Darth Plagueis (ASWS)

"He became so powerful, the only thing he was afraid of was losing his power, which eventually, of course, he did."

- Palpatine

{{Jedi character infobox |image= |bgcolor= |fgcolor= |name= Damien Nightblade |homeworld= Coruscant |birth= 3,956 BBY |death= 52 BBY |species= Human |gender= Male |hair= Brown |eyes= Silver |height= 5.10 |allies= *Galactic Republic |enemies= *Galactic Republic {as Darth Plagueis) Sith Empire |saber= Lightsaber |fightingstyle= *Djem So |faction= *Jedi Order |position= *Jedi Grandmaster |era= *Old Republic era }}
 * Jedi Order
 * Shadourian Order
 * Sith Empire (as Darth Plagueis)
 * Arael EbonClaw
 * Darth Sidious {as Darth Plagueis)
 * Ranka Darkbroode
 * Ussej Padric Bac
 * Jedi Order {as Darth Plagueis)
 * Dark Side/Bogan
 * Darth Apocalus
 * Darth Invidius
 * Darth Viea
 * Ranka Darkbroode (as Darth Plagueis)
 * Rizen
 * Nem'Vaah Order
 * Shadourian Order
 * Sith Empire
 * Shadourian Prince
 * Dark Lord of the Sith
 * Rise of the Empire era
 * Alternative Star Wars Saga

Damien Nightblade, known later in life as Darth Plagueis, was a legendary Jedi Grandmaster during the Great Territorial War, a Shadourian Prince during the Ashlan Civil War and the Great Sovereign Crusades and the Dark Lord of the Sith towards the end of the Millennium of Hiding. Before becoming a member of any of the orders, Damien was born on Coruscant and, when he was old enough, was told that his family had been killed by the Sith. He was not discovered as being Force Sensitive by the Jedi until he was two, as his mother tried desperately to hide it, but nonetheless he was taken to the Great Jedi Pyramid for training and had no further contact with his mother.

As a Jedi, Damien became friends with Ussej Padric Bac and Remer Ather, two other Jedi padawans. They went on numerous missions together, including tracking down a violent warlord on Tatooine. After they captured him, Damien was promoted to the level of Jedi Knight alongside Remer. A few years later, Damien traveled with Remer and Ussej to the Uvena System where the discovered that the Sith Empire had returned in much larger numbers than they had realized. When they returned from that mission, Damien was promoted to the level of Jedi Master and put on the Jedi Council where he oversaw the Republic and Jedi war efforts during the Great Territorial War.

Towards the end of the war, Damien was forced to choose between his loyalties to the Jedi Order and his loyalties to Ussej. Ussej had fallen in love with Laili Jeyna Rendar and that love began to corrupt the Jedi Knight. Damien recognized the signs, as he had seen them when he had fallen in love with Onderonian Queen Arael Maans years earlier. Their confrontation eventually turned violent but, in the end, he was able to help Ussej redeem himself and overthrow Darth Viea’s Sith Empire.

After a brief, self-imposed exile after the end of the war, Damien returned and married Arael Maans. They conceived a child, but shortly after its birth Arael was killed and it nearly sent Damien over the edge. His friendship with Ranka Darkbroode, the one who taught him the ways of the Nem’Vaah, ended and turned violent and Damien was nearly killed because of it. However, after unlocking the secrets of immortality, he made his way into the Unknown Regions and formed the Shadourian Order on Shaderon.

Years later, Damien found out about the Ashlan Civil War that had broken out between Kal'Shabbol and Had Abaddon and that Ussej was in the middle of it. Wanting to help his old friend, Damien gathered his limited number of Shadourian warriors and made his way to the homeworld of the Bendu Order to help his friend’s cause. After a brief reunion, Ussej was killed after discovering that Adena Qel-Droma was behind the civil war. Shortly thereafter, Damien and the Shadourians returned to Shaderon.

A few decades later, after overseeing the building of his kingdom on Shaderon, Damien exiled himself and was not heard from for over three-thousand years. He later returned, but he was a twisted and dark individual. The first person who found him was the Sith Lord Darth Dante and took Damien as his apprentice, dubbing him Darth Plagueis. Plagueis quickly turned on Dante and became the Dark Lord of the Sith, but Ranka Darkbroode found out about it and attempted to kill the new Dark Lord. However, Plagueis struck down his former friend and, shortly thereafter, traveled to Naboo and found an apprentice whom he named Darth Sidious. Years later, when Sidious’ training was complete, Plagueis was struck down in his sleep. What Sidious did not know was that his master had allowed him to kill him.

Behind the scenes

 * Damien was not originally intended to be Darth Plagueis. After Brandon Rhea came up with the idea and the creator of the character approved, the name 'Damien' fit the character even more than it had, as Damien is a supposed name of the Anti-Christ. Also like the Anti-Christ, Damien at first was loved by all but then turned on everyone and became a hated man.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Legends I - Knights of the Nexus
 * Star Wars: Legends II - Smuggler's Myth
 * Star Wars: Legends III - Path of Redemption
 * Chronicles of the Great War: First Strike
 * Chronicles of the Great War: The Qel-Droma Legacy
 * Chronicles of the Great War: Sins at Midknight
 * Chronicles of the Great War: Candles in the Myst
 * Chronicles of the Great War: The Dark Lady
 * Chronicles of the Great War: The Fall of Heroes
 * Shadows of the Jedi: The Legend of Ussej Padric Bac
 * Star Wars: The End of Life As We Know It
 * Shadows of the Jedi: The Legend of Ussej Padric Bac II
 * Shadows of the Jedi: The Legend of Ussej Padric Bac III
 * Star Wars: The Tragedy of Damien Nightblade
 * Star Wars: The Lost Legacy
 * Star Wars: Prince of the Shadows
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Force