Born on the poor Outer Rim mining Planet of Apatros in 1026 BBY, Dessel was raised by
Hurst, an alcoholic, abusive man who referred to his son as the Bane of his existence.
Blaming Dessel for the death of his wife in childbirth, the boy suffered the scorn and
cruelty of Hurst and his friends for many years.
Continuing even as Dessel turned 16 and started working with them as a miner for Outer Rim
Oreworks, enduring hazardous, back breaking conditions to extract cortosis ore for the
Republic and other clients of the company.
Though the work was difficult and exposed workers to chemicals that made their hair
fall out, it shaped Dessel, who was already tall, into a large, heavily muscled man, strengthened
further by the regular beatings he suffered from his colleagues.
Yet his greatest gift was unknown to all including himself, as Dessel was born a powerful force
sensitive, one of the rare beings capable of harnessing the primordial energy flowing
through all living things, using it to increase their physical and mental abilities.
Though Dessel was untrained and did not realize he was using the force, he understood from
an early age he was special, with greater luck and intuition then others, sometimes
able to sense things before they happened.
Despite working to provide for himself, Hurst continued to abuse his son until the age of
18, when Dessel challenged his authority, resulting in a beating that left him near
death.
As Dessel lay in bed that night, enraged and suffering intense pain, he imagined the death
of his father, picturing a hand squeezing his heart.
In the morning, Hurst was dead of a supposed heart attack, though in truth Dessel killed
his father through the use of raw, undeveloped dark side power.
As the years went on, Dessel learned to stand up for himself against the other miners and
was largely left alone, allowing him to focus on working as much as possible so he might
pay off the ever mountings debt owed to Outer Rim Oreworks and leave Apatros.
Yet the hatred for Dessel felt by his colleagues remained, especially with Gerd, a close friend
of his deceased Hurst, who got drunk and attacked him on the 5th anniversary of his father’s
death.
Receiving a Force premonition during the fight, Dessel turned his head in time to bite off
Gerd’s thumb, defeating the drunken miner.
Despite claiming self defence, Dessel was suspended for several days, and so he went
to the local Cantina to make money gambling at the Sabacc table.
A great card player, Dessel won by unknowingly using the force to predict outcomes and through
psychological manipulation, insulting and mocking his opponents so anger might cloud
their judgment.
Playing against a group of republic officers, his efforts created a deepening tension in
the cantina, as Dessel’s dark side aura began to influence spectators and participants,
resulting in a near riot when he won the high stakes final round through a near miraculous
pure sabacc in the final hand.
Drunk and convinced Dessel was cheating, the defeated Republic Ensign started to yell and
make a scene, insulting the miners and their world.
On the precipice of violence, Groshik, owner of the Cantina, kicked everyone out, except
his friend Dessel, hoping to keep him safe from the Republic officers who might be waiting
outside.
Yet this precaution was not enough, as they waited for hours to attack Des on his way
home.
Using the force to sense what would occur, he gained the upperhand and stabbed the Republic
Ensign with his own vibroblade, causing the officer’s friends to run and report his
death.
Knowing he would be accused of murder, Dessel returned to the Cantina, and sought help from
his only friend Groshik who used his contacts to get the young man off world.
However his contacts would help on the condition Dessel join the Sith Army fighting for the
Brotherhood of Darkness against the Jedi and Republic.
Reformed and led by the Dark Lord Skere Kaan, the Brotherhood of Darkness was the latest
iteration of the New Sith Order, founded in 2000 BBY by Darth Ruin, continuing a legacy
dating back to 7000 BBY, when Ajunta Pall and his followers rebelled against the Jedi
Order, resulting in the Hundred Year Darkness which left the Dark Jedi defeated and exiled.
Yet this was only the beginning of their journey, as they found the Dark Side world of Korriban,
leading and intermixing with the native sith population, to create the Old Sith Order and
Empire that endured for thousands of years and was reformed multiple times after its
initial collapse.
The New Sith Order therefore continued their predecessor's struggle, waging a thousand
years of war against the Jedi and Republic.
Yet it seemed every time the Sith were on the rise with the potential to conquer the
galaxy, they were undone by internal division and betrayal, as ambitious Sith Lords fought
for supremacy.
Recognizing this weakness, Skere Kaan created his own New Sith faction, named the Brotherhood
of Darkness, an egalitarian Order where anyone powerful enough to join their ranks was granted
the title Dark Lord and had a voice in their decisions.
Raised from childhood as a Jedi, Skere Kaan was a charming, charismatic leader and powerful
force user who grew increasingly radicalized over their wars with the Sith, blaming the
passive nature and non-interventionist policies of the Order for the enemy’s gains across
the galaxy.
Upon achieving the rank of master, Kaan and his followers left the Jedi entirely in 1010
BBY, and took the fight directly to the Sith, tracking down disparate Sith Lords to defeat
them all.
His victory was so complete, the Jedi Order even sent a message of congratulation, all
the while failing to see that Kaan was now of the Dark Side, reigning as Dark Lord over
a united Sith Order and Empire.
Coming to believe the light side Jedi were the greatest enemy to peace in the galaxy,
Skere Kaan sought out the Dark Side and knowledge of the Sith, but also recognized a fundamental
flaw in their teachings, as they focused too much on individual power, creating an endless
cycle of betrayal and assassinations, as the only way for subordinates to gain greater
authority and position.
Determined to end this cycle of failure, Kaan created the Brotherhood of Darkness, doing
what almost no other Sith Lord in history would ever consider, by voluntarily surrendering
some of his power to form a leadership council, where every member was a Dark Lord of equal
standing.
Enacting his philosophy of Rule by the Strong, Kaan remained in a position of leadership
but now brought his ideas to the council, where they voted on how to proceed.
Convincing many this was the only way their order could remain united to destroy their
enemies, Kaan won the loyalty of many Sith warlords like Qordis and Kas'im during his
campaign of conquest.
Though he now had an army of Sith Lords at his command in addition to Dark Jedi like
Kopesz and La Tor, Kaan knew it was still no-where near enough to defeat the Republic,
and so grew the Brotherhood into a true galactic power by recruiting all force sensitive citizens
from their worlds to train in specialized Sith Academies, while non-force users were
brought into their military.
Seeking to an end a thousand years of war, Skere Kaan and the Brotherhood of Darkness
invaded the Republic in 1006 BBY, winning the critical Battle of Korriban to take back
their ancestral home.
Under the command of Dark Lord Qordis, Korriban was home to their most prestigious Sith Academy,
where only their most promising force users were sent to become Sith Lords, the equivalent
of Jedi Masters.
Growing their strength significantly, the height of their power saw the Brotherhood
with an army of 20,000 Sith, alongside their traditional military and fleet, bringing the
Republic and Jedi Order to the very edge of defeat.
Recruited into the Gloom Walkers, one of the many front line Sith military units, Dessel’s
unique abilities quickly made him a respected leader, responsible for their victories and
relatively low casualty rate.
Promoted to Sergent under Lieutenant Ulabore, an ambitious officer happy to take credit
for their successes, Dessel was left with operational control over the unit as they
fought on Kashyyyk, Trandosha and Phaseera.
Yet thing fell apart during the battle of Phaseera, when Lieutenant Ulabore ordered
the Gloom Walkers on a suicide mission because he was afraid to confront his Sith Lord superior,
despite Dessel explaining a simple adjustment to their plan would save many lives.
Unwilling to lead his soldiers into a slaughter, Dessel knocked Ulabor unconscious and took
command of the unit.
Implementing a revised plan, the Sergent was temporarily blinded by a flash grenade during
the battle, causing him to use his powers to continue firing his weapon, seeing his
targets through the force.
When the triumphant Gloom Walkers returned to camp, Lieutenant Ulabore was waiting with
military police, who arrested Dessel to take for court martial.
Though the Gloomwalkers were ready to fight for him, he shook his head and allowed himself
to be arrested, once again saving their lives.
Fortunately for the Sergent, his notoriety and recent transgression brought him to the
attention of Sith Lord Kopecz, a close ally of Skere Kaan, who rather than admonish him,
praised Dessel for his many victories with the Gloom Walkers before revealing he was
a Force Sensitive.
Sensing great potential in the former miner, Kopecz sent him to the Sith Academy on Korriban,
where he might be trained to become a Sith master.
Shocked but mindful of this incredible opportunity, Dessel happily agreed and even followed in
Sith tradition by taking a new name.
Remembering his childhood and the cruelty of his father, Dessel became Bane
before leaving for Korriban.