Despite his reservations about the Brotherhood, Bane thrived at the Sith Academy on Korriban,
overcoming the mental block that held him back for so long.
Seeing the enormous strength raging within her ally, Githany felt the time was right
to make her move and so tried to manipulate Bane into assassinating Sirak, by claiming
she would challenge the Zabrak, despite obviously not being ready for the confrontation.
Yet to her surprise, Bane did not offer assassination as an option, instead offering to take her
place in the duel.
Though Bane was fully aware Githany was manipulating him, he too felt it was time to confront the
Academy Champion and finally get his revenge.
Openly challenging Sirak in the training yard, Bane perfectly executed his battle plan, wearing
down his opponent until presented with the perfect opportunity to strike, shattering
a forearm and breaking his leg.
Yet rather than land a final killing blow, Bane hesitated, giving Kasim time to intervene
and end the duel.
Having done the impossible, Bane won great prestige and adulation, rising from the lowest
ranking student to the highest, recognized as the greatest apprentice of the Sith Order.
But just like when he defeated the Makurth, something felt wrong about this victory and
he was not the only one to think so, as Githany was furious and disappointed he did not kill
Sirak, thereby showing weakness and ruining her plans.
Though Bane did not like to hear it, he knew she was right.
He hesitated and thereby showed weakness.
A flaw he would have to overcome.
Most others in the school however were thrilled with his victory, including Kasim who gifted
him a special curved hilt lightsaber that required a special grip which changed its
balance, causing the weapon to strike at odd angles, granting the user an advantage in
combat.
The weapon previously belonged to Kasim’s old master Sith Lord Na’daz, who saved him
from a life of slavery.
When Bane asked what happened to Na’daz, Kasim freely admitted to killing his master
in an honerable duel, as was Sith tradition before the brotherhood, engaging in a contest
of skill to win the title of Master.
This story left a lasting impression on Bane who eventually integrated this tradition into
his own evolving Dark Side philosophy.
Though Lord Qordis congratulated Bane on his victory, he was admonished for getting private
lessons and continuing to study the ancient Sith, ordered to stop seeing Githany and stay
out of the archives.
Refusing to agree to these conditions and feeling as though the Brotherhood had nothing
left to teach him, Bane left the Academy to explore the Valley of Dark Lords, where many
ancient Sith were buried.
Finding no sign of spirits or ancient power, Bane saw it as further proof the Dark Side
disapproved of Kaan’s Sith Order.
Returning to the Academy, he was disgusted to learn all students, regardless of skill
level, were ascending to the rank of Dark Lord so they could officially join the Brotherhood
and aid the war effort on Ruusan.
Past his breaking point, Bane knew there was no place for him in Kaan’s Sith Order, deciding
to leave and follow his own dark side path, perhaps alongside Githany if she could be
persuaded.
Yet his ally was furious with him at the moment, not only because he failed to kill Sirak,
but also because he left the Academy for 2 weeks without explanation or goodbye.
Remorseful for hurting her feelings, he followed her without question to the Archives, where
he was attacked by a fully recovered Sirak and his two Zabrak companions, revealing it
was a trap they planned with Githany.
But Bane dismissed his mockery, knowing Githany well enough to discern she had not betrayed
him, and was in fact manipulating events to force a final confrontation with Sirak.
Confirming his suspicion, Githany joined Bane in their attack against the three Zabrak,
working together to kill their enemies.
When it was over and Sirak was on his knees in submission, he offered to serve as a loyal
follower, but Bane refused and at last fully embraced the dark side by executing his already
defeated opponent.
Instead of being angry with Githany for her subterfuge, he admired her cunning and tried
to convince her the Brotherhood was flawed so they might leave together.
But she had her own plans, and oppositely tried to convince Bane he must come with her
to Ruusan, so they could fight side by side, growing their reputation to one day take the
leadership of the Brotherhood for themselves.
Steadfast in her resolve to join the Kaan and rise through ranks, Bane realized she
would not join his rebellion and so they went there separate ways.
Believing that perhaps Qordis sent Sirak to attack him, Bane confronted the school overseer,
creating a ruckus which caught the attention of many students.
Despite realizing Qordis did not send Sirak, the argument escalated to the point where
Bane officially left the Brotherhood and declared himself Darth Bane, stealing the private ship
of Lord Qordis to leave Korriban.
Having spent much of his time studying in the Sith Archives, Bane knew about several
potential locations where he might find artifacts or knowledge to continue his training in the
ways of the ancient Sith.
Therefore he travelled to Lehon, a planet steeped int he dark side where he found the
Holocron of Darth Revan, a powerful force user trained as both a Jedi and Sith Lord
around the time of the Mandalorian War and Second Sith War.
Learning much from this ancient master, including Revan’s insistance a master must have only
a single apprentice, Bane was convinced not only that the Brother hood was fundamentally
flawed but that it needed to be destroyed, so a new Sith Order could rise from the ashes.
Meanwhile, Lord Kaan heard about this rebellious student who rejected the Brotherhood and grew
concerned his behaviour might threaten their unity.
Thus he sent the young man’s own mentor, Blade Master Kasim to end his life.
Tracking Bane through the force bond he created with Githany during their time together on
Korriban, Kasim found and challenged his former student to honerable combat on Lehon, quickly
proving himself the superior duellist.
But Bane used his knowledge of the area to his advantage, luring his opponent to a position
where he could send a force wave to collapse the temple, burying his master in the rubble.
Bane then sent a message to Kaan, informing him of Kasim’s death while at the same time
feigning regret and claiming he was at last ready to join the brotherhood.
To demonstrate his sincerity, Bane sent Kaan a gift, providing plans for a thought bomb,
a special dark side ritual discovered in the Revan Holocron, that he claimed would aid
the Brotherhood in defeating the Jedi.
What he did not mention however was that the ritual was so powerful it would destroy everyone
in the vicinity, both jedi and Sith.
When the young Darth asked to meet a representative of the Brotherhood on Ambria, Kaan sent Githany,
yet neither one of them trusted Bane’s word, and so Githany was ordered to assassinate
her former ally.
Aware she could not defeat him in a proper fight, she coated her lips with poison and
kissed him during their encounter.
Tasting the venom, Bane was confident his powers would keep him safe and kissed her
several more times, only realizing after she left the first milder poison was a cover for
the second far more lethal layer of Synox.
Feeling his life force draining from his body, Bane took drastic actions to ensure his survival,
killing children to absorb there father’s anger and pain, before killing him as well,
taking strength from their deaths.
Gaining a little more time, he made his way to a well known healer named Caleb and threatened
his daughter so he would agree to save Bane’s life.
Finding no pleasure in killing without purpose, the Sith Lord left Caleb alive after he recovered,
realizing the man’s skills might serve him again someday.
Departing for Ruusan, Bane still held no ill will towards Githany, as her constant betrayals
and manipulations were sign she was a worthy dark side acolyte, and perhaps might even
be a candidate to become his Sith apprentice.
After studying under Darth Revan, learning all he could from the holocron, Bane now had
a better understanding of what must come after the Brotherhood’s destruction, creating
the foundation of his personal philosophy which recognized in-fighting was a problem
for the Sith Order, but believed Kaan’s solution was equally self-defeating.
The force was not fire, to be passed from torch to torch, but venom, powerful in concentrated
form, yet weak when diluted.
In other words, with so many Sith Lord’s sharing the power of the dark side, none could
achieve their true potential, and so the Order as a whole would never be strong enough to
defeat the Jedi and conquer the galaxy.
The Sith therefore must be governed primarily by the Rule of Two, with only one Master to
embrace the power of the Darkside, and a single Apprentice to desire that power.
Then when the student has nothing left to learn, they must challenge and kill the master
in a duel, thereby winning the title Dark Lord of the Sith and right to take their own
apprentice.
In this way, every new Master would be more powerful then the last and with only 2 Sith
Lords active at any one time, it was easier to remain hidden in the shadows, operating
in the background to manipulate galactic events as they deemed necessary until the Order was
ready to unleash their final revenge against the Jedi and republic.