An'arche, a former slave, starts on Korriban to undergo training to become a Sith. It is revealed that the most promising trainee will become the new apprentice to Lady Zash. The young Sith prevails through the early trials and is sent (along with the final apprentice candidate) to the Tomb of Naga Sadow and tasked to uncover its secrets. After discovering a hidden chamber of Tulak Hord and beating its inhabitant, Khem Val, into submission, An'arche returns to the Sith Academy and claims the honor of being Lady Zash's apprentice. Lady Zash instructs her new apprentice to meet her on Dromund Kaas.
Apprentice An'arche
Upon arriving in Dromund Kaas, Zash's new apprentice encounters a powerful Sith lord named Darth Scotia, who boasts Trandoshan bodyguards and extensive cyberentics. Scotia is hostile to the apprentice and tells the Inquisitor that he does not know Zash's plans but will stop them, whatever they are. Zash is agitated by this and sends the apprentice across Dromund Kaas on errands that will lead to Scotia's downfall. After recovering a tablet of extreme religious importance to the Trandoshans as a race and procuring an experimental device called the Cybernetic Nullifier, which is designed to negate cybernetic enhancements, the apprentice goes to confront Scotia. Using the tablet to blackmail the guards and the Nullifier to disrupt Scotia's cybernetics, the apprentice and Khem Val are able to slay Scotia, who warns the apprentice that he is next. Zash is ecstatic at her apprentice's victory, but is suspected by a powerful Sith and Zash's superior, Darth Thanaton.
Before leaving to meet with Thanaton, Zash sends her apprentice to the Dark Temple, where a Sith aberation was awakened and has driven everyone in the Temple insane. The aberation reveals himself to be the apprentice's disgraced ancestor, Lord Kallig, who warns the apprentice to be careful whom they trust. Upon returning, Zash has been promoted to the rank of Darth by Thanaton and shows surprise at her apprentice's legacy, and sends the Inquisitor across the galaxy to acquire artifacts of Tulak Hord. The apprentice acquires one artifact from a toxic vault on Balmorra, another from a Sith lord on Nar Shadda, a third from rebelious pirate on Tantooine, and a final artifact from a House Organa family vault on Alderran.
While on Tantooine, An'arche recruits the aid of a former pirate captain, Andronikos Revel, who was mutinied and abandoned by his crew, taking an artifact of Tulak Hord with them. Throughout the apprentice's journey, the Inquisitor's ancestor Lord Kallig periodically drops in and warns the apprentice about Zash's strange behavior, like heralding two new apprentices, making regular trips to Kallig's tomb, and performing rituals that grant Force resistance. After acquiring the artifacts and arriving over Dromund Kaas, the apprentice is heralded by Darth Thanaton, who warns him to be wary of Zash. The apprentice is contacted by Lord Kallig, who directs him to Korriban where a powerful Sith lord wears Kallig's mask. The apprentice kills the Sith and takes the mask for themself, before heading to Nar Shadda to acquire Kallig's lightsaber from a family retainer.
The apprentice returns to Dromund Kaas and confronts Zash, who is in the Dark Temple wearing a veil. Zash removes the veil, revealing her true appearence to be old and decayed. Zash intended to swap bodies with her apprentice so she may live on. A duel ensues between Zash and her apprentice, with Zash gaining the upperhand and about to complete the ritual when Khem interfers and kills Zash's body. However, Zash's conscience transfers to Khem's body who must share a body with the Dashade. Thankfully, Zash had promoted her apprentice to the rank of Lord so that she would be of higher rank when she possessed her apprentice. The apprentice takes on the role of Lord Kallig, assuming this title to carry on their ancestor's legacy.
Lord An'arche
The Inquisitor, now named Lord An'arche Kallig, is approached by Darth Thanaton, who explains the importance of Sith tradition and how Zash's ideas flew in the face of that tradition. Thanaton offers to take An'arche as his apprentice and tasks her with entering the tomb of a dead Sith alchemist and acquire his teachings. Upon arriving in the tomb, she is attacked by the ghost of the alchemist, but is saved by the their ancestor who tells An'arche that Thanaton sends those he wishes dead on this suicidal errand. An'arche's ancestor directs them to another Sith ghost, who teaches her an ancient ritual called Force-walking, which allows the Sith to capture a Sith or Jedi ghost, containing them and tapping into their power. Kallig captures the ghost of the one who taught them and the ghost of the alchemist. Her ancestor warns them that this is the last time they shall recieve help from him, and then disappears. She then gathers the alchemist's writings and returns to Thanaton, who is suprised and impressed by An'arche's survival, but upset that it had to come to direct conflict, saying that Kallig's death was a terrible waste. After setting two Sith warriors on Kallig, who easily kills them, Thanaton intervenes directly, using his considerable power and knowledge to defeat her. Believing An'arche dead, Thanaton orders an apprentice to give her an honorable burial before leaving. Zash's former apprentices, now loyal to the Inquisitor, wake Lord An'arche from unconsciousness and warn him that Thanaton has left the planet and that they should leave immediately. It is revealed that the only reason the Inquisitor survived was because of the two ghosts that they had captured. Since the ghosts were already dead, they chained An'arche to this world, preventing him from dying. She flees Dromund Kaas and goes to find more Sith and Jedi ghosts to capture, gaining strength so that the Inquisitor can defeat Thanaton.
She goes to Tarsis, where the Inquisitor not only captures the ghost of a powerful Jedi, but also corrupts a young Jedi Padawn, Ashara Zavros, who is the descendant of the ghost. Afterwards, An'arche recieves a call from his or her two apprentices, explaing that they hade stolen the key to Darth Thanaton's, meditation chamber, but that Thanaton had sent Lord Cerullion, a Sith in Thanaton's pocket, after them. Traveling to Quesh, she finds her apprentices dead and Lord Cerullion standing over their corpses. Despite being there to kill the Inquisitor, Cerullion is civil and offers his apologies, showing his respect for the woman. After killing Cerulliona and retrieving the key, An'arche travels once more to Korriban to view the new stock of acolytes so that the Inquisitor can choose a new apprentice. Overseer Harkin is "welcoming" the acolytes and shows surprise at seeing his former acolyte, but shows respect for An'arche's new position. Among the acolytes are a human, a Twi-lek, a Kaleesh, and a three-eyed alien. She bets with Harkin on the Kaleesh beating his opponents before she leaves and resumes the search for ghosts, traveling to Hoth and binding the ghost of a powerful Sith lord to herself. Finally ready to face Thanaton, An'arche returns to Dromund Kaas and enters Thanaton's meditiation chamber, were Thanaton is waiting along with his apprentice. A battle ensues with Kallig's heir killing Thanaton's apprentice and preparing to kill Thanaton. Before they can begin fighting, the Inquisitor draws on the power of the ghosts in him, but cannot control it, blasting Thanaton across the room with lightening and fading into unconcsiousness with the four ghosts mocking her, warning the Inquisitor that she is no longer in control, and that it is their turn to "have some fun."
Darth An'arche
Having lost control of the ghosts she had bound, An'arche was now in a critical condition. Due to the power she had harnessed in such a short time, both her mind and body had begun to decay. As long as her condition was like this, she wouldn't be able to defeat Darth Thanaton. Zash, with Ashara's help, had already begun to find a cure for the Sith's condition. However, her search had hit a snag, when she discovered, that the records she had found had been tampered by Thanaton. Fortunately, she knew about Thanaton's private library on Dromund Kaas. An'arche went to the library in order to find the needed information about the cure. She found out that two Dark Lords from the past had experienced similar symptoms like she now. The other, Darth Ikoral, had also experienced body decaying and through extensive search he found a possible cure for his condition on planet Belsavis. The other, Darth Vilus, experienced similar mind decaying and learned about spiritual healing used by the mystical people of the planet Voss. An'arche decided to follow these two leads and set out to search for cure.
After finding a cure, Lord An'arche is challenged Darth Thanaton to a Kaggath: an ancient, but rarely employed, rite of the Sith. One part duel, one part large-scale dejarik-match, the Kaggath pitted Sith against Sith unto humiliation and death. During a duel on Corellia, An'arche won the upper hand, causing Thanaton to flee to Korriban to seek the aid of the Dark Council. Kallig followed Thanaton and finished the duel in the Dark Council chamber, leaving Thanaton near-death to be executed by Darth Mortis due to breaking the rules of the ritual in an attempt to ask for help. For the winning of the Kaggath, Lord An'arche was not only granted the title of Darth, but also accepted as a member of the Dark Council, answerable only to her peers and to the Emperor himself... for now.
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