Deep beneath the lightless sands of a long-lost Tomb World, an ancient stasis crypt suffered a catastrophic systems collapse during the Great Sleep. Entire noble dynasties were lost to data corruption, their consciousnesses fragmented beyond recovery. Only one guardian cohort endured.

Known as the Nephthysian Guard, this Canoptek Circle was designed not for conquest, but for preservation. Their purpose was to protect the dead, maintain the sacred sepulchers, and ensure that those Necrons who could not yet awaken would remain undisturbed until restoration became possible.

At the heart of the tomb complex resides an ancient funerary intelligence known as NEPHTHYS:

Nodal Essence Preservation Heuristic for Tomb Harmonization and Yield Security

Originally devised by the Crypteks of the dynasty as an autonomous overseer responsible for safeguarding engrammatic archives, coordinating tomb maintenance, and preserving the identities of the dead, NEPHTHYS continued its duties long after its creators were lost.

Over sixty million years, its directives evolved from simple operational protocols into something resembling sacred law.

Though no true deity exists within their programming, the surviving Canoptek constructs operate as if fulfilling a holy obligation. The preservation of memory, protection of the tombs, and recovery of fallen Necrons are no longer merely functions. They are purpose itself.

To trespass within the tomb complex is to invite annihilation.

The living are viewed not with hatred, but as carrion creatures disturbing the eternal sleep of the honored dead.

The Nephthysian Guard exists to execute the directives of NEPHTHYS:

Protect the tomb chambers. Preserve the engrams of the fallen. Recover damaged Necron remains. Eradicate those who desecrate the resting places of the dead.

Unlike many awakened Necron forces, the Nephthysian Guard wages war without ambition. Territory, conquest, and glory are irrelevant. Their campaigns are surgical acts of preservation against archaeologists, Imperial excavators, Chaos scavengers, and xenos raiders who breach the sanctity of the tombs.

Every victory is recorded. Every loss is remembered. Every fallen servant is reclaimed.