For a thousand generations, the sith plagued the galaxy, under numerous iterations. Initially, they were a unique species with red skin, most notably led by King Adas, a powerful wielder of the dark side who possessed a semblance of honor. However, the true evolution into the Order of the Sith Lords didn't occur until 7,000 years before the Battle of Yavin. This transformation followed The Hundred-Year Darkness, a tumultuous era that ended with the defeat of the Dark Jedi, led by the infamous Ajunta Pall. Instead of destroying these defeated Dark Jedi, the Jedi, choosing mercy over destruction, exiled them to the far reaches of space. This decision, though intended to be kind, inadvertently set the stage for a dark transformation. When these exiles arrived on Korriban, they conquered the native Sith species, marking the beginning of the Sith Order. This new order would come to symbolize the enduring power and persistence of the dark side throughout history.
Over the coming milenia, the Sith Empire achieved many things, but were almost always defeated. From Naga Sadow, to Exar Kun and even vitiate, all were eventually defeated by the Jedi. The Sith Empire, was often weakened by competing Sith Lords, a weakness often exploited by the Jedi.
But the Sith limped on for milenia, slowly losing their power. But they perpetually rebounded from the verge of obliteration. Eventually the Sith sought to prevent the constant infighting that had weakned their order of the milentia, declaring that each of them would be equal. This though was a fundamental misunderstanding of the dark side, an energy that required competition, strength and power to be fully harnessed. Darth Bane recognised this weakness. Darth Bane destroyed the Sith Order using a dark side ritual, using this destruction to transform the Sith into something entirely different: the rule of two sith. By obliterating the extant Sith Order and establishing the Rule of Two, Bane not only safeguarded the Sith legacy but also primed the stage for their eventual reprisal. It was under the ominous sovereignty of Lord Sidious that the Sith's long-cherished goal was actualized - the formation of the inaugural Galactic Empire, an empire under the unchallenged rule of the Sith.
Yet, this epoch of Sith domination was fleeting. The Jedi, reemerging akin to a phoenix from the ashes of near annihilation, ultimately toppled the Empire. Palpatine died at the hands of his apprencie, Vader, and the Sith appeared to be vanquished.
However, after Palpatine, the Sith lineage continued, first through the Lost Tribe of the Sith, a topic for another day, and Darth Krayt. Krayt, a Sith Lord of unprecedented might and foresight, repudiated the Rule of Two, criticizing it as an archaic tenet that had culminated in Sidious's demise at the hand of Vader. In Krayt's perspective, Bane's strategy, while pioneering in its era, had evolved into a hindrance. Krayt posited that Sidious, upon clinching the Galactic Empire, ought to have forsaken this rule, doing away with Vader and fully embracing the mantle of the rule of one that Palpatine had come close to implementing.
Hence, under Darth Krayt's stewardship, the Sith underwent a profound reformation. Krayt introduced the Rule of One - a doctrine championing the absolute sovereignty of a solitary, unopposed Sith Lord, buttressed by a cadre of adherents. This novel paradigm, envisioned by Krayt and reverberated by his acolytes like Darth Wyyrlok, signified a divergence from the constraints of Bane's philosophy. Krayt's aspiration extended beyond mere dominion; he endeavored to reforge the Sith Order's very essence.
At the heart of the Rule of One was the enshrinement of a solitary Dark Lord of the Sith as the uncontested sovereign, epitomizing the Sith Order in its entirety. Darth Krayt assumed this mantle, reshaping the Sith into a monolithic entity, with subordinates, minions, and disciples rallying under one banner. This framework seemed to rectify the deficiencies of bygone Sith overlords, who frequently fell to internecine conflicts and bids for supremacy. Krayt, ostensibly, had unearthed the panacea: to cultivate fanatical, almost devout, allegiance among his followers, thereby forestalling any insurrection that might jeopardize his ascendancy.
This strategy did retain facets of age-old Sith traditions. The dyadic master-apprentice dynamic was upheld, with each master mentoring their selected apprentice. Yet, the culmination of this mentorship diverged markedly from historical precedent. Rather than the apprentice overthrowing the master to manifest their ascendancy and vigor, the act of murdering their mentor morphed into an expression of absolute fealty to Darth Krayt and the Sith crusade.
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