Revision as of 21:54, 9 December 2017

The Six Enclaves

Having long abandoned the restraints of the Rule of Two, the Order of the Sith required a far broader breadth to its ranks in order to effectively combat the ongoing infestation of the Jedi Order and other heretical religions. The Order, having seen cataclysm if it did not change, chose to institute a strict hierarchy throughout its ranks with the Sith Lords holding primacy, whilst students were expected to strictly adhere to the whims of their superiors or face severe punishments. This approach enabled the ranks of the Order to grow and better support the spread of the Galactic Empire.

The abandonment of the Rule of Two gave rise to many powerful Sith Lords, many of whom held differing philosophies of the nature and use of the Force, or who sought power only for themselves at the expense of all around them including the Empire. The weak leadership of Darth Gwar as the Dark Lord allowed for the Order to be sickened by what had become an endemic and constant struggle between Sith as they vied for power. Their attention had been drawn away from the eradication of the Jedi and the expansion of the Imperial New Order, and had become entranced by selfish and short-sighted culture, leaving the Empire vulnerable to the corrupting influences of heretics.

After the expulsion of the Shamed One as the Dark Lord, the new Sith Council under the leadership of Darth Virsunas acted decisively to crush any Sith who held themselves above either the Order or the Empire. This would not be the end of the corrupted Sith however, and after years in hiding, those who had survived the purges from the Order would establish their own order in an attempt to revitalise the old ways of Darth Gwar. This short-lived order of heretics was quickly infiltrated by the Inquisition and torn apart from within, resulting in another brief but brutal extermination of the heresy.

The brutal acts to eliminate those maddened by a lust for power did nothing to soften the realisation amongst the Council that an underlying failure existed in the institutions of the Order themselves. Withdrawing to the Dark Temple on Korriban, the Council entered a period of contemplation on how they would overcome the self-destructive tendencies that arose from hundreds of generations of Sith over thousands of years. The Council would eventually strike upon an intuitive solution to the conundrum: they would establish a system that harnessed the positives of Sith ambition and retain the importance of the survival of the strongest, but they would limit the destructive potential of an unchecked lust for power.

Gathering the Darths to Korriban for a rare Conclave of Lords, the Dark Lord announced that the Order of the Sith would be abandoning the tripartite structure of the Obsidian Temple, the Trayus Institute, and the Inquisition. No longer would training of Sith be managed by a single body, and no longer would every Darth be entitled to establish an enclave of their own. Instead, the reformed Order would encompass only six Enclaves, each under the tenure of the wisest and most powerful of Darths appointed by the Dark Lord. The Enclaves would form blocs of permitted philosophy, focus on research into different aspects of the Force, and provide the Order with a blend of assassins, warriors, strategists, and spies. Each Enclave would have representation in the Sith Council and influence on the Order’s affairs through the allocation of a seat on the Council to each of the Enclave heads.

To retain one of the most deadly and important aspects of the Sith Code in ensuring that only the strongest and most capable are worthy of being Sith, the Council made a final allowance of limited conflict between the Order’s members. Historically, conflicts between enclaves or individuals would be determined through unregulated and uncontrolled spikes of aggression that almost always resulted in the death of at least one Sith. Such wild and unpredictable outbursts of violence were decreed strictly forbidden, and all grievances were henceforth to be controlled and resolved through a ritualistic method of conflict. Each conflict brought forth for resolution would be monitored directly by the Sith Council to ensure the forms are obeyed.

With the merging of many enclaves into the six new Enclaves, the disjointed and numerous sub-philosophies became more aligned and controlled; limiting the ability of heretics to emerge from within the Order's own ranks. This approach of ensuring internal stability whilst harnessing the power of the Sith philosophy, represented another step in the Order of the Sith’s evolution and demonstrated its superiority over the static and dulled structures and philosophies of its enemies. Emerging from Korriban as a renewed force, the Order was now stronger than ever before and ready to defend The New Order as it spread across the galaxy.