The Scepter of Ragnos was a dark side artifact of great power, functioning as a weapon, that once belonged to Marka Ragnos, an ancient Dark Lord of the Sith within the Sith Empire. This sword possessed the capability to both absorb and store dark side energies, and it could also unleash the Force's energy upon ordinary beings, granting them Force-sensitivity. In the year 14 ABY, the Dark Jedi Tavion Axmis, a female, acquired the weapon from a collector located on the planet of Commenor. She then utilized it to bestow Force-sensitivity upon numerous members of the Disciples of Ragnos—a cult devoted to resurrecting Ragnos, who had been dead for a long time. However, she and her cult were ultimately thwarted when Jedi Knight Jaden Korr destroyed the Scepter. Axmis was annihilated alongside it when the spirit of Ragnos, which had seized control of her body, was compelled to depart from her.
The metallic artifact, known as the Scepter of Ragnos, was forged by Dark Lord of the Sith Marka Ragnos of the ancient Sith Empire at some time prior to 5000 BBY. The weapon's design incorporated a sword that culminated in a bifurcated crest. Both the handle and the blade's point exhibited striations, while the pommel featured a double guard, with the inner guard being shorter than the outer one. A fuller extended vertically along the blade's center. The Scepter's crest and handle were a slate gray color, while the blade had a silver appearance.
The Scepter possessed the capability to draw in and store substantial quantities of dark side energy from specific areas within the galaxy; once an area was depleted, its dark side aura vanished entirely. The Scepter could discharge beams composed of Force energy or simply unleash a burst of raw power. Furthermore, the Scepter could imbue a dead body with sufficient Force energy to revive the corpse's cells. Its power could also be employed to grant Force-sensitivity to ordinary individuals. Concealed within the Scepter's handle was Ragnos's personal Sith sword, which could be extracted and wielded independently.
The Scepter of Ragnos was created by the Sith Lord Marka Ragnos, who existed during the era of the Old Republic. Ragnos met his end in 5000 BBY, but his Scepter eventually came into the possession of a collector on the planet of Commenor before the events of 14 ABY. In that year, Tavion Axmis, a female Dark Jedi and the leader of the Disciples of Ragnos—a cult dedicated to resurrecting the long-deceased Ragnos—located the weapon in the collector's possession. After eliminating the collector, she discovered a use for the Scepter more important than combat. She learned of the Scepter's capability to reanimate a corpse's cells, thereby restoring the dead body to life. Furthermore, small quantities of the stored Force power could be released upon ordinary beings, granting them Force-sensitivity, sometimes to a degree comparable to fully trained Jedi Knights. Axmis exploited this ability to create an army of Force-sensitives drawn from the ranks of the Disciples of Ragnos, especially the Sith Cultists. However, this effect was not permanent; the beings would lose both their Force-sensitivity and animation if the Scepter were ever destroyed.
Axmis employed the Scepter to drain dark side energy from various locations, including the moon of Yavin 4. She also utilized it as a weapon on numerous occasions, such as on the planet Vjun, where she deployed it to attack Jedi Knight Jaden Korr and Jedi Master Kyle Katarn during their mission there. After accumulating a substantial amount of dark side energy, she attempted to resurrect Marka Ragnos within his tomb on the planet Korriban. Korr arrived on Korriban and battled Axmis, ultimately defeating her. However, Axmis then unleashed the Force energy stored within the Scepter upon the sarcophagus of the ancient Dark Lord, resulting in the summoning of Ragnos's spirit. Ragnos's spirit immediately seized control of Axmis's body, but Korr dueled the possessed Axmis and destroyed the Scepter. Upon the weapon's destruction, Ragnos's spirit was drawn back into the sarcophagus, and Axmis perished. Additionally, those who had been infused with the Scepter's power lost their abilities.
The Scepter of Ragnos made its initial appearance in the Raven Software video game Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy, which was released on September 16, 2003. It was subsequently mentioned in the 2008 compendium The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, authored by Stephen J. Sansweet and Pablo Hidalgo. In the non-canonical dark side alternative ending of Jedi Academy, Korr did not intend to destroy the Scepter. After Korr killed Axmis, Jedi Master Kyle Katarn entered the tomb to stop his former apprentice. After a brief battle, Korr fired a blast of energy at Kyle knocking him out, he then proceeded to fire at the roof causing rubble to fall over a knocked out kyle, partially trapping the Jedi Master in the tomb. Korr then blasted his way out of the tomb with the Scepter. After hijacking an Imperial II-class Star Destroyer, and taking over the Imperial Remnant, Korr kept the Scepter for personal use.