Legends

I've recently completed a history document recording every Sith-related event found in the fictional tales that serve as the inspiration for the philosophies and beliefs of the Sith Order. Because of this, I have also been thinking a lot lately about the value of legends. Every major religion or philosophical order in history has had legends or myths which their code of beliefs is based around. Although many modern believers and extremists alike choose to take the stories and tales found in their religious texts as irrefutable truth, the fact of the matter is that they were, more often than not, written with the intention of being fictional tales, meant to convey lessons, or a message, to the reader. Which is where our fictional inspiration comes into play. In this entry I plan to discuss what value, if any, there is in continuing to teach these legends to future generations of Sith acolytes. As well as looking into a few such tales, to try and determine their meaning.

Modern psychological research suggests that we, as humans, are far more likely to adopt a belief if it is presented to us in the form of fiction. As emotional beings, we find ourselves attached to the characters and circumstances found in this fiction, far more than the evidence and reason presented in non-fiction. And using my own experience, I would have to agree with these theories. I have witnessed this happen first hand on many occasions. It was, after all, the tales of the legendary fictional Sith Lord, Darth Bane, which helped to push me down the path of the Sith. Although I was already firmly set in the ways of the Sith, I was not aware of it until then.

In legends, Darth Bane was one of the greatest Sith Lords to have ever lived. He was not only physically strong, but also one of the greatest thinkers to ever have the honor of counting themselves among the ranks of the Sith. Born into economic slavery in order to pay off the debts of his abusive father, Dessel, as he was known before becoming Sith, was a large man who often found himself at the end of his fellow laborers' torments. After one such occasion, he was removed from work duty after injuring a fellow miner and forced to scam republic soldiers out of their money in a game of cards at a local cantina, in order to continue paying off his father's debts, before killing one of the officers in self-defense after a heated argument. As a result of this, Dessel was forced to flee his home, and found himself in the service of the Sith, who at the time were calling themselves "The Brotherhood of Darkness." Growing up in the harsh conditions of the mines, Bane was exposed to the truth of the world, that the strong are the truly powerful, and anyone who preaches equality over strength is either a fool or a liar. Because of this, Bane believed he would fit in with the Sith perfectly, but he soon discovered that the current leader of the Sith, a man named Lord Kaan, was actively going against every philosophy and belief which Bane had learned from the texts and teachings of the ancient Sith Lords. Bane determined that, because Kaan's brotherhood was corrupt and deviated from the teachings of the original Sith by preaching equality among its members, they must be destroyed in order to preserve the legacy of the Sith. Bane executed a plan to destroy every last member of the Brotherhood of Darkness and rebuilt the Sith Order on a foundation of strength, patience, and most importantly, power.

The story of Darth Bane is one of countless tales which exists in legends, to be read and learned from for generations to come. Bane learned the true nature of the world from his harsh upbringing, and when he found the Sith to have deviated from that path, he destroyed the infection and rebuilt the order with the ideals it was founded upon. The lesson to be taken from this tale is that, no matter how wise you think you are, no matter how many you are able to convince of your lies, the true nature of the world is always there, and anyone who really looks will find it easily enough.

Another legend of the fictional Sith is the story of the ancient Dark Lord of the Sith, Naga Sadow. Sadow was once a member of his era's equivalent of the Dark Council before the ruler of the Sith, Marka Ragnos, finally died. As a leading member of this council, Naga Sadow believed he was worthy to succeed Ragnos as Dark Lord of the Sith, but so did Sadow's primary rival, another Sith named Ludo Kressh. Naga Sadow was a firm progressive who believed the Sith needed to abandon their original ways in order to progress towards his vision of a perfect order. Ludo Kressh, however, was a staunch traditionalist who believed the true path to success lied with the teachings and practices of the past. Ultimately, Sadow would take the position of Dark Lord of the Sith, after seemingly defeating Ludo Kressh in a duel. Soon after this, Sadow discovered explorers from the republic and tracked them back to their home, so that he could wage war against the republic to further his own political agenda within the structure of the Sith. Eventually, Ludo Kressh would return and through their infighting, Sadow and Kressh would weaken the Sith to the point that the republic would have no problem destroying them forever, or so they believed.

Much like every tale about the Sith which exists in legends, the story of Naga Sadow and his battle against Ludo Kressh holds a message, or lesson, which can still very much be applied today. Because the two Sith Lords were unable to put aside the petty differences in their political beliefs, their infighting was enough to bring ruin to the Sith as a whole. Instead of putting the benefit of the Sith first, the two focused solely on their own political ideologies, and eventually weakened the Sith to the point that the republic, which had been antagonized by Naga Sadow, was able to destroy the Sith and execute their mass extinction. The legends of the Sith are filled with tales and myths which promise to teach a great many lessons, not just to the acolytes of future generations, but to us as well. It has become clear in my latest research that we can only continue to benefit from teaching these stories to those looking to learn of the Sith and our beliefs. As well as by studying them to better understand the lessons at the heart of these tales, so that we may educate ourselves as well. Perhaps I may devote more time in the future to dissecting some of these stories and legends to get a better understanding of their true meaning, and of what we stand to learn from them. I must also mention that the interpretations of these stories written about here are my own, as I'm sure anyone reading this will likely have their own interpretation of the same material.