Citadel of the Qo Midwan

Art by Keyart

## Citadel of the Magistari

*"The Jen'jidai have taught us all they deign to. Here, we shall venture further than they ever dared to tread."*

― A Magistari of the Qo Midwan to her sisters

**The** **Citadel of the Qo Midwan**, also referred to as the **Citadel of the Magistari** or simply **the Citadel**, was an incredible fortress designed and built in the year 6771 BBY by a group of talented Sith of the Zuguruk caste at the behest of the Magistari of the Qo Midwan on the Sith homeworld of Korriban. As direct descendants of the Jedi Exiles who formed the reigning Sith Empire, the sisterhood of sorceresses who would eventually call themselves the Magistari were considered among the most powerful Sith in all of the Stygian Caldera. Desiring freedom from the whims of the reigning Dark Lords of the Sith, they travelled far into the East with their families and a band of followers two-hundred strong to establish a realm of their own; one whose focus would rest solely on research and experimentation with the Dark Side as opposed to conquest.

The skilled artisans in the service of the Magistari would quickly complete work on their expansive private residence. It was initially the hope of the witches that, as influential figures within the Empire's society, their departure from the confines of Imperial rule would attract others of a similar mind to their new settlement. As such, the Zuguruk began work on the creation of a city for their Citadel to overlook. Half a century later, it became evident that the Empire at large had no interest in legitimizing the settlement, with few Sith willing to make the necessary trek deep into the deserts of Korriban to do so. Feeling slighted by those they deemed inferior, the Magistari moved their attention away from governing entirely, cancelling further expansionary projects and commanding the majority of those not related to them by blood or loyalists of the Kissai caste to depart the Citadel.

In the deepest levels of the Citadel, named the Undercroft, the Magistari would use loyalists as test subjects to discover powerful secrets of the Dark Side, the most intriguing of their discoveries including the unnatural extension of their lifespans to incredible lengths and enhancing any individual's strength in the Force. One such experiment would result in the violent death of one of their sisters, who was so powerful that her departure from the mortal plain resulted in the ground beneath the Citadel opening up and swallowing the structure whole. If not for the intervention of the other witches, the structure would have been totally submerged in sand. Instead, it found itself at the base of a newly formed ravine. As a result, the Citadel would drift even further from the memories of the Sith at large, and thus, thousands of years later when the Jedi Order would occupy the vast majority of Korriban, the isolated Citadel of the Qo Midwan and its residents would remain untouched.

In the Citadel's courtyard, those who lived as servants to the Magistari, as well as their descendants, would train extensively in the arts of sorcery and combat to become worthy defenders of their glorious kingdom... or at least, this was the narrative presented to them. In truth, the Magistari only needed suitable fodder for their experiments, preferring an adequate supply of Pureblooded Sith. One such descendant, born in 3654 BBY, was named Cherm. He would be physiologically altered by the Magistari to allow him to draw immense amounts of power from lingering and festering negative emotions, as opposed to a Sith's traditional approach of using passion as a source of strength. He would escape the Citadel years later, one of few ever recorded to scale the canyon that surrounded it.

Due to its deep connection with the planet, The Shade of Korriban would be made aware of the Citadel's existence after the passing of thousands of years and countless dark experiments conducted by the Magistari. When Ardaius sought out guidance from his master, believing his surrogate daughter's incredible, untapped power in the Force to be a signifier that she was the 'Chosen One' of Jedi prophecy, he would be sent to the Qo Midwan after exhausting all other possibilities. He and his daughter would be the first outsiders or aliens to ever set foot in the Citadel in all its history.