The Secrets of the Sith

Star Wars: History Abridged Pt. 9- Great Sith Wars Epilogue

Hello, and welcome to the Revenge of the Fifth, my fellow Star Wars fans. Today we conclude my series on the Great Sith War Era of Star Wars, one of the best parts of the franchise and one that I think should be canon again. However, there are some secrets of the Sith that will change everything about what I have written about. If you want to learn the truth about the end of the Great Hyperspace War, the Mandalorian Wars, and Revan’s fall, then read on. Spoilers from the novel Star Wars the Old Republic: Revan ahead.

The Truth About Revan

Yesterday, I talked about how Revan had learned of a great evil that threatened the Galaxy. An evil that had used the Mandalorians as pawns in a game that would impress Darth Sidious. Now, let me take you back to the end of the Mandalorian Wars.

As Mandalore the Ultimate lay dying at Revan’s feet, he revealed a terrifying revelation: the Mandalorians had been manipulated to go to war by the Sith. Not the Brotherhood of the Sith or some cult, but the original Sith Empjre. Despite the belief that the Original Sith Empire had been destroyed, they survived beyond the reach of the Republic. Terrified, Revan took Malak and his forces into deep space, following the lead Mandalore the Ultimate gave him. There, he confirmed everything he heard to be true, and the existence of the being behind it.

The Sith Emperor

More than a century before the Great Hyperspace War, a young Sith Lord rose to power on a small world in the Sith Empire. This kid had no ability to feel anything aside from his desire for power. After killing his father, Marka Ragnos made him Lord of the planet.

Flash forward to the end of the Great Hyperspace War, and this Dark Lord saw opportunity. Gathering most of the surviving Sith Lords on his planet, he then bent them to his will. With their power, he then enacted a ritual unlike any the universe had ever seen. Drawing on the power of the Dark Side, the Lord proceeded to drain the life out of everything on the planet. Every being, plant, and animal had their life drained and absorbed by the Lord. As a result, he became a nigh-immortal being known only as the Sith Emperor. Afterwards, he took the remaining Sith beyond known space and re-established the Sith Empire far from the Republic’s eyes.

The Mandalorian Wars were simply a means to weaken/test the Republic’s defenses, but thanks to Revan, that plan was thwarted. Unfortunately, Revan’s solution to this ancient threat was to attack it head on. Already slipping to the Dark Side, the Emperor easily bent Revan and Malak to his will. It was he who sent them back to find the Star Forge and serve as the vanguard to his galactic conquest centuries ahead of schedule. Luckily, they overcame his brainwashing through sheer willpower, but failed to break free of the Dark Side. Malak never did, while the Jedi inadvertently helped Revan to do so.

Revan’s Quest

After the Jedi Civil War, Revan regained more of his lost memories, including the secrets of the Sith. As a result, he chose to resume his quest to take down the Sith Emperor, leaving his wife Bastila and unborn child behind. He was captured and imprisoned by the Sith for years, while his equivalent of Artoo, T3-M4, went to look for help. Help that he found in the form of the Jedi Exile, Meetra Surik. After returning to Republic space, Meetra proceeded to help stabilize the Republic and defeat the remnants of Revan’s Sith Empire.

After leaving Malachor V, Meetra went to Coruscant to find Bastila, who had survived the purge along with her son, Vaner. Teethree then told them the truth about everything, with Meetra leaving to save her old friend. She raided the estate where he was held captive, found Revan, and gave him a gift in the form of his mask. Bastila had recovered it from his ship and kept it hidden for years. When he held the mask that had compelled him to start his journey, all of Revan’s memories returned at last. He was neither a Jedi nor Sith. Instead, he was a pure badass.

The Final Confrontation

Here’s the reason why I love Revan so much: after regaining all of his memories, he reached a mastery of the Force that few in Star Wars have ever achieved. He could use both the Light and Dark sides to their full extent, finding a balance within the Force itself. In other words, he’s what Anakin Skywalker could have been. What’s more, Revan had gained a new ally, a young Sith Lord named Scourge, who realized how great an evil the Sith Emperor was.

The Emperor’s plan wasn’t to conquer the Galaxy. Instead, he wanted to repeat the ritual that made him immortal on a galactic scale, making himself into a god. If that happened, nothing in the universe could oppose him. Thus, the four set out to end the Emperor before his insane plans could be realized.

However, even with their combined power, the group stood no chance against the ancient Sith Lord. Their Sith ally realized that they stood no hope of winning; the one who would vanquish the Emperor had yet to be born. Thus, Scourge betrayed his allies, killed Meetra, and allowed Revan to be captured once more. As a reward, the Emperor made Scourge his personal enforcer and immortal, undying Wrath.

The Old Republic Continues

Revan did not die at this moment, though. Instead, the Emperor put him in stasis for centuries, using him as a Force conduit to the light. However, Revan resisted with all his might, and would continue to resist for centuries to come.

Despite his suffering, though, Revan did manage to do one thing: making sure that his friends would never face the horrors of the Sith in their lifetime. Bastila, Carth, his son and many others were able to live their lives. As for Meetra’s pupils, they went on to rebuild the Jedi. Within three hundred years, the Republic and Jedi had come back from the brink. Thus we bring our coverage of the Old Republic Era to an end.

If you want to learn what happened next to Revan and the Sith Empire, then go play Star Wars: The Old Republic online game. It’s been out for nine years, so it’s covered the fates of the Emperor, Revan and more.

If you stuck with me for the last week, then I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I could have just given you links to Wookiepedia and told you to read it for yourself. But I felt doing that would be a disservice to so much incredible content that deserves to be remembered.

Happy Revenge of the Fifth, people. May the Force be with you!

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