Korriban Hermitage Internal Electronic Messaging System
Message: For Your Eyes Only
From: ID#190-4567-369 “Sister-Novitiate Tenebra”
To: ID#56-7890-3456-8 “High Archivist Anrchoi”
Body:
Revered High Archivist,
I’m frightened, wise-one, truly frightened. I didn’t know who else to go to with this information. I don’t know who to trust. That’s why I’ve sent this to you. I know you are a man of great devotion to our faith. But I’m rambling, getting ahead of myself. I must inform you of what has led to this point.
As you are well aware, wise-one, our Hermitage recently received datadiscs containing the writings of the late Dark Lord, long may he reign in Chaos, to be edited into organized texts so that future generations might benefit from his wisdom. The vast majority of the information was remarkable only in the depth of its insight but, towards the bottom of the crate of disks I was assigned, I found something a bit out of place. It was a normal datadisc but it was impressed with the seal of the office of the Chair of the GLP and a classification code. Assuming it was relevant biographical information that was only to be unsealed in the case of the Dark Lord’s death, I inserted it into my console…by the Spirits of the Dark Lords, I wasn’t prepared for what I found.
The text, which I’ve reproduced below, was an Inquisitorial Edict authored by the Dark Lord just days before his death. It specifies what doctrines are to be considered heretical amongst the Dark Disciples and even the New Sith Brotherhood itself. But, wise-one, that is not what truly chills me. As you know, prior to joining the Dark Disciples and coming here to the Hermitage I was an officer in the GLP and, I tell you, there is absolutely no reason an Inquisitorial Edict should be in the possession of the office of the Chair. The only reason it would be found there is that someone buried this edict. It is clearly the will of the Force that this disc found its way into this collection of writings for I it is obvious that it was never meant to see the light of day. You must know what this means, High Archivist, someone in the Chair’s office is a Heretic…it could even be Lady Vidia herself for all we know.
Please, wise-one, you must get this into the hands of one of the House Lords. If it’s true that the Chair is a heretic then we must act before she is elected Consul or declared Dark Lady. The fate of the Union depends on this information coming to light.
Yours in Faith,
Sister Tenebra
To all members of the Union Inquisitorius: I, the true and unchallenged Dark Lord Xaos, do hereby command and bind you to obey the strictures of this edict.
It is with a heavy heart, my brother Inquisitors, that I write this doctrinal edict. It was never my desire to turn the Inquisitorius on the very religious establishment of our Union: the Dark Disciples and our Sith Brotherhood. Yet, this day, I must take this course of action. As I walk the halls of our great temple on New Bethrezen a scent most foul wafts to my nostrils: the scent of heresy both multitudinous and vile. It was my hope that a document such as this would never have to be written that the Sith Code and the Code of Brotherhood would be sufficient to ensure doctrinal unity amongst the Brotherhood. And yet, it seems that even the transcendent truth of these mysteries is insufficient to enlighten certain minds. Do not doubt, brothers, that there are already heretics in our midst. Having seen the old Sith Order shatter as a result of this cancer I am unwilling to ignore the signs the Force has been showing me.
Therefore, this edict henceforth defines all doctrines and teachings as Orthodox, Heterodox or Heretical, which are defined as follows.
There are only two Orthodox teachings and each has only two Orthodox doctrines. These are, respectively, the Sith Code and Code of Brotherhood, the Orthodox doctrines of which are, once more respectively, the Doctrine of Personal Revelation and the Rule of Brotherhood. These two teachings are already defined elsewhere so I shall now officially define the doctrines.
The Doctrine of Personal Revelation is the Orthodox interpretation of the Sith Code’s nature. Personal Revelation denies that there is a single, immutable meaning to the Code, that each individual has their own relationship with the Code as a Force-inspired meditation. Strict definition is something that the Jedi cling to out of weakness for they fear to see the true face of the Force as constant flux. I quote from the teachings of Dark Lord Revan:
“The Force will change you. It will transform you. Some fear this change. The teachings of the Jedi are focused on fighting and controlling this transformation. That is why they are limited in what they accomplish. True power can only come to those who embrace the transformation.”
Verily, the Force itself is power and power is change. How can that which is in essence change be expressed in a static form? Surely, it is Heresy and weakness to speak such lies!
The second Orthodox doctrine is the Rule of Brotherhood. The Rule of Brotherhood is a summation of the intent of the Code of Brotherhood and is meant to replace the now-outmoded Rule of Two. Though the Rule of Two served its purpose it is now no longer useful as the Jedi will never again permit themselves to believe that we Sith are utterly extinct. As such we must now meet the Jedi in numbers equal to theirs as we did in ancient times. Yet why, the observant will no doubt ask, if we are truly stronger than the Jedi then why did we fail to defeat them in the days when our ranks were equal in number to theirs? I shall answer you, brothers, the culprit is dissension!
Was not Lord Revan poised to take control of the Galaxy and slaughter the hated Jedi when Malak betrayed him? Did not Qel-Droma’s apostasy bring low Exar Kun’s Sith Brotherhood? Could not the Ancient Sith Empire have won the Great Hyperspace War if Ludo Kressh had not led a rebellion against Naga Sadow? Would the Jedi have returned if Vader had remained loyal to Darth Sidious?
Only a liar would deny these truths! I say to you that when Sith turns against Sith only the Jedi profit! I quote once again from Darth Revan:
“Those who use the Dark Side are also bound to serve it.”
I tell you, brothers, that the Dark Lord is the incarnation of the Force’s will and to betray the Dark Lord or the New Sith Brotherhood is tantamount to a betrayal of the Force. I proclaim that infighting amongst the Sith does not cull the weak from the strong; it only weakens the Brotherhood as a whole!
Heterodoxy is defined as those teachings and doctrines that neither confirm to nor contradict Orthodoxy. The vast majority of the training one receives as an Apprentice, both practical and philosophical, is Heterodox. This is the nature of the superiority of the Sith teachings over those of the Jedi. The Jedi cling to doctrines long outmoded and disproved, when confronted with a new thought or philosophical school they seek to crush it, to wipe out all that does not conform to their farcical religion. We Sith recognize that, though we are the foremost of the Force’s chosen, we are not the only ones to whom it communicates. One need only look to the strength added to our Brotherhood by the presence of the Witches and Warlocks in our ranks to see confirmation of this truth.
Heresy is a doctrine or teaching that contradicts or outright denies any Orthodoxy. This is necessarily a broad definition as there are as many Heresies as stars in the Galaxy, it seems. I have defined below, however, the teachings of some of the more influential Heresies throughout the ages as these are the most likely archetypes an Inquisitor will encounter.
The Sith’ar Heresy is perhaps the most infamous of false doctrines for the role it played in the Union Civil War. The central principle of the Sith’ar is that the teachings of the Sith are just an initial, external philosophy that serves solely to prepare one for deeper, more advanced teachings. There is little need to explain why this is Heretical for it relegates the true teachings to a secondary position. Fortunately, the Sith’ar’s paranoia caused them to refuse to write these “higher” teachings down so they died with the Heretics. But their assertion that the ways of the Sith are just a precursor may be used by future heretics.
The Byssian Heresy takes its name from the Arch-Heretic who formulated its doctrines: Darth Byss. It is formulated from a misreading of the teachings of Darth Bane, Darth Sidious, Darth Revan and, to a lesser extent, Darth Andeddu. It teaches that one may not draw on both sides of the Force, that it is a sign of weakness and insufficient power for a Sith to use Powers that draw on the Light. I assure you, it is quite laughable to wound one of these heretics and watch as they refuse to heal their injuries. They further blaspheme the Rule of Brotherhood by preaching that the Sith must constantly prey on one another to ensure that only the strong survive. As previously stated, this attitude does nothing but serve the Jedi thereby making Byssians tacit allies of the Jedi.
Though never being a distinct movement like the Sith’ar or Byssian Heresies, Neo-Banism is one of the more pervasive Heretical philosophies. Neo-Banites preach a return to the Rule of Two. As previously enumerated, the Rule of Two is no longer a useful doctrine and supporting it is a violation of the Rule of Brotherhood. Doctrinally, Neo-Banites often bear a philosophical resemblance to the Byssians. Fortunately, Neo-Banites are usually found only in pairs (a Master and Apprentice) though some clever knaves tell multiple Apprentices that only they are serving their Master as a Heretic.
Iconoclasm is a catch-all term applied to those Heretics who would see reverence and worship of the Dark Side Spirits abolished. The vile lies spread by these Heretics say that because the Dark Lords of old died they are unworthy of our reverence. If these curs truly had the courage of their convictions they would make their claims directly to the Dark Side Spirits and we would be easily rid of them. But the craven fools will never do this and so it falls to you, my brothers, to bring them to heel on the Spirits’ behalf. There is evidence of this Heresy being represented amongst the membership of Byss’ short lived rebellion but the Arch-Heretic never went so far to embrace this Heresy even if he did tolerate it.
A more recent concern is a movement I have dubbed Legitimism. As I’m sure you’re aware, brothers, recent archeological discoveries have revealed the identity of the group referred to by Darth Revan and Darth Traya as the “True Sith.” It is an ironic term indeed for these False Sith and their False Sith Emperor did not have the blessings of the Dark Side Spirits. The Legitimists, however, argue that the False Emperor is a legitimate Dark Lord thereby denying the legitimacy of the claims of, among others, Freedon Nadd, Exar Kun and Darth Revan to that title. This falsehood borders on Iconoclasm since all those it besmirches as false Dark Lords were blessed by the Dark Side Spirits. Any Sith found in possession of artifacts or teachings created by these False Sith are to be considered Heretics.
Inanimism is a somewhat less common Heresy than those previously discussed but it is no less poisonous for it. This false doctrine claims that the Force lacks a will of its own, that it is a passive energy field waiting to be drawn on. Such belief undermines the Rule of Brotherhood for how can the Dark Lord be the voice of the Force if the Force is but an energy field? One matter to take heart because of is that even other Heretics seem to revile Inanimists.
Jurism is perhaps the most peculiar of Heresies. It is not Heretical for disputing Orthodoxy, it is Heretical for supporting it too strongly. To the Juristic mind, Orthodoxy must be expanded to cover all aspects of a Sith’s existence and that Heterodoxy is not to be tolerated. In a round about way, that these fools do not realize, this denies the Doctrine of Personal Revelation. These Heretics are no better than the Jedi, narrow-minded slaves incapable of personal examination led by brutish tyrants who would crush all regardless of the consequences to the Sith cause.
In vigilance, I, the Dark Lord Xaos, do set my seal to this declaration. Should any defy it then forfeit shall be their lives and forever shall they be tormented in Chaos.
