The Death Wind were an execution squad which attacked the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems alike during the Clone Wars. They shared their name with the Death Wind spice trade corridor. They were founded by the Roonian soldier Mekedrix, who went rogue from the Grand Army of the Republic due to trauma he sufferred during the war.
After participating in the disastrous Battle of Abrion Bridge, Commander Mekedrix went on to distinguish himself during the Battle of Ryloth and the Battle of Saleucami. However, he was deeply traumatized by the horrors of war. Following the loss of the Temple of Eedit on Devaron, he deserted from the Galactic Republic. Believing that war is merely pretense and the true purpose of existence is to kill and to die, he founded the Death Wind, a cult dedicated to the worship of death, naming it after a trade corridor that passed by Roon.
The Death Wind established an outpost in the ruins of an ancient Sith Temple from the Jedi-Sith War in the swamplands of Ando. They attacked both sides of the war indiscriminately, ambushing detachments of clone troopers, killing high-ranking members of various separatist councils, and slaughtering the residents of a Commerce Guild hub on Minntooine despite it not being a military target.
Three months after the attack on Minntooine, the Republic discovered the Death Wind's location and secretly sent Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker to eliminate Mekedrix. Near the ruins of the Sith Temple, they were confronted by concealed members of the Death Wind, who confiscated their lightsabers. Inside the Temple, the two confronted Mekedrix, who now wielded a sword made from the bones of a clone trooper.
Obi-Wan asked Mekedrix to surrender and come with them, but Mekedrix did not believe he committed any crimes. He explained that he showed the people he killed "the truth", explaining that death was the ultimate goal of existence and that the clones, the Confederacy, and the Jedi ultimately all served death. However, Obi-Wan countered that it is life that gives the universe meaning and reminded Mekedrix of his friends and the beauty of sunrise on his homeplanet. Apparently angered, Mekedrix attacked Obi-Wan, who closed his eyes and accepted his fate. However, Anakin retrieved his lightsaber using the Force and impaled Mekedrix. With his last breath, Mekedrix apologized, saying that it seemed like the quickest way back to the sunrise.