Among the enigmatic Ethereals of the T'au Empire, few are so celebrated as Aun'Shi, an Aun raised upon the fierce and martial sept of Vior'la. Where most of his caste devote their long lives to statecraft and spiritual guidance, Aun'Shi has given his to the mastery of the blade, and across centuries of practice he has attained a skill with the honour weapon that no other Ethereal can rival. He bears the honour stave named Fidelity, and in his hands it becomes an instrument of such artistry that watching warriors speak of it as a kind of moving meditation.
Unlike the great mass of the Aun, who descend to the battlefield only in gravest need, Aun'Shi has stood at the forefront of war again and again. His presence alone lifts the Fire Caste to feats they could never manage unaided, for no T'au would falter while so revered a leader fought at their side, and his blade reaps a fearful tally of the Empire's foes.
The deed that sealed his legend unfolded at the settlement of Fio'vash. Touring the outlying towns of a T'au world, Aun'Shi was trapped when a horde of feral Orks fell upon the compound to seize its mine workings. The defending Fire Warriors' commander was beheaded by the Ork leader, and the warriors began to break, their courage crumbling as the greenskins swarmed the walls. Aun'Shi stepped into the breach. With a single stroke of his honour blade he clove the towering Ork warlord in two, then planted the haft of his weapon upright between the sundered halves of the corpse as a defiant standard. Rallied by the sight, the Fire Warriors held. When relief at last broke through to the only building left standing, they found the Ethereal still upon his feet, guarding a handful of survivors, his blade slick with alien ichor.
So long has Aun'Shi endured that the Empire has named him the Aged Wonder, and his ultimate fate remains uncertain. While investigating Commander Farsight's shrouded past upon the artefact world of Arthas Moloch, he is said to have fallen into the clutches of the Drukhari, borne away to the nightmare city of Commorragh where his matchless swordsmanship makes him the unwilling star of his captors' bloody arena spectacles.
Heroes & legends
More T'au Empire
Aun'VaFather of the Greater GoodThe eldest and most revered Ethereal in the empire, whose word carries near-absolute authority over T'au civilization and war.
Commander BrightswordChampion of the EnclavesCommander Brightsword is one of the Eight, the elite battlesuit war-council of the Farsight Enclaves, and among the most aggressive close-combat commanders the T'au have ever fielded. Where the Fire Caste prizes distance and firepower, Brightsword closes with the foe and carves through the enemy with his fusion blades. Behind the name lies a strange secret, for the original Brightsword died long ago, and each warrior who has since borne the title is a clone grown by the Earth Caste scientist O'Vesa.
Commander FarsightThe Lost CommanderA brilliant but defiant Vior'la commander who vanished beyond the empire's borders and founded a breakaway realm of his own.
Commander LongstrikeTerror of T'rosShas'la T'au Sha'ng, known to friend and foe alike as Longstrike, is the most celebrated tank ace the Fire Caste has ever produced. A prodigy from his first day at the controls of a Hammerhead, he earned his war-name amid the deserts of T'ros and has since felled targets as mighty as an Imperial Titan. Chosen to trial the experimental XV02 pilot battlesuit, he now fights fused to his gunship, yet still prefers to survey each battle with his own eyes from the cupola.