Londo Mollari

Lore & Background

Londo Mollari is a member of one of the oldest Noble Houses of the Centauri Republic. He is a mercurial personality given to extreme manifestations of anger, sadness, or joviality. An avid hedonist fond of drink and leisure, he is also a devout Centauri patriot who would gladly give his life without hesitation to protect the Republic. A staunch traditionalist, Londo has a profound sense of pride tied to the heritage of Centauri imperial history.

He was once a military officer with several heroic accomplishments, which he relishes and often reminisces on when intoxicated. The decline of the expansionist tradition has weakened the prestige of the Centauri Republic, particularly the emancipation of the Narn homeworld from Centauri colonial rule. These developments have wounded Londo's pride, and he is extremely bitter about his people's loss of face. He resents the Narn for their success in establishing themselves as a viable independent power and for what he feels is their part in the increasingly unimportant diplomatic titles he has held.

Londo's greatest desire is to see the restoration of the Centauri Republic to its former glory, and it is this desperate longing that proves the undoing of himself and his people. Despite his temperamental nature, Londo is largely devoid of malice; his bigotry towards other races, particularly the Narns, is based on habituation and national identity rather than actual hatred. He is rather fond of humans given the similarities in behavior between them and his own people, and speaks in obvious admiration of the human military's tenacity during the Earth–Minbari war.

Londo is averse to violence and is often at odds with himself over his desire for military victory and the horror he feels at the suffering and death of others; when present at the Second Conquest of Narn, he is visibly sickened by the level of destruction and death he has semi-unwittingly caused and later challenges Lord Refa over his use of outlawed Mass Drivers in the planetary assault on Narn. He yearns for honor and respect, but is often uncomfortable with the cost and responsibilities that come with it.

Did You Know?

• Londo's greatest love, other than his people, is the romantic company of Lady Adira, a former slave and dancer.
• Londo's closest friend is his attache Vir Cotto; the two became almost inseparable over the course of The Shadow War, the Earth Civil War, and the rebuilding of Centauri.
• Londo kills Emperor Cartagia by injecting him with a poison that causes both of his hearts to shut down.