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For the Sith title "Dark Lord of the Sith", see starwars:Dark Lord of the Sith.

The Dark Lords of the Sith is one of the oldest SWRP groups in Second Life, originally founded by Darth Padar in 2005.

History[]

Origins[]

Back in the mists of time, there was a Sith Lord of great power and prominence. His name was Darth Padar, and he formed the first of the modern Sith Orders, The Dark Lords of the Sith (DLoTS). This is the Order, therefore, from which - whether they acknowledge it or not - most of the major Sith Orders today have arisen or been influenced by in some manner.

OOC: In Second Life, this refers to April 2005 before there were any other Sith Orders. In fact, DLoTS is the oldest of the surviving groups in SWRP although obviously, the Sith Order in Canon had been around for several thousand years before this, so this claim is only with regards to SWRP in SL. The way that SWRP groups is often by a process of fragmentation and then reformation, and in this sense, DLoTS has given birth to other Sith Orders, or to their ancestors; or has, by virtue of its longeivity and influence, contributed to the development of those not in direct lineage.

The Reign of Darth Padar[]

Darth Padar brought life back to the ancient homeworld of Korriban and it became a name of terror for the Jedi again. Once more, the Sith were united and ordered as they had not been since the times of Emperor Krayt, and once more the Dark Side permeated all.

The reign of Darth Padar on Korriban was long and terrible, and only ended when he ended it himself in a rage at being questioned by his supporters, and drove all from Korriban, vanishing once more into the ether...

OOC: During this time, there was only the Dark Lords of the Sith in terms of Sith Orders. Over 125 members-strong, Darth Padar and DLoTS achieved several notable 'firsts' in SWRP: the first full sim [ as opposed to small mainland parcel ] ever created in SWRP, the first Sith ranking system in SL with insignia, the first Sith Council, the first lightsabers in SL to use the transparency method and motion blur and the first duelling combat system.

Stabilization[]

DLotS Logo

The Dark Lords of the Sith's logo

The first of many Apprentices of Padar was Darth Mortis ((Omega Groshomme)) and he became the heir to the original Dark Lord, and has since taken on a role of spiritual guardian of the Order, rarely being in direct control but wielding great influence from a shadowy distance as the kingmaker. For a short period after the departure from Korriban, he took over control of the Order and then searched for a suitable leader, leaving it eventually to Dark Lady Malice who also known as Malificient, before vanishing himself into the shadows. It was she who brought the Order to a place on the planet Orion, and her influence was to stabilise and rebuild the Order from its traumas. Her contribution to the survival of the Order was key, for without this stability that she offered, the Order could very well have disintegrated from Darth Padar's rage.

Unfortunately, Dark Lady Malice fell under the Light sided influence of Jedi Master Marymac Dougall and departed to serve the New Order of the Jedi, and rule of the Dark Lords fell to Darth Zen ((Zip Paz)) and Darth Vega ((Andriste Nesiote)), again granted by the brief return of Darth Mortis. Annointing the new Dark Lords, it was rumoured that Darth Mortis was one of few who could still directly commune with Darth Padar himself.

Darth Zen and Darth Vega's rule brought a return to prosperity to the Sith who still followed only the DLoTS banner, and with Darth Mortis' assistance they even managed to persuade Darth Padar to allow the Order to base itself on Korriban again.

For a time, there was great success in this arrangement and the Jedi trembled again at the power and majesty of the Dark Lords of the Sith.

The Return of Darth Padar and the Schism[]

As is often the case with the Sith, however, harmony can be shortlasting. Darth Padar saw the fortunes of his old Order rising again and made a grab for power once more. There was a terrible internal war, and the Sith split into several factions for the first time since Darth Padar created his Order. Dark Lords Zen and Vega managed to keep Darth Padar from retaking his old Order but at terrible cost. Exhausted by their endeavours, they could no longer lead the Sith and dwindled into shadows of their former selves, and the Homeworld of Korriban was devastated, becoming uninhabitable for many decades.

Yet again, Darth Padar vanished into the ether. Some said he had perished in the war, others said he had not and yet others said he had split himself into numerous personas, walking unseen amongst the Sith and wielding just as much influence as he had done, but in a more subtle way.

OOC: Thus ended the first SWRP sim of Korriban in the first half of 2006, and DLoTS split into several factions including most prominently the Sith Legends and Sith Legacy. Much of the RP shifted to the sim of Dantooine, the first of the multi-faction non-partisan/neutral sims.

The First Rule of Emperor Validus[]

Darth Mortis still stood by the ashes of the Order, supporting it in these uncertain times and keeping it alive for its next leader. The survivors of the war settled on the planet of Dantooine and found themselves in direct conflict with Jedi, the Senate and their military enforcement. Into this strife, emerged the Sith Lord who would become the next Dark Lord, Darth Validus ((Mortious Darragh)), who eventually led the Sith to a new planet, Byss in the Deep Core.

This was again a time of great power and prosperity, most of the factions which had fled from Padar's rage returned, not necessarily back to DLoTS but in a coalition of a Sith Empire on this dark planet. It was a fortress world, guarded by the 7th Legion of Imperial Stormtroopers and ruled by the new Emperor Validus, and it was great and powerful indeed, regarded as the Sith Capital by all. Many of the other factions like Sith Legends, Sith Legacy (which later became the New Order of the Sith), Sith Ancients and Dark Ancients also prospered during this time and all regarded Validus' reign as a great success.

Eventually though, the strain of the years of leading the often fractious Sith took its toll on Emperor Validus and he devastated Byss with the superweapon of his massive Super Star Destroyer "SSD Ravager", and departed into the Unknown Regions. Many compared this to the rage of Darth Padar when the latter devastated Korriban but it was later shown that Validus had other motives and that his part in the Sith story was not over by a long stretch...

OOC: The first version of Byss was owned and made by Mortious Darragh in the second half of 2006, and it continued for about a year until its closure. For much of this time [ until the creation of Malachor V ], it was the only Sith sim in SWRP and all of the major Sith factions were based there under Validus' reign. So despite the schism which had shattered DLoTS into various different Orders, the first Byss brought them back together again in a political union which formed the foundations for many future Sith Orders like the Assembly of Darkness and the Trayus Academy.

The Silent Years: Hibernation[]

With Darth Mortis also nowhere to be found at this time, leadership of the Order passed to Validus' second-in-command, a former Jedi Master known as Devarii ((Rickin Gorilla)). He had been the leader of Sith Legacy which became the New Order of the Sith, and this had eventually merged into the Dark Lords of the Sith. Under the time of Emperor Validus, Devarii had served as the Imperial Executor, second only to the Emperor himself. However, by now the Dark Lords were a shadow of their former strength, the handful of survivors of Validus' attack were no longer enough to keep the Order pre-eminent amongst the Sith and some of the other Orders began to dominate.

After the dust had settled, the capital of the Sith moved from Byss to Ziost and this was predominantly controlled by the Sith Legends. Dark Lord Devarii spent much time voyaging out from Ziost to look for other scattered survivors of DLoTS and in these increasingly length absences (( caused in fact by RL )), there began a time of slow decay for the Dark Lords of the Sith. One of Darth Devarii's Shadow Hands, Darth Destius (( Torsteinn Elvehjem )), watched over the Order as it slept, standing guard tirelessly much as Darth Mortis once had done, and waiting for the return of his Master. He keeping up the Order alive, if barely, and maintained the temple and its all-important archives, building them up to safeguard the history of the Sith.

Somewhere along the line, a Sith Lord from Ziost decided to form his own Order - the Assembly of Darkness - on the long-abandoned planet of Vjun. Darth Kestrel (( RR Almodovar )) gathered together Sith from many places, including from fallen Orders and built Vjun into a powerful world, eventually eclipsing the fading capital world of Ziost. His power grew to the extent that he declared himself the new Emperor of the Sith and started gathering the Sith Orders to him on Vjun, much as Emperor Validus had once done on Byss.

At this time, Dark Lord Devarii resurfaced and on advice of Darth Destius, relocated DLoTS to the new Sith Capital on Vjun. A temple was built there, and the Order was set to grow again and to rise to prominence among the various Orders of the Sith once more. Yet again, however, Darth Devarii vanished, searching for lost members of the Order, and leaving the Order decaying with his Apprentice struggling to keep it alive.

Despite the Order having a temple on Vjun, Darth Destius was struck by sudden foresight that they were uniquely vulnerable being in the midst of Sith of other orders and that there might well be in the manner of the Sith sudden treachery designed to destroy them. Therefore he sallied forth in secret and came to the little known planet of Dromund Kaas, once home to an ancient Sith Empire and later the Prophets of the Dark Side. Steeped in the Dark Side, it seemed to be the ideal place to build a secret temple to be a place of refuge in case of treachery from within the Empire.

Dark force temple

The Dark Force Temple, Dromund Kaas

OOC: The second half of 2007 was a difficult time for the Order. With only a handful of members and other groups seeming to be more powerful and attractive, it seemed to many that DLoTS time was long over. However Torsteinn and the few other members refused to give in and kept the flame alive in spite the odds and despite the taunts of many. Meanwhile, Vjun occupied the position that Byss once did, that of the Capital of the Sith, to which all Sith deferred, and Kestrel was undisputed as the Sith Emperor, much as Validus once had been. The Dark Force Temple on Dromund Kaas was the first base owned by a DLoTS member since Byss and was a small plot on a private island, built over Christmas 2007 by Torsteinn. Despite its modest size, it was extremely functional and had everything that a base needed.

The Return of the Dark Lords[]

Many years later, Darths Mortis and Validus eventually returned, hearing the calls through the Force of Darth Destius for his Master. They came back to take the fallen Order from Darth Devarii's absent grasp. Both Dark Lords were rejuvenated and, aided by a resurgent Destius, they combined to begin the long task of rebuilding the Dark Lords of the Sith to be once again the most powerful and feared Order it had been years before.

Such was the effect of their return that the local Sith of Vjun began to fear their renewal and attacked the DLoTS temple on Vjun when it was unguarded, destroying it utterly and forcing the Order to decamp to the secret temple on Dromund Kaas. After many years of regrowth on this remote planet, the Order became strong enough once again to stand firm against all who would undo it and sallied forth to lay claim upon Dark Lord Validus' old seat of power on Byss. By this time, the Empire on Vjun had fallen and Validus set about reforming his old Empire once again.

OOC: After the enforced departure from Vjun, DLoTS moved to its secret Dark Force Temple on Dromund Kaas and was there for a few months in early 2008. Eventually, it outgrew this, and upgraded to the Homestead sim of Dromund Kaas which continued as the Order's home until it was finally decided to rebuild Byss on a Full Region at the end of 2008.

The Second Rule of Emperor Validus[]

The planet of Byss was greater and stronger than it had ever been and Dark Lord Validus chose to form his fortress around ancient once-buried towers which had been uncovered by the Ravager's superweapon all those years ago. Once he was ready, he declared himself Sith Emperor once more and stretched forth his will across many worlds, enforced by his dreaded Hands.

Many Sith, both old and new, flocked to the resurgent Dark Lords of the Sith, including many of the Sith who were in the Order of Rowe including Darth Rowe herself. Together they became much as the Order had been in Padar's time, the scourge of the Galaxy, defeating many enemies including: the Jedi of Ruusan and their allies whose homeworld was occupied for a time, the Jedi of Ossus which became part of the Sith Empire, an alliance of various Jedi at Christophsis, the false Dark Siders Sith X / [[<(Dark Order)>]], the Mandalorians under Mand'alor Niv Dralshy'a and the Tetan Empire.

The Empire stretched across worlds, and the Hands and the Emperor's new superweapon LEGION enforced Imperial Will in these territories and beyond in a time of great prosperity. As the Emperor himself turned away from the day to day matters of running his Empire, it was perhaps inevitable that he would face a challenge from within, from one of his own Hands...

OOC: Both the Homestead of Dromund Kaas [ from early 2008 onwards ] and the second Full sim of Byss [ from late 2008 onwards ] were owned by Torsteinn Elvehjem, though largely built by Mortious Darragh as before. The Empire also extended far beyond these two sims at varying points including the worlds of Christophsis, Gromas 16 [ owned by Gistya Eusebio of DLoTS ], Ossus [ owned by Leo Mission of the Jedi Guardians of the Peace ], Rhelg [ owned by Calithlin Torok of the Trayus Academy, then Ashwi Stipe ], Prakith [ owned by a combination of Jashin Lionheart, Ranmyaku Haiku and finally Corvinus Dexing of DLoTS ] and Myrkr [ owned by Mercer Milneaux of DLoTS ]

The ill-fated challenge of Darth Gevecht[]

The oldest of the Emperor's Hands, Darth Gevecht (( Khyle Foley )), grew impatient at what he saw as a relaxation, a slackening in the Empire due to its great security and stability. Seemingly content to rest on his considerable accomplishments, Validus seemed to the Hand to be looking not to the future but only to the past and at best the present, becoming more of a political leader than a Dark Lord of the Sith.

In a spectacular show-down at an Empire meeting, Darth Gevecht challenged Emperor Validus for the right to rule the Empire. The response of the Emperor was scornful and disdainful, forcing Darth Gevecht to attack. Seemingly with great ease, the Shistavenan Hand overcame the Emperor, publicly dismembering the ancient Sith Lord with his lightwhip and claiming the titles of Dark Lords of the Sith and Emperor of the Sith Empire. Not all seemed quite so confident as the new Emperor however, for it seemed to them too easy a victory, and one which the old Emperor seemingly embraced with gusto...

...it turned out that Gevecht had been deceived and used. Over millennia, the old Emperor's body had disintegrated with constant use of the Dark Side until it barely hung together by the force of his will. Even so, it was soon to be his doom, trapping and yet suffocating him in its festering decay. The old Emperor had made plans to renew his spirit in the body of a Red Sith crafted by his Imperial Executor the Underlord. Goading Gevecht to slay his old shattered body only freed Validus' spirit to escape its chains and to fly to where the new host awaited for just this precise moment.

After only a week, the reborn Validus returned and confronted Emperor Gevecht, easily destroying the latter with sorcery far superior to anything the Shistavanen knew. And so it was that Validus II became the next Sith Emperor, no doubt seeking to rule for eternity. This was a source of disquiet to many of the other Sith who had supported Emperor Gevecht, and chief amongst these was Darth Destius, one of Validus' other Hands. He confronted the new Emperor to declare himself a Hand no longer, but a Dark Lord of the Sith in his own right to take over the role of Darth Mortis. Sensing the support of the Order as a whole, the new Emperor had no choice but to agree, but watched Destius closely in case he would seek to overthrow him as Gevecht had once done.

OOC: the above events took place in late 2010 / early 2011

The Rise of Emperor Novo[]

This apparently threat from Dark Lord Destius was but a feint however, designed to keep Emperor Validus II's attention away from the truth.

Unknown to any, Gevecht had left a clone of himself on Uvena Prime and in spirit form, he led his former Apprentice, Darth Nyx, to it. Enlisting Darth Destius' aid, the Emperor's superweapon LEGION was critically damaged and the spirit of Gevecht entered the new, more powerful clone body and returned to Byss to confront the Emperor. The confrontation between the reborn Gevecht and Validus II could have been every bit as violent and destructive as when Darth Padar had tried to displace Dark Lords Zen and Vega. Perhaps Gevecht had some sort of power against his old Master, perhaps Validus II sensed the disablement of LEGION or perhaps it was as Validus II claimed that he had sensed the return to the Galaxy of the original Sith Species and that he must venture out to welcome them back...but a devastating war was avoided. Emperor Validus II abdicated and left his Empire in the hands of the reborn Gevecht who took Emperor Novo to be his Imperial name.

Under the new Emperor, much of the slackness that had begun to creep into the Empire towards the end of Validus' reign was burned away. New entities flocked to the Sith Empire's cause, new worlds like Manaan, Lehon and Xagobah were brought into the fold. The stagnation within both the Order and the Empire was purged away and brought up to new heights under Emperor Novo's banner. Unfortunately this iron-fisted reign would only have a short lifespan in comparison to some of Novo's predecessors.

OOC: This brings us to the end of 2011.

The destruction of the SSD Devastator[]

Emperor Novo's reign came to a sudden end when, shortly after the Sith Empire re-obtained Xagobah as an Imperial holding, the Shistavanen Dark Lord left to inspect the facilities on the planet. Upon his return trip home his SSD, the Devastator, was attacked without warning and destroyed. The Dark Council called for an immediate and extensive search of the wreckage and surrounding system but no trace of the missing Emperor was found. Emperor Novo was presumed dead. Even Darth Nyx with her special bond to her former Master was unable to sense any sign of life from the missing Emperor, and after a time the search was finally called off.

It was not until more than a year after the destruction of the Devastator that an escape pod quite suddenly crash landed before the Jedi Temple on Onderon bearing, the severely malnourished and nearly dead form of the missing Dark Lord Novo. Luck was apparently still with the Shistavanen Sith as Darth Nyx was once again on hand to intervene and spare him a second trip to the Void, and he was brought back to health from his protective Force Trance. She was able to ensure her former Master both avoided imprisonment by the local Jedi Order and was nursed back to full health before making his return to the Imperial Capital. Novo thus returned to the Dark Lords of the Sith to retake his place as a Dark Lord and bring renewed strength the Order once more, this time under the new Emperor Destius.

OOC: the above events took place between early 2011 and late 2012.

The new Emperor Destius and the Imperial City of Khayal[]

Almost immediately after the destruction of the SSD Devastator and the failed search for the former Emperor, rather than allow the Empire to crumble leaderless, Dark Lord Destius stepped up to claim the throne and take the mantle of Emperor himself. Having played the role of steward, and later Hand and Dark Lord to the Dark Lords of the Sith, for so long there were few others whom could have been better suited to head the Empire in Novo's stead. Amongst his first official acts as Emperor was to promote the Order's Hand, Darth Rowe, to the rank of Dark Lady to fill the gap after his ascension. At the same time, the new Dark Lady was also granted the title of Imperial Executor after the previous Executors of the Empire departed or disappeared into the shadows.

For a time the Order melted into the shadows, keeping ever-watchful eyes on the Galaxy and the Empire, while large changes occurred on their homeworld. Through various sanctions and decrees issued by the Emperor, Byss underwent reconstruction on a planetary scale under the supervision of Darth Infestus, evolving its once templar landscape to a thriving metropolis worthy of the Imperial Centre. Once the construction was complete Emperor Destius christened the newly built Imperial City of Khayal which became not only Capital of the Empire but a new home to the Dark Lords of the Sith. Where Emperor Novo had forged strength under his iron-fisted rule, the new Emperor Destius brought the Order renewed stability after a time of turmoil.

Further stability was won with the modernisation of the Imperial Armada, which had fallen into disrepair without LEGION continually modifying and improving its progress. With new challenges coming from new Sith Orders and old Jedi foes, the Emperor took on the task of seeing the Armada rebuilt to strength to ensure the security of the new Capital City. This change-over also came at a time when Dark Lord Destius discovered that it was the General of the Imperial Sith Military who was responsible for the attack on Dark Lord Novo and the destruction of the SSD Devastator. Swift action was taken to remove the traitor from his control of the ISM immediately to serve punishment for his attempt on the life of the former Emperor.

Though swamped with competing 'would be' Empires, Dark Lord Destius has guided the Imperium through, preserving his Empire as a whole where pretenders failed - such as he did eons ago for the Order alone, an apparently eternal guardian ensuring the Dark Lords of the Sith's permanent authority in the Galaxy.

Empress Rowe claims the throne[]

The highly successful and lucrative reign of Emperor Destius lasted more than twenty years. He had taken the recent tumultuous past of the Empire and turned it into a living, breathing thing that ran with near perfection. During this era, Executor Rowe took a brief departure from Byss to help fight in a revolutionary war on Anzat. It provided just the opportunity Jen'ari Infestus had been waiting for. During a routine stay on Drummond Kaas, the Emperor was ambushed and was believed to have been killed. With no one to stop him, Jen'ari Infestus claimed the throne for himself and thus began the reign of Emperor Infestus.

News of the Emperor's death traveled far and wide. It took some time to reach the ears of Executor Rowe who had been heavily engaged in battle alongside her people on Anzat. As soon as she found out, Executor Rowe set out immediately to confront the man who jumped the chain of command. Not only was the newly minted Emperor Infestus second in line behind the Executor by rite of succession, he was also part of her progeny. Emperor Infestus was the apprentice of Darth Matraya, the Executor's last student. The Executor was furious and departed for Byss immediately.

The Executor arrived during an Imperial meeting and directly challenged Emperor Infestus. The Emperor was an accomplished Sorcerer, the most powerful known to date and immediately accepted the Executor's challenge. A massive fight ensued and at the end, the entire citadel lay in ruin and the new Emperor dead. A bruised and battered Empress Rowe emerged victorious and immediately commanded obedience from all citizens to the proper order of things within the Empire. Thus, the era of Empress Rowe was born.

The destruction of Khayal City[]

Some time during the Empress' reign, Infestites attempted to overthrow Empress Rowe and resurrect the Dark Lord Infestus in a frighteningly well-organized coup attempt. The Empress replied by ordering the destruction of Khayal City, along with the majority of the Infestite traitors, from orbit. She then ordered the systematic hunting down and extermination of the Infestite cult as she pursued the resurrected spirit of her enemy, an endeavor which briefly drew Dark Lords Destius and Validus back to aid the order. Construction of a new capital city began under Dark Architect Darth Invidia while the seat of government was temporarily transferred to their old stronghold of Dromund Kaas. Empress Rowe christened the new capital "Validestius".

Empress Rowe's rule continues to this day and the Dark Lords of the Sith are undisputedly the oldest, most powerful Sith Order that still exists, unparallelled in its history and lineage.

OOC: This brings us to the times of today. Thank you for your patience in reading this lengthy IC and OOC account of the Order's history.

Dark Lords[]

Dark Lords of the Dark Lords of the Sith in chronological order:

Past locations[]

Past locations of the Dark Lords of the Sith in chronological order:

Behind the scenes[]

  • First article ever made on SWRPEDIA.
  • First to establish and enforce the use of Rank insignias/badges
  • First to have created a lightsaber blade to use the transparency visual effect and also the first motion blur(Invented by Darth Padar)
  • First to have complete archives and Sith Scrolls (Invented by Darth Mortis)
  • First to have and use a dueling arena with the first combat system
  • First SWRP group to have their own sim
  • First to have Korriban as that sim
  • First official Sith group, with over 125 members at one point
  • First to assign and establish Darth names
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