[Being a study on the methods and culture of the ancient Necrontyr race]
THE SILENT ONES
by Erik Setzer
When the Ethereals began to lead the Tau forces to war, they were not without help. The Ethereals, being weak and unable to effectively defend themselves in hand to hand combat, knew they would be slaughtered without protection. They were joined on the field of battle by personal bodyguards, warriors dressed in dark blue armour and armed with long glaives that glowed with the power of their energy fields. None knew where these warriors came from. Their weapons and garb were not those of the traditional Fire Caste members. No clues were given by the Ethereals' protectors, either. They never removed their helmets, and never spoke. For this reason they became known as the Shal'sem, the Silent Ones.
| SHAL'SEM | ||||||||||
| Troop Type | Pts./Model | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld | Sv |
| Shal'sem | 18 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 4+ |
| Shas'ui | +10 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 4+ |
Squad: 3-7 Shal'sem
Weapons: Power glaive (counts as a power weapon), photon grenades.
Character: One Shal'sem may be upgraded to a Shas'ui for +10 points. The Shas'ui is allowed to take equipment from the Tau Armoury.
| SPECIAL RULES Ethereal Bodyguard: The Shal'sem know their duty, and that is to protect the Ethereal. They protect him with seemingly no regard for their own lives, giving them to protect the Ethereal. If he is yet living, they will fight on. If he dies, they have failed, and will retreat from battle so that they may reflect upon their failure. If the Ethereal being protected by the Shal'sem is still alive, they are counted as being Fearless, and automatically pass all Morale tests required of them. If he is slain in battle, all of his remaining Shal'sem automatically break and begin falling back. They cannot regroup. |