Darth Vermis

Darth Vermis, born Kel Navera, was a  who fought during the, and later reigned as a  during the. Following the defeat in 5,000 BBY, Kel was  for her failure to. Despite this execution, her was unable to enter the realm of. Instead, Vermis, as she had been rechristened, remained in limbo for over three millennia, eventually being reincarnated by members of the.

Seeking revenge against the, Vermis gathered the scattered , also assuming the title of. As the new leader of a faction known as the Sith Dominion, Vermis led a crusade against the Republic with hopes of expanding her powerbase, ideally taking full control of the. Despite this ambitious goal, Vermis's rapidly decaying body, along with her inability to into a new form, forced the Dark Lord to abandon the Dominion in a quest to preserve her life.

Early life
Kel Navera was a member of the  species who, at some point prior to, earned the title of. During the 's of, Kel led a number of warriors in an attempt to defend her homeworld. Despite her efforts, the was defeated, forcing their leader,, to flee the battle. Overwhelmed and seeing no alternative, Kel also retreated along with her remaining forces, ultimately seeking haven on the world of. For her failure to stop the invasion, Kel was denounced by her surviving followers. In addition, her followers began calling her "Vermis", a word which, in the, referred to something wretched and insignificant.

Following her denouncement, Kel faced at the behest of her remaining followers. In addition, through a ritual, Kel's  was bound to her own, which was then left within a small underground tomb. This prevented her from truly dying and entering the realm of, forcing the disgraced Sith Lord to remain trapped in limbo between life and death. To avoid losing her mind during this isolation, Kel forced herself into a, allowing her to remain in deep hibernation for extended periods. In between these periods, she often grieved over her failure on Korriban, hoping to one day atone by destroying the enemies of the Sith. In addition, she chose to renounce her birth name and instead adopted a new one, Vermis, as a reminder of the price for her failure.

Reincarnation
The spirit of Vermis remained on Ambria for over three millennia until her tomb was discovered by members of a called the. The cult was able to reincarnate Vermis by sacrificing one of their own. As such, her spirit was removed from her sword, and was subsequently bound to the body of the Sith cultist. After recovering herself and adapting to her new body, Vermis hoped to atone for her failure to defeat the Galactic Republic thousands of years ago. As such, with the help of the cultists, Vermis departed from Ambria, making her way into the civilized galaxy where she eventually encountered the fragmented remnants of the.

Seeking to unite the scattered Sith factions under her rule, Vermis hoped to build a force capable of challenging the Republic. As such, she made her presence known to the Sith by infiltrating their ranks. During this time, she continued restoring her lost power, impressing and intimidating many Sith she encountered. This earned her a group of followers that rapidly grew in size. With a large portion of the Sith remnants under her control, Vermis assumed the title of and declared herself the new, hoping to use this new force to challenge the Galactic Republic.

Crusade
Darth Vermis finally engaged the Republic in the battle of Mizra, resulting in a Sith victory. Over the following years, Vermis undertook a campaign to develop a large seat of power for the Sith. To achieve this end, her forces took part in a streak of hit-and-run engagements against the Galactic Republic on the edges of their territory. As per Vermis's plan, this gave the Republic little room to recover following their loss at. Vermis's crusade gradually ate away at the Republic's powerbase in the outlying regions of. In turn, Vermis's forces began to expand their own territory, eventually becoming known as the Sith Dominion.

Still lamenting due to her failure thousands of years earlier, Vermis wanted to avoid being outnumbered by her enemy. As such, she planned on taking over the entirety of the, allowing her to amass a force strong enough to completely overwhelm the Republic. Despite the initial success of her plans, Vermis's campaign dwindled in the face of numerous setbacks, including the and the Diatium Crisis. It was because of these events that Vermis and her Sith allies chose to enter a strategic withdrawal. Rather than focusing on conquest, Vermis began refining the Sith's powerbase by establishing numerous dark side.

After years as a solitary ruler, Vermis eventually agreed to share leadership with Darth Rivan and Darth Noctus, two Sith Lords who had risen to prominence under her. In this new partnership, Vermis took advantage of Noctus's political connections within the. In addition, she sought to make use of Rivan's knowledge of to further amplify the Dominion's military forces. While sharing power was considered to be weakness by the, Vermis believed it was necessary to keep the Dominion organized efficiently, particularly as their numbers began to grow.

Downfall
As her campaign progressed, Vermis's heavy reliance on the dark side had unforeseen consequences, greatly taking its toll on her physical body. The ancient Sith Lord eventually faced a dilemma; remaining in her current form would degrade her body completely. In addition, Vermis was unable to into a fresh body; her spirit was bound to her current form, and attempting to leave it would result in her death. After Vermis approached Rivan and Noctus for assistance, the two Sith Lords instead disregarded her. Desperately concerned for her future, Vermis abandoned her position as the Dominion's leader, endeavoring to find some way of preserving her life.

During her search, Vermis considered a number of potential solutions, including the use of to support her ailing body. Due to her lack of familiarity with the technology, however, Vermis was reluctant to make use of it. In the midst of her search, Vermis was confronted by the female Belia Darzu, another prominent member of the Dominion. Aware of Vermis's predicament, Belia offered her knowledge of to restore the Dark Lord to full strength. In her desperation, Vermis eventually accepted the offer. As such, Belia subjected Vermis to the metacron virus, forming cybernetic implants which successfully restored her body.

In the process of saving Vermis's life, however, Belia had employed a dark side technique which allowed her to exert control over the Dark Lord's mind. As a result, Vermis had unwittingly placed herself under the influence of Belia. Despite Vermis's survival, her absence from the Sith Dominion had created a power vacuum. In response, the led a string of victories against the Dominion, liberating dozens of worlds and ultimately removing one of Vermis's co-rulers, Darth Rivan. Under the influence of Belia, Vermis became convinced that the remaining Dark Lord, Noctus, was at fault for this decline, and that he needed to be overthrown and replaced with new leadership.