Alright folks, we got another EU respect thread! This time coming not in the form of a person or group or organization, but rather...a sentient Sith Artifact...which is extremely powerful!
Links to other Force related threads!
- Link to Jedi Knight: Jedi Knight
- Link to Dark Jed: Dark Jedi
- Link to Je'Daii Order: Je'Daii Order
- Link to The Inquisitorius= The Inquisitorius
- Link to the Witches of Dathomir: Witches of Dathomir
The Darkstaff
Source/Guide Quotes
Darkstaff= An ancient Sith artifact believed to have been the cause of the disappearance of the entire Cularin system shortly after the Battle of Naboo. Measuring a meter in length and 4 centimeters in diameter, the Darkstaff seemed to consume all light around it. It also literally fed on the Force.
- The Complete Encyclopedia
Caused the disappearance of the entire Cularin system, it also consumes all light and feeds on The Force.
Cularin System= Shortly after the Battle of Naboo, the entire Cularin system suddenly and inexplicably disappeared from the sector, only to reappear a decade later during the Clone Wars. Many linked the disappearance, known as the Blink, to the rediscovery of the ancient artifact known as the Darkstaff.
- The Complete Encyclopedia
Reiterating, the entire Cularin System completely disappeared for a decade. It only being known as The Blink, linked to the Darkstaff reappearing.
For several years, Cularin was gone, leaving an emptiness where planets and moons once orbited two suns that also disappeared. From outside the system, nothing was known of what might have occurred. One moment, Cularin was present. The next, it was not.
- The Darkstaff, Wizards/Living Force.
Again stating that the Cularin system just disappeared with its entire planets and moons.
Darth Rivan
The dreams trouble me, if only somewhat. I see the thing (which I have taken to calling the "darkstaff," though it scarcely qualifies as a staff, since I imagine such things as being nearly as long as I am tall) not as an object, but as an absence. It is an emptiness, a slice of the universe where there is no light and no heat, but also no cold and no dark. Light moves around it but does not come into its grasp. It doesn't want the light. It wants the Force.
That is what makes this darkstaff so insidious. If it were a tool, something I could use to harness the Force to my own ends, to demonstrate the reality of pain and suffering to the remainder of the galaxy, I might want to wield it. There are still times that I think, "Yes, I could take it and use it against everyone else. I could use it to drain the Force from their bodies, to watch them crumble to dust as their essence evaporated." But I know such thoughts are not my own. They are the darkstaff's thoughts. It would use me to drain others, and then it would drain me.
It pulled me here. It will pull more of us here. But I will do what none of them have the wisdom to do. I, who know what I face, will build on this world a defense, a means of ensuring that this object cannot ever be taken from this system.
- Darth Rivan's Personal Journal
Darth Rivan(Sith Lord during the time of the New Sith Wars) have dreams of this Darkstaff, stating that it's not something to be wielded, that it puts thoughts into his head. It might drain The Force, but it would also drain him as well. It pulled him to Cularin.
I've not seen it physically, but I know what it looks like. One meter in length and perhaps four centimeters in diameter, it sucks at the light just as it sucks at the Force. It wants energy, power. It wants to destroy. It wants to end lives. It wants -- and that, by itself, is the most disturbing aspect, the reason that I fear it and desire it and seek to destroy it.
The thing wants.
Ambition is dangerous enough in a living creature. In an object, a creation with nothing to lose, it can be catastrophic.
Part of the darkness in this system is the afterimage of a scream. It's comforting. Most places, you cannot feel death. Here, it is part of the very fabric of existence. Something truly horrible, wretched beyond words, happened. That is what keeps the fearful far from here, and what draws the curious in.
That scream came from the last time the darkstaff surged. It was held and given power, and then asked to provide something in return. It did. It provided death.
I respect that. But I will not serve a tool that seeks my demise, that wants my power. I will build defenses, and when I am ready, I will go to the darkness and bring it to the wretched light.
I must. If I am to live forever, there is no other way.
- Darth Rivan's Personal Journal
Darth Rivan describes that ambition is dangerous in a living creature, but in an object, it can be catastrophic! The object wants power, it wants the Force.
As the reigning Dark Lord of the Sith sometime between 1,150 and 1,400 years ago, Rivan’s story is intimately tied to an object he called the Darkstaff. Drawn to this dark side artifact, Rivan erected a stronghold on the poisonous planet Almas, using the Force and his biological knowledge to terraform the world into a paradise. At first, Rivan desired to possess the Darkstaff, but when he learned that it was a malevolent vacuum of power, he became bent on destroying it.
- Echoes of the Jedi, Dawn of Defiance Campaign
Darth Rivan was the reigning Dark Lord of the Sith. He was drawn to the Darkstaff and erected a Sith Fortress using The Force and his biological knowledge to terraform the whole world. At first he wanted the artifiact, but upon learning more, sought to destroy it.
During a pivotal battle, Rivan simply vanished from the combat zone in a catastrophic and violent way. Legend relates that Rivan at last obtained possession of the Darkstaff that he both craved and feared, and that it created a hyperspace wormhole, known as a Force Storm, that annihilated Rivan’s Battlelord army. Caught in the eye of this unnatural tempest, Rivan was flung to a time and place far removed from Almas. He found himself on the planet Ruusan, caught in the War of Light and Dark between Lord Hoth’s Army of Light and Lord Kaan’s Brotherhood of Darkness. The Darkstaff left Rivan bereft of the Force, and when he encountered a Force-user of inconsequential power, the Dark Lord was easily dispatched.
- Echoes of the Jedi, Dawn of Defiance Campaign
He obtained the Darkstaff, but it created a Force Storm that wiped out his entire Sith Battelord Army and flung Rivan into the future during the Battle of Ruusan. The Darkstaff left Rvian of his power and the Sith Lord was easily killed as a result.
Living Force Campaign Quotes
Centuries ago, the darkstaff, an artifact of the Sith, made its way to Cularin. It was found by the Oblee, a species who were all but lost to the galaxy after the darkstaff destroyed their homeworld and shunted them into a shadowed existence. For years the darkstaff remained lost. Darth Rivan came to Cularin, and even the Sith Lord feared the darkstaff, wanting to destroy it. He never did.
- A Mon Alone
It destroyed the homeworld of the Oblee, Darth Rivan came to destroy the object, though he never did.
About a decade ago – in galactic standard years – Len Markus recovered the darkstaff from deep within the Asteroid Belt. Attempting to escape from Cularin with the artifact, his ship was, instead, blasted with the largest bolt of Force lightning ever seen, originating from the Sith fortress on Almas as Markus’s ship swung too near the planet’s orbit. Markus, his ship, and the darkstaff were gone. Cularin disappeared from the galaxy for almost ten years, and returned to find a galaxy on the brink of war.
In exchange for this knowledge and power, though, he must repair the darkstaff, which was cracked (ever so slightly) when the Sith fortress lashed out at it. To repair the darkstaff, he needs to give it what it most desires – the Force essence of living beings,
- A Mon Alone
The staff was recovered within the Asteroid Belt of the Cularin system, though as he tried to leave, Force Lightning shot out from the Sith Fortress(the largest bolt of Lighting in history), this making Len Markus, his ship and the entire Cularin system disappear for 10 years. This also cracking the Darkstaff(ever so slightly mind you), thus causing it to weaken and needing to be repaired.
The Animiasma, Mon’s ship, is easy for the heroes to find. If nothing else, they have Nalvas/Malksch to help guide them, and hopefully one or more of them have also assumed other bodies for the duration of the event, so they can also tell where the ship is. It doesn’t show up on sensors. It’s not because of any kind of special new cloaking device, either – it’s because the darkstaff has begun to remake the portion of the galaxy nearest to it into its own image. It’s turning the ship into a giant version of itself.
- A Mon Alone
So Phylus Mon(the 'owner' of the Darkstaff at least for a time)'s ship is literally being turned by the Darkstaff into basically a giant version of itself, while also remaking a portion of the galaxy that it was around into its own image.
The problem Mon has is that the darkstaff just teleported itself away, to a place only the Plots team needs to know about. It is out of the reach of the heroes for the duration of the event
The darkstaff is gone, as near as anyone can tell, but it has transformed this ship into something very strong in the dark side. It is, in fact, a minor dark side site (though the heroes, by virtue of having been in it when it transformed, did not suffer the game mechanic consequences; they are treated as having made their saves). There is no single location where the dark side is strongest, though – so Force light cannot purge the taint from the ship. It needs to be destroyed.
- A Mon Alone
The Darkstaff is able to teleport away and completely transform Mon's ship into basically a mini Dark Side Nexus, though there is no place where the Dark Side is strongest so not even Force Light is able to purge it.
Mind you folks, this is the Darkstaff at basically its weakest point as it was trying to regain back to full strength.
Forged ages ago by a Sith whose name has since been lost, the darkstaff was ancient when Darth Rivan came to Cularin. It has destroyed worlds, killed millions – and still, it wants.
- The Eye
Has destroyed worlds, killed millions.
San and Nia, young Force Adepts that they were, were sucked dry by the Sith artifact. Everything that they were has been taken in by the darkstaff and destroyed. Everything but their bodies, which the darkstaff decided to leave behind to animate.
"The wind dies down, and the smell of death in the air becomes stronger. With a moan, the two bodies stand, empty eye sockets opening as the creatures that were once San Herrera and Nia Reston attack!"
- The Eye
Can reanimate the dead, bringing back two Force Adepts(after draining them dry) which then attacks the Heroes of Cularin.
The Tree cannot, however, keep him out indefinitely. The darkstaff is twisting the jungle around it in ways that even the Wyrd’s poison could not. The darkness in that object is deeper, more intense, than anything that has ever been brought to Cularin. The Tree is strong, thanks to Master Lanius’s sacrifice, but it cannot be strong forever. It can call help to itself, but it is very easy for the darkstaff to take over weak-minded jungle creatures. Eventually, the concentrated darkness of the Sith artifact will overwhelm the Heart Tree, the Eye will be found, and life will end on Cularin. The heroes are the best hope for the survival of the planet.
- The Eye
Not even The Heart Tree(a planetary nexus, which only grows even more powerful as Jedi Master Lanius merges with it after sacrificing himself in The Force) would be able to hold off the Darkstaff's power for long, being able to overwhelm the Heart Tree. This again, is when the Darkstaff isn't at its full power.
Len is very, very hard to kill. The darkstaff has imbued him with some of the powers of a Sith battlelord. The short form is, so long as his bodyguard (Kluuus) is alive and within 30 meters of Len, any wound damage Len would take goes to Kluuus instead. Vitality damage affects Len normally.
- The Eye
The Darkstaff is able to imbue the wielder with power(in this case Markus Len) and so long as Len has someone in his vicinity of at least 30 meters, he can't die.
Side Note: Markus Len
Len Markus: Dark side Human male Force Adept 3/Soldier 3/Dark Side Devotee 4/Dark Side Marauder 4/Scoundrel 2;
Equipment: street clothes, lightsaber (green blade, looted from a Jedi corpse), heavy blaster pistol, the darkstaff*.
Force Skills: Affect Mind , Battlemind , Drain Energy , Enhance Ability , Fear , Force Grip , Force Lightning , Heal Self, Move Object.
Force Feats: Alter, Control, Dissipate Energy, Force Mastery, Hatred, Malevolent, Rage, Sense.
- The Eye
The Darkstaff has imbued Len with the Dark Side, this making him a Dark Side Marauder and giving him a host of Force Abilities, ontop of the Darkstaff can do.
End of Side Note
The darkstaff is a creation whose sole purpose is to destroy. It was responsible for the destruction of the homeworld of the Oblee (a world that, shattered, became Cularin’s asteroid belt), and has wiped from existence other species throughout the galaxy. Everything about them has been erased from existence. The darkstaff, however, remains.
- The Eye
It's sole purpose is to destroy, it destroyed the Oblee homeworld, which turned that into the Cularin asteroid belt. It has wiped from existence other species throughout the galaxy, everything of them has been erased.
Defense: The darkstaff is immune to all forms of energy damage, including lightsaber strikes. It cannot be affected by any Force ability (including Move Object). An individual wielding the darkstaff is immune to disarming. The darkstaff has the capability to teleport itself out of threatening situations.
- The Eye
As for its defenses, it's immune to all forms of energy damage, including lightsaber strikes. It cannot be affected by any Force Power, including TK so it can't be disarmed from the wielder. It also has the ability to teleport.
Offense: In addition to dealing damage as a mastercraft baton with an increased threat range, the darkstaff has a number of potent offensive abilities.
Lifedrain: On a successful melee attack, the darkstaff not only deals its normal damage, it attempts to ensnare the individual struck. When an attack succeeds, shadowy black tendrils emerge from the darkstaff and allow the wielder of the darkstaff to attempt to start a grapple without provoking an attack of opportunity.
A character reduced to zero Constitution by the darkstaff is slain utterly, its life essence having been drained by the artifact.
Animate corpse: The wielder of the darkstaff can, as a standard action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity, cause the darkstaff to animate any nearby corpse.
Festering Wounds: An individual who takes wound damage from the darkstaff cannot benefit from either the Heal Self or Heal Another Force skills. The wound pulses red and black, but does not provide any penalties beyond the usual for the wounded individual.
- The Eye
Able to Drain Life upon contact with an individual, able to reanimate corpses(even those it drained) and causes wounds that not even Force Heal can cure.
For the darkstaff to complete itself, to complete the cycle of destruction it began years ago, it needs the Eye of the Sun. If the darkstaff touches the Eye, it can drain the Force essence out of it and become the most powerful weapon in the galaxy. With that much power, if the darkstaff were placed upright in the soil of Cularin, it would suck all life from the planet in a matter of minutes, leaving the planet as barren as Tatooine. That is what Len Markus believes will happen, and it is true that the darkstaff could do this.
- The Eye
To complete the cycle of destruction it began, it needs to drain the essence of the Eye of the Sun(a Jedi Artifact, see section below). In doing so, it would drain all the life from Cularin in minutes, leaving it as barren as Tatooine. In doing so it would also become the most powerful weapon in the galaxy.
The reality of the situation is much more straightforward, though; if the darkstaff and the Eye ever come in contact with one another, the resulting explosion will shatter the world. Cularin will not simply cease to exist -- it will erupt with sufficient force to send moons and planets hurtling into the twin suns of Morasil and Termadus. Markus will die. Everyone on Cularin will die. And the darkstaff will spin off into space, where one day, another servant of darkness will find it.
- The Eye
Of course it's much worse than that, should it come into contact with the Eye of the Sun, it will not only destroy Cularin, but basically the whole system, sending the two moons and planets hurtling into the twin suns and the Darkstaff will be completely fine, just to spin off into space to find its next servant.
Mind you folks, it's still powerful to overpower a planetary nexus which was resisting it and would be able to absorb its equal in power to destroy an entire star system. But let us see, just how it is destroyed.
The Darkstaff's Destruction
The way to destroy the darkstaff is to take hold of it (initiate a grapple, if it’s still in Len’s possession) and channel Force points into it. The hero must maintain the hold for two rounds, dumping half of his/her Force points into the object in the first round, and the rest in the second round. Note that this ONLY works if the hero is calling on the light side of the Force.
You call on the Force and feel your essence begin to drain away, into the black of the darkstaff. You feel… tired. The world arounds you starts to fade. The darkstaff is weakening – but so are you.
- The Eye
The Darkstaff is destroyed by channeling The Light into it, this weakens the Darkstaff but it also weakens whoever is doing so.
[Hero’s name] throws back [his/her] head, an expression half-pain and half-exultation on [his/her] face. Then – and you can’t quite be sure of the order, it all happens so fast – the jungle shakes as a CRACK louder than a thousand thunderbolts rips through the air, [hero name]’s clothing crumples to the ground, and the world goes still.
If Len was holding the darkstaff, also read this: Len Markus staggers backward, the hand that held the darkstaff an empty mass of blackened flesh. He raises both hands to his head and wails. “No!”
- The Eye
Doing so, this causes a Hero of Cularin to become One with The Force, this destroys the Darkstaff.
Can two heroes work together to destroy the darkstaff? If two heroes both grab hold and both dump all their Force points into the darkstaff, then two heroes die. Again, it’s not the number of Force points spent – what destroys the darkstaff is compassion, love, and self-sacrifice.
- The Eye
It doesn't matter how many Force Users channel The Force into it, one, two, it doesn't matter, the Heroes will die regardless as it's not about the strength of the Force User.
To put this into perspective, by this point The Heroes of Cularin have already gone through several adventures and have faced countless Dark Side Threats, most notable of these fighting what is essentially a Jedi Council Member level Dark Sith Warrior trained under Darth Sidious. Every adventure prior was basically leading up to the Darkstaff encounter.
Yes, it doesn't take the strength of a Force User to destroy the staff, but I'd wager if being consistent as far as the same characters going into this, by this point they would be extremely powerful.
Or would, if the Heart Tree weren’t around. A hero who has spent all of his or her Force points defending the Heart Tree or trying to save Cularin finds, when the time comes to make the sacrifice and save the planet, that he or she actually has two Force points remaining.
- The Eye
The Hero or Heroes will always have The Force with them thanks to the Heart Tree, in order to make their sacrifice in destroying the Darkstaff.
Jedi Artifact: Eye of the Sun
Living Force Quotes
Buried on Cularin, beneath the sacred Heart Tree of the Tarasin, is a light-side artifact every bit as powerful as the darkstaff. This artifact, the Eye of the Sun, is what drew the Tarasin to Cularin, millennia ago. It is what imbued them with their natural affinity for the Force, and it is what protected them when the darkstaff shattered the world of the Oblee.
- The Eye
Buried beneath the Heart Tree on Cularin, is the Darkstaff's equal. The Eye of the Sun, which protected the Tarasin when the Darkstaff destroyed the world of Oblee.
If he did, he would likely speculate that the Eye of the Sun must have given rise to the World Tree, and even now is nestled somewhere beneath the roots of the Heart Tree itself. Which, of course, is exactly the case.
- The Eye
The Eye gave rise to the World(Heart) Tree, a planetary wide Force Nexus.
It was the intervention of the Jedi, shortly before the Battle of Ruusan, that allowed the darkstaff to be held in check for so long. A light side artifact, the Eye of the Sun, was created; the Eye had two purposes. One, to create. In that, it is the opposite of the destructive Sith artifact. The second purpose, though the Jedi did not quite understand it at the time, was to shield. The Eye of the Sun has the potential to shield Force-users from detection, to cause any searchers to look in a different direction; it was this shielding that allowed the darkstaff to remain hidden from the galaxy for so long, until Len Markus came upon it
- The Eye
A group of Jedi Masters created The Eye, it being the exact opposite of the Darkstaff, having the ability to create(The Heart/World Tree) and it was the only thing that shielded any other from finding the Darkstaff for centuries.
The darkstaff is weakening, is fearful of being destroyed, but it is about to get an unpleasant surprise: The teleportation ability that saved it in at least one other event cannot function this close to the Eye. In other words, it can’t get itself away, and has to count on Len.
- The Eye
The Darkstaff cannot teleport away if the Eye is within its vicinity.
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So there we have it folks, the Darkstaff, a time traveling, planet/star system level Sith Artifact! It's funny how, Darth Rivan never was able to destroy the artifact and yet in the end, he was able to weaken the Artifact enough to give the chance to destroy it. That single bolt of Force Lighting from a planetary Dark Side Nexus, saved the galaxy from an extremely dangerous artifact.
Anyway, enjoy! There was some showings within The Old Republic MMO, but I couldn't quite get them, but it involves the Darkstaff completely destroying a Sith Lord and transporting away.
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