Jedi Master Boolon Murr recorded a holocron detailing some of what was known about Darth Hauntruss, and I make great use of that recording in my own now. What we have learned is that Darth Hauntruss dates back to at least the Second Schism in the Force and has, therefore, lived for countless generations. How she has sustained herself throughout these vast expanses of time, we have not discovered.
What we do know is that she was born Val'Ryss Zankarr and was at one point a Jedi Master and a powerful healer. The irony is not lost on me that one once dedicated to healing is now a bastion of corruption and decay. Her fall to the darkside resulted in the creation of a cult and she took for herself the mantle of Lord of Shadows. The Jedi of old defeated her, however, and somehow destroyed her form but not her spirit. Whatever it was that the ancient Jedi did, it was likely this that has help grant her the unnatural length of her life.
How Darth Hauntruss came to associate with the One Sith is unknown to us at this time, however, she is one of the highest ranking among that order and it is assumed that she has close ties to the Emperor himself. The first time Darth Hauntruss and I crossed paths was on Ossus. I was a Jedi Padawan at the time, recovering from injuries I had sustained during the Invasions of Carida and Empress Teta. The One Sith, bent on retrieving a Sith Holocron from the Academy, staged an attack.
This is where I first became aware of the darkness within her. Using Sith Sorcery, Darth Hauntruss corrupted the minds of the younglings.....of children....and drove them to unspeakable horrors. I watched as younglings clawed and beat their fellow Jedi to death. We were able to subdue a small number of these younglings. My first act as a Jedi Knight was in curing some of them of their madness. Only a small number of them survived the process. When I touched their minds, when I felt the darkness and horror she had placed within them.....I made a vow to bring her to justice.
Much of this information came out of those years of searching for her and any information I could gain on her whereabouts. It wasn't until I had attained the rank of Jedi Master that we crossed paths once again. On the world of Kashyyyk, we fought. Neither of us was able to gain an edge over the other, but the One Sith forces destroyed the stronghold we were guarding and we were force to retreat in defeat. Shortly after the chaotic time known as the Netherworld Event, Hauntruss lead an assault on the Kel Dor homeworld of Dorin....my homeworld.
A part of me can not help but feel that this was personnel. That our history lead to the attack on my planet. They came to purge the world of its affiliation with the Jedi Order. Once more we met and once more neither of us to gain an advantage over the other. I have yet to face the Sith Lord again.
Darth Hauntruss is a top priority for the Jedi Shadows. She is a master swordsman, wielding a lightwhip and skill and cunning. It is recommended that anyone targeting the Sith Lord make use of a Shoto when fighting her. More terrible still than her lightwhip, however, is the sorcery that the Sith wields. Mental attacks and the conjuring of darkside aspirations are her forte, as well as keeping herself surrounded by fanatical followers.
While the Shadows hunt for all Sith, Darth Hauntruss is my priority. I have hunted her now for several years, and I will continue to do so until she is brought to justice. I've seen too much of what she can do to not hunt her to the ends of the universe.
