- "Once we were mighty Jedi of the Republic, brothers in the Force. But the Great Schism between the dark side and the light turned Jedi against Jedi. Our ancestors were defeated, driven off… cast out!"
- ―Marka Ragnos
The Hundred-Year Darkness, also known as the Hundred-Year War,[1] was a conflict that began in 7000 BBY and lasted until approximately 6900 BBY, when a group of Dark Jedi created monstrous armies to battle the Jedi Order and the Galactic Republic. The Hundred-Year Darkness began three years after the Dark Jedi split with the Order in the Second Great Schism. After ten decades of fighting, the Dark Jedi lost the war at the Battle of Corbos, but went on to conquer Korriban and found the Sith.
Beginnings[]
- "So envious were the Jedi Knights of our ability to transform creatures into improved manifestations, they made it their ongoing duty to hunt us—the Dark Jedi—wherever we attempted to experiment and practice our knowledge."
- ―Ajunta Pall
The Second Great Schism began when a group of Jedi began practicing extended uses of the Dark side of the Force. By relying more and more upon the dark side, these Jedi learned that using the Force of sufficient intensity could bend life itself.[6] With their new powers, the Knights experimented upon other lifeforms to create monsters as extensions of their will. Other Jedi looked upon these new powers with horror. The earliest rebels, the Legions of Lettow, had been defeated in the First Great Schism, but their legacy remained, and a second group of dissidents would emerge, led by Ajunta Pall.[7]
All great conflicts began with passion, and this one was no different. Firmly adamant in protecting their newly-acquired powers, this sect of Jedi sought to convince the other Jedi to embrace the Dark Side instead of fearing it. The others were not convinced. Firmly convinced that their way was right, the arguments turned into conflict.[4] The rogue Jedi were exiled along with their teachings. A war had begun that would last a hundred years.[7]
War[]
- "A Jedi sect, weren't they? The result of a kind of family feud."
- ―A young Palpatine, recalling his knowledge of the Sith's creation
During the war, the Jedi constructed the Prism, a secret prison facility known only to the members of the Jedi High Council.[9]
As the war went on, Sorzus Syn created Shamblers, Howlers, Pit Horrors, and ultimately, Leviathans, creatures that could suck life essences into blister-traps on their backs.[4]
The last stand of the Dark Jedi was on the world of Corbos. With the help of infighting, the Dark Jedi were defeated.[6]
Exile[]
- "Thousands of years ago, the Jedi had another civil war that split the Order. It was a... terrible thing. A faction among the Jedi abandoned the teachings of the order, following their own path. They waged war on their fellow Jedi, a war that raged across the galaxy. But these fallen Jedi were cast out, defeated, and they retreated to worlds in the Outer Rim. Over time, they took on the mantle of the Lords of the Sith. But in their hearts, they never forgot the Jedi. The hatred for the Jedi Order burns in their veins like fire, and echoes in their teachings."
- ―Kreia
After their defeat on Corbos, the surviving Dark Jedi were rounded up by the Jedi. The Exiles, as they became known to the Jedi, were stripped of their weapons and navigational instruments, herded onto unarmed[1] galleons, and banished beyond known space.[5][4]
The Hundred-Year Darkness was over, and the Jedi had weathered the Second Great Schism.[4]
A new world[]
- "The surviving Dark Siders fled the Republic, finally coming to Korriban where the native Sith welcomed them as gods."
- ―Darth Wyyrlok III
Inspired by rumors of the Kingdom of Sith, Sorzus Syn guided the Dark Jedi to Korriban. Landing on the world, they found that true to the rumors, it was inhabited by a humanoid species calling themselves the Sith. Hakagram Graush, the King of the Sith, was shocked at the appearance of the outsiders, but after witnessing their powers and advanced technology, the king welcomed the exiled Jedi to the world. However, this led to Graush's downfall. Graush's Shadow Hand conspired with the new arrivals, and betrayed his liege to the Dark Jedi. Using his training in the Force, Ajunta Pall beheaded Graush, convincing the Sith that the Exiles were gods. The Exiles became the rulers of the Sith and came to be called the Lords of the Sith. Ajunta Pall became the first Dark Lord of the Sith.[4]
Sorzus Syn learned the prophecy of the Sith'ari from the Sith. The Sith'ari was a perfect being who would one day lead the Sith. According to prophecy, the Sith'ari would rise up and destroy the Sith, but in the process make them stronger than ever before. Syn saw this as a striking parallel to the Chosen One of Jedi legend and speculated that she was the Sith'ari.[4]
Return[]
After becoming Sith Lords, several Exiles took the ship they had arrived on along with new weapons, Massassi warriors, and their new secrets of Sith alchemy in an attempt to destroy the Jedi against Ajunta Pall's orders, only to have themselves destroyed, and giving the Jedi the knowledge that Sith Space existed, and that the Exiles had survived.[1]
Legacy[]
As time passed, and interbreeding occurred between the Exiles and the Sith, the term "Sith" came to mean not only species, but also their fallen Jedi masters. When they first met the Exiles, the Sith wore primitive clothing. With the influence of the Exiles, elaborate clothing came into use.[5]
Behind the scenes[]
The first reference to fallen Jedi becoming the rulers of the "Sith civilization" to be published was in Tales of the Jedi – The Freedon Nadd Uprising 1. This information was again mentioned in Tales of the Jedi – Dark Lords of the Sith 1. The first mention of the name "the Hundred-Year Darkness" was in Tales of the Jedi – Dark Lords of the Sith 3 in a list of events involving the Dark Side. No further information about it was mentioned.
In Tales of the Jedi – The Golden Age of the Sith 0, it's mentioned that the "First Great Schism" was followed by "a hundred years of bloodshed" that ended with the Dark Jedi faction getting exiled and becoming the first Sith Lords. In Tales of the Jedi – The Golden Age of the Sith 2, the Dark Lord of the Sith Marka Ragnos says that the ancestors of the Dark Lords of the Sith were exiled as a result of the "Great Schism," implying that thanks to his ancestors being exiled at the end of the "First Great Schism", he's unaware that there was a "Second Great Schism."
Arden Lyn's biography in "The Emperor's Pawns”, a list of biographies that were published in Star Wars Gamer 5, says that the "First Great Schism" occured ~25,000 BBY. The timeline in the beginning of The New Essential Guide to Characters mentions that "circa 7,000 BBY", "The Jedi Knights lead the Republic through the Hundred-Year Darkness", with no further information being given. The New Essential Guide to Characters also restates the information about the "First Great Schism" from Tales of the Jedi: Golden Age of the Sith and the year from "The Emperor's Pawns" in the timeline in the beginning of the book and in the character entry for Naga Sadow.
The New Essential Chronology restates that the Hundred-Year Darkness occured ~7000 BBY, but also revealed it to be the same event as the "hundred years of bloodshed" mentioned in Tales of the Jedi: Golden Age of the Sith and to have followed the "Second Great Schism" while the "First Great Schism" was retconned to be a separate event. When asked about this retcon, Daniel Wallace, author of The New Esssential Chronology, said it was because of "LFL internal documents" dating Dark Jedi contact with the Sith species at ~7000 BBY.[12]
Appearances[]
- Tales of the Jedi – The Golden Age of the Sith 0 (In flashback(s)) (as First Great Schism)
- Tales of the Jedi – The Golden Age of the Sith 2 (In flashback(s)) (as Great Schism)
- Tales of the Jedi – The Golden Age of the Sith 4 (Indirect mention only)
- Tales of the Jedi – The Freedon Nadd Uprising 1 (First mentioned)
- Tales of the Jedi – Dark Lords of the Sith 1 (Indirect mention only)
- Tales of the Jedi: Dark Lords of the Sith audio drama (Mentioned only)
- Tales of the Jedi – Dark Lords of the Sith 3 (Mentioned only) (First identified as Hundred-Year Darkness)
- Tales of the Jedi – Dark Lords of the Sith 4 (First appearance) (Appears in holocron)
- Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (Indirect mention only)
- Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords (Mentioned only)
- Star Wars: The Old Republic (Mentioned in Codex entry as "The Second Great Schism")
- Darth Plagueis (Indirect mention only)
- Darth Plagueis audiobook (Indirect mention only)
- The Wrath of Darth Maul (Indirect mention only)
- Darth Vader and the Ghost Prison 3 (Mentioned only) (as Second Great Schism)
- Empire's End 2 (Indirect mention only)
- Fate of the Jedi: Ascension (Indirect mention only)
- Fate of the Jedi: Ascension audiobook (Indirect mention only)
- Legacy (2006) 30 (In flashback(s))
- Legacy (2006) 32 (Mentioned only)
Sources[]
- "Straight from the Horse's Mouth: A Guide to the Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi Universe, Part 2" — Star Wars Insider 27
- The Essential Chronology
- Star Wars: Secrets of the Sith
- The Dark Side Sourcebook
- The Official Star Wars Fact File 1 (SIT1, Dark Lords of the Sith)
- The New Essential Guide to Characters
- Power of the Jedi Sourcebook
- The Official Star Wars Fact File 75 (JED3, The Jedi)
- The Official Star Wars Fact File 97 (SAD1-4, Naga Sadow) (as First Great Schism)
- "Revenge of the Sith Preview 9" on Wizards.com (content now obsolete; backup link) (Indirect mention only)
- Star Wars: The Ultimate Visual Guide
- The New Essential Chronology
- "Heritage of the Sith" — Star Wars Insider 88
- Evil Never Dies: The Sith Dynasties on Hyperspace (article) (content now obsolete; backup link)
- Star Wars: The Ultimate Visual Guide: Special Edition
- Jedi vs. Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force (First identified as Hundred-Year War)
- Knights of the Old Republic Campaign Guide
- The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
- The Jedi Path: A Manual for Students of the Force
- Star Wars: The Old Republic Explorer's Guide
- The Journal of Master Gnost-Dural
- Book of Sith: Secrets from the Dark Side
- Star Wars: The Ultimate Visual Guide: Updated and Expanded
- Star Wars: The Old Republic Encyclopedia
- Essential Atlas Extra: The Knight Errant Gazetteer on StarWars.com (article) (backup link)
- Sith Pureblood on The Old Republic Holonet (content now obsolete; backup link)
- Star Wars: Force and Destiny Core Rulebook
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Jedi vs. Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force
- ↑ Tales of the Jedi - The Golden Age of the Sith #0
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Star Wars: The Old Republic Encyclopedia
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 4.16 4.17 4.18 4.19 4.20 Book of Sith: Secrets from the Dark Side
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Tales of the Jedi – The Golden Age of the Sith 2
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 The New Essential Chronology
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Star Wars: The Old Republic — Codex entry for the Second Great Schism
- ↑ Darth Plagueis
- ↑ Darth Vader and the Ghost Prison 3
- ↑ Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords
- ↑ Legacy (2006) 30
- ↑ Daniel Wallace's Geekosity — The New Essential Chronology: Talkback thread on Blogspot (backup link)