Belia Darzu

Belia Darzu was a female Shi'ido who lived during the New Sith Wars, a galactic conflict initiated in 2000 BBY by the Sith Order, a dark side cult that opposed the Galactic Republic and the Jedi Order. A natural-born shape-shifter like all members of her species, Darzu commonly assumed the physical form of a Human woman. By 1250 BBY, she had seized the mantle of Dark Lord of the Sith, rising to power over the resurgent Sith empire at the beginning of a period called the Sictis Wars. Around this time, she researched Sith alchemy along with the principles of mechu-deru, a Force technique granting absolute control over mechanical systems.

At some point before the end of 1230 BBY, Darzu built a secret stronghold on the Deep Core world of Tython. At another time prior to the end of this date, the Shi'ido also created a personal battle armor suit, as well as a Sith holocron; Darzu's holocron—of which remained inside the underground inner sanctum of her fortress—would eventually contain her accumulated knowledge of mechu-deru and Sith alchemy, along with her philosophical views on the Force and instructions detailing the creation of a holocron.

Harnessing the dark side energy spread throughout the planet Tython, Lord Darzu used her fortress to research the creation of machine-organic hybrids known as technobeasts. In this pursuit, she studied the anatomy of several different species, documenting her work through a range of notes and sketches. With her knowledge of Sith alchemy and mechu-deru, Darzu concocted the nanogene spore, a technovirus capable of growing metallic tumors on a victim's body. By means of a new incantation called mechu-deru vitae, she used the nanogene spore to transform living beings into Sithspawn mutants—technobeasts.

Using her stronghold to house the technobeasts, Darzu organized the creatures into an army known as the Metanecrons, forming the front line of her force against the Republic and the Jedi during the Sictis Wars. Bound to Darzu's will, the technobeasts were capable of infecting other beings with the virus, assimilating the Dark Lord's conquered foes into her legion of Sithspawn cyborgs. Under Darzu's reign, the technobeasts came to be regarded as the defining horror of the Sictis Wars.

By 1230 BBY, an alliance once established between Lord Darzu and the Mecrosa Order—a secretive group of assassins with former ties to the Sith—had fallen apart. The Mecrosa sought revenge against Darzu for an unwanted incursion in the Tapani sector, their territory. The Dark Lord also faced betrayal from her own Sith followers, who somehow conspired in a plot to end her life. The Mecrosa fulfilled this plot—along with their revenge—by poisoning Darzu to death on the planet Tython.

Despite being deemed a Sith victory, the end of the Sictis Wars—concurrent with Darzu's death—left no clear line of succession for another individual to seize the mantle of Dark Lord.The fall of Darzu also halted the production of new technobeasts, though future Sith Lords continued to use them, albeit in smaller numbers, until the New Sith Wars finally ended in 1000 BBY. Over two hundred years after the end of Darzu's reign, some of her technobeasts remained active, wandering throughout her stronghold on Tython without purpose or direction. The holocron of Lord Darzu—the last vestige of her power—radiated a dark side energy throughout the stronghold, drawing the remaining technobeasts to congregate around it. In 990 BBY, these technobeasts were destroyed by Darth Bane, a survivor of the New Sith Wars who ventured into Darzu's fortress, retrieved her holocron and ultimately uncovered the secrets to building such a device of his own. Centuries later, a number of scrolls containing Darzu's secrets came into the possession of Roganda Ismaren and Cronal, two Dark Side Adepts of the Galactic Empire. In the era of the galactic Yuuzhan Vong War, the feats of Belia Darzu were briefly mentioned in Droids, Technology and the Force, an essay written by Jedi Knight Tam Azur-Jamin.

As a shape-shifter, Darzu commonly assumed the guise of a tall Human woman with short brown hair. Appearing roughly thirty years old in this form, she possessed a sly, almost crafty look to her facial features. The avatar of Darzu's holocron—mimicking the Dark Lord's appearance and mannerisms—alternated through several different physical forms, even while in the middle of a conversation.

Belia Darzu was a Force-sensitive individual who became a dark side marauder, a role that combined physical prowess and the ability to wield the power of the Force for violent purposes. As a member of the Shi'ido race, Darzu was also capable of altering her physical form. This allowed her to mimic the appearance of the Human, Twi'lek, Iridonian, or Cerean species, as well as different genders. During her tenure as a Sith Lord, Darzu created a Sith holocron, instilling it with her own knowledge of the secrets to building such a device. This included the Rite of Commencement, a long and complex ritual that trapped the cognitive essence of the creator into the capstone of the holocron.

Skilled in the dark side arts of Sith alchemy and mechu-deru, Darzu used her knowledge of both to devise the nanogene spore, as well as the offshoot technique of mechu-deru vitae. Developed from her own research, Darzu's technovirus consisted of tiny nanogene droids. Upon skin contact with the victim, the virus grew metallic tumors over their bodies and ultimately lobotomized their frontal lobes, irreversibly transforming them into technobeasts. The technobeasts were bound to the will of Darzu, whose influence over the mutants compelled them to guard the Dark Lord's holocron even centuries after her death.

As a Sith Lord, Darzu wore a self-crafted suit of dark armor for optimal protection when engaging multiple Jedi opponents. Imbued with the power of the dark side and worth 37,000 credits, this heavy plated battle armor bestowed enhanced physical strength upon its bearer, as well as stealth capabilities. In her typical Human appearance, Darzu garbed a dark, form fitting flight suit with a pale yellow vest that left her arms bare, save for a pair of short black sleeves covering her elbows. Complementing this outfit were a pair of dark boots and yellow gloves, along with a red flight cap and a belt.

Belia Darzu was first mentioned in The Dark Side Sourcebook, a roleplaying sourcebook published in 2001 as a supplement for the first edition of Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game. In 2006, two images illustrated by Doug Alexander Gregory—one from The Dark Side Sourcebook showing a dark side marauder, and another from the Ultimate Alien Anthology featuring a Shi'ido changeling—were retconned by Abel G. Peña as depictions of Darzu's physical appearance, verifying the character's species. Darzu's likeness was later used for the "Dark Side Enforcer" figurine from Star Wars Miniatures: Champions of the Force, resembling the original dark side marauder. In 2007, Darzu made her debut appearance (though only as a holocron gatekeeper) in Darth Bane: Rule of Two, the sophomore novel of Drew Karpyshyn's Darth Bane Trilogy. The names of three demonic figures depicted in John Milton's Paradise Lost—Belial, Moloch and Mammon—were used to identify the Shi'ido characters of "Belia Darzu", "Moloch Hoole" and "Mammon Hoole."

• The Dark Side Sourcebook
• Ultimate Alien Anthology
• The New Essential Guide to Weapons and Technology
• Droids, Technology and the Force: A Clash of Phenomena on Hyperspace
• Vader: The Ultimate Guide
• Evil Never Dies: The Sith Dynasties on Hyperspace
• The New Essential Guide to Droids
• Star Wars Roleplaying Game Saga Edition Core Rulebook
• Star Wars Annual 2009
• The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
• The Essential Atlas