Last week, we were introduced to a new face in the Imperium’s ruthless machinery: Atlacoya, one of the Sisters of Silence charged with rounding up the most valuable resource in the Imperium. If you’ve not read the article explaining their unusual role, and how the Warhammer Storyforge team went about bringing their unique battlefield language, Thoughtmark, to the screen – do yourself a favour and open this link in a new tab to read later.
But first, prepare yourself for what’s next… (mild spoilers ahead).
To rule a million worlds…
In Harvest, the second in the Tithes series, we take a closer look at the vast, labyrinthine institution we’ve come to know as The Imperium, specifically five of the entities within it:
The Adeptus Astra Telepathica
The Adeptus Arbites
The Anthama Psykana
The Adeptus Astartes
The Adeptus Custodes
And while all agents of the Imperium act in the Emperor’s service, this time it’s very literal!
The Golden Throne… the arcane machine the Emperor sits upon, can only sustain its grim function through the sacrifice of psykers. A lot of psykers (!). This is the dark reality at the very heart of the Imperium and one that our characters must enforce, regardless of the cost.
Need help rounding up the tithe? Call the Arbitrators
The blood of martyrs
To, errr, fuel the Golden Throne, it’s the grim duty of the Adeptus Astra Telepathica to round up psykers from around the Imperium. On every world* they gather their tragic cargo and imprison them until a Black Ship arrives to take them away. The character you see with the hat reminiscent of a 19th Century divers helmet is an administrator for the League of Black Ships. Think shepherds for the many psykers awaiting a ride to Terra. It’s the first time we’ve seen characters from this galaxy-spanning organisation before.
In Harvest, the administrator is aided by the Adeptus Arbites. The heavy-handed, unyielding enforcers ensure galaxy-wide adherence to the Lex Imperialis, especially the prompt and full payment of the tithe on pain of death. This goes double for the tithe of psykers… even if the Arbites aren’t privy to their eventual fate.
Thousands of souls are sacrificed every day to the Carrion Lord of the Imperium
The balance of power
For the first time, we get to see Space Marines of the White Templars – a Chapter, like many others, pledged to defend the worlds under its stewardship. Yet, like their cousin Chapters, the White Templars’ concern for these planets has more to do with marshalling strategic resources than any sense of sentimentality or fondness for human life. When push comes to shove will the White Templars stand fast and put honour before duty?
Enter the Adeptus Custodes, specifically Tyrith** – a herald of the Emperor bestowed with the ultimate authority and a critical message. Ever wondered what the difference in combat prowess is between mortal, Space Marine and Custodian Guard? Well, wonder no longer… Tyrith gets into some serious action before the episode is over.
We also get to see the weight of a Custodian’s authority. It’s the first time in a Warhammer animation the Space Marines don’t sit at the top of the metaphorical pyramid of power. Thankfully, they’re all on the same side. Right?
Space Marines are great at taking orders when they come from other Space Marines
With friends like these…
All Imperial organisations share the same goal on a macro-level – the defence of the Imperium – but their individual priorities are often-times very different. In bringing all these elements together, the Warhammer Storyforge team tell a story right at the heart of what makes the Imperium tick – without the tithe, the Imperium will fail, and yet the competing jurisdictions, overlapping authority and frequent antipathy between Imperial organisations means that as often as they help one other, they also stymie and frustrate one another. What’s the outcome of all this discord? What happens when supposed allies can’t get along? Well, that would be the grim darkness of the 41st Millennium, right there.
Tithes Episode 2: Harvest is available to watch now on Warhammer TV, for all Warhammer+ subscribers.
* Technically a few are exempt for various reasons. Feel free to look like a smarty-pants on social media by pointing some of them out.
Tyrith Shiva Kyrus (the first three of a long list of honorific names earned fighting for the Emperor) has the privilege of being our first portrayal of a female Custodian Guard since the recent revelation that Custodians can be any gender. This fact came as a real surprise to many, since it wasn’t something previously explored. That, in and of itself, isn’t a particularly unusual thing for Warhammer 40,000 and its lore; there are simply loads of things the Warhammer Studios have never expressly stated, whether that’s ruling them in or out.*
Since the earliest conversations about bringing the Horus Heresy to the tabletop and Black Library fiction, the exact nature of the Custodians has been under discussion – after all, their origins and means of creation, unlike for example, the Legiones/Adeptus Astartes, are shrouded in mystery.
A significant advantage to this portrayal is that it helps us to address a common misconception – that the Custodes are just bigger, better Space Marines. They aren’t. Space Marines were made through industrialised ritual to be mass-produced, brute-force weapons of conquest. And even 10,000 years after their creation, draped in self-assigned glory, that’s still true of them at their core.
Each Custodian, on the other hand, is unique. Painstakingly made through peerless craft and arcane artifice, their physique, their psyche, their very soul, is a bespoke instrument of the Emperor they unquestioningly serve.
We know a lot about Space Marines, relatively speaking. But there is still so much we don’t know about the Custodians, particularly in Warhammer 40,000, and their recruitment process is the least of these mysteries:
What exactly are they up to in the 41st Millennium?
What was their motive for joining the Indomitus Crusade?
What do they REALLY think of Gulliman?
What secret weapons do they have sequestered away in their armoury vaults on Terra?
What does “loyalty” mean in a galaxy where the master you failed is silent, and you despise what his empire has become?
*** We sometimes call these ‘gaps’ and they are quite intentional. They let you as collectors, players, and fans fill the spaces with your own characters, stories and narratives – making the Warhammer hobby truly yours. They also allow us to revisit factions through miniatures, stories, and animations and offer something new and interesting. (Imagine how sad it would be if we ever said “And that’s it. That’s everything you’ll ever see in this army. No new models ever.” – that’d be rubbish.)
