Chapter 1: Wile and Beguile Her
In an abandoned stone hut on Ahch-To, sat an assortment of Jedi and Sith relics. Amongst these two relics, side by side, lay two objects of particular note: a half-moon crescent ring, and a gold-and-chrome plated lightsaber hilt.
There was a special place in Hell for all the Sith Lords and acolytes who had died throughout the ages. It was a long accepted tenant of their doctrine to fear death. Thus, very few Sith were able to achieve oneness with the Force upon death - eternal life. There were a few exceptions, of course, of Sith who embraced the ancient Order of the Whills - Darth Bane, Darth Marr, Darth Addendu - and thus could become Force Ghosts alongside prominent Jedi. For most Sith, however, their best hope to endure beyond death, if outright defying it was not possible, was to have their essence preserved in an object they used in life.
So it was, in the abandoned hut of Luke Skywalker, that two Sith spirits emerged from the ring and the lightsaber - one old and decrepit, the other young and sinfully handsome as he had been in life.
The younger man was Xanatos. Once upon a time, over eighty years earlier, he had been the second Jedi apprentice to Qui-Gon Jinn. However, deep patriotism to his homeworld of Telos IV and his family name, as well as the lure of power from his father, had compelled Xanatos to turn against his Jedi Master and fall to the dark side. Becoming the iron ruler of his homeworld and a prominent mining company, Xanatos had sworn revenge on Qui-Gon for murdering his father and watched as he was replaced as Padawan by a young upstart named Obi-Wan Kenobi. Time and again, Xanatos had gone after the Jedi team, engaging them in many duels with a blood-red lightsaber and his presence announced with the burn mark of a half-moon ring in his cheek. Always foiled, Xanatos was finally cornered by his old Master in a brave last stand. Rather than surrender, Xanatos had committed suicide by leaping into a pool of acid. All that remained was the ring which had once graced his father's hand.
The decrepit man, Darth Sidious, had connivingly ruled the galaxy for over three decades before, during and after the Clone Wars. He had first emerged onto the political scene more than a decade after Xanatos's fall, but had heard of the young man. Xanatos's bastard son, Granta Omega, had sought the attention of the hidden Sith Lord, but never received it. Finally, Palpatine had orchestrated the near eradication of the Jedi with Kenobi's own fallen apprentice, only to be betrayed by him and with the help of Anakin Skywalker's son, Luke. More recently, Palpatine had clawed his way back to the land of the living by manipulating Vader's grandson, Ben Solo, only to once again have his corporal body be destroyed by the redeemed young man. And all on account of his love for a woman - the Emperor's own granddaughter. It was fitting, but not enough, that Ben had sacrificed himself for the lady in the process, dying with Love's First Kiss upon his lips. Now, his widow was left to grieve, renouncing the family name of her birth to take his.
Xanatos's spirit now knelt before that of Sidious, who plucked the lightsaber - the prison of his essence - from the table and ignited.
"You were weak when I found you in the Force... now your hatred has become your strength. At last, the Dark Side is your ally. Rise, my apprentice."
Xanatos stood. "What is thy will, my Master?"
Sidious grinned grotesquely, yellow eyes gleaming. "Kylo Ren possessed the weak Skywalker heart and the burning independence of a Solo's blood. He was corrupted by love and betrayed us. Though his bloodline is no more, I have found a way that will allow us to forge a new apprentice... one with a legacy more powerful than any Skywalker could dare to dream: yours."
With a wave of his hand, Sidious presented a shimmering mirage. In the vision sat a young woman, with chestnut brown hair, seated on dunes as she tinkered with a golden lightsaber. A tear fell from her lashes as she struggled not to cry.
"On the planet Tatooine, there lives Solo's widow. Once I give you his voice, cloak you in his face, you shall visit her. Smile at her. Wile and beguile her. Go to her and seduce her, my young apprentice... and with your help, she will give us exactly what we need to be reborn..."