Jaye Vuhld

Jaye Vuhld belonged to the Keshiri, a Near-Human species with purple skin, indigenous to Kesh. For two millennia, the Lost Tribe of Sith had governed the Keshiri, descendants of Human Sith stranded during the Great Hyperspace War. Like all Keshiri, Vuhld was raised believing the Sith were the Protectors, ancient deities in Keshiri religion who battled the Destructors during a great battle. Jaye resided on Keshtah Minor, the Tribe's primary territory and their only "known world" until the events of 3000 BBY. He matured during the Time of the Rot, a 960-year era of civil strife and disorder that devastated much of Keshtah Minor. This period began with the death of Grand Lord Lillia Venn in 3960 BBY, causing the Tribe to fragment into twenty warring groups. Consequently, much of the continent's urban areas and infrastructure, including aqueduct systems, fell into disrepair.

Jaye lived in Tahv, the Lost Tribe's capital and the 'Crown of Kesh'. A gifted mathematician, he found employment as a clerk in the Office of the Caretaker, responsible for safeguarding the Tribe's historical records and timekeeping. The Caretaker's office, located in the Sith capitol building in Tahv, also housed a large Sandpipe used for tracking time for the Tribe. As of 3000 BBY, Varner Hilts, a gentle Sith historian with a passion for history but little interest in Sith politics, was the Tribe's Caretaker. Unlike his Sith peers, Hilts treated his Keshiri employees with respect. This led to a warm friendship between Jaye and Varner Hilts. The older Hilts mentored the younger Keshiri, while Jaye served as a loyal companion.

Jaye, a small Keshiri, lacked the skills for combat, saving him from conscription into the warring Sith factions' armies. Many of Jaye's Keshiri colleagues shared his mathematical talents. For years, they gathered in the capitol building's beader's hall, using abacuses to calculate dates related to trivia Hilts found in the archives. The Sandpipe, located in an adjacent atrium, was one of the last operational machines from the Tribe's pre-Kesh days, a time-keeping device based on the chrono aboard the Omen, the ancient Sith dreadnaught that brought the Tribe's ancestors to Kesh. Jaye resided in a hut constructed from hejarbo shoots, a tree indigenous to Kesh.

In 3000 BBY, Jaye saved his master, Caretaker Hilt, from falling debris while walking through Tahv. These aqueducts, dating back to Tahv's pre-Sith days as a village, had fallen into disrepair due to neglect during the Time of the Rot. While Hilts saw it as a normal day in the Crown of Kesh, Jaye considered it an omen. Aware of quarreling Sith nearby, they sought safety in the Caretaker's office within the Sith capitol building, which dominated the Circle Eternal, a historic square in Tahv. Testament Day was twelve days away, and the Circle Eternal's atrium would be open to the public. This holiday, held every twenty-five years, commemorated [Yaru Korsin](/article/yaru_korsin], the Tribe's Founder, and his testament was read. Even during the Time of the Rot, it was respected as a time for peaceful congregation.

In the atrium, Jaye revealed that he and his fellow Keshiri mathematicians had calculated that Kesh's calendar was eight days behind the Galactic Standard Calendar, making today the fourth day prior to Testament Day. Vuhld had compared the Tahv Sandpipe's calculations with the Omen's chrono, finding the Tahv sandpipes flowed slower. Jaye also noted that year's Testament coincided with the Festival of Nida's Rise, commemorating Nida Korsin's accession every 79 years. Hilts initially showed little interest, joking about saving on wine. However, they were interrupted by Iliana Merko, leader of the Sisters of Seelah, a Sith faction revering [Seelah Korsin](/article/seelah_korsin], Yaru Korsin's estranged wife.

While Iliana's armed followers waited in the palace atrium, Iliana confronted Hilts, threatening Jaye with her lightsaber to get Hilts' attention. Iliana then led Hilts to the atrium where her supporters had gathered. During the takeover, Jaye's abascus was crushed by Iliana. The Keshiri mathematician and others lay prone on the floor of the beaders' room. During her meeting with Hilts, Iliana expressed her anger and frustration that Seelah Korsin had been marginalized in the history of the Tribe. With Testament Day twelve days away, she wanted to alter the Testament to favor Seelah's memory and her faction, attempting to coerce Hilts into claiming he and his Keshiri workers had discovered Korsin's "true" Testament, declaring Seelah and her followers the legitimate heirs to power on Kesh. The Sisters had produced a fake scroll purporting to be Korsin's "true" Testament.

By producing Korsin's "true" Testament, Iliana intended to improve the Sisters of Seelah's standing within Sith society. However, Hilts was unwilling to cooperate with Iliana's scheme. He explained that Iliana's plan would not work because the Caretakers in reality did not actually read Korsin's Testament. Instead, Hilts revealed that the Testament was actually read by a holo-recording of Yaru Korsin himself which was kept inside a holocron, an ancient technology that was used by both the Jedi and Sith for recording information and knowledge. In an effort to buy time until Testament Day, Hilts lied to Iliana that the holocron would only activate on Testament Day. This did not stop Iliana from fiddling with the holocron in a vain attempt to activate the projector.

Over the next four days, the Sisters of Seelah occupied the Circle Eternal's capitol building and held Varner Hilts' staff captive. The Sisters' presence attracted the attention of several rival Sith factions including the Korsinite League, Golden Destiny, Force 57. Over this period, the number of visitors which included the Human Sith and their Keshiri followers grew which increased the risk of violence on the streets of Tahv. These Sith factions camped on the palace grounds of the capitol building. They held off on violence but instead exploited the mass public gathering as a change to recruit people to their causes. While there was a festive atmosphere due to Testament Day and Nida's Rise, there was also a risk that violence could escalate due to the deep rivalries between the Sith.

While watching the ongoing developments from the palace balcony, Jaye and had a private conversation with Hilts. Meanwhile, Iliana and her followers continued fiddling with the holocron in vain. During Jaye's conversation with Hilts, the latter noted the Tribe's desire for a strong leader but lamented the poor quality of leadership within the Tribe, which had contributed to the Time of the Rot. When Jaye suggested that Hilts take up the mantle of leadership since he was well-versed in the ways of the ancient Protectors, Hilts responded that he was "too wise" for that position. Hilts knew that knowledge would not get him that far due to the toxic political environment. When Jaye responded that any free man or woman could become the Grand Lord, Hilts commented that it was a "fine thing" to believe in. However, he conceded that the "right to rule" had been abused by the Sith and had led to failure. For Hilts, the poor quality of leadership within the Tribe reflected the deep schisms within Sith society about the identity of the Tribe.

Hilts concluded that it was too late for him to assume a leadership role within the Tribe; likening himself to Donellan who never assumed power since his mother Nida had outlived him. When Jaye disagreed with Hilts' pessimism, Hilts responded that the former should never contradict a man of "advancing years" since that would shake his faith in his omniscience. When Jaye asked whether this rule applied when the person was wrong, Hilts replied that this rule indeed applied even when the person was wrong. Hilts then turned his attention to Iliana who was still preoccupied with trying to activate the holocron. Due to her lack of success, she became increasingly impatient and frustrated. Following a failed attempt to seduce the older man, Iliana ordered her followers to take Jaye aparat if he refused to cooperate. Left with no choice, Hilts reluctantly took the Holocron in his hand and agreed to activate it.

At that point, Varner and Iliana were both interrupted by the arrival of two rival Sith factions: the Korsinite League and Force 57. The Korsinite League was a Sith cult that had been founded by a former slave a century earlier which emulated Yaru Korsin and Nida Korsin. Each member adopted the name "Korsin" as their first name and their leader was Korsin Bentado. Meanwhile, Force 57 were another Sith cult that practiced ritual mutilation and scarring and were devoted to the original non-Human 57 aliens that were aboard the Omen. Since Seelah Korsin had destroyed all origins related to the Red Sith, no living Sith or Keshiri could remember how they looked like.

Before further lives were lost, Hilts was able to bring peace to the three factions by offering to do a reading from the holocron while reminding the various belligerents that the Circle Eternal was not the place for violence. When Bentado refused to accept a reading of Korsin's Testament on any day besides its anniversary, Hilts convinced Jaye to present his calculations concerning the Sandpipes. Jaye panicked and was moved to tears because he was afraid that none of the Sith would be interested. However, Hilts convinced Jaye to tell them and the Keshiri mathematician reluctantly shared his findings. While trembling before the assembled Sith, Jaye explained that the "Protectors" had brought their Galactic Standard Calendar to Kesh, which differed from the planet's length of days and years. Following their arrival, the Sith had calibrated their Sandpipes to the magical chrono aboard the Omen prior to abandoning the ship.

Several of the Sith delegates were initially bored and some of them ignited their lightsabers to express their disapproval. However, Jaye soldiered on with presenting his message. Jaye then shared that he and his fellow mathematicians had found that the sand in which flowed in the Sandpipe in Tahv was slower than those aboard the Omen. When Bentado queried about the time difference, Jaye explained that one standard day on Kesh was one second slower than Galactic Standard time. This time difference meant that the Standard Calendar was eight days ahead of the Keshiri calendar. Hilts and Jaye then deduced that Testament Day and the Festival of Nida's Rise actually occurred on that day. Thus, Hilts was legally obliged to convene the Pantheon's Peace, which marked the reading of Korsin's Testament.

Bentado initially refused to accept Jaye's findings and grabbed the Keshiri mathematician by the wrist. He demanded to know whether the "Keshiri fool" had counted all the seconds since the Omen had landed. Jaye replied that it had been more than sixty billion seconds since the Omen had landed on Kesh. Iliana came to Jaye's defense and argued that the Keshiri was telling the truth since she sensed no deception in him. With Bentado's Korsinite League and Force 57 agreeing with Jaye's findings, Bentado was forced to concede to Hilts, who now could legally declare the Pantheon's Peace. Hilts ordered the assembled Sith to deactivate their weapons and to call the rival leaders from outside. Hilts privately hoped that Korsin's Testament would bring peace to the various Sith factions.

Jaye's calculations enabled the Lost Tribe to convene the Pantheon's Peace and read Yaru Korsin's Testament. However, Jaye and the other Keshiri staff were excluded from the ceremony because of their non-Human origins. Besides the convener Varner Hilts, the meeting was attended by the twenty leaders of the various Sith factions including Iliana Merko, Korsin Bentado, and Neera, the leader of Force 57. The Testament of Yaru Korsin was projected from a recording of the late Korsin which was stored in a holocron. Korsin recognized that the Tribe was prone to internal infighting and had devised a hierarchy for its members to work their way to the Grand Lordship. The Tribe's Founder also designated his daughter Nida Korsin as his successor and condoned the killing of dead Grand Lord's spouses. Ultimately, Yaru Korsin's Testament delivered nothing substantive that would end the infighting among the Sith.

While fiddling with the holocron, Hilts found that the Testament had been recorded over an earlier recording, which he likened to a palimpsest. This recording turned out to be an order from the Sith Lord Naga Sadow to his subordinate Captain Yaru Korsin, who was tasked with delivering Lignan crystals to Kirrek during the Great Hyperspace War. Thus rather than being "great conquerors", the Tribe's ancestors had been slaves: ship crew, soldiers, and miners born into slavery in the Sith Empire. The Tribe also discovered that the "Original Fifty-Seven" were members of the red-skinned Sith species, which had facial tentacles. This revelation horrified the Tribe who were ashamed of their origins as slaves. In fact, the Tribe were never the Protectors of ancient Keshiri mythology that they had claimed to be. Despite efforts by the Tribe's leaders to hide this secret, news of the recent Conclave reached their followers and this triggered riots across Keshtah's cities. Many Sith descended into a homicidal frenzy and fighting broke out among the various Sith factions.

As a result of the "Great Crisis," many of Kesh's cities were burning within eight days of Testament Day. Mob violence forced Jaye and Hilts to evacuate from the Kesh capitol building which was then looted and pillaged by Sith rioters. Jaye and Hilts took refuge in the former's hejarbo-shoot hut, which had survived the first firestorm but was in danger of being targeted during a second firestorm. Many of the Keshiri were both frightened for their lives and fascinated by the fighting among the Sith. By 3000 BBY, the Human population had been reduced to a few thousand individuals and Hilts feared that this recent outbreak of violence would threaten his species' existence on Kesh. Jaye believed that this "crisis" marked the end of times. While staring at the ruined capitol building, Hilts recalled that Korsin had spoken that the "true power was behind the throne" and deduced that it could not be referring to his estranged wife Seelah. Jaye was concerned about his master's safety and warned Hilts that the rioters would see him.

Hilts then realized that Yaru Korsin was literally referring to something behind his throne at the Kesh Sith Temple. After reciting Korsin's lines and explaining to Jaye that Yaru's throne had been his seat from the Omen, Hilts theorized that Yaru had mentioned something in the Testament that could save the Tribe from itself. In the end, Hilts resolved to travel to the Kesh Sith Temple and go aboard the Omen. Jaye agreed to accompany his master and they returned first to his museum in the capitol building, where he had kept maps of the Omen's temple. However, the Sith rioters had looted the temple and burnt every parchment in the archives. Much of the Office of the Caretaker lay in ruins. Jaye himself was driven to tears when he discovered that the Sandpipes had been destroyed.

After acquiring provisions from the devastated Kesh capitol building, Jaye Vuhld and Varner Hilts made their way to the Kesh Sith Temple. The temple was situated at the northernmost part of a lengthy, mountainous peninsula that ran parallel to the Keshtah Minor mainland. This mountain range, known as the Takara Mountains, presented a significant challenge to anyone attempting to cross it on foot. The perilous journey took approximately one week, marked by danger and violence resulting from the Great Crisis. Jaye and Hilts also exercised caution to steer clear of roaming bands of Sith thugs engaged in indiscriminate killing. For the sake of safety, Hilts brought Jaye along to alleviate concerns among local Keshiri villages that he was embarking on a murderous spree. During daylight hours, Hilts and Jaye sought refuge in Keshiri huts, restricting their travels to the cover of night.

During their travels, Hilts managed to procure a Sith lightsaber from a deceased Sith warrior who had met his end outside Kesh. Lacking any uvak mounts, Jaye and Hilts opted for the extended route to the Kesh Sith temple, involving a trek along the arid and desolate southern coastline. This region offered minimal shelter and sustenance for travelers. The two companions had endured several days without food. After a week-long journey, the duo reached the base of The Blocks, a series of imposing granite barriers strategically positioned in a narrow passage by Nida Korsin to impede access to the Temple. Jaye and Hilts noticed sturdy vines growing within the stone's crevices, which they utilized to ascend the barrier. During the climb, Hilts became ensnared in a thorny web of vines that tightened around his limbs.

With some difficulty, Jaye successfully freed his master using a sharp rock. After scaling the final barrier, they proceeded along a path leading to the Temple. While traversing this path, Hilts observed an uvak with a lightsaber-wielding rider positioned above them. Hilts subsequently fell into a posthole, but emerged unscathed. Instead, he and Jaye used the posthole as a temporary resting spot. Jaye possessed a valuable guide in Varner Hilts, who possessed comprehensive knowledge of Yaru Korsin's Testament and the entire layout of the Kesh Sith Temple. Consequently, Hilts was aware that the Omen was buried beneath a section of the upper plaza. They then descended a set of stairs, leading them to the middle terrace. There, they discovered a recently deceased uvak, the very one Hilts had spotted earlier.

Sensing the presence of another individual within the wardroom, Hilts ignited his lightsaber and cautiously investigated the structure. He also cautioned Jaye to flee if Hilts encountered any trouble. Hilts noted that a statue of Seelah Korsin, the Mother of the Tribe, stood outside the Wardroom. Inside, he encountered Iliana Merko, who was in a state of despair. Iliana had participated in the conflicts that accompanied the Great Crisis. During the fighting, her own Sisters of Seelah had fractured, prompting Iliana to seek refuge in the Sith Temple to evade her pursuers, particularly Korsin Bentado, the leader of the Korsinite League, whom she had seriously wounded earlier. Within the Temple's wardroom, Iliana had discovered the remains of her idol, Seelah Korsin. Merko was despondent as she struggled to reconcile the fact that her ancestor had died alone. She was deeply saddened that her forebears had abandoned Seelah to die alone and forgotten at the Sith Temple. Iliana voiced her anger at the unfair treatment inflicted upon Seelah.

She also revealed to Hilts that she had experienced a Force vision during her childhood, in which Seelah instructed her to avenge her. The revelation of Seelah's humble origins shattered the Sisters' unity of purpose, leading to their fragmentation. Enraged by this revelation, she smashed Seelah's skull against the wall, causing it to shatter into pieces. When Jaye revealed his presence, Iliana was startled, but Hilts assured her that the Keshiri was on their side. Iliana initially expressed irritation at Jaye's presence and criticized Hilts for "keeping pets" amidst the impending end of the world. Hilts simply retorted that it was his responsibility to care for something. Iliana also disclosed that other Sith factions, including Korsin Betando, the remnants of Force Fifty-seven, and the Golden Destiny, were pursuing her due to the various injuries she had inflicted upon them during the "Great Crisis." The Caretaker Hilts then successfully persuaded Iliana to join them, suggesting that her assistance might be valuable in locating what they sought. Hilts also deduced that Iliana had reached a dead end, while he and Jaye possessed a plan. Iliana reluctantly complied and accompanied them to the Omen, which was situated directly beneath the Sith Temple's main plaza.

Jaye Vuhld, Varner Hilts, and Iliana Merko managed to locate an entrance passageway that led beneath the Sith Temple's plaza, where they discovered the Omen. Jaye also brought several glowrods to illuminate the explorers' path. The Omen bore a resemblance to a lanvarok, an ancient Sith weapon. The ship had been preserved and shielded from the elements, as it was sealed within a polished stone hall. While Jaye expressed his belief that he was unworthy to be in the presence of the Sith due to his Keshiri heritage, Hilts urged him to dismiss that notion and focus on providing more light. They eventually gained access to the vessel, where Hilts discovered several ebon panels inscribed with Sith characters, including terms such as telemetry, hyperspace, and astrogation. The passage of time and the destruction that accompanied the Time of the Rot had significantly diminished knowledge about interstellar travel.

Although none of the ship's machinery was functional, Jaye and Hilts found that the ship's chrono was still operational. The chrono served as the model for the Tribe's Sandpipes, which had been used for millennia to record time. This discovery validated Jaye's earlier theory that the Sandpipes at Tahv were eight days behind the Galactic Standard Calendar. However, they were unable to locate the command chair, typically situated at the center of the command bridge, as Yaru Korsin had relocated it to the Temple's colonnade for use on days when he received visitors. When Iliana dismissed Korsin as a fool for abandoning work on the Omen, Hilts countered that Korsin had desired the Tribe to commit to residing on Kesh. He pointed to the fact that they had constructed the Sith Temple around the Omen.

Shortly thereafter, the three explorers overheard the voices of eight newcomers, including Korsin Bentado and Edell Vrai, a young member of the Golden Destiny. While Vrai had initially been captivated by the Omen, he had grown disgusted that the "Ship of Destiny" was, in reality, a "carrier of chattel" that had caused their ancestors' "imprisonment" on Kesh. Similarly, Bentado sought the Tribe's demise, fueled by hatred against fate. Despite the overwhelming odds, Hilts vowed to find a way to uncover what Korsin had left behind before it was too late. Hilts, Jaye, and Iliana eventually made their way to the Temple's cupola, where they observed thirty Sith warriors from various factions engaged in a massive engineering project. The participants included several members of Iliana's former Sisterhood and Neera, the former leader of Force 57. Their plan involved using several uvaks to pull the stone tower onto the chamber housing the Omen. Despite their deep divisions, a shared desire to eradicate their "shameful" past had united the Sith.

While Varner Hilts and Iliana Merko observed the unfolding events, Jaye Vuhld discovered a latch leading to the Sith Temple's rotunda. There, the three explorers found Yaru Korsin's prized command chair and a brazier. Unable to see inside the planetarium, Iliana tore Jaye's tunic from his back and used it to ignite a small fire within the brazier, creating a source of light. Although Jaye expressed concern that their fire might attract the attention of the other Sith, Iliana was determined to uncover Korsin's secret. The three explorers quickly realized that they were inside a planetarium depicting the stars above Kesh. However, they found nothing behind the throne, and the star map above contained no clues to Korsin's secrets. Iliana argued that the star map was useless as it only depicted the sky at a specific time of year. Hilts then reasoned that Korsin's secret was concealed within the chair.

Hilts then borrowed Iliana's shikkar knife and used it to cut a hole through the upholstery behind the seat. Hilts discovered a glass vial sewn into the upholstery, containing a single rolled-up sheet of transparent film. Hilts held it to the fire and discovered that it contained the old cant of the Tapani, the language of the Humans under Sith rule. This film contained a message from Yaru Korsin's mother, Takara Korsin, to her son prior to his fateful delivery run to Phaegon III during the Great Hyperspace War. Takara had a vision that their descendants would one day rule a great people, free from the Red Sith. She also conveyed to her son that he possessed sufficient wisdom and purpose to guide their people.

Jaye and Hilts quickly realized that this message had motivated Yaru Korsin to find the strength to persevere on Kesh. While Iliana dismissed the document as "cheerleading claptrap" from a doting mother to her son, Hilts defended Takara Korsin as a wise woman who foresaw that the Tapani ancestors of the Lost Tribe were not destined to be slaves forever and had a future. Hilts believed that he could use Takara Korsin's document to reason with the other Sith and dissuade them from destroying the Omen. Iliana disagreed, arguing that the other Sith were unwilling to reason. Instead, she offered to rally the other Sith to her own cause. Hilts then realized that Korsin's holocron message had mentioned that the "true power" was literally behind the throne.

Iliana dismissed Yaru Korsin as a dying fool and refused to acknowledge Hilts' point. Hilts defended the Tribe's founder by pointing out that he was intelligent enough to conquer an entire native people and train his daughter Nida Korsin for war without anyone noticing. Hilts then explained that this message was important to Korsin, but it was not what he truly meant. He concluded that the star map was merely decorative and that Korsin's real focus was on building an empire on Kesh. Iliana recalled that Yaru Korsin had made his final testament after being mortally wounded on the Temple's grounds and had made his way back to the chair to record the Testament. However, Hilts disagreed, pointing out that the room was too inaccessible for a seriously wounded man to have made the recording. Jaye then reasoned that Korsin had made his recording in the chamber beneath the Omen.

While Hilts was skeptical of this hypothesis, Jaye pointed out that the Omen had landed on a slope and that its surroundings were completely leveled with stonework. The three explorers had entered the Sith Temple through an open passage at the twenty-third step on the staircase from the middle terrace. However, he recalled that they had passed a sealed door at the seventh step and theorized that there was another chamber at the base of the Omen's support structure. Iliana was shocked that Jaye had counted all the stairs, while his friend Hilts praised his mathematical skills. In the end, Hilts and Iliana decided to test Jaye's theory, especially since the other Sith were closing in on them.

Jaye Vuhld, Varner Hilts, and Iliana Merko descended to the sealed chamber at the seventh step. Upon reaching it, Hilts dispatched Jaye to retrieve glowrods while he and Iliana entered the chamber. Iliana and Hilts discovered that this chamber was a map room containing a stone-carved map depicting the continent of Keshtah Minor. The room also contained six stone panels of the same size as the map of Keshtah Minor. Both Iliana and Hilts concurred that Yaru Korsin must have died in this room following the attempted coup against him. Hilts speculated that Korsin's chair had been left upstairs in the planetarium by Nida as a ruse to mislead people into thinking that Yaru had spent all his time contemplating the cosmos and their return. Iliana remarked that Nida should have included some windows in the room where they kept the ship.

While attempting to procure glowrods for his Sith masters, Jaye was spotted by the other Sith, who pursued him. During this chase, Jaye was attacked by Bentado Korsin, who inflicted several wounds to his chest that later proved fatal. Jaye managed to reach the map room and was hurled inside by a Force push unleashed by Bentado. Before his death, Jaye managed to apologize to the Caretaker for failing in his duty to find more glowrods. Shortly thereafter, Jaye's murderer, Korsin Bentado, entered the room wielding his lightsaber. He was followed by several other Sith, including Neera, Edell, and several Golden Destiny companions. Several of these Sith were eager to exact revenge on Iliana for wounding them during the Great Crisis that accompanied the recent Testament Day. Iliana prepared to fight them to the death. However, Hilts interrupted them and demanded to know who had murdered his Keshiri assistant, Jaye. The Caretaker was deeply saddened and angered by the murder of his best friend and a reliable employee.

Jaye's murderer, Bentado, showed no remorse and attempted to justify his actions by denigrating the late Jaye as a mere Keshiri whose presence "profaned" the Temple. Hilts angrily retorted that the Keshiri had helped build the Sith Temple and condemned Bentado and his followers for attempting to destroy the Temple and the Omen. Neera responded that "all life was profane." Vrai, the more moderate of the Sith, attempted to reason with Hilts, telling him that everything they knew about the Tribe was a lie and that there was no point in clinging to ancient sites like the Sith Temple, as it only contributed to infighting among the Tribe. Hilts argued that the Tribe was not doomed, but Edell and the other Sith refused to listen to him. In desperation, Hilts used the Force to yank the metal spikes covering the six stone panels. It turned out that these six stone panels concealed a large map of another continent lying to the far side of Keshtah Minor.

After reading Takara Korsin's letter to Yaru Korsin and vowing to restore the Tribe, Varner Hilts was able to convince the other Sith to set aside their differences and work together to reach and conquer "Keshtah Major." These Sith pledged their support for Hilts' vision. Edell Vrai praised Hilts for his knowledge of the Tapani tongue and the "old ways." Likewise, Korsin Bentado and Neera followed suit. Bentado congratulated Hilts for restoring their faith in Korsin, while Neera lauded the old man for finding a path for everyone where none had previously existed. She placed all her trust in him. The assembled Sith then elected Hilts as their new Grand Lord, marking the beginning of a new era in the Tribe's history. Hilts also took Iliana as his wife, and they were married a few days later.

Despite his untimely death, Jaye Vuhld's actions played a role in ending the Time of the Rot and ushering in the Hilts Restoration. Vuhld's mathematical calculations regarding the occurrence of Testament Day helped the Tribe rediscover their "true history". His meticulous habit of counting the Sith Temple's steps aided Varner Hilts and Iliana Merko in discovering Yaru Korsin's secret map room, which concealed the existence of another continent known as "Keshtah Major." The "discovery" of "Keshtah Major" provided a new cause for the Lost Tribe to rally around and end the infighting that had plagued their homeland of Keshtah Minor for centuries. As Grand Lord, Hilts remembered his late Keshiri friend Jaye. To honor Jaye's memory, Hilts advocated for Force-sensitive Keshiri to be allowed to join the Tribe as Sith Tyros and Sith Sabers. Prior to that, the Keshiri had been forbidden from joining the Tribe and riding uvaks. Over the successive years, Hilts' reforms thus provided the Keshiri with a limited means of social mobility in Sith society.

Within twenty-five years, Hilts' efforts to improve the social standing of the Keshiri on Keshtah Minor had yielded positive results. Hilts succeeded in cultivating a considerable following of Keshiri who were fervently loyal to the Tribe. These "loyalist" Keshiri participated in the invasion of Keshtah Major as translators and aides to their Sith commanders. The scholar Tellpah served Hilts' friend and ally, High Lord Edell Vrai, who led a Sith mission to Keshtah Major which successfully made contact with the Keshiri on that continent, who called themselves the Alanciari and their homeland Alanciar. Similarly, the Keshiri Squab served as Hilts' "secret agent" while officially serving as High Lord Korsin Bentado's aide. He foiled a plot by Bentado to kill Hilts and create his own "Second Tribe" on Alanciar. Other "loyalist" Keshiri were used as part of Hilts' "grand deception operation" to trick the Alanciari soldier Jogan Halder into believing that the Sith were the benign Protectors. These Keshiri thus contributed to the peaceful "unification" of Keshtah Minor and Alanciar.

While Varner Hilts was working on the script of his new Testament, he missed Jaye and felt sorry that the Keshiri did not live to see this day. Jaye had enjoyed Hilts' stories while he was alive. Hilts' Testament came to replace Yaru Korsin's Testament as the de-facto history, legal code and constitution of the Lost Tribe of Sith. Unlike his predecessor, Hilts' Testament addressed the Tribe's origins as slaves to the Red Sith of the Sith Empire but stated that the Human Sith had then conquered the Keshiri and purged the Red Sith from their numbers. Hilts also explored the Tapani origins of the Sith Tribe, who were descended from House Nidantha, a minor Tapani house which had become trapped and enslaved by the Sith in the Stygian Caldera. Thus, Jaye through his actions contributed to the survival of the Lost Tribe for another two millennia.

Jaye Vuhld was a Keshiri man of small stature and a timid disposition. Possessing mathematical prowess, he adeptly managed the Tribe's Sandpipe mechanism in Tahv, revealing that Kesh operated eight days behind Galactic Standard time. Vuhld's mathematical acumen, coupled with his remarkable memory, proved invaluable in assisting his Sith companions, Varner Hilts and Iliana Merko, in pinpointing Yaru Korsin's map chamber, which harbored the "secret" of Keshtah Major. Conversely, his deficiency in combat skills shielded him from conscription by the various Sith factions during the Time of the Rot. His timidity was evident in his reluctance to disclose his mathematical revelations concerning Testament Day to the assembled Sith leaders prior to Pantheon's Peace.

While the extent of Jaye's Force-sensitivity remains uncertain, Hilts held him in high regard, expressing a desire for him to join the Tribe as either a Sith Tyro or Sith Saber. However, such a prospect was unattainable during Jaye's lifetime, as Tribe membership was exclusively reserved for Humans until the Hilts Restoration. Notably, the Tribe was also known to admit non-Force-sensitive Human members into its lower echelons. Mirroring the sentiments of many Keshiri residing on Keshtah Minor, Jaye revered the Lost Tribe of Sith as the Protectors, akin to ancient deities in Keshiri belief. He perceived the Sith as superior beings, surpassing the Keshiri in strength and Force abilities. These deeply ingrained convictions led Jaye to initially deem himself unworthy of setting foot within the Keshiri Sith Temple, despite the fact that his ancestors had been instrumental in its construction.

Jaye Vuhld was originally conceived by John Jackson Miller as a supporting character lacking a point-of-view in his Lost Tribe of the Sith e-novella series, which spanned from May 28, 2009 to July 24, 2012. He made appearances in the short stories Pantheon and Secrets, which were released on July 18, 2011 and March 5, 2012 respectively. He received a brief mention in Pandemonium, the concluding short story in the series, which was included in Star Wars: Lost Tribe of the Sith: The Collected Stories, a paperback compilation of the entire series released on July 24, 2012.