Darth Sion, known as the Lord of Pain, existed as a Sith Lord during the era of the Old Sith Wars. Previously a Sith Marauder during the Great Sith War, Sion battled for Exar Kun's Sith Empire until his defeat. However, instead of succumbing to death, Sion discovered that by drawing upon his suffering, fury, and animosity, he could defy death and attain immortality, albeit at the cost of relentless torment. His body, shattered and decaying, was sustained solely by the dark side of the Force, enabling Sion to endure the Great Sith War.
Subsequently, Sion aligned himself with the next Sith Empire to emerge in the galaxy, led by Darth Revan and Darth Malak. When this Sith regime also collapsed, he observed from the Sith Academy on Korriban as the Empire self-destructed. Sion then found a new purpose alongside Darth Traya and Darth Nihilus, two Sith Lords who, with Sion, established the Sith Triumvirate, dedicated to revitalizing the Sith and eradicating the Jedi. Operating from their base on Malachor V, Sion functioned as Traya's apprentice. Dissatisfied with her teachings, he and Nihilus eventually deprived her of the Force and banished her. The remaining two Sith Lords proceeded to reunite the majority of the surviving Sith forces and relentlessly wage war against the Jedi.
With the Jedi nearly extinguished, Sion became aware of a returning Jedi, the Jedi Knight Meetra Surik, who had been in exile since the Mandalorian Wars. His attempt to assassinate her was foiled by Traya, who managed to get Surik to Peragus II. Sion pursued her in a seized Republic vessel, the Harbinger, but Surik and her allies escaped once more. He encountered her again on Korriban, but as he began to experience unfamiliar feelings for her, he allowed her to flee. Traya ultimately betrayed Surik and returned to seize control of the Sith and Sion. Sion awaited Surik on Malachor V; during their concluding confrontation, he was repeatedly defeated, yet resurrected each time. Surik demonstrated to Sion the cost of his immortality, persuading him to relinquish his hold on life, and the Sith Lord, finding peace, finally embraced death.
Born a male Human, the individual who would transform into Darth Sion lived during the Old Sith Wars, approximately 4000 BBY. Sion—possibly his birth name—was originally susceptible to frailty and suffering like any other being. These were unbearable for him, leading him to live a life consumed by hatred. Rather than endure this silently, Sion chose to manifest his pain as his defining characteristic, becoming Darth Sion, the Lord of Pain.
During the Great Sith War in 3996 BBY, Sion served as a Sith Marauder under Exar Kun's Sith Empire. Seeking death, Sion engaged the Jedi in battle but consistently survived. He became convinced of his immortality as his tolerance for pain grew. Eventually, Sion was defeated, but instead of dying, the pain within him surged, compelling him to rise again and slay his would-be killer with unrestrained rage. Sion discovered that he could maintain his decaying body using the dark side of the Force. Although this process inflicted immense pain and required constant focus on his anger, Sion deemed it a worthwhile exchange for immortality. Despite Kun's eventual defeat, Sion survived the collapse of his Empire.
In 3964 BBY, the Mandalorian Wars engulfed the galaxy as the Mandalorian Neo-Crusaders invaded the Galactic Republic. Kreia would later assert that Sion was "spawned by the horrors" of this conflict. In 3963 BBY, the Sith Acolyte Haazen prophesied that the Jedi Guardian Lucien Draay would instruct Haazen's new Sith, suggesting "Darth Sion" as a possible name; Haazen was later defeated and Draay abandoned the path of the Lord of Pain.
As the Mandalorian Wars concluded, Darth Revan, the newly emerged Dark Lord of the Sith, and his apprentice, Darth Malak, established a new Sith Empire, Sion became a Sith Lord within Revan's dominion. However, this empire was also short-lived; Sion was dismayed when Revan, redeemed by the Jedi Council, succumbed to what Sion perceived as weakness and betrayed the Sith. Malak was killed by his former master, leading to the Empire's disintegration. Sion, present at the Sith Academy on Korriban during its final days, witnessed the Sith turning against each other. Sion survived this internecine conflict. With the Empire's collapse, numerous Sith Lords proclaimed themselves warlords of their own territories, while other remnants fled into the Unknown Regions.
Other Sith Lords were active in the galaxy, pursuing their own agendas. One was Revan's former Jedi Master, Kreia, who had adopted the name Darth Traya. Traya, seeking "wounds" in the Force, discovered Sion and another Sith Lord: Darth Nihilus, the Lord of Hunger. Sion, Traya, and Nihilus formed the clandestine Sith Triumvirate, based on Malachor V, with the goal of annihilating the Jedi Order and restoring the Sith to power. Traya became the master of both Sith Lords, and Sion learned extensively from her. At Trayus Academy, a concealed Sith stronghold on Malachor V, Sion further explored the nature of pain.
However, discord arose within the Triumvirate. Sion and Nihilus harbored ambitions beyond Traya's, and their fragile alliance, based solely on hatred for the Jedi, became strained. Furthermore, Sion grew weary of Traya's instruction, finding her teachings abstract and her words unsettling. Eventually, he and Nihilus conspired to eliminate her. While Traya meditated in the academy's core, Sion and Nihilus approached her. Sion assaulted her mercilessly, and the two drained her energy before Nihilus severed her connection to the Force, and Traya was banished.
Now in sole command, Sion and Nihilus continued their work. Relying heavily on the Malachor-based Sith assassins, originally established by Revan, Sion embarked on a campaign of Jedi assassination. He was killed multiple times during this period, but he consistently resurrected and slaughtered numerous Jedi in return. By the conclusion of Sion's campaign, the Jedi were nearly extinct. In 3954 BBY, Sion and Nihilus united the majority of the Sith Empire remnants, creating the most unified Sith force of their time. In 3952 BBY Nihilus attacked a Jedi conclave on Katarr, killing many of the surviving Jedi. The Order publicly disbanded, the remaining Jedi going underground to escape Sion's assassins. Lonna Vash, a Master of the Jedi Council, came to Korriban in search of Sion, but she fell into a trap of his and was captured. Sion imprisoned Vash in the abandoned Sith Academy.
As the Jedi Order crumbled, one Jedi remained in exile, a Knight named Meetra Surik who had been banished for following Revan in the Mandalorian Wars. Atris, a surviving Jedi Master, sought to draw the Sith out of hiding, so she arranged for Surik to return to the known galaxy, while at the same time leaking information of Surik's past. Rumors of Surik being the last Jedi were enough to lure the Sith out of hiding; Sion studied her past, her exile, and her battles in the war. When Surik returned from the Outer Rim, she secured transport aboard the Republic vessel Harbinger, and Sion and his assassins pursued her in a Sith warship. However, Kreia, now in possession of Revan's former ship, the Ebon Hawk, was also en route to retrieve Surik. Sion's warship intercepted the Hawk and opened fire, but the Hawk managed to send out a distress signal. The Harbinger picked up the signal and arrived to engage Sion. The warship, however, feigned destruction, and the Harbinger connected an umbilical to it. The crew discovered Sion's body and, believing him dead, took him back to their vessel. Meanwhile, Sion's cloaked assassins infiltrated the Harbinger.
Sion was taken to the medical bay, where the medical officer examined him. Observing the numerous fractures and scars covering his body, she was unable to determine if he was alive or dead and placed him in a kolto tank. As this occurred, Sion's assassins moved throughout the ship, secretly eliminating some crew members and observing others. Sion eventually awoke and, after tormenting a passing crew member's mind, burst from the kolto tank, announcing his intention to capture Surik. His assassins materialized around him, and they swiftly killed the security team sent to the medbay. Sion set off to find the rest of the crew. He would not get Surik, though. Kreia reached her first, took her aboard the Hawk, and escaped. Sion at last seized control of the ship, which due to the sabotage of one of its passengers was experiencing a system failure, and opened fire on the Hawk as it fled, hitting it as it leapt into hyperspace.
Sion pursued them to the mining world of Peragus II, controlling the Harbinger from a meditative pose on its bridge. He would not allow those who had escaped him to do so again without blood being shed. The Harbinger docked with the Peragus Mining Facility, and some of his assassins moved into the facility to watch their prey. Kreia, Surik, and Atton Rand, a prisoner they had found in the facility, came aboard the Harbinger in their search for an escape route, and Sion caught up with them in the vessel's stern. Brandishing a sword, Kreia moved to fight him as her companions fled. Sion was surprised she was still alive, and mocked her belief that a Jedi could stop the Sith from achieving dominion. Kreia, hiding, leapt out to attack, and Sion wheeled on her and cut off her hand. She escaped him and rejoined Surik and Rand aboard the Ebon Hawk, which proceeded to take off. Sion pursued in the Harbinger, and the ensuing firefight set off the volatile asteroids around Peragus, consuming the Harbinger in an explosion. Sion survived.
Enraged that Kreia would sacrifice herself for Surik when she was so much weaker than himself, Sion grew determined to destroy all Kreia held dear, including Surik. He got his chance to catch her when she came to Korriban in search of Lonna Vash. Shortly after Surik arrived on Korriban, Sion killed the imprisoned Jedi Master. Within the hour, Surik had entered the ruins of the Sith Academy; Sion sensed her arrival and had the doors to the Academy sealed behind her, as he sent his assassins in pursuit of her and her companions. Eventually Surik's party found Vash and unlocked the Academy entrance, but Sion moved to block their escape, at last coming face to face with her.
Sion warned Surik that Kreia would in time destroy her, as he felt his former master had done to him. They fought, but even as Surik injured Sion, he called upon the Force to restore his health. Kreia at last called to Surik in the Force, telling her that it was not a battle she could win. Surik fled the Academy, and Sion, feeling a measure of respect for her, let her go, ordering his assassins not to harm her. He expected they would meet again. Sion soon began to feel a new emotion for Surik beyond respect or admiration, one that he could not tolerate. The Sith Lord found her beautiful, but he saw in these feelings weakness that would only lead to death. As she continued to dominate his thoughts, Sion grew to hate her for it.
Upon returning to Malachor V, Sion was soon joined by Kreia, who had betrayed Surik, reclaimed her title as Darth Traya, and orchestrated Darth Nihilus's death. After eliminating Sion's assassins, Traya located him in the Trayus Core. Sion threatened to kill her, but Traya, claiming that she had returned because she now understood Surik's choices, bent him to her will and made him prepare for the arrival of Surik. Traya commanded Sion that when Surik arrived at the Trayus Academy, he would show her every measure of respect.
Eventually she came to Malachor in search of Kreia, and after fighting her way through the Sith forces of the academy, Surik at last came face to face with Sion. He cautioned her to leave, warning her that Traya would break her as she had Sion. Believing that Traya could not be defeated, Sion concluded that if Surik were to deny herself to Traya, Traya would have no choice but to accept Sion's loyalty again. He considered himself to have come further than any of her former apprentices, including Revan, and had decided that his initial betrayal was a test that he had passed. With words exhausted, Surik and Sion at last fought.
Surik struck down Sion, but with the dark power of Malachor flowing through him, he rose again. Once more they fought, and once more he fell; Surik tried to persuade Sion that Kreia did not respect him and was using him as a tool, but Sion claimed that if he killed Surik, Traya would have to complete his training as her true apprentice. As they continued their fight, Sion saw Surik's strength, but still believed himself capable of defeating her. As she struck him down a fourth time, Sion remained defiant. Surik told him that he had already been defeated, and she explained that Kreia had only respected those who could let go of the Force, not those like Sion who relied on it. Sion, who had not thought it possible to walk away from it, was forced by Surik's words to realize that the life of pain he had given himself was ultimately one of permanent weakness and dependence instead of power. In his last moments, Sion warned Surik that Traya would break her, and he told her that she was Traya's weakness, just as she had been his. Finally at peace, and glad to leave the living world behind him at last, Sion allowed himself to die and became one with the Force.
A long time after Sion's death, a faction arose within the Baran Do—an order of Force-sensitive Kel Dor from the planet Dorin—seeking to become Sith. These cultists made offerings to the deceased Sion in a Baran Do monastery, and by 3640 BBY, during the Cold War, these offerings were recovered by an individual.
From the beginning, Darth Sion embraced hatred, which ultimately granted him the ability to overcome death. He chose to embody his pain rather than tolerate it, transforming it into something greater. Sion sustained himself on his pain, seeking to inflict it on all Jedi. As the Force empowered him, Sion felt compelled to continue fighting; the Force defined him, and the dark side was his identity. Yet, Sion also harbored a desire to heal, believing the galaxy to be fractured and unable to comprehend those, like Revan, who possessed the power to repair it but chose not to.
Sion was tenacious; when he cornered his prey on Peragus II, he would not let them go without bloodshed. He was cunning; despite Jedi Master Lonna Vash considering him volatile and easily manipulated, Sion ultimately trapped and killed her. Ambitious and power-hungry, Sion would not perpetually submit to his Sith Master, Darth Traya, and he and Darth Nihilus eventually turned against her, using Nihilus's unique Force techniques to dismantle her defenses before assaulting her mercilessly. Sion and Nihilus differed from previous Sith in that their sole aim was the destruction of the Jedi Order; their approach to fighting the Jedi also differed, relying on stealth and striking from the shadows.
While Sion was consumed by hate, he was still capable of experiencing positive emotions, such as love and compassion, which he felt toward Surik. He found her beautiful, a feeling that diminished his hatred and threatened his existence. Ultimately, Surik persuaded Sion to relinquish his hate and the Force, accepting death.
During his time as a Sith Marauder, Sion frequently fought on the front lines of the Great Sith War, developing a tolerance for pain through survival. Upon achieving immortality, every part of Sion's body was consumed by agony. Sion's flesh was decaying, marked by cracks and scars, and his body existed in a state of undeath. His skeleton was fractured in thousands of places, with every bone splintered and reassembled. The Force was his only means of cohesion. Darth Plagueis mentioned Sion's horrific disfigurements to his apprentice, Sidious, when the latter inquired about potential physical transformations caused by the dark side.
Kreia and Surik were, in many ways, similar to Sion, yet different in crucial aspects. Both frequently occupied his thoughts, but while Kreia filled his mind with her views and teachings, Surik was merely a presence. The two were constantly intertwined in his life; Kreia's weakness was Surik, and by saving the latter, he sought to influence the former.
Though Sion gleaned much knowledge from Kreia, he viewed her with disdain, finding her teachings frustratingly abstract. He came to the conclusion that her methods weakened the Sith, leading him to eventually overthrow her, perceiving her defeat as a personal failing on her part. He considered himself, not her, the true master. Sion, believing she had ruined him, sought to destroy her and witness the annihilation of everything she had created and cherished. However, upon her return to Malachor and her request for his fealty, Sion yielded to her will. Despite his desire for Surik to save herself, Sion also held the conviction that her departure would force Kreia to accept his undivided loyalty. By the time of his demise, all that remained for him was his master.
Conversely, Kreia was of the opinion that Sion's power had clouded his judgment. She regarded his failure to learn anything from his fall as his greatest flaw, and criticized his ignorance. Kreia valued the rejection of power, the abandonment of the Force; she saw Sion as enslaved by it, and held him in low regard for it. She was convinced that his continued existence posed a threat to all life. Even after reinstating him in her service, Kreia merely used Sion as a tool to test Surik, though Sion believed she was orchestrating a conflict between them to determine which would become her apprentice.
Initially, Sion regarded Surik as broken and incapable of resisting the Sith's onslaught. He believed that her death, as the supposed last Jedi, would signal the Sith's ultimate triumph. However, as he relentlessly pursued her, a novel emotion began to stir within Sion, transcending mere respect or admiration, an emotion he deeply despised. He found her beautiful, and these feelings diminished his hatred, jeopardizing his tenuous grip on life.
Sion became deeply engrossed in Surik's life, meticulously studying her past. Convinced that Kreia intended to destroy her, Sion offered to end her life himself. He was consumed by anger and jealousy, knowing that even though she had not yet endured Kreia's teachings and overcome the old woman as he had, Kreia would willingly sacrifice her own life to protect Surik. He saw her as a weak and fearful being, unworthy of being Kreia's apprentice. Yet, when she triumphed over him in combat, he allowed her to leave, acknowledging her victory and anticipating their future encounter. Kreia commanded that Sion treat Surik with utmost respect when they next met, on Malachor.
He extended a form of mercy to her, suggesting she die on Malachor's surface, rather than suffer at Kreia's hands. Regardless of how she chose to fight him, defeating him physically on multiple occasions, their true battle was a mental one. In between their conflicts, she engaged him in conversation, eventually persuading him to relinquish his hold on his physical form and become one with the force. With his final words, he cautioned her about Kreia's intentions for her.
As a Sith Lord, Sion received training in the dark side at Revan's Sith Academy on Korriban, and later delved into the ways of pain at Trayus Academy on Malachor V. Sion possessed a wide array of Force powers: Telekinesis encompassing Force Whirlwind to Force Wound, Force Slow, Force rage, Force Immunity, and Force drain. He was also resistant to fear-based Force attacks.
Among Sion's unique abilities was his capacity to harness his hatred, channeling the dark side to maintain the integrity of his broken and decaying body. While this essentially granted him immortality, its use inflicted excruciating pain upon him, as his body bore countless unhealed injuries. When defeated, Sion could draw upon his anger, hate, and pain to resurrect himself. In locations saturated with the dark side, such as Korriban and Malachor V, the Force coursing through Sion rendered him nearly invincible. Jedi Master Lonna Vash described him as "a perversion of the dark side".
Hatred was essential for Sion to sustain his power; he felt threatened when his emotions for Surik seemed to diminish this, weakening his grip on life. Ultimately, she successfully convinced him to abandon his hatred, thereby succumbing to death. The Sith Lord welcomed the opportunity to finally relinquish his existence.
Darth Sion is a primary antagonist in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, released in 2004, with Louis Mellis providing his voice. Sion's initial unveiling occurred on July 14, 2004, at LucasArts' Summer Press Day 2004, through an in-game demonstration of the character aboard the Harbinger. Leland Chee has revealed that Sion's name originates from the word "scion," signifying "heir." Although concept art depicting a battle between Sion and Atris was created, no such event transpires in the game. Sion was prominently featured on the Knights of the Old Republic II cover, and the game's musical score, composed by Mark Griskey, includes a dedicated theme for the character.
In 2008, Sion made an appearance in a Dark Horse advertisement promoting the Knights of the Old Republic miniatures pack; in this advertisement, he serves as a subordinate to Mandalore the Ultimate, engaging in combat with Zayne Carrick. Downloadable content for the 2008 video game The Force Unleashed also featured Sion as a playable character model; this rendition of the character differs from the Knights of the Old Republic version in several aspects, including the addition of a shoulder pad and multiple bolts piercing Sion's chest. In 2013, Sion's shinguards, vambrace, leggings, and sash were incorporated into Star Wars: The Old Republic as player armor.
Within the game, Sion's interactions with Meetra Surik vary depending on Surik's gender; while he harbors jealousy and hatred towards a male Surik, the game's programming notes indicate that he feels love for a female Surik, though he is unable to express it as such. Chris Avellone, the lead designer of The Sith Lords, has expressed that, among the game's plotlines he would like to see further explored in the Expanded Universe, Sion's relationship with the female Surik is a prominent one.
Darth Sion stands as one of the characters from Legends alongside Revan, Bastila Shan and others from both Knights of the Old Republic games, showcased within Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes, a mobile game developed by Electronic Arts and launched on November 24, 2015. The game empowers players to amass characters from the prequel trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Solo: A Star Wars Story, Star Wars Rebels, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the original trilogy, The Mandalorian, and the sequel trilogy, and deploy them in combat. However, owing to the game's sandbox nature, this does not establish Darth Sion within the current story acknowledged by Lucasfilm.
An earlier iteration of the Nar Shaddaa segment of the game featured a subplot involving the GenoHaradan, which was ultimately replaced by one featuring Visquis and the Exchange. In this plot, Sion initially appeared on Malachor V, meditating before a hologram of Meetra Surik. A Sith assassin informed him that Surik had survived, prompting Sion to order the preparation of his ship for travel to Nar Shaddaa.
When Surik infiltrated the GenoHaradan base, a trap triggered an explosion, seemingly resulting in her death. Believing Surik to be deceased, Sion returned to Darth Nihilus aboard the Ravager. There, he boasted about killing Surik and informed Nihilus of Traya's survival, subsequently dissolving their alliance. As Sion departed, Nihilus launched an attack, sending him flying backwards and initiating a conflict between them. Fans have created a video reconstruction of this scene.
When Kreia returns to Malachor V and asks Sion to rejoin her, a brief scene was cut, elaborating on his motivations. After Sion threatens that he will not spare Kreia again, she informed him that he simply did not learn her lesson, that his strength was meaningless. She then lifted him in the air and crushed his body with the Force.
Another scene, intended to play when Surik lands on Malachor, depicted Sion informing Kreia of her arrival. Kreia ordered the Exile to be brought before her, and Sion grew concerned about what Kreia would do to her. Kreia mocked him on the fact that he might still have emotions within him, and then informed Sion that she would break Surik. In the male Surik version of this, Sion is not concerned, but is now angry that Kreia intends to use Surik as a vessel for her teachings. A third path in this dialogue has Kreia order him to do nothing.
In the game's ending on Malachor V, Meetra Surik's companions were originally intended to confront Kreia. Following their defeat in battle, they were all taken prisoner, with the exception of Atton Rand, who managed to escape. Sion was dispatched to pursue Atton through the corridors of the Trayus Academy. Eventually, they engaged in combat, with the player controlling Atton. If Atton was defeated, Sion severed his arm and left him on the ground. Atton rose to his feet and challenged him, but Sion lifted him from the ground and vowed to mutilate Atton into a mirror of the Dark Lord himself. Atton told him to "take his time," and a gleeful Sion obliged.