Darth Bane/Legends

"I am the Dark Lord who will restore the Sith to glory. They call me Bane."

- Darth Bane

Darth Bane, born under the name of Dessel, was the Sith'ari and the Dark Lord of the Sith responsible for creating the Rule of Two. Born in 1,026 BBY, he was raised as a poor miner on the Outer Rim planet Apatros. After killing a Galactic Republic ensign in a fight in 1,003 BBY, he was in danger of being arrested by the Republic. With the help of his friend Groshik, Dessel escaped off-world to join the Sith Brotherhood of Darkness. Initially serving as a foot soldier in the Gloom Walkers, he was recognized as a Force-sensitive, and taken to the Sith Academy on Korriban.

He studied there for a time, quickly becoming one of the best students before he lost his faith in the dark side of the Force. After a short time, Bane, as he was now known, was able to regain his faith and determination to become the best. However, he would soon lose confidence in the Brotherhood of Darkness, believing its leader, Kaan, to be a coward and a fool. Deserting the order, he studied the holocron of Darth Revan, and, armed with new knowledge, helped destroy the Brotherhood, allowing him to create his own Sith Order. Bane then instituted a Rule of Two, which stated that there could be only two Sith to avoid the infighting that had plagued the Sith for millennia. He styled himself as Darth Bane, and took as his apprentice a Human female, whom he christened Darth Zannah.

In 990 BBY, he sought to learn how to create a holocron, through which he would pass down his knowledge to future Sith Lords. The Sith journeyed to the Deep Core world of Tython to locate the Sith holocron of the ancient Dark Lord Belia Darzu. However, while Bane was on Tython, the Jedi learned of his existence, and sent a group of Jedi to kill him and his apprentice, who had recently arrived to tell him that they were being hunted. Once the Jedi arrived, they confronted the two Sith in Darzu's fortress. Though outnumbered, the Sith were able to defeat the Jedi; however, Bane was grievously injured. Zannah took him to Ambria, where she convinced the healer Caleb to help them. Caleb notified the Jedi Council, only to have Zannah use her powers to drive Caleb's assistant Darovit insane. He then killed Caleb, and was killed by a group of Jedi when they arrived, as they believed him to be the Sith Lord. Thus, Bane's order was kept safe from the Jedi.

A decade later, Bane began to worry that his apprentice was too weak to overthrow him and assume the mantle of Dark Lord of the Sith, as was necessary under the Rule of Two. He began to research the secrets to prolonging his life by transferring his essence to another body, and traveled to Prakith, where he claimed the holocron of Darth Andeddu. However, while Zannah was returning from a mission on Doan, Bane was ambushed by a team hired by Caleb's daughter, Serra, and, grossly outnumbered, he was defeated and captured. Taken to Doan, Bane was imprisoned and interrogated, only to covertly gain his freedom a short time after. Bane was then attacked by Zannah, who sought to become the new Dark Lord, but he escaped and tracked Serra to Ambria with Darth Cognus, an Iktotchi assassin skilled in use of the dark side who Bane planned to take as his apprentice if Zannah proved herself weak and unworthy. After Cognus killed Serra, Bane, determined to test his apprentice for the last time, sent Zannah a message to meet him on Ambria. Following a heated duel, Bane attempted to transfer his essence into Zannah's body. However, her will proved to be too strong and Zannah defeated him, ending the life of the Sith'ari, yet also validating herself as his successor. Nearly a millennium later, Bane's Sith Order would defeat the Jedi and overthrow the Republic.

Early life
"Hurst always said you were no good. He knew there was something wrong with you&hellip; Bane."

- Gerd

Born on the Outer Rim planet Apatros in 1,026 BBY to an abusive miner named Hurst, the Human male Dessel, also known as Des for short, was often bullied by his father and the other miners. Hurst blamed his son for the death of his wife, who had died during childbirth. His father also took to blaming him for his own miserable life on Apatros, and Hurst considered Dessel to be the bane of his existence&mdash;so much so that he took to calling him "bane" when he was in his drunken rages. It was a nickname that stuck with his father and amongst his miner friends, and for Dessel, it hurt more than any of the physical beatings that his father would give him. In 1,010 BBY, at the age of sixteen, the tall and muscular Dessel began to work in the cortosis mines of his world.

In the face of such adversity, Dessel was often forced to fend for himself. He learned to ignore the constant jibes, threats, and insults directed against him by his father and the other miners, and grew into a strong young man as he worked deep in the cortosis mines. Even at this age, Dessel felt the calls of the Force and its dark side, as he was Force-sensitive.

One day when Dessel was eighteen, a drunk Hurst mercilessly berated him. When Dessel stood up to his father, Hurst continued to mock him, calling him "Bane". Dessel then challenged him, stating that it would not be long before he could best his father in a fight, meaning that Hurst could not boss him around for much longer. Irate, Hurst grabbed his son, and beat him, cracking his ribs, although Dessel withstood it without crying or speaking. That night, Dessel, filled with hate, envisioned his father dying by picturing a giant hand squeezing his heart. The next morning, Hurst was dead. Unknown to Dessel, he had used the Force to kill his father.

After Hurst's death, his friends tried to continue with their harassment of Dessel, but the young miner now had the confidence to stand up for himself, and after he handed out a number of beatings to them in the span of a month, going so far as breaking one man's jaw, his father's old friends decided that it would be better if they just left Dessel alone. The final straw came one day while Dessel worked a double shift, which was coincidentally the fifth anniversary of Hurst's death. One of his father's friends, a man named Gerd, decided that he would put Dessel in his place. In a drunken stupor, Gerd attacked Dessel and blamed him for Hurst's death. After they wrestled each other into a stalemate position, Gerd mocked him by calling him Bane, pushing Dessel over the edge. Putting Dessel into a lock that left him vulnerable, Gerd attempted to gouge out his opponent's eye with a thumb. With a premonition granted by the dark side of the Force, Dessel turned his head and severed Gerd's thumb with his teeth.

This fight led to his suspension from his mining job, but luckily for Des, a Galactic Republic cargo ship had arrived that day to pick up cortosis supplies. Using his suspension to arrive before the rest of the miners at the company-run casino in Groshik's cantina, Dessel used his gambling talents to clean out the crew of the ship in a game of sabacc. He also criticized the Republic, insulting the soldiers in the cantina. Successfully driving every other player out of the game, Dessel played his final hand against a young ensign, and both ended up with an Idiot's Array, the rarest hand possible. In a final round where whoever was dealt the highest card would win, both players received nine. In the next sudden death round, Dessel got a nine, beating the ensign's eight, and giving him sabacc and the ten thousand credit sabacc pot. Irate, the ensign proceeded to flip the table, and began spouting various insults at the miners present. Angered, the miners moved to surround them, but the bartender Groshik&mdash;one of Dessel's few friends&mdash;intervened with a blaster, ordering everyone but Dessel out. Groshik explained to the Human that he was worried; Dessel had played the soldiers, twisting them to his advantage never relenting. Furthermore, the crowd had somehow fed off of Dessel's anger, Groshik believed. Dessel reassured his friend, but the Neimoidian warned him to be careful.

As Dessel left the cantina, he was attacked by the ensign and two other soldiers. Easily dominated by the miner in physical combat, the ensign pulled out a vibroblade. However, Dessel's unconscious use of the Force allowed him to detect the weapon. Reacting without thinking, he grabbed the ensign's wrist and turned the blade back towards him, killing the soldier. Panicked, the other Republic soldiers fled to alert their superiors. Dessel was forced to turn to Groshik, who used his contacts to save Dessel from being caught and imprisoned by Republic forces by arranging to have him smuggled off-planet to join the Sith Army.

New Sith Wars
"Now you get to see firsthand how the Brotherhood of Darkness deals with mutinous soldiers!"

- Ulabore

Dessel was hidden in a smuggler's hatch onboard a Rodian's starship, and taken to a world where he would join the Brotherhood of Darkness as a foot soldier, helping to fight against the Republic in the New Sith Wars. The Human quickly rose to the rank of sergeant in a Sith unit known as the Gloom Walkers, and, wielding a GSI-21D and a TC-22, became a skilled shot. His use of the Force made him an excellent soldier and commander, and he was able to guide his unit away from certain death many times. He used his Force powers numerous times to unconsciously sense enemies, such as during the Battle of Kashyyyk, earning him the trust of the Gloom Walkers over that of the unit's commander, Ulabore. Though Ulabore took credit for his unit's victories, everyone in the company knew it was Dessel who was responsible. The Gloom Walkers soon became one of the most famous of the Sith's infantry units, and they were sent on the most important and critical of missions.

However, things changed for Dessel after the Gloom Walkers received an order regarding the Battle of Phaseera. Ulabore knew the order to be a tactical mistake but decided to follow it anyway since he was afraid to face the Sith Lord who had issued the command. Dessel mutinied and punched Ulabore in the face, knocking him out cold, and then proceeded to lead the squad into battle.

After being blinded by a flash grenade, Dessel discovered that he could still "see" where all the Republic soldiers were. Thanks to this mysterious sight, he managed to kill each soldier with a sniper rifle in the space of a few seconds. Though he did not know it at the time, he had unconsciously used the Force. After the battle, Dessel discovered that Ulabore had informed the Sith Lord Kopecz of his actions. Expecting to be court-martialed, Dessel was saved from this fate by the Dark Lord, who offered to take him to Korriban where he could enroll at the Sith Academy. Dessel decided to accept Kopecz's offer. Having been offered the chance to create a new identity for himself, he thought back to the cruelty of his father, and decided to take a new name, one which would signify his new life&mdash;Bane.

Training on Korriban
"I think he might be the one we've been searching for. He could be the Sith'ari."

- Kopecz

Bane arrived at the Academy and immediately began to study the ways of the Sith under the Sith Lords Qordis and Kas'im. On his own initiative, he also frequently studied the archives in the academy, which contained documents about the dark side and the history of the Sith. However, the Sith Masters discouraged the studying of the archives, claiming they were relics of a time long forgotten. Thanks in part to the Masters' advice, Bane began to abandon the archives he studied at the beginning of his training in favor of increased focus on physical and mental exercise. Despite the late discovery of his Force powers, Bane began to exceed many of the students who had been trained since birth.



After training for several months and rapidly climbing to the top of the ranks among the students, Bane challenged a Makurth student named Fohargh, who had previously beaten him, to a duel. After beating Bane in lightsaber combat, Fohargh began to taunt him, causing Bane to fill with rage. He unleashed his anger, killing Fohargh with a wave of dark Force energy, against Kas'im's instructions. This victory earned Bane the attention of the Zabrak Sirak, the favorite of Lord Qordis and one of the most prominent students at the academy. Though Bane expected to be punished for killing a fellow student, Qordis instead was impressed by Bane, and began urging Kas'im to pay special attention to the student.

However, Bane's confidence would not last for long. Thinking on Fohargh's death that same night, Bane realized that he had in fact been responsible for the death of his father years before. This revelation caused Bane to doubt the Masters' teachings, and he began to fear the power of the dark side. As a result, Bane also started to lose his connection to it. Realizing that unless he acted he would fall behind the other students, he rashly challenged Sirak, who easily defeated Bane in combat and beat him savagely. Later, while in recovery, Bane wished that Sirak had killed him.

After his loss, Bane was shunned by the other students and Sith Lords. Desperate, he turned to the archives once more. It from them that he learned more about the history of the Sith Lords, and the power of the dark side. Bane began to question the direction the Brotherhood of Darkness had taken, and he seemed especially interested in finding out why none of the current Sith Lords took the title Darth. He had begun to believe that the Brotherhood was inherently flawed, and its leaders weak. Upon questioning Kas'im later, Bane would learn that the leader of the Brotherhood, Lord Kaan had forbidden any Sith from taking the title Darth, as he claimed that the use of this title would only encourage the infighting that had nearly destroyed the Sith thousands of years earlier.

It was at this time that a Jedi deserter named Githany arrived, and Bane saw his chance to reclaim his place among the other students. Githany in turn saw Bane as a tool she could use against Sirak, her only real rival at the Academy. Requesting that Githany secretly teach him Force techniques she learned from the masters, he also began private lightsaber combat instruction with Kas'im. Neither teacher was aware of the other, ensuring that Bane had an edge over both. Bane and Githany soon began to realize that they had feelings for each other, though they did not want to admit it. As his training progressed, Bane learned far more from the archives at the Academy than he had originally thought possible, and continued supplementing his knowledge of the Force with the teachings of the ancient Sith. In one of their secret tutoring sessions, Githany was amazed at the speed at which Bane not only learned to harness Force lightning, but that in a few short hours he was able to unleash a storm none of the other students, including herself, could manage. Kas'im too noted how far Bane had come with his skill with a lightsaber, and believed that he was close to surpassing Sirak.

When he believed himself to be ready, Bane once again challenged Sirak to a duel. The Human played his opponent, wearing him down before lunging out and humiliating him, sending him to the medical wing.However, he stopped short of killing him, causing Githany to doubt Bane. Following this victory, Kas'im presented Bane with the curve-hilted lightsaber that had previously belonged to his own master, a Sith Lord named Na'daz, who saved the blademaster from slavery on Ryloth. Kas'im also revealed that he had killed his master in a personal test of skill and took his weapon as a reminder of what his master taught him&mdash;this revelation left a lasting impression on Bane.

Once again under the gaze of the Academy Masters, Bane was summoned by Qordis, who revealed to the apprentice that he had been aware for some time that Githany was teaching him. Qordis then told Bane that he was to stop studying the archives. Bane, whose doubts about the Brotherhood had only grown, was angered, and defied Qordis by leaving the Academy for the Valley of the Dark Lords in search of answers from the ancient tombs of fallen Sith Lords. However, Bane found no Sith spirits in the tombs, concluding that the spirits of the ancient Dark Lords had judged the current Sith weak and unworthy. The Brotherhood, Bane felt, was flawed, and that Kaan placed the greater good of the order over the dark side as a whole. It could never defeat the Jedi Order as it was, the Human believed.

Bane returned empty handed two weeks later, nearly dead from exhaustion and hunger. He arrived just in time to learn that the students were to be raised to the level of Dark Lords of the Sith on the orders of Lord Kaan, and were to be sent to the planet Ruusan to participate in battle against the Army of Light. Bane was greeted by Githany, who informed him of the news, and led him to the archives. Unknown to Bane, she had secretly entered into an allegiance with Sirak, who wished to kill him. In the archives, Bane was attacked by Sirak and his allies Llokay and Yevra. However, Githany then betrayed Sirak by giving Bane his lightsaber and entering the fight on his side. She killed Sirak's allies, while Bane disarmed his rival. Sirak begged for mercy, claiming that if Bane spared him, the Zabrak would serve him. Ignoring his pleas, Bane decapitated Sirak, releasing all his fears and guilt in the process and fully opening himself to the dark side. His chains had been broken; he was free.

Githany was exuberant; however, Bane was less so. As she proclaimed that the two were now Dark Lords bound for Ruusan, Bane explained to her that he planned to go elsewhere. He denounced Kaan's Brotherhood, even when Githany praised Kaan and begged him to wait. Marching to Qordis's chamber, Bane confronted the Sith, asking if he had ordered Sirak to kill him. When Bane revealed that Sirak was dead, Qordis was horrified. However, Bane ignored his anger, denouncing Qordis and the other masters as cowards, and proclaiming that he, Darth Bane, was leaving the Brotherhood. The Human headed for the rooftop, where Qordis's personal starship, the Valcyn, was docked. Boarding it, Bane set a course for the planet Lehon in the Unknown Regions, hoping to find true understanding of the dark side.

Lehon and the Holocron of Darth Revan
"The dark side is strong here. Far stronger than it ever was on Korriban. This is where we will find the power to destroy the Jedi&mdash;not in Kaan's Brotherhood!"

- Bane

Bane landed on Lehon and immediately began his search for the Temple of the Ancients, and along the way managed to tame a wild rancor to be used as his steed. He felt a much stronger connection to the dark side on Lehon than he did on Korriban, which only reinforced his belief that the Rakata&mdash;a Force-sensitive race that had ruled the galaxy millennia ago&mdash;had learned to harness the dark side eons before the Sith rose on Korriban.

Once he made his way to the temple, Bane began searching for any dark side relics. Though the temple appeared empty, Bane sensed great power hidden there, and thus continued to scour the temple. On the bottom floor, he finally stumbled upon a holocron of the Sith Lord Darth Revan who had nearly conquered the galaxy millennia ago. Thrilled at having his faith rewarded, Bane activated the holocron. He spent the next several weeks studying it, and learned a tremendous deal about the dark side and Sith&mdash;more than he had learned in his entire time at the academy, he felt. The knowledge he gained from this holocron validated his belief that the Brotherhood was flawed and needed to be destroyed. Bane planned to wipe out all the Sith in the Brotherhood, and from its wreckage, create a new and far stronger Order of the Sith Lords that would eventually destroy the Jedi.

Meanwhile, Kaan, fearful of Bane and his intentions, dispatched Kas'im to kill his former student. Thanks to Githany, who had had a vision of Bane on Lehon, Kaan knew where to send Kas'im. The Twi'lek Master made his way to the planet, and then confronted Bane in the temple, revealing that he intended to kill him. After a heated lightsaber duel, Bane gained the upper hand, and forced Kas'im into a corner, seemingly defenseless. However, the wily old Sith still had one more trick in him. The Twi'lek separated his double-bladed lightsaber, wielding it as two separate blades. During training Kas'im had always derided fighting with two lightsabers, ensuring Bane had no experience facing such an opponent. Where Bane had been sure of victory only just moments before, his inexperience put him at a severe disadvantage, and he quickly lost his momentum. Bane was sent tumbling down a staircase as Kas'im advanced, ready to deliver the killing blow. Furious at himself and Kas'im, Bane unleashed his anger into a blast of dark Force energy. Kas'im managed to throw up a Force shield to protect himself, but Bane's rage was so great that the blast of dark energy destroyed the Temple, bringing the walls and ceiling down on his old mentor, killing him.

Bane dispatched a messenger drone to Ruusan, informing Kaan of Kas'im's death and handing the Sith Lord the weapon of his eventual demise; instructions to perform the Sith ritual to make a thought bomb, one of the many secrets he had learned from Revan's holocron.

Near-death on Ambria
"I am Darth Bane, Dark Lord of the Sith. I will survive. At any cost."

- Bane

By then, Kaan believed that a military victory on Ruusan was certain; with Jedi Master Pernicar dead, there was nothing to blunt the animosity that the Jedi Lords Hoth and Farfalla felt toward each other. Meanwhile, the orbital blockade sustained by the Sith battle armada kept Farfalla and his reinforcements from landing to join the battle. Not long after sending Kas'im after Bane, Kaan received a message from the disillusioned Sith, who stated that he to return to the Brotherhood. However, Githany believed that the Brotherhood no longer needed Bane and offered to kill him. Believing Bane to be a threat, Kaan agreed and she left to meet with Bane. What Kaan did not share with Githany was the small package Bane had sent as a peace offering, a piece of parchment with the ritual for the thought bomb written upon it.

Bane chose the barren world of Ambria to meet Kaan's envoy. Lake Natth, a body of black and poisonous water, had become the focus for the dark side energy on the planet, and Bane made his camp on its shores. While Bane waited for Githany he considered a question he still could not answer; once he rid the galaxy of the Brotherhood, where would he find an apprentice worthy of the knowledge he had to impart? When Githany arrived they shared a passionate kiss, but Bane tasted poison on her lips and realized that Kaan had sent her to Ambria to kill him, although he managed to keep this realization secret. Seeing that Githany understood the source of the strength in the dark side, Bane wondered if she could become his apprentice. He realized, though, that she believed too strongly in Kaan and the Brotherhood to accept his knowledge, and he sent her away, confident that her poison would have no effect on him.

It was almost too late when Bane realized Githany's duplicity; she had used a lesser poison to cover a far more powerful toxin, synox, which was used by many assassins throughout the galaxy. Weakened by the poison, Bane was unable to heal himself and traveled across one of the battlefields located on Ambria, trying to drink in the suffering of those who died there to increase his strength and heal himself. However, the dark side was too faint on the planet.

Falling into unconsciousness, Bane collapsed. A small boy named Mikki, along with his father and brothers, who were scavenging the battlefield, happened across Bane's lightsaber. Seeing his chance, Bane used the Force to control the lightsaber and kill the boys. In so doing, he drank in their father's horror and anguish, using it to temporarily give him strength. Still feeding on the man's fear, Bane then killed him, ignoring his pleas for mercy.

Strengthened by their suffering, Bane was able to hold off the poison long enough to locate the healer Caleb, who had come to the planet to help the victims of a recent battle. Upon finding the healer, Bane found that he refused to give the Sith Lord assistance. Infuriated, Bane considered forcing the man to help him, but found that his will was strong enough to resist Bane's mental prodding. However, Bane sensed the presence of another individual: Caleb's daughter. He had found Caleb's one weakness. Bane threatened to torture Caleb's daughter, causing the healer to surrender and agree to help him.

Caleb was able to heal Bane, leaving him fully revitalized. Before departing for Ruusan, Bane considered killing Caleb, but decided against it, realizing that the man could be of use to him at a later date.

Ruusan and the destruction of the Sith
"The Brotherhood must be purged. The Sith must be destroyed and rebuilt."

- Bane

From there, Bane headed for Ruusan, where he would initiate his plan to destroy Kaan's Brotherhood. During a planning session among the Dark Lords, Bane revealed himself, much to the surprise of Kaan and Githany. After the initial shock wore off, Kaan continued to explain his strategy to the Sith Lords, only to have Bane deride him, claiming that the Sith Lords were acting like cowards afraid to unleash the true power of the dark side. He then offered an alternative method to defeat the Jedi: a Force Wave. Kaan agreed to Bane's plan, and at nightfall, Bane met the others atop a cliff overlooking the forest where the Jedi where hiding.

He then led them in a ritual designed to concentrate the power of the dark side in one being&mdash;Bane&mdash;and unleash its power on the Jedi. The Sith Lords quickly slipped into the dark side, and, with Bane as the conduit, released a devastating inferno upon the forest. As the forest burned, the Jedi were forced to flee to the plains nearby to avoid destruction. However, before Bane could wipe out the Jedi, the ritual was abruptly ended. Fearing the power that had been revealed to him, Kaan had ended the ceremony, using his connection to the other Dark Lords to pull them out as well, announcing that they would board their speeders and defeat the Jedi using more conventional methods. Bane was furious. As Githany tried to justify Kaan's actions by claiming that this way was more fun, Bane realized that she was not fit to be his apprentice&mdash;she had been corrupted by Kaan already.

Lord Kopecz was the last Sith to leave on his speeder, informing Bane that his loyalty to the dark side before the Brotherhood would not be accepted by Kaan or the other Sith Lords. Bane then traveled back to the Sith compound to continue his plan to destroy the Brotherhood. Arriving back in the deserted camp, Bane was confronted by Qordis, who offered his allegiance, claiming that he saw Bane's real purpose for coming to Ruusan. Bane was intrigued, until Qordis revealed that he could help Bane overthrow Kaan and seize control of the Brotherhood. The Dark Lord then informed the former academy head that he was mistaken&mdash;he had come not to take control of the Brotherhood of Darkness, but to destroy it. He then attacked Qordis, with the Force, crippling him. When Qordis begged Bane to let him die in lightsaber combat, claiming it was more honorable, Bane mocked him, and continue to choke him until he died.

After killing Qordis, Bane entered Kaan's tent, and contacted Admiral Adrianna Nyras, who was in control of the Sith fleet stationed in orbit. The Sith fleet had been there for weeks, and was holding back the Jedi reinforcements. Now, Bane intended for the blockade to be broken. He ordered Admiral Nyras to engage the Jedi fleet, despite the fact that doing so would allow the Jedi reinforcements to reach the surface in dropships. Nyras obeyed the Sith Lord's orders, and as the two fleets met, several smaller ships with Jedi onboard were able to reach the surface. The Jedi immediately came to the aid of Hoth, forcing the Sith to retreat from what had seemed like certain victory. When Kaan returned to the camp, Bane confronted him, and openly admitted that he had ordered the Sith fleet to attack the Jedi and break their blockade. Bane then suggested that a hopeless Kaan use the thought bomb to destroy the Army of Light while manipulating him to believe that he intended to take over the Brotherhood. Kaan then played his trump card, using a mind trick to convince Bane that the other Sith did not trust him, and that he was not fit to rule. Kaan would lead the Dark Lords to a cave, where they would lure the Jedi and then unleash the thought bomb to annihilate them and claim victory, he promised. However, Bane would have to remain at camp; after the defeat of the Army of Light, Kaan planned to return and have the Sith Lords attack him, using the advantage of numbers to kill the powerful darksider.

Unknown to Kaan, Bane was able to easily resist his mind tricks, and was merely feigning obedience. Kaan believed he had tricked Bane, and was also convinced that he and the other Sith could survive the thought bomb. Bane's plan to destroy the Brotherhood was nearing completion.

Kaan and all the members of his order save Bane made their way to a series of caves nearby, planning to allow the Jedi to follow them. Lord Hoth and ninety-nine of his Jedi followed the Sith, confronting them deep underground. However, they were unable to stop Kaan from detonating the thought bomb. The blast instantly killed all the Force-sensitives in the cave. Several kilometers away, Bane sensed the bomb's detonation. The Brotherhood was no more, and the Jedi believed that all the Sith had died with it.



However, though Bane had successfully executed his plan, he still needed an apprentice. Exploring the planet in the aftermath of the Ruusan campaign, he encountered a young Force-sensitive girl named Zannah. Zannah had been taken to the planet by the Jedi several months earlier, but had been separated from them, and had spent all her time on Ruusan merely trying to survive. She had befriended a Bouncer named Laa, who helped protect her. However, two Jedi had mistakenly killed her friend, causing her to lash out in anger and kill them. Upon finding her, Bane sensed her Force potential, as well as the anger inside her. In addition, Zannah was not afraid of him, despite recognizing him as a Sith Lord, and proclaimed herself to be a killer as well. She would be a suitable apprentice, the Dark Lord decided.

The Dark Lord then took her to the Sith camp, where he spotted a group of mercenaries looting the camp. Soldiers for hire, they had fought for the Sith and then abandoned the cause after Kaan led his troops into the cave. Bane considered beings whose sole concern was money to be fools, and he planned to destroy them. The Dark Lord swept into the camp, quickly killing two soldiers. In a matter of seconds, four more were dead, and the two remaining survivors were fleeing. Bane dismissed chasing them down because he saw no need in it; the two were mercenaries and thus would be believed by no one. Furthermore, the use of rumors of the Sith's continued existence could prove useful; it could instill fear and chaos in some beings and confuse the Jedi Order.

In hopes of finding useful artifacts, Bane and Zannah searched the camp, but found little to interest the Dark Lord, for whom material wealth had no meaning. However, Zannah was able to locate a manuscript about the ancient Dark Lord Freedon Nadd. Qordis had added in notes of his own, indicating that Nadd was buried on the moon Dxun. Also in the document were sequences of numbers; Bane realized that these were account numbers where Qordis had kept his wealth, of which he had a great deal.

Before departing the planet, Bane took her to ground zero&mdash;the cave where Kaan had detonated the thought bomb. He also began explaining to her some of his core beliefs, such as rule of the strong and the Sith Code. In the cave, the two encountered a boy approximately Zannah's age who immediately recognized her. This was her cousin, Darovit. The two embraced, only for Zannah to quickly pull away upon remembering that she was now a Sith. When she explained this to her cousin, he challenged Bane to fight, despite the fact that he was a mere boy and no match for the Dark Lord. However, before Bane could kill him, Zannah used the dark side to cause his hand to explode. Though Bane recognized that his apprentice had only attacked the boy to save him from Bane, he saw no harm in letting him go, and was aware that Zannah was only a neophyte in the ways of the dark side.

Bane decided to travel to Dxun in hopes of discovering even greater power. He instructed Zannah to meet him on the neighboring planet Onderon in two weeks time, and then departed, leaving his apprentice on Ruusan to find her own way, in the process and prove herself.

Rebuilding the Sith
"There are no other Sith. There never will be, except for us. One Master and one apprentice; one to embody the power, the other to crave it."

- Bane, to Zannah

After leaving Ruusan, Bane headed for Dxun in his ship, the Valcyn. However, while in transit, the ghostly spirit of Qordis appeared and chided him for abandoning the Brotherhood. Bane insisted that he was only furthering the Sith cause, but he was enraged by Qordis's claims and began to doubt his sanity. After spending several days stuck in the starfighter's cockpit listening to Qordis curse him, Bane finally released his anger when the Valcyn entered Dxun's atmosphere. Unleashing a blast of dark side energy, he caused Qordis's spirit to vanish, but also damaged the ship, forcing him to make a crash-landing.



Bane, however, managed to survive the crash even though his ship was destroyed upon impacting the moon. Though Qordis continued to mock him, insisting that he would die on Dxun, Bane ignored his pleas, and marched onwards to where he sensed Nad's tomb to be. Though he was attacked by a predator on the way, the Sith Lord managed to defeat it and continue on to his goal. Bane was guided by the spirit of Kaan, who had also appeared to him on Ruusan, but unlike Qordis, had not made any attempts to attack him. He was able to make it to the tomb, and immediately began searching it.

There, Bane located Nadd's holocron. However, as Bane moved to claim it, he was attacked by a number of beetle-like creatures in the chamber where the holocron was. Bane was unable to keep them away, and many of them attached to his skin, causing the Sith Lord great pain. Bane found that he could not remove them, causing him to be in a perpetual state of pain from the creatures gnawing on his skin. As he began to study Nadd's holocron, still in the tomb and covered in the creatures, Bane discovered that they were called orbalisks, and were parasites that fed off of a host. Though they caused a neverending Bane, their shells were impenetrable; even lightsabers could not crack them. Because nearly all of Bane's body was covered in the orbalisks, he essentially wore an impervious suit of armor. Furthermore, they gave Bane tremendous healing abilities, and pumped chemicals into his bloodstream, enhancing his connection to the Force while increasing his rage, thus boosting his dark side power in battle. In short, it was a symbiotic relationship; Bane suffered a searing pain from the orbalisks while receiving incredible boosts in battle. Nadd's holocron also confirmed that there were no known ways to remove the orbalisks. This caused Bane to view the creatures as both a gift and a curse.

After spending days studying from the holocron, Bane exited the tomb with the holocron to head to Onderon. Taming a flying Drexl using the powers of the dark side, he mounted it and rode towards the edge of the atmosphere where Dxun came close to Onderon's atmosphere. Once on Onderon he found Zannah being threatened by a group of Beast Riders. Onboard the drexl, Bane attacked the Riders, slaughtering them and their mounts. Now they the two were together once more, it was time for Zannah to begin her training.

Zannah's apprenticeship
"Information is a commodity. It can be traded, sold, and purchased. And in the end, credits are only as useful as the secrets they can buy."

- Bane

Bane and Zannah acquired a new vessel from a Neimoidian merchant and left Onderon. From 1,000 BBY to 990 BBY Bane and Zannah lived in a camp on Ambria, although they would travel to other planets occasionally. Thanks to the credits they had obtained for Qordis's account, the two built up a vast intelligence network, learning secrets that they hoped would one day allow them to destroy the Jedi and gain galactic control. Bane taught Zannah in the ways of the dark side as well as the philosophy of his the Rule of Two. Future Sith Lords were to be taught the virtues of patience, planning, and secrecy, and each was to take on the title of Darth, a tradition that had dated back to the time before the Jedi Civil War, nearly three millennia ago.

Around this time, Sith prisoners in custody on Akrit'tar revealed to the Jedi that they believed Bane to be the fabled Sith'ari, although the Jedi incorrectly believed that Bane had been killed during the Ruusan campaign. The Jedi archivist Restelly Quist wrote about the Bane in the Jedi training manual The Jedi Path.

Bane had Zannah stir up rebel groups on different worlds over the years, in order to distract the Republic. In 990 BBY, she undertook a mission to Serenno, where she manipulated the Anti-Republic Liberation Front and their plans to kidnap former Supreme Chancellor Tarsus Valorum, leading to them failing in their mission. Bane was careful to always instruct his apprentice to cause these groups to be defeated, as while he wanted the Republic distracted and weakened, he did not want one of these separatist groups gaining enough power to overthrow the Republic itself.

Zannah returned from Serenno with a Force-sensitive nobleman named Hetton, and his eight Umbaran Shadow Assassins. The assassins attacked the Dark Lord, although Bane was able to defeat them and kill Hetton. He then attacked his apprentice in a mindless rage, nearly killing her. Zannah saved herself only be revealing that it had been a trick to kill Hetton and gain his data, which contained the location of the Deep Core planet Tython, home to an ancient fortress of the Dark Lord Belia Darzu. Hetton claimed there was information there on how to create holocrons, something Bane was very interested in, as he had tried and failed several times, including two initial attempts in 995 BBY, an attempt in 992 BBY after learning the meaning of the ritual glyphs on Sith holocrons, and a final failure while Zannah was on Serenno.

He traveled to Tython, sending his apprentice in disguise to the Jedi Temple in the meantime. Bane had begun to wonder if the orbalisks could be holding him back, and he wanted her to research possible ways of removing them. On Tython, Bane located Darzu's fortress, and although he had to battle an army of of Darzu's technobeasts, he was able to claim the holocron. From it he learned the secret to creating a successful holocron of his own. However, shortly after this triumph, Zannah landed on Tython along with her cousin Darovit. Darovit had revealed their existence to the Jedi, and had been taken to the Jedi Temple to speak with the council. In the archives he had encountered Zannah, who he recognized as his childhood friend despite her disguise. The two had fled, after Darovit revealed to her that he had informed the Jedi of their existence.

Battle on Tython
"Inside the fortress. The Jedi have found us."

- Bane

Zannah told Bane that the Jedi had followed her, and the two prepared for battle. Though they were outnumbered by three, the Sith put up an excellent fight, thanks to the ferocity of Bane's fighting style and the advantages allowed by his orbalisk armor. Zannah was able to kill Raskta Lsu and Sarro Xaj, while Bane killed Valenthyne Farfalla and fatally wounded Worror. However, as he moved in to kill Johun Othone with Force lightning, Worror created a Protection bubble to deflect Bane's Force lightning back on him, frying the Sith Lord and killing the orbalisks. In response, the parasites released a deadly poison that threatened to kill Bane within days. Zannah quickly killed Othone, and took Bane to her ship. Recalling what Bane had once told her, she decided to take him to Caleb on Ambria, bringing Darovit with her.

However, the healer refused to cooperate, and as his daughter now lived on another world, Zannah had no leverage over him. Prodded by Darovit, who insisted that she was a good person, not a Sith, and by Caleb, who promised to heal Bane if she gave up herself and her master to the Jedi, Zannah agreed to surrender, and sent a message to Jedi Temple, informing the Jedi that the Sith Lord who had killed a number of Jedi on Tython was on Ambria, helpless. Caleb then began to heal Bane. When Bane awoke days later he was free of the orbalisks and cured of their poison. Zannah told him what she had done, and he expressed his disappointment before asking her to kill him, sparing him the life of a prisoner of the Jedi. However, Zannah had had another plan in mind all along. Igniting her lightsaber, she killed Caleb, and then used her power to drive Darovit mad.

The Jedi soon came ready to arrest the Sith, but Zannah had hidden herself and her master under the hut. All they found was Darovit, who, in his madness, attacked the Jedi. They killed him easily, believing he was the Sith. At long last, the Jedi thought they had finally eliminated the Sith. When Bane awoke, Zannah told him of what had happened, and he admitted that he had underestimated her, and was proud of her. One day, he told her, she would have the power to overthrow him and take an apprentice of her own.

New worries
"Show me the ritual of essence transfer."

- Bane, to Andeddu's holocron

By 980 BBY, Bane and Zannah had relocated to Ciutric IV, where they owned a large mansion. The two possessed immense wealth, which they used to continue to build up their network of spies and plan for the time when the Sith could destroy the Jedi. Bane had also created a holocron which held all of his knowledge, and, posing as a simple collector, possessed a great number of Sith artifacts, such as necklaces and manuscripts. However, Bane was worried about his apprentice. Because she had continually failed to challenge him and showed no desire to claim the mantle of Dark Lord of the Sith, he had begun to believe that she was weak, and planned to wait for him to age, so that she could then challenge him at his most vulnerable. If she did this, Bane believed that she would be destroying the purpose of the Rule of Two&mdash;to keep the Sith strong.

Further worrying Bane was the fact that he was aging rapidly due to his use of the dark side, and his injuries on Tython a decade ago. As such, Bane had begun to develop contingency plans, based on something he had stumbled upon in a book&mdash;according to record, a Sith Lord named Darth Andeddu had survived for centuries, thanks to his use of the dark side of the Force. Though there was very little information available, Bane was determined to learn Andeddu's secret and save the Sith.

One afternoon, Bane arranged a meeting with Argel Tenn, considered the sector authority on Sith artifacts, at a local cantina. Under the guise of "Sepp Omek", a wealthy merchant who lived with his sister, Bane had dealt with Tenn before, paying the man to acquire Sith objects for him. Bane despised the man, who believed himself to be an expert on the Sith, when Bane was aware that Tenn knew nothing of the true power of the dark side. Nonetheless, Tenn was useful, and thus the Sith Lord sought his help again. He had asked Tenn to find information on Darth Andeddu, and after a great deal of searching, Tenn had located an ancient manuscript on Andeddu. Bane paid for it, and departed.

He found that it revealed that there was a fortress dedicated to Andeddu on the Deep Core world of Prakith. Bane decided to send Zannah to the planet Doan&mdash;where a Jedi had been killed three days ago&mdash;to determine who had the power to defeat a Jedi, while he planned to travel to Prakith, unknown to his apprentice, and learn the secret to immortality. After Zannah departed, Bane boarded his starship, the Triumph, and headed to Prakith, where he located Andeddu's fortress. Upon entering, he was attacked by the cult Malevolence, dedicated to the long-dead Andeddu. Bane was able easily slay the assailants, and recover Andeddu's holocron.

One the return trip, Bane accessed the holocron, but found that the gatekeeper was unwilling to teach him how to live on after death. Angered, he forced it to tell him&mdash;by plunging his consciousness into the holocron, he was able to literally take the knowledge from the device. The Dark Lord was pleased; he had learned the art of essence transfer. Using the dark side, he could transfer his spirit into another's body. Though this ritual was extremely dangerous, Bane was convinced that his will was strong enough to overpower his target.

Ambush
"I want him to see what it's like to be helpless and afraid. I want him to know what it's like to be a victim. I want him to understand that what he did to my father&mdash;to me&mdash;was wrong!"

- Serra

When Bane returned to Ciutric IV, he found that Zannah was still not back. Upon entering his mansion, he was attacked by a Force-sensitive Iktotchi and a group of soldiers. Bane fought back, and was able to kill several of the soldiers. However, the Iktotchi was able to stab him with a blade coated in senflax, a powerful neurotoxin designed to knock out even the strongest of opponents. The toxin caused him to faint, enabling the Iktotchi and the soldiers to take him prisoner.

They then headed back to Doan, where the Princess Serra, who had hired them, resided. Serra was the daughter of Caleb, the healer who Bane had forced to help him years before. She had learned of her father's death at the hands of a Sith Lord, and blamed Bane for it. Desiring vengeance, Serra had then decided to punish the Dark Lord. Deep in the Stone Prison, Serra began to torture Bane by administering various poisons. However, much to her shock, Bane insisted he had not killed Caleb. Nonetheless, Serra reiterated that it was still his fault, and continued torturing him. As she added other poisons to his bloodstream, she expected him to beg for mercy and forgiveness. However, Bane was not overcome from the pain&mdash;far from it. Instead, he explained that Caleb had died because he was weak, and that Bane himself had been captured because he was not strong enough. Feeding on his own pain and Serra's anger, Bane mocked the Princess, and proclaimed that if he was strong enough, he would find a way to escape. Furious, Serra injected him with senflax, knocking him out, before leaving the prison.

Unknown to Serra, her bodyguard, Lucia, had served with Dessel in the New Sith Wars, and was stunned at the anger and cruelty her mistress was showing. Lucia made the decision to free Bane, believing she still owed him her life for his heroics during the war. She injected him with a chemical that would cancel out the effects of the senflax and allow Bane to break free. Though Bane had not recognized Lucia, he was pleased when he awoke and found himself much stronger. Reaching into the Force, he tore free from his shackles and threw open the cell door, where he set upon the guards. Though the Iktotchi had his lightsaber, he was far from helpless, and quickly killed the guards. As Bane headed upwards, he sensed Zannah's presence. Zannah had managed to track him to Doan, and had come prepared to kill him and take the title of Dark Lord. She had learned of his interest in Andeddu, and believed that he intended to use the dark side to prevent himself from ever dying, and rule over the Sith for eternity&mdash;exactly the opposite, she believed, of what the Rule of Two was created for.

As Bane headed for a hangar, he encountered Lucia. She quickly explained who she was, and begged him to let Serra live. Hesitating for a moment, Bane then exclaimed that Dessel was no more, and prepared to kill Lucia. Before he could unleash the dark side on her, a blast from the side crushed Lucia, immediately killing her. Zannah had found him.

She claimed that he was weak, and unwilling to let his knowledge pass on to her. Bane countered that she was not ready, and was unworthy of the mantle of Dark Lord of the Sith. Realizing that Bane was without his lightsaber, Zannah then attacked. Though he was unarmed, Bane was able to hold her off with the Force. However, both of them knew that he could not defeat her without a lightsaber, and was merely delaying the end. Suddenly, alarm bells rang out&mdash;Serra had activated the prison's self-destruct sequence. As the prison began to collapse, Bane used the Force to bring the ceiling down. Though Zannah was able to avoid being crushed, a wall of rock now stood between the two. Zannah fled to her ship, while Bane ran toward the main hangar. There, he found the Iktotchi. As he prepared to attack her, she bowed to him, holding out his lightsaber.

The woman then explained that she sensed his power, and wanted to become his apprentice. Realizing her strength in the Force, and her determination to become a Sith, he accepted. The two boarded her starship and left as the prison collapsed around them. The Iktotchi then explained that she was an assassin who had been able to track Bane to Ciutric IV thanks to visions she received through the Force. Guided by another vision of hers, the two headed to Ambria. There, Bane found Serra, who had been able to escape the destruction of the prison and had fled to her homeworld. Having abandoned her desire for revenge, she tried, in vain, to convince Bane and the Iktotchi to turn away from the dark side. The Iktotchi then killed her.

Bane prepared to begin training his new apprentice, now know as Darth Cognus. However, one loose end remained: Zannah. The Dark Lord sent a communication to Zannah's shuttle, instructing her to come to Ambria. She complied, and soon arrived for their final confrontation.

Duel to the death
"I have surpassed you, Bane. Now I am the Master." "Then prove it."

- Zannah and Bane

Once Zannah landed, Bane ordered Cognus to stay back, while the two Sith Lords drew their lightsabers and engaged in combat. Knowing that the loser would die, both fought furiously, with Bane slowly pushing her back. Zannah then unleashed her Sith sorcery, only to have Bane successfully repel her attack on his mind. As Bane charged forward, ready to attack, Zannah played her trump card, creating deadly dark side tendrils. One of these tendrils brushed against Bane, causing him to feel pain unlike anything he had ever known. Managing to stay conscious, he was able to attack Zannah and swiftly disarm her. As the Dark Lord prepared to kill his apprentice, a tendril lunged up, grabbing his arm and vaporizing it. In a flash of pain and fury, Bane released his essence, determined now to destroy Zannah's consciousness and take control of her body.

The two Sith Lords matched wills, each trying to push the other out and into the great void from which there was no return. Bane's body was destroyed, turned to ash by the power of the ritual. After a struggle of wills, it was over. Zannah had triumphed, and though a small portion of her master remained in her, the Dark Lord Bane, creator of the Rule of Two, was dead.



Legacy
"Power is its own purpose. To share it is to dilute it. You delude yourself, pretender -- Your order will yet turn on itself and you."

- Darth Bane's thoughts on the One Sith

Zannah took Cognus as her apprentice, and would continue to work to destroy the Jedi. Nearly a thousand years later, in 32 BBY, the Jedi learned that the Sith were not dead, and in 19 BBY Bane's dream was realized, and his Rule of Two validated when the Sith finally achieved rule over the galaxy and wiped out the Jedi Order.

At some point in his life, he created a lightsaber crystal named Bane's Heart which he gave to Darth Zannah. It would later be owned by the cyborg General Grievous almost 1,000 years later. His holocron eventually fell into the hands of Darth Krayt. In 137 ABY, it was accessed, along with those of Darth Nihilus and Darth Andeddu, on Korriban by Krayt. The new Dark Lord wished to learn from Bane's experience with the parasitic orbalisks, and how he could survive his own infection by Yuuzhan Vong organisms. Bane chastised Krayt for not following the Rule of Two, telling Krayt his "Rule of One" would be the very undoing of the Sith itself.

Darth Bane was the fabled Sith'ari, the one who was prophesied to restore the Sith to glory. Centuries later, this prophecy would come true.

Personality and traits
"Equality is a lie&hellip;A myth to appease the masses. Simply look around and you will see the lie for what it is! There are those with power, those with the strength and will to lead. And there are those meant to follow&mdash;those incapable of anything but servitude and a meager, worthless existence. "Equality is a perversion of the natural order!&hellip;It binds the strong to the weak. They become anchors that drag the exceptional down to mediocrity. Individuals destined and deserving of greatness have it denied them. They suffer for the sake of keeping them even with their inferiors. "Equality is a chain, like obedience. Like fear or uncertainty or self doubt."

- Bane

Darth Bane was a firm believer that the weak should serve the strong, and that the Republic was weak and ineffectual because it insisted on helping the masses. Whereas the Jedi believed that it was the duty of the strong to help the weak, Bane thought that the strong were intended to rule the weak. In his opinion, equality was a lie perpetuated by the Jedi. One of the reasons he hated the Brotherhood was that it supported equality amongst the Sith.

Bane also sensed that Kaan and the other Sith were fools, and that the Brotherhood was doomed to fail. Because the Brotherhood spread the dark side among many Sith, he felt that the power was diluted, and that as long as the Brotherhood of Darkness existed, the Sith would be unable to triumph over the Jedi. Kaan, Bane believed, was a coward unworthy of the mantle of Dark Lord of the Sith. He defied the Brotherhood's leader by refusing the order to report to Ruusan, instead stealing Qordis's starship and heading to Lehon, where he hoped to learn from Darth Revan, who he considered a true master of the dark side. To symbolize that his new Sith Order was different from the Brotherhood, Bane revived the title of Darth. Kaan had discouraged the use of the Darth title, claiming that it was antiquated and encouraged unnecessary competition among the Sith. In his Brotherhood of Darkness, all were equal. Bane despised this, and thus created his Rule of Two.

He had strong faith in his Rule of Two, convinced that the Sith's greatest strength&mdash;their ambition&mdash;was their greatest weakness. With many Sith, the dark side would be spread thin, and the Sith would constantly be warring with each other, unable to focus on their true foe, the Jedi. With just two Sith Lords, Bane knew that he could keep the Sith strong and safe from the Jedi. Many centuries after his death, his holocron would mock Darth Krayt for abandoning the Rule of Two. The Dark Lord was dedicated to the Sith cause, and was determined to bring about the end of the Jedi, though he knew he might not live to see it.

Darth Bane imparted his beliefs, particularly his theory of rule of the strong, to Zannah. After he dueled Hetton and received no assistance from Zannah, Bane confronted her, asking why she had not helped him. She replied that she knew that Bane would be able to kill the man and his assassins, and if he was unable to do so, then he was weak and unworthy of his title of Dark Lord. Bane was pleased with this explanation, stating that she was correct&mdash;only the strongest could survive.

The Dark Lord sought the secrets to immortality not because he feared death, but simply because he believed that Zannah was too weak to claim his title. The Dark Lord suspected that his apprentice was waiting until he was old and weak, at which point she could easily defeat him. However, were she to do this, she would not earn the mantle of Dark Lord of the Sith, as was necessitated by the Rule of Two. To ensure the Sith's survival, Bane undertook his search for the fabled Darth Andeddu. Ultimately, Zannah proved herself a worthy successor when she killed Bane.

Bane learned hatred and anger at an early age, as he grew up with a father who hated him. Bane, in turn, despised Hurst, who frequently insulted and beat him. After Bane challenged him, only to have Hurst nearly kill him in response, an irate Bane later killed his father through unconscious use of the Force. He took to the dark side with ease, at first, although the Human lost his faith after realizing that he was responsible for his father's death. Afraid of the dark side, he pulled away, only to regain his confidence with the assistance of the ancient Sith in the form of texts. From there, Bane grew strong, quickly surpassing even Lord Kaan. With the dark side as his ally, he founded a new Sith Order, one based on secrecy and rule of the strong.

He bore a hatred for beings like Argel Tenn, who considered themselves masters of the dark side but in fact knew nothing of its power. The Dark Lord desired to reveal his true identity and power to Tenn, but knew that to do so would be foolish.

Bane found no value in wealth or other material possessions, and believed Sith like Qordis were foolish to care so much for such things. He also did not believe in the concept of honorable death, claiming "dead is dead." Power, not honor, was the most important thing in Bane's eyes; honor was merely a fool's prize.

Although he was merciless and could be cruel, Bane did not kill for pleasure. He felt that those who enjoyed killing were barbarous, perverse fools. Because of this philosophy, Bane let Caleb live upon their initial meeting in 1,000 BBY &mdash;in fact, Caleb would heal him from near-death years later. Still, Bane was willing to kill without a second thought, and did so on many occasions.

Despite his bond with the dark side of the Force, Bane did have feelings for Githany when the two were pupils on Korriban. She returned these feelings, and Bane sought to make her his apprentice after becoming convinced that the Brotherhood was irrevocably flawed. However, when she proved herself to be unworthy in his eyes by proclaiming Kaan's virtues, he abandoned these thoughts, and left her to perish with the rest of the Brotherhood. Nonetheless, Bane found himself pleased to see her when they met on Ambria a short time later, with her as Kaan's emissary.

Bane had an extremely strong will. On multiple occasions when severely wounded, he refused to surrender, using the power of the dark side to fuel himself and keep fighting.

Powers and abilities
"I know many rituals. Many secrets. And I have the strength to use them."

- Bane

Bane was highly dedicated to his training, spending hours reading the ancient texts in addition to two private training courses. He desired to become a great and powerful Sith Lord, and spent a tremendous amount of time practicing, in hopes of perfecting his skills.

A master practitioner of Djem So, Darth Bane was a deadly lightsaber duelist. When he had his orbalisk armor, Bane favored a furious, all-offense style, as the orbalisks formed a suit of armor that could repel even blows from a lightsaber. After losing this protection, he adapted, utilizing more defensive moves when dueling. He was very strong physically, and was able to overwhelm most opponents through sheer brute force. He was also skilled at unarmed combat, being an excellent brawler. Even before his formal training by the Brotherhood, Bane was occasionally able to use to Force and receive precognitive visions, especially in fights. He possessed knowledge of Soresu, using it to to deflect blaster bolts and lightsaber strikes, and he trained his apprentice, Darth Zannah to use the style. The Sith Lord was also proficient in the use of Juyo.

Bane was also very talented in use of the Force. As a miner on Apatros, he was able to use the Force on occasion, though he had no understanding of it and his use was largely instinctive. However, after receiving formalized training at the Korriban academy, Bane became one of the most skilled students there. His abilities with telekinesis were such that he could easily shatter his opponent's Force shield, as he did with Fohargh. The Dark Lord's power was such that he caused the Temple of the Ancients on Lehon to collapse, which resulted in the death of Kas'im.

Bane was a very fast learner, and quickly passed many students at the Korriban Academy in just a few months. After just a single practice session with Githany, he became extremely proficient with Force lightning, surpassing even Sirak. By the time of the duel on Tython in 990 BBY, Bane was able to cast electric voltage so strong that most opponents died instantly upon contact, the energy output leaving their bodies burned and charred.

Bane was able to plunge deep into his hate, drawing fully on the power of the dark side to unleash powerful Force waves, the strength of which could devastate almost anything in its path. In collective focus with the other Sith Masters of the Brotherhood, Bane was able to unleash a Force storm that consumed Ruusan's landscape with a flurry of flames and death. When tapping into the dark side power that suffused Andeddu's Keep on Prakith, Darth Bane was able to project a death field that instantaneously dessicated and killed the attacking Malevolence cultists who had been unable to avoid it. The strength of Bane's death field would have rapidly exhausted him were it not for the sustaining power of Andeddu's Keep.

In addition to these skills, he was able to easily resist Kaan's mind tricks, while the other Dark Lords in the Brotherhood were unable to do so.

He also displayed a great tolerance for physical pain, such as that brought on by the orbalisk armor he was forced to wear, and using the infestation to his benefit by taking the pain and fueling his dark side rage with it. Serra noted during while torturing the Sith Lord that the drugs had surprisingly little impact on him. Bane could also endure the full brunt of Force lightning and survive, as he did on Tython, despite having been seriously electrocuted, and being poisoned by the chemical reaction caused by the dead orbalisks still attached to his body. Bane fed on others' fear and anguish, using it to strengthen himself. He also possessed remarkable willpower, and determination to keep fighting. He was able to force Andeddu's holocron to reveal to him the knowledge that he wanted, and was skilled enough to attempt the deadly power of essence transfer.

Thanks to what he learned from the Sith Academy and Revan's holocron, Bane became a master of deception in addition to his skills with the lightsaber and the Force. However, he was skilled at reading his opponents and concealing his own feelings even before his Sith training, and used these talents to become a talented sabacc player.

Bane could sense poisons in himself and was able to often cure himself by purging the toxins from his body.

Character origins
The character of Darth Bane, and his creation of the Rule of Two, were created by George Lucas as part of his backstory of the Sith he developed for the prequel trilogy. Bane was first mentioned in The Phantom Menace novel as the creator of the Rule of Two. In 2000, The Essential Chronology collated these events with the Battle of Ruusan mentioned in Dark Forces: Jedi Knight, creating a backstory further developed in Jedi vs Sith by Darko Macan and Bane of the Sith by Kevin J. Anderson. The New Essential Guide to Characters and The New Essential Chronology provided more details, and the latter attempted to correct inconsistencies between Jedi vs Sith and Bane of the Sith.

In 2006, Darth Bane: Path of Destruction, written by Drew Karpyshyn was released. Several of the details in it contradicted previous information about Bane. Another novel about Darth Bane, Darth Bane: Rule of Two, was released in 2007 and fixed some of the conflicting elements. Part of the novel covers Bane of the Sith, while it also invents new history for Bane and his apprentice. A third novel, Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil, was released in 2009.

Many fans were initially confused as to whether Bane or Zannah won the final duel between the two at the end of Dynasty of Evil. Author Drew Karpshyn confirmed a few days later that Zannah had won the duel, although a small remnant of Bane remained in her.

Lucasfilm official Leland Chee stated in his blog that Bane's name is based on the word "Bane," which means, among other things, "a person or thing that ruins or spoils."

In Star Wars: Legacy, Jan Duursema's depiction of Bane was in fact based on the partially completed costume of a fan, Thomas J. Spanos.

Contradictions
Various contradictions, both major and minor, exist between sources involving Bane. In both the short story Bane of the Sith and Bane's biography in The New Essential Guide to Characters, it is implied that Bane trained exclusively beneath Qordis, while in the novel he trained under Qordis and many other Sith Masters.

Also, in Bane of the Sith and Path of Destruction, Bane's lightsaber hilt is clearly described as being "hooked". However, in almost every illustration, even those from after the publishing of Path of Destruction, Darth Bane is depicted with a standard-hilt lightsaber. The illustrations also frequently depict Bane wielding a purple lightsaber, though this was later corrected on the cover art of Darth Bane: Rule of Two.

In Bane of the Sith, Bane escapes from Ruusan when his warning to Kaan to not use the thought bomb goes unheeded. The dark side spirits call him a coward for running, and Bane defends himself by saying that the Sith must survive. Until he gets to Onderon, he intends to resurrect the Brotherhood. In Path of Destruction, Bane comes to detest the Brotherhood after studying Revan's holocron and the ancient records when he realizes that the Sith can never be united or equal. He plots to destroy the Brotherhood by giving Kaan the formula for using the thought bomb and feigning to join them under the guise of wanting to take over leadership. He also discourages Kaan from using the thought bomb, unlike in Path of Destruction.

This article tends to support the details described by Path of Destruction, as it is the newer source and is followed by two sequels.

Chronologically speaking, Darth Rivan predates Darth Bane, and Darth Bane is supposed to be the author of the Rule of Two. However, one of the traps in Darth Rivan's fortress, as shown in A Mon Alone, is based on the Sith adherence to the Rule of Two. This is likely another contradiction.

Appearances

 * Darth Bane: Path of Destruction
 * Star Wars: Jedi vs. Sith
 * Darth Bane: Rule of Two
 * Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil
 * Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace novel
 * Labyrinth of Evil
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith novel
 * Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader
 * Star Wars Purge: Seconds to Die
 * Coruscant Nights II: Street of Shadows
 * Resurrection
 * Star Wars Galaxies
 * Crosscurrent
 * Star Wars: Legacy 5: Broken, Part 4
 * Star Wars: Legacy 18: Claws of the Dragon, Part 5
 * Star Wars Galaxies
 * Crosscurrent
 * Star Wars: Legacy 5: Broken, Part 4
 * Star Wars: Legacy 18: Claws of the Dragon, Part 5