In honor of my 2000th post - which is what this was originally intended to be :D - I present the final high-end lightsaber to enter my collection as it stands today; a lightsaber which I have deemed worthy of being named
The Heart of the Force. This lightsaber is rooted heavily in the story of Darth Revan, and much of the plot of
Knights of the Old Republic and its accompanying mythos are discussed here. If you have not yet played these games, and do not wish to have the game's story revealed to you, read no further. Just skip to the photos. ;)
Revan is canonically referred to as male, and will be throughout this thread.
Now that the business is taken care of, let's get to the fun part.
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"Savior, conqueror, hero, villain. You are all things, Revan… and yet you are nothing. In the end, you belong to neither the light nor the darkness. You will forever stand alone." -Darth Malak, former apprentice to the Dark Lord
Revan's story begins with his arrival to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. Much of his early life remains a mystery, and while little is known of his parentage or origins, he was nevertheless accepted at an early age to begin training in the Jedi Arts. Kreia, later Darth Traya, was his first master, and through her, Revan learned much about the ways of the Force. After several years training with Kreia, Revan left her tutelage to study under the masters of the Jedi Enclave on Dantooine.
Revan proved right from the beginning to be an insatiable learner; amongst his many masters, several noted his desire to learn as much as possible about the ways of the Force. Zhar Lestin in particular noticed Revan's desire for knowledge, as did Vrook Lamar, who feared for the boy's safety, concerned that he was delving too far into what he called "Sith magic." The majority of Revan's teachers, however, dismissed his hunger for knowledge as youthful exuberance, and allowed him to learn whatever he could about the mysteries of the Force. Soon, Revan returned to Kreia's tutelage on Coruscant, having learned what he could from the Jedi Masters on Dantooine. Later, they would dismiss him as brash, arrogant, and headstrong, though all were quick to acknowledge his promise as a Padawan.
Revan soon met another young Jedi, then known as Alek. Revan and Alek shared many adventures together at the Academy, and the two grew close and worked together often during their lessons. Both on Coruscant and on Dantooine, Revan and Alek proved their potential to their masters and colleagues, proving time and time again that they were always ready to learn more. In the years at the Academy, Revan and Alek discovered a peculiar device known as a Star Map, and began to search for others during their travels. By about 3964 BBY, the two young men had passed their Jedi trials, having earned the title of Jedi Knight. Many saw the two friends as the most promising students in the Order, but most recognized that Revan was the stronger of the pair.
During the years he had studied with the Jedi, Revan had kept a close eye on the Mandalorians, who were beginning to show aggression toward neighboring systems on the Outer Rim. By the late 3960s, it became clear that war was inevitable. A Mandalorian force had clashed with a small Republic fleet in 3965, resulting in four minor battles with no clear victor.
In 3963, the Mandalorians invaded the Republic, provoking open warfare by laying claim to the urban world of Taris. In the resulting chaos, the Mandalorians struck from Onderon's moon Dxun, which had been occupied and fortified in the previous years. Striking quickly, in three assault corridors in three adjacent sectors, the Mandalorians quickly overran the ill-conceived Republic defense. Taris was under siege.
Meanwhile, Revan had been quietly building a faction within the Jedi Order, composed of Jedi Knights and Padawans who refused to stand by and allow the Republic to fall. Together with Alek, now known as Malak, Revan built a large group of Jedi, then asked the Council permission to intervene in the war. The Council refused, even in the face of the nuclear bombardments of Serroco, Duros, Eres III, and Dagary Minor. Revan, infuriated, led a mission to Cathar, the site of a great battle between the Mandalorian forces and the native people. Several Jedi Masters followed, and ordered Revan to disband his followers.
However, upon confronting the Jedi Knight, all of the Jedi present received a vision of a Mandalorian slaughter of the Cathar. As the Mandalorians had prepared to open fire upon a group of captured freedom fighters, a single Mandalorian woman stepped forward to stand before the Cathar, in protest of the actions. She was slaughtered, her mask falling to the sand. Reeling from the vision, Revan knelt and retrieved the mask that was now half buried in the beach, and made a vow to destroy the Mandalorians once and for all. Revan was going to war.
The Revanchists, Revan's followers, soon joined the Republic fleets, their ranks swelling as news spread of the Jedi involvement. As Revan and Malak joined the fleets, the Republic stopped losing battles, and began to win them. Revan was a tactical genius, capable of winning battles which should have been obvious defeats. Together with Revan's planning and Malak's prowess on the battlefield, the war began to turn in favor of the Republic. On Dxun, Republic casualties mounted, but Revan pushed on to take the world. As the war progressed, Revan began to commit actions which began to mirror those of his enemies; he left worlds entirely undefended to attack strategic sectors, or would sacrifice a portion of his fleet to open a hole in the enemy defenses. Soon, Revan and Malak began to thirst for conflict for its own sake, and they became more and more like the warlike Mandalorians.
"Revan's strategies and tactics defeated the best of us. Even Mandalore himself was taken aback by the ferocity of his attacks, the tenacity of his defenses and the subtlety of his plans. Revan fought us to a standstill and then began pushing back. We didn't really have a chance." -Canderous Ordo
After much of the Mandalorian ground forces had been decimated at Althir, Revan forced the Mandalorian fleet into an engagement above Malachor V. The fleet assaulting the Mandalorians there was composed of officers and Jedi whose loyalty to Revan was in doubt. The Republic ships engaged the Mandalorians, but suffered heavy losses. As the battle began to turn to the Mandalorians, Revan arrived in the system. His fleet massacred what was left of the Mandalorian battle line, and their fleet was pushed back toward Malachor. Landing on the planet's surface, Revan personally slew Mandalore the Ultimate in hand to hand combat.
Seeing that the Mandalorian fleet had fallen into Revan's trap, Revan's top general, known as the Jedi Exile, gave the order to use the Mass Shadow Generator, a superweapon designed to wipe out the enemy starships. Both the Mandalorian and Republic fleets were engulfed in the attack, the capital ships of both sides depressurizing to space. The Jedi present suffered such a blow through the Force as their enemies and allies perished that they were either killed outright or suffered complete deafness to the Force. It was over. The Mandalorian Wars had been won.
Upon seeing the complete devastation of their fleet and command, the remaining Mandalorian forces jumped to hyperspace. Taking nearly a third of the combined Republic fleet with them, Revan and Malak pursued them into deep space. For two years, nothing was heard from them, and they were believed lost, killed in some unknown tragedy. The Republic mourned her heroes.
Then, two and a half years later, Revan and Malak returned at the head of a massive Sith fleet, composed of highly advanced vessels never before seen in the galaxy, and crewed by the men who had served under Revan in the Mandalorian Wars. Having proclaimed himself Darth Revan, Dark Lord of the Sith, Revan, along with Malak, led an assault into the heart of the galaxy, striking important targets and bypassing heavily fortified worlds entirely. Darth Revan, once again, showed a particular sort of brilliance as he led his new war against the Republic, leaving much of the infrastructure intact and converting Jedi rather than killing them. Unlike the Mandalorians, who had destroyed blindly, Revan spared many worlds with little or no tactical value and took strategic worlds with a minimum of damage. The Sith fleet was gaining momentum, and was preparing to strike into the heart of the galaxy when the Jedi hatched a desperate plot.
A small Jedi strike force immobilized the Sith fleet just outside of the Galactic Core. Bastila Shan, renowned Jedi Padawan and skilled leader, boarded Revan's battlecruiser and fought her way to the bridge. There, she and two other Jedi confronted Revan, preparing to end the war in a single movement. This was not to be. Seizing an opportunity, Darth Malak struck first, firing on the bridge of his master's ship and usurping the title of Dark Lord for himself. Revan was badly wounded, but Bastila Shan preserved his life as best as she could and escorted him back to the Jedi. There, the amnesiac Revan was reprogrammed with a new identity loyal to the Republic.
Revan was onboard Bastila Shan's vessel, the
Endar Spire, when it came under assault by Sith forces. The ship fell toward Taris, burning, and Bastila, Revan, and a Republic war hero known as Carth Onasi escaped in two escape pods as the vessel exploded. On Taris, Revan and Carth survived many trials and won the Taris Open Swoop Race to "win" Bastila back from the gang who had captured her. Recognizing Revan, Bastila brought him to the Jedi Masters on Dantooine upon escaping from Taris, who retaught him in the Jedi arts.
There, the Jedi Masters gave Revan a mission; to track down the Star Maps which he and Malak had followed years before, and to discover what they had discovered. Accepting the mission, Revan, Bastila, and Carth, along with many other companions, found four more Star Maps; on Kashyyyk, Manaan, Tatooine, and on their way to the last Star Map, their ship was captured by Malak's flagship. Revan and his companions fought their way free, but Malak confronted Revan before he could escape. There, Malak revealed Revan's true identity to him. Bastila confirmed this to him before she fought Malak to a standstill, allowing Revan and Carth to escape to Korriban, the location of the last Star Map.
These Star Maps pointed towards an unknown system in the Outer Rim. Revan went to that system, but the
Ebon Hawk, Revan's transport, was damaged in the landing. Upon further examination, the forcefield protecting the large orbiting station known as the Star Forge - the Sith factory which had enabled the Sith fleet to be built and repaired so quickly - had caused their crash. Passing through several trials on the Unknown World, Revan made his way to the Temple that generated the forcefield, intending to shut it down. There, Bastila Shan, now corrupted by Malak, confronted Revan. He defeated her, and despite her efforts to convince him to fall to the darkside, he resisted. She flew to the Star Forge in a fury, but Revan pursued her there while Carth Onasi called in the aid of a Republic Battle Fleet.
Upon his arrival, Revan fought his way virtually single-handedly through legions of battle droids, Sith Troopers, and Dark Jedi. Once he reached the command deck of the Star Forge, he confronted Bastila Shan once more, who was using her Battle Meditation to impede the Republic advance. Revan crossed blades with Bastila and defeated her, though she was healed continuously by the power of the Star Forge itself. Revan used his legendary charisma to redeem Bastila, then admitted his love for her. She shared the sentiment, and allowed Revan to continue on to confront Malak in single combat while she used her Battle Meditation to aid the Republic fleet.
On the Observation platform of the Star Forge, Revan confronted Darth Malak. After a few brief words, the two old friends crossed blades. Though Malak was healed repeatedly by the power of captive Jedi, Revan proved the stronger, freeing these Jedi wherever possible, overpowering Malak where it was not. Revan's resolve, power, and skill triumphed, and at last, Malak was killed as the Star Forge finally yielded to the Republic bombardment. The Jedi Civil War was over. The Republic had won.
Revan and his companions were awarded with the Cross of Glory, the Republic's highest award for valor. Revan soon married Bastila Shan, and the two produced children together - and one of their descendants would become grandmaster of the Jedi Order herself. But that is a tale for another time.
"The Dark Lord Revan is dead. I am a servant of the light now." -Revan