Did you know that Darth Vader has his own castle? It recently made an appearance during Rogue One, but later kept making appearances in his solo comic run. There are specific reasons why Vader chose to have a fortress for himself, and it’s only partially because he prefers to be left alone... when he isn’t killing people that is.
There are also reasons why he chose its location, and more disturbing, there’s a specific purpose to the castle itself. Many secrets have been hidden inside this castle, some more disturbing than others. Here is a list of ten of the secrets that Darth Vader’s Castle possesses.
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Mustafar
Vader had a choice of location for where to build. His master was even willing to give up his home planet to Vader, to give an idea of what was at stake. Instead, Darth Vader opted to go for the planet where he was bitterly wounded. But is there more to it than that?
Mustafar is a planet of the Outer Rim. It’s not what one would consider habitable by most standards. It’s covered in lava and flame. The people that live here are tough and have adapted to the temperatures and volcanic nature of the planet.
The Mustafarians
As mentioned above, the Mustafarians are a hardy people. They’d have to be, in order to survive on this planet. They can literally sense the fluctuations in the planet, and even fight them in their own way. They begin actively resisting what Vader is doing, and for a while, he isn’t even aware of it.
Additionally, the Mustafarians are capable of summoning lava fire. This would be a phenomenal feat by any means. But then consider what the application would be against Vader. Darth Vader has very few weaknesses, but surely he remembers what it felt like to be eaten away by lava. It’s surprising that Vader would choose to live so near a people such as this. Perhaps he was hoping to exact revenge on them?
Where Vader Made His Kyber Crystal Bleed
It is a Sith tradition that they must take the lightsaber of a Jedi they have slain. There is a very specific reason for this. They remove the Kyber crystals inside – and they make them bleed. The process for making them bleed isn’t clearly defined, other than it requires immense power from the Dark Side.
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When Vader had to collect his Kyber crystal and make it bleed, he opted to go to Mustafar to do it. Here he meditated and worked on the crystal until he succeeded. It was also here that he had a vision. If he chose to keep his Kyber crystal intact, he knew that he would eventually turn back to the light side and ultimately destroy himself. Or he could bleed the crystal and become even stronger. We all know which option he went with.
The Dark Side Is Strong Here
When Darth Vader was bleeding his crystal, he had a vision. We already discussed this. Vader realization the implications of the vision and the strength of his power here. The dark side is stronger on Mustafar. It’s even stronger at one specific location – the place he decided to eventually build his castle.
It is known that some locations are stronger in either the light side or the dark side. We’ve seen this in the movies, novels, and comics. That Darth Vader managed to find one isn’t all that surprising. It is however surprising that it was so close to the area where he was so badly wounded.
Home Of Lord Momin
The location was once the home and testing site of Lord Momin a Sith. It’s unclear if this was his birthplace, or if he was drawn to the location just as Darth Vader was. We do know that Momin was a genius when it came to inventions. He considered designing and creating weapons and buildings to be the highest form of his art.
Lord Momin was eventually brought down by the Jedi, but not before he managed to do quite a lot of damage. But more on that later. The important thing to note is that this is the location where Momin likely died.
Death Engine Testing
Lord Momin, as mentioned above, loved to test out new weapons and designs. One of these designs very well have been the precursor to the Death Star. He designed – and tested – a weapon he called the Death Engine. It took out cities at a time, while still allowing him to be close enough to see the pain and devastating that he caused.
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Mustafar is the very location where he tested this device. It’s ultimately the reason why the Jedi were forced to act against Momin. It’s also entirely possible that buried somewhere on this planet are the discarded remains of his Death Engine.
A Tuning Fork
The Castle of Vader is designed to be a tuning fork, of sorts. Lord Momin himself helped Darth Vader to design the castle. It took several iterations to get right, during which time Momin should consider himself lucky that he wasn’t mortal.
The goal was to use the castle as a tuning fork – a way to reach through the veil and connect Vader with whatever was on the other side. While he never admitted it, he desperately sought his lost wife, Queen Amidala. What he would have done had he found her is a completely different story.
Force Locus
The Castle wasn’t the only factor at play. They needed to design monoliths to help concentrate and direct the force being plied into it. It’s unlikely that this would have ever succeeded with a weaker Sith, but that was never a concern for Vader.
With the Castle and Locus properly aligned the door of the veil could be opened. What is on the other side is a different question. This whole process once again required the help of the spirit of Lord Momin. As Momin put it “The Door to the Dark Side is locked, this is the key” (Darth Vader #22).
Resurrection
Momin repeatedly stated that this was the location where the veil between life and death could be pierced. His motive should have been more obvious from the start, but there was so much going on. It’s no surprise that Vader missed the vital signs of what Momin was actually intending to do here.
This site soon became the location of Lord Momin’s resurrection. Here he opened the veil and got his body back. In full form once again, he was able to manipulate the force and once again be whole. All he wanted to do was continue his inventing and experimentation.
The Truth
Darth Vader had hoped to find Padme when he opened the door. Instead, he found the truth. The truth of who and what he is. The truth of Padme’s fate – how there is nothing he could have done, no choice he could have made, that would have prevented her death. There was nothing he could do now either, to bring her back.
Vader learned many truths on this day, and it certainly would have broken a lesser man. For all we know the truth did break Vader, at least a little bit. It’s not like we could easily tell. What we do know is that Darth Sidious was proud of Vader for learning the truth and surviving it.