Pandad
Pandad was the second-ever Lord President of the Time Lords, succeeding Rassilon. A Prydonian like Rassilon, he fought in the Civil War opposite the Patrex usurper Morbius and ultimately perished a few moments before Morbius himself was (supposedly) executed.
History
Cardinal Pandad
Pandad was a trusted underling of Rassilon during his original presidency over the Time Lords of Gallifrey, a Cardinal belonging to his High Council. He held the distinction of being the one who finally made Rassilon see sense about the hubris of the Death Zone and the Game of Rassilon, when even Tussan's cat was powerless to reason with the Founder. It was only after a platoon of Time Scooped Cybermen nearly destroyed the Dark Tower, thereby threatening to gain access to the power of the Eye of Harmony and all that came with it, that Pandad was able to obtain the closing of the Death Zone from his President. (PROSE: The Legacy of Gallifrey)
Early Presidency
Pandad was made the first "regular" Lord President after the abdication of Rassilon from headship of the High Council. To limit the extents that the power of other Presidents than himself could reach, Rassilon made sure that the power over the Eye of Harmony, via knowledge of the location of the Great Key of Rassilon, lay not with President Pandad, but with the High Chancellor, in this instance Azmeal.
One of his Councillors, the temperamental Patrex representative Morbius, took issue with the fact that a Prydonian president had succeeded another. He wanted power to be more evenly divided between the Chapters of Gallifrey. Furthermore, he was of the opinion that the gift of regeneration should be shared with all Gallifreyans, rather than remain the privilege of the descendance of the select few whom Rassilon had originally decided to bless with the Eye of Harmony's power.
Morbius attracted more and more followers and eventually demanded the Presidency. Though he had considered granting some of Morbius's practical requests, Pandad could not accept this transgression, and, trying for a show of power, attempted to have Morbius and his more vocal supporters exiled from Gallifrey. (PROSE: The Legacy of Gallifrey)
The Civil War
Pandad's attempt at a show of force ended up kickstarting the Time Lords' Civil War: Morbius escaped his exile, instead travelling through Time to amass a fearsome military force, with which he hoped to take the Capitol by force. Pandad found himself leading Gallifrey's army opposite this "army of evil", (PROSE: The Legacy of Gallifrey) with the help of a time-displaced Fifth Doctor. (PROSE: Warmonger)
The war dragged on for years; in the end, Pandad forced Morbius to retreat to the planet of Karn, where the two armies had their final showdown. The better part of both armies was exterminated, as were the native people of Karn save for the immortal Sisterhood of the Sacred Flame, but Pandad emerged the pyrrhic victor. With Morbius trapped, Pandad ordered that his trial be held immediately, on Karn — much to the displeasure of the Sisterhood. (PROSE: The Legacy of Gallifrey)
Death
Pandad condemned Morbius to death by distintegration; (PROSE: The Legacy of Gallifrey) his atoms were to be scattered to the four corners of the universe, to obliterate him completely. (TV: The Brain of Morbius) The Book of the War, which gave an account of a spurious "Imperator presidency" broadly fitting the description of the Civil War, with "the Imperator" in the part of Morbius, speculated that this unprecedented sentence was intended as yet another show of force, a desperate attempt to instill in the universe a fear of the consequences of crossing the Great Houses' power and their orthodoxy. (PROSE: The Book of the War)
However, as he made to make the public announcement of what grisly fate was to befall the self-proclaimed rival President, Pandad lost his footing in the uneven, rocky terrain to which the War had reduced Karn. Pandad fell down a cliff to his death with Morbius still alive, encased in the execution booth. In the pandemonium, Cardinal Helron actioned the execution device, (PROSE: The Legacy of Gallifrey) but Morbius's brain had been salvaged by Mehendri Solon, a human scientist in exile on Karn, (TV: The Brain of Morbius) with the reluctant help of the time-displaced Fifth Doctor, who knew that Time must retain its proper course. (PROSE: Warmonger)
Legacy
Although, according to one account which did not mention Pandad, Morbius's Vice President Saran was made Lord President after Morbius was officially deposed, (PROSE: Warmonger) the Scrolls of Gallifrey showed that Helron, as the man who had acted when the time came to kill Morbius, was able to proclaim himself the new President and be acknowledged as legitimate. He would later be murdered by Azmeal, Pandad's old Chancellor, who became the first true Renegade Time Lord. (PROSE: The Legacy of Gallifrey)
Pandad's name was used by several subsequent Presidents, including Pandad VII (PROSE: Lungbarrow) and Pandad IV, — confusingly enough, in that order. (PROSE: The Legacy of Gallifrey)
Behind the scenes
- Pandad's name is noticeably similar to that of Pandak, another contemporary of Rassilon and early Founder of Gallifrey mentioned in other accounts. It is likely that in some way or other, Pandad's creation was sparked my misspelled memories of Pandak or vice-versa.
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