Azrakel

The precise origins of Azrakel are unclear; however, it's believed that Emperor Palpatine—also known as Darth Sidious—initiated a brutal experiment to ascertain the duration it would take to shatter an unprepared mind upon exposure to the full might of the dark side of the Force. While still a young man, Azrakel was taken by Sidious, who, recognizing his significant Force potential, believed he would be the ideal subject for his dark side experiment. With the cooperation of Kadann, the leader of the Prophets of the Dark Side, the Sith Lord began subjecting Azrakel to a series of experimental procedures, employing various techniques he hoped would break the young man and transform him into a mindless slave of the dark side, loyal to Sidious until his demise.

Azrakel proved to be far more resilient than Sidious had anticipated, and the experiments had minimal impact on their initial objective. The Emperor became increasingly bored and frustrated with the seemingly ineffective experiments. Eventually, he conceded that he would never succeed in shaping Azrakel into the warrior he desired, and he abandoned the entire operation. Azrakel was left to perish alone in one of Sidious's numerous hidden facilities, while the Emperor moved on to other matters. Before long, Sidious had completely forgotten about Azrakel's existence. However, Kadann, one of the few others who knew about the experiment, saw potential in Azrakel where the Emperor did not.

Sidious's experiments had left Azrakel in a state of mental emptiness, his mind completely voided by the dark side. Kadann recognized an opportunity for exploitation and decided to secretly train Azrakel as his apprentice, intending to use him to advance his own agenda and, should a coup arise, to help him eliminate the Emperor and his apprentice, Darth Vader. Kadann gradually restored the young man to full health and began plotting how he would train him. As his mind had been left utterly devoid of thought, Kadann was able to mold Azrakel into any type of being he desired, and the Supreme Prophet's training under Sidious proved invaluable in this regard. Behind the Emperor's back, Kadann began to train Azrakel as he himself had been trained, and, unlike the Emperor, was able to break through the man's resilience.

As a result of his unpleasant experiences with the Dark Lord of the Sith, Azrakel harbored a deep-seated hatred for Sidious, which Kadann actively sought to intensify. The Supreme Prophet also taught his apprentice to hate Vader, knowing that the cyborg would pose a significant obstacle to any attempts to seize control of the Empire. After his ordeal at the hands of Palpatine, Azrakel was left with nothing but raw hatred and anger. Exploiting this was easy for Kadann, but controlling it was not, and Azrakel grew to hate Kadann as well. Nevertheless, he continued to serve under the dwarf's tutelage, learning to wield a rare dual bladed lightsaber, red in color, which he used mercilessly against his opponents. A demanding taskmaster, Kadann taught Azrakel to harness the power of the Force and use it to enhance his own abilities. In time, he became strong in both body and the Force, becoming Supreme Prophet Kadann's secret weapon—a tool for increasing his own power.

With his apprentice's training complete, Kadann dispatched Azrakel on a series of covert missions designed to increase his power and influence, and to cripple his enemies' operations. Azrakel performed loyally and effectively, though Kadann was aware of his hatred for him. Sometime before 4 ABY, Azrakel left the service of both the Empire and his master Kadann, preferring not to be under another's command.

Shortly after Azrakel severed ties with the Empire, Sidious and Vader were both killed aboard the second Death Star at Endor, with the remaining Prophets, including Kadann, going into hiding. Although well-concealed in his personal fortress, Kadann was aware that Azrakel still harbored feelings of hatred toward him, which were projected galaxy-wide by the Force. Kadann, however, was not afraid and was prepared for the inevitable confrontation with his former apprentice, knowing that he was far superior to Azrakel in terms of Force ability. With the three figures he had learned to hate gone, Azrakel became a wandering mercenary, operating primarily in remote areas such as the Corporate Sector, the Outer Rim Territories, and even Wild Space. He concealed his talents in the Force from others, becoming a mercenary with a penchant for hate-induced killing sprees. His abilities allowed him to accept virtually any contract and succeed, and he would kill anyone if offered a sufficient amount of money. He gained a reputation as a vengeful and merciless killer, with even some of his employers becoming concerned by the enjoyment he displayed when killing. If anyone inquired about the origin of his double-bladed lightsaber, he simply stated that he had stolen it from a corpse; few ever pursued the matter further, knowing the likely consequences.

After serving as a hired killer for some time, Azrakel began to lose his direction and focus. As Kadann seemed to have vanished completely, he turned his attention to a new target—Luke Skywalker, the son of Darth Vader. Azrakel began plotting an assassination attempt on Skywalker, though he was fully aware that his passion could lead to his death before he had the chance to end the Jedi Knight's life. Before he could put his plans into action, however, he was presented with an opportunity to enact his revenge on Kadann. Imperial Grand Admiral Afsheen Makati, a staunch opponent of the Prophets of the Dark Side, had searched Imperial Intelligence files for any sign of someone he could use to hunt down Kadann. He had discovered the dwarf's bitter pupil, and together they located Kadann, who had since emerged into the open and declared himself Emperor. They traveled to his fortress on Scardia Station, where Azrakel slaughtered the remaining Prophets. Kadann, however, was not present, though the two were patient and awaited their foe's arrival.

Kadann had been trapped on the moon of Yavin 4, though he escaped and returned to Scardia, hoping to find sanctuary. Azrakel and Makati were waiting, and together they killed Kadann with a barrage of laser fire. Their alliance ended shortly thereafter, however, as Makati was himself killed. Azrakel soon learned that the Kadann he had murdered was an impostor, installed by Sate Pestage shortly after Sidious's demise.

Acting on an anonymous tip, Azrakel traveled to the planet Bosthirda, where the true Prophets had been lying low and plotting galactic domination. Azrakel had stolen the glove of Darth Vader from the false Kadann, which significantly enhanced his abilities. He caught the Prophets by surprise, and Kadann's prophecy that he would triumph over his former apprentice proved false, as the Dark Jedi murdered a considerable number of the Prophets with his lightsaber. Kadann was among those struck down by his bitter apprentice, before Azrakel was himself killed. The Prophets were not entirely safe, however, as Lumiya and her apprentice Carnor Jax arrived to finish off the Prophets moments after Azrakel's death.

Little of Azrakel's personality from his early life survived into the Azrakel molded into a slave of the dark side by Darth Sidious and Kadann. He was a vengeful, hateful being, and spent most of his life hunting and killing both those who had wronged him and those he was paid to murder. His lust for revenge led him to track down and kill Kadann not once, but twice, with the latter instance resulting in his own death. He hated being under the command of another and did everything he could to escape Imperial service. However, after meeting someone with a similar ruthless goal, Azrakel was able to work in partnership with Afsheen Makati for a time, though it did not last once their objective was achieved.

Azrakel had little regard for the lives of others and killed many during his time as a mercenary, for no reason other than to release some of his rage. His willingness to commit brutal murder after brutal murder, and the manner in which he did so, caused some distress among those who interacted with him, with even some of his more ruthless employers becoming disturbed by the man's actions. Azrakel did not care, however, and resorted to intimidating anyone who questioned his motives or actions.

Azrakel was a skilled user of the dark side, though he preferred to use brute force in combat, wielding his double-bladed lightsaber to devastating effect. He wore a suit of padded battle armor, red in color, into battle, with a dark mask that covered much of the lower portion of his face. He carried a double-bladed lightsaber, though he was also willing to use just one of the blades produced by the weapon in combat.

Although lightsaber combat was his primary tactic in battle, Azrakel was also able to employ many dark side Force techniques taught to him by Kadann and the Emperor. Among them were Force Alter, Mind Control, Force rage, and Force sense, which, combined with his prowess with a lightsaber, made him a deadly adversary.

Azrakel was conceived by Bill Slavicsek and J.D. Wiker for The Dark Side Sourcebook. He was later referenced in Who's Who: Imperial Grand Admirals and Evil Never Dies: The Sith Dynasties, both penned by Abel G. Peña, with Daniel Wallace serving as co-author on Who's Who: Imperial Grand Admirals, as well as The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia.

• The Dark Side Sourcebook (Initial mention)
• " Who's Who: Imperial Grand Admirals " — Star Wars Insider 66
• Evil Never Dies: The Sith Dynasties on Hyperspace (article) (content now obsolete; backup link)
• The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
• Jedi Academy Training Manual
• Azrakel in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link)