Search for Tulak Hord's artifacts

Throughout her career, the Sith Lord Zash dedicated herself to studying ancient rituals connected to the dark side. An avid scholar, Zash was determined to uncover ancient knowledge and power to further her ambitions. However, her deep exploration of the dark side had a severe impact, leading to the deterioration of her physical form. To mask her true appearance, she maintained a Force illusion while desperately searching for a means to restore her youthful looks and vitality.

Zash's research convinced her that a transfer essence ritual held the key to her survival, necessitating the acquisition of artifacts linked to the ancient Sith Lord Tulak Hord, as the ritual was associated with him. By transferring her consciousness into a younger host, she believed she could conquer death itself. However, collecting these artifacts required the selection of a capable apprentice – or, more accurately, a pawn – to serve as the vessel for her spirit once the artifacts were gathered. Zash also experienced a vision foretelling her apprentice's triumph over the raging spirit residing within the Dark Temple, granting them Hord's knowledge and making them a suitable host.

Finding the right apprentice was paramount for Zash. She instructed the overseer Harkun to task potential students with acquiring Hord-related artifacts. Zash couldn't undertake this task herself due to the suspicions it would raise with her superior, Darth Skotia. Consequently, she began plotting Skotia's demise, aiming to ascend to his position and pursue her artifact search without interference. Despite her efforts, Zash had previously failed to retrieve Hord's holocron from the tomb of the ancient Sith Lord Marka Ragnos, and was denied access to the Dark Temple's inner chamber on Dromund Kaas by Skotia, who was well aware of her ambitions, a sentiment shared by his superior, Darth Thanaton.

Zash closely monitored the progress of one particular student (a former slave) and was impressed when they succeeded in retrieving Hord's holocron and a vital map from the tomb of Naga Sadow, along with Hord's former Dashade servant Khem Val. Recognizing their potential, the Sith Lord took this student as her apprentice, and they journeyed to Dromund Kaas for the next phase of her plan. There, she revealed the ritual to her apprentice, concealing its true, sinister nature.

The immediate priority was eliminating Darth Skotia, granting both master and apprentice the freedom to continue their search without suspicion or meddling. Zash orchestrated Skotia's downfall, tasking her apprentice with acquiring a device to incapacitate Skotia and a Trandoshan tablet to ensure the assistance of Skotia's Trandoshan bodyguards in his demise. The Inquisitor secured both items and was dispatched to confront Skotia within his bunker. The student ultimately defeated and killed the Sith Lord after the latter eliminated the Trandoshan guards when the tablet was turned against them.

Skotia's death led to Zash's ascension as a Dark Lord and her title as a Darth. The next step was to determine if the apprentice was the one Zash had foreseen in her vision. Her student successfully overcame the raging spirit, identified as the Inquisitor's ancestor, Aloysius Kallig, who had served Tulak Hord before being killed by him. Aloysius cautioned the apprentice to distrust their master, Khem Val, and any future apprentices, believing they would carry his name and restore it to glory. Zash was astonished by this revelation, confirming her vision that her new apprentice was destined to participate in her ritual. Her apprentice, now known as Kallig, presented her with the first artifact, retrieved from the Dark Temple after confronting their ancestor's spirit.

Apprentice Kallig's initial assignment took them to Balmorra to retrieve the second artifact, sealed within Hazard Vault 305. Their master instructed them to contact Major Bessiker for assistance in their search. Bessiker explained that the vault had been transformed into a toxic waste storage site overrun by colicoids, and that a serum could be developed to immunize them against the waste. However, only Iannos Tyrek, a recent defector, possessed the expertise to produce it. Tyrek had been captured, and Bessiker was hesitant to continue aiding Kallig unless they helped liberate his son, Hiran, from a Republic prison cell. The apprentice infiltrated the prison on the Gorinth Plateau in search of the major's son. They located and spoke with him, but ultimately killed Hiran, an act witnessed by an agent sent by Bessiker.

Enraged, Bessiker attacked the Inquisitor but was defeated. This allowed Kallig to obtain the serum from Tyrek, whom they subsequently executed, and use it to navigate the waste and retrieve the artifact.

The third artifact was located on Nar Shaddaa, in the possession of the Sith Lord Paladius, who led the Cult of the Screaming Blade. Upon arrival, Kallig encountered former cultists Destris Veran and Rylee Dray. Kallig secured their assistance by promising them control of the cult after Paladius was dealt with. However, it became clear that Paladius needed to be weakened before he could be defeated. The first step was for Kallig to enhance their reputation by eliminating the leaders of the notorious Krayt Gang.

Next, Kallig had to demonstrate their superior power to Paladius' followers, encouraging some to abandon the Sith Lord. This involved creating a groundquake through a controlled explosion, giving the impression that Kallig could manipulate the environment. Kallig acquired a detonator from Gord Madel and appeared at [Meridian Hall](/article/meridian_hall], where Paladius was delivering an address via hologram. Paladius attempted to discredit Kallig as a fraud, despite the apprentice demonstrating their abilities through the explosion.

Soon after, Paladius contacted Kallig, offering the artifact in exchange for being left alone to lead his cult in peace. Veran and Dray accompanied Kallig to meet with Paladius, but the elder Sith attempted to betray Kallig, leading to a confrontation in which he was defeated. Paladius immediately pledged his complete loyalty to Kallig in exchange for his life. Veran and Dray protested, but the apprentice ultimately chose to betray them, killing Veran by throwing him off the main platform. Paladius assured Dray that she would survive, but would be punished. Dray attempted to escape, but Paladius killed her with Force lightning. Kallig then left Paladius in charge of the cult in their name.

The fourth artifact was located on Tatooine, held by pirates who had settled there. Zash instructed Kallig to find the pirate Andronikos Revel, but learned from his former girlfriend Casey Rix that Revel's first mate Sylas Wilkes had mutinied, stealing Revel's blasters and the artifact. Rix helped Kallig locate Revel, who agreed to assist the apprentice in seeking revenge against Wilkes and recovering his stolen possessions. During their search, they discovered that Wilkes had also been mutinied against, and the crew had stolen the artifact and blasters before retreating into the harsh desert.

Kallig and Revel tracked them into the Dune Sea, finding logs indicating that the artifact drove the pirates insane over time. They found and recovered the artifact from a dead pirate and returned to Kallig's ship, where Revel announced his intention to leave Tatooine and join Kallig's crew.

The fifth and final artifact was revealed to be on Alderaan, in the possession of House Organa. Zash connected Kallig with Elana Thul of House Thul (a key Imperial contact), who informed them that the artifact was located in the Elysium Vaults. The challenge was that the key to enter was held by the Jedi Master Nomar Organa. Kallig was forced to infiltrate the library of House Alde and search for information to aid their investigation. There, they discovered that Rehanna of House Rist had once been engaged to Organa, who broke off their marriage to become a Jedi.

This discovery led Kallig to visit Rist, and the apprentice manipulated her into contacting Organa and luring him to Alderaan so they could kill him. Organa sensed the deception but was slain in the confrontation with Kallig. This allowed Kallig to enter the vaults and retrieve the artifact.

Meanwhile, Kallig's ancestor appeared to them multiple times during their travels to warn them about Zash's activities on Dromund Kaas. He urged his heir not to trust Zash, revealing that she had taken on two new apprentices, Corrin and Kaal, to help her prepare her ritual in the Dark Temple. He believed she would harm his heir and advised the young Kallig to prepare for betrayal and to find a way to deal with Zash when the time came.

Zash completed her preparations for the ritual on Dromund Kaas just as her apprentice finished their task on Alderaan. Zash immediately summoned them to the Dark Temple for the culmination of their joint efforts. However, Kallig remembered their ancestor's warnings and brought the Dashade, Khem Val, with them. In the Dark Temple, Zash revealed her true intentions for the ritual: to cheat death by possessing her student and transferring her consciousness into them. The confrontation resulted in Zash gaining the upper hand and beginning the ritual. Val intervened, attacking Zash as she concentrated on the ritual, knocking her backward into the air.

In the aftermath of the skirmish, Zash realized that her consciousness had been transferred into the Dashade instead of her apprentice. Enraged, she threatened to use the creature's power to exact revenge upon Kallig, though the apprentice reminded her that Val was bound to them and, by extension, Zash as well. Corrin and Kaal entered and saw their master's body on the floor. Assuming Kallig had killed Zash, they bowed to the Inquisitor, who was granted the title of Lord Kallig.