Where do the Sith come from? Who were they originally? We know that they are currently, within the Empire. But many references, especially on Korriban, speak of an even older Empire, of which they would only be a distant reflection. A period when the masters were much more powerful than today, much knowledge being lost in a war against the Republic and the Jedi which saw the end of this old Empire. What was its history?
This ancient Empire was born from the meeting of two cultures. The first is that of the people of Korriban, who called themselves the Sith but were not what in TOR are called pure-blooded Sith. They developed a civilization on several planets and their peak was certainly when they came to terms with the Infinite Empire of the Rakatas. This one was already in full decline, but knew one of its last bursts. They attacked Korriban and had time to install a star map. But King Adas' counterattack drove them away from Sith territories. Adas is considered the greatest ruler of this period, but his career ends there. He is killed during the last battle, leaving several suitors to tear themselves apart in a civil war. During the following centuries, the ceaseless wars will make collapse the kingdom of the Sith. Adas and his nobility were wizards mastering the arts of the Dark side. So will the leaders who oppose in the civil war.
The other culture that spawned the empire is that of the Jedi. Since the Wars of Force and the founding of the Order, many dissidents have tried to overthrow the incumbent leaders, or even overthrow the Republic on their own account. The hardest conflict comes about 3 years before TOR, during the Second Great Schism. The First Great Schism being the Wars of the Force, that this 300-year war is associated with it indicates how terrible it was. But the Jedi triumphed. And the vanquished, who were fighting under the command of Xoxaan, Ajunta Pall and Karness Muur, were exiled. They took away their weapons, locked them in several ships and sent them far into unknown space. They eventually arrived on Korriban. They arrived without a lightsaber but with all the attributes of the local rulers. And all of them were warriors. They easily integrated into local power struggles. And quickly, Ajunta Pall became the first ruler of the Sith Empire.
Ajunta Pall, first Dark Lord of the Sith
Until the end of this Empire, the distinction between the two groups was made. Even though they intermingled to the point that only hybrids belong to the ruling class, the degree of Jedi blood in the lineage was seen as a sign of purity and therefore potency. It is these hybrids that are called pureblooded Sith in TOR. The race of slaves receives the name of Massassis. This category is now extinct, extinct.
It was during this period that the Sith developed the most. The Dark Jedi had been banished for developing new Force weapons and techniques before and during the war against their former comrades. Now they have no limits. Karness Muur, quoted earlier, invented a plague that turns its victims into rakghouls. Darth Andeddu has found a way to extend his life with the Essence Transfer, which the Emperor of TOR presumably has a variant of. Simus, on the other hand, managed to survive for several centuries by being nothing more than a decapitated head. Their cruisers, a mixture of technology and sorcery, were capable of destroying suns. They could create illusions such as a frightening army capable of playing a part in a battle, and this being several systems away from the battle (s) in question. And many other things that have not yet all been referenced ...
The technology of the Sith is very different from that of the Republic. Blasters; they only developed cannons. No guns or handguns. Most of the guards with bladed weapons, spears. For ranged weapons, they have developed special equipment, called lanvaroks. The most characteristic equipment that we know of them and that has survived them. And then there are their swords, forged with help from the Dark Side to girdle the waists of their Jedi Masters (no documented example of a Sith from this period using a lightsaber)!
Sith policy is feudal. Each lord rules a planet or a moon, this is the lowest rung. Below there is only apprentice, at least their apprentices. And after the non-users of the Force, slaves and serfs. It was not uncommon for certain favorites to be buried in their master's tomb. Some lords were so powerful that they subdued their neighboring rivals. And so goes up the pyramid, up to a dozen capable of influencing the existence of the Empire. They designate among them the most powerful, politically, militarily and in the Force, to be their leader for life: the Dark Lord of the Sith. Only two planets are neutral, without a fixed ruler. This is the necropolis of Korriban, where successive Dark Lords are buried and where their ghosts do not accept any living rivals. And Ziost, where the titular Dark Lord traditionally sits.
The Dark Lords succeeded each other for more than 2 years, until Marka Ragnos who had one of the longest reigns in the history of the Empire. Its detractors criticized it for having focused too much on focusing on internal stability rather than territorial expansion, causing their war-based regime to stagnate. It is moreover on the program of these opponents that his successor Naga Sadow will ascend the throne.
A little aside on Naga Sadow. He is the main Sith figure in Golden Age of the Sith, the prequel to Tales of the Jedi that I already told you about. It is from this series of comics that most of the information I am telling you about comes. And the others are grafted onto it. Including TOR. There are two big references to Naga Sadow in the game: his tomb is Korriban's last quest area (This is actually an error made when KOTOR was created and since caught up by the EU. His body is actually in a temple in Yavin IV), and Sith warriors see him described as the prototype of the marauder. Which would be difficult, since apart from his belonging to the nobility he does not have much to do with the Sith warriors: in the comic he only draws his sword in all and for all once, practices several high-flying spells and is shown on one of the covers as a puppeteer. While in Tales of the Jedi Exar Kun and Ulic Qel-Droma were fallen Jedi knights, Naga Sadow is the very archetype of the Sith wizard. And even weigh more in the Extended Universe than Emperor Palpatine, some of his abilities will only be discovered in Episode III.
At the time of Marka Ragnos' burial, two adventurers landed on Korriban from the Republic. Naga Sadow will succeed in manipulating events to be crowned the new Dark Lord of the Sith. His plots also included the two adventurers, sending the sister back to the Republic with a plotter to clear the way for them as he made the brother her apprentice. His name was Gav Daragon, so please note that one of the main Republic ships in TOR is named after a former Sith apprentice. Naga Sadow's offensive will reach into the Core, knocking Coruscant apart. But upon arriving on his home planet and seeing what happened to him, Gav Daragon will turn on his master. He will sacrifice himself to destroy the spells and illusions that gave the Sith the advantage. Naga Sadow must step down and prepare a new strategy. But his main rival, Ludo Kressh, opposed to the war, tried at that time to overthrow him by force. Kressh's fleet is defeated, but leaves Sadow completely exposed to the Republic's counterattack. He then sacrifices all his lieutenants (literally, he has these Sith executed by Massassi agents) in order to be able to escape. He will end his life on the moon without the inhabitants of Yavin IV, with only the crew of his last cruiser for company.
The defeat of Naga Sadow in the Great Hyperspace War marks the end of the old Sith Empire. It is no longer a galactic power, and Republican opinion believes at that time that everything that made it up has been destroyed. It's wrong. We can note three inheritances to this Empire.
The first is made up of part of Naga Sadow's fleet. After the first few fights and grabbing a few holds, these cruisers experienced some mechanical trouble and got lost in another corner of the galaxy. The Extended Universe calls them the Lost Tribe of the Sith. But since they don't concern TOR, I won't dwell on them.
The second legacy comes directly from Naga Sadow. I already talked about this in the article on Tales of the Jedi. These are his apprentice Freedon Nadd, then Exar Kun and Ulic Qel-Droma. Even though some of Kun's supporters survived this war, it is unclear how they were handled when Darth Revan took center stage. Revan being a scout of the third group, one might consider that this second path ends here. This would be to forget that the post-Empire Sith consider Freedon Nadd and Exar Kun to be great Sith Lords and role models.
The third part is the Empire of TOR. After the Great Hyperspace War, all the great Sith Lords that mattered died, killed under command or while facing Naga Sadow. Only the third row remains, trembling with fear because they are unable to cope alone. Lord Vitiate of Nathema (planet also called Medriaas) succeeded in establishing himself as their leader and led them into an exile in the direction of Dromund Kaas to rebuild himself. But he would never resume the title of Dark Lord of the Sith, preferring that of Emperor. And he will reshape his Empire to such an extent that comparisons with his predecessor will be difficult. Many techniques and spells have been lost, and to replace them has been used the technology of captured slaves ...
And what will be the future of all these heirs of the DARk lords of the siTH? Well, as a sort of green dwarf talking in disorder puts it, "always on the move is the future" ...
