Darth Zannah

"This is the way of our Order. An individual may die, but the Sith are eternal."

- Darth Zannah, Dark Lord of the Sith

Zannah, known as "Rain" in her childhood, was a Human female from the planet Somov Rit, and was the cousin of males Root, Darovit and Hardin. She was initially recruited by Jedi Scout Torr Snapit to fight for the Army of Light during the Ruusan campaign of the New Sith Wars. However, upon her arrival on Ruusan, Rain was separated from her cousins during a Sith attack and was presumed killed. Unbeknownst to the Jedi, Rain was saved and befriended by a member of the native Bouncer species called Laa. When the Dark Lords of Kaan's Brotherhood of Darkness unleashed a planet wide Force storm during the Sixth Battle of Ruusan, Rain survived by instinctively enveloping herself and Laa with a bubble of Force energy. Not long afterward,the young girl watched as Laa was killed haplessly by Jedi scouts; she was so stricken with anger and grief that she unwittingly gave into the dark side and murdered them in kind. Rain's display of rage attracted the attention of the war's only surviving Dark Lord, Darth Bane, who decided to take the youth as the first and only apprentice in his fledgling Order of the Sith Lords. Rain cast away the handle of her youth, and became Darth Zannah.

Zannah's initial instruction in the ways of the Force took place on the planet Ambria, where she studied the ancient magic of the Sith and achieved proficiency as a dark side sorceress. As an extension of Bane's will, Zannah executed a variety of missions that were designed to incite anarchist movements throughout the Republic, including the manipulation of the terrorist Anti-Republic Liberation Front into a botched assassination attempt on former Supreme Chancellor Tarsus Valorum. When Zannah was implicated as the cause for the mission's failure by several of the ARLF's members, she was brought before their leader, Hetton, who recognized her Sith status. He pledged allegiance to Zannah, and from him she recovered information regarding the creation of holocrons, a secret highly sought by her Sith Master, Bane. Zannah later tricked Hetton into attacking Bane at the Sith's camp on Ambria, which resulted in Hetton's death.

When the parasites that comprised Bane's body armor began to cause him concern, Zannah was tasked with infiltrating the archives of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant to obtain whatever information was available about the creatures. The unexpected presence of her cousin Darovit in the Temple brought Zannah's mission to a halt; the young man had exposed her to the Jedi, and then confessed to her his guilt. Zannah took Darovit and fled to her Master on Tython with the Jedi in pursuit, and prepared herself for the impending confrontation. Despite their superior numbers, all the Jedi were ultimately slain, though Bane lay grievously wounded and on the brink of death. Zannah returned with her dying Master to Ambria, and demanded that the local healer, Caleb, save the Dark Lord under penalty of death. She betrayed and killed Caleb upon his completion of the procedure, and also used her power to drive Darovit mad before tricking the Jedi into believing that Darovit was the Sith Lord whom they sought. While the true Sith remained in hiding, Darovit was killed by the Jedi, effectively convincing them that the Sith threat had been finally eradicated. With no remaining witnesses, the existence of Darth Zannah and her Master remained safely anonymous.

Ten years after tricking the Jedi into believing the Sith had gone extinct on Ambria, Zannah and her Master relocated to the planet Ciutric IV. Though she had progressed considerably in the ways of the Sith, Zannah had yet to confront Darth Bane for the position of Dark Lord, something he believed was a result of her lack of initiative. Zannah, however, had in fact begun to contemplate his demise. While on a mission to the planet Doan, she learned of a Dark Jedi named Set Harth whose own dark side affinity made him a potential candidate for Sith indoctrination. Zannah took the reluctant young man as her apprentice after tracking him to his home on Nal Hutta and defeating him in a lightsaber duel. She then brought Harth with her to Ciutric IV, intent on finally confronting her own Master, but upon their arrival, Zannah discovered that Darth Bane had been captured by agents of Princess Serra of Doan. Zannah again pursued her Master to Doan where, while she infiltrated the place of his imprisonment, Set Harth absconded in an attempt to rid himself of the Sith. Zannah meanwhile located Bane, defensless and weakened from torture, and challenged him in combat for rites to Sith Mastery.

Jedi recruit
"War is no place for children. I have enough doubts about taking you boys&hellip;''" "''All Rain's asking for is a chance! Please?"

- Torr Snapit and Darovit, discussing Rain

Zannah was a Human girl from the planet Somov Rit. In her youth, she lived with her cousins Darovit, Hardin, and Root, and per the custom of the people of that world, was known by her nickname Rain. Unlike Darovit and Hardin, Rain had not shown any sign of Force potential so, when Jedi Scout Torr Snapit of the Army of Light arrived looking to recruit Force-sensitives to fight in the war against the Sith, he was initially hesitant to take her. However, Rain did not want to be left behind while her cousins went off to war, and with assistance from Darovit, she manipulated the Force sufficiently enough for Snapit, and was allowed to join her cousins in their venture offworld to partake in the war's final campaign on the planet Ruusan.

Upon arrival, the Jedi ship was attacked by a squad of Buzzard fighters dispatched by the Sith Brotherhood of Darkness. When a hole was blown in the vessel, Rain fell out to the forests below. Unable to maneuver in the midst of the attack to attempt a rescue, the Jedi ship left Rain behind, and she was believed dead by her cousins. The girl had in fact been saved by a cushioned fall onto the green-furred back of a Bouncer called Laa. Rain instantly befriended the creature, and spent the next few days recovering from her traumatic experiences with her new companion.

Oblivious to the blood being shed in sorties on the other side of Ruusan, Rain and Laa traveled the planet's landscape together. During the sixth battle for control of the planet, the Dark Lords of the Sith Brotherhood combined their power to create a storm of destruction that obliterated the landscape for miles. Rain and Laa were caught in the fallout, but the young girl instinctively enveloped herself and Laa in a bubble of protective Force energy. It was then that Rain realized she was strong in the Force, and hoped to one day become a Knight of the Galactic Republic; but to Rain's dismay, Laa prophesied that she would instead grow into a powerful Dark Jedi. Bewildered by Laa's prediction, Rain flung herself off of a cliff in a suicide attempt, but quickly levitated herself to safety after deciding instead that her destiny was not controlled by what the bouncer saw.

Touch of the dark side
"I'm a killer, too."

- Zannah, to Darth Bane

Widespread destruction on Ruusan caused many of the Bouncers to degenerate into a state of madness and transmit images of pain and death through the Force into the minds Army of Light's warriors. To end their own suffering, the Jedi charged two of their own, a Knight named Petja and a companion with eliminating the Bouncers to prevent the onset of full panic within the army. Although Laa had not succumbed to the same madness as its kin, Petja and his fellow Jedi killed it anyway. Rain, who was sitting nearby, was stricken by grief upon witnessing her friend's murder, and unwittingly gave into her rage&mdash;using the dark side to break the necks of both men. Crying, Rain returned to the body of Laa. Rain's raw display of anger and subsequent use of the dark side attracted the attention Dark Lord Darth Bane, who had been wandering the Ruusan landscape after recently abandoning the Brotherhood of Darkness. Bane had also been seeking a worthy apprentice, and was impressed by Rain's act of vengeance and fearlessness in his presence. After learning of Bane's own murderous transgressions, Rain confessed that she, like him, was a killer as well. Rain then accepted the Dark Lord's offer to instruct her in the ways of the Sith and, from then on, went instead by her birth name of Zannah.

The final battle on Ruusan saw the decimation of both Jedi and Sith armies with the unleashing of Lord Kaan's life-consuming thought bomb, and Zannah and her new Master were among few survivors. She accompanied him to the caves where Kaan and his brotherhood had made their final stand, and listened as Bane explained the thought bomb's significance. Zannah's cousin Darovit then appeared from another of the caves, and immediately brandished his own red-bladed lightsaber upon sight of the man behind her. Before he could commence his attack, Zannah used the dark side to explode Darovit's weapon-hand. When Bane questioned Zannah's reason for sparing the boy, she stated that killing him was pointless. Her affection for the boy was obvious to Bane, but he also allowed Darovit to live. Zannah and her Master then departed the caves, in preparation for their ultimate departure from Ruusan.

Final test
Though Bane felt that Zannah's innate Force ability was considerable, he was also aware that she still lacked the skills of a Force-sensitive who had received even the most basic training. In their haste to leave Ruusan, Zannah quickly learned from him to channel the Force to sustain and augment her physical skills. Her calculating nature also factored into Bane's belief that Zannah was indeed the apprentice he sought. Before she was officially accepted by him, however, she was given a final test; to find her own way offworld, and in ten standard days meet Bane on the planet Onderon.



Initially resentful with Bane for the task laid before her, Zannah wandered in search of a means to completing her task, and chanced upon a shuttle with four Humans nearby. Calling herself Rain again for the time being, Zannah was mistaken for a war orphan and brought her on board their vessel, the Star-Wake, where she was fed, and introduced to her hosts. The adult female named Irtanna, whom Zannah believed to be a soldier of some sort, consulted the other present adult, a Human male called Bordon. They offered to let Rain join them, but she refused, stating that she needed to go to Onderon. After insisting on her destination, Zannah's hosts decided to take her back to the Republic fleet, where the young girl's destiny would be decided for her.

When Zannah was offered an opportunity to stay with Bordon and his family, she was immediately conflicted by her commitment to Darth Bane, who had instructed her to meet him on Onderon, where he would then help her reach her full potential. However, she was thoroughly exhausted with the struggle that had been her life thus far, and considered the tranquility that Bordon extended towards her. Her mind was made when she realized that the Republic would eventually discover her Force-sensitivity, and also the existence of her Master. Before she could resolve her dilemma, however, Rain was approached by Bordon's youngest son, Wend. After a brief conversation with the boy, Zannah made up in her mind to reject Bordon's offer, realizing that the peace he offered her amounted to nothing more than a lie; though they were happy, Bordon had no way of protecting himself or his family from real danger. When Wend was summoned to the ship's cockpit, Zannah seized the opportunity to search for a means of forcing her saviors into doing her bidding. She located a blaster pistol just as Bordon's older son, Tallo, arrived, and was tackled by the boy in an attempt to wrench the weapon from her grasp. Bordon arrived to find Zannah and his son in quarrel, and was mortified as he watched her put a gaping hole in the boy's chest with the blaster. Zannah gunned down Bordon next, and rushed to the cockpit herself to prevent Irtanna and Wend from interfering. After ordering the woman to set the autopilot on a course for Onderon, Zannah killed Irtanna, and professed her Sith allegiance before doing the same to Wend. She then rode the Star-Wake for seven days to Onderon, to rendezvous with Darth Bane.

Zannah's arrival preceded Bane's, and she was forced to make a rough landing deep in the jungles of Onderon. Her presence attracted the attention of the Skelda clan of native Beast Riders, warriors who flew great winged beasts in battle. Zannah was quickly surrounded as she exited the Star-Wake, and attempted to bluff her way out of the inevitable confrontation. She tried to flee when they threatened to take her ship, but was quickly tackled by the leader. To his surprise, Zannah reflexively used the Force to blast the man off of her. He realized that the little girl was an untrained Force-sensitive, and offered her one last chance to surrender in the face of insurmountable odds. Zannah, however, revealed that she was far from alone&mdash;as Darth Bane appeared in the sky above them, mounted on a winged beast larger than any of those commanded by clan Skelda. She then watched in awe as her Master singlehandedly defeated the entire clan, sustained near-fatal injuries, and recovered from them instantaneously before her, thanks to the orbalisk crustaceans that she saw now covered his body. The Dark Lord was indeed impressed that Zannah had survived the preliminary tests he had set before her; she was then officially made his apprentice, and her real training began.

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

- Zannah to Darth Bane

Zannah's training took place on the world of Ambria for much of their early time together. Because he sought to keep his new Order beneath galactic notice, Bane instilled within Zannah tenets of secrecy, patience, and ingenuity. Her first lesson was to tame a wild neek&mdash;reptilian creatures native to Ambria, specifically near the dark side Lake Natth&mdash;and to bring the domesticated creature back to their camp of its own volition. While familiarizing herself with the animals, Zannah spent days earning one particular neek's trust and, in doing so, became emotionally attached to it, treating it almost like a pet. Finally, she was able to coax the reptile into following her. When they arrived at the camp her Master was pleased; he then suddenly snapped its neck through the Force, and ordered Zannah to toss the dead thing into a boiling pot nearby. She realized at that moment that her Master's lesson was twofold: having the patience to dominate another being or creature through cunning, and to bend them to her will, all while maintaining a sense of detachment.



By the time Zannah was fourteen, her training had advanced into the study of the ancient Sith. She learned to harness the power of the dark side through Sith spells which Bane had extracted from the holocron of Freedon Nadd he had found during his exploration of Dxun. Bane confessed his own ineptitude with the intricacies of Sith magic, stating that his talents were expressed in more natural and elemental uses of the dark side of the Force. Zannah, however, was eager to learn Nadd's teachings, and immediately began absorbing everything she could. While she studied the transcript, Bane warned her that if she ever attempted her spells on him, he would destroy her.

Zannah constructed her personal double-bladed lightsaber not long afterward. Her customized weapon included a longer than average hilt and was powered by a set of Synthetic lightsaber crystals, one of which was known as Bane's Heart. Her lightsaber produced blades that were shorter than normal length&mdash;each just under a meter in length, and also released an electrical discharge when the weapon was utilized by anyone other than its owner, courtesy of Bane's Heart. Zannah built her lightsaber in this manner to compensate for the proportions of her petite frame. Bane explained to Zannah that her weapon was critical to her chosen style of lightsaber combat, one that expended minimal energy while maximizing her endurance in battle, creating what he described as the "impenetrable defense" of Form III: Soresu.

Her Master's will
"The Republic keeps the Jedi in check. It maintains control and imposes order across thousands of worlds. But if the Republic falls, a score of new interstellar governments and galactic organizations will rise. It is far easier to manipulate and control a single enemy than twenty. That it is why we must seek out radical separatist groups, identify the ones that have the potential to become true threats, then encourage them to strike before they are ready. We must exploit them, playing them off against the Republic. We must let our enemies weaken one another while we stay hidden and grow strong. One day the Republic will fall and the Jedi will be wiped out. But it will not happen until we are ready to seize that power for ourselves."

- Darth Bane

By 990 BBY, Zannah had become more than just a Sith apprentice; she was now an instrument of Darth Bane's will. Because the Dark Lord's orbalisk armor prevented him from moving in public unnoticed, he was forced to rely on Zannah as his primary means of contact with the outside world. To further their covert Sith agenda, the adolescent woman was sent on a variety of secret missions that were designed to destabilize the sanctity and stability guaranteed to the member states of the Galactic Republic.

Anti Republic Liberation front
On of her missions involved the exploitation of a group of dissidents on the planet Serenno known as the Anti-Republic Liberation Front. Under the guise of "Rainah," she became the lover of one of the ARLF's more prominent members, a Twi'lek male named Kelad'den. She convinced the Lethan to make an attempt on the life of former Supreme Chancellor Tarsus Valorum, who was scheduled to visit Serenno soon on a diplomatic mission. The endeavor ultimately failed and resulted in four of the members of the Front's deaths. Zannah was detained by the surviving members, Cyndra and Paak, who confiscated her lightsaber and took her to meet the leader of the ARLF, Hetton. Once there, she used her Sith Sorcery to drive Cyndra insane, causing the Chiss female to gouge out her own eyes and babble incoherently. In retaliation, Paak attacked Zannah with a vibroblade, causing Zannah to summon her lightsaber and defend herself. After using the Force to snap her restraints, she toyed with Paak, which resulted in him pulling a blaster on her. She deflected the first bolt and redirected the second into his head, instantly killing him. Hetton was impressed by Zannah, and confessed that he had been waiting his entire life for someone like her. Zannah learned that Hetton had his vast resources to collect dark side artifacts and knowledge over the past three decades. Her interest peaked when Hetton spoke of an ancient Dark Lord of the Sith named Belia Darzu who was said to have mastered the creation of Sith holocrons, a skill which had eluded Zannah's Master thus far. During their conversation, Zannah also learned that Hetton employed eight Umbaran Shadow Assassins who would consign themselves to the Sith Lord's disposal should she choose to take Hetton man as her apprentice. Zannah agreed, though not in earnest; she planned to simply use Hetton and eventually take from him information that would lead her Master to Belia Darzu's fortress on the planet Tython, where hopefully he would discover the secret of creating holocrons.

Zannah was given a data card that contained the sum of Hetton's knowledge. She then took him and his Umbaran minions to Ambria, to attack her Master. Although the assassins caught Bane unawares, they were no match for the Dark Lord, who slew all eight of them in rapid succession before finally Killing Hetton, all while Zannah stood by and watched. She expected Bane to demand an explanation of her actions, but he instead attacked her under the belief that she had betrayed him. Zannah suffered a severe beating before she was finally able to reveal that she had only allied herself with Bane's attacker for the benefit of obtaining the knowledge of creating holocrons. He ceased his attack at that moment and allowed Zannah present the datacard which contained the hyperspace route to Tython. She also professed her confidence in Bane's ability to beat his assailants. When he presented Zannah with a scenario that resulted in his defeat, Zannah answered that he would have deserved death, having proven himself unworthy of the position of Dark Lord of the Sith.

Mission to the Jedi Temple
"Rain? What are you doing here?"

- Darovit recognizes Zannah in the Jedi Archives

While Bane traveled to Tython, Zannah was tasked with infiltrating the Jedi Temple's Archives on Coruscant. The Dark Lord had obtained for Zannah an alias in the form of a Padawan named Nalia Adollu, whose physical likeness was very similar to hers. For a week the Sith apprentice studied Adollu's profile, as well as that of her Pyn'gani Jedi Master, Anno Wen-Chii, until every detail of both individuals had been committed to memory. A cover story was also fabricated which claimed that Wen-Chii needed Adollu to research material regarding a rare parasitic life form native to his homeworld of Polus; in truth, Zannah would actually be searching the expanse of the Jedi Archives for any information regarding orbalisks, the creatures whose carapaces formed Darth Bane's impenetrable armor. To complete her deception, Zannah had also practiced a Sith spell which muted her dark side strength while simultaneously resonating an aura of light side affinity. She worked for diligently on perfecting the enchantment, but despite her best efforts, her true alignment still managed to occasionally manifest itself; Zannah could only hope that her power did not fail her once she was in the presence of the Jedi.

Upon arrival on the galactic capital in the starship Loranda, Zannah projected her false light side aura and entered the Jedi Temple unhindered. She made her way to the Archives and, as Nalia Adollu, met with its chief librarian, Barra-Rona-Ban, whom Zannah had contacted beforehand to advise of her upcoming visit. After being given a datacard containing several reference materials to aid in her search, Zannah headed to the fourth hall of the Archives&mdash;the section dedicated to zoological study&mdash;to begin her quest for any information on orbalisks. Days of tedious research failed to reveal anything conclusive until one night, Zannah found what she had been looking for upon her discovery of a thesis titled, "An Examination and Exploration of a Most Dangerous and Resilient Organism". Her false light-side aura faltered in that moment of excitement, and before she was able to assert control of herself, she was startled by her cousin Darovit the last person she expected to see on Coruscant and in the Jedi Temple no less.

As surprised to see him as he was to see her, Zannah's shock quickly gave way to fury when Darovit told her that he had alerted the Jedi to the continued existence of the Sith. After copying the thesis on her datacard, Zannah took her cousin by the arm and advised the confused young man that he would be accompanying her to Tython, to warn Darth Bane. She led Darovit to another section of the Archives where she accessed another computer and found an adequate hyperspace route to the Deep Core world, which she also copied onto her datacard. She then left the Jedi Archives with Darovit, boarded the Loranda, and fled Coruscant. While en route to Tython, Zannah's cousin tried repeatedly to sway her from the path of the dark side, though to no avail. Zannah responded by Force choking Darovit, and also advising him that her Master's need of his healing skills was the only thing preventing her from killing him, threatened to destroy his remaining hand if he badgered her any further.

Facing the enemy
The Loranda entered Tython's atmosphere just over Belia Darzu's fortress, and upon sight of Darth Bane's ship, the Mystic, Zannah landed nearby. Zannah exited her ship with Darovit behind her, and saw Bane was waiting outside the fortress. After ee demanded to know why she had come Zannah explained the details of her chance encounter with Darovit in the Jedi Temple and how he had revealed their existence to the High Council. She also told Bane that Darovit was able to rid him of the orbalisk infestation. Their meeting was interrupted when they took notice of another ship, one heading fast in their direction. Both Zannah and her Master felt the light-side orientation of its passengers, and realized that the Jedi had followed them to Tython. They quickly retreated to the interior of Belia Darzu's fortress and began fortifying their position in preparation for an inevitable battle.

Zannah and her Master held fast in a large circular room with two exits, chosen specifically by Bane to provide them with an escape route should they be forced to retreat. As Zannah began mentally focusing for the battle, she hid the datacard with the information from the Temple Archives in a nearby closet. She told Darovit to hide there as well, explaining to her Master that the young man would only hinder their efforts. Five Jedi burst into the room soon afterward, and battle quickly ensued. Zannah immediately erected her impenetrable defensive wall while taking up position in a nearby corner in an effort to protect her flanks from her two Human assailants, Knights Johun Othone and the physically enormous Sarro Xaj. While she was able to fend off their assault, Zannah quickly realized that Xaj&mdash;who wielded a massive blue-bladed version of her own weapon&mdash;posed the greater threat of her two opponents. His powerful attacks were metered, however, by the awkward dueling style of Othone, which allowed Zannah to play off of the smaller man's disruption of the larger one's advance. Her plan was to hold them off until Darth Bane finished with his own opponents, at which time he would be able to assist her. Zannah's defensive wall was breached by the larger Jedi when she spared a moment to observe her Master's progress, but she was able to resume her lightsaber's rhythm after Jedi Othone got in the way of his partner's advance. Zannah soon found herself alone against Xaj, after Othone went to protect the fith Jedi, an Ithorian Master who had been supporting his colleagues' efforts through use of battle meditation. Without the benefit of the smaller man to impede the larger one's efforts, Zannah was steadily driven back by the strength of Xaj's blows as she prepared to be finished off. The Ithorian's concentration was suddenly disrupted, however, which robbed Zannah's opponent of his Force-empowerment. This gave the Sith sorceress an opportunity to cast a spell that summon the Jedi's most deep-seated fears, causing him to flail about in terror. She closed in and swiftly cut him down, then masked her Force presence before moving in behind Bane's Bane's female Echani assailant and running her through.

Since Bane was mortally 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 made a deal with the healer. Caleb would heal Bane, but Zannah had to deactivate the Loranda and notify the Jedi that a helpless Sith Lord was on Ambria, therefore pending arrest. Zannah was reluctant, but she knew that there was still much for her to learn from Bane and without Caleb's healing the Dark Lord would die, so she was forced to agree. However, soon after Bane was healed she killed Caleb, hacking him into many pieces. She then used her sorcery to drive Darovit insane before hiding herself and Bane in a trapdoor in Caleb's hut. When the Jedi arrived, the insane Darovit attacked them, causing them to believe that he was the Sith Lord. The Jedi then left the planet with Caleb's corpse, leaving the Loranda behind for the junkers. As the Jedi never sensed Bane and Zannah's presences because of Zannah's cloaking abilities, they never found the two Sith Lords. Zannah was then able to repair the ship and continue her tutelage under Bane. She then told Bane that one day she would 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 of her actions.

A new apprentice
"Greetings. I don't believe we've had the pleasure. My name is Set Harth."

- Set Harth, upon meeting Darth Zannah

After the events on Ambria, Bane and Zannah traveled to the planet Ciutric IV, where they began living as wealthy merchant siblings, Sepp and Allia Omek, respectively. There, they gathered resources and contacts, lying low. As ten years passed, Bane began to perceive Zannah as weak; she still had not chosen to end his life by subterfuge nor deception. He began to believe that she was waiting for him to age until his powers were weakened and he would be easier to defeat. Bane believed that this would make her unworthy to be the Dark Lord of the Sith, as the title was supposed to be wrested from the Master in order to prove that the apprentice was stronger, and thus deserved it. Zannah, however, had not attacked Bane for two reasons. First, she had noticed Bane's deteriorating body, but she feared that it was a trick to get her to attack him too soon. The second was that she needed her own apprentice before attacking him, so that if she won, she would be ready to continue the legacy of the Rule of Two. Bane began to look into the legend of Darth Andeddu's holocron, which was said to hold the secret of eternal life; that way he would not continue to weaken so that Zannah could strike him down.

Meanwhile, a Jedi Knight, Medd Tandar, who had been sent to mediate a political situation on Doan, was killed. Bane decided to send Zannah on a mission to Doan to find out who was responsible for the murder of the Jedi while he secretly went on his own mission to recover Darth Andeddu's holocron. While on Doan, Zannah encountered evidence of a Dark Jedi who was searching for Sith artifacts. She tracked the Dark Jedi, who was named Set Harth, to his home on Nal Hutta, where she confronted him. After he recovered from her Sith sorcery, she offered him the chance to become her apprentice, and Harth, realizing that if he refused, she would kill him, accepted.

Zannah returned with Harth to Ciutric IV to confront Bane, only to find that Bane had been captured by the Doan Royal Guard. Chet, who took care of her ship when it was docked on Ciutric IV, had informed her several days previously that Bane had been meeting with Argel Tenn, a collector and seller of illegal Sith artifacts, and Zannah decided to meet with Tenn. Tenn proved to be stubborn, however, refusing to violate his customers' confidentiality. Zannah was thus forced to interrogate him with the dark side, revealing her true identity as a Sith. From this, she managed to wrest only a single name from Tenn&mdash;Darth Andeddu&mdash;before she had to kill him, lest he betray the secret of the Sith Order's survival.

Doan
"Do you really believe you can defeat me?''" "''You allowed yourself to be captured by mercenaries. You couldn't bring yourself to kill the woman who stood in your way. You even let yourself get trapped in these halls without a lightsaber. Your time is over, Bane."

- Darth Bane and Darth Zannah

Zannah mentioned the name of Andeddu to Harth, who revealed that during his time training under Jedi Master Obba, a member of the Council of First Knowledge, Harth had spent a large amount of time searching the histories of the ancient Sith. Harth had come across the name Andeddu multiple times and thus heard that the Sith Lord was supposed to have ruled over the planet Prakith as a god and have created his own holocron, in which it was rumored that he had documented the secret of eternal life. Zannah believed that Bane had betrayed her, turning his back on their Order and the Rule of Two by searching for eternal life.

Zannah and Harth traveled to Doan, where they found that Bane had been taken to the Stone Prison. Zannah left Harth to guard her ship, a Theta-class T-1 vessel, the Victory. Zannah hunted for Bane in the prison, and before long, sensed that he had escaped from where he had been held. She eventually found him and attacked him, criticizing him for betraying her as well as his own Rule of Two and searching for eternal life. Bane, in turn, rebuked her for waiting until he had grown weak before attacking him; violating the tenet that only the strongest could survive by waiting until the strongest had weakened. Zannah then attacked the weaponless Bane, who defended himself with Force lightning. She quickly advanced, forcing him to retreat through the prison's corridors and cornering him several times, but never managing to kill him. Eventually, Princess Serra, Caleb's daughter and the one who had ordered Bane's capture, decided to initiate the Stone Prison's self-destruct sequence; a sequence of detonators began going off in the prison that would collapse the building within minutes. As the warning alarm went off, Bane shot two bursts of lightning into the wall, setting off one of the detonators and causing the passageway to collapse between himself and Zannah, ending the duel.

Meanwhile, Harth had disobeyed Zannah's orders and entered the Stone Prison where he found Andeddu's holocron, which had been taken from Bane after his capture. Harth then fled the prison after a brief skirmish with the Iktotchi assassin Huntress, who had been the one to capture Bane from his mansion. Zannah made her way to the hangar to find Harth gone; she then fled the collapsing prison, realizing that choosing Harth as her apprentice had been a mistake. She also realized that Bane was likely telling the truth&mdash;he hadn't gone after Andeddu's holocron in the hopes of living forever, rather, only to live long enough to choose another apprentice and train them, before his body weakened too much. Zannah decided that she would find Bane and confront him one more time in an attempt to wrest from him the title of Dark Lord of the Sith.

Duel with the Dark Lord
Before long, she received a distress signal from Bane, telling her that he was on Ambria, at Caleb's hut. She worried at first that it might be a trap, but her instincts told her it was nothing more than a challenge to finish what they had begun on Doan. When she landed, she found that Bane was accompanied by a female Iktotchi&mdash;the Huntress. Bane revealed that she had taken the name Darth Cognus and had sworn her loyalty to Sith. Cognus added that she would serve the true Sith Master&mdash;whichever of them won the coming duel.

Zannah challenged him, and Bane&mdash;whose lightsaber had since been returned to him by Cognus&mdash;fell upon her with furious, powerful strokes, quickly driving her backwards. She managed to stave off his attacks, which soon changed into a pattern of quick thrusts and feints. Zannah decided that if she was to be victorious, she would need to use her Sith sorcery, however, as she split her focus between Bane and gathering her power, she failed to notice the freshly-dug grave of Serra, who had been killed by Cognus. Zannah tripped and fell, and Bane instantly fell on her with a series of powerful blows and kicks, cracking one of her ribs. Zannah managed to free herself from the assault and quickly stab at Bane, only to find that he hadn't followed her escape; instead staying several meters away. Her mistake had cost her; she now had a broken rib and her escape had tired her greatly; Zannah quickly gathered her power and attempted to drive her master insane with visions.

Bane was initially incapacitated by the mental attack of her sorcery, but he had conquered his fears years previously, and worked up the will power to destroy the phantoms in a violent blast of dark side energy, sending Zannah staggering backwards. Zannah then began to use the Force to draw tendrils of pure dark side energy from the ground of Ambria, throwing them at her master. Bane charged her, dodging the tendrils as he came in and knocked her lightsaber out of her hand. As he went for the killing blow, however, his arm was severed by a tendril, and he collapsed to the ground in pain. Bane then grabbed Zannah's ankle and attempted to perform the ritual of essence transfer, which he had learned from Andeddu's holocron. His body was destroyed as his consciousness invaded Zannah's body. Zannah fought back, and the two entered a battle of wills, which Zannah finally won, banishing Bane from her body.

Cognus rushed over to Zannah, who rose and declared that Bane had gone; she was now the Dark Lord of the Sith and Cognus' new Master. However, part of Bane remained imprinted upon Zannah.

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 Zannah was eventually succeeded by Darth Cognus and her three eyed mutant apprentice, Darth Millennial.

Personality and traits
"She's attractive enough&hellip;if you can get past the whole Sith sorceress thing."

- Set Harth

As a youth Zannah had short tousled dirty blond hair, and blue eyes. She grew into an athletically built left-handed woman of average height, with long blond curls of hair and eyes yellow with the dark side. She was often looked upon by those whom she encountered in public as unusually beautiful, and was fully aware of her striking appearance; however, because of her required anonymity, Zannah took measures to make herself inconspicuous when necessary. Wearing unflattering clothing and wrapping herself in a Force aura of insignificance were among her methods, though the occasional double-take would occur.

As a child, Zannah was timid, and had to be convinced to display her Force ability when Torr Snapit arrived. She displayed compassion for the bouncer Laa, as well as deep sorrow for Laa when it was killed. The death of her bouncer friend drove Zannah to anger, then to murder, displaying no mercy to the Jedi for their incompetence. She showed no fear of Darth Bane upon their first meeting, instead admitting that she, like him, was a killer as well. With time Zannah grew in cunning and ingenuity, and Darth Bane became impressed with Zannah's subtle and calculating nature, the same with which she employed the Force. Nonetheless, Zannah was regarded as no more than an heir by her Master to his Sith legacy.

Zannah displayed a hunger for knowledge and readily accepted Bane's offer to train her, passing several tests as a child to convince him of her dedication. She was eager to learn the spells of Freedon Nadd, and also eager to learn a more aggressive style of lightsaber combat, before her Master explained the reason for elevating her to Form III mastery. Of all the things Zannah learned from Bane, compassion and love were not among them, and she found herself questioning what an actual loving paternal relationship would be like. She did experience love of the romantic sort, however, from the Twi'lek Kelad'en, though she only pretended to love him in return.

Zannah was loyal to Darth Bane throughout her time with him, and unquestioningly carried out his orders. She expressed concern with his parasitic armor, partially with her own intentions in mind. When Bane lay dying on Tython, Zannah cared him, albeit selfishly; her reason for keeping him alive was to continue her studies in the dark side. She was given to betrayal as well, having done so to Hetton and his entire ilk, the healer Caleb, even her own cousin, Darovit. Zannah recognized that treachery against her Master one day was also the way of the Sith, and pledged herself to striking him down in accordance with the Rule of Two.

Lightsaber skill
"Defense will not slay my enemy.''" "''You lack the physical strength required for the powerful attacking strikes of Djem So or the other aggressive forms. You must rely on quickness, cunning and, most of all, patience to best your enemies."

- Zannah learns the significance of Form III from Bane

Darth Zannah was a left-handed master of the lightsaber combat form Soresu, becoming proficient at creating defensive barriers using a custom-made double-bladed lightsaber. This unique weapon allowed her to defend herself indefinitely against enemies with minimal effort, only switching to the offensive when her adversary was weakened or frustrated. Zannah mastered her saber form to such a degree that her Soresu rhythms became a matter of instinct, thus allowing her to also concentrate on and incorporate Force techniques while battling with her enemies. Even against opponents of far greater size, such as Jedi Knight Sarro Xaj, Zannah was able to erect and maintain an effective wall of defense; without the application of her sorcery, however, Zannah would have eventually fallen to Xaj's superior physical strength. The Form III tenets of patience and cunning that Zannah learned from Bane also allowed her to easily defeat the Dark Jedi Seth Harth's mastery of the fourth lightsaber combat form, Ataru. While dueling him in his mansion, Zannah capitalized on the mistakes which ultimately resulted from Harth's own arrogance and impatience; this allowed her to attack him with a spell of insanity, against which he had no defense, and through which he was subsequently defeated. Because of her explicit focus on defensive cadences, Zannah found difficulty in maintaining situations that saw her as the primary aggressor, such as her confrontation in the Stone Prison with Darth Bane.

Force mastery
"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

Even as a youth, Zannah had great control over the Force instinctively. She used her basically untrained power to shield herself from the combined power of a Sith-created Force storm, snap the necks of two Jedi warriors, and even to survive the thought bomb when nearly every other present Force sensitive individual was overpowered by it. As an apprentice of the dark side of the Force, Darth Zannah perfected a natural talent for Sith magic and became an accomplished sorceress. She studied the doctrines of the ancient Sith magician Freedon Nadd, and mastered his teachings for a variety of effects; covering herself and others in a false light side aura, driving people insane by showing them their greatest fears, or even simply masking her presence in the Force were all within the scope of her abilities. Zannah's spell of concealment was so powerful that its affects lingered on for years after its use, so that the Huntress' psychometry was violently disrupted when she attempted to perceive Caleb's abandoned shack through the Force. Over the years she spent as Darth Bane's Shadow Hand, Zannah acquired a vast amount of Sith knowledge from many other sources, and kept many of her learned abilities in reserve for the inevitable day she would have to use them against Darth Bane. Among her holdout talents was the conjuring of dark side tendrils; negative Force manifestations which appeared in the form of black mist and were capable of disintegrating flesh and bone on contact.

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 the epilogue of Darth Bane: Path of Destruction and is featured fully in its sequels, Darth Bane: Rule of Two and Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil.

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
Darth Zannah Darth Zannah Darth Zannah Darth Zannah Darth Zannah