Dark side of the Force/Legends

"Yes, a Jedi's strength flows from the Force. But beware of the dark side. Anger, fear, aggression. The dark side of the Force, are they. Easily they flow, quick to join you in a fight. If once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny. Consume you, it will... as it did Obi-Wan's apprentice."

- Yoda to Luke Skywalker



The dark side of the Force, called Bogan by the ancient forerunners of the Jedi, was the primary tool of the Sith Lords, and was the more destructive side of the Force. Unlike the light side of the Force, dark force users draw power from raw emotions, both negative and positive; the power coming from strength or severity. Where the light side was associated with creation and life, the dark side was associated with death and destruction. A Force-user who followed the dark side was known as a darksider.

History
Freedon Nadd attempted to corrupt Exar Kun on Korriban in Tales of the Jedi: Dark Lords of the Sith "How can a Jedi, trained in the ways of the light, fall victim to the dark side?"

- Ulic Qel-Droma

Throughout galactic history, the most infamous users of the dark side were the assorted and most powerful iterations of the Sith with a bevy of talents impossible for the Jedi to duplicate. The Jedi rejected the dark side and all it had to offer, as following it led to destruction and chaos. The Sith, on the other hand, embraced the dark side selfishly, prioritizing themselves over the rest of the Galaxy and using their powers for evil and manipulative purposes to control and destroy. The manifestation of the dark side oscillated in power, ranging from a point before its discovery, to most common Force philosophy to seeming disappearance for nearly a millennium.

Jedi discovery of the dark side
"Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering."

- Yoda to Anakin Skywalker

In 24,500 BBY, a group of Jedi split from the Jedi Order, calling themselves the Legions of Lettow. They were led by Xendor, a Kashi Mer Jedi Knight and the first known Dark Jedi. The Legions of Lettow famously adopted the Niman/Jar'Kai style, focusing on their emotions in battle rather than meditation as the source of their immense power. The Jedi Order considered the Legions' new philosophy a destructive and dangerous subversion of the peaceful mission of the Jedi. This first conflict of Jedi philosophies led to the First Great Schism, which separated the Jedi from the Dark Jedi. In 7,003 BBY, the legacy of these deviants would manifest in the Second Great Schism. Following the Hundred-Year Darkness, the descendants of the Dark Jedi who were exiled from the Jedi Order would one day become known as the Sith.

Some knowledge of the dark side existed before the Jedi in the Infinite Empire, an ancient civilization that utilized dark side imbued technology that was later reverse engineered to create the basis of technologies such as hyperdrive. Their Star Forge was a superweapon capable of creating or destroying nearly anything by drawing on the power of a star and the dark side of the Force.

Sith Empire
The Sith took their name from the Sith species that they had conquered and through their ruthlessness and hatred founded the Sith Empire. These new Sith ruled a large empire&mdash;even though they were cut off from the rest of the galaxy until the Great Hyperspace War. Their empire lasted through for many centuries only to fall during the Old Sith Wars, where they were all but destroyed. After the war subsided the Jedi believed the Sith to be extinct, but later it was learned that the Sith had only been debilitated and adopted a more secretive way of life.

The effects of the Sith Empire could be seen in and on the planet Korriban, which was filled with the energies from the dark side of the Force. Animals such as the terentateks, who were distorted from the powerful presence of the dark side, roamed the caverns and caves feeding on the Force-sensitives that came across them. There was also the Valley of the Dark Lords (a graveyard that reverberated with dark side energy) full of caverns and tombs which once possessed powerful Sith artifacts. There the Sith even appeared as apparitions on occasion; Ajunta Pall inhabited his tomb as a ghost until he was set to peace by the relocation of a sword imbued with the dark side of the Force.

Rule of Two
"Always two, there are. No more, no less. A master and an apprentice."

- Yoda

"Any master who instructs more than one apprentice in the ways of the dark side is a fool. In time, the apprentices will unite their strengths and overthrow the master. It is inevitable; axiomatic. That is why each master must have only one student."

- Darth Revan

Darth Bane discovered a Sith holocron of Revan, a long dead Dark Lord and founder of a Sith Empire. From its contents he believed that the Sith could not exist as allies with each other and so established the rule of two, making two simultaneous Dark Lords of the Sith. He eliminated the practice of having vast numbers of Sith at the same time and concentrated the dark side of the Force within two individuals: a master and an apprentice.

Return of the Sith
"The Sith have been extinct for a millennium."

- Ki-Adi-Mundi

A millennium before the establishment of the Galactic Empire, the Sith disappeared from the knowledge of the galaxy until the Battle of Naboo, where the Sith apprentice Darth Maul killed Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn. It was because of this rule that Darth Maul's master, Darth Sidious, was able to worm his way into a position of great influence and power, thereby ultimately overthrowing the Republic to create the Galactic Empire. To the advantage of the Sith, the Jedi had grown complacent and vulnerable to the sort of warfare the Sith were capable of making, and in the timeframe of thirteen years, the Sith were able to once more rule the galaxy.

Overview
"...The Force is not a shield to protect the useless&hellip; but is, in reality, a weapon&hellip; to empower the worthy."

- Desann to Kyle Katarn

The dark side of the Force was aligned with passionate emotions such as fear, hatred, greed, desire, and anger. This sometimes led to the belief that the light side was passive, as it favored contemplation and careful action, for the dark side was known to act quickly and sometimes recklessly upon emotions and impulses.

The dark side was also used mainly for selfish purposes, although many dark-siders saw the need to justify their actions (at least to themselves). This need to justify themselves is what led most dark-siders to their eventual fate. One of the most notable was Anakin Skywalker, who joined the dark side to save his wife, at the expense of the Jedi Order. The dark side is extremely addicting, those who use its power will grow to savor it more and more. Dark side users became more powerful as they slowly decayed.

Like the light side, the dark side was often treated as though a semi-sentient entity with purposeful designs. However, this interpretation was more likely to be accepted by Jedi than Sith as the latter's doctrines held themselves to exert influence rather than experience it, possibly ignorant of their own possession by it.

It has been theorized by some that there is no such thing as the dark side, only malevolent intent in the user since most dark side users already had negative intentions in their being or fell victim to the temptations of absolute power and domination. The Jedi Master Yoda was perhaps the most fervent Jedi opponent of this philosophy, while Luke Skywalker comparatively came to view the merits of the Potentium Theory in the years following the Yuuzhan Vong War.

The Code of the Sith

 * Peace is a lie, there is only passion.
 * Through passion, I gain strength.
 * Through strength, I gain power.
 * Through power, I gain victory.
 * Through victory, my chains are broken.
 * The Force shall free me.
 * —The Sith Code

The meaning behind the words to the code of the Sith are, for the most part, obvious. They state that through harnessing strong emotions, the Sith can gain power with the Force. This power grants them even more tangible power, like dominance and secular wealth. With the freedom of controlling their emotions, power with the Force and secular power combined, they can finally aspire to fulfill their ultimate goal: "Through victory my chains are broken. The Force shall free me" referring to the image of the Sith'ari, which is free of all restriction - a being who has achieved perfect strength, perfect power and a perfect destiny.

Fear of the dark side
"You have allowed this Dark Lord to twist your mind until now&hellip; until now, you have become the very thing you swore to destroy." "Don't lecture me, Obi-Wan. I see through the lies of the Jedi. I do not fear the dark side as you do. I have brought peace, freedom, justice and security to my new Empire!"

- Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader

The Jedi Order disagreed so strongly with the purpose of the dark side of the Force that they abolished anything possibly related to the dark side. After the Ruusan Reformation, the order placed many limitations on Jedi to protect order members from temptation by dark side influences. The Jedi Order forbade members romantic attachments, relationships with their families, and any type of action based on anger. These limits came from a logical reasoning; Jedi who had deep personal attachments with loved ones also had motivation to use the power of the Force selfishly for protection, personal enrichment, and/or the pursuit of more power. Anakin Skywalker, for a large part, fell to the dark side because Chancellor Palpatine's knowledge of his secret marriage to Padmé Amidala provided the Chancellor a vulnerable opening to encourage Anakin to pursue those selfish motivations.

More liberal members of the Order considered the lengths the Order went to eliminate personal attachments extreme. When Luke Skywalker established the New Jedi Order, he disbanded many of the limitations of the code, including the rules against marriage and age limits. More importantly he allowed the new Jedi, especially the young Padawans, to still know and interact with their families. Skywalker's decision signified a return to the older Jedi teachings from before the Reformation, when Jedi were allowed to draw upon their positive emotions in fighting the dark side.

Corruption of the dark side
"The Force will change you. It will transform you. Some fear this change. The teachings of the Jedi are focused on fighting and controlling this transformation. That is why those who serve the light are limited in what they accomplish."

- Darth Revan

The path of the dark side was mentally and sometimes physically corruptive. As use of the dark side of the Force led to deeper immersion in it, this malevolent power took its toll on the body of a dark side practitioner. A well known characteristic was that eye pigments became a hideous sulfur color. In extreme cases, the taint could mottle and disfigure the flesh into a corpse-gray color, as seen with Palpatine. However, it is possible that powerful dark side users were able to switch back and forth between their original appearance and the one betraying their corruption, though it is unknown if this was due to some kind of Force technique. In time, the corruption could go beyond mere cosmetic details and directly impair physical abilities. King Ommin of Onderon was a good example of this; he was an initiate in the ways of the dark side for most of his life, thereby subjecting himself to its decaying influence until he eventually became incapable of movement and needed support from a cyborg exoskeleton in order to survive. The dark taint also has an effect on the practitioner's voice, sometimes making it a few octaves lower and raspier.

Sith philosophy saw no need to rationalize or apologize for the destruction and conflict to which it led; they believed that using the dark side gave them enough power to take that which they believed was rightfully theirs. Most Sith, such as Uthar Wynn and his apprentice Yuthura Ban, believed that they could even control the dark side, but in the end the dark side ended up controlling them. Luke Skywalker joined Palpatine in 10 ABY to better understand the nature of the dark side, but unlike many of the Jedi before him who had attempted the same task, he made a full recovery.

The allure of the dark side
"Just help me save Padmé's life. I can't live without her." "To cheat death is the power only one has achieved. But if we work together, I know we can discover the secret." "I pledge myself to your teachings, to the ways of the Sith." "Good. Goooood. The Force is strong with you. A powerful Sith you will become. Anakin Skywalker, you are one with the order of the Sith Lords. Henceforth, you shall be known as... Darth... Vader." " Thank you... my Master." "Rise."

- Darth Vader and Darth Sidious

The Sith would call it enlightenment, but no records show exactly how a conversion to the dark side transpired. The dark side was extremely addictive, and almost impossible to renounce. Every time a person in tune with the Force called on the dark side, they became more and more addicted to the power it brought them. The dark side's corruptive influences could take control in moments. Along with physical corruption, the minds of many dark-siders cared only for galactic domination through power, and the doing of evil deeds for power's own sake.

However, some dark side practitioners did not show all of these symptoms. Darth Revan and Darth Traya for example, did not seem controlled by the dark side of the Force. Whatever changes these two had undergone were clear results of the lives they had led and the experiences they had survived.

Often times it would be Jedi who fell to the corruption of the dark side of the Force. Exar Kun, Darth Revan, Darth Malak, Count Dooku, Anakin Skywalker, Jacen Solo and Atris were all corrupted by the dark side of the Force despite, or perhaps because of, their training as Jedi Knights. The catalyst for some of these changes was the discovery of a Sith holocron, an item that held all of the secrets of a Sith.

Sith Alchemy
Other examples of the corruption of the dark side are the Massassi who were mutated using Sith Alchemy. This also explains the mutations of Gorc and Pic, and the rebirth of Darth Maul by a group of Dark Jedi. However, these are extreme and rare examples of the use of the dark side to alter objects. Most common was the use of the dark side to alter and imbue weapons with the Force, making them stronger or easier to wield. Weapons imbued with power from Sith Alchemy could even withstand lightsaber blows.

Similarity to the Jedi
"Good is a point of view, Anakin. The Sith and the Jedi are similar in almost every way, including their quest for greater power."

- Palpatine to Anakin Skywalker

"The Jedi gain power through understanding, the Sith gain understanding through power."

- Palpatine

"In their hearts, they never forgot the Jedi. The hatred for the Jedi Order burns in their veins like fire, and echoes in their teachings."

- Kreia The Sith were, in some ways, a reflection of the Jedi. The Master-Padawan relationship of the Jedi, for instance, was twisted and perverted under the Sith, so both the apprentice and the Master would plot against each other with many of these apprenticeships ending with one killing the other. The Galactic Empire was no exception: If there were no enemies (mainly Jedi) for Sith Lords or Dark Jedi to face, the practitioners of the dark side frequently destroyed one another, and many organizations founded by the Sith would consume themselves through internal struggles for power. This was especially true during periods when the dark side was predominant; however, Sith and other dark-siders could also display great patience and cunning in carrying their plans toward fruition.

Some Sith did not even use lightsabers, mocking the Jedi, as they believed that they had grown past the need for such weapons by using the full power of the dark side. Emperor Palpatine found his Sith lightning was all he needed to overwhelm opponents as powerful as Yoda. The Sith's own code which started with the phrase "peace is a lie, there is only passion" was a clear manipulation of the Jedi code's "There is no emotion, there is peace."

Sith holocrons were another mirror of the Jedi, which were twisted from a tool of teaching to an item of corruption. The Sith holocrons taught many things opposite of the Jedi, such as using emotion and questing for power, which were immensely different from the Jedi teachings.

These differences did not stop many ordinary citizens of the Republic from viewing the Jedi and the Sith in much the same way because of the similarities. Many Jedi were viewed as arrogant from their standoffish demeanor, manipulative with their power, and the practice of "stealing" children from their parents sometimes led to resentment. In the same view many Sith were viewed as dedicated to a cause and seemed extremely loyal to their masters. To large quarters of the galactic population, there appeared to be little difference between dark and light, and they grew distrustful of the Force as a whole.

Sith holocrons


"The dark side offers power for power's sake. You must crave it. Covet it. You must seek power above all else, with no reservation or hesitation."

- Darth Revan's holocron

A Sith holocron was a pyramidal tetrahedron which held all of the knowledge of the Sith. It could contain star maps, information about artifacts, history, but most importantly it contained the teachings of the dark side. The holocron could only be opened by a Force adept who wished to use it. The mere opening of the devices sent tremors through the Force. Unlike Jedi holocrons, the Sith holocrons did not limit accessible information; even the most ill-prepared acolyte could find the darkest knowledge in it. For this reason, Sith Holocrons were considered to be very dangerous by the Jedi since the unlimited access to information was inherently seductive and could greatly hasten the user's fall to the dark side. Exar Kun and Darth Bane both were able to threaten the galaxy with the information gained from the holocrons, and other Jedi such as Atris were turned by them. The holocrons whispered Sith chanting, and were imbued with so much darkness that they corrupted individuals just by their proximity.

The Potentium
According to the Potentium viewpoint, there are no dark or light sides of the Force. Instead, the Force is a single entity, and the light or darkness comes from the intentions of the person calling upon it. From this viewpoint, Force powers or actions that would normally be considered dark can be justified or rationalized. In effect, to a Potentium follower, the ends justify the means. Fearing that this would lead Jedi down the path of the dark side, Yoda expelled the Potentium from the Jedi Order, a fear not entirely unfounded since Jacen Solo fell to the dark side partly due to the Potentium belief in 40 ABY. Similarly, some Jedi do not believe in the dark side, which has been known to lead them to become Dark Jedi or even Sith themselves. Luke Skywalker, Grand Master of the New Jedi Order, adopted this philosophy after his nephew Jacen Solo informed him of the teachings of Vergere during the Yuuzhan Vong Invasion; however, after being concerned of his and other Jedi actions, Skywalker abandoned this as the official viewpoint of the Jedi order during the Swarm War.

Strength of the dark side
"You don't know the power of the dark side!"

- Darth Vader to Luke Skywalker

Dark Jedi and especially the Sith were capable of furthering their abilities more quickly than Jedi. According to the Jedi, the Dark Side was only easier to learn and use, and therefore more deceptive, while true power lay with the light. This, however, is contradicted by the fact, that true Sith Lords (as opposed to ordinary Dark Jedi, lacking the Sith knowledge) appear almost always stronger than their Jedi opponents. Exar Kun was unstoppable until faced with an entire Jedi armada; the superior power of Darth Malak was acknowledged even by the Jedi (i.e. Bastila Shan, who explicitly states that she, along with another Jedi, is no match for the Dark Lord); later on he could be seen quite effortlessly holding two Jedi in a death grip before killing them; Darth Nihilus destroyed an entire Jedi Council (along with every other sentient on Katarr) while only uttering the 'words' of his voice; Kreia (Darth Traya) almost effortlessly killed all members of another Jedi Council on Dantooine. During the fall of the Republic, Darth Sidious managed to slay three out of four Jedi Masters before eventually succumbing to the martial prowess of Mace Windu (his defeat, however, may have been staged); while his climactic battle with Yoda, the primus inter pares of Jedi Masters of that time, seemed quite evenly-balanced, it was he, who eventually remained in place whereas Yoda was forced to flee.

There were however few instances of a Jedi defeating a Sith Lord (which, again, should not be confused with a case of a Jedi defeating a Dark Jedi). The most notable are: the duel of Luke Skywalker against Darth Vader on the second Death Star; the duel of Obi-Wan Kenobi against Darth Maul and the duel of Anakin Skywalker against Count Dooku. While these cases do prove, that the superiority of the Sith Lords over the Jedi Knights was far from being an algorithmic, always applicable rule, each of them appears to be a logically explicable exception from a general pattern. Count Dooku was defeated by the mightiest, albeit lacking experience, Jedi of that time, who already was tapping on the Dark Side. Darth Maul's doom was wrought by his hubris, which led to his fatal underestimation of the seemingly defeated Obi-Wan which lead to the apprentice's overconfidence and caused him to not pay attention to Obi-Wan moving Gui-Gon's lightsaber into position. Finally Darth Vader can be seen as undone by his paternal feelings towards Luke ('I can sense the conflict within You') rather than the latter's martial prowess. Luke did, however, also defeat Palpatine years after his defeat of Vader.

The only true weakness that apparently lay in the Dark Side, which could be seen as giving the Jedi the upper hand, was the strife inescapably associated with it. The Sith Lords, despite their individual superiority over the Jedi, could never ultimately destroy their foes, because they were bound to, sooner or later, turn upon each other, with each one constantly striving for more power at the expense of others, and seeking to dominate everything around him. The rule of Rule of Two, introduced by Darth Bane, while drastically limiting the number of true Sith, was an attempt to turn this weakness into benefit, with the apprentice through strife eventually replacing the master. This too however caused a problem with the Sith as the Rule of Two never made note of the possibility that one of the two could turn back to the light as Vader while killing his Master turned to the light just before death.

Dark side powers
"The dark side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural.""

- Palpatine to Anakin Skywalker

"The power of the dark side renders the Force subservient, minion rather than ally."

- Darth Vader's thoughts



Those who wielded the dark side found many abilities of the Force easier to use, with some Force powers available only to the Dark Jedi. Light side Jedi could use some dark side abilities, but most preferred not to since dark side abilities had aggressive, destructive, or perversely manipulative tendencies. Luke Skywalker, for example, used Force Choke at Jabba's Palace. The powers commonly associated with the dark side of the Force as listed below are:


 * Drain Life
 * Death Field
 * Deadly Sight
 * Electromagnetic torpedo
 * Force Lightning
 * Force Shock
 * Force Storm
 * Force Wound
 * Force Choke
 * Force Grip
 * Force Crush
 * Force Slow
 * Force Affliction
 * Force Plague
 * Force Fear
 * Force Horror
 * Force Insanity
 * Force Scream
 * Force Rage
 * Mechu-deru
 * Quey'tek
 * Thought Bomb
 * Torture by chagrin
 * Spear of midnight black
 * Midichlorian Manipulation (Darth Plagueis only known Sith being capable of it)

Not all powers of the dark side seem evil; Darth Plagueis had the ability to create and preserve life. Darth Vader and Darth Sion used their rage to heal their wounds.

Dark Side organizations
"A Sith believes he commands the Force, but it is the dark side that commands him."

- Jolee Bindo

Some notable orders of the dark side include (see also History of the Sith for more):


 * Sith
 * Disciples of Ragnos
 * Dark Jedi
 * Dark Side Adept
 * Inquisitorius
 * Krath
 * Mecrosa Order
 * Prophets of the Dark Side
 * Bladeborn
 * Bando Gora
 * Nightsisters
 * Reborn
 * New Reborn
 * Believers
 * Blackguard

Notable dark side users

 * Darth Bandon
 * Darth Bane
 * Brakiss
 * Darth Caedus
 * Tulak Hord
 * Jerec
 * Kaan
 * Darth Krayt
 * Ludo Kressh
 * Exar Kun
 * Lumiya
 * Darth Malak
 * Darth Maul
 * Freedon Nadd
 * Darth Nihilus
 * Darth Nihl
 * Darth Plagueis
 * Ulic Qel-Droma
 * Marka Ragnos
 * Darth Revan
 * Naga Sadow
 * Darth Sidious
 * Darth Sion
 * Darth Talon
 * Darth Traya
 * Darth Tyranus
 * Darth Vader

Media
[[Media:The_Dark.ogg|The Dark.]] (From the audio adaptation of the Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith novel)

Behind the scenes

 * In many ways, the dark side is the main villain of Star Wars.


 * Bogan was the name given to the dark side of the Force in early drafts of A New Hope and was established as canon in the Expanded Universe by the The New Essential Chronology.


 * The Potentium view of the Force explains it as a single entity: The traditional "light side" is simply the Force, and the "dark side" is only a perversion of the Force.


 * The philosophy of the dark side is similar in many ways to the beliefs of 19th century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, famous for writings such as "The Will to Power" ("Der Wille zur Macht") and "The Anti-Christ" ("Der Antichrist").

Appearances

 * All works in which dark side users appear.