The complete history of the Old Republic would fill a thousand libraries.
But some events,  some sacrifices, have become legend,
passed from generation to generation...

THE GREAT HYPERSPACE WAR
Timeframe: approximately 5,000 years before the Battle of Yavin
It is a time of great expansion in the Old Republic. The Jedi Knights continue to shine a light of hope into the dark unexplored areas of the galaxy, and the mapping of hyperspace is encouraged and trade routes are discovered; many by intrepid explorers like plucky siblings Gav and Jori Daragon, who plot uncharted courses in their ship Starbreaker 12. Meanwhile, on the far side of the galaxy, the Sith Empire has grown powerful through centuries of dark Force wielding and magic and the hundred-year rule of the greatest Dark Lord of the Sith, Marka Ragnos. The ruler's death leads to a power vacuum, and two leaders emerge at Ragnos' grave on the mausoleum planet of Korriban. After a bloody duel, Naga Sadow and Ludo Kressh's fight for destiny is interrupted with the unannounced arrival of Starbreaker 12, and the hapless Daragons are captured immediately. 
Kressh believed the explorers to be a prelude to an invasion, while the cunning Sadow saw the Old Republic as a vast new empire to conquer. Despite the Sith Lords' death sentence on the Daragons, Sadow arranged for their escape, helped by his specially bred soldiers, the Massassi Warriors. Gav Daragon was drawn by Sadow to the dark side, while Kressh began to amass a force to crush Sadow, whom he suspected as the mastermind behind the prisoners' escape. Sadow was waiting, and crushed his rival's attack, ordering Jori Daragon to flee without her brother Gav. Seizing power, Sadow crowned himself Dark Lord of the Sith, and used the homing beacon he had planted on Starbreaker 12 to follow Jori back to the Republic's homeworlds.
Initially ignored, Jori eventually gained audience with the Empress of the tetan primary world, who believed her stories and raised the alarm on Coruscant; however only a few Jedi listeners heeded her. The Great Hyperspace War began as Sadow's entire battle fleet appeared, and conflict spread across the Republic. The Sith were relentless, and despite Empress Teta's tactical superiority, and the heroics of alien Jedi Odan-Urr, the Republic forces were pushed back to the red-giant star Primus Goluud. When Sadow used Sith technology to destroy the star, his protege Gav Daragon turned against him. This betrayal rallied the Republic forces, who decisively routed the Sith Fleet. Sadow, now in full retreat, returned to the Sith Empire, where Ludo Kressh was waiting for him. Attacking these "traitors", both adversaries were surprised when Republic forces arrived in the midst of this battle, and decimated both Sith sides in the ensuing crossfire. Most of the remaining Sith escaped with Sadow in his damaged flagship, and went to ground on a little-known jungle moon orbiting the gas giant Yavin. Here on Yavin 4, Sadow drew on Sith rechnology and sorcery to cocoon himself in suspended animation until awakened at a future Golden Age.
Related stories: The Golden Age of the Sith and Fall of the Sith Empire.

THE SHADOW OF FREEDON NADD
Timeframe: approximately 4,400 to 3,999 years before the Battle of Yavin
An insidious force from within began to end centuries of peace and prosperity enjoyed by the Republic. An ambitious Jedi Knight, Freedon Nadd, followed rumor and intrigue to the isolated Yavin System. Six hundred years after the entombment of their former master, the Massassi Warriors turned to savage primates, but violent combat with Nadd changed to awe as he used the Force to show the Massassi their past, and unearthed their leader. Sadow taught Nadd dark twistings of the Force, offering him Sith weapons and abilities no other Jedi Knight could withstand. Freedon Nadd leaves Yavin 4 soon afterwards, intent on becoming the king of Onderon, a primitive world outside of the Old Republic's boundaries. The fate of Sadow remained a mystery.
The inhabitants of Iziz, a walled city on Onderon under constant attack by beasts from the jungles surrounding the settlement, were awed by Nadd's display of sorcery, and swayed by his mastery of the Dark Side. In the decades that followed, Nadd helped his subjects develop destructive technology to nullify the monsters from the outside, and any rebels from within. Nadd's policies included banishment for criminals, some of whom survived in the jungles and banded together, even training the monstrous beasts and beginning a centuries-long guerilla war. After his death, Nadd's sarcophagus became the focus of dark-side energy, and enabled Nadd's descendants continue to battle their own people in a civil war. When the Republic expanded its territories and encountered Onderon, it gave Jedi Master Arca Jeth the stewardship of the Onderon system, who in turn, sent his three students - the good-natured but hotheaded brothers Ulic and Cay Qel-Droma, and the Twi'lek Tott Doneeta - to end this seemingly simple dispute.
Meeting with the ancient ruler of Iziz, Queen Amanoa, who explained her people's predicament, the Jedi fought in the next attack by the beast riders, who abducted Amanoa's daughter Galia. The three Jedi found Galia with the warlord leader Oron Kira, who plan to marry and unify those inside and outside the city. The Jedi mediate a meeting with Amanoa and her daughter, who has no interest in such a treaty, and instead continues to secretly thrive on Freedon Nadd's dark side power; summoning an army to crush the beast riders. The Jedi fight back, calling on their Master Arca, whose arrival turns the tide and forces the evil shadows out of the city. The beast warriors and the citizens can begin their tentative first steps towards reconciliation.
Related stories: Knights of the Old Republic.

THE NADDIST REVOLT
Timeframe: approximately 3,998 years before the Battle of Yavin
The Sect of Freedon Nadd was more powerful than even the Jedi could have imagined. After the end of the Beast Wars, Jedi Master Arca Jeth, and his Padawans Ulic and Cay Qel-Droma, and the Twi'lek Tott Doneeta, attempt to eliminate the source of Sith energy; Nadd's sarcophagus and the coffin of the evil Queen Amanoa, to the nearby moon Dxun. During the removal however, followers of Nadd launch a spectacular and surprise attack from below the city, striking Master Arca with Dark Force and capturing the remains of Nadd. Upon recovery, Arca discovers that Queen Amanoa's husband, King Ommin, is still alive, and his husk-like being is hidden in a secret life-support facility. Visiting the King with the new Queen Galia, and Ulic Qel-Droma, Arca discovers the King himself is the real source of the dark side shadow in Iziz. Once a follower of Nadd, Ommin's tribulations had released Nadd's spirit, which had joined with the King.
The vile King Ommin arcs bolts of Sith energy out at Arca, knocking him to his knees. Ulic Qel-Droma's brave battle was in vain, and his Master is taken by the King to a dark-side stronghold where Nadd's sarcophagus had been placed. Overwhelmed by his failure, Ulic calls on the Galactic Republic for assistance, and a coalition of military ships and Jedi from the library world of Ossus (which included Nomi Sunrider) begins a fierce battle, attempting to reach Ulic's location. Meanwhile, on one of the Republic's space-cruisers, aristocrats Satal Keto and his cousin Aleema arrive. Heirs to the now-corrupt Empress Teta system and calling themselves The Krath, they have limited but dangerous knowledge of Sith magic, and had appropriated artifacts recovered by scholar Jedi Odan-Urr after the Great Hyperspace War, including an ancient book of the Sith. They hope to meet someone to translate and teach them more about the Sith. Their novice dark side abilities allow them to reach King Ommin's stronghold.
Satal and Aleema meet the King, who is delighted with the book, and a scribe begins to translate it until the specter of Freedon Nadd appears. Nadd realizes the Republic forces pounding his compound would soon overwhelm the King, and so he approaches the two aristocrats, telling them he would guide them to a new Sith Golden Age. As the Jedi Knights fight to Ommin's stronghold, Nadd breaks his hold on the King, allowing Ulic to vanquish the monarch and rescue his master. Nadd's presence flees back to the Empress Teta system with Satal and Aleema, but a vision still haunts the Jedi; claiming that others would succumb to the dark side. After the final defeat of the King's forces, the Jedi impose martial law on Onderon, and the sarcophagus of Nadd is finally sealed behind slabs of Mandalorian iron on the beast moon of Dxun.
Related stories: The Freedon Nadd Uprising.

ATTACK OF THE KRATH
Timeframe: approximately 3,997 years before the Battle ofYavin
It is the beginning of a time of toil and torment for the Republic. Sith apprentices Satal Keto and Aleema return and begin a coup in the Empress Teta system, crushing any resistance with their newly-acquired Sith powers and followers, known as The Krath. News of the revolt reaches Onderon, where Ulic and Cay Qel-Droma, Tott Doneeta, and Nomi Sunrider are restoring peace after the Freedon Nadd uprising. Master Arca sends Nomi and Ulic, and the Republic military also responds with forces to the seven worlds all being savaged by the Krath. During the space battle, the bridge of Ulic's flagship is destroyed by a Krath suicide craft, and Ulic himself is severely wounded, saved by Nomi, and the Republic forces are routed.
Concurrently on distant Dantooine, Jedi Master Vodo-Siosk Baas trains three students, including the talented Exar Kun whom Vodo sees a disturbing shadow around. After an altercation with the other students, Kun brutally defeats Vodo in lightsaber combat, and leaves for Onderon, anxious to learn more about the Great Hyperspace War and the Sith. Posing as a Jedi archaeologist, Kun receives assistance from Cay Qel-Droma and Tott Doneeta, but Kun's arrogance wins no favors with Master Arca, who refuses to help. Leaving Onderon, Kun journeys to the beast moon of Dxun, where his mercenary forces infiltrate the tomb of Freedon Nadd, and Kun is shocked to witness a specter. The ghost reveals precious scrolls, and these lead him to Korriban, the tomb world of the Sith Empire. Exploring an impressive series of catacombs, he is caught in a ceiling collapse, and crushed. Shouting for help, Nadd's specter appears again, promising help if he turns to the Dark Side. Letting out a tremendous psychic shriek, Kun startles Master Vodo, who is on his way to Deneba, and the assembly of ten thousand Jedi.
This historic meeting, called by the great librarian Odan-urr to seek a method of repelling the Krath menace, descends into chaos when hordes of Krath war droids attack the assembly. Fighting valiantly, the Jedi defeat this menace, despite the tragic death of Jedi Master Arca, who himself was saving the life of Ulic Qel-Droma. Ulic's self-doubt intensifies. Brashly, he decides to infiltrate the Krath. Meanwhile, back on Korriban, Exar Kun is told to journey to Yavin 4, where he is caught by the savage Massassi and forced to call upon the dark side to save him from being sacrificed. Nadd's specter appears one final time to claim Kun as his own, but Kun embraces the power of the dark side for himself, and eradicates Nadd for ever. Exar Kun proclaims himself the new Dark Lord of the Sith, enslaves the Massassi into building structures focused in dark force energy, and locates the buried battleship of Naga Sadow. Exar Kun's power is in the ascendance.
Related stories: Dark Lords of the Sith.

CORRUPTION OF THE JEDI
Timeframe: approximately 3,996 years before the Battle of Yavin
Jedi Ulic Qel-Droma and Exar Kun's tribulations and descent into darkness continue. Ulic infiltrates the Krath city of Cinnagar, killing an innocent attempting to assassinate Aleema, one of the Krath's founders. Aleema takes Ulic to meet her cousin Keto at the palace, who ignores Ulic's stories; instead he tortures and poisons him, believing he is a Jedi spy. Throwing off these attacks, Ulic is eventually trusted, and placed as the general of the Krath military, and as Aleema's personal pet. Ulic's Jedi colleagues, meanwhile, launch a rescue mission, and Nomi Sunrider infiltrates the planet, but is captured and brought before Keto, who slyly asks Ulic what should be done with her. Despite once being lovers, Ulic orders Nomi's execution.
Nomi despairs of Ulic, and uses her Force meditation to escape the dungeons of Cinnagar, even as Ulic scribes a message for her, informing her of his plans. Alas, Nomi returns to her ship unaware of this, believing Ulic to have fallen to the dark side. The message lands in the hands of Keto, who believes himself vindicated, and orders Ulic's swift death. Ulic unleashes a force of unruly fury at the death of Master Arca, avenging the death by defeating Keto, and taking the Krath throne by the side of Aleema. Meanwhile on Yavin 4, a more powerful Exar Kun rests in his meditation chamber, reaching out across the galaxy and detecting other Sith practitioners with his psychic tendrils. Believing himself to be the instigator of a new Sith Golden Age, Kun journeys to the Empress Teta system to destroy Ulic, knowing him to be a threat to his power.
Despite grave concerns from their Jedi Masters, Jedi Knights Tott Doneeta, Cay Qel-Droma, and Nomi Sundrider attempt to remove Ulic from the Krath once more. Ulic responds with all the military might he can muster, but Nomi still fights through to Ulic's inner chamber, where the deluded Jedi casts her away. The dejected Jedi forces withdraw. After the Jedi retreat, Exar Kun arrives, and a dazzling clash of Jedi blades and sorcery begins. An amulet on each Sith, bearing the visage of long-dead Dark Lord of the Sith Marka Ragnos, begins to pulsate as the battle continues, and to their surprise, Ragnos appears to command the two men to join together. Ragnos' claims of a new period of Sith glory succeeds in a truce, as Kun and Ulic vow to create such a destiny. The Sith War begins.
Two dark powers have joined forces and begin to corrupt and sway weak minds across the galaxy. Sith Lords Exar Kun and Ulic Qel-Droma consolidate their forces, and Kun begins to convert weak-willed Jedi students on the planet Ossus, speaking as a prophet. Knowing ancient Jedi librarian Odan-Urr kept an original Sith holocron used by Naga Sadow, Kun slays Odan-Urr and steals the artifact. When the young Padawans discover the slaying, Kun informs them that the sacrifice was necessary to grant him even more knowledge. Returning with his converts to the Massassi temples on Yavin 4, he binds the Jedi with powerful Sith magic, and appoints Jedi apprentice Crado his second-in-command.
Meanwhile, Ulic Qel-Droma's role was more strategic, utilizing the Krath military on an all-out assault on Coruscant in the hope of usurping the power of government. Loyal Jedi, including Nomi Sunrider, Cay Qel-Droma, Tott Doneeta, and Masters Vodo-Siosk Baas and Thon join forces to drive back this threat. The force of light surrounded Ulic, who was caught and his forces repelled. Ulic was quickly brought to trial, and his betrayal of the Republic shocked those of the Great Senate. Nomi and Cay requested leniency, but Ulic asked for no such clemency. Master Vodo sensed another presence; that of his lost student Exar Kun. Moments later, Kun entered the chambers, and manipulated the president of the Senate into a hypnotic stupor. Master Vodo stepped onto the Senate floor, and challenged his wayward apprentice. The battle progressed and Vodo gradually weakened, vowed to defeat Kun, but was immediately slain. Kun and Ulic walked out of the Senate, and returned to Yavin 4.
Many more Jedi died as the battle between the Jedi and the Sith continued, as Kur's new Sith-possessed cohorts descended on their masters across the worlds. Crado attempted to dispatch Jedi Master Thon, but failed, and returned to Yavin 4 pleading for another chance to show his worthiness. Kun obliged, and Crado successfully located and returned with a powerful Sith weapon from Naga Sadow's flagship. This was used to create a gigantic star storm that obliterated the entire Cron cluster system. However, Crado's fate was sealed, along with Ulic's Krath partner Aleema; when the weapon was activated, they were caught in the devastating conflagration and vanished. The shockwave burst apart across the galaxy, reaching the world of Ossus and rupturing it, destroying the Jedi library and thousands of teachings and artifacts. The Jedi were in disarray.
The library world of Ossus suffered continuous bombardment from the Sith. Sensing an incoming catastrophe, many Jedi struggled to safeguard or hide the thousands of artifacts. Jedi Master Ood Bnar, a treelike entity, had taken the role of librarian after the killing of Odan-Urr, and upon learning of the incoming shockwave, sought to protect the most valuable antiquities. Just as he was burying a collection of ancient lightsabers, Sith Lord Exar Kun and his Massassi Warriors breached his chamber and attempted to defeat him. As Ood fought valiantly, he called upon the very soil of Ossus to protect him, and was transformed into a colossal tree protecting the weapons. Kun and his troops were forced to flee with other treasure, and Ood survived.
As the supernova shockwaves ripped across the galaxy, the Republic and Jedi forces rallied against Dark Lord of the Sith Ulic Qel-Droma. Jedi Nomi Sundrider, Cay Qel-Droma and Tott Doneeta attempted to engage Ulic in battle. Clashing in an aerial dogfight, Ulic crippled Cay's starfighter, and forced it to land. In an anger-filled rampage, Ulic lashed out at Cay, who defended himself without wishing to harm his brother. The assault continued, and Ulic struck down Cay. This act of fratricide filled Ulic with horror. Too late to save their friend, Nomi used the Force to blind Ulic to the Force. Now a shell of his former self, Ulic collapsed. He attempted an act of salvation, offering to lead Jedi Master Thon in a consolidated attack against Exar Kun on Yavin 4.
Exar Kun sensed the incoming attack, and the "degeneration" of his ally, Ulic. A powerful, but single entity, Kun could not hope to withstand the coordinated strike, so he hatched a plan with his remaining Massassi, chaining himself to the focal points of the great pyramids he had constructed to collect dark energy. Sapping the Massassi' life-force as the Jedi assailed his stronghold, his final act of Sith sorcery infused his spirit within the temple. The Sith War was at an end.
Related stories: The Sith War.

THE REDEMPTION OF ULIC QEL-DROMA
Time frame: approximately 3,986 years before the Battle of Yavin
The dishonored instigator of the Sith War, Ulic Qel-Droma, flitted through worlds like a gray shadow, filled with guilt and the ghosts of those he had corrupted. After ten years, Ulic reached the frozen tundra of Rhen Var, and sought refuge in an abandoned fortress. Meanwhile, Nomi Sunrider, who once had affection for Ulic, mourned the man she had once loved while expending her energies in the rejuvenation of the order of the Jedi Knights. However, this came at the expense of nurturing her impressionable daughter, Vima; the child of Nomi and the felled Andur Sunrider. Vima's lack of training caused her to rebel and flee the great Jedi convocation Nomi had arranged at Exis Station. Vima wished to see Ulic, and become his Padawan.
Despite severe reservations, Ulic agreed to teach her in the ways of the Force, though blind to it himself, and Vima began to soften, learning the Jedi credo of honor and duty. Meanwhile, a Cathar Jedi named Sylvar, sought revenge on Ulic for the death of her mate, Crado, who had died releasing the Sith Star Storm. Tracking Vima with the help of a scavenger Hoggon, Sylvar reached Vima's location at the same time as Nomi, who had also engaged in a frantic search. Sylvar's aggressive attack against Ulic was fended off by Vima, and both Sylvar and Nomi had to prevail over their anger at Ulic, who had been cursed with the loss of his connection to the Force. Mercenary Hoggon, however, was less enamored with this forgiveness, and sensing a historic moment, shot Ulic in the back, killing him and making his own footnote in galactic history.
To the shock of those present, Ulic's corporeal being fell, but his spirit was swept up into a bright light. His ethereal form showed that despite his dark path and being blinded to the Force, he had finally progressed to a spiritual and mental apex; he had become a true Jedi Master. Nomi and Vima returned to the Jedi Knights with a new sense of commitment to the Force. While the Jedi order attempted to intercede in regional conflicts, such as the Kanz Disorders, the Republic remained in an uneasy period of peace until a vicious warrior race appeared to threaten the stability of the Republic twenty years later.
Related stories: Redemption.

KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC
Time frame: approximately 3,956 years before the Battle of Yavin
It is a period of turmoil in the Galaxy. The fierce Mandalorian warrior race begins the Mandalorian War by viciously and simultaneously attacking three quadrants of Republic space. As the battle rages on, Jedi Master Revan moves surreptitiously between unknown sectors, scouting for potential strongholds to withstand the attacks. He soon discovers the shadowy Malachor V, a planet listed by Mandalorian scholars as "forbidden" to step foot on. The reason for this soon becomes clear as Revan is almost devoured by primal Sith forces on the world's surface. Revan's will allows him to feed on (and not be consumed by) the power of the dark side. Revan develops an evil but brilliant plan: Using the dark power of Malachor V, he will seduce an army of Jedi, completely loyal to him alone. He will then turn the planet's evil power against the Mandalorian army in battle, luring them to his stronghold and destroying them completely. A stronghold is immediately constructed.
Meanwhile on Dantooine, the small Jedi academy overseen by Master Vodo-Siosk Baas is shocked to learn that a lone Jedi Padawan has disobeyed a direct order from Jedi Master Atris, a prominent Jedi on the Council. This single student has left behind the relative safety of the training grounds to fight alongside the Jedi loyal to Master Revan. But this young one, like the other Jedi brethren, is unaware of the tremendous dark side power wielded by Revan and the terrible secrets of Malachor V. Revan's power continues to grow, and he secretly strengthens his stronghold, hiding it even from his apprentice, Darth Malak. Soon, the evil force infecting the planet became the forge for Darth Revan's shock troops; the feared Sith Assassins - fallen Jedi, tempted and cajoled by the evil of Malachor V, and under Revan's evil command. Soon, a shadow academy to the one on Korriban is constructed; and an evil enclave mirroring the Jedi academy on Dantooine is complete.
It is a period of tumult and astuteness for the galaxy's most powerful entities, as the Mandalorian conflict culminates. The Jedi, fighting alongside the Republic and their finest tactical minds, such as Admiral Saul Karath aboard his flagship Leviathan, begin to force the fierce Mandalorians back into a retreat. The rout of the Mandalorians reaches a crescendo above the skies of Malachor V. Unbeknownst to the Jedi Order, Darth Revan has discovered numerous Sith artifacts and holocrons, all stored in great tomb-like cities buried beneath Malachor V's surface. As Revan plundered these tombs and relics, he fell deeper into the Dark Side. He learned of the location and the true nature of Korriban, he learned of the location of other Sith artifacts, and he learned how those strong in the light side of the Force could be seduced and made to see the strength inherent in the Sith teachings.
Revan knew he had discovered more than a staging area for the Mandalorian War - he had discovered an ancient, planet-sized Sith storehouse of knowledge. He had discovered a world that held one purpose - to teach and train others in the ways of the Sith. He had discovered a weapon that he could use against the Mandalorians, and a weapon by which he could convert more Jedi to his cause. This process of "turning" Jedi into Sith Assassins continued even as the Jedi Council hailed Revan as a hero, as he lead the Republic forces to victory over the Mandalorians in the skies above Malachor V, and forces them to surrender. Revan is able to draw upon the dark side energies of the planet below and use it during the battle, destroying the Mandalore and ending the Mandalorian threat. Simultaneously, more and more Jedi, unable to ignore the power emanating from the planet below, become corrupted by its influence.
A lone Jedi Knight, who had journeyed earlier to fight alongside Revan, forsakes him after the surrender of the Mandalorians - and the apparent loss of the Knight's connection to the Force during the battle - and journeys back to the Old Republic, determined not to fight any longer. The Knight is exiled by the Jedi Order, and the Knight's lightsaber is removed. Meanwhile, Darth Revan and his apprentice, Darth Malak, return from the Mandalorian War with a new fleet, comprising many previously loyal Republic soldiers and commanders, and a systematic and lethal attack begins. In tandem with the attacks of his fleet, Revan orders his Sith Assassins to ratchet up the frequency and brutality of their swift attack strikes. The period of history known as the Old Republic Insurrection begins.
In disarray, the Jedi Council quickly gathers a small band of Jedi warriors together under the command of Jedi Bastila Shan with an imperative and almost suicidal mission; to capture Darth Revan, demoralize his troops, and strangle the insurrection. Setting a trap against a small Republic fleet, a small Jedi strike force boards Revan's ship, battling the Dark Lord into submission. Rather than helping his Master, Darth Malak lets the Jedi drag Revan from the throne after attempting a mind-wipe which was only partially successful. Returning to the Council with a comatose Revan, Jedi Masters healed Revan's mind, and implanted a loyal Republic personality.
The Republic verges on collapse. Darth Malak, last surviving apprentice of Dark Lord Revan, has unleashed an invincible Sith armada upon an unsuspecting galaxy. Crushing all resistance, Malak's war of conquest has left the Jedi Order scattered and vulnerable as countless Knights fall in battle and many more swear allegiance to their new Sith Master. In the skies above the Outer Rim world of Taris, a Jedi battle fleet engages the forces of Darth Malak in a desperate effort to halt the Sith's galactic domination. During the battle, one of the crippled space craft jettisons Jedi Bastila Shan, after fighting valiantly against a boarding party including Malak's new apprentice, Darth Bandon. Her escape pod is located in the Undercity of Taris by a human suffering from amnesia, Mandalorian Wars hero Carth Onasi, a Twi'Lek scoundrel and native of Taris, Mission Vao, and her Wookiee companion, Zaalbar. Seeking refuge, the legendary smuggling ship Ebon Hawk is appropriated from Taris underworld boss Davik Kang, and piloted to the Jedi Enclave of Dantooine. Soon afterwards, the human amnesiac begins to exhibit impressive use of the Force, and is trained by Jedi Master Zhar Lestin.
After a number of dangerous and foolhardy missions throughout the galaxy in search of cartographical tools known as Star Maps, the members of this small alliance are detected and detained on the gigantic Interdictor-class Star Cruiser Flagship Leviathan under the command of Admiral Saul Karath. Karath was a pivotal Republic figure only five years previously, winning victories over the Mandalorians, but recently declared the Republic not worthy of his support. After an impressive display of guile, the alliance was released from the ship's brig, and attempted a full-scale assault of the bridge, fatally wounding Karath. During the escape, however, Bastila and the amnesiac Jedi Knight are waylaid by the appearance of Darth Malak, who reveals that the Knight is in fact Darth Revan, his old Master. Escaping to the unknown world of the Rakata, Bastila turns on Revan, and after a climactic battle, Revan learns of Malak's plan to harness a nearby sun using an ancient Rakata space station known as the Star Forge, and use this energy to increase production of his Sith forces. Revan vows to slay his ex-apprentice before Malak's power becomes too great.
Related story: Knights of the Old Republic (video game)

THE SITH LORDS
Time frame: approximately 3,951 years before the Battle of Yavin
It is a period of uncertainty across the galaxy. After a long and vicious battle in the deepest area of the Star Forge, Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Revan succeeds in destroying his ex-apprentice Darth Malak. After recovering from the duel, Revan seeks out the secret dark outposts he established during the Mandalorian War. Journeying to the Outer Rim in the Ebon Hawk, Revan is focused with a single purpose: locating the source of the dark power on Malachor V. Those awaiting Revan's arrival, including members of the Sith and the Jedi, are shocked when he fails to return from this pilgrimage. It is unknown whether Revan destroyed or resurrected the primal Sith forces on this forbidden planetoid.
The turmoil of the previous decade has had a detrimental effect on the surviving members of the Jedi Order. Disillusionment and despair persists in the wake of the war both throughout the Old Republic, and within the Jedi Order itself. Furthering exacerbating the malaise is the corruption of Darth Revan and Darth Malak, and the untold harm their actions had brought to the Republic. These three reasons were cited by many the impetus for the disbanding of the Jedi. While the Jedi mull over their troubles, the battle-hardened Mandalorian hero Canderous Ordo returns to the homeworld of Dxun, seeking to rebuild his clan, and find a new purpose in the galaxy. Through prowess and cunning, he rises to eventually become Mandalore.
Jedi Master Kreia, Revan's old mentor, is still haunted by guilt, wondering whether it was her teaching that resulted in Revan's fall to the dark side, and begins to search for him. Sensing his last location, she travels to Malachor V, but is unable to shield her emotions, and is completely consumed by the dark side of the Force. She is lost to the Jedi, spending the next several years on Malachor V, learning its secrets, and eventually becoming The master of the Sith academy there. Guided by Kreia's influence, Sith assassins once again begin to emerge silently from Malachor V and strike at isolated Jedi across the Republic, capturing some Jedi to turn to the dark side, and slaying those that resist. Taken to the dark side world of Malachor V to be fed to the planet's dark energies, these Jedi husks create even more assassins and Dark jedi, feeding the planet's hunger.
It is the beginning of the Jedi's decline throughout the Galaxy. Individual Jedi begin to leave the Jedi Order, and the Jedi Watchmen of many systems, disenchanted with the endless, pointless struggles, step down and exile themselves in unknown quadrants of the galaxy, echoing the disillusionment of Jedi Master Jolee Bindo. These are referred to by scribes of the time as the Lost Jedi. With their numbers already thinned by the war with Darth Malak, the Jedi Order is reduced to less than one hundred surviving Jedi Knights. As the numbers of Jedi continue to dwindle, the remaining practitioners of the light side of the Force believe the Lost Jedi to have forsaken the Order, but in fact, many of them are victims of Sith Assassins, or are being captured and imprisoned on the dark side world of Malachor V, waiting to be converted to the dark side of the Force. Under the watchful gaze of a corrupted Jedi Kreia, many of these Jedi die, but some are converted.
Coming to the realization that they are being targeted by a hidden and insidious adversary, the Jedi Order scatter, going to ground in an attempt to draw out the attackers. To all intents and purposes, the Jedi Order disbands, and renounces the Old Republic. One of the Order, Jedi Master Atris, gives in to her frustration and the collapse of the Jedi Order, and begins to delve into Sith holocrons to attempt to determine the nature of the threat facing the Jedi. Attempting to summon the remaining Jedi she has kept contact with, Atris attempts to call a Jedi Conclave under the strict agreement of secrecy on a Midrim world. She struggles to comprehend her actions as the Conclave is interrupted when every single Jedi attending vanishes without a trace. It is later discovered that all of them were savagely culled by Dark Side Sith Assassins under the command of Darth Nihilus. Unknown to the rest of the Jedi, Atris secretly leaked knowledge of the Jedi attending the Conclave in the hopes that the enemy would reveal themselves. However, the results were worse than Atris could have possibly imagined.
Related story: Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords (video game)

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