Rise Of the Krath and Exar Kun

Star Wars: History Abridged Pt. 4

Welcome back to another entry in Star Wars: History Abridged, the series where I take the best of the Star Wars Expanded Universe and break it down into bite-sized pieces. Yesterday, I started going over the Great Sith War with the crisis on Onderon. In 4,000 BBY, this Inner Rim planet was looking to join the Republic. When the Jedi came to stop its centuries-long civil war, though, they found the planet had a dark secret. For centuries, the planet had been ruled by the lineage of an ancient Sith Lord. With the help of the Jedi, the dark influence of the Sith was banished and peace brought to the planet. However, this was just the beginning of an even larger conflict. Today, we cover the rise of the Krath cult and the return of the Sith in full force.

The Krath Holy Crusade Begins

At the end of my last post, I mentioned two visitors came to Onderon as a cult of Sith worshippers threatened the planet. Their names were Aleema and Satal Keto, two aristocratic cousins from the Empress Teta System in the Deep Core. The cousins were spoiled brats with an interest in Sith lore and had founded a Dark Side cult called the Krath. Their visit caught the eye of the ghost of Freedon Nadd, whose bloodline had ruled Onderon for centuries. However, Nadd realized Onderon was a lost cause, so he gave the Keto’s a trove of Sith artifacts and texts. As a result of their Dark Side knowledge, the Krath overthrew the government and became the new rulers of the Empress Teta system.

Realizing the threat the Krath posed, a Republic-Jedi strike force, led by Ulic Qel-Droma and Nomi Sunrider, was sent to liberate the system. They promptly got their butts handed to them. As a result, close to ten thousand Jedi gathered in a conclave to figure out their next move. It’s there that Ulic came up with a dangerous plan. He would go undercover within the Krath and bring them down from the inside, saving lives that would be lost in a full blown war. Many Jedi told Ulic that that was a terrible idea; the Dark Side would corrupt him like so many others.

Before they could argue the matter further, the Krath struck first. They had snuck into the conclave and set an army of droids loose on the Jedi, killing many of them. Among the casualties was Arca Jeth, Ulic’s own master. Outraged, Ulic went through his plan to infiltrate the Krath, despite the concerns of his brother, Cay, and lover, Nomi. This would have terrible consequences for everyone.

Fall Rise of Exar Kun

In another part of the Galaxy, there lived a young Jedi Knight by the name of Exar Kun. He was powerful in the Force, but also an arrogant blowhard with serious anger issues. Throw in the fact that he was obsessed with learning about the Sith, and that’s a recipe for disaster. His curiosity led him to seek out the new tomb of Freedon Nadd on Dxun, wherein he met Nadd’s ghost. Seeing Kun’s strength in the Force, Nadd took the already wavering Jedi and led him down a path to darkness.

Kun would next travel to the ancient Sith home of Korriban before finally journeying to Yavin IV. There, at the mercy of the planet’s Massassi, Exar Kun fully embraced the Dark Side, much to Nadd’s delight. Seeing the former Jedi as his best chance to gain a new body, Nadd urged him to do just that. However, Kun had become fed up with Nadd’s meddling and, using his newfound power, banished his spirit to the afterlife for good.

Fall of Ulic Qel-Droma

Meanwhile, Ulic’s mission to infiltrate the Krath went as bad as everyone said it would. Satal was on to the Jedi from the start and tortured him for weeks. Meanwhile, Aleema used her charm to seduce him even further into the Dark Side. When Nomi and Cay came looking for him, he refused to leave with the pair. Instead, he killed Satal and took in the Krath leadership.

Seeing the red flags being waved, Nomi and Cay led an even larger strike force on a raid into the Krath’s stronghold. Although, by that point, Qel-Droma was too far into the Dark Side to come back of his own volition. Plus, attempts to bring him back by force failed as well. Ulic’s friends reluctantly accepted that he was now lost to them and retreated.

As the Krath celebrated, they found their victory party was crashed by an unexpected guest: Exar Kun.

The Sith, Reborn

Rather than remain on Yavin IV, Exar Kun had sought out Dark Side users that would be a threat to his power. Learning of the Krath’s existence and that they had also been taught by Freedon Nadd, the Dark Jedi sought to eliminate them. Upon arrival, Kun and Qel-Droma fought in an intense duel, yet neither could gain the upper hand on each other. Then, something unexpected happened. Both combatants wore an ancient Sith amulet, and as the two clashed, their amulets reacted to each other. Their reunion created a surge of Dark Side energy that summoned the spirit of the long-dead Sith Lord, Marka Ragnos.

Ragnos saw how strong Kun and Qel-Droma were in the Dark Side and had the strength to restore the Sith. Thus, he declared Exar Kun the new Dark Lord of the Sith, with Exar Kun as his apprentice. With the two Sith and Krath united under one banner, the Jedi’s worst fears came true: the Sith had been reborn.

To Be Concluded

Pretty epic story, huh? Well, that’s only the start. The return of the Sith would start the Great Sith War. With Ulic Qel-Droma and Exar Kun leading the Sith-Krath forces, the Jedi and Republic would face their greatest test in a thousand years. Next time, we’ll be covering the Great Sith War and its aftermath. May the Force be with you!

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