Wookieepedia:Featured article queue/July 5, 2010

The funeral of Marka Ragnos was a Sith funeral that occurred in 5,000 BBY on the planet Korriban, to mark the passing of revered Dark Lord of the Sith Marka Ragnos. Officiated by a lesser Sith Lord named Ludo Kressh, Ragnos' funeral took place in Korriban's Valley of the Dark Lords and marked the end of the period known as the Golden Age of the Sith. An opulent tomb had been prepared within the valley's Shyrack caves for the deceased, filled with many treasures acquired by Ragnos' Empire during his time as its Emperor.

The funeral was attended by many from all tiers of Sith society, including twenty of the Empire's most prominent Sith Lords; Ludo Kressh was at the head of the procession and also presided over the Dark Lord's rites of passage. The ceremony began without hitch after Ragnos' tomb was sealed, but when Kressh's sworn enemy, the Sith sorcerer Naga Sadow, arrived late to take a place of reverence amongst his kinsmen, the interruption angered Kressh immensely. A heated exchange between the two over who should become Ragnos' successor as the next Dark Lord quickly escalated into a Sith sword duel, but was just as quickly brought to an end with the sudden appearance of the ghost of Ragnos himself.

Proclaiming an end to the Sith's Golden Age, Ragnos issued an ominous warning to the feuding Lords to choose their next moves wisely, as the fate of Sith Empire would be decided by their actions. The presence of Ragnos' spirit also appeared in a vision to Jedi Knight Odan-Urr of the distant Koros system, who believed the premonition was one of foreboding for the Galactic Republic. Meanwhile, the funeral ended with the unexpected arrival of hyperspace-traveling siblings Gav and Jori Daragon on Korriban, which caused the Sith to view them as either potential harbingers of an invasion by the Republic or an opportunity to expand upon the majesty of an Empire which Ragnos ruled for more than a century.