The Sorcerers of Rhand were a group of beings who believed in a power greater than the Force which they called the Dark. The Sorcerers of Rhand ruled a collection of stellar clusters known as the Nihil Retreat, which was associated with the Perann Nebula in the Unknown Regions. By following the Way of the Dark, they were granted special powers. Cronal, a Rhandite, was associated with the order before he left to become first, a Prophet of the Dark Side, then an Emperor's Hand, all for Palpatine. The Sorcerers of Rhand never ventured beyond the Nihil Retreat.
A Sorcerer of Rhand
The Sorcerers of Rhand were the absolute rulers of the twelve stellar clusters known as the Nihil Retreat, which was associated with the Perann Nebula in the Unknown Regions. The Sorcerers believed in the One Truth: "Only power is real, and the only real power is the power to destroy. Existence is fleeting. Destruction is eternal." For them, destruction was the will of the universe. They called this the Way of the Dark.
The Way of the Dark was the cornerstone of the Sorcerers. They saw destruction as a permanent change in the structure of the universe. Through this destruction a void was created, an absence of life. The void was the foundation of truth. The sorcerers recognized neither the light or the dark side of the Force. In fact, they did not speak of the Force; for them there was only the Dark.
Furthermore, the Sorcerers believed that the only relevant feature of the Dark was its response to the will of a properly trained being in line with the Way of the Dark. The Dark set being against being, star against star. It was the hidden energy of the cosmos. The greatest power of the Dark known to the Rhandites was the ability of Darksight. Darksight was the ability to create the future by looking at all the possible outcomes and choosing the one that suited the user best, though the outcome was not guaranteed. Part of its success was determined by the user's alignment with the Dark. Only through destruction could one ally themselves with the Way of the Dark.
The Sorcerers of Rhand view their their bodies as temporary constructs that are to be chewed apart by the Dark. The most devout believe that once their mortal forms rot, their consciousness will join with the Dark. Each Sorcerer exist in various states of disassembly and decay. They have no uniform appearance and are made up of members from multiple species.
The Sorcerers of Rhand originated from a merger between three different sects—the Kanzer Exiles led by Lord Ravager Korman Lao and who practiced mental enslavement, building the Temple of Korman Lao near the Valtaullu Rift; the Knell of Muspilli, an ancient death cult from the Gunninga Gap who used the Taurannik Codex to summon apocalyptic gods from beyond the gap; and last the Warriors of the Shadow, a priestly sisterhood of Taung who were defeated by the Battalions of Zhell in Coruscant's prehistory and who fled to the Unknown Regions to win atonement by meditation and insight. The three faiths came together on the planet of Rhand in the ruins of a dead species, and from the union, the Sorcerers were born. Outposts and monasteries were later founded on the twelve planets across the Nihl Retreat for Rhandite acolytes who had yet to attain true insight into the Dark.
In 80 BBY, a chronicler from Carrivar named Succate assembled the largest collection of information on the Sorcerers. During a meeting in the Central Ruin of Rhand, Succate was intimidated by multiple Sorcerers in various states of disassembly and decay. One Sorcerer lacked skin and oozed bodily fluids with every step, a second appeared as a blackened skeleton, a third was turned inside out with teeth extruding from their flesh, while a fourth existed as a long ribbon of flesh. She also encountered members that scuttled around with four or more legs, hovered above the floor, or flew above with wings.
The most famous member of the Sorcerers of Rhand was Lord Cronal who was appointed as the Director of Imperial Intelligence and as one of the Emperor's Hands prior to the Battle of Yavin. Codenamed Agent Blackhole, Cronal augmented his abilities with knowledge gained from the Sith and the Prophets of the Dark Side. Cronal would eventually be exiled during the Galactic Civil War until his return following the death of the Emperor under the name Shadowspawn. He lured Luke Skywalker to his headquarters on Mindor and attempted to possess the Jedi in a plan to destroy the New Republic and install himself as the new Emperor. Following his defeat and apparent death at Mindor, Cronal would resurrect himself and participate in other plots around the galaxy. He was defeated for the final time on Andooweel by Luke Skywalker.
- The Unknown Regions
- Book of Sith: Secrets from the Dark Side