Cronal

During the time of the Galactic Empire, the true origins of Blackhole were shrouded in mystery. Some whispered that he had been a senatorial page taken under Palpatine's protection, while others claimed he was once an assistant within the Jedi Archives on Coruscant who succumbed to the dark side of the Force. Palpatine's inner circle recognized him as a Prophet of the Dark Side, a Sith offshoot based on Dromund Kaas. However, his involvement with dark and forbidden knowledge ran even deeper.

In truth, Lord Cronal had been a member of the Sorcerers of Rhand, the leaders of a dark-side cult residing in the Perann Nebula within the Unknown Regions, connected to the Nihil Retreat. Shortly after his birth, the Sorcerers took him and raised him as one of their own, teaching him abilities like Darksight. It was through Darksight that he eventually left the Sorcerers and the Unknown Regions, seeking out the Prophets of the Dark Side on Dromund Kaas, and later joining the Empire. During this period, he fathered a daughter, Sariss, who remained unaware of his identity. As Cronal and the other Prophets mistreated her, Sariss suspected one of them was her father, but never discovered who. As a Prophet, Cronal also assisted in the training of Palpatine's Inquisitor Jerec, introducing him to the legend of the Valley of the Jedi.

Palpatine was greatly impressed by Cronal's unrivaled divination skills and the accuracy of his visions. However, Cronal was secretly using his Darksight not only to foresee the future but also to manipulate it. At the same time, Cronal feared that his fellow Prophets were turning against him. When Palpatine recognized Cronal's undeniable power and appointed him as the head of Imperial Intelligence, Cronal felt that it was a timely intervention. Adopting the codename Blackhole, Cronal departed from the Prophets and entered Imperial Intelligence.

Lord Cronal's integration into Imperial Intelligence was so seamless that few even noticed his arrival. Cronal maintained extreme secrecy, surpassing even the Emperor's own reclusiveness, which fueled the Emperor's distrust. He primarily operated through droids, agents, and various fronts. When he did appear, Cronal used a holographic transmitter with an image distorter, identifying himself as "Blackhole." Blackhole typically appeared as a vaguely humanoid figure, ranging from 1.8 to three meters in height, with a body resembling a shimmering starscape or the robes of the Prophets of the Dark Side. The figure's head was devoid of features, with eyes appearing and disappearing, and the voice was modulated to be androgynous.

Only a select few knew Cronal's true appearance: a shriveled, weakened, and aged man. Consumed by the dark side, Cronal had shed what remained of his former self. The dark side drained his physical and mental well-being, forcing him to reside in a specially designed life support chamber. To assist his servant, Palpatine provided Cronal with a Neimoidian mechano-assembly capable of transporting the spherical chamber on its insect-like legs.

As the director of Intelligence, Cronal was granted virtually unlimited access to and control over the Imperial HoloNet. He could seize control of and appear in any holocomm unit within the Imperial Navy or any connected to the few remaining civilian HoloNet nodes. However, instead of using this power for his own ambitions, he spent most of his time meditating in his sanctum, awaiting visions from the dark side of the Force.

Cronal was given his own ship, the Imperial-class Star Destroyer Singularity, a wing of TIE/LN starfighters, the 123rd Nightstalker Group, and his own division of shadow stormtroopers, all coated in a black stygian-triprismatic polymer that enhanced their stealth capabilities. Shortly after assuming his role as head of Imperial Intelligence, Cronal became convinced that his life was in danger and relocated to the Singularity, where he would spend the remainder of his career on the move.

Cronal also served as one of the Emperor's Hands, Palpatine's personal agents, in addition to his Intelligence position. While many Hands possessed combat skills, Blackhole utilized fear and paranoia as his weapons.

Blackhole excelled in both Sith Alchemy and genetic engineering, earning the title "monster maker" for his ability to transform living beings into Sithspawn. When Cronal needed subjects for his experiments, he turned to Tuzin Gast, whose Project Chubar provided him with a Kowakian monkey-lizard and a Gamorrean. Cronal's alchemical experiments on these two subjects led to the creation of the Dark Jedi "twins" Pic and Gorc, who later served under Jerec.

Cronal was also among Palpatine's many servants who worked to merge technology and the Force. Cronal was tasked with modifying all of the Empire's Force detectors using his "Science of Darkness." By incorporating thaissen crystals from Mimban and techniques adapted from lightsaber construction, Cronal enhanced the Force detectors, enabling them to amplify any detected Force and sense dark-side tendencies in the subject. Throughout his work, Cronal drew upon the secrets of the long-dead Sith Lord Belia Darzu, preserved in Sith scrolls for millennia.

Approximately one year after the Battle of Yavin, the Rebellion adopted a new strategy: avoiding direct confrontations with the Empire and focusing on recruitment. Upon learning of this plan, Cronal promptly informed Darth Vader, Palpatine's apprentice. While Cronal wanted to eliminate the Rebel recruiters one by one, Vader knew that this would provoke the Empire, and instead ordered the Intelligence Director to kidnap them without leaving any trace of Imperial involvement. Cronal learned that Vader's children, Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa, were planning to visit Vorzyd V to contact local sympathizers, and decided to target them first. He ordered his stormtroopers to stun and capture the two Rebels, and the soldiers succeeded in their mission. Cronal's troops also apprehended another pair of Rebels, Falud and Paxin.

Cronal's stormtroopers transported the four Rebels to the spaceport, where the Intelligence Director began his interrogation. Paralysis beams held the Rebels in place as Cronal used an interrogation droid on each of them. The first three did not know the name of their contact, leaving only Leia to face the droid's mind probe. However, the droids C-3PO and R2-D2 had spotted him and infiltrated the ship, severing the paralysis beams. Luke attempted to attack Cronal, only to be surprised when his hand passed through the holographic apparition. Cronal and his soldiers pursued the group as they fled the ship into the spaceport. He ordered his troops to hold their fire due to the presence of witnesses.

Vader later reprimanded Cronal for his failure, dismissing his excuses and ordering him to capture the Rebels and eliminate their contact. Cronal placed a tail on them, and when Luke Skywalker left to meet with the Rebel contact, his troopers followed him. However, the local Rebel sympathizers had made thorough preparations, and with their assistance, Luke soon lost his pursuers. Cronal ordered his forces to close in and capture Luke, but Luke evaded the soldiers and completed his meeting. The Director soon experienced a stroke of luck when the Freelies, a local gang, kidnapped Leia Organa and offered her return for a ransom. Cronal learned of this through one of his spies, Rbann, and ordered him to capture a Freelie. After successfully capturing one, Cronal presided over his interrogation, which was interrupted by Luke Skywalker's arrival. Luke disabled the holographic transmitter and headed for the Freelie hideout. Cronal, knowing its location, launched an assault with his troops. Frustrated with excuses, he urged his soldiers to press the attack, but they ultimately failed, and the Rebels escaped.

Later, the Rebellion was informed of the encounter with Blackhole during debriefing. They instructed C-3PO to provide all information about the mysterious figure to the Rebel supercomputer Mistress Mnemos, who obtained Threepio's account of the events on Vorzyd V and visual data of Blackhole from his memories. Mistress Mnemos cross-referenced the data and located an espionage feed from a Rebel spy in the Imperial fleet, revealing an earlier encounter between Vader and Blackhole.

One of Cronal's subsequent endeavors as the head of the Imperial Security Bureau (ISB) involved locating a large shipment of ryll that had vanished en route to an Alliance medical facility. Many ISB agents were tasked with pursuing various leads, but Cronal's own sources and abilities ultimately revealed that the shipment was located on Skip 52, an asteroid in the Smuggler's Run near Wrea. A group of ISB agents, supported by shadow stormtroopers, were dispatched to the asteroid, where they ambushed and eliminated the smugglers who had originally stolen the shipment. Blackhole observed the operation through the hologram from his mechno-assembly. However, as the agents began securing the ryll containers, the Alliance agents searching for the shipment arrived. Despite sustaining casualties during the firefight with the smugglers, the ISB forces fought valiantly, fighting to the death with no means of retreat. The battle turned in the Rebels' favor, resulting in the elimination of the entire ISB force. Blackhole's mechno-assembly was damaged in the firefight, but he vowed retribution before his hologram faded. Believing they had won, the main Alliance forces departed the asteroid, while the remaining agents began securing the shipment. However, within a few hours, another group of ISB agents arrived, having independently discovered the location of the ryll. The few remaining Rebels and smugglers had no chance in the ensuing firefight, so they boarded one of the transports and escaped with a small number of ryll crates. Nevertheless, the main shipment ended up in the hands of the ISB, and the operation was deemed a success.

Around 2 ABY, Cronal dispatched a group of ISB agents led by Captain Jeffren Brek on a mission to locate and capture the Dathmomiri Nightsister Kyrisa. She had developed exceptional skill in the power of Animal friendship, and Cronal wanted to test his theories about applying beast mastery in espionage. However, as Cronal's madness and paranoia grew, the Empire relied on him less, although he remained a formidable enemy of the Alliance. The Alliance launched its own attacks against Blackhole, including a mission to infiltrate his Star Destroyer. The outcome of this mission is unknown, but at some point after the ryll affair, Lord Cronal vanished completely, having been banished to the Outer Rim Territories. In reality, Cronal orchestrated his own banishment. Cronal's disappearance allowed Ysanne Isard to rise to power as Director of Imperial Intelligence. In exile, Cronal delved into the ancient Sith and amassed extensive knowledge of their ways, as well as other dark-side traditions. He returned to the Unknown Regions, using his Darksight ability to guide him. Cronal first traveled to the Gunninga Gap, where he discovered remnants of the Taurannik Codex, which had been destroyed in the Muurshantre Extinction over a hundred thousand years prior. The knowledge within the Codex helped him locate the Temple of Korman Lao, where he uncovered information that he later used to summon the spirit of the Sith King Dathka Graush. From Graush, he learned the teachings of Sith Alchemy. He also became proficient in modern technology, giving him the confidence to attempt galactic domination.

Following Palpatine's apparent death at Endor, Cronal returned from exile and initiated his plans. He journeyed to Coruscant, where he and Emperor Sate Pestage established the Church of the Dark Side, a counterfeit version of the Prophets of the Dark Side designed to fill a void in Imperial spirituality and morale. Cronal knew that Palpatine had survived and resumed his service as one of Palpatine's Dark Side Adepts. Approximately one year after Endor, Cronal contacted his former student Jerec on behalf of his master, tasking Jerec with locating the Valley of the Jedi for the Emperor. As a demonstration of loyalty, Jerec relinquished his Star Destroyer Vengeance II to Cronal to return to Byss and Palpatine.

At some point after Endor, Cronal appeared on the planet Trailia, where he began abducting the native Trailians to conduct alchemical experiments, intending to transform the planet's population into a race of dark-side warriors to be used against the New Republic. Cronal conducted his experiments from a hidden lab in the Trailian jungle, guarded by his own alchemical creations. Although he was pleased with his creations and their success on his missions, Cronal's processes were flawed, resulting in unstable warriors who struggled to follow orders. His plans for Trailia were ultimately foiled.

Later in 5 ABY, Cronal, now known as "Shadowspawn," became a warlord, leading one of the many Imperial splinter factions that opposed the New Republic. He had developed a technique to control people's minds, which he used on Nick Rostu. Nick then became the figure known to the galaxy as 'Shadowspawn'. Blackhole had more of these Pawns, all people he had taken prisoner in his campaigns. Following the death of their master, several of the Emperor's Royal Guards who had not participated in the mass suicides that thinned their ranks joined Shadowspawn's cause. Shadowspawn managed to capture and hold the Inner Rim, establishing his base of operations on the strategically important world of Mindor. With his shadow stormtroopers deployed, Shadowspawn committed acts of terrorism and piracy, as well as widespread slaughter against worlds of the New Republic. Shadowspawn hoped to shatter the Republic's dominance and instill fear of an Imperial and Sith resurgence. To this end, he proclaimed himself the new Galactic Emperor, intending to fully restore the Galactic Empire.

Refusing to tolerate Shadowspawn's destructive power grab, Luke Skywalker, now a General of the New Republic, led the campaign against Shadowspawn to liberate the conquered worlds of the Inner Rim, resulting in a prolonged and bloody series of battles that claimed thousands of lives. Prophecy foretold that Shadowspawn would face a significant obstacle, which he believed to be Skywalker. Eager for the confrontation, the warlord devised a trap for the general. Unbeknownst to Skywalker, he also planned to transfer his soul from his aging body into Skywalker's youthful one.

Toward the end of the campaign, his troops fortified themselves on Mindor in preparation for Skywalker's inevitable assault. Shadowspawn hoped to lure the Republic's heroes into his trap. Skywalker soon attacked the planet, aided by Fenn Shysa's Mandalorian Protectors, Han Solo, Leia Organa, Chewbacca, C-3PO, R2-D2, and the pilots of Rogue Squadron.

Shadowspawn and his shadow stormtroopers fought against Skywalker and his allies in the Battle of Mindor, with the warlord (actually Nick Rostu) engaging his enemy with an alchemically enhanced sword, although he had underestimated the resourcefulness of his foes.

As the battle unfolded, Shadowspawn sensed another being strong with the Force, though her power was untrained, raw, and inexperienced. He realized that it was Skywalker's twin sister, Leia Organa. Like Darth Vader before him, he considered that if one sibling could not be seduced, then perhaps the other could. While Skywalker was trained in the ways of the Jedi, Organa was not. With her powerful diplomatic skills and royal family connection, Shadowspawn could destroy the New Republic from within.

The arduous battle concluded with the Mandalorians' participation on the Republic's side turning the tide. Shadowspawn's men fought to the death, resulting in immense casualties on both sides. Eventually, Skywalker discovered Shadowspawn's true identity and managed to kill Blackhole by disrupting his control of the Shadow Crown, which resulted in him and his escape vessel being petrified by the meltmassif via his orifices while in hyperspace. Disgusted by what he perceived as a tremendous waste, Skywalker resigned from the New Republic military as a result of the events on Mindor and focused on his Jedi studies.

Somehow, Cronal resurrected himself using the dark side and later served the resurrected Darth Sidious, although conflicting reports suggest that "Cronal" during these instances was actually Grand Vizier Sate Pestage, who adopted the Blackhole codename and used one of Cronal's confiscated distorters to perpetuate the deception and promote Sidious's Dark Empire.

During the Imperial Civil War, at its most intense point, Emperor Palpatine orchestrated the capture of Mara Jade, a former Imperial agent who had betrayed the Empire. She severed her connection to Palpatine's telepathic commands and deserted his service after she assassinated a clone of Luke Skywalker in 9 ABY. After her capture during a mission in the Senex sector, she was imprisoned by Cronal. However, Kyle Katarn led New Republic forces to rescue her.

The whereabouts of Cronal following these events remained a mystery, fueling speculation. Carnor Jax, an Imperial leader who had once served as one of Blackhole's stormtroopers, later seized power after Palpatine's ultimate demise. Jax managed to incorporate some of Cronal's forces into his own army. Lord Cronal played a role in transforming Irek Ismaren into the cyborg known as Lord Nyax. Cronal barely survived the cyborg's destructive rampage, and he was compelled to use a lightsaber to inflict damage upon Nyax's mind.

The reality, however, was that Cronal was severely wounded and broken. Under the alias "Perek," he attempted to establish himself as a warlord on the planet Andooweel. Consumed by a newfound obsession with creating art, which he called "Stygian Art," he envisioned using advanced cybernetics to overthrow both the Imperial Remnant and the New Republic, thereby creating an "Empire of art." He infected Luke Skywalker's cybernetic hand with his Mechu-deru, causing it to transform into a grotesque tendril. However, the appendage quickly spiraled out of Cronal's control and strangled him to death of its own accord. Even as Luke severed it from his body with his lightsaber, the life of Lord Cronal was finally extinguished.

Lord Cronal was an individual of great cunning, and he was also one of Palpatine's most formidable dark-side sorcerers. However, his extensive involvement with the dark side of the Force exacted a heavy toll on him. Physically, the dark side eroded Cronal's body, leaving him frail, shrunken, and reliant on his life-support chamber. Mentally, Cronal also suffered, with each vision and use of the dark side chipping away at his sanity. He developed paranoia regarding nonexistent threats to his life, which drove him further into isolation. Cronal's penchant for marking his forces in black was another indication of his eccentricity, although it also provided a tactical advantage. He also possessed the ability to manipulate his adversaries, causing them to play directly into his schemes. He was considered to be vicious in temperament, and he ordered his troops to devastate numerous Republic worlds, resulting in widespread slaughter and carnage in the year following the Battle of Endor. He was eager to confront Skywalker on Mindor, but he proved to be reckless when his trap failed. Consequently, he was defeated, but not before his soldiers fought to the last man.

His objectives aligned with the teachings of the Rhandites, specifically the philosophical principles centered around the Way of the Dark. Even his codename was deliberately chosen to represent destruction incarnate, which is why he referred to himself as Blackhole. He was deeply committed to the concept of destruction, as he believed it to be the only true power in the cosmos. Consequently, he desired an unending cycle of entropy until all of existence was obliterated, at which point he would accept his fate. As a result, he held a low opinion of the Prophets of the Dark Side, whom he considered to be conjurers who lacked a true understanding of purpose. Similarly, he believed that individuals like Palpatine were delusional, as they sought to control the Dark when, in reality, the opposite was true. In Palpatine's case, he admired his machinations during the Clone Wars but believed that he had abandoned the power of destruction when he chose to rule the Galactic Empire. In contrast, he viewed Darth Vader as a mere blunt instrument, a brutish thug who failed to recognize the power he possessed. Regardless, he felt nothing but disdain for his comrades, whom he believed were either ignorant of the true aspect of the universe through the Dark or were simply imposters. This meant that he held a dim view of the Sith, whom he considered unworthy acolytes of bringing about the Way of the Dark, and he regarded himself as the sole true disciple of this path.

Cronal was heavily involved in the power struggles and political machinations that were essential for someone in his position to survive within Palpatine's court. Consequently, he often feigned jealousy towards individuals like Darth Vader and even appeared to fail in order to cause his adversaries to underestimate him. As a result, he frequently employed intricate strategies and exploited the weaknesses of his foes. One example of this was his use of eye gestures and a softer tone to evoke sympathy among the Mon Calamari, who assessed a person's worth based on their eyes. He also navigated the tense relationship between Palpatine and his apprentice, often displaying a rivalry with Darth Vader. Furthermore, he capitalized on perceived strengths in others to distance himself from positions of power. One instance of this was ensuring Darth Vader's success so that the Sith apprentice would remain closer to his master, preventing Palpatine from elevating Cronal to his right-hand man. This served the dual purpose of safeguarding him, as evidenced by his absence from the Death Star II, and diverting the oversight of the Sith's followers away from Cronal, allowing him to conduct his operations in the shadows without interference.

A significant portion of Blackhole's power stemmed from fear and paranoia. Individuals who interacted with him reported experiencing a noticeable chill, despite measurements indicating that the air temperature remained constant. While his physical presence contributed to this fear, Cronal was also capable of inducing fear in others through the Force. After becoming aware of this ability, he also acquired the necessary Sith knowledge and developed techniques that enabled him to transfer his mind into another body. Furthermore, his extensive knowledge of Sith lore allowed him to utilize Sith alchemy to create enhanced objects, such as swords that could withstand lightsaber blows.

His most remarkable strength was his ability to foresee and even influence the future, an ability he referred to as Darksight. Cronal possessed numerous other Force powers, including the ability to control minds, extract thoughts from the minds of others, create Force illusions, and heal himself. Cronal was also fluent in Bothese, Huttese, and Neimoidian.

Cronal asserted that his comprehension of, and command over, the dark side of the Force surpassed that of Darth Vader.

Blackhole's initial appearance occurred in the comic Gambler's World by Russ Manning. Limited information was provided about the character, including his real name and the reason for his appearance in an insubstantial form. He would not reappear under that name until 2001, 23 years later, in the article The Emperor's Pawns, which addressed some of these unanswered questions.

Abel G. Peña, the author of The Emperor's Pawns, originally intended for Blackhole to be Lord Shadowspawn, an Imperial warlord first mentioned in 1993's Dark Empire Sourcebook by Michael Allen Horne, as one of the numerous warlords defeated by the New Republic early in its tenure. Rather than being a holographic projection, Blackhole/Shadowspawn was envisioned as a dark-side spirit returned from death, an idea that Peña would later utilize for the Dark Underlord. However, Pablo Hidalgo had already prepared a biography of Blackhole for the Rebellion Era Sourcebook; to avoid conflicting reports, Hidalgo's biography was used instead of Peña's in the article. Peña later, in The Dark Forces Saga, identified Blackhole with Cronal, a villain from Gamemaster Screen for Second Edition. Minor elements concerning Shadowspawn that were omitted from The Emperor's Pawns were later revived by Peña for use in The History of the Mandalorians, published in 2005.

Joe Corroney had created a preliminary illustration of Blackhole based on the concept that he was Shadowspawn, which he labeled "Blackhole aka Lord Shadowspawn." When Peña's text was removed, Corroney redrew Blackhole, omitting the Sith sword and physical details. When Daniel Wallace was writing The New Essential Chronology, he provided Corroney's original sketch to illustrator Tommy Lee Edwards to serve as the basis for his own illustration of Shadowspawn at Mindor. However, Peña no longer considered the two characters to be the same. In 2004, in collaboration with Wallace, he developed a new framing story for Shadowspawn in an article on Imperial Warlords intended for Polyhedron magazine, but the publication was canceled before the article could be published. The article would have identified Shadowspawn as Atha Prime, the villain from an abandoned project submitted to Lucasfilm by Kenner in 1985.

Shadowspawn made a return to the Star Wars franchise as the primary antagonist in Matthew Stover's Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor, released in December 2008. Stover's novel adapts and expands upon a brief account of the Battle of Mindor provided in The Essential Chronology. A blurb of the book released by StarWars.com offered several new details regarding Shadowspawn's character, identifying him as a Prophet of the Dark Side and an Imperial Intelligence agent, similar to Blackhole. The phrasing in the blurb concerning Shadowspawn's exile and subsequent return following Palpatine's death also mirrored Kenner's brief for the Atha Prime figure, leading to speculation on the Jedi Council Forums that the character would ultimately be revealed to be Cronal and Atha Prime simultaneously. Approximately one month before the novel's release, The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia revealed that Cronal and Shadowspawn are, in fact, the same character. While browsing the Jedi Council Forums thread on Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor, cover artist Dave Seeley noticed that some individuals expressed disappointment that the cover did not feature Shadowspawn. This prompted him to create a back cover for the book featuring its primary villain. Drawing inspiration from Tommy Lee Edwards' original artwork from The New Essential Chronology, Seeley aimed to add more detail to Shadowspawn's design, incorporating influences from both Eastern and Western cultures.

In 2010, Hasbro released a set in their line of Comic Packs that included a reprint of Classic Star Wars: The Early Adventures 1 and featured a black-armored stormtrooper and a figurine depicting the holographic image of Blackhole.

In 2014, part 3 of the article, The Imperial Warlords: Despoilers of an Empire, repeatedly referred to Cronal as a Rhandite, which implies that he may not have been considered a true Sorcerer of Rhand.