Darth Bane : Path of Destruction Darth Bane : Path of Destruction is a novel by Drew Karpyshyn about the life of Darth Bane , set from 1004 BBY to 1000 BBY . The hardcover was released on September 26 , 2006 by Del Rey . The paperback contains an excerpt from " Death Star " . A new audiobook was released by Random House Audio on the 30th of October 2012 , narrated by Jonathan Davis . Publisher ' s summary . Hardcover . Back cover . Once the Sith Order teemed with followers . But their rivalries divided them in endless battles for supremacy . Until one dark lord at last united the Sith in the quest to enslave the galaxy — and exterminate the Jedi . Yet it would fall to another , far more powerful than the entire Brotherhood of Darkness , to ultimately realize the full potential of the Sith , and wield the awesome power of the dark side as never before . Internal flap . " Since childhood , Dessel has known only the abuse of his hateful father and the dangerous , soul - crushing labor of a cortosis miner . Deep in the tunnels of the desolate planet Apatros , endlessly excavating the rare mineral valued throughout the galaxy , Dessel dreams of the day he can escape — a day he fears may never come . But when a high - stakes card game ends in deadly violence , Dessel suddenly finds himself a wanted man . " " On the run from vengeful Republic forces , Dessel vanishes into the ranks of the Sith army , and ships out to join the bloody war against the Republic and its Jedi champions . There , Dessel ’ s brutality , cunning , and exceptional command of the Force swiftly win him renown as a warrior . But in the eyes of his watchful masters , he is destined for a far greater role in the ultimate Sith plan for the galaxy – if he can prove himself truly worthy . " " As an acolyte in the Sith academy , studying the secrets and skills of the dark side at the feet of its greatest masters , Dessel embraces his new Sith identity : Bane . However the true test is yet to come . In order to gain acceptance into the Brotherhood of Darkness one must fully surrender to the dark side through a trial by fire that Bane , for all his unquenchable fury and lust for power , may not be strong enough to endure … especially since deception , treachery , and murder run rampant among the Sith disciples , and utter ruthlessness alone is the key to survival . Only by defying the most sacred traditions , rejecting all he has been taught , and drawing upon the long - forgotten wisdom of the very first Sith can Bane hope to triumph — and forge from the ashes of that which he must destroy a new era of absolute dark power . " Paperback . " Two there should be ; no more , no less . One to embody the power , the other to crave it . " — Darth Bane , Dark Lord of the Sith . " On the run from vengeful Republic forces , Dessel , a cortosis miner , vanishes into the ranks of the Sith army and ships out to join the bloody war against the Republic and its Jedi champions . There , Dessel ' s brutality , cunning , and exceptional command of the Force swiftly win him renown as a warrior . But in the eyes of his watchful masters , a far greater destiny awaits him . " " As an acolyte in the Sith academy , studying the secrets and skills of the dark side , Dessel embraces his new identity : Bane . However the true test is yet to come . In order to gain acceptance into the Brotherhood of Darkness , he must defy the most sacred traditions and reject all he has been taught . It is a trial by fire in which he must surrender fully to the dark side — and forge from the ashes a new era of absolute power . " Plot summary . Taking place one thousand years before , the novel deals primarily with Darth Bane for the first time recounting his early life , prior to his ascension to the Sith . The story begins in the cortosis mines of Apatros , where a young Darth Bane goes by his birth name , Dessel . Dessel works in the mines with his abusive , alcoholic father Hurst . After a confrontation in the mines , Dessel kills Hurst by unknowingly using his Force abilities to induce a fatal heart attack . Shortly after , Dessel is forced to leave Apatros after killing a Republic naval officer in a fight over a sabacc game , which Dessel had won with the help of precognitive Force powers . Smuggled off - world by his Neimoidian friend Groshik , Dessel enlists in the Sith army to escape the Republic . Joining a unit called the Gloom Walkers , he distinguishes himself in the Assault on Kashyyyk and the subsequent Battle of Hsskhor on neighboring Trandosha . During the Battle of Phaseera , Dessel mutinies against the commanding officer Ulabore to prevent the unit from deploying on a suicide mission . Dessel then leads the unit to victory over the Republic forces opposing them . Despite this success , he is arrested upon his return . Taken before the Sith Lord Kopecz , Dessel expects to be executed for insubordination . Instead , Kopecz senses Dessel ' s Force potential and enrolls him in the Sith academy on Korriban . Upon his arrival , Des adopts the name " Bane " , a name his father had often used to degrade him . Bane begins to learn the ancient ways of the Sith , studying under such masters as Qordis and Kas ' im , as well as others like Orilltha , Shenayag , Hezzoran , and Borthis . He also studies the temple archives and quickly begins to surpass the other students , despite his late entry to the Academy . After Bane killed a student named Fohargh in the dueling ring , his prestige at the Academy rises . However , he begins to doubt himself and his connection to the Force falters . In a desperate bid to maintain his reputation , Bane challenges Sirak , the foremost student at the Academy . In the ensuing duel , Bane is beaten to within an inch of his life . After this humiliation , Lord Qordis decrees that Bane is to receive no further training from any of the Masters . Githany , a Jedi traitor , arrives at the Academy shortly after Skere Kaan ' s near victory over the Army of Light on Ruusan . Seeing Bane as someone she could use to remove Sirak , her only real rival at the Academy , she begins to secretly tutor him in the ways of the Force . At the same time Bane approaches Kas ' im for secret instruction in lightsaber combat . Neither of Bane ' s illicit teachers is aware of the other , and Bane hopes to keep this secret for as long as possible . Slowly , as Bane begins to regain much of his lost power and confidence , he once again visits the Temple archives and resumes his studies there . As his training progresses , he starts to believe that the Brotherhood of Darkness and the Sith as a whole have turned their backs on the ancient ways . Despite his new training , Bane realizes that the true potential of the dark side was beyond not only himself , but every other Sith Lord . When Bane defeats Sirak in another challenge , he once again enjoys the favor of the Masters , but departs angrily when Qordis ordered him to stop visiting the archives . Bane travels to the Valley of the Dark Lords , hoping to find some remnant of the Sith who had passed beyond . Bane returns having found nothing and feigns acceptance of the Sith and their current teachings . Secretly however , he now believes there is only one place he can go to learn what he needed . Just prior to the departure of the Academy students for Ruusan , Githany lures Bane into an ambush with Sirak at the Academy library , but only so Bane could kill Sirak for her own ulterior purposes . At first Bane believes she has betrayed him but he quickly realizes the true reason when Githany tosses him his lightsaber to defend himself . Bane and Githany together kill Llokay and Yevra , two of Sirak ' s followers . Bane then kills Sirak , who pleads for his life before Bane brutally decapitates him . Instead of leaving for Ruusan with the other Sith Lords Bane steals Qordis ' starship , the " Valcyn " , and heads for a location he had read about in the Sith archives . He takes the ship to a world called Lehon , remembered in history as the Unknown World and home to the now - extinct Rakata . Through his perusal of the archives , Bane believes that the Rakata were the first dark side users present in the galaxy . Upon his arrival at the Temple of the Ancients , Bane finds Darth Revan ' s holocron . Taking all he learned from Revan , Bane crafts the Rule of Two to ensure that only the strongest of the Sith order continue to exist . After he defeats Kas ' im ( whom Skere Kaan had sent to kill him after Githany told him of a force premonition about Bane coming to Ruusan to destroy the Brotherhood of Darkness ) in a lightsaber duel , Bane leaves for Ruusan , but not before sending Lord Kaan a message in which he purposefully appears weak and regretful about killing Kas ' im . He also sends the instructions for an ancient Sith battle technique , the thought bomb as a peace offering . In anticipation of his arrival , and fearing that Bane may actually destroy the Brotherhood , Kaan sends Githany to kill Bane . After locating him on Ambria , she kisses him with poisoned lips , after herself taking the antidote . Bane detects the poison straight away and is thrilled that Githany used such cunning and treachery as befited a true Sith Lord , rather than traditional methods like dueling . Confident that the methods from Darth Revan ' s holocron will allow him to counteract the poison , Bane kisses Githany three times . Eventually , however , he begins to feel the effects of synox on his body and realizes that she used two poisons against him synergistically , one to disguise the presence of the other . Bane then tracks down a local healer named Caleb who cared neither for the Jedi or the Sith . After Bane threatens to kill his daughter , Caleb cures Bane . Bane decides to spare their lives , figuring he might still use them and that killing without reason or gain was one of the petty pleasures that was ruining the Sith Order . Heading for the Sith camp on Ruusan , Darth Bane finds a Jedi fleet in the system and Sith ships blocking their reinforcements to the Jedi below . On landing , Bane joins a meeting of the Sith Lords during which Kaan describes his battle plan to the Brotherhood . The Sith Lords , especially Githany , are surprised to see Bane still alive . Bane uses the opportunity to lecture Kaan for thinking like a dirty general and not a Sith Lord . Bane convinces the assembled Sith lords to help him create a massive Force Storm with another of Darth Revan ' s rituals to destroy the forest where the Jedi forces are located . Kaan , however , interrupts the ritual prematurely to engage the surviving Jedi hand to hand . Returning to the empty Sith camp , Bane meets Qordis , who recognizes Bane ' s power and asks to join Bane . Bane then Force - chokes him while telling Qordis that he intends , not to take over the Brotherhood , but to end it forever . Bane enacts the next phase of his plan to destroy the Brotherhood by contacting the Sith fleet admiral and ordering him to break off the blockade . This move allows the Jedi to get through the blockade and gain the upper hand in the battle . Lord Kaan , who has slowly drifted into insanity during his time on Ruusan , now believes the thought bomb to be the only chance for victory . The Sith lure the Jedi deep into a network of caves where they prepare the thought bomb . Lord Kopecz however , sees Kaan ' s madness and abandons the Brotherhood , only to be killed by Master Farfalla . Kaan then detonates the thought bomb , killing himself and all the Sith and Jedi in the caves . Now the last Sith on Ruusan , Bane finds a Force - sensitive girl named Rain . Seeing her potential strength , Bane considers making Rain the first apprentice in his Order of the Sith Lords . Continuity . Part Three of this book is largely based on the 2001 comic book mini - series " " , showing more of what Bane was thinking and doing behind the scenes of the comics . However , there are many small contradictions between the story as told in " Path of Destruction " and " Jedi vs . Sith " , with the book modifying many of the exchanges of dialogue ( sometimes meaningfully ) , and also changing the order of some events . The account of the Seventh Battle of Ruusan in both this novel and the " Jedi vs . Sith " comics differs from the account in the 1998 novel " " . Notably , the earlier book describes the thought bomb being constructed in advance of the Army of Light ' s arrival , and its taking place in a valley rather than deep in a cave . The earlier book also implies that it was Lord Kaan ' s idea and that no attempt at escaping the bomb ' s effects was made by the Sith . The hardback edition refers to the seventh form of lightsaber combat as Vaapad , even though Vaapad wouldn ' t be invented until almost a millennium later . This is corrected in the paperback . Cover gallery . This is a gallery of the different cover variations of " Darth Bane : Path of Destruction " .