Xerxes (Adeptus Custodes)
Xerxes was an Adeptus Custodes and was the first of their order to die, after he was slain during the Unification Wars.[1]
History
Xerxes was one of the members of Ra Endymion's Squad Dynastes, one of the oldest orders of the Custodian Guard. His death occurred as the Emperor's forces successfully brought a city into Compliance and his fellow Custodians were unsure of what to do afterwards. No plan had been put in place to deal with their dead and as they discussed the matter, the Custodians shielded Xerxes' body from view. Though the Imperial Army troops gave them privacy and stayed away, the Thunder Warriors were either curious to view the first slain Custodian, or were conciliatory. All were turned away though, as various ideas on what to do with Xerxes' remains were bandied about. Among them were, making a cairn for Xerxes' body, returning it to the Imperial Palace, or burning the remains. If the body was burned, they were unsure if it should be in a mass pyre with the Imperial Army forces that died in the battle. Doing so would be seen as an honour by their Human allies, but the Custodians did not known if Xerxes would have wanted something else done instead. It was a important decision to make, as the choice would likely influence how the Custodians carried out the funeral rites for their order, in the future.[1]
As the day drew on, nothing was decided upon and Captain-General Constantin Valdor separated himself from the other Custodians. He then went to stand on a cliff, which overlooked the conquered city Xerxes died to bring into Compliance and began singing a dirge for his fallen brother. It was a pyre funeral rite practiced by the destroyed Abar tribe, who believed the dirges' blessings would join with the dead's ashes, as they entered their afterlife. Valdor was still singing, when his fellow Custodian Diocletian Coros arrived and asked why the nearby Emperor, did not simply tell the Custodians what to do with Xerxes' remains. The Captain-General did not know, but stated their Lord had never told the Custodians how to manage their order's affairs before. Now would be no different. This could be for various reasons, such as wanting to keep His distance on such a seismic occasion or perhaps the Emperor did not care about Xerxes' death and was thinking of His next conquest. Valdor assured Coros, that ultimately it did not matter why their Lord had chosen not to. Instead, it should only matter that the Emperor was letting the Custodians make the decision for themselves. However it is not known, what the Custodians decided to do with Xerxes' remains.[1]
