Constantin Valdor - History: Few warriors in the entire history of the Imperium have even come close to the martial magnificence, selfless dedication and strategic excellence of Constantin Valdor, the first Captain-General of the Ten Thousand. He was a puissant warrior and a being of supernatural stature and gravitas, such that many had likened him to one of the Primarchs of the Space Marine Legions and that he could even have matched one of the Emperor's sons in a contest of blades. Records of his existence predate any of the Primarchs' creation, as with many of the Legio Custodes, who were the Emperor's firstborn genetically-augmented warriors.Such were his fighting skills, martial power and physical and mental abilities that there were those, even within the Imperial Court, that dared to call him "Primarch" in all but name. Yet, for all his power, Valdor was made and trained to serve a different and far more focused purpose, that of Lord Commander of the Custodian Guard, and to Valdor the petty concerns of conquest and glory, dominion and victory were as nothing when compared to his own sworn duty.Yet Valdor's value to the Emperor was so much more than as a mere combatant. From the earliest days of the Unification Wars -- perhaps even before -- Constantin Valdor was the Emperor's staunch companion, and his loyalty to the Master of Mankind was absolute. The Captain-General would rather have taken his own life than risk that of the Emperor; Valdor's devotion to his master was such that there was no act he would not perform, no deed he would not consider, to ensure the Emperor's continued survival.So while Constantin Valdor held a rank in some ways higher than even that of a Primarch, and sat at the centre of Imperial power on Terra, he seldom exercised his influence, save where his purview was directly concerned, and then never with ambition or aggrandisement. But should his purpose be challenged or worse yet should anyone or anything seek to endanger the Emperor or His chosen representatives, Valdor was as a demigod of vengeance made incarnate: unstoppable and unrelenting.Constantin Valdor faithfully served the Emperor of Mankind from as early as the Unification Wars, the Great Crusade and the dark days of the Horus Heresy, in which he was active during some of the most significant events and campaigns that took place during that Age of Darkness, including the Burning of Prospero and the Battle of Terra. On Prospero, Valdor eventually faced over thirty of Magnus the Red's elite Blademasters, warriors who could predict their enemies' attacks through psychic precognition, slaying them all and receiving only a single wound in the process.During the final, titanic siege on Terra, the Legio Custodes fought alongside the Loyalist Legions to defend the Emperor and His palace. They showed no mercy to the turncoat Space Marines. They did not waver, even as megatonnes of explosive death rained from the burning skies, even as daemonic abominations spilled through the veil of reality and Chaos Titans hammered the palace walls with city-levelling weaponry. Valdor and his Ten Thousand fought valiantly during that nightmarish battle, driving back one offensive after another. The Captain-General was seen to reave through the ranks of the Traitor Legions as easily as their Loyalist cousins would against ordinary humans and lesser xenos.During this final battle of the Horus Heresy, the unthinkable would happen. At the culmination of the Siege of Terra, the Emperor led a last-ditch boarding action against Horus' Battle Barge, the Vengeful Spirit, where He met the Arch-Traitor in single combat and defeated him at the last, but the cost was appalling. Though they cut down Traitors and daemons beyond count, Valdor and his fellow Legio Custodes were unable to prevent Horus from mortally wounding the Emperor, and leaving his father's mind and soul trapped in a shattered husk of a body. Grief-stricken, the Custodians bore their master back to Terra, there to be interred forevermore within the machineries of the Golden Throne. They swore a penitent's oath and donned the mourning black, consigning themselves to watching over their fallen lord for the rest of time.Following the failure of the Warmaster's assault upon Terra, the Emperor's surviving loyal sons lead a furious war of vengeance, which came to be known as the Great Scouring, in which they hounded the fleeing Traitor Legions across the galaxy. Yet the newly reorganised Adeptus Custodes took no part in this time of violent catharsis and retribution, standing their sombre watch upon the Throneworld and contemplating their ultimate failure. Though records conflict as to how and when, it is during this period that Captain-General Constantin Valdor disappeared from Imperial histories, along with his weapons and armour, which never made their way to the Hall of Armaments. The Custodians elected Valdor's successor from amongst their ranks and continued their watch.