Department of General History:
Dark Jedi Brotherhood History II

Introduction

The six years between 11 ABY and 17 ABY were a turbulent time for the Brotherhood. Many became Dark Lords of the Sith and were overthrown or removed by others, including Kreeyat Havok, the man known only as 'The Other', Justinian Khyron, Stryker, Thedek, Archibald Zoraan, Chi Long and arguably the greatest of all the Dark Lords- Jac Cotelin. Civil wars and conflicts marred the history of the Brotherhood as the Dark Jedi of the Seven Clans fought amongst each other for prominence and power. However, each time, the Brotherhood emerged stronger, a symbol of unity that not even disorder from those under its aegis could break.

Prelude to Exodus

Eleventh Grand Master - Chi Long (17 ABY)

With the Star Chamber falling to ruins, and the Emperor's Hammer coming to power within the Brotherhood, there was a long period during which there was no Grand Master. For months after Zoraan's fall, various Jedi pursued the title of Grand Master, but finally an enigmatic figure known as Chi Long ascended to the position. Chi Long imposed strict order within the Clans and took radical steps to ensure stability while the Brotherhood reconstructed itself. Under his supervision, the Dark Hall was rebuilt into a complex that better suited the needs of the powerful organization, but at the same time, he faced difficulties with the fleet that the Brotherhood had attached itself to for so long. The Fleet Commander of the Emperor's Hammer had tasted some of the power of the Brotherhood during the conflict of Zoraan's reign, and his Command Staff was not ready to relinquish their influence- they actively sought to impose their own motives on the Dark Council. Like many of the former Grand Masters, Chi Long was a long-standing and highly placed Officer in the Fleet, but after a string of Apprentices resigning, the Grand Master himself finally departed for parts unknown with the reconstruction of the Brotherhood's power-base still incomplete. Once again, the Fleet Command Staff stepped in, bringing the Brotherhood more carefully under their control in the ensuing power vacuum.

Twelth Grand Master - Firefox (17 ABY - 20 ABY)

In 17 ABY, a Sith Lord ascended to the Iron Throne who would outlast all previous Grand Masters- Grand Master Firefox. Under his command, the Brotherhood would begin to distance itself from the Emperor's Hammer, no longer reliant on the military strength of the Imperial Remnant. Two years passed as the Brotherhood continued to become more and more independent, Firefox sending agents to Antei, the ancient home of the Star Chamber, to ascertain whether the planet was ripe for re-habitation. In 19ABY, the alliance brokered by Jedgar Paladin eight years previously, between the Emperor's Hammer and the Dark Brotherhood, began to collapse irretrievably. The power of the Empire was waning, and power-obsessed Officers from the Emperor's Hammer began to try and seize resources from the Brotherhood, which was only continuing to grow and strengthen itself under Firefox's guidance.

Events were made worse by the megalomaniacal attitude of the Grand Admiral, Ronin, and his Sector Admiral Astatine, who were themselves embroiled in corruption and attempting to seize power from the Brotherhood. After a series of disputes that put the Brotherhood on the verge of open warfare with the Emperor's Hammer, Firefox began the process of rebellion. A Council of Seven convened to discuss a solution to the problem, their names now known and revered across the Brotherhood. Firefox, the Dark Lord of the Sith; Khyron, a Sith Lord; Jac Cotelin, former Dark Lord and Emissary; Chi-Long, former Dark Lord; Corran Force, the Master At Arms; Acxodim Pyralis, the Headmaster; and Trevarus Caerick, the Proconsul of Clan Naga Sadow. These were the seven brethren who put into the motion the Brotherhood's departure from the Aurora Sector and from the control of the Emperor's Hammer; these were the seven who enacted the Exodus.

--For more information on this momentous event, which all Dark Jedi of the Brotherhood should be fully aware of, the student should consult the Brotherhood Holonet.--

A New Beginning

The Brotherhood retreated from the Aurora Sector and set out for Antei, the ancestral home of the Star Chamber. Grand Master Firefox had been preparing for this day; the construction of a new Dark Hall had begun on Antei in 18ABY, unbeknownst to the Imperial Remnant. With the aid of the most powerful Dark Side users in the Brotherhood, the Dark Council's fleet penetrated through the Shroud of Antei and landed on the planet's surface. The Clans had secured their own new homes, and spread out into these territories, most having to leave behind their previous holdings and establish new strongholds in previously unexplored systems. Clan Taldryan moved from the Karana system to the Kr'Tal system; Clan Naga Sadow relocated from the Phare system to the Orian system; Clan Tarentum remained in their ancestral home of the Yridia system; Clan Arcona departed the Coronada system and moved to the Dajorra system; Clan Scholae Palatinae left the Setii system for the Cocytus system; the newly-formed Clan Exar Kun took hold of the Acarr system, and Clan Satal Keto took up residence in [[DATA FRAGMENTED]].

A new wind had spread through the Brotherhood- no longer suffering under the oppression of the Emperor's Hammer, the Sith, Krath and Obelisk were free to further their own studies in the Dark Side as they wished. Once the Dark Brotherhood was fully established in the Antei system and had conquered the Antares system, a mood of great optimism was in the air.

Operation: Tempest Bravo

The operation known only as Tempest Bravo was planned by Firefox to strengthen the Brotherhood militarily, following the split from the military force of the Emperor's Hammer. Intelligence operatives acting under the direct orders of Grand Master Firefox infiltrated Imperial logistical and financial centers. These agents, often Imperial Admirals, remained black for two years until they were activated hours before the Exodus. Acting under preset orders the infiltrators altered logistical supply routes and redirected financial payments to Dark Brotherhood assets. Within hours the operatives of Tempest Bravo laundered billions of Imperial credits to the Dark Brotherhood and secured our financial independence, making them some of the unsung heroes of the Exodus- their stealth and bravery ensured that the Brotherhood could continue to exist independently.

Evolution

Thirteenth Grand Master - Jac Cotelin (21 ABY - 25 ABY)

Confident that he had done everything that he could for the Brotherhood, Firefox stepped down from the Iron Throne, nominating former Grand Master Jac Cotelin to ascend to the throne once again. United behind the new Grand Master, the Dark Brotherhood entered a new age of prosperity; under Cotelin's leadership, expansion and sweeping policies designed to reinvent and reinvigorate the Brotherhood at every level were the norm, and Cotelin was both popular and powerful as a leader.

The Dictum of Two Skies

One notable change to occur during Cotelin's reign concerned the Clans Satal Keto and Exar Kun, which were severely damaged by a struggle against a pirate group known as the Crimson Tide. As a result of their weakened state, Grand Master Cotelin took the decision to merge the two Clans together into one Clan named for the master of the renowned Darth Sidious; Darth Plagueis. This event, the birth of Clan Plagueis, was known as the Dictum of Two Skies.

New Leadership

Jac Cotelin's lengthy reign eventually came to an end when the Dark Lord nominated his Shadow Hand, a Dark Jedi Master named Sarin who had defected from the Emperor's Hammer two years after Exodus, as his successor. Early on during Sarin's reign, the Grand Master followed the pace of change during Cotelin's reign to instigate several reforms that ended the institutions of the Grand Master's Royal Guard and the Society of Envoys, both anachronistic and no longer necessary in the rapidly-evolving Brotherhood.

Children of Yun-Yuuzhan

Then catastrophe struck. In 27 ABY, the Clans were called to Antei to take part in a military exercise named Second Darkness, intended to gauge their readiness and capability to fight off the Yuuzhan Vong threat that was gradually spreading through the galaxy and posed a threat to the interests of the Brotherhood. As the exercise concluded, the Yuuzhan Vong fleet fell upon the combined Clans of the Brotherhood at the edge of the Shroud in an unexpected attack. Their defences shattered, their fleets decimated, the fleets of the Clans were forced to retreat, fighting a bloody rearguard action as they tried to escape.

Finally, Sarin took an unprecedented step; announcing the Baraata Option, he ordered the full retreat of all Brotherhood forces from Antei and abandoned the planet to the Yuuzhan Vong.

Wandering Brotherhood

For two years, the Dark Council was forced into exile, conducting the everyday business of the Brotherhood from their remaining ships. Testament to Sarin's capability for organisation, the day-to-day operations of the Brotherhood did not suffer too heavily during this time, and even this great institution of the Shadow Academy was able to continue training new Apprentices despite operating from the Khyron-class Dreadnought Arcanum. A new, cutting-edge fleet was built to provide the Clans with the firepower to fight off the Yuuzhan Vong and the Iron Throne with an army and navy of their own to call upon in times of need. Then, in 30 ABY, the Brotherhood returned to Antei.

Unification

Expecting to face fierce resistance from the Yuuzhan Vong, the Clans and the Armed Forces of the Iron Throne were surprised to find them almost all dead, decimated by a biological weapon. In their place, upon the Iron Throne, sat a Jedi Master named Omancor Crask.

Crask's droid armies were heavily entrenched upon Antei, and the mission to make planetfall cost the Brotherhood. Members of the Clans were designated as 'Foxtrot Uniforms', Force users who would lead detachments of the Army of the Iron Throne in the attack. Many of these Foxtrot Uniforms were captured by Crask's forces and had their faith in the Dark Side crushed; a tactic which incited the Shadow Hand of the Brotherhood, Muz Ashen, to travel down to Antei and lead the battle personally. After duelling Crask but being unable to finish the Jedi Master, Muz was able to capture Crask's apprentice Khaemyn Rua, taking her back to the cruiser Exodus for interrogation.

Darth Carnus

The War took an unexpected turn as Crask surrendered himself to Kir Katarn and was also brought to the Exodus, a gambit that he hoped would allow him to strike down Sarin and end the conflict. However, Crask's true nature was revealed as the Jedi Master demonstrated his prowess in the Force, ripping the components for a lightsaber out of the body of his apprentice and swiftly assembling them in order to strike at Sarin. The ensuing duel sent the Exodus plummeting down into Antei's atmosphere and crashing to earth, Sarin and Crask (formerly known as Darth Carnus) continuing their battle on the planet's surface.

One arm severed and his lightsaber lost in the crash, Sarin was no match for the Jedi Master, and Crask swiftly dispatched his foe with a stab through the heart. However, Crask was not able to savour his victory as another of his followers, the Jedi known as Rade, came upon Crask and slaughtered his master for his betrayal and murder of Khaemyn Rua aboard the Exodus.

Conclusion

With the death of Darth Sarin and Omancor Crask, and the subsequent destruction of Crask's forces on Antei, the Brotherhood regained control of their ancestral home. The Shadow Hand, Muz Ashen, ascended to the Iron Throne with a Brotherhood bloodied and battered- but unbroken- to command. With our enemies crushed and lying defeated before us, the future undoubtedly holds great things for the Brotherhood.

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