Constantin Valdor
He was Constantin Valdor, called "The First of the Ten Thousand," the Emperor's Shield. As the first Chief Custodian and Captain-General of the Legio Custodes, he stood at the forefront of humanity's might. In the bloody sweep of the Unification Wars and the thunderous dawn of the Great Crusade, it was Valdor who led the golden giants through fire and ruin. Under his command, the Custodians became more than bodyguards--they became legend, their deeds etched across the battlefields of Terra and beyond, shining for years unnumbered.
Opening
Welcome back, lore-lovers. Today, we step into the golden shadow of a legend--the First of the Ten Thousand, the Spear of the Emperor himself: Constantin Valdor.
The Chronicle
He was forged in the earliest fires of the Imperium--Constantin Valdor, "The First of the Ten Thousand," "The Shield of the Emperor." As the inaugural Captain-General of the Legio Custodes, Valdor stood above nearly all warriors in the Imperium's long and blood-soaked history. His mastery in battle, unwavering loyalty, and towering presence earned him comparisons to the primarchs themselves. Many whispered that, had he been called such, none would have denied him the title.
Long before any primarch walked beneath the stars, Valdor strode beside the Emperor. He was not born but crafted, a being of peerless might and purpose, made to guard the Master of Mankind. Some in the Imperial Court dared to name him a primarch in all but title, but Valdor had no desire for conquest, no hunger for glory. His only drive was duty--the sacred charge of the Custodian Guard.
From the early days of the Unification Wars, Valdor served not only as a warrior but as the Emperor's confidant, silent and steadfast. His loyalty was total, his oath unbreakable. No act was beneath him if it meant preserving the life of the Emperor. To safeguard his master, Valdor would have given everything--his power, his soul, even his existence.
Though his station placed him near the highest echelons of Imperial power, Valdor rarely intervened outside his mandate. But when threats dared reach toward the Emperor or those anointed by His will, Valdor struck with fury. In such moments, he was a living storm of golden vengeance, relentless and divine.
His spear--The Apollonian Spear--sang in battle, a master-crafted relic whose sting few survived. Through the Great Crusade and into the long night of the Horus Heresy, Valdor remained a constant, his armor never far from war, his resolve never shaken. At Prospero, he stood alone against more than thirty of Magnus' Blademasters--psychic duelists of immense power--and laid them all low, suffering only a single wound in return.
During the Siege of Terra, as the skies burned and reality itself tore open, Valdor and the Custodians stood shoulder to shoulder with the last defenders. They fought through fire, void shields, and daemonic tides, their golden forms unwavering as the Traitor Legions hurled their worst upon the walls of the Imperial Palace. Through all, Valdor carved a path through enemies both human and monstrous, his wrath unmatched.
But even he could not stop the final blow. When the Emperor ascended to the Vengeful Spirit for His last battle, the Custodians followed, slaughtering Traitors and Daemons alike. Yet Horus struck true. The Emperor emerged victorious, but mortally wounded. Valdor returned to Terra bearing the shattered body of the Master he could not save.
In the aftermath, the golden warriors of the Custodes cast aside their crimson, donning black in mourning. They turned from the stars and the wars of vengeance, leaving the Great Scouring to the surviving primarchs. Valdor withdrew with them, and then--he vanished. No record tells of his end. His arms and armor never returned to the Hall of Armaments. His name faded from active duty, leaving only silence and the weight of what had been lost.
A new Captain-General was chosen. The watch continued. But Constantin Valdor, the Emperor's Shield, was gone.
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Let's now dive into his notable campaigns as told by the echoes of history and the silence of the Golden Throne.
Starting with the Unification Wars, in the shadowed beginnings of the Imperium, before dates were kept and truths made clear, legends spoke of crimson and gold giants walking beside a radiant master. Carved in stone, preserved in forbidden tomes, they appeared--towering sentinels and silent counsellors. Among them was Constantin Valdor, always near the Emperor's side, long before Terra was unified beneath a single banner. Wherever the Emperor marched, Valdor was never far behind.
Valdor participated in the battle of Maulland Sen, part of a war of seven-to-one odds, where the Priest-King of the Nordyc hives unleashed altered zealots and witch-marked warriors. The Thunder Legion and a thin line of Custodians, led by Valdor, stood against them. The Custodians carved through the heretics, and though history claims the Emperor delivered the final justice, some scrolls say it was Valdor who struck the tyrant down.
The final storm of the Unification Wars had the Thunder Warriors, doomed by flawed creation, turned on their maker. They had been made for war, not for peace. In the Kingdom of Urartu, they made their stand--and were cut down by a force of Custodians and prototype Astartes. Valdor was believed to have led the culling, ensuring Terra's final unification at a terrible cost. The Lightning Bearer, Arik Taranis, died clutching the Banner of Unity. But the true cause of their deaths was silence.
He was sent after Koja Zu, her sins were many--flesh trade, genetic abominations, whispers of rebellion. But none mattered as much as the one true transgression: she stole water. The Last Ocean had been drained. Valdor was sent, not just to end her, but to reclaim what could be salvaged. The Emperor's wrath was quiet and precise. After the deed, Valdor took her son, Ra Endymion, for a new purpose--one that would forge him into something greater.
Upon the distant world of Nikaea, Valdor stood beside the Emperor during a storm of words. The question: sorcery or sanity? The Emperor judged, the primarchs debated. Valdor spoke not. He needed no vote, only vigilance. The decree that followed banned the Librarians and outlawed sorcery. But not all obeyed.
Magnus the Red had seen the future and reached for his father--only to shatter what the Emperor had hidden deep beneath the Palace. The Custodians, bearing the Lex Ultima, were sent to deliver judgment. Valdor led them with solemn resolve. The mission turned bloody when Leman Russ arrived, teeth bared and bolter ready. Prospero burned. The Thousand Sons fought with psychic fury, but the Nulls of the Sisters of Silence and the golden wrath of the Custodians broke their lines. A world fell, and the Heresy began.
While brother fought brother in the stars above, a darker war raged below. The Emperor's great secret, a gate to freedom from the Warp, had been shattered by Magnus' intrusion. Through that breach poured Daemons. Few ever knew the scale of the battle. The Custodians held the line in that nightmare realm, sacrificing glory and vengeance to safeguard the future. Valdor, drawn from the fire, joined the Terran War Council to plan the defence of the Throneworld.
Valdor tried to kill Horus, when Malcador summoned the assassins, it was him who proposed unity over solitude--an Execution Force made of every Clade, working as one. The mission to kill Horus failed, but a new weapon had been born. He and Dorn would clash over the cost of such methods--honour against necessity, principle against survival. But in the end, the Emperor's voice silenced them both.
In the end, he had to defend Terra with all his might, after nine years of slaughter, the traitors came. Terra wept fire as Daemons clawed through reality. Valdor stood with the Ten Thousand, unmoved. They fought beside the loyal sons of the Emperor, defying death and madness. When Horus lowered the shields on his vessel, the Vengeful Spirit, the final blow was struck. The Emperor ascended with His chosen--Valdor among them. On the ship, they scattered through horror. Sanguinius fell. The Emperor prevailed--but at the price of His flesh. The golden god was broken, chained forever to the Golden Throne. The Ten Thousand, their purpose shattered, donned mourning black. Valdor resigned, his last duty done. He disappeared from history, his weapons and armor never returned.
No one knows where Constantin Valdor went. Only the silence of the Hall of Armaments remains.
Closing Words
And so, the First Custodian vanished from history, his fate untold--yet his shadow stretches across the Imperium still. If you enjoyed this tale, like, share, and subscribe to the Liandrug channel. And join our Discord--a haven for lore-lovers, where we explore the mysteries, the myths, and the madness of the 41st millennium. Until next time, keep your blades sharp and your minds sharper
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