Hundred-Year Darkness

"Once we were brothers in the Force. But from the Hundred-Year Darkness were born the Sith."

- Unidentified Jedi

The Hundred-Year Darkness was a period of time that led to the formation of the Sith, who were once considered brothers in the Force with the Jedi Order. The birth of the Sith led to a number of wars over the course of galactic history.

The Hundred-Year Darkness
Thousands of years before the Clone Wars, the Jedi Order and the individuals who became the Sith were considered brothers in the Force. This unity fractured, however, during the period of time known as the Hundred-Year Darkness, when a rogue Jedi came to believe that the true power of the Force lay not through contemplation and passivity, and that only by tapping its dark side could its true potential be gained. The Jedi High Council at the time balked at this new direction and the Dark Jedi was outcast, but he eventually gained followers to his new order, which resulted in the formation of the Sith.

Legacy
The birth of the Sith led to countless wars between the two rival sects. The Sith were believed to have been destroyed one thousand years before the Clone Wars, but they eventually returned to galactic prominence and ushered in the Clone Wars. The war was manipulated by Darth Sidious, known publicly as Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, and allowed him to gain enough power over the galaxy that he was able to transform the Galactic Republic into the Galactic Empire. This led to decades of Sith rule over the galaxy, which lasted until Sidious' death during the Battle of Endor.

Behind the scenes
The Hundred-Year Darkness was a conflict originally created for Star Wars Legends, previously known as the Expanded Universe, and made its first appearance in the comic book series Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi. The event was canonized, with limited detail, in the 2015 comic book Star Wars 9: Showdown on the Smuggler's Moon, Part II.

Appearances

 * Star Wars 9: Showdown on the Smuggler's Moon, Part II