Dread War The Dread War was a conflict during the Galactic War that pitted the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire against the renegade Sith Lords known as the Dread Masters on the volcanic moon of Oricon . Background . The Dread Masters were six powerful Sith Lords who answered directly to the Sith Emperor , earning their title after harnessing the power of the Phobis devices , artifacts that had driven even the most depraved Sith insane with fear . During the Great Galactic War , the Dread Masters used their powers of battle meditation to destroy entire Republic fleets , and kept in motion onboard an Imperial dreadnaught until they were captured by a strike team led by the Jedi Knight Jaric Kaedan in 3668 BBY . The Jedi Order announced that the Dread Masters had been slain , when in fact they were taken to the secret prison - world of Belsavis . An Imperial strike team infiltrated " the Tomb " , an area of the deep prisons of Belsavis dating back to the Rakata Infinite Empire , where the Dread Masters were held , and released them to return to Imperial service . However , following the defeat of the Emperor at the hands of the Hero of Tython on Dromund Kaas , the Dread Masters went rogue , deciding to take control of the galaxy for themselves . In Section X on Belsavis , the Dread Host attempted to take control of an ancient Rakata weapon known as the Aurora Cannon , which was destroyed by a strike team . On Denova , they recruited the Trandoshan warlord Kephess and his Warstalkers to assist them in their campaign to spread fear across the galaxy ; on Asation , they activated a Gree hypergate to summon a creature known as the " Terror from Beyond " . Both operations were eventually shut down by Republic and Imperial forces . The Republic and the Empire became more focused on their war after Asation , including the campaign against the Hutt Cartel on Makeb and the investigation of the Czerka research facility on CZ - 198 . During the Makeb campaign , the Dread Masters resurfaced , with Lord Tagriss leading a raid on the Arcanum , the Emperor ' s hidden storehouse of Sith artifacts , and taking the Darkstaff and the Seeds of Rage . The Seeds were planted on multiple worlds , but recovered by agents working for either Darth Acina of the Dark Council or the Jedi Master Cedral Gend , and Tagriss himself hunted down and slain in a corrupted Jedi temple on Ilum . Following the repeated failures of his fellows to achieve their plans in unison , the Dread Master Styrak went rogue and began corrupting the Hutt world of Darvannis , where he was eventually hunted down and slain - the first of the Dread Masters to die . The discovery of Oricon . Following Styrak ' s death , the Republic located the Masters ' new base of operations on the volcanic moon of Oricon , located on the edge of Imperial space . Six hours later , they dispatched a task force under the command of the Jedi Master Ogan - Dei to bombard the moon from orbit and end the threat cleanly , but the Dread Masters used their dark powers to project images into the minds of the Republic forces to spread fear , and resulted in the destruction of the task force . Supreme Chancellor Leontyne Saresh , upon learning of the loss of contact with the task force , called on heroes of the Republic to travel to Oricon and link up with the survivors . Not long afterwards , the Empire also discovered the location of the Dread Masters and the fate of the Republic task force , while sending their own force under the direction of Lord Hargrev . However , much as the Republic had , the Empire lost contact with the task force - their ships destroyed by the powers of the Dread Masters . Darth Marr called on the elite of the Empire , who had been involved in the original mission to free the Dread Masters on Belsavis , to locate Hargrev and learn of the status of his forces . The Republic and Empire ' s Heroes on Oricon . Acknowledging a common enemy that both factions had failed to defeat individually , Republic and Imperial forces secured a temporary truce to fight the Dread Masters . Both sides did what they could to cripple the Dread Host , which eventually led to the attack on the Dread Fortress , the base of operations for the Masters . In the Fortress , the Republic / Imperial strike team faced Dread Master Brontes , and her creations . The strike team encountered many of Brontes ' creations and servants , including Nefra , Draxus , Grob ' Thok , and Corruptor Zero . When the strike team successfully defeated all of these opponents Brontes faced them by herself . Like Styrak before her , she failed and was killed as a result . After Brontes ' s death , the team found a portal leading to the Dread Palace , the " true " base of the Dread Masters , and the location of hiding for the last four . Each Master attempted to kill the strike team individually , and failed . Eventually the strike team reached the Dread Masters ' throne room , where the Masters taunted the team and told them that they would die . However , they were surprised at the strength of the team , and chose to recuperate their strength . They summoned the spirits of deceased Dread Masters Styrak and Brontes to aid them in their fight . The strike team took them down easily . Realizing that they might actually die , the living Masters chose to sacrifice some of their life force in a last - ditch attempt to destroy the strike team . The strike team was taken aback , but proceeded to strike down each Dread Master one by one . Aftermath . The rogue actions and horrifying plans of the Dread Masters finally ended . The galaxy ' s biggest threat to stability had been stopped . The Republic strike camp received an unexpected visitor : Dread Master Calphayus . Calphayus had survived his death for unknown reasons , even to himself . He explained that he remembered what it was like to no longer be afraid and that upon his near - death , saw light . He explained that he was no longer bound to the other Masters , as he had been previously . The Republic strike team showed mercy and spared his life , and Calphayus was taken away to be treated by the Jedi .