Arriving on Korriban to attend the Brotherhood’s most prestigious Sith Academy, Bane initially
found himself at a disadvantage as most of the students were born on Sith worlds, trained
all their lives in the dark side of the force.
Yet Bane was determined to surpass them and so dedicated himself entirely to his studies,
even spending his free time in the Sith archives, learning the history of their order and the
teachings of ancient Dark Lords.
Rising through the ranks, his teachers encouraged him to abandon his studies of the past as
Dark Lord Kaan reformed the Sith, doing away with many of their destructive traditions,
and his powers grew, he complied, focusing entirely on the lessons of his instructors.
Yet Bane’s moment was nearly halted after a pair of sparring matches with Fohargh, a
fearsome Makurth who won their first encounter, and nearly the second as well, besting his
opponent in the duel but refusing to finish him off, instead taunting and humiliating
him in front of Battle Master Kasim and the other students.
Growing beyond what he could contain, Bane’s rage exploded from him in the form of a powerful
Dark Side force wave which threw his Makurth rival back.
Ignoring Kasim’s order to stop, Bane then used a force choke to squeeze the life from
Fohargh’s body.
Violating an Academy rule by killing a fellow student, Bane was sent to the school overseer
Lord Qordis for punishment, but was instead praised for his strength and resolve, learning
that exceptions to the rules were made for powerful students who showed potential and
acted as true Sith.
In fact the Masters were so impressed Bane was rewarded with private lessons, causing
his reputation and prestige to rise greatly, bringing him to the attention of Sirak, the
best student at the academy.
A powerful force sensitive Zabrak from Iridonia, Sirak was rumored to have been an apprentice
of Qordis for 20 years, even before the creation of their school, and so was firmly planted
at the top of the student hierarchy, with some even convinced he was the Sith’ari,
a prophesied perfect dark side being who would destroy the sith and raise them from the dead,
stronger then before.
Yet despite winning acclaim, respect and even earning his place as the next potential challenger
to Sirak, Bane started to struggle after realizing he must have killed his father with raw dark
side power all those years ago.
Growing afraid of his own strength, doubt blocked his connection to the Force making
him unable to channel anything more than a small trickle of energy.
Panicking at the thought of losing his position, Bane challenged Sirak to a duel, hoping a
dangerous situation might force his powers to return.
But they did not, and Sirak utterly destroyed him, leaving the young man a broken mess so
utterly defeated, the Zabrak did not bother finishing him and just walked away in disgust.
Spending the next few weeks in bacta tank, Bane emerged to learn he was now at the very
bottom of the school’s hierarchy, ignored by students and dismissed by teachers, with
all special privileges revoked by order of Lord Qordis.
Desperate to regain his powers, Bane once again emerged himself in the library, hoping
to find help among the teachings of the ancients.
And while there was great wisdom to be found, the solution to his problem actually came
in form of a fellow student, as he was eventually approached by Githany, a beautiful and powerful
former jedi who turned to the Dark Side.
The apprentice of Jedi Master Handa, Githany trained alongside Kiel Charny, her fellow
padawan and secret lover.
Yet emotional attachments were strictly forbidden by the Jedi in most cases and so when Master
Handa learned of their relationship, he demanded it come to an end.
Though Githany refused and was ready to leave the order entirely, Charny would not, and
agreed to end things, rededicating himself to light side teachings.
Helping him make this decision, Charny’s friend Valenthyne Farfalla warned that Githany
was on a path to the dark side, and advised him to stay strong in his resolve.
Furious with both Charny and the Order, Githany gathered all the information she could about
Lord Hoth’s forces before defecting to the Sith.
On the verge of winning the war against the Jedi Order and Old Republic, the Brotherhood
of Darkness were conquering core worlds and even nearing the capital of Coruscant.
Yet the Jedi were suspiciously absent from many of these engagements, as Lord Hoth realized
they were losing the war and so decided to change strategies and take a bold risk.
Leaving the core defended only by conventional forces, Hoth gathered all willing Jedi to
the Army of Light, and took them on a campaign of recruitment, visiting many outer rim worlds,
including those held by the Sith, as they were busy fighting in the core.
Recruiting anyone with any level of force sensitivity, Hoth grew his numbers and made
his stand on the planet Ruusan, a midrim planet of strategic importance, recently conquered
by the Brotherhood in the First Battle of Ruusan, when Kaan used his battle meditation
to lead his outnumbered forces in a surprise attack, nearly losing the confrontation when
they discovered Republic forces had a Jedi Master on board also employing battle meditation.
Though Kaan was a powerful force user, he chose to train all his powers equally and
so did not specialize in battle meditation, whereas his Jedi opponent was an old woman
who spent her whole life training this one ability, thereby giving their side a significant
advantage.
Yet the Sith ultimately emerged victorious when Lord Kopecz boarded the Jedi Master’s
ship to kill a squadron of elite soldiers and two padawans before reaching his target.
To his surprise, she made no effort to defend herself and instead remained in her meditation,
using every last second of life to help the republic fleet.
Earning his respect, Kopecz struck her down and the battle was won.
Leaving a strong fleet to defend their new holding, the Sith won yet another victory
in the second Battle of Ruusan, when the Republic failed to retake the planet.
It was at this point that Lord Hoth selected Ruusan as the location of the ultimate battle
between darkness and light, invading with his army and winning the third battle of Ruusan
to entrench themselves on the planet.
Learning that the Jedi revealed themselves and were all gathered on Ruusan, Kaan made
a fateful decision of his own, choosing to abandon his conquest of the core to bring
all Sith Lords and acolytes together, including those still studying at their various Academies,
except those on Korriban as they were the best and needed to complete their training.
Leaving his conventional armies and fleets to continue their campaign in the core, Kaan
led the Brotherhood to Ruusan, where the jedi defector Githany gave them all the information
necessary to win the 4th battle of Ruusan, gaining a strong foothold on the planet.
Attaining great prestige before even arriving at the Sith Academy on Korriban, Githany was
instantly launched to the top of the hierarchy, believed to be the next potential rival of
Sirak.
Hoping to gain an advantage against the Zabrak, Githany approached Bane, seeking to exploit
his weakness and low reputation by posing as an ally to strike a deal.
Teaching Bane to overcome his mental block with exercises she learned after experiencing
something similar as a jedi padawan, she also told him what the masters were saying in private
lessons, while Bane in turn gave her all his insight into Sirak, including everything he
learned from their duel.
Helping Bane come to terms with his powers and embrace the dark side, the two started
to develop feelings for each other but lacked the trust necessary for a serious relationship.
Feeling his power return, Bane reached out to Kasim, asking for private lessons in secret
so Qordis would not find out and the Sith Master agreed, believing he had significant
potential.
Growing somewhat close, Kasim became a mentor figure to Bane, not only teaching him lightsaber
combat but also answering questions about their order and the dark side.
Though he was no longer struggling to feel the force, Bane was no undergoing a philosophical
crisis, as he could not reconcile the teachings of the Brotherhood with what he was learning
from the Sith Archives, seeing that the time honoured traditions of the Sith were far different
from what was currently being practised.
As he understood it, the Sith Order was all about individual power and ambition.
One master surpassing all others and destroying all rivals to claim the mantle of Dark Lord,
or even Darth, an ancient Sith title no longer in use.
Yet the Brotherhood claimed all members were equal with all of them granted the title Dark
Lord.
Even if the Brotherhood practised the Dark Side, their fundamental philosophy was in
direct contradiction to the traditions of the Sith, making them more like a Dark Side
Jedi Order.
When he asked Kasim about some of these questions, the Master explained that the ancient Sith
were powerful but ultimately lost their wars with jedi, as betrayal and infighting always
weakened their order before victory could be achieved.
Therefore Kaan reformed the Sith, so that all powerful enough to reach the ranks of
the Brotherhood where were considered equal.
This way Sith Lords could concentrate all their efforts on defeating their enemies and
conquering the galaxy.
This was also why the Darth title was banned, as it implied supremacy and provoked challenges,
risking the unity of the Brotherhood.
Though Bane pretended to understand what Kasim was saying, he could not help but feel the
Sith had lost their way.
According to the ancients, a true Master of the Dark Side was unrivalled and unmatched.
Equality was a lie, and victory belonged to the powerful.