Sawafao

"I will forge my own path among the stars where my imagination can truly run wild"

- Lord Sawafao

Sawafao was a human male cyborg who was raised on Mandalore as a Mandalorian. After he was exiled for improper conduct, Sawafao discovered he had Force powers. He attempted to learn from a group of Wookiees and Jedi archivists on Kashyyyk, but his impatience and his desire to adventure led them to exile him. Instead, Sawafao took over the Sith Council of the High Lords on Korriban amidst a time of great strife. He cemented his power and took two apprentices, Darth Brandus and Darth Marinus, but never felt they accomplished much. His early actions dampened the spirits of the people of Korriban, but Sawafao was secure in his power and grew complacent and lazy. To placate the people, he held an annual contest to amuse them and celebrate their entries.

Childhood and early life
"I never knew my mother or father. They were torn from me, and the galaxy will regret its unfairness!"

- Lord Sawafao

Sawafao was a Human born on Mandalore. He never knew his parents, as they were killed in a freak accident. He was raised in an orphanage and indoctrinated as a Mandalorian, only to be exiled in 1999 ABY for an incident involving a Gungan. The incident left him scarred both physically and mentally and required him to be fitted with cybernetic implants. While wandering the galaxy, he discovered that he had Force powers in 2005 ABY. These powers manifested themselves and Sawafao attempted to use them, but they were by no means impressive. He often attempted to perform powers, sometimes a great many at once, but these powers were generally incomplete and lacking in proper forethought and care. Nonetheless, Sawafao was not deterred, even in the face of numerous beings telling him to give up and stop wasting their time. As his powers grew and his talents with them remained generally unimpressive, Sawafao wandered around the galaxy, hoping to find a place to call home. He visited numerous planets, including Tee-eff’Doen, but none seemed like a place where he could make a name for himself and call it his own. He even attempted to become part of the Fast Fingered Network, a band of criminals and vagabonds who left spacelanes littered with the remains of their sprees, but he did not feel welcome. Finally, Sawafao stumbled upon Kashyyyk, where he felt that he could make a home with the Wookiees and the Jedi enclave there. At first, Sawafao participated in the Wookiee society, spending much time documenting historical trivialities about even the most minor of topics while learning about the Force, but he yearned for more. Sawafao’s true desire was to use his powers to create his own destiny and he didn’t care about the patient documenting that the Wookiees and Jedi were doing. Despite opposition from the Wookiees, Sawafao pushed hard to create an independent-minded society, but the Wookiees and Jedi rejected him. After many months, Sawafao was exiled from Kashyyyk for committing several atrocities and for being a general nuisance.

Ascension to the Sith
"I also came to escape the Wookiees. I wanted a place to let my imagination run free. Wookiees and Jedi won't let you do that."

- Lord Sawafao

Becoming an outcast once more, Sawafao wandered in despair until he was led to an uninhabited world by a vision of what he later referred to as a messiah figure. Once on this new world, Sawafao trained for a year under Darth Halus before realizing that he was strong enough to become a Dark Lord of the Sith, a title which he claimed in 2006 ABY. He marooned Darth Halus on an abandoned space station and set out for Korriban, the home of the Sith. Sawafao joined the Council of the High Lords on Korriban by his sheer force of will, though his entrance was marked by a time of turmoil, as many members of the Council of High Lords protested his approach. One of them, Darth Vandius, severely scarred Sawafao in a bitter fight that was only interrupted by a falling meteor, which snuffed out Darth Vandius, while Sawafao was able to jump clear using the Force. The incident left Darth Sawafao’s voice damaged, so he used a defective C-3PO droid to translate for him, to varying degrees of success.

He trained for a year under Darth Halus before realizing that he was strong enough to become a Dark Lord of the Sith, a title which he claimed in 2006 ABY. He marooned Darth Halus on an abandoned space station and set out for Korriban, the home of the Sith. Sawafao joined the Council of the High Lords on Korriban by his sheer force of will, though his entrance was marked by a time of turmoil, as many members of the Council of High Lords protested his approach. One of them, Darth Vandius, severely scarred Sawafao in a bitter fight that was only interrupted by a falling meteor, which snuffed out Darth Vandius, while Sawafao was able to jump clear using the Force.

By 2007 ABY, Sawafao had enough influence in the Council of High Lords on Korriban to institute a number of reforms. Disgusted by the hedonistic lifestyles that many of the Sith Lords had allowed to flourish among the commoners, and even participated in, Sawafao spearheaded a major crackdown. Ruling with an iron fist, he sent his apprentice Darth Brandus to instill order among the people of Korriban and throughout the Sith Empire.

Brandus's reforms caused, among other things, the callous murder of several thousand sentients who dared defy him, the stripping of the titles of many of the Sith acolytes who failed to embrace Sawafao's reforms, and the prohibition of unsanctioned sexual relations among the people. Sawafao's new order brought about peace, but it did not bring prosperity. Many fled Korriban and few were interested in joining such a strict organization, saying that the Jedi Council was a far more welcoming environment, even though the Jedi had their own strictures. Many of the populace also continued to disregard Sawafao's dictates, requiring him to lead frequent punitive expeditions. The only pleasure he had was watching the public executions, mocking the hapless defendants before they were cruelly put to death. Little did Sawafao know that a Jedi infiltrator had influenced Brandus into performing actions that would lead to the decline of the Sith in the name of "order."

A new apprentice
"You can go straight to hell if you doubt my commitment to the Sith Order!"

- Darth Brandus just before his exile by Lord Sawafao

With the number of available Force-sensitives interested in joining the Sith again dwindling and the populace uneasy, Sawafao was forced to change his tactics in 2010 ABY. He blamed Darth Brandus for bungling the reforms, exiling him to mine wikiyl dung on a distant frozen asteroid. Sawafao attempted to take a new apprentice, a disgruntled Wroonian man whom he dubbed Darth Marinus, since the man's blue skin reminded him of the ocean. Like Sawafao, Marinus had been exiled from the Jedi Masters on Kashyyyk due to his love for distasteful practices, such as excessive violence and force. Marinus originally sought out the apprenticeship of another Sith Lord named Darth Lûlz, where he learned the dark arts. However, when he learned of Lord Sawafao’s power, he abandoned Lûlz and joined Sawafao, who has looking for a new apprentice anyway. Darth Lûlz’s inability to maintain an apprentice who could actually kill or exceed him led to him being mocked by the other Sith, and it was many years before he found an apprentice who could kill him properly. As for Marinus, joining the Council of the High Lords allowed Marinus to practice his favorite pastime—inflicting pain, which he did all the time, even on himself. Sawafao initially turned a blind eye to this, as he enjoyed the public executions and was too lazy to care. However, Darth Marinus was completely uninterested in placating the populace of Korriban, much preferring sadistic public executions and building monuments to his own glory. Frustrated, Sawafao would often recall Darth Brandus, who obediently returned and attempted to improve conditions on Korriban for the people per Sawafao's orders, only to frequently be exiled once more whenever he questioned the necessity of the latest public execution.

Later years
"Do what you want because you want to, not for my sake. Just don't be surprised at the consequences."

- Lord Sawafao

Sawafao often considered implementing his own ideas, but never did, as his years of power as the Grand Poobah of the Council of High Lords had left him lazy and complacent, disinterested in anything other than complaining, observing and planning punitive expeditions to Kashyyyk. His vengeance against the Wookiees for their exiling of him was attempted several times, most notably in 2007 ABY, shortly after he came to power. Giddy with his own success, he attempted to storm Kashyyyk with his puny fleet of outmoded warships and his throng of sycophants. However, historians would later describe his attempted invasion as pure folly, as a handful of Jedi Masters and a horde of angry Wookiees thrashed his force soundly. Sawafao retreated in disgrace and after that event, attempted very few ventures on his own, using his minions to do his work.

Sawafao was a powerful Sith Lord, considered in the top twenty most powerful Force users ever. He learned from a hidden holocron left by Darth Revan, and knew both how to use a lightsaber and many Force powers. However, he never, ever fell in love, as his excuse was that he could not find another being as twisted as he was for a suitable mate. When he did meet such a woman, a Diathim named Susanna, she scared him too much when she stabbed him with a silver earring just to watch him bleed and he fled from her. In his later years, Sawafao shifted some of his focus from pure combative skills to more refined uses of the Force in hopes of increasing the productivity of the populace. Most of his attempts at using the Force for art were described by one critic as "solidified rancor barf," though a few sculptures and paintings were lauded. Sawafao ruled for many years and annually held a contest where the people of Korriban could submit their greatest achievements for judging, be they art, invention, or use of the Force. However, Sawafao ensured that only his chosen favorites ever won any of the prizes.

Personality and traits
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- The Wookiee Jedi Master Yusakka on Sawafao

Sawafao was dedicated to his work, but that work was often described as scattershot. He lacked the ability to properly multi-task; often, he would attempt to work on improving numerous powers but would generally neglect most or all of them, leaving a mess in his wake that others would be forced to clean up. In spite of this, he felt that he had achieved greatness with what little measurable accomplishments he held to his name, and was frequently left saddened when beings from other worlds would inform him of the reality of his situation. He did not handle criticism well, replying with alternately hostility or despair. Still, Sawafao always bounced back, and pretended to work on some incredible new realization of his skills. Sawafao was often described as headstrong, bombastic, and self-absorbed. He was an individualist and disdained collaboration beyond having others give him adulation. Sawafao was also known for his mercurial nature and could not be relied upon. His work ethic was also considered haphazard at best.

Powers and abilities
"I'm not some conjurer of cheap tricks!"

- Lord Sawafao

Sawafao boasted of his prowess with both a lightsaber and the Force. In his previous years, he was trained as a Mandalorian, which should have made him an excellent combatant. However, the Jedi and Wookiees had little trouble defeating him. While powerful, Sawafao did not focus his efforts and ignored long-term strategy in favor of showier Force powers that would impress the lesser people he ruled on Korriban.

Behind the scenes
Sawafao was created to examine the psychology and development of many similar Sith Lords, admittedly outside the main canon of his authors. His creators Atarumaster88 and Brandon Rhea intended him to match the originality and writing style of many of the "Darth" articles on the Star Wars Fanon wiki. It was Brandon Rhea’s idea to tie in the pre-existing character of Darth Lûlz into Lord Sawafao.