Sith swords

An alchemically-altered blade attached to an ordinary sword hilt, the Sith Sword was a match for a lightsaber when wielded by a trained Sith warrior. The alterations allow the blade to deflect blaster bolts and lightsabers, just as lightsabers themselves do. The blade also focuses the Force-energy of the user, giving the edge an unnatural sharpness. As the wielder grows more proficient in the power of the dark side, the blade becomes more deadly. In addition, Sith Swords are effective against lightsabers because of the way their alchemically altered metal refracts a lightsaber’s energy. Sith Swords do not require power cells, as lightsabers do." -From the Star Wars Dark Side Sourcebook. The Dark Jedi that preceded the Sith had been exiled before lightsaber technology had been developed. As the first Jedi had used traditional swords to defend themselves and others, the new Sith used the Dark Side of the Force to alter the blades of their swords into something more deadly. The resultant Sith Sword was thus created as a product of this Sith Alchemy.

The Sith Sword consists of an alchemically altered blade attached to an ordinary sword hilt. Though the blades looked almost 'glass-like', they were incredibly strong and could even resist strikes from a Lightsaber wielded by an opponent. As the Sith wielding the weapon grew more powerful in the Dark side of the Force, the blade became even more dangerous as it could focus the Force energies of the user making it unnaturally sharp.

The Sith Sword is an archaic weapon and modern Sith preferred using the lighter and more easily wielded lightsaber, though some Sith still keep these weapons. Technically Tavion did so in the game Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy, however she was being possessed by Marka Ragnos at the time, and in the fight immediately proceeding this she had used a red lightsaber instead of a Sith Sword. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that Tavion's preferred weapon was a lightsaber, while Marka Ragnos preferred his Sith Sword.

A Sith Sword is used just as a lightsaber, only it requires less use of the Force to use due to the weight of the blade (And thus not needing the Force to sense the blade position in relation to the user’s body). However, a wielder uses the Force to augment the speed of his blade, which normally would be slower than a lightsaber due to its mass. With the use of emotions, a Sith Sword can be augmented to travel through the air just as fast, if not faster, than a lightsaber beam.

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