Korriban, Dreshdae
97,445 BCE
Home of the Ancient Sith Order, Korriban was a world teeming with the Darkness of the Force. Many powerful beings would rise and learn of its strength here; a handful would even rise to great fame and legend, striking fear into those that faced them.
The only things that could properly challenge their might were two great foes: The Forerunner Empire, and the old Order that used the opposite of the Sith's power; the power of the Light of the Force. For a time, the Sith would vie for power, facing both opponents with terrific ferocity.
That is, until the day of cleansing occurred.
A great light consumed the galaxy in its entirety, and with it the echoes of all life; a light shined from colossal Rings built by the Forerunners as a final hope against the horrific parasite known as the Flood. For the Sith, they discovered the impending activation of the Array but chose not to heed their warning, scoffing off the Forerunner's newfound weapons as nothing of concern. Because of this, the Order was almost caught completely unawares when the great light shined upon Korriban, and erased all traces of life. Not even the Force could protect them from certain death...
However, for a few, the Array was not enough to truly destroy. Due to some twisted cosmic fluke, some strange divine roll of the dice, a small number of Dark-Side practicioners had survived beyond certain death, but at a terrible cost.
...
She stirred painfully as her sensations returned to her. The old woman almost instantly regretted the return of her physical senses, as she was overcome with crippling agony throughout her entire form. She struggled to rise to a meditative sitting posture, to draw on her energies to restore her health as she attempted to gather what had transpired.
The old woman was clad in dark robes, her facial features covered halfway down with a draping hood. She could not remember who she was - nor the events that had transpired. As she looked around, her vision blurred from whatever knocked her unconscious, the old woman wondered about the strange stone structures that surrounded her. Where was she? Who built this place? Why had the entire place collapsed, trapping her inside? She realized she was within a small chamber, probably suited for studies and meditation, with a broken desk and a few smashed books trapped under a huge chunk of rock. Her way to escape into the sunlight was cut off by other similar pieces of the Temple she resided in.
She broke the distraction in her mind when she realized the restorative energies she called upon had not yet taken effect. She concentrated on healing her battered, elderly body for a moment, with little result. She tried again, focusing her power more so - yet it barely had any effect. Shocked, the old woman attempted it once more, but nothing. She had seemingly lost her power!
She struggled to stand on her feet, and managed to limp towards the other side of the room, where a small platform stood with a thin covering of black sand-like ash inside its pit. Sitting in the center of this pile lied a tiny pyramid, dark and inactive as if dead, like the rest of the temple she was trapped in. She reached for the artifact, though her power was gone, and it would not hum to life and grant her the information she so desperately needed.
Giving into despair, the old woman realized this must be it - she was made to suffer this fate forever, over and over again. Confined within her new tomb, a new feeling rose within her; a sensation of utter despair, a looming shadow that consumed all hope she would ever make it out alive, and the darkness claimed her. With new emotions rising, breaking her calm demeanor, the woman reared back and unleashed a terrifying scream, one that seemed far stronger than any typical human cry. Though her ears protested from this tremendous roar, she cared not, allowing its strength to overwhelm her since she had nothing left to lose. It was as if the howl was possessed by the newfound darkness within her mind, crippling her physical strength as it feed upon her failing health. The sheer power behind this scream tore at her vocal cords, enough so that it surely would deny her the pleasure of being able to make any small sound, let alone speak, ever again.
This power... it was familiar to her, and she called upon it, touched its edges as she let it claim her, raising no barriers against it, leaving herself fully vulnerable and available for it to do with her as it wished. She wanted this - this terrifying, alien presence to utterly destroy her and leave nothing left behind. Anything to spare her from this fate destined upon her against her will.
However, it seemed fate decided otherwise, as her voice fell from her lips and she collapsed forward. Drained of her stamina, and terribly hurt more so - but still alive, if barely. Frustrated, and a rising sense of fury swelling inside her, her thoughts were broken as a faint crimson glow filled the air. Her half-dead gaze raised upon the artifact before her; the holocron hummed to life, seemingly strengthened by her outraging cry. She reached up for the platform it sat upon, pulling herself up to her knees shakily, all her strength devoted to claiming the knowledge hidden within. Maybe it could tell her what had happened, if not give a hint as to who she was.
She reached for it, and it responded to her touch; the pyramid opened on all sides, revealing within a faint blue glow. She stared with her failing eyes, short of breath, desperate for what this holocron would teach her.
A hooded, robed figure appeared before her, standing a foot in the center of the small holocron, glowing faintly blue from the light of the artifact. Its shape was distinct, yet familiar; the woman stared as the figure depicted in the holocron looked around all ways before reaching up and pulling its hood back. A humanoid head. Long hair. Faded eyes, atrophied from disuse.
Was this her? The woman shown by the holocron spoke, her voice as frail as her body.
"There are dark places in this galaxy where few tread. Ancient centers of learning, of knowledge..."
"And this world, Korriban, will one day be remembered as the greatest of them all. Where our order, the Order of the Sith, once sought to rule the galaxy with a terrifying fist with which to crush all opposition and smite those that would challenge us. We had few enemies that could stand against us... but great enemies they were. The Forerunners were never to be underestimated, despite their lack of connection to the Force. Underestimating the threat of the parasite that consumes the galaxy even now was perhaps our greatest falling. For when one rises so much, it only leaves room for them to slip from their position and fall a great deal..."
The old woman stared, losing focus on her pain and failing health, entranced by this record.
"That is what has happened to our "Mighty" leaders, these men and women who claim to be the Lords of the Sith. As a Historian, I studied our adversaries with great care, charged with the task of imploring a weakness upon our enemy, who held claim of the galaxy with their technological prowess and were being driven back by a ravenous infection. I found instead only the coming fate that approaches us even now... yet my masters will not heed me. They believe my words of caution a weakness, distracting themselves with their dreams of domination rather than face the truth that lies before them."
"But I was not alone. There were others, wise ones, whom listened intently to the threat I proposed would strike our Order. Our masters continued with their ambitions to rise against the Forerunners. Plans are fragile things, and life often dashes expectations to the ground... they clinged single-mindedly to their concept of victory. If you are to truly understand, then you will need the contrast, not adherance to a single idea."
"Myself and my newfound, rebellious allies, found a new calling. There is no victory in conquest of the Forerunners. I do not want to win our war like this. When I win, I wish it to be because I was right, my teachings true. The Masters hold nothing but apathy for my findings on our fate, for my visions... apathy is death."
As the recording continued, the old woman slowly began to realize, the thoughts returning to her mind.
"We will die a death that will last millennia, until all that remains is our code, our history. And in the end, it will not be our legacy that shapes the galaxy, but that of our new generation. My time here, however, is not yet done. The Light comes. But it will not stop the darkness that is to come."
"As my allies and I make our final preparations, we welcome our first death with open arms, knowing that we, unlike our other Sith fools, must invest our strength not in the now, but in that which is to come. There are techniques in the Force against which there is no defense... "
The hologram shifted, as the recorded woman lowered into a sitting meditative position.
"Perhaps you were expecting some surprise, for me to reveal a secret that had eluded you, something that would change your perspective of events, shatter you to your core. There is no great revelation, no great secret. There is only you."
"Know that there was once a Darth Traya. And that she cast aside that role, was exiled, and found a new purpose. But there must always be a Darth Traya, one that holds knowledge of betrayal. Who has been betrayed in their heart, and will betray in turn. As I now betray my Masters, you will betray the fate of Death that is guaranteed upon you. Seal your power within this holocron, your resolve. And you will change the legacy of the galaxy for millennia to come."
With this, the hologram faded away, the holocron still humming with power but no longer showing the woman that recorded it... the woman that sat before it, watching herself some short time ago. Knowing now her purpose, she reached forth with her mind, giving the most terrible of sacrifices - her very life essence, draining from her body, channeled into the holocron. The holocron, hungry for energy, essentially ripped her soul from her body, being prepared with dark Sith alchemy for this very purpose. The old, frail body finally collapsed for good, all life torn from it forever... instead, life stirred within the holocron, and as the alchemy responded to its presence, a twisted shade of shadow spilled forth from within, taking form resembling that of the woman.
Traya, no longer claimed by the limitations of physicality and tasting the first sips of what could only be described as immortality, did not distract herself with the tremendous potential before her - not yet. She still had purpose to enact, drawn to the corpses of her allies, and began making preparations to return them to sufficient levels for their purposes...