Valen

"A Minbari not born of Minbari"

Valen is the fictional leader of the Minbari in the science fiction television show Babylon 5. Valen appears one thousand years before the story on Babylon 5 begins in 2258.

History

Appearing in 1260 during a first Shadow War, where Vorlons and Minbari joined together against the chaotic race of Shadows, Valen transforms Minbari society. His name is spoken reverently ("In Valen's name" being a great oath) a thousand years later.

During the Minbari's greatest hour of need, he reorganized the caste system, created the Grey Council and formed the legendary Rangers – at once a religious, military and cultural leader. He is respected by members of all three Minbari castes.

After the great war ended, questions arose about Valen, and where he had come from. He and his family escaped Minbar and went into hiding; their later descendents returned to the Minbari homeworld. Little is known of Valen after he left Minbar. Valen eventually disappeared, and was never seen or heard from ever again. Even the circumstances of his death is a mystery, and his body was never recovered.

Year 2260

It is later revealed in 2260, that Valen was none other than Jeffrey Sinclair, taking the Babylon 4 station one thousand years back in time to aid the Minbari during the Shadow War, and become "The One Who Was" as seen in Minbari prophecy.

Sinclair uses a triluminary machine that transforms him from a human into a part-human part-Minbari. With the aid of the Great Machine on Epsilon 3, he travels back in time to greet the Vorlons and Minbari. More interestingly, this also injects human DNA into the Minbari race, as his children and their descendents mingle with other Minbari over the next thousand years. Delenn, a descendant of Valen (and friend to Sinclair in his original life) would later use this same triluminary machine to transform herself into a Human/Minbari hybrid (in an attempt to restore the balance between the two races).