Midwanjontû châtsatul nu asha. Ashajontû kotswinot itsu nuyak. Wonoksh Qyâsik nun.
—Code of the Sith League
The Sith League was the government of Korriban and its colony worlds following the fall of the Rakatan Infinite Empire. It was the precursor to the Sith Empire which followed millenia later.
History[]
Early History[]
Prior to the fall of the Rakatan Empire, the Sith species had suffered the occasional invasion by Rakatan forces. Under the leadership of the legendary King Adas, thereafter worshiped as Adas Taral, the Sith united together and removed the Rakatans from the region. However, with Adas's death, the Sith fell apart, and civil wars wracked the surface of Korriban for several millenia.
Korriban-Ziost War[]
With the fall of the Rakatan Empire, the Sith began exploring the surrounding worlds without fear of retaliation. Using ships of an adapted Rakatan design, and armed with astronavigational charts from the Rakatan Star Map on Korriban, the Sith traveled to the world of Ziost, home to a number of Sith refugees and colonists. Though negotiations were fruitful with the Sith of that world, relations soon soured with the non-Sith colonists, who were worried by the presumed expansionist motives of the Sith. This led to the Korriban-Ziost War, a five-year conflict that united the Sith under one banner and saw the world pass to Sith control.
Birth of the Sith League[]
The Sith League came into being with the signing of the Charter of the Sith League in 8 AFRE by representatives of the Korriban and Ziost Sith. Following the end of the war, the Sith found themselves in possession of two worlds, three growing colonies on Rhen Var, Dromund Kaas, and Florrum, and a trove of astronavigational data courtesy of the Rakatan Star Map. With no major rivals in the area, the Sith League began expanding outwards, filling the void left by the Rakatan Empire.
Invasion of Felucia[]
In 6 AFRE, emboldened by the success of the Korriban-Ziost War and the growth of the Rhen Var, Dromund Kaas, and Florrum colonies, the Sith sought to settle on the lush world of Felucia. However, accustomed to war on arid, barren worlds, the Sith suffered serious losses to both the native Felucians and the hostile wildlife, and though the world was secured after five years, it was a Pyrrhic victory at best for the Sith League.
War for Ossus[]
The Sith soon pressed out to worlds and systems further afield, planting colonies on Belderone, Voss, and Ossus in 8 AFRE. Though the Gormuk population of Voss welcomed the Sith colonists, the Jedi Order, recently arrived from Tython, were decidedly against a Sith invasion. War soon broke out, and Sith found their military stretched across two worlds. Though the Jedi were eventually routed and driven off the world, the Sith suffered extensive losses, which led them to search for better ways of raising armies.
Charros Convention[]
The Reach of the Sith, a Sith League Navy fleet built to discover and open diplomatic negotiations with potential interstellar powers, discovered the existence of the Trandoshan Hsskhor Syndicate in 11 AFRE while scouting the Bimmisaari system. Entering into negotiations on Charros, the Sith League and the Hsskhor Syndicate signed the Charros Accord, which provided trade rights, forged a defensive alliance between the powers, and established a demilitarized zone along the O5-Q7 Denarii Nebula Diagonal.
Alsakan Convention[]
The Reach of the Sith traveled on from Syndicate space, encountering the Galactic Republic and the Byssian Empire in the Core Worlds. Negotiations were opened with the latter over the Imperial colony of Alsakan in 13 AFRE, resulting in the signing of the Alsakan Accord. The Accord guaranteed a defensive alliance and a trade agreement between both powers.
Sith Uprising[]
Public support for the Council of Kissai and the associated Faith of Typhojem had waned in recent years, as countless Sith lay dead on the battlefields of poorly managed, poorly executed wars. A number of political activists, dissatisfied with the Council's continued rule over the League through the imprecise terms of the Charter of the Sith League, began to question the Council's legitimacy. One such activist, the halfblood Rhea, was the subject of a botched assassination by the Council, which led to rioting when brought to light. To appease the masses, the Council drafted the Constitution of the Sith League and unwillingly named Rhea the League's first Tsis'ari monarch.
Corporate Sector War[]
Emboldened by trade agreements signed with the Hsskhor Syndicate, Byssian Empire,and Chiss Ascendancy, Rhea looked north to the wealthy worlds of the Corporate Sector. Attempts to negotiate with the native colonists took a turn for the worst, however, and the League soon found itself embroiled in a five-system-wide war, the largest of its kind since the birth of the League, which lasted five years. Rhea's response was speedy and efficient despite the war's scale, and the sector was soon placed under Sith control.
Saleucami Convention[]
With the fall of the Galactic Republic to the Byssian Empire, and the start of wars around the galaxy, the Hsskhor Syndicate reached out to Sith diplomats and suggested increased relations and a military alliance for mutual protection. The resultant Saleucami Accord saw the establishment of the joint Eastern Galactic Coalition, based on Saleucami, which oversaw the defense of League-Syndicate sovereignty in the east.
Taris Convention[]
Shortly after the creation of the Eastern Galactic Coalition, the Byssian Empire proposed a triple alliance between the Empire, the League, and the Syndicate. Talks were held on the neutral world of Taris, which resulted in the formation of the Triple Alliance. Additionally, the League and the Empire forged a military alliance, sealing with the marriage of Emperor Caeso of Byss and Queen Rhea of the Sith.
Government[]
The Sith League was built upon the foundation laid by King Adas, the first leader of the Sith Empire and the one responsible for driving the Rakata off-planet. The League was led by a king, styled "Tsis'ari" or "Lord of the Sith Peoples" in Low Sith. Suitable candidates embodying the Sith'ari ideal were selected by the religious legislative body, the Council of Kissai, and voted upon by the legitimate Sith citizenry. Each Tsis'ari served for life, during which time he or she exercised absolute control over the Sith military, and possessed the power of veto over the Council.
The Tsis'ari monarch was intended to serve as a representation of the Sith ideal of the "perfect being," the Sith'ari, and his or her every action while serving as monarch was expected to be in accordance with this concept. Those Tsis'ari monarchs found in violation of the ideal were removed from office by the Council of Kissai.
The Council of Kissai, as head of the Faith of Typhojem, served as the religious legislative branch of the League, exercising power in the enacting of laws and the election of kings. The members of the Council, selected from only the wisest, most Sith'ari-like elements of the Kissai caste, served for life or until voluntary resignation. In times of civil strife, or in the event of the Tsis'ari monarch's inability to lead the League, the Council could take emergency power and serve as a de facto executive until the appointment of a new Tsis'ari.
The application and interpretation of laws enacted by the Council of Kissai was the duty of the Court of Twelve, the judiciary branch of the Sith League. The Court deliberated on matters of legality, suggested updates on laws to the Council, and occasionally passed judgment in individual cases of suitable importance. Any Sith citizen could appeal to the Court of Twelve to supercede a ruling given by a lower court, though such appeals were rarely received.
Religion and society[]
The Sith religion and society were both based around the Sith ideal of the Sith'ari, the "perfect being" warrior-priest in perfect command of both desires and thoughts, a representation of Typhojem. The end goal of every Sith's life was the attainment of this concept, and thus every action undertaken by the Sith was ordered to bring that individual closer to that ideal, from risky business ventures to the simple pleasures of family life.
Citizenship in the Sith League was restricted to pureblood Sith alone, and all other races incorporated into League were enslaved and forced to serve the Sith as servants, miners, builders, and other such laborers. The owning of slaves was considered the mark of a Sith who more closely resembled the Sith ideal of the Sith'ari and best represented Typhojem.
The owning of slaves also played into the Faith of Typhojem, the "Left Handed God." Faith texts taught that just as all Sith were as servants of Typhojem, so too were all other races servants of the Sith. However, the mistreatment of slaves was deemed unacceptable in Sith culture. Those Sith who owned many slaves and treated them well were the best representations of Typhojem Himself, who gifted all His Sith with rich, long lives and expected them to act similarly towards their own slaves.
Military[]
During its earliest days, the Sith League employed a mass conscription and selective service policy for the rapid mobilization of armies, though as its size and population base grew, it implemented a volunteer-based system of professional soldiery.
Inclusion into the Sith armies was a great honor, and the life of a professional soldier was considered a higher path towards the Sith'ari ideal. Sith warriors frequently employed lanvaroks, projectile polearms that hurled bladed discs at targets with great speed and accuracy. Mastering a lanvarok was a difficult and arduous task, requiring years of training and fast reflexes, but those Sith who learned to command the weapon were dangerous enemies on the field of battle.
Though the Sith League initally employed starships of an adapted Rakatan design, the starship design firm Dreshdae Systems was eventually created to design, build, and maintain a fleet of more advanced ships capable of faster travel, and armed with more exotic weaponry.
Heraldry[]
The symbol of the Sith League was the traditional Sith sigil, the Quad Sun, styled black upon a blood-red field and encircled by a High Sith inscription reading thus: "Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken. Qyâsik (the Force) shall free me." This became the basis for the Sith Code adopted by the Dark Lords of the Sith Order many millenia later.
The Battle Standard of the Sith League employed the same Quad-Sun sigil on a blood-red field, surrounded on the top and bottom by the mirrored line, "Through strength," the motto of the Sith military.
Behind the scenes[]
The Sith League was created for the game A New Dawn by Firedance, though it quickly evolved into a stand-alone project in its own right. All symbols of the League were created with GIMP 2.4, and utilize the fair use "Alien Gantz" font as the High Sith script. The name "Sith League" is a reference to the Human League electropop band.