- "Not all knowledge is pure; some is touched by evil. There are secrets that must remain hidden; forbidden teachings that should remain forever buried. There is a dark side to the Force. Unchecked it brings death and destruction. The Council of First Knowledge is sworn to keep this terrible power from being unleashed, but the influence of the dark side is scattered throughout the galaxy, as are the tools it uses to spread: ancient texts of Sith sorcery; amulets imbued with malevolent energy; tainted crystals that can corrupt the minds of the innocent. Sometimes these artifacts are discovered by accident, and they fall into the hands of unsuspecting victims. They become agents of the dark side, wreaking havoc across the galaxy…unless we get to them in time. We are trained in the handling of dark side artifacts. Some can be destroyed, but others are too powerful and must be safeguarded."
- ―Jedi Master Obba, 980 BBY
Once a Krath Sorcerer, Kaiburr used aggressive Force techniques and abilities to harm his foes and bend them to his will rather than use his woefully inadequate physical shell, which due to the destructive energy of the Dark Side coursing through his body, continually corrodes the physical shell of his host.
Lightsaber Combat
Due to the limitations of his host, Kaiburr was forced to modify his lightsaber form. At first, Kaiburr's combat techniques were clumsy, and utilized mostly stiff vertical strikes. However, after a time, Kaiburr began to accept his condition, and began to modify his technique accordingly. Though his agility had been severely hampered by the host, his strength and stamina had been vastly augmented, and he began to use this to his advantage. He had retained both the academic knowledge of lightsaber combat and experience that he had attained as a Dark Jedi Knight, and began to borrow elements from all forms of lightsaber combat. The style that resulted was a unique hybrid lightsaber form built around Soresu that incorporated anything Kaiburr could use to compensate for his weaknesses.
Due to his incorporation of multiple styles into his own, his technique also became quite unpredictable. He also used the Force actively in combat, using it both to overpower opponents that he could not out-fence, or incorporating it into his lightsaber sequences to improve his overall viability as a duelist. However, his style, at least in its early applications, placed considerably greater emphasis on protecting the vulnerable components of his true form than it did his limbs.
A Jedi Battlemaster engaging two Sith in lightsaber combatBecause he did not have access to lightsaber resistant cortosis, Kaiburr relied on his own skill with the weapon to protect himself from Jedi attacks. Despite this, various portions of the host could still withstand lightsaber hits with a fairly little damage. For instance, during his duel with Kordath Bleu de'Tanna on Krayiss II, Kaiburr blocked a strike from Kordath with the back of one of his gloves, and though the stroke visibly damaged Kaiburr's glove, Kaiburr had no difficulty using that hand for the rest of the duel. During the same fight, Kordath also landed a superficial hit on Kaiburr's lower left leg which caused Kaiburr no injury. The pauldron appeared to be particularly durable, as Nikola Valtiere landed a direct, two handed strike to Kaiburr's right shoulder during a training duel, and it did not appear to hamper Kaiburr's physical capabilities at all.
Kaiburr utilized a two-handed grip on his lightsaber, though he could fight with one of either of his hands. As a stance used while waiting for his opponents to strike, Kaiburr would point his lightsaber towards the ground at an angle, and would take advantage of his blade's position by making lightning-fast underhanded sweeps and vertical strikes. As well, at times he manipulated his blade with just his wrists, not moving his arms.
Martial Arts
Reticulating from the Corporate Sector, Klarin Chi was devised by the natives of the Sector's primary planet as a way to defend themselves from technologically superior adversaries. In its original form, it involved focusing one's mind to the point that their very thoughts could affect reality around them. The practical application was that it allowed them protection against blaster bolts and melee weapons. Unfortunately, nearly the entire Klarin race was exterminated less than 3000 years after the founding of the Old Republic. After their destruction, the survivors decided that it was their very immunity to modern weaponry which made them such a target, and swore to never again teach the focusing of their minds. This they did with full dedication, never revealing a single focusing technique to anyone, effectively destroying their own ancient secrets. Instead they passed on only the physical attacks and defenses of the forms. These are primarily smooth, simple attacks, without complication or embellishment.
Seikatsu Temple, a Klarin-Chi dojoFurthermore, the entire style is ripe with throws and parries, completely devoid of actual blocks. It is a fluid, graceful style best-suited for avoiding damage while wearing down an opponent.
Dulon is an elegant art. It draws upon internal strength, using the body’s own life energy to perform the techniques. The style is graceful, and eschews brute force for speed and alacrity.
The primary repertoire of a Dulon fighter involves using one’s opponent’s energy and strength against them. Dulon could be considered a “fluid” art, believing in presenting nothing for an opponent to strike. One Master even stated, “The best defense is simply to not be there.” By evading the brute force of an opponent, the Dulon adherent will seek to leave himself an avenue to take advantage of the assailant.
Strikes can be augmented by the advanced artist with life energy, delivering powerful blows even with little visible movement. Slowed down, one can almost see the master's strike move in a 'wave' from the ground, his legs grounded in the floor, seemingly drawing strength from it. The Masters have an almost religious following, rumors and tales telling of their accomplishments, often attributing supernatural strength to their actions.
Taught in devoted studios, this art can be learned by anyone, although it takes true devotion, years of study, and a lot of willpower to truly master the art. The youngest one to have been considered a true 'Master' of Dulon had spent 60 years studying the art. Some have complained that this is elitism, but the truth of the matter is that these masters still hold the skill to defeat almost any challengers, even (if one were to believe the tales) Jedi.
The Force
- "A rare few have a natural affinity for the dark side itself. They can delve into the depths of the Force and summon arcane energies to twist and warp the world around them. They can invoke ancient rituals of the Sith; they can invoke power and unleash terrible spells and dark magics."
- ―Darth Bane
Naga Sadow, one of the ancient Sith's preeminent SorcerersSith magic, while as much a part of the dark side as endowments like Force Lightning, was accessible only to those Force-sensitives who possessed an intrinsic relationship with the dark side. Through the recitation of spells, execution of hand gestures, and or the handling of various artifacts, darksiders were able to channel the raw power of the Force's malignant side to warp minds, alter the environment, and obliterate whatever obstacles stood in their way. Spellcasting was an essential quality of Sith magic, as its practitioners believed that giving voice to an incantation tapped the strength of countless Sith sorcerers long passed. Any that required vocalization were only scribed in the Sith language, and could only be recited in said tongue. Long experimentation and deep study has taught Kaiburr various spells and incantations such as the domination of another weak willed being's mind through the Qâzoi Kyantuska spell, the ability to form iridescent bolts of pure hatred with the Sutta Chwituskak hex or to call upon the full scope of negative emotions that lingered in the center of his soul. Fueled by the power of the Force, Kaiburr could exhale his emotions in tides of dark side energy that rapidly expanded in a spherical aura around him. Sith magic was used for defense as well as for attack, and Kaiburr can conjure shadows of uneasiness around himself that can repel any non-sentient creature within range. The vague sense of discomfort caused by the aura of unease also affected sentient beings, stirring in them feelings of sudden sickness and debility.
Kaiburr has learned to combine exotic spells with traditional Sith talents while in the midst of battle, but when engaged in lightsaber combat, he was often forced to divide his concentration between casting spells and bladework. Conversely, Kaiburr's concentration was able to be interrupted by anyone skilled enough to distract him, and his magical creations could be undone by pure manifestations of the light side of the Force. Kaiburr, if given the chance, will employ the Force or mundane mechanisms to confuzzle his enemies and render them vulnerable. Whether summoning uncontrollable shaking fear that would wreak havoc with his targets capabilities if successful, or unleashing Sith magic and projecting an illusionary image into the minds of his opponent, of anything from a pillar of fire to a snarling monster, depending on the range.
Kaiburr really needn't bother with such elaborate setups. It would be easy enough, after all, to destroy a spaceship by mind twisting its crew members into pressing the wrong buttons and steering it into the nearest star. Or to kill his opponents by having them confuse each other for enemies and fatally attack each other. But again, what would be the fun in doing something as simple as that? Of course, this could—and usually does - give his prey the time and/or chance to think up a way to counter Kaiburr's powers, or leave clues that they are in an illusion in the first place, such as a blank book. Once Kaiburr is destroyed, the world he created usually dissolves into nothingness - provided the defeat or death of Kaiburr wasn't part of the illusion itself...
Sith Alchemy
- "Following a complex series of rituals, the individual to be raised a Sith Battlelord was brought to the brink of death. Some claim the prospective battlelord was drained of all blood, though no consensus exists on how the near-death experience was to be accomplished. Once the man (or, less frequently, the woman) hovered on the brink, he was removed from the temple chambers (most reports put the ceremony in an altar room) by the members of his regiment. For the next hour, the members of the regiment paraded past their leader, viewing his near-lifeless body. After the regiment had seen the battlelord, he was healed, brought back from the brink and made whole once more. The effects of this ritual were initially startling, even to the Sith. The desired effect had been one of cohesion. The obtained effect was much, much stronger. Evidence suggests that the ritualistic death and ceremonial rebirth of the battlelord created a bond between the battlelord and his troops, as well as among the troops. The precise nature of the bond remains obscured, but it is clear that the Sith magics drew upon the power of the dark side to create a near-physical linkage among the affected individuals."
- ―An excerpt from Jedi Master Kei Loo Bross's Speculations on Tactics of the Sith[src]
A Sith amulet protects it's wearer from harmAs Sith sorcerers sought to bend the Force to suit their purposes, they delved into bizarre experiments concerning the manipulation of both life and death. Before the Dark Jedi Exiles arrived on Korriban and sullied the bloodlines of the native Sith species, a king named Dathka Graush combined alchemical sciences with his mastery of Sith magic to create an army of undead monstrosities from the corpses of those fallen during one of Korriban's cyclical civil wars. Graush also worked Sith magic in tandem with the most advanced and available technologies to fashion a dark side[1] crystal, one imbued with more than a thousand Sith spirits,[1] with which he replaced his own heart. When Graush was assassinated, the spirits of his Korriban zombie army joined those trapped within his crystalline heart.
While the Sith species practiced Sith alchemy long before the Exiles arrived on Korriban, it was the Exiles who perfected it, one of their best being Sorzus Syn, using the knowledge to create the Leviathans that they acquired during the Hundred-Year Darkness.[2]
Monsters created by Sith alchemy: a Sith war behemoth, a Sith war worm, and a chrysalide rancor
Sith alchemy was primarily used to enhance the strength of weapons and armor (such as the famous Sith swords), or to genetically engineer and enhance alien species, making them more dangerous and easier to control by the Sith Lords. More sinisterly, Sith alchemy was capable of waking the dead in servitude to the Sith. Korriban zombies, and possibly Sith undead, were creations of this branch of the art.