Sith Academy (Korriban)

"There's a whole bunch of old Sith ruins up on the surface of the planet. That's why they put one of their academies here, to dig them all up."

―Dreshdae Spaceport Technician

The Sith Academy on Korriban functioned as a facility during the Great Sith War and subsequently the Jedi Civil War, the Cold War, and the New Sith Wars, serving to training Force-sensitives in the ways of the Sith and conducting archaeological projects in the Valley of the Dark Lords.

History

Founding

"Korriban was the ancestral home of the Sith. This planet is a place of great power; the dark side lives and breathers in the very core of this world. This temple we stand in was built many thousands of years ago to collect and focus that power. Here you can feel the dark side at its strongest."

―Qordis, to BaneThe Academy on Korriban was founded in 3996 BBY during the buildup to the Great Sith Warby the disciples of the Dark Lord of the Sith Exar Kun.One of them, Jorak Uln, went on to become the Academy's Headmaster.Although the Jedi Order knew the Academy existed, it did not attack the facility after the war ended.

Revan's Empire

"There is much that would draw a Jedi to this place. The resting grounds of the ancient... and more recently departed Sith... contain many teachings believed lost. The most likely place to find our lost Jedi is the ruins of the old Academy."

―Kreia, to Meetra SurikBy the time of the Mandalorian Wars, only the Academy's entrance remained above ground, while the sublevels were used for training apprentices. When Darth Revan and Darth Malak assumed control of the Academy after becoming Sith Lords to train warriors for their Empire,classes resumed in the sublevels, where students trained to fight in the Jedi Civil War. At this time, the student body consisted either of Force-sensitives seeking to choose a side in the conflict or fallen Jedi disenchanted with the Jedi Order, the war, or the Republic generally.Jorak Uln was eventually exiled, and his apprentice Uthar Wynn succeeded him, operating the Academy during Lord Revan's rule over the Empire. Unknown to Wynn, Revan had been captured by the Jedi during the war, with his memory altered. Revan later returned to Korriban disguised as a Sith apprentice and infiltrated the Academy while seeking the lost Rakatan Star Maps. During this period, Revan killed Wynn with the assistance of fellow apprentice Yuthura Ban, who was also Wynn's apprentice. After Wynn died, Revan persuaded Ban to leave the Academy and rejoin the Jedi Order. Yet Yuthura Ban's redemption and Wynn's death sparked an uprising at the Academy. As Revan and his crew departed the valley, Sith Guards questioned them about why he had left the Tomb of Naga Sadow undisturbed during his visit. After the guards inadvertently learned why he had visited the tombs, they attacked, setting the entire Academy against the crew of the Ebon Hawk. However, the crew's experience and training, together with the former Dark Lord's tremendous power and fighting skill, enabled them to defeat the Sith and escape, killing most of the Sith at the Academy.The Academy's history effectively ended with the climax of the Jedi Civil War. Soon after the Star Forge was destroyed in the Battle of Rakata Prime, internal conflict at the Academy and elsewhere, called the Sith Civil War, once again left Korriban a graveyard. After the fighting died out, the site was looted and the Academy was abandoned once more. In 3951 BBY, Jedi Knight Meetra Surik came to Korriban in search of Jedi Master Lonna Vash. Surik found the Academy entirely unlike the one Revan had encountered during his Star Forge quest: with no Sith teachers, it had become fully automated, and students depended on computers for basic instruction. As Surik explored the deserted Academy, finding only tuk'ata and cloaked Sith assassins of the Sith Triumvirate, she discovered Vash's body in an interrogation room. While leaving, she briefly dueled with Darth Sion; however, at Kreia's urging—Kreia preferred not to accompany Surik and therefore remained on the Ebon Hawk—she withdrew from the fight, knowing she would have another opportunity to battle the Sith Lord.

True Sith Empire

The Sith Academy during the Great Galactic War.

When the Sith Empire recaptured Korriban and expelled the Republic garrison during the opening of the Great Galactic War, the Empire ordered the Academy rebuilt and the Valley restored. Reconstructing the pyramid structure that made up the Academy's main levels, the Academy trained hundreds of Sith over the years, expanding the Empire's forces.

The Academy was protected by turbolaser batteries during the Great Galactic War.

During the Cold War, the Sith Empire was losing Sith faster than it could replace them, so slaves and even aliens were permitted to train as acolytes, though many Imperials disapproved.Eventually, Empire's Wrath and Darth Nox arrived and trained there, becoming highly important members of the Sith Empire and reaching the rank of apprentice much faster than ordinary acolytes. The Academy faced problems not only from unsuccessful acolytes causing trouble beyond its walls, but also from instructors suspected of not being genuine Sith. Inquisitor Arzanon and his Intelligence agents patrolled the Academy grounds, looking for traitors among them.

Brotherhood of Darkness

"But even as the Jedi Knights must answer to the Jedi Masters, so the adepts and acolytes answer to the Sith Lords. And those with the potential to become Sith Lords—and only those with the potential—are trained here on Korriban."

―Qordis, to BaneThe Brotherhood of Darkness reclaimed Korriban in 1006 BBY and reopened the Academy. At that time, Qordis served as Headmaster, while the Blademaster was Kas'im. The most powerful Sith apprentices trained there, among them Sirak, Githany, and Darth Bane, who would later destroy the Brotherhood and establish the Order of the Sith Lords. Because the Jedi Order prohibited Sith knowledge, the Brotherhood's Academy Library depended on scrolls and ancient tomes instead of holocrons, since all known artifacts had been lost or were kept on Coruscant in the Jedi Temple. The Sith Library's collection continued to grow throughout this era, making it difficult to navigate as new lore was carelessly added to the stacks. This resulted not only from the Brotherhood's shortage of lore keepers but also from a deliberate effort to conceal knowledge and make it difficult for the undedicated to obtain.

Legacy

In 23 BBY, a team of Jedi Knights and their Padawans, led by Obi-Wan Kenobi, entered the Sith Academy during a mission to track down the galactic criminals Granta Omega and Jenna Zan Arbor. Once inside the ancient ruins, Kenobi sensed a clear Sith presence—the dark silhouette of a Sith Lord. Although he did not recognize it then, the figure was later revealed to be Darth Tyranus, the Sith identity of former Jedi Master Dooku, who was on Korriban to meet Omega and Zan Arbor. The two criminals hoped to forge a powerful alliance with the galaxy's returning Sith. Anakin Skywalker had briefly seen the Sith Lord's tall, black-hooded figure from behind. Kenobi shuddered as he considered the thousands who had sought knowledge and training, only to be trapped in the Academy by their own desires: he seemed to sense every wasted life and horrific death. The dark side of the Force inside the structure was so dense and ominous that it seemed to fill Kenobi's lungs, making it hard to breathe. For 18-year-old Anakin, the dark side's rising sensation seemed to surge from the soles of his feet through the crown of his head; its unmistakable power was stomach-churning, nerve-shattering—nauseating.By the time of the Clone Wars, a vast chamber within the abandoned academy had been transformed into a tomb for Darth Bane, founder of the new Sith Order. A colossal statue of the Dark Lord stood inside, and his remains were apparently placed in a stone sarcophagus that also concealed a secret entrance to a chamber where the Sith sacrificed Jedi.

Layout

The main chamber inside the Sith Academy before the renovation of the True Sith Empire.

The Sith Academy was a towering pyramid at the rear of the Valley of the Dark Lords on Korriban. Built from stone and durasteel, it reflected the sun, which was framed at the structure's apex. At the Academy's base, the entrance stood atop a broad staircase, flanked by two kneeling humanoid statues depicting slaves bearing the burden of the Sith's power. Reflecting a Sith's ascent to power, the Academy's main hall lay just beyond the main doors, with two staircases leading to the upper levels. A narrow stone monument carved with Sith faces stood at the center of the main hall; it reminded students that achieving success meant crushing those who competed for power along the way. The Academy's lower levels included jails where prisoners were held before interrogation, along with numerous chambers for study, lectures, meditation, and training.During the reign of Emperor Vitiate, the Sith Library lay off the main hall and extended across several levels and chambers containing resources on scrolls, holocrons, datapads, and holobooks. The Library's technology glowed an ominous violet, was highly advanced, and was protected by armed guards. Under the direction of Darth Thanaton, the reigning head of the Sphere of Ancient Knowledge, the Library held the teachings of Darth Vilus, the holocron of Darth Iratus, ancient Sith armor, and various tablets. During the Korriban Incursion, Jedi Master Wytho held the Library, leaving the stacks to smolder and burn after the battle ended.As a place of study, the Academy provided dormitories for its students. Protected by the Dark Honor Guard, it also contained concealed Ritual Chambers inhabited by creatures such as the Bloodfiend, which were products of Sith alchemy and sorcery. Near the pyramid's summit, the rooms were reserved for the highest-ranking Sith on Korriban. The Dark Council maintained chambers there for conferences held on the planet, and rumor claimed that the Sith Emperor possessed a throne room deep within the Academy, although it was rarely used.

Curriculum and faculty

"They make them tough on Korriban."

―Jet Nebula, speaking about Sith Acolyte Eldon AxAdmission to and life within the Sith Academy were difficult. Prospective students had to impress one of the Academy's teachers or current students, receiving a medallion as proof, or kill a student and take his or her medallion. Fallen Jedi generally had little trouble gaining admission because they had already been trained in the ways of the Force. Prospective students had to compete against one another in a group; one would earn enough prestige to impress the headmaster and become a true Sith, while the others would have to wait a year to try again, assuming they survived.Competition was fierce, and many students died trying to surpass their competitors. The Sith also had no qualms about killing students either to help an acquaintance gain acceptance into the dark side or to prevent other students from being held back. Some students chose to face one another in a lethal duel within the Sith training room. Even the Academy's headmaster was not safe from backstabbing. A headmaster was not uncommonly overthrown by his or her second-in-command. Whenever this or other political intrigue affected the Academy, people tended to disappear.The Academy's cruelty was further evident in its students' tendency to visit the nearby colony of Dreshdae and torment hopefuls seeking entry to the Academy. The Sith also maintained their own supply of captive Republic soldiers for practice in torture and battle, as well as a prison wing for detaining and interrogating prisoners. It also included an interrogation room, where Sith officers brutally questioned their prisoners.

Behind the scenes

The Sith Academy of Korriban first appeared in the RPG game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and soon afterward appeared again in its sequel. More recently, it appeared in another video game, the massively multiplayer online role-playing game Star Wars: The Old Republic, released by BioWare in December 2011, serving as the starting and concluding location 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, abandoned for hundreds of years, yet still embodying a presence of evil. Once a stronghold of Sith lore and learning where thousands had trained "and thousands of hopefuls had once disappeared forever," the Academy was simultaneously repulsive and alluring to the Jedi. The original inhabitants of Korriban who had constructed (and later, re-constructed) the Sith complex had long since disappeared, naturally, and nothing flourished there; but if the ancient stones could speak, "they would talk of blood and terror." Though the Sith Academy pursued the same goals as the Jedi Temple—study and learning—it was governed by fear. The high walls, narrowing into severe lines and pyramidal angles near their tops, were intended to evoke entrapment; slightly askew, they were designed to intimidate and unsettle beings. With no openings for light or air, the interior held only massive columns, stark towering walls, and hard floors of cold gray stone.Watson describes the massive Sith structures as having giant exterior walls made of great stones that, by 23 BBY, had "shifted" shifted over the years, with various large slabs leaning against one another and others having toppled and broken into boulders; inside, vast echoing chambers that rivaled the Jedi Temple Great Hall lay shrouded in darkness. An oppressive dread rose from the ancient cracks and hollows, and moisture streamed down the walls. Ancient voices could be heard, while spectral images of torture and pain appeared and then vanished like phantoms in the night. In Watson's description, huge statues of terrifying beasts from many worlds marched on either side of its great corridors. Remnants of the Sith's greed-torn Order lay scattered across a vast, ancient hangar where aggression and technology converged—remains of huge hulking ships testified to the Order's perceived invincibility, which was ultimately destroyed by vengeance, lust and pride.