Dark Lord prophecy

A prophecy made around the time of the Great Hyperspace War foretold the return of the Dark Lords of the Sith. After the former Dark Lord of the Sith Naga Sadow fled to the moon of Yavin 4 following his defeat at the second battle of Korriban in 5000 BBY, Sadow became aware of the prophecy. He feared the return of the Dark Lords of the Sith and created a mighty Sithspawn beast known as a Sith wyrm as a guardian against them. The prophecy became part of legends of the Massassi tribe that descended from the followers of Sadow on Yavin 4.

During the Second Battle of Onderon of the Freedon Nadd Uprising, Jedi Master Arca Jeth and a team of Jedi Knights defeated King Ommin of Onderon. The spirit of long-dead Dark Lord of the Sith Freedon Nadd appeared at Ommin's side and ended his life, reminding him that these Jedi did not belong to the dark side of the Force. Nadd soon corrected himself, however, and appeared to the Jedi Knight Ulic Qel-Droma claiming that perhaps one or two of the Jedi might belong to dark side. Freed by Ommin's death, Jeth emerged and claimed victory for the Jedi, however, Nadd, as he disappeared from sight, replied that the Jedi had actually lost, a statement which confused Qel-Droma. With the Freedon Nadd Uprising ended, Qel-Droma and other Jedi attended the long-awaited entombment of the recovered bodies of Amanoa and Nadd on the moon Dxun. There, Qel-Droma asked Jeth about the meaning of Nadd's statement, to which he replied that Nadd spoke of the ancient prophecy that foretold the return of the Dark Lords of the Sith. Qel-Droma wondered if these prophecies were true, to which Jeth replied that the future was always in motion; he declared to Nomi Sunrider and Ulic Qel-Droma that the future depended on the Jedi. Following the Freedon Nadd Uprising, Nadd appeared to Qel-Droma and warned him not to interfere with the work of the dark side and proclaimed that the Sith would rise again. When Qel-Droma challenged Nadd on his assertions, Nadd told the Jedi that he would be one of the "great ones." During the Conclave at Deneba, Jedi Master Odan-Urr recited the prophecy to his fellow Jedi.

In 3997 BBY, the Jedi Knight Exar Kun explored the Tomb of Freedon Nadd. He was confronted by the spirit of Nadd, who told Kun that a great future awaited him in the dark side, but Kun dismissed the ghost's prophecy. In the same year, Kun visited the moon of Yavin 4 and was defeated by the Massassi guards. Believing that Kun was someone whom they had been waiting for, the Massassi temple priest Zythmnr ordered that the former Jedi be brought to the Temple of Fire, and summoned an ancient Sith wyrm to test his power. As he struggled in the beast's grasp, Kun heard Nadd's call who urged him to use the dark side and revealed to him that Sadow feared the prophecy of the Dark Lords and created the wyrm to destroy Kun. Suddenly finding that he could speak the Sith tongue, Kun took Zythmnr's Sith amulet and defeated the monster, winning the allegiance of Zythmnr and the other Massassi. The amulet caused Kun to experience a Force vision of his destiny as the great and powerful Dark Lord of the Sith spoken of in the Massassi legends. Empowered by the vision, Kun turned on the spirit of Nadd and, with a single burst of anger, obliterated the Sith spirit.

On Empress Teta, Kun encountered Ulic Qel-Droma, a Jedi Knight who had lost his Master to a Krath attack and had gone undercover within the group to seek revenge. Qel-Droma had been seduced by the dark side himself, and while the two briefly dueled, their battle was ended as the Sith amulets they wore began interacting with each other. The energies formed an image of the ancient Sith Empire and their Dark Lords, a message carried in the two talismans for centuries. Finally, the spirit of long-dead Dark Lord Marka Ragnos appeared and named Kun the new Dark Lord of the Sith, his initiation into the dark side complete—with a single touch, Ragnos burned a mark of a Dark Lord into the center of Kun's forehead, and Qel-Droma with that of a Shadow Hand, whom Ragnos said would become Kun's first and foremost apprentice. Bound by destiny and united by prophecy, they eagerly clasped hands, while Kun proclaimed that the Sith have risen again and, together, they would bring down the galaxy.

The prophecy was first mentioned, albeit indirectly, in the first issue of the comic series Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi — The Freedon Nadd Uprising, written by Tom Veitch, illustrated by Tony Akins, and published by Dark Horse Comics on August 2, 1994. It was first identified in the Tales of the Jedi audio drama, written by John Whitman and based on the script by Veitch.

While Tales of the Jedi – The Freedon Nadd Uprising 2, Tales of the Jedi audio drama and Tales of the Jedi: Dark Lords of the Sith audio drama establish that the prophecy foretold the return of the Dark Lords of the Sith, the Dark Lords of the Sith comic story arc makes it clear that Exar Kun is the only Dark Lord of the Sith.

• The Essential Chronology
• The Dark Side Sourcebook
• Power of the Jedi Sourcebook
• The New Essential Chronology