We rule the Sith. Here we will build a sovereignty of the dark side to overcome millennia of injustice. But I am the rightful ruler, for I alone possess the curiosity to translate their secrets and apply them to larger patterns of conquest. I foresee what will become a magnificent Sith Empire.
—Sorzus Syn, Dark Lord of the Sith
The Sith Empire was a rich and powerful empire established by eleven Jedi Masters who were banished from the Galactic Republic after a schism within the Jedi Order plunged the galaxy into a Hundred-Year Darkness. The lone survivors of their group of Jedi outcasts, these eleven exiles were loaded onto a colony ship and cast into the darkness of the Unknown Regions where they were able to navigate themselves to a remote desert world in the Stygian Caldera. Called Korriban by the local red-skinned Sith, the Jedi discovered that the natives were highly-attuned to the Force and had advanced the science of alchemy far beyond what was known to the Jedi Order. Playing on the naivety of the Sith, the eleven exiles declared themselves gods and their leader, Ajunta Pall, declared himself Dark Lord of the Sith after executing Sith King Hakagram Graush with his own sword.
After a few short years, the first Sith Lords had conquered the Stygian Caldera and established their throne world on the planet Ziost. While Lords Dreypa, Long and Klusto abandoned the Caldera to take revenge on the Republic and the Jedi, their mission ended in failure and they became lost on the planet Kesh without revealing the location of the fledgling Empire. For two thousand years the Empire grew and expanded and developed, with Dark Lords rising and falling as new aspirants vied for the throne. It wasn't until the rise of Dark Lord Naga Sadow that the Empire invaded the Republic in 4,965 BrS in hopes of enacting revenge against the Jedi and the government which exiled them. Despite their planning, the Sith were swiftly rebuffed and the Stygian Caldera attacked by Republic forces. Through orbital bombardment, Korriban was purged of the Sith and the Empire collapsed in on itself. While the Republic appeared victorious, a Sith Lord called Vitiate survived along with a great host of Sith Lords, slaves, and acolytes. Leading a great exodus across the stars, Vitiate laid claim to Dromund Kaas and the Sith swiftly established the metropolitan Kaas City around the new Imperial Palace. Under the care of the Emperor and his Dark Council of Sith Lords, the Empire began building a mighty war machine, with the intent of eventually returning to combat the Galactic Republic once more. The Empire worked towards that goal for over one thousand years, gradually expanding and gaining more power and influence. During that time, the Sith were discovered by Jedi Knights Revan and Malak, who were forcibly turned to the dark side of the Force by the Emperor and became Sith. Although they were sent back to serve as the vanguards of the Empire's eventual invasion, they broke free from his conditioning and formed concurrently their own Sith Empire. The Empire of Revan and Malak appeared to the Republic to be another group of schismatics, attacking the weakened Republic on the heels of the costly Mandalorian War. Despite this, the Republic defeated the two and their remnant, and knowledge of the Empire remained hidden. In the immediate afterwards of Revan's Empire, a group of three Sith Lords formed a Triumvirate that would lead an army of Sith in a great purge of the Jedi, nearly wiping out the fabled Order. Despite their attempts, the Triumvirate was stamped out and the Order began to flourish once more in the centuries afterward.
Around three hundred years later, the Sith Empire—still under the command of Vitiate —was ready to return to the greater galaxy. After covertly installing puppet governments on Republic worlds across the Outer Rim Territories, the Sith invaded Republic space in an onslaught of unrivaled proportions. After capturing and securing much of the Outer Rim in the early stages of what would become known as the Great Galactic War, the Sith Emperor began preparing for the push towards the Republic's bastion in the Galactic Core. Despite several setbacks in its campaign towards the core, the Empire surged forward once more, crippling the Republic economy through an alliance with the Mandalorian warrior clans. On the verge of victory, the Empire surprised the galaxy when the Dark Council extended an offer of peace to the Republic. Desperate, the Republic senate accepted, but during peace talks on Alderaan, the Empire launched a sneak attack on the Republic capital of Coruscant. The attack was a rousing success for the Empire, allowing the Sith to force the Republic to sign their draft of the document that would end the war, the Treaty of Coruscant. With the war at an end and the Empire stronger than ever, the Emperor retreated from the public view and passed responsibilities of the day-to-day maintenance of the Empire to the Dark Council. As a result of the Empire's co-existence with the Republic, an interstellar Cold War emerged in the immediate aftermath of the Great War, during which time the Empire engaged in proxy battles and small conflicts with the Republic and its allies. When war did start up again, the Empire started to suffer catastrophic defeats that ranged from losing members of its leadership, to infighting and internal struggles between power-crazed Sith Lords. It soon became just as vulnerable and desperate as the Republic it was fighting, leading to its near collapse when the Eternal Empire attacked the galaxy.
Over a millennium later, Darth Ruin led a revival of the Sith ways, reconstituting the Sith Empire and raising a new army of Sith warriors. Forcing a weak Republic to withdrawal back to the Galactic Core, Ruin's Empire successfully conquered great swathes of the galaxy, with only a handful of Jedi standing up to the Empire's might. Jedi fiefdoms appeared across the galaxy while Sith declared themselves Lords of entire sectors. Many Sith Emperors appeared simultaneously and the Empire quickly became fractured and broken. After a millennium of infighting, Jedi Master Skere Kaan formed the Brotherhood of the Sith and espoused a fraternity of Lords, declaring all Sith Lords equal under one banner. Swiftly conquering the Empire, Kaan's reign was short-lived as the young upstart Darth Bane tricked the Sith Lords into wiping themselves out using a Thought Bomb. With the Sith leadership destroyed, Darth Bane hid away in darkness, establishing the Rule of Two. This new code demanded that only a single Sith Master and their apprentice could exist at one time in order to keep the power balanced. For a thousand years the Sith persisted in this way, remaining hidden from the Jedi. It wasn't until the rise of Darth Sidious that the Sith revealed themselves again, only to be struck down by Jedi Master |Mace Windu at the end of the Clone Wars. With the stroke of Windu's lightsaber, the Sith were eradicated forever, and the Empire never rose again.
Sith ranks[]
As a Sith rose up through the academy and the Empire, each member followed a general hierarchy of five basic levels of rank with additional honorary titles handed down by the Dark Council or even the Emperor on occasion.
Hierarchy[]
- Sith hopeful – While the Jedi generally restricted their membership to infants or children, the Sith Order permitted a being of any age to enter their academy. A Sith hopeful was what many Sith called an individual who aspired to enroll in the Sith Academy. Many of these individuals were civilians from across the galaxy who sought to follow the Sith creed, while others were former Jedi who had been seduced by the dark side.
- Sith Tyro – Following a Sith hopeful's initial testing and trials, they were accepted into the Sith Academy where they would train as acolytes within the academy's grounds. Training in groups and encouraged to sabotage each other, Tyros commonly formed strong rivalries and instead of friendships, built a relationship based on respect for powerful colleagues. Wielding vibroswords, training lightsabers, and various other weapons, death at the academy was common and instructors would often relish watching a young student ravaged by his superior among the class.
- Sith apprentice – A Sith apprentice was an individual that began serious training under a Sith Master after the potential apprentice displayed an impressive act of loyalty, skill or cruelty. A Sith apprentice's time as a student ended either with his or her death, or when their Master deemed them worthy of the rank of Sith. Occasionally, an apprentice believed their skill surpassed that of their own master's and would then plot their death. If an apprentice successfully slew tutor, they were elevated to the rank of
- Sith Knights – All Sith served the Empire as knights, using the Force and wielding destructive powers against those who sought to impose their will on the Empire's servants. Upon successfully ascending to the rank of Knight, the Sith was no longer subject to the will of their Master; instead they followed the directives of the Dark Council. Aside from accepting missions from the Council, Knights pursued specialized training on one of the three branches of specialization and potentially took their own apprentice. Many attached themselves to an academy somewhere across the galaxy to pursue further knowledge and skills at specialized facilities. Upon taking a student, a Knight was free to take them on missions or into the wilderness and teach them survival skills as well as the traditional precepts of the Sith code.
- Sith Master – A Knight who showed great understanding of the Force and managed to instruct an apprentice and train them successfully to the level of Sith Knight was elevated to the rank of Master by the Dark Council. Self-declaration of the title was common after the Knight had completed a major assignment or otherwise demonstrated superior skill in the Force. Among the Empire's Masters, only a select few were dubbed Sith Lords after they were known to possess both considerable knowledge of and strength in the dark side.
- Sith Lord – When a Master was elevated to the rank of Lord, they took on leadership responsibilities within the Empire. Lords were placed in command of the Empire's fleets, academies, institutions and knowledge banks. Depending on the era, a Sith Lord would assume the title of Darth and take on a new name to signify their detachment from their former life and their devotion and total immersion within the dark side of the Force.
- Grand Lord – This position was the elected leader of the Dark Council, the advisory body to the Emperor that was tasked with ruling the Empire on issues below the attention of the Emperor. Guiding Council discussions and directing its members' attention to specific matters, the Grand Lord was charged with calling the Council into session and had the final say on matters of great import.
- Sith Emperor – The ordained leader of the entire Sith Order and Empire, the Sith Emperor was the sole leader of the Empire and ruled with the authority of the dark side of the Force. The Emperor was the life-long leader of the Empire and could only be removed through a coup by the Dark Council or other upstart members of the Order.
- Emperor's Fist – The Emperor's Fist was the supreme military commander of the Imperial fleet.
- Emperor's Hand –
- Emperor's Voice – The Emperor's Voice was a position within the Sith Empire. The Voice allowed the Emperor to remain within his palace while still delivering commands to his servants and carrying out his will. The Emperor would utilized many Voices of different species, genders, and ages throughout their time as leader of the Empire, temporarily transferring his consciousness to speak through his mouthpieces.
- Emperor's Wrath – The Emperor's Wrath was a position that required that an individual serve as a personal enforcer and executioner for the Emperor, taking orders directly from and answering only to him. Unlike the rest of the Emperor's servants, who were bound to his will by a dark side ritual, the Wrath was given autonomy, as the Emperor requires that his Wrath use the full fury of their power.
Sith Warrior[]
Sith Warriors, described as "an unstoppable force of darkness", were combat specialists of the Sith Empire, and served as the champions of the battlefield, entrusted with the task of destroying the Empire’s enemies and enforcing Sith domination across the galaxy. Trained to rely on the emotions of fear, anger, and hatred to improve their connection to the dark side of the Force, channeling its power through their bodies and purging weakness from themselves.
In contrast to the Sith Inquisitors, Warriors had little patience for careful planning, and wasted no time with such manipulations. Instead, they demanded absolute obedience from their followers, relying on power and intimidation to attain their ends. However, such blunt methods did not reduce them to single-mindedness, and Sith Warriors had been known to go renegade in order to pursue their own agendas.
- Battlelord – Sith battlelords were leaders within the Sith armies and, through a series of complex rituals involving the application of Sith magic, were bonded to the troops they commanded via the Force. The use of Sith battlelords reduced desertion rates within the Sith armies. Sphere of Defense of the Empire.
- Corrector – Sith Correctors were the law enforcement arm of the Sith Empire, ensuring that all citizens towed the line and that unruly Sith knew their place. Cruel and ruthless, Correctors took to the battlefield where they organized troops and directed their movements. Sphere of Laws and Justice
- Combat instructor – Combat instructors taught a Sith academy or temple and had years of experience and service on the front lines.
- Executioner – These Sith specialized in combat endurance and were known for wearing armor that provided them special protection in battle. Relying on the Force to boost their stamina, Juggernauts were capable of shrugging off damage that would destroy others. Charging into the thick of combat, Juggernauts take the brunt of the damage, all the while using the Force to cause terror and despair in enemy combatants. Juggernauts were even capable of draining the energy of their opponents to further strengthen themselves and their resolve. Sphere of Sphere of Military Offense.
- Masterblade – Masterblades were Sith Warriors who were weapon masters that won ten or more duels against lightsaber-wielding opponents. The title was one of great pride for it signified the user's skill in defeating the weapon of the Jedi, or other Sith. As a sign of their rank, these masterblades were given a tremor sword which they used lethally against their enemies.
Sith Inquisitor[]
Sith Inquisitors were a class of powerful Force-wielders within the Sith Empire, operating primarily within the upper echelons and political circles. In contrast to their counterparts, the Warriors and Marauders, Inquisitors specialized in Force abilities as opposed to martial might, and many would devote much time to researching new skills to survive in the cutthroat Sith political environment. Few acolytes succeeded in becoming Inquisitors. However, those that did proved to be the most determined. On the battlefield, Inquisitors were a spectacle to behold, channeling vast amounts of Dark Side Force energy to create massive storms of Force lightning, or draining the life force of enemies to feed themselves and their allies. However, most Inquisitors preferred a more manipulative operating style, being masters of exploiting both enemies and allies to further their own agendas.
- Alchemist – Sith alchemists drew on the dark side of the Force to create alchemical creations of the darkest nature. Sphere of Biotic Science.
- Caretaker – Sith caretakers maintained the vast archives of the Sith, handled their ancient text, and studies the dark tomes of the millennia of Sith Lords. Sphere of Ancient Knowledge.
- Emissary – The Diplomatic Corps of the Empire. Sphere of Expansion and Diplomacy
- Overseer – Overseer was the title given to a Sith instructor, training multiple Sith acolytes in the Sith Academy on Korriban. Overseers were always Sith Lords who had seen firsthand the tribulations of life outside the academy. They were helped in their task by junior instructors known as Assistant Overseers, which were Knights with an affinity for instruction.
- Kissai – Philosopher, Sphere of Sith Philosophy
- Questor – Researcher; Sphere of Production and Logistics
- Sorcerer – A Sith sorcerer or sorceress was an individual who was proficient in the arts of Sith magic, using spells, talismans or incantations to focus the power of the dark side. The specialization of Sorcerer offered the greatest level of raw Force ability, as these adepts drew their power from the darkest corners of the Force, unleashing volatile energies that could wreak utter devastation against enemies. In addition to this, Sorcerers were capable of healing and bolstering their allies with these same abilities. With the very air around them crackling with energy, powerful Sorcerers had a reputation for torturous retaliations against those foolish enough to get in their way. Sith sorcerers gained their powers through intense study of Sith traditions, and applications of the dark side of Force. Occasionally, an aspiring sorcerer's powers were developed through sheer innate talent, rather than harnessing them through study, or spontaneously, or being bestowed upon them by another source.
- Tactician – Sphere of Military Strategy
- Zuguruk – Technology
Sith Marauder[]
The Sith Marauder were combat specialists within the Sith Empire. Whereas Juggernauts focus on stamina and brute force, Marauders focused on speed and efficiency. Relying on the Force to intuit how to maximize every attack, Marauders cut down their enemies in the blink of an eye. Gearing themselves towards seeing every weakness in their foes and exploiting it to the maximum, Marauders never hesitated nor faltered, and were considered the swiftest bringers of pain and damage in the galaxy. They specialized in dual-lightsaber combat, a fighting form they utilized unmatched aggression. Sith Marauders were fueled by hatred, rage, and cruelty; the Marauders would typically use their rage when entering a battle, entering a battle-fury fueled by the dark side. Thus, most Sith Marauders could duel any average Jedi, toe-to-toe and win.
- Assassin – Sith Assassins preferred a subtler approach then their Warrior brethren, using their speed and deception while relying on stealth tactics to infiltrate enemy ranks and remove high-profile targets. Even in open battle, Assassins were utterly deadly, relying on both tactical awareness and mind tricks to assault enemies both physically and mentally, manipulating a confrontation to ensure their side maintains the upper hand. While highly skilled with the saberstaff, their weapon of choice for both offense and defense, Assassin's could channel the Force just as easily. Sphere of Mysteries
- Claimer – Claimers were Sith who sought out potential new recruits and brought them into the fold of the Sith Order.
- Infiltrator – Imperial Intelligence
History[]
Origin[]
The Golden Age of the Sith[]
Great Hyperspace War[]
Exar Kun's Sith Empire[]
More than four centuries after the fall of the Sith Empire on Korriban, the fallen Jedi Freedon Nadd discovered two artifacts that the Jedi Shadows had failed to destroy or hide away within the Great Library on Ossus. The first was Sith King Adas's holocron, whih he used to gain insight into the Sith teachings quickly and succinctly; the second was the spirit of Naga Sadow himself. Under the tutelage of Sadow spirit, Nadd learned the ways of the dark side and rid himself of what he believed the restraints of Jedi teachings. To cement his claim as the Dark Lord of the Sith, Nadd destroyed the spirit of Sadow and conquered Onderon where he established himself as Emperor of the planet. Taking his seat in the Palace of Iziz, Nadd reigned in terror until his physical death in 4,293 BrS. Interred below the palace in Iziz, Nadd's spirit communed with the rulers of Onderon for centuries, establishing a long chain of Sith-worshiping monarchs. In 3,962 BrS, Jedi Padawan Exar Kun began to obsess over the teachings of the ancient and forbidden Sith. Abandoning his training on Dantooine, Kun traveled to Onderon where he fell under the sway of Nadd's spirit and quickly found himself apprenticed to the shade. Embarking on a mission to Yavin IV on the behest of his master, Kun discovered Naga Sadow's temples and ancient artifacts relevant to the old Sith Empire. Training in the dark and delving deeper into the Sith ways, Kun declared himself the new Dark Lord and vanquished Nadd's spirit. Believing himself to be a god, Kun enslaved the Massassi that still roamed Yavin IV and began to meddle in the art of alchemy and magic as he ordered new temples built in his honor.
While Kun's might rallied on Yavin IV, Jedi Ulic Qel-Droma's good-intentions ultimately led him away from the Jedi Order and down into darkness. Aligning himself with the Krath cult on Koros Major, a group obsessed with the Sith Empire's teachings, Qel-Droma declared himself Emperor and immersed himself in the dark arts learned from Sith artifacts and tomes. Garnering attention from Dark Lord Kun, Emperor Qel-Droma met with the Sith Lord within the Iron Citadel where the two Sith Lords engaged in a violent clash of lightsabers. The fighting encouraged Sith Lords from the past to emerge from beyond as shades, putting an end to the fighting. The spirit of the long dead Marka Ragnos declared Kun the true Dark Lord and named Qel-Droma as his apprentice and encouraged them with restoring the Golden Age of the Sith. Bringing their forces together, the Sith Lords began their campaign to cripple the Republic and exterminate the Jedi Order once and for all. With Yavin IV and Koros Major serving as throne worlds, the two Sith led their armies in the Great Sith War, tearing the galaxy apart and leaving a wake of blood behind them. Employing the ancient Dark Reaper weapon, Dark Lord Kun killed thousands of Republic soldiers and Jedi with the Reaper in a terrible wave of genocide and death. Despite great victories and a strong and devoted army, the Empire was quickly overstretched as their campaigns sought to tackle more space. Striking a non-aggression agreement with the Hutt Empire, the Sith also courted the Mandalorians that had begun attacking their stronghold on Koros Major. When Lord Qel-Droma defeated Mandalore the Indomitable in a duel, the warlord pledged his armies to the Sith and combined the strength of the Krath with that of Mandalore. With the Sith Empire enveloping all of the worlds conquered during the Mandalorian Crusade, the Empire was successfully expanded and greatly strengthened. As they gained strength, the Sith Army attracted opportunistic mercenaries, criminals, smugglers and collaborators; all of whom pledged themselves to the Empire and swore to carry out their Lords' bidding.
Having already expand their borders and strengthened the military, Kun and Qel-Droma needed to build the Empire's Force-wielding arm to replace the Jedi Order. Founding the Brotherhood of the Sith, Lord Kun recruited Jedi who were disenfranchised with the Order to his cause. While some Jedi came willingly, some had their minds dominated by Sith magic and perversions. The new Brotherhood carried out a pogram against the Order's finest Jedi; many Padawans turned on their own masters and slew them in their homes, or destroyed their ships in mid-battle. The Brotherhood of the Sith also received support from the Mecrosa Order headquartered in the decadent Tapani sector. The Order, under the leadership of High Lady Brezwalt III, began contributing financially to Sith war effort and sending very skilled assassins on Kun's secret missions. Pitting a massive army of Sith, soldiers, Mandalorians, and assassins against the Republic, the Empire had successfully created a four-front war which posed enormous strain on Republic resources. As the Empire look poised to topple the Republic, Kun attacked Coruscant and killed Supreme Chancellor Sidrona and Jedi Master Vodo-Siosk Baas. Rescuing a captured Qel-Droma, Kun moved his forces against Ossus where he raided the Great Library, killed Jedi Grand Master Odan-Urr and caused a supernova that completely devastated Ossus and left the Jedi Order homeless. Because of these crimes, the Jedi and Republic amassed a great host and led a decisive strike against Kun's Empire with the help of a redeemed Ulic Qel-Droma. Giving the Republic coordinates to Yavin IV, Kun's fleet was utterly destroyed and the Sith Lord trapped inside his own temple. Using the Force, the Jedi Council imprisoned Kun within a wall of pure Force energy, destroying his body and entombing his spirit behind a powerful energy wall. With Kun dead and Qel-Droma in exile, the Republic swiftly killed Mandalore on Onderon and brought an end to the Mandalorian Crusades. Disabling the Dark Reaper on Thule and killing most members of the Sith Brotherhood, the Krath and the Mecrosa were the last threats of the Sith Empire. Leading an assault on Koros Major, a prolonged siege of the entire Koros system eventually led to the death of the Krath leadership and their military eventually broke up and dispersed. Similarly, the Tapani sector incurred a blockade and the Jedi Order swiftly eradicated the Mecrosa Order and House Mecetti with the assistance of rival House Pelagia. After the Empire's collapse, some of its officials, leaders and commanders went into hiding. Many retreated to the Outer Rim, near Korriban which after the war remained under Sith control, waiting for the opportune moment to regain power.
Revan and Malak's Sith Empire[]
After Malachor, after the Mandalorian Wars, that's when the Sith teachings started spreading through the ranks. We knew where our loyalties lay – to the Jedi who came to help us, not the ones who sat back on Dantooine and Coruscant, watching us die.
—Atton Rand
As the Mandalorian Wars hurdled towards its conclusion, Jedi General Revan's popularity within the Republic military was at an all time high. Having tasted the power of the dark side during a visit to the Trayus Academy on Malachor V, Revan unearthed evidence that an ancient Sith faction still existed beyond the boundaries of known space and continued to pose a threat to the galaxy. Realizing that the Republic and the Jedi could not hope to win a battle against both the Sith and the Mandalorians, Revan forced a final battle with the Mandalorians above Malachor V. Confronting Mandalore the Ultimate in head-to-head combat while their respective fleets hung in orbit above, Revan out-dueled the man and struck him down. As Mandalore lay dying, he warned the Jedi that he too had discovered the remaining Sith, and it was at their urging that he rallied the clans and attacked the Republic. Returning to the Republic fleet, Revan announced Mandalore's death and opened fire on the Mandalorians, crippling their warships and eventually accepting a surrender.
With word of Mandalore's defeat and the ensuing truce, the Republic began cleanup efforts while Revan and his ally, Alek, began hunting down further evidence of the Sith Empire's continued existence. Their investigations took them to the ice planet Rekkiad where they uncovered a trail that took them deep into the Unknown Regions. Recruiting nearly a third of the Republic fleet to travel with them under the premise of scouring the fringe of the galaxy of Mandalorian holdouts, they eventually found themselves deep within Sith Space. Slipping onto Dromund Kaas and infiltrating the Imperial Citadel on an assassination mission, the Emperor was prepared for their arrival. Sith Emperor Vitiate, leader of the Imperial Remnant on Dromund Kaas, had laid the groundwork for Revan and Alek's journey and was prepared to use them as weapons against the Jedi Order and the Republic. Conquering their minds the Emperor sent the two Jedi, now Darth Revan and Darth Malak, back to their fleet to lead a preliminary assault on the Republic to test its defenses. Storing Sith artifacts on their ships, the two Sith swiftly corrupted the war-weary soldiers under their command and were able to convince their loyal Republic navy to turn their backs on the Republic that they had so loyally served. Sweeping the Unknown Regions for lost Rakatan technology, Revan and Malak hunted down ancient Star Maps that led them to the legendary Star Forge. Harnessing the powers of the Forge, Revan and Malak activated the machine and began producing an armada of ships that would rival the size of the Republic. The Emperor's plan began to fall apart at this juncture, as Darths Revan and Malak broke free of his compulsion while on the opposite end of the galaxy deep within the Lehon system. Still corrupted by the dark side but able to see clearly the threat that the Emperor posed, Revan named himself Emperor of the Sith in direct opposition to Vitiate's rule. To his fleet, Revan explained his plan to conquer the weakened Republic and remake it and the Jedi Order into a Empire which could stand against Vitiate and eliminate the ancient Emperor. Using the Sith teachings provided by Vitiate, Darth Revan took his friend Malak as his apprentice and began to rework the arcane magicks into more modern techniques.
A year after their disappearance from Republic space, Darths Revan and Malak returned at the head of a massive fleet made up of Republic vessels and the strange hybrid craft produced at the Star Forge. Crewed by ex-Republic veterans, and commanded by some of the finest officers that the Republic had produced including Admiral Saul Karath, Generals Krys Derred, and Mon Halan, the Republic was appalled at such a tragic betrayal. The former Jedi that had accompanied Revan and Alek on their journey now served as Commanders and Generals, convincing former allies to join the cause of their new Emperor. Taking Korriban in one swift assault, Darth Revan was immediately accepted as the true Emperor of the Sith Lords that had subsisted on the planet since the fall of the Empire and moved to serve their new leader. Sith assassins secretly flooded into the Republic after making their base on Malachor V, killing and abducting Jedi throughout Republic space. In Sith outposts on Lehon and Dxun Revan's most faithful servants broke captured Jedi and led them to the dark side. The Sith conspired with Czerka Corporation, one of the richest and most powerful galaxy-spanning companies of the era, to amass much needed resources. They also secured a place on the ocean planet of Manaan, thanks to the native Selkath neutrality, and so were able to export the healing agent kolto to their forces. Unchecked, the invasion cut deep swathes into the Republic's territory, encouraging long-standing Republic worlds to secede to the Empire with the promise of security and wealth. To this end, Revan hoped to preserve key Republic infrastructure to ensure a swift rebuilding effort once Coruscant had been taken. Not all worlds were spared however, as a message had to be delivered to holdout Senators and planetary leaders. When Telos IV was bombarded from orbit as a warning to opposition, more worlds fled the Republic in order to avoid the same fate as Telos.
Despite overwhelming losses, the Republic remained in the war through the prowess of their limited number of Jedi warriors. Either leading from the front lines or using battle meditation to bolster resolve in their troops, many Jedi generals made names for themselves in the war, winning hearts and minds as well as planetary loyalty to the Republic in ways that the Sith could not. Despite the courage of several key Jedi, the Republic's fate seemed bleak as battles were lost daily. Many on the High Council believed that early desertions from their ranks as well as the military, caused by Revan's residual popularity from the Mandalorian Wars, had ultimately doomed the Republic fleet. Secretly, the Order dispatched one of their brightest pupils with an honor guard of deft Shadows into the heart of Revan's fleet. Boarding Darth Revan's flagship, Jedi Bastila Shan cornered Revan on the bridge and the strike team overpowered him before taking him prisoner. Revan's Shadow Hand, Darth Malak, took the opportunity to fire on his master's vessel in an ambitious bid for power and conquest. While Malak believed Revan destroyed and assumed the mantle of Emperor, the Jedi had escaped with Darth Revan in chains and fled to the secret enclave on Dantooine. There Revan underwent reprogramming by members of the Jedi High Council, who purged his mind of whole swaths of his path and left him amnesic and nameless.
Believing his master dead, Emperor Malak continued Revan's war of conquest, but abandoned the original vision of building a force of opposition against Vitiate. Taking an apprentice named Darth Bandon, Malak began to undo Revan's careful planning by enact brutal attacks against key Republic worlds and sparred no one who opposed his reign. As blood lust ruled Malak's thoughts, it permeated from the top down and infected the entire Empire. The Sith Academy on Korriban began churning out ruthless Sith warriors and Imperial armies began butchering the citizens of surrendered worlds. Murder, rape, and torture were common practice during battles, and entire systems were enslaved to toil away for the Empire. Darth Malak's primary objective quickly became the assassination or capture of Bastila Shan and all other surviving Jedi. Led by Malak's Shadow Hand Darth Bandon, an assault on Shan's flagship, the Endar Spire, nearly cost the Jedi her life. Fleeing to the planet Taris below, Shan encountered the amnesiac Revan on the the planet's surface and recruited Republic Captain Carth Onasi to take the pair back to Dantooine. The Empire searched the crash site in their hunt for Jedi Shan before ordering the world bombarded, sterilizing the planet while their primary target escaped. While Malak continued his search for Shan and other Jedi, the High Council convened on Dantooine and decided to retrain Revan in order to use him against Darth Malak. As bits of Revan's memory returned, he and his crew retraced his own steps to find the location of the Star Forge so that it might be taken off line and the Empire's fleet crippled.
Discovering that Revan still lived, Darth Malak redoubled his efforts in locating Shan and his former master, eventually taking them prisoner aboard the Leviathan. While Revan escaped imprisonment, Jedi Shan allowed herself to be captured and was personally tortured by Malak. Because Shan had killed Darth Bandon, Malak was in need of a new Shadow Hand, and eventually corrupted Shan to the dark side of the Force. Becoming Darth Bastila, Malak hoped to use her to destroy Revan and end the Jedi in one fell swoop. As Malak raced to locate Revan, his former master and friend pieced together the location of the Star Forge and alerted the Republic to its coordinates. Arriving at the Star Forge to confront Revan as the Empire and Republic launched a vicious attack, Darths Malak and Bastila attempted to kill the former Emperor of the Sith. Defeating Bastila and swaying her back towards the light of the Force, Revan encouraged her to use her battle meditation to rally the Republic Navy and destroy the Sith fleet. With Shan's betrayal Darth Malak, Emperor of the Sith, was forced to take the field himself and drew his lightsaber on Revan. Fiercely dueling his old master, Malak was struck down and defeated, just as the Star Forge was destroyed by the Republic fleet. Leaderless and with dwindling resources, the Sith Empire collapsed in on itself. The Sith legions, trained to be ruthless and bloodthirsty under Malak's leadership, turned on each other and virtually wiped themselves out. Small skirmishes led by ex-Sith forces continued for the next few years, until much of what Revan had built was undone. Those who survived hid amid the ruins and awaited the return of a strong leader.
Sith Empire under the Triumvirate[]
Scattered into a remnant of its once mighty self, the Empire that Revan had established to destroy Vitiate was divided into several warring factions with no knowledge of Revan's plans. All seemed lost until the former Jedi Master and teacher of Revan, Kreia, began reorganizing the Empire on Malachor V. Having sought answers in Revan's fall, Kreia discovered the secret Sith threat growing on Dromund Kaas within records she unearthed after gaining access to the vaults of the Trayus Academy. Declaring herself Darth Traya, Lord of Betrayal, she took up Revan's mission of building a galactic power capable of stopping the Sith threat that lay waiting in darkness. Studying Sith hermetica that claimed that even though the contradictory and aimless nature of existence appeared obvious to all intelligent beings, awareness of the Force exposed this obvious "fact" as a lie, further stating that the Force betrayed Force-sensitives, making them live in a compromised, chaotic universe—to live the lie. Instilling these beliefs in her followers at the Trayus Academy, she created a generation of Sith who would act as a gadfly to the Republic. Revan's former allies swiftly rallied around his former master, declaring Darth Traya their true leader and teacher. Searching for wounds in the Force as her armies grew in size, Traya eventually discovered two candidates for her Lord of Hunger and Lord of Pain, whom she believed would lead the Empire by her side. The first sought her out, a former Jedi once imprisoned by the Mandalorians before the battle of Malachor V. Having freed himself, the man fed off the life force of his crew aboard the Ravager in order to quench his endless hunger. A wound in the Force, Traya took him as her student and named him Darth Nihilus, Lord of Hunger. Seeking not to rule and dominate, but to consume all life in the galaxy, Nihilus learned how to drain the living Force from entire worlds at a time. Traya's second student, Darth Sion, was a warlord that emerged out of Korriban in the power vacuum that ensued after Revan's defeat. His body, corrupted by the dark side, was decayed and a ruin only held together by sheer will. Bowing before Traya, Sion accepted the title Lord of Pain and brought his assassins to her cause.
Together Betrayal, Hunger, and Pain formed the pillars of the Empire's teachings, and the Triumvirate ruled the Empire. Subtly intervening in galactic affairs, the Empire soon began to poison the Jedi Order's ranks, bringing several members to the Trayus Academy for training. While Darth Traya was patient and sought to win the war when the time was right, Sion and Nihilus became impatient and plotted against Traya's rule. Striking when she was vulnerable, the two Triumvirs violently assaulted their leader and stripped her of her connection to the Force. With the Lord of Betrayal betrayed, Sion and Nihilus cast her out of the academy and left her for dead. Fleeing into the dark recesses of the galaxy, Traya turned her anger on the Force itself and sought out the exiled Jedi known as Meetra Surik in hopes of using her to bring about the destruction of both the Sith and the Jedi. With Traya gone, the Empire's rule fell to Nihilus and Sion. Tired of waiting to attack the Jedi, their differing philosophies drove them apart, both taking equal sized armies on their separate campaigns and allowing the to wage their respective shadow wars in peace. On one side of the galaxy, Darth Nihilus engaged in large-scale exterminations as he gorged himself on entire planets. Meanwhile, Sion remained in the shadows, striking with his assassins to kill Jedi operating in the field. Swiftly, the already diminished Jedi Order was a shell of its former strength: the bulk of the High Council and their followers were consumed by Nihilus on Katarr, while Jedi Shadows and Watchman were picked off by Sion. With the Jedi Temple on Coruscant abandoned, the surviving Jedi leadership in hiding, and the Republic war-weary, Nihilus began picking off strategic centers and fortress worlds to render the Republic powerless.
On the planet Onderon, Darth Nihilus instigated a civil war which divided the planet in an attempted to hinder the exiles Meetra Surik and Traya. Sith Lord Arbonas and his hordes of Sith warriors and soldiers held the planet hostage as the Queen of Onderon attempted to retain control of her planet. While a mere distraction meant to weaken Surik and Traya, the former Jedi and Sith turned tide of the war and defeated Arbonas' forces as well as set a trap for Nihilus by luring him to the planet Telos IV. Deep within a hidden Jedi academy under the surface of the planet, Darth Traya plotted to end the Sith Duumvirate and bring about the destruction of the Empire once and for all. Having journeyed from Onderon to Dantooine before arriving on Telos, Traya killed the surviving members of the Jedi High Council, effectively collapsing the Jedi Order. On Telos, Traya intended to pit Surik against Jedi Master Atris who held the academy and was under the influence of several ancient Sith holocrons, while Traya herself slipped back to Malachor V to rendezvous with Darth Sion. While Surik dueled Atris in her inner sanctum on Telos, Traya infiltrated the Trayus Academy and brought Sion to heel once more. Surik, having defeated Atris, rallied the Republic as Nihilus' fleet descended on Telos in search of the Jedi academy and led a space battle to defeat the Sith Lord. Fighting alongside Mandalore and Visas Marr, Nihilus' Shadow Hand, Surik confronted and vanquished Nihilus, allowing his spirit to consume his own body and destroy itself.
With Nihilus' fleet scattered, Surik tracked her former mentor, Traya, to Malachor V where she entered the Trayus Academy and was met by the bulk of the surviving Sith force. Alongside her companions and a Republic/Mandalorian task force, Surik raided the academy and slew most of the Sith present at the site. Confronted by Darth Sion, Surik overpowered the Sith Lord in a lightsaber battle before the Lord of Pain let go of his suffering and allowed his body to crumble into dust. With the Academy largely deserted in the wake of the fighting, Surik entered the Trayus Core alone where she found Darth Traya in deep meditation. Surik attempted to bring the Sith Emperor back to the light, but Traya dismissed the attempt, arguing that the light and the dark were both weak. Engaging in a duel, Traya hoped that killing Surik would poison the Force and ultimately kill it. With both Surik and Traya fully immersed in the power of the Force once more, the exiled Jedi struck down Traya and stood above her former mentor resplendent in the light of the Force. As she lay dying, Traya spoke many prophecies to Surik, in hopes of guiding her in the future. With her power spent Darth Traya, Lord of Betrayal and Emperor of the Sith died. With her, Revan's dream of building a force strong enough to rebuff Vitiate was undone, though the Order was brought low. Despite the Emperor's best efforts, the Republic survived, and Meetra Surik was able to rebuild the Jedi Order from the ashes, though both the Order and the Republic remained ignorant of the hidden threat lingering on their border.
The revitalized Sith Empire[]
New Sith Empire[]
In the wake of the last war with the Sith Empire, the Republic was left in a weakened state, arguably at its lowest point in its history. Despite enjoying an era of relative peace and social and economic stability in the centuries following the seventeenth Alsakan Conflict in 2,982 BrS, a general sense of uneasiness permeated the Force. The Sith had not been heard of since the end of the Galactic War sixteen hundred years prior, and what little remnants of that order existed, posed no threat to the now unchallenged, if complacent Jedi Order. It was that complacency that fostered the contempt with which Jedi Master Ruls Phanius felt towards the Order and the Republic, and led him and fifty other Jedi to quietly resign their posts within the Order and disappear into the galaxy. Citing ideological objections to current Jedi dogma, Phanius and his followers took up residence on the shadow world of Umbara and there united the fragmented Sith cults and armies left over from Vitiate's Empire. Declaring himself Darth Ruin in 2,003 BrS, Ruin announced to the galaxy that he was the first Dark Lord of the Sith in a millennium and that he planned to bring the Republic and the Jedi to their knees. Preaching a creed of malevolent solipsism, Ruin's transformation was total, and such was the disconnect between his original persona and his new mantle, that Ruin's former Jedi peers never realized that their new foe was once their cherished friend, Phanius.
With the initial fifty members of the Empire filling out roles of leadership and command, and his army filled with the Sith cultists and loyalists he had sought out, Ruin quickly drew more Jedi to his cause with his enigmatic speeches and public appearances. In private, Ruin was merciless and supremely-self-centered, and allowed his capricious and egocentric whims to cause the deaths of many of his own followers. Ruin's single-mindedness proved to be his undoing in the end, as he was eventually killed by his minions after a defeat. With Ruin defeated, regional warlords began vying for power of the Empire; a new Emperor was killed before they could even be announced. For twelve years the Empire was largely leaderless until the former Jedi Master Impori Zedd declared his Gorma tribe as the most powerful army of the Sith. Conquering the throneworld of Yuo in 1,951 BrS alongside his bride, Darth Repulsa, Darth Zedd saw a reign of terror collaspe much of the Republic along the Outer and Mid Rim, as well as the butchering of Jedi trainees and the burning of their academies. For two hundred years, Zedd reigned with an iron fist and slew his enemies with such cold calculation he seemed poised to reign forever. But history repeated itself when Zedd's chief advisor and ally Esmar Shaddam betrayed his Emperor and destroyed his entire court. Fleeing with only his life, Zedd's control was over and his armies routed from within. His wife, Darth Repulsa, attempted to rule from her outpost on Taris for a time, before Jedi Master Elriza Zordon locked her away in a prison among the stars.
With the Gorma tribe destroyed, the Empire was quickly taken over by a mysterious being known as the Dark Underlord. A bloody marauder feared by the Republic's citizens, he took the throne with his group of elite Sith warriors known as the Black Knights. From his temple on Malrev IV, the Dark Underlord's power was magnified within the Temple and allowed him to cast his shade across entire systems and bring their people under his control. Despite his seemingly endless strength, the Dark Underlord was not all knowing. In 1,715 BrS Jedi General Lanth Murrtaggh, a perennial enemy of the Dark Underlord, prepared to eliminate the dangerous Sith Emperor within his temple. Secretly, Murrtaggh paid a large group of Mandalorian mercenaries to stage a diversionary attack on the Black Knights while Murrtaggh prepared to strike from behind enemy lines and assassinate the Sith leader. As the battle commenced, the Emperor sent his foremost general to lead his forces against the Mandalorians. During the chaos of the battle, Murrtaggh executed his plan and infiltrated the Dark Underlord's fortress where he was corrupted to the dark side by the Underlord's murmurings. Believing he now controlled Murrtaggh, the Dark Underlord was unprepared for the Jedi's final blow, which ended the Emperor's existence. Sitting upon the Emperor's throne, Murrtaggh began to masquerade as the Dark Underlord, ordering back his army of Black Knights while simultaneously ordering his Jedi warriors into the temple also. Bringing them into the throne room of the temple, Murrtaggh offered his loyal friends a position at his court, never revealing his true identity. While some cast aside their Jedi teachings in order to save their lives, many, including Murrtaggh's own master and two Padawans refused. Knowing that he walked a perilous path should he show mercy, Murrtaggh cemented his fall by ordering the Jedi who had come over to the Sith to turn on their allies and slaughter them. Watching as the Jedi died a terrible death, Murrtaggh reigned as the Dark Underlord for a decade, maintaining his deception from even his closest advisors. It wasn't until he looked upon his reflection in 1,704 BrS and saw the face of the Dark Underlord, that Murrtaggh went insane and threw himself from the temple's parapets.
With Murrtaggh's suicide, the Empire once more fell into disarray as armies washed across the galaxy in an attempt to seize the throne. It was three years until a victor emerged in the form of Tau Zant, a terrifying beast of a Sith and leader of the Jakanja tribe of Sith. Leading the war effort from his warship, the Senchipīdo, Zant sought to harness the dark side of the Force in order to destroy the universe and become a god of the new universe that would be created as result. Leading his armies were the Seven Spears of the Dark Side, warriors of great skill and learning that sought to eradicate the Jedi Council. When Zant opened a wormhole in the Force, believing that it would allow him to travel to the heart of the galaxy and consume it, the Jedi and the Republic seemed helpless to counter his power. Consuming a star deep within the galactic Core, Zant's body could not contain the energy and he was incinerated from inside out. With Zant's death, his Spears were hunted down and destroyed by the Jedi and Sith alike. Swiftly emerging from the opposite end of the galaxy, former Jedi Master Ivan Ooze rallied his warriors and began to reign from his palace on Pard, generally unquestioned by the rest of the Empire as his reign proved stable and promising. Despite this, Ooze was quickly shut away in a prison by the Jedi Order, encased deep within the crust of the planet Elom.
With the Jedi constantly winning battles against the Sith, the Empire became more fractured. Pirate gangs of Sith once more gained dominance and several Dark Lords named themselves Emperor. Darth Astronema promised greatness would return again to the Empire when she took control of the throne, but proved to be the worst of the Empire's leadership when she was captured and redeemed to the light side. As the Empire languished, Astronema was knighted and led raiding armies against Sith strongholds. As infighting continued, Master Marnis Org raised an army of biological terrors known as Orgs to destroy the ecosystems of tens of thousands of worlds. Taking over as Emperor, Orgs ran across the Outer Rim and wiped several species out completely. Reigning until 1,504 BrS, Org was destroyed by Darth Spector, a cunning man who had infiltrated the Jedi Order and wiped out three thousand Jedi in a single bloody attack. Bending the Empire to his unquestioned rule, Spector was eventually deposed of by a rival who tossed his corpse into a volcano on the planet Muiranthias.
Darth Bane line[]
Government and politics[]
Society and culture[]
Military[]
Astrography[]
Bane's line[]
| Darth Bane | Dessel Hurst | 991 BrS | 945 BrS | Human | Specialization | Master | Zannah; Cognus |
| Darth Zannah | Zannah | 975 BrS | Death | Human | Specialization | Bane | Cognus |
| Darth Cognus | Genna Vullen | Birth | Death | Iktothci | Specialization | Bane; Zannah | Millennial; |
| Darth Millennial | Noah Kassal | Birth | Death | Human | Specialization | Cognus | N/A |
| Darth Chordus | Allin Hennis | Birth | Death | Gotal | Specialization | Cognus | Heres |
| Darth Heres | Heron Davout | Birth | Death | Berchestian | Specialization | Chordus | Apprentices |
| Darth Proles | Daclif Bela-Trepada | Birth | Death | Devaronian | Specialization | Heres | Apprentices |
| Darth Krayt | Arix Rayley | Birth | Death | Human | Specialization | Proles | Visus |
| Darth Visus | Edson Landala | Birth | Death | Iktotchi | Specialization | Krayt | Homiiz |
| Darth Rand | Birth Name | Birth | Death | Species | Specialization | Master | Darth Virga |
| Darth Virga | Birth Name | Birth | Death | Species | Specialization | Darth Virga | Apprentices |
| Darth Vectivus | Dev Lauderslag | Birth | Death | Human | Specialization | Master | Apprentices |
| Darth Gravid | Ganrax Barris | Birth | Death | Human | Specialization | Vectivus | Gean |
| Darth Gean | Tatiana Storm | Birth | Death | Twi'lek | Specialization | Gravid | Profligo |
| Darth Profligo | Yvanos Benten | Birth | Death | Anzati | Specialization | Gean | Apprentices |
| Darth Ramage | Ryn Calad | Birth | Death | Kalzerian | Specialization | Master | Scissura |
| Darth Scissura | Derryn Cath | Birth | Death | Twi'lek | Specialization | Ramage | Tenebrous |
| Darth Tenebrous | Rugess Nome | Birth | 32 BrS | Bith | Specialization | Master | Plagueis |
| Darth Plagueis | Hego Damask II | Birth | Year 3 | Muun | Specialization | Tenebrous | Sidious |
| Darth Venamis | Killric Driet | Birth | 7 BrS | Bith | Specialization | Tenebrous | Sidious |
| Darth Sidious | Sheev Palpatine | 47 BrS | Year 16 | Human | Specialization | Plagueis | Maul; Dooku |
| Darth Maul | Khameir Sarin | 19 BrS | Year 7 | Zabrak | Specialization | Sidious | Apprentices |
| Darth Tyranus | Dooku | 67 BrS | Year 16 | Human | Specialization | Sidious | Apprentices |