40K Grimdark Theories: Constantin Valdor Is Going To Save The Imperium
After 10,000 years is the Emperor’s plan for His most loyal servant finally coming to fruition? Valdor may be the savior of the Imperium.
Warning Spoilers for Penitent: A Bequin Novel
Constantin Valdor is known as one of the most stalwart defenders of the Imperium. The Captain-General of the Custodian Guard and a man on par with the Primarchs. Valdor served with distinction during Unification and the Heresy. Then he vanished. Until now his fate was unknown. However new revelations have revealed that it appears he is alive. Valdor’s disappearance is one of the great mysteries of 40K (so of course Abnett it tackling it) but it looks like he might have been working to save the Imperium the whole time.
The King In Yellow
Over the course of the Bequin, as we’ve discussed before, novels its revealed that the Inquisitors Eisenhorn and Ravenor, among others, have been hunting a mysterious “King in Yellow”. This king is supposed to be the head of a vast and secret network that might predate the Imperium itself. Pretty much every party that we hear from feels he is working against the Imperium and is a major threat. Five Eldar Craftworlds have allied to destroy him.
At the end of Penitent it is revealed that the King In Yellow’s name is Constantin Valdor. If this is not some misdirection, it is the first confirmed sighting of him in about 10,000 years. It also paints a picture of him as a major in the galaxy. One with access to impressive forces.
The King’s Forces
In Penitent we get a look at the City of Dust, Valdor’s fortress. This gives us some idea of the forces he has amassed over the millennium. The City of Dust seems to be some sort of city of Order, built directly in the Warp. In this place Valdor commands an army of thousands of winged Astartes. Possibly some sort of clone of Sangiunus. He also has an unknown number, in the hundreds at least, of cloned Nulls, each hosting a daemon they can command. There is a massive golden warfleet of powerful ships. Mention is also made of Custodians.
Of course all of this is in addition to the seemingly vast resources he commands in his galaxy wide secret organizations. There also seems to be more mortal troops he can call to his aid. All in all its a massive impressive array of troops, one on the scale of a Legion of the Great Crusade.
What Is Valdor Up To?
Everyone who we get a story about the King in Yellow from is convinced that he is an enemy of the Emperor. Initially both his enemies and allies believe he is searched for the Emperor’s true name in the language of Enuncia. They think that he is planning to use this name to gain total control over the Emperor and bring Him down. While some doubt has been cast on if this is his real goal, research into Enuncia certainly seems a major focus of his. On top of this he seems to have spent thousands of years fighting against the Inquisition and the Imperium. While we don’t know his plan, with a massive army at his beck and call, and unknown powers in his arsenal it seems he has almost completed his plan.
It’s Not What It Seems Like
A constant theme of the Bequin novels is that nothing is what think it is. In fact its quite often the exact opposite of what the characters think. Bequin grows up thinking she is being trained to joined the Inquisition, but she’s actual been raised by a heretical cult. When she is taken by the Ecclesiarchy its seems like she’s found safe haven, but it turns out the church is in league with Chaos Marines. We get numerous examples of this.
Due to this the mere fact that everything thinks Valdor is opposed to the Imperium, should make us pretty sure that the opposite is true. Valdor is certainly doing some stuff but we really don’t have any evidence that what he is doing is a threat to the Emperor or the Imperium.
Judge A Man By His Enemies
Sure the Inquisition seems to think the King In Yellow is a threat. But they aren’t the only ones moving against him. We’ve seen evidence of the majority of the Traitor Legions in play. In general they all seem to trying to stop Valdor. In the City of Dust his forces seem to being fighting those of the Warp. And then there are the Eldar. Since the Eldar are generally seen as a “good” race, the fact that they have sent five craftworlds to stop Valdor seems to argue that he is up to no good. But of course it doesn’t really. All it means is that the Eldar are really worried about what he is doing. It does not mean that what he is doing is going to be harmful to the Imperium or the Emperor. The Farseers above all move to protect the Aeldari race, first and foremost.
The Most Loyal
According to many sources Constantin Valdor is incapable of being disloyal to the Emperor. It’s hinted that his is somehow linked to Him-Of-Terra, and even lacks free will. Valdor is a literal extension of His will. As Abnett mentioned in the video up above, there is a metaphysical component to the creation of Custodes. This, combined with how hard non-Imperial forces are working to stop him, makes a compelling argument for him being loyal. In fact its likely he is carrying out a plan.
We know he left Terra and vanished due to a calling. All signs indicate that the Emperor sent him, and Leman Russ, on a mission, or missions. The best guess is that Valdor has been working towards some goal of the Emperor’s all along. After all the City of Dust sounds a lot like a version of the Webway Project and is in the same vain.
Maybe Valdor really is looking for the Emperor’s name in Enuncia. Not to control Him, but to heal Him. Or maybe the the Emperor foresaw the Great Rift and a final showdown. Penitent takes place a few hundred years before the current timeline and the Rift. Clearly whatever he did didn’t stop that. But maybe he’s been working in the background on other stuff. After all, an Imperium on the brink sure could use a massive army of super powered solders like Valdor has. But I guess we will have to wait and see.
Let us know what you think Valdor is up to, down in the comments!
