Before the Clone Wars by millennia (specifically, years), the Oblee, a sentient species indigenous to the planet Oblis, resolved to create a machine intended to expel a shadow creature that had taken residence in the atmosphere of their world. Inside a vast hall situated atop a mountain on Oblis, the Oblee scientist-philosophers built the device, engineered to utilize the power of the Darkstaff, a Sith artifact brought to Oblis by a wandering trader. To energize the machine, the scientist-philosophers fashioned three focusing crystals, designed to receive the collective hopes and fears of the entire Oblee species. Upon completion of the machine, one of the scientist-philosophers placed the Darkstaff, along with one of the focusing crystals, into a designated slot on the machine's side and then initiated the device. A blue-colored energy beam emanated from the machine's apex, striking the shadow creature and banishing it from Oblis. Regrettably, the Darkstaff, employing the energy it had siphoned from the machine, instigated a cascade of events, leading to Oblis's explosion moments thereafter.