Sith Lords of Eras Past...

[Skyeborne]

(This information was first posted by Darth Thokk and has been moved here.)

Darth Sidious (aka Palpatine)

This Dark Lord of the Sith was the driving force behind the Trade Federation, during the time it tried to subjugate the world of Naboo. He had control of specific elements of the Galactic Senate, and with the assistance of some 200 years of preparation by previous Masters - including his own mentor, Darth Plagueis - put in motion an intricate set of schemes to take control of the galaxy. Sidious had trained his apprentice, Darth Maul, and was ready to bring his plans to fruition when Chancellor Valorum dispatched two Jedi Knights to Naboo to negotiate a settlement. Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi thwarted his initial plans, and forced him to send Darth Maul after the pair.

Meanwhile, Sidious continued to manipulate the Neimoidians, pushing the situation at Naboo as far as he could. When Queen Amidala returned to Naboo to deal with the situation herself, Sidious saw his carefully laid plans fall apart as the Neimoidians were defeated and the planet freed of its blockade, and Darth Maul was killed in battle by Obi-Wan Kenobi. However, Sidious was never worried about these events, as he had several contingency plans. Among these plans was the recruiting of Count Dooku to serve as his new apprentice. Dooku, known as Darth Tyranus to the Sith, arranged to manipulate large numbers of star systems to secede from the Old Republic under the guise of the Separatist movement. Tyranus also began working with the major business guilds - such as the Commerce Guild and the Trade Federation - to re-establish a droid-based war machine.

When the Battle of Geonosis was completed, the most important of Darth Sidious' plans had come to fruition: the acceptance of a huge army of clone troopers by the Old Republic miltary. The onset of the Clone Wars allowed Sidious' alter ego - Chancellor Palpatine himself - to gain unprecedented control over both the Galactic Senate and the Grand Army of the Republic. During the prelude to the Battle of Geonosis, Count Dooku was even so bold as to tell Obi-Wan Kenobi that the galaxy was under the control of a Sith Lord, but Obi-Wan refused to believe it. Despite his own beliefs, Obi-Wan brought this revelation back to the Jedi Council.

The possibility of Sidious' existence served to divide the attention of the Jedi Order, pulling it further apart. Some members felt that Sidious was a real threat, while others believed that Darth Sidious was Count Dooku's alias. Obi-Wan's evidence of Darth Sidious' existence was borne out nearly three years later, when Nute Gunray's mechno-chair was captured on Cato Neimoidia. Recordings of the Neimoidian's conversations with Darth Sidious explained many of the Dark Lord's machinations. The Jedi began an intense search for Sidious, starting with the craftsbeings who devised the mechno-chair's systems, and leading them to an abandoned building in The Works district of Coruscant.

However, the investigation was cut short when Coruscant was attacked by General Grievous, allowing Sidious to "escape" momentarily. In the wake of the First Battle of Coruscant, Palpatine revealed himself to be Darth Sidious to Anakin Skywalker, after drawing the young Jedi into his schemes. Later, Mace Windu arrived with three other Jedi Masters to arrest Palpatine. Sidious was finally able to fully reveal himself, and cut down Windu's deputies before confronting the Jedi Master himself. They were evenly matched for a short time, until Windu managed to deflect Sidious' lightsaber and corner him.

Anakin arrived at this time, defying Master Windu's orders to remain at the Jedi Temple, and tried to stop Windu from killing Palpatine outright. When Windu hesitated, Sidious unleashed a horrific blast of Force lighting, which Windu blocked with his lightsaber. The reflected energy hit Sidious full in the face, causing an unusual transformation. All of Sidious' corruption and evil boiled over, and his face changed from that of a calm politician to that of his true self: an old, twisted, evil being who had been fully consumed by the Dark Side of the Force. After the so-called Jedi Rebellion, Palpatine assumed control of the entire galaxy, combining his two personae into the role of Emperor. He could then shed the ancient magicks he used to maintain his politician guide, claiming that the disfigurement had come at the hands of Mace Windu.

Palpatine used this event, which he called the Jedi Rebellion, to assume complete control of the Senate and outlaw the Jedi Order. In the Senate Rotunda, he appeared as a now-disfigured Palpatine, claiming that the Jedi had destroyed his appearance but not his resolve. To thunderous applause, Palpatine established the first Galactic Empire and instituted the era of the New Order. Palpatine then accepted Anakin as his apprentice, naming him Darth Vader. Although he was forced to recover Anakin's body from Mustafar and rebuild it, Palpatine continued to teach Vader in the ways of the Dark Side.

However, Palpatine also knew that Anakin had been married to Padme' Amidala, and that there was the possibility that Vader might have had children. Palpatine ruled the galaxy as Emperor for nearly 25 years, until he was killed by Darth Vader aboard the second Death Star, over the Forest Moon of Endor. It was believed that Palpatine had been using his connection to the Force to control the minds and will of the Imperial Fleet at Endor, and that his death caused the surviving Imperial ships to lose their coordination, allowing the Alliance forces to win the Battle of Endor.

Although Palpatine's body was consumed by the fierce power generators in the battle station, his spirit survived, albeit injured and without a strong connection to the Dark Side of the Force. It took the disembodied Palpatine so long to reach the planet Byss that he was nearly drained of any power in the Dark Side. Once on Byss, though, he was able to contact Sate Pestage, who readied a new cloned body for the Emperor. Palpatine spent years recovering his powers in the Dark Side, all the while watching the Empire crumble under the sheer luck of the New Republic. He had hopes for Grand Admiral Thrawn, but the alien's death only helped Palpatine gain more power. When he emerged from hiding on Byss, he sought to retake the galaxy using World Devastators. He was also trying to turn Luke Skywalker to the Dark Side, which he nearly succeeded in doing. However, the presence of Luke's sister, Leia Organa, and her unborn child pulled Luke back to the Light. Together, they turned the Emperor's rage back on himself, and destroyed yet another incarnation of the evil Emperor.

Since this last body was killed on Byss, Palpatine had an easier time placing his spirit into a new clone. However, Luke managed to destroy all of the remaining clones Palpatine had ready for use, and so when his body began to deteriorate, he started searching for Anakin Solo again. He quickly began launching new attacks against the New Republic, this time with a weapon known as the Galaxy Gun. Skywalker enlisted the aid of the Ysanna - a race of Force-sensitives descended from ancient Jedi stock - as well as the assistance of Empatajayos Brand, to confront the Emperor on Onderon. There, Palpatine's dying body tried desperately to reach Anakin Solo. Brand intervened, though, and consumed the Emperor's spirit within his own. Both Brand and Palaptine died on Onderon.

Later, during the rise of Second Imperium, a group of former Imperial Royal Guards began using their experience with Palpatine to actually pretend to be the Emperor reborn. Using carefully spliced holovid segments, they were able to project a perfect image of the Emperor, and were also able to synthesize speech from recordings. Whenever they traveled, they used droids to carry a large isolation chamber which ostensibly housed the reborn Palpatine. Their ruse fooled Brakiss and the leaders of the Shadow Academy, until they were discovered in the aftermath of the battle over Yavin 4.  

[Skyeborne]

Darth Maul

This Sith Dark Lord was a member of the Zabrak species and was the apprentice of Darth Sidious, the mysterious force behind the Trade Federation's blockade of Naboo. Sidious explained to Maul that he found him as a baby on the planet Iridonia, and took him in when his parents disappeared. Over the years, Sidious discovered that Maul's inner self was full of anger and fury, and trained the youth in the ways of the Sith. Sidious used sensory deprivation and other unusual punishments to harden Maul's anger into a solid core that grew stronger when it touched the Dark Side of the Force. Whenever Maul failed to remain alert, or showed any kind of mercy, Darth Sidious punished him severely.

Maul later constructed his own two-bladed lightsaber much like Exar Kun did some 3,950 years earlier, although Maul's lightsaber was actually two lightsabers fused together. Each had its own separate components, allowing him to use a single blade if the weapon became damaged. Darth Maul was obvious by his heavily tattooed, horn-studded face, piercing yellow eyes, and rotting teeth.

In his first true mission without his Master's help, Darth Maul was sent to Dorvalla to destroy both Lommite Limited and InterGalactic Ores, in an effort to obtain access to the lommite mines for the Trade Federation. After Hath Monchar fled the Federation in an effort to sell information on the Federation's plans to blockade Naboo, Maul tracked the Neimoidian down and executed him, cutting off any chance of the information reaching the Senate.

Sidious later dispatched Maul when he learned from the Neimoidians that two Jedi Knights had been dispatched to negotiate a settlement to the blockade. When the Jedi - Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi - fled with Queen Amidala to Tatooine, Darth Maul followed at a safe distance. He nearly defeated Qui-Gon, but was unable to control him before they fled for Coruscant. Not to be outdone, Sidious then sent Maul to capture them on Naboo. There, while Queen Amidala's forces attempted to capture Nute Gunray, Darth Maul confronted both Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon in the Theed palace's power generation station. In a fierce battle, the three swordsman battled to a draw before they were separated by the station's laser defense systems. When the defenses dropped, Maul and Qui-Gon were left alone to battle, and the Sith Lord defeated the Jedi with a quick jab of his blade.

However, his victory was short-lived. When Obi-Wan was able to escape the laser system, he attacked with a renewed sense of purpose. His exuberence nearly cost him his life, when Darth Maul forced the young Jedi over the edge of a power shaft. Obi-Wan recovered and, using the Force to recover Qui-Gon's lightsaber, caught Maul off-guard. The Jedi sliced his lightsaber through Maul's midsection. The fatally injured Sith Lord toppled into the shaft and was lost forever.  

[Darth Fury]

Darth Tyranus (aka Count Dooku)

This man was a charismatic separatist that held the social position of Count on his homeworld of Serenno. Born some 81 years before the onset of the Clone Wars, Count Dooku was also a former Jedi Master who was known for his diplomatic skills, as evidenced by his successful mediation of the Sevarcos Dispute. He was also known for his fierce independence and his command of the Living Force, traits which were passed on to his apprentice, Qui-Gon Jinn. Dooku himself trained with Yoda during his teen-age years, before passing the trials to earn the rank of Jedi Knight, and spent much of his life studying the various aspects of the Force.

Dooku was an excellent lightsaber duelist, specializing in a form of fencing combat that was more suited to fighting against an opponent also using a lightsaber. The one thing that always rankled on him was the fact that, during his training, Dooku always lost to Master Yoda in mock combat. He resented the fact that Yoda would lose to obviously lesser students, but Dooku never was given such treatment. After one battle that Yoda claimed to have won before it even started, Dooku realized that he had gone into the battle intending to lose, rather than expecting to win. This realization changed Dooku's approach to his training, and made him a stronger Jedi.

Shortly before the Battle of Naboo, as Dooku sat on the Jedi Council, he decided to leave the Jedi Order after refusing to lead an ill-fated mission to Baltizaar, becoming one of the "Lost Twenty." At the time, he cited his growing disillusionment with the Old Republic, as well as proposing that the Jedi Knights had weakened themselves by allying with the decaying Republic. He returned briefly to Serenno, and adopted the title of Count.

It was also around this time that he became Darth Tyranus, training in the ways of the Sith under Darth Sidious. As Tyranus, it was Dooku who hired Jango Fett to serve as the model for a cloned army. He resurfaced eight years later on Raxus Prime to begin speaking out in favor of a separatist movement against the Old Republic. During the years leading up the Clone Wars, Dooku was one of the many members of the Old Republic who secretly wished for many planets to secede from the Republic, believing that he was in a position to take control of the newly-liberated worlds to form his own empire. He made several underhanded deals with major political powers, including the Commerce Guild, in an effort to solidify his position. He negotiated with Poggle the Lesser and the Trade Federation, employing the Geonosians in an effort to build vast droid armies to support the Separatist movement.

His identity as Darth Tyranus was revealed shortly before the onset of the Clone Wars, when the Jedi Knights discovered the droid armies when Obi-Wan Kenobi was captured on Geonosis. Instead of trying to lie to Obi-Wan, Dooku confronted him with the truth: a Sith Lord was in control of the Republic. Obi-Wan could do nothing but disagree, playing to Dooku's plans. Dooku was forced to flee the planet in the aftermath of the Battle of Geonosis, having barely survived a lightsaber duel with Obi-Wan and his apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, then another battle with Yoda. Dooku then returned to Coruscant to report his failure to his Master, Darth Sidious, but was surprised to learn that Sidious was happy with the outcome.

Count Dooku remained as Darth Tyranus, and continued to lead the Separatists during the three years of fighting during the Clone Wars. During the height of the Clone Wars, it was learned that several clones of Dooku had been created. These clones were placed in locations where the Republic would find and destroy them, adding to the confusion of the battle by making the Republic chase down every possible lead on Dooku's whereabouts.

Some thirty months after Geonosis, he hatched his most devious plan, hoping to lure Yoda himself to Vjun. Although Dooku believed that eliminating Yoda would crush the resolve of the Old Republic, he was unprepared for the feelings aroused within him at the prospect of facing Yoda again. When Yoda arrived on Vjun, he asked Dooku to do the unexpected. Rather than demanding a battle, Yoda asked Dooku to turn him to the Dark Side of the Force, to experience the power and greatness of it. Dooku feared that, if Yoda were turned, he would eliminate Darth Sidious and destroy the galaxy. He tried to fight Yoda again, but was forced to flee when Republic reinforcements arrived.

Upon returning to Sidious' side, Dooku was given a series of orders that were to be carried out in order to eliminate Obi-Wan Kenobi, thereby orphaning Anakin Skywalker. Dooku understood that young Skywalker would eventually become Sidious' apprentice, but was unable to kill Kenobi. He was briefly on Kaon before being ordered by Sidious to Tythe, where he was nearly captured by Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, just prior to the First Battle of Coruscant. Dooku returned to Coruscant after escaping the Jedi, only to be confronted by them once again aboard the Invisible Hand.

Dooku's military leader, General Grievous, had managed to capture Chancellor Palpatine, who ensured Dooku that he would intervene if the Jedi managed to get too close to them. In a fateful duel, Anakin finally bested Dooku, but Dooku remained sure that Palpatine would rescue him. However, Dooku soon realized that his time as Darth Sidious' apprentice had come to an end. Palpatine allowed Anakin to behead Dooku during their struggle, just before the Jedi managed to free the Chancellor.

After news of Dooku's death moved swiftly throughout the galaxy, many beings began to wonder openly why Palpatine continued to pursue the war against the Separatists. Among the loudest voices were the Senators who made up the Delegation of the Two Thousand.  

[Darth Fury]

Darth Vader (aka Anakin Skywalker)

When Anakin Skywalker came under the tutelage of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, he was led down the path to the Dark Side of the Force. Despite the teachings of his friend, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin felt that the teachings of Palpatine led to quicker realization of the powers of the Force. Palpatine also twisted the truth of the situation to his needs, ensuring that every action of the Galactic Senate and the Jedi Order seemed to be part of a plot by the Jedi to take control of the galaxy. Anakin eventually gave in to Palpatine's urgings and agreed to become Darth Vader, apprentice to the Dark Lord Darth Sidious.

This forced Kenobi to confront Anakin, and in a lightsaber duel Kenobi forced Anakin into a pit of molten rock on Mustafar, at the conclusion of the Clone Wars. It was at this point that Anakin Skywalker was totally consumed by the Dark Side. He was rescued from the fire by Darth Sidious' agents, but had lost both legs and an arm in the duel, and had suffered incredible burns over much of his body. In order for the Sith Lord to keep Anakin alive, medical droids had to create a life support system that encased his entire body. It had to recreate certain limbs, as well as replace his lungs. At the Emperor's direction the life-support suit was made as evil-looking as could be. The all-black body armor became Vader's main weapon, as it instilled fear in all who saw it.

The Sith Lord also began training Vader in the ancient Sith lore, and Vader became the last of the Sith Dark Lords. As such he became even more Palpatine's tool, able to create fear just by the mention of his name and the mysterious Sith teachings behind it. Early HoloNet news reports portrayed Vader as a hero of the New Order, having "stood against the rebellious leadership of the Jedi Knights, and nearly dying in order to protect the citizens of the galaxy." Palpatine sent Vader to support Grand Moff Tarkin during the time when the first Death Star was being readied for use. Vader oversaw the mission to recover the stolen plans, but was unable to get Princess Leia to divulge their location.

He used the Millennium Falcon as a guide and followed the fleeing ship to Yavin 4, only to lose the Death Star to the Alliance. Vader's ship was disabled during the battle, but he regained control. When the Emperor heard of the destruction of the first Death Star he removed Vader's living right hand as punishment, and replaced it with a cybernetic prosthesis. Shortly thereafter, Vader went to Circarpous V to investigate the appearance of Leia Organa on the planet and to locate the Kaiburr crystal. In an amazing duel with Luke Skywalker, Vader was hard-pressed to defeat Luke. Luke succeeded in defeating Vader, and even cut off the Dark Lord's right arm with his own lightsaber.

In his dazed state Vader fell into a sacrificial wheel on the Temple of Pomojema and was lost. He survived, however, drawing on the Dark Side of the Force for support and strength. Once Palpatine was aware that Anakin Skywalker's son had survived and posed a possible threat to the Empire, he told Vader of the existence of Luke Skywalker in an effort to completely gain control of any vestiges of Anakin Skywalker and convert them to Darth Vader. However, this plan backfired on Palpatine as the remnants of Anakin began to surface. Following the relevation of Luke's relationship to Anakin, and the loss of Luke at Cloud City, Palpatine began to give Vader menial tasks and tried to keep him away from his offspring.

He could not, however, and the part of Vader that was still Anakin continued to assert itself. The Battle of Endor was a turning point for Darth Vader. It was then that Luke Skywalker surrendered to Vader, and began to try and turn the Dark Lord back to the Light Side. The darker parts of Vader resisted, but Luke's love and devotion to his father strengthened the spirit of Anakin. When the Emperor was forced to kill Luke, Anakin was awakened, and with Vader's mechanized strength he threw the Emperor into a power shaft, destroying Palpatine and the Empire. Darth Vader also ceased to exist at this point, as Anakin was able to return from the Dark Side. However, the struggle with the Emperor left the life support systems inoperable, and Anakin died before Luke could save him.  

[Darth Fury]

Darth Bandon

Was a former Jedi and the apprentice of Darth Malak during the time of the Jedi Civil War. He, in fact, filled the position that Malak himself once had under Darth Revan. Bandon wielded a double-bladed lightsaber in combat and wore custom-built armor. He might have eventually defeated and succeeded Malak, in the Sith tradition, had he not met up with Revan in combat. Bandon and his henchmen confronted Revan at the behest of their master, but were defeated by the former Dark Lord and his allies in battle. Revan took Bandon's armor as a memento of the victory. Bandon's death was unmourned, and Malak later replaced him with a far more powerful apprentice: Bastila Shan.

During his time as Malak's servant, Bandon was occasionally prone to violent outbursts. Displaying cunning but little wisdom, he often held an inflated view of his own power.  

[Darth Fury]

(Copied from Wikipedia...)

Darth Bane

Character overview

In the Star Wars universe, Darth Bane is a powerful Sith Lord who lived a thousand years before the time line of the films. He resurrects the Sith Order after it is nearly destroyed, and institutes the rules and dogma that would aid it in taking over the galaxy in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. He made the rule that the Sith's power was spread too thin and too far, so that there can be only two Sith: a master and an apprentice.

Character arc

Dark Beginnings

Bane's backstory is established in Darth Bane: Path of Destruction by Drew Karpyshyn. He is born as Dessel on the planet Apatros, the son of a miner named Hurst. Hurst, an abusive alcoholic, blames the boy for the death of his wife in childbirth, and often calls him his "Bane". His father takes him into the mines at a young age, and the boy is bullied and abused well into adulthood. He is powerful in the dark side of the Force, and unconsciously uses this power to kill his hated father. The authorities did an autopsy, and said Hurst had died of natural causes. Years later Dessel will learn he killed his father with the force.

After he kills a Republic Navy ensign in self-defense, Dessel flees Apatros and joins the armies of the Brotherhood of Darkness, a band of Sith Lords. His instinctive use of the Force (which he initially believes to be a myth) brings him to the attention of the Sith Lord Kopecz. Dessel is sent to the Brotherhood's Academy on Korriban to be trained in the ways of the dark side. Dessel (who renames himself Bane) becomes a star pupil after killing another student in cold blood. In particular, he attracts the attention of Sirak, the top student at the Korriban Academy.

After Bane realizes that he had indeed killed his father with the dark side, he subconsciously retreats from the Force, losing his power. Bane falls out of favor in the Academy, and is eventually refused any personalized training. Months later, in a vain attempt to reestablish himself, Bane challenges Sirak to a fight and is seriously injured in the ensuing duel.

Partner in evil

Bane's training in and ascension to the Sith is detailed in both Path of Destruction and Jedi vs. Sith. As a student, he meets a new apprentice (and former Jedi) named Githany, who secretly plans to use him to bring down Sirak. Githany reestablishes his connection to the dark side by showing him in secret what the Sith Lords are teaching her. Most importantly, Bane studies tomes from the Golden Age of the Sith, and realizes that the new teachings of the Brotherhood of Darkness are incomplete.

Githany tells Bane that she intends to challenge Sirak, assuming that Bane would offer to assassinate him to spare her. However, Bane surprises her by revealing his intentions to destroy Sirak personally in the dueling ring, and that he had known all along she was using him. During the duel, he seriously wounds his opponent, but stops just short of killing him.

Bane leaves the academy, hoping to find the secrets of ancient Sith Masters in the Valley of the Dark Lords on Korriban. To his disappointment, however, he finds nothing. He returns to the academy to fill himself up from his starvation; there, Githany lures him to the archives, apparently intending to kill him. When the trap comes to fruition, however, Bane realizes that the trap is actually meant for Sirak. Githany kills Sirak's henchmen, and Bane defeats and kills his old nemesis in a lightsaber duel.

The "New Sith"

Bane takes the long-abandoned Sith title of Darth, leaves the Brotherhood, and travels to Rakata Prime. There, he discovers a Sith Holocron left behind by Darth Revan. Bane completes his training, learning numerous Sith techniques, including the "thought bomb" designed to kill all Force-sensitive beings in reach.

Bane then devises the "Rule of Two": Only two Sith Lords, a master and an apprentice, are allowed to exist at one time ("One to embody power and one to crave it.")

Starting fresh

At this time, Kaan orders that all of the students on Korriban be made into Lords and brought to battle on Ruusan. Kaan sends Swordmaster Kas'im to bring him back to Ruusan to join the Brotherhood on pain of death. Upon meeting his former teacher, Bane considers taking him as an apprentice, but ultimately kills him after being refused.

Bane sends a staged message to Kaan asking to join the Brotherhood; Githany volunteers to kill Bane. Unknown to Githany, Bane had also sent the thought bomb, supposedly as a token of goodwill to the Brotherhood. Githany finds Bane, and pretends to accept his offer to join the Brotherhood. He is then rendered violently ill by poison Githany slipped him in a kiss. Barely alive, Bane eventually finds a healer named Caleb, and extorts his help by threatening his daughter. Caleb cures Bane of the poison and brings him back to health.

Bane returns to Ruusan, where Kaan agrees to follow his lead in battle. During meditation, Bane uses his own body and power as a focusing agent to unleash a wave of destruction upon the forests of Ruusan, where the Galactic Republic's unsuspecting troops are hiding.

When the other Sith Lords mutiny, Bane goes to camp and orders the commander of the space forces to engage the Jedi fleet. Realizing he is facing defeat, Kaan retreats to underground caves with the other Sith Lords. When the thought bomb detonates, it destroys the Jedi and Sith armies.

A new apprentice

Shortly afterward, Bane meets a Force-sensitive young girl named Zannah, who had been brought to Ruusan by the Jedi. When Zannah's friend is accidentally killed by two Jedi troops, her anger draws on the dark side, snapping both of the soldiers' necks. When Bane happens upon this scene, he realizes he has found a worthy apprentice.

After Zannah grows to adulthood, Bane formally christens her as a Sith apprentice, dubbing her Darth Zannah. The two then set Bane's new order in motion.

Decieving the Jedi

After the Battle of Ruusan, Bane went to Onderon's moon, Dxun, to scavenge an ancient Sith temple. He leaves his new apprentice with her first mission: to find her way to Onderon in 10 days by her own cunning and strategy. Bane finds his objective; Freedon Nadd's holocron which he uses to gain useful Dark Side information. His apprentice sabotages a Republic craft and lands in an unknown strip of land which belongs to Dxun's infamous dragon riders. This leads her almost to her death if she wasn't saved by her master, Lord Bane. They then go into hiding on Ambria, establishing illegal contacts through the Galaxy through the use of an information broker. Over the next decade, he would have his rapidly strengthening apprentice, Zannah, do his bidding. In particular, he would have her coerce secession movements to move against the Republic too early; they were subsequently crushed, both removing threats to the Sith's eventual power and deflecting attention off of the two Sith lords.

After a botched assassination attempt against the Chancellor, Zannah discovers a dark side user who has uncovered a great secret: the location of a tomb of an ancient Sith, on the Deep Core planet of Tython. It was rumored that this tomb contained a Holocron with a powerful secret: the key that Bane needed to produce his own Holocron. After killing the pseudo Sith, Bane and Zannah set off on two missions: Bane to recover the ancient Holocron in the Deep Core world, Tython, and Zannah to infiltrate the Jedi Archives under an alias to discover the key to removing the orbalisks that had covered Bane's body ever since his retrieval of Freedon Nadds holocron.

After arriving on Tython and entering the tomb, Bane is attacked by scores of technobeasts, creations of the ancient Sith to guard her crypt. He eventually defeats them and successfully recovers the Holocron. Zannah is able to obtain the information she needs, but her cover is blown at the last minute by her cousin Tomcat, now a healer who is in the care of the Jedi. Realizing she will need him to remove the Orbalisks, she takes him hostage and heads for Tython,with the Jedi on their trail.

Once Zannah and Tomcat arrive on Tython and warn Bane, they retreat to the interior of the temple, waiting for the attack. When it finally comes, the two sides are evenly matched, despite the Sith being outnumbered 5-2. After a lengthy battle, the Sith find themselves on the verge of defeat. When Darth Bane is about to unleash a powerful burst of Force Lightning on the last remaining Jedi, a crippled Jedi behind him, left for dead, suspends a Force Shield around Bane. The lightning bounces off the interior of the shield and cooks Bane alive for seconds, melting his flesh and causing his orbalisks to burrow into his flesh, resulting in unbearable pain. As Bane blacks out and is almost killed by the Jedi, Zannah beheads the attacker and takes her master to Ambria, dragging Tomcat along.

Once there, Zannah has to convince Caleb and Tomcat to treat her Master, doing so by sending a message drone containing their coordinates to the Jedi, and disabling her own ship so the Sith cannot escape. After several days, Bane awakens, infuriated when he hears that his apprentice has sent a message to alert the Jedi of their presence. Begging her to kill him, he over-exerts himself and passes out again. Zannah, realizing what she has done, comes up with a solution.

Killing Caleb and disabling Tomcat with powerful Force abilities, she hides herself and her Master in a secret compartment under Caleb's bed. When the team of Jedi arrive, Tomcat attacks them in his delusional state, and they cut him down quickly. Finding no other living beings, the Jedi, assuming they have finally killed the last of the Sith, leave, never conducting a thorough enough search of the dwelling to find the two Sith under the floor. Zannah nurses Bane back to health and they return to hiding.

Abilities

At the peak of his power, Darth Bane was perhaps the most powerful living Sith Lord, even when the Brotherhood was full of strong Lords. He easily bested the most powerful apprentice at the Sith Academy on Korriban, and crushed his master, Lord Qordis, with the Force prior to the Brotherhood's defeat on Ruusan. After becoming symbionic with the orbalisks, he became, for most practical purposes, invincible, combining his already formidable lightsaber skills and Force abilities with a lightsaber-resistant suit of armor that covered his body. This allowed him to employ a reckless, extremely offense-oriented duel strategy that was almost unbeatable.