Two should there be; no more, no less. One to embody the power, the other to crave it.
Such were the words of Darth Bane, Dark Lord of the Sith. Possessed of iron will and unflinching purpose, Bane destroyed the Brotherhood of Darkness and ushered in a new age for the Sith. Where before armies were raised and apprentices trained by the hundreds, the Sith soon operated in secret. They worked tirelessly to prepare the galaxy for the downfall of their ancient enemies, the Jedi, and the replacement of the Republic with a government ruled by Sith for the greater glory of the galaxy.
For centuries, Dark Lords rose and fell, training apprentices who would claim their mantle by strength and cunning as they perpetuated the cycle. First was Darth Bane, who took Zannah as an apprentice and heir. Many of the reborn order are known to history: Cognus, Vectivus, Tenebrous, Plagueis, and finally Sidious, who realized Bane's dream by annihilating the Jedi Order and overturning the Republic. But many more lived and died unknown to the greater galaxy. Their stories were told only amongst the Sith, kept secret for a thousand years.
This is the tale of two such Dark Lords. Witness the height of their glory, and the depth of their machinations. The Dark Side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural. To these adherents of the Rule of Two, the unnatural is the only proper course.
671 Before the Battle of Yavin; 39 years ago…
As night fell on Kuat, a lone being snuck into the estate dressed in a black cloak.
Perched atop a high cliff overlooking the ocean, the estate was a perfect example of the Kuati nobles' opulence and penchant for arrogance. Wide banners that proudly displayed the family crest flapped in the breeze. A pair of gilded Rancor statues stood vigil on either side of the main entrance, clawed hands raised and fangs bared as if to strike down the enemies of the house. Tall, ornate pillars lined the entrance hall, and nearly every room in the estate was lined with fine Saava silk carpets.
The lone figure's black cloak allowed him to blend into the shadows like an ancient underworld spirit. He pulled his hood back, revealing his features. Kel Dor were often described as one of the most unattractive species in the galaxy, this one especially so. Though he was middle-aged by the measure of his kind, his body already began to show signs of decay. His peach-coloured skin looked bleached and pale, and the areas around his goggles and breathing mask were pinched and raw. As if his body were constricting around the devices.
Despite his unhealthy appearance, he was in excellent physical shape. To those who could sense the Force, he would have been crackling with raw power. For he was no ordinary Kel Dor, no more than a Zillo Beast was a Gizka. He had been initiated into the most powerful tradition in the galaxy. With the power at his command, he could have slain everyone in the estate with hardly an effort and establish himself as Kuat's ruler. But his order operated in secret, preparing for the glorious revelation and the destruction of their ancient enemies, the Jedi.
He was a Sith Lord, and he had a task to perform.
With practiced grace, the Kel Dor moved like a whisper. Using the Force to enhance his movements, he ran so fast that he would appear as nothing but a blur to the naked eye. His master had sent him to discover any information about this particular noble house that could damage them. The Kel Dor's teacher had spent the last several decades cultivating a following of noble devotees in the core worlds. Such devotees could provide resources and a ready supply of influence in galactic affairs. This house had resisted all overtures, so the decision had been made to ruin them before any secret negotiations were carried out.
The Kel Dor searched the main library, but found no hidden secrets or concealed rooms. The duke's office was more promising, containing financial data and personal information, but nothing substantial. There needed to be something monumental, something that could destroy the house if it were made public.
He paused at a corner upon hearing the echoing voices of a guard patrol. He drew his hood over his head and pressed himself into an alcove, using the Dark Side to mask his physical presence. The two guards, garbed in garish armour with the family crest on their breastplates, walked past. They idly chatted with each other, expressing their boredom and mutual desire to visit the local cantina. The Kel Dor rolled his eyes, disgusted. The whims and foibles of lesser beings. It offended him to allow their profane flesh to live, sullying his presence with theirs. But he resisted the urge to cut them down.
The duke and his wife slept soundly in their bed, and unfortunately, the only contents of the safe were a stack of old love letters and family heirlooms. Unlike many of his peers in the other noble houses, the duke was infuriatingly strait-laced. Was there no shameful secret? No crippling weakness?
He halted in mid-stride, turning to look at the door at the far end of the hall from the duke's room. On the other side of that door, he sensed something. Not a maelstrom of power, as he did in his master, but a low hum that had the potential to become a writhing typhoon. At the same time, there was a null field inside, and the Kel Dor's senses could not penetrate it. He opened the door and stepped inside. It became instantly clear that this room belonged to a child, albeit an exceedingly wealthy one. One wall was lined with bookshelves, and another with holo-discs which displayed various creatures and species from around the galaxy. In the far corner, a bed covered in rich blue sheets and a pillow with the family crest sewn on. But the sheets were overturned. The room's owner sat, cross-legged, in the middle of the polished floor.
The Kel Dor guessed him to be no more than seven, perhaps eight years old. He had close-cut black hair and perfect patrician features. The boy's eyes were a deep green, like his father. They seemed to glow as he gestured with his hands. In front of him hovered a number of toys and small bits of tech like holo-discs or comlinks. The boy flicked a finger, and a toy starfighter shot across the room, crashing into the bookshelves.
He stopped when he noticed the Kel Dor.
Rather than show fear or anger, he simply sat there, unperturbed by the stranger's presence. "I knew you'd come," he said in a monotone voice.
The Kel Dor cocked his head. "Did you?" he asked. The filtering effect his mask created in his voice, common to all of his species, made it seem like a low growl. "And what do you think of me? Are you afraid?"
The boy shook his head. "Father doesn't like me using my gift. He makes me hide it." He turned to look at his bed, and the Kel Dor followed his gaze. Mounted overtop the bed was a metallic frame. Draped overtop it, connected to clear tubes that pumped various liquids, was a long, sessile creature with a beige hide. When the Kel Dor focused his power towards the creature, he felt a cold shock wash over him. So that was the source of the null field he detected outside. His master had shown him countless arcane texts over the years. One of them had mentioned a world named Myrkr, in which the native Ysalamiri could repel the Force in a bubble around themselves.
"I don't like sleeping there," the boy said. "It feels empty, cold. But father makes me carry it with me during the day."
The Kel Dor nodded. So that was how the duke had masked his son's Force sensitivity from the Jedi. He opened his mouth to speak, but stopped when his mask detected a foul odour nearby. He followed it across the room, bending down to find a small metal chest under the bed. Pulling it out, he opened it. A handful of small creatures, from avians to reptiles to mammals, had been butchered. Their physical remains indicated they had died slowly with creative implements, while some merely had their necks snapped.
"Mother always brings me pets from her travels," the boy said in his usual monotone. "I don't like them. They're loud and smelly. So I make them go away."
The Kel Dor closed the chest and slid it back under the bed. Perhaps the Dark Side had guided him here for a reason. His master may have given the order, but the Force could have steered her towards the decision. After all, the Sith had been reborn under the wisdom and vision of Darth Bane. Now, they only numbered two. A master, to embody the power of the Dark Side, and an apprentice, to crave it and one day claim it for themselves. This boy represented a great boon for the Sith cause: a continuation of the Bane line, another step on the way to destroying the hateful Jedi and toppling the corrupt Republic.
"I can take you away from here, if you like," the Kel Dor said. "You can embrace your gift, become truly special. Under my tutelage, you will break your shackles and experience true freedom. Would you like that?"
For the first time since they'd met, the boy's empty expression broke into a wide, almost feral, smile.
Welcome to my latest obsession!
I've been on a Star Wars binge for a while now, and after listening to the Darth Bane trilogy and Darth Plagueis on audiobook (both AMAZING works that are essential reading for any Star Wars fan), the idea for a Sith-centred story popped into my noggin. There is a distinct lack of Sith OCs in fanfiction, as I've only found a handful of enjoyable reads. And almost nothing on the Order of the Sith Lords. So, as always, I decided to write my own.
We know the names of several Dark Lords of Bane's order, but not all. Two are unidentified; they're the ones pictured on the Wookieepedia entry on the Order of the Sith Lords. A human and a Devaronian. I started asking myself: who are they? What are their names? What contributions did they make to the Grand Plan? The story sprouted from those questions.
This story will be a mid-point between Darth Bane beginning the Order of the Sith Lords and Darth Plagueis/Sidious completing the plan and destroying the Republic and Jedi. Hopefully you guys will enjoy my latest offering, and I look forward to going on this journey of the Dark Side with you!
