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In -303 before the Treaty of Coruscant, the battle of the Star Forge or battle of Rakata Prime / Lehon is the last great battle of the Jedi Civil War. It is a victory for the Republic, with Revan eliminating Darth Malak and thus beheading the Sith enemy.
A year later, an expedition led to Korriban no longer encountered any resistance. No one was there, not even at the trading outpost that served as the spaceport. Officials concluded that Darth Malak's potential successors had all killed each other, were no longer a threat and therefore peace had returned. They were sorely mistaken, and this mistake would see another conflict hurt the galaxy just as much. Worse, she brought the Jedi Order to the brink of destruction like never before. The consequences are still heavy today. This new war was dubbed the Sith Civil War because even when the Republic was involved, one of the main leaders of this Order was fighting on his side.
The events that occurred on Korriban in -303 and -302 are very poorly understood. Nobody related them. We know the starting point, the conclusion but not the details or even the leaders of the factions present. It all started when Uthar Wynn got rid of his master and took over the head of the Sith Academy on the planet. He was showing the ambitious the way forward, and his own apprentice Yuthura Ban was ambitious. She set in motion a plan that involved a Republican group led by Revan then searching for the coordinates of the Star Forge. Revan could have been the clear winner of this fight, but a Sith Academy was not of interest to him.
Uthar Wynn's death was the trigger for an open war for power. Upon Darth Malak's death, she became the catalyst and symbol of the late leader's legacy race. All the candidates for succession came to the planet. It is not known if Darth Traya, director of the Trayus Academy of Malachor V came there in person or if she just sent one of her two apprentices Darth Sion or Darth Nihilus. In any case, it was the Sith Triumvirate she led that won the bet. Only a small part of Darth Revan and Darth Malak's Empire survived, but they only wanted an elite anyway.
Dark Traya
Most of the Sith apprentices who passed through Trayus Academy received assassin training. Rather than big battles where she didn't think she had enough strategic sense to win, she preferred to discreetly eliminate her opponents. A very high-ranking former Jedi, she had retained a great grudge against her former Order. Almost all of the targets she named were part of it. But she was poorly watching her back, leaving her two apprentices the possibility of concluding an alliance. The two of them attacked her, defeated her, stripped her of her title and even managed to block some of her powers. But she manages to survive and escape, plotting her revenge. The Republic was still unaware of all this, which was happening in an area they did not control. Darth Sion and Darth Nihilus continued to carry out their former master's original plan, eliminating various targets in complete secrecy. And when they were spotted, they didn't leave enough evidence for us to trace back to them.
Dark Nihilus
It was three years before the Jedi Order realized that they had suffered many casualties under questionable circumstances and therefore were under attack. The Jedi Council decided to organize in - 299 a Conclave, that is to say a meeting to which all the members of the Order were invited. It took place on Katarr, a Miraluka colony. In the midst of the discussions, Darth Nihilus' cruiser emerged from Hyperspace and ravaged the planet with the sheer power of his Force powers. There was only one survivor, who the Sith took on as an apprentice. The surviving Jedi, those who weren't on Katarr (including nearly half of the Jedi Council, who had hung around because of a hunch), all went into hiding. Some remained linked to officials, allies and friends who could serve as protectors and spies. But the Republic suddenly found itself deprived of one of its main supporters. For a year, they searched for a solution, in vain. Darth Sion and Darth Nihilus continued to stalk their opponents. And then the galaxy remembered Meetra Surik.
Meetra Surik
Meetra Surik had been one of Revan's leading generals during the Mandalorian Wars. She was even the only Jedi around her to have returned to the Republic rather than become a Sith with him. But it was also broken, and the Jedi Council had preferred to exile him rather than face this difficulty. After a decade of living on the Border of the Republic, she had lost touch with the Force. In -298, the Republic repatriated it to use as bait against Jedi assassins. In vain, Dark Zion was far too strong. But Dark Traya also intervened, finding an opportunity to take revenge on his apprentices.
She too had plans for the Exile, which involved manipulating her and giving her back her powers so that she would once again become one of the greatest fighters in the galaxy. Impersonating the Gray Jedi Kreia, she urged her to take on apprentices and find the last surviving members of the Jedi Council. And here is Meetra Surik transformed into a catalyst shattering the lines in the galaxy. -298 before the Treaty of Coruscant was the year that the Jedi Civil War became public, as well as that of its resolution.
Dark Sion
Darth Nihilus was no longer content to eliminate a few opponents. He forged alliances, strengthened his other powers ... He became involved in a civil war on the planet Onderon, which led to his troops Meetra Surik and his companions. Kreia / Darth Traya took the opportunity to whisper in the ear of one of his allies that the survivors of the Jedi Council were on Telos. A lie, three of them actually joined Dantooine where they were to find the Exile. But the plan of the three old wise men did not suit the Sith: they wanted to neutralize Surik and go back into hiding. So she killed them all three. Then joined Telos and another Council member, Archivist Atris, whom she plunged into the Dark Side.
When the Exile arrived in her turn on the planet, she had to face Atris then Darth Nihilus. His pursuit of Darth Traya then took him to Malachor V, at Trayus Academy, where Darth Sion had bent his knee in front of his former mistress who had become too strong for him again. Meetra Surik once again had to face two adversaries, but succeeded in bringing peace to the galaxy. For a while.
There is no recognized connection between the forces of the Sith Triumvirate and the Empire of Darth Vitiate. Nothing that the Dark Council or the Imperial Secret Service cannot exploit. The Republic has largely recovered from this conflict of which it has never had a glimpse. Yet its shadow still stretches across the galaxy. The Jedi Order never fully recovered from the First Great Jedi Purge. Much of their knowledge was lost, destroyed or recovered by private collectors who had no intention of returning it. But even the leadership of the Order ... The last members of the Jedi Council to die were the most conservative of the lot, and those who rebuilt after them leaned on their legacy. Like Brianna Kae, Atris' maid, for example. The most telling example of this change in mentality concerns romantic relationships. They which were once widespread are now banned and offenders have already been exiled. Because the Sith Civil War caused so many deaths, the Jedi Order has changed. For good or for bad, this is a question that others will have to address and judge.
References
In video games:
- Star Wars Knight of the Old Republic II : The Sith Lords
Literature:
- Game master manual for the Star Wars KOTOR paper game (I don't have the exact name, sorry)
