Star Wars Fanon
Advertisement


The shadow which fell on the old empire now encroaches on the Republic. The time of the Jedi is over. The age of the New Sith is it at hand.
—Khrado Ragnos

Khrado Ragnos, known more commonly by the pseudonym Sithmaster, was a pureblood Sith descendant of the ancient Dark Lord Marka Ragnos. Born on Korriban, raised and taught on that desolate world by the apparition of his many times over great-grandfather Marka, Khrado grew to manhood and mastery of the dark side. A Sith sorcerer and a swordsman rivaling nearly all those he ever faced, he was also an alchemist who used his skills to rebreed an entire army of Massassi. He made several attempts to reconquer and rebuild the fallen Sith Empire before his death in 19 BBY at the hands of Darths Vader and Sidious.

Biography[]

Early life[]

Born in a ragged Sith colony on Korriban in 122 BBY, Khrado gave off an aura of power to his Force-sensitive relatives early on. At the age of four, he was already beginning to consciously manipulate his environment. It was at this time that the Jedi discovered the Sith colony and subjected it to space-based bombardment. Guided by the dark side and his growing fear and anger, Khrado managed to dodge at all the right times, and was left the only survivor—that he knew of. Hiding while the Jedi inspected the damage, the young Sith sensed suddenly that he was being watched.

Led by his instincts, the boy wandered for three days on foot until coming to the Valley of the Dark Lords. He was attacked by a pack of tuk'ata but, in another display of his burgeoning powers, kept them at bay with Force pushes until an unseen power called them off. Curious and unafraid, young Khrado journeyed on.

At last the whisperings of the Force led him to a magnificent tomb, which he entered without hesitation. Inside, his silent guardian was revealed: the Force ghost of his many-times-great ancestor, Marka Ragnos. The deceased Dark Lord sat his descendant down and explained the true nature of the Force and what he called the "perversions of the Jedi". He also detailed the genocide against the Sith race by the Republic and the glories of the old Empire. In the end, Khrado was almost salivating for a chance at the power of the Dark Lords and thirsty for revenge. Greatly pleased, the elder Ragnos took his descendant as a student.

Training[]

Having committed to learning the power of the Sith, young Khrado was immediately subjected to a brutal regimen of training exercises designed to break and reforge him in every conceivable way. Any hesitation or fear on the part of the young child was met with uncompromising punishment and psychological torment, until Khrado was utterly unafraid of anything, including death, pain, and his mentor. With every trial, the boy's grasp of the Force and will to use the dark side grew.

All the lightsabers on Korriban were either ancient and dilapidated or nonfunctional, but Marka Ragnos ordered his student to build one anyway. Khrado scavenged the planet for weeks, taking apart speeders, ships, and power generators for components. After a month of careful preparation, the boy finished his weapon. When asked by a curious Marka where he had obtained the bloodred focusing crystal, Khrado nonchalantly replied that he had stolen it from his ancestor's sarcophagus. Marka was beside himself with rage at this irreverence, but Khrado cheekily replied that it was of more use to the living than the dead. Threatened with punishment for his actions, Khrado calmly accepted the possibility of death, but cautioned that, before dying, he would do everything in his power to bring down the tomb and sever his ancestor's connection to the mortal world. Impressed by the boy's cold ferocity, Marka set aside his rage and accepted his student's weapon.

Guided by both the Dark Lord's ghost and Sith holocrons, Khrado trained endlessly in the deep dark arts and the use of the lightsaber. When these came easily, Marka taught the young man the ancient rites and powers of the Sith priesthood as well. By the age of twenty-five, his power was such that Marka Ragnos was running out of things to teach him without exposure to the greater galaxy. Realizing this, Khrado proclaimed himself a Sith Lord and used what knowledge of mechanics he had to repair a Sith cruiser and traveled off-world for the first time. Venturing secretly into the Republic, he decided to put his skills to the test.

Mastery[]

Biding his time carefully, Khrado gained information on the activities of his sworn enemies, the Jedi. Traveling covertly to Bpfassh, he engaged his first Jedi Knight in combat; Khrado easily slew the Jedi, decapitating him. Convinced that he must have simply found an inferior specimen, Khrado lured three more Jedi Knights and a Jedi Master into duels with him, all with similar results. Perplexed at how his ancestors could possibly have lost to the Jedi in the first place, he returned to Korriban.

On the way, though, the Sith Lord made two detours. The first was to Coruscant, capital of the Republic and home of his foes, the Jedi. Taking a few weeks in the underworld to familiarize himself with Republic technology, Khrado accessed blueprints for modern starcraft, including both warships and transportation vessels. He also downloaded as much information about Republic government, bureaucracy, and weapons.

The second stop was on Yavin 4, the last known location of the Dark Lord Naga Sadow. Though he had been taught to despise Sadow personally, branding him a cowardly traitor to the Sith, Khrado nonetheless realized the value of the Dark Lord's alchemical experiments. Careful excavation revealed fossilized Massassi remains, and an exploration of the Massassi Temple produced holocrons that had belonged to both Sadow and Exar Kun. Armed with his new resources, Khrado finally returned to Korriban.

Marka Ragnos could sense the change in his disciple, whose confidence had grown exponentially since his voyage to the Core. The ancient ghost could only listen in astonishment as Khrado calmly detailed his plans for reconstructing the Sith Empire and making an army: he planned to alchemically create a massive army of Massassi. Ragnos initially refused to assist Khrado in opening the sealed holocrons he had recovered; Khrado calmly threatened to tear down the entire Valley of the Dark Lords until he found a spirit willing to assist him. When the infuriated Marka attacked his apprentice's mind, Khrado used his own command of the Force to fend his ancestor off, warning him that another try would result in his connection to the living world being broken. Marka consented to unlock the holocrons.

Immediately setting to his new task, Khrado learned all he could about alchemical techniques. Realizing he would need a liquid medium in which to grow clones, and unwilling to pay cloners, the Sith Lord took his cruiser to the nearest aquatic planet in Wild Space and informed the indigenous population that they could either assist him in his labors or be destroyed. Unsurprisingly, the water-dwellers decided to help, and an entire ocean on their homeworld was devoted to the growing of clones.

Using the dark side and flesh samples from some of the less useful natives, Khrado amassed an enormous force of Massassi. Realizing they needed to be fed and put to good use, he led the first batch to another planet nearby, had them massacre the inhabitants, bequeathed the considerable natural resources to them, and set them to building starships by his specifications.

While the second generation of Massassi were being grown, Khrado reviewed his schematics and realized Sith warships were hopelessly outdated. Ordering his slaves to stop construction while he pondered the problem, Khrado eventually redesigned every ancient Sith warship to his own specifications, making sure his Massassi were creating vehicles he could actually use.

With a fleet in the making and a horde of Massassi at his beck and call, Khrado returned to Korriban again in 87 BBY for what would be the last time in a long time. Marka Ragnos, having recognized the potential of his disciple's plan, offered him the title of Sith Master, but Khrado was only amused.

Marka Ragnos: “Take thee an apprentice, Khrado, and become a Sith Master.
Khrado Ragnos: “I need no disciple to be a master. I am a Sith Master. I am THE Sith Master, Dark Lord of the Sith. And now, my lord, I go to recover the galaxy.
―Marka and Khrado Ragnos

Liking the sound of it, Khrado adopted "Sithmaster" as his name, and from then on only his very closest confidantes knew his real name. Fully confident in himself and his plan, the newly self-proclaimed Dark Lord Khrado set out to the former Sith territories with his fleet.

An apprentice, a brother[]

For sixteen years, the Sith armada swept through the former territories of the Sith Empire, many of which had their own governments and fleets but all of which were too far-removed from the Republic to attract notice. Legions of Massassi subjugated worlds which would not submit peacefully, and the Dark Lord's reputation spread like a flame through the Unknown Regions. However, he never took his mentor's advice about taking an apprentice. By 71 BBY, over a hundred worlds were under the sway of the revived Empire, and the Dark Lord arrived at Andaria.

Guided by the will of the dark side, Sithmaster journeyed to the planet alone, discovering it to be in the midst of a civil war. Musing on how this would contribute to his conquests, the Dark Lord didn't pay attention to where he was going until he found himself in an alley, facing another Sith. Stunned to see another member of his species alive, Sithmaster didn't sense danger coming until it was upon them.

Several government loyalists descended upon the two Sith. Sithmaster easily dispatched several with his lightsaber, but seeing the other young man about to be overwhelmed, he threw the weapon to him. To Sithmaster’s continued surprise, the boy ignited the saber, parried three blaster bolts, and killed his attackers. Killing the remainder with Force lightning, Sithmaster took his new acquaintance with him off the planet.

The young Sith, who revealed himself to be Tak Sakaros, was already close to the dark side due to the recent death of his sister, and it took little persuasion on Sithmaster's part before Tak became his apprentice. At Tak’s request, the two Sith utterly destroyed Andaria, commandeered all of its natural resources, and moved on.

Tak proved to be a competent apprentice, physically adept and constantly thirsty for more knowledge. Even better, though powerful, Tak's Force potential did not equal his master's, so Khrado would never need to worry about being overthrown. Instead, Tak became his foremost general, dedicated servant, and only real confidante. Though he trained Tak by methods whose brutality equalled those he had encountered and constantly placed him in mortal danger, Sithmaster had a true affection for his disciple, perhaps because they were the remnants of the long-vanquished Sith race.

By my honor as a Sith, descendant of the race of gods, I am your brother. Your family is mine, and I will love them. Your allies are mine, and I will honor them. Your enemies are mine, and I will destroy them. Your injuries are mine, and I will avenge them.
—From the Rite of Blood Brotherhood

In 64 BBY, after seven years of training and conquest, the two Sith underwent the Ritual of Blood-Brotherhood. Effectively, they became as if they were actual family; one's enemy was the other's, one's family the same. It brought them even closer than before, and though Sithmaster's intense training methods did not relent, he had finally admitted his affection for Tak. Shortly thereafter, Khrado named his brother the "Steward of Ziost".

First downfall[]

After twenty-six years of conquest, the occupants of the Unknown Regions and Wild Space had finally had enough. In 61 BBY, the inhabitants of thirty-some systems pooled their resources and ambushed the Sith fleet at Khar Delba. Surprised, and having left much of the fleet elsewhere, the Sith brothers nonetheless counterattacked ferociously. During the battle, Tak's starfighter was hit by an unlucky turbolaser blast, which fried his shields, knocked him out, activated the ship's hyperdrive, and sent the young Sith careening aimlessly across the galaxy. The two Sith would never see each other in the flesh again.

Having lost his brother and a part of his fleet, and as a result his concentration, Sithmaster angrily withdrew from Khar Delba, resolved to assemble his entire fleet and obliterate those who had dared to attack him. However, emboldened by their victory, the planetary confederacy (which dubbed itself "the Outsectors Alliance") took the fight to Sithmaster, bombarding garrisons the Dark Lord had left on worlds he had conquered. His empire collapsing around him, Sithmaster withdrew to his capital on Ziost to concentrate his forces.

Faced with labor shortages, unable to both maintain his garrisons and crew his ships, the Dark Lord began a new batch of alchemical experiments, growing more Massassi and sending the existing ones to repair his fleet. Recognizing that it would be a long and laborious process, the Sith decided to set out on his own and ventured into the Core again.

Long-lost relations and lovers[]

Sithmaster traveled the galaxy for some time, taking with him only a pair of tuk'ata, his lightsaber, and the Force. When he met a Jedi along the way, it gave the Dark Lord a chance to vent his rage at his military failures; there were no survivors from these encounters. Along the way, the Dark Lord encountered several Force-adepts missed at birth by the Jedi, and took apprentices from among them. None ascended to mastery on their own, however, leading Sithmaster to despondently conclude that he was fated never to complete an apprentice's training.

In 41 BBY, however, the Dark Lord's attention was forcefully drawn away from his past problems by his encounters with two women, his sisters. One, Valadyn Ragnos, had been abandoned off-world by Khrado's parents before the Sith had even been born, and had been making her way and half-heartedly developing her powers since. Incensed at such treatment and determined to protect his sister, Khrado began to teach her the ways of the dark side. Though she was never a powerful Force user or a talented lightsaber duelist, Valadyn did have a scientific brilliance that rivaled Sithmaster's own, and she would ultimately aid him in his alchemical experiments.

The other woman could not have been more different. Her name was Razielle, she was the illegitimate daughter of Sithmaster's mother by an unimportant Naboo politician by the name of Palpatine, and she was every bit as much a warrior as Khrado himself. The two got along swimmingly, frequently working together as sparring partners. Though not as well-trained to use it, Razielle bore as great of Force potential as Khrado himself.

Not long after encountering his sisters and still beset by the loss of his blood-brother, Sithmaster was finally convinced of the importance of family, and decided to have one of his own. However, it quickly became apparent that he was not the loving type, so he decided to settle for having a child instead. Through a tryst with a powerful Dark Jedi he encounter in the Mid Rim, Sithmaster sired a daughter, whom his lover named Adrienne when she was born. After a conflict over who would have the girl, Sithmaster took her by force and fled.

Priorities[]

The experience of having a child of his own, a life he had created that was not simply designed to serve him, changed Khrado noticeably. He was incredibly protective of his child, and trained her to use the Force when she was old enough in a manner far more delicate than that which he had used on Tak or his other apprentices. The girl was very close to her father, but when she matured she had an unshakeable desire to know her mother as well. After attempts to dissuade her failed, the Dark Lord conceded the point and sent Adrienne off in the Skipray Blastboat he had been using for the past years, along with his tuk'ata.

Feeling curiously empty without his daughter or sisters nearby, but sensing that something momentous was coming, Khrado began serious rearmament of his forces in 25 BBY. Ready to go three years later, he was just about to set out when word reached him of a new development in the Republic; Separatists under a former Jedi Master named Dooku had declared war on the Republic.

The Clone Wars[]

Sensing that the chaos in the galaxy proper would distract any potential enemies from his own works, the Dark Lord began to re-conquer territory he and Tak had absorbed. During this time, he could distantly perceive his brother through the Force, but was unable to communicate with him. Instead, Sithmaster established a firm base in the Unknown Regions, then turned his guns Coreward.

In 20 BBY, the Sith fleet entered the Outer Rim, acquiring territory in a line that would gradually drift toward Coruscant. He believed, and rightly so, that the Clone Wars would strain the Jedi so badly that the dark side could rise again. Sithmaster believed that, whatever Dooku's motives, his power paled in comparison to Khrado's own, and if he triumphed, the Count could easily be dealt with. What Sithmaster did not predict, however, was that a far more powerful Sith than Dooku was behind the war. He would not see this reality until it was too late to act on it.

Endgame[]

It was bad enough that his plans for galactic dominance had been thwarted by a shriveled old man. That Darth Vader, who (to Sithmaster's knowledge) had not even had the decency to fight in the Clone Wars, should declare himself Dark Lord of the Sith was beyond bearing. Outraged and disgusted, Khrado vowed to kill both Vader and Palpatine, and show them the true power of the dark side in the process.

Journeying in secret to Coruscant, Sithmaster ambushed Palpatine and Vader in the Works, killing most of their Stormtrooper escort with a single Force push that sent them plummeting to their deaths. Disabling the Emperor with a blast of Force lightning, he engaged Vader in an intense saber duel. Wounding the cyborg repeatedly, Khrado was amazed and disgusted to discover the extent of Vader's deformity and inhumanity. His amazement turned to shock and dismay when Palpatine revealed himself to be a Sith Lord as well. Teaming up on Khrado, the two Sith overpowered their enemy. Desperately trying to escape, Khrado leapt over Vader, but Vader slashed him out of the air. His final scream echoing across the galaxy through the Force, Khrado Ragnos fell dead at Darth Sidious's feet.

Legacy[]

Khrado's Mandalorian iron lightsaber and his Sith war helmet were taken by the Emperor to the Mount Tantiss storehouse on Wayland, where they would remain for decades. After the death of Grand Admiral Thrawn, Tak Sakaros infiltrated the ruins of Mount Tantiss and recovered these artifacts. The lightsaber he kept for his own use, but the helmet he placed in a tomb on Korriban in the Valley of the Dark Lords. Anchored to the mortal world by the Valley's power and his helmet, Khrado appeared on rare occasions as a Force ghost to give advice (and occasionally commands) to his brother.

Tak named his first son after his brother.

Powers and Abilities[]

Master of both the Shien and Djem So styles of lightsaber combat, Khrado Ragnos was a swordsman almost without peer, losing only a single duel his entire life. He was also known to incorporate elements of Ataru and Dun Moch into his fighting. His fighting style was aggressive, violent, and powerful, aimed at overwhelming his foes through Force-enhanced strength. His Force powers were the match of most Jedi Masters, and he frequently used overwhelming and destructive techniques in battle. Ragnos was known to use Battle Meditation, Force lightning, and Force Horror, as well as conjuring Force storms. He could also see the future on some occasions, and it gave him guidance on how to use his forces and powers to maximum efficiency.

Possessed of what others considered a brilliant analytical mind, Sithmaster was a gifted scientist and a powerful alchemist, on par with his predecessors of old. Use of the ancient techniques of Sith alchemy allowed him to grow a vast army of Massassi without the use of cloning cylinders, a feat his brother would be unable to duplicate decades later. At one point, he experimented with altering the genetic structures of humans and near-humans to transform them into Sith, though these experiments were incomplete at the time of his death.

A superb tactician, Ragnos excelled at both grand strategy and tactical command. He was never beaten in ground combat, and suffered only one major defeat in space (at Khar Delba).

Though not nearly as proficient a linguist as his apprentice Tak Sakaros, Khrado could speak Ancient and Modern Sith fluently, and well as heavily accented Basic.

Sithmaster disdained the use of projectile weapons (other than his own lightning attacks), but he was persuaded by his brother to learn hand-to-hand combat. It would be the only area in which Tak could consistently best his master, but Ragnos was nonetheless a talented hand fighter.

Appearance and Personality[]

Khrado Ragnos, at 1.88 meters tall and well built, intimidated many enemies on sight, not least because of his contantly-ferocious expression. Fond of wearing gloves with spiked knuckles and dark armor over his tunic, he alternated between wearing his long hair loose and in a tight ponytail. The Dark Lord was also fond of wearing a cape, which he would tuck over his shoulders when dueling. Like most Sith, he was left-handed.

For all of his life, Sithmaster was known among his allies for being the embodiment of Sith detachment and coldness; he had a very dismissive view of most life forms, and a cynical approach to life in general. His drive for conquest was notoriously single-minded, and he seemed to take any resistance to his rule as a personal insult. In addition, he was easily offended by anything he viewed as disrespect; it was this sense of entitlement that would lead him into his fatal confrontation with Darth Vader.

The contrast between this public, "professional" demeanor and Sithmaster's private life could not have been more jarring. His sisters both considered him a gentle and supportive man, and his was protective of both of them, as well as his daughter. While he generally let his blood-brother Tak fend for himself, the Dark Lord nonetheless was a supportive master and a devoted teacher.

There was some degree of debate as to how much Sithmaster's conquests of the old Sith Empire were based on cultural piety and reverence for his ancestors, and how much was his own lust for power. Tak Sakaros, who knew him better than most, suggested it was a combination of both, with an emphasis on the former. Most of his enemies thought quite differently, claiming the Dark Lord used avenging his ancestors as a pretense for large-scale slaughter.

Khrado Ragnos: “I did not humble myself before the Jedi! I did not infect my seed with Jedi contamination! I did not bow before the Coruscanti usurpers of our birthright!"
Tak Sakaros: “"I didn't get myself killed by an old man and a machine.
―Khrado Ragnos and Tak Sakaros debating the propriety of Tak's associations

What was known, however, was that Sithmaster took a totally uncompromising approach to the Jedi. No Jedi could be a friend, or even an ally; every Jedi who crossed his path crossed his blade, and almost none survived. Following his death, his spirit would often chastise Tak Sakaros for his more conciliatory attitude toward rogue Jedi and his circuitous tactics designed ambiguously at best to bring about their end.

Like many Sith, Khrado suffered from bloodlust; when provoked beyond control, he would fly into a destructive rage, often using the Force unconsciously to destroy whatever had provoked him.

Advertisement