Dromund Kaas

"I'm not sure I like the look of that swamp."

- Mara Jade

Dromund Kaas was the third planet in the Dromund system, and the lasting base of the Prophets of the Dark Side, whose Dark Force Temple contained such power in the the dark side of the Force that most weapons, excluding lightsabers, malfunctioned on the planet's surface. The site of a major battle during the New Sith Wars under Kaan's Brotherhood of Darkness, for millennia the planet's location was known only to a few, very select Sith Lords, falling almost completely out of the public eye.

Description
Dromund Kaas was located within the boundaries of Sith space, and the only planet in the entire Dromund system to support life. A wet, marshy world, the majority of the planet was either ocean or swamp, making it difficult for any pilots attempting to land to find a stable location to bring their ship down.

The swamps of Dromund Kaas were thoroughly choked with vegetation. Massive, dark-wooded trees grew in the sludge and water, congesting the landscape in places to the point where the terrain seemed almost canyon-like. Vines spread from tree to tree, and ysalamiri clung to some of the higher branches; however, as of 10 ABY, the planet boasted little in the way of native fauna. The majority of creatures to be encountered on Dromund Kaas were either imported, or Sithspawn created by dark Force users. Only very durable life-forms seemed to survive long in the swamps, with predators such as mailocs, vornskrs, and swamp wampas being among the dominant species. In deeper waters lurked creatures such as water cycs and dianogas, awaiting prey to fall into their grasps.

In fact, one of the few species that could not be traced to elsewhere in the galaxy was the dart flower. Small, quasi-intelligent plants, dart flowers would shoot razor-sharp thorns at any passing lifeform, making the already hazardous trek across the planet even more difficult.

History
During varying points in history, Dromund Kaas was held by both the Old Sith Empire&mdash;around 5,000 BBY&mdash;and Kaan's New Sith Empire nearly four thousand years later, although Kaan, leader of the Brotherhood of Darkness, was one of only two Sith to know of the planet's location. However, it was effectively abandoned until it became a refuge for rogue Sith Lord Darth Millennial sometime after 990 BBY. Having rejected the Rule of Two, a doctrine that insisted there only be two Sith at any given time, Millennial sought to begin a new dark side religion on the swampy planet, beginning what would later be known as the Dark Force. Followers of this religion, the so-called Prophets of the Dark Side, would rule the planet for years, until its rediscovery by one Darth Sidious sometime before the onset of the Clone Wars in 22 BBY.

Sidious, after enlisting the Prophets to his service, kept the planet's existence a secret. He would later use it as a testing ground for his dark side adepts, and the planet remained known only to those few.

These events, however, took place outside of the public eye, and was unknown to the Jedi Order. Believed by most to be a myth, a story used by young Padawans to frighten each other, for years only rumors were heard of Dromund Kaas in the greater galaxy, and belief in its existence was held only by cultists and anti-Jedi conspiracy theorists. However, during the Clone Wars, Jedi Master Yoda, while investigating the deletion of several planetary systems from the Jedi Archives, discovered that not only was Dromund Kaas real, but the more unsettling news that it was within the boundaries of the Old Sith Empire. It is believed that Yoda may have personally investigated the system, however any such mission would have been known only to the highest ranks of the Jedi, and any records of the project have been lost. Despite this level of secrecy, the 327th Star Corps would later fight a battle on Dromund Kaas during the Clone Wars.

After the rise and fall of the Empire, Dromund Kaas was once more forgotten, until Jedi Knight Kyle Katarn learned of the planet from ancient inscriptions in 9 ABY. Abruptly ending the training of his pupil, Mara Jade, Katarn located the system and battled many Sith abominations to reach the Dark Force Temple, where he succumbed to the temptations of the dark side.

After he fell out of contact, Jade began to worry for the Jedi. Setting out for Dromond Kaas herself, Jade worked her way through both local monsters and many Sith traps, eventually finding Katarn's shuttle, and later the Temple itself. Within the ancient structure Jade fought stranger, more powerful foes than even the swamps had offered; strange, animated statues and the resurrected corpses of long-dead Sith rose to meet her, along with the dark side apparition known as Dark Mara. After a long, winding chase through the Temple's catacombs, Jade finally confronted Katarn. After dueling for a time, Jade lowered her weapon in surrender&mdash;an act of faith in Katarn's heart. Seeing this display, Katarn realized that he could not kill his own friend and ally, and was able to overthrow the dark taint of the Temple, and free himself from the clutches of the dark side, fleeing the planet with Jade.

Katarn, along with Luke Skywalker and other Jedi, was later able to piece together some of the planet’s history. Wary after Katarn's fall, Skywalker decided that Dromund Kaas was a danger that could wait until the New Jedi Order became stronger. With the aid of New Republic Intelligence, he was able to ensure that Dromund Kaas stayed a myth, as it had for millennia.

Inhabitants
Dromund Kaas was, for the most part, an abandoned world, lacking almost anything in the way of sentient life. The major exception to this rule was the lasting presence of the Prophets of the Dark Side, and even they were few in number, remaining mostly confined to their Temple. In the centuries between their founding by Darth Millennial and their rediscovery, very few even knew of the existence of Dromund Kaas, much less that of the Prophets, with only whispers of the Dark Force being spoken in the wider galaxy. However, after their indoctrination by Sidious, groups of Prophets were moved off-world: Supreme Prophet Kadann and the Dark Jedi Sariss - the daughter of Lord Cronal - among them. In turn, Sidious would use Dromund Kaas as a proving ground for his dark side adepts, entrusting the Prophets with their early training.

After enraging Sidious with one of his prophecies, Kadann pulled the Dark Force off of Dromund Kaas, relocating to Bosthirda. The planet would then remain, for the most part, deserted.

By 10 ABY, the skeletal remains of Human or near-Human explorers were scattered across the swamps, picked clean by either time or native creatures.

Locations
Being a world of almost entirely sea and swamp, Dromund Kaas possessed very few notable locations. The one major exception, however, was the Dark Force Temple. Located in the heart of the swamp, the Temple contained a nexus of dark side energy so powerful that it disrupted most types of weapons on the planet's surface, including blasters, rail launchers and various explosives.



Built during the original Sith Empire, the Temple was deserted shortly after the Great Hyperspace War of 5000 BBY. Forgotten for nearly four thousand years, the Temple's location eventually fell into the hands of Seviss Vaa, a Sith Lord in the Brotherhood of Darkness, who passed the information on to Lord Kaan. After the instigation of the Rule of Two, Darth Millennial based his Dark Force religion there, where they would remain for nearly a thousand years, until the Prophets of the Dark Side relocated to Bosthirda, fearing the wrath of Darth Sidious. The surrounding swamp would reclaim much of the Temple between then and 10 ABY, when the ruins were visited by Mara Jade and Kyle Katarn, the latter of whom briefly fell under the Temple's dark sway.

Behind the scenes
Dromund Kaas first appeared as the setting for the final three levels of Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith. In-game, the player (as Mara Jade) treks through the swamps and temples, eventually facing Kyle Katarn in the heart of the catacombs.

Mysteries of the Sith writer Ryan Kaufman originally intended Kyle Katarn to have discovered the planet accidentally during an ill-fated pirate raid, years before he realized its significance and returned. However, this idea never made it into the final game, and was later discarded completely in The Dark Forces Saga.

There is a discrepancy regarding exactly where Dromund Kaas is located. The Dark Forces Saga claims that it is the third planet of the Dromund system, while Jedi vs. Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force mentions it being in the Thurra system. However, later in the book, Jedi vs. Sith correctly states that the planet is in the Dromund system. It can therefore be assumed that the mention of Thurra was a typo.

Appearances

 * Imperial Commando: 501st
 * Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor
 * Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith

Notes and references
Dromund Kaas