Dark illusion

"Kintik hadzuska sutta chwituskak! Kintik hadzuska sutta chwituskak! Jiaasjen Jidai, jiassjen Jidai!"

- Darth Sidious, reciting the ancient Balc incantation

The power of dark illusion was summoned through an ancient Sith ritual using both the connection of a Force-bond and reciting a Balc incantation. Compounded with blood of the bonded and Force lightning&mdash;as well as the dark side of the Force&mdash;the user could summon the power of dark illusion, which allowed one to manipulate Force visions from across the galaxy.

Description
"We shall, however, use the strong bond that once existed between you and your master, to allow us to see things that we otherwise could not." "How can this be done, Master?" "It is an old art... of the dark side."

- Darth Sidious and Count Dooku, speaking to Dooku's Force-bond with Yoda

The power of dark illusion was one of the dark side of the Force. The power allowed the wielder to manipulate Force visions to affect a specific target. To gain the power of dark illusion, an ancient Sith ritual was required. This involved the blood of someone who was Force-sensitive and had a Force-bond with the intended target. The bonded one then needed to focus on their bond with the target during the ritual, and once the blood was drawn, it had to be compounded with the power of Force lightning. An ancient Balc incantation was then spoken to complete the ritual, at last giving one the ability to use the power of dark illusion.

Applications
"Only the presence of someone significant to you would allow you to sense this ripple through time and space.""My old master... Yoda.""Yes. Master Yoda has come to Moraband, although why, I do not know."

- Darth Sidious and Count Dooku, speaking to Dooku's Force-bond with Yoda



During the Clone Wars&mdash;a conflict that tore apart the galaxy and divided the Galactic Republic&mdash;the Sith Lord Darth Sidious and his Sith apprentice Darth Tyranus used the ritual to summon the power of dark illusion. Sidious kept his Sith identity a secret&mdash;acting as the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic Palpatine&mdash;and Tyranus, as well, kept his identity secret and was known as Count Dooku, leader of the Separatist Alliance. When they both felt the presence of the Jedi Grand Master Yoda&mdash;Dooku's former teacher&mdash;on the ancient Sith homeworld of Moraband, Dooku was called to Coruscant to confer with his Sith Master.

There&mdash;in an abandoned industrial sector known as the Works&mdash;Sidious informed his apprentice that they would be exploiting Dooku's Force-bond with Yoda, which they established during their time together in the Jedi Order, to find out why the Jedi had ventured to Moraband and to break his will. Over a sacrificial alter basin, Sidious took a drop of Dooku's blood with a knife, dripping it into the water-filled basin before zapping it with Force lightning together. Sidious then recited the ancient Balc incantation to finish the ritual and gain the power of dark illusion. When Dooku expressed concern over Yoda sensing their presence, Sidious said he would come to Yoda with a familiar face as he dipped his face into the basin.



Pretending to be the long-dead Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas through a vision to Yoda, Sidious tempted the old Jedi Master with an opportunity to, at last, learn the true identity of Darth Sidious&mdash;whom the Jedi were aware of only his existence. When Yoda refused, Sidious entranced Yoda further by empowering his illusion and making the Jedi Master believe he was back on Coruscant. Yoda thought himself to be in the presence of the Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker and a company of clone troopers in pursuit of Dooku and Sidious in the Works. When the Jedi cornered the two Sith Lords in the illusion, Skywalker killed Dooku as Yoda pursued the hooded Sidious. Yoda was then presented with a choice&mdash;to learn the identity of the Sith Lord or to save Skywalker, whom Sidious had thrown off a catwalk. Yoda chose to save Skywalker, sacrificing himself as he fell with Sidious off the catwalk in the illusion.

After the illusion ended, Sidious arose from the basin and informed Dooku that they had failed to break Yoda's will, and that they would need more time to defeat the Jedi. Unbeknown to them, Yoda had been put on trial by the ethereal Force Priestesses to learn the secret to immortality, and had passed when he defeated the dark siders he encountered, including Sidious' own dark illusion.

Behind the scenes
The dark illusion Force power debuted in "Sacrifice," the 13th episode of The Lost Missions, the sixth and final season of the animated television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Darth Sidious, who recited the Balc incantation to summon the power of dark illusion, was voiced by Tim Curry and Dooku, whose blood was used in the ritual, was voiced by Corey Burton. In the episode's script, the Balc incantation spoken by Sidious was noted as "Balc speech" and was written out as "Kintik hadzuska sutta chwituskak! Kintik hadzuska sutta chwituskak! Jiaasjen Jidai, jiassjen Jidai!".

"Sacrifice" also featured new costumes for both Sidious and Dooku during their dark illusion, with the latter debuting a sparring uniform unique to this episode. Due to the heavy special effects in the episode&mdash;such as the cloak of Darth Sidious&mdash;Dooku's new wardrobe helped keep the episode within budget restrictions, as his traditional cloak would have pushed the episode beyond its budget.