Kas'im

Biography

Early life

Kas'im's origins trace back to his birth into slavery on Nal Hutta. He was separated from his parents at a very young age when he was bought at auction by another Twi'lek named Na'daz. Na'daz, a Sith Lord, sensed the Force within Kas'im, even though the child was so young he could barely walk, indicating his presence in the Force. Master Na'daz took him to Ryloth, where the Twi'lek child became his apprentice and began his training. Kas'im never saw his parents again, and held no memories of them in his later life.

Na'daz was a very skilled lightsaber duelist, a skill he passed on to Kas'im, teaching him how to use the double-bladed lightsaber. Eventually, Kas'im's strength in the dark side surpassed that of his master, and he also became more skilled in lightsaber combat. Once he had learned everything he could from Na'daz, Kas'im challenged him to a duel, killing him and claiming his curved-hilt lightsaber as a trophy.

The Brotherhood of Darkness

When Lord Kaan established his Brotherhood of Darkness, he invited the remaining Dark Lords to join him, including Kas'im. The Twi'lek embraced Kaan's vision for the Sith, believing that his promise of equality among Dark Lords would end the internal conflicts that had repeatedly reduced their order's numbers throughout history. Kas'im's training under Na'daz had instilled in him a strong belief in the strength of arms, and he felt that the Brotherhood's new approach would allow them to crush the Jedi through superior numbers. He then joined the many Sith that followed Kaan's leadership. Due to Kas'im's unmatched dueling skills, Kaan appointed him Blademaster at the Sith Academy on Korriban, the training center for all apprentices deemed strong enough in the Force to become Dark Lords.

The Twi'lek took on the responsibility of training every apprentice in lightsaber combat, teaching them sequences from all seven forms. The Blademaster would analyze their basic style and assign each student a key form to learn the techniques. The students were given training sabers to practice their lightsaber techniques. The blades were covered in millions of barbs made from the spines of the pelko bug, a deadly venomous insect native to Korriban. Each barb could cut through cloth and secreted venom when they struck an opponent, causing burns, blistering, and paralysis. When struck, a student would feel extreme pain, and the affected limb would become useless, simulating the loss of that limb from a lightsaber strike. These practice blades allowed the apprentices to challenge each other in non-fatal combat, while Kas'im observed the duelists. When one apprentice was defeated, Kas'im would point out areas for improvement for both the victor and the vanquished, and inform the observing students of noteworthy points to learn from the duel. Always cautious of how he had defeated his own master, Kas'im trained all the students in the use of one-bladed lightsabers, except for Sirak, who used a double-bladed variant of the training saber. Sirak was the Academy's strongest student. It was rumored that he had been Qordis's apprentice for nearly twenty years, long before the Brotherhood began, although this was never proven, and why he used a double-bladed saber while all others did not remained a mystery to the students. Nonetheless, Kas'im continued to train Sirak in the double-bladed saber. The Blademaster was confident that he could defeat any of the students by switching to a style they were unfamiliar with—such as the variant of Form IV that used a lightsaber in each hand—should his trainees turn on him in the future. He was relentless in his teaching, training the students to fight in all weather conditions, often in heavy rain.

When the apprentice Bane arrived at the academy, Kas'im immediately recognized his strength in the Force. Kopecz, the Dark Lord who had first sensed Bane's potential, told the Blademaster to watch Bane closely and offer him any assistance he required. Although Kas'im realized this was because Kopecz knew any progress Bane made would reflect well on him as Bane's discoverer, he watched Bane with interest as he quickly improved his skill, before seeing him challenge the Makurth apprentice, Fohargh. Bane was constantly on the defensive against Fohargh's use of Makashi strikes, while Fohargh used Dun Möch to further humiliate Bane. Bane became enraged and thrust out with the Force, repelling his opponent mid-leap. He then proceeded to throttle the Makurth with the Force until he died. Kas'im, fascinated by Bane's performance, took note of how he overcame his enemy.

Bane's private tutelage

Feeling that Bane had reached a new height in his powers, Kas'im was disappointed when Bane began to regress, seemingly terrified of the power he had unleashed. He consulted Qordis, who told him to abandon Bane's tutelage for more worthy students. Kas'im knew it was really Qordis's disregard for Kopecz that prompted his decision, but the Blademaster thought that Bane had lost his strength and will to fight. Sensing this lack of favor, Bane challenged Sirak in a bid to regain his standing. The Zabrak used a swift offensive, alternating the form he used or blending several lightsaber styles at once, toying with his outmatched opponent before breaking several of Bane's bones, hurling him across the dueling ring with the Force, and knocking him unconscious. Bane's rapid and abrupt defeat only confirmed Qordis's views to Kas'im.

After recovering from the numerous injuries Sirak had inflicted, Bane sought out the Blademaster and pleaded for Kas'im to resume his training. The Twi'lek was highly skeptical of Bane's intentions but used Qordis's orders as an excuse to initially refuse the plea. Bane appealed to his pride, saying that Kaan would know it was Kas'im, not the other Sith Masters, who would receive credit for Bane's abilities since the other masters had abandoned him as a lost cause. He expressed his unwavering desire for revenge against Sirak, and eventually, Kas'im agreed. The Blademaster trained Bane in secret, dueling each other, practicing new forms, techniques, and sequences, as well as learning to use the Force to anticipate and combine different forms and thrusts. Bane learned every move of the double-bladed saber, focusing on memorizing every parry and thrust. Eventually, Bane challenged Sirak, outclassing and humiliating the Zabrak. However, Kas'im stopped Bane before he delivered the killing blow, knowing the Brotherhood would need a fighter as skilled as Sirak in the war. As a testament to Bane's skill and a gesture of his pride in the apprentice, Kas'im later bestowed Na'daz's lightsaber upon him.

When Qordis manipulated Bane into leaving the Academy, Kas'im was infuriated, feeling the Academy needed a powerful apprentice for the other students to aspire to. The Headmaster told Kas'im that Bane had gone to Korriban's Valley of the Dark Lords to seek the knowledge of the ancient Sith. Despite Qordis's dismissal of the apprentice, Kas'im was sure Bane would survive. While Kas'im's student was in the wilderness of Korriban, Kaan contacted Qordis, telling him to bring all apprentices to Ruusan. There, they were to participate in what he hoped would be the final battle of the New Sith Wars, overwhelming the last remnants of the Army of Light—a militant force of thousands of Jedi from across the galaxy. Led by Jedi Lord Hoth, the Army of Light had been established by the Jedi Order in response to the growing threat of Kaan's Sith Brotherhood. When Bane returned, he was lured into the Academy's library by Githany, a former Jedi who had secretly trained Bane to use the Force when the masters abandoned him, and attacked by Sirak. Though bent on revenge, the Zabrak was no match for Bane, who killed him. He then accused Qordis of sending Sirak as an assassin before publicly rebuking the Dark Lord. Declaring himself Darth Bane—Kaan had abolished the title to emphasize equality in the Brotherhood—Bane stole Qordis's ship, the Valcyn, leaving the Academy and the Brotherhood, despite Kas'im's attempt to convince him to meet with Kaan and see what the Blademaster believed was the truth of the Brotherhood founder's words.

All the apprentices were deemed Dark Lords—no longer students but equals in the Brotherhood of Darkness—and despite Bane's departure, Kas'im traveled with them to Ruusan. He quickly became infuriated by the "hit and run" tactics the Jedi commander Lord Hoth had adopted, hiding in the forests of the planet. While far from the war, Kas'im had been content to train the apprentices. But on the very front of the war, his warrior nature and hunter's instincts began to dominate Kas'im's drives—training and sparring with the other Sith did not satisfy his need to be in real life-or-death combat. Kaan began to fear that the agitation Kas'im was feeling could spread, causing a rebellion within the Sith and the Brotherhood would dissolve through the in-fighting that would ensue. Githany, Bane's former secret teacher alongside Kas'im, had a premonition through the Force that Bane would return and eradicate the Brotherhood. When she informed Kaan of this, the Brotherhood's leader decided to clear two of his problems by sending the Blademaster to Lehon, charged with convincing Bane to return or removing him as a threat to the Brotherhood.

The final duel

Kas'im journeyed to Lehon aboard a Sith Buzzard, where he located the homing beacon of the Valcyn and landed nearby. He discovered the trail through the forest left by the rancor that Bane had controlled with the Force to reach a Rakatan Temple where Bane had found the holocron of Darth Revan. Following the trail, Kas'im sensed the rancor's approach and engaged it in battle, inflicting numerous gashes until it succumbed to its wounds and collapsed. Satisfied that his fighting skills remained sharp, Kas'im proceeded to the Temple. There, the Blademaster confronted his former student and gave Bane an ultimatum: join Kaan in defeating the Jedi or be killed. By this point, Bane had lost all respect for Kaan and the Brotherhood, believing that his own Rule of Two—a new philosophy stating that there should only ever be two Sith, one master and one apprentice—would restore the Sith to glory through secrecy, cunning, and betrayal. Bane listened to Kas'im's description of the "Old Ways" of the Sith having failed and a new doctrine being needed—the Human was tempted into trying to sway his former teacher into becoming his new apprentice, but when Kas'im announced the Brotherhood was the new philosophy, he knew the Blademaster would not join him.

Kas'im initiated a duel, hoping to overwhelm Bane with a swift offensive. However, Bane defended himself and counterattacked, forcing his former teacher back into the Temple of the Ancients and into a dead end. Kas'im leapt into a side chamber to avoid the dead end, but there was no escape from the room itself. When Bane paused in the doorway to savor his victory, Kas'im disconnected his double-bladed lightsaber into two single sabers, and utilized Ataru against his unsuspecting opponent. Unable to defend against the unfamiliar style, Bane was forced back to the Temple entrance. At that moment, Bane unleashed a massive shockwave of dark side energy to obliterate Kas'im, but the Blademaster shielded himself with the Force. Nevertheless, the power Bane unleashed shook the entire Temple, smashing the archway surrounding Kas'im and crushing him beneath the stone.

Legacy

Kas'im had trained Darth Bane, the apprentice who would eradicate the Brotherhood of Darkness and remodel the Sith under the Rule of Two. Kas'im's most poignant legacy was this apprentice, whom he had taught to be a formidable duelist. Kas'im also left a lasting impression on Bane when he revealed he killed his own master once he could learn no more from him. Bane embraced this for his New Order, feeling it represented the transition of power from a strong being to an even stronger one. It was stated that Bane would have attempted to sway Kas'im into becoming the first apprentice in the New Order, had he not sided with Lord Kaan.

Personality and traits

Kas'im dedicated his life to training as a duelist and warrior, developing a hunter's instincts. He eagerly anticipated battle, becoming agitated when the enemy would not stand and fight, as Kaan observed when Hoth employed guerrilla tactics. Kaan believed that Kas'im's willingness to fight was unquenchable unless he faced real opponents—practice sparring did little to satisfy his bloodlust, such was his desire to feel real challenges to his skill.

Despite these instincts, Kas'im was highly disciplined and knew his place in the Brotherhood, being satisfied to train new apprentices for most of the New Sith Wars. He believed in Kaan and his Brotherhood of Darkness, feeling its strength of arms would defeat the Jedi Order. He was convinced in the "united" structure of the Brotherhood, but recognized the necessity of leaders within the Academy, saying it "avoided complications" if the other masters on Korriban deferred to Qordis, who in turn responded to Kaan.

Kas'im possessed a certain pride, which the apprentice Bane would appeal to when seeking private training. He had no time for the weak or broken, a trait highlighted by his Sith and warrior nature. He was cunning and wary in his tutelage of lightsaber combat; he trained most students to wield single blades, and occasionally double blades like the one he usually utilized, but always kept various techniques known only to himself, such as his mastery of the dual-wielding variant of Form IV.

Kas'im also sported several tattoos across his chest.

Powers and abilities

Kas'im's greatest strength was his extraordinary swordsmanship with the lightsaber. A prodigy in lightsaber combat, Kas'im quickly honed his skills under his master's tutelage and eventually surpassed him, allowing him to defeat him. His unmatched mastery of lightsaber combat among the Sith earned him the position of Blademaster at the Korriban Academy and was so great that the Sith firmly believed he was the greatest swordsman in the galaxy and perhaps even the greatest in history. Through years of study, Kas'im achieved full mastery of all seven combat forms. He then spent decades perfecting every move and sequence. His knowledge was great enough to immediately deduce which form suited one of his students the most and then effectively instruct them on how to use their specialized form to maximum efficiency. While Kas'im was highly proficient with his double-bladed lightsaber, which had a unique function where it could be disconnected in the center, changing a formal double-bladed lightsaber into that of a pair of single blades to utilize Jar'Kai, with which he was extremely formidable, being outstandingly proficient in using the dual-bladed variant of Ataru but he kept that skill hidden and discouraged his students from pursuing dual-blade combat, he understood that the weapon actually lacked versatility and that the unfamiliar nature it possessed against an opponent was it's only advantage, which Kas'im admitted was why he preferred a Saberstaff as it made it look like as if it gave Kas'im more options to his enemies. Kas'im was also equally capable in wielding a single bladed lightsaber. His mastery of the forms made him extremely unpredictable and ambidextrous as he is able to seamlessly switch between each form and use them equally effectively, although it can be nullified if his foe had seen through all of Kas'im's versatile strategies.

Kas'im's time training students and rarely participating in active combat did not diminish his nearly unparalleled dueling skills. He kept his skills sharp by sparring with his students, always winning despite holding back to avoid killing them. He quickly dispatched the Rancor sent by Bane, swiftly inflicting dozens of severe wounds that quickly killed it. In his duel with Bane, Kas'im, revealing his full abilities that he had held back in all their spars, quickly gained the upper hand and almost killed his former apprentice, with Bane openly praising his master's skills. Bane was forced to fully tap into the Dark Side and utilize his superior knowledge of the Temple's environment and the counter-strategies he had created against Kas'im to overwhelm him. Although Bane did nearly decisively overpower him after utilizing such methods, once Kas'im utilized Jar'Kai, he was able to near-instantly turn the tides against Bane, forcing him into the defensive almost completely and eventually overpowering him, proving his superiority as a duelist to his former apprentice, hence forcing Bane to utilize the Force instead to kill him.

In addition to his immense swordsmanship, Kas'im had considerable strength and potential in the Force even as a child, to the point that even the great Sith Lord Na'daz was so impressed by the strength he felt from Kas'im even while he was still young enough to barely be walking that he took him as his apprentice. Rapidly developing his Force capabilities under his master, he eventually grew to surpass his master in the Dark Side. Kas'im was proficient in the use of various Force powers, and in addition to teaching lightsaber combat, he was also skilled enough to instruct his students in many Force techniques, such as creating shields using the Force, a technique he taught to protect them from being disarmed by telekinesis, and the ability to predict the movements of his enemies using the Force. Kas'im's Force Barriers were powerful enough to repel Bane's Force Wave, although he was unable to defend himself from the crumbling debris of the falling Temple, killing him. Kas'im was also highly skillful in telekinesis himself, displaying great aptitude in Force Jump, often applying it while dueling and his proficiency in Force Push was so great it was able to easily shatter Bane's shielding and blast him away with considerable force, although the attack lost enough power that Bane managed to avoid serious injury. Kas'im also had the ability to use Force Sense, able to trace the dark power Bane was emitting from the Temple to locate him.

Behind the scenes

Kas'im was a character conceived by Drew Karpyshyn for the novel Darth Bane: Path of Destruction, where he met his end at the hands of the main character.