Between 3 ABY and 4 ABY, during her attempts to destroy the Sith Lords Darth Sidious and Darth Vader, Crimson Dawn leader Lady Qi'ra created a rumor about the existence of a Sith Lord that had lived long before the Imperial Era and had been sealed away by the Fermata Cage, a weapon of the dark side of the Force which could freeze individual moments. She hoped that the rumor of the Sith would lure Vader and Sidious into a confrontation so that she could trap the two Sith inside the Cage.
After the Galactic Empire found her flagship, the Vermillion, Qi'ra informed Sidious of the rumored Sith Lord's existence, which he believed could be possible but did not know for sure. Not wanting to take the chance that it was true, Sidious instructed Vader to bring the Fermata Cage to him and to kill anyone who had knowledge of its existence.