Marka Ragnos

"The chains of the grave cannot hold a Dark Lord of the Sith&hellip;"

- Marka Ragnos

Marka Ragnos was a half-breed Dark Lord of the Sith who lived during the time of the first Sith Empire, born long before 5,100 BBY, and, around that same year, dueled Sith Lord Simus for the title of Dark Lord of the Sith and control of the Sith Empire. Ragnos defeated Simus, who was beheaded in the battle with the other aspiring Dark Lord.

Ragnos lived for over a hundred years, growing in power, pitting his adversaries against each other and ensuring that there were no threats to his throne. Following his death, shortly before the Great Hyperspace War two powerful Sith Lords, Naga Sadow and Ludo Kressh fought each other to occupy his throne; Ragnos' spirit appeared before them and proclaimed that only the most worthy should succeed him.

Ragnos lived on as a Force ghost after his death, trapped within the confines of his tomb in the Valley of the Dark Lords on Korriban. A thousand years later after his death, Exar Kun summoned Ragnos from his grave, through the use of talismans, crowing Exar Kun as the new Dark Lord, and Ulic Qel-Droma as Kun's apprentice, as an attempt to resurrect the lost empire thousands of years prior.

Thousands of years after the Sith Empire, during the New Republic era, the Dark Jedi Tavion Axmis made an attempt to bring Marka Ragnos back from death, using an old Sith artifact, known as the Scepter of Ragnos in order to siphon the Force from many Force Nexuses all spread across the galaxy, empowering the Disciples of Ragnos. Tavion's goal to resurrect Ragnos almost succeeded, but her operation was overthrown by the Jedi Jaden Korr, defeating Ragnos' spirit, and enclosing him in his tomb once again.

Dark Lord of the Sith
"Once we were mighty Jedi of the Republic, brothers in the Force. But the Great Schism between the dark side and the light turned Jedi against Jedi. Our ancestors were defeated, driven off&hellip;cast out!"

- Marka Ragnos

Feared, obeyed, and admired among the Sith, Marka Ragnos was considered to have been the greatest Dark Lord of the Sith of his age, born a long time before 5,100 BBY. A formidable warrior, he defeated Simus in combat circa 5,100 BBY, proving himself worthy of the mantle of Dark Lord of the Sith. When Ragnos took the mantle of a Dark Lord, he led ruthless campaigns against his Sith enemies. His iron-fisted rule would last over a century. During those times Ragnos likely composed his own epistle. His death was marked as the end of a golden age of the Sith Empire, despite its reluctance to continue expansion.

Legacy
"You of the future&hellip;hear me well. The two amulets are joined. The time is upon you. You have chosen&hellip;now you are the chosen."

- Marka Ragnos to Exar Kun and Ulic Qel-Droma

Ragnos' legacy lived after his death. During his funeral on Korriban, two Sith Lords,Sadow and Kressh emerged as favorites to succeed Ragnos as the next Dark Lord of the Sith and the two engaged in a duel of Sith swords, after a disagreement as to who would better serve the Empire as Dark Lord. Ragnos' spirit appeared before them speaking of a great past and an uncertain future for the Sith Empire, proclaiming that only the most worthy would succeed him.

Further events led to a major war with the Galactic Republic. Ultimately, because the schism was never healed it spelled the end of their interstellar empire. Ragnos lived long after his death as a Force ghost, trapped within the confines of his own tomb in the Valley of the Dark Lords on Korriban.

About one millennium after his death, during the year 3,996 BBY, Ragnos's spirit was summoned from the grave by Exar Kun and Ulic Qel-Droma with the help of a pair of Sith talismans. Awakened once again, he crowned Exar Kun as the new Dark Lord of the Sith, and proclaimed Ulic Qel-Droma to be the first Kun's apprentice, all in an attempt to restore the lost empire of a thousand years prior. The Great Sith War devastated the galaxy once again, but the Sith Empire was not restored.

Resurrection Attempt
"Ragnos? What can a dead Sith Lord give you?''" "''Everything I have ever wanted."

- Kyle Katarn and Tavion Axmis

Thousands of years after his actual death, during the New Republic era in 14 ABY, Ragnos' spirit was intended to be resurrected from beyond the grave, this time summoned by a Sith cult known as the Disciples of Ragnos whose leader was Tavion Axmis, Desann's student. With the help of the an ancient scepter; once used by Ragnos to drain residual Force energy, Tavion and her apprentice siphoned the Force from many Force Nexuses all spread around the galaxy and used it to empower their followers. Tavion plotted to use the collected energy to resurrect Ragnos. After a hard campaign tracking the Disciples of Ragnos across the galaxy, the New Jedi Order managed to track Tavion on Korriban. Jedi Luke Skywalker and Kyle Katarn were on charge of the campaign on Korriban, dispatching every available Jedi from the temple on Yavin 4, among them, the Jedi Jaden Korr, who participated on every single battle and mission against the Disciples of Ragnos. During the Battle of Korriban, Jaden Korr managed to enter Ragnos' tomb, intending to stop Axmis. He was nearly too late, as she managed to resurrect Ragnos by allowing his spirit to possess her body, but Ragnos himself was nevertheless defeated by Korr. Ragnos' ghost was forced back into his sarcophagus, screaming out a dark promise that he would return.

Personality and traits
"I now complete your initiation to the power of the dark side&hellip; so that you may bring to pass the great destiny foretold&hellip; Exar Kun, because of you, the Sith will never die&hellip; you have rightly earned the title of&mdash;Dark Lord of the Sith!"

- Marka Ragnos

Marka Ragnos was a respected, feared and obeyed Dark Lord of the Sith, considered wise and powerful. In order to ensure his seat as a Dark Lord of the Sith, Ragnos conducted ruthless campaigns against his Sith enemies, marking the beginning of a Golden Age for the Sith. After his death, Naga Sadow and Ludo Kressh fought to decide who would succeed him, and Ragnos' made himself present before them, claiming that only the most worthy would be his successor. Ragnos' importance among the Sith was so high, that he was summoned back from death twice, first by Exar Kun and Ulic Qel-Droma with the help of talismans, so they could know who was worthy to be the next Dark Lord of the Sith. Ragnos choose Exar Kun over Ulic, crowning him as the next Dark Lord, while he assigned Qel-Droma as his apprentice. Thousands of years after his death in 14 ABY, Dark Jedi Tavion Axmis believed that if she resurrected Marka Ragnos, she would be able to bring back a new Golden Age for the Sith. When Ragnos saw that the Jedi force to stop him was a young Jedi, he stated: "A mere Jedi child will not undo my return." When he was defeated by the Jedi Jaden Korr, he angrily exclaimed that he would return.

Powers and abilities
"It matters not who I am. My power is all that concerns you. You have both found the amulets&hellip;and each other&hellip;now the power of these amulets is joined&hellip;and I have come."

- Marka Ragnos

Marka Ragnos was both, powerful physically and in the use of the Force. and was considered to be among the most powerful Siths and Force-users in Sith and Jedi history,  leading the Sith Empire to a Golden Age of their existence, conducting brutal and ruthless campaigns against his Sith enemies. Ragnos had such knowledge about the Force, that even during his funeral, he was able to show himself to Naga Sadow and Ludo Kressh as a spirit, orchestrating their duel, deciding the future fate of the Sith Empire. Thousands of years later, Ragnos was summoned by Exar Kun and Ulic Qel-Droma so they could know who was worthy to be the next Dark Lord of the Sith. He also knew how to keep the essence of his body alive, 5000 years after his death, and was skilled enough even to posses Tavion Axmis so he could kill Jaden Korr. Marka Ragnos didn't always wield a lightsaber, the common weapon of the Sith Lords and the Jedi Knights. He mostly wielded a Sith sword, consisting of a metal blade enhanced by Sith sorcery, a weapon of the primitive Sith race, which he could hide inside his scepter. It is possible only he knew of the sword's hiding place, as Tavion Axmis did not draw it until she was possessed by Ragnos. Marka Ragnos also owned a pair of dark gauntlets which increased skill with a melee weapon or lightsaber.

Behind the scenes
"I feel pretty good about it. It was an opportunity that arose, and I proposed it, found the artists, and pretty much put the whole thing together myself. It was a great time to be doing Star Wars."

- Tom Veitch, writer of Ragnos' first comic appearance, commenting on his work on Tales of the Jedi

Marka Ragnos' first appearance was in the Star Wars comic Tales of the Jedi: Dark Lords of the Sith 6: Jedi Assault, written by Tom Veitch and Kevin J. Anderson. It was published in March 14, 1995, placed in 3,996 BBY, 1004 years after his actual death, making his first appearance as a Force ghost summoned by Exar Kun and Ulic Qel-Droma. While a figure of importance in Sith history, Marka Ragnos has actually never appeared in a story in which he was alive,   much like another influential Sith Lord, Freedon Nadd. Besides from his comic appearances, Ragnos has also appeared in the Star Wars games, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic as a mummified corpse and in Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy, voiced by Peter Lurie. In the game, Ragnos has a leading role, as the game pretty much is about the New Jedi Order efforts to stop the Disciples of Ragnos from resurrecting Marka Ragnos. Marka Ragnos name was misspelled as "Marko Ragnos" in the Xbox version of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Ragnos also received a brief entry in The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia.

Appearances

 * Tales of the Jedi: The Golden Age of the Sith 2: Funeral for a Dark Lord
 * Tales of the Jedi: The Golden Age of the Sith 3: The Fabric of an Empire
 * Tales of the Jedi: The Fall of the Sith Empire 4: The Dogs of War
 * Tales of the Jedi: The Fall of the Sith Empire 5: End of an Empire
 * Lost Tribe of the Sith: Precipice
 * Lost Tribe of the Sith: Paragon
 * Tales of the Jedi: Dark Lords of the Sith 6: Jedi Assault
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 25: Vector, Part 1
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords
 * Timeline 12: The Great Hyperspace War
 * Star Wars: Empire at War
 * Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy
 * Crosscurrent
 * Abyss