The Sith Order of Decreto, officially known as the Empire of the Sith Order of Decreto, but more commonly known as the Decreton Empire, was an ancient and powerful faction of the Sith Empire. The brain child of Konopka, who would later become the Orders first Dark Lord, the Sith Order of Decreto was conceived to be the eyes, ears, and knife of the ancient empire. During the Great Hyperspace War of 5,000 BBY many of the Order's ranks were destroyed in battles of Koros Major, Kirrek and Primus Goluud, with the orders flagship —Devastator— being destroyed, drastically thinning their ranks and stunting their effectiveness.
Following the battle of Primus Goluud the Sith Order of Decreto retreated into the Unknown Regions, where they settled upon the planet Ni. Adopting it as their homeworld, the Sith conquered the planet jump-started its inhabitants technological abilities and set themselves up as gods. Quickly securing control over the numerous warring nations, the Sith Order of Decreto begun creation of a small interstellar empire. Konopka's armies spread across the sector, creating a fleet of warships to carry supplies and men across the empire.
For thousands of years the Sith Order of Decreto survived on the very fringes of the galaxy; constantly battling pirate organizations and the Chiss Ascendancy for control of the region, all the meanwhile, slowly working its way into the major galactic governments. But as the years past, and infighting amongst the ruling Houses worsened and struggles within the House of Ni caused the planet's seclusion from the rest of the empire. However, the Sith soon overcame their struggles with the promotion of Hekas-ni to the rank of Dark Lord; and under Hekas-ni the Decreton Order flourished, with its power, strength and sheer will to survival becoming undeniable. The Empire survived two more civil wars before finally being united under Ater Phasas'a.
The Sith Order of Decreto, now united and strengthened, continued in the plans to control the major galactic governments, using their influence to pass several influential laws through-out the galaxy. Eventually however, the Sith Order of Decreto was discovered by the headstrong Jedi Master Jasca Ducato. Ducato killed the then-Dark Lord, Guerreiro, usurped the title for himself and set about absorbing the Sith Order of Decreto into his own personal empire. Successful, Darth Abeonis waged a gruesome war against the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances, and the galaxy whole.
Years past, but the Sith order of Decreto was successful, and by 74 ABY had conquered Coruscant. With the entire galaxy under their rule, the Empire of the Sith Order of Decreto entered a period of near total peace, until the year 121 ABY and the death of Abeonis. Yet another civil war followed, and the rise of another Dark Lord followed. Under Krayt, the Sith Order of Decreto ruled with an iron fist, and by the time of his death, and even the ascension of Darth Wyyrlok in 214 ABY the Sith still ruled supreme. Eventually however, the Sith of the Sith Order of Decreto met a foe that matched themselves; the Zao tenj.
War with the Zao tenj ravaged the galaxy, and frced the Sith to unite with their sworn enemy, the Jedi. For sixty years the war ravaged the galaxy, but in 300 ABY the Zao tenj were finally defeated. Unfortunately for the Sith however, the victory had been costly. No longer able to support their massive empire the Sith were forced to withdraw to their holdings within the Unknown Regions, leaving the galaxy open to a new wave of empires and governments.
The Sith Order of Decreto had not forgotten the galaxy however, and following the Fourth Jedi Purge in 3,260 ABY, was prepared to make its return.
History[]
Guardians of Naga Sadow and war[]
In the year 5,050 BBY the Sith Lord Naga Sadow approached young but knowledgeable Sith warrior Konopka with a proposition. Naga Sadow requested of Konopka to lead a group of one-thousand Sith warriors who would act as the personal guard of the Sith Lord, and assist in his aim to become the Dark Lord of the Sith; in return for the services Konopka and his warriors would be granted planets, titles and power. Unflinchingly, Konopka agreed and secreted away his one-thousand strong army to the moon of Sivvi. Making use of the moons extensive network of caves and tunnels the conquerors, or "Decreto" in the ancient Sith language, honed their skills in the dark arts; becoming a highly efficient killing force. For fity years the force built up their strength, secretly recruiting warriors from birth and enlarging their ranks ten-fold so that by 5,000 BBY over 10,000 had infiltrated the ranks of the Sith fleet proper.
Following the assassination of Simus and the escape of the Daragons, Naga Sadow ordered Konopka's Sith Order of Decreto to use their infiltrators to ensure Naga Sadow rise to the rank of Dark Lord. In this mission they were totally successful, save for Sith Lord Ludo Kressh who refused to heed the advice of his underlings. Nevertheless, by the close of the week Naga Sadow was the Dark Lord; and Konopka and his Sith warriors were brought into the public light; as leaders of the Sith fleet. Alongside Naga Sadow's own, the Sith warship Devastator was chosen to lead the Sith fleets as their flagship, at the head of the Decreton fleet. Within a matter of months the Sith Empire was in a full scale war with the Galactic Republic, and the Sith Order of Decreto was stretch to the limit, serving on both a fleet level and a personnel level. Acting as assassins, military commanders and elite units, as well as forming their own fleets; the Sith Order of Decreto proved its effectiveness against the Republic and Jedi fleets, suffering next to no losses throughout the early conflict. A few months into the conflict however, things changed with the Battle of Primus Goluud.
With their Master away on a secret mission of his own, the Sith fleet accompanying the Dark Lord's own approached the Empress Teta system with the intention of capturing it. Intercepted above the system's Red Giant, the Sith and Empress Teta forces entered into full battle. Although things went well at first, the loss of the Devastator during the battle hit the Sith Order of Decreto hard. With the loss of Devastator, defeat was inevitable for the Sith Empire. Konopka ordered the Decreton Order to follow him in his willing exile too the Unknown Regions and whilst many of the original thousand refused, following Naga Sadow instead, the vast majority choose to follow their Master.
Exile from the galaxy[]
The Order disappeared completely following the defeat of Naga Sadow— their master— at the hands of the Koros fleet during the second battle of Korriban. Fleeing into the Unknown Regions along with a sizeable portion of the Sith fleet proper Konopka and his forces made their way the almost totally uninhabited and desolate planet of Ni. Settling their until they could regroup and count their losses, Ni eventually came to serve as a homeworld for the exiled order; and within time Konopka and his army was forgotten by their Sith counterparts and the Galactic Republic. Over the years the core of the new Sith Orders' army; the Decreton Knight eliminated all those who they saw as disloyal and a liability, keeping their numbers small but totally loyal to their Dark Lord of the Decreton Empire Konopka.
As the centuries progressed and their Sith Order of Decreto expanded rumors began to permeate throughout the galaxy of survivors from the Old Sith Empire. Often, Pretenders such as Exar Kun and Darth Revan sought out the fabled Order, and though from time to time Konopka saw fit to intervene in the affairs of the galaxy; their presence was never truly discovered. it was during these early years that Konopka’s Order adopted a policy of isolation from even those governments that bordered and sometimes surrounded their own.
In the year 4,000 BBY a massive change in the policy of the Sith Order of Decreto occurred when the ageing Dark Lord was defeated by one of his own apprentices – Hekas-ni; though not the first to challenge him, Hekas-ni was the first to victor over the ancient warrior; although he spared his life, if only to exploit his considerable military expertise. Hekas-ni's reign was short however and in 3,964 BBY he died. His son and heir, Setal-ni was seen as a mere child in the eyes of many on the Sith Council and not fit for the throne. And so, whilst the galaxy large was itself embroiled in war, the Sith Order of Decreto entered into what would be the first of many civil wars. For four years the Sith Order of Decreto would be ravaged by civil war; dividing the Empire into Houses and seeing as much as half the total size of the Sith fleet destroyed. However after years of brutal conflict, victory finally came to the now infamous House of Sinays, and their leader; an ex-Jedi named Sam Sinays became the Dark Lord.
Under Sinays the Sith Order of Decreto grew to new heights, maintain a technological level weel above that of their rivals. In 3,943 BBY Sam Sinays announced the re-discovery of the downed Devastator, yet despite this huge propaganda tool little could be done to appease those among his followers who felt the Empire was beginning to stagnate under Sinays' rule; and so, within just twenty years of Sinays ascension to the throne, the Sith were once again thrown into civil strife, this time in the form of the Phasasites and their leader – Ater Phasas'a.
After a short but bloody war Phasas'a's rebel movement achieved victory, and although the Sith Order of Decreto was now weaker than it had ever been militarily, for the first time since Konopka's reign the Sith saw themselves set for a Golden Age.
Golden age[]
Following the close of the Jedi Civil War and the defeat of Darth Malak's forces at the Battle of Rakata Prime many Sith pretenders retreated into the Unknown Regions. For years these Sith wandered aimlessly amongst the stars, and it was not until the Phasasites War that contact was finally made. Following the conflict Ater Phasas'a, seeking to exploit every opportunity to strengthen the weakened empire actively sought out and recruited those who had wandered into Decreton space. Over time events in the galaxy began to stir once more when the new Sith Pretenders broke into civil war, and one began a purge of the Jedi Order.
Ater however refused to assist the Sith Lords, despite the pleas of his underlings to aid in the destruction of who they considered to be their greatest enemy – the Jedi. Ater Phasas'a saw these new Sith Pretenders as nothing more than rampaging beasts that new nothing of the ways of the Sith; and only exploited their name. Their leader Darth Sion was a broken warrior that wallowed in eternal hatred off himself and Ater believed it would not be long before the Jedi overcame the scheming Sith Lords and returned the Jedi to their former glory. Before long this prediction would be fulfilled in the guise of the Jedi Exile.
For many thousands of years the Sith Order of Decreto continued to meddle in the affairs of the galaxy, whilst expanding their own power. They were wiping responsible for the collapse of the Paecian Empire, absorbing many of their colony worlds; and were successful in forcing the Hapes Consortium to close its borders to the rest of the galaxy, stemming their expanding power and preventing them from making an inevitable contact with the Decreton Order. In the 2,970's BBY a single Sith assassin sought out and eliminated the Dark jedi Saalo Morn, who threatened to coerce the Galactic Republic into searching for rogue Sith.
By the year 2,000 BBY, the Sith Order of Decreto believed they were finally capable for striking out against their hated – the Jedi. Seducing the Jedi Master Phanius, the Decreton Knights instigated the formation of the New Sith Empire and began the New Sith Wars, after leaving it to Phanius; now Darth Ruin, and his followers to fight. For the next thousand years the New Sith War ravaged the galaxy, and the Sith Empire that began with Phanius expanded slowly, but surely; deep into the heart of the galaxy. Despite the promising early years however, as the millennium drew to a close the Decreton Knights came to the realization that the Jedi were beginning to turn the tide in the conflict thanks to the rise of the weakling Dark Lord Kaan. The Decreton Order believed a new leader was needed, and so a new Dark Lord of the Sith was chosen; the newly incorporated Dessel. In just three short years Dessel, who had assumed the title of Darth Bane; and being secretly guided by the Sith Order of Decreto, made his way though the ranks of the New Sith Empire and took it to the very edge of extinction, only to rebuild it in his own vision – as a secret order of Sith Lords much like that of his secretive mentors.
After the New Sith Wars the Sith Order of Decreto came to feel that the Sith Order of Darth Bane would be the one to finally wipe out the Jedi, although it would be many centuries before this came about. In the meantime however, many galactic powers could be influenced. In 965 BBY the Chiss Ascendancy, which was rapidly expanding towards the Sith Order of Decreto's territories, was convinced into passing the Non-Aggression Law which forbade any pre-emptive strikes; thus preventing any possible war between the two powers; both of which lay within close proximity with one-another.
Nearly one-thousand years after Darth Bane's Order hid themselves away from the Galactic Republic, they struck, this time in the form of Darth Sidious. Remaining hidden throughout the Clone Wars, the Sith Order of Decreto believed they had finally found a Sith Pretender worthy of entering their ranks. And so, after many years of war, Emperor Palpatine was confronted; and inducted into the Sith Order of Decreto. Keeping his membership in the Order secret even to his own apprentices, Sidious used the resources of the Sith Order of Decreto to fuel the rise of his own empire; but in the year 4 ABY both the Sith Order of Decreto and the Galactic Empire suffered a grievous loss upon the death of Darth Sidious.
Upon learning of the identity of the lone Jedi who had derailed their plans – Luke Skywalker, the Sith Order of Decreto began to take a more active role in the affairs of the galaxy, even going so far as to ignite the Black Fleet Crisis of 16/17 ABY, hoping to devastate the New Republic and bring the Jedi warrior to justice. Time and time again the Sith found themselves outsmarted by the Jedi Master who, whilst unaware of the nature of his enemy, sensed the murmurs of the dark side always hounding.
Return to the galaxy[]
After almost forty years of setback thanks to the New Jedi Order the Sith Council had decided that the time had finally come to exploit their military might and remove the threat of the Jedi once and for all. The Sith begun a systematic; empire-wide shipbuilding program in order to strengthen, reinforce and upgrade the already massive Sith fleet, and by 41 ABY, had made serious advances in starship technology and begun final preparations for the invasion of the galaxy. However, in that very same year, a Galactic Alliance warship called The Soiyo happened upon the ancient, and desolate world of Nerezza on the edge of the Unknown Regions, and in the outskirts the of Decreto Empire. Nerezza, being an ancient Decreton Sith world, had a strong dark side aura which the Jedi on board The Soiyo found impossible too ignore. The Jedi, under the command of Jedi Master Jasca Ducato made their way down towards the planet and discovered the Sith Temple located there. The battle of Nerezza had begun.
The Sith force on Nerezza easily repelled the Jedi attack force and captured many of it participants, including Ducato himself; but the presence of The Soiyo could not be denied and it was not long until the Sith on Nerezza found themselves on the run. Guerreiro, then-Dark Lord of the Decreton Empire, who had been present at the battle, ordered his warships to destroy the Jedi starship, but to no avail; the Jedi pursued Guerreiro for five years before Jasca finally executed his own escape, and his captor; although at the cost of once agin falling to the dark side of the Force. Claiming the mantle of Dark Lord of the Decreton Empire, Darth Abeonis corrupted the crew of The Soiyo and set about conquering the entire Decreton Empire.
Over a period of thirteen years, Abeonis slowly but surely secured his dominion over the Sith Order of Decreto. He had learnt very early on of the plans to invade the Galactic Alliance that he had interrupted, and having become infatuated with the expansive Sith Order of Decreto, found himself planning his own invasion. Years after the conquest of the Order, Darth Abeonis' Sith Order finally took their first aggressive steps into the galaxy, and invaded the Chiss Ascendancy; quickly conquering the capital and moving on to claim the entire realm. Shortly after the decision was made to remove the Imperial Remnant from the picture.
In 58 ABY the Imperial Remnant was invaded and absorbed into the Sith Order of Decreto. Finally, after thousands of years of seclusion the galaxy large was fully aware of the new Sith threat. Although at first the Galactic Alliance sought to appease the new Sith threat, despite the warnings of the Jedi; however after two years of peace the Sith refuted the treaty and invaded the Galactic Alliance at Belkadan. It took five years for the Sith to conquer the Galactic Alliance, and a further eight years before the capital of Coruscant was conquered, but eventually the Sith were victorious.
In the years following the Sith Crusade and the conquest of Coruscant, the Decreton Empire would flourish. The galaxy enjoyed a period of near total peace and the Sith Order of Decreto reached their zenith under the Dark Lord – Darth Abeonis. But the peace could not last long, and following Abeonis' death in 121 ABY the Empire entered a period of extended civil war, a Successors War. During the eight-year conflict, many hundreds of millions died, and the Sith Order of Decreto was shook to the very core.
At first, all went well for the usurper Darth Proditor, and the galaxy looked as if it would be spared a prolonged conflict, but with the rise of Darth Krayt and his alliance with Darth Wyyrlok the conflict escalated. Eventually Proditor met his match, being killed and having his faction wiped out by the Coalition. With the war over, Darth Krayt assumed total control of the Empire, with Wyyrlok acting as his chief lieutenant. Darth Krayt ruled unchallenged for several more years, until a militaristic pirate organization called the Octom Coalition launched a surprise attack upon the Decreto-class Super Star Destroyer Krayt's fist. Two of Krayt's Hands – Darth Talon and Darth Nihl – who were aboard Krayt's Fist at the time, waged a devastating war against the Octom Coalition, swiftly defeating them and killing their leader, Octa Nuun. It was during this time also, that the remnants of the Jedi that survived the Sith Crusade regrouped and formed the Jedi Autocracy; challenging the absolute rule of the Sith.
The Sith Order of Decreto continued to flourish however, surviving the Coruscanti plague and expanding its military might constantly. Time and time again they would come into conflict with the ever harassing Jedi Autocracy, and it was not rare for intense rivalries to form between warriors; such as the rivalry between Darth Hiljo and the Jedi Jehn Rhin. It would not be until the year 242 ABY, when the Sith finally met their match in the form of the Zao tenj, that the rule was opposed.
Zao tenj War and decline[]
In 242 ABY, Darth Wyyrlok's Sith expansionary campaign finally bore fruit, in the form of an alien race of Humans who called themselves the Zao tenj. First contact between the two mighty empires went disastrously wrong though, and war broke out between the two powerful factions. Four years after the first contact the Zao tenj invaded the galaxy at Hardpoint One and Chuck's drift. Their victories were swift and decisive, and were it not for the tentative alliance between Darth Wyyrlok's Sith Empire and Tai painj's Jedi Autocracy, the galaxy would have fell within days.
The alliance between the Jedi and the Sith could not hold the onslaught however, and mere days after the wars began Korriban, the Sith capital, fell to the Zao tenj. Only the immaterial victory at Yavin IV and the surprising re-conquest of Sith'ika kept the galaxy going. However, by 300 ABY, the Zao tenj were defeated, but at a devastating cost to the galaxy.
Following the war the Sith Order of Decreto slowly begun to retreat from its outlying systems, and by 1,400 ABY had pretty much retreated within its borders, having been severely weakened by over two hundred years of continuous warfare and rocked by the lack of resources present in the galaxy following this time. Although it still remained a power to be reckoned with, the Sith took no part in the Restoration War and eventually retreated from the galaxy entirely.
The Sith Order of Decreto left the galaxy along the route Wyyrlok’s expansionary campaign had taken, eventually reaching the ruined Yuuzhan Vong galaxy where they could once again grow in power and strength, hidden from their enemies. With the close of the Third Galactic Civil War and the total collapse of the galaxy's infrastructure, the Sith Order of Decreto believed the time had finally come to make their return.
Government and politics[]
Even from its early days the Sith Order of Decreto was ruled with absolute power by the Dark Lord of the Decreton Empire, and the Sith Council served only to represent the masses. Decreton rule was very totalitarian, although during its later years it did allow significantly more freedom than it had before; although their still remained little in the way of freedom of speech and dissidents were punished harshly.
The Sith Order of Decreto was a highly centralized galactic power. Each and every decision above a planetary level was undertaken directly by the Dark Lord or his appointed Sith Lord; with decisions below that being made by the ruling Governors according to the Dark Lords' will. During times of war, the Sith Council was given more power to assist the Dark Lord by making the decisions that affected the member planets of the Empire. By the time of the Sith Crusade however, the Sith Council had taken over the everyday ruling of the galaxy, whilst the Dark Lord lead the Imperial Armed Forces and StarFleet Command.
Executive branch[]
Despite the absolute power of the Emperor, it was the Sith Council that ran the Empire's day to day affairs and carried out the Emperor's will. This exercise of power was backed up by the use military force against their own citizens which would, on occasion, lead to entire planets and systems being massacres. This Doctrine was extremely successful in keeping wartime populations under control, as many conquered planets feared their conquerors, and was even more successful in threat during times of peace.
During the tumultuous times of the War of Twelve Heirs, the government of the Sith Order of Decreto was divided up into what was nicknamed the "Four Houses". These were the ruling Houses of the Sith Council members, the House of Mythos, the House of Kell, the House of Ni, and the House of Sinays, and between them the entirety of the Sith Order of Decreto was governed.
Legislative branch[]
After the succession of Darth Abeonis to the throne in the time period of 43 ABY to 56 ABY, the Sith Council was reorganized into a much more legislative branch. The Council would advise the Emperor and control the individual planets of the Empire. However, the Emperor could both introduce and veto Council legislation, and was capable of both calling and dismissing the Council to meeting (except in times of war). The Sith Council found new powers upon the outbreak of the Sith Crusade when Darth Abeonis realized that he could not personally control all of the Empire's military forces, eventually expanding into a much more executive role as well as legislative.
Judicial branch[]
Due to the centralization of government power, the Decreton criminal justice system was headed by none other than the Dark Lords themselves; although they often saw this as below them. Regardless, they realized the need for effective policing and by the time of Darth Proditor's rise to power, the criminal justice system had been placed under the control of the Black Guard and, at times of crisis, the SpecOps. The Black Guard commander of each world was directly responsible with prosecuting political prisoners and administering sentences on entire worlds, and any failures of justice were brutally punished. Sith Intelligence worked closely with both the SpecOps and the Black Guard to ensure the police state remained in control.
Other organizations[]
To strengthen his hold on power, Abeonis and his successors created various organizations to police the galaxy. Foremost among these organizations were the Sith Youths and Sith Intelligence, both of which helped to identify promising individuals. Under Darth Abeonis these organizations were allowed considerable freedoms, and would often build up their power bases within the Empire; although the social darwinism employed by Abeonis prevented any single organization from gaining significant power.
Unlike Abeonis, Darth Krayt did not allow these organizations and their leaders to build up power bases at all. Krayt realized that whilst this policy may have worked with Abeonis lived, following his death it was the main cause for the Successors War. Krayt took advantage of the most feared police force within the Sith Empire, the Hand, and selected a core few followers totally loyal to him, to lead the many departments within the Empire; as well as taking a considerable larger load of onto his shoulders.
Astrography[]
Throughout its history, the Empire of the Sith Order of Decreto has continued to expand at varied rates of speed. For the greater part of its history the Empire was confined to the Unknown Regions, its holdings spread out across the region and rarely linked in a contiguous expanse. This was due mainly to the isolationist and secretive nature of the empire, which forbade direct contact with foreign parties. It was not until the rise of Darth Abeonis as the Dark Lord that the Empire saw its largest period of expansion begin.
During this reign, the Empire united its holdings within the Unknown Regions and moved against the Chiss Ascendancy, bringing these territories into the Empire large. As the Sith Crusade broke out the Empire continued to expand, consuming nearly half the galaxy by 62 ABY. This expansion would continue until 74 ABY when the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances was finally defeated.
Worlds vital to the Sith Empire included (along with date of annexation):
Society and culture[]
The culture of the Sith Order of Decreto was semi-ascetic and minimalist. These aesthetics were encouraged throughout the Galaxy by the Sith Youths, who taught that bettering the Empire was a higher ideal than bettering ones-self. As the citizens aged, they were encouraged to join one of the many Sith organizations that promoted obedience, offered training and secured rights for the citizens.
Military life[]
As with most Sith empires in history, the Empire of the Sith Order of Decreto placed a particular emphasis on coercing its citizens into joining the either the Imperial Armed Forces or StarFleet Command. During the early years of the Empire the Sith Lords played to their underlings nationalism; relying upon a sense of pride in their place as citizens to convince them to join the armed forces. This did not always work however and during times of war it was not uncommon for conscription to be put in place. During the Sith Crusade, the most costly conflict in the Order's history, conscription was put in place during peace time. Following the Successors War however, the Empire was incapable of forcefully imposing national service upon its citizens, so Darth Krayt decided upon another option and set up several organizations under the umbrella title of the Sith Youths. Aside from the military itself, life within the Empire was very military focused, with all reconstruction of either civilian or military structures having their architectural plans altered to comply with defense capability regulations. The HoloNet was also affected by this, with entire networks being seized and devoted to the promotion of the military.
It was also common practice throughout times of both peace and war for military parades to take place in the major cities of subject planets. Although few and far between for each individual planet, these occasions usually occurred once every two years and were celebrated as a day of jubilation, where the restrictions of martial law were temporarily relaxed. As a result, citizens of the Empire were coerced into the belief that the military represented the freedom of the Empire's citizens, and helped to show the armed forces in good light.
Arts and media[]
The role of art and media in the Sith Order of Decreto was primarily didactic. During its existence, the Decreton Sith did not think it particularly important to suppress the various artistic cultures throughout the Empire, as it was primarily interested in military and political dominance. However, the influences of the Decreton way of life left their mark on the art of the later Legacy, and Unity eras.
Despite the significant influence on the arts, the Sith Order's fleeting care for the arts did allow some to exploit this medium as a means of promoting rebellion against the empire. Often these artists would get away with it, passing it off as merely an artist view; and received marginal punishments; on a few occasion however (when the artists went to far), they would disappear in the night and were never heard of again.
Religion[]
Under the Sith Order of Decreto, Anti-Jediism was a government policy, which meant that people were discouraged to believe in the heroics of the Jedi Order and view them as egotistical and self-righteous. Besides the established anti-Jediism of the Sith Order of Decreto, the Sith taught that there was no divine beings, and that only the Force existed beyond the mortal realm. In this aspect the Sith promoted a strongly potentium point of view.
Although not so prevalent in the territories secured following the Sith Crusade, the Empire's territories within the Unknown Regions remained staunchly anti-Jedite throughout the history of the Decreton Empire, and would often weed out Jedi and their supporters, and report them to the Black Guard.
Xenophobia[]
Darth Abeonis' empire emphasized Human and, to a lesser extent, Near-Human supremacy, with other alien species subject to much lower status. As a result, the vast majority of the government officials were composed of Humans, with only rare exceptions climbing in the ranks of the military. This policy however had absolutely no bearing on the Sith Lords and Knights of the Empire. Many, as much as four out of every ten, were not Humans, or even Near-Humans. One notable Near-Human, the Sith Lord Darth Wyyrlok, a Chagrian, would eventually become Dark Lord of the Decreton Empire. Despite it's strong humanocentric views, the Sith did not believe in the supremacy of men over women, and realized early on in its history that a women could be just as great an ally, or threat, as a man.
Despite their xenophobic nature, many species were members of the Sith Order of Decreto, although it was very rare for individuals from newly incorporated worlds to get anywhere in politics or the military.
Philosophy and customs[]
Secrecy over conflict[]
Luke Skywalker: “These Sith, they believe in secrecy and subterfuge over direct conflict.”
Cal Omas: “So?”
Luke Skywalker: “That makes them all the more dangerous.”
— Luke Skywalker and Cal Omas
Early Decreton philosophy emphasized secrecy and subterfuge over direct conflict. They believed that it enabled the Sith to survive beyond all others, where conflict ensured only that, eventually, defeat would befall all parties involved. However, they still believed that sentients only deserved what they were strong enough to take and that those too weak to protect themselves were little more than dust.
The militaristic teachings of the Sith under Darth Revan, Malak and, in later years, Kaan were viewed as obstructions to progress; continued conflict led only to stagnation and decline. However, morality was treated as a weakness to be ignored. It got in the way of the Siths’ ability to recognize and grasp opportunities for advancement.
Empowered by passion[]
What fuels your power with the Force but your passion? The stronger, darker emotions. Anger, hatred, fear… these passions empower us.
—Yuthura Ban
The core of a Sith's power came from emotion. The Jedi taught that fear and anger were negative emotions that must be overcome, but the Sith understood that every living creature was subject to such passions. The Decreton Knights especially, believed in harnessing rather than suppressing these natural urges, and did not endeavour to place themselves beyond passions as the Jedi did; on the contrary, they believed that their emotions must be fully exploited in order to attain a holistic understanding of the Force.
However, the Decreton Sith did not embrace all emotions; they, like the Jedi, considered love a dangerous emotion, but for different reasons. The Jedi discouraged love because it led to attachment, but the Decreton Sith taught that love led to mercy, which led to one revealing their true nature. Although it was prevalent amongst the citizens of the Empire, the Dark Lords did not encourage their Sith Lords or Knights to form attachments with one another, for fear of possible threats to the rule in later years. Despite this several Sith Lords and Knights did develop emotions for one another – such as the Hands Darth Nihl and Darth Talon.
Sith tattoos[]
Many Sith Lords during the Sith Order of Decreto's later history adorned themselves with Sith tattoos, as a symbol of their devotion to the order. The tattoos often have an alternating pattern of red and black, with many runic symbols included. Sith tattoos are incredibly painful to have applied, as they often cover the entire body. Examples of tattooed Sith Lords include the infamous Darth Wyyrlok and Darth Talon.
Behind the scenes[]
The Sith Order of Decreto was developed very early on in the story to be the Sith Order that would follow Darth Abeonis in his war against the Galactic Alliance. Undergoing several name revisions, the Sith Order of Decreto was at one point known simply as The Union, and served as an elite Imperial Remnant military force. Eventually, the author decided upon utilizing the Unknown Regions as a backdrop for the Sith Order; allowing for the massive military strength that confronted a totally unprepared Galactic Alliance. At a later date, it was decided that the Sith Order would become a remnant of the original Sith Empire of Naga Sadow that would return in later years; an idea which has been mimicked in Star Wars canon. Created on June 15, 2006, the article is amongst the oldest on Star Wars Fanon and as such has undergone several major revisions over the years. Foremost among them the edit of January 22, 2009 which saw an addition of almost 10,000 bytes of data.
First brought together in the final form in late 2006, the Sith Order of Decreto was shown early on as an all-powerful; and somewhat Mary Sue-ish organization much like the Yuuzhan Vong during the early New Jedi Order series of novels. However as time and story progressed the author realized that in order to bring a sense of realism to his story, the lead articles would most definitely need to show their weaknesses. These weaknesses developed out of those present in the canon Galactic Empire, as well as weaknesses in real-world governments; and included their humanocentric belief in the superiority of man, which would sometimes have disastrous results for the Sith Empire.
The governmental makeup of the Sith Order of Decreto is strikingly similar to various real-word governments both past and present; but is particularly based upon the government of Nazi Germany. Darth Abeonis' policy of social darwinism is heavily based upon Adolf Hitler's own, and the development of the Hand into an elite military force bares similarities to the evolution of the Schutzstaffel, whilst the SpecOps are based heavily upon the Waffen-SS. Organizations such as Sith Intelligence and the Black Guard, who rely upon denouncements to work effectively, also have the real-world counterparts.
Over its history, the article, along with several of its sister articles, has maintained a significant presence on the Star Wars Fanon Wiki, and is recognized as one of the sites best and most endearing fanon works, constantly developing and expanding, and has consequently won several awards in Star Wars Fanon Wiki Awards, alongside many of its sister articles.
Appearances[]
- Star Wars: Sith Crusade: Tales of a Sith War
- Star Wars: Sith Crusade: Last Chance
- Star Wars: Sith Crusade: Desperate Times I
- Star Wars: Sith Crusade: Desperate Times II