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| The '''Order of Sith Lords''' stands atop the [[Tripartite Path]] as the ruling order. Membership in the '''Order of Sith Lords''' is reserved for the [[Dark Lord of the Sith]], his predecessors, and those select few who have earned the right to bear the title of [[Sith Lord]]. [[Shadow Hand]]s are considered junior apprentices of the Order.
| | #REDIRECT [[Sith Lord]] |
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| As the [[Dark Lord of the Sith|Master]] of the Order of Sith Lords, the [[Grand Master]] serves as the ruler of all three Lesser Orders; the disciples of the [[Sith Order]], and the two Sith cults, the [[Krath Order]] and the [[Obelisk Order]].
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| While the Lesser Orders each carry fragments of knowledge of the [[Old Sith Empire]], the Order of Sith Lords represents the reunification of the Sith cults, mastery of Sith knowledge, and ascendancy over the Tripartite Path. The Sith Lords are the true masters of the Force.
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| ==History==
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| ===Bane's reformation===
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| After the [[Seventh Battle of Ruusan]], Darth Bane, the only surviving [[Sith Lord]], started to reform ensure the continued survival of the Sith. To guard against the Sith destroying themselves or losing sight of their "ideals" once again, Bane took only one apprentice, restarting the tradition of the one master, one apprentice and that of passing the name "Darth" to each of his successors. Perhaps in a nod to Kaan's earlier pronouncement, both master and apprentice in Bane's Sith Order held the title "Dark Lord of the Sith", making them, nominally at least, equals. The new tenets of the sinister order would become cunning, stealth, subterfuge and most of all, a virtue borrowed from their worst enemy, patience.
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| Eventually, Bane inducted his new apprentice, giving her the name [[Darth Zannah]], and set his new order in motion. Future Sith Lords were taught the virtues of patience, planning, and secrecy, and each was to take on the title of [[Darth]], a tradition that had dated back to before the [[Jedi Civil War]], nearly three millennia ago.
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| It would not be long, however, that Bane's fledgling order was rediscovered by the Jedi and (once again) thought eliminated. The Jedi discovered both the new [[Rule of Two]] and the identity of Darth Bane, but did not foresee that the new Sith he had founded would long survive Bane's death.
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| ===Quiet Times===
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| After Bane's death the Sith went into hiding. For 1000 years they watched and waited, doing their best to destabilize the [[Galactic Republic]] without revealing themselves. Many centuries passed. Around [[188 BBY]], during the [[Dark Jedi Conflict]], [[Kibh Jeen]] told the Jedi that the Sith had survived and were operating under the Rule of Two, though his warnings were ignored or passed off as the rantings of a madman. Their presence was masked until Darth Maul attacked Qui-Gon-Jinn.
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| ====The Split====
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| Sometime after Bane's reformation in [[1,000 BBY]], [[Darth Millennial]], an apprentice in Bane's Order, rejected firm adherence to Bane's restrictive "[[Rule of Two]]," which mandated that there could only be two Sith Lords, master and apprentice, at any one time. Instead, Millennial believed in Lord [[Kaan]]'s more martial philosophy of "Rule by the Strong," and his opposition to Bane's creed indicates he interpreted this to mean the strength of numbers. He abandoned his master and disappeared to focus on Kaan's ideas, possibly hoping to establish a second Sith order based on these concepts.
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| Millennial settled on [[Dromund Kaas]], the third planet in a system that had once been part of the backwater regions of the ancient [[Sith Empire]]. There he founded a new dark side religion, later called the [[Dark Force]], which was the faith practiced by all his successors. These practitioners, a lineage of mages who called themselves the [[Prophet of the Dark Side|Prophets of the Dark Side]] would eventually be rediscovered by [[Darth Sidious]] and incorporated into the [[Galactic Empire]] he established in [[19 BBY]]. They became the [[Secret Order of the Emperor]], and served as consultants for Sidious during his life and became influential power-brokers after his death.
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| ===Palpatine era===
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| {{quote|Always two there are…no more; no less.|[[Yoda]]}}
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| Finally, quiet times came to an end with [[Palpatine|Darth Sidious]], considered by many to have been the greatest Dark Lord of the Sith in the history of the Sith Order. He started implementing the great Sith plan set down centuries in the past.
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| ====The unification of the Sith splinter cults====
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| But the possession of an apprentice of Maul's caliber—and the promise of an apprentice even greater than he—was still not enough for Sidious. There were other loose ends, the detritus of earlier Sith cults, that needed to be addressed. More often than not, these cults were harmless, disorganized, youngsters thoughtlessly rebelling against the staid world of their parents. Many of them had no real knowledge of Sith ideology or even power in the Force. But in some cases they could be dangerous, to Sidious as well as the innocent. To ensure the success of his plans, they had to be brought to heel according to his will, or scrapped.
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| One of these was a Sith-centered mercenary band, the Thyrsian [[Sun Guard]]. They were not Force-sensitive, but their fighting prowess was phenomenal. They were sheathed from head to toe in black armor, and their helmets bore at least a passing resemblance to the blue-robed elite [[Senate Guard]] (whether this was deliberate or just coincidence is not known). Sidious consolidated these Sith mercenaries in the [[Thyrsus system]], and put them to work where they could be useful. Several of them guarded his Coruscant stronghold, and as time went on, others would perform far more heinous tasks.
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| There were also the practitioners of the [[Dark Force]] religion, established by the rogue apprentice [[Darth Millennial]] nearly a thousand years ago. A collection both of able Force-users and naive Sith enthusiasts under the leadership of a diminutive fallen Jedi by the name of [[Kadann]], they were not strictly Sith, but upon discovering them, Sidious could see that they had potential. The way this secret order had developed Millennial's teachings interested him. At the appropriate time, Sidious came to their stronghold on [[Dromund Kaas]] and paid Kadann a visit, claiming to be intrigued by this prophet and his unique view of the Force. After many long conversations and debates, Sidious at last revealed to Kadann his true purpose:
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| {{quote|The future you see isn't yours. You are merely the messenger. Serve me. Become my prophet. Reveal the will of the Force as you see it and I will make your predictions come true.|Darth Sidious}}
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| Kadann accepted his destiny. At Sidious's behest he assembled a small group of Dark Force devotees with particular talents for seeing portents and omens in the Force. These became the [[Prophet of the Dark Side|Prophets of the Dark Side]], with Kadann as Supreme Prophet. By the time the New Order came to pass, Kadann would become one of the new Emperor's most trusted—and most secret—advisors.
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| ====The Great Plan====
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| In [[52 BBY]], [[Darth Sidious]] started infiltrating the Republic's government, carefully implementing the steps of a plan set down centuries in the past, preparing to address "wrongs" the Galaxy at large had long since forgotten with the [[Battle of Naboo]] in [[32 BBY]]. Though his apprentice, [[Darth Maul]], was slain in that battle at the hands of Jedi Padawan [[Obi-Wan Kenobi]], the day proved an unparalleled victory for the Sith; Darth Sidious, as Senator [[Palpatine]] of [[Naboo]], was elected to the office of [[Supreme Chancellor]] of the Galactic Republic.
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| More than a decade passed, during which Palpatine manipulated the Senate into granting him more and more powers. His new apprentice, [[Darth Tyranus]], formed the [[Confederacy of Independent Systems]], which seceded from the Galactic Republic, thus beginning a long and bloody conflict known as the [[Clone Wars]]. During this time as the conflict progressed, the [[Jedi]] began to suspect Palpatine's skeptical powers.
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| As the Clone Wars neared their climax, the Jedi ranks had been thinned considerably. At last, the moment had come for the Sith to reclaim their former glory. Supreme Chancellor Palpatine — who had been revealed as Darth Sidious by [[Anakin Skywalker]] — killed four [[Jedi Master]]s who had been sent to arrest the Chancellor. He then crowned himself [[Galactic Emperor]], and replaced the ancient Republic with a "New Order" — the [[Galactic Empire]] — a galaxy-spanning dark side theocracy masquerading as a dictatorship the likes of which had not been seen for millennia, through the [[Declaration of a New Order]].
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| The [[Jedi Holocaust]] began with the issuing of [[Order 66]], in which the [[clone troopers]] received their transmission from Palpatine to kill their [[Jedi]] commanders, and the [[Raid on the Jedi Temple|attack on the Jedi Temple]], led by Palpatine's third and greatest apprentice, [[Darth Vader]]. The Holocaust ensured that what few Jedi remained became even fewer, until only a handful of the original ten thousand remained. It was a dark time for the galaxy.
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| Eventually, however, the [[Alliance to Restore the Republic]] arose to overthrow the Empire a [[1 BBY|year before]] the [[Battle of Yavin]]. The 20-year [[Galactic Civil War]] drew many into its fold, perhaps the most notable of whom was [[Luke Skywalker]], the son of [[Anakin Skywalker]] (or as he was better known, Darth Vader). Shortly after Skywalker destroyed the Empire's terrifying [[Death Star]] superweapon, the Emperor and Vader became aware of the young man's identity. Both Sith Lords hoped to corrupt Luke to the dark side, but each had a different plan for the future. Vader desired to kill the [[Emperor]] and rule the [[galaxy]] with his son, but Palpatine wished to replace Vader with the boy as his fourth apprentice. Neither goal was successful, and it appeared that the Sith had finally come to an end, as originally prophesied by the Jedi. With the destruction of the second [[Death Star]] at the [[Battle of Endor]], Darth Vader returned to the light side as Anakin Skywalker once again, slaying his former master and being slain in return.
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| The return of Anakin Skywalker, formerly Darth Vader, to the light side, and the death of the Emperor, who was the last true master of Darth Bane's reformed Sith Order, brought to fruition the prophecy of the [[Chosen One]] who would "bring balance to the Force."
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| ====Palpatine's return====
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| But even death was not the end for Palpatine. Unlike his Sith predecessors, Palpatine had never intended to be replaced by an apprentice, expecting his Empire to rule the Galaxy eternally, with only himself as its true leader. At an unknown point in time prior to his death at the Battle of Endor, Palpatine had found a way to cheat death by preserving his spirit after the death of his body. He arranged for a series of clones of himself to be created for his spirit to possess, in the event that he would perish. His primary supply of clones was kept on [[Byss]], guarded by loyal [[Dark Jedi]] and immense [[Imperial sentinel|genetically-altered guards]], and maintained by a trusted private physician.
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| After the destruction of the second Death Star, Palpatine's spirit was forced to journey in the maddening, bodiless existence of the void, eventually taking possession of the body of Emperor's Hand [[Jeng Droga]]. Though Droga went mad in the process, he was able to journey to Byss, where Palpatine was able to take possession of a clone of himself. There, on Byss, he would remain for years and would rebuild his strength and Empire.
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| Palpatine's apparent death at the Battle of Endor fragmented the Galactic Empire. Without an heir, opportunistic Moffs and other officers turned into warlords and set out to carve their own kingdoms wherever they could. This worked to the advantage of the New Republic, which succeeded in reclaiming much of the Galaxy.
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| After Thrawn's death, the resurrected Emperor struck. Using his dark powers to create a powerful Force Storm, he swept Jedi Master Luke Skywalker to Byss. There, he revealed himself to Luke, and revealed the power of the dark side. Faced with an immortal foe, Skywalker did the unthinkable—in order to defeat the dark side from within, he knelt before Palpatine, and submitted himself as the Emperor's new Sith apprentice.
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| Resurrected, Palpatine planned to replace the Galactic Empire with a "[[Dark Empire]]", a universe-spanning [[Wikipedia:magocracy|magocracy]] ruled through the dark side of the Force alone, without the need for regional governors or technological domination.
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| Though he and his loyal Imperial forces managed to briefly retake the galactic capital of Coruscant and wreak havoc on the Galaxy for a year, the resurrected Palpatine's bodies started dying—for the treacherous Sovereign Protector [[Carnor Jax]] tampered with their genetic material. Palpatine died a final death on the planet Onderon, when dying Jedi Knight [[Empatajayos Brand]], a survivor of the Jedi Purge, bound Emperor Palpatine's departing life essence to his own, taking the spirit with him as he became one with the Force. Thus, the end of the '''Order of the Sith Lords'''.
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| ===Post-Palpatine Sith===
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| Even with Palpatine's final death, Sith continued to survive. Their next Sith Lord was an Emperor's Hand named [[Lumiya]]. Darth Vader had passed on to Lumiya some Sith teaching secretly from his master, and the woman adopted the title ''Dark Lady of the Sith'' upon her masters' death at Endor. She trained two apprentices: [[Flint]], who was redeemed by Luke Skywalker, and Carnor Jax, who was killed by Palpatine loyalist [[Kir Kanos]] shortly after the Emperor's final known death on Onderon. Afterwards, Lady Lumiya went into hiding and it was thought once more that the Sith had disappeared.
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| Following the [[Yuuzhan Vong War]], [[Jedi Knight]] [[Kyle Katarn]] encountered a Force-strong [[Vongerella|Yuuzhan Vong female]] in the mysterious [[Cloak of the Sith]] region of the galaxy, where it was rumored that post-Palpatine Sith still lived. Powerful though she was, Katarn sensed an even darker hand behind her training. Apparently, this [[Yuuzhan Vong]] had a master, presumably Lumiya.
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| In [[40 ABY]] Lumiya had returned to the galactic stage, playing a role hidden from most of the participants of the [[Second Corellian Insurrection]]. Among her activities were the attack against the peace delegations that had gathered on [[Toryaz Station]] and the strange activies that followed on [[Lorrd]]. Soon afterwards she succeeded in convincing Jedi Knight [[Jacen Solo]] to join the ranks of the Sith.
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| By [[130 ABY]] the Sith Order was once more flourishing, with the [[New Jedi Order]] in disarray after the [[Sith-Imperial War]] of 127-130 ABY that had lead to the destruction of the [[Galactic Alliance]]. This was part of the plot by the Sith Order, lead by the enigmatic [[Darth Krayt]], to take over the galaxy. Soon after the end of the war, the Sith with their Imperial allies attacked the Jedi on Ossus, which lead to the [[Massacre at Ossus]]. After the Jedi had been scattered, Darth Krayt turned against his ally, Emperor [[Roan Fel]] and took the Imperial throne for himself. He was still in power in [[137 ABY]].
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| ==Ranks==
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| To ensure the continued survival of the Sith, Bane instituted the [[Rule of Two]]. In Bane's order, both Sith held the title [[Dark Lord of the Sith]].
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| '''[[Sith Master]]'''
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| Sith Masters were Sith Lords that had an apprentice serving beneath them.
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| Notable Sith Masters include [[Darth Sidious]], [[Darth Plagueis]], and [[Darth Bane]].
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| '''[[Sith Apprentice]]'''
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| Sith Apprentices were Sith neophytes that were studying under the tutelage of a Sith Master.
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| Notable Sith Apprentices include [[Darth Maul]], [[Darth Tyranus]]/[[Count Dooku]], and [[Darth Vader]].
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| ===Palpatine era===
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| When [[Palpatine]] declared himself [[Emperor]], the Sith controlled the known galaxy, in a political sense, for the first time. With this new, far-reaching authority came a need for functionaries throughout the Empire who were, to one extent or another, supporters if not adherents of the dark side. Though not Sith in any strict sense, these quasi-Sith minions were known generally as [[Dark Side Adept]]s. As Force-sensitive individuals serving the [[Emperor]], they supported his Sith rule by working in the roles of servants, agents, intelligence operatives, military officials, etc. Dark Side Adepts were particularly important when Palpatine was reborn into his clone bodies, five years after his death.
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| '''[[Inquisitor]]s'''
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| Inquisitors were the highest ranking Dark Side Adepts, members of the [[Inquisitorius]], a special division of [[Imperial Intelligence]].
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| '''[[Prophet of the Dark Side|Prophets of the Dark Side]]'''
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| The Dark Side Prophets were an ancient Outer Rim renegade Sith order founded by [[Darth Millennial]]. Though not Banist Sith, the Prophets were arguably a kind of true Sith. Darth Sidious rediscovered the group and brought them once again under his control, renaming them the [[Emperor's Mage]]s.
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| '''[[Emperor's Hands]]'''
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| Emperor's Hands were top-secret special operatives trained in the Force by the Emperor himself. They were so secret they usually had no knowledge of each other. [[Mara Jade]] was one of the best-known Emperor's Hands.
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| Together with the Emperor's Mages, the Emperor's Hands were called the Dark Side Elite.
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| '''[[Imperial Royal Guard]]'''
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| These were hand-picked elite [[Stormtroopers]] assigned to protect and serve the Emperor directly. They were required to have Force sensitivity, even if undeveloped. Those with advanced talents were assigned as [[Sovereign Protectors]], and those with even more advanced talents underwent Force training under Dark Jedi tutors.
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| '''[[Dark Jedi]]'''
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| Although the name might imply otherwise, Dark Jedi were not synonymous with Sith, although Darth Vader among others used techniques drawn from the traditions of both the Dark Jedi and the Sith. It was much more likely for Dark Jedi to return to the Light (e.g. [[Kam Solusar]]). Other notable Dark Jedi included [[Sora Bulq]], [[Joruus C'baoth]], [[Jerec]], and the particularly infamous [[Asajj Ventress]].
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