Category:Sith

The Sith Order has existed for millennia, contrasting strongly with their natural adversaries, the members of the Jedi Order. The original Sith were Dark Jedi cast out from the ranks of the Jedi Order for pursuing techniques and abilities that were considered as having their origins in the 'Dark Side' of the Force, and against the tenets of the Jedi Order. The Dark Jedi fled to the worlds of Korriban and Ziost, and there encountered the ancient race known as the Massassi, all of whom could use the Force, but did so in the form of magic, much as the modern Dathomiri Witches are known to do. Using their superior skills and knowledge of the Force, the Dark Jedi enslaved the Massassi, and became the first of the Sith Lords.

War invariably broke out between the forces of the Sith and of the Jedi Order, in concert with Republic Military Forces, as the two factions vied for control: the Sith sought to dominate, to see their visions for the Galaxy realised whatever the cost, while the Jedi sought to maintain the existing status quo, turning a blind eye to the possibility of a more daring and prosperous future in their adherence to the ways of peace. These wars culminated in a final battle on the fortress world of Ruusan, in the Mid Rim, where armies of both Jedi and Sith clashed, each seeking the destruction of the other. Through a cataclysm unknown, the two competing armies were wholly wiped out, the strength of the Sith eradicated in but moments, while the Jedi remained a shell of what it had been in former times. All that now remained of the Sith were their records and those dark secrets concealed in their various strongholds, scattered around the Galaxy.

The Jedi proceeded to eradicate a good deal of this knowledge, seeking to eradicate the Sith legacy once and for all, such that they might never return to power and pose a threat to the Galaxy. This state of affairs continued for nearly a thousand years, the Jedi becoming the dominant Force-using organisation in the Galaxy, with the Sith little more than dust and shadow. As a consequence of this, the Sith were all but forgotten, the co-ordinates of their homeworlds lost even to the Jedi Order, the consequences of their existence having long faded into distant memory, morphing into little more than myth.

With the advent of the Great Jedi Purge and the rise of the Galactic Empire under Emperor Edwis Josdon, the Jedi Order itself became hugely diminished, and their ability to hold back the existence of those Force Users who preferred a different path was vastly reduced. It was only prior to this time the Dark Jedi Jale Saryn, himself trained by an errant Dark Jedi that had escaped the attentions of the Jedi Order itself, came to discover the legacies left behind by the ancient Sith. He had already embarked on something of a personal crusade against the Jedi, and was partly responsible for the downfall of that ancient organisation, and to that end he resurrected the ancient ways of the Sith, taking the name of Darth Sinis, in accordance with ancient tradition.

The first Dark Lord to have existed for centuries, Sinis summoned forth a number of Dark Jedi to the Sith world of Korriban, a world that had stood as the most ancient and powerful of worlds that had previously existed under Sith jurisdiction. It was from Sinis that these newcomers learned the arts of the Sith, though several perished over time as a consequence of their own incompetence and overconfidence. Of that original group, only three remain: the male Coruscanti, Tirdarius; the female Umbaran , Kubric Noxious, and the female Mind Witch, Fiera Kitayas, who also possessed the distinction of being daughter to the Dark Lord himself.

Shortly thereafter, the Great Jedi Purge was set in motion, although none of the Sith beyond Lord Sinis himself participated, choosing to remain within the shadows and bide their time until the downfall of the Jedi Order was assured, and to make certain of their skills such that they would be ready to act when the time came to do so. Not long after the Purge, Lord Sinis himself disappeared from among the ranks of the Sith, leaving his former students to make their own way, though they chose to remain together as a group, to better pool their resources. They were, later, joined by various other Dark Jedi, who also sought to gain power in the traditional Sith manner, and thus apprenticed themselves to the three original students of Lord Sinis. Of the Dark Lord himself, there has been little to no sign, although all of the Sith maintain that he remains among the living.

Though their Order has but recently been resurrected, the Sith adhere strictly to several particular aspects of the traditional philosophy of the Sith Order, although as a consequence of the various changes that the Galaxy has undergone in the absence of the Sith, changes have been made to their approaches to accommodate these. As before, they continue to maintain a natural opposition to the philosophies and members of the Jedi Order, but more as a consequence of the simple understanding that the Jedi would see the Sith dead given the choice, rather than as a result of any long-standing feud on the part of the Sith as a group. Few outside the ranks of the Sith have any true understanding of Sith ideology, which they continue to conceal behind a particular mystique so as to ensure that their secrets remain safe.

With Lord Sinis having re-established the Sith Order, the Sith fell under a system of singular leadership, whereby one among their number held complete control, holding the title of the Dark Lord of the Sith, as had been traditional in ancient times. However, with the disappearance of Sinis, there was no natural succession of this leadership role, and knowing that Sinis himself was alive, though absent from his role as leader of the Order, the Sith fell into a newer system: the Rule of One, whereby no single individual ruled, but rather, the Order existed as but one, so that the will of the group was that by which all members abided. Although within this form of organisation, there exists one who generally directs operations among the Sith, it is nonetheless established that any of the Sith can make their case for an alternative plan, and have this considered by the group as a whole. With this accomplished, the Sith will then proceed according to what is decided.

That observed, it is possible for the Order as a whole to defer to but a single individual as a matter of course, but this is more as a preference of the Sith as a whole, rather than because any single person remains dominant among their Order in the absence of the Dark Lord.

All members of the Sith draw upon the Dark Side of the Force as the source of their power, both when using their normal abilities and when drawing upon the skills of the ancient rites of Sith Sorcery, the form of magic once practised by the Massassi. Due to the simple nature of this, the Sith possess a very naturalistic approach to power, believing that their strength is part of their birthright, and that the ability to sense and manipulate the energies of the Force is as much their right as a natural gift. In possessing the various abilities that constitute their powers, the Sith have adopted a philosophy that focuses on the strength of the individual as the measure of one's worthiness both to live and to rule.

Although it is clear enough that Force Sensitives are rare, and consequently that the Sith are fairly unique, they do not approach non-Sensitives as completely lacking in value or worth, which would be a death sentence if they were truly considered to be weak. For the Sith, strength comes not from the exercise of power, but rather from the control over one's destiny: an individual possessing self-knowledge, and able to make choices independent of any outside influence is therefore considered as being among those possessing personal strength, as far as Sith ideology is concerned. There is but one rule: the strong rule and prosper, while the weak perish as a consequence of their failure to understand their place within the Galaxy.

Theirs is, in essence, a survivalist philosophy: one which places the worth of the individual above all overs, so the survival of the person is of paramount concern. However, unlike the Jedi, the Sith will not go out of their way to protect others from harm: only by being exposed to adversity can a person grow to understand their true potential. Should they fail, and die, this in itself serves as an indicator of their inherent weakness. This expresses itself in several ways: firstly, the Sith believe that conflict is the catalyst for growth, both of the individual and of the Galaxy as a whole. Secondly, the fate of the individual is in their own hands, but should they fail to recognise this fact, they are consequently expendable as a result of their overall weakness. Thirdly, it is natural for the strong to ascend while the weak fall, so an ordered society, in the eyes of the Sith, is one that is ruthlessly competitive, where the cunning and the strong invariably come to rule.

However, this is not something that is achieved in the space of a day, so the Sith understand that until people begin to understand their own strengths as a consequence of adversity, they must therefore be ruled by those who can think over the long-term, with an eye towards ensuring these natural conditions are achieved. It is as a result of this that the Sith have thus far made no effort to depose the rule of Emperor Josdon, believing that it is quite possible for one in his position to create those conditions under which Sith philosophy would see true application.

The notion that Sith are evil and brutal is something that is inevitably misunderstood. Sith are naturally pragmatists - they understand that a galaxy built upon conflict and inherently dangerous is one that can only be ruled by those strong enough to withstand those dangers. Hence, those that fail to make the grade inevitably perish, either through that which they fail to overcome, or by the hands of the Sith themselves. Only the strong can survive - anyone who cannot successfully withstand the rigours of the galaxy are inevitably a liability to the Sith, and are thus removed before they can cause damage to the overall cause of the Sith. This in itself has led to a reputation for merciless rule, but in reality this is simply a result of their ideology being applied to those that claim to follow it.

Additionally, the brutal violence often engaged in by Sith is not the result of their ideology so much as it is the result of uncontrolled emotions that are not touched by pragmatism - hence, a Sith will often kill or injure another as a result of acting out of anger, rather than considering the wider implications. This is not true of all Sith, but often common amongst the Sith in the historical sense and, indeed, has often contributed to the eventual downfall of the Sith concerned. Generally speaking, a Sith will not act to harm another unless that particular individual has done something to interfere with the objectives of the Sith, or has failed the Sith in some way, thus warranting the 'pruning' dictated by Sith philosophy.

The Sith place an incredibly large emphasis on individuality - while the Jedi all adhere to the same codes and rules, training as a group from the moment they first enter the Jedi Temple, the Sith are individuals - often training with but a single master, and always divurging along their own paths towards power. Each finds their own strength through different trials and tests, and each wields the Force in their own way - not necessarily following the dictates of the one that trains them. Additionally, due to their emphasis on strong leadership, the Sith are often known to fight amongst themselves in order to obtain a position of seniority - a corrupted aspect of their ideology which has inevitably been responsible for the downfall of the most powerful of the Sith throughout time. Although infighting remains a feature of the modern Order, it is something which is slowly being stamped out in the face of more pressing concerns.

Sith training itself is extremely harsh, focusing on putting the individual practitioner through many rigours and challenges in order to test their capabilities in the face of adversity. Those who succeed have strength to be nurtured and potential to be developed, while those that fail inevitably die, their continued existences a liability to the unified strength of the Sith Order as a whole. Because each Sith is an individual, with significant emphasis placed upon these, the nature of the challenges that they face vary depending on the person concerned - some focus more on mental and emotional adversity, seeking to break an individual and determining how they hold under the strain, while others focus upon physical feats, the student being placed in danger that must be overcome if they are to survive to the next stage of training.