Dark Force

This article is about the religion. You may be looking for the Katana Fleet, nicknamed "The Dark Force" or the computer game Star Wars: Dark Forces. You may also be looking for the similar Way of the Dark.

The Dark Force was the dark side religion that sprang up around the Dark Force Temple, an ancient Sith temple on Dromund Kaas. It followed the teachings of Plaristes and Dak Ramis.

History[]

Millennial's heresy[]

"Its next round of rediscovery came by someone who rejected the Rule of Two, who thought that there was more than enough of the dark side to go around. He founded a religion that would become known as the Dark Force. There's an ancient temple there still. It was serviced for centuries by the Dark Prophets. It's so steeped in the dark side that it formed its own nexus-one so powerful it interferes with all weaponry and technology except for lightsabers."

―Luke Skywalker, about Dromund Kaas and Darth Millennial^[1]

The Dark Force cult emerged nearly a thousand years before the Battle of Yavin. At the time, the reigning Dark Lord of the Sith were Darth Cognus and her disciple, the three-eyed mutant Darth Millennial. As members of the Banite Sith, they followed the Rule of Two, which decreed that only two Sith could exist at any given time: the master and his or her apprentice. Millennial, however, came to find that doctrine too restrictive. While he had often been at odds with his master, Millennial rebelled against the teachings of Cognus once too many. Barely escaping the confrontation with Cognus, Millennial took refuge on Dromund Kaas, a planet that had a long history with the Sith. In his new haven, Millennial kept meditating on the teachings of the Sith while also studying the works of Plaristes and Dak Ramis, two controversial philosophers who had lived over 25,000 years earlier.^[2]

Millennial came to regard himself as a prophet chosen by the will of the Force itself. He founded a new sect he called the Dark Force, anointing himself the Supreme Prophet of the Dark Side. His philosophy, which drew on Millennial's Sith roots as well as on Plaristes' and Ramis' writings, started to attract many followers. While some of the new cultists were intellectually brilliant, many of them were much more naïve. At any rate, those who called into question the Dark Force tenets were condemned to death for heresy.^[2] When Millennial ended up passing away, his cult survived him.^[2] In the second century before the Battle of Yavin, even a Jedi Padawan named Kibh Jeen was seduced by the Dark Force's philosophy,^[2] although he was taken down in a space battle^[3] in 181 BBY.^[4] At some point, the fallen Jedi Kadann and his pupil Jedgar traveled to Dromund Kaas, where they discovered the Dark Force Temple. The two elected to join the cult.^[5]

The Emperor's Mages[]

"The future you see isn't yours. You are merely the messenger. Serve me. Become my prophet. Reveal the will of the Force as you see it and I will make your predictions come true."

―Darth Sidious, to Kadann^[5]

At some point before the fall of the Galactic Republic, the Dark Force prophets were visited by Darth Sidious, the last of the Banite Sith. Intrigued by the prophets' unique view of the Force and interested in their ucanny ability to predict the future, Sidious decided to turn them to his service. He convinced Prophet Kadann that the future he saw was not his, that he was only a messenger. By serving him and his long-percolating scheme to rule the galaxy, the Prophets of the Dark Side would fulfill their true mission.^[5] By pleding allegiance to Sidious, the clergymen of the Dark Force were brought back into the fold of the Banite Sith.^[2] Sidious annexed the Prophets as his advisors, and Kadann was appointed the Supreme Prophet of the Dark Side. Some years later, Sidious' plans came to fruition as he replaced the Galactic Republic with his First Galactic Empire.^[6]

With the advent of his New Order, the Sith Lord turned Galactic Emperor named the prophets the Emperor's Mages, collectively forming the Secret Order of the Empire. Many of the Emperor's Dark Jedi, Jedi-hunting Inquisitors, Force-sensitive military officers, and Emperor's Hands received their first exposure to the dark side by studying the Dark Force religion on Dromund Kaas under the tutelage of the Prophets.^[2] While Kadann remained the Supreme Prophet, other significant figures emerged in the cult. Among them was Lord Cronal, a particularly cruel and twisted Human warlock^[7] who may have been sired by a Dathomiri witch.^[8] The former Jedi archaeologist Jerec also studied the Dark Force religion, and he cultivated a close bond with Cronal.^[9] Finally, Kadann's apprentice Jedgar was named High Prophet.^[2]

Loyalty schism[]

Although Palpatine had appointed Kadann to the position of Supreme Prophet, the man's true loyalty still lay with the Dark Force. Prior to the Battle of Endor, Kadann's visions indicated a probable restoration of balance to the Force. While that prophecy did not settle well with Palpatine, Kadann refused to compromise. He was forced to flee the Emperor's wrath with some of the Mages, while others remained behind with the Emperor. Those who sided with the Emperor were led by Lord Cronal.^[7] As Kadann and his ecclesiastic followers fled to their Supreme Prophet's stronghold on Bosthirda, the Dark Temple on Dromund Kaas was abandoned.^[10]