Valerian

Valerian's special edition model.

"He stood there in my cell, with his soft, patient voice, ignoring my repeated insults and studying that infernal parchment as if it were a fascinating but harmless piece of interesting illumination. Most infuriating of all, he proved impossible to provoke. Hatred seemed to have almost no purchase on him, as if it were an emotion he simply couldn’t understand"

– Tanau Aleya, on Valerian

Valerian is a Shield-Captain of the Adeptus Custodes, and one of the narrators of the novel Watchers of the Throne: The Emperor's Legion. While he inwardly admits that he's more of a scholar and philosopher than front-line warrior, he is still a Custodian, and a murder-machine par excellence.

Biography

A Shield-Captain, Valerian was one of those deemed worthy to be selected and be part of the Companions, to take the place of one of those whose tenure had ended. It was a great honor, but when the time came Valerian could not even get passed the first test; he was unable to pass through the threshold of the gate into the Throneroom itself, no matter how he tried. This personal failure bothered him even long after, but it turns out the Emps might have had a different plan for him, as later events would soon show.

Months later, at around the time that the Cadian Gate fell, Valerian was part of a force (which included Storm Troopers and Grey Knights) investigating increasing cult activity around the Imperial Palace. They brought the cult to heel amidst a manufactorium complex, but by then it was too late; the blood ritual that the cult was performing was complete, and through it hordes of Daemons of Khorne started to stream through.

This mass incursion of daemonkin would lead to the Second Battle of Terra, where Valerian and his contingent of Grey Knights would fight along one flank in this massive melee. They were soon joined by a squad of Sisters of Silence, which included Tanau Aleya (the other narrator), and this small force fought its way to a raised landing pad. There they fought, and triumphed, over a massive Bloodthirster, before they were finally relieved by more Custodes airlifted in from the Imperial Palace.

Later on, after discussion with Tanau about a possible danger to the Sol system she discovered, he volunteered his men, the sodality of the Palaiologian Chamber, to accompany the Sister of Silence (and the thirty-two others that joined her) on an unauthorized strike on the fortress world of Vorlese. There they found the defenses of the world broken, the world itself under massive assault by the Black Legion, with its fleet waiting in high orbit. Led by a Chaos Grand Cruiser, it was definitely up to no good.

The strike force deep striked into the Grand Cruiser, and fought its way to a massive hold, where they found a shard of the Cadian Pylons, corrupted by Chaos magic. If it was dropped onto the world, it would effective close the warp corridors out of Terra, which would strand any Imperial Forces led by Roboute Guilliman in the Sol System for years... Years that the Imperium could not afford.

The small strike force fought to nearly the last warrior to make sure that the Cadian shard wasn't dropped. By the time Guilliman's reinforcements arrived, only Valerian and one more Custodes (who was so badly ravaged that he was later interrned in a Dreadnought) survived. Of the Sisters that went to Vorlese, only Tanau survived, but their sacrifice was enough, as it allowed the Indomitus Crusade to break out of Sol to bring reinforcement to beleaguered Imperial forces throughout the galaxy.

On The Tabletop

Valerian features the standard statline and abilities of a Shield-Captain, but rather than the default Guardian Blade he carries instead his relic weapon Gnosis (which negates any ability that prevents the loss of Wounds). He is also equipped with Golden Laurels, which were awarded to him by the Lord Regent Roboute Guilliman himself. The Laurel allows him once-per-battle round to re-roll to hit, wound, save, or charge. He can also never be wounded on a 1-3 roll, which gives him extra durability.

As he is not bound to any particular Shield Host, can be fielded in any Custodes sub-faction and benefits from all the Fighting Style bonuses for the army.

Prior to Psychic Awakening, Valerian and Aleya were an odd duck points and rules-wise, but that had been since been fixed care of Psychic Awakening and the 9th Edition Talons of the Emperor codex.