The Golden Age of the Sith 5000 B.B.Y.
The Great
Hyperspace War was a conflagration that swept across the galaxy, a clash
between distant and near- forgotten Sith Lords and an unsuspecting and
vulnerable Republic. This struggle between good and evil occurred in the high period of the
From the years preceding the war, the background and origins of the Sith Empire hold only a murky place in the annals of recorded history. We know of an ancient struggle of light side versus dark side, the first great schism within the Jedi Knights. After a century of bloodshed, the dark Jedi were defeated, and the survivors took their battered ships into exile, leaving known space behind and crossing the galaxy into uncharted territory. Eventually, the vanquished dark Jedi found a primitive civilization - a new people to dominate - the Sith.
The dark Jedi were treated as gods by these powerful yet malleable people. With unlimited resources and willing human slaves, the Jedi exiles forged the Sith civilization new empire, bringing about a age of evil that was separated from Republic, in the wilds of the thousands of lightyears from Perlemian Trade Route that was the Republic's outermost border at the time. Over millennia, the dark rulers of the Sith Empire lost their charts and hyperspace maps, so they no longer even knew how to find the Republic. On the other side of the galaxy, records of the Jedi revolt faded, and the overthrow of the evil Force wielders fell from memory. Only folktales remained.
Five thousand
years before the reign of the Emperor, the
It was a time of rugged frontiers: pioneers established homes on harsh new colony worlds; alien races encountered humans for the first time. Smallscale battles were fought and won as the galactic government continued to unify scattered systems. Convoluted paths through the incomprehensible wilderness of hyperspace were still being mapped, which made long-distance travel often treacherous and uncertain.
Gav and Jori Daragon, brother and sister, were hyperspace mappers whose desperate voyage of discovery altered the history of the galaxy. Intrepid risk takers-some called them crazy-they played the high-stakes game of seeking safe trade routes through unmapped and dangerous hyperspace. In their ship Starbreaker 12, they would pick a random course and roar off, hoping to arrive someplace useful-hoping to survive the journey. Like many explorers, smugglers, and colonists, Gav and Jori were a bit rough around the edges. Earlier in their lives, Gav and Jori had learned that they possessed Force potential, but neither had the patience or the drive to endure the rigorous mental training required to become a Jedi Knight. Instead, they used their "luck" and their blind faith to avoid running into stars or black holes. Always strapped for credits, they kept hoping to blaze a new trail that would earn them a substantial fee from the Brotherhood of Navigators.
After one particular near disaster, the destitute Gav and Jori could not even afford to pay for repairs to their ship, and the Starbreaker 12 sat unclaimed in a repair dock within the iron-walled metropolis of Cinnagar. With nothing but threats and creditors waiting for them, the two stole their own ship and shot off into the skies. They hoped that, by taking one more chance, they could map out a valuable new run, farther than ever before. With such information as collateral, they could pay off their debts and buy back their lives. As Cinnagar security forces shot at them, Gav and Jori spun the navicomputer dials and headed off into the unknown.
On the far side of the galaxy, the Sith Empirecut off from the Republic by vast distances and unexplored pathways-had grown powerful over the centuries, dabbling in its own brand of sorcery and dark Force wielding. And it had reached a time of crisis. After a century of ironhanded rule, the greatest Dark Lord of the Sith Empire, Marka Ragnos, had died. The ensuing power vacuum sparked a great struggle, a brewing civil war that could tear apart the ancient empire. Hungry factions convened on the mausoleum planet of Korriban as Ragnos was laid to rest among the towering tombs. Even under the shadow-filled skies, the funeral held great pomp and splendor, as the sacrifice of Sith slaves heralded completion of a spectacular new tomb.
At the grave site, the two strongest Sith opponents confronted each other. Naga Sadow, eager to expand Sith powers, dabbled with unproven magical and alchemical techniques, while his rival Ludo Kressh, content with the existing foundations of their empire, was loath to risk any folly that might cost them everything. At the doorstep of the new tomb, Sadow and Kressh engaged in a bloody duel, until to their astonishment the image of the fallen Dark Lord appeared as a spectral herald, the last gasp of his life force. Cryptic and ominous, the departing shade of Marka Ragnos announced that the fate of the Sith Empire would depend on the outcome of their conflict.
In the middle of this confrontation, the Starbreaker 12 arrived at Korriban. Lost and curious, Gav and Jori Daragon had barely survived their headlong plunge through hyperspace, and now they needed to gather information on the newly discovered world. Without trade possibilities and resources, their expedition would be useless.
The feuding Sith Lords showed no interest in peaceful trade with the Republic, though. Gav and Jori were captured as alien spies and taken off to the bleak planet Ziost, where they were held prisoner and interrogated by the Sith rulers. The Dark Lords remembered little of the distant Republic. The conservative Ludo Kressh thought the Daragons were precursors to an invasion, while his ambitious rival Naga Sadow viewed the unsuspecting Republic as a vast new field to conquer. Secretly, Sadow also believed that a new outside enemy, such as the Republic, could bring together the strained factions of the Sith Empire and distract the populace from political weaknesses closer to home. After a tribunal of Sith Lords sentenced Gav and Jori to death, Naga Sadow helped the two escape, taking advantage of his Massassi warriors, members of a specially bred soldier species. He took Gav and Jori to his own isolated fortress, leaving behind provocative evidence that other agents of the Republic had freed the prisoners. At the next Sith council meeting, Naga Sadow exploited doubts and fears about the Republic. He used Gav and Jori as scapegoats to galvanize the empire, convincing the other lords of an impending invasion. He insisted that the Sith must strike first.
Back at his fortress, Sadow began to initiate Gav into the ways of Sith sorcery. During the rigorous training, he kept Jori Daragon away from her brother, manipulating them both. Knowing their dire and uncertain straits, Jori demanded their ship back: it was their only way home. Because of the random route by which they had discovered the Sith Empire, the only safe return course was stored in the Starbreaker 12's computer. Without it, she and her brother could never find their way home. After Sadow continued to make excuses for keeping them in his fortress, Jori began to wonder if the Sith Lord was really their ally.
When Ludo Kressh uncovered evidence that Sadow might have been behind the prisoners' escape, he gathered loyal Sith forces to raid Sadow's fortress and expose him as a traitor and schemer; in this way, Kressh planned to assume the leadership of the empire.
All of this occurred exactly as Naga Sadow had planned, and he prepared to crush his rival's "surprise" attack. During the chaos of the attack, Sadow convinced Jori Daragon that her only chance was to make good her escape: he also arranged it so that at the last moment, Gav would not be able to join her, and she had to depart alone. It was a terrible moment of choice for her, as Ludo Kressh's ships arrived and unleashed a destructive cannonade.
Devastated, Jori abandoned her brother to the promised protection of Naga Sadow, vowing to come to his rescue as soon as she could. But she also knew that the Sith Empire was gearing up to attack the Republic, and only she could sound the alarm back home.
As soon as the Starbreaker 12 disappeared into hyperspace, Naga Sadow unleashed his real military reserves, and his forces crushed Kressh's fleet, destroying his rival's flagship and, presumably, Kressh himself. With the opposition in shambles, Sadow seized the moment to crown himself Dark Lord of the Sith.
|
