Fortress Vader

**Fortress Vader**, also known as **Darth Vader's castle**, was a stronghold located on the volcanic world of Mustafar. Once the site of a Sith temple, the fortress was built above a Sith cave that still remained. Existing by the time of reign of the Galactic Empire, the Sith Cave contained a dark side locus. Vader's other castle was Bast Castle on Vjun, but he preferred to use Fortress Vader as his personal home.

The castle was designed by the preserved consciousness of the ancient Sith Lord and artist Darth Momin, whose haunted mask possessed an Imperial lieutenant and made him create the fortress's blueprints. Momin meant for it to channel the Force energies from the dark side locus under the castle and open the door to the dark side. The Sith Lord Darth Vader allowed Momin's design to be built using Imperial resources in his possession. Although Vader failed to open the door with the first design, after a trial and error process involving eight more designs, a perfect design was finally built with the ninth. It was able to open the door to the dark side, but when Vader was distracted by a Mustafarian uprising, Momin opened it for himself and resurrected his original body.

Despite Vader's intervention, the army of Mustafarians were able to wipe out the Imperial garrison. Vader retreated to the castle and used its power to do the same to the Mustafarians. Momin then confronted Vader and was able to badly damage Vader in their brief duel. Vader crushed him using a stone slab. With Momin, the Mustafarians, and the Imperial garrison dead, Vader was left alone to open the door to the dark side himself. Vader's spirit entered the portal in search of his dead wife, Padmé Amidala. He returned unsuccessful and used the fortress' power to destroy the portal. He then contacted his master, Darth Sidious, to confirm his planned return to Coruscant. Later, an Imperial Inspector got driven insane by lava fumes by Vader, creating Vader`s servant Vaneé. Ever since than, Vaneé became a devoted servant to Darth Vader.

The castle came to serve as Vader's personal residence and from time to time, he rested inside a bacta tank. On one occasion, his stasis was cut short by Director Orson Krennic of the Death Star project. The two discussed the project at hand. Vader also conversed with Admiral Kendal Ozzel and General Maximilian Veers there about the over stretching efforts to defeat the Rebel Alliance. After Vader`s death, Vaneé attempted to resurrect his master, after hearing the seeming ghost of his master, but it turned out to be a hallucination. Vaneé got trapped for the rest of his life after an encounter with Boba Fett, and eventually mysteriously disappeared. Fortress Vader somehow later got destroyed, and its ruins were guarded by the Alazmec of Winsit.

## Characteristics

Fortress Vader was a castle designed by the Sith Lord Darth Momin and occupied by the Sith Lord Darth Vader. Momin intended for it to tune the Force energies from the dark side locus under it and open the door to the dark side of the Force. It was constructed by Vader himself as a testament to his own might, with the assistance of his Imperial resources. It was located on the site of his greatest defeat, and was built over an ancient Sith cave in the Gahenn Plains.

The complex's location and design came as much from the dark side of the Force as it did Vader's personal history. The central tower was constructed out of obsidian, and its tuning towers served as conduits for the dark side. Within, Vader maintained a bacta tank where he would remove his armor and rest inside. The castle also contained a throne room, from which Vader could take hologram calls and look out across Mustafar.

## History

At some point after 5 ABY, Boba Fett came to the ruined and abandoned castle sometime after he captured Sith cultist Chattar Lal. Lal told the bounty hunter that there were "answers" at Vader's castle before Fett froze him in carbonite at a Mustafarian carbon-freezing chamber located inside the Mensix Mining Facility. At Fortress Vader, Vaneé, having somehow managed to escape being trapped by his hallucinations, told Fett about the castle's past, and also the tales "The Curse of Tarkin" and "Night of the Lava Zombies." In response, Fett told Vaneé the tale "The Haunting of Protocol 66." After that, Vaneé attempted to plant a nightmarish illusion in Fett's mind, but the bounty hunter was able to resist the torment and proceeded to engage Vaneé in a fierce duel. In the end, Fett got the upper hand against Vaneé and defeated him. Afterwards, the bounty hunter departed Mustafar, leaving Vader's castle behind. Vaneé got trapped for the rest of his life, his hallucinations having come back to torment him, and eventually mysteriously disappeared. Fortress Vader, abandoned and vacant, later fell into ruins. Its grounds eventually came to be protected by the Alazmec of Winsit, a Sith cult who colonized Mustafar and protected Corvax Fen.

## Appearances

* Agent of Doom (Mentioned only)
* Ochi of Bestoon (Mentioned only)
* Tales from Vader's Castle, Part I (First appearance)
* Tales from Vader's Castle, Part II
* "The Sith Witch of Mustafar"—*The Further Exploits of Indiana Jones* (In flashback(s))