Ravilan Wroth

Biography

Ravilan Wroth, a male with red skin, belonged to the Sith species and came from the Sith Empire during the Great Hyperspace War in 5000 BBY. During this time, the Dark Lord of the Sith position was vacant due to the death of Marka Ragnos, which also marked the end of the Sith Empire's Golden Age. Naga Sadow and Ludo Kressh, two rival Sith Lords, stepped up to take his place as Dark Lord. Wroth supported Sadow, whose expansionist goals were opposed by Kressh's conservative views. Kressh was happy with the Sith Empire's long-standing stability in its isolated area of space and wanted to keep it wealthy. Sadow maneuvered himself into a position to win the title, even though it was unclear who would become the Dark Lord of the Sith. As a result, the Empire was divided into factions under Kressh and Sadow, and Sadow gathered his followers and made plans to conquer the galaxy. Sadow invaded the Republic with a newly formed invasion fleet.

Omen

During the Great Hyperspace War, the Sith dreadnought Omen became Wroth's assigned vessel. Wroth's service on the Omen lasted for a significant period, during which he participated in numerous missions alongside its captain, Yaru Korsin, with whom Wroth occasionally engaged in fencing. The Omen's regular crew consisted of Human descendants of Tapani nobles who had been exiled. Over the years, Force-sensitivity was introduced into their bloodlines through interbreeding with the Dark Jedi outcasts from the Hundred-Year Darkness, who themselves had interbred with the Sith after 6900 BBY.

While still serving on the Omen, Sadow tasked it, along with another starship, the Harbinger under Captain Saes Rrogon, with locating Lignan ore for the forthcoming battle against the Jedi and the Republic at Kirrek. The mining flotilla, which included Wroth and the Omen's crew, as well as the Harbinger, assembled at Primus Goluud, where miners were enlisted to fulfill Sadow's objective. Massassi warriors were stationed as commandos on both vessels, and Wroth assumed the role of quartermaster for the Massassi aboard the Omen. The flotilla eventually discovered Lignan deposits on Phaegon III's largest moon and extracted the valuable ore. However, as the Harbinger and Omen were completing their mission and preparing to depart, a Jedi starfighter attacked them. Prioritizing the protection of the Lignan crystals cargo, Wroth and the Omen's crew readied for hyperspace travel. Before they could initiate the jump, the Harbinger began transmitting erratic sensor data and veered towards the Omen on a collision course. Nevertheless, the Omen's navigator managed to activate the hyperdrive, propelling the Omen into hyperspace. Despite his efforts, the Omen sustained a glancing blow from the Harbinger, causing a slight deviation from its intended course. The collision, combined with the distorted physics of hyperspace, inflicted critical damage to the ship. Encountering a gravity well in hyperspace led to the failure of the shielding and the collapse of the bulkheads, with a seismic force tearing away the armory and a significant portion of the quarterdeck.

The Omen emerged from hyperspace uncontrollably, hurtling towards an unknown planet. Despite Yaru's desperate attempts to regain control, the ship crash-landed in a sharp mountain range surrounded by sea, narrowly avoiding a plunge into an adjacent cliffside abyss. Three hundred and fifty-five individuals, including Wroth, survived the crash, but twenty-one perished due to injuries and the perilous terrain encountered during their descent from the mountain. By sunrise, Wroth had joined Yaru and Seelah Korsin—a former battlefield medic and the wife of Yaru's brother, Devore—to discuss the concerning situation with the Massassi. Although eighty of Wroth's warriors had survived the initial impact, they were inexplicably dying rapidly due to exposure to the planet's atmosphere. Already, Wroth's assistants were cremating a third of the Massassi survivors in a pyre.

Two days later, Wroth divided the remaining Massassi between himself and Yaru. Yaru, accompanied by his contingent of Sith, ascended to the crash site to assess the transmitter and determine the feasibility of the Sith Empire locating and rescuing them, as well as retrieving the Lignan crystal cargo. Wroth was initially surprised by Yaru's return. After learning that the transmitter beacon was inoperable, Wroth was disheartened to discover that the last of the Massassi from Omen had perished. That night, Devore Korsin was absent from the campsite. This absence caused unease among some of the Sith, who initially believed he was missing from the crash site and eventually presumed him dead.

Adari Vaal

On the second night following the Omen's crash landing on the planet, a native resident inadvertently stumbled upon the Sith encampment, alerting those within. The Keshiri woman, Adari Vaal, dedicated three days to developing comfortable communication with the Sith, while Yaru and Wroth's cyborg cousin Hestus endeavored to learn her language. Hestus possessed a "special ear" that facilitated the swift exchange of information between the Sith and Vaal. However, the exchange was predominantly one-sided, with the Sith gaining more knowledge about the Keshiri and their life on the planet—Kesh—than Vaal acquired about the Sith.

Eventually, Yaru managed to convey their concerns and their need to reach the mainland to Vaal. However, according to Vaal, the only means for her to travel to the mainland was alone on her uvak, Nink. This prospect worried Wroth and the other Sith present, who feared abandonment in the harsh environment they had settled in. The fact that Vaal's own people were unlikely to heed her words, as she had been branded a heretic, further amplified Wroth's and the others' anxieties.

A week after Wroth and the rest of the Omen's crew became stranded on Kesh, Vaal departed for a day and returned on Nink, accompanied by uvak-riding Neshtovar nobles of the Keshiri. The Sith convened with the Keshiri, who, upon observing their appearance and abilities, believed the offworlders to be the Skyborn—the legendary heroic deities of Keshiri lore. With their newfound authority and elevated status among the Keshiri, Wroth and the rest of the "Skyborn"—under the leadership of the newly proclaimed "Grand Lord" Yaru—seized the quarters of the previously ruling Neshtovar caste as their own and swiftly gained dominion over the Keshiri as a whole. During this period, Wroth remained detached due to the loss of the Massassi he had cared for. Vaal referred to him as a minority within a minority, a member of the small group of Sith species within the already small group of Sith, which was a stark contrast to the Sith Empire, where the Sith species constituted the majority.

At some point while Yaru was imparting knowledge to Vaal in the Keshiri capital city of Tahv, Vaal conducted an experiment on Wroth to determine whether the Sith possessed the ability to read minds. She tasked him with navigating the busiest district of Tahv to locate a specific destination. She observed that he became disoriented in the same neighborhood as she had, and despite his remarkable perceptive abilities, he still required accurate information from others to find his way. From this, she concluded that the Sith could indeed read minds, but only to a limited extent. In the years that followed the conquest of the Keshiri, Wroth endured a series of losses, including a severe leg injury in his second year on Kesh when he lost an argument with an uvak.

Genocide

Fifteen years after the Sith crew of the Omen had crash-landed on Kesh, Wroth continued to be afflicted by the leg injury he had sustained in his second year there. Over that time, the planet's environment had altered Wroth's coloring from crimson to a more subdued maroon shade. Without the Massassi to oversee or a mission to execute, he had taken on a variety of tasks to occupy his time. His most significant role was as the spokesperson for the Fifty-seven, a group comprising the surviving Red Sith on Kesh—those with the purest Sith species bloodlines—and those individuals who were more interested in departing Kesh and delivering the Lignan ore to Sadow than remaining there. However, the name "the Fifty-seven" had become inaccurate since its inception, as a dozen members had perished over time due to accidents or lack of competence. The fact that none of the Red Sith offspring were surviving beyond a single day added to Wroth's and the Fifty-seven's desire to abandon Kesh. As their spokesperson, Wroth had earned the moniker "the crimson man" among the Keshiri.

Crisis at Tetsubal

Wroth and a team under his direction investigated the Omen to determine if any salvageable resources remained. He enlisted a strong Keshiri named Gorem to assist him and his team in dismantling one of the Omen's decks to access the remnants in the crushed sections. There, Wroth discovered some cyanogen silicate—a cauterizing agent used by the Massassi healers. When Gorem died after coming into contact with a stained deck plate from the Massassi apothecary, Wroth realized that the silicate could be weaponized against the Keshiri without harming the Red Sith.

A week later, Wroth requested an audience with the Sith. During the meeting, the Houk Gloyd presented his latest plan for leaving Kesh and attracting the Sith Empire's attention, unaware that the Sith Empire had already collapsed. After his presentation, Wroth stepped forward. Yaru—still the Grand Lord of the Keshiri and the Sith—approached him, anticipating that Wroth would also propose a plan to escape Kesh. Instead, Wroth raised the topic of ancestry and how the individuals under Seelah's supervision were documenting the lineage of the Omen's crew. Although the research focused solely on Humans, Wroth still objected to it, as many in both groups shared some degree of interbreeding. For Wroth and the Red Sith on Kesh, the subject of interbreeding with the Dark Jedi was a source of great pride, and dissecting it through documentation was a sensitive issue for his people. However, the causes of the Massassi's deaths and the current mortality of the Red Sith offspring remained unknown, so Yaru disagreed with him and advocated for the continuation of the research. Wroth suggested that to better understand the issue, one of his people should be accepted into the crèche as a midwife. Seelah—who oversaw the crèche—immediately interjected and rejected his proposal. She deemed the Red Sith unqualified medical personnel. Her deep-seated animosity towards the Red Sith under Dark Lord Kressh's care further hindered Wroth's cause. Nevertheless, Wroth persisted, praising her work and arguing that it was only fair for the Red Sith to thrive, just as her Sith did. Halting the exchange, Yaru informed them that their discussion would be continued later.

Wroth then informed Yaru that he would be traveling south to visit the villages of the Ragnos Lakes. Yaru had previously tasked him with examining the eight villages there, specifically the bodies of water they were situated on and the specimens of fluorescent algae they contained. As Kesh had been found to lack any useful metals, the algae held potential for illuminating the Sith structures. Wroth was to begin in the expansive territory of Tetsubal, the village farthest from the Sith sanctum in the Takara Mountains, where the Omen had crashed fifteen years earlier. Before Wroth's departure, Yaru instructed him to take the remaining Red Sith with him to expedite the work. He also instructed Wroth to address him as "Grand Lord" in the future, an order that originated from Seelah, who had married Yaru after Devore's death. Wroth had no choice but to comply, even though the title "Grand Lord" was typically used by the Keshiri to address Yaru.

Wroth and the Fifty-seven devised a plan in response to what had happened to Gorem after encountering the cyanogen silicate. Wroth realized that since the silicate could be used against the Keshiri, it could be used as a means to force Yaru and the rest of the Sith to prioritize leaving the planet rather than continuing to build on Kesh. Upon arriving in Tetsubal, Wroth introduced the cyanogen silicate into the villages' aqueducts, where it intensified upon contact with the water, causing a plague-like death to all those in the village, including his Human aide. Wroth realized that Humans, too, were susceptible to cyanogen silicate; only the Red Sith were immune to its effects. Following his discovery, Wroth sent a message through the Force to the Sith sanctum in the Takara Mountains, informing them that everyone in Tetsubal had died except for him, while concealing his involvement in the incident.

When Yaru and Seelah arrived in Tetsubal, Wroth fabricated a story, claiming that he had gone to meet his contacts in the town circle with a plaza and a large sundial. He explained that he had been unable to locate his Human aide and had therefore taken up a position atop the sundial to call for her. From that vantage point, he had also observed the plague that was decimating Tetsubal's Keshiri population. The Korsins speculated whether the event was caused by a biological agent or an airborne disease. Their concerns intensified when they discovered Wroth's dead aide, realizing that the illness affected not only the Keshiri but also the Human Sith. Wroth suggested that, due to this, it would be necessary to not only burn the village to contain the illness but also to sever all contact between the Sith and the Keshiri—a suggestion that surprised Yaru. Seelah disagreed, arguing that the Sith were too dependent on the Keshiri and believing that they would not survive without them. Wroth, however, reminded them that they were Sith and should not be reliant on non-Sith like the Keshiri. He even proposed that, given their prolonged presence without being affected by the plague, it was a warning from the dark side. Redirecting the conversation, Yaru led Wroth on a walk through the village to discuss the matter further. Seelah remained behind to examine the body of Wroth's aide before announcing her retreat back to the Sith sanctum, and Wroth cautioned her about introducing the plague into the Sith stronghold before she departed.

Wroth and Yaru returned to the Takara Mountains at night to find that news of the crisis had spread among the Sith. Communication was the primary issue, as the Sith were so agitated and confused by the recent events that even the most experienced heralds struggled to manage the messages. Yaru summoned all the Sith back to the Takara Mountains, ensuring that the Keshiri remained unaware of the crisis. He also dispatched reconnaissance fliers to survey the areas surrounding Tetsubal to determine if the plague had spread.

Sith Purge

Wroth reported to Yaru that all the Red Sith had safely returned to the Takara Mountains. Despite Wroth's satisfaction, a messenger arrived with news that the plague had struck again, this time at Rabolow, another village on the Ragnos Lakes. Wroth was both surprised and disturbed by this news; he and his people had only introduced the cyanogen silicate into the aqueducts of Tetsubal. When Seelah remarked that his people were assigned there, Wroth ignored her and went to consult with his associate, who had just returned from Rabolow, to ascertain what had transpired there.

Reports of Ragnos Lake villages afflicted by the plague continued to flood in, and Seelah informed Yaru that she believed Wroth and his people were adding cyanogen silicate to the water around all the villages. The Grand Lord believed her; convinced that the Red Sith were plotting their demise, he summoned all the other Sith and ordered them to destroy and wipe out the Red Sith for this supposed treachery. Outnumbered and caught off guard, the Red Sith were driven back and slaughtered. Their Human counterparts placed the severed heads of murdered Red Sith at regular intervals along the main plaza at the Sith temple. With only a small number of the Red Sith remnant remaining, Yaru and his chief lieutenants cornered them in a final stand near the precipice where the Omen had crashed and nearly plummeted over the edge fifteen years prior. Those who surrendered were thrown over the mountainside to their deaths.

Wroth, the sole surviving Red Sith on Kesh, was swiftly captured due to his injured leg. As the leader of his kinsmen, he was held captive centimeters off the ground by sturdy cords typically used to restrain uvaks during washing. In the stable master's stone silo where Wroth was confined, water poured from slots high up the tower for one minute at a time, drenching and choking Wroth to the point of utter exhaustion. After recovering, Wroth finally noticed Seelah's presence. She confirmed that all the Red Sith had been exterminated, except for him. Confused, Wroth admitted that he and his people were responsible for the "plague," but that they had only caused it at Tetsubal, and he denied any knowledge of the other villages. Seelah revealed that she was, in fact, responsible for introducing the silicate into the other villages and subsequently orchestrating the extermination of the Red Sith. After returning from Tetsubal, she had dispatched her most trusted aides to the various Ragnos Lake villages, where they had planted the cyanogen silicate in the aqueducts and wells of each, made possible by the fact that her ward possessed the last remaining supply of the chemical. While she could not ascertain what had happened to the Keshiri of the village due to her unfamiliarity with their biology, she deduced that the cyanogen silicate had to be the cause, given the swollen, blue features on the tongue of Wroth's dead Human aide.

Wroth was horrified by Seelah's revelation, disgusted by the knowledge that she had orchestrated the genocide against his people. His captor viewed the eradication of the Red Sith in the Empire as an inevitability, given the direction things were heading under Sadow's leadership, with his expansion and inclusion of other species in higher-ranking positions. Seelah believed that the Red Sith would eventually become obsolete and replaced. Wroth disagreed, asserting that Sadow valued both the new potential Sith and the old Sith. Seelah then gestured to the guard beside Wroth, releasing more water upon him. This time, Wroth took much longer to recover. He explained his vision of how Sith society could have functioned on Kesh, similar to how the Dark Jedi and the Sith species had done millennia earlier, if only his children had survived on Kesh. He then realized that Seelah had also been responsible for the deaths of all the Red Sith children born on Kesh, as she was in charge of the Sith crèche. At this, Seelah told him that his people would have eventually done the same thing to the Human Sith. With Wroth still moaning in horror at what she had done, Seelah instructed the guard—her son, Jariad Korsin—to finish him off. Jariad brandished a jagged vibroblade as he lunged forward and attacked, before finally drawing his lightsaber and cutting Wroth down. With Wroth's death, Gloyd remained the only non-Human Sith alive on the planet. Although the plan to exterminate the Red Sith appeared to be solely Seelah's idea, she had actually been manipulated by the Keshiri Adari Vaal and Tilden Kaah in their broader scheme to rid Kesh of all the Sith.

Personality and traits

Ravilan Wroth was a crimson-skinned Sith with yellow eyes, as well as eyebrow-stalks and long cheek tendrils, which were all common physical attributes of the Sith species. Over time, Wroth's skin tone shifted from red to a more somber maroon hue due to the planet's influence. Throughout this period, Wroth continued to wear his earrings and other Sith ornamentation, which ultimately only made him appear more subdued with his maroon coloring. Yaru considered Wroth to be as pure-blooded as a Red Sith could be.

Like all the Red Sith on Kesh, Wroth took pride in his Sith heritage, especially the interbreeding between his species and the Dark Jedi exiles after the Hundred-Year Darkness. While it was a source of pride for his people, he and his kinsmen were also sensitive about the topic, disliking its dissection and analysis. Consequently, Wroth and his people opposed the project of documenting the ancestry of Human Sith on Kesh, attempting to prevent the revelation of their ancestry, because even though the study only focused on Human Sith, many of both species had intertwined ancestry due to previous interbreeding.

Wroth supported Dark Lord Naga Sadow during the Great Hyperspace War. He believed that Sadow's progressive approach valued power in both the new species introduced into the Empire and the Red Sith. This contrasted sharply with other less progressive Sith Lords in the Sith Empire, who only recognized and valued power in the Red Sith.

As quartermaster of the Massassi aboard the Omen, Wroth was responsible for overseeing and caring for the Massassi. Saddened by their deaths after exposure to Kesh's atmosphere, Wroth became detached. After their deaths, he took on a series of unconventional roles to replace his original one, including becoming the spokesperson for the Fifty-seven, who shared his desire to leave Kesh and deliver the Lignan ore to Sadow rather than remain there to establish a Sith society as rulers of the Keshiri.

Powers and abilities

Ravilan Wroth was a Red Sith who, like all other members of his species, possessed the ability to manipulate the Force. As keeper of the Massassi aboard the Omen, Wroth could control the Massassi warriors. The loyalty of the Massassi had to be earned, not bought or forced. In his second year on Kesh, Wroth sustained a permanent injury in a confrontation with an uvak, which crippled him, limited his abilities, and contributed to his capture during the Red Sith purge thirteen years later.

He displayed skill with telepathy on numerous occasions on Kesh; he could discern that Yaru had discovered something about their location and that the Captain had met someone upon returning to camp after checking the Omen's transmitter. Yaru had indeed discovered at the crash site of the Omen that the Sith were confined to the planet and that a sentient species inhabited the planet elsewhere from the Sith camp. As Wroth had determined, Yaru had met with and was also responsible for the death of his brother at the crash site. Additionally, after Wroth became one of the Skyborn on Kesh, Vaal conducted an experiment on him to test the Sith's ability to read minds. She tasked him with navigating the busiest district of Tahv to find a specific location. Despite never having been in the city before, Wroth managed to find his way, but in one particularly crowded neighborhood, he required accurate information from others to locate the destination. He was also able to discern Seelah's thoughts when she had unconsciously left them unguarded, picking up her exact thoughts.

Behind the scenes

Ravilan Wroth was first introduced in the eBook Lost Tribe of the Sith: Precipice, which was released on May 28, 2009 and written by John Jackson Miller. He subsequently appeared in the eBook's sequel, Skyborn, and again in the third eBook in the Lost Tribe of the Sith series, Paragon, where his character played a more prominent role than in the previous two stories. He was subsequently mentioned in Savior and depicted in hologram form in Pantheon, where he was also given a surname.