- This article refers to the planet Z'ha'dum. For other uses, see Z'ha'dum (disambiguation).
Z'ha'dum is the home planet of the Shadows, and for countless millennium the home of Lorien.
Geography
By the twenty third century, Z'ha'dum was a blasted, charred wasteland. It's surface was marred by the many attacks that drove the Shadows away from the planet eon after eon. When they returned at the Dawning of the Third Age, most of their cities were kept mostly underground.
History
It is unknown if Z'ha'dum was the origin of the Shadows as a species, but for most of their long history they considered it their home. This was due to the presence of Lorien, one of the First Ones, who lived in a deep chasm on the planet for over one million years.
The last time the Shadows would be driven from the planet would be at the end of the First Shadow War, in roughly the thirteenth century A.D. Some of their race managed to remain, but were in a state of hibernation. One thousand years later, during the Babylon Project initial start up, the Shadows returned. They slowly rebuilt their great cities. They also began to recall some of the ships that they had hidden throughout the galaxy after the War.
One of their ships had been hidden on Mars. When EarthForce crews uncovered it, they reactivated an ancient beacon. Days later, the Shadows sent a second ship to retrieve the first one. The Psi Corps, however, had managed to plant a homing beacon inside. In 2257, Interplanetary Expeditions was commissioned to send a ship (the Icarus) to Z'ha'dum on an exploratory mission--most of the crew was apparently unaware they were being used, that the planet was where the Shadow vessels had been tracked to.
The crew of the Icarus explore Z'ha'dum
When the Icarus arrived on Z'ha'dum, they found it seemingly deserted. They quickly awoke some of the Shadows, however, and those members of the crew who would not serve willingly (like Morden) became enslaved.
Third Age of Mankind
Once the shadows had been defeated and left for beyond the rim the White Star went to investigate Z'ha'dum, only to see a mysterious fleet (possibly Drahk) leaving the planet moments before the entire planet exploded.