Vitiate

"My life spans millennia. Legions have risen to test me. [&hellip;] My ascendance is inevitable. A day, a year, a millennium&mdash;it matters not. I hold the patience of stone and the will of stars. Your striving is insignificant. Let your death be the same."

- The Sith Emperor, to a lone Jedi sent to kill him

The Sith Emperor was extraordinarily powerful in the Force and arguably the longest reigning Sith Lord in the galactic history. His birth name was Tenebrae, and was granted the title of Lord Vitiate by an ancient Dark Lord of the Sith, Marka Ragnos during the time of Old Sith Empire. He survived the Great Hyperspace War to become the Dark Lord and Emperor of a reconstituted Sith Empire.

According to legend, he was the illegitimate son of Lord Dramath of Medriaas and a poor farm woman.

Childhood on Medriaas
"Have you ever heard tales of the Emperor's childhood?''" "I don't even know what planet he's from." "''Few people do. He's hidden his past, because if the truth came to light none would follow him."

- Darth Nyriss and Scourge

According to stories circulating among the Dark Council, Tenebrae was born in the decades before the Great Hyperspace War on Medriaas, a fertile and vibrant agricultural world on the far fringes of the Old Sith Empire. He was born to a family of simple farmers, and it was said that he was born with eyes as black as the void of space. He never cried, even as a infant, no animal would come near him, and when he spoke, his voice carried a power and weight that a child should not have. When he was six years old, he began manifesting signs of being strong in the Force, however, his parents were not Force sensitive, and as a result, his father was suspicious. He confronted his wife, who admitted to having cheated on him with the Sith Lord who ruled the planet. The farmer became enraged over his wife's adultery, attacking her. Tenebrae fed on the father's anger and hate to call upon the dark side, and telekinetically broke his neck with a mere thought. He then tortured his mother for months with the Force for having betrayed their family, eventually killing her. Afterwards, he forced the other villagers to bow down to him, torturing and killing those who refused with the Force. For the next few years, his influence and reputation spread throughout the neighboring villages, and he raised legions of followers, some frightened into obedience, and others fanatically devoted to him. He slaughtered thousands in his rise to power, with many of them tortured for days in public executions to feed his insatiable appetite for suffering, savoring their agonies.

Tenebrae's birth father, Lord Dramath, had heard rumors of his illegitimate son's activities, but they happened in a remote and unimportant area. He had long forgotten about the farm woman who bore him a son, and he thought what was happening in a few small villages didn't concern him. Because of that, he didn't decide to go see Tenebrae until four years had passed. He had gone to decide if Tenebrae would be suitable to serve Dramath, or if he should be killed; however, Tenebrae intended to neither serve, nor die. When they met, Tenebrae proved the stronger of the two. Even though he was only ten years old, he stripped his father of his power and his sanity before killing him, with Lord Dramath's last moments weeping in terror, looking up into his son's black eyes. It took Tenebrae three more years to subjugate the rest of Medriaas. While Dramath's firstborn son fled Medriaas, other Sith Lords tried to seize the unoccupied throne of the world, only to fall before Tenebrae, who became more ruthless and powerful with each victory.

Sith Lord of Nathema
When he was thirteen, he came before Marka Ragnos, the Dark Lord of the Sith and the ruler of the Sith Council and Sith Empire. Lord Ragnos was impressed by the youth's power and ambition, and recognized him as the ruler of Medriaas, bestowing on him the name of Lord Vitiate. Lord Vitiate returned to his home world, which he renamed Nathema, and proceeded to rule and study the Dark Side. He built a palace on the site of his childhood home, where he killed his parents. His rule lasted for a hundred years.

After Ragnos's death, Vitiate did not join in the struggle for succession, nor was he involved in the conflict between Naga Sadow and Ludo Kressh, or the Great Hyperspace War. However, after the Sith Empire was defeated by the Republic and the Jedi, he emerged from his isolation to call a council of all the remaining Sith Lords, inviting them to his palace where they would participate in a ritual to unlock the power of the Dark Side, unleashing power beyond anything they ever witnessed or imagined. Some refused to go, but many more came. They thought that one Sith Lord couldn't do anything against a hundred. He was considered the ruler of a single unimportant planet, who was a scholar rather than a warrior who fought any noteworthy battles, conquests, or victories beyond Nathema. Furthermore, the Sith Lords were afraid that the Jedi would wipe them all out, and they were desperate for anything they could use against them. Lord Vitiate used those fears, making public speeches with graphic warnings of what the Jedi would do, broadcasting and transmitting them throughout the entire Empire, persuading the Lords to set aside their suspicions of himself and each other to unite in a single cause.

At the same time, he had his scientists and historians secretly search for the location of the world of Dromund Kaas. The group Vitiate assigned to locate Dromund Kaas operated in secrecy, hidden day and night in a lab while they studied ancient star maps and astrogation charts, finally theorizing a hyperspace route to the world. When the Sith Lords arrived on Nathema, Lord Vitiate quickly brought them under control. He crushed their resistance and dominated their minds, turning them into slaves to his will and forcing them to participate in the most complex ritual of Sith magic ever attempted. Calling on the Dark Side, Vitiate consumed them, absorbing all their power and totally obliterating all traces of them. However, the Sith Lords weren't the only victims, the ritual also killed all life on Nathema, all the people, animals, plants, every living being touched by the Force, their life force consumed by Vitiate. Afterwards, Nathema ceased to be a world, but was a lifeless husk sucked dry of even the Force itself, while Vitiate became immortal. He ceased to be merely Lord Vitiate and became the Emperor.

Rebuilding an empire on Dromund Kaas
The Emperor was able to blame the destruction of his homeworld on the Jedi, frightening the remaining Sith, and then offering them a glimpse of hope, promising to take all those who pledge their loyalty to him to a world where the Jedi could never find them. He did not go straight to Dromund Kaas, rather he took them on a long and trying exodus where the Sith were repeatedly forced to turn to him for leadership, thus increasing their dependence on him to the point when they finally reached Dromund Kaas, they basically worshiped their Emperor as a deity.

Finally, the fleet found Dromund Kaas, and the Emperor set up a new home on the planet's surface with his most trusted Sith Lords. There, he began building a new, revitalized Empire, vowing to return and defeat the Republic. However, Jedi Master Gnost-Dural suggested that the Sith spirits in the Korriban mausoleums did not support the Sith Emperor's rule, since they gave the title of Dark Lord to Exar Kun in 3,997 BBY.

The Emperor approached both his Sith counterparts, and their non-Sith servants with an offer to build an orderly society, a society which would eventually control the Galaxy. The remnants of the Sith gathered to his banner, and the Emperor created the Dark Council, at which time he left the public arena to pursue other, more mysterious goals.

Testing the forces of the Republic


About two years before the Mandalorian Wars begun, the Emperor sent a Sith pureblood emissary to the leader of the Mandalorians, Mandalore the Ultimate, and told him that he was sent by the descendant of the Sith Lord who drove Dramath the Second into exile. The emissary persuaded Mandalore to help him search for Dramath's tomb, which was on the snowy world of Rekkiad, where the Sith broke into Dramath's crypt and took Dramath's remains for his Lord. In return, the emissary told Mandalore of a vision the Emperor had received of the Mandalorians crushing the Republic in a glorious victory, and Mandalore believed him. What Mandalore didn't realize was that the Sith used the power of the Dark Side to manipulate him into launching a war against the Republic to test its strength. He only came to know that when he laid dying at Jedi Knight Revan's feet following their duel; however, he managed to tell Revan about the Sith's existence before he died.

Having found out about the Sith's involvement in the War, Revan and his friend Malak came to the frozen world of Rekkiad to find out more, there they discovered Dramath's tomb where they found his sarcophagus, and inside it a datacron which had information about Dramath's life and history. The two Jedi then traveled into the Unknown Regions to try to investigate, which led them to first Nathema, and then Dromund Kaas. They disguised themselves as mercenaries, and spent months finding out everything they were able to about the Emperor and his people. They discovered that even back then, the Emperor was planning to invade the Republic. When Revan and Malak found out, they attempted to stop him. They found a member of the Imperial Guard who was seemingly willing to sneak them into the Citadel; however, the Guard were bound to the Emperor's will, the result being that Revan and Malak were led into a setup, with the Emperor waiting for them. The two Jedi underestimated his power, when they tried to battle him, he broke their wills and dominated their minds, turning them into puppets. Afterwards, when Revan and Malak left Dromund Kaas they were following the orders of their new master. He ordered them to both recover the ancient Star Forge for use by the True Sith, and to act as a vanguard to set the stage for the Sith invasion, with instructions to report back when all resistance was crushed. Revan and Malak complied, initiating the Jedi Civil War.

While Revan and Malak underestimated the Dark Lord's power, he also underestimated them too. The two Jedi's minds were stronger than he assumed, their minds twisting and changing his instructions until they thought they were acting of their own accord. While the two Jedi were turned to the Dark Side, they found the strength to suppress all memory of the Emperor, partially freeing them from his control. When the Emperor failed to hear from them, he thought they failed and returned to his original plans of slowly building up his strength so that when he invaded, he would be certain of victory.

Throughout the Jedi Civil War, Revan deliberately left key Republic infrastructure intact on many planets to assure stability so that he could take his Empire to war with the hidden faction lead by this mysterious Emperor. Revan's ultimate plan never came into fruition as Malak betrayed him and took the mantle of Dark Lord of the Sith for himself. Caring little for his former master's aspirations of stability, Malak sought to destroy anything that got in his way to achieve his goals. Malak was eventually hunted down and killed by his former master, who was redeemed by the Jedi Council, effectively putting an end to the potential vanguard.

Revan and his allies gain time
After Malak's death, the remnants of Revan's Empire was destroyed by Meetra Surik, the "Jedi Exile" who once served as a general in Revan's army. Shortly after her victory, Surik journeyed to the Unknown Regions to search for Revan, who disappeared after the end of the Jedi Civil War due to his efforts to destroy the "True" Sith. Her travels first brought her to Nathema, and then Dromund Kaas where she found Revan a prisoner of Darth Nyriss, a member of the Emperor's Dark Council. She found an apparent ally in Scourge, a Sith Lord who realized the scope of the Emperor's evil nature, and was willing to join forces with the two Jedi in order to assassinate him. But in order to break into Nyriss' stronghold to free Revan, Scourge sought the Emperor's help and revealed him the members of a conspiracy on the Dark Council, including Nyriss. The Emperor agreed to act and promised Scourge that he may reward him for his service, but warned that if his information is false, then he'll suffer a fate worse than death. The Sith Emperor dispatched the Imperial Guard to destroy Nyriss and her fellow conspirators but that was not the end. The Emperor slaughtered the entire Dark Council, including the members who weren't part of the conspiracy, so they can be replaced with less-confrontational Sith and imposed martial law on Dromund Kaas, placing the entire planet in lockdown.

To stop his insane plans, Revan, Meetra and Scourge attempted to slay the Emperor. However, the plan failed when Surik was killed by Scourge, who had foreseen that a Jedi other than Revan or Surik would be most likely to slay the Emperor, while Revan was incapacitated by the Emperor's Force Lightning. Scourge then claimed that the Jedi were working with Nyriss. As Scourge brought his lightsaber to finish Revan off, the Emperor stopped him, seeing this as proof of his loyalty. Afterward, the Emperor imprisoned Revan in a state between life and death, feeding on him while trying to learn vital information regarding both the Jedi Order and the Galactic Republic. Revan, however, was able to resist with the help of Meetra's spirit, even subtly influencing the Dark Lord's thoughts, and exploiting his caution, patience and fear of death to delay his planned attack on the Jedi and Republic as much as possible.

As for Scourge, the Emperor granted him the position of Emperor's Wrath, being his personal enforcer and executioner and subjected him to the same ritual that granted him immortality. Scourge accepted the position, knowing that it would give him time to plot the Emperor's downfall and to await the prophesied champion who would finish him off.

About 300 years later, Revan's efforts finally failed when the "True" Sith finally revealed itself to the known galaxy, thus initiating the Great Galactic War.

Great Galactic War
In the year 3,681 BBY, the Emperor and his Empire withdrew from their seclusion on Dromund Kaas and attacked the Republic in what was considered to be the best orchestrated military strike in galactic history. The Sith Emperor led his people through the war with meticulous cunning, creating widespread fear and panic that turned the Republic against itself and allowing his followers to systematically exterminate their age-old Jedi adversaries.

Around 3,678 BBY, his apprentice, a hybrid Sith called Exal Kressh, betrayed him and fled to Republic space. He maintained his presence inside her mind, tracing her location, and deferred the choice of who to hunt her down to the Dark Council, who settled on Sith apprentice Teneb Kel for the task. Eventually, Kel tracked Kressh back to Korriban and succeeded in killing her.

The Sith Emperor led the Sith Empire during the Great Galactic War and after its conclusion withdrew, deferring control to his Dark Council, in order to pursue his own mysterious goals. By the time of the Great War, he was well over 1,400 years old.

Cold War
Eventually, a lone Jedi Knight began to gain the individual attention of the Emperor. After defeating Darth Angral aboard the Super Weapon, the Desolator, the Jedi Knight was confronted by the Emperor. The Emperor had taken control of the Jedi's Padawan, Kira Carsen, who was a Child of the Emperor and attempted to kill the lone Jedi. However, the Knight proved to be more powerful than expected, leaving the Emperor no choice but to destroy the Desolator through Kira. Kira, however, was able to overcome his will, cutting their link. The Knight and the Padawan escaped.

Learning about the Emperor's location, the Jedi Knight invaded his fortress orbiting Dromund Kaas. The plan implemented by Jedi Masters Tol Braga, Warren Sedoru and Leeha Narezz was to take the Emperor on Tython and turn him to the light side. However they were all defeated and placed under his control. Only the Jedi Knight severed it because of Orgus Din's appearance. He escaped the Fortress with the help of Lord Scourge who betrayed his master.

The Emperor was been destroyed after a seemingly fatal duel with the Knight.

Powers and Abilities
The Sith Emperor was a frighteningly powerful and proficient practitioner of the dark side of the Force. Even at a young age, Tenebrae proved to have immense potential in the use of the Force. When he was just a child of six, he was able to use the Force to kill his father by telekinetically breaking his neck, and torture his mother to death over a prolonged period. Also, when he was only ten years old, he was able to strip the Sith Lord Dramath of his power and mind. The Emperor possessed a great knowledge of Sith Magic. His usage of Sith Sorcery was overwhelmingly destructive, evidenced when he used his power to drain the life and Force from his home planet, granting him immortality. Another one of the Emperor's talents was being able to dominate the minds of other beings. His mind control powers were enough to completely overpower the wills of both Revan and Malak. The Sith Lord's power in Sith Magic also allowed him access to the Illusion spell, such as when he created duplicates of himself against a lone Jedi sent to kill him.

The Sith Emperor was also skilled in the use of telekinesis, able to unleash overpowering waves of Force energy without the use of a hand gesture like most Force-users. The strength of his telekinesis was enough to send Revan flying across his throne room and effortlessly disintegrate T3-M4. The Sith Emperor was also able to create a shield of Force energy around himself, such as when he defended himself from T3-M4's flamethrower. The Dark Lord of the Sith was extremely skilled in the use of Force Lightning, utilizing it in the form of a single bolt or a devastating Force Storm. The voltage of his Force Lightning was enough to severely wound a Jedi of Revan's caliber. When enraged, his normally black eyes would flash red, demonstrating his deep immersion in the dark side. The Sith Emperor could also drain knowledge out of his victims, such as when he attempted to learn Republic secrets from Revan while the Jedi was in stasis. The Dark Lord also had an affinity with the use of telepathy, such as when he formed a mental link with his apprentice Exal Kressh.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan
 * Star Wars: The Old Republic, Blood of the Empire Act 1: Shades of the Sith
 * Star Wars: The Old Republic, Blood of the Empire Act 2: The Broken World
 * Star Wars: The Old Republic, Blood of the Empire Act 3: Burn the Future
 * Star Wars: The Old Republic, Threat of Peace Act 1: Treaty of Coruscant
 * Star Wars: The Old Republic: Deceived
 * Timeline 1: Treaty of Coruscant
 * Timeline 4: The Empire Changes Strategy
 * Timeline 5: The Battle of Bothawui
 * Timeline 6: Onslaught of the Sith Empire
 * Timeline 7: Peace for the Republic?
 * Timeline 8: The Jedi Civil War
 * Timeline 9: The Mandalorian Wars
 * Timeline 10: The Exar Kun War
 * Timeline 11: Rebirth of the Sith Empire
 * Timeline 12: The Great Hyperspace War
 * Star Wars: The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance
 * Star Wars: The Old Republic
 * Star Wars: Darth Plagueis