Prologue
Baylen had been raised and trained as a Sith from a young age by Darth Tanya, though she wasn't the typical Sith master one might expect. She was an archaeologist by passion, not a conqueror. Tanya believed the future of the Sith lay buried in their ancient history, and her obsession with uncovering the secrets of the past consumed her. She was particularly fascinated with Revan—their life before falling to the dark side, the redemption, and the mysterious fate that followed after saving the Republic. To Tanya, Revan embodied the complexity and power of the Force, a figure whose mastery could guide the Sith to new heights.
When she found Baylen during one of her expeditions on a forgotten world, she saw in him something extraordinary. "More potential than anyone I've ever met," she had told him once, her eyes gleaming with pride. She nurtured that potential, teaching him not only the ways of the Sith but also the importance of history, the lessons hidden in ancient ruins and forgotten holocrons. Baylen's training was unconventional, blending the dark side's brutal discipline with a scholar's curiosity, but under Tanya's tutelage, he grew powerful. Yet, despite her unusual methods, the darkness within him thrived, and now that he was stranded in an unfamiliar world, those teachings would be tested in ways neither of them could have foreseen.
