Emperor Zaldereon

Emperor **Zaldereon**, also known as **Zaldereon IX**, is an immensely powerful Force-sensitive "human" male who reigns as Emperor of Zakuul and the greater Eternal Empire. Widely considered to be the greatest ruler Zakuul has ever known, it was later revealed that **Zaldereon** is but one in a long line of mortal 'masks' worn by an ancient cosmic entity of pure evil and malice, who simultaneously inhabits a number of other vessels and fleshy puppets to enact his will throughout the cosmos, masquerading as both the charming young senator from the extra-galactic human world of Terra, a renowned Jedi Master and King of New Alderaan, as well as an infamous crime lord and Sith terrorist.

## Biography

Zaldereon's origins are a mystery. A nobleman born to one of the many feuding warlords of Zakuul in 19 BBY, Zaldereon was an insignificant figure fighting in the perpetual civil wars of the once-glamorous world until the Year of the Great Storm: 4 ABY. After the heavens opened in a rift of pure energy, Varian returned to the Spire as the last survivor of a great, seemingly unwinnable battle in the swamps in which both his father and his arch-nemesis were slain.

Zaldereon claimed his birthright, marshaling his father's armies, but moreover proclaimed himself the prophesied Demon Saviour, an immortal messiah of ancient myth who would restore Zakuul to glory. Laughter greeted his oratory at first, then disbelief, then rank terror, as Zaldereon proved his supposed apotheosis with feats of power that turned entire enemy armies to ash. His eyes of celestial fire seemingly hypnotized warlords into pledging fealty, his vast storms of lightning restored power to the Old World, and shambling scores of Zakuul dead rose from the swamps again to serve their deity.

If there was any doubt to Varian's divinity, it was quelled when the legendary Eternal Throne was recovered from the dusty archives of a museum and responded to his presence, activating for the first time in millennia. Within a year, Zakuul and all its holdings answered once more to a supreme Emperor. Over the course of the next century, Zakuul saw many strange red-skinned demons join the armies of the dead to fight for their ageless Saviour, reforging an Eternal Empire of resplendent wealth out of the Rakatan Archipelago and the Dark Worlds of the Nihil Retreat, upon uniting the Empire of Zakuul with the Sith Eternal, over whom he regained full control.

Restoring the Force to the Rakata, they hailed him their Infinite Emperor, who unlocked the mysteries of the Star Forges to not only transform Zakuul into a post-scarcity utopia of droid caretakers and endless pleasures, but create a new Eternal Fleet of automated ships that would carry an exponentially growing army of droids, Technobeasts and ghouls far and wide to conquer nearly the entire Unknown Regions and the seven satellite galaxies, as well as performing vast works of cosmic engineering that included terraforming, xenoforming and the construction of Worldcraft, skyhooks, Dyson spheres and all manner of space habitats. Yet after decades of prosperity veiled from the eyes of the greater galaxy by the hyperspatial disturbances of the Unknown Regions, whispers grow in its darkest depths.

Rumours abound that Zaldereon is but the vessel of an ancient spirit of evil. The True Sith have returned, they say, the Rakata once again their glorious Builders, and Zakuul is only the throne of a long-silent Lord of Darkness poised to strangle the entire galaxy.

At some point, the Emperor embarked on a Great Journey, from which he returned at the head of an extra-galactic force from beyond the Unknown Regions known as the Terran Empire, into which he absorbed Zakuul and his other territories, who have since gained a seat within the Alliance Senate, with their representative eventually rising to become Head-Of-State following a catastrophic alien invasion which was eventually revealed to be a ploy by these Terrans to weaken the galaxy for their takeover, allowing the young man to dissolve the Alliance and conquer the galaxy upon revealing himself as the enigmatic Terran Emperor, Zaldereon himself, at which point he was discovered to be the same person the whole time, the minds of the galactic populace unable to make the connection due to some manner of dark spell cast upon them until his coronation.

## Physical Appearance

Zaldereon is an exact copy of Scythian's original form, and is thus the peak of physical perfection and masculinity, endowed with an incredibly muscular build and infinite charisma and beauty, the only differences being that Zaldereon originally sported dark brown hair streaked with silver, and narrow eyes of reptilian yellow, but he has since merged with his other vessel, gaining his characteristic white hair and purple eyes.

Zaldereon wears exquisite robes of a rich midnight blue trimmed with gold, framed by a many-layered cloak of dyed bantha fur held in place by twines of aurodium connected to broad shoulderguards. Beneath a high inverted collar of naval aesthetic is a breastplate of polished white plasteel sculpted into the draconian countenance of Zildrog. A kilt of leather lappets obscures a lightsaber hanging loosely from the elaborately embroidered belt. Black trousers of fine silk and knee-length rancor hide boots complete an outfit of such taste and evident expense that it can only be fit for royalty. He continues wearing such apparel after revealing his true identity as the Terran Emperor and Dark Lord of the Sith.

## Personality

A figure of outward benevolence and nobility, Zaldereon is calm, calculating and imperious. His passive if rich baritones mask an innate indifferent cruelty to his voice, an eternal sneer of cold command lending insight to his true nature: a cynical, bored and utterly amoral rationalist. He hopes to remake the universe in his image, ridding the galaxy of death and forging a post-scarcity utopia. Zakuul is the instrument of that goal.

Upon shedding his identity as Zaldereon and renaming himself Scythian, the undisputed Immortal Emperor of Evil, he revealed his true nature, showing that the traits he had displayed before were but minor facets of a greater whole, and that Zaldereon and Damian were the same, yet subtly distinct individuals, both of whom were simply aspects of an omnipotent being, with Scythian being the final merger and 'true' incarnation of the First Evil's primordial self.

## Equipment

As an aspect of Emperor Scythian, Zaldereon has access to a wide array of lightsabers, but normally just uses the one he built during his youth, which comes with a navy blue blade of unusual length, complete with an electrum hilt and a black foam grip, as well as a crown of platinum that adorns the emitter. He also usually has a number of Sith amulets and talismans embedded in white satin gloves. Zaldereon's primary mode of transport is an Upsilon-class command shuttle known as the *Golden Fleece*, which he continues to use upon revealing his true identity.