Though the Brotherhood lost the 5th and 6th battles of Ruusan, the influx of masters from
the Academy on Korriban and sith fleet blockading the planet, greatly increased their odds of
victory going into the seventh battle.
Yet the outcome was by no means assured, as the Jedi retreated into the forests to wage
a fearsome guerilla war.
Thus it was during a strategy session that Darth Bane arrived, shocking Kaan and Githany
who thought him dead.
Surviving their assassination attempt, Bane pretended he still cared about winning the
battle and joining the brotherhood, offering to teach them to make a powerful dark side
storm that would burn the forest and destroy the Army of Light.
Agreeing to his idea, the Sith gathered to perform the ritual, but just before it began
Githany approached Bane to apologize for choosing Kaan, saying she hadn’t realized until now
how powerful he truly was, and why he left on his journey alone.
Reconnecting like old times, she insisted her loyalty was now with Bane, eager to support
his bid for power against Kaan.
Though he had not yet revealed the full scope of his plans, she was steadily convincing
him she might indeed be a worthy apprentice for his new sith order.
Performing a powerful dark side ritual, the Sith channelled their energy through Bane
as a conduit, lighting the forests on fire with viscous lightening strikes, thereby forcing
the Jedi into the open.
Yet storm soon faded away as Kaan disrupted the ritual before it could completely destroy
the Jedi, rightly fearing the tremendous power Bane held in that moment.
Unwilling to admit the real reason, Kaan claimed he stopped the ritual because it accomplished
what they wanted, forcing the Jedi into the open, and so ordered the Brotherhood to their
speeder bikes for a final charge against the enemy.
Grabbing Githany by the arm, Bane tried to talk her out of joining in this foolish attack,
but she was taken by battle lust and claimed Kaan was right to order the charge as killing
Jedi in combat was more fun.
Disappointed to hear such a vain and thoughtless explanation, he let her go, deeming she was
too set in her ways to change, too corrupted by Kaan’s teaching to ever become a worthy
apprentice.
Coming up with a new plan, Bane returned to their camp where he was approached by Lord
Qordis, who pledged himself to the young Darth believing he was the inevitable successor
to Lord Kaan.
But Qordis, like Githany, wanted to reform the Brotherhood rather than destroy it, and
so Bane refused his allegiance, using the force to squeeze the life from his body.
Reaching their communication equipment, Bane ordered the Sith Fleet around Ruusan to break
formation, allowing Jedi reinforcements to arrive and end Kaan’s chances of winning
the war by conventional military tactics.
Enraged by this betrayal Kaan confronted Bane, who explained the Though Bomb was the only
way to truly eradicate the Jedi.
Believing himself more telepathically powerful, Kaan attempted to forcibly manipulate his
enemy into subjugation.
But Darth Bane was far past such petty tricks and simply feigned obedience, while at the
same time reversing the manipulation, making Kaan believe the Though Bomb would work and
destroy the Jedi.
Leaving Bane behind, Kaan gathered all other Sith Lords and led them to a cave system where
they hoped to lure the jedi into a final confrontation.
Suspecting a trap, most of the Jedi fled the planet while Master Hoth led 100 of his comerades
to the caves, seeking to trick Kaan into thinking all Jedi were gathered, so he would unleash
whatever weapon was prepared, thereby preventing it from being used against innocent people
in the future.
Though Githany began to doubt Kaan’s plan in their final moments, seeing madness in
his eyes, she was unable to escape the blast which killed nearly every force sensitive
in the vicinity, trapping their spirits to wander aimlessly for thousands of years.
In addition to killing Hoth and his hundred jedi, all Sith were killed save for Githany’s
young apprentice Darovit, who was protected by his minimal force sensitivity and Dark
Lord Kopecz who managed to get away in time, preferring to die in lightsaber combat, by
charging against the jedi surrounding a cave exit.
As Hoth was dead, leadership of the Army of Light fell to Valenthyne Farfalla, a fervent
supporter from early on, though he sometimes disagreed with Hoth’s decisions.
Believing the Brotherhood was no more, the Jedi and Republic finished off the last of
the Sith fleet and army, claiming victory in the war.
What they did not know however, was that everything that occurred was by the design of Darth Bane,
who survived as the last living Sith, thereby earning the right to name himself a true Dark
Lord with plans to rebuild the order stronger than before.
Yet in order to begin this new era he needed to impart his knowledge upon a student, as
there must be 2, a Master to embody the power of the Dark Side, and an apprentice to crave
that power.
For all his skill, Bane knew he could not defeat the Jedi alone, and that his Sith Order
must have patience, gradually working in the shadows to build a secret power base.
A process that might take centuries, requiring worthy heirs to his legacy.
Meanwhile, in another area of the planet, a 10 year old girl named Rain walked with
her Bouncer companion, a local intelligent, telepathic species in the shape of a floating
ball.
Born into a family of force sensitives, Rain along with her 2 cousins were recruited by
the Jedi and brought to Ruusan for training as warriors, despite their young age.
But an attack on their ship caused a crash landing, leaving her alone and stranded in
the wild.
Surviving thanks to a kind Bouncer who found her and stuck by her side, she wandered the
forests until encountering a pair of Jedi, who mistakenly killed the Bouncer, believing
it a threat to the girl.
Devastated at the murder of her only friend, Rain’s rage erupted in a massive burst of
raw dark side energy, snapping the necks of tboth unsuspecting jedi.
Collapsing onto the murdered body of the Bouncer, Rain wept in quiet desperation until found
by Darth Bane as he walked through what remained of this planet.
Looking over the scene and deducing what occured, Bane introduced himself, feeling great dark
side potential in the girl.
To his surprise she gave no hint of fear or hesitation in her response.
Even when he tried to scare her, by saying he was a murderer.
She simply stated that she was too.
Found at the lowest moment of her young life, Rain eagerly listened to the Dark Lord’s
description of the Order, his rule of two and the power they would wield, ultimately
agreeing to become his apprentice.
By tradition she had the right to choose a new name, so Rain became Darth Zannah, apprentice
of Darth Bane and Dark Lord of the Sith.
Returning to the Brotherhood’s camp on Ruusan, Zannah saw the power of the dark side in full
effect, when Bane easily killed a number of mercenaries looting the area, and learned
an important lesson when he let the last two escape unharmed, explaining that needless
killing was a vanity, and a pair of easily bought scoundrel were no real threat as no
one would believe their wild tales of surviving Sith.
Gathering whatever might be useful, including artifacts, manuscripts and the personal ledgers
of Lord Qordis, revealing the financial accounts where he stored his great wealth, Bane took
his apprentice to see the cave where Kaan released the thought bomb, further expanding
upon his Rule of Two philosophy while she felt the site’s the dark side energy.
Yet their bonding moment was soon interrupted by Darovit, the sith apprentice of Githany
who survived the thought bomb and just so happened to be one of Zannah’s beloved cousins.
Though they initially embraced, Zannah quickly realized she was now a Sith and he was in
danger.
Needing to end their relationship while also ensuring he survived, she used the force to
destroy his hand, hoping this display of strength would convince Bane to spare his life.
Though Bane easily saw through her charade, he allowed this mercy as she was new to the
Order and not yet properly trained.
When the time came to depart from Ruusan, Darth Bane left alone, ordering a ten year
old Darth Zannah to find her own way to the planet Onderon, where they would meet in two
weeks.
By completing this mission, she could prove herself a worthy apprentice
and the real training would begin.