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History of the Krath The FoundingLong before the Empire, before the Sith and before even the Jedi Knights, people worshiped at the altars of Krath. Krath was a god of the Tameht tribe, a primitive people. In their legends Krath spoke to their finest blacksmiths and ordered them to create a talisman using which they could communicate with him more easily, and this talisman was forged as Krath instructed with a hexagonal hole drilled into the bottom of it. Krath ordered the smiths to place a crystal into this hole- a crystal whose powers of the Tameht smiths knew nothing about which we now know to be a crystal that conducts and stores the energy of the Force. These smiths could communicate with their god, and he with them, using this talisman, and they became the Priesthood of Krath. The High Priest would wear the talisman and he alone could communicate with Krath. As a succession of High Priests fell into insanity and apparent demonic possession, the priests began to suspect some flaw within the talisman and after much mediation, they drilled two additional holes and added two more crystals into them. This alteration seemed to be successful, and no more High Priests fell victim to madness or demonic possession for many generations. The talisman was passed down through the generations and was passed to the Zfana civilization which succeeded the Tameht. After a number of centuries, the talisman ended up in the hands of the Mshanyata civilization, who rose to power only 12,000 years prior to the Battle of Yavin. The High Priests of the Mshanyata Krath removed the two crystals added by the Tameht and restored the talisman to its original form, believing in doing so they were freeing the true potential of their god which had been shackled by the two new crystals over the millennia. During the flowering of the rival Makalasa Culture about 4,000 years after, the Mshanyata had become a group whom their enemies regarded as soulless and possessed. It was during this time that their god Krath earned his reputation for evil. The War of Five Thousand Days brought an end to the followers of the god Krath. The Mshanyata were destroyed by the Makalasa, and the Talisman was lost for millennia�until it was found by a Force-sensitive student of the Sith. Empress Teta During all the millennia in which the talisman had been the center of the Krath religion, it had always been wielded by people who knew nothing of the Force and the power of Krath had been limited. However, after being lost for thousands of years the talisman came into light n the hands of Satal Keto, a student of the Sith. Keto was convinced that the legendary talisman would, in his Force-sensitive hands, make him more powerful than the former Priests of Krath had been, and more powerful than his fellow students of the Sith. Together with his cousin Aleema, he began to explore the powers of the talisman and began communicating with the god Krath. They conquered the Empress Teta system under Krath�s guidance, but unfortunately the pair were soon lost to the world after placing the talisman in the Iron Citadel for safe keeping, intending to return and continue their exploration of its powers later. What happened next is unknown, but both were killed before they could return. Satal�s life essence was not lost, however, and his spirit was drawn to the talisman. From this artifact, Keto�s spirit lives on, sealing itself and the talisman away for thousands of years, all the while exploring the ways of Krath and seeing the possible futures. Here he saw his opportunity for life. He found a mind focused on the ancient magics, a mind suitable for his plans. Reaching out through the Force to that mind he used hi power to draw that dabbler in the ancient magics to the resting place of the talisman he was trapped in. This dabbling Dark Jedi picked up the talisman and became to first High Priest of Krath in four-thousand years. This was four thousand years ago, and the Jedi were many and spread across the galaxy. The Dark Jedi who found the talisman was possessed by Satal Keto- in effect Keto was restored to life in a new body. The Dark Jedi was the son of the wealthy Elite in the Empress Teta system, a group made rich by the carbonite mines which provided the galaxy�s main supply of the highly prized material. He and many of his friends, with nothing to do and the ability to satisfy their every desire had become bored and started dabbling in primitive magic. It was this that opened his mind to Krath and allowed the spirit of Satal Keto to draw him to the talisman. Once possessed by Keto, this Dark Jedi became vastly more powerful, no longer the petty magician he was before, but a fully fledged Dark Jedi Master with immeasurable powers. Satal Keto, in his new body, returned to his home in Empress Teta and soon drew his rich friends into Krath�s powers and they all became powerful. Their group was known as the Obsidian Order as well as the Order of Krath and its influence began to spread rapidly, drawing many Dark Side followers. The Light Jedi saw the threat that the foolish children had become and called a gathering on the planet Deneba. Ulic Qel-Droma, a Jedi Master, warned the assembled crowd of Light Jedi that �We are witness to sinister developments�A war with the Krath might last for years. Many Jedi will die, and what will be gained by this bloodshed? We will have slain thousands, but the Krath themselves will survive, their dark powers intact.� It was finally decided that they should infiltrate the Krath rather than risk a direct war, and Ulic Qel-Droma volunteered for the task. Disguising his identity and blending in with the population of Cinnager, the main planet in the Empress Teta system, the eventually gained access to the Order of Krath. The became a low ranking priest of the Krath, and then for years he was not heard from at all. After this time he re-emerged�as a High Priest of the Krath, possessed by the essence of Krath as so many before him had been. This lead to the first major war between the Jedi and the followers of the Dark Side. The members of The Brotherhood of Krath are typically quiet and mysterious, spending long hours meditating and communicating with their god in mysterious rituals. Their powers are subtler than those of the Sith, and focus more on the manipulation of people and events to suit their purposes. Followers of Krath are feared almost as much as followers of the Order of the Sith, and the mere sight of a dark-robed priest of the Krath is a sight feared by all light-siders and Rebels across the Galaxy.  |