Sith

An ancient order of Force-wielders devoted to the dark side, the **Sith** practice hate, deception, and greed. Notable for their red-bladed lightsabers, black dress, and use of their aggressive feelings, the Sith look to amass power at all costs.

The Sith were the most infamous of all dark side religions, and the members of the cult were often seen as the pinnacle of power within the dark side. Throughout their long history, the Sith commanded several Empires and initiated many galactic wars. This religious order would survive in many different incarnations throughout galactic history. The rise of a new leader, or Dark Lord, would often cause drastic reorganizations in the cult, however the Sith would always be characterized by their lust for power and their desire to destroy the Jedi Order.

## Philosophy

### Forged by fire

The Sith believed that conflict was the only true test of one's ability, and so emphasized its importance. It was their belief that conflict challenged both individuals and civilizations, and so forced them to grow and evolve. They believed that the avoidance of conflict–like the pacifist teachings of the Jedi–resulted in stagnation and decline.
Another purpose served by conflict was the elevation of the strong and the death of the weak. By encouraging strife, the strong were able to exercise their power while the weak were weeded from the ranks of the Sith. A core tenet to Sith philosophy was self-reliance and the idea that an individual only deserved what they were strong enough to take. Likewise, morality was treated as an obstacle to be overcome, as it got in the way of a Sith's ability to recognize and seize opportunities for advancement and self-empowerment.

### Empowered by passion

The cornerstone of a Sith's power was emotion. While the Jedi taught that fear, anger, and pain were negative emotions to be overcome, the Sith believed that these strong emotions were natural, and aided individuals in their survival. By harnessing their emotions rather than suppressing them, the Sith believed they could achieve true power. This belief was in stark contrast to that of the Jedi, who strived to place themselves beyond such base emotions. Indeed, the Sith saw passion as the only real way to fully understand the Force. However, the Sith believed strongly that the worthy could control their emotions and use them, while the weak were ruled by them.

### Code of the Sith

"*Peace is a lie, there is only passion.
Through passion, I gain strength.
Through strength, I gain power.
Through power, I gain victory.
Through victory, my chains are broken.
The Force shall free me.*"
―

The code of the Sith was the mantra which stated the core beliefs of the Sith Order and is believed to have been created in contrast to the Jedi Code. The structure of the codes is almost identical, and the initial line of the Sith Code directly contradicts the initial line of the Jedi Code, which reads: *"There is no emotion, there is peace."*
Following the embrace of passion, which was believed to be a powerful aspect of nature, the code explains that the strength granted by passion leads to power, which then leads to victory. By way of victory, the Sith believed they could free themselves from the limitations of regular beings, and achieve their potential. Neophyte Sith believed that the breaking of chains represented the ability to do whatever one wished, however more seasoned members of the Order recognized that the true meaning of freedom was the end of all physical restrictions and the ability to attain perfection.

### Rule of few

"*Always two, there are. No more. No less. A Master and an apprentice.*"
―Yoda
The Sith were always few in numbers in great constract to their rivals or fellow darksiders. It was a core Sith belief that reliance on others would weaken oneself. Over the years, most Sith at a time to exist were two, one master and one apprentice.

There were exceptions, such as the first 12 Dark Jedi who were exiled from the Jedi Order and the Sith Triumvirate, but any alliance between more than two was loose and easily broken as these Sith turned on each other. Even when Sith had greater armies, most of their armies were composed of Dark Jedi followers who had not gathered the knowledge or power to be considered true Sith and were mere cannon fodder to the Dark Lord they served.

"*Two there should be; no more, no less. One to embody power, the other to crave it.*"
―Darth Bane
The Banite Order of Sith Lords were based on a strict principle that required there be only two Sith a time, a master and an apprentice. This was based on ancient Darth Revan's ideals as taught from his holocron. Bane believed that the Sith had weakened themselves by accepting too many into their ranks and that the true dark side had abandoned them. After studying the Sith holocron of Darth Revan, Bane decided that the Brotherhood needed to be destroyed and the Sith rebuilt as a secretive order consisting of two beings—a single master and a single apprentice.

## History

### Origins

The current incarnation of the Sith is the result of a rogue Jedi dissident from the order. Two thousand years ago, this Jedi had come to the understanding that the true power of the Force lay not through contemplation and passivity. Only by tapping its dark side could its true potential be gained. The Jedi Council at the time balked at this new direction. The Dark Jedi was outcast, but he eventually gained followers to his new order. Awakening beliefs from the dark past, the new Sith cult continued to grow. With the promise of new powers attainable by tapping into the hateful energies of the dark side, it was only a matter of time before the order self-destructed. Internecine struggle by power-hungry Sith practitioners dwindled their numbers. Weakened by infighting, the Sith were easily wiped out by the Jedi.

### Rule of Two

One Sith had the cunning to survive. Darth Bane restructured the cult, so that there could only be two -- no more, no less -- a master, and an apprentice. Bane adopted cunning, subterfuge, and stealth as the fundamental tenets of the Sith order. Bane took an apprentice. When that apprentice succeeded him, that new Sith Lord would take an apprentice. Thus, the Sith quietly continued for centuries, until the time of Darth Sidious. It was Sidious who was responsible for the revenge of the Sith against the Jedi. His measured and carefully engineered plot spanned decades. Sidious was apprentice to Darth Plagueis, a wise Sith Lord whose knowledge of arcane and unnatural arts was reputed to extend to manipulating the very essence of life. By Sith tradition, Sidious killed Plagueis in his ascent to Master from apprentice. This left an opening for the fearsome Darth Maul to become Sidious' Sith apprentice.

In this age, the final decades of the Republic, the galaxy at large had believed the Sith to be extinct, a fabled threat from the past. Qui-Gon Jinn's report of a Sith attack on Tatooine was met by the Jedi Council with hesitation and skepticism. Surely if the Sith had returned, the Jedi would have detected it, they reasoned. With the death of Darth Maul at Naboo, the Jedi Council realized that the Sith menace was true. What they hadn't puzzled was whether Maul was the master, or the apprentice. Years would pass before the Sith menace arose once more, a menace that would eventually come to engulf the entire galaxy.

### The Clone Wars

It began with a Separatist crisis that threatened to split the galaxy. Count Dooku, a former Jedi, became a political firebrand, fanning the flames of secession across a disillusioned Republic. Unbeknownst to the Jedi at the time, Dooku was a Sith Lord -- Sidious' next apprentice after Maul. As Darth Tyranus, Dooku engineered the vast armies that would fight on both sides of the Clone Wars: the assembled droid armies of the united Confederacy of Independent Systems, and the secretly created clone army of the Republic.

The Clone Wars were an elaborate and costly sham: a massive ruse that spread the Jedi ranks thin across the galaxy, and drew more political power to Darth Sidious. When the time was right -- when Sidious had in his grasp his ideal apprentice, the powerful Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker -- he dispatched a command to the clone forces that identified their Jedi generals as traitors to the Republic. The Jedi were wiped out by their loyal clone underlings. What few survivors remained were branded as enemies of the state. With Sidious as the Galactic Emperor, and Darth Vader as his loyal apprentice, the Sith ruled the galaxy and plunged it into darkness.

### First Galactic Empire

Unchallenged for a generation, the Sith faced a new enemy: Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight. The Emperor feared that the young Jedi would destroy him, and sought to turn Luke to the dark side. In a final confrontation on Death Star II, Sidious goaded Luke into a violent attack on his father, Darth Vader; by using his hatred, the boy would embrace the power of the dark side, kill his father, and take Vader’s place as the Emperor’s enforcer. Luke ultimately resisted this temptation -- much to the anger of Sidious. The Sith unleashed a torrent of Force lightning upon the Jedi, determined to destroy him for this outrage. Vader, however, turned on his Master. The good in him awakened by his son’s love, Vader saved Luke and threw the Emperor down a deep chasm. The tyranny of the Sith was over, and a new age dawned.

### Resurrection

Despite the end of the Sith Order with Palpatine's death, it would not be long before Sith philosophy was reborn and practiced by new users. Dreackil semi-reformed the Sith, collecting acolytes around the galaxy and turning them into loyal followers of his cult. Darth Surect and Lord Dreackil would plot about the destruction of the New Jedi. Surect infiltrated the order, disguised as a Jedi and left with rogue students which he converted to the dark side. After betraying his master, Darth Surect enacted the attack on the Jedi Academy. While not as destructive as the purge before it, it caused important members of the order to exile themselves. Darth Surect and his Imperial Remnant were eventually defeated.

The remains of his forces allied with Brruz Vann. Vann was Surect's apprentice, however after the death of his master, Vann did not see himself as one nor follow Sith ways much. Even so, Vann's survival philosophy was very similar to that of the Sith. Vann even had his own apprentice in Cora Kenta. Vann's galactic domination plans fell with his death in the Nihil.

### Sith Imperial Alliance

Dreackil's "defeat" against Surect was a mere ruse, as the Dark Lord was very much alive and hiding in Tei Tenga, growing his cult in secret. The secret cult infiltrated and took charge of the Imperial Alliance, turning it into a Sith led military. The new Sith Alliance campaigned against the United Federation as war once again waged across the galaxy. Dreackil influenced certain Force-sensitives who played roles in the war. Lord Ventus, who led the Imperial forces in battle, found a supposed apprentice in Cyril Herown, a former bounty hunter. During a confrontation between the two and now a redeemed Cora Kenta, Cyril turned on his master and killed him, taking the mantle of Dark Lord. Cyril seemingly continued to lead the Imperial forces in place of Ventus but it was all an act, as Cyril in secret sabotaged his own forces, hoping to give the Federation an advantage. Dreackil took notice of this and led him to his secret hideout, along with Juno Jyll, another Force-sensitive he took interest in. Dreackil pit the two against each other, hoping the victor of the fight would be corrupted enough to serve him properly. Cyril won but instead spared Juno. Dreackil, furious, attacked Cyril and the two, along with Cora who arrived on the scene, engaged in duel with Dreackil. The Dark Lord was defeated but not without Jyll's sacrifice. Dreackil's era of Sith cult came to an end.

With Dreackil defeated and Federation victory over Tei Tenga, several acolytes and Dark siders sought refuge in Zakuul. However they were all hunted down and executed under Imperial orders.

### Collector of Artifacts

One Sith had mysteriously survived the Imperial purge and roamed around the galaxy. Hearing about ancient Sith artifacts, valued greatly and being sought by mercenaries, scavengers and generally anyone looking to gain a large sum of money in the underworld, the Sith gathered a crew of former slaves, a rogue AK-50 droid and the fallen Jedi Kenara. Kenara served as the Sith's apprentice, wanting to learn the ways of the dark side. As soon as they acquired the Power Gauntlet, Kenara would betray her master in Sith fashion, yet unsuccessful in killing him. Kenara's plans were to use the artifact and it's powers to destroy both the Jedi and the Sith. Kenara lied that the Sith died on the way back and took the crew to Awerica. Teaming up with Dust Plitt, the two followed after her into the dark jungle. Convincing AK-50, the three engaged in a fight against Kenara, but the two non Force-sensitives were defeated and out of the battle. The climactic duel resulted in Kenara's death as the Sith Lord dubbed himself Darth Thorn.

Dust had stolen the gauntlet and escaped to Tatooine, which Darth Thorn, now reunited with the crew, ordered to follow. In Tatooine, the Sith Lord reached to a deal with Toan Neestarc, leader of the Twin Sun Collective. Darth Thorn worked for the organization, dispatching rival turfs and gangs in Tatooine and gaining land, it wasn't long before Darth Thorn had high authority within the collective and was both respected and feared across Tatooine. Darth Thorn and AK-50 tracked down the bounty hunter who stole the artifact and fell into the trap of Jeff, an underboss from the Rodian Mob Family. The rodian experimented with his new favorite toy for hours until he went mad and started destroying his palace. Darth Thorn took the opportunity and dispatched him quickly, as even with immense power of the gauntlet, Jeff was no match for a true Sith Lord. As punishment, Darth Thorn took possession of Dust's belongings and Dust agreed to work with him for the rest of his life.