Karness Muur was once a respected Knight of the Jedi Order. However, his lust for power caused him to study the nature of the dark side. He became one of the Dark Jedi during the Hundred-Year Darkness, alongside XoXaan and Ajunta Pall. He was one of the creators of creatures such as Leviathans as well. Muur fought in the Battle of Corbos and was amongst the surrendering survivors. Alongside Pall and XoXaan, Muur was exiled from the Republic and arrived on the planet Korriban with his fellow Dark Jedi. At the time he encountered Korriban's native species he carried a yellow-bladed protosaber, which he brandished in their presence as a display of his superior power.
Muur and his fellow Dark Jedi recognized the potent and untapped Force-sensitivity of the Sith race, and immediately sought to enslave them through the dark side of the Force. After conquering the Sith species, Muur like his fellows anointed themselves as Lords of the Sith, and were the very first to don the honorific title.
Karness Muur also possessed his own personal Sith amulet, one imbued with tremendous dark side power, should the wielder have the strength to dominate it. Crafted by his fellow exile, Sorzus Syn, the Muur's talisman afforded Muur the power to transform those in his close proximity into mindless thralls for him to command. When the Talisman was found not to work on Force-sensitives or certain alien species, Muur further engineered the Rakghoul plague, an infection which could be spread by those already under his thrall.
With his army of rakghouls, Muur intended to use them to rule the galaxy. He also created the Codex of Karness Muur around this time, in which he illustrated the power of his beloved Talisman and its intentions for the Sith. At this point he was already using a modern lightsaber, as opposed to a protosaber. Muur was not without rivals among his brethren, though. One such enemy was another Sith Lord named Remulus Dreypa who created an specialized stasis pod to capture and neutralize Muur and the power of his Talisman. However, Dreypa was never able to contain or capture Muur within his oubliette.
Karness Muur was born before 7000 BBY and was taken into the Jedi Order as a child. He eventually became a renowned and promising Jedi Knight and incredibly powerful, both in Lightsaber combat and in use of the Force, however, Muur eventually turned to the dark side of the Force and became a Dark Jedi. He became very powerful and knowledgeable of the dark side, however, Muur surrended to the Jedi during the battle of Corbos and was exiled to Korriban with the 11 other Dark Jedi that also turned to the dark side, they encountered the Sith species on Korriban and found that they possessed an incredible connection to the dark side, Muur, along with the 11 other Dark Jedi, became the first Sith Lords. However, as with all Sith Lords, Muur had many rivals, one such rival was Remulus Dreypa, who created a specialized stasis pod using Sith science and was able to capture Muur.
A younger Muur fights a Jedi during the Battle of Corbos.
When Muur was captured, he was able to survive by binding his spirit to his Talisman. The Sith Lord was thus able to continue with his schemes long after his death, with the Talisman acting as his gateway into the world of the living. His ultimate plan was to find a strong Force-sensitive individual, and trick them into wearing the Talisman—which would then allow Muur to possess the being and access their own Force abilities.
The First WatchCircle of the Jedi Covenant envisioned him during a memorial service for one of their fallen, Togrutan Jedi Consular Raana Tey. In this vision, Muur lead an army of rakghouls, which he kept organized allowing them to use weapons and vessels. He was seen wearing the Talisman on his chest, and had a curved-hilt lightsaber hanging from his belt. In the vision, he was accompanied by a hooded person wielding a red lightsaber.
Muur was seen in another vision by one of the Covenant's agents, Master Celeste Morne, after she had pulled Padawan Zayne Carrick out of the Talisman's grip. When she asked who he was, he simply answered that he was the future. Because she was Force-sensitive, Muur's spirit bonded itself to Morne through his Talisman, and tried to take full control over her. He planned to leave the Mandalorian-held planet Jebble and spread his Rakghoul Plague throughout the galaxy, using Morne as his temporary host body. With assistance from Carrick, Celeste realized that she was being corrupted by Muur's influence through the Talisman. Morne then requested that Carrick end her life, but Carrick offered her another option. He placed her in stasis within Dreypa's Oubliette, the very object designed to halt Muur's machinations. In stasis, the Sith's plans were delayed indefinitely, while the Jedi attempted to find a means to counteract the power of Muur's Talisman.
Karness Muur and Celeste Morne
For four thousand years, Muur and Morne were suspended together within the oubliette. It was soon found by miners and then sold to smugglers, but eventually, when Morne was awoken from her long slumber by Darth Vader, she and Muur learned that four millennia had passed. They also learned that while the Mandalorians did not defeat the Galactic Republic, it was a new incarnation of the Sith Order who now ruled the galaxy, which brought a delight to Muur.
When Morne attacked Darth Vader, Muur sensed the greater power within the new Dark Lord and began taunting Morne to accept death to escape his grasp, while also whispering to Vader to take the Talisman for himself, and then use its power to slay his master. Not willing to allow Vader to be possessed by an ancient power, Morne transformed the clone troopers into rakghouls, forcing Vader, who feared trading one Sith Master for another, to flee. Muur was furious that the Jedi could use his power and was left stranded on the desert moon, imprisoned within Morne's body.
For nearly two decades, Muur and Celeste were trapped on the desert moon, with the former driving the latter insane. Muur made her believe that Zayne and Vader abandoned her on the moon. But Muur once again saw his chance of galactic domination when a Rebel Alliance squad came to the moon on false information of an Imperial weapon.
Seeing Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa and sensing them for what they were, Muur had his Talisman release itself and leap at Luke, but when Leia tried to interfere, Muur decided to take her instead. The Talisman fastened to Leia's neck but Celeste removed it, not willing to let another suffer what she went through. She reattached the Talisman to her neck, thus reimprisoning Muur within her again. Together, they escaped the moon in an abandoned GR-75 medium transport.
More than a century later, Celeste captured the Star Destroyer Iron Sun, transformed its entire crew into rakghouls, and took it into a fractured hyperspace lane in the Deep core. But Karness was patient and knew that he would have to possess someone more powerful eventually, and when he did, he promised Celeste would die.
The second and final death of the Sith Lord Karness Muur.
When Cade Skywalker boarded the Iron Sun, Muur could sense the great power within him. Muur became even more intrigued when Cade used his dark-side powered healing abilities to cure himself of the rakghoul plague.
After Cade's team took over an Imperial garrison on Had Abbadon, Muur began playing with everyone's minds, giving Shado Vao a vision of him slaying Celeste and the Talisman possessing him. Azlyn Rae sought to destroy the Talisman but Cade stopped her. Muur's voice in her head caused Cade to warn both Celeste and Muur that if there was any more trouble, he swore to lock them in a torpedo and send them to the Deep Core's black hole.
Soon after, Muur in the body of Celeste made a transmission to Coruscant, showing that he had imprisoned Cade. Krayt and his Hands traveled to Had Abaddon to negotiate a deal that would give their master a way to cheat death. However, the deal was actually a trap, designed to assassinate Krayt, or so the others had thought. Only towards the end did Muur's true intentions take hold: to kill the Jedi, turn Cade and the others into Rakghouls, and take Krayt's body for his own.
During the fight, Muur and Celeste entered direct combat with Krayt. After several shots of intense Force lightning, Azlyn Rae stabbed Krayt in the back with her lightsaber, but was caught in the blast created by Muur and Celeste. Krayt was sent meters below the compound and Rae was considered dead. Celeste realized that Cade would not be controlled by Muur and so decided it was time to hand over the Talisman to him. Cade ignited his lightsaber into Celeste's torso, killing her. Within a few moments, Celeste's body disintegrated into dust and the Talisman crawled its way up onto Cade's arm. Muur, confident he had found his new body from which to rule the galaxy announced his plans to Cade; however, Cade revealed that Krayt wasn't the only Sith Lord the trap was set for. Cade then used his special ability to find the flaws throughout the Talisman, and overwhelmed it with Force energy, destroying both it and Muur, sending the ancient Sith Lord to the depths of the Force, forever.
Muur invoking a Leviathan.
As a Jedi and a Dark Jedi, Karness Muur delved into arcane practices of the dark side. By his own admission, Muur used the dark side to twist, prolong, and preserve life. He engineered many forms of Sithspawn, including leviathans. As a Sith Lord, Muur's talents grew exponentially. He was among the original Sith Lords, and thus was instrumental in the development of their abilities and lore. Muur was a skilled dark side healer by his own statement. He demonstrated his healing ability for Darth Krayt, whose own attempts at healing had repeatedly proven unsuccessful, even including the knowledge of Muur's contemporary, XoXaan, who was a famed Sith healer in her own right.
Offensively, Muur displayed tremendous talent with the Force. He claimed to have vanquished many rival Sith Lords in his career, and was even targeted by one in particular, Dreypa, who created a device specifically designed for the containment and suppression of Muur's power. Muur regarded the strength of Darth Krayt as moot, despite Krayt being the most powerful Sith of his own time. Muur also displayed a mastery of Force lightning, using it to deadly effect on several occasions. In the final battle against Darth Krayt, Muur created the most devastating Force storm, an ability he manifested while in control of Celeste Morne's body. Darth Vader seriously considered using the Talisman and it may have been able to restore his full potential. Darth Vader noted Muur's power felt comparable to Darth Sidious.
Muur was also a pioneer of Sith magic. He developed a spell that turned non Force-sensitive beings into mindless beasts called rakghouls. Muur was also one of the first to practice Sith alchemy. His rakghoul plague, a malady that was transferred through the saliva of a rakghoul which turned its victim into the same, was engineered in this manner. Upon his physical death, Muur's spirit inhabited his amulet; however, his Force abilities were only accessible if the talisman were worn by a living being.
Muur's curved-hilt lightsaber.
Muur wielded a yellow bladed protosaber during his time as both a Jedi and a Dark Jedi. His yellow blade saw action during the Battle of Corbos, and he carried it with him when he was exiled from the Republic. As a Sith Lord, Muur apparently transitioned from the protosaber, which required the use of an external power source, to a curve-hilt, red blade lightsaber. This usage of the curve-hilt lightsaber would most likely mark Muur as a Makashi practitioner, making him a deadly duelist.
- "Blaster" — Star Wars Insider 105
- Legacy Era Campaign Guide
- Jedi Academy Training Manual
- "Darth Krayt" — Star Wars Insider 113
- "" — Star Wars Insider Special Edition 2010
- "Blaster" — Star Wars Insider 130
- Book of Sith: Secrets from the Dark Side
- Star Wars: The Old Republic Encyclopedia