Supreme Ethereal Aun'Va was dead...
Who would dare believe such a thing?
As the bearer of the Immortal Will, the speaker of truth, the father of all peoples, an outstanding leader, the radiant light.
Among the highly revered Ethereal Caste, Supreme Ethereal Aun'Va had been the eldest and wisest of them all.
Throughout the history of the T'au Empire, Aun'Va's unseen hands had guided many great successes. Though Ethereals lived far longer than members of the other castes, the years Aun'Va had experienced far exceeded what other Ethereals could imagine.
The Imperium was Aun'Va, and Aun'Va was the Imperium.
Just as every race was equal in the T'au Empire, though some races were more equal than others, the reverence Supreme Ethereal Aun'Va received far surpassed that accorded to other Ethereals.
Every word he spoke was treated as law, because his wise counsel would always prove, in the years to come, to have been the best path forward.
The venerable leader did not seclude himself in a magnificent palace. Instead, he lived among his people.
A small suggestion could double the output of a local Earth Caste factory, while a brief visit could spark commemorations across an entire planet.
He had led the T'au Empire in driving the Rykes from the Sekoya system, and had pronounced the fate of an Ork tribe upon Mount Seon.
Always correct, always wise, always kindly and gentle as he watched over the people of the Imperium.
They all remembered Supreme Ethereal Aun'Va's speech before the Third Expansion.
It began with the manifest destiny to conquer the stars and ended with Greater Good illuminating the darkness.
Aun'Va's words echoed across vast plazas as trillions of people throughout the T'au Empire bowed to him as one.
Earth Caste engineers remembered Aun'Va's praise for their new inventions; Water