Sith Academy (Korriban)

In 3996 BBY, as tensions rose leading to the Great Sith War, the Sith Academy on Korriban was founded by the followers of Exar Kun, the Dark Lord of the Sith. Jorak Uln, one of these disciples, assumed the role of Headmaster at the Academy. Despite awareness of the Academy's presence, the Jedi Order refrained from launching an attack on the facility following the war's conclusion.

By the time the Mandalorian Wars occurred, only the entrance to the Academy remained visible on the surface, with the lower levels being used for the instruction of Sith apprentices. When Darth Revan and Darth Malak seized control of the Academy upon becoming Sith Lords, they resumed classes in the sublevels to prepare warriors for their Empire and the impending Jedi Civil War. The student body at this time consisted of Force-sensitive individuals seeking to align themselves with a side in the conflict, as well as fallen Jedi who had grown disillusioned with the Jedi Order, the war itself, or the Republic in general.

Jorak Uln was eventually banished, and his apprentice, Uthar Wynn, succeeded him, overseeing the Academy during Revan's rule over the Empire. Unbeknownst to Wynn, Revan had been captured by the Jedi during the war and his memories altered. Revan, disguised as a Sith apprentice, returned to Korriban and infiltrated the Academy in his quest to locate the lost Rakatan Star Maps. During this time, Revan, aided by fellow apprentice Yuthura Ban, killed Wynn, who was Ban's master. Following Wynn's death, Revan persuaded Ban to abandon the Academy and rejoin the Jedi Order. However, the redemption of Yuthura Ban and the death of Wynn sparked an uprising at the Academy. As Revan and his crew departed the valley, they were questioned by the Sith Guards regarding their reasons for leaving the Tomb of Naga Sadow untouched during their visit. Inadvertently revealing their purpose for visiting the tombs, the guards launched an attack, pitting the entire Academy against the crew of the Ebon Hawk. Nevertheless, due to the crew's extensive experience and training, as well as the immense power and combat skills of the former Dark Lord, they prevailed over the Sith and escaped, killing the majority of the Sith present at the Academy.

The Academy's history largely concluded with the culmination of the Jedi Civil War. Shortly after the destruction of the Star Forge in the Battle of Rakata Prime, internal conflicts within the Academy and elsewhere, known as the Sith Civil War, transformed Korriban into a graveyard once more. Following the cessation of fighting, the Academy was looted and abandoned once again. In 3951 BBY, Jedi Knight Meetra Surik journeyed to Korriban in search of Jedi Master Lonna Vash. Surik encountered an Academy drastically different from the one Revan had encountered during his Star Forge quest: due to a scarcity of Sith instructors, the Academy had become fully automated, with students relying on computers for basic training. As Surik explored the deserted Academy, encountering only tuk'ata and cloaked Sith assassins of the Sith Triumvirate, she discovered Vash's corpse inside an interrogation room. On her way out, she briefly fought Darth Sion; however, at the urging of Kreia—who chose to remain on the Ebon Hawk—she fled the battle, confident that she would have another opportunity to confront the Sith Lord.

When the Sith Empire retook Korriban and expelled the Republic garrison at the onset of the Great Galactic War, the Empire mandated the Academy's reconstruction and the revitalization of the Valley. Rebuilding the pyramidal structure that formed the Academy's main levels, the Academy trained countless Sith over the years, bolstering the ranks of the Empire's forces.

During the Cold War, the Sith Empire experienced a decline in its Sith population, leading to the acceptance of slaves and even aliens into training programs, although this practice was met with disapproval by many Imperials. Eventually, the Empire's Wrath and Darth Nox arrived and underwent training, becoming highly influential members of the Sith Empire and progressing to apprenticeship at an accelerated pace compared to typical acolytes. The Academy was plagued not only by unsuccessful acolytes who caused disturbances outside its walls but also by instructors suspected of not being true Sith. Inquisitor Arzanon and his Intelligence operatives patrolled the Academy's grounds, searching for traitors within their ranks.

In 1006 BBY, the Brotherhood of Darkness reclaimed Korriban and reopened the Academy. During this era, Qordis served as the Headmaster, while Kas'im held the position of Blademaster. The most promising Sith apprentices, including Sirak, Githany, and Darth Bane, who would later dismantle the Brotherhood and establish the Order of the Sith Lords, received their training here. Due to the Jedi Order's prohibition on Sith knowledge, the Brotherhood's Academy Library relied on scrolls and ancient tomes rather than holocrons, as all known artifacts were either lost or housed in the Jedi Order's Temple on Coruscant. The Sith Library's collection expanded continuously during this period, resulting in a disorganized arrangement as new lore was added without regard for reference or order. This was not solely due to a shortage of lore keepers within the Brotherhood but also a deliberate strategy to conceal knowledge and make it challenging to acquire for those lacking dedication.

In 23 BBY, a team of Jedi Knights and their Padawans, led by Obi-Wan Kenobi, ventured into the Sith Academy during a mission to apprehend the galactic criminals Granta Omega and Jenna Zan Arbor. Upon entering the ancient ruins, Kenobi sensed a distinct Sith presence—the dark aura of a Sith Lord. Although he did not realize it at the time, this presence was later revealed to be Darth Tyranus, the Sith alter ego of former Jedi Master Dooku, who was on Korriban to meet with Omega and Zan Arbor. The two criminals sought to forge an alliance of power with the galaxy's re-emerging Sith. Anakin Skywalker briefly glimpsed the tall, black-hooded figure of the Sith Lord from behind. Kenobi shuddered at the thought of the thousands who had sought knowledge and training, only to be trapped within the Academy by their own desires: he seemed to feel each wasted life, each terrible death. The dark side of the Force permeated the structure so intensely that it seemed to invade Kenobi's lungs, making it difficult for him to breathe. For 18-year-old Anakin, the surging feeling of the dark side seemed to rise from the soles of his feet and explode through the crown of his head: its undeniable power was stomach-churning, nerve-splitting—nauseating.

By the time of the Clone Wars, a significant portion of the abandoned academy building had been transformed into a tomb for Darth Bane, the founder of the new Sith Order. A colossal statue of the Dark Lord had been erected inside, and his remains were apparently interred within a stone sarcophagus that also served as a secret entrance to a chamber used by the Sith to sacrifice Jedi.

The Sith Academy, a towering pyramidal edifice situated at the rear of the Valley of the Dark Lords on Korriban, was constructed from stone and durasteel, reflecting the sun at its apex. The Academy's entrance, located at the base, was accessed via a wide staircase and flanked by two kneeling humanoid statues representing slaves bearing the weight of the Sith's power. Symbolizing a Sith's ascent to power, the Academy's main hall was situated just beyond the main doors and featured dual staircases leading to the upper levels. The centerpiece of the main hall was a narrow stone monument adorned with the faces of Sith, intended to remind students that the path to success involved crushing those who vied for power along the way. The Academy's lower levels, containing jails for prisoners awaiting interrogation, housed numerous chambers for studying, lecturing, meditation, and training.

During the reign of Emperor Vitiate, the Sith Library was located off the main hall and comprised several levels and chambers filled with resources contained on scrolls and holocrons, as well as datapads and holobooks. Illuminated by an ominous violet glow, the Library's technology was advanced and guarded by armed sentinels. Maintained by Darth Thanaton, the reigning head of the Sphere of Ancient Knowledge, the Library housed the teachings of Darth Vilus, the holocron of Darth Iratus, ancient Sith armor, and a variety of tablets. During the Korriban Incursion, the Library was held by Jedi Master Wytho, with the stacks left to smolder and burn after the battle's conclusion.

As a place of learning, the Academy provided dormitories for its students. Guarded by the Dark Honor Guard, the Academy also contained secret Ritual Chambers inhabited by creatures such as the Bloodfiend, the products of Sith alchemy and sorcery. The rooms near the pyramid's summit were restricted to the highest-ranking Sith on Korriban. The Dark Council maintained chambers there for conferences held on the planet, and rumors persisted that the Sith Emperor possessed a throne room deep within the Academy, though it was rarely used.

Gaining entrance to and navigating life at the Sith Academy was a challenging endeavor. To be admitted, prospective students were required to impress one of the Academy's teachers or current students, receiving a medallion as proof, or to kill a student and seize his or her medallion. Fallen Jedi typically encountered little difficulty in gaining admission, as they had already received training in the ways of the Force. Prospective students were compelled to compete against each other in a group setting; one would amass sufficient prestige to impress the headmaster and become a true Sith, while the others would be forced to wait a year before attempting again, assuming they survived.

Competition was intense, and numerous students perished in their attempts to surpass their rivals. Furthermore, the Sith harbored no reservations about killing students to either facilitate an acquaintance's acceptance of the dark side or prevent other students from being held back. Some students preferred to engage in lethal duels within the Sith training room. Even the Academy's headmaster was not immune to betrayal. It was not uncommon for a headmaster to be overthrown by his or her second-in-command. Whenever such political machinations occurred at the Academy, individuals had a tendency to vanish.

The cruelty was further exemplified by the Academy students' penchant for visiting the nearby colony of Dreshdae and tormenting hopefuls seeking to enter the Academy. The Sith also maintained their own store of captive Republic soldiers for practice in torture and battle, and they had a prison wing to detain and interrogate prisoners. It also included an interrogation room, where Sith officers brutally interrogated their prisoners.

The Sith Academy of Korriban made its debut in the RPG game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and soon after, reappeared in the game's sequel. It has recently resurfaced in another video game, the massively multiplayer online role-playing game Star Wars: The Old Republic, released by BioWare in December 2011 as the origin and destination for both the Sith Inquisitor and Sith Warrior class storylines.

The Academy on Korriban is mentioned in the final volume of Jude Watson's Jedi Quest series simply as the "ancient Sith monastery"—thousands of years old, deserted for centuries, yet still radiating an aura of evil. Once a stronghold of Sith lore and learning where thousands had trained and "thousands of hopefuls had disappeared forever," the Academy was both repulsive and alluring to the Jedi. The original inhabitants of Korriban who had constructed (and later rebuilt) the Sith complex had long since vanished, and nothing thrived there. However, if the ancient stones could speak, "they would talk of blood and terror." For although the Sith Academy shared the same goals as the Jedi Temple—study and learning—this place had been governed by fear. The high walls that narrowed into harsh lines and pyramidal angles near the top were designed to evoke a sense of entrapment; slightly askew, they were intended to intimidate and disorient beings. Devoid of openings for light or air, there were only the massive columns, bleak towering walls, and hard floors of cold gray stone.

Watson portrays the massive Sith structures as having giant exterior walls composed of immense stones that, by 23 BBY, had "shifted" over time, with various large slabs propped against each other and others that had toppled and crumbled into boulders. Within, vast echoing chambers rivaling the Jedi Temple Great Hall were shrouded in darkness. An oppressive dread emanated from the ancient cracks and hollows; the walls wept with moisture. Ancient voices could be heard, and spectral images of torture and pain materialized and vanished like phantoms in the night. In Watson's depiction, colossal statues of terrifying beasts from various worlds lined the great corridors. Remnants of the Sith's greed-ridden Order were scattered across a vast, ancient hangar where aggression and technology converged—remains of massive, hulking ships stood as witnesses to the Order's perceived invincibility, which was ultimately brought down in disaster by vengeance, lust, and pride.