Darth Krayt, born A'Sharad Hett, revered as the Dragon of the Sith, and known to some members of the Skywalker family as the Dark Man, was a long-lived Force-sensitive Human male who served as both a Jedi Master and general in the waning days of the Galactic Republic and as Dark Lord of the Sith following the fall of Darth Sidious. In between these roles, he also served as the commander of his father's tribe of Tusken Raiders as well as a bounty hunter. The son of legendary Jedi Knight Sharad Hett and his wife K'Sheek, both of whom lived among the Tusken Raiders of Tatooine, he eventually became the Padawan of Jedi Masters Ki-Adi-Mundi, and later, An'ya Kuro. When he was only a teen, Hett's father was murdered by the Ex-Jedi turned assassin Aurra Sing, who was later defeated in a duel by a young A'Sharad Hett. During the Clone Wars, he served the Republic as a General and established himself as a charismatic leader who often led his troops from the front. He eventually became friends with the young Anakin Skywalker and helped Anakin come to terms with the destruction which had been wrought by the galaxy-wide war. A'Sharad took part in key conflicts during the war such as the Battle of Boz Pity and the Siege of Saleucami. He managed to survive the Clone Wars, and was one of the few Jedi known to have escaped the Great Jedi Purge in 19 BBY.

A'Sharad Hett eventually made his way back to his homeworld of Tatooine where he vowed to wage a private war against the new Galactic Empire. However, after a confrontation with Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, he was exiled from Tatooine and later discovered that it was Anakin Skywalker who became the Sith Lord Darth Vader, who had aided Sidious in the annihilation of the Jedi Order. A'Sharad blamed himself for the destruction of the Jedi Order (as he had known about Anakin killing of a village of Sand People, and could have reported the young Jedi, thus getting him expelled, but did not—considering it Anakin's personal responsibility to deal with his own dark deeds) and became a bounty hunter. During one of his missions, he found himself on Korriban, where he trained as a Sith under the tutelage of the Dark Lord XoXaan. Hett eventually fell to the dark side after capture and torture by the Yuuzhan Vong and soon proclaimed himself Dread Lord and Dark Lord of the Sith, taking the name "Darth Krayt".

As Krayt, he became the founder and leader of the One Sith during the period of the Vong invasion. He kept the existence of his rebuilt Sith Order hidden from the Jedi for a century by cloaking their presence on Korriban. At one point in 44 ABY, he emerged to fight alongside Luke Skywalker against Abeloth. To survive, the Dark Lord spent many years in stasis before reemerging to form an alliance with Moff Nyna Calixte and to spark the Sith–Imperial War that led to the destruction of the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances. At the climax of the war, he deposed Emperor Roan Fel and attempted to destroy the New Jedi Order.

Darth Krayt ruled the galaxy with an iron fist for seven years before the alliance between rightful Emperor Roan Fel and Galactic Alliance admiral Gar Stazi threatened his usurped rule. Furthermore, Krayt discovered the existence and survival of a Skywalker: Cade. Krayt feared that with these deteriorating conditions and his bad health would lead to his demise before his dream was finished, and sent about the hunt for Cade Skywalker. However, during a skirmish on Had Abbadon, Krayt was stabbed, electrocuted, and sent hurtling off a cliff. The Sith Lord's powers proved strong, however, when they saved his life. Darth Krayt was then approached by Darth Wyyrlok, his most trusted advisor, who murdered Krayt, believing the Dread Lord would lead to the Sith Order's destruction.

But, even as he was inactive, Krayt's ideals were being carried out by Wyyrlok in his place. Krayt later healed his body from his death experience. Overcoming the taint of his armor, he called out to all those across the galaxy who had touched the dark side, signaling his return. With the aid of loyal Sith and a new breed of Sith troopers, Krayt retook Coruscant, slaying Darth Wyyrlok in the process, and began making preparations to rebirth the galaxy through war. However, in the final battle, he once again attempted to turn Cade Skywalker. He failed to do so, and while distracted in the attempt was slain by Cade, who incinerated his corpse to prevent the ghost of Krayt from simply resurrecting his dead body. Even after his physical death, Krayt's ideals were carried on by his loyal followers.

Biography[]

Pre-birth[]

Prior to 67 BBY, Darth Krayt was foreseen by the Sith Lord Darth Tenebrous, who predicted through calculations with his enormous brain that the future of the Sith would see eventually the arrival of a "One Sith" with no need of a replacement and rule forever, naively believing it would be him, though those predictions veered more towards Darth Sidious' rise to power.^[15]

Early life (47 BBY–22 BBY)[]

A'Sharad was born on the desert planet of Tatooine, the son of the famed Ex-Jedi Knight Sharad Hett and a Tusken-raised Human woman named K'Sheek.^[1]

From his earliest days A'Sharad was raised, not only in the ways of the Jedi, but also among the traditions of the nomadic Sand People of his homeworld. He once undertook the ritual of slaying a krayt dragon. While he had grown up informally learning the ways of the Force and lightsaber construction from his father, A'Sharad's formal Jedi training did not begin until shortly after a Hutt-provoked Tusken war designed to increase demand for old weapons, in which the bounty hunter Aurra Sing murdered his father. At this time A'Sharad was fifteen years old, and upon his father's death he gained possession of his father's lightsaber, which A'Sharad continued to use even after constructing his own. He would eventually become a skilled Jar'Kai user.^[1]

Becoming a Knight[]

Following his father's death, he was initially taken as the Padawan of Ki-Adi-Mundi, and under the Cerean Jedi Master's watchful eye he partook in a mission to the planet of Malastare. On this mission he worked alongside various members of the Jedi Council, which included Adi Gallia, his own master, Yaddle, Mace Windu, and Even Piell. The mission itself was launched in response to the insurgents of the planet Lannik who declared that they were finally willing to begin peace talks to end the civil war on their planet—the location for the peace meeting was none other than Malastare.^[9]

After arriving on Coruscant, the teenage Hett learned that Tusken and Human DNA weren't compatible, so he concluded that his mother was human.^[3]

Two years after the Invasion of Naboo, his father's killer, Aurra Sing, resurfaced and A'Sharad accompanied Ki-Adi Mundi and Adi Gallia to track down the Jedi killer to end the threat. They tracked Sing to an uncharted world which had been claimed by Senator Tikkes and his Quarren underlings. Once there, they met up with the Dark Woman, Aurra Sing's former master, who had taken it upon herself to end the threat that her former Padawan presented. With Ki-Adi, Gallia, and the Dark Woman hunting Aurra Sing, A'Sharad was ordered to watch over Senator Tikkes, who was Sing's most recent target. Sing, though, was able to sneak aboard the Senator's vessel. A'Sharad found himself engaged in a deadly duel with his father's killer. Jedi and darksider strove back and forth, slamming each other around, crimson blades clashing. For a little while, it appeared that Sing would slay the young Jedi. However, during the fight, A'Sharad used his anger to overcome Sing, and was able to knock her unconscious. He was, though, able to regain control over his anger and willed himself not to kill the felled bounty hunter. Instead, he turned his prisoner over to Ki-Adi Mundi and the other Jedi Masters.^[10]

Feeling immense guilt over giving into his anger, A'Sharad begged Ki-Adi-Mundi to release him from his tutelage and to allow him to go into exile, like his father had before him. Instead, the Dark Woman offered to take up A'Sharad's training and, with Ki-Adi-Mundi's blessing, she became the Padawan's new master.^[10] Over the course of the next decade, A'Sharad managed to complete his training under the guidance of the Dark Woman, and ascended to the rank of Jedi Knight.^[3] Eventually, he also took a Padawan of his own—a young male Nikto by the name of Bhat Jul.^[11]

The Clone Wars (22 BBY–19 BBY)[]

During the Clone Wars, A'Sharad served as a General for the Galactic Republic, and flew his Jedi starfighter in air support as part of Zeta Squadron during the Battle of Geonosis.^[18] He would also fight during many of the ground campaigns of the war, leading clone troopers on worlds such as Metalorn and Aargonar. After Obi-Wan Kenobi's presumed death during the Battle of Jabiim, Hett befriended the young Jedi Anakin Skywalker who was in desperate need of guidance as well as companionship.^[11]

Following the Battle of Jabiim, Anakin Skywalker and A'Sharad Hett were on New Holstice helping at the Republic military hospital established there. During one traumatic experience in the trauma ward, Anakin used the Force in a variant of Force choke to massage the heart of dying Master Sora Mobari, in an effort to try and keep her alive—however, his efforts only increased the pain that Mobari was suffering. A'Sharad confronted Anakin about this and realized that Anakin was having a difficult time accepting that death was a natural state of life, and essentially, the Force. To demonstrate his point, he took Anakin to a monument near the hospital which was dedicated to the memory of fallen Jedi. Upon seeing the monument, Anakin could hear a memory moth whispering to him—he reached into the soft glowing light of the monument and grabbed the memory moth, holding it to his ear. He listened to it as it continually whispered a name in his ear—Oss Wilum. A'Sharad showed Anakin how to use the memory moth to remember the names of the fallen, thus allowing Anakin to gain some closure over the many friends he lost in the killing fields of Jabiim.^[11]

Following their much needed break from combat together with Bhat Jul, the three led the Republic defense of Aargonar. During the battle, the three Jedi became marooned behind enemy lines after their gunship was shot down—A'Sharad and Anakin found themselves alone after Bhat died of injuries received during the crash.^[3]

Unaware of Anakin's dark feelings towards Tuskens, A'Sharad pointed out to him that the two of them shared many qualities. He even remarked that, had the chance presented itself, Anakin would have made a good Tusken. A'Sharad intended the comment as a compliment, but Anakin took it as an insult, which was influenced by the death of his mother at the hands of Tusken Raiders.^[3]

The differences in rank prevented Anakin from expressing his prejudice and anger towards Hett, and instead he projected his hatred on a group of enemy soldiers. Imagining them to be the Sand People who had kidnapped and tortured his mother, Anakin slaughtered them without pity. In the heat of his rage, Anakin even tried to attack A'Sharad, but the elder Jedi, though without a lightsaber defended himself, and managed to disarm the younger Jedi. Shamed over his loss of control, Anakin confessed himself to A'Sharad regarding his deeds on Tatooine and how he had killed a tribe of Tuskans in his rage. In an effort to try and cure the boy of his anger and knowing it the only way that they would be able to work together, A'Sharad removed his Tusken face mask and revealed himself to be Human—just like Anakin. After sharing the private moment with Anakin, he vowed to keep Anakin's secret, hoping that Anakin would resolve the issue himself. Hett also decided to discard his Tusken mask, and decided to be simply a Jedi, rather than Human or Tusken.^[3]

In 19 BBY, A'Sharad went with many other Jedi to Boz Pity to assist General Kenobi and General Skywalker in their hunt for Separatist and Sith leaders. The Jedi were ambushed by Lord Dooku and General Grievous. A'Sharad fought with his lightsaber and augmented himself to be able to punch down B-1s during this battle.^[19] Ultimately, with his help, the Jedi defeated the Sith and droids in this battle.^[20]

After fighting in the Battle of Boz Pity,^[19] he served as part of the Jedi force dispatched to the planet of Saleucami, alongside Jedi Masters Quinlan Vos and Oppo Rancisis. There, he befriended the Jedi Ausar Auset, who would later die in battle. On Saleucami, A'Sharad flew for the Republic, working together with his friend, Xiaan Amersu, to destroy the Separatist's planetary gun, but Xiaan was forced to sacrifice herself, crashing her ruined starfighter into the enemy, to destroy their target. A'Sharad was saddened by her death, though he used it to motivate himself to see the battle through. After a brutal struggle, the Republic was eventually successful in their attempts on Saleucami. A'Sharad was one of several Jedi who managed to survive the campaign.^[17]

At some point by the end of the Clone Wars, A'Sharad attained the rank of Jedi Master.^[21]

Post-Clone Wars (19 BBY–c. 25ABY)[]

Return to Tatooine[]

As the Clone Wars reached its conclusion, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, secretly the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, gave a secret top-priority command to his clone troops, Order 66, commanding the clones to assassinate their Jedi commanders. Hett was on a scouting mission, away from his troops, when the order was given, though he did see other Jedi die. A'Sharad killed the clones assigned to execute him, keeping one alive just long enough to learn what had happened. Then he fled, attempting to reach other Jedi, hearing from none, sensing none.^[22]

Believing himself the only Jedi to have survived, Hett made his way back to his homeworld of Tatooine, once again taking up his heritage and donning the wrappings of a Tusken Raider, and became a war leader of several Tusken clans. Hett led these clans against human settlements that had encroached on Tusken lands, while at the same time silently preparing for his own private war against the Galactic Empire, the government Sidious had since transformed the Republic into. Hett's leadership and skills, honed in the Clone Wars, did much to reverse the losses the Tuskens had suffered since the death of his father. The Tuskens became a feared fighting force again, reclaiming land they believed was rightfully theirs.^[22][23]

Around this time, Hett had discovered the Force in one of his warriors, KkH'Oar'Rrhr. He taught him how to speak Galactic Basic Standard and employ the Force-based martial art of Teräs Käsi. The war leader even presented his protege with a bisected gaderffii stick, the traditional weapon of the Tusken, so as to instruct him in dual-weapon fighting.^[12]

A'Sharad Hett vs. Obi-Wan Kenobi[]

When Hett's clans reached the boundaries of the small moisture farm of Owen Lars, they were stopped, to Hett's surprise and shock, by his former Jedi comrade, Obi-Wan Kenobi, by then living in exile on the desert world as well. Kenobi had noticed Hett's recent activities, and believed Hett was frighteningly close to the dark side, becoming the very thing he was claiming to fight. He begged Hett to stop his crusade there and then (not mentioning to Hett exactly why he had chosen to defend this small farm), but Hett refused to listen; the settlers and farmers had killed countless Tuskens, claiming blood called out for blood. With little choice, both Jedi ignited their lightsabers and fought a brutal duel on the desert flat, with the entire Tusken army watching them.^[22]

The duel ended with the loss of Hett's right arm, and the extra humiliation of having his mask removed. To the Tuskens, to expose any part of the flesh was forbidden, and with one hand, Hett could not hope to wield a gaderffii. The clans turned on him and they departed without a word spoken. Hett was now an outcast, and asked Kenobi to finish him off. But Kenobi would not kill his old comrade. Instead, he made Hett swear on the honor of his late father that he would leave Tatooine and never return, hoping that one day, Hett would see the error of his ways and again take up the Jedi way. It was not to be; in fact, decades after the fact, Hett learned that the very moisture farm Kenobi had been defending concealed a young boy named Luke Skywalker: the son of Anakin Skywalker. He would also learn that Anakin had become the apprentice of Palpatine, Darth Vader, and helped eradicate the Jedi Order. Hett bitterly regretted protecting Skywalker's bloody secret on Aargonar; to have turned him in then, or simply killed him, Hett believed, would have spared the galaxy untold suffering.^[22]

Following his departure from Tatooine, Hett became a bounty hunter, masking his Jedi skills. While pursuing a bounty named Resk to the Sith home planet of Korriban, a storm forced them down, and Hett continued his pursuit of Resk. Hett killed him after Resk threatened to turn him over to the authorities when Hett revealed himself to have been a Jedi. He shortly afterward heard a voice summon him.^[8]

Hett followed the voice that he felt rather than heard, a darkness calling to his darkness. He found and shattered a sealed door and discovered a glowing Sith holocron. The specter of the ancient Sith Lady XoXaan, one of the first of the Sith Lords, stated that she had been waiting for someone like Hett to find her. She offered him the teachings of the Sith, and Hett agreed to learn.^[8]

XoXaan opened Hett's eyes to the dark side, and Hett deluded himself into believing that he was only pretending, that he was really just learning new skills with which to avenge himself on Vader and the now-Emperor Palpatine. But when he resurfaced from the tombs, he found that more time had passed than he had thought; the Battle of Endor had already taken place, and the Emperor and Vader had already been defeated by Luke Skywalker and the Alliance to Restore the Republic. Disillusioned yet again and unable to get revenge on the Dark Lords of the Sith, Hett left Korriban behind and made for the Unknown Regions, determined to lose himself.^[6]

The rise of Darth Krayt (c. 25 ABY–130 ABY)[]

In the Unknown Regions, Hett encountered a Yuuzhan Vong advance scout ship. Unable to sense his enemies in the Force and unfamiliar with their weapons, he was unable to defend himself, so was captured by the Yuuzhan Vong. Imprisoned in the Embrace of Pain, Hett was met by Vergere. He was tortured endlessly by the Embrace and was subjected to the experiments of the Shapers; his cybernetic arm was replaced by an organic one and his left eye was replaced by the eye of a Yuuzhan Vong creature. During his imprisonment, Vergere taught him how to use his agony to open himself to the dark side, and that was when Hett received his vision of a New Sith Order. He had conversations with Vergere and he came to believe that the galaxy was fractured and weak, and that a single will was needed to make it whole and strong again. Shortly after Vergere left him to join with the main invasion force, Hett escaped and destroyed the scout ship, and returned to Korriban. He would later note that he could have warned the New Republic of the invasion but refused to, not wanting to expose himself.^[6]

On Korriban, Hett took the name Darth Krayt, after the fearsome krayt dragon of his homeworld,^[25] and reestablished the Sith under his leadership, pledging to reunify the galaxy according to his will. Unlike the previous incarnation of the cult, however, Krayt abolished the Rule of Two, Darth Bane's ancient dictate commanding that there could be only two Sith at any one time—a Master and an apprentice. Instead, there would be the Rule of One—that one being the Sith Order itself, under which there would be many members under the direction of a single Dark Lord of the Sith.^[6]

During the Yuuzhan Vong War, Krayt sought to recruit the independent Sith Lady Lumiya, a former Imperial assassin who trained under Vader and Palpatine, into his Order, which he had named the One Sith. However, she instead chose to side with Vergere and they eventually corrupted the Jedi Knight Jacen Solo, the grandson of Darth Vader, into becoming Darth Caedus. Although several of his followers resented Caedus and did not consider him a true Sith, Krayt tolerated him as a lightning rod to deflect attention from him. When Caedus went about with the Second Galactic Civil War, the Jedi were distracted away from Krayt's order, which grew in strength, hidden under Korriban's miasma of dark side energy.^[6]

By the year 41 ABY, Darth Krayt tried to undermine the Jedi with a clone of Jaden Korr, apprentice of Jedi Master Kyle Katarn: but this would ultimately fail.^[26] During this time of hiding, Krayt was able to keep his operations, and grand displays of the Force, hidden from the Jedi and even other Sith, to the point that Luke Skywalker, Ben Skywalker, and Vestara Khai (and the hounds under her control) could not find the One Sith.^[27] He also inserted spies into the New Jedi Order.^[28]

However, the Dark Lord was not without his own vulnerabilities: his body could not have survived the Yuuzhan Vong implants naturally, but he endured by placing himself in extensive periods of stasis, his mind only open to his closest disciples like the first Darth Wyyrlok, his condition kept at bay by both stasis and healing trances. The Yuuzhan Vong implants caused an exoskeleton of bony outgrowths to surround his body as armor.^[6]

Abeloth[]

At some point, Darth Krayt became aware of the being known as Abeloth. He knew of her history with the family of Force entities known as the Ones and feared that she could pose a great threat to his plans. Krayt would credit spies within the New Jedi Order as the source of this knowledge. Desperate to stop Abeloth, he left Korriban and traveled to Coruscant which was secretly under the control of Abeloth and her minions, the Lost Tribe of Sith. He was noticed by Grand Master Luke Skywalker during a skirmish at a spaceport as the Jedi returned to the capital to destroy the Sith. However, Luke believed him to be merely another member of the Lost Tribe.^[28]

Sometime later, after the battle in the Jedi Temple escalated to the rest of Coruscant, Krayt was seen several times by the Jedi as an observer until he was confronted on Fellowship Plaza by Jedi Knight Yaqeel Saav'etu. When she tried to take him into custody after sensing his dark side aura, he disarmed her before telling her: "Not yet, Jedi. Abeloth first." Recognizing the power of this unknown but mostly peaceful darksider, Luke ordered that the Sith Master not be harassed or attacked so long as the mysterious man did not interfere, as the Jedi did not need any more foes.^[28]

Krayt traveled beyond shadows and met with Skywalker when the latter prepared to confront Abeloth. Krayt was identified by the Force ghost of Jacen Solo as being the Dark Man of his and Luke's visions. However, Krayt convinced Luke that, with the Ones dead, only the Sith and Jedi together could defeat Abeloth. Krayt attempted to insinuate that he was part of the Lost Tribe as Luke had initially theorized, but Skywalker saw through the deception, noting the Tribe's penchant for physical beauty and their rejection of tattoos, which Krayt still bore from his life as A'Sharad Hett. Nevertheless, he agreed to ally with the Sith Lord, though Skywalker thought Krayt would betray him and even made ready to break their alliance on two occasions. Both Krayt and Skywalker ultimately managed to defeat Abeloth, thanks to her host bodies being destroyed around the same time, but the two were left gravely injured, though still alive. As Krayt left, Skywalker now knew that another Sith Order was active behind the scenes, though he was ultimately unaware of Krayt's identity. In addition, when Luke explained that the Sith would not gain the Throne of Balance due to foreseeing a Jedi Queen, Krayt implied that the future of a Sith-dominated Throne of Balance was only delayed and not actually averted, correctly predicting he would one day rule the galaxy.^[28][7]

For more than a hundred years, Krayt grew and strengthened along with his Sith on Korriban, surreptitiously planning to bring its vision of peace and order to the galaxy. Decades after the fight with Abeloth, Krayt slew a Devaronian Jedi and their partner. Krayt kidnapped their daughter, Malincha and trained her as a Sith, teaching her to embrace hate, fear and pain. Malincha eventually became the Sith Lady Darth Maladi, an adept at torture and deception, and the head of the One Sith's intelligence and assassination branch.^[13]

The Sith–Imperial War[]

At last, in the period of 127–130 ABY, the Sith made their presence known openly under Krayt's leadership, and the result of his machinations was the Sith–Imperial War.^[29] Krayt's own holocron contained entries relating how he engineered the fall of the Galactic Alliance, the successor state of the New Republic, and the restoration of the Galactic Empire as the dominant galactic power.^[7]

Krayt sabotage a Jedi project that was established for entirely altruistic reasons. The original intent of the Ossus Project was to use Yuuzhan Vong terraforming techniques to restore a barren section of the once-devastated Jedi fortress world of Ossus. When the test proved successful, the response was tremendous.^[30]

Out of a host of applicants, one hundred worlds were selected for the Yuuzhan Vong terraforming process. Yuuzhan Vong Shapers, overseen by Jedi escorts, produced incredible results. But the Sith tainted the process.^[30] Krayt's apprentice Darth Maladi was an expert in Yuuzhan Vong bio-forms and had recruited Zenoc Quah, a rogue Yuuzhan Vong Shaper. Together, they sabotaged the Ossus Project with a Vongspawn virus. On every world on which the Yuuzhan Vong had carried out their work, the vegetation withered, and bony growths—like those once seen on those the Yuuzhan Vong had taken as slaves during their invasion—began forming on the skin of the inhabitants.^[13]

The Jedi immediately suspected sabotage, but could never prove it. It did not matter; the lingering resentment the galaxy felt towards the Yuuzhan Vong, even decades after their defeat and exile, did Krayt's work for him, and soon the Yuuzhan Vong were accused of trying to restart their genocidal crusade against the galaxy by other means.^[30]

The results were everything he could have hoped for. The Jedi, devoted to the truth above all, defended the Yuuzhan Vong and encouraged the Galactic Alliance to support them. The Empire reacted accordingly; members of the Council of Moffs demanded retribution (quite possibly instructed to do so by Krayt himself) and, invoking the Treaty of Anaxes, declared war on the Alliance. Emperor Roan Fel went along, albeit reluctantly, feeling it was the best course for the Empire in a dangerous galaxy, but never entirely supported it, even keeping his Imperial Knights out of the fighting.^[30]

In addition to war with the Empire, the Alliance found itself facing dissension from within its own ranks. Worlds that had suffered the most under the Yuuzhan Vong now aimed their resentment at the Alliance; many of them refused to support the Alliance and actively sided with the Empire, while others just stood by and watched under the banner of neutrality. So divided, the Alliance was easy to conquer.^[30]

In three years, the Galactic Alliance was forced into surrender and the Empire absorbed all its former holdings, even reclaiming Coruscant as the Imperial throneworld. It was a reversal of the galactic order that no one could have foreseen, or believed was possible. But despite the grandeur of this victory, it was but a stepping stone for Krayt. Quite possibly he felt that it would be easier to establish his definition of order over the galaxy under an Empire than under a democratic government, even if that Empire was no longer the absolute tyranny his predecessor Darth Sidious had originally intended.^[29]

The consolidation of power[]

Now that the Empire was triumphant, it was time to remove the last obstacle to the Sith: their ancient enemies, the Jedi. With the fall of Coruscant, the Empire's ruler, Emperor Roan Fel, had called on the Jedi to surrender and submit to the Empire. But the Jedi were now aware of the Sith's involvement in the war and refused to join them. They withdrew from Coruscant, yielding their Temple to their enemies, and holed themselves in their praxeum on Ossus.^[29] Krayt dispatched his Hand, Darth Nihl, on a devastating attack against the praxeum. However, what came to be known as the Massacre at Ossus was not the absolute victory he hoped for. Nihl managed to make several significant kills, especially one of the most prominent members of the Jedi Council, Kol Skywalker, scion of the very bloodline that had proven to be both the greatest boon and, later, the greatest impediment to Sith dominance. But the death of even a good number of Jedi did not make for victory. The Jedi were sent to flight, scattered, but they were not yet defeated.^[7]

Despite this, the Jedi had still been brought low enough to allow him to take the next step; now that the Empire was triumphant, it was time to claim its throne as his own.^[7]

He launched a daring palace revolution, marching with his cohorts straight into the audience chamber of Emperor Roan Fel himself, killing the man who sat on the throne, and seating himself in his place. Noting the confusion and outrage from the members of the Moff Council who were present, he laid out the facts of life for them and again demonstrated his mastery of the dark side of the Force upon them. The Dreadlord proclaimed himself to be the man of vision the galexy needed. Faced with little choice, the Moff Council swore loyalty to him. For the first time in nearly a hundred years, a Sith Lord held the galactic seat of power. At once he set about imposing order on a galaxy that sorely needed it, but this too was an incomplete victory. The "Emperor" he had killed had been anything but. It had to be a double; the real Fel was a fully trained Imperial Knight and would surely have defended himself, rather than just stand there and let himself be slain. It was imperative that the real Fel be found, before he recruited allies among the Moffs, the military, or those Jedi who had survived.^[7]

And there was a further concern that he kept to himself and his lieutenant, Wyyrlok. Krayt knew all too well that his health was failing him; he was more than a hundred and seventy years old, and he was ruling on borrowed time. But he had felt a murmur in the Force during the Ossus massacre; someone, a Jedi, had somehow used the Force to heal someone else, bring them back to life from the brink of death. If his reign was to endure, if he was to establish his vision of galactic order, he had to find this Jedi with the power to bring beings back to life, and bend his power to serve the dark side.^[7]

Krayt ruled his new Empire as the leader of both the One Sith and the Council of Moffs. He also was the Sith Lord who held dominion over Coruscant and the commander of the Coruscant Defense Fleet.^[31]

In 132 ABY, Krayt sent the Sith Lord Darth Vurik to the planet Nyriaan to investigate rumors of the Dying Sun, an Interdictor-class cruiser that had crashed on the world during the Jedi Civil War.^[32]

Downturn (137 ABY)[]

With the passage of seven years, Emperor Krayt's grip on the throne was still uncertain. Roan Fel remained at large, and finding him was of paramount importance. He sent one of his newest and most devoted hands, the vicious Darth Talon, on a mission to lure Fel out into the open by capturing his daughter, Princess Marasiah Fel. But Fel refused to take the bait; he had plans of his own. In fact, though Krayt did not know it yet, Fel had succeeded in reclaiming the historic fortress world of Bastion, making it a staging area for the Imperial forces he had spent the last seven years moving into position. Little by little, the ground was being laid for a reckoning between Emperors, between the man who claimed to have a birthright to the title and the man who had taken it from him.^[34]

It did not help that Krayt was distracted by his own condition. In an attempt to find out how he could survive being consumed by his Yuuzhan Vong implants, Krayt traveled to Korriban in an attempt to learn from past Sith Lords how to avoid this fate. Krayt activated the holocrons of Darth Bane, Darth Andeddu, and Darth Nihilus, and asked how he could overcome the limitations of his armor, or at least keep it at bay.^[33]

The ancient Sith were of no help at all: Bane lambasted Krayt for not adhering to the Rule of Two, Nihilus merely gave a small statement in his peculiar dialect (which neither Bane nor Andeddu deigned to translate), and Andeddu caused Krayt's armor to consume him, transforming him into a creature very much like his namesake. Laughing, the Sith avatars taunted him with what they said was his destiny. The three ancient Sith Lords, declaring Krayt to be nothing but an impostor and his order a mockery of the Sith, taunted and laughed as Krayt's fear nearly overcame him. But Krayt refused to accept it.^[33]

In this outburst, he was able to focus his anger to the point that he was able to reverse the effects of Andeddu's wizardry. He was determined that if he could get no help from the ancient Sith, he would find other teachings, another way.^[33]

Discovery[]

When Darth Talon returned from her unsuccessful mission to capture Marasiah Fel on Vendaxa, she expected to be executed by Krayt for her failure. Her master, however, forgave her when she informed him that one of the foes she faced there was a Skywalker. Musing that it was perhaps fate that had allowed the Skywalker lineage to continue, Krayt ordered Talon to find this Force-user, Cade Skywalker, and bring him to Coruscant. Indeed, due to a unique ability he had discovered, Cade was perhaps the only man in the galaxy able to bring the dead to life.^[35]

In the meanwhile, Krayt sent his Sith minions Darth Maleval, and Darth Kruhl to destroy the 908th Stormtrooper Division and eliminate Emperor Fel, respectively. Maleval was shot down by Anson Trask, and Kruhl was shot and killed by Emperor Fel on Bastion.^[36][37] Krayt also sent the Quarren Darth Azard to oversee the Outer Rim Third Fleet, which had been tasked with eliminating Admiral Gar Stazi and the Galactic Alliance Core Fleet.^[38]

Skywalker found[]

While meditating in the Temple of the Sith, Krayt sensed Cade Skywalker heading in his direction to rescue the Jedi Hosk Trey'lis. Krayt tasked his Hands, Darth Nihl and Darth Talon with capturing him, which they did.^[39]

Darth Krayt later came to oversee Cade's interrogation at the hands of Darth Maladi, and was astonished to see Cade's body had purged itself of the deadly substances Maladi had injected into his body. In order to witness his power, Krayt ordered Maladi to infect the recently captured Jariah Syn and Deliah Blue with deadly Yuuzhan Vong Yorik-Kul coral seeds. Cade saved his friends and made a deal with Krayt: remain with the Sith in exchange for his friends' freedom.^[24]

Krayt then took Cade to his chambers alongside Darth Talon and Darth Wyyrlok, leaving both Lady Maladi and Lord Nihl outside. There, Krayt gave food to Cade and revealed that he had once been a Jedi, A'Sharad Hett.^[24] Skywalker was far from impressed, even after Krayt explained his origins, but when Skywalker was provoked to anger by Darth Talon, and nearly killed her, it was clear to Krayt that Skywalker was exactly what he had hoped for. Krayt urged Skywalker to use his anger properly, focus it, let the Sith teachings help him to reach his full potential. At last, Skywalker accepted what Krayt believed to be his destiny, and agreed to learn the ways of the Sith like his ancestor Vader before him. Krayt commanded him to heal Talon, for she would be his teacher.^[22] During Skywalker's training, Talon informed Krayt that he was only pretending to be like them but Krayt was confident that Skywalker would come to embrace the Sith way.^[8] He later placed Cade in the Embrace of Pain perhaps to ensure his conversion while telling him more of his own fall.^[6]

Not long after, Cade escaped from the Embrace of Pain and then attempted to escape the temple itself, but was quickly apprehended. Cade was brought before Darth Krayt who, in front of his two "Hands", ordered Skywalker to execute the captured Jedi Hosk Trey'lis. Skywalker refused, and so Krayt executed him personally, unintentionally invoking Cade's rage. Cade broke the transparisteel casing around his father's lightsaber and used the weapon to impale Darth Talon. Skywalker then engaged Darth Nihl in a duel, while Darth Krayt stood back and observed; throwing in insults every now and then in an attempt to bring Cade closer to the dark side.^[6] When Cade succeeded in cutting off Nihl's right arm, Krayt commanded him to kill the Sith Lord. Skywalker refused and began a duel with the Dark Lord of the Sith. Krayt was almost at the edge of defeating Skywalker when Skywalker's mother, Morrigan Corde, shot him in the back. With Cade successfully rescued, Krayt commanded his Sith servants to find him by any means necessary. He swore that he would break Cade, have him use his healing power, and then kill him.^[40]

As the Sith began to recover, Krayt was angered, desiring to end Nihl's life for his failure. Wyyrlok suggested there was another way that he could serve him; Krayt relented, ordering Maladi to replace Nihl's arm with a Yuuzhan Vong one, he then revoked Nihl's position as a Hand, naming Stryfe in his stead. He also ordered Talon to be taken to a bacta tank. Soon after, Krayt got into stasis as Wyyrlok searched for Andeddu's true tomb on Prakith, finding a number of texts that could help the Dark Lord.^[41]

Genocide[]

After Admiral Gar Stazi stole the new Imperious-class Star Destroyer Imperious during the battle against the Outer Rim Third Fleet, Emperor Krayt personally came to Dac to confront Gial Gahan, former Triumvir and supporter of the Galactic Alliance Remnant. The capture of the Star Destroyer infuriated Krayt, as did the disastrous failure of his underlings. Therefore, Krayt, before Holonet droid cams, murdered Gial Gahan and the other Mon Calamari present. He issued the extermination of ten percent of the planet's Mon Calamari population and internment of the rest in work camps.^[43]

He ordered his Sith Lords to execute the entire Mon Calamari Council, including those Quarren opposing his edict thus showing the galaxy the cost of betraying the Empire. With so much fear on the planet, through the dark side it strengthened Krayt. But this action triggered a catalyst that resulted in a resistance movement and an alliance between Stazi and Fel.^[43]

The Muur Talisman and Celeste Morne[]

As the genocide on Mon Calamari continued and the hunt for Cade Skywalker commenced, one of Krayt's minions, a Devaronian Sith known as Darth Reave, encountered Skywalker and his companions on the legendary world of Had Abbadon, which served as a military base for the Empire. During the skirmish, Reave was attacked by a female Jedi, Skywalker, and a group of Imperial Knights and Jedi. The female Jedi used ancient Sith magic and transformed Reave's stormtroopers into vile mutants. Realizing that he was outnumbered, Reave fled^[45] and returned to Coruscant, to report on both the Jedi woman and her monsters, as well as on Cade Skywalker's presence on Had Abaddon.^[46]

Before he could finish his report, however, Reave himself transformed into one of the same mutants he had recently encountered, only to be quickly beheaded by Darth Stryfe. Krayt was unfamiliar with the creature, and was informed by Lady Maladi that it was a rakghoul; a form of sithspawn that had been thought extinct in the galaxy for thousands of years.^[46]

Krayt and his advisers were then interrupted by a transmission from one of his officials on Had Abaddon, who had a message for the Dark Lord only. Karness Muur was contacting Krayt under the guise of the Jedi woman that Reave had spoken of, and presented Krayt with none other than Cade Skywalker. When Krayt feigned a lack of interest in the Human, Muur coaxed the Dark Lord's desire for Skywalker out of him by blasting him with torrents of Force lightning, and Krayt immediately dropped the pseudo-lack of interest. Muur then issued an invitation to Krayt—one that he was to answer alone, or both he and Skywalker would die. Krayt accepted the invitation, albeit with three of his Sith Lords accompanying him, and set out for Had Abaddon.^[46]

As they traveled to the Deep Core world, Darth Wyyrlok told Lord Krayt of Karness Muur and his legendary amulet, which had the spirit of Muur trapped within. Wyyrlok further surmised that Muur would not divulge any secrets, and rather sought to control Krayt through his talisman. However, the Dark Lord was in greater desperation to find a cure for himself, as his life was nearing its end.^[46]

Betrayer of the dream[]

Krayt and the foremost members of his Order traveled to Had Abbadon with intentions of capturing Skywalker. On the surface, Muur offered an alliance and began to modify Krayt's body. Suddenly, everything was revealed to be a trap, as Cade's allies were waiting in secret. Muur, however, truly took control of Celeste and planned to take Krayt's body for his own.^[46]

During the fight, Krayt was stabbed in the right side of his chest by Azlyn Rae, electrocuted and Force-pushed off of the cliff by Morne/Muur, and seemingly fell to his doom. At the bottom of the cliff, Darth Wyyrlok, having landed his shuttle nearby, approached the Emperor's body, declaring that he would be taken to the tomb of the Sith on Korriban. To his surprise, Krayt woke, having cushioned his fall with the Force. He asked Wyyrlok to take him to a bacta tank in order to regain his strength, but the Chagrian Sith Lord electrocuted his master in response, seemingly killing him.^[48] He then placed Krayt's body in a stasis chamber within XoXaan's Temple of Korriban, hiding the truth from the other Sith while planning on inducting all beings in the galaxy into the ranks of the One Sith, as Krayt had always intended.^[49]

Darth Maladi, however, suspected Krayt had been killed by Wyyrlok and shared her concerns with Darth Nihl. Maladi also feared Wyyrlok would try to eliminate the two, as they had not been born Sith, and suggested Nihl to go to Korriban and verify whether Krayt was alive or not.^[13]

Once on the Temple, Lord Nihl lied to Darth Talon, telling her that he had felt Lord Krayt's summoning in his mind. The pair entered the Stasis Room and discovered that Krayt's body had vanished, while his armor remained within the chamber.^[50]

Resurrection[]

Lord Nihl informed Wyyrlok about the disappearance of Krayt's body.^[51] Wyyrlok immediately claimed that somebody had killed the recuperating Krayt and then stolen his body, leaving his armor behind. Already facing serious losses in the war with the Alliance and Fel Empire, Wyyrlok ordered that the incident be covered up temporarily and appointed himself as the new Emperor with Nihl serving as his advisor. An enraged Wyyrlok then used Force lightning to destroy Krayt's armor. As advisor, Nihl used his position to move against his rival Talon by implicating the latter in Krayt's disappearance.^[52]

This suspicion was backed by Talon's apparent disappearance following her meeting with Nihl. Wyyrlok expressed his suspicions on Talon's "loyalty" and ordered Nihl to apprehend her for interrogation. Nihl pursued Talon into the ancient Valley of the Dark Lords by using the Force to home in on her position. En route, he encountered a tuk'ata but used his powers to tell the beast that he was not a foe. Meanwhile in a deep chamber, Talon had already encountered the resurrected Darth Krayt who had granted her the power to sense any pursuers. He had also healed himself of his Vong implants which he had foreseen as part of his rebirth.^[52]

Eventually Darth Nihl found and dueled Talon until Darth Krayt intervened, dominated Nihl, and revealed to the two Sith his plan to hold the One Sith under his control. For decades he had taken the most powerful, newly-born Force-sensitives, having them enhanced with cybernetic implants and turned into unquestionably loyal Sith troopers that would take their own lives when ordered to do so by their master. It was with these troopers and a new, more powerful class of Sith starfighter that Darth Krayt intended to make himself the unquestioned leader of the Galaxy. Upon revealing this, he then revealed his will and presence to all those in the Galaxy that had ever touched the dark side, Cade Skywalker included. Though this brought pleasure to the One Sith, Darth Wyyrlok stood alone as an enemy of Krayt upon confirming that the Dark Lord was alive.^[14]

Soon after Krayt proceeded to head to Coruscant with Darth Nihl and Talon, along with at least two Sith Troopers. When they arrived, they were confronted by several Sith that Darth Wyyrlok had convinced that this Krayt was an imposter. After a short battle Darth Krayt's forces were successful; an enraged Wyyrlok then confronted the Dark Lord declaring he had already killed him, and that he would not apologize for attempting to kill Krayt.^[21]

After a short, but intense duel, Darth Krayt led Wyyrlok to believe he was victorious, only to then impale the usurper through the chest. With his former ally dead, Darth Krayt declared that for the galaxy to be truly united, he would have to cause it to go through a form of death and rebirth as he had. With that said and done, the Dark Lord of the Sith began to make his preparations for war.^[21]

War[]

After taking back control of the Empire and the Sith, Darth Krayt led the Empire into the offensive, to teach the Galaxy the meaning of fear, and the recklessness of incurring his wrath. To this end he ordered a number of military strikes across the galaxy, including an attack on Vinsoth, which fell to the Sith Empire, the bombing of Falleen, because they refused to ally with him, and a strike on Borosk, which returned to Sith Imperial control. When Grand Moff Morlish Veed was updating him on the state of the Galaxy, Darth Krayt told him that he sensed that there was a traitor within the Moff Council. Darth Krayt then gave Veed the assignment of finding the traitor and threatened to kill him if he failed.^[53]

Later, Krayt's Sith Inquisitor, Darth Havok, successfully tortured the location of the hidden Jedi temple out of the imprisoned Antares Draco. After being informed to of the Temple's location by Darth Talon, Emperor Krayt ordered her to find Skywalker and make him a gift of the broken Imperial Knight. Afterwards, he viewed a message from Cade Skywalker warning Krayt that no matter what he would kill the Sith Emperor. After watching the message, Krayt decided Skywalker would have to be reborn as Krayt himself had been, for he had a vision of Skywalker serving him.^[53]

Battle of Taivas[]

After receiving the location of the Hidden Temple, Krayt met with the Moffs and set out his plan for the assault. Despite Admiral Veed's skepticism about Taivas being the location of the Jedi Temple, Krayt maintained his certainty and started to set up plans for the complete destruction of the Jedi, which he believed would destroy the alliance against him. Krayt promoted Moff Fehlaaur'aitel'loro as the new head of Imperial Intelligence. He also placed the Moffs' strike force, which was officially commanded by Veed, Yage and Geist, under the supervision of his Sith Lords, most notably Darth Stryfe. After the meeting however, Krayt contacted Darth Nihl, whom he had made commander of a fleet of his own Dragon ships and Sith troopers, and told him that the Moffs were not to know about the existence of this fleet.^[55]

As the assault unfolded, Darth Krayt remained in contact with Veed. Unbeknownst to the Sith, the Jedi, the Galactic Alliance Remnant and Roan Fel's loyalists had laid a trap for them and, as the Jedi and Imperial Knights defended the Temple against the stormtroopers, the fleets of Gar Stazi and Roan Fel ambushed the Sith-Imperial fleet. Despite the Moffs' disbelief, Krayt remained unfazed and unsurprised.^[55]

Although he let the battle unfold for some time which would apparently see an allied victory, he then ordered Darth Nihl to attack. The intervention of the Sith army turned the tide of the battle due to their willingness to kill both allies and Imperials. Moff Geist was killed in the assault by friendly fire and Moff Yage, along with his daughter and several over ships of the Imperial Navy, defected to Roan Fel. Despite this and the massive losses sustained by Sith and Imperials alike, Krayt had robbed the allies of their victory. It also served as a two pronged fork: now, Krayt's enemies in the Empire, the Moffs, were virtually powerless with only two of them remaining to serve him. The morale in the Alliance had been hit and he now had the troops needed for a full assault on the fortified world of Bastion. The war was reaching its conclusion.^[54]

Ultimate death[]

Knowing that Krayt could now attack them and likely win, Roan Fel and the other allied leaders opted for another option: to take the fight to Coruscant. Although they were unlikely to win, they had to try and take them on. Fel however was secretly working with Hogrum Chalk and the captured Darth Maladi to create a biologial weapon for use on the Sith: Omega Red. The allies attacked Coruscant and a strike team led by Cade Skywalker sabotaged the orbital defenses, allowing the allied fleet to gain a foothold in the system before being attacked by the full might of the Sith fleet.^[56]

Krayt was speaking to Darth Nihl via holoprojector about the state of the battle when he was interrupted by a severely injured Darth Talon. Uttering Skywalker's name, Talon was then telekinectically lifted into the air and forcefully slammed into a nearby wall. Cade ignited his lightsaber and met Krayt's eyes with his own.^[2]

Krayt began their final confrontation by pushing Skywalker away with the Force before unleashing a barrage of Force lightning and the two engaged in battle. Krayt urged Skywalker to surrender, as he had become much more powerful than their last encounter, and that the battle was lost. Cade retorted that he had learned many things too, and the two clashed blades. Krayt's skill was great, however, and revealed that by experiencing death, Cade had shown him the mechanism of dark transfer.^[2]

Using the power on its creator, Krayt caused Skywalker die, before resurrecting him, and there Cade Skywalker saw Krayt's vision of the future. He saw Coruscant burning, his friends dead, and his becoming enthralled in a Sith body. Krayt revealed Roan Fel's plan to release Omega Red on Coruscant was of his own doing as well, as the Sith were immune to the toxin. Every living being on the planet would be dead, except the Sith. Reviving Cade, Krayt laughed, confident that he had succeeded in turning the young Skywalker to the dark side of the Force. Returning from the brink of death, Cade announced that he did understand. He saw the vision, had no doubts, and now knew his place in the galaxy. Cade Skywalker then immediately summoned his lightsaber and in a flash, leaped around and pierced his lightsaber into Krayt's heart, killing him, and declaring himself a Jedi.^[2]

Knowing that Krayt's body would simply heal itself again and return from death once more, and feeling Krayt's spirit prying into his mind, Cade asked his mother for her ship, intending to fly it into Coruscant Prime to destroy both himself and Krayt's body. Telling her that it was the only way, Morrigan was grief-stricken but understanding, and gave him a locket that contained a holo of herself, Cade, and his father, while also secretly acting as a tracking device for Cade's friends to find him.^[2]

As Skywalker flew the ship to the sun, Krayt's spirit continued to tempt the newly-declared Jedi, who asked him why he just didn't decapitate him. Cade replied that he wasn't taking any chances. Krayt smirked that if his body was destroyed, he would use Cade's body to return, having learned transfer essence from Darth Andeddu and Karness Muur. However, Cade remained resolute in killing himself too. Suddenly, the spirit of Luke Skywalker appeared to him. Luke urged Cade to accept hope and not to let fear shape his life and in so doing steeled his soul against Krayt and the Sith's threatened take-over of his body. Accepting his ancestor's guidance, Cade escaped the ship before it collided with the sun, where the corpse of Krayt, Dark Lord of the Sith, was incinerated.^[2] In an ironic twist of fate, Darth Krayt's life had ended the same way it had begun nearly two centuries ago: under the blaze of a raging sun.

Legacy[]

With the death of Darth Krayt and the collapse of his Galactic Empire, the victorious Allies formed the Galactic Federation Triumvirate as the new ruling body of a unified galaxy. The One Sith, however, survived the loss of its founder and planned to continue Krayt's plans to subjugate the galaxy under Sith dominance, but decided on going about it in a different approach. Thus, the Sith intended to infiltrate every planetary government with the main objective of destroying the new galactic regime from within.^[2]

Personality and traits[]

Despite his largely informal training, A'Sharad Hett was highly devoted to Jedi philosophies and values. Ki-Adi-Mundi felt he might be too quick to use the Force to throw around those who might be a threat, yet could find no evil in his heart soon after they met.^[57] However, he remained silently vengeful towards Aurra Sing, his father's murderer, though he for a time thought he had conquered those feelings in honor of his father, a claim Yoda accepted.^[58] During their confrontation, he drew on the dark side of the Force, and while he was successful at subduing her, his guilt left him wishing to go into self-imposed exile. However, the Dark Woman saw the future which was laid out before A'Sharad and convinced him that going into exile would not cure his troubles. The Dark Woman took the young Jedi as her Padawan and finished his training to become a Jedi Knight, teaching him to accept death without anger.^[10] However, some of his fellow Jedi even back then sensed a darkness within him.^[21]

Hett was also a firm believer in personal accountability, believing that individuals should own up to their actions. It was his belief in this that caused him to keep Anakin Skywalker's secret when he learned about Skywalker's mass murder of a Tusken Raider tribe on Tatooine, believing that it was Skywalker's responsibility to do so for himself. Despite his valiant attempt, Hett was unable to instill these beliefs into Skywalker. Had he been able to, it is possible he could have stopped Skywalker's fall to the dark side.^[3] Hett firmly believed all Jedi deserved a proper funeral, even one who fought against him.^[59][22] Even as Krayt he honored those who died^[7] as heroic Jedi, such as Kol Skywalker.^[22]

However, with the advent of the Great Jedi Purge, Hett's beliefs fell apart, and he turned to the dark side. Seeking revenge against the Empire for the Jedi Purge, Hett returned to Tatooine and reemerged as a Tusken warlord. However, in his rage-blinded state of mind, he never actually took the fight to the Empire, instead ravaging the moisture farmers of Tatooine. His actions ultimately forced Obi-Wan Kenobi into action. Unable to understand why Kenobi didn't simply join his crusade, Hett and Kenobi clashed when the master of Skywalker refused to allow any more raids.^[22]

Defeated by Kenobi and exiled from the Tusken culture, Hett began wandering the galaxy, bereft of purpose or goal. Eventually, he was captured by the Yuuzhan Vong and came into contact with Vergere. Heavily influenced by both the brutal Yuuzhan Vong culture and Vergere's teachings, Hett developed a predatory worldview, believing that the only way to establish lasting peace and order was to shatter the galaxy's current status quo. However, despite being influenced by Vergere, their separate belief systems simply didn't mesh, and according to his testimony she abandoned him to focus on the eventual Darth Caedus. Hett escaped from the Yuuzhan Vong soon after and destroyed their ship to ensure no word of his survival would come to anyone.^[6] Luke Skywalker considered his physical appearance to be somewhat comparable to that of Anakin Skywalker, before the Chosen One was bound into his armor.^[60]

Krayt briefly joined forces with Luke Skywalker against Abeloth, setting aside the enmity between Jedi and Sith, and refraining from slaying Jedi who accosted him, for long enough to face down this threat to his plans and the galaxy at large.^[28] By the time of his ascendency, he was known as the Dragon of the Sith.^[48] Darth Krayt believed that what the galaxy most needed was strong order. As such, in his philosophy he felt that a man of vision must be the sole leader. Upon taking the golden throne of the Empire, Darth Krayt proclaimed himself to be that man of vision.^[7] In Krayt's time as emperor, the formal polices of dissemination against non-humans were since gone, though by sheer numbers humans were the most common species in his Empire's workings. Krayt made sure to try to recruit non-Jedi Force users, though those who refused would be destroyed, offering traditions such as the Nightsisters and Jensaarai the choice to join his Sith rather than be purged, and so acquired many new servants from these orders and other Force Adepts who joined the Sith. It was rare for Jedi to be given this choice, however--usually they and those who harbored them were killed or imprisoned. He also tolerated the Ember of Vahl tradition, as they hunted Jedi for his Empire.^[31] Despite his war with the Jedi, Krayt viewed their code as honorable. He respected Kol Skywalker such that he had the Jedi's blade housed in a transparent shell in a place of respect in his citadel.^[24] He was very resistant to fear.^[31]

Unlike the majority of Sith Lords, Darth Krayt was not a power-mad schemer, but rather a man devoted to establishing lasting order and peace, at all costs. His beliefs heavily influenced how he crafted his new Sith Order, for he felt that the Sith should devote themselves towards a common goal rather than personal advancement and he gave their search for power purpose. This earned him the ire of the ancient Sith Lords who believed in the Sith belief that power was an end in itself and needed no other purpose. However, in keeping with traditional Sith philosophy, and his own predatory worldview, he determined that only the strongest were able to carry out this goal.

However, Krayt's beliefs were ultimately twisted by his own fear. Increasingly aware of his own impending death, Krayt devoted himself to finding a way to cheat it, too wrapped up in his own scheming to realize that his Sith Order could survive his death and his vision could continue. Ultimately, the tactical mistakes that he made in his efforts to stave off death spurred Darth Wyyrlok into action. Wyyrlok was effectively a product of Krayt's beliefs, and was loyal to the central goal of the Order rather than himself, or Krayt.

As pointed out by Darth Wyyrlok, Darth Krayt had a tendency of clinging to the painful memories of his past, becoming defined by his obsessions. Wyyrlok also came to the conclusion that Krayt used his bloodline to hide his physical weakness from the rest of the Sith, ensuring Krayt's undisputed rule as Dark Lord of the Sith. In their fateful duel, Darth Wyyrlok attempted to use these memories against his former master. However, after his rebirth, Darth Krayt appeared to have overcome his past to a certain degree, which was evidenced when Krayt tricked Wyyrlok into believing he was affected by Wyyrlok's mental powers. Darth Krayt was capable of feeling love.^[21]

After his resurrection, Darth Krayt no longer feared death, but viewed it as a passageway to something far greater. This gave him the view that the galaxy should experience the pain of death and the rapture of rebirth as he had. He also believed that Cade Skywalker had to die and be reborn in order to serve him.^[2]

Powers and abilities[]

Lightsaber and Martial Arts Skills[]

A'Sharad Hett was exceptionally skilled in the Jar'Kai style of lightsaber combat. This talent was evident throughout the Clone Wars, in which A'Sharad served as a General, often leading his soldiers from the front through the thickest of the fighting.^[17] A'Sharad often wielded two green lightsabers in battle, his own weapon, and that of his father. He was able to defeat Aurra Sing in a lightsaber duel while he was still a Padawan;^[10] an impressive feat, considering his own father, a fully trained Jedi Knight, had been unable to defeat Sing.^[1] It should be noted, however, that his power was augmented by the hatred he felt towards Sing for murdering his father. This indicates that Hett had discovered a basic understanding of Force rage, allowing him to boost his ferocity and best Sing, getting a hand on her neck and knocking her saber away from her hand.^[10] He, while holding back, defeated the Dark Woman in a duel. However, she then subdued him with a sneak attack after the duel was formally over, her intent to make a point about the risks of lowering one's guard.^[62] In 30 BBY, Hett was able to barely defeat Sing in a furious duel, though gave into his hate during the battle, a lapse that disgusted him.^[63] Decades later, as Darth Krayt, he was able to fully master and focus his usage of Force rage, such as when he dueled Cade Skywalker and Darth Wyyrlok.^[21][40] Hett killed a Krayt dragon with a Gaderffii and a torch before he was officially made a Jedi.^[1] After jumping from a speeder that crashed though a window, Hett non-lethally defeated a terrorist.^[64] During the Clone Wars, he defeated an enraged (and armed with a lightsaber) Anakin Skywalker while armed with only a gaderffii. Then he made peace with the Chosen One.^[65] Later, while part of a Jedi and Clone force, he and his friends were able to drive off the ambush of Separatist forces that were led by the Sith Lord Count Dooku and General Grievous.^[20]

It was his mastery of Jar'Kai that saved Hett from being killed during Order 66, allowing him to kill the clone troopers who were sent to execute him. After turning to the dark side, but before becoming a Sith Lord, Hett engaged the extremely powerful Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi^[22] (who had a few years before defeated Darth Vader)^[66] in a lightsaber duel and proved capable of holding his own against Kenobi even to the point of striking him with the hilt of his blade and kicking him, but was eventually defeated and maimed.^[22]

When he came out of hiding to fight Abeloth, the Dark Man engaged in intense combat with the dark side being, aided by Luke Skywalker. Krayt was able to survive the battle and beat, rend, bash, and grapple her, causing massive damage to Abeloth, and alongside his draining of her power, caused her to be unable to keep her other avatars functioning elsewhere. Ultimately, Krayt was able to "kill" her along with Luke.^[28]

As Darth Krayt, he retained his mastery of fighting with two blades. A master practitioner of Niman,^[31] his skill with his blades was great enough for him to quickly defeat four Imperial Knights with little difficulty even despite the Vong parasites and being well over 170 years old. The Dark Lord could use the Force to help himself make deadly sweeping attacks.^[67] The Sith Lord was able to swiftly cut his way through a squad of Imperial Knights, including a member of the Fel family, disarming, mutilating, and killing them quickly, before cleaving the head off the body double of Roan Fel.^[68][29] He was also able to fight the much younger and fitter Cade Skywalker as a superior, and almost defeated him before being shot in the back by Cade's mother. Darth Krayt claimed that his skills with his blades were such that he killed thousands of opponents since the Clone Wars.^[40] It should be noted that after his duel with Skywalker, Krayt was critically weakened by his Vong growths and was forced to spend time in stasis to heal.^[41] The Dark Lord was able to hold his own against Karness Muur, who was one of the founding members of the Sith Order, supposedly comperable to Darth Sidious, and who claimed to have easily killed other Sith Lords who were stronger than Krayt.^[48][69] Krayt was also able to slay his former right hand, Darth Wyyrlok, in a lightsaber duel, running him through after hacking apart his horns.^[21] In his final duel with Cade Skywalker, he proved to be equally proficient with a single lightsaber as he was with two. During this rematch, Krayt proved to be capable of combining his prowess with his lightsaber with his skill with the Force, making him even more formidable in combat.^[2] Such was his skill with the blade that Skywalker could only kill him by attacking the Dread Lord when he was not prepared to defend himself.^[2]

As Hett, he was able to teach the fighting style of Taras Kasi.^[70]

Force Powers[]

As the Dark Lord of the One Sith, Darth Krayt was the strongest Sith Lord of his time.^[22] and one of the most capable that ever lived. In 40 ABY, the Jedi Grandmaster Luke was troubled with visions of Krayt as a shadowy figure who seemed at least as ruthless and strong in the Force as the Chosen One, seeming like a dark spirit on a mission of doom.^[60][28] The Dark Lord was powerful enough in the Force to battle a being as powerful as Abeloth, though he was assisted by Grand Master Luke Skywalker, who himself was wary of dueling Krayt in beyond shadows, even to the point of almost backstabbing the Sith preemptively.^[28] Jacen Solo believed that if Krayt acquired Allana Solo as an apprentice that Krayt would become unstoppable and usher in an appalling new future, this is greatly what inspired him to try to conquer the galaxy as Darth Caedus. Put another way, Krayt was Luke Skywalker's dark counterpart in the contest for the Throne of Balance.^[28] The Force itself was bent to Krayt's will.^[68] The darkness brought on by Darth Krayt's rise made it harder than ever for Jedi masters to use the Force to sense the future.^[31] Krayt stated that he had fully mastered the Jedi and Sith arts.^[40] Merely being in the same room as Darth Krayt was mentally painful for Cade Skywalker.^[24] All of this power was at Darth Krayt's command even while he was held back by the infestation of the Vong parasites and the wounds Kenobi dealt him.^[22][6] His strength in the dark side of the Force was great enough to be felt by every Sith in the galaxy. Darth Krayt claimed that after his resurrection, his power in the Force multiplied, indicating that since his defeat on Had Abbadon, he had grown considerably stronger than before.^[14] The dark side of the Force was said to be as though it lived through him, claims similar to those the Son on Mortis had made almost 200 years ago.^[14][71] To live on Krayt's throneworld was to forfeit one's soul and his power was great indeed to those who sensed it.^[21] His strength in the dark side was such that he could fight and overpower Cade Skywalker, who was armed with a lightsaber, with mostly his usage of the Force alone.^[2] Even before turning to the dark side, this man was noted as a powerful Jedi with great potential, such as by his father.^[57] As a Jedi Master, he was considered a worthy and powerful Jedi, such that he was one of the generals sent to seek to end the uprising of the CIS by aiding in the Outer Rim Sieges.^[19] Obi-Wan Kenobi at first assumed that Hett (not yet a Sith) must be one of that dark order due to his sheer power when the protector of Luke sensed the rampage of Hett across Tatooine in 17 BBY.^[72] Krayt had also mastered the knowledge of Xoxaan.^[39]

In addition to being a formidable, sometimes enraged^[31] lightsaber duelist, as both as Hett and as Darth Krayt, he was also talented in the other applications of the Force, notably moving things with his will, Force lightning, communication, and healing.^[31]

A'Sharad Hett possessed incredible skill in telekinesis, as shown when able to non-lethally repulse a mob of his fellow Tuskans who were harassing Mundi, a feat that impressed the Jedi Master, though was seen as possibly too violent for the situation.^[57] When his company was attacked by Laninks, Hett threw two of them out of a speeder.^[73] During their duel, Hett and Sing exchanged Force strikes, slamming each other into walls as they dueled on a jungle planet in 30 BBY.^[63] He was able to nearly kill Obi-Wan with a saber throw. Moreover, Kenobi did not breach his defenses with the Force until Hett had had his hand severed by Kenobi.^[22] During his time as a bounty hunter, Hett destroyed a sealed wall in order to heed the call of Xoxaan's holocron.^[8] As a Dark Lord in 44 ABY he showed continued mastery of this skill, such as when he disarmed a Jedi, then later yanked Abeloth back to himself and Luke via recalling his embedded severed hand and thus effectively countering her teleportation, even as the attack caused her very essence to leak from her wounds. Late in the battle, after being severely wounded and mutilated, Krayt floated in the air above Luke.^[28] According to Darth Plagueis, the power of self-levitation was impressive,^[74] and Luke Skywalker previously believed such was impossible for a Jedi outside of low-gravity.^[75][76] Nearly a century later, Krayt threw Maladi to the ground without expressing significant effort, made officials kneel before him,^[7] disciplined Darth Nihl in the Valley of the Dark Lords by briefly Force choking him,^[14] and he redirected multiple stones thrown at him by Darth Wyyrlok after holding the barrage in stasis.^[14][21] Once Krayt released his hold on the rocks as he flung them back, the traitor was forced to throw up a bubble of Force to avoid death.^[21] Krayt could slam his foes with the Force, both in bursts to strike many foes and as Force Pushes to throw Jedi around.^[31][2] Krayt subjected Cade Skywalker to a Force Strike to the head, chaining in Force attacks with saber blows with ease, befitting the mastery of Niman.^[40][77] While more renowned for the grandeur and force of his telekinetic might,^[57] Darth Krayt was also capable of incredible precision and delicacy with the Force, such as when burdened by the Yuuzhan Vong armor he crafted his own Holocron (which held may secrets and plans only Krayt was privy to),^[7] a process that required a Sith to make many microscopic tweaks with the Force while being in tune with the will or currents of the Force.^[78][79] Krayt was able to employ his powers for more mundane utility, such as moving machines or unlocking locks.^[24] During his duel with Cade Skywalker in 138 ABY, his strength in telekinesis was such that he could practically vaporize some of the stone pillars of the Sith Temple during his final duel with Cade Skywalker. Krayt flung the Jedi around in this fight without showing much exertion, slamming Skywalker into things and dragging him across and through a wall.^[2] It was believed that there would be no limit to what could be done with these telekinetic techniques, given enough power and wisdom.^[69]

The raw power of his Force lightning was enough to crumble stone columns in the Sith Temple and kill multiple rakghouls with a single burst.^[2][46] During an assassination attempt against him, he demonstrated the power to surround his hand with lightning while fighting in melee.^[46] When faced with Celeste Morne's lightning, he was able to counter with his own, then began to overwhelm her. Indeed, even when she joined with Karness Muur's spirit, (Muur being such a master of the dark that Vader considered to be about as strong as Darth Sidious was in 19 BBY) she was unable to harm Krayt until he was backstabbed by Azlyn Rae, breaking his focus and leaving him with a hole in his body from her saber.^[69][48] Krayt could use his powers to create a shield/barrier with Force lightning to defend himself from those who threatened him.^[2] While burdened by his Vong armor, Darth Krayt used Sith Lightning to unlock the holocrons of Darth Bane, Darth Andeddu, and Darth Nihilus at once. When they refused to give any sort of useful advice and then attacked him, he closed them down with more lightning.^[33] Krayt was capable of great precision and control with his lightning, as shown when he traced Darth Talon's body with dark side electricity without hurting or striking her.^[34] Given the difficulity to control lighting save for their intensity its testament of his skills . His prowess with Force lightning exceeded that of Darth Wyyrlok, evidenced when Krayt blocked the barrage with his bare hands, before Krayt chose to take control of the situation and throw aside the traitor's lightning, destroying the terrain around them.^[21] Luke Skywalker was wary of being hit by his lightning.^[28] Moreover, before even becoming a Sith, Hett could slaughter squads of armored Yuuzhan Vong soldiers with blasts of lightning, and also may have known how to conjure fire against the Vong, though this may have been merely narrative flair in how he spoke of the battle.^[6]

A'Sharad Hett could augment his physical capabilities, such as when he used his Jedi powers to be able to destroy droids with a single punch.^[19] Hett could leap from a speeder that crashed through a window, then, unharmed, attack the terrorists around him.^[64] Jedi of his time were expected to learn how to absorb energy^[77] and as a Sith he demonstrated even better skill in this regard,^[21] to the point that, much like Yoda^[80] or Revan,^[81] he could block Sith lightning with his hands. As a Sith he also used Force speed and could leap great distances with the aid of the energy field that binds the universe together.^[31][82] His attacks sometimes struck more people when boosted with the Force.^[67] He knew the technique of Battlestrike.^[31] Krayt had a talent for seeing those he knew of or sought after from afar, as well as predicting the future^[31] as he was able to foresee that he would be reborn and able to heal himself of his Yuuzhan Vong implants and when he predicted the Galactic Alliance's and Fel Empire's tactics during the Battle of Tavias before they had even come up with the plans themsevles.^[54] He seemed to have a "recorder on the eye of fate", according to Darth Wyyrlock.^[26] The Force spoke to Darth Krayt, guiding him towards victory such that he knew the war-plans of his enemies before they had even devised them.^[55] Additionally, Krayt was able to survive falling off a cliff, despite being roasted with lightning from a nearly Sidious-like opponent working in harmony with his Jedi Master host, and Krayt being impaled with a lightsaber shortly beforehand, by using the Force, to soften his landing.^[48][69] All the more noteworthy, this is, since Grandmaster Yoda strained to achieve similar results when he (tired after nearly defeating the Sith) departed Sidious.^[83] Darth Krayt also mastered and even improved ancient Sith techniques that prolong life, allowing him to survive for more than a century despite his failing body when combined with his use of Force Trance, though he was partially sustained through stasis.^[7] His knowledge of Sith magic also was enough for him to craft a Holocron, which required a mastery of sorcery and esoteric glyphs.^[31][78] He thought he could form bonds with others given time and moral agreement.^[8] Krayt resisted the tricks of Andeddu.^[22] He may have slowed down the flow of time for himself.^[31] He also demonstrated a certain degree of resistance towards Mind Tricks, such as when he tricked Darth Wyyrlok into believing he was being affected by his mental powers.^[33] Wyyrlock III, it should be noted, had previously demonstrated his mental prowess when he destroyed ancient the Sith Lord Darth Andeddu in a battle of wills and illusions and used his powers to make the members of the Malevolence cult slay each other.^[41] Krayt also had a very acute Force sense, demonstrated when he sensed Cade Skywalker healing his Master during the Massacre of Ossus half-way across the galaxy, sensed Cade on the same planet (where millions lived) detected the emotional state of Cade Skywalker, and when he sensed the presence of a spy within the Imperial ranks.^{[7][39][22][21]} As a Padawan, however, he had not yet developed such skill and Masters Mundi and Gallia able to sense the future and the guidance of the Force better than he could, however he was able to sense impending danger and darkness as well as the Masters.^[84] He also, from across the galaxy, sensed the intent of Vader and the 501 coming to purge the Jedi Temple and the death-pains of the younglings as though he had been there.^[21] The Emperor also had developed the rare ability to detect the Yuzzhan Vong with the Force,^[46] much like Jacen Solo or Luke Skywalker could.^[85] As Hett, he was able to detect Force sensitivity in others.^[70] Darth Krayt was noted to master of the Alter Environment skill and able to control the weather of Korriban, such as by causing massive storms and flashes of lightning in the sky, allegedly this was done while he was in stasis.^[26] Unlike other Sith Lords such as Tenebrae, Krayt did not require the use of rituals to bend the weather.^[86][26] The leader of the Sith could hide his presence in the Force, even from other Sith and the Jedi Grandmaster, though when in the same room Luke Skywalker could sense his dark side affiliations, to the concern of the Jedi.^[52][28][27] Ben Skywalker and Vestara Khai, even with the help of her hounds, could not find Krayt when they were on Korriban.^[27] Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade Skywalker were unable to use the Force to learn anything about him, other than his species and hints of his appearance, with the Grandmaster of the Jedi being baffled as to how "the Dark Man" seemed to not exist in the future, yet also loom as a threat.^[60] After he returned from death, the Dreadlord was able to also conceal his allies from the Force sense of others,^[52] and his return and signal to his followers went unnoticed by the Jedi, save for Cade Skywalker, who had been among those contacted.^[14] Darth Krayt was also adept in the use of Mind Walking, allowing him to travel beyond shadows, such as when he helped Luke Skywalker defeat Abeloth.^[28] He was also proficient in the use of Force drain, which he used in his battle against Abeloth--plundering the entity's Force energy while harming her and Luke Skywalker, though at great cost to himself. The damage done to her reserves of power was such that formerly mighty Sith shadow-ghouls Abeloth maintained on Coruscant were left almost impotent. Krayt's drain was also able to pull away Luke Skywalker's health and might since he was too close to Abeloth, prompting the Grandmaster to threaten to free the Bringer of Chaos if the Dark Lord did not relent his attack on all three of them.^[28] Krayt could employ Force Deflection, at least against Force Powers, and he had the defensive power of tutaminis.^[31] The Sith Lord could feed on the suffering of others, even to the point of briefly counteracting most of the physical detriments he suffered when his ordered massacres on the homeworld of the Mon Cala.^[43] Similarly, he could use his own anger for greater power.^[87] He was completely unaffected by Cade Skywalker's Force Scream, without needing to offer any overt defense.^[24] This showing that he have resistence toward fear-based force techniques. Krayt would use the Force to improve his skills of deceiving and noticing things, and, with great effort, he could use the Force against anything he saw within the same solar system. He was also able to swiftly replenish his personal Force reservoir.^[31]

Hett also had an affinity with the use of telepathy, such that hold verbal telepathic conversations with those nearby, such as when he communed with the Jedi Xiaan and encouraged her to try to survive, though ultimately she chose to give her life to bring the mission success, and Hett held such a conversation when both of them were dogfighting in their starships.^[88] Per to the standards of Master Fisto, a Jedi being able to do things like this was a mark of great power in the Force.^[89] When Order 66 was carried out, he,^[22] like Grandmaster Yoda,^[66] sensed the echoes of so many Jedi dying, even feeling the echoes of the younglings that Vader slew.^[22] As the Dark Lord, he made the use of telepathy even more often and dramatically, such that he would keep in mental contact with his most trusted servants at all times, regardless of which planet they were on,^[49] and his skill was shown again when, shortly after returning himself from beyond death, he communicated with Darth Talon to release him from stasis on Korriban just after he resurrected himself.^[52] Almost a century before, much like his deeds in the Clone Wars, Krayt was able to mentally send whole sentences to Luke Skywalker, regardless of if the Grandmaster wished this contact.^[28] Likewise, he forced Wryyylok III to listen to a mental description of his life's story and philosophy just before killing the rebel.^[21] He could tempt others with the dark side.^[31] He also could read the minds of his followers while his body was in stasis.^[26] Darth Talon credited Krayt with being able to tear knowledge out of the mind of Marasiah Fel.^[90] Krayt could detect lies.^[24] Krayt could trick and confuse others with the Force and as such could cause mental strain to opponents so that they would pass out.^[31][69] After he resurrected himself, he sent out a signal to all Sith in the entire galaxy (as well as two non-Sith who were tempted by the Dark Side), alerting them to his return from death and putting them on notice for his imminent reclaiming of authority. As part of this surge through the Force, he empowered all of the Sith in the galaxy, save for the traitorous Wryyylok.^[14] Krayt was stated to have the power to command millions of soldiers with his will, mind-controlling armies of Sith Troopers.^[56][2] He could invade the minds of others, making it hard for them to use the Force at their full capabilities without being tainted by the dark side of the Force.^[31] Darth Krayt was so skilled that he projected an illusion of Cade's possible future into the young Skywalker's mind, which shook Cade a great deal.^[21] Later after subduing, killing, and resurrecting him, Krayt forced Cade to view a future of his own design--a realm of fire, death, rebirth, and the ascendency of the dark side of the Force.^[2]

Before turning to the dark side, A'Sharad Hett was trained to use Force healing, though the extent of his healing abilities is unknown.^[11] As a Jedi Knight, he would have been expected to be capable of using Curato salva.^[77] When Abeloth cut off his hand beyond shadows, a wound that would have normally transferred over to his physical form, he reclaimed and restored the hand.^[28][46] As a point of comparison, Luke Skywalker was left with lasting wounds from smilar blows.^[91] For a long time, the Dragon of the Sith was unable to overcome the burdens of his armor and age, try as he might to use the dark to endure.^[7] However, after the Battle of Had Abbadon, Darth Krayt was finally able to completely heal himself of his Yuuzhan Vong growths as well as what would normally be severe mortal wounds, demonstrating that his skill in Force Healing had greatly increased, and also worthy of note due to the fact that the Yuuzhan Vong were almost impossible to touch with the Force, save with lightning.^[6][52] While before the battle his power over death^[92] had been limited^[31] to resisting aging,^[92] now he was able to wield the Force to resurrect his own corpse post-mortem.^[52] During his final duel with Cade Skywalker, Krayt revealed that when he experienced death on Had Abbadon, he discovered the rare dark side power of dark transfer, allowing him to return from death itself and explosively augment his already considerable healing powers--even to the point of restoring his withered flesh to a fit and strong state.^[2][21] Darth Krayt could also use Dark Transfer in tandem with Force Lightning to injure or kill such as when he killed and resurrected Cade Skywalker during their final duel, much like how Cade himself used his Dark Transfer.^[2] From beyond the grave, the Sith Lord taunted Cade Skywalker that his proficiency with Dark Transfer advanced to the degree in which he would heal himself even from death itself, according to the testimony of Cade Skywalker.^[2] In addition to learning Dark Transfer from his death experience, Krayt revealed that he could see shatterpoints in the world around him and chain the use of that power to augment his Dark Side healing or damaging powers.^[2] After his final death, Krayt's spirit claimed that he learned the dangerous^[93] art of essence transfer and threatened to return to life within Cade Skywalker if his body was destroyed. Despite this boasts, Krayt's spirit ceased to trouble Skywalker's mind after his body was burned.^[2]

Other skills[]

A'Sharad Hett was a diplomat and peacemaker of some skill, as shown when he was able to calm Anakin Skywalker and convince him to admit his killing of a Tuskan tribe.^[65] He became a skilled leader to the point he was made a Jedi Master who was entrusted with the training of a Padawan^[65] and also general during the Clone Wars and then commanded Tuskan Raider tribes until his defeat and mutilation at the hand of Kenobi.^[19][22] He was skilled at the leadership of Tuskans and Sith and could inspire them to fight harder.^[67] Some Tuskans were so inspired by him that they went off-world to try to find and serve him.^[70] Later, he founded an entire Sith order.^[8] It was Krayt, not Caedus or the Lost Tribe, that truly restored the Sith tradition and legacy to the galaxy after the defeat of Darth Sidious, even to the point of making things the most grim and dark they had ever been in the galaxy, with the possible exception of Sidious's reign as Emperor. Krayt also was able to focus the rage of his Sith, nearly negating their perpensity for infighting.^[31]

As a Sith he used taunts and insults in battle.^[40] He used a historical example to guide him in trying to corrupt Cade Skywalker.^[6] A'Sharad Hett was well learned in the study of Mon Calamari and ceremonial starships.^[84] Hett was able to become a bounty hunter and avoided detection as a Jedi by the Empire.^[8] He knew the Sith Code.^[33]

A'Sharad Hett was also a skilled pilot as proven during the battles of Geonosis and Saleucami.^[18][17] His skills as a pilot were such that he could navigate a Yuuzhan Vong coralskipper even though he had no prior knowledge of how to operate it.^[6] As Krayt, he also seemed to have a considerable knowledge of engineering and robotics since he was able to start his Sith Trooper Project, in addition to the construction of the Annihilator starfighters, while keeping it hidden for decades from the other Sith.^[14] He also could make Lightsabers.^[31] Darth Krayt was able to create plans that stretched for hundreds of years, at least according to his servants.^[26] Darth Krayt was a great philosopher and thinker, able to understand the flaws of the various Sith and government systems,^[6] and created a very loyal Sith Order and by force was able to establish an empire that might well have been the greatest of all Sith achievements.^[31] Of course, not all agreed with his ideals,^[2] such as the Fels who viewed him as nothing more than a thief.^[31] Krayt's war was considered by him to have broken the spine of the galaxy.^[68] He could remember well all the events he had lived through.^[21] Through unknown means, Krayt was in control of the One Sith in 140 ABY.^[94]

Hett was swift enough to block the Jedi Master Mundi from unlawfully helping a man up, when he was only fifteen years old.^[57] In a moment he was able to rush and grapple Aura Sing before she could bring a lightsaber down on his father.^[95] He was able to survive being hit with a barrage of Thud Bugs and being bitten by an Amphistaff, though he was wearing armor at the time.^[96] Darth Krayt came out less hurt than Skywalker after their battle with Abeloth, even after having taken the brunt of a massive bolt of lightning, resisting a Force blast from Abeloth, having to subject himself to his own Force Drain to catch Abeloth, and having his hand cut off in that realm, much like how he was better off when he came to blows with the Grandmaster's father.^[28][65] Moreover, he was by unknown means able to get close enough to her homeworld to use Mind Walking in his hunt for Abeloth.^[28] Such was Krayt's power that Luke Skywalker was afraid of him.^[28] While beyond shadows Krayt was able to latch on to Abeloth and began to rip her form apart with his hand.^[28] Krayt was a cunning master of warfare.^[97] Hett could lift a member of Yoda's species.^[64] Krayt could lift human males off the ground with one arm.^[96] Krayt was able to find many Sith relics.^[90]

He was competent in the use of Yuuzhan Vong armor.^[7] While in this armor, he survived being shot with heavy weapons, blasted with dark lightning, conjured by a Sith of nearly-Sidious's power working with a Jedi Master, the Force Storm so powerful that it illuminated his skeleton, and impaled with a lightsaber, before being thrown off a cliff.^[40][48][69] Hett was skilled in a number of languages, such as Galactic Basic Standard, Tusken, and Bocce.^[1][31] While studying the ways of the Sith, he had learned to speak the ancient tongue. He and Darth Wyyrlok III were the only known members of the One Sith to possess the language.^[31]

Hett had a keen sense of smell, such that he could detect other biomes while within a city.^[98] As a Sith, Krayt was immune to the effects of Omega Red.^[2]

Lightsabers[]

Krayt wielded several lightsabers during his lifetime.

As A'Sharad Hett, his first weapon was constructed during his days as a Tusken Raider, while receiving informal Jedi training from his father. This weapon, like his father's, possessed a red blade, though the source of the focusing crystal used in it remains unknown.^[1]

A'Sharad inherited the weapon of his father after Sharad's death. Rather than favoring one weapon or the other, Hett took to wielding both at the same time, becoming an exceptionally talented dual-blade duelist.^[1][99] He later replaced the red crystals in both his and his father's weapon with lime green ones.^[3]

When he resurfaced as Darth Krayt, Hett had abandoned the use of his original Jedi sabers, instead he now wielded a pair of Sith lightsabers. While the specifications of the internal mechanism remains unknown, the casings of the twin weapons were composed of a type of coral substance clearly inspired by Yuuzhan Vong biotechnology. The red-bladed weapons were stored in a cross formation on his back when not in use.^[7]

After Krayt's rebirth, he continued to use one of his Sith lightsabers, though he again took up his original Jedi lightsaber, and after killing Wyyrlok^[2] had taken out the green crystal and replaced it with a synthetic red crystal, giving it the bloodshine blade of a Sith lightsaber.^[2]

Behind the scenes[]

The character of A'Sharad Hett was developed by author Timothy Truman and debuted in the Outlander Dark Horse Comics comic arc.^[1] A'Sharad's face was not seen until Enemy Lines, almost five years after the character's debut.^[3]

In the back of Legacy (2006) 9, Randy Stradley made known that Krayt's identity would be revealed in Legacy (2006) 15. Furthermore, in the back of Legacy (2006) 11, Stradley hinted that it might be someone the fans already know or will soon know before Legacy 15 but encouraged readers to be patient until the issue was released.

Before Krayt's identity was revealed in Legacy (2006) 15, there was already speculation that Krayt and A'Sharad Hett were one and the same. Mostly this is due to their practice of Jar'Kai, their similar facial tattoos, and Krayt being named after the krayt dragon of Tatooine, Hett's homeworld.

When the revelation was made, editor Randy Stradley commented at the end of the issue, "I know. You're all excited because you finally know who Darth Krayt really is. Sure, sure, some of you even guessed. Give yourself a pat on the back. Still, you have to admit, it was quite a reveal". Another common fan theory at that time was that Krayt was going to be revealed as Jacen Solo at some point of the Star Wars: Legacy of the Force book series, but with the announcement of the "Darth Who Contest" and the selection of the name Darth Caedus for Solo, this theory was proved wrong.

The depiction of A'Sharad Hett in Jedi vs. Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force bears a resemblance to an Official Pix promotional image of Anakin Skywalker.^[100]In Legacy (2006) 50, Krayt is depicted fighting Cade while donning a Vonduun Skerr Kyrric in a vision. This truned out to not be the true future, misleading or wrong as visions often are,^[101] as seen in Legacy—War 6 which shows Krayt donning combat armor.

Darth Krayt was to appear with a new design as the main foe in Red Fly Studio's Battle of the Sith Lords, coming into conflict with Maul's descendant and Darth Talon, who would have pitted against him for violating the Rule of Two.^[102]

Appearances[]

Non-canon appearances[]

• Battle of the Sith Lords (Canceled)

Sources[]

Notes and references[]

Dark Lord of the Sith
Darth Caedus with Tahiri Veila ← approximately 25 ABY–138 ABY Darth Nihl →
Emperor of his Sith Empire
None ← 130 ABY–137 ABY; Darth Wyyrlok III (As regent) →
Emperor of his Sith Empire
Darth Wyyrlok III (As regent) ← 138 ABY None (Empire dissolved) →