Darth Bane ' s lightsaber Darth Bane ' s lightsaber was the weapon wielded by the Dark Lord of the Sith for most of his career . The weapon was given to him by his lightsaber instructor , Kas ' im , who had in turn taken it from his own master upon killing him . Specifications . While Na ' daz was a master duelist , with knowledge in all manner of lightsaber variations such as saberstaffs , he favored a more standard design for his own weapon . The single blade was a dark ruby color when the weapon was presented to Darth Bane , though Bane swapped out crystals , settling on a synth - crystal provided by the Brotherhood of Darkness that produced a bright bloodshine blade . When she took the lightsaber for herself , Darth Cognus noted that the blade was purely weightless . History . The origins of this weapon beyond its possession by Na ' daz remain unknown , though he had wielded it for at least two decades . Kas ' im stated that his earliest memories were of his master practicing with the weapon . The weapon ultimately saw use against Kas ' im when the apprentice challenged the master , as was the Sith way . Kas ' im was victorious , taking the weapon as a trophy . Bane ' s gift . Kas ' im held on to the weapon for ten years , ultimately gifting the weapon to his best student at the Korriban academy where he taught . Bane had just defeated the academy ' s top student , Sirak , in a vicious sparring match , an act that Kas ' im felt had made him worthy . Provided with a few tips on how to wield the weapon by Kas ' im , Bane spent many hours practicing with it before reluctantly going to bed . Following a disagreement with the academy headmaster , Bane stormed across the Korriban wastes to the Valley of the Dark Lords , examining the tombs . During the latter course of his expedition , he was attacked by a pack of Tuk ' ata . Repelling the initial assault with the Force , he was forced to draw his new lightsaber when they regrouped and came on again . Only four of the twelve left alive . Bane returned to the academy soon afterwards . After recuperating from his journey , he was confronted by Githany , one of his secret teachers and a potential romantic partner . She quietly pick pocketed Bane ' s lightsaber before leading him to the academy archives , where he was ambushed by Sirak and his cronies , working with Githany . However , Githany revealed herself to be a double - agent , allying with Bane to kill Sirak and returning his lightsaber . Bane wielded his lightsaber alongside the whip - waving Githany against the three saberstaffs of Sirak and his two escorts . Sirak ' s cronies went down fast , and seeing that he was outnumbered and outmatched , and attempted to surrender . Bane decapitated the grovelling Zabrak with his lightsaber . Renegade Sith ' s weapon . Dissatisfied with the Brotherhood of Darkness , Bane left the academy . Stealing the headmaster ' s ship , the " Valcyn " , Darth Bane departed Korriban for Lehon on another search for answers . Landing on the world , Bane made his way for the Rakata n Temple of the Ancients , locating Darth Revan ' s Sith Holocron within . After perusing the holocron ' s contents , Bane entered into a meditation , trying to determine what to do next . His reverie was interrupted by Kas ' im , who had been sent by the Brotherhood leader , Lord Kaan , to either recruit Bane , or kill him . The two drew their lightsabers and engaged . Kas ' im opened the duel with a rapid attack sequence intended to overwhelm Bane quickly , though Bane managed to fend him off and counter . When Kas ' im came on again , Bane used the Force to guide his blade and continue to fend off Kas ' im ' s saberstaff strikes . Seizing the offense , Bane rapidly gained ground on his old mentor , his experience against Kas ' im from their frequent sparring matches back at the academy coming into play . Driven into a back chamber of the temple , Kas ' im played his last card , splitting the hilt of his saberstaff into two separate lightsabers . Now Bane was forced to retreat , having neither training with or against dual - blades . Bane retreated to the entrance of the temple before caving in the entire structure with a massive Force wave , burying Kas ' im alive under the rubble . Darth Bane journeyed to Ambria , while sending a message drone to Ruusan , where Lord Kaan ' s Sith armies were locked toe - to - toe with their Jedi counterparts . Bane " gifted " Kaan with the instructions on how to create an ancient Dark Side weapon ; the thought bomb , and awaited his emissary . Kaan sent Githany , who poisoned Bane before leaving . Wracked with the symptoms of Synox , Bane hurried across the Ambrian desert to the dwelling of the healer Caleb , though he fell off his vehicle as the poison paralyzed him before reaching his destination . However , he was saved by the arrival of a family of scavengers , who found his lightsaber . Taking up his lightsaber in a telekinetic grip , Bane killed them all , saving the lone parent for last so he could feed off the poor soul ' s pain and fear to strengthen himself . Cutting down the father , Bane continued on his journey . When he reached Caleb ' s hut , he blackmailed the healer into treating him with his daughter ' s life . Traveling to Ruusan , Bane convinced Kaan to use the thought bomb against the Jedi , effectively committing suicide as the Bomb killed all Force - sensitives within range , not just Jedi . While the rest of the Brotherhood of Darkness joined in the summoning ritual , Bane retreated out of range and found his apprentice ; a little girl named Zannah . While the Brotherhood died , Darth Bane enacted the Rule of Two . Usage by the Dark Lord . One of the Dark Lord ' s first actions that called for his lightsaber consisted of simply executing a number of salvagers ransacking the former Brotherhood of Darkness camp . Bane destroyed the camp in a massive frenzy of unchecked rage , killing all but two of them . These two , Bane intentionally allowed to escape , the point being to let them to spread easily discredited rumors of his existence to throw off any Jedi , as no one would believe them . Before leaving the planet , however , Bane effectively abandoned Zannah , tasking her with making it to Onderon on her own to meet him . He then left for the planet himself aboard his ship . However , along the way , he was accosted by the Force ghost s of Kaan and Qordis , crash - landing on the Onderonian moon Dxun . Picking his way through the untamed jungles of the world , Bane found the Tomb of Freedon Nadd . As he explored the structure , he entered a chamber containing Freedon Nadd ' s holocron … and a colony of Orbalisk s latched to the ceiling . Bane managed to bat several aside with his lightsaber while retrieving the holocron , though two managed to latch themselves to his torso . Unable to remove them , as they proved invulnerable to his lightsaber and instantly healed any of his own flesh when he attempted to amputate , Bane resolved to endure . Ultimately , the orbalisks proved to be a blessing in disguise , becoming a suit of living armor for him while instantly regenerating any injuries he suffered , as well as acting as repositories of Dark Side energy that he could call on to strengthen himself . Taming a drexl with the Force , Bane flew to Onderon , crossing the atmospheric bridge between the two worlds . Saving Zannah from a gang of Onderonian beast - riders , Bane departed the planet with his apprentice . Over the next ten years , Darth Bane ' s lightsaber saw frequent use in sparring matches with his apprentice , with Bane adjusting his fighting style to take advantage of the now full - body orbalisk armor . However , Bane didn ' t actually wield the lightsaber in true combat until a Sith acolyte named Hetton and his entourage of Shadow Assassins attempted to kill him , on a tip from Zannah . While Hetton held back , Bane assaulted the five assassins with the Force , blasting all but one back and quickly cutting the one down with a rapid attack sequence . The same fate befell the remaining four assassins , and Bane turned on Hetton . He cut off Hetton ' s sword arm and impaled him with the lightsaber . However , in his rage , Bane then fell on Zannah , driving her back and disarming her , only relenting when she revealed that she had brought Hetton here to die so they could claim his hoard of Sith artifacts . Engaging the Jedi . Traveling to Tython to find the holocron of Belia Darzu , Bane breached her aged fortress , evading the active defenses and making it to the holocron chamber . While he was able to get to the holocron without difficulty , he was challenged by a horde of Darzu ' s Technobeast when he attempted to remove it . The resulting battle was little more than vicious hack - and - slash , Bane shredding the creatures with his lightsaber while the orbalisks healed any injuries he suffered . After a long , one - sided engagement , an exhausted Bane extinguished his lightsaber and claimed the holocron . Shortly afterwards , Zannah arrived with her cousin , the healer Darovit , in tow . During her infiltration of the Jedi Temple , she found her cousin preparing to reveal her and Bane ' s existence to the Jedi , as they had encountered him years earlier on Ruusan . So she fled to Tython with a Jedi ship in pursuit . Retreating in Belia Darzu ' s fortress , they holed up in a large sparring room , stashing Darovit and their equipment and artifacts in a small side room , and awaited the Jedi . Bane paced back and forth across the room , lightsaber drawn , gathering his energies and rage for the coming battle . Four Jedi burst in , two from each entrance , while a final Jedi quietly slipped in and held back , reinforcing his fellows with Battle meditation . While Zannah engaged the other two , Bane charged Raskta Lsu and Valenthyne Farfalla , relying on his orbalisk armor to take them head - on . Bane ' s relentless assault and impenetrable armor forced the Jedi to adopt more evasive tactics . Lsu began attacking Bane ' s unprotected face with her dual - blades , forcing the Sith Lord to give ground . With Bane on his back foot , his opponents called for help , being joined by Johun Othone from the group engaging Zannah . Standing toe - to - toe with his three opponents , Bane was briefly caught off guard when Othone attacked the small gap in his armor at the wrist , nearly severing Bane ' s lightsaber hand and disarming him . Bane blasted his opponents back with the Force and quickly reclaiming his lightsaber , the injury instantly healed by the orbalisks . Attacking the final Jedi and disrupting his battle meditation , Bane allowed Zannah to finish off her opponent and come to his aid . Lsu fell to his apprentice , and Bane quickly amputated Othone ' s lightsaber hand and decapitated Farfalla . Falling on the final Jedi , Bane cut all four of the Ithorian ' s throats before attempting to finish Othone with a blast of Force lightning . However , the Ithorian used his dying breath to generate a Force shield around Bane , causing the lightning to backfire , nearly killing him . Bane was only saved from certain death by the efforts of Darth Zannah . Over the course of the next ten years , Bane continued to practice with the weapon . During a practice session in the grounds of his estate on Ciutric IV , he even began using Form III defensive sequences to intercept raindrops during a storm , ending the session without being hit once . However , as Zannah had failed to try assassinating and succeeding him , Bane began to question her worthiness as his apprentice . Seeking to attain immortality in lieu of a good apprentice , Bane traveled to Prakith and entered the Temple of Darth Andeddu , searching for his holocron . Assaulted by Andeddu ' s worshipers , Bane killed most with the Force , though some he cut down with his lightsaber . Never even breaking stride , Bane entered the crypt of Andeddu and claimed his holocron , casually slaughtering any resistance . Stolen . Upon his return to his Ciutric estate , Bane was ambushed . A Force - sensitive Iktotchi assassin and a team of mercenaries had broken into his home and laid in wait . While Bane cut down the soldiers with ease , the assassin proved to be a threat , disrupting his connection to the Force and hampering his efforts . However , the team managed to bring him down when the assassin poisoned Bane with Senflax ; paralyzing his body and disrupting his brain activity , preventing him from calling on the Force . The assassin then took Bane ' s lightsaber for herself , performing a few experimental swings with it before secreting it away . The lightsaber remained secreted away in the assassin ' s equipage while she brought Bane to Doan . The assassin never actually used the lightsaber , returning it to Bane when he escaped and attaching herself to him as a new apprentice ; Darth Cognus . Line of succession . Darth Bane and Cognus traveled to Ambria and awaited Zannah . Zannah didn ' t disappoint , and the two drew their blades and engaged . Bane came on aggressively , opening the melee with a series of two - handed chops . Zannah was initially caught off guard , but quickly adjusted , forcing Bane to back off and rethink his tactics . Rather than simply blundering forth , Bane wielded his lightsaber in a pattern of feints and sudden thrusts , probing Zannah ' s defenses for a weakness . Gaining ground and causing Zannah to trip over a patch of uneven earth , Bane fell on her like a wild animal . Zannah was quick to regain her feet , retreating with a series of back handsprings before lancing her saberstaff forwards , expecting to impale the pursuing Bane . However , Bane had anticipated the maneuver and stopped short , only to open himself up to a barrage of Sith spells that Zannah favored . Ultimately , Bane was brought down , his lightsaber arm hewn off by a tendril of Dark Side energy , the blade deactivating as it slid from his dead fingers . Darth Zannah was now the Dark Lord , taking on Cognus as her own apprentice . Zannah presented Bane ' s lightsaber to Cognus for her to use until she constructed her own . Behind the scenes . When Darth Bane was first depicted in the short story " Bane of the Sith " and the comic series " " , he was depicted wielding a Purple - blade lightsaber with a standard hilt . However , this depiction was retconned by the novel " " , which showed Bane wielding a curved - hilt weapon with a red blade . However , images and pictures of Darth Bane produced after the publishing of " Path of Destruction " , continued to depict Bane wielding a standard hilt . Even the cover art of the follow - up novel , " " , demonstrated this error , though it did correct the blade color to A more pinkish - red rather than purple . One possible reason for all the inconsistencies is that Bane wielded multiple lightsabers over the course of his career . However , all the aforementioned sources , though contradictory , credit him with only a single weapon .