To be a good Sith,
One must know pain.
To be a true Sith,
One must know betrayal.
To be the Ultimate Sith,
One must have no fear.
—Motto of Darth Barad-Dur
Darth Barad-Dur was a Sith Lord of the Third Sith Empire. His real name was Zahrin Harmon, brother of Adam Harmon and uncle of Oladam Harmon I. He served in the Galactic Imperial Military in the Fleet for a couple years, rising to the rank of Admiral.
When Oladam Harmon I came to dominate the Galactic Empire, Zahrin was stripped and discharged from the military. He commandeered the HMSS Darth Vader and its crew and went on a prolonged trip throughout the galaxy. Over time, Zahrin devolved into a man ridden with bitterness and hatred.
Then Zahrin came into contact with the Eternal Empire, a collection of Sith that were based in Kuat, and had holdings all over the galaxy. He rose to the rank of Sith Master and was the one who uncovered the plot to overthrow Darth Shadow, the Emperor of the Empire. He was instrumental in destroying the Separatist movements that caused the Sith Civil War by exposing Zi Raveg as the leader of the True Republic. Darth Barad-Dur was killed by Pro-Shadow Factions when they were led to believe he was a traitor.
Darth Barad-Dur was later resurrected through the use of a resurrection crystal.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Zahrin was born on the planet of Naboo three years before the Clone Wars. During his early years, the Galaxy was torn by war. The boy grew up taught that the Jedi and Republic were the allies in the conflict known to the galaxy as the Clone Wars. He became a rabid worshiper of Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, who were both heroes to Adam and himself.
Two Jedi[]
After Order 66, two Jedi Knights went into hiding on Naboo. The Queen of Naboo blocked several attempts to search the planet for the two Jedi. During their stay, Zahrin was discovered by the Jedi to be Force sensitive. They took it upon themselves to train him in the ways of the Jedi.
Finally, Darth Vader himself came to force the Queen to submit. Stormtroopers found the Jedi, and mortally wounded them during a training session. They left the dying Jedi to search for more Jedi. As they died, they made Zahrin promise to serve the true rulers of the galaxy, the populace.
Imperial service[]
Cadets, you are the elite. There are few that ever pass through an Academy of the Empire, and even fewer graduate to become officers. But, we will need every officer in the coming days.
The Empire is threatened by a new group of Separatists which calls themselves the Alliance to Restore the Republic. They are riff-raff. They come from every walks of life. But, I have heard the most disturbing things. Some, of our own officers have joined their ranks.
I am afraid that some of you will join them. But, only the weak and those not loyal. Do not be weak. We will need the best in these times.
But, that also brings me to the next order of business. One of you will soon be leaving. Where, I have not decided yet. But, one of you will leave.
—Emperor Palpatine to the Cadet Corps
Zahrin Harmon joined the Galactic Imperial military, and right after the Death Stars' destruction he went into action as a member of the Executors' line-officers. His time there was hard, and witnessed six officers strangled to death by Darth Vader. But, not all was bad, as Zahrin became a close friend of Admiral Piett.
Zahrin Harmon as an Imperial Admiral.
During the Battle of Endor, Zahrin was stationed on the Forest Moon. His group of troops commanded the South entrance, and had to fight off over 5,000 Ewoks that came to divert attention and manpower from the north entrance. Harmon was able to save most of his command and escaped capture during the bitter fighting.
After Zahrin found out about Piett's death, he vowed to kill Luke Skywalker. His vow never was fulfilled as the Empire shrank. After the Galactic Civil War, Harmon served as captain of the ISD Darth Vader which was stationed at Bastion. Its' official orders were to fight pirates and smugglers in the Empire. His efforts did not go without reward; in 20 ABY, Harmon was given the rank of Admiral.
The fall of Zahrin Harmon[]
Things deteriorated in the Galactic Empire, especially during the Yuuzhan Vong War. Grand Admiral Pellaeon did his best to keep things stable, but, after his death, the Moff Council took over, just long enough to run things before Oladam took over. Their first act was to dispel those they felt not worthy of their ranks. Harmon was one of those that were expelled.
Distraught, Harmon became a man without a cause. He took the Star Destroyer Darth Vader and went to a long cruise. He arrived at Kuat by chance and was introduced to the Dark Side of the Force by several Sith.
At the age of fifty, Harmon joined the Sith Empire that was forming. For several months, none would take him on as an apprentice. Part of the reason was Darth Shadow, the Emperor of the Sith Empire, who felt that Zahrin was not worthy of apprenticeship yet. Finally, he was approved for gaining a master.
Rise of Darth Barad-Dur[]
After ten months, Zahrin was able to gain one, in the form of Darth Lithium. Lithium took two apprentices during this time. The second one was Tanya Skywalker.
Their training was long, and lasted three months. Darth Lithium noticed the potential Harmon had, and even went as far as to state to his apprentice that he was a much better apprentice then Skywalker. Finally, Lithium gave Zahrin a chance to prove himself against Darth Marix, a man that was slowly rising to gain the rank of Grand Admiral of the Sith Empire.
Darth Marix and Darth Barad-Dur at the height of the Duel.
The two faced off at the Duel on the Platform fought on Yavin IV. Marix and Zahrin fought fiercely for nearly an hour. Marix was amazed that Zahrin was skilled enough as a fighter despite still being an apprentice. The climax of the duel came on top of a pillar, where Marix nearly defeated Zahrin. Then, Zahrin defeated Marix by jumping off and toppling the pillar on him, and Marix reported to Lithium Zahrins' victory in the training duel.
One last duel was to be had, which took place in the dojo of the Imperial Palace on Kuat. The Duel was a free for all, with six Sith fighting in all, and Zahrin once again beat Marix.
He was knighted to Sith Warrior. During the knighting ceremony, Zahrin was given the choice to choose his own name. He chose the name: Darth Barad-Dur. A few months later, he advanced to the rank of Sith Master First Degree.
During the time between his ranks of Warrior and Master First Degree, he was given the option to choose either to be a prophet of the empire, or an soldier. Having known only war, and knowing that that was where his strengths lied, he served in the Military, specifically in the Navy.
Rise of Darth Ducki[]
Darth Barad-Dur at the time of the Emperor's resignation.
With Emperor Shadow stepping down, another also decided to step down. His name was Darth Acrinommus, the Supreme Commander of the Imperial Military. A great division sprung up over who would step up to take the position next. Emperor Shadow made the final decision, and placed Darth Ducki in the position.
Ducki had very little experience with the military, which forced several of the order to split. This decision was meet head-on by Darth Barad-Dur. It nearly came to blows between the Emperor and the Master, each insulting the other. The former accused Barad-Dur of being afraid of organization, which brought a fierce response of accusing that the Emperors' wisdom was failing him.
The argument was ended when several others of the order intervened. This probably saved Barad-Dur from a fatal fate.
Barad-Dur never felt the choice was wise. Many of the order would also try to drag many away from the order. Darth Barad-Dur remained faithful, and even went to war for the Empire when conflict sprung up. He said that no man could drag him away from the Empire.
Conflict and War in the Sith Empire[]
Second Sith Civil War[]
The Jedi are rising,
The light is penetrating the Dark,
Many Sith have betrayed the Order,
Some are playing double-agent,
Beware these traitors!
They must be slushed out.
Or the Empire shall perish.
—Unknown Sith in a Vision of Darth Barad-Dur
Darth Barad-Dur in full battle armor
Two years after being knighted, Barad-Dur received news of illegal activity near Bespin. However, instead of it just being a small ordeal, it turned out to be a massive Separatist movement to overthrow the Sith Empire and set up a Galactic Republic. This was the most inopportune time for the Empire, as Darth Shadow was going to step down from being Emperor, thus making most of the Empire lax.
Barad-Dur went to one of the enemy leaders, General Klar, and struck a deal with him. In exchange for his services to the Republic, he would get their Super Star Destroyer they were making. When Klar said they were waiting for an order of 500,000 clones to man the ship, Barad-Dur requested they install a command bridge that would allow six men to man the ship.
His services, however, were not in his best interests. Barad-Dur at once called several men to assist him in overthrowing the rebels. Barad-Dur and six other Sith went throughout the galaxy, and hunted down all the rebels, killing most of them.
During the campaign, Darth Barad-Dur and four other infiltrated the Super Star Destroyer, under the guise that 'Captain Harmon' was deceiving, and trying to sway the others to join him. Along the way there, the Darth Vader—affectionately known as just the Vader—was destroyed to ensure no one would return to the Empire. He ended up learning that 200 Jedi and Sith were operating the ship together on friendly terms. Barad-Dur killed both head Jedi on the ship with the help of Darth Malice and commandeered it. Their next stop was Bespin, where they fired upon the cities, killing most of the rebels located there.
While waiting for Darths Adenn and Tarna to return to the ship, High Inquisitor Gra'tua, who had been accompanying him, left to hunt down a major bounty hunter. Barad-Dur, left alone while Darth Malice killed the remaining Jedi and renegade sith on board, manipulated the ship with the Force to keep it in control. Once he had silenced all the cities on Bespin, he immediately contacted Grand Admiral Marix—who had just defeated the enemy naval leader—and reported the destruction of the Vader and the enemy leaders.
After this action, he was promoted the rank of Commander in the Sith Navy. He was also promoted to Sith Master Third Degree.
Training an apprentice[]
During this time, Darth Barad-Dur took upon himself an Apprentice, Isaah Sharge. Isaah was an arrogant young man, whose deformity (glowing blue skin) fueled his ambition to prove he was better than thought of. This brought the apprentice into contact and conflict with Relek, Lord Legacy's apprentice. The apprentice verbally challenged the first time master's will, but they were both put at a stand still, neither one willing to submit.
But, they were able to finally cope, and were soon at the point the Isaah could be graduated. But, the first challenger to his graduation duel was driven away by his rudeness. A second was found, but quickly ended the duel because he did not have time to deal with arrogance.
Campaign Clone Extermination[]
The clones that had been created for the Republic had escaped the destruction at Bespin, and dispersed into several unit, each one causing mass havoc. Emperor Shadow, during a personal meeting with the Sith involved during the destruction, called them traitors for having not immediately destroyed the clones. Barad-Dur was ordered to at once go after the Clones along with the others (including Grand Admiral Marix).
They trailed the clones, slowly destroying them in several major engagements. One of the attempts to stop them was the Double Assassination, which targeted several members of the order, but all failed. One of the biggest engagements of the war was at the Battle of Alderaan, where Grand Admiral Marix caught up with the True Republic at the ruins of Alderaan, and destroyed most of the fleet, while employing controversial tactics.
During the five month period of conflict, Grand Inquisitor Gra'tua dispatched a Cloned force, but not before they seeded doubts towards Barad-Dur in the Sith. He gained permission from the Emperor to trail him and watch all his activities. Gra'tua could not know it, but he had just played into the hands of Lord Zi Raveg, who wanted to destroy Barad-Dur, and knew that he would only be brought down by the Sith he served with.
Traitor of the Empire[]
After the fight at Alderaan, Marix ordered Barad-Dur and Gra'tua to follow the retreating forces to Jabiim, where they were gathering. Most of the other clones had broken into smaller groups, and weren't proving any trouble to the Eternal Empire. The Battle of Jabiim became the biggest land and space battle of the war, with millions of clones and thousands of Sith troopers and Sith dying in the bloody last stand. Several Jet troopers penetrated the enemy held villages, and discovered the identity of the enemy commander on the planet, and reported to Barad-Dur and Gra'tua. Barad-Dur, upon learning the identity of his enemy, ordered a truce to personally see the enemy commander, who was supposed to be dead, and thus unable to led enemy troops (not only that, he had also been one of the spies employed under Barad-Dur). Gra'tua decided this proved the enemy's accusations that he was a traitor and attacked Barad-Dur. But, he was easily thwarted by the Sith, who was now branded a traitor.
Flight from the Empire[]
Zi Raveg having partially accomplished his desires, tried to conquer the galaxy, but his Republic was destroyed in a brilliant campaign led by Marix. He fled into hiding, and became hunted not only by Marix, but also Barad-Dur, who, along with a loyal band of followers, hid on Kashyyyk.
Barad-Dur had several run-ins with Imperial search parties, of both Sith and stormtroopers, but annihilated each group with relative ease. Finally, his spies discovered the location of Raveg, and Barad-Dur personally went after Raveg. But, at the same time, Marix and his team discovered it also. They both headed for Mustafar, where an epic showdown was about to occur.
Barad-Dur during his last Stand on Mustafar
Death of a warrior[]
Zi Raveg had set up a trap on Mustafar, and when Barad-Dur arrived, he was attacked by twenty Jedi and Sith. After a furious battle, he killed all of them. At that moment, Marix and company arrived, and let loose upon Barad-Dur. Barad-Dur was unable to fight off this new wave of warriors, and he was killed, his last act was to reveal the true starter of the war. At that moment, Raveg came out, mocking the Sith for eliminating his greatest opponent, then went in to finish off the worn-out Sith. He was killed eventually by the combined efforts of all present.
Barad-Dur's body was laid to rest in the Hall of Warriors, where he would rest for a couple of years.
Return of the warrior[]
Two years after his death, he returned to life during a failed attempt by the Jedi to destroy his remains. He killed the three Jedi and their android and returned to the empire. They had ironically accomplished what they had feared most; the return of Darth Barad-Dur.
Barad-Dur returned to active service during a time of decline for the Eternal Empire. After days of wandering around the ghost city which had once been a thriving metropolis, he actively sought out the Supreme Commander, who had been forced to change his name publicly to Alore, but still secretly went by Marix.
Rebirth of the Empire[]
The Empire soon became revitalized within a month after Barad-Dur's arrival. Alore informed Barad-Dur that over time things in the Empire had changed; although the Emperor on the throne was still Shadow. The old rank system had been done away with, leaving only the ranks of Dark Adept, Sith Master, Sith Lord, and Dark Lord of the Sith. Only within the Sith Lord rank would degrees be found anymore.
Barad-Dur was reinstated as a Sith Master. He was also bestowed the rank of Rear Admiral, due to his services during the Second Sith Civil War. The rank Grand Admiral was open, and either Darth's Malice or Barad-Dur could gain that rank.
Personality, traits and abilities[]
Characteristics[]
Barad-Dur in his favorite Jar-Kai stance
"Hail the Emperor! We who are about to die salute you."
—Darth Barad-Dur to Darth Marix
Darth Barad-Dur was cold and calculating. He never went into action without thinking about all the possible outcomes and preparing for them all in turn. He also had a streak of insubordination. During the battle for the Super Star Destroyer, Darth Gra'tua, High Inquisitor of the Empire, wanted to go into action immediately upon landing, but Barad-Dur refused to allow him, on the condition that they did not know how many enemies were on the ships. Despite the fact that he had good reasons not to attack immediately, he did in fact, argue with his superior.
He fought in Jar-Kai, but was also a master of Form VII. This was evident in the Duel on the Platform. Marix was able to disarm him of a saber, and Barad-Dur went into Form VII until he was able to retrieve his other lightsaber. He even employed what he called, "Jar-Kai VII" which was a combination of both forms, making him practically unstoppable.
He was also denounced as being sensitive to the needs of others. But, in the end, this was not true. During an operation against a planet, he destroyed the entire enemy fleet, then moved all the debris onto a nearby moon. This allowed the planet to continue business as usual, and the entire system sided with the Sith Empire. He did not, in the end, do it to save them, but to wrangle their loyalty to the Empire.
Romances and family[]
There was no indicator that Barad-Dur had any relationship at any time in his life. If he had a physical relationship, he hid it very well. But, he himself reported that he had never even dated anyone.
Adam Harmon[]
Adam was his older brother by several years. They had only a little contact during their lives and it was believed that they had been in competition at several times. But, Adam did have some big impacts on his brother such as their opinions on Anakin Skywalker. It was also believed that the death of his brother shoved him to the Dark Side.
Pussycat[]
A mysterious Sith called Pussycat reportedly was Barad-Dur's sister, but her story did not fit in any way with the when's and where's. She said she was on the planet called Duck, but there were no maps that could discover the planet. She also claimed to be born on a freighter ship, which also is disputed for the fact that Barad-Dur parents never traveled. However, it was known that Barad-Dur had entertained her ideas on several occasions.
Behind the scenes[]
Darth Barad-Dur is a role-playing character created for the Dark Sith Lords forums by Grand Admiral Harmon. Most of his backstory was created before the character was made for the forums. His exploits, however, only came over time spent on the forums in role-playing and other modes of participation. He was also used by the creator as an e-mail address and signature.
The original name for Zahrin Harmon was going to be Darth Rager, another personal favorite creations of Barad-Dur's creator. This name was rejected by the Moderators of the forums, because it sounded too much like Darth Vader. They also would not allow it on the fact that he had not yet been trained and earned the rank.[1]
The name that he was knighted as was originally going to be Darth Baraddur-Urukhai. But, it was agreed that the name was simply too long. Darth Angmar would have been used as his name had not another member of the forums been using it. It was then settled as Darth Barad-Dur. These names, obviously, came from the Lord of the Rings, one of Grand Admiral Harmons' favorite series.
Appearances[]
External links[]
- The Dark Sith Lords Forums
- Eternal Sith Order Forums
- The Dark Sith Lords: Topic Post Your Application