Adas

"I do not waste my teachings on the weak."

- Adas

Adas was king of Korriban and the Sith in a reign that lasted nearly three hundred years. He was large for his species, his skin was unusually charcoal-colored, and he was raised as a chosen being from his youth. Encasing himself in ebon armor, he wielded a massive battle-ax, and became a master of Sith magic. Circa 28,000 BBY, Adas united the disparate nations of Korriban in a series of bloody conflicts, eventually solidifying himself as the sole leader of his people.

The Sith hailed Adas as the Sith'ari, or "Overlord." The commonly held belief was that he was invincible, and that his reign would be eternal. Circa 27,700 BBY, Rakata from the Infinite Empire arrived on Korriban, and taught Adas how to harness the technology of holocrons. Adas created one of these devices, but soon realized that the new arrivals were attempting to conquer Korriban. He took his battle-ax to the aliens, and with his people at his side, drove them off. In doing so, he lost his life.

Adas's influence, however, would continue for many years following his death. His holocron, lost on Ashas Ree during the Great Hyperspace War, would later be found by fallen Jedi Knight Freedon Nadd, who used Adas's teachings to subjugate and rule Onderon. When that planet cast off the yoke of Sith oppression in 4000 BBY, the Jedi attempted to hide the holocron, so that it would not fall into the wrong hands. For nearly four thousand years it remained safely hidden on Kodai, but was retrieved in the years prior to the Clone Wars. Murder was committed several times in attempts to gain control of the holocron, and it was eventually returned to Korriban while in the possession of Dark Lady of the Sith Lumiya.

King
"More than twenty-five thousand years ago, the Sith were unified by the long-lived King Adas, who led the revolt against Rakata invaders and subsequently acquired Rakatan technology."

- Seviss Vaa

A Sith male, Adas was born on the planet Korriban at least three thousand years before the formation of the Galactic Republic. Due to the charcoal-colored pigmentation of his skin, which was unusual for the red-skinned Sith, Adas was considered a chosen being, and was raised as such during his youth. As he grew older, he grew to be substantial in size, and displayed great intelligence as well as skill in combat. Adas was also particularly adept in the use of Sith magic. He encased himself in a suit of spiked, ebon armor, and was armed with an oversized, alchemically-forged battle-ax. Circa 28,000 BBY, Adas took his ax to his fellow Sith in a series of brutal conflicts, eventually uniting and consolidating the disparate nations of his homeworld.

In doing so, Adas became the undisputed ruler and king of Korriban. The general perception held by his people was that he would live forever, with a reign eternal, and he came to be revered as a god. The period of his rule became known as the "Reign of the Ax" and over time, Adas was given the moniker of Sith'ari, meaning "Lord" or "Overlord." He was three hundred years old when Rakatan soldiers of the Infinite Empire moved against Korriban. At first, the aliens taught King Adas how to record his essence into a device called a "holocron," in an attempt to lull the Sith ruler into their confidence. Putting his newfound knowledge to use, Adas created his own holocron, although the device became more a testament to his accomplishments than a teaching device. Eventually, though, the Rakatans were more blatant in their actions, and attempted to conquer the Sith, using their Force-based technology.

Adas's forces gathered in a large army on the fields of Korriban to face the invading Rakata, whose landed their ships as the king's soldiers chanted their leader's name. The Sith were more than able to defend themselves, and Adas, refusing to tolerate their actions even in his advanced age, led his people in the vehement defense of Korriban. He personally participated in the punitive action, driving back the invaders with his massive ax. In the process, he was able to capture the Rakatan starships, and turn them against the invaders. Adas's forces were able to push on from Korriban, and reach Ziost, Malachor V, and Tund. However, in securing what he hoped would be a future of freedom for his people, Adas perished. A Sith named Yshaar Kael gained the title of "Betrayer of Adas" around this time before being captured by the Rakata.

Legacy
"While some among the Kissai priests deem that the prophecy began and ended with Adas, many more await the Sith'ari return."

- Sorzus Syn, on the prophecy of the Sith'ari.

Without the stabilizing influence of Adas as king, Korriban once again devolved into a state of constant civil war, with many claiming the title of Sith'ari. Some of the Sith prophesied that a perfect being would one day arise and assume the position of Sith'ari, although a number of the Kissai priests believed that Adas was the only true Sith'ari and that the prophecy had began and ended with him. As a result of the internal strife, the Sith capital was relocated to Ziost. Details of Adas's exploits were later recorded by the Sith in the Holocron of King Nakgru and at some point, a mural depicting him was painted on the Mongrel Altar, a monument situated on Korriban. Stability eventually returned to the worlds of the Sith and a new Sith Empire was formed, which followed Adas's example of how the Sith could gain power from the leadership of a strong individual. Almost twenty-one thousand years after his death, a group of Dark Jedi known as the Exiles landed on Korriban, and subjugated the Sith people with their mastery of the Force, and their superior technology, such as lightsabers. Initially hailed as Jen'jidai, the Exiles managed to destroy Adas's eventual successor of that time period, and were then understood by the Sith people to be gods, more powerful than Adas had ever been. Ajunta Pall, the leader of the Exiles, was declared as the blood heir to Adas, and the Dark Jedi Sorzus Syn studied the accounts of Adas's reign that were detailed in the Nakgru Holocron. At the time of his death, Adas had given his holocron to his second in command, or "Shadow Hand." The device had been handed down through the generations and was eventually given to the newcomers, who were then hailed as Sith Lords.

The Sith Empire thrived for many years, until the Great Hyperspace War of 5000 BBY, where it was all but destroyed by the Galactic Republic. During that conflict, Adas's holocron was lost on Ashas Ree by the Sith Lord Garu. In 4400 BBY, it was discovered by the fallen Jedi Freedon Nadd. With the power of Adas's teachings at his disposal, Nadd was able to conquer and subjugate the planet Onderon. During the Beast Wars, the holocron fell into the hands of Queen Amanoa, wife of King Ommin, who was descended from Nadd. She too studied the ancient Sith's teachings, and eventually passed the device on to her apprentice Novar. Novar, in turn, used the holocron to instruct further Onderonian Sith acolytes. The dictates of the long-dead Sith king kept the planet in an age of darkness, until the Sith hold on the planet was broken by the Jedi during the Second Battle of Onderon. The Jedi recovered the device and buried it under tons of water on Kodai, in the hopes that no one else would fall under Adas's influence. During the New Sith Wars, Brotherhood of Darkness member Seviss Vaa researched the worlds of the Sith Empire, and covered Adas's reign in his writings. His research was later collected by Palpatine, known also as Darth Sidious, in the Telos Holocron, the contents of which were later published by Jedi Master Tionne Solusar in 40 ABY.

In 29 BBY Norval, a student of Sith history named Murk Lundi recovered the holocron, but the device was subsequently confiscated by Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi and turned over to the Jedi Council. The Council, in turn, entrusted Adas's holocron to the library of House Pelagia in the Tapani sector. Darth Sidious dispatched Carnor Jax's father, a Sun Guard, to retrieve Adas's holocron, but the man failed and as a result, was killed by the Sith Lord. During the Great Jedi Purge that began in 19 BBY, Mecrosa Order agent Sir Nevil Tritum infiltrated the House Pelagia library. Killing three Jedi that guarded the device, he was able to bring it back to his superiors. It eventually fell into the possession of the Dark Lady Lumiya, who returned it to Korriban, where she resided for some time.

Personality and traits
"When Adas roared, other Sith rushed to his side or fled in terror. He enslaved the foolish and executed the idealists. When warriors challenged him, he drank their bloodsoup to honor their deaths."

- Sorzus Syn

Adas was both a monarch and a god to his people, and during the end of his reign, Adas was given the title of Sith'ari&mdash;the perfect being, bestowed upon him by the Force according to legend. A fierce combatant and a respected, though inflexible ruler, Adas was still feared millennia after his death. He preyed on the timid, enslaved those he considered to be foolish, executed idealists, and was highly derisive of the weak; his essence, recorded in a holocron, would refuse to pass on its teachings to anyone it did not deem worthy. Though his holocron was generally reluctant to pass on instruction, it did have the unusual power to affect the minds of people in its presence when activated. Though initiates such as Novar were granted access to Adas's teachings, the Sith king's essence would threaten anyone who dared to fail him. When challenged by rival warriors, Adas would kill them and drink their bloodsoup, to honor their demise. He possessed a red-bladed lightsaber and during combat, he wielded a pair of battle-axes, carrying one in each hand.

Behind the scenes
Adas, in holocron form, first appeared in a brief vignette featured in the 1996 sourcebook, Tales of the Jedi Companion, written by George R. Strayton. His role and biography was later expanded in 2006's Evil Never Dies: The Sith Dynasties, written by Abel G. Peña. In that article Adas is identified to have been a member of the Sith species, and to have had interactions with the Rakata introduced in the 2003 video game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Adas's character would later be further used and expounded upon in 2007's Jedi vs. Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force by Ryder Windham. In 2012, Adas featured in the publication Book of Sith: Secrets from the Dark Side by Daniel Wallace, which expanded upon the details of Adas's legacy. The book included an image of Adas, which was similar to that of a previously unidentified darksider who had appeared in the 1994 comic Tales of the Jedi 5: The Saga of Nomi Sunrider, Part 3, in a flashback when the holocron gatekeeper Ood Bnar told the prospective Jedi Nomi Sunrider about the perils of the dark side, thus retconing the comic as Adas's first appearance. In the Eternity Vault Operation, a group mission in the BioWare video game Star Wars: The Old Republic, a Sith Marauder named Yshaar Kael appears with the title "Betrayer of Adas," though it is unknown what role Kael played in Adas's death.

Appearances

 * Tales of the Jedi 5: The Saga of Nomi Sunrider, Part 3
 * Star Wars: The Old Republic