Darth Zannah

"I am Darth Zannah, apprentice of Darth Bane, Dark Lord of the Sith. And one day I will destroy my Master and choose an apprentice of my own, continuing the legacy of the dark side."

- Darth Zannah

Darth Zannah was a Human female born on the planet Somov Rit who became a Dark Lord of the Sith. She was the pupil of Darth Bane, making her the first Sith apprentice of his fledgling Order of the Sith Lords. Known in her youth as Rain, Zannah was the cousin of Root, Tomcat (Darovit) and Bug (Hardin). As a young girl, she was initially recruited by Jedi Scout Torr Snapit to fight for Lord Hoth in the Jedi's Army of Light during the Ruusan campaign of the New Sith Wars. However, upon her arrival on Ruusan, Rain was presumed killed when she fell out of the starship that was carrying her. Unbeknownst to the Jedi, Rain was saved and befriended, by the Bouncer Laa.

Rain was present at the sixth battle of Ruusan, when it was first prophesied by Laa that she would become a great Dark Jedi. Bewildered by the prediction, Rain ignored it and traveled the Ruusan landscape with her Bouncer companion, Laa. When Lord Kaan detonated the devastating thought bomb, Rain was one of the few survivors&mdash;she had instinctively enveloped herself and Laa with the Force. However, when Laa and another Bouncer were killed haplessly by two Jedi, Rain was overcome with grief and lashed out in anger, killing the Jedi, and feeling the touch of the dark side. Shortly after this display of rage, she was found by Darth Bane, who decided to make the young girl his apprentice.

Early life
"I'm a killer, too."

- Zannah to Darth Bane

Zannah was one of the many children recruited to the Army of Light to fight the Sith. She lived on Somov Rit with her cousins Darovit, Hardin, and Root, and per the custom of the people of Somov Rit, was known by her nickname Rain. Unlike Darovit and Hardin, Rain had not shown any sign of the Force, and when the Jedi scout Torr Snapit arrived on planet looking for Force-sensitives to join the Army of Light on Ruusan, he was initially loath to take her. However, Rain did not want to be left behind while her cousins went off to war, and when she demonstrated her abilities with a display of the Force (though this may have been a deception perpetrated by Darovit), Snapit agreed, and took her, Darovit, and Hardin to fight on Ruusan.

Upon arriving on Ruusan, their ship was attacked by Buzzards from the Brotherhood of Darkness. When a hole was blown in the ship, Rain was blown out to fall to the forests below. She was believed dead by her cousins, but was in fact saved by the Bouncer Laa who was flying below. Cushioned on Laa's soft back, Rain spent the next few days with the Bouncers, recovering.

During the Sixth Battle of Ruusan, the Dark Lords of the Sith used the Force to generate a wave of destruction that obliterated the forests and plains for miles. Rain and Laa were caught in the blast zone, but Rain's unconscious use of the Force saved her, Laa, and the small patch of greenery on which they were resting. Rain realized that she was strong in the Force, and hoped she would become a Jedi, but it was during this period that Laa had a prophetic dream of her as a Dark Jedi. Bewildered by Laa's prediction, Rain attempted to kill herself by jumping off a cliff, but decided that her destiny was not controlled by a dream, and rescued herself with the Force.

Introduction to the dark side
"I'm not a kid. I'm a Sith."

- Zannah to Wend

With the widespread destruction on Ruusan, many Bouncers had been driven mad and were sending images of pain and death into the minds of soldiers. The Jedi Petja and a companion were charged with killing the Bouncers to prevent them from inciting panic in their army, but while they were doing this, Petja shot and killed Laa. Then the two Jedi saw Rain, who had fallen off Laa, and ran up to her. In her rage, Rain used the dark side of the Force to break the necks of both men. Crying, Zannah returned to the body of Laa.

It was at this moment that the Sith Lord Darth Bane, who had been seeking an apprentice, arrived. Bane sensed her power, and briefly spoke with her. Rain acknowledged that she was a killer and that it had seemed right, and chose to join Bane. She would henceforth go by her birth name of Zannah.

After the battle, she and Bane visited the caves where Kaan had unleashed the thought bomb. As the Dark Lord explained the thought bomb and it's power to Zannah, they were happened upon by her cousin Darovit. The young man was elated when he saw Zannah, but that quickly passed as he noticed the shadow of a man standing behind her. When Darovit realized Zannah wasn't alone, and that she had been traveling with a Sith Lord no less, he became further enraged. Now brandishing his lightsaber, the boy challenged Bane to a duel that he knew he would lose. Darovit charged Bane, but unexpected by both men was Zannah's response. Before the Dark Lord could even firmly grasp the hilt of his own lightsaber, Zannah had unleashed the dark side with such force that it caused Darovit's hand to violently explode. Dropping his lightsaber, Darovit sank to the ground in agony, clutching his fresh stump. When Bane questioned Zannah why she took that action instead of killing him, she replied that there would neither be no use in his death, which was the same reason Bane had given her earlier with regard to allowing two mercenaries to live. Bane knew that she still had affection for the boy, but decided to reward her for taking charge of the situation and using the dark side, consequently allowing him to live. After this encounter, Bane told her that the new Sith order would have only two members: a master and an apprentice. They left Darovit there in the cave, pitiful and alone.

Bane's apprentice
"I see you decided to teach me two lessons today, Master."

- Zannah to Darth Bane



Zannah did not travel with Bane from Ruusan to Dxun; instead she was ordered to make her own way to Onderon and meet him in ten days time, this was her first test assigned by Bane to see if she was to be a worthy apprentice. She argued with Bane not wanting to be left behind, reciting some of the dark side teachings he had taught her only hours before. Bane however took time to explain to her his vision and philosophy of the rule of two. While doing so, he shocked her by bluntly telling her that she had the ability to surpass him and would one day challenge and possibly defeat him, thus allowing her to find herself an apprentice and continue the line of the Sith Order.

Zannah made her way to Onderon, hijacking a shuttle and murdering the crew. Bane took Zannah as his new Sith apprentice and bestowed upon her the title of "Darth"; to be henceforth passed down from Master to apprentice in Bane's new Sith Order.

For much of their early time together, Zannah's training took place on the world of Ambria. Her tutelage included the study of ancient Sith spells, (beginning in 998 BBY), which Bane had discovered and transcribed from Freedon Nadd's Holocron. Bane himself expressed how he was not attuned to the workings of Sith magic, that his talents lay elsewhere. Zannah however was eager to learn Sith sorcery and immediately began absorbing everything she could. Bane allowed her to study the transcript, but warned her that if she ever attempted her spells on him, he would destroy her.

Because he sought to keep the Sith Order hidden in the shadows, Bane indoctrinated his pupil with drills in patience, ingenuity, and cunning. Her first lesson of this sort was to tame a wild neek and then bring it back to their camp of its own free will. While taming the animal Zannah became emotionally attached to it, treating it almost like a pet. Finally she was able to coax the little reptile into following her, and when they arrived at the camp her Master was pleased. Without warning, Bane proceeded to snap it's neck via the Force. At that moment Zannah realized her master was teaching her two lessons: first, that one doesn't always need to dominate another with the Force to bend them to their will. The second (and hidden) lesson was one of non-attachment. The Sith were not bound by such petty trappings as love and endearment, and in killing the neek Bane's lesson was complete.

Zannah also constructed her personal double-bladed lightsaber in 996 BBY, whose customized forging allowed her to develop a unique and almost impregnable defensive style. Lord Bane had Zannah build her lightsaber in this way especially to compliment her petite form: the handle was longer than standard in order to house the twin crystals that were required to power the device. These crystals produced blades that were shorter than normal (less than a meter) length. This was critical to her fighting style, which Bane explained as an "impenetrable defense".

Her Master's will
As part of a mission, Zannah became the lover of a Twi'lek named Kelad'den, a member of the Anti-Republic Liberation Front. She convinced the Twi'lek to attempt to kill former Supreme Chancellor Tarsus Valorum, which failed and resulted in four of the members of the Front's deaths. In the aftermath, Zannah was taken to meet the leader of the rebel faction, Hetton, by Cyndra and Paak. Once there, she used her Sith Sorcery to drive Cyndra insane, climaxing in Cyndra tearing out her own eyeballs and babbling on the ground. In retaliation, Paak attacked her with a vibro blade. Zannah deciding to demonstrate her abilities knowing that Hetton was no match for her, used the force to summon her lightsaber and snap her restraints. She toyed with Paak which resulted in him pulling a blaster on her. She deflected the first round and sent the second bolt into his head killing him. Hetton then confessed that he had been waiting for someone like Zannah all his life. He revealed that he had spent the last thirty years collecting dark side artifacts and knowledge by using his vast resources. In his research he found a long forgotten hyperspace route to Tython which is where he learned that the temple of Belia Darzu lies, a Sith Lord who had learned the secret of Sith Holocrons among other things. During their conversation Hetton revealed that he had eight stealth assassins from the academy at Umbara at his disposal and if she would accept him as her apprentice they would swear loyalty to her as well.

Since her master needed to know the secret to building a holocron, Zannah tricked Hetton and accepted him as her apprentice. Once she was given a data card with all of his knowledge and library in her hands, she took him and his Umbaran assassins to Ambria, to attack her master. Hetton and his guards were killed in the process while Zannah leaned against a wall and watched, Bane thought Zannah had betrayed him and attacked her. After taking a beating, she was able to get through Bane's orbalisk induced rage and blood lust, by yelling that she had found the information to create holocrons. This statement was the only thing that stopped Bane from delivering the finishing blow. Zannah told him that she had the information that he needed to build the holocron and handed him the data card, surprised that it was not destroyed while she was being tossed about, and explained that she'd only used Hetton, to bring it to him. She further explained that she knew that he would defeat Hetton and his assassins, which was therefore why she did not lend a hand attacking Bane. Bane asked the question, "What if they had defeated me?" and Zannah's reply was, "Then you would have been unfit to be a Dark Lord of the Sith." Bane smiled with sinister approval.



While Bane went to Tython to discover the secret of the creation of a holocron, Zannah was assigned another task. She made her way to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, under the alias of a Jedi named Nalia Adollu, and headed into the Jedi Archives to find information, for her master, on how to remove orbalisks from his body.

While she was in the archives, Darovit, her cousin, came to Coruscant as well, where he found Zannah. After she acquired the information she needed, she took her cousin with her aboard the Loranda, to avoid being caught by the Jedi, since Darovit had compromised her and her Master. They made their way to Tython, as well, where they met up with Bane.

After the Jedi aboard the Justice Crusader engaged in a duel with Zannah and her master, Zannah was nearly overpowered by the massive Sarro Xaj. However, after Worror's battle meditation was broken up, Zannah easily defeated her Jedi foe. She then used her cloaking abilities to sneak up behind Raskta Lsu and stab her in the back. After Bane disarmed Johun Othone, Zannah impaled the young Jedi Knight, killing him.

Since Darth Bane was injured in the duel, Zannah had to use the Force to levitate him to their ship, the Loranda. They headed back to Ambria, to meet with Caleb. There, Zannah was unable to convince Caleb to heal Bane, however, Darovit was able to make a deal with the healer. The condition was that Zannah deactivate the Loranda and notify the Jedi that Bane was on Ambria and injured, therefore pending arrest. Zannah agreed, however, she soon changed her mind after a talk with her master confirmed that he was still able to reason, and plan with his mind.

Zannah killed Caleb, hacking him into many pieces over and over. She then hid, with her master underground from Caleb's shack, and used her sorcery to drive Darovit insane. When the Jedi arrived, Darovit attacked them, making them believe that he was the Sith Lord. Luckily for her, the Loranda was left by the Jedi for the junkers, but since the Jedi did not know of Zannah's presence because of her cloaking abilities, she was able to repair the ship and continue her tutelage under her master.

She then told Bane that one day, she'd be strong and knowledgeable enough to take him down, and become the Dark Lord of the Sith. Upon hearing this Bane gave her his normal grim smile, and she knew he approved.

Powers and abilities
"I can use my powers to conjure up your worst nightmares and bring them to life before your eyes. I can drive you mad with fear, shred your sanity, and leave you a raving lunatic for the rest of your life."

- Zannah describing the effects of her sorcery

Darth Zannah was a left-handed master of the lightsaber combat form Soresu, becoming proficient at creating defensive barriers using her double-bladed lightsaber. Her unique two blade lightsaber allowed her to defend herself indefinitely against enemies with minimal effort, only switching to the offensive when her adversary was weakened or frustrated.

She was also an accomplished sorceress, being talented in arts of Sith sorcery. She could utilize sorcery to cover herself and others in a false light side aura, drive people to insanity by showing them their greatest fears, or even simply masking her presence in the Force. She had great control over the Force instinctively. She used her basically untrained power to survive the thought bomb when some of the greatest Jedi (and Sith) were simply overpowered by it.

Legacy
"The smaller blades give you greater speed and maneuverability&hellip;You will sacrifice reach and leverage, but you will be able to create a shield of impenetrable defense."

- Darth Bane to Zannah

Darth Zannah wielded a unique, red, double-bladed lightsaber powered by crystals given to her by her master, Darth Bane. Her lightsaber was different in that its blades were each slightly shorter than one meter, while most double-blade lightsabers traditionally had beams of a meter and a half. This was primarily for making her able to defend more effectively and with less exertion. Long after Zannah's death, this lightsaber came into the possession of General Grievous, and then later N-K Necrosis.

Darth Bane and Darth Zannah, while their dates of death are unknown, were eventually succeeded by Darth Cognus and her three eyed mutant apprentice, Darth Millennial.

Behind the scenes
The character of Darth Bane and his first apprentice was first established by George Lucas in his backstory for Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, and given to author Terry Brooks to detail in his novelization of the film. As the Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace novelization was written before the identity of Zannah was established, it refers to Darth Bane's apprentice as "him".

Zannah's first actual appearance as a character was in Jedi vs. Sith, but she is curiously absent in the short story Bane of the Sith. The New Essential Chronology explained this discrepancy by describing Zannah finding her own way to Onderon. She subsequently appeared in a cameo role in Darth Bane: Path of Destruction and is featured fully in its sequel, Darth Bane: Rule of Two.

Appearances

 * Jedi vs. Sith
 * Darth Bane: Path of Destruction
 * Bane of the Sith
 * Darth Bane: Rule of Two
 * Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace novelization

Notes and references
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