Lost Tribe of the Sith: Pantheon

Two millennia prior, when the Sith vessel Omen experienced a catastrophic crash on Kesh, the crew encountered the planet's primitive and superstitious inhabitants. Now, after a thousand years marked by brutality, the Lost Tribe of the Sith has regressed to a comparable condition. Although Sith doctrines are still remembered, respected, and aggressively implemented, the truth concerning the Lost Tribe's actual beginnings has almost disappeared.

With a dark age threatening the Sith, the fate of the tribe rests on the shoulders of an unlikely individual: Hilts, the Caretaker, who is responsible for safeguarding the lore. Hilts, a mild-mannered Sith by their standards, wants to employ ancient wisdom to bring his people together again. But the truth he discovers does not bring salvation to the Tribe. Instead, he may have unleashed forces that will lead to its destruction -- and his own.

Pantheon takes place in 3000 BBY, which is more than two thousand years after the Lost Tribe of Sith's forebears arrived on Kesh. This short story is presented from the perspective of Varner Hilts, an aged Sith serving as the caretaker for the Tribe's historical documents and traditions. Jaye Vuhld, a gifted mathematician from the Keshiri people, was his assistant and confidante. Together, they managed the Tribe's archives located within the Kesh capitol building in the city of Tahv, the capital. Following the demise of Grand Lord Lillia Venn during the "Night of the Upside-Down Meteor," the Lost Tribe lacked unified leadership. The Tribe was embroiled in a brutal civil conflict that had been ongoing for over nine centuries, causing widespread devastation across much of Keshtah Minor.

During the narrative, Iliana Merko, the leader of a splinter group known as the Sisters of Seelah, paid a visit to Hilts, attempting to pressure him into providing her faction with a positive assessment during the upcoming Testament Day. The Sisters of Seelah held Seelah Korsin, the estranged spouse of the Tribe's founder Yaru Korsin, in high regard, considering her the "true" founder of the Tribe. Hilts managed to stall by asserting that the holocron containing Yaru Korsin's Testament would only activate on Testament Day. The Sisters' presence drew the attention of various competing Sith factions, including the Golden Destiny, Force 57, and the Korsinite League. Hilts and Jaye barely prevented violence by declaring that Testament Day was occurring that very day; emphasizing that Kesh's calendar was eight days behind the Galactic Standard Calendar.

While this strategy was effective, Iliana and the Sisters of Seelah did not gain any advantages from Yaru Korsin's Testament, which approved the exile of Seelah and designated their daughter Nida Korsin as the new "Grand Lord." However, Hilts inadvertently discovered that Korsin's Testament had been recorded over a previous recording that revealed the Tribe's "true history." Instead of being "great conquerors," the assembled Sith learned that their ancestors were merely insignificant slaves and miners serving the ancient Sith Lord Naga Sadow. The Tribe did not arrive on Kesh willingly but had instead become marooned during a mission to deliver Lignan crystals to Sadow's forces during the Great Hyperspace War. This revelation deeply disturbed the attending Sith. In an effort to conceal their "shameful past," Iliana obliterates the holocron with her lightsaber.

Despite the Sith's attempts to conceal their true origins, news of what occurred at Pantheon spreads to the populace. This triggers a wave of violent uprisings and massacres known as the "Great Crisis," resulting in the destruction of multiple cities across Keshtah Minor. Amid this significant crisis that threatens the survival of the Lost Tribe, Hilts and Jaye decide to uncover the "true power" behind Yaru Korsin's throne, which is located within the Omen, the ancient Sith starship that brought the ancestors of the Lost Tribe to Kesh. The Omen lies buried beneath a Sith temple situated on a mountainside.