Tiamat was a Sith sorceress from the Krath cult. She was one of the founding members of the Star Chamber triumvirate and the first High Priest of the sect's Krath. Tiamat was the contemporary of such Sith and Krath giants as Aleema, Exar Kun, Ulic Qel-Droma, and Keto. It's possible that the concept of the Triumvirate and the Star Chamber could have been from her first hand witnessing of the Jedi Civil War and the actions of the first Triumvirate of Darth Nihilus, Darth Sion and Darth Traya. Tiamat was killed during the ritual she initiated that destroyed the Antei System in c. 3950 BBY.
Character History
Meeting Shan Long…
Eludajae had waited several hours to see Shan Long, her many hours of research and reading about the enigmatic Tiamat the woman of the triumvirate had brought her here. Eludajae, being one of the few female Dark Jedi in the Brotherhood, she had taken a keen interest in the female that has so effected and shaped the history of Antei and the Brotherhood. Her researches and investigations had brought her here, Sepros, she waited to see if what many called the “Prophet of the Final Way.” The only one that had the knowledge she sought, the answer to the question, “Who was Tiamat?” She had been warned that Shan Long was insane and probably one of the most dangerous elders of the brotherhood, as you never knew what his psychotic mind would formulate. Still she had to know.
Finally she entered and before her was another enigmatic figure, Shang Long… She started to bow and formulate her question when Shan Long blurted out…”Have you ever heard the Tragedy of Tiamat the Mad?” Shan long asked as he sat draped over the far chair, “No of course not, they don’t teach such things in the Shadow Academy, do they?” Never moving or really regarding Eludajae, “Oh do come in I have not had the company of such a lovely morsel in quite some time…hmmm…no not for some time. The last one…well she did go well with a nice burgundy.” Eludajae steeled herself and enter the room as the door closed, “Oh yes the story of Tiamat the Mad…” Several hours later Eludajae emerged from the rooms of Shan Long, apparently none the worse for wear, but everyone, even her wife Impetus, would note there was something changed in her after meeting with the diabolical Shan Long.
The Tragedy of Tiamat the Mad…
-Speculative Treaties by Countess Eludajae, Sith Warrior of the Brotherhood
The origins of Tiamat are steeped in mystery, she is a student of the Wanderers teachings, and thus of the Marked, she is a known sorceress of the Krath ways, and a student of the teachings of Freedon Nadd, as such she was a Sith Sorceress of the highest order. Her fingers snared the philosophies and teachings of the darkest entities of the galaxy, the Krath, the Sith and the Marked.
This picture depicts Tiamat, murdered by Ferran during the ritual that destroyed Antei. Artwork by Cyris Oscura.
She lived through a time of great conflict; it is known she fled from the defeated Exar Kun and Krath around 3,996 BBY. Also, she would have had been close to the Krath elites such as Aleema, Keto and Ulic Qel-Droma, learning from the first Krath, it is a distinct possibility that she herself was one of the original followers of Aleema and Keto, perhaps a noble woman from their homeworld. It is unknown but the possibility is very distinct, even with her being officially listed as a native of Calabrex .
She lived through the time of the Mandalorian Wars, a contemporary of the great Darth Revan and Darth Malak, she would have seen the actions at Malachor V that ended the Mandalorian wars, she would have seen the Jedi Civil War and watched Revan and Malak fall to the darkside and become Sith and build a new Sith Empire together. Possibly even attending the Sith Academy on Korriban where perhaps she first learned of Lord Okemi, setting the stage of her trek to seek him out.
She lived in a time of nearly a 100 years of continuous war between the Republic and the Sith in some form. She would have been a contemporary of Darth Nihilus, Darth Sion and Darth Traya, perhaps watching this triumvirate from afar Darth Tiamat would have formulated the foundations for the concept of the Triumvirate that would one day dominate Antei’s history forever and that of the Dark Brotherhoods history forever.
By the time she arrived on Antei in 3950 c. she would have watched nearly a hundred years of conflict between the Light side and the Dark side within the galaxy. She would have seen Exar Kun’s legacy of the Sith Empire and the Sith Order rebuilt a dozen times, and survived through an onslaught of Jedi Civil War and more. She would have seen the very first triumvirate of the Dark side rise and fall. That of Darth Nihilus, Darth Sion and Darth Traya, already nearly completely insane she may have walked the halls of Malachor V’s Sith stronghold hidden among the acolytes of those three, watching and learning from them.
Only to take what knowledge she knew and slip away to the Shrouded world of Antei, a place she would have seen as a refuge as the galaxy tore itself apart. Perhaps to rebuild the Krath or even to just further her insane agenda, who can tell? When she arrived at Antei her plans changed, everything changed. She found a thriving civilization ruled by a Dark Sider of ability that rivaled Exar Kun. Perhaps she expected merely to find another to help her in some unknown mad scheme, or perhaps a servant, she expected most likely to find either a crazed lone prisoner, what she found was far from it. She found a “prisoner” that not only dominated and ruled the native population but created their very civilization ruling as God and King over them all. She found no prisoner at all, but one with the strength and ancient knowledge she craved one that would shape her destiny to come.
As with all things within the Dark Side there are prices, as the triumvirate grew in power and the Star Chamber’s power waxed over the world, over their empire. Did the price become apparent, no one will really ever know if Tiamat knew that she was going to destroy everything, perhaps she took her queue from Aleema who used the shard of Nadd that ripped the heart of ten suns out causing a multiple super nova effect wiping everything out around her. Perhaps she believed with all her knowledge she would succeed where Aleema failed. Shrouding the Sun with the power of the Dark side to kill the entity destroying their empire, perhaps she was insane, perhaps she thought she could control the ritual, perhaps she had decided the fate of Antei already was obliteration and chose to be the instrument of that instead of the entity. We will never know, what we do know that some point during the ritual something went very wrong, or perhaps completely right, we will probably never really know for certain. What we do know for certain is Ferran fearing the insane sorceress would lose control and sensing she was entered her sanctum and plunged Son’Jiatt into Tiamat’s black heart reversing the ritual and killing them both.
The result was the creation of a Dark Star out of the sun of Antei and thus condemning Antei to become a barren wasteland of lifelessness.
So ends the Tragedy of Darth Tiamat the Mad.
Trivia