Ghymnon existed as a sentient pathogen without cells, and was the only life form on the planet [Uokara], situated in the Unknown Regions. This pathogen blanketed the world for countless years, causing the death of many who tried to take control of it. During the Imperial Era, [Darth Vader](/article/anakin_skywalker], a Sith Lord, investigated the world for the Galactic Empire, yet he failed to detect Ghymnon, who then infected the Sith through his respirator.
While in quarantine inside of a bacta tank, Vader lost consciousness and was faced with Ghymnon in a mind-altering experience. This hallucination was influenced by the pathogen's concentration and built from the Sith's deepest fears. Ghymnon launched an assault on Vader while criticizing him as an invader, then threw him into a fiery abyss, with the intent to destroy the Sith's mind. Instead, Vader gained command over the flames and used them to overcome the infection, forcing the pathogen's physical form out through his eyes, where it was neutralized by the bacta. Afterwards, the Sith commanded range troopers to completely eliminate Ghymnon from Uokara's surface.
Ghymnon, a sentient microscopic pathogen without cells, was the sole inhabitant and a native to Uokara, a Class IV planet located in the Unknown Regions. For millions of years, the pathogen enveloped the entire planet, resulting in the death of countless would-be conquerors and tyrants throughout the ages.
During the reign of the Galactic Empire, Darth Vader, the Sith Lord and a human cyborg, surveyed Uokara for the Empire. He mistakenly determined that the planet was devoid of inhabitants and sentient life that could oppose the Empire, thus authorizing Imperial mining operations there. However, while on the planet, Ghymnon infected the Sith by infiltrating his respirator and latching onto Vader's brain stem. Following the survey, the Sith underwent a standard Imperial quarantine to prevent any potential infection, during which irregularities were detected in his biometrics while he was immersed in a bacta tank. A diagnostic scan uncovered Ghymnon's presence, but the pathogen could not be identified. The bacta was only capable of sterilizing external plasmoids, but unable to affect anything internal to the Sith's system.
Vader then lost consciousness, hallucinating Ghymnon as a towering alien figure who confronted the Sith within his own infected mind. This confrontation occurred amidst a blazing world of poisoned sands, created by the pathogen from Vader's own fears. The pathogen declared that Vader would not claim Uokara without a fight, explaining that the world they were now in was defined by the pathogen's own focus when the Sith discovered he lacked his lightsaber. The pathogen then attacked with a huge blade, slicing off Vader's right hand and chastising the Sith for missing the presence on Uokara during the survey. When Vader used the Force to push Ghymnon back, the pathogen was unimpressed, shattering Vader's helmet and lifting the Sith by the throat before casting him into a stream of fire.
Vader's mental form began to burn away, which Ghymnon believed would lead to the death of his mind followed shortly by that of his physical form; however, using his fear as fuel, Vader took control of the fire an used it to recreate his own form. Stepping forward, he shattered Ghymnon's blade as the shocked pathogen attacked once more. Recognizing defeat, the pathogen declared that all those like Vader met the same end, and so too would Vader, even if the pathogen was not the one to cause it. Vader then slashed Ghymnon's towering form across the chest with a lightsaber made from the flames, defeating the hallucination within his mind.
The pathogen was then ejected from Vader's physical body through his eyes and neutralized by the surrounding bacta. Upon exiting quarantine, the Sith deployed range troopers of the Imperial range corps to Uokara. There, they utilized mobile bacta units to eliminate Ghymnon's presence throughout Uokara by spraying bacta onto the world's surfaces and any instances of the pathogen they encountered. Vader used his lightsaber to destroy one piece of Ghymnon that was attached to a rock. The Sith noted the demise of Uokara's sole inhabitant within Imperial records.
Ghymnon held a low opinion of those who attempted to conquer Uokara, believing that all such lords would eventually meet their end one way or another. It even claimed that Vader was inferior to those who came before him. Deeming the Sith a butcher, the pathogen was able to infect him with ease, attributing Vader's failure to detect the inhabitant covering Uokara to sheer arrogance.
With a process that had been refined to a science, Ghymnon was able to isolate Vader within his own mind, in a world controlled by the pathogen's focus. Refusing to acknowledge that Vader had been underestimated, the pathogen was shocked when Vader seized control of the fires. However, it soon accepted defeat and used its last exchange with Vader to assure the Sith that he would one day meet his end.
The pathogen's physical form was that of a red liquid, capable of separating into distinct pieces and covering an entire planet. The form that Ghymnon manifested within Vader's mind was that of a bipedal, alien-like figure that towered over Vader, with layered, overlapping white strands of skin, red eyes, spiked shoulder blades and wrists, and two huge teeth on the lower jaw. The form wielded a huge blade in its three-fingered hands and possessed the strength to fully lift Vader from the ground while standing on clawed, two-toed feet.
Ghymnon was featured in "The Inhabitant," a story penned by Steve Orlando, illustrated by Paul Davidson, and published in the comic book Darth Vader – Black, White & Red 4 on July 26, 2023.