Valley of the Dark Lords

Valley of the Dark Lords
General information
Location	Korriban
Usage
Era(s)	Old Republic era ; Rise of the Empire era ; Rebellion era ; New Republic era ; Legacy era ;
Affiliation	Sith

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"It has been ten years since I last stood on this lost world. It is a place still potent with power."

―Emperor Palpatine visiting the valley in 11 ABY^[src]

The Valley of the Dark Lords, also known as Valley of the Sith Lords was a valley and burial ground of Korriban's Sith Lords.

[edit] History

"These archaic buildings are reeking with power...I sense many unquiet spirits."

―Exar Kun^[src]

The valley was used from the time of Great Schism through to the Great Hyperspace War to bury worthy Sith Lords. The tombs were built before the death of the lord, and, upon their demise, were filled with riches and slaves. Notable lords to be buried in the valley included Ajunta Pall, Marka Ragnos and Tulak Hord. On several occasions, dead Sith would become Force ghosts and haunt their tomb.

The Ebon Hawk lands in the Valley of the Dark Lords in 3,951 BBY.

While a tomb for Naga Sadow was also constructed, it was never used, as the Sith Lord spent his remaining time on Yavin 4. Sadow's empty tomb housed an ancient Rakatan Star Map, an artifact of the dark side.

Main article: Battle of Korriban (Galactic Civil War)

In 4 ABY, Han Solo had concocted a plan to send a striketeam to the surface of the Endor in a stolen Imperial shuttle and deactivate the shield generator protecting the Death Star II. Alliance High Command needed more information about the Imperial Garrison on the Forest Moon before they were sent, and only one man had that information, Emperor Palpatine, who was making his final pilgramage to the Valley before his death. Renegade Squadron volunteered for a raid on his shuttle to get that intelligence. After they landed, Renegade Squadron attacked the Sith Academy to keep the stormtroopers stationed there from alerting Palpatine of the situation. They held the academy as the Emperor entered the atmosphere. Once he had landed, Renegade Squadron moved into a Sith tomb and primed explosive charges at the entrances and started detroying Sith artifacts to goad Palpatine into the tomb. The plan worked. Using Force lightning to quickly dispatch a Mon Calamari, Palpatine Force jumped into the fray. Renegade Squadron retreated from the tomb and set off the explosives, trapping the Sith Lord inside while they attacked his shuttle and stole a datapad containing the troop information. After getting the datapad back to an Low Altitude Assault Transport, it revealed that Emperor Palpatine himself was to be on the Death Star at the time of the attack.

Palpatine often visited the valley to increase his strength at his "place of power," and on occasion sought advice from the spirits of the Dark Lords. In 11 ABY, he returned to try to regenerate his clone body. He stated that it had been ten years since he had last visited; presumably this was rounding.

Marka Ragnos's tomb, located in the Valley was the site of the Battle of Korriban, during the Disciples of Ragnos crisis.

[edit] Known tombs

The Valley of the Dark Lords, c. 14 ABY

[edit] Behind the scenes

The Valley of the Dark Lords was most likely based on the Valley of the Kings in Egypt. Indeed some structures resemble Egyptian statues

A number of different layouts and appearances have been given to the valley in various publications. This is, in the case of video games, mostly due to memory restraints and practicality.

For instance, its appearance in Knights of the Old Republic lends itself to being easily traversed and places less demand on hardware than a full scale valley.
In Jedi Academy, on the other hand, the valley is designed similar to the appearance of the Tales of the Jedi with sections suitable for fighting and platform jumping. In addition, having weathered several millennia (and possibly unknown conflicts), many of the tombs and decorative sculptures have partially collapsed when seen in Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy with only Marka Ragnos's tomb remaining in place.
Its appearance in Shadows and Light suggests a reconciliation between a few designs, with the entrance and statues found in Knights, and other sorts of tombs in the distance like those in Jedi Academy and TOTJ where the cliff started in Knights.
Jedi vs. Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force also depicts the valley as a mix of the KOTOR and Jedi Academy designs.

[edit] Appearances

The Valley circa 3,993 BBY.

[edit] Sources