking [[Watch Master|Deathwatch]]). The weapons used to be given to each Custodes personally by the Emperor, a practice He's presumably stopped doing after his confinement to [[TTS|His shining golden god-couch]] and as such one of the highest [[Heresy|heresies]] possible is to allow a non-Custodian to handle the weapon. Perhaps the most notable thing about the Adeptus Custodes is the radically different combat approach between them and the Adeptus Astartes: Custodians are not brothers (though more recent fluff seems to dispute this; in both ''Watchers of the Throne'' and ''The Regent's Shadow'', Custodians frequently address each other as brother, and indeed even refer to themselves as such during inner monologs[10,000 years is a long time to sit in the Palace and form stronger bonds]). While Space Marines are trained to support their battle-brothers in combat, each Custodian fights by himself, never intending to receive support from their fellow Custodians, though they can work together if needed.

While fighting as individuals, they seem to have an instinctive sense of coordination without needing hierarchy or orders, each warrior knowing exactly how to fight alongside his peers without burdening them. It is also implied that Custodians apply the logic of Blood Games to warfare, gathering and assimilating any information they can about their adversaries as they fight, and probably spending thousands of hours studying the strategies of every opponent met during the Great Crusade. Astartes included? Very likely, in fact, the Legio Custodes probably knows more about the Legions than the Legions may think, while only a few Astartes have fought alongside Custodians, let alone ''against'' them. Ra Endymion, in particular, was seen mowing through hordes of proto-Khorne Berzerker World Eaters, chewing through captains with little difficulty. The custodians compare so favorably to the Space Marines, a loyal Blood Angel wonders to himself whether trouncing Space Marines was, in fact, the real reason they were created in the first place.

One ritual that the Adeptus Custodes do share with the Adeptus Astartes is the recognition of mighty deeds, manifested in their case with the awarding of names, which are added to the Custodian's title to represent the actions he has performed in service to the [[Emperor]]. ('''Constantin Valdor''' obtained 932 names prior to Horus' siege of Terra.) Such names were inscribed onto the inside of the warrior's battle armour (or directly into their bones) as marks of individual pride. The first name of a Custodian is supposed to be taken from various elements from Old Earth such as mythological figures (Ra, Amon, Aquillon...), historical ones (Constantin, Diocletian, Arcatus...) or places (Bayreuth). Now open a book and try to catch all the references.

The training of the Custodians also differed immensely from the Adeptus Astartes, since they were intended to be bodyguards rather than soldiers. It is clear from their '''Blood Games''' that Custodians are trained in the arts of assassination -- both improvised and professional -- to counter possible assassination attempts on the Emperor. It is common for several Custodians to be on detached duty for these Blood Games so that the organisation remains vigilant against developing threats. Even pre-Heresy, they were clued up enough to recognise Warp-sorcery for what it was.

Furthermore, it is clear that the Custodians are also well-versed in the political etiquette of Terra, and have been known to act outside of Imperial law, to infiltrate influential Noble Houses and to investigate any potential threats. (A role that a Space Marine would ''never'' be expected to fulfill.) This aspect of the Custodian mindset is advantageous, given that the Captain-General of the order often shares a seat with the [[High Lords of Terra]] and thus allows him to navigate the political maneuverings of the Imperium's various agencies, while remaining an awe-inspiring warrior.

===Origin of the Name===
The name Adeptus Custodes comes from the custom of filling the armour with Custard before each battle. This has been confirmed by [https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10155012076396123&set=p.10155012076396123&type=3&theater| Games Workshop]

Jokes aside, however, the word "custodian" means someone who is charged with looking after and maintaining someone or something; the Custodian Guard exists to protect the Emperor and the Imperial Palace. <strike>When this name is "Latinized" as the Imperium does, they become the Adeptus Custodes.</strike> Nobody would ever expect that from GW but ''Custodes'' is actually the '''unaltered''' (!) and even '''correct''' (!!) Latin declension for "watchers / defenders / guardians". Whoah.

The "custode" is also a name used in catholic liturgy. It may signify both the veil protecting the main altar in some churches, which reminds of the job of the Adeptus Custodes within the Imperial Palace, as protectors of the Throne room scanning and herding those brought to "commune" with the Emperor (either as astropaths or ''Auditore Imperialis''); or a small circular box containing the Host, therefore protecting the ''corporis mysterium'' (remember that soothing space marine chant in Latin from Dawn of War I? It was ''Pange Lingua''), usually used to bring it to those who couldn't come to Mass, such as agonizing people. There's also the phrase ''"Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?"'' (who watches the watchmen?).