Thousands of years before Darth Bane’s Sith Order rose to dominate the galaxy, Darth Revan
ruled over a Sith Empire of his own, waging the Second Sith War or Jedi Civil War, that
nearly destroyed the Jedi Order and Old Republic government.
Yet in 3957 BBY, Revan was betrayed by his apprentice Darth Malak, who took over leadership
of their Sith Empire.
A former Jedi hero who saved their people from a terrible Mandalorian invasion, Revan
survived this betrayal and returned to the light side, once again saving the galaxy,
this time by killing Darth Malak and shattering the Empire he helped build.
After the war, Revan disappeared for many years to undertake a vital mission searching
for the True Sith in the Unknown regions.
Meanwhile, the remnants of his Sith Empire scattered and fell to infighting, allowing
the Old Republic to regain control over much of the galaxy.
Yet the legacy of Revan’s Sith Empire was not yet lost, as three powerful Sith Lord’s
soon emerged to take the mantle of leadership for themselves.
Once a powerful Jedi Master and historian, Kreia spent so much time meditating and seeing
through the force, she lost the use of her eyesight and did not bother correcting the
issue.
A controversial figure on the very edges of respectability within the order, Kreia constantly
challenged her students with questions that made them think outside the bounds of standard
light side dogma.
Though her “freethinking” beliefs were tolerated for a time, she fell under great
scrutiny when many of her students, including her most prized pupil Revan left the Jedi
Order to wage an unauthorized war against the Mandalorian invaders wreaking havoc upon
the Republic.
Although their cause was just, the severity of the war and merciless tactics necessary
for victory caused many of these jedi to embrace the dark side.
Exiled from the order for her part in their training, Kreia felt a force echo calling
her to Malachor V, and so arrived shortly after it was destroyed with the Mass Shadow
Generator superweapon used by Revan’s forces to win a final victory in the Mandalorian
Wars.
This enormous loss of life was so devastating it created a wound in the force, meaning a
point of weakness within the interconnected fabric of force energy spread across the galaxy.
As a result, locations with a wound in the force teemed with echoes of pain and suffering
which interfered with the regular flow of energy in that region.
Often these echoes could be heard by powerful force-sensitives even from great distances,
which was what drew Kreia to the planet, where she encountered a contingent of Sith Assassins
within the Trayus Sith Academy.
Yet they did not attack her, instead presenting her with ancient documents called the Truths
of the Cosmos, containing their history and secrets of the dark side, possibly written
by pure blooded descendants of the sith people.
Immersed in dark teachings while surrounded by dark energies, Kreia quickly fell to the
dark side, coming to the alarming conclusion that the Force itself was the enemy, as it
had a will it imposed upon individuals, forcing them down a predestined path rather then letting
them chose for themselves.
While other Sith attempted to dominate the force and liberate themselves from its will,
Kreia sought to free the entire galaxy from this enslavement, believing force wounds were
the key, as the echoes within these wounds could potentially create the interference
necessary to deafen individuals to the will of the force.
Following in the footsteps of her apprentice Revan, Darth Traya proclaimed herself Dark
Lord of the Sith, reopening the Trayus Academy and reuniting many of the scattered remnant
of the Sith Order, thereby creating a base of power to facilitate her plans.
Searching for other wounds in the force for study, Kreia eventually found two powerful
Sith Lords with great potential and unique abilities, bringing them to Malachor where
they were trained as her most prized students.
The most powerful of the three, the man later called Nihilus lost everything during the
Mandalorian Wars and was present on Malachor when the superweapon was activated.
Feeling through the force all the pain and suffering endured by those who died, his body
was ravaged by a wound in the force, created within him, that caused an intense hunger
leaving him sick and in constant pain.
Encountering other survivors, he unknowingly started to drain them of their life force,
and in doing so temporarily satiated the hunger, granting him a measure of peace.
Yet this discovery was more curse then blessing, as he needed more energy with every feeding,
while the temporary relief it offered grew less and less.
Therefore, when he was approached by Darth Traya and offered a chance to drain entire
planets, he accepted the opportunity and entered the Trayus Academy.
Joining Nihilus, was Sion, a longtime Sith Lord who served as a Maurader under Exar Kun
during the great Sith War of 3996 BBY.
Developing an enormous tolerance for pain which he used it to fuel his dark side powers,
Sion was convinced he could not be killed, as even when he was struck down, he could
embrace the pain and fuel his own resuscitation, eventually requiring him to hold his scattered,
decomposing body parts together through a constant flow of dark side power.
Although this made him near invincible, it also meant he lived in unending agony, ever
eager to unleash his wrath upon an enemy.
Following the defeat of Exar Kun, Sion next joined the Sith Empire of Revan and Malak,
only to once again face bitter defeat.
After the death of Malak, Sion went to the Sith Academy on Korriban only to find the
remaining Sith fighting for dominance, ending with everyone dead or fleeing the planet.
Sion was then found by Kreia and brought to the Trayus Academy.
Hoping their unique conditions would help in her greater mission, Darth Traya taught
them all she could, but both Sion and Nihilus proved poor students.
Nihilus ultimately cared nothing for the Sith, Jedi or force, as draining worlds and satiating
his hunger was his sole focus.
Sion was similarly difficult, as he was too angry and impatient to learn anything outside
physical combat and force attacks.
With both entirely uninterested in her more philosophical teachings.
Nevertheless they were both powerful Sith Lords who completed their training and joined
Darth Traya the Lord of Betrayal, as Darth Nihilus the Lord of Hunger and Darth Sion,
the Lord of Pain, to become the Sith Triumvirate, united by their desire to unleash devastation
upon the jedi and republic.
Launching the Dark Wars, problems arose almost immediately as Nihilus and Sion grew impatient
with Traya’s more measured strategic thinking in service to greater ambitions and long term
goals, instead seeking instead to take the fight directly to the enemy, regardless of
any other considerations.
Therefore Sion and Nihilus betrayed their master and severed her connection to the force,
before exiling her from the Order.
With Traya gone, Sion and Nihilus began the First Jedi Purge, each operating independently
though remaining in a lose alliance.
Ever seeking to satisfy his hunger, Darth Nihilus went from world to world, devouring
the force energy from all living beings, while Darth Sion worked with Sith Assassins to murder
individual jedi.
With their people disappearing, and a disturbance in the force, a hundred Jedi attended a meeting
on Katarr where the issue was to be discussed.
Yet they were betrayed by Master Atris, who was falling to the dark side through her study
of Sith Artifacts, leading her to feel justified in inform the Sith of what was happening,
in order orchestrate a confrontation where the Jedi would defeat the Dark Lord.
Yet she vastly underestimated their enemy’s power, with Darth Nihilus draining the entire
planet of force energy, killing all living beings save for Visas Marr, a native Miraluka
woman who the Dark Lord sparred and took as his slave/apprentice, creating a force bond
between them.
Although she suffered a slight setback in exile from the Triumvirate, Traya, returning
to her persona as Kreia, was pleased to see her former students making progress, as the
death of the Jedi was a necessary step in her continuously evolving plans.
Yet the Sith also had to be struck down, and so she sought out yet another apprentice,
encountering a fellow Jedi exile named Meetra Surik who would prove to be her last best
hope for victory against the force.
A former jedi who left the order to serve as Revan’s third in command during the Mandalorian
Wars, it was Meetra Surik, acting on on revan’s order, who activated the Mass Shadow Generator
which destroyed Malachor V. Utterly overwhelmed by the echoes of pain and suffering felt through
the force, Meetra, like Nihilus, became a wound in the force.
Yet whereas Nihilus grew more dependent on this energy to survive, Meetra instinctively
cut herself off from the force, with the echoes of pain within her creating a distortion field
that deafened her to this primordial energy.
When it was over, her mind started to block out the truth of what just happened and her
overwhelming sense of guilt made her the only one of Revan’s followers to surrender themselves
to the Jedi Council.
Although many resented her for playing such an important role in this disaster, the greater
concern surrounded the echoes emanating from her force wound.
Though some wanted to forgive and study her, others like Jedi Master Atris believed her
past dark side leanings could not be forgiven.
Yet what most concerned them was that her condition, inflicted from a dark side event,
may represent a threat to the very Order itself, as Jedi were taught to give in to the will
of the force, while Meetra was entirely devoid of its influence, blocking it out with echoes
of pain and suffering.
Therefore Meetra Surik was exiled from the order, causing her to leave republic space
for the outer rim.
Exiled for years, she eventually heard about jedi being killed and returned to republic
space only to be attacked by Darth Sion.
However she survived the encounter thanks to Kreia who rescued Meetra, established a
force bond and became her new master, seeking to retrain her in the ways of the force.
This would be significant, as Meetra was already cut off from the will of the force, meaning
she would be able to channel this energy without being bound to it’s influence.
Kreia was eager to train this new student, as she was yet another wound int he force,
who unlike Nihilus or Sion, seemed to possess the exact qualities needed to accomplish her
greater plans.
This force bond also allowed Kreia to regain her own force powers, gaining strength from
the accomplishments of her apprentice.
In addition to training under Kreia, Meetra sought out other surviving jedi and in the
process gathered a group of loyal companions, many of who were force sensitives and/or formerly
served under Revan, including the pilot Atton Rand, the engineer Bao-Dur, the Echani handmaiden
Brianna, the jedi disciple Mical, the madalorian bounty hunter Mira, the apprentice of Nihilus
Visas Marr, the Mandalorian leader Canderous Ordo aka Mandalore the Preserver, the utility
droid T3-M4, the crimes boss droid G0T0 and assassin droid HK-47.
Possessing a natural ability to create force bonds, it was through Meetra’s connection
to those around her that she could once again learn to channel the force while remaining
cut off from its call.
Surviving an encounter with Darth Sion at the Peragus Mining Facility, Meetra had another
near miss with Sion on Korriban where she sought to liberate a captured jedi only to
find her already dead.
She then faced the agents of Darth Nihilus on Onderon and it’s moon Dxun, where sith
allied rebels fought a civil war to overthrow the republic allied Queen.
While helping the loyalists defend their government, Kreia took advantage of the situation to start
the final steps of her grand plan by saving the enemy General’s second in command, Colonel
Tobin, in order to inform him that the last of the Jedi were gathered on the planet Telos
IV, when in reality only Atris and her Jedi Academy were present.
She spoke this lie, knowing full well he would relay the information to Darth Nihilus who
then targeted the planet.
Meanwhile, Meetra finished helping her allies on Onderon and Dxun before meeting with several
of the last surviving jedi masters on Dantooine.
At this meeting, the Jedi were appalled by her ability to wield the force without being
bound to its will, as it meant she was affected by Malachor in the same way as Nihilus, though
to a lesser degree, meaning she was slowly draining the life force of her followers and
those around her to fuel her powers.
As a wound in the force, Meetra fed off those she killed and recruited to her cause, made
worse by her talent for force bonds, ensuring a steady supply of companions to feed upon.
Therefore the Jedi sentenced her once again to exile, but this time they would sever her
connection to the force entirely, prompting Kreia to emerge and save her by draining the
masters of their powers.
Ever eager to prove her philosophy correct by demonstrating that Meetra Surik was thriving
even without a direct connection to the force, it was possible Kreia had some hope these
last Jedi would listen to the Exile and try to learn from her experiences, but this hope
was shattered when they proved entirely unwilling to move beyond their old beliefs.
Seeing them strike out against her apprentice, Kreia used the opportunity to give the Masters
a final lesson and choice, wielding force drain to extract their life energy, thereby
putting them in a similar position to Meetra Surik at the battle of Malachor.
Yet while the Exile survived her crisis by cutting herself off from the force, the Jedi
were so dependent on it they could not do the same and died from the attack.
Leaving Meetra unconscious on the ground, Kreia, now Darth Traya once more, left to
meet with Atris on Telos, causing the Exile to follow when she recovered.
Though Traya was no longer there, Surik confronted Atris who by this point had fully embraced
the dark side, but convinced her to return to the light.
Atris then revealed Traya was waiting on Malachor, yet before the Exile could depart, her former
master arranged for a final confrontation with Darth Nihilus in the Battle of Telos
IV.
Boarding his ship the Ravager, Meetra Surik and her companions defeated the Dark Lord,
thanks to a distraction caused by his apprentice Visas Marr, who exploited her force bond and
mental connection to her master.
After his death, Visas Marr took his mask and looked upon his face before the body disappeared
in a burst of dark side energy.
Travelling to Malachor, Meetra learned Traya was once again Dark Lord of the Sith, with
Darth Sion under her command.
Though Meetra defeated Sion several times, his abilities meant he kept coming back from
the dead, determined to prove himself worthy of Traya’s approval, until the Exile finally
convinced him he could not win, and to at last let go of his torturous existence, becoming
one with the force.
Arriving at the heart of the Trayus Academy, Meetra Surik at last found Darth Traya, who
was at last ready to enact the final part of her plan.
Having studied the Exile during her training, Traya came to the realization that after using
Meetra Surik to wipe out the remaining Jedi and Sith, she could killed her to Malachor,
where her force wound originated, thus unleashing the force echoes within her, so they might
clash with the echoes already present on the planet, thereby creating a reverberating effect
that could be felt across the galaxy, deafening all living beings from the will of the force,
thereby achieving her greatest dream.
Yet much to Traya’s surprise, she actually grew to admire and respect the Exile, considering
her the greatest student she ever taught, as she was the living embodiment of all her
ideals.
Therefore, now that the time had finally come to complete her mission, Traya felt prepared
to face both victory and defeat.
In the end Meetra Surik won the duel and proved more powerful, thereby ending Traya’s plan
to deafen the galaxy to the Force.
Yet even in defeat Traya was satisfied, as it meant she was ultimately proven correct
in all her beliefs, since the most powerful person to emerge from both the Jedi and Sith
orders, was someone who could channel the force but was free from its influence.
In the end she truly loved Meetra Surik and was willing to sacrifice the future of the
entire galaxy to see her succeed.
Before she died, Traya revealed to the Exile that her followers would rebuild the jedi
order, but she must leave it all behind and follow the path of Revan to face the True
Sith waiting in the Outer Regions.
Informing the exile that she knew about Revan and his fight against the True Sith, it meant
that perhaps there was yet another layer to all Traya had accomplished, as her motivations
for enacting this grand plan may not only have been to liberate the galaxy from the
will of the force, but also to cut off the True Sith from their source of power, thereby
preventing their inevitable invasion.
Thus ended the Dark Wars and reign of the Sith Triumvirate.
Yet their legacy lived on in many ways throughout the years that followed, with Darth Traya’s
teachings continuing to have a great influence on Meetra Surik, who went on to find Revan
and ultimately helped him defeat the True Sith Emperor.
As for Darth Nihilius, his story became legendary throughout the galaxy, with his mask and holocron
considered precious relics of great value, with his holocron eventually ending up in
the possession of Darth Krayt by 137 ABY.
Though Darth Sion did not attain the same level of fame and status as Traya and Nihilius,
he was nonetheless a remarkably powerful Sith Lord worshipped as a god by a Kel Dor dark side cult on the planet Dorin.