The History of the Sith, part 1

Stardate 11-04-06

Peace is a lie, there is only passion
Through passion, I gain strength
Through strength, I gain power
Through power, I gain victory
Through victory, my chains are broken
The Force shall set me free

Jedi have always been lured to the amazing powers of the dark side. About seven thousand years before the events of Star Wars IV, a New Hope, a group of Jedi came to believe that true power was achieved not through meditation, as taught by their Jedi Masters, but through emotion. The tension between the Jedi and these Dark Jedi grew until conflict erupted. These Dark Jedi were rounded up and exiled. They were given a spacecraft and were sent into the unknown. The idea was that these Dark Jedi would be sent out into such vast and undiscovered space, that they would have no home, and would eventually just die out.

This however, did not happen. These Dark Jedi emerged into an unknown region of the galaxy and found a planet, Korriban, that was inhabited by a race called the Sith; aliens with red skin, cranial horns, bony chins, and insectile features. The Force flowed strongly with the Sith, allowing them to create their own form of black magic. The Sith were a feudal, violent society, whose nobles were always fighting in order to gain power. The Dark Jedi saw this as an opportunity to gain power. Using their training with the Force, the Dark Jedi amazed the Sith, elevating their status on Korriban to be equal with their gods, and soon became their rulers. It was at this point that the Dark Jedi began to interbreed with the most powerful Sith rulers, forming a new breed of magicians, both strong in the Sith arts and in the dark side of the Force. From this point on, the term "Sith" came to mean not only the original near-human inhabitants of Korriban, but their Dark Jedi Masters as well. Out of this new breed of Sith came the Dark Lords of the Sith, the ones who rule over all Dark Jedi and Sith. This title was bestowed upon their leader by a group of lesser Siths.

For the next 2000 years, the Sith prepared to return and slay the Jedi. They built up their forces, grew in number and in strength, but could never reach of point of pure power because power, was what all desired. Feuds and civil war raged on Korriban with all desiring to be called the Dark Lord of the Sith. Soon Naga Shadow became the Dark Lord of the Sith and put his plans in motion to return to war with the Jedi. Before they could launch their surpise attack, the Jedi discovered them and war broke out. The war lasted 10 years as the Jedi slowly killed each and every Sith, including Naga Shadow. Believing that all had been destroyed, the Jedi returend to the Old Republic.

The following 4000 years in Sith history is very much the same thing over and over. One Jedi or groups of Jedi begin to study the dark side of the Force. Their desire to learn everything about the force leads them to find the spirit of a dead Sith or a Sith Holocron. A holocron is a cube like object invented by the Jedi that stores their history and every thing that they have learned. Pretty soon, a new Dark Lord of the Sith arises and is either killed by a Jedi or killed by a lesser Sith.

Two important things then took place about 1000 years before the events of Star Wars IV. Kaan, a Sith Lord formed the Brotherhood of Darkness and eliminated the title of Dark Lord of the Sith. The Brotherhood was similar to the Jedi Council; a group of lords ruled all, they formed a school where younger Sith could train under them and in turn, create a new Sith army. At the same time that this was happening, a civil war broke out in the Old Republic among light and dark Jedi. The light Jedi prevailed, but there were severe casualties, which left only about 100 Jedi to protect the Old Republic. It was around the time of this Jedi civil war that the prophesy of the Sith'ari became well known. The Sith'ari was said to be a perfect being who would rise to power and bring balance to the Force. According to prophesy, the Sith'ari would rise up and destroy the Sith, but in the process would return to lead the Sith and make them stonger then ever before. It is believed that the prophecy of the Sith, Sith'ari and the prophesies of the Jedi Chosen One refer to the same individual; namely Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader, who made the Sith stronger then ever by destoying the Jedi Knights.

One of the most important persons in all history of the Sith was Darth Bane. Bane was an average student with the Brotherhood. Because he had no special abilities, he was soon shunned by the other students. He became a loner and dedicated all of his time to ancient Sith studies. As he learned more and more about the ancient secrets of the Sith, his power in the dark side of the force began to grow. His prowess as a swordsman also secretly grew. He soon challenged the most powerful student to a duel and brutally slaughtered him. After the duel he insulted the Brotherhood and declared that they were a tainted pretender of true Sith power. He was banned from Korriban and traveled to a forgotten planet where he came across a Sith Holocron. Through this Holocron, Bane completed his training, learning new and devastating Sith techniques, including the "thought bomb," which destroys all Force sensitive beings within a certain radius. It should be noted that the term bomb may be misleading-it is a force attack, rather then a physical item.

He also realizes from his studies with the Holocron that any Sith order with multiple lords is doomed to failure and so he creates the Sith Rule of Two: "Only two there shall be. One to embody the power and one to crave it." In order to start his rule of two, Bane realizes that he must destroy all remaining Sith. Its at this time that the Brotherhood is at war with the Jedi. Though it was a small group of Jedi, as a result of the many casualties in the Jedi civil war, the Brotherhood is spread thin and is losing. In desperation they call on Bane to save them. Bane teaches them of the true power of the dark side and convinces them to use the thought bomb. The Sith join together in meditation, and Bane unleashes a wave of power upon the unsuspecting Jedi. Sensing the darkness and ambition in Bane's heart, the other Sith Lords break the circle and send Bane away. Kaan, the Sith Lord who formed the Brotherhood is driven mad by the glimpse that Bane showed him of the true power of the force, later, unleashes the thought bomb, destroying not only all the Jedi involved in the battle, but also all the Sith.

Bane's plan to kill all Sith was a success. Bane forever changed the mantle of the Sith. He took for himself the name Darth Bane. From now on, there would only be two: a master and an apprentice. The master would teach the apprentice and when the master died, the apprentice would become master and seek out a new apprentice. Both would take the title of Dark Lord of the Sith. The new Sith would be cunning, stealth, subterfuge, and in a virtue learned from their greatest enemy, patient. Darth Bane took his apprentice to Coruscant, the center of the Old Republic and the great Jedi Council, and there the Sith would remain, shadowy and unseen, but ever-present.

Stay posted for History of the Sith, part 2, where we will learn about the events leading up to the Revenge of the Sith.