Born the illegitimate son of Sith Lord Dramath, ruler of the planet Medriaas, Tenebrae was
raised by his poor farmer mother and her husband on a remote northern continent.
A unique sith pureblood from birth, Tenebrae had deep black eyes and never cried nor showed
emotion, even as a baby, forever cloaked in an aura so menacing, animals and other children
stayed away.
Unaware of his wife’s infidelity, the step-father raised Tenebrae as his own until the age of
six, when the boy displayed signs of force-sensitivity.
Confronting his wife, she admitted to an affair with Lord Dramath, enraging her husband who
physically attacked her while Tenebrae consumed the dark side energy emitted, which then burst
forth in a torrent of power that snapped the man’s neck.
Turning to his mother, he assigned a far worse fate, letting her die only after months of
excruciating torture.
A punishment, for the betrayal of their family.
Over the next 4 years, the young Sith grew his abilities and gathered a loyal following,
bringing neighbouring villages and towns under his rule while holding public executions for
those who did not accept his authority, feeding off their life energy as they died.
At first Lord Dramath paid no mind to rumors of an upstart Sith Lord causing trouble in
a remote and insignificant territory, but by the age of ten, Tenebrae held a domain
so large he could no longer be ignored.
Meeting in person, Tenebrae revealed he was Lord Dramath’s son before launching a mental
attack so devastating the ruler went mad before dying.
Although Lord Dramath already had a legitimate son and heir, Lord Dramath II feared the wrath
of this astonishingly powerful child, and so fled with his followers to settle on Rekkiad,
where he ruled until his death.
Back on Medriaas, Tenebrae spent the next three years completing his conquest of the
planet and so by the age of 13, in 5100 BBY, was a Ruling Sith Lord without the title.
In order to acquire this title, legitimize his reign and upgrade his status within the
Old Sith Empire, Tenebrae travelled to the capital of Ziost, where he was presented to
Emperor Marka Ragnos, one of the greatest Dark Lord’s in history, presiding over a
golden age of great power and prosperity.
Though the boy before him was young, the Emperor immediately sensed his strength and potential,
giving his blessing for the boy to become Sith Lord Vitiate, undisputed ruler of Medriaas,
which was later renamed Nathema.
Remaining in relative isolation for the next century, Vitiate spent his days studying the
dark side and imparting his knowledge upon students and followers, earning a reputation
as a scholar who taught how to retrain emotions and use inner rage as fuel for their force
powers.
Yet few within greater sith political circles paid much attention to Vitiate, as he ruled
a world on the edge of their space and stayed out of the wars and conflicts of other Sith.
When Marka Ragnos died in 5000 BBY, Vitiate remained neutral in the war of succession
that followed, between the two most prominent Lords in the Empire, Ludo Kressh and Naga
Sadow.
Even after Sadow’s victory, Vitiate remained apart from the others, refusing to join in
the Great Hyperspace War they waged against the jedi and Republic.
Vindicated in his decision, they soon learned the Sith Fleet was defeated, the emperor fled
into exile, with enemy ships headed into their space to destroy all remnants of the Old Sith
Empire.
Yet in the wake of this tragedy for their people, Vitiate found the perfect opportunity
for personal advancement.
Putting his plan into motion, the Lord of Nathema spent much of 4999 BBY sending out
a series of broadcasts designed to stoke fear within the now largely undefended Sith empire,
by warning of the impending Republic invasion.
When the jedi finally arrived and started purging imperial worlds of sith influence,
Vitiate once again broadcast a message, but this time it was an invitation for all remaining
sith Lords to gather on Nathema, where he would lead them in a powerful ritual to create
the ultimate dark side weapon for use against their enemies.
Having gained credibility from his accurate warnings of invasion, roughly eight thousand
Sith Lords responded to his call.
While they gathered together, Vitiate had a team of his best researchers and explorers
locating a route to Dromund Kaas, an ancient sith world lost for centuries, which meant
it was entirely unknown to the republic.
When they finally reached this long lost planet, Vitiate was ready to begin the next part of
his plan and so instructed the gathered sith lords to begin the ritual.
Adding his strenght to the other, the Lord of Nathema revealed the true nature of the
ritual, as every living thing on the planet froze in place, while their lifeforce was
drained over the next ten days.
When it was over, every living thing on the planet was dead, including the 8000 participating
sith lords, with all of their collective energy transferred into Vitiate, making him an immortal
being with nearly god-like powers.
Although the Sith respected strength and cared little for how it was attained, even if it
came at the cost of entire worlds and peoples, draining a planet of its force energy would
be considered an obscene abomination and heresy by nearly any force user, as they too would
feel the pain of this loss.
Understanding the severity of his crime, Vitiate forbid travel to his homeworld and hid its
location, blaming it’s destruction on the Jedi and Republic.
Easily the strongest Sith Lord alive, and possibly the most powerful in history, he
was now Darth Vitiate, Dark Lord of the Old Sith Empire, to be known more commonly as
the immortal Sith Emperor.
Travelling to the ancient capital of Korriban, he gathered whatever Sith Lords and servants
remained, taking them aboard ships headed into the unknown regions, purposely forcing
them to undertake an unnecessarily long 20 year voyage, in order to ensure they were
entirely dependent on thier leader for survival.
When he felt the time was right, Vitiate brought them to Dromund Kaas, and established the
reconstituted Sith Empire, promising to one day take vengeance against the Jedi and Republic.
Revered as a god, the Emperor spent most of his time in isolation, leaving administrative
duties to the Dark Council, 12 powerful Dark Lords each responsible for a different sector
of Sith society, including the Sphere of Ancient Knowledge, Biotic Science, Defense of the
Empire, Expansion and Diplomacy, Imperial Intelligence, Laws and Justice, Military Offense,
Military Strategy, Mysteries, production and Logistics, Sith Philosophy and Technology.
In addition to the Dark Council, he formed the Hand, a secret society of twelve carefully
selected servants, that would be rewarded with immortality and share in his powers,
in exchange for serving as vessels from which the Emperor drew energy when necessary to
sustain his power and avoid bouts of exhaustion or weakness.
Among the many projects they undertook to re-establish their empire, they restored and
expanded an ancient dark temple, constructed an orbital space station, built a Sith Sanctum
within the Imperial Citadel to serve as headquarters for the Sith Order, and founded numerous academies
from which the Emperor chose the best candidates to serve in his imperial guard, ensuring their
absolute loyalty by binding them to his will.
Though the Dark Temple was originally meant as a tomb for his enemies, the Emperor performed
a ritual to consume the force energy of all those within, creating a dark side nexus so
powerful it caused perpetual dark clouds, rain and lighting storms in the skies above
Dromund Kaas.