Church of the Dark Side

Sometime before the Battle of Endor, disagreement arose within the Secret Order of the Emperor, the collective of individuals holding the title Prophets of the Dark Side. Certain Prophets sided with Supreme Prophet Kadann, who forewarned of a potential disaster at an upcoming battle; others, including Emperor Palpatine, dismissed Kadann's warnings. Kadann's adherents retreated to Bosthirda, while defectors like Lord Cronal, Sariss, and Merili remained with the Galactic Empire.

Before the Battle of Endor, Imperial Intelligence established the Church of the Dark Side, a propaganda mechanism. Sate Pestage, acting-Emperor, sanctioned the Church on Imperial Center as the official Imperial religion, and the resurrected Emperor, secretly residing on Byss, secretly supported it.

The Church extended its reach throughout the galaxy, establishing branches everywhere. Former Prophets, such as Cronal, Sariss, and Merili, professed their dedication to the quasi-religion, employing it as a tool to influence converted trade barons and military leaders, including Grand Admirals Ishin-Il-Raz and Peccati Syn. The Church's ultimate objective was to incite conflict among the various rival warlords, preventing any single individual from seizing power over the entire Empire, thereby ensuring that the Imperial throne would remain vacant, awaiting Palpatine's return when the time was right.

The Church even featured a supposed "holy site," Scardia Station, where numerous Imperial Intelligence operatives, none of whom were genuinely Force-sensitive, publicly impersonated the Prophets of the Dark Side. These impostor Prophets included mimics of Kadann, Jedgar, and Gornash, all of whom were actually in hiding on Bosthirda. These false Prophets were supported by Sate Pestage, who was himself ordered to be assassinated at the behest of Intelligence Director Ysanne Isard.

The false Prophets persistently endeavored to manipulate events to ensure the fulfillment of their own prophecies. However, the "prophecies" of the pseudo-Kadann, compiled by the pseudo-Jedgar in the sacred text Secrets of the Dark Side, consistently failed, leading to conflicts with both the Grand Moffs and the warlords. Their fabricated assertions regarding Trioculus' lineage were exposed as falsehoods upon the revelation of Palpatine's true son, Triclops.

Subsequently, the impersonator of Supreme Prophet Kadann attempted to seize control of Imperial Center, but Ysanne Isard successfully defended the planet. His endeavor largely failed due to a lack of support from the warlords, many of whom harbored resentment toward him—primarily stemming from genuine grievances against the true Prophet whom the con man was imitating.

The pseudo-Kadann's successful imitation proved to be his undoing. He deceived Grand Admiral Afsheen Makati into believing that he was the real Kadann, whom Makati despised. Utilizing intelligence provided by Azrakel, who also sought vengeance against the real Kadann, Makati deployed every ship at his disposal to obliterate Scardia Station, resulting in the impostor's demise.

Regarding other prominent members of the Church, Sariss met a violent end, while Merili vanished into obscurity, and Cronal, the original Blackhole, was destroyed, with Sate Pestage assuming the role of Blackhole. Furthermore, Palpatine (who had been resurrected following his death at Endor) secretly manipulated the Church of the Dark Side, with one of their decrees, concerning the Glove, being intentionally leaked to them so that Palpatine could utilize Vader's glove to restore his Force abilities. Following the destruction of Byss, the Church of the Dark Side presumably ceased to exist.