SWTOR: Rix’larril’an of the Ascendancy 2.02 – Legends of the Wall

By Paige Francis Posted Monday Dec 18, 2023

Filed under: Epilogue, Paige Writes 6 comments

“THE Wall” bears a strong resemblance to every other “wall” that delineates a separate area in the Kaas City vicinity. More of a staging area and choke point than a fortress or defense, “The Wall” is nonetheless more fully populated than any previous area beyond the actual city edges we have visited. Shuttles, med tents, multiple squads of soldiers, and even a few Sith have taken up residence in various areas; although they mostly seem to be waiting for someone else to do something. Watcher Two told us to look for three individuals at “The Wall:” Captain Sarnova, the commander of an elite squad of shock troopers sent to infiltrate Lord Grathan’s compound; the duty officer in charge of the ravine crossing leading to Grathan’s front yard, and a Sith Acolyte called Sandor, who will relate recent intelligence on a Separatist group that Intelligence has typically dismissed. I would rather deal with the military; unfortunately a young man in a Dromund Kaas military uniform and carrying a lightsaber approaches me as I leave the speeder pad.

AUTHOR’S NOTE: I’m going to put this up front, for the first and hopefully ONLY time. Star Wars canon has been expanded, modified, and ret-conned almost from the beginning. Hell, you could claim many ret-cons pre-exist Star Wars, as George Lucas and other writers pulled from abandoned ideas that were never put into a script to create new retro-active continuity. I DO NOT DABBLE IN CANON/EXTRA-CANONICAL/LEGENDS CONTINUITY LIGHTLY. I’m not going to claim I alone know everything, and I certainly can’t RECALL everything I’ve ever learned at any given time. But I assure you everything I write comes from some point in Star Wars history where the version of events I’m writing about WERE canonical. Revan is a character who has been “done dirty” by revisions made to LEGENDS continuity. I welcome ALL discussion of what I write, but PLEASE refrain from “This is wrong, Wookiepedia says…”

As suspected, this is Acolyte Sandor, an apprentice of Darth Charnus. I’ve never heard of this particular Sith Lord, which is good considering Sandor claims his master works from the shadows and prefers to be unknown. He must be very good at his job…although of course that’s what *I* would say if I was a completely unremarkable Sith Lord as well. Sandor relates his Master’s investigation into our mutual target: “The Order of Revan”, also known as “The Cult of Revan” or the “Revanites.” The Revanites, according to Charnus, are a secret society of Imperial bureaucrats, military officers, Sith masters and apprentices, and mercenaries bound by allegiance to the teachings of a Sith Lord named Revan. The cult is dangerous because Revan embodied a dedication to both Jedi and Sith ideology. And even worse, ALLIED WITH AND TAUGHT NON-HUMANS HOW TO USE THE FORCE. While trying to spread such “blasphemy” is reason enough for their eradication, there have long been rumors the Order gives supremacy of power in the Sith Empire to Revan over the Emperor and the Dark Council, and even claim to be following a plan to bring Revan back to the throne from wherever he might be…including death. And even as preposterous as all this sounds, a recent mention of planning a raid on Lord Grathan’s home emerged at the same time as the terrorist plans for Dromund Kaas, which have also led to Grathan’s compound. And thus, we are here.

The Chiss know of Revan, or at least, his role in Galactic History is taught in the Ascendancy. I am not surprised this is the Sith account of the former leader of the Sith. According to my history lessons, Revan was a Jedi drawn to the darkside of the Force even while training. His mental discipline was so advanced he could hide his nature from his Jedi mentors. As a Jedi Knight, he criticized the Jedi for refusing to aid the Republic against the Mandalorians, who were sweeping through the galaxy on a crusade of conquest and consistently driving the Republic before them. He left the Jedi Order to become a General in the Republic military, taking his closest companion Malak and many other young Jedi Knights with him. Following the defeat of the Mandalorians at Malachor V, Revan felt a call into the Unknown Regions of space. Possibly because of the damage to his soul brought on by the unimaginable destruction and suffering he encountered throughout the Mandalorian Wars, and especially as a result of the destruction of Malachor V itself…or maybe just because his remarkable Force sensitivity.

In the Unknown Regions, Revan and Malak discovered the remnants of the Rakata, one of the most ancient races in the galaxy. The Chiss know of the Rakata, too. Our most ancient legends are warnings against approaching their homeworld. “The Builders,” as we call them, once mastered the entire galaxy with Force-powered technology…some of which is rumored to still exist. The Rakata remade planets at will, could build any weapon or tool in hours by stripping a planet down to its very atoms. Over eons, the power they amassed turned them ever-inward; needing nothing, they were left to destroy, solely so that could make it again. Lacking no luxury, the only pleasure came in denying the same to others. They devolved into murderous primitives, blinded to the Force by reveling in it too much.

Or so the stories say.

But Revan found something…some of that dark technology still functioned. Fallen completely to the Darkside at this point, Revan, Malak, and their many loyal Jedi allies returned to the Republic with a fleet created by Rakatan technology and sought revenge on the Jedi Order they blamed as the ultimate cause of the massive death toll of the Mandalorian Wars. Revan now claimed to be Sith, a follower of an ancient Force tradition that advocated an emotional, aggressive path of Force mastery that opposed the Jedi teachings of passivity and neutrality. Revan had discovered references to Sith teachings as a Padawan on Dantooine, where there were ruins of dark power long-forgotten by the Jedi.

Confronted with the choice of fighting back or waiting to be hunted down one-by-one, the Jedi Council engaged in the Jedi Civil War with Revan and his followers. The Jedi were saved by the emergence of a Padawan, Bastila Shan. Shan’s Force sensitivity was evolved to such an extreme degree that she could could subtly affect minds over wide areas with simple ideas and feelings. This allowed a Republic fleet in a fairly confined area to coordinate with unprecedented precision and accuracy. Taking advantage of a growing rift between Revan and Malak borne on jealously of Revan’s prominence as the Sith Master and the perception of Malak as “Revan’s apprentice,” a Republic task-force led by Bastila Shan was able to divide Revan’s and Malak’s fleets and board Revan’s flagship. Despite facing multiple Jedi Knights, Revan had only to face three after defeating dozens, when Bastila desperately sought to mentally prompt Malak to act on his jealousy. Malak fired on Revan’s ship in order to kill Revan and take command of the Sith himself. In the aftermath of the sudden attack, a wounded Bastila discovered the only other survivor was a miraculously-living Revan. Bastila dragged the self-proclaimed Sith Lord to safety.

Following the return of Revan to Republic space, the Jedi Council chose to reinforce the amnesia Revan suffered following Malak’s attack. The council also implanted the suggestion of false memories to foster a belief by Revan that he was a loyal Republic operative. Revan was then placed in Shan’s care for the purpose of trying to draw out only memories of the source of the Sith weaponry, which was clearly not of any known design or manufacture. Revan did start regaining memories and was able to retrace his original steps to find the Rakata homeworld, Rakata Prime. He also began showing signs of his force sensitivity…to such an extent that the Jedi Council, prompted by Shan’s private assurances that Revan was indeed a new person loyal to the Republic, agreed to train him as Jedi. And of course, Revan’s true identity was eventually revealed to him by Bastila Shan. Thus, Jedi Knights Revan and Bastila were able to discover the Star Forge, the source of the Sith weaponry and fleet; and subsequently destroy it and Darth Malek.

Revan soon announced his intention to explore deeper into the unknown regions, claiming some of the Sith teachings he had once studied indicated the possible existence of a massive Sith Empire that could threaten the Republic. Revan never returned, but nearly three hundred years later the Sith Empire emerged from seclusion on Dromund Kaas. Considering one of the first things they did was propose an alliance with the Chiss, we have always felt there is certainly a connection between the Sith Empire and the Unknown Regions. But to be honest, a hidden Sith Empire wasn’t a threat we took very seriously.

That is the Revan known to the Chiss, although I have no doubts there are all sorts of caveats. Revan has been dead for centuries…even the “Sith Emperor” himself, rumored to be eternal, is little more than legend in actuality. The idea that a (supposedly) high-ranking Sith Lord would be so exercised over which legend should be allowed to propagate as the Sith’s ideological foundation he would be willing to murder over it seems silly. But then, the Chiss have no collective religious beliefs; nor do any Chiss histories recall such a thing. The closest, you might say, is “The Red Flame.” This is the label we give to the highest virtues of Chiss society: Cunning, Courage, Discipline, and Preparedness. No, it’s not because of our red eyes prompting us to create a myth to explain them. They’re red because of biology. Chiss typically adopt some red affect in our dress to remind us to strive for the ideal of The Red Flame. I tend to wear yellow, because I’m a bad Chiss.

Sandor tells me the Revanites have a hidden compound deep in the jungle. Over yonder somewhere; nobody knows for sure. Darth Charnus would like someone new on Dromund Kaas, a “fresh face” as it were, and someone with experience in subterfuge, like an Imperial Agent, to infiltrate the Revanites, meet their leader, then betray their identity to Darth Charnus via Sandor. Sandor gives me a “Revanite sigil” to present at the compound…this will allegedly mark me as someone identified as a potential Revanite by an existing order member.

I don’t ask how he got it. If these Revanites are so secretive and defensive, surely they would notice one of these “sigils” going missing.

I feel as if I’m about to get involved with idiots again.

To be honest, the Revanite Compound is neither hard to find, nor a compound. Unless I just caught them on picnic weekend and normally they DON’T live in tents in a jungle clearing. I supposed this place could exist purely for screening purposes. You have to REALLY want to believe to not just walk off laughing when you see what this place is like. Four guard-looking fellows in brown-and-blue robes block a choke-point that gives way to the clearing, although they barely glance my way as I walk past. And older gentleman dressed similarly does stop me, however. He identifies himself as Dzoun, and seems to be the actual bouncer. Dzoun welcomes me politely, but pointedly tells me I’m lost and should just mosey back down the path from whence I came. OK…well at least now I’m curious about what he doesn’t want me to see. I present the cloth sigil provided by Sandor, and Dzoun passes me on to Elder Jhorval to commence my tests and indoctrination.

Lesson One:

Jhorval: Are you willing to die for Revan?
Me: What? Are you threatening me?
Jhorval: Revan died and was reborn. You have to do the same.
Me: Yeah, that’s a threat. Bring it. We’ll see who survives this trial by fire other than me.
Jhorval: No! Not me! The cave! You have to go in the Cave of Revan. {he points behind me}

Me: Why is the cave directly underneath a lightning rod?
Jhorval: You must go in the cave and be reborn.
Me: DIE and be reborn. Under a lightning rod. You can see why I’m a bit…concerned.
Jhorval: You must go in the cave a…
Me: FINE. Be right back. I hope.

Predictably, I stand in front of an Alter to Revan deep in the cave and receive a massive static charge the next time the lightning rod is hit. Which happens every few minutes on Dromund Kaas. I would swear I see an apparition rise from the ground just as I pass out, but considering there is also giant statue of Revan right in front of me, that was really to be expected, in my opinion. I wake up next to Jhorval thanks to a stimulant applied by Kaliyo, which I notice she got out of my bag. She’s got her own supply she could have used, the cheapskate. Jhorval wants to know how it feels, knowing my past is wiped out and I’m now a new person. “You’re kooky,” I tell him. “What do I do now? Please tell me I need to go see someone else.”

This is indeed the case, and I am sent to consult with Ladra. I have noticed several trends amongst the Revanites, none of which have been all that worrying. Dzoun and the others like him treat this as a social club, which is the conclusion Intelligence had reached. Pay your admission, follow the rules, what happens in the Jungle Club stays in the Jungle Club. Revanites like Jhorval are desperately trying to find meaning in life. Jhorval is so deprived of sensation and purpose that he ascribes religious significance to getting shocked silly. He could get the same thrill from overdosing on death sticks, but the med droids probably told him to knock it off and his wife keeps throwing them away. So he joined a “secret society” where he hangs with the guys daring each other to dance with the crazy woman at the next ball and touching the static generator once a week for funsies.

Ladra is the crazy woman, at least as far as the boilerplate members are concerned. She’s also probably what got the Revanites elevated on the Watch List. Ladra believes Revan was the most powerful Sith ever. He’s the guy who figured out the one neat trick to ultimate power. She also believes Lord Grathan has Revan’s mask. Grathan is known to collect powerful Sith artifacts, most discovered on or near his own land…which is extensive. Ladra tells me she believes Revan found the Sith in the Unknown Regions, and they led him to Dromund Kaas. She claims this much the Sith know: Revan confronted the being we call the Sith Emperor on Dromund Kaas. Revan met his fate here, whether that was death or transcendence, and therefore his relics would likely be here, near the Emperor’s Dark Temple. She has heard Grathan claims possession of Revan’s mask, and that is a reasonable assertion. She wants that mask, because she wants the power it contains and represents. She sends me to a Revanite named Torrun for information on handling the mask.

Torrun is an academic…a Revanite because it gives him the ability to study what he wishes: the use of Lightside ideology by the Sith. As such, Revan is central to his work. He begs me to bring the mask, if it exists to him. Ladra will likely march right off and try to demand a seat on the Dark Council by right of having the mask, getting herself and the mask destroyed. “So this mask,” Kaliyo interjects. “It’s worth a lot of money, yeah?” “To the right buyer, certainly,” Torrun answers. “There are those who would give great wealth to possess it, and those who would pay equally to have it destroyed. It’s worth as a SYMBOL; however, is immea…” “Yah, sure, I get it,” Kaliyo cuts him off. “So…why don’t we just KEEP the mask?” She grins maniacally. Torrun’s face falls, but not as much as I expected. “As long as it stays out of the hands of the likes of Ladra, that would be far preferable.”

“It’s no fun if they’re HAPPY you’re stealing from them,” grouses Kaliyo as we head out of the “compound” and back to The Wall. “At least if we give it to the crazy lady, we might get to see some fireworks.” She has a point. So far my interaction with The Order of Revan is to be electrocuted “to death” and tasks with invading a Sith Lord’s home, that I was already going to be invading. And somehow, I can’t shake the feeling that all of this is completely immaterial and we’re just on a series of wild goose chases to keep us from uncovering the REAL truth.

 


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6 thoughts on “SWTOR: Rix’larril’an of the Ascendancy 2.02 – Legends of the Wall

  1. Syal says:

    And even worse, ALLIED WITH AND TAUGHT NON-HUMANS HOW TO USE THE FORCE.

    …I guess they’re including all of Malak’s forces in there too, because what’s-her-hair from Korriban is the most memorable Sith in KOTOR 1.

    Maybe they just don’t know about her because Malak got squashed like an overripe pumpkin.

    1. As much as anything, that’s laying some groundwork to connect modern Revan to KotOR Revan. Imperial Xenophobia was a less blatant topic in the KotOR games, but is a significant (secondary) narrative in SWTOR. And they actually connect this first Revanite section to it.

      1. Zaxares says:

        The bit about teaching non-humans how to use the Force surprised me a bit. That suggests that humans were one of the first (or possibly even the primary) races to discover how to use the Force, but after seeing all of the various aliens among the Jedi, that… can’t be right? Not only do we have many, many different aliens all using the Force (and over the course of thousands or even millions of years, SURELY some of those races must have developed Force-sensitive individuals and learned how to utilize their powers?), but some alien races like Yoda’s race are practically renowned for being extremely powerful Force users.

        Then again, if I remember correctly, the Old Republic games are supposed to be set in a time long before the current era in which the Star Wars movies and series take place, so perhaps all the Force-using aliens are a legacy of the events that transpired in the KotOR and TOR games?

        1. The idea that non-humans “could not/should not be allowed to be force users” was introduced in Star Wars: The Old Republic. However, I’m pretty sure the roots of the idea come from the Knights of the Old Republic video game Taris storyline; which featured xenophobic humans living high in the towers and aliens forced to live on the surface or underground. The actual Sith as represented by Revan’s and Malak’s forces clearly had no issue themselves with non-human force users. There are any number of ways to delve into this topic: Revan, Malak, and their followers were initially all Jedi; where training non-humans was no different than training humans. No distinction was made. Also, the Sith of the Revan/Malak era weren’t the actual Sith Empire in any way (this is confused and retconned by SWTOR,) and so no xenophobia needs to be accounted for.

          When you get to the ancient Sith Empire becoming the “Resurgent” Sith Empire of the SWTOR era, you run into questions about the transition of reverance for the non-human Sith Pureblood race to flat-out hatred of all non-humans, regardless. This seems to be an ideal introduced by the human Sith Lords. The human Sith of the Resurgent Sith Empire are comprised of fallen Jedi and human force users recruited by the Emperor. We’re going to be exploring a lot of this, although not necessarily with Rix’larril’an. The two really big story expansion/spin-offs really play better with force users, IMO; so at some point we will probably look at some things from Lord Zeele’s perspective.

          1. Sleeping Dragon says:

            To be fair this is absolutely not without precedent. Within human history many cultures, nations, organizations etc. have claimed they were the originators or direct inheritors of some idea, development or exclusive quality despite such claims being utter nonsense and typically outright ignored ample evidence to the contrary.

            Bearing in mind that I have not played the game I do find it interesting that the devs have decided to lean so heavily into it as it somewhat undermines the idea of being “cool evil” with the Empire. It’s the kind of thing where I could maybe do a playthrough in a single player game “for the evulz”, or to see how the game handles the contradiction, or for an achievement, but not something I’d personally want to stick with for years and years in an MMO.

            1. The xenophobia-as-racism is mentioned in most of the original class stories; more on the Imperial side than the Republic side. I mentioned it can be a big feature of the Agent’s storyline. This continues through some early expansion content, but as far as I have experienced is dropped as a plot point after that. Although to be fair, I haven’t played all of the most recent content yet. The later big expansion story beats are all about the Emperor, and things get complex enough then that tying a racism story in as well would likely have felt out-of-place…tacked on.

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