Prophets of the Dark Side
The Prophets of the Dark Side, also known as the Secret Order of the Emperor, represented an old dark-side cult that originated on the planet Dromund Kaas within the Dromund system, situated in the Outer Rim. This planet once functioned as the capital for the re-established Sith Empire. Founded by Darth Millennial, a dissenting Dark Lord of the Sith, they can therefore be viewed as a breakaway group from the Order of the Sith Lords.
These Prophets underwent training in the dark side of the Force, utilizing its abilities to explore potential future outcomes of various events. During the era of the Galactic Empire, they operated under the leadership of Kadann, who held the title of Supreme Prophet. Recognizable by their black beards and shining black robes, the Prophets amassed considerable influence within the remnants of the Empire following the demise of Palpatine. Among their many supposed predictions, they claimed to have foreseen the exact timing and location of the destruction of both Death Stars by the Rebel Alliance. To safeguard their power, the Prophets resorted to any means necessary to ensure their prophecies came to pass.
As the group evolved into the Secret Order of the Empire, the designation became synonymous with the term Emperor's Mage, which was applied to a true Prophet of the Dark Side after Palpatine recruited them into his service. It is essential to distinguish between the true Prophets and their imitators, the false Prophets, who collectively constituted the Church of the Dark Side.
History
Origins and Palpatine's Discovery
Darth Millennial, a Sith defector who disagreed with Darth Bane's Rule of Two, established the Dark Force religion on Dromund Kaas. The Prophets of the Dark Side made their home in the tallest structure of the Dark Force Temple, an ancient Sith religious site situated in a marsh on Dromund Kaas, which had previously served as a battlefield during the Light and Darkness War. This tower acted as a focal point for the dark side of the Force. Around 100 BBY, a segment of the Prophets colonized the nearby moon of Kalakar Six, where they would later briefly revive Darth Maul in 0 BBY.
Years afterward, Palpatine came across the planet and won over the Prophets to his cause, all the while keeping the location of Dromund Kaas a secret. The Dromund system was among 36 systems removed from the Jedi Archives, a fact Yoda discovered after learning about the deletion of Kamino. It is believed that Yoda visited the Dromund system, but any documentation of his visit was lost as a result of the Great Jedi Purge. During the Clone Wars, Separatist forces, under the command of the Dark Acolyte Asajj Ventress, engaged the 327th Star Corps in the Battle of Dromund Kaas. Ventress leveraged information provided by the Prophets of the Dark Side to gain an advantage. Before the Jedi Purge, Palpatine appointed the Dark Jedi Kadann as the Supreme Prophet of the Dark Side. Kadann became one of the Emperor's most trusted advisors on Imperial Center. Jedgar, Kadann's apprentice, became his right-hand man, serving as the High Prophet of the dark side.
When Supreme Prophet Kadann predicted that balance would be restored to the Force at Endor, Palpatine dismissed him with laughter and became furious. Most of the true Prophets then fled to Supreme Prophet Kadann's hidden temple fortress on Bosthirda, abandoning Imperial Center and Dromund Kaas.
The Galactic Civil War's Later Stages and the Church of the Dark Side
Following the Battle of Endor, some Mages chose different paths: Cronal, now known as the Emperor's Hand "Blackhole," became a servant of the resurrected Emperor, founded the Church of the Dark Side on Imperial Center, and transformed Gorc and Pic into the "Brothers of the Sith" (these "Brothers" became Dark Jedi trainees under Jerec); Sariss ran from Tatooine after its population rebelled following the destruction of the second Death Star, becoming one of Jerec's Dark Jedi apprentices, on whose behalf she became engaged to a mineral baron on Panatha. She then instructed the baron's son, Yun, in the ways of the Church of the Dark Side, seduced him, and had him murder his own father so Sariss could give the baron's holdings and Yun himself to Jerec; Maarek Stele enlisted in the 181st Imperial Fighter Wing and later served under Grand Admiral Gilad Pellaeon in the Imperial Remnant located in the Outer Rim; Merili acted as a Church of the Dark Side advisor to Grand Admiral Peccati Syn and died alongside him when his flagship was destroyed by Admiral Gial Ackbar at Kashyyyk.
During the year following the Battle of Endor, Cronal's establishment of the Church of the Dark Side received official approval from acting-Emperor Sate Pestage and was secretly supported by Emperor Palpatine after his resurrection. Imperial Intelligence, of which Cronal (a former true Prophet turned Emperor's Hand) was a high-ranking member, established the Church.
In contrast to the Secret Order, the Church served as a highly visible propaganda instrument. It comprised not only former true Prophets (Cronal, Sariss, Merili) but also a group of false Prophets of the Dark Side, who were actually Imperial Intelligence agents assisting the Central Committee of Grand Moffs in controlling one of the larger Imperial Remnants. These false Prophets included impersonators of Kadann, Jedgar, and Gornash. They operated from Scardia Station in the Null Zone and traveled aboard a vessel called Scardia Voyager.
Rather than being true Force-sensitives, these individuals were con artists who manipulated events to make their prophecies a reality. The pseudo-Jedgar penned Secrets of the Dark Side, which documented the supposed prophecies of the pseudo-Kadann.
The false Prophets predicted that the next Emperor would wear the indestructible Glove of Darth Vader. After the Glove was discovered in the wreckage of the second Death Star, which had appeared in space near Dac through a space anomaly, it was worn by Trioculus, a three-eyed mutant and Imperial slavemaster on Kessel whom the Central Committee of Grand Moffs declared to be Palpatine's son and appointed as Emperor.
The pseudo-Kadann failed to seize control of Imperial Center from Ysanne Isard, who had taken power from Sate Pestage. Among those who did not respond to the pseudo-Kadann's summons to Imperial Center was Grand Admiral Afsheen Makati, who believed the pseudo-Kadann to be the true Kadann, against whom Makati harbored a grudge. The pseudo-Kadann retreated to Scardia Station. Grand Admiral Makati tricked Azrakel, who also believed the pseudo-Kadann to be the true Kadann, into divulging significant data on Scardia Station and the Lost City of the Jedi on Yavin 4. Makati then trapped the pseudo-Kadann on Scardia Station, which he subsequently destroyed with his fleet.
Jerec and the Valley of the Jedi
The true Jedgar had foreseen the deceptive practices of the false Prophets, but the true Kadann forbade him from taking action against them, having foreseen their downfall. The true Prophets regarded Palpatine as their adversary for rejecting Kadann's prophecies, and they despised Cronal as a traitor for becoming an Emperor's Hand instead of joining them on Bosthirda. Disregarding the actions of the Central Committee of Moffs, the true Prophets contacted Jerec, who was now a Great InQuestor of Judgment for the Pentastar Alignment. Jerec agreed to search for the lost Valley of the Jedi on behalf of the Prophets, while simultaneously pretending to search for it on behalf of the Alignment. Shortly thereafter, Emperor's Hand "Blackhole" (formerly an Emperor's Mage and Sariss's father) contacted Jerec, informing him of the existence of the clone Emperor on Byss and requesting that he search for the lost Valley on the Emperor's behalf. Jerec agreed, concealing from "Blackhole" that he was already searching for the Valley on behalf of the Alignment and the true Prophets.
In reality, Jerec's loyalty lay only with himself, and he intended to use the Valley's power to subdue all three of his sponsors and seize control as Emperor. Utilizing resources from his three sponsors, Jerec eventually located the Valley on Ruusan. However, Kyle Katarn killed Jerec and kept the location of the Valley a secret, thwarting the efforts of the true Prophets, who remained hidden, waiting for a sign that would indicate the time of their return.
Six years after the Battle of Endor, Kyle Katarn learned of Dromund Kaas after studying ancient dark-side inscriptions and traveled there, but was corrupted by the dark side. Mara Jade followed Kyle and found him in the Dark Force Temple, where she redeemed him. Kyle, Mara, and Luke Skywalker then reconstructed Dromund Kaas's history. The Jedi and New Republic Intelligence collaborated to ensure the planet's location remained a secret.
Dissolution
The Prophets met their end when the Dark Lady Lumiya and her apprentice Carnor Jax recruited the dark warrior Azrakel. Driven by vengeance, Azrakel arrived at the prophets' headquarters and killed many of them, including Kadann himself, before being defeated. Lumiya and Jax arrived shortly after, eliminating most of the remaining prophets.
Role within the Empire
Palpatine dispatched numerous dark-side adherents to Dromund Kaas for training under the Prophets, including the Dark Warrior Azrakel, Grand Admiral Nial Declann, and Inquisitor Jerec. It was during his studies on Dromund Kaas that Jerec first learned about the legend of the Valley of the Jedi from the Prophet Cronal and first encountered Cronal's daughter, Sariss. Supreme Prophet Kadann trained Azrakel as a secret weapon to use against Palpatine and Darth Vader should the Sith ever turn on Kadann. However, Azrakel grew to despise Kadann and deserted him before the Battle of Endor. The Prophets deployed agents to various planets; for instance, Sariss operated on Tatooine under the alias "Prophetess." One of the Prophets' agents, Maarek Stele, was made an Emperor's Hand and, uniquely for a Hand, remained a servant of the Order, eventually being promoted to the rank of Emperor's Reach.
Palpatine frequently consulted the Prophets to confirm the accuracy of his own foresight. Only the most trusted Imperial advisors, including the Grand Admirals, were aware of the existence of the Emperor's Mages. When Grand Admiral Afsheen Makati's first officer mocked the Prophets' black robes, Kadann retaliated by using Force lightning on Makati. The Prophets often sent entourages (frequently including Sariss) to confer with Jerec on the Super Star Destroyer Vengeance.
Secret Order of the Emperor
The Secret Order of the Emperor functioned as a clandestine, elite intelligence organization made up of the Emperor's Mages and their operatives.
Mages traveled incognito, searching for Force-sensitive individuals, such as Maarek Stele. They would often observe their Force-sensitive targets from the sidelines in briefing rooms or corridors, waiting for the subjects to inquire about their intentions. The Mage would then reveal himself as an envoy from the Emperor and offer the gifted individual the opportunity to serve the Emperor through covert missions. These missions, such as assassinating key enemies or inspecting enemy vessels for intelligence before destroying them, advanced the Emperor's dark-side objectives, which were concealed behind the Empire's accomplishments.
Once an agent proved their worth, they were initiated into the Secret Order as a First Initiate and assigned special additional duties during combat missions. As they progressed through the Order, they would advance to the Second Circle, Third Circle, Fourth Circle, and Inner Circle, ultimately earning the titles of Emperor's Hand (distinct from the Imperial agents also known as the Emperor's Hand), Emperor's Eyes, Emperor's Voice, and Emperor's Reach.
Palpatine selected the most successful agents, such as Stele, from the Order to become Emperor's Hands. The Supreme Prophet Kadann led the Order. Shortly before the Battle of Endor, the true Prophets parted ways with Palpatine and retreated to Bosthirda. Cronal, the former Prophet now operating under the alias of the Emperor's Hand "Blackhole," established the Church of the Dark Side as a more public institution in mockery of the Order. The Order, as such, ceased to exist because the true Prophets no longer associated themselves with the Empire, only with the dark side of the Force.
Chosen personnel received a tattoo-like mark on their left arm, etched into their skin using the dark side of the Force. The size and complexity of the mark increased with the agent's rank within the Order.
Known members
Supreme Prophets
Lesser Prophets
- Argor
- The Cloaked Figure
- Cronal , also known as "Blackhole"
- Sariss , also known as " Prophetess "
