This is me explaining my opinion why before the Prequel era is more interesting than after the original trilogy. Everything I am about to talk about is consider non-canon by Disney. However, these stories have been and always will be better than the empire... I mean corporation that is Disney.
So here is my number 9 for why before the Prequel era is more interesting than after the Original Trilogy:
9. Emperor Valkorion
Well this is a man of many names. He is most known as the Sith Emperor. He also was called Darth Vitiate before he became Emperor of the Sith. He was born with the name Tenebrae as one of the many illegitimate children of the Sith Lord Dramath. Now when I say Sith I mean the Sith Species:
Tenebrae's father, Darth Dramath, was the ruler of the Planet Medriaas in the years before the Great Hyperspace War. When Darth Dramath learned of Tenebrae's birth, he ordered his mother to have him killed. However, Tenebrae's mother secretly defied him. When Teebrae's Step-Father (the Sith married to his mother) learned that Tenebrae was Force Sensitive, he attempted to attack his wife, but Tenebrae snapped his neck. I know what your thinking. Oh what a good son. Nope. Tenebrae actually tortured his mother until she died too. Probably for thinking that he was better since his mother and father weren't force sensitive. Tenebrae's father, Darth Dramath ignored him for many years, until Tenebrae was ten. However, he realized too late that Tenebrae was already more powerful for him. Tenebrae killed his father, and the Sith Emperor of the time (Master of all the Sith / Dark Lord of the Sith), Marka Ragnos, christened Tenebrae as Darth Vitiate, Lord of Medriaas. Darth Vitiate renamed his planet Nathema soon after.
When Marka Ragnos "died," his succession basically had the Sith Empire split. Naga Sadow became the next Dark Lord of the Sith, but some did not follow Naga Sadow to war with the Republic (The Great Hyperspace War). Lord Vitiate remained on Nathema, remaining away from the wars between the Sith, the Jedi and Galactic Republic. I believe that during this time, Lord Vitiate gained more knowledge of the Force, specifically the Dark Side. When Naga Sadow placed himself in suspended animation in his Temple on Yavin 4, the Sith Empire began to fall a part. Naga Sadow was succeeded by Freedon Nadd, but Nadd was nothing compared to his predecessors.
With the defeat of the Sith Empire at the end of the Great Hyperspace War, Lord Vitiate called the remaining Sith Lords back to his planet to regroup. However, it was a trap. Lord Vitiate began a Dark Ritual that would consume all life, and thus the Force energy on Nathema, transfering that energy into Lord Vitiate, basically making him immortal. Vitiate would then erase all records of Nathema from the Sith Empire, and went to the ancient Sith Species homeworld, Korriban, where he gathered the remnates of the Sith Empire - specifically the younger generation. He told the younger generation that the Jedi had destroyed his homeworld, and that the Jedi would continue to exterminate the Sith until nothing was left. He then proclaimed himself as the Sith Emperor, shedding his title of Lord Vitiate, as he led his weak empire deep into unknown Space, along a route that only he knew of. To Dromund Kaas.
The Sith exodus to Dromund Kaas took 20 years. This was on purpose because the Emperor wanted his people to trust in him and follow him without question. The Emperor then declared a new Sith Empire that would return one day and have revenge on the Republic and the Jedi. (Basically the Emperor has a bigger impact on the eternal hatred between the Sith and the Jedi). The Empire constructed Kaas City, where the Imperial Citadel was constructed (the Emperor's Palace). The Emperor created the Dark Council of 12 Sith Lord to act as the main ruling body of the Empire. He also created the Emperor's Hand, 12 force sensitive Pure-Blooded Sith, who were also made immortal by the Emperor's powers however the Emperor's Hand was hardly known to exists, even by most of the Dark Council throughout the years.
They also added on to the Dark Temple outside of Kaas City, where the Emperor performed more Sith Rituals and killed his enemies. These rituals created a Dark Side of the Force Nexus and affected the weather on Dromund Kaas, making it eternally storm on the Planet -- kinda like Kamino. The Emperor naturally created the Imperial Guard, who were a group fanatically loyal non-force sensitives and were "unmatched" in their combat. They were so loyal because the Emperor used the Force to command them basically, making them answer only to him. Those who the Emperor learned had specific set of Powers (such as Foresight) would gain different titles -- Prophets, Advisors, and Generals, which is where their military and other branches of government came from. Since the Dark Council pretty much ruled the Empire (still answering only to the Emperor), the Emperor was able to gain more knowledge of the Force and perform many Force rituals and experiments.
Many years later, the Emperor learned how to project his ritual that destroyed the Planet Nathema across the Galaxy. To fuel this, he needed war to fuel this ritual. Of course this ultimate goal might of had a few flaws in it... Anyway, two Dark Councilors began fighting each other in a duel. This duel destroyed the Imperial Citadel. The other 10 Councilors used their powers to obliterate the two and then the Emperor personally showed up to give them new add-ons to the Palace as they were fixing it. Sketchy if you ask me... A few decades after this, some of the Councilors found the forgotten Planet Nathema and learned what the Emperor was truly planning. These Councilors attempted to dethrone the Emperor and save the Empire and Galaxy from annihilation.
During this time the Emperor wanted to test the Galactic Republic and the Jedi. He sent an emissary to a man named Mandalore the Ultimate, the leader of the Mandalorian Clans. This emissary gained the aid of Mandalore the Ultimate to find an exiled Sith's tomb. This mission was only so the emissary could gain Mandalore's favor. At the end of the mission, using the force, the emissary told Mandalore a vision of the Mandalorians crushing the Republic in glorious victory. The emissary convinced Mandalore and his warrior society to go to war with the Repubic in what would be known as the Mandalorian Wars, lasting for 16 years. (I'll talk about this one later). The Jedi Knight Revan led the Republic to victory against the Mandalorians. As Revan fought Mandalore the Ultimate in the last battle of the war - over Malachor V - Revan struck Mandalore down. As Mandalore died, he was freed from the Sith Emperor's spell of manipulation. Mandalore told Revan of how he was tricked.
Revan retraced Mandalore's steps back to Nathema, where they witnessed what the Emperor had done. Revan, along with his friend Malak, left the Republic Fleet that they had fought with for years and traveled to Dromund Kaas to confront the threat of the Emperor. There they met the Emperor, who easily used his powers to manipulate Revan and Malak like he did with Mandalore the Ultimate. The Emperor learned secrets of the Republic from the two Jedi Knights, and then he forcibly converted them to the Dark Side. He called them Darth Revan and Darth Malak and sent them back to the Republic to find the Star Forge, an ancient Rakatan Space Station that could create Battle Ships in an easy amount of time.
However, Revan was able to break free from the Emperor's spell - he was very powerful (talk about him later). He helped Malak break free too. Revan returned to his Republic Fleet and converted them into a new Sith Empire. They followed Revan back to the Republic. Revan and Malak found the Star Forge and used it to increase their fleets. Revan and Malak then invaded the Republic. Revan wanted to conquer the Republic and prepare a defense against the Sith Emperor and his Empire. This was called the Jedi Civil War (Talk about that later). Eventually Malak betrayed Revan and Revan's memories were wiped. He had to defeat Malak, destroying the very Empire that he created. As his memories came back he remembered Dromund Kaas and returned to defeat the Emperor.
Revan was eventually captured by the Emperor and was imprisoned. The Emperor prolonged Revan's life indefinitely, stealing secrets and making invasion plans of the Republic. However, the Emperor overestimated Revan. Revan began influencing the Emperor, postponing his invasion of the Republic for about three centuries. During those three centuries, the Emperor was scared about how close Revan got to killing him. He learned how to transfer his essence into other bodily hosts, which allowed him to create the position of the Emperor's Voice. One of these people of the Emperor's Voice was a man from the Planet of Zakuul. He transfered his essence to him as well, calling himself Valkorion. Valkorion created another Empire known as the Eternal Empire. Valkorion constructed the Spire which reached past the atmosphere of Zakuul. From the Spire they constructed a huge city that was connected to it. He created the Knights of Zakuul, who were once the Force Sensitive leaders of the tribes on Zakuul, who were meant to be the protectors of the Eternal Empire and fantaic followers of the Emperor. The Scions of Zakuul were basically like shamans and prophets. Valkorion built the Eternal Throne at the top of the Spire, in a piece called the Starscraper. The Eternal Empire would remain hidden in the Unknown Regions.
The Sith Emperor would then send the Ovair Family to be a part of the Jedi Order, secretly controlled by the Emperor and being Sith Spies. Eventually, the Emperor sent his agent, Jedi Master Barel Ovair, to silence the former Dark Lord of the Sith, Naga Sadow, on Yavin 4. He failed in his mission when his apprentice Eison Gynt apparently died. Naga Sadow's spirit actually took over Gynt's body and returned to the Republic to kill Barel Ovair, probably because of his connections to the Sith Emperor. This failed, and Barel Ovair killed Gynt and Naga Sadow. This also allowed the Sith Empire to secretly take over Yavin 4 without the Republic and Jedi knowing. The Sith Emperor sent several agents to infiltrate and become powerful men in the Republic, just like the Ovair Family was in the Jedi Order. Slowly the Emperor would begin his invasion of the Outer Rim territories. These attacks went largely unnoticed by the Republic. The few fights with the Republic that occurred ended with the absolute destruction of all Republic Forces. During the first three years of the Galactic War, the Republic really did nothing. The Emperor began using his powers to transfer his consciousness and to dominate minds on younger people in the Republic and the Sith Empire. He called them the Children of the Emperor, who would obey his commands when called upon.
The Empire finally claimed Korriban again. This officially opened up the Great Galactic War between the Sith Empire and the Republic. Watch this awesome video about that:
For many years, the Empire kept winning battles unopposed. The Jedi finally started taking up more leadership roles and led several victories against the Sith. The biggest one being the Battle of Alderaan. Watch this video about that:
However, the Republic had a devastating loss at the Battle of Hoth. With the Sith Empire winning against the Republic again, the Emperor focused his attention back on his Voice - Valkorion in the Eternal Empire. Valkorion had fallen in love with his personal guard, Senya Tirall. She had two sons, Arcann and Thexan. However, Valkorion, being just a host body of the Emperor, became distant from Senya and his sons, focusing his attention and powers on the Sith war with the Republic. Also during this time, the Emperor was still being influenced by Revan, and he actually wanted to seek peace with the Republic. The Dark Council agreed, since the war required them to strip entire planets of their resources and people to fuel their war efforts. Tirall had another child, a daughter, named Vaylin, who was very similar to the Sith Emperor in the amount of power that she had. Tirall sought the help of Valkorion, but his "help" was to basically make his children more powerful. When Tirall tried to flee with her children, her children didn't want to go with her because they loved their father. So Tirall returned to duty and was stationed on the fringes of the Empire, away from Valkorion and her children. This is a video about Tirall and Vaylin.
Now remember, the Emperor wanted peace. To do this, the Empire met with the Republic on Alderaan to sign a peace treaty. During this time, the Sith Lord Darth Malgus led a strike team to attack the unprepared Jedi Temple on Coruscant. Darth Malgus succeeded in effectively taking over the Jedi Temple and killing the Grand Master of the Jedi Order, Master Zym. With the fall of the Jedi Temple, Coruscant quickly fell to the Sith Empire. The Sith used this as a bargaining chip to secure a Peace Treaty that redrew the Sith Empire and Galactic Republic's boundaries. However, this only started what was known as the Cold War between the Sith and the Republic, with multiple small conflicts happening during this time. Watch this video about the fall of the Jedi Temple during the Galactic War:
It was during this Cold War that the Jedi Knight known as the Hero of Tython began to catch the Emperor's eye. The Hero of Tython's apprentice, Kira Carsen, was secretly one of the Children of the Emperor. The Hero of Tython was able to break his apprentice's connection to the Emperor, freeing her. The Hero of Tython also helped freeing Revan from his prison. However, with Revan being freed, nothing was able to stop the Sith Emperor from unleashing the full might of the Sith Empire. The Galactic War began once again. Eventually the Hero of Tython was sent on a mission to capture the Emperor. The Emperor of course sent his forces to destroy the Hero of Tython. The Hero of Tython and his Jedi Strike Team actually infiltrated the Emperor's throne room and attacked him, if you could call it that. The Emperor easily over powered them all and dominated their minds. He started converting them to the Dark Side as well. However, after many days one of the Emperor's most trusted servants, the Sith Lord Darth Scourge, helped the Hero of Tython break out of the Emperor's grip. Darth Scourge had foreseen the defeat of the Emperor a long time ago, and decided to aid the Hero of Tython in bringing the Emperor to his knees.
Now remember. The Emperor wanted to consume the entire galaxy. Without Revan to hold him back, his plans began to accelerate. The traitor, Scourge, told the Jedi Council everything about the Emperor's plans to consume the galaxy. The Battle of Corellia was one of the center pieces of this, as Corellia is highly populated planet. And explosion was set to go off, which would kill enough people to start the Emperors ritual. However, this attempt was foiled again by the Jedi, and the Hero of Tython. The First Son was captured as a result. The Hero of Tython redeemed the First Son, casting aside the veil that protected the other children of the Emperor from detection. This allowed the Jedi to be able to track down the Emperor's entire network of spies.
Eventually, the Republic and the Jedi were able to launch a new attack on the Sith, at the heart of their Empire - Dromund Kaas. Grand Master Shan gather her fleets and attacked the Sith Capital. The Hero of Tython entered the battle and headed for the Dark Temple, outside of Kaas City. He entered into a battle with the Emperor that began and ended like this video:
The Emperor was defeated however, not killed. His spirit went to Yavin 4, and stayed there for years in order to recuperate. The Sith believed that their Emperor was dead, resulting in a desire for the throne. Sith Lord Darth Malgus was the first to successfully seize it, and declared a new Empire of his own. During this time, the Emperor's spirit spoke to his Children spread out across the galaxy. Some were able to block it, while others were driven mad. Because of the Emperor's weakened state, his control over his other body, Valkorion, was weakened. This made it so that Valkorion couldn't completely control his daughter, Vaylin.
During the time following the Emperor's defeat the Sith and Republic fought each other as they always do. However, fanatic followers of Revan began popping up. Revan learned that the Emperor's Spirit was on Yavin 4 and sought to bring him back into a physical form. This caused the Sith and the Republic to join forces in order to stop Revan. Shortly after Revan and his forces controlled Yavin 4, the Republic and Sith forces arrived to stop him. Revan was defeated, but all of the death on Yavin 4 was feed on by the Emperor's spirit. He awoke, saying that he brought death.
The Emperor's Spirit traveled to the planet Zoist, where possessed all the people on the Planet. The Republic and Sith Coalition force arrived to stop him. They used electrostatic gun technology to break the Emperor's hold over the planet. However, when it was realized that the Emperor would soon regain control, a Planet wide evacuation began. But the Emperor realized what was happening. Drawing on the strength of the world, the Emperor performed the same ritual he did on Nathema, and he consumed all the life on the planet. This happened:
With the great power he gained on Zoist, the Force Entity of the Emperor went to Valkorion and placed all of its essence into it. He severed all ties with Sith Empire and even called it a failed experiment. He then dedicated all of his effort to his Eternal Empire. He sent his son Thexan to test the Empire's strength. Disobeying orders, his other son Arcann followed. This is what happened -- with an intro of Thexan and Arcann's early life too:
Not long after the skirmishes with the Eternal Empire, a new Sith-Republic Coalition was created, led by Darth Marr. The Eternal Fleet engaged and wiped out the force. Arcann brought Darth Marr and her ally, known only as the Outlander, back to Zakuul and to the Eternal Throne. This is what happened:
Even with Valkorion dead, the Force Entity of the Emperor just shifted its essence into the Outlander's mind. The Outlander was encased in carbonite for five years. The Outlander was rescued by Sith-Republic Coalition force led by the Sith Lord Beniko. As the group fled, they found the Gravestone, a ship that could actually fight the Eternal Fleet. They were also joined by Senya Tirall, the mother of Arcann, Thexan, and Vayln. Valkorion continued to try to convince the Outlander to share in his power and offered to help stop Arcann from destroying all that he built. After they escaped the Eternal Empire, the Outlander wandered into a forest on Odessen and conversed with Valkorion:
Shortly after, the Outlander formed the Eternal Alliance, which was supported by both the Republic and the Sith Empire. After Arcann attacked the Outlander and was defeated aboard his Flagship. His mother rescued him however, and took him away. Shortly after, Vaylin took the Eternal Throne. The Outlander eventually ended up on Nathema, and found a hidden vault that contained the Emperor's ancient relics. The Outlander found a holocron that held the essence of Darth Dramath, the father of the Emperor. Dramath offered the Outlander a means for destroying the Emperor once and for all.
The Outlander fought Vaylin eventually and was surprisingly aided by Arcann. After they left, Vaylin soon attacked Odessen and the Eternal Alliance. She was eventually defeated by the Outlander. With no one to take the Eternal Throne, the Empire began destroying itself, killing all. The Outlander rushed to the Eternal Throne and sat in it, claiming it for their own. The Emperor's Spirit then used all of his power to hollow out the Outlander's body, and used it as his next vessel. However, the Outlander fought back and won, defeating Valkorion. Killing the Dark Lord of the Sith, the Emperor. Ending the 1300 year reign of Lord Vitiate. Here's what happened in those final moments:
Thousands of years after the Emperor's death, the Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Plagueis - himself obsessed with immortality - mused that Lord Vitiate was the only Sith in history to have come close to achieving the secret of immortality. -- Plagueis of course was the master of the eventual Emperor of the Galactic Empire, Darth Sidious.
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Wow I just nerded out right there :)
Hope you enjoyed and found this story interesting. There's always a spark of hope that such awesome stories will be brought back to canon.
I'm gonna stop there with the before the prequel posts.
If you're interested in more awesome characters, I recommend looking up:
Nomi Sunrider and Ulic Qel-Droma
Count Dooku (before he became a sith)
Missions between Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan
The early training of Anakin Skywalker
Siri Tatchi
Carth Onasi
Bastila Shan
Kriea/Darth Treya (who may be Arren Kai)
Meetra Surik (the Jedi Exile)
and of course
Revan
Have an epic day!!
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