Darth Bane: Path of Destruction

Darth Bane: Path of Destruction, A Novel of the Old Republic is a novel by Drew Karpyshyn about the life of Darth Bane, set from 1,003 BBY to 1,000 BBY. The hardcover was released on September 26, 2006. The paperback will be released in June 2007

Blurb
"The Sith were in shambles. In-fighting among their ranks allowed the Jedi to thwart their dark plans. One last battle to end an era resulted in the extinction of the Sith. Or so it was believed&mdash;one Dark Lord survived.

From the ashes emerged Darth Bane, the lone Sith who was able to foresee the inevitable doom of the misguided order, and learn from this costly lesson. He forged a new order of secretive Sith, plotting from the shadows, carefully rebuilding power a generation at a time for centuries until the revenge of the Sith could finally be achieved.

Who was this Dark Lord? What events forged the man who would split from the Sith ranks and entirely redefine the order?"

Back cover
"Two there should be; no more, no less. One to embody the power, the other to crave it."

- Darth Bane, Dark Lord of the Sith

Inside flap
''Once the Sith order teemed with followers. But their rivalries divided them in endless battles for supremacy. Until one Dark Lord at last united the Sith in the quest to enslave the galaxy—and exterminate the Jedi. Yet it would fall to another, far more powerful than the entire Brotherhood of Darkness, to ultimately realize the full potential of the Sith, and wield the awesome power of the dark side as never before.''

''Since childhood, Dessel has known only the abuse of his hateful father and the dangerous, soul-crushing labor of a cortosis miner. Deep in the tunnels of the desolate planet Apatros, endlessly excavating the rare mineral valued throughout the galaxy, Dessel dreams of the day he can escape—a day he fears may never come. But when a high-stakes card game ends in deadly violence, Dessel suddenly finds himself a wanted man.''

''On the run from vengeful Republic forces, Dessel vanishes into the ranks of the Sith army, and ships out to join the bloody war against the Republic and its Jedi champions. There, Dessel's brutality, cunning, and exceptional command of the Force swiftly win him renown as a warrior. But in the eyes of his watchful masters, he is destined for a far greater role in the ultimate Sith plan for the galaxy—if he can prove himself truly worthy.''

''As an acolyte in the Sith academy, studying the secrets and skills of the dark side at the feet of its greatest masters, Dessel embraces his new Sith identity: Bane. However the true test is yet to come. In order to gain acceptance into the Brotherhood of Darkness one must fully surrender to the dark side through a trial by fire that Bane, for all his unquenchable fury and lust for power, may not be strong enough to endure&hellip;especially since deception, treachery, and murder run rampant among the Sith disciples, and utter ruthlessness alone is the key to survival. Only by defying the most sacred traditions, rejecting all he has been taught, and drawing upon the long-forgotten wisdom of the very first Sith can Bane hope to triumph—and forge from the ashes of that which he must destroy a new era of absolute dark power.''

Synopsis
The novel deals primarily with Darth Bane and for the first time recounts his early life prior to his ascension to the Sith. The story begins in the cortosis mines of Apatros, which he is forced to leave after he kills a crew member of a visiting Republic ship in a fight over sabacc. Smuggled off-world by a Neimoidian named Groshik, Bane's only real friend on the planet, he enlists in the Sith army to escape the Republic. Joining a unit named the Gloom Walkers he distinguishes himself in the Assault on Kashyyyk and the subsequent Battle of Hsskhor on neighboring Trandosha.

During the Battle of Phaseera, Bane removes his commanding officer over a disagreement about orders and leads the unit to battle and victory over the Republic forces opposing them. Although he is arrested upon his return he is not executed as he believes he will be. Instead, Lord Kopecz has realized his Force potential and transfers him to the Sith Academy on Korriban.

Taking the name Bane upon his arrival he goes on to learn the ancient ways of the Sith, studying under such master's as Qordis and Kas'im, as well as others like Orilltha, Shenayag, Hezzoran, and Borthis. He also studies the temple archives and quickly begins to surpass the other students despite his late entry to the Academy.

After he kills a student in the dueling ring his prestige at the Academy rises, but he begins to doubt himself and his connection to the Force starts to falter. In a desperate bid he challenges Sirak, the most powerful student at the Academy at that time and is beaten within an inch of his life. After this Qordis decrees that he shall receive no further training from any of the Masters.

Githany, the Jedi traitor, arrives at the Academy shortly after Kaan's near victory over the Army of Light on Ruusan. Seeing Bane as someone she could use to remove Sirak, her only real rival at the Academy, she begins to secretly tutor him in the ways of the Force. At the same time Bane approaches Kas'im for secret instruction in lightsaber combat, neither teacher is aware of the other and Bane hopes to keep it that way for as long as possible.

Slowly, Bane begins to regain much of his lost power and confidence, once again he revists the Temple archives and takes up the studies he foolishly abandoned before. As his training progresses he begins to believe that the Brotherhood of Darkness and the Sith as a whole have turned their back on their ancient ways. Despite his new training, Bane realizes that the true potential of the dark side is beyond not only him, but every other Sith Lord. When Bane defeats Sirak he once again enters favor with the Master's, but departs angrily when Qordis orders him to stop visiting the archives. Bane leaves for the Valley of the Sith Lords hoping to find some remnant of those Sith who have passed beyond.

Bane eventually returns, having found nothing, and feigns acceptance of the Sith and their current teachings, when actually he now knows there is only one place he can go to learn what he needs. Just prior to the departure of the Academy students for Ruusan, Bane is betrayed by Githany and led into an ambush with Sirak, but once Githany realizes how strong Bane has become she switches sides. Bane kills his rival, brutally decapitating him and instead of leaving for Ruusan he steals the Valcyn and heads for parts known only to him. He takes the ship to a world named Lehon, but remembered to history at large as the Unknown World and home to the now-extinct Rakata. Bane has come to believe that the Rakata were the first dark side users present in the galaxy and upon his arrival at the Temple of the Ancients finds Darth Revan's holocron.

Taking all he learns from Revan, Bane crafts the Rule of Two, seeing it as the only way the Sith can ensure that only the strongest of their order survive. After he defeats and kills Kas'im, who he briefly feels may be the apprentice he will need to pass on his knowledge, Bane leaves for Ruusan, but not before sending Lord Kaan the incantation for the thought bomb. Once on Ruusan, Bane oversees the destruction of the Sith and his ascension as the last true Sith Lord. The novel ends with Bane finding Zannah and considering that she may be the apprentice he needs to pass on his knowledge.

Characters

 * Adanar
 * Darth Bane
 * Borthis
 * Caleb
 * Valenthyne Farfalla
 * Fohargh
 * Gerd
 * Githany
 * Groshik
 * Haduran
 * Handa (mentioned only)
 * Hezzoran
 * Lord Hoth
 * Hurst (mentioned only)
 * Kaan
 * Kas'im
 * Kopecz
 * Laa
 * Llokay
 * Lucia
 * Mikki
 * Adrianna Nyras
 * Orilltha
 * Pernicar
 * Petja
 * Qordis
 * Darth Revan (appears as a hologram)
 * Shenayag
 * Sirak
 * Ulabore
 * Yevra
 * Darth Zannah

Creatures

 * Carrion beetle
 * Cydera tree
 * Night bird
 * Orkellian cave slug
 * Pelko bug
 * Squellbug

Droid models

 * Beta-4 CardShark
 * Message drone

Events

 * Battle of Bespin (New Sith Wars)
 * Battle of Brentaal (New Sith Wars)
 * Battle of Chandrila (New Sith Wars)
 * Battle of Corulag (New Sith Wars)
 * Battle of Hsskhor
 * Battle of Kashyyyk (New Sith Wars)
 * Battle of Korriban (New Sith Wars)
 * Battle of Phaseera
 * Battle of Sullust (New Sith Wars)
 * Battle of Taanab (New Sith Wars)

Locations

 * Ambria
 * Apatros
 * Brentaal IV
 * Korriban
 * Lehon
 * Phaseera
 * Ruusan

Organizations

 * Galactic Solutions Industries
 * Gloom Walkers
 * Outer Rim Ore

Technology

 * CS-33 Firespray
 * GSI-21D
 * Interference box
 * TC-17
 * TC-22

Vehicles and vessels

 * Aurek fighter
 * Buzzard
 * Bivouac transport
 * Corsair battleship
 * Dreadnaught cruiser (New Sith Wars)
 * Flatbed
 * Hammerhead-class capital ship
 * Land cruiser
 * Republic battleship (New Sith Wars)
 * Republic cargo ship (New Sith Wars)
 * Sith Destroyer
 * Sith interceptor
 * Sith Interloper

Behind the scenes

 * Darth Bane: Path of Destruction is the first, and currently the only, novel which takes place in the Old Republic era.