Jedi Civil War
From LibertyWiki
The Jedi Civil War, also known as the second Sith War and the War of the Star Forge, is a conflict which took place 3956 BBY (Before the Battle of Yavin).
Approximately 4000 years BBY, a warrior race known as the Mandalorians began raiding worlds in the Outer rim territories. The Jedi Order insisted on staying out of the Mandalorian War, because it was their belief that the true threat of the Sith hadn't yet revealed itself. Revan (followed by his friend Malak) however decided that action needed to be taken in order to stop the threat. At the end of the war, Revan discovered the Trayus Academy on Malachor V, where he was corrupted by the teachings of the Sith. Malachor V was an ancient storehouse of the Sith that was steeped in a darkness so great that it almost destroyed Revan, but he survived and overpowered it: but only by giving in to the dark side of the Force and becoming the new Dark Lord of the Sith. He also discovered secrets to enable him to convert Jedis to his cause. Shortly after the war, both Revan and Malak, and the new force of the Republic Army and the Jedis that supproted him, disappeared from Known Space.
The Jedi Council was outraged at the actions of Revan and Malak, because they knew far too well that the actions of the Mandalorians sudden offensives. However, they did not realise that it was the Sith Empire, that had been believed to be dead for almost a thousand years, that were behind it. In fact, they had been hiding, waiting in the Unknown Regions, waiting for the perfect time to return. When the Jedi Civil War began, the council blamed it on Revan and Malak, and their transformation into Sith. But the origins of the war most likely lie in the unyielding teachings of the Jedi Order, the same teachings that drove the Jedi Council to remain on Coruscant, ignoring the activities in the Outer rim.
Only shortly before their disappearance, Revan and Malak had gone to Dantooine to where Revan, using secrets he had learned on Malachor V, unlocked a structure of primeval Jedi ruins, revealing an ancient Star Map, which led them to other star maps on Tatooine, Kashyyyk, Manaan and Koriban. It was on Korriban, which is known for its links with the Sith Empire, that their fall became complete, and Revan and Malak, their Jedi ideologies warped by the dark powers they had uncovered on Malachor V and Korriban, became the new Lords of the Sith. Taking the names of Darth Revan and Darth Malak, they created a massive fleet to destroy the Republic and the Jedi, and used the ancient Rakatan Star Forge, a relic from pre-Republic Infinite Empire, they had located using the Star Maps, to build up a massive war fleet. A year after their disappearance, Revan and Malak reappeared in Known Space, and the galaxy trembled at their return.
The Second Sith War that had now begun, was far more devastating than Exar Kun's, and lead to falling of many more Jedis to the dark side, and the deaths of those who didn't, either in battle or killed by specially trained Sith Assassins. Revan's invigorated Sith force won battle after battle, until a rising Jedi Padawan named Bastila Shan came into the fold, with her amazing Battle Meditation ability, a rare power of the Force that increased the combat effectiveness of the Republic's forces. Knowing that even with this power, the Republic would be hard pushed to defeat the Sith, a plan was set wherein Bastilla and a group of Jedi boarded Revan's ship and began the final confrontation. Revan, being one of the most powerful Dark Lords of all time would have easily defeated Bastilla and her Jedi strike force, but Malak had chosen this time to attack his master's battleship, aiming to kill both Revan and Bastilla, to seize the mantle of Dark Lord and eliminate the greatest threat to the Sith Empire in a single stroke.
Malak failed in killing either Bastilla or Revan, although Revan was fatally injured. Bastilla used the Force to save the life of Revan and thus formed a powerful bond between the two. Revan, who was almost dead, was captured by the Jedi and his mind reprogrammed by the Jedi Council to conseal the Dark Lord's identity, while enabling the Jedi to use Revan's subconscious memories to locate the source of the Sith's seemingly endless resources and destroy it.
Later, Revan, not knowing his previous identity, was enlisted as a solider in the Republic army, and placed under Bastila's command aboard the Republic starship, the Endar Spire. Malak, believing his master was dead set all his forces to the hunt for Bastilla. While in orbit above the planet of Taris, the Endar Spire was attacked by the Sith fleet and destroyed. Bastilla had managed to escape and landed on the planet's surface, soon followed by Revan and another Republic soldier, Carth Onasi.
On the planet, Bastila was kidnapped by a swoop gang called the Black Vulkar. After discovering of her imprisonment, Revan staged a bold and harrowing rescue, then quickly escaped from the planet aboard the Ebon Hawk, along with Bastila, Carth, and the crew they had gathered on the planet. Desperate to kill Bastila, Malak's forces began a bombardment upon the planet. The Ebon Hawk fled to the Jedi stronghold of Dantooine, where Bastila convinced the Jedi Academy council to retrain Revan in the ways of the Jedi. After finishing his training and becoming a Jedi, Revan and Bastila, while investigating a structure of ancient ruins, uncovered the same Star Map he and his apprentice had unlocked several years before. Even though the map was incomplete, it lead to the four other Star Maps, which would ultimately reveal the location of the Star Forge and be a major turning point in the war for the Republic.
The party of Revan, Bastila and their companions journey to these worlds, going over the steps Darth Revan had trodden some years before. Throughout each planet, the dark side aura of the Star Maps created perilour conditions that made access to the Maps very difficult. Also, the ever-expanding crew of the Ebon Hawk found themselves constantly hunted by Sith and bounty hunters, and were always at problems with the local populace.
After discovering the third Star Map, Revan, Bastilla and their allies were captured by the Sith. Although they managed to escape their holding cells, when they escaped towards the Ebon Hawk, they were confronted by Malak, who revealed to him his former life as the Dark Lord of the Sith. A vicious lightsabre battle ensued between the two, which ended in Malak capturing Bastila. Revan was forced to deal with Malak's revelation and the loss of Bastila, until at last the Star Forge was found in the home system of the ancient Rakata.
With the help of the ancient Rakatan race, Revan was forced to confront a fallen Bastila, who after weeks of Malak's torture, had fallen to the dark side and became Malak's new apprentice. On top of an ancient Rakatan temple, Bastila attempted to entice Revan to the dark side with the premise of reclaiming his former title as the Dark Lord of the Sith. Revan, knowing his decision would shape the galaxy, decided to take the path of the Jedi, and refused Bastila's temptation. Angered, Bastilla returned to the Star Forge, but Revan and the crew of the Ebon Hawk pursued her as a Republic fleet commenced an assault of its own.
One year after the battle with Malak, Revan left the Republic, having remembered the remains of the evil Sith Empire in Unknown Space. Knowing he would not be able to handle bringing those he loved into such dark places, he bode farewell to his nine companions, and set off in the Ebon Hawk, with the droids, T3-M4 and HK-47. He entrusted Carth Onasi with the Republic's safety, left the fearlessly loyal Mandalorian Canderous Ordo on the Outer Rim, and said goodbye to Bastila, his one true love. Kreia, Revan's former master, noted that "It would have been better if he had made her understand. But she was always strong-willed, that one, and did not understand war as Revan did."
