Darth Raivon

"He's like fire and ice and rage. He's like the night, and the storm in the heart of the sun. He's ancient and forever. He burns at the center of time and he can see the turn of the universe."

- - Darth Raivon, as described by an ancient Sith Prophecy.

Darth Raivon, born Veran Corvain, was a legendary Near-Human, both as a Jedi Knight and as a Sith Lord. During his training, he discovered the seductive powers of the Darkside and renounced his devotion to the light, becoming a extremely powerful Sith Lord.

Veran had only one living relative, his twin brother Qim Xauweep. The two shared a powerful bond that later manifested as a Force Chain, allowing them to aid each other through the force. This chain was later severed by Qim but a bond still remained. Veran’s parents were Xau Vain (mother) and Cor Weep (father), both died protecting their children from an ancient race of sentient machines.

Veran, along with his brother Qim, was found in stasis aboard a damaged starship that crashed on Mon Calamari. A Mon Calamari research team salvaged the vessel and released the children. They took them to their underwater facility where they were later retrieved by a Jedi Watchman who took them to Coruscant. Veran and Qim were trained in the ways of the Force and were both apprenticed to Grand Master Xavier after their formal training.

Before joining the Sith Empire, Veran served as a General in the Galactic Alliance during the Kazzum Skirmishes. As a Sith Lord, he was appointed Supreme Commander of the fleet known as Thule’s Fury, and gained infamy as one of the galaxy's most feared warriors. He also headed the Special Operations branch—a team of Elite Sith Assassins. Prior to the Sith Schism, Veran was given the title of Zealot of the High Council.

Early life (210 ABY - 214 ABY)
"What can I say? We had a troubled childhood."

- Veran, to Kyra Lynn.

Veran and his brother were born in 210 ABY aboard a Precursor transport vessel. His parents, Xau Vain and Cor Weep, were fleeing from a hyper-advanced machine race that’d attacked a Precursor planet in another galaxy and wiped out its entire population. Their ship was crippled and boarded by the machines near the Outer Rim border of the Star Wars galaxy, Veran’s parents were dragged away and killed by the machines leaving the children safe in a hidden stasis chamber. The machines left the ship adrift and returned to dark space. After several weeks, the ship fell into Mon Calamari’s gravity well and crashed in the ocean where it lay at the bottom of the sea for two days until being recovered by a Mon Calamari research team. Remarkably, the stasis pods were undamaged and the infants were still alive and healthy. The ship was taken to a nearby facility and the children were woken from stasis, upon seeing the Mon Calamari the infants cried and the entire facility shook as a result. Disturbed, the Mon Calamari contacted the native Jedi Watchman who confirmed their force-sensitivity and took them to the Academy on Coruscant. The children were inducted into the orphanage where they enjoyed a relatively happy upbringing.

During the uneventful years before their Force training, the scientists and Medi-droids struggled to classify the children’s species as they were undocumented Near-Humans with remarkable abilities such as: advanced longevity (eternal youth), advanced healing (regenerating wounds almost instantly), limb regeneration, advanced intelligence, advanced physical attributes, diamond-hard bone structure with bone casing around the heart, etc (see Abilities). At the age of four, Veran and Qim began taking Youngling lessons and amazed their teachers by mastering year’s worth of training in just a few months, by this time they had fully mastered the basics of Form I lightsaber combat and were adept at telekinesis and Force Sense. It was not long before they were taken on as padawans to the Jedi Grand Master Xavier.

As a Jedi (214 ABY - 234 ABY)
Under Xavier’s tutelage Veran spent his youth and adolescence learning the mysterious ways of the Force. Veran became a Jedi Consular and, by the time he was 14, had fully mastered all four Force Forms alongside lightsaber Form VI: Niman. As their training progressed, Veran and Qim developed a Force Bond that eventually evolved into a Force Chain. Like his brother, Veran mastered the advanced Jar’Kai form but rarely used it, later choosing the unorthodox Reverse Grip style. Most of Veran’s life as a Jedi was uneventful due to the indomitable control of the Galactic Alliance, which kept large scale criminal activity to a minimum, a fact Veran almost despised.

Inner Darkness
"We are taught that power can only be gained through peace and meditation, not passion and selfish action. "Then why, when I'm so full of fury, does my power not dwindle? Why does it feel greater?" "What you feel is an illusion, a phantom that seeks to deceive you. Don't listen to it." "But it feels so real."

- Qim Xauweep speaks to Veran Corvain about his dark tendencies.

A few years later an emancipated Sith Lord named Darth Kazzum launched an assault on the Alliance by attacking Corellia with a fleet of Imperial warships. Veran and Qim joined the Galactic Alliance Navy as Generals and led a fleet to confront the Dark Lord over Corellia. Qim personally led the fighter squadrons and destroyed numerous Sith fighters while Veran remained on the bridge of the Star Destroyer Peacekeeper, giving orders and directing the fleet through his Battle Meditation. Kazzum could not match the Jedi’s tactical superiority and was forced to retreat back to Onderon with the Alliance hot on his trail. Cornered and effectively disabled, Kazzum prepared for his last stand but the attack came not from the Alliance but from his apprentice Darth Candor. Seeing his opportunity arise Candor attacked Kazzum for the title of Dark Lord and defeated him when the Peacekeeper fired on the bridge, crippling the Dark Lord. Candor then fled the unstable warship shortly before its destruction and docked with the Peacekeeper; Veran met Candor in the hangar and escorted him to the bridge. Candor introduced himself as Kran Tana, a “captive” of the Sith. Qim was slightly disturbed by Kran, though he couldn’t figure out why, Veran on the other hand took an instant liking to him and they became fast friends on the return trip to Coruscant. After giving a convincing story to the Jedi Council, Kran was accepted into the Order and was placed under Veran’s tutelage, though not as an apprentice.

In the following months Veran began distancing himself from his brother, choosing Kran’s company over Qim’s, the closer he and Kran got, the further he and Qim drew apart. This did not improve Qim’s disposition towards Kran and his suspicions increased to border-line paranoia. Kran pretended to be an avid believer of the Potentium Theory and taught his beliefs to Veran who was greatly intrigued by these ideals. Veran came to believe that the Force was neutral and that the Darkside was simply the inner darkness of the soul; hate, anger, betrayal, fear, they were all natural emotions, each with their own benefit. With his new believes solidified, Veran abandoned the Jedi teachings and allowed himself to “feel” everything. While this created no immediate change in him, Veran’s behaviour slowly became more disturbing as he embraced his negative emotions. During a mission to prevent a Trandoshian terrorist group from destroying a mining facility on Bespin, Veran displayed the depths of his darkness by mercilessly slaughtering the terrorists when the negotiations failed, despite the Council’s wishes for minimal bloodshed.

Veran’s Betrayal (235 ABY)
"You will never understand the reasoning behind my actions. You think me a traitor? Maybe I am. If this thought brings you clarity, so be it."

- - Veran Corvain, to Qim Xauweep.

In reflection, he realised his slaughter of the terrorists was wrong and regretted his actions, but nevertheless held onto his beliefs, much to the dismay of Qim. Whilst meditating in his chambers one day, Veran received a vision that predicted the destruction of the galaxy at the hands of the machines that killed his parents. Veran knew that measures must be taken to prevent this event and that the Jedi Order must evolve in order face it, so he requested an audience with the Council. His warnings fell on deaf ears however, as the Council revealed that they were already aware of the coming threat via Qim (who had also received the vision) and were preparing for the machines in their own way. Veran expressed a desire to teach the new generation of Jedi what he had learned of the Potentium, with the hope of strengthening the Order. The Council refused his request, claiming such teachings would create an order of “self-serving sociopaths”. Enraged, Veran scolded the Council, criticizing their pacifist ways.

He then returned to his chambers where he was visited by Kran, who revealed his true identity as Darth Candor, Dark Lord of the Sith. Candor attempted to coerce Veran into joining the Sith and help him destroy the Jedi. Veran agreed, pledging his allegiance to Candor. But unbeknownst to the Dark Lord, Veran had plans of his own for the Sith. Candor followed the Rule of One set down by Darth Krayt, Veran on the other hand, believed in the Rule of Two, and sought to cast down Candor's Order when the moment was right. Regardless, he ceased to be Veran Corvain and became Darth Raivon. Candor then unleashed a powerful Sith holocron within the temple, corrupting nearly half the Order to the Darkside. While Candor gathered the fallen Jedi to his side, Raivon stormed the Council chambers and massacred the Councillors. He then reunited with Candor and made for a nearby cargo ship. The fallen Jedi boarded the ship, killing the crew, and then prepared to leave. As Raivon and Candor were about to board, Xavier arrived and pleaded with Raivon to renounce his ways. Raivon stabbed Xavier through the chest, this death was the perfect sacrifice for Raivon's ascension to the Sith. Qim arrived in time to witness this and attempted to prevent Raivon’s departure but was torn between the choice of chasing his brother or tending to his master. He chose the latter, allowing Raivon to escape, but was unable to revive Xavier. After his master’s death, Qim swore revenge on his wayward brother.

Brother vs Brother
"Take my hand. "No!" "I can save you." "I never wanted your help. I would rather die than owe you my....Aaahhh!!!"

- - Raivon refuses Qim's help before being swept away.

Raivon and Candor travelled to Korriban and inducted the fallen Jedi into the Sith Academy, after which Raivon was given the task of eliminating a separatist group attempting to resurrect Darth Kazzum. The group had foolishly set up their base in the Dresdae settlement (mere miles away from the Academy) and Raivon had no trouble wiping them out. He found the half-revived Kazzum in the lab of a decrepit facility and, after a brief conversation, performed the Makashi salute as a sign of respect before killing the former Dark Lord. Little did Raivon know that his brother was behind him, and was almost cut in half by Qim’s surprise attack. Raivon attempted to reason with Qim, even offering him the chance to join the Sith. Qim declined and pressed the attack, using his mastery of Djem So to batter Raivon’s defence. The twins fought throughout the facility, Qim constantly trying to penetrate Raivon’s defence, whose adaptability kept Qim’s blows at bay.

During a vicious saber lock Qim forced Raivon’s blade down into the facility’s core containment interface, causing containment to fail and triggering a meltdown. Raivon managed to lure Qim out into the open and was finally able to go on the offensive, displaying his flawless mastery of Niman. The twins reached an impasse, after which the facility exploded, causing an avalanche. Qim used a piece of debris to ride the landslide to safety, but was followed by Raivon who mirrored his brother’s methods. They clashed lightsabers a few times until Qim managed to get some distance from his brother. Fuelled with rage, Raivon leapt from his debris and hurtled down upon Qim, lightsaber raised to kill. In an act of desperation, Qim impaled himself with his own lightsaber, the pain of which was shared with Raivon via their Force bond. Crippled by the pain, Raivon was unable to maintain focus and subsequently lost his right arm to Qim’s saber and then fell into the mass of sand, grabbing hold of the rock face to keep from being swept away. Qim directed his debris to an overhang above Raivon’s position and, from there, offered Raivon his hand but the Sith Lord refused and was eventually swept away into a deep chasm. Unable to confirm Raivon’s death, Qim returned to his ship and fled mere moments before Candor’s shuttle landed at the bottom of the chasm.

Candor, who had sensed Raivon’s defeat through the Force after claiming the Imperial throne, ordered his Honour Guard to scour the chasm for him. After much searching, a single trooper found Raivon half-buried and called for a medical capsule. Before it could arrive however, Raivon regained consciousness and instinctively drained the life out of the surrounding troopers, healing himself of most of his wounds. Candor escorted Raivon back to his warship where he was placed in a bacta tank to speed up the re-growth of his arm. A few days later Raivon emerged fully healed and joined Candor on the bridge, overlooking a strange ring-world. Raivon spent the following 3 years mastering the Darkside and acting as an advisor to the new Sith recruits; taking a special interest in Kyra Lynn, a powerful student whom Raivon eventually took as his apprentice.

Pre-war Activities (238 ABY)
"You can trust me to do this for you?” “I can trust you to remember what will happen should you fail me!” “Tsk. I find your lack of faith…disturbing."

- – Kyra Lynn teases Darth Raivon.

With the Sith Empire fully established and the fleets ready for war, Darth Candor required only one thing before it could commence: a powerful Sith holocron. This holocron however, was located deep within the vaults of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant and the only way to retrieve it would be to send a small team to infiltrate the temple. Though he didn’t know what information the holocron contained, Raivon agreed to retrieve it regardless. He hand-picked nine SpecOps Sith Lords, Kyra among them, and left for Coruscant. The closer he got to Coruscant, the more Raivon feared that Qim would feel his presence through the weakened bond they still shared. After much thought, Raivon ordered the pilot to drop him off on the farm-world Ruan. He then put Kyra in charge of the team and entrusted her with the mission. As the SpecOps landed on Coruscant, Raivon entered a meditation and used the Force to hide the team from detection. Kyra decided to send one of the team to scout the vaults; the Sith Lord succeeded in infiltrating the vault and attempted to remove the holocron but was struck by an irreversible bout of insanity. Remarkably, he was able to return to Kyra without being detected but was in no condition to aid her further so she euthanized him.

She then contacted Raivon and informed him of the failure. Though displeased about the loss, he was able to speculate that the holocron could not be removed from its plinth by anyone tainted by the Darkside and devised a plan to get a Jedi to retrieve it for him. Using Kyra as a conduit, Raivon entered the mind of Beren Korr, a 15-year old padawan, and projected images of the vault and the holocron into his dreams. After several nights of this, Raivon received an impatient message from Candor, ordering him to speed up his plans. On the night of Grand Master Xavier’s memorial anniversary, when the entire Order would gather in the room of a Thousand Fountains, Raivon struck. He sent a vision to Beren that showed his uncle, Ramon Polus, being tortured in the vault. As predicted, Beren raced to his uncle’s rescue with his two best friends, but once inside the vault he found no trace of Polus. As Beren continued to search for his uncle, one of his friends discovered the holocron and Beren removed it from its plinth. He studied it closely, unaware of the Sith Lords emerging from the shadows until his friends spotted one. R’tas Vakarian, Kyra’s lieutenant, attempted to talk Beren into handing over the holocron, even promising to share its secrets with him, but Beren was not fooled and ordered his friends to throw their lightsabers at them. The Sith scattered and attempted to separate the padawans but found it hard to do so as Beren threatened to smash the holocron if they attacked. The padawans eventually escaped the vault and hid in the ancient Jedi Crypt, a dark circular room with numerous coffins imbedded in the walls and a strange archway in the raised centre.

Their safety did not last however as the Sith descended on them in a surprise attack. Kyra took Beren’s friends captive allowing R’tas to take the holocron from him. R’tas was not allowed much time to celebrate however, as Ramon Polus teleported behind him and, after a snappy one-liner, punched him in the face. R’tas fell to the floor, the holocron smashing mere inches from his grip. In the blink of an eye, seven Jedi Knights teleported into the room, attacking the Sith. Furious with his failure, R’tas challenged Ramon and the two duelled. R’tas had the upper hand for most of the fight until Beren intervened, destroying R'tas's second saber. Ramon then disarmed R’tas completely and Force pushed him against the far wall, knocking him unconscious. The other Sith Lords were also swiftly defeated, with Kyra being the last one standing. In an act of pure revenge, she teleported away from her opponent and reappeared on a pedestal above Ramon, unleashing a deadly blast of Force Lightning, killing him instantly. She then fled, with an enraged Beren hot on her trail; who eventually caught up with her in the spacious meditation chamber and hit her with a spontaneous blast of Force lightning. Shocked and weakened by the blast, Kyra lay at Beren’s mercy as he struggled with his anger. Raivon teleported onto the scene and disarmed him, calling him weak. Before Raivon could help Kyra escape (her teleportation device was damaged by Beren’s lightning), Qim arrived, his violet lightsaber at the ready.

"It was a mistake for you to come here tonight Raivon; the entire Order is on its way.” “By which time I shall be gone and you…shall be dead."

- – Darth Raivon confronts his twin for the second time.

Knowing that a prolonged duel would only buy his brother more time, Raivon decided to kill Qim quickly. He unleashed a powerful blast of Force lightning which Qim blocked with his lightsaber and, using Vaapad’s super-conducting loop, redirected it back at Raivon, who used his free hand to absorb it. They struggled with this for a minute or so until Raivon stopped the attack, instead releasing a Force blast and, laughing maniacally, watched as Qim was engulfed in a sphere of fire. This was not the end however; as Qim dissipated the fire and cast the remainders back at him, which Raivon easily deflected. Qim then tricked Raivon by forcing him to block a Force push then followed up by pulling water from the nearby fountain and engulfing him in it. Despite being crushed by a sphere of water, Raivon could not help but admire his brother’s sense of irony as he unleashed a Force repulse that broke Qim’s hold on the water. Raivon then drained Force power from Qim, using it to fuel another Force repulse that sent Qim, Beren, and Kyra flying in all directions as well as shattering several glass statues. Raivon summoned the shattered glass and cast it at Qim, who created an aura that reduced the glass to sand. Realising that the duel was taking far too much time, Raivon used Force camouflage to sneak past Qim and possess Beren, filling him with the Darkside and taunting his weaknesses. Qim could only watch as Raivon dragged Beren deeper into the Darkside, until his friends emerged from the Crypt, unharmed. Upon seeing them, Beren experienced several flashes of happy memories giving him the strength to force Raivon out of his mind. After being cast out, Raivon taunted Beren once more before grabbing Kyra and teleporting to safety seconds before the Order arrived.

The Sith War (238 ABY - 241 ABY)
"The time has come. Go, my friend. Bring order to the galaxy."

- – Darth Candor, to Darth Raivon.

After the botched mission to retrieve the holocron the Jedi assumed that the Sith Empire was ready for war, and so began the consolidation of the Galactic Alliance Fleets. Despite being displeased by Raivon’s failure, Candor made him his Fist and gave him command of Thule’s Fury, the fleet that would spearhead the Sith invasion. The Sith’s first objective was to expand their empire, their primary target was the Imperial world; Vjun. Thule’s Fury, however, went straight for the Jedi Praxeum on Yavin IV and was met with heavy resistance, both from the Alliance and the Jedi. Aboard the Inferno, Raivon led the fleet to victory and then led a ground team army of over 40 Sith Lords against the dwindling Jedi forces, during which Kyra fought and killed the Praxeum’s Grand Master, thereby completing her training and earning the title of Darth Ferus.

With Yavin IV under Sith control, the Gordian Reach soon fell to the Sith Empire. For many years the Sith fleets pushed deeper into Alliance territory, slowly driving closer to their ultimate target: Coruscant. In just three years, the Sith Empire had conquered every major planet between the Hydian Way and the Perlemian Trade Route, their final victim was Arkania which, after a fierce orbital battle, was glassed from orbit. The glassing of Arkania was the beginning of the end for the Sith Empire, as one ship, the Pillar of Hope, escaped the bombardment and made a blind hyperspace jump towards Sith space.