Mission to Tython

Following the conclusion of the New Sith Wars, a Sith Lord named Darth Bane aspired to fashion his own holocron, a device capable of capturing the essence of its creator and preserving their knowledge. Despite multiple unsuccessful attempts to build such a device, Lord Bane reached a standstill in his endeavors, yet he remained determined. Sometime later, his apprentice, a Human female known as Darth Zannah, encountered an individual named Hetton, a dedicated researcher of Sith artifacts and lore. During their meeting, Hetton revealed details about Belia Darzu, a deceased Dark Lord of the Sith who had stored her knowledge of holocron creation within a hidden fortress. In return for a datacard containing the fortress's location on the planet of Tython, along with a hyperspace route to the planet, Zannah agreed to collaborate with Hetton against Darth Bane. This was merely a deception, however, which resulted in Hetton's death during his subsequent encounter with Bane. Using the information gathered by his apprentice, Bane set out on a new quest to find Belia Darzu's fortress, and with it, the secrets to creating a Sith holocron.

In preparation for his quest, Darth Bane scrutinized the datacard obtained by his apprentice, learning as much as possible about the Dark Lord Belia Darzu. Confident in the accuracy of Hetton's research, the Sith Lord confirmed that his new target, the holocron of Belia Darzu, possessed essential information that would enable him to construct his own holocron. To reach the fortress where the device was located, Bane utilized his personal starfighter, the Mystic, to journey into the Deep Core, a region of the galaxy where Tython was situated. Traveling alone, he successfully navigated the treacherous hyperlanes of the Deep Core and arrived at Tython. Detecting no lifeforms within Lord Darzu's fortress, Bane approached its location, only to have his vessel targeted by a pair of automated tower-mounted ion cannons. Employing his piloting skills, Bane evaded the barrage and destroyed the turrets, allowing the Sith Lord to land a short distance from the fortress. As he neared the fortress's entrance, Bane used the power of the Force to force open the front gate, granting him access to the building's interior.

Inside the fortress, Bane systematically explored each room in search of his target. During this time, he briefly examined the remaining components of Darzu's alchemical research, but eventually Bane refocused his efforts on locating the deceased Dark Lord's holocron. During his exploration of the fortress, Bane sensed the power of the dark side permeating its halls, prompting him to seek out the source of this energy. This search led Bane to an underground section of the fortress, revealing a large chamber that served as an inner sanctum. Inside this chamber, Bane finally discovered a pedestal in the center of the room holding his ultimate prize—Lord Darzu's holocron. However, surrounding the device were the remnants of the Metanecrons, an army of mutated cyborgs known as technobeasts. Initially, the technobeasts ignored Bane as he approached the pedestal. However, as soon as he attempted to seize the holocron, the creatures became enraged and attacked the Sith Lord in a swarm.

Using both the Force and his lightsaber, Bane defended himself and destroyed several of the technobeasts, utilizing his orbalisk armor to protect himself from their melee attacks. During his battle against the creatures, Bane was suddenly struck by one of the larger mutated rancor variants. The attack sent the Sith Lord crashing face-first into a humanoid technobeast, which infected him with the nanogene spore, a virus that transformed living beings into the metal-organic hybrids themselves. Once again, however, the orbalisks on Bane's armor saved his life, purging the virus from his body and preventing it from lobotomizing his brain. As the effects of the nanogene spore diminished, the Sith Lord launched a counterattack against the rancor, ultimately destroying it and resuming his fight against the remaining Sithspawn mutants. Despite the relentless aggression of the technobeasts, Bane single-handedly annihilated all of the creatures in the chamber. Following a massacre that lasted over an hour, Bane took only a few minutes to recover—both physically and mentally—before finally claiming Belia Darzu's holocron.

With the holocron in his possession, Darth Bane began to examine its contents, interacting with the device's gatekeeper in the form of an avatar representing Belia Darzu. While doing so, Bane discovered a set of instructions detailing the complete process of constructing a holocron. Although he was already familiar with most of this information, one particular element of these instructions had eluded him until this point: the trapping of the creator's essence within the capstone of the holocron. After Bane questioned the gatekeeper about this process, the holocron displayed a Sith ritual known as the Rite of Commencement. Despite the complexity of the ritual, which Bane speculated would likely take him months to memorize, the Sith Lord was nonetheless pleased with the new knowledge he had acquired.

The quest to Tython was first depicted in Darth Bane: Rule of Two, the second book in the Darth Bane Trilogy written by Drew Karpyshyn.