She looked on, her expression pensive. “Among the Custodes, especially since our failure, it is expected that, after a long life of service, the last of our time is spent as a companion. It is a life long role, though not always a continuous one, as it is tremendously draining. Even for us, built to withstand the strain and endure, can only tolerate being before His face for so long. I was invited to the brotherhood 200 years ago, and served for many decades before my fatigue overtook me. It was during that time that He spoke to me for the first time since His entombment. You must understand, we do not believe Him to be a deity, as the bulk of the Imperium does. He often used His immense psychic power to speak to us in the days of the Crusade, to convey whatever it was He needed us to know or see. Ten thousand years, I have not felt Him touch me so, until that time. I have been given reprieve for now, and will return to His side when another of my brothers needs to rest. In the mean time, I listen for His voice, to enact His will as I once did.”
