A prominent Master of the ancient Je’daii order on Tython, Rajivari, was a veteran of
the Despot War, and survivor of a devastating Rakatan invasion, before witnessing a civil
war erupt among his own people. Though the Jed’aii were dedicated to seeking balance
between the light and dark sides of the force, years of war and violence destroyed this harmony
and divided the Order in two. After siding with the light side faction, defeating the
Dark Siders, and banishing them from Tython, Rajavari became a founding member of the new
lightside Jedi Order and created the original Jedi Archives. Yet this well-respected Master
held grand ambitions and expansionist views, believing the jedi should conquer the galaxy
and lead them into a golden age of peace and prosperity. When his ideas which were outright
rejected by the High Council, he resigned from the Order in protest and dedicated himself
to destroying the jedi leadership and reforming their beliefs. Taking his students and supports
to Kaleth, the ancient temple-city of knowledge, he delved deeper into dark side teachings
and created the Principles of Rajivari, by which his followers must live. Eventually
the Jedi laid siege to the temple, defeated the cult and killed their leader, but his
spirit refused to become one with the force, remaining on Tython to look after the Fount
of Rajavari, the original jedi archives he helped create, in the hopes that it might
one day be found by a worthy heir and apprentice, who might realize his dream of reforming the
jedi order. Though most of his Principles were lost, three survived and read as follows,
"All life is a battle, even to the last breath" "Showing mercy to an enemy creates a spiral
of destruction" "Sacrificing your strength is the path of
a fool"
Possibly founded by Vahl, a powerful female force user who created their order on a long
lost homeworld, the Ember of Vahl was a depraved, sadistic cult that came to worship the first
leader as the Goddess Vahl, who was the embodiment of the dark side. Growing large enough to
be considered a threat, the Jedi of the Old Republic waged a war to wipe them out, forcing
the survivors to abandon their homeworld and scatter across the galaxy, becoming nomadic
mercenaries, pirates, thieves and bounty hunters. Yet the Cult could not be killed, and the
survivors continued to worship Vahl under the authority of the Chosen, a council of
6 high priests who scarred their bodies to show devotion. Surviving beyond the fall of
the republic, the Ember of Vahl eagerly allied with the Empire to help hunt down Jedi after
Order 66, at long last exacting vengeance for all they lost.
Founded on a long forgotten world of the Outer Rim, populated by a short, stocky, bipedal
race with a natural affinity towards the force, their people created two opposed force wielding
civilizations, with the lightsider quickly falling to the violent aggression of the darksiders.
Though a light side minority continued to exist in hiding, most fell under the authority
of the 6 most powerful dark side priests, worshipped as gods. These Dark Masters demanded
war and violence to satiate their bloodlust, ordering the sacrifice of living beings on
a daily basis. For two thousand years the cult thrived, building great stepped pyramids
and temples, while primarily targeting enemies, subversives or lightsiders for their sacrifices,
though they also chose from among their own population through a lottery system, if no
others were available. All these people were killed by the force upon a holy alter, which
grew so infused with dark side energy it started trapping the souls of those who died, preventing
them from becoming one with the force.
Among those sacrificed and trapped, were one hundred lightsiders like Master Zik'tath,
who spent their lives fighting against the Dark Masters. In the end, their aggressive,
violent civilization collapsed from a brutal civil war and rebellion that left everyone
dead. However, due to the immense powers of the six dark priests, they survived as wraiths
haunting the planet, with their lifeforce tied to the energy of the sacrificial alter.
In time, a few jedi discovered and landed on the planet, only to be killed by those
wraiths. A few years after that, a group of adventurers arrived on the planet and were
contacted by the spirit of Master Zik’tath along with the 99 other lightsiders trapped
in the alter. After explaining the situation, the adventurers managed to destroy the wraiths
and alter to liberate all those trapped within.
An ancient Dark Side Cult inspired by sith teachings, knowledge from the Heresiarchs
ended up in the hands of Darth Sidious after he conquered the galaxy, mentioning them alongside
organizations like the Krath of the Great Sith War, and incorporated their teachings
into his compendium of dark side lore.
Born the son of wealthy nobles, Collan Eislo was a bored, restless young man who delved
into dark side teachings to seek thrills and adventure. Gathering followers among the other
bored children of aristocrats, he eventually learned of the Sith Order and grew determined
to join their ranks, using his families money to purchase sith artifacts and relics in addition
to sponsoring archaeological digs. Forming the Apex Society, Collan was devastated when
he finally realized he was not force-sensitive, but found hope when he learned about the Mask
of Darth Nihilus, which legends claimed could grant force powers. Ordering the Apex Society
to find the mask, their leader promised that once he gained force powers he would become
their Sith Master. As the rumors and legends about Collan multiplied, some of his followers
believed he was guided by the spirits of great sith from the past, like Darth Revan and Darth
Plagueis. Regardless, the Apex Society at last tracked their target to the planet Volik
before embarking on a a mission to find the mask of Nihilus so their revered leader might
fulfill his destiny of becoming a Sith Lord.
Founded by a group of dark side force adepts, the Sable Dawn criminal organization had many
members with no idea the leadership was force-sensitive. Engaging in bounty hunting, assassinations
and terrorism, the Sable Dawn were willing to take nearly any job in the pursuit of wealth
and power. Following leaders like Virec Xan, a force adept who specialized in telekenisis,
they had little fear of consequence, even involving themselves in the internal struggles
of other cartels, like when they were hired to assassinate the Hutt crime lord Tirello
Anjiliac, so he might be replaced by Zietta Anjiliac. The Sable Dawn were also collectors
of force artifacts, spending many resources to acquire the Fell Star ancient relic, rumoured
to be a sith talisman.
Founded on the burial moon of Kohlma, orbiting the planet Bogden, the Bando Gora darkside
death cult grew into a powerful criminal organization within the galactic underworld, training expert
assassins so skilled they could sometimes defeat jedi knights. Growing bold in their
attacks, they struck at the planet Baltizaar, prompting the Order to send a team of jedi
for its liberation. Yet they greatly underestimated the danger posed by these cultists, resulting
in a disaster with many jedi killed or captured. Among the imprisoned, was Komari Vosa, the
powerful former padawan of Count Dooku who killed 20 mandalorians in the battle of Galidraan.
Subjected to viscous tortures, her mind eventually snapped and fell to the dark side, erupting
in a torrent of violence that killed both her captors and fellow captives. Taking charge
of the entire organization, Komari Vosa became High Priestess of the Bando Gora, bringing
them to new heights of power and influence in the criminal underworld. Allying with other
criminal cartels, the Bando Gora introduced a new form of highly addictive deathsticks
which corrupted the user’s body, allowing a force user like Vosa to take control of
their minds, enslaving them to her will.
And while this scheme did much for their strength and reputation, it also caught the attention
of the Sith Order under Darth Plagueis and his apprentice Darth Sidious. Though Plagueis
felt them relatively insignificant, Sidious disagreed, and when he finally killed his
master to take charge of the order, decided to end the Bando Gora once and for all. Assigning
his apprentice Darth Tyrannus to the task, the Sith Lord already knew Vosa’s location
and could have ended her long ago, but held back in the hopes she might one day become
an ally. Yet now that the order was given, he decided to use the mission as an opportunity
to further their sith goals. Seeking to grow a clone army on kamino, the sith wanted to
base their dna on that of the best warrior they could find, and so Dooku contracted a
number of famous bounty hunters, offering 5 million credits for the dark jedi, dead
or alive. Taking the job, Jango Fett won the contest, defeating Komari Vosa in her Citadel
on the moon Kohlma, but ultimately spared her life. Darth Tyrannus however then appeared
behind him and choked Vosa to death with the force, before explaining the purpose of the
contest and offering Fett the chance to become the model and trainer for their clone army.
He accepted, on the condition the first clone they created was left unaltered and given
over to his charge.
Without Komari Vosa, the Bando Gora lost their influence and never again rose to power.