Valerian

“	We were never soldiers. Whenever we are seen outside the walls of this place, as rare as that is, it is in our martial aspect. We are clad in gold, just as we were in the earliest days when He was our living captain, and mortals fall on their faces as if before gods. To them, it must seem as if we are wrath incarnate. To them, it must seem as if we were created for destruction and nothing else. But we were His companions, once. We were the ones in whom He confided. We were His counsellors, we were His artisans. We were the first glimpse at what the species could become, if shepherded aright and unshackled from its vicious weaknesses. Of course, we were taught to fight. He knew that war would come. It was a necessary part of the ascension, though it was never destined to last for eternity. We were the guardians of a new age, and had to be strong enough to keep it secure.	„
	~ Valerian explaining the nature and purpose of the Custodians

Summary

Valerian is the Shield-Captain of the Adeptus Custodes' Hykanatoi's Palaiologian Chamber. He is called Philologus - Scholar in High Gothic - by his brothers, as he is far more of a theologian than a warrior, preferring to sharpen his mind through the study of ancient texts and forbidden lore, than to sharpen his spear in the heat of combat. However, despite his reserved, often subdued ways, Valerian is still one of the Ten Thousand Companions, possessing every bit the martial prowess and post-human strength befitting of the Emperor's Legion, excelling in the field of bloody battle as much as in the field of philosophical debate.

His wisdom and skill made him notable among the Adeptus Custodes, which led to Valerian being chosen to join the Hetaeron Guard - also known as the Companions - the three-hundred strong elite sect of the Custodians dedicated to guarding the body of The Emperor Himslef on the Golden Throne. Valerian was overjoyed to be bestowed such an honor, even knowing that once he stepped within the Sanctum Imperialis, he would never leave his Emperor's side until the day of his death. However, at the last moment, as Valerian was about to walk through the Last Door to the Throne Room, the Emperor himself intervened, blocking the Shield-Captain from taking any further step forward. His future laid elsewhere, and though he was devastated to be denied the glory of standing beside his Lord, he nevertheless solemnly accepted his Emperor's will.

Valerian, now once again only a Shield-Captain, would go on to fight alongside his brothers in the Second Battle of Terra, when the Great Rift opened and the light of the Astronomicon temporarily faded from the Galaxy, and Eighty Eight Legions of Khornate Daemons led by Eight Bloodthirsters invaded the Throneworld. Valerian personally fought against one of the Greater Daemons, accompanied by the Sisters of Silence of Witch Seeker Tanau Aleya and the Grey Knights of Justicar Alcuin. Later, when the Primarch Roboute Guilliman returned to lead the Imperium in this darkest of times, Valerian and the rest of the Adeptus Custodes would personally join him in his Indomitus Crusade to liberate the Imperium, taking in for the stars for the first time in nearly 11,000 years.

Powers and Stats

Tier: At least 8-C, likely High 8-C

Name: Shield-Captain Valerian; Called Philologus - The Scholar, amidst hundreds of other names, titles and epithets

Origin: Warhammer 40,000

Gender: Male

Age: Hundreds of years old

Classification: Shield-Captain of the Adeptus Custodes' Hykanatoi's Palaiologian Chamber

Powers and Abilities: Superhuman Physical Characteristics, Enhanced Senses (Each Custodian has his senses augmented to a degree far beyond an ordinary human being and even beyond a baseline Astartes warrior. Furthermore, their extremely sophisticated armor likely contains even more sensitive and advanced electronics than the armor of Space Marine Terminators, which allows said Terminators unparalleled awareness of nearly any battlefield), Immortality (Types 1 and 3), Regeneration (High-Low), Precognition (Can "reach into the Numerology of the near future" to predict the attacks and motion of enemies before they occur), Aura, Holy Manipulation, Probability Manipulation (The Custodians are touched by a spark of the Emperor’s own power, which manifests as a supernatural warding, making it so that bullets and bolts are turned aside at the last moment, blades fail to strike home, and even the psychic powers of the foe can suddenly and inexplicably flicker away to nothing), Weapon Mastery (Custodians spend many centuries honing their crafts, mastering all the different weapons at their disposal with unmatched skill), Martial Arts (Custodes are some of, if not the deadliest single combatants in the entirety of the Imperium of Man, sans the Emperor and his Primarchs, and as such their close-quarters combat skills are similarly nigh-unmatched), Technology Manipulation (They interface with their suits as a second skin, implying they have some kind of Black Carapace equivalent that could allow them to meld their nervous system with other equipment as well), Vehicular Mastery (All Custodes are trained in the use of vehicles, such as tanks, anti-gravity jetbikes, and more, many of which are the most complex and advanced of their kind in the entire Imperium), Stealth Mastery (Custodians constantly have to protect the Imperial Palace, a vast sprawling complex the size of countries, making them as much intelligence agents and spies as warriors. The Custodes used to run the Officio Assassinorum during the time of the Great Crusade, and the Captain-General during the end of the Reign of Blood managed to easily sneak through the blockade of Vandire's heavily fortified palace manned by the superbly trained Brides of the Emperor straight to their leader), Matter Manipulation (Power weapons disrupt the bonds of matter by surrounding themselves in an energy field, of which the Custodes possess some of the most potent examples of), Durability Negation (Power weapons can disregard durability via their power fields), Genius Intelligence, Resistance to Magic, Poison Manipulation, Disease Manipulation, Telepathy, Soul Manipulation, Radiation Manipulation, Heat Manipulation, Possession, Madness Manipulation, Corruption (Type 1 and 2), Pain Manipulation (Possess all the qualities of the Space Marines enhanced to an ever greater level, and almost complete immunity to afflictions from the Warp, as no Custodian has ever been stated to have fallen to the corruption of Chaos)

Attack Potency: At least Building level, likely Large Building level (Vastly above baseline Custodians. Custodes are capable of cracking terminator armor and one-shotting Ogryn who themselves can damage terminator armor. Slew a Bloodthirster of Khorne with the assistance of four Grey Knights and five Sisters of Silence, and did significant damage to the Greater Daemon)

Speed: At least Subsonic movement speed (Much faster than Astartes), with at least Hypersonic, likely higher combat and reactions speed (Can do battle with weakened Greater Daemons) and FTL perception speed (Should be superior to Astartes capable of processing information in nanoseconds)

Lifting Strength: At least Class 50 (At least comparable to particularly strong Marine characters, such as Sol Ba'ken, who wrestled an alien beast as large and heavy as a tank)

Striking Strength: At least Building level, likely Large Building level

Durability:At least Large Building level (Endured multiple attacks from a weakened Bloodthirster of Khorne)

Stamina: Superhuman Custodians can fight for weeks on end with many debilitating injures, some which would kill regular humans several times over. They can still fight with half of their face missing as well as a portion of their skull removed entirely, and hardly anything less than a killing shot can put them down. Custodians towards the end of the Webway War had been fighting a weeks long campaign with no sleep and barely any rest at all)

Range: Extended Melee Range, Kilometers with Bolters and other Long-range Weaponry

Standard Equipment: Auramite Power Armor, Guardian Spear

Intelligence: Genius (As a Shield-Captain of the Adeptus Custodes, Valerian has enhanced intellect combined with centuries of knowledge, combat training and experience, and a martial prowess that far surpasses that of an Adeptus Astartes, and great leadership skills. Beyond that, Valerian is an accomplished philosopher, theologian and historian, having access to the vast libraries of the Imperial Palace which hold knowledge not found anywhere else in the Galaxy, and spending virtually all the time he's not fighting or fulfilling his duties by reading ancient tomes of all manner of subject. His overall excellency among the Adeptus Custodes led to Valerian being selected to join the ranks of the Three Hundred Companions, the Custodians responsible for personally guarding the Emperor of Mankind's Throne Room, though he was denied this fate at the last moment through the Emperor's own intervention)

Weaknesses: None Notable

Others

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Notable Losses:

Inconclusive Matches:

Discussions

Discussion threads involving Valerian