Darth Bane/Legends

"I am the Dark Lord who will restore the Sith to glory. They call me Bane."

- Darth Bane

Darth Bane, born under the name of Dessel, was the Sith'ari and the Dark Lord of the Sith responsible for creating the Rule of Two. Born in 1,026 BBY, he was raised as a poor miner on the Outer Rim planet Apatros. After killing a Galactic Republic ensign in a fight in 1,003 BBY, he was in danger of being arrested by the Republic. With the help of his friend Groshik, Dessel escaped off-world to join the Sith Brotherhood of Darkness. Initially serving as a foot soldier in the Gloom Walkers, he was recognized as a Force-sensitive, and taken to the Sith Academy on Korriban.

He studied there for a time, quickly becoming one of the best students before he lost his faith in the dark side of the Force. After a short time, Bane, as he was now known, was able to regain his faith and determination to become the best. However, he would soon lose confidence in the Brotherhood of Darkness, believing its leader, Kaan, to be a coward and a fool. Deserting the order, he studied the holocron of Darth Revan, and, armed with new knowledge, helped destroy the Brotherhood, allowing him to create his own Sith Order. Bane then instituted a Rule of Two, which stated that there could be only two Sith to avoid the infighting that had plagued the Sith for millennia. He styled himself as Darth Bane, and took as his apprentice a Human female he christened Darth Zannah.

In 990 BBY, he sought to learn how to create a holocron, through which he would pass down his knowledge to future Sith Lords. The Sith journeyed to the Deep Core world of Tython to locate the holocron of the ancient Dark Lord Belia Darzu. However, while Bane was on Tython, the Jedi learned of his existence, and sent a group of Jedi to kill him and his apprentice, who had recently arrived to tell him that they were being hunted. Once the Jedi arrived, they confronted the two Sith in Darzu's fortress. Though outnumbered, the Sith were able to defeat the Jedi; however, Bane was grievously injured. Zannah took him to Ambria, where she convinced the healer Caleb to help them. Caleb notified the Jedi Council, only to have Zannah use her powers to drive Caleb's assistant Darovit insane. He then killed Caleb, and was killed by a group of Jedi when they arrived, as they believed him to be the Sith Lord. Thus, Bane's order was kept safe from the Jedi.

A decade later, Bane began to worry that his apprentice was too weak to overthrow him and assume the mantle of Dark Lord of the Sith, as was necessary under the Rule of Two. He began to research the secrets to prolonging his life by tranferring his essence to another body, and traveled to Prakith, where he claimed the holocron of Darth Andeddu. However, while Zannah was returning from a mission on Doan, Bane was ambushed, and, grossly outnumbered, he was defeated and captured by a team hired by Caleb's daughter. Taken to Doan, he was imprisoned and interrogated, only to covertly gain his freedom a short time after. Bane was attacked by Zannah, who sought to become the new Dark Lord, but he escaped and tracked Serra to Ambria with Darth Cognus, an Iktotchi assassin skilled in use of the dark side who Bane planned to take as his apprentice if Zannah proved herself weak and unworthy. After Cognus killed Serra, Bane, determined to test his apprentice for the last time, sent Zannah a message to meet him on Ambria. Following a heated duel, Bane attempted to transfer his essence into Zannah's body. However, her will proved to be too strong and Zannah defeated him, ending the life of the Sith'ari, yet also validating herself as his successor. Nearly a millennium later, his Sith Order would defeat the Jedi, and overthrow the Republic.

Early life
"Hurst always said you were no good. He knew there was something wrong with you&hellip; Bane."

- Gerd

Born on Apatros in 1,026 BBY to an abusive miner named Hurst, the Human male Dessel, also known as Des for short, was often bullied by his father and the other miners. Hurst blamed his son for the death of his wife, who had died during childbirth. His father also took to blaming him for his own miserable life on Apatros, and Hurst considered Dessel to be the bane of his existence&mdash;so much so that he took to calling him "bane" when he was in his drunken rages. It was a nickname that stuck with his father and amongst his miner friends, and for Dessel, it hurt more than any of the physical beatings that his father would give him. In 1,010 BBY, at the age of sixteen, the tall and muscular Dessel began to work in the cortosis mines of his world.

In the face of such adversity, Dessel was often forced to fend for himself. He learned to ignore the constant jibes, threats, and insults directed against him by his father and the other miners, and grew into a strong young man as he worked deep in the cortosis mines. Even at this age, he felt the calls of the Force and its dark side.

One day when Dessel was eighteen, a drunk Hurst mercilessly berated him. When Dessel stood up to his father, Hurst continued to mock him, calling him "bane". Dessel then challenged him, stating that it would not be long before he could best his father in a fight, meaning that Hurst could not boss him around for much longer. Irate, Hurst grabbed his son, and beat him, cracking his ribs, although Dessel withstood it without crying or speaking. That night, Dessel, filled with hate, envisioned his father dying by picturing a giant hand squeezing his heart. The next morning, Hurst was dead. Unknown to Dessel, he had used the Force to kill his father.

After Hurst's death, his friends tried to continue with their harassment of Dessel, but the young miner now had the confidence to stand up for himself, and after he handed out a number of beatings to them in the span of a month, going so far as breaking one man's jaw, his father's old friends decided that it would be better if they just left Dessel alone. The final straw came one day while Dessel worked a double shift, which was coincidentally the fifth anniversary of Hurst's death. One of his father's friends, a man named Gerd, decided that he would put Dessel in his place. In a drunken stupor, Gerd attacked Dessel and blamed him for Hurst's death. After they wrestled each other into a stalemate position, Gerd mocked him by calling him Bane, pushing Dessel over the edge. Putting Dessel into a lock that left him vulnerable, Gerd attempted to gouge out his opponent's eye with a thumb. With a premonition granted by the dark side of the Force, Dessel turned his head and severed Gerd's thumb with his teeth.

This fight led to his suspension from his mining job, but luckily for Des, a Galatic Republic cargo ship had arrived that day to pick up cortosis supplies. Using his suspension to arrive before the rest of the miners at the company-run casino in Groshik's cantina, Dessel used his gambling talents to clean out the crew of the ship in a game of sabacc. He also criticized the Republic, insulting the soldiers in the cantina. Successfully driving every other player out of the game, Dessel played his final hand against a young ensign, and both ended up with an Idiot's Array, the rarest hand possible. In a final round where whoever was dealt the highest card would win, both players received nine. In the next sudden death round, Dessel got a nine, beating the ensign's eight, and giving him sabacc and the ten thousand credit sabacc pot. Irate, the ensign proceeded to flip the table, and began spouting various insults at the miners present. Angered, the miners moved to surround them, but the bartender Groshik&mdash;one of Dessel's few friends&mdash;intervened with a blaster, ordering everyone but Dessel out. Groshik explained to the Human that he was worried; Dessel had played the soldiers, twisting them to his advantage never relenting. Furthermore, the crowd had somehow fed off of Dessel's anger, Groshik believed. Dessel reassured his friend, but the Neimoidian warned him to be careful.

As Dessel left the cantina, he was attacked by the ensign and two other soldiers. Easily dominated by the miner in physical combat, the ensign pulled out a vibroblade. However, Dessel's unconscious use of the Force allowed him to detect the weapon. Reacting without thinking, he grabbed the ensign's wrist and turned the blade back towards him, killing the soldier. Panicked, the other Republic soldiers fled to alert their superiors. Dessel was forced to turn to Groshik, who used his contacts to save Dessel from being caught and imprisoned by Republic forces by arranging to have him smuggled off planet to join the Sith Army.

New Sith Wars
"Now you get to see firsthand how the Brotherhood of Darkness deals with mutinous soldiers!"

- Ulabore

Dessel was hidden in a smuggler's hatch onboard a Rodian's ship, and taken to a world where he would join the Brotherhood of Darkness as a foot soldier. The Human quickly rose to the rank of sergeant in a Sith unit known as the Gloom Walkers, and, wielding a GSI-21D and a TC-22, became a skilled shot. His use of the Force made him an excellent soldier and commander, and he was able to guide his unit away from certain death many times. He used his Force powers numerous times to unconsciously sense enemies, such as during the Battle of Kashyyyk, earning him the trust of the Gloom Walkers over that of the unit's commander, Ulabore. Though Ulabore took credit for his unit's victories, everyone in the company knew it was Dessel who was responsible. The Gloom Walkers soon became one of the most famous of the Sith's infantry units, and they were sent on the most important and critical of missions.

However, things changed for Dessel after the Gloom Walkers received an order regarding the Battle of Phaseera. Ulabore knew the order to be a tactical mistake but decided to follow it anyway since he was afraid to face the Sith Lord who had issued the command. Dessel mutinied and punched Ulabore in the face, knocking him out cold, and then proceeded to lead the squad into battle.

After being blinded by a flash grenade, Dessel discovered that he could still "see" where all the Republic soldiers were. Thanks to this mysterious sight, he managed to kill each soldier with a sniper rifle in the space of a few seconds. Though he did not know it at the time, he had unconsciously used the Force. After the battle, Dessel discovered that Ulabore had informed the Sith Lord Kopecz of his actions. Expecting to be court-martialed, Dessel was saved from this fate by the Dark Lord, who offered to take him to Korriban where he could enroll at the Sith Academy. Dessel decided to accept Kopecz's offer. Having been offered the chance to create a new identity for himself, he thought back to the cruelty of his father, and decided to take a new name, one which would signify his new life&mdash;Bane.

Training on Korriban
"I think he might be the one we've been searching for. He could be the Sith'ari."

- Kopecz

Bane arrived at the Academy and immediately began to study the ways of the Sith under the Sith Lords Qordis and Kas'im. On his own initiative, he also frequently studied the archives in the academy, which contained documents about the dark side and the history of the Sith. However, the Sith Masters discouraged the studying of the archives, claiming they were relics of a time long forgotten. Thanks in part to the Masters' advice, Bane began to abandon the archives he studied at the beginning of his training in favor of increased focus on physical and mental exercise. Despite the late discovery of his Force powers, Bane began to exceed many of the students who had been trained since birth.



After training for several months and rapidly climbing to the top of the ranks among the students, Bane challenged a Makurth student named Fohargh, who had previously beaten him, to a duel. After beating Bane in lightsaber combat, Fohargh began to taunt him, causing Bane to fill with rage. He unleashed his anger, killing Fohargh with a wave of dark Force energy, against Kas'im's instructions. This victory earned Bane the attention of Sirak, the favorite of Lord Qordis and one of the most prominent students at the academy. Though Bane expected to be punished for killing a fellow student, Qordis instead was impressed by Bane, and began urging Kas'im to pay special attention to the student.

However, Bane's confidence would not last for long. Thinking on Fohargh's death that same night, Bane realized that he had in fact been responsible for the death of his father years before. This revelation caused Bane to fear the power of the dark side, and he began to lose his connection to it. Realizing that unless he acted he would fall behind the other students, he rashly challenged Sirak, who easily defeated Bane in combat and beat him savagely. Later, while in recovery, Bane wished that Sirak had killed him.

After his loss, Bane was shunned by the other students and Sith Lords. Desperate, he turned to the archives once more. It from them that he learned more about the history of the Sith Lords, and the power of the dark side. Bane began to question the direction the Brotherhood of Darkness had taken, and he seemed especially interested in finding out why none of the current Sith Lords took the title Darth. He had begun to believe that the Brotherhood was inherently flawed, and its leaders weak. Upon questioning Kas'im later, Bane would learn that the leader of the Brotherhood, Lord Kaan had forbidden any Sith from taking the title Darth, as he claimed that the use of this title would only encourage the infighting that had nearly destroyed the Sith thousands of years earlier.

It was at this time that a Jedi deserter named Githany arrived, and Bane saw his chance to reclaim his place among the other students. Githany in turn saw Bane as a tool she could use against Sirak, her only real rival at the Academy. Requesting that Githany secretly teach him Force techniques she learned from the masters, he also began private lightsaber combat instruction with Kas'im&. Neither teacher was aware of the other, ensuring that Bane had an edge over both. Bane and Githany soon began to realize that they had feelings for each other, though they did not want to admit it. As his training progressed, Bane learned far more from the archives at the Academy than he had originally thought possible, and continued supplementing his knowledge of the Force with the teachings of the ancient Sith. In one of their secret tutoring sessions, Githany was amazed at the speed at which Bane not only learned to harness Force lightning, but that in a few short hours he was able to unleash a storm none of the other students, including herself, could manage. Kas'im too noted how far Bane had come with his skill with a lightsaber, and believed that he was close to surpassing Sirak.

When he believed himself to be ready, Bane once again challenged Sirak to a duel. The Human played his opponent, wearing him down before lunging out and humiliating him, sending him to the medical wing.However, he stopped short of killing him, causing Githany to doubt Bane. Following this victory, Kas'im presented Bane with the curve-hilted lightsaber that had previously belonged to his own master, a Sith Lord named Na'daz, who saved the blademaster from slavery on Ryloth. Kas'im also revealed that he had killed his master in a personal test of skill and took his weapon as a reminder of what his master taught him&mdash;this revelation left a lasting impression on Bane.

Once again under the gaze of the Academy Masters, Bane was summoned by Qordis, who revealed to the apprentice that he had been aware for some time that Githany was teaching him. Qordis then told Bane that he was to stop studying the archives. Bane, whose doubts about the Brotherhood had only grown, was angered, and defied Qordis by leaving the Academy for the Valley of the Dark Lords in search of answers from the ancient tombs of fallen Sith Lords. However, Bane found no Sith spirits in the tombs, concluding that the spirits of the ancient Dark Lords had judged the current Sith weak and unworthy. The Brotherhood, Bane felt, was flawed, and that Kaan placed the greater good of the order over the dark side as a whole. It could never defeat the Jedi Order as it was, the Human believed.

Bane returned empty handed two weeks later, nearly dead from exhaustion and hunger. He arrived just in time to learn that the students were to be raised to the level of Dark Lords of the Sith on the orders of Lord Kaan, and were to be sent to the planet Ruusan to participate in battle against the Army of Light. Promoted along with the rest of the Academy students, Bane almost fell victim to a trap in the archives orchestrated by Sirak with the participation of Githany on the night of his return. Upon seeing his power, Githany changed sides and killed Sirak's allies, watching as Bane slew his helpless rival.

Following the fight, however, Bane did not leave for Ruusan with the rest of the Sith present. Instead, he denounced their teachings and Kaan's Brotherhood and proclaimed himself Darth Bane before stealing Lord Qordis's personal spacecraft, the Valcyn. Bane made his way to Lehon, hoping to find true understanding of the dark side.

Lehon and the Holocron of Darth Revan
"The dark side is strong here. Far stronger than it ever was on Korriban. This is where we will find the power to destroy the Jedi&mdash;not in Kaan's Brotherhood!"

- Bane

Bane landed on Lehon and immediately began his search for the Temple of the Ancients, and along the way managed to tame a wild rancor to be used as his steed. He felt a much stronger connection to the dark side on Lehon than he did on Korriban, which only reinforced his belief that the then-extinct Rakata were the first race to harness the dark side eons before the Sith rose on Korriban. Arriving at the Temple, he found the holocron of Darth Revan. Learning much more about the ancient Sith, he concluded that Kaan and his Brotherhood would have to be destroyed, and set about formulating a way to ensure the survival of the Order. With the teachings of Darth Revan, he planned to destroy the Brotherhood, and from its wreckage, create a new and far stronger Order of the Sith Lords that would eventually destroy the Jedi.

Kaan, fearful of Bane and his intentions, dispatched Kas'im to kill his former student. After a heated lightsaber duel, Bane gained the upper hand, and forced Kas'im into a corner, seemingly defenseless. However, the wily old Sith still had one more trick in him. The Twi'lek separated his double-bladed lightsaber, wielding it as two separate blades. During training Kas'im had always derided fighting with two lightsabers, ensuring Bane had no experience facing such an opponent. Where Bane had been sure of victory only just moments before, his inexperience put him at a severe disadvantage, and he quickly lost his momentum. Bane was sent tumbling down a staircase as Kas'im advanced, ready to deliver the killing blow. Furious at himself and Kas'im, Bane unleashed his anger into a blast of dark Force energy. Kas'im just managed to throw up a Force shield to protect himself, but Bane's rage was so great that this blast of dark energy destroyed the Temple, bringing the walls and ceiling down on his old mentor.

Bane sent a messenger drone to Ruusan, informing Kaan of Kas'im's death and handing the Sith Lord the weapon of his eventual demise; instructions to perform the Sith ritual to make a thought bomb, one of the many secrets he had learned from Revan's holocron.

Near-death on Ambria
"I am Darth Bane, Dark Lord of the Sith. I will survive. At any cost."

- Bane



By then, Kaan believed that a military victory on Ruusan was certain; with Jedi Master Pernicar dead, there was nothing to blunt the animosity that the Jedi Lords Hoth and Farfalla felt toward each other; and the orbital blockade sustained by the Sith battle armada kept Farfalla and his reinforcements from landing to join the battle. Kaan received a message from a seemingly guilt-ridden Bane who wished to return to the Brotherhood. However, Githany believed that the Brotherhood no longer needed Bane and offered to kill him. Kaan agreed and she left to meet with Bane. What Kaan did not share with Githany was the small package Bane sent as a peace offering, a piece of parchment with the ritual for the thought bomb written upon it.

Bane chose the barren world of Ambria to meet Kaan's envoy. Lake Natth, a body of black and poisonous water, had become the focus for the dark side energy on the planet, and Bane made his camp on its shores. While Bane waited for Githany he considered a question he still could not answer; once he rid the galaxy of the Brotherhood, where would he find an apprentice worthy of the knowledge he had to impart? When Githany arrived they shared a passionate kiss, but Bane tasted the poison on her lips and realized that Kaan had sent her to Ambria to kill him, although he managed to keep this realization secret. Seeing that Githany understood the source of the strength in the dark side, Bane wondered if she could become his apprentice. He realized, though, that she believed too strongly in Kaan and the Brotherhood to accept his knowledge, and he sent her away, confident that her poison would have no effect on him.

It was almost too late when Bane realized Githany's duplicity; she had used a lesser poison to cover a far more powerful toxin, synox, which was used by many assassins throughout the galaxy. Weakened by the poison, Bane was unable to heal himself and traveled across one of the battlefields located on Ambria, trying to drink in the suffering of those who died there to increase his strength and heal himself. However, the dark side was too faint on the planet, and even Lake Natth was of no use, its dark side power locked in its cold, black depths by the ancient Jedi.

Falling into unconsciousness, Bane collapsed, close to death. A small boy named Mikki, along with his father and brothers, who were scavenging the battlefield, happened across Bane's lightsaber. Seeing his chance, Bane used the Force to control the lightsaber and killed the boys one by one. In so doing, he drank in their father's horror and anguish, using it to temporarily give him strength and buy time to find a permanent cure. The father then cried for mercy, but Bane struck him down, claiming that those who beg for mercy don't deserve it. Bane eventually fought off the effects of the poison long enough to find help. Discovering a Force-sensitive healer named Caleb, Bane was at first confounded by his refusal to help him. Caleb had no fear of Bane's power, and was unafraid of any pain he could inflict. Bane responded by threatening the healer's daughter, forcing Caleb to relent and give Bane the cure he required. Once healed, Bane decided not to kill Caleb or his child, reasoning that his healing talents could prove useful in the future. Leaving Ambria, Bane was more determined than ever to wipe out Kaan and his followers.

Ruusan and the destruction of the Sith
"The Brotherhood must be purged. The Sith must be destroyed and rebuilt."

- Bane

Shocked by Bane's return, Kaan agreed to follow Bane's instructions to defeat the Jedi through the power of the dark side. Before the Sixth Battle of Ruusan, the Sith joined together in meditation&mdash;and Darth Bane unleashed a wave of destruction upon the unsuspecting Jedi. Sensing the smothering darkness in Bane's heart, however, Lord Kaan broke the circle, intending to finish off the Jedi with more conventional tactics. Lord Kopecz was the last Sith to leave, informing Bane that his loyalty to the dark side before the Brotherhood would not be accepted by Kaan or the other Sith Lords.

Bane traveled back to the Sith compound to continue his plan to wipe out the remaining Sith. Arriving back in the deserted camp, Bane was confronted by Qordis, who offered to help him overthrow Kaan and seize control of the Brotherhood. Disgusted that Qordis did not understand the necessity of the Brotherhood's destruction for the survival of the Sith, Bane used the dark side to choke his former teacher to death, and then ordered the Sith fleet to end their blockade and engage the Jedi.

Lord Hoth and his army ran in almost blind fear of the inferno that followed at their heels. As they emerged from the forest, they were met by an enormous army of Sith. With the first Jedi lines cut down by a torrent of blaster fire, Hoth rallied his troops and managed to fight back. Hoth knew that the real trap had yet to be sprung, noting that the Dark Lords were absent from the battle. At that very moment, they arrived in their fliers and began to blast the Jedi with heavy cannons as the Jedi fell back. Hoth resolved to make a worthy last stand. Just as Kaan prepared to kill Hoth with a volley of cannon fire, Farfalla and his gunships arrived and forced the Sith to withdraw. On the ground, the last remnants of the Sith army were pinned down and forced to surrender, while Farfalla himself landed and was taken by surprise as Hoth embraced him in a great hug. Bane openly admitted that he ordered the Sith fleet to attack the Jedi and break their blockade; in their confrontation Bane actually made Kaan believe that he was manipulating his mind just as Kaan had manipulated the other Sith Lords. Believing that Bane now answered to him, Kaan led the Sith into the caves of Ruusan where he intended to lure the Jedi into them and unleash the thought bomb. Hoth and Farfalla discovered where Kaan was heading&mdash;but not the reason why&mdash;and rallied their troops to follow.

Taking stock of his situation, Kaan gathered the remaining Sith Lords and prepared to unleash the thought bomb on the pursuing Jedi. Both Githany and Kopecz suspected that something was amiss with the entire situation, but while Kopecz fled the cave, Githany was forced by Kaan's power to take part in the ritual nonetheless. As she began to chant with the rest of the Sith, she wrenched her mind free and was at last able to realize that something was terribly wrong, and fled the cave. The Sith troops who were guarding the cave entrance offered only token resistance and instead surrendered en mass to the Jedi. Kopecz, wounded and dying, told Farfalla of Kaan's plan after demanding a quick death at the hands of the Jedi Master. When Hoth arrived, Farfalla told him what he had discovered. Hoth believed that he would never leave Ruusan alive and asked for volunteers to undertake a suicide mission into the cave to confront Kaan, believing that all of them would perish in the cave. Choosing exactly ninety-nine others to accompany him, Hoth led them into the tunnels and marched towards certain death.



Hoth found Kaan, but was unable to prevent him from actually detonating the thought bomb. The wave of destruction killed Hoth, Kaan, the Jedi in the cave, Githany, and every Sith Lord present. Many miles away, Farfalla and the other Jedi felt Hoth's death and assembled a team to finish off any Sith survivors. Bane, who was many miles away, now knew his plan had worked&mdash;the Jedi were unaware of his existence since they believed that all the Sith had been wiped out with the thought bomb, and it was in the shadow of the Jedi's ignorance that he would develop a new Sith Order styled in his own fashion. However, one question continued to trouble him: how could he fulfill his Rule of Two? He needed to find an apprentice to whom he could pass on what he had learned.

In the aftermath of the battle, a small girl named Rain, who somehow had managed to survive the war, was awakened by her Bouncer companion, Laa. Her peace of mind was soon cut short when two Jedi killed the Bouncer in front of her, as they had been ordered to kill all Bouncers by Farfalla, who believed the creatures had been driven insane by the thought bomb. Consumed with anger, she used the Force to kill both of them. Bane found her sometime later and knew that in her he had found an apprentice worthy of his knowledge.

Bane survived along with Rain&mdash;who revealed her true name, Zannah&mdash;and they stumbled across her cousin Darovit, who tried to fight Bane. Zannah caused Darovit's hand to explode, and Bane questioned her on why she allowed him to live; she replied that his death would have been unnecessary as he was no real threat to them even with the knowledge that the Sith still existed. Bane began to teach her of the dark side, knowing that she could become very powerful one day. In the Sith camp on Ruusan, Bane discovered a document of Qordis's that spoke of Freedon Nadd's tomb on Dxun, a moon of Onderon. Bane realized that he could find even greater knowledge of the dark side there, and as a final test, he told Zannah to find her own way off Ruusan. They would meet on Onderon, and then, and only then, would she be worthy of joining the Sith.

Orbalisks
"There are no other Sith. There never will be, except for us. One Master and one apprentice; one to embody the power, the other to crave it."

- Bane to Zannah

After leaving Ruusan, Bane headed for Onderon in his ship, the Valcyn. He hoped to learn secrets from deep inside the tomb of the ancient Sith Lord Freedon Nadd, but his past returned to haunt him. The ghostly spirit of his former mentor, Lord Qordis, chided him for abandoning the Brotherhood. Bane insisted that he was only furthering the Sith cause, but Bane's rage against Qordis's spirit created a malfunction in the starship controls and Bane plummeted down into the forest of the beast-infested moon of Dxun.



Bane, however, managed to survive the crash even though his ship was destroyed upon impacting the moon. The jungle itself seemed intent on claiming Bane's life, but he pushed on nonetheless. He was attacked by beasts and monsters and cried out in frustration&mdash;in reply, the spirit of Lord Kaan appeared to him, and offered him help. Though in life they had loathed one another, Bane followed Kaan's ghostly silhouette and eventually found himself at the ruined crypt of Freedon Nadd's tomb. He could feel the dark side in the tomb and knew he would find what he was looking for here. Kaan led him to a Sith holocron, where he was attacked by barnacle-like creatures called orbalisks. They attached themselves to Bane's body, causing tremendous pain by secreting their own toxins into Bane's blood stream as they became a part of him. These creatures were able to resist lightsaber blows, making Bane almost invincible in battle. The orbalisks also had the ability to amplify their host's Force potential, although the orbalisks could not be removed through any known methods. The extra dark side power that was offered by the orbalisks was created from the immense pain that they inflicted on the host to invoke the necessary rage for such spikes in Force power. Bane had to wear a special helmet and gloves while he slept to keep the parasites from spreading over his head and hands, which would have been fatal. This caused Bane to view the orbalisks as both a gift and a curse.

After spending days studying from the holocron, Bane exited the tomb with the holocron to head to Onderon. Taming a flying beast using the powers of the dark side, he mounted it like the fabled Beast Riders of old, and rode towards the edge of the atmosphere where he planned to "nudge" the entire moon closer to its planet, Onderon, so he could cross to the inhabited world to find his apprentice. Once there he found Zannah being threatened by a group of Beast Riders. Bane and his monster attacked the Riders, slaughtering them and their mounts. Eventually, Bane inducted his new apprentice, giving her the rank of "Darth" Zannah, and set his new order in motion. Future Sith Lords were taught the virtues of patience, planning, and secrecy, and each was to take on the title of Darth, a tradition that had dated back to the time before the Jedi Civil War, nearly three millennia ago.

Zannah's apprenticeship
"Information is a commodity. It can be traded, sold, and purchased. And in the end, credits are only as useful as the secrets they can buy."

- Bane

Bane and Zannah acquired a new vessel from a Neimoidian merchant and left Onderon. From 1,000 BBY to 990 BBY Bane and Zannah lived in a camp on Ambria, although they would travel to other planets occasionally. The two built up a vast intelligence network, leanring secrets that they hoped would one day allow them to destroy the Jedi and gain galactic control. Bane also had Zannah stir up rebel groups on different worlds over the years, in order to distract the Republic. Zannah returned from one mission in 990 BBY with a dark side user named Hetton, and his eight Umbaran Shadow Assassins. The assassins attacked the Dark Lord, although Bane was able to defeat them, and then killed Hetton. He then attacked his apprentice in a mindless rage, nearly killing her. Zannah was able to save herself only be revealing that it had been a plot, a trick to kill Hetton and gain his data, which contained the location of Tython, home to an ancient fortress of the Dark Lord Belia Darzu. Hetton claimed there was information there on how to create holocrons, something Bane was very interested in, as he had tried and failed several times, including two initial attempts in 995 BBY, an attempt in 992 BBY after learning the meaning of the ritual glyphs on Sith holocrons, and a final failure while Zannah was on Serenno stirring up unrest.

He traveled to Tython, and sent his apprentice in disguise to the Jedi Temple. Bane had begun to wonder if the orbalisks could be holding him back, and he wanted her to research possible ways of removing them. On Tython, Bane was forced to defeat dozens of Darzu's technobeasts before he could take the holocron. From that he learned the secret to creating a successful holocron. However, shortly after this triumph, Zannah landed on Tython along with her cousin Darovit. Darovit had revealed their existence to the Jedi, and had been taken to the Jedi Temple to speak with the council. In the archives he had encountered Zannah, who he recognized as his childhood friend despite her disguise. The two had fled, after Darovit told her that he had informed the Jedi of their existence.

Battle on Tython
"Inside the fortress. The Jedi have found us."

- Bane

Zannah told Bane that the Jedi, led by Valenthyne Farfalla, had followed her, and the two prepared for battle. Though they were outnumbered by three, the Sith put up an excellent fight, thanks to the ferocity of Bane's fighting style and the advantages allowed by his orbalisk armor, and they managed to triumph. However, just as he was dying, one of the Jedi used the Force to deflect Bane's Force lightning back on himself, frying the Sith Lord and killing the orbalisks. In response, the parasties released a poison that had the power to kill Bane in days if he did not get a cure. Zannah knew only one person who cure her master, the healer Caleb. She took him to Ambria along with Darovit, and found Caleb. However, the healer refused to cooperate, and as his daughter lived on another world, she had no leverage over him. Prodded by Darovit and by Caleb's insistence that he would heal Bane if she gave up herself and her master to the Jedi. Zannah then sent out message drones saying the Sith that had killed 5 Jedi on Tython was on Ambria. Caleb then began to heal Bane. When Bane awoke days later he was free of the orbalisks and cured of their poison. Zannah told him what she had done, and he expressed his disappointment before asking her to kill him. However, Zannah had had another plan in mind all along. Igniting her lightsaber, she killed Caleb, and then used her power to drive Darovit mad.

The Jedi soon came ready to arrest the Sith, but Zannah had hidden herself and her master under the hut. All they found was Darovit, who, in his madness, attacked the Jedi. They killed him easily, believing he was the Sith. At long last, the Jedi thought they had finally eliminated the Sith. When Bane awoke, Zannah told him of what had happened, and he admitted that he had underestimated her, and was proud of her. One day, he told her, she would have the power to overthrow him and take an apprentice of her own. However, due to the incident the duo abandoned Ambria.

New worries
"Show me the ritual of essence transfer."

- Bane, to Andeddu's holocron

By 980 BBY, Bane and Zannah had relocated to Ciutric IV, where they owned a large mansion. The two possessed immense wealth, which they used to continue to build up their network of spies and plan for the time when the Sith could destroy the Jedi. Bane had also created a holocron which held all of his knowledge, and, posing as a simple collector, possessed a great deal of Sith artifacts, such as necklaces and manuscripts. However, Bane was worried about his apprentice. Because she had continually failed to challenge him and showed no desire to claim the mantle of Dark Lord of the Sith, he had begun to believe that she was weak, and planned to wait for him to age, so that she could then challenge him at his most vulnerable. If she did this, Bane believed that she would be destroying the purpose of the Rule of Two&mdash;to keep the Sith strong.

Further worrying Bane was the fact that he was aging rapidly due to his use of the dark side, and his injuries on Tython a decade ago. As such, Bane had begun to develop contingency plans, based on something he had stumbled upon in a book&mdash;according to record, a Sith Lord named Darth Andeddu had survived for centuries, thanks to the his use of the dark side of the Force. Though there was very little information available, Bane was determined to learn Andeddu's secret, and save the Sith.

One afternoon, Bane arranged a meeting with Argel Tenn, considered the sector authority on Sith artifacts, at a local cantina. Under the guise of "Sepp Omek", a wealthy merchant who lived with his sister, Bane had dealt with Tenn before, paying the man to acquire Sith objects for him. Bane despised the man, who believed himself to be an expert on the Sith, when Bane was aware that Tenn knew nothing of the true power of the dark side. Nonetheless, Tenn was useful, and thus Bane sought his help again. He had asked Tenn to find information on Darth Andeddu, and after a great deal of searching, Tenn had located an ancient manuscript on Andeddu. Bane paid for that it, and then departed.

He found that it revealed that there was a fortress dedicated to Andeddu on the Deep Core world of Prakith. Bane decided to send Zannah to the planet Doan&mdash;where a Jedi had been killed three days ago&mdash;to determine who had the power to defeat a Jedi. Meanwhile, unknown to his apprentice, Bane planned to travel to Prakith and learn the secret to immortality. After Zannah departed, Bane boarded his starship, the Triumph, and headed to Prakith, where he located Andeddu's fortress. Upon entering, he was attacked by the cult Malevolence, dedicated to the long-dead Andeddu. Bane was able easily slay the assailants, and recover Andeddu's holocron.

One the return trip, Bane accessed the holocron, but found that the gatekeeper was unwilling to teach him how to live on after death. Angered, he forced it to tell him&mdash;by plunging his consciousness into the holocron, he was able to literally take the knowledge from the device. The Dark Lord was pleased; he had learned the art of transfer essence. Using the dark side, he could transfer his spirit into another's body. Though this ritual was extremely dangerous, Bane was convinced that his will was strong enough to overpower his target.

Ambush
"I want him to see what it's like to be helpless and afrad. I want him to know what it's like to be a victim. I want him to understand that what he did to my father&mdash;to me&mdash;was wrong!"

- Serra

When Bane returned to Ciutric IV, he found that Zannah was still not back. Upon entering his mansion, he was attacked by a Force-sensitive Iktotchi and a group of soldiers. Bane fought back, and was able to kill several of the soldiers. However, the Iktotchi was able to stab him with a blade coated in senflax, a powerful neurotoxin designed to knock out even the strongest of opponents. The toxin caused him to faint, enabling the Iktotchi and the soldiers to take him prisoner.

They then headed back to Doan, where the Princess Serra, who had hired them, resided. Serra was the daughter of Caleb, the healer who Bane had forced to help him years before. She had learned of his father's death at the hands of a Sith Lord, and blamed Bane for it. She had then decided to punish the Dark Lord. Deep in the Stone Prison, Serra began to torture the Dark Lord by administering various poisons. However, much to her shock, Bane insisted he did not kill Caleb. However, Serra insisted that it was still his fault, and continued torturing him. As she added other poisons to his bloodstream, she expected him to beg for mercy and forgiveness. However, Bane was not overcome from the pain&mdash;far from it. Instead, he explained that Caleb had died because he was weak, and that Bane himself had been captured because he was not strong enough. Feeding on his own pain and Serra's anger, Bane mocked the Princess, and proclaimed that if he was strong enough, he would find a way to escape. Furious, Serra injected him with senflax, knocking him out, before leaving the prison.

Unknown to Serra, her bodyguard, Lucia, had served with Dessel in the New Sith Wars, and was stunned at the anger and cruelty her mistress was showing. Lucia made the decision to free Bane, believing to still be the same man he had been two decades ago. She injected him with a chemical that would cancel out the effects of the senflax, and allow Bane to break free. Though Bane had not recognized Lucia, he was pleased when he awoke and found himself much stronger. Reaching into the Force, he tore free from his shackles and through open the cell door, where he set upon the guards. Though the Iktotchi had his lightsaber, he was far from helpless, and quickly killed the guards. As Bane headed upwards, he sensed Zannah's presence. Zannah had managed to track him to Doan, and had come prepared to kill him and take the title of Dark Lord. She had learned of his interest in Andeddu, and believed that he intended to use the dark side to prevent himself from ever dying, and rule over the Sith for eternity&mdash;exactly the opposite, she believed, of what the Rule of Two was created for.

As Bane headed for a hangar, he encountered Lucia. She quickly explained who she was, and begged him to let Serra live. Hesitating for a moment, Bane then exclaimed that Dessel was no more, and prepared to kill Lucia. Before he could unleash the dark side on her, a blast from the side crushed Lucia, immediately killing her. Zannah had found him.

She claimed that he was weak, and unwilling to let his knowledge pass on to her. Bane countered that she was not ready, and was unworthy of the mantle of Dark Lord of the Sith. Realizing that Bane was without his lightsaber, Zannah then attacked. Though he was unarmed, Bane was able to hold her off with the Force. However, both of them knew that he could not defeat her without a lightsaber, and was merely delaying the end. Suddenly, alarm bells rang out&mdash;Serra had activated the self-destruct sequence. As the prison began to collapse, Bane used the Force to bring the ceiling down. Though Zannah was able to avoid being crushed, a wall of rock now stood between the two. Zannah fled to her ship, while Bane ran towards the main hangar. There, he found the Iktotchi. As he prepared to attack her, she bowed to him, holding out his lightsaber.

The woman then explained that she sensed his power, and wanted to become his apprentice. Realizing her strength in the Force, and her determination to become a Sith, he accepted. The two boarded her starship and left as the prison collapsed around them. The Iktotchi then explained that she was an assassin who had been able to track Bane to Ciutric IV thanks to visions she received through the Force. Guided by another vision of hers, the two headed to Ambria. There, Bane found Serra, who had been able to escape the destruction of the prison and had fled to her homeworld. Having abandoned her desire for revenge, she tried, in vain, to convince Bane and the Iktotchi to turn away from the dark side. The Iktotchi then killed her.

Bane then pepared to begin training his new apprentice, now know as Darth Cognus. However, one loose end remained: Zannah. The Dark Lord sent a communication to Zannah's shuttle, instructing her to come to Ambria. She complied, and soon arrived for their final confrontation.

Duel to the death
"I have surpassed you, Bane. Now I am the Master." "Then prove it."

- Zannah and Bane

Once Zannah landed, Bane ordered Cognus to stay back, while the two Sith Lords drew their lightsabers and engaged in combat. Knowing that the loser would die, both were fighting furiously, with Bane slowly pushing her back. Zannah then unleashed her Sith sorcery, only to have Bane successfully repel her attack on his mind. As Bane charged forward, ready to attack, Zannah played her trump card, creating deadly dark side tendrils. One of these tendrils brushed against him, causing Bane to feel pain unlike anything her had ever known. Managing to stay conscious, he was able to attack Zannah, and swiftly disarm her. As he prepared to kill her, a tendril lunged up, grabbing his arm and vaporizing it. In a flash of pain and fury, Bane released his essence, determined now to destroy Zannah's consciousness and take control of her body.

The two Sith Lords matched wills, each trying to push the other out and into the great void from which there was no return. Bane's body was destroyed, turned to ash by the power of the ritual. After a struggle of wills, it was over. Zannah had triumphed, and though a small portion of her master remained in her, the Dark Lord Bane, creator of the Rule of Two, was dead.

Legacy
"Power is its own purpose. To share it is to dilute it. You delude yourself, pretender -- Your order will yet turn on itself and you."

- Darth Bane's thoughts on the One Sith

Zannah took Cognus as her apprentice, and would continue to work to destroy the Jedi. Nearly a thousand years later, in 32 BBY, the Jedi learned that the Sith were not dead,, and in 19 BBY Bane's dream was realized, and his Rule of Two validated when the Sith finally achieved rule over the galaxy and wiped out the Jedi Order.

At some point in his life, he created a lightsaber crystal named Bane's Heart which he gave to Darth Zannah. It would later be owned by the cyborg General Grievous almost 1,000 years later. His holocron eventually fell into the hands of Darth Krayt. In 137 ABY, it was accessed, along with those of Darth Nihilus and Darth Andeddu, on Korriban by Krayt. The new Dark Lord wished to learn from Bane's experience with the parasitic orbalisks, and how he could survive his own infection by Yuuzhan Vong organisms. Bane chastised Krayt for not following the Rule of Two, telling Krayt his "Rule of One" would be the very undoing of the Sith itself.

Darth Bane was the fabled Sith'ari, the one who was prophesied to restore the Sith to glory. Centuries later, this prophecy would come true.

Personality and traits
"Equality is a lie&hellip;A myth to appease the masses. Simply look around and you will see the lie for what it is! There are those with power, those with the strength and will to lead. And there are those meant to follow&mdash;those incapable of anything but servitude and a meager, worthless existence. "Equality is a perversion of the natural order!&hellip;It binds the strong to the weak. They become anchors that drag the exceptional down to mediocrity. Individuals destined and deserving of greatness have it denied them. They suffer for the sake of keeping them even with their inferiors. "Equality is a chain, like obedience. Like fear or uncertainty or self doubt."

- Darth Bane

Darth Bane was a firm believer that the weak should serve the strong, and that the Republic was weak and ineffecutual because it insisted on helping the masses. Whereas the Jedi believed that it was the duty of the strong to help the weak, Bane thought that the strong were intended to rule the weak. In his opinion, equality was a lie perpetuated by the Jedi. One of the reasons he hated the Brotherhood was that it supported equality amongst the Sith.

Bane also sensed that Kaan and the other Sith were fools, and that the Brotherhood was doomed to fail. Because the Brotherhood spread the dark side among many Sith, he felt that the power was diluted, and that as long as the Brotherhood of Darkness exixted, the Sith would be unable to triumph over the Jedi. Kaan, Bane believed, was a coward unworthy of the mantle of Dark Lord of the Sith. He defied the Brotherhood's leader by refusing the order to report to Ruusan, instead stealing Qordis's starship and heading to Lehon, where he hoped to learn from Darth revan, who he considered a true master of the dark side.

To symbolize that his new Sith Order was different from the Brotherhood, Bane revived the title of Darth. Kaan had discouraged the use of the Darth title, claiming that it was antiquated and encouraged unnecessary competition among the Sith. In his Brotherhood of Darkness, all were equal. Bane despised this, and thus created his Rule of Two.

He had strong faith in his Rule of Two, convinced that the Sith's greatest strength&mdash;their ambition&mdash;was their greatest weakness. With many Sith, the dark side would be spread thin, and the Sith would constantly be warring with each other, unable to focus on their true foe, the Jedi. With just two Sith Lords, Bane knew that he could keep the Sith strong and safe from the Jedi. Many years after his death, he would mock Darth Krayt for abandoning the Rule of Two. The Dark Lord was dedicated to the Sith cause, and was determined to bring about the end of the Jedi, though he knew he might not live to see it.

Bane sought the secrets to immortality not because he feared death, but simply because he believed that Zannah was too weak to claim his title. The Dark Lord suspected that his apprentice was waiting until he was old and weak, at which point she could easily defeat him. However, were she to do this, she would not earn the mantle of Dark Lord of the Sith, as was necessitated by the Rule of Two. To ensure the Sith's survival, Bane undertook his search for the fabled Darth Andeddu.

Darth Bane imparted his beliefs, particularly his theory of rule of the strong, to Zannah. After he dueled Hetton and received no assistance from Zannah, Bane confronted her, asking why she had not helped him. She replied that she knew that Bane would be able to kill the man and his assassins, aand if he was unable to do so, then he was weak and unworthy of his title of Dark Lord. Bane was pleased with this explanation, stating that she was correct&mdash;only the strongest could survive.

Bane learned hatred and anger at an early age, as he grew up with a father who hated him. Bane, in turn, despised Hurst, who frequently insulted and beat him. After Bane challenged him, only to have Hurst nearly kill him in response, an irate Bane later killed his father through unconscious use of the Force. He took to the dark side with ease, at first, although the Human lost his faith after realizing that he was responsible for his father's death. Afraid of the dark side, he pulled away, only to regain his confidence with the assistance of the ancient Sith (in the form of texts). From there, Bane grew strong, quickly surpassing even Lord Kaan. With the dark side as his ally, he founded a new Sith Order, one based on secrecy and rule of the strong.

He bore a hatred for beings like Argel Tenn, who considered themselves masters of the dark side but in fact knew nothing of its power. The Dark Lord desired to reveal his true identity and power to the man, but knew that to do so would be foolish.

Bane found no value in wealth or other material possessions, and believed Sith like Qordis were foolish to care so much for such things.

The Human also did not believe in the concept of honorable death, claiming "dead is dead." Power, not honor, was the most important thing.

Despite his bond with the dark side of the Force, Bane did have feelings for Githany when the two were pupils on Korriban. She returned these feelings, and Bane sought to make her apprentice after becomin convinced that the Brotherhood was irrevocably flawed. However, when she proved herself to be unworthy in his eyes by proclaiming Kaan's virtues, he abandoned these thoughts.

Powers and abilities
"He's too strong. Both physically, and in the dark side. It's like trying to fight a force of nature."

- Valenthyne Farfalla's thoughts

Bane was highly dedicated to his training, spending hours reading the ancient texts in addition to two private training courses. He desired to become a great and powerful Sith Lord, and spent more time than any other student practicing, whether it was in lightsaber dueling or utilizing his Force powers.

A master practitioner of Djem So, Darth Bane was a skilled lightsaber duelist, evidenced by his defeat of Kas'im, a revered lightsaber combatant of the Sith. His Djem So mastery was again displayed when he dueled four seasoned Jedi, managing to slay two of them. Bane also possessed knowledge of Soresu, using it to to deflect blaster bolts and lightsaber strikes. He was also skilled at unarmed combat, being an excellent brawler. Even before his formal training by the Brotherhood, Bane was occasionally able to use to Force and receive precognitive visions, especially in fights.

Bane was also very talented in use of the Force. As a miner on Apatros, he was able to use the Force on occasion, though he had no understanding of it and his use was largely instinctive. However, after receiving formalized training at the Korriban academy, Bane became one of the most skilled students there. Bane's abilities with telekinesis were such that he could easily shatter his opponent's Force shield, as he did with Fohargh. Neither Protection bubbles nor barriers offered much aid to the three Jedi Masters with whom he dueled on Tython. After just a single practice session with Githany, he became extremely proficient with Force lightning. The electric voltage of the lightning he cast was so strong most opponents died instantly upon contact, the energy output leaving their bodies burned and charred. In addition to these skills, he was able to easily resist Kaan's mind tricks, something no one else could do.

Bane was able to plunge deep into his hate, drawing fully on the power of the dark side to unleash powerful Force Waves, the strength of which could shatter human bones or devastate anything in its path. In collective focus with the other Sith Masters of the Brotherhood, Bane was able to unleash a Force Wave that consumed Ruusan's landscape with a flurry of flames and death.

He also displayed a great tolerance for physical pain, such as that brought on by the orbalisk armor he was forced to wear, and using the infestation to his benefit by taking the pain and fueling his dark side rage with it. Serra noted during while torturing the Sith Lord that the drugs had surprisingly little impact on him. Bane could also endure the full brunt of Force lightning and survive, as he did on Tython, despite having been seriously electrocuted, and being poisoned by the chemical reaction caused by the dead orbalisks still attached to his body. Bane fed on others' fear and anguish, using it to strengthen himself. He also had remarkable willpower.

He could sense poisons in him and was able to often cure himself by purging the toxins from his body.

In addition to his martial skills, Bane was adept at more mundane, deceptive abilities. He was skilled at bluffing and reading his opponents, and concealing his own feelings even before his Sith training, using this skill to become a talented sabacc player.

Character origins
The character of Darth Bane, and his creation of the Rule of Two, were created by George Lucas as part of his backstory of the Sith he developed for the prequel trilogy. Bane was first mentioned in The Phantom Menace novel as the creator of the Rule of Two. In 2000, The Essential Chronology collated these events with the Battle of Ruusan mentioned in Dark Forces: Jedi Knight, creating a backstory further developed in Jedi vs Sith by Darko Macan and Bane of the Sith by Kevin J. Anderson. The New Essential Guide to Characters and The New Essential Chronology provided more details, and the latter attempted to correct inconsistencies between Jedi vs Sith and Bane of the Sith.

Several years later, Darth Bane: Path of Destruction, written by Drew Karpyshyn was released. Many of the details in it contradicted previous information about Bane. Another novel about Darth Bane, Darth Bane: Rule of Two, was released in 2007 and fixed some of the conflicting elements. Part of the novel covers Bane of the Sith, and later invents new history for Bane and his apprentice. A third novel, Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil, was released in 2009.

Many fans were initially confused as to whether Bane or Zannah won the final duel between the two at the end of Dynasty of Evil. Author Drew Karpshyn confirmed a few days later that Zannah had won the duel, although a small remnant of Bane remained in her.

Like most Sith, Darth Bane's name is significant. The word bane basically means "a source of harm or ruin." In Old English, Bane or "Bana" meant "slayer" or "murderer". Also, in all three Scandinavian languages (Danish, Norwegian and Swedish), Bane means "violent death."

In Star Wars Legacy, Jan Duursema's depiction of Bane was in fact based on the partially completed costume of a fan, Thomas J. Spanos.

Contradictions
Various contradictions, both major and minor, exist between the three main sources of Bane's life, Jedi vs. Sith, Bane of the Sith and Path of Destruction. In both the short story Bane of the Sith and Bane's biography in The New Essential Guide to Characters, it is implied that Bane trained exclusively beneath Qordis, while in the novel he trained under Qordis and many other Sith Masters.

Also, in Bane of the Sith and Darth Bane: Path of Destruction, Bane's lightsaber hilt is clearly described as being "hooked". However, in almost every illustration, even those from after the publishing of Darth Bane: Path of Destruction, Darth Bane is depicted with a standard-hilt lightsaber. The illustrations also frequently depict Bane wielding a purple lightsaber, though this was later corrected on the cover art of Darth Bane: Rule of Two.

In Bane of the Sith, Bane escapes from Ruusan when his warning to Kaan to not use the thought bomb goes unheeded. The dark side spirits call him a coward for running, and Bane defends himself by saying that the Sith must survive. Until he gets to Onderon, he intends to resurrect the Brotherhood. In Path of Destruction, Bane comes to detest the Brotherhood after studying Revan's holocron and the ancient records where he realizes that the Sith can never be united or equal. He plots to destroy the Brotherhood by giving Kaan the formula for using the thought bomb and feigning to join them under the guise of wanting to take over leadership.

In the novel, Bane hands Kaan the thought bomb knowing he's going to use it to destroy himself and the Brotherhood. Bane's intention is to wipe out every last Sith on Ruusan, save for himself and possibly an apprentice. In the short story, he "told Lord Kaan the folly of his thought bomb plan, had disagreed with the tactics of such complete and destructive surrender" and was disappointed no one listened to him.

Chronologically speaking Darth Rivan predates Darth Bane, and Darth Bane is supposed to be the author of the Rule of Two. However, one of the traps in Darth Rivan's fortress, as shown in A Mon Alone, is based on the Sith adherence to the Rule of Two. This is likely another contradiction.

Appearances

 * Darth Bane: Path of Destruction
 * Star Wars: Jedi vs. Sith
 * Darth Bane: Rule of Two
 * Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil
 * Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace novel
 * Labyrinth of Evil
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith novel
 * Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader
 * Star Wars Purge: Seconds to Die
 * Coruscant Nights II: Street of Shadows
 * Resurrection
 * Star Wars Galaxies
 * Crosscurrent
 * Star Wars Legacy 5: Broken, Part 4
 * Star Wars Legacy 18: Claws of the Dragon, Part 5
 * Star Wars Galaxies
 * Crosscurrent
 * Star Wars Legacy 5: Broken, Part 4
 * Star Wars Legacy 18: Claws of the Dragon, Part 5