Deathwatch Black Shield

Black Shield equipped with dual power swords.

A Deathwatch Black Shield or simply, a Black Shield, is a rare Astartes who has severed all bonds with his former Chapter  and has purposely obscured his Chapter's heraldry. In effect, the Battle-Brother is abandoning his Chapter through self-imposed exile. He then presents himself before a Watch Commander in order to petition for admittance to the Deathwatch. 

The motivations for petitioning to join the ranks of the elite Deathwatch are many and varied, for no two supplicants share the same reasons for taking up the Black Shield. One universal trait is clear amongst Black Shields: a fierce determination to expunge the sins of their past through service in the Deathwatch. 

Black Shields are a rarity, for a Watch Commander will seldom see more than a handful in his lifetime. No two share the same motivation for taking up the Black Shield, and speculation as to their motives follows them wherever they go. 

The origin of a Black Shield can vary greatly. Some may be the sole survivors of their Chapters with all of their Battle-Brothers lost to war, disaster or the irreversible deterioration of their gene-stock. 

A darker origin for a Black Shield is that of one whose Battle-Brothers have turned away from their duty and the Emperor’s Grace. Alone amongst his fellows the Black Shield did not fall into corruption or the subtle traps of the Archenemy, keeping his faith when all about him lost theirs.