Acolytes of the Beyond

The Acolytes of the Beyond consisted of non-Force-sensitive individuals who called themselves shadows. The shadows regarded themselves and all other living things as slaves to the Force, which they perceived as a river of power. They believed that only Force-users who wielded the dark side of the Force were capable of changing those currents. They regarded the Sith as riverbreakers who did not succumb to fate. The Acolytes worshiped fallen Sith, who had gone beyond the veil. Many Acolytes also received dreams from fallen Sith. The true master of the Acolytes was Yupe Tashu, who recruited many the cult's members. Former Acolyte Komat even pondered if the Acolyte Kiza, who had joined after receiving Force visions, had been given those visions by Tashu, possibly through the use of an unknown Sith artifact.

The Acolytes were led by masters such as Tashu, who communicated with fallen Sith specters. According to Komat, Tashu hoped to use the Acolytes to restore dark side power to the galaxy with himself as its ruler. The Acolytes also revered various Sith artifacts including lightsabers and helmets since they were imbued with the power of the dark side. While the Acolytes initially stole lightsabers in order to sacrifice to the Sith "beyond," they began to keep the ancient weapons following the rise of the New Republic, and to be given a lightsaber was considered a great honor. As Sith devotees, the Acolytes opposed the new order brought by the New Republic. During the last stage of the Galactic Civil War, the Acolytes embarked on a campaign of armed resistance against the new government. The acolytes were known through as "the mark of Vader."

During the Battle of Endor, the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Vader was killed after sacrificing his life to kill his Sith Master: Darth Sidious, the Emperor of the Galactic Empire. Several months later, the group known as the Acolytes of the Beyond came in contact with a Kubaz junk dealer named Ooblamon on the planet Taris, who claimed to possess the red-bladed lightsaber that had belonged to the Dark Lord. Three Acolytes of the Beyond purchased the lightsaber from Ooblamon, intending to destroy it and return it to Vader in death. Ooblamon was unsure if it was Vader's lightsaber, but the transaction was carried out nonetheless. Sidious' former adviser Yupe Tashu, who was also currently the foremost expert on the dark side of the Force, joined the Acolytes with his partner, a Sith assassin known as Ochi of Bestoon.

During a revolution in Coronet City on the planet Corellia, another Acolyte, a boy named Remi, who called himself Oblivion, was arrested. He was taken to a nearby station where he was freed by the Pantoran Kiza, a secret member of the organization. Together they killed all but one of the detectives in the station, cutting off his hand. While the other Acolytes rampaged through the streets of Coronet City, Kiza and Remi infiltrated the archives underneath the station and stole a lightsaber. Remi became the owner of the lightsaber and was influenced by the dark side presence inside the object. While the Acolytes had initially stolen Sith lightsabers to sacrifice to the Sith beyond, they began to keep them as the group began to embark on a policy of armed resistance against the New Republic, the successor to the Rebel Alliance.

By 5 ABY, the Acolytes of the Beyond had developed into a network of cells across the galaxy. They were led by several masters including Tashu, who worshiped fallen Sith. In the period leading up to the Battle of Jakku, the Acolytes launched a series of coordinated strikes against New Republic outposts and enclaves on various worlds. Tashu led a 24-member cell on the planet Devaron during an attack on a small New Republic outpost. The mission on Devaron would reveal to the Acolytes that Tashu was their leader.

Prior to the attack, Tashu gifted the mask of Viceroy Exim Panshard to Kiza. He was well-aware that Panshard's presence survived in the mask and intended to use Kiza as a tool for galactic conquest, rather than sacrifice his own will by wearing the mask himself. When Remi demanded the mask for himself, Tashu chastised him and handed his lightsaber to Kiza. During the attack on the New Republic outpost, the Acolytes brandished various weapons including clubs, machine shop blades, and chop-axes, which were all painted red. Kiza was possessed by the dark side presence of Panshard inside her mask. When Remi tried to reclaim his lightsaber, Kiza killed him. Her fellow Acolyte Komat also claimed she killed Tashu, but Tashu actually died in the Battle of Jakku.

By the time Jedi Luke Skywalker and researcher Lor San Tekka followed a lead on the lightsaber of Darth Noctyss to the Acolytes and found them, the group was a shell of its former self. They managed to convince Komat to give up the life of the Acolytes and redeem herself. At some point before the mission to Pasaana of 21 ABY, the Acolytes no longer existed, but Ochi had instead become a follower of the Sith Eternal under the resurrected Sidious after they reached out to him with a new mission: find Sidious's granddaughter, Rey. Around the same time, Kiza was killed during a duel against Skywalker, and the spirit of Panshard was destroyed with his mask during a subsequent skirmish.

During his time on Exegol, the resurrected Sidious spoke highly of their actions. He was particularly pleased about the Acolytes' comprehension of the dark side being key to victory, despite not having the proper connection to the Force to make use of it themselves. He also approved of their altered focus from destroying Sith arcana to collecting them. Sidious believed that the Acolytes were helping further his cause due to the presence of several extreme loyalists in their ranks.

The Acolytes of the Beyond first appeared the 2015 novel Aftermath, written by Chuck Wendig.

• Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: The Visual Dictionary
• Skywalker: A Family at War
• Star Wars: The Secrets of the Sith
• Star Wars: Timelines
• "After Endor" — Star Wars Insider 222