Constructed by the Sith's Dark Lord Darth Revan during the time of the Jedi Civil War, the Sith Holocron of Darth Revan, also known as Darth Revan's Holocron, or just Revan's Holocron, held within it the Sith Lord's teachings regarding the dark side of the Force and his knowledge concerning ancient Sith rituals. It provided guidance on the usage of the Force power referred to as the thought bomb, and the lessons within the Holocron emphasized the user's desire for the dark side and the significance of a Sith Master providing training to only one apprentice at a time. Following Darth Revan's redemption and the conclusion of the Jedi Civil War, the Sith holocron remained concealed inside the Temple of the Ancients located on the planet Rakata Prime.
Three thousand years later, the Lord of the Sith Darth Bane found Darth Revan's Holocron anew inside the Rakatan temple and thoroughly examined the teachings it possessed. Bane replicated the Holocron's contents and then destroyed the artifact when its source of power was exhausted. Bane proceeded to eliminate the then-ruling Sith regime, establishing his own Sith Order using the lessons derived from Darth Revan's Holocron. Subsequently, Bane transcribed Darth Revan's knowledge into the Telos Holocron, which was later studied by the Sith Lord Darth Sidious and, eventually, the New Jedi Order.
The Sith Holocron of Darth Revan, which is also known as the Holocron of Darth Revan, or simply Revan's Holocron, was fashioned by the Dark Lord of the Sith himself in the form of a four-sided pyramid. The Holocron bore a resemblance to the Temple of the Ancients, an ancient Rakatan structure situated on the planet Rakata Prime. The Sith Lord's Holocron was slightly larger than a Human's hand, and in contrast to the majority of Sith holocrons, it was decorated with only a small number of Sith symbols. An avatar of Darth Revan served as the Holocron's gatekeeper, and a crystal that channeled energy from the Force powered the artifact. However, the crystal was not stable, and its stability decreased with each use of the Holocron.
The Holocron of Darth Revan contained the Lord's Sith teachings and convictions concerning both Sith philosophy and the dark side of the Force. The Holocron also provided explanations of the purpose and essence of ancient Sith rituals, some of which were deemed too perilous for even a Sith Master to attempt. One of the rituals taught by Darth Revan's Holocron was the thought bomb; the ancient Sith utilized the Force to generate a sphere of power, and upon detonation of the thought bomb, the physical bodies of Force-sensitive individuals were destroyed, with their spirits becoming trapped within a vacuum that was created at the focal point of the detonation. Furthermore, the Holocron detailed the teachings of Zelashiel the Blasphemer, which pertained to the application of the power known as drain life. The Holocron also provided instruction to a student on how to counteract and neutralize poisons by using the Force.
Within the Holocron, Darth Revan's instructions conveyed that an individual who utilized the dark side was also obligated to serve it, and that understanding this principle signified that the person comprehended the fundamental philosophy of the Sith. The Holocron asserted that the dark side offered power to a person for its own sake and encouraged the learner to desire power and seek the dark side's strength without any hesitation. It further taught that the Force would bring about a transformation in the user and recommended that the user embrace the changes that accompanied accepting the power of the dark side, arguing that the Jedi were restricted in their accomplishments because they focused on controlling the Force's transformation of the individual. Darth Revan's teachings maintained that true power was only attainable by those who fully accepted the Force's transformation of them, asserting that traits such as loyalty, mercy, and compassion prevented an individual from claiming what was rightfully theirs.
The Holocron taught that anyone who embraced the power of the dark side also had to accept the challenge of maintaining their grip on that power. It stated that the nature of rivalry and strife within the dark side was not only the strength of the Sith, but also their weakness as an Order. Darth Revan's avatar expressed the opinion that a Sith Master who trained more than a single apprentice in the dark side was acting foolishly, stating that multiple students would combine their efforts and overthrow the Master. Therefore, the teachings advised a Master to instruct only one apprentice at a time, so that the Master would not be overwhelmed by the weaker students who formed an alliance to defeat the Master. Darth Revan taught that the Sith should only have one Dark Lord of the Sith, who embodied the strength and power of the dark side, and that when the Dark Lord became weak, a challenger needed to seize the mantle from the reigning Dark Lord. The Holocron theorized that the weak were destined to serve under the rule of stronger individuals. After the Holocron's user had gone through all of its teachings, Darth Revan informed the learner that the lessons were complete and instructed the individual to take the instructions he had imparted to the student and use them effectively.
In 3959 BBY, the former Jedi Knight Revan proclaimed himself as the new Dark Lord of the Sith, with his friend and fellow former Jedi Knight Malak becoming Revan's Sith apprentice. The two Sith Lords, who both adopted the title "Darth," emerged from the Unknown Regions leading a new Sith Empire and waged war against the Jedi Council and the Galactic Republic, thereby initiating the Jedi Civil War. During Darth Revan's time as the Dark Lord, he constructed a holocron and recorded his perspectives on Sith philosophy and the dark side. Darth Revan concealed the Holocron behind a stone in a wall that was positioned behind a Rakatan computer inside the Temple of the Ancients on Rakata Prime, a world that he and Malak discovered while searching for the ancient Rakatan space station known as the Star Forge. Two years into the war, Revan was captured by the Jedi Order, and after undergoing retraining in the Jedi ways, he redeemed himself by defeating Malak and bringing an end to the war. Following the war's final battle, Jedi and Republic forces thoroughly searched the temple and removed all of the Sith artifacts, with the exception of Darth Revan's Holocron, which remained hidden in the Temple's lower levels.
Nearly three millennia later, close to the conclusion of the New Sith Wars, the Sith Lord Darth Bane journeyed to Rakata Prime, which had since been renamed Lehon, seeking teachings that would enable him to dismantle the existing Sith regime, the Brotherhood of Darkness. Bane explored the lower levels of the Temple of the Ancients in search of any dark side artifacts, eventually arriving at the room where the Holocron was concealed. While inside the room, he sensed the power emanating from the Holocron, which was still hidden behind the stone in the wall behind the computer. After employing the Force to remove the stone, Bane retrieved the Holocron and activated it, revealing an avatar of Darth Revan. As Darth Revan's image provided instruction to Bane, the Sith Lord copied the artifact's lessons onto sheaves of flimsi so that he could study the teachings at a later point in time. Eventually, the Holocron's power crystal began to fail as a result of Bane's continued use of the device. After Darth Revan's image imparted the Holocron's final lessons to Bane, the device ceased to function. Bane then utilized the Force to destroy the device, discarding the object as Darth Revan had instructed him. Bane subsequently eliminated the Brotherhood of Darkness and established his own Sith Order by utilizing the teachings derived from Darth Revan's Holocron.
After implementing the Rule of Two, Darth Bane transferred the teachings of Darth Revan that he had copied on Lehon into the Telos Holocron. Darth Revan's lessons concerning the dark side of the Force remained within the Telos Holocron and were eventually studied by the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Sidious. Both the Telos Holocron and Darth Revan's teachings were later examined by the New Jedi Order and were published as a component of the compendium titled Jedi vs. Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force, which was written by the Jedi Master Tionne Solusar in 40 ABY. Additionally, the Holocron was mentioned in an essay titled The Rule of Two that was authored by Darth Bane. Many years later, Bane's essay was incorporated into the Book of Sith, which is a compilation of historical writings that were collected into a single volume by Darth Sidious.
Darth Revan's Sith Holocron made its initial appearance, identified simply as Revan's Holocron, in the 2006 novel titled Darth Bane: Path of Destruction, which was authored by Drew Karpyshyn. It was subsequently identified as Darth Revan's Sith Holocron in the 2007 reference book titled Jedi vs. Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force. It was alternatively identified as Holocron of Darth Revan in the 2012 reference book Book of Sith: Secrets from the Dark Side.