Nov 27, 2016 10:43 pm
---A BRIEF SYNOPSIS OF MODERN SITH HISTORY---
BIRTH OF AN EMPIRE: THE EXODUS OF VHRALL AKRULTA
It was a great and powerful Sith Lord named Vhrall Akrulta, extraordinarily gifted in his ability to see the future, who made preparations to avoid the downfall of the ancient Sith order, having foreseen over it over one thousand years ago in 1041 BBY. With almost twenty years to do so, he used his influence, power, and wealth to gather the resources necessary to colonize a new planet. As the fall of the Sith became more imminent, Lord Akrulta rallied other Sith to join him, despite the mockery he suffered from the vast majority of Sith Lords believing him to be a coward or insane. Approximately one year before the fall, Akrulta led a mass exodus of starships into a far flung corner of Wild Space, the dark side fueling his vision as he searched for a new home.
For a year they traveled Wild Space, the dark side pulling at Lord Akrulta. Slowly and surely this pull intensified, gaining a hold over him that manifested physically, sapping his strength as he gave direction from bedrest in his private chambers. Despite the growing threat of mutiny and the warnings of his highest ranking officers including the ship’s senior pilot, Lord Akrulta stayed the course, giving orders to set a hyperspace course he had seen in a dream.
Upon exiting hyperspace, they had reached the heart of the maelstrom. It was here, embedded within a deep quagmire of dark nebulae, at the eye of the storm, that space suddenly cleared, and they came upon their new home world: absolutely massive, visibly lush and green, with towering mountain ranges that could be seen from orbit. Strangely, it was at this time that all astrogation and navigational systems failed completely. Even if Lord Akrulta had wanted to continue his search, it would have been impossible to do so. However, he had no such intention, as he had foreseen this moment almost 20 years earlier. The dark side had called them to their new home, christened Akrultos at the behest of the Sith Lord’s increasingly loyal followers.
A NEW HOME: COLONIZATION AND THE DARK VEIL
Colonization began in 1023 BBY. As part of their expansion and rebirth, the Sith rapidly became highly industrialized, and as a further measure of security and secrecy, built downwards and inwards, toward the center of a planet strangely stable regarding geological phenomena. It was, in this way, that they further hid their existence from any who might happen to come upon Akrultos.
The occasional explorer who did stumble upon the planet wouldn't have been able to detect this flourishing Sith society, as entering the space around the planet rendered the navigational and sensor systems of star ships useless, limiting the pilot's exploration of the planet to only what they could see, trapping them within the shroud of dark nebulae. Over the centuries the Sith suffered from this strange phenomenon as well, as attempts to leave the planet for purposes of exploration failed, time and again, until the Sith simply gave up, accepting their fate. With time, the effect itself and the surrounding nebulae became known as the Dark Veil. Despite what the planet offered as a secure, well hidden, resource rich home, they were now prisoners. It was almost as if the planet wouldn't allow them to leave, somehow sentient, knowing the time was not yet right to strike.
BECOMING A GOD: ERASING HISTORY AND DIVINE ASCENSION
Time, and the galaxy, moved on and forgot about the Sith. Year after year, decade after decade, century after century, one thousand years went by. The names and the history of the ancient Sith were forgotten as well, as Vhrall Akrulta destroyed any records of Sith history prior to his unopposed rise to the title of Emperor Akrulta. To further ensure his prominence and legacy in this new world, he had those who tried to preserve ancient Sith history outright eliminated, having them assassinated or sentenced to death under false pretenses of treason.
His prominence as the leader of the exodus and status as a Sith Lord led to his rise to the title of Emperor Vhrall Akrulta, also known as First Emperor, First Sith, Progenitor, Deliverer, and the Creator. This only served to build upon his already legendary status, and in time he became worshipped as a divine being, a result of his own political machinations preying on the adulation of the public as a whole.
ENDING AN ERA: THE PROPHESY AND DEATH OF VHRALL AKRULTA
Before Vhrall Akrulta’s death in 908 BBY, he entered a deep slumber, not unlike a coma, lasting weeks as he had powerful visions of the future, wracked with spams of excruciating pain and suffering. The visions were so powerful they consumed what little may have remained of his years. On his death bed, a rapidly desiccating skeleton of his former self whose final moments were fast approaching, he prophesized that the Sith would one day conquer the galaxy. They would seize the most opportune of moments when the dark side of the force was again waxing in power, aligning itself favorably with the Sith. With his dying breath, he further foretold that this time would be heralded by great discovery, both terrible and wonderful.
The Great Houses of the Sith went into a frenzy and battled for the right to take Akultra's throne. In life, none had opposed his right to rule, his power and political skill maintaining an unprecedented level of order, far outside the the norm for the Sith. His death, however, plunged the nobility into chaos. In the ensuing bloodbath, the vast majority of Akrulta’s prodigious bloodline was exterminated, preyed upon by the Great Houses from all sides. Few escaped, and those that did went into hiding, fearing for their very lives.
LOOKING TO THE FUTURE: ORACLES AND THE EYES OF AKRULTA
However, it was on the day of the Emperor’s death, some even say at the exact moment of his death, that the first Oracle was born. From that moment on, there was always one Oracle, as the death of one led to the gift being passed within days to one of the Eyes of Akrulta. It was The Eyes of Akrulta, a religious sect that fervently worshipped Emperor Akrulta as a divine being, even beyond his death, that safeguarded the Oracles against all threats seeking to blaspheme against Akultra's continued, albeit, slowly diminishing status as a divine being. And even though their
Viewed as a cult by a small minority, The Eyes of Akrulta revered the Oracles as prophets, waiting for the day Emperor Akrulta’s prophesy would become reality. Longing for his prophesy to achieve fruition, the ritual of Tave Vartotimas ('The Consuming', translated from Sith to Basic) was put in place when the lineage of the Oracle itself was threatened.
The ritual of The Consuming was first performed in 732 BBY, when the Oracle at the time died. Months passed without transference of power to another Eye, creating growing tremors of fear within the ranks of the Cathedral that the power of the Oracle would be lost forever, drowned in the infinite undertow of the Force. When it seemed that all hope was lost, it was them that the High Priestess, in response to a vision sent to her by Akrulta himself, ordered the Eyes of Akrulta to gather every pupil of the force in the Arcology, forcibly as needed, for a mass sacrifice. The bloody ritual continued uniterrupted, day and night, for over a week. When it finally did come to an end, the High Priestess herself received a massive transference of power from the Dark Side, one that usurped the very essence of her being. With this influx of dark power, she became the new Oracle and assumed her rightful place in the Cathedral.
The Consuming is still practiced to this day, with the failing pupils of each new class of force users being sacrificed to the Oracle, a necessary practice that maintains the Oracle's power and prevents history from repeating itself in the form of another failed transference. Some consider it an honor to be sacrificed in The Consuming. Others are terrified and attempt to escape their fate, fleeing the massive underground urban complexes they had long called home, braving the relatively unknown dangers of the surface above. Few succeed these attempts at escape, and one can only wonder how many of them have survived or continue to do so. Akrultos is generous in her own right, a planet of vast wealth in resources, yet she is a cruel and unforgiving mistress as well, with the very few Sith explorers that do return from the surface telling stories of a lush and terrifying landscape, populated with a menagerie of creatures, some too terrifying to behold.
As time passed, the Eyes of Akrulta fought to maintain their faith in a society that slowly moved away from religion. However, despite Akrulta’s status as a divine being eroding slowly over time, the Sith still had enough faith and belief in his vision, or divinity, to trust in the Oracles, amassing strength, forging and re-forging themselves into an increasingly powerful machine of war.
THE PURSUIT OF POWER: GENERATIONS OF UNREST
Power was passed from generation to generation through the years, sometimes from Emperor to heir, other times changing hands and Houses via political machinations or violent internal conflict. Lacking a common enemy to unite against, infighting was not uncommon, yet never escalated to the level of full scale civil war. Far more frequent was the struggle for position and rank among the most powerful Houses of the new Sith Lords, secretly moving against one another, always looking for an opening, always vying for supremacy.
However, despite a state of constant unrest, it was a deeply rooted faith in the First Emperor, Vhrall Akrulta, that kept them from destroying themselves completely. To this day, he is still revered as divine by many, and places of worship, some almost a thousand years old, still exist in his name. Even after death, his lasting influence still provides a foundation of strength for the Sith, born of an eternal hatred of the Jedi steeped in a seething desire for revenge and galactic conquest.
REVELATION AND CONQUEST: A PROPHESY FULFILLED
It was in 7 ABY that the revelations of Vhrall Akrulta came to pass. First came the discoveries. A brilliant engineer achieved the seemingly impossible, integrating force crystals into starship astrogation and navigation systems, allowing the Sith, for the first time in over a thousand years, to successfully navigate beyond the Dark Veil. Their exultation in this discovery was short-lived however, as one of their most esteemed scientists almost simultaneously revealed a recently learned and dreadful truth: Akrultos, their sanctuary and home that had shielded them from the galaxy for so long, was disengaging from its orbit at an alarming speed. Predictions had the planet hurtling through space in less than a decade, quite possibly within a few years, exposing their lives and very existence to the inherent dangers associated with living on a rogue planet.
It was during this time of great discoveries, both wonderful and terrible, that the Oracle came forward, reminding them all of the First Emperor’s great prophesy, and that it had clearly come to pass. Some still doubt any claims to Vhrall Akrulta’s status as divine, but for many faith was restored, and a there was a profound resurgence in his worship as a god.
As the dark side came into alignment with the Sith’s great purpose, what was initially a time of sorrow and mourning for the impending doom of their home world evolved into something else entirely. Whether considered coincidence, a foretelling aided by the power of the dark side, or a mystical prophesy divine, the Sith rejoiced as one, turning their eyes toward the galaxy, united by a common cause. Some hungered for conquest, others for vengeance prophesied by a living god, long ago.
Martialing the vast might of their military power, the Sith made plans for war. Early in the year 8 ABY, they left their home and prison for the first time in over 1000 years as multiple fleets of Sith naval vessels pierced the Veil and began their Conquest of the Galaxy...
BIRTH OF AN EMPIRE: THE EXODUS OF VHRALL AKRULTA
It was a great and powerful Sith Lord named Vhrall Akrulta, extraordinarily gifted in his ability to see the future, who made preparations to avoid the downfall of the ancient Sith order, having foreseen over it over one thousand years ago in 1041 BBY. With almost twenty years to do so, he used his influence, power, and wealth to gather the resources necessary to colonize a new planet. As the fall of the Sith became more imminent, Lord Akrulta rallied other Sith to join him, despite the mockery he suffered from the vast majority of Sith Lords believing him to be a coward or insane. Approximately one year before the fall, Akrulta led a mass exodus of starships into a far flung corner of Wild Space, the dark side fueling his vision as he searched for a new home.
For a year they traveled Wild Space, the dark side pulling at Lord Akrulta. Slowly and surely this pull intensified, gaining a hold over him that manifested physically, sapping his strength as he gave direction from bedrest in his private chambers. Despite the growing threat of mutiny and the warnings of his highest ranking officers including the ship’s senior pilot, Lord Akrulta stayed the course, giving orders to set a hyperspace course he had seen in a dream.
Upon exiting hyperspace, they had reached the heart of the maelstrom. It was here, embedded within a deep quagmire of dark nebulae, at the eye of the storm, that space suddenly cleared, and they came upon their new home world: absolutely massive, visibly lush and green, with towering mountain ranges that could be seen from orbit. Strangely, it was at this time that all astrogation and navigational systems failed completely. Even if Lord Akrulta had wanted to continue his search, it would have been impossible to do so. However, he had no such intention, as he had foreseen this moment almost 20 years earlier. The dark side had called them to their new home, christened Akrultos at the behest of the Sith Lord’s increasingly loyal followers.
A NEW HOME: COLONIZATION AND THE DARK VEIL
Colonization began in 1023 BBY. As part of their expansion and rebirth, the Sith rapidly became highly industrialized, and as a further measure of security and secrecy, built downwards and inwards, toward the center of a planet strangely stable regarding geological phenomena. It was, in this way, that they further hid their existence from any who might happen to come upon Akrultos.
The occasional explorer who did stumble upon the planet wouldn't have been able to detect this flourishing Sith society, as entering the space around the planet rendered the navigational and sensor systems of star ships useless, limiting the pilot's exploration of the planet to only what they could see, trapping them within the shroud of dark nebulae. Over the centuries the Sith suffered from this strange phenomenon as well, as attempts to leave the planet for purposes of exploration failed, time and again, until the Sith simply gave up, accepting their fate. With time, the effect itself and the surrounding nebulae became known as the Dark Veil. Despite what the planet offered as a secure, well hidden, resource rich home, they were now prisoners. It was almost as if the planet wouldn't allow them to leave, somehow sentient, knowing the time was not yet right to strike.
BECOMING A GOD: ERASING HISTORY AND DIVINE ASCENSION
Time, and the galaxy, moved on and forgot about the Sith. Year after year, decade after decade, century after century, one thousand years went by. The names and the history of the ancient Sith were forgotten as well, as Vhrall Akrulta destroyed any records of Sith history prior to his unopposed rise to the title of Emperor Akrulta. To further ensure his prominence and legacy in this new world, he had those who tried to preserve ancient Sith history outright eliminated, having them assassinated or sentenced to death under false pretenses of treason.
His prominence as the leader of the exodus and status as a Sith Lord led to his rise to the title of Emperor Vhrall Akrulta, also known as First Emperor, First Sith, Progenitor, Deliverer, and the Creator. This only served to build upon his already legendary status, and in time he became worshipped as a divine being, a result of his own political machinations preying on the adulation of the public as a whole.
ENDING AN ERA: THE PROPHESY AND DEATH OF VHRALL AKRULTA
Before Vhrall Akrulta’s death in 908 BBY, he entered a deep slumber, not unlike a coma, lasting weeks as he had powerful visions of the future, wracked with spams of excruciating pain and suffering. The visions were so powerful they consumed what little may have remained of his years. On his death bed, a rapidly desiccating skeleton of his former self whose final moments were fast approaching, he prophesized that the Sith would one day conquer the galaxy. They would seize the most opportune of moments when the dark side of the force was again waxing in power, aligning itself favorably with the Sith. With his dying breath, he further foretold that this time would be heralded by great discovery, both terrible and wonderful.
The Great Houses of the Sith went into a frenzy and battled for the right to take Akultra's throne. In life, none had opposed his right to rule, his power and political skill maintaining an unprecedented level of order, far outside the the norm for the Sith. His death, however, plunged the nobility into chaos. In the ensuing bloodbath, the vast majority of Akrulta’s prodigious bloodline was exterminated, preyed upon by the Great Houses from all sides. Few escaped, and those that did went into hiding, fearing for their very lives.
LOOKING TO THE FUTURE: ORACLES AND THE EYES OF AKRULTA
However, it was on the day of the Emperor’s death, some even say at the exact moment of his death, that the first Oracle was born. From that moment on, there was always one Oracle, as the death of one led to the gift being passed within days to one of the Eyes of Akrulta. It was The Eyes of Akrulta, a religious sect that fervently worshipped Emperor Akrulta as a divine being, even beyond his death, that safeguarded the Oracles against all threats seeking to blaspheme against Akultra's continued, albeit, slowly diminishing status as a divine being. And even though their
Viewed as a cult by a small minority, The Eyes of Akrulta revered the Oracles as prophets, waiting for the day Emperor Akrulta’s prophesy would become reality. Longing for his prophesy to achieve fruition, the ritual of Tave Vartotimas ('The Consuming', translated from Sith to Basic) was put in place when the lineage of the Oracle itself was threatened.
The ritual of The Consuming was first performed in 732 BBY, when the Oracle at the time died. Months passed without transference of power to another Eye, creating growing tremors of fear within the ranks of the Cathedral that the power of the Oracle would be lost forever, drowned in the infinite undertow of the Force. When it seemed that all hope was lost, it was them that the High Priestess, in response to a vision sent to her by Akrulta himself, ordered the Eyes of Akrulta to gather every pupil of the force in the Arcology, forcibly as needed, for a mass sacrifice. The bloody ritual continued uniterrupted, day and night, for over a week. When it finally did come to an end, the High Priestess herself received a massive transference of power from the Dark Side, one that usurped the very essence of her being. With this influx of dark power, she became the new Oracle and assumed her rightful place in the Cathedral.
The Consuming is still practiced to this day, with the failing pupils of each new class of force users being sacrificed to the Oracle, a necessary practice that maintains the Oracle's power and prevents history from repeating itself in the form of another failed transference. Some consider it an honor to be sacrificed in The Consuming. Others are terrified and attempt to escape their fate, fleeing the massive underground urban complexes they had long called home, braving the relatively unknown dangers of the surface above. Few succeed these attempts at escape, and one can only wonder how many of them have survived or continue to do so. Akrultos is generous in her own right, a planet of vast wealth in resources, yet she is a cruel and unforgiving mistress as well, with the very few Sith explorers that do return from the surface telling stories of a lush and terrifying landscape, populated with a menagerie of creatures, some too terrifying to behold.
As time passed, the Eyes of Akrulta fought to maintain their faith in a society that slowly moved away from religion. However, despite Akrulta’s status as a divine being eroding slowly over time, the Sith still had enough faith and belief in his vision, or divinity, to trust in the Oracles, amassing strength, forging and re-forging themselves into an increasingly powerful machine of war.
THE PURSUIT OF POWER: GENERATIONS OF UNREST
Power was passed from generation to generation through the years, sometimes from Emperor to heir, other times changing hands and Houses via political machinations or violent internal conflict. Lacking a common enemy to unite against, infighting was not uncommon, yet never escalated to the level of full scale civil war. Far more frequent was the struggle for position and rank among the most powerful Houses of the new Sith Lords, secretly moving against one another, always looking for an opening, always vying for supremacy.
However, despite a state of constant unrest, it was a deeply rooted faith in the First Emperor, Vhrall Akrulta, that kept them from destroying themselves completely. To this day, he is still revered as divine by many, and places of worship, some almost a thousand years old, still exist in his name. Even after death, his lasting influence still provides a foundation of strength for the Sith, born of an eternal hatred of the Jedi steeped in a seething desire for revenge and galactic conquest.
REVELATION AND CONQUEST: A PROPHESY FULFILLED
It was in 7 ABY that the revelations of Vhrall Akrulta came to pass. First came the discoveries. A brilliant engineer achieved the seemingly impossible, integrating force crystals into starship astrogation and navigation systems, allowing the Sith, for the first time in over a thousand years, to successfully navigate beyond the Dark Veil. Their exultation in this discovery was short-lived however, as one of their most esteemed scientists almost simultaneously revealed a recently learned and dreadful truth: Akrultos, their sanctuary and home that had shielded them from the galaxy for so long, was disengaging from its orbit at an alarming speed. Predictions had the planet hurtling through space in less than a decade, quite possibly within a few years, exposing their lives and very existence to the inherent dangers associated with living on a rogue planet.
It was during this time of great discoveries, both wonderful and terrible, that the Oracle came forward, reminding them all of the First Emperor’s great prophesy, and that it had clearly come to pass. Some still doubt any claims to Vhrall Akrulta’s status as divine, but for many faith was restored, and a there was a profound resurgence in his worship as a god.
As the dark side came into alignment with the Sith’s great purpose, what was initially a time of sorrow and mourning for the impending doom of their home world evolved into something else entirely. Whether considered coincidence, a foretelling aided by the power of the dark side, or a mystical prophesy divine, the Sith rejoiced as one, turning their eyes toward the galaxy, united by a common cause. Some hungered for conquest, others for vengeance prophesied by a living god, long ago.
Martialing the vast might of their military power, the Sith made plans for war. Early in the year 8 ABY, they left their home and prison for the first time in over 1000 years as multiple fleets of Sith naval vessels pierced the Veil and began their Conquest of the Galaxy...