Tsavong Lah

"Give me a decisive battle, Supreme One! Let the infidels' blood fill the spaces between the stars!"

- Tsavong Lah

Tsavong Lah was Warmaster of the Yuuzhan Vong during the Yuuzhan Vong War. A consummate warrior, he was the ideal of the Warrior caste. However, his adherence to the codes of the Warrior caste probably doomed the Yuuzhan Vong to defeat.

Early life
Little is known of Tsavong Lah's life prior to the Yuuzhan Vong War. He was born to Czulkang Lah, one of the greatest of all Warmasters, into Domain Lah, one of the most powerful of the Warrior caste. What is known is that, while being instructed, Tsavong Lah met the Priest Harrar, who was attached to his training division. While Lah had utter contempt for all non-warriors, Harrar made some sort of impact on Lah, and the two would consider each other friends. He also had a son, Khalee Lah, who was also a skilled commander. In the months prior to the invasion, Czulkang Lah expressed concerns over whether the invasion was a good idea. Supreme Overlord Shimrra, however, refused to broke insubordination, and replaced him with Tsavong Lah. Realizing that he still had value, but that leaving his father in a position of command would threaten his position, Tsavong had his father made a teacher of warriors. However, Czulkang did not bear his son any grievances.

The invasion
The initial invasion, however, was almost cut short, when the Praetorite Vong moved ahead of the Yuuzhan Vong Fleet and were destroyed. Unwilling to let Intendants dishonor the Yuuzhan Vong, Shimrra and Lah were forced to order the invasion ahead of schedule. Lah and his immediate subordinate, Supreme Commander Nas Choka, had yet to arrive in the Outer Rim, so Commander Shedao Shai took control instead. Knowing that Shai had ulterior motives&mdash;such as recovering his grandfather's corpse&mdash;Lah ordered the ambitious Deign Lian to keep an eye on Shai. When Shai was killed for the fate of Ithor, Lah ordered Lian to destroy the planet anyway. After the Battle of Fondor, Lah took a more active role in the invasion. He personally took commanded of the Battle of Duro, and nearly sacrificed Leia Organa Solo. Jacen Solo saved his mother, knocking Lah out a window and tearing off his leg. After replacing it with a vua'sa foreleg, Lah offered to halt the campaign if the New Republic surrendered every living Jedi in the galaxy to him, and he specifically requested Jacen Solo taken alive. When he learned Jacen and Jaina Solo were twins, a rare occurrence among the Yuuzhan Vong and one of great importance, he demanded both. However, considering the fact the Yuuzhan Vong never kept their word with "infidels", it is likely that Lah would have continued even after the Jedi were handed over.

He spearheaded many other campaigns, including the successful capture of Coruscant. After the battle, Lah replaced his left arm with a radank claw, but it came close to rejection, something which would end his term as Warmaster. Realizing that he was in no condition to lead, he asked Czulkang Lah to deal with the New Republic forces on Borleias, and sent Khalee to deal with Hapes. Nen Yim discovered that the arm had been sabotaged by the Priests and the Shapers in an attempt to control the Warmaster. Lah killed them by feeding them to a rancor. However, the victory was hollowed by the subsequent deaths of his father and son.

Ebaq 9
"Do not assume I am a fool! You have earned your victories by sending your troops over a rampart of our own dead!"

- Supreme Overlord Shimrra

When Supreme Overlord Shimrra arrived on Yuuzhan'tar, he informed Lah that his tactics had killed a third of the Warriors. Shimrra told him to halt the offensive, but the Warmaster needed open battle. Nom Anor, a political enemy of Lah, revealed information that the Jedi had fled to Ebaq, and Lah begged Shimrra for a fleet. Lah rushed to the world, but the Battle of Ebaq 9 was actually a trap, and there was no way he could win. Despairing, Tsavong Lah tried to take Ebaq 9 itself, in an attempt to sacrifice Jacen and Jaina Solo. Vergere, however, crashed an A-wing into the installation where the Warriors had the Jedi held up, decompressing the atmosphere. Lah alone survived, since his subalterns managed to get his gnullith and ooglith cloaker on in time. Attempting to kill Jaina at least, he managed to pierce Lowbacca's shoulder with his tsaisi, and bind Jaina and Tesar Sebatyne with blorash jelly. After sparring with a bound Jaina Solo, however, Tsavong Lah was killed by Jaina when she thrust her lightsaber into his throat. The warmaster collapsed lifelessly, and Jaina did not spare him a passing glance.

Appearances

 * Dark Tide II: Ruin
 * Agents of Chaos I: Hero's Trial
 * Agents of Chaos II: Jedi Eclipse
 * Balance Point
 * Edge of Victory I: Conquest
 * Edge of Victory II: Rebirth
 * Star by Star
 * Dark Journey
 * Enemy Lines I: Rebel Dream
 * Enemy Lines II: Rebel Stand
 * Destiny's Way
 * Force Heretic I: Remnant
 * Force Heretic II: Refugee
 * The Final Prophecy
 * The Unifying Force