Fate of the Jedi (36 - 37 ABY)
Following a biological attack on the members of the Brotherhood, the Dark Jedi fought and defeated the former Grand Master Archibald Zoraan, who had believed to have been killed in his attempt to destroy the Dark Hall on Eos two decades ago. Though Shadow did not succumb to the plague himself, many of the younger members of Taldryan were driven mad. Shadow and other elders of the House were forced to put the infected Jedi down like rabid dogs. Though the infection was eventually cleared, it was a harsh blow to the Brotherhood and left many to wonder how Zoraan had been resurrected, and where his acolytes had come from. Following his true death, Darth Ashen ordered teams to capture the enemy Super-class Star Destroyer, the Avenger II.
This set off a chaotic chain of events as the One Sith, a relatively minor force Shadow had dealt with some years earlier, emerged to strike against the Brotherhood. Each of the Clans and Houses felt the brunt of the One Sith's assault. Keirdagh Taldrya Cantor was nearly killed in a terrorist attack that destroyed parts of the Taldryan Great Hall on Karufr. His near miss, more than anything, roused the fighting spirit of the Old Folks' Home, who became embroiled in the conflict as a part of Taldryan.
Haunted by the Force
Library-Temple of Krayiss II
- "Those Sith friends of yours teach you some special technique? I actually have some 'special' techniques of my own."
- ―Shadow Taldrya, taunting Tor Siva during their fight on Krayiss II
On the Sith World of Krayiss II, the Brotherhood began its crusade against the One Sith. As part of Taldryan's effort in the war, Shadow was ordered to lead a mixed group of Taldryan and Arconan to capture the planet's library-temple before the One Sith force led by a Darth Sinagar. Unfortunately, Shadow's team arrived too late to prevent the Sith from accessing the library. With the enemy forces split, Shadow ordered his team to follow the Sith into the library, while he battled the remnants. Accompanied by Benevolent Taldrya Whiner, the pair defeated Sinagar's apprentice on the planet's surface. Despite her power, she was no match for the combined strength of the two Taldrya.
Having lagged behind their allies, Shadow and Benevolent ventured into the library. But, they quickly discovered that the library was a death trap. They encountered several members of their team who had turned on them and were forced to defend themselves. Benevolent discovered that the Jedi were being infected by the artifacts they had touched. Ancient Sith, who had bound themselves to the relics, were possessing members of both the One Sith and the Brotherhood. Trying to salvage their mission, Shadow and Benevolent managed to locate the surviving members of the team and gather them to track down and eliminate Sinagar.
After passing through an elaborately locked door, the team stumbled upon the sight of Sinagar fighting desperately against his own possessed Acolytes. The Sith Lord managed to defeat his opponents, but he was mortally wounded. When it seemed like he would succumb to his wounds, the Sith Lord was then possessed by a powerful force. The spirit identified itself as Lord Malignous, guardian of the library-temple. Drawing a Sith Sword to his hand, he battled with the Brotherhood team. Together with Benevolent and Skye Dulovic, Shadow managed to defeat the evil spirit and lay claim to the library-temple. The first battle against the One Sith ended with a Brotherhood victory.
Specters of the Past
- "This ends. Now."
- ―Shadow Taldrya, killing the false Prophet Elara Koressh
Maxyn and Shadow bond on Rhelg
In the closing days of the assault on Krayiss II, rumors whispered of the Brotherhood's next target. Intelligence reports from the Dark Council indicated that the One Sith were preparing to launch a full-scale invasion on the nearby planet of Rhelg, a holy Sith world once ruled by Ludo Kressh. Shadow, fresh from his victories over Tor Siva and the library-temple, was tasked with leading the Brotherhood's ground forces. Along with Marick Arconae, Shadow was given the brevit rank of General and placed in command of the IX Legion of the Army of the Iron Throne.
The advanced team was set to weaken the One Sith forces and were ferried to the planet's surface in dropships. As they hit atmosphere, the dropship containing Shadow and dozens of soldiers was struck and sent spiraling down into the Rhelg wildnerness. Through sheer luck, Shadow survived the crash, only to find himself alone with a Sith Lady by the name of Maxyn Vonnisia. Though they fought each other instantly, neither was in any shape to finish the battle. Instead, at the request of the Sith, they formed a temporary alliance to increase their odds of survival.
For several days, Shadow and the Sith journeyed across the frozen terrain in search of shelter or allies. Vonnisia used her psychometric powers in an attempt to "play" Shadow and lead him into an ambush. In the end, her attempts at betrayal failed as Shadow revealed he had known of her gift all along. They arrive at Vonnisia's trap only to find the Sith garrison utterly decimated at the hands of the Brotherhood forces led by Marick.
After a couple days of recovery, Shadow was again sent out on a mission with the Taldryan Elders of the Old Folks' Home and a contingent of special soldiers to capture Ludo Kressh's fortress. Despite reports of strong opposition, the five Dark Jedi arrived at the fortress relatively unmolested. However, within the walls of the fortress something was not right. A malevolent force twisted the Dark Jedi and turned them again each other. They almost succumbed to the power of the madness that controlled the fortress, but were kept on task by the virtue of Keirdagh's cantankerous nature.
The team discovered their Sith adversaries in the thrall of a Prophetess named Elara Koressh, descendent of Ludo Kressh. She had performed the ritual for spirit invocation, unleashing a deadly spirit from the Netherworld of the Force. Having been too weak to control the spirit, it had twisted the minds of everyone who entered the fortress and turned them into thralls.
The members of Taldryan were split between the sane and the controlled. Shadow was forced to duel Benevolent to keep the Adept from butchering their own forces and stealing a dangerous artifact, while the others tried to defeat the possessed Prophetess. In the end, they were saved the the actions of the Nephilim, Coryn Vance, who disabled the Sith with a concussion grenade. Not wasting this opening, Shadow plunged his blade into the Sith's heart. Using their combined powers, the five Elders were able to bind the spirit to a relic and free the fortress from the One Sith's control.
Fall
- "At long last, your journey is nearing its end."
- ―Darth Silas
Victory on Rhelg was all but assured, but Shadow was given one more, covert mission by Darth Pravus. He was sent to intercept and destroy a powerful Sith who was devastating Dark Jedi on the front lines. That day, Shadow Taldrya disappeared. For nine long months he was kept imprisoned on the Sith homeworld of Korriban. There, he was mentally and physically tortured; twisted, broken, and eventually turned by the Sith Lord, Darth Silas. He ceased to be Shadow Taldrya and became a member of the One Sith known as Lord Vokun.
Vokun, Lord of the Sith
Vokun was trained to be his master's attack dog. Under his Silas' watchful eyes, he completed several missions for the One Sith to interrupt and disable the Brotherhood's network of intelligence agents. Having proved himself capable, he was given a trial to slay a fellow apprentice. The pair dueled in the dark catacombs under Korriban, until Shadow beheaded his rival in a gruesome display of power. Upon his success, he was named a Sith Lord and finally given orders to strike at the Brotherhood directly.
On the Sith throne world, Dromund Kaas, Vokun engaged the weary Brotherhood forces. His first task was to disrupt the excavations near the ruins of the Sith Academy. There, he slew an entire archeological team and two members of Taldryan. From there, he was instructed to repel the forces engaged in battle for the Dark Temple. The temple was a warzone, as Sith and Dark Jedi unleashed all they had upon each other. His orders having not been specific, Vokun attacked and destroyed friend and foe alike. After clearing the ruins both warring factions, he felt the presence of a powerful Dark Jedi traveling towards him.
Jac Cotelin, former Grand Master and leader of Taldryan, met Vokun in the ruins of the temple. No words were shared between the pair as they clashed in vicious battle. The former Dark Lord was nearly mad with his rage, the deaths of his fellow Taldryan coupled with the war's ravages on his psyche, drove him into a lethal rage. Despite all his skill, Vokun could not match the Grand Master's sheer strength. He was eventually disarmed and crushed brutally by Cotelin's immense Force strength.
Requiem
- "Will he ever... be the same?"
"He won't be the same. He can't be. Shadow Taldrya was killed..."
- ―Maxyn Vonnisia and Jac Cotelin, discussing Shadow's fate
His life was saved, however, by the intervention of Maxyn Vonissia. She had accompanied Cotelin to the temple after having asked his assistance in locating the missing Shadow. Near the climax of the battle, her psychometric powers uncovered the truth of Vokun's identity and she managed to prevent Cotelin from landing the killing blow. But, nothing could be done for Shadow's mental state. Both Maxyn and Cotelin knew that Shadow Taldrya/Vokun could never be allowed to live with so much blood on his hands.
Unable to kill Vokun, now that he knew the truth, Cotelin makes the only choice available to him. He decided that the only way Shadow can remain alive is if his memories as Vokun were destroyed. But doing so would corrupt or possible destroy Shadow's psyche. Instead, Cotelin decided to delve deeply and wipe Shadow's mind clean, replacing what was lost with new, fabricated memories. The person known as Shadow disappeared that day. To ensure no one would ever uncover the identity of Vokun, Cotelin had one more task to complete.
Using the alchemical technique of Mask, Cotelin drastically altered Shadow's physical appearance to such an extent that no one—not his closest allies or worst enemies—would be able to identify him. After the "operations" were completed, Shadow's unconscious body was left in the care of Maxyn.
- Further information: Aidan Kincaid