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Marka Ragnos Respect Thread

For my 100th blog, I will create a respect thread for a character I once had little admiration for, but one which I now admire greatly. Credit to I_Like_Swords for the scans and DarthAnt66 for Overseer Tremel's quote about the Beast of Marka Ragnos.

If you found this respect thread interesting, check out my Naga Sadow and Ludo Kressh respect threads.

Respect Marka Ragnos, Lord of all the Ancient Sith:

"The chains of the grave cannot hold a Dark Lord of the Sith…"

Power

Marka Ragnos is stated to be "the most powerful of the most powerful", making him the most powerful Sith Lord up to and of his time. This makes him more powerful than Ludo Kressh and Naga Sadow as of his funeral, but also Karness Muur and Tulak Hord:

Marka Ragnos ruled the galaxy with an iron fist. He was the Dark Lord of the Sith — the most powerful of the most powerful. But now he is dead.

Source: Tales of the Jedi: The Golden Age of the Sith 2: Funeral for a Dark Lord (Publisher's Summary)

Marka Ragnos is the greatest Dark Lord of the Sith in Old Republic times:

Meanwhile, on the far side of the galaxy, the Sith Empire has grown powerful through centuries of dark Force wielding and magic and the hundred-year rule of the greatest Dark Lord of the Sith, MARKA RAGNOS.

Source: Chronicles of the Old Republic

He is one of the most powerful and legendary Sith Lords in Old Republic history:

Sith acolytes spill blood and prove their strength in the mausoleums of history's most powerful and legendary Sith Lords.

Source: The Old Republic Encyclopedia

Marka Ragnos is one of the most powerful Sith Lords in history:

The most powerful Sith Lords possess a talent for the dark alchemy of the Sith. The Emperor, like Naga Sadow and Exar Kun long before him, became a master of manipulating the genetic building blocks of living creatures through the dark side.

Source: The Dark Side Sourcebook

Marka Ragnos is a master of the dark side of the Force:

The ruling Dark Lord of the Sith is a master of the dark side of the Force.

Source: Knights of the Old Republic Campaign Guide

Finally, a Sith Lord arose who exemplified the virtues of the Sith. Marka Ragnos was an imposing, merciless figure, a master of the Force and the arts of war.

Source: The Old Republic Encyclopedia

Ragnos's rule as a Dark Lord was marked by power, strength and strategy:

Strength, power and strategy marked the rule of Marka Ragnos.

Source: The Old Republic: Codex Entry: The Tomb of Marka Ragnos

Ragnos possesses a frightening grasp of the dark side of the Force:

Ragnos was a half-breed Sith, a warlord of tremendous physical power and a frightening grasp of the dark side of the Force.

Source: The Dark Side Sourcebook

Marka Ragnos possesses tremendous strength in the Force. The game dialogue files also show that Kreia is in awe of his power:

{barely detectable awe}

“Before you is the tomb of the great Sith Lord Marka Ragnos, a half-breed who possessed tremendous strength, both physically and in the Force."

Source: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords

Luke Skywalker claims that it will require all of the strength of the New Jedi Order to stop a resurrected Ragnos:

"If Ragnos is resurrected, there's no telling what he might be able to do. It will take all of our strength to stop him."

Source: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy

Even when weakened, Marka Ragnos's spirit grants Tavion Axmis incredible power upon possessing her body:

Jedi student Jaden Korr confronted Axmis on Korriban, where she had used an ancient Sith artifact to reawaken the spirit of Marka Ragnos. Briefly possessed by Ragnos, Axmis wielded incredible power, yet she was still defeated by Korr.

Source: The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia

Marka Ragnos is repeatedly listed as a powerful Sith Lord:

Five thousand years before Emperor Palpatine ordered the construction of the first Death Star, the Sith Empire was ruled by a powerful Sith named Marka Ragnos, who held the exalted title Dark Lord of the Sith.

Source: The Dark Side Sourcebook

A powerful Dark Lord of the Sith who ruled the Sith Empire for over a century, until his death some 5,000 years before the battle of Yavin.

Source: The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia

The spirits of powerful Sith Lords such as Marka Ragnos, Freedon Nadd, and Karness Muur influenced galactic events and inspired others to do evil long after their physical deaths.

Source: The Old Republic Encyclopedia

Marka Ragnos is compared to the likes of Freedon Nadd and Karness Muur in Force power:

The spirits of powerful Sith Lords such as Marka Ragnos, Freedon Nadd, and Karness Muur influenced galactic events and inspired others to do evil long after their physical deaths.

Source: The Old Republic Encyclopedia

Ludo Kressh claims that Marka Ragnos can crush Naga Sadow:

"I am vindicated! The great Dark Lord has come to crush you for your sacrilege, Naga Sadow."

Source: Tales of the Jedi: The Golden Age of the Sith 2: Funeral for a Dark Lord

Marka Ragnos is so powerful that Ludo Kressh and Naga Sadow bow subserviently before his spirit:

No Caption Provided

Ragnos's mere appearance as a Force Ghost causes tremors in the Force that can be sensed by Odan-Urr, who promptly receives a nightmarish Force Vision of Ragnos and the Sith on Korriban:

No Caption Provided

Emperor Vitiate regards Marka Ragnos's spirit as powerful enough to pose a threat to him when he returns to the known galaxy:

The Emperor knew the spirits of the ancient Sith Lords could be a threat to his power when he returned to the known galaxy a century later…

Source: Timeline 7: Peace for the Republic?

Satele Shan and Darth Marr are able to sense the spirit of Marka Ragnos (along with the other ancient Sith) on Yavin IV:

"You sense it too. Not the ancient Sith, or the Emperor. Not Revan. Another presence... different from the rest."

Source: The Old Republic: Shadow of Revan

Dark Rage/Force Protection/Speed

Dark Rage is a Force power that allows a dark sider to increase his strength, speed, resiliency, and resolve. Force Protection is the passive (and sometimes active) enhancement of a Force sensitive's durability to varying superhuman degrees. Force Speed is the passive (and sometimes active) enhancement of a Force sensitive's speed to varying superhuman degrees.

Like his strength in the Force, Ragnos' physical strength was tremendous, inspiring awe in Darth Traya:

{barely detectable awe}

“Before you is the tomb of the great Sith Lord Marka Ragnos, a half-breed who possessed tremendous strength, both physically and in the Force."

Source: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords

Marka Ragnos possesses tremendous physical power:

Five thousand years before Emperor Palpatine ordered the construction of the first Death Star, the Sith Empire was ruled by a powerful Sith named Marka Ragnos, who held the exalted title Dark Lord of the Sith. Ragnos was a half-breed Sith, a warlord of tremendous physical power and a frightening grasp of the dark side of the Force.

Source: The Dark Side Sourcebook

Ragnos's physical strength is such that he can beat his pet terentatek nightly bare-handed:

Left to guard the tomb serving as the resting place for its master, Marka Ragnos, the beast has dwelled in darkness for centuries. Legend tells that Ragnos beat his pet nightly, warping it with the Force until it was a creature of pure hate and anguish.

Source: The Old Republic: Codex Entry: The Beast of Marka Ragnos

Telekinesis

Telekinesis is a common Force ability than affords the user the ability to alter and distort reality around them.

Marka Ragnos's spirit is able to hurl back the likes of Darth Nox, even when the latter is strengthened by a nexus as potent as the likes of Yavin IV:

No Caption Provided

Drain

Force Drain is a Force power enabling one to siphon the life energies and Force energies of the target(s).

Ragnos is capable of siphoning the life energies of others:

[Marka Ragnos is] able to draw life energy from living beings, gradually absorbing it [himself].

Source: The Dark Side Sourcebook

As a member of the ancient Sith, Ragnos mastered the ability to drain a being of its life force. It is additionally implied that Ragnos knew a ritual similar to the one the Sith Emperor used to devastate Nathema:

Through their focus on these elements of the Force, the Sith have developed terrifying powers, such as the ability to drain a being of its life force, or unleash their hatred as crackling bolts of energy. The Sith Emperor, history's most powerful dark side master, performed a ritual of incredible scope to consume the life energy of every being on his homeworld. Ancient Sith were also masters of these arts - Lord Naga Sadow was able to affect the stars themselves, and caused the red supergiant Primus Goluud to go nova.

Source: The Old Republic Encyclopedia

Lightning

Force Lightning is the ability to unleash deadly crackles of electrical energy that cause excruciating pain and weaken life.

Ragnos is able to unleash his hatred as "crackling bolts of energy", which is likely Force Lightning:

Through their focus on these elements of the Force, the Sith have developed terrifying powers, such as the ability to drain a being of its life force, or unleash their hatred as crackling bolts of energy. The Sith Emperor, history's most powerful dark side master, performed a ritual of incredible scope to consume the life energy of every being on his homeworld. Ancient Sith were also masters of these arts - Lord Naga Sadow was able to affect the stars themselves, and caused the red supergiant Primus Goluud to go nova.

Source: The Old Republic Encyclopedia

Force Sense

Force Sense is a basic power allowing Force sensitives to sense their surroundings, feel determine the thoughts or feelings of others, feel ripples in the Force signifying important events of the presence of the dark side, or even the future.

Marka Ragnos senses Vitiate's power and potential:

With all of Medriaas under his power, Tenebrae traveled to Korriban and met Sith lord Marka Ragnos, ruler of all Sith. Marka Ragnos recognized Tenebrae's incredible power and named the young boy Lord Vitiate.

Source: The Old Republic Encyclopedia

Farsight

Farsight is an extensive application of precognition which allows a Force user to gain distant glimpses of the past or future, or the present in another location in the galaxy.

Marka Ragnos foretells that Naga Sadow will usher in a new Golden Age of the Sith:

Someday he would usher in a new Sith golden age, just as Dark Lord Marka Ragnos had foretold.

Source: The Dark Side Sourcebook

Essence Transfer

Essence Transfer is a Force power enabling one to manipulate his essence or those of others, and transfer it into another body.

Marka Ragnos possesses Tavion Axmis, overriding her conscious willpower and identity:

No Caption Provided

Force Corruption

Force Corruption is a dark-sided variant of telepathy that involves corrupting the mind and will of others to serve the user, often tainting them with the dark side. This can be applied on individuals, but also on locations, corrupting and tainting entire environments, eventually turning them into nexuses of dark side energy.

Marka Ragnos's death left behind a dark side nexus that stretched across not only his tomb, but the nearby lower wilds. The nexus was not only a source of empowerment for dark siders, but had corrupting effects - causing ringing ears and cold unease at first and eventually crippling and dominating unprepared Sith, with weaker minds being twisted and broken in a matter of hours. As a result, soldiers in the vicinity of the lower wilds (especially near Marka Ragnos's tomb) would be weeping, paranoid, easily enraged, and outright mad. Whilst it is stated that the source of the corrupting power is unknown, it is likely to have emanated from Marka Ragnos's tomb at the afflicted soldiers are camped near the tomb, and there has been no hidden artifact found in the location. Therefore, Marka Ragnos's death (and possibly that of other entombed ancient Sith Lords) was likely responsible for the generation of the corrupting dark side nexus, which is stated to be the most powerful on Korriban:

Nowhere on Korriban is the planet’s dark influence stronger than in the lower wilds. What begins as ringing ears and a cold unease can eventually cripple and dominate an unprepared Sith; weaker minds can be twisted and broken in a matter of hours, leaving soldiers weeping in the sand or slaves frothing, ready to kill. The source of this corrupting power is unknown. Some believe it is the residual dark energy of the ancient Sith species, while others insist the canyon serves as a focal point for the combined hatred and strength of the entombed Dark Lords. Some even hope the madness is caused by an artifact buried beneath the sands, waiting for a Sith to claim its power.

Source: The Old Republic: Codex Entry: The Wilds

Despite Ragnos not being at full power, he was so powerful that Tavion Axmis's body proved too weak to withstand his corruption, resulting in her body being withered upon Ragnos's spirit leaving:

“Dead. Ragnos had possessed her. Her body couldn’t withstand the corruption. When I destroyed the scepter and Ragnos left her body, there was nothing left.”

Source: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy

Force Ghost

Force Ghost is an esoteric technique allowing one to maintain their identity and consciousness in the afterlife in the form of a spirit, which allows them to influence the material world without being a physical entity.

Marka Ragnos learnt the Force Ghost technique, enabling him to manifest himself before many of his successors:

In the Golden Age of the Sith, dark side spirits such as the ghost of Sith Lord Marka Ragnos regularly advised and threatened their successors.

Source: The Dark Side Sourcebook

The spirits of powerful Sith Lords such as Marka Ragnos, Freedon Nadd, and Karness Muur influenced galactic events and inspired others to do evil long after their physical deaths.

Source: The Old Republic Encyclopedia

Marka Ragnos first appears as a Force Ghost during his funeral, interrupting Naga Sadow and Ludo Kressh's duel for dominance, and they both bow subserviently to Ragnos:

Soon after his demise, his ghostly visage appeared before Ludo Kressh and Naga Sadow, who were engaged in a duel to determine who would succeed Ragnos; the spirit urged the two aspiring Dark Lords to make peace in order to advance the Empire.

Source: The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia

Dark Lord of the Sith Marka Ragnos, for example, appeared to two Sith Lords battling for his throne Ludo Kressh and Naga Sadow-and warned them to fight the right battles lest the Sith Empire fall.

Source: The Dark Side Sourcebook

Their combat was fierce but short for the spirit of Marka Ragnos appeared to them, telling them of their ancient ties to the Republic and the Jedi Knights and warning them to make their decisions for the future wisely.

Source: The Dark Side Sourcebook

Ragnos's emergence as a Force Ghost also creates tremors in the Force, causing Odan-Urr to simultaneously receive a Force Vision of the event:

The shade of Marka Ragnos appears a millennium later before Exar Kun and Ulic Qel-Droma, interrupting their duel to bestow the mark of a Dark Lord on Exar Kun, and to decree Qel-Droma as his apprentice. The power bestowed upon them is greater than anything Alema Keto has to offer:

Their battle might have gone on for hours but for the macabre manifestation of a host of Sith spirits, led by the shade of Marka Ragnos. Ragnos told Ulic and Exar Kun that they would restore the Sith Empire to its former glory, proclaiming Exar Kun the new Dark Lord of the Sith, and Ulic Qel-Droma his first apprentice.

Source: The Dark Side Sourcebook

He and Ulic fought for supremacy, but their battle was cut short by the appearance of a group of Sith spirits led by none other than Marka Ragnos-Naga Sadow's predecessor. Ragnos declared that Exar Kun would be the new Dark Lord of the Sith, and that Ulic Qel-Droma would be his first apprentice.

Source: The Dark Side Sourcebook

Both Kun and the corrupted Jedi Ulic Qel-Droma were made Sith Lords by the thousand-year-old spirit of Marka Ragnos, who ruled as Dark Lord of the Sith before Sadow or Kressh.

Source: The Dark Side Sourcebook

A thousand years later, the spirit of Marka Ragnos and several other Sith Lords appeared before Ulic Qel-Droma and Exar Kun during the Great Sith War. Ragnos, the reigning Dark Lord of the Sith, bestowed the prestigious title upon Kun, while Qel-Droma was chosen to be Kun’s first and foremost apprentice. The ephemeral form of Ragnos emblazoned marks of the Sith on their foreheads.

Source: The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia

Ragnos's spirit unleashes a burst of dark side power that, upon touching the player character, both knocks them back and leaves an echo of that power within them. This echo of power proves to be a necessary in order to harm the Ancient Threat:

No Caption Provided

You have been touched by the Force and an echo of that power remains within you.

Source: The Old Republic: Shadow of Revan

Marka Ragnos's apparition emerges before Darth Plagueis and challenges his claim to the title of Dark Lord of the Sith. The apparition then vanishes, leading Plagueis to believe that it simply played out in his head:

I was ready to conclude that the tales are merely diversions for the credulous, but as I boarded my ship in the Valley of the Dark Lords, I beheld a vision of the Sith Lord Marka Ragnos. The apparition challenged my claim to the Sith title and railed against my plan to dismantle the traditions of Korriban. But the vision of Ragnos would not answer my questions nor my delineated inquiries. He snarled and disappeared in a whirl of smoke. It is possible that the entire episode simply played out in my mind.

Source: Book of Sith: Secrets from the Dark Side

Sith Sorcery

Sith Sorcery or Sith Magic is a Force-oriented practice that involves a wide spectrum of arcane and esoteric powers.

Marka Ragnos can channel the spirits of deceased Sith Lords to supplement his own power, but at the risk of becoming their puppet (however, he was evidently able to prevent this from being the case):

[Marka Ragnos has] the ability to channel the spirits of deceased Sith lords, using their power to supplement [his] own - but at the risk of becoming their puppet.

Source: The Dark Side Sourcebook

Enchanted with dark side sorcery, Marka Ragnos's gauntlets pulse with dark power:

Ancient but still intact, these gloves appear to be made of black scales; they pulse with a dark power.

Source: Knights of the Old Republic

Marka Ragnos possesses numerous powerful dark artifacts:

Sith Lords such as Tulak Hord and Marka Ragnos were entombed within, along with their powerful dark artifacts - protected by vicious traps and deadly guardians.

Source: The Old Republic Encyclopedia

Marka Ragnos enchanted a talisman with Sith Sorcery such that those who touched it immediately suffered extensive migraines (likely causing insanity to those too weak to resist it) and were then flung into the air. As the player character who touches the talisman can be Darth Nox, this is a remarkably impressive feat:

No Caption Provided

Marka Ragnos created and enchanted the weapon known as the Scepter of Marka Ragnos, an immensely powerful artifact of dark side energy. The Scepter is able to siphon entire Force nexuses:

"But the area around the temple felt strange, like its dark side aura was gone.”

Source: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy

“The Disciples of Ragnos are getting bold. They’ve managed to siphon Force energy from every site that was mentioned in my journal. We still don’t know what it is they’re planning to do with the energy though.”

Source: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy

Subsequently, it can be used to empower other beings, including non-Force sensitive individuals, with dark power. However, when the Scepter is destroyed, those individuals lose all their newfound power:

“If the scepter can store the Force, maybe it can release it too. Tavion could be using it to empower her followers.”

Source: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy

“It seems they lost their powers when the scepter was destroyed.”

Source: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy

The Scepter is considered too powerful to be left intact:

“But the scepter is too powerful. We must find Jaden and destroy it.”

Source: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy

A single blast from the Scepter can easily blow a hole in a thick stone wall:

No Caption Provided

Tavion Axmis is able to use the Scepter to resurrect the spirit of Marka Ragnos:

No Caption Provided
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In the dark side version of the game, the Scepter also incapacitates Kyle Katarn with a single burst, then collapses a mass of boulders onto him:

No Caption Provided

Sith Alchemy

Sith Alchemy is a Force-oriented practice allowing one to alter physical features of himself or other living beings.

Marka Ragnos alchemically twisted his pet terentatek into a creature of the dark side, known as a Sithspawn. Its strength is such that the strongest Sith can feel its presence, which unnerves them:

Known as the beast of Marka Ragnos, this ferocious terentatek was warped into a Sithspawn eons ago by Marka Ragnos.

Source: The Old Republic Encyclopedia

Left to guard the tomb serving as the resting place for its master, Marka Ragnos, the beast has dwelled in darkness for centuries. Legend tells that Ragnos beat his pet nightly, warping it with the Force until it was a creature of pure hate and anguish. Starved for unthinkable periods of time and then fed only blood, it is said to be filled with an unquenchable thirst for more. Since the death of its master and its seclusion in the tomb, no one has seen the beast and lived to tell the tale. But the strongest Sith can feel its unnerving presence.

Source: The Old Republic: Codex Entry: The Beast of Marka Ragnos

The Beast is so powerful it is in fact a nexus of dark side energy (considered great even on Korriban, where there are numerous tombs of ancient Dark Lords), and its death causes a tremor in the Force that Darth Baras is able to sense:

"The beast of Marka Ragnos was a great source of dark energy here on Korriban. When it was slain, there was a tremor in the Force. Darth Baras felt that termor and has become aware of you. He demands an audience."

Source: The Old Republic

Combat Skill

Marka Ragnos is a master of the arts of war:

Finally, a Sith Lord arose who exemplified the virtues of the Sith. Marka Ragnos was an imposing, merciless figure, a master of the Force and the arts of war.

Source: The Old Republic Encyclopedia

He is adept at blocking incoming attacks with his blade:

[Marka Ragnos is] adept at blocking incoming attacks with an alchemically sharpened Sith sword.

Source: The Dark Side Sourcebook

Sith Juggernauts of Vitiate's Sith Empire follow the teachings of Marka Ragnos, highlighting the fact that his skills as a swordfighter were renowned, even millennia after his death:

A stalwart defender of the Sith Empire, the Juggernaut embodies the teachings of Marka Ragnos, charging into enemies with heavy armor and pure rage.

Source: http://www.swtor.com/holonet/classes/sith-warrior/juggernaut

Ragnos was nearly unwoundable in battle:

"You will choose between two disciplines. One follows the path of Marka Ragnos, who focused the dark side to become nearly unwoundable in battle."

Source: The Old Republic

Marka Ragnos is among the ancient Sith Lords, whom Kreia claims are vastly superior swordfighters to the Jedi and Sith of her age. Specifically, she claimed that the Exile (at the time, at least) and herself were "children playing with toys compared to the prowess of the old masters".

"If you were to face an ancient Sith Lord in combat, you would learn that we are as children playing with toys compared to the prowess of the old masters."

Source: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords

Chris Avellone, the head writer of Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, has confirmed that Kreia's predictions are accurate:

"Kreia is setting the stage for what we imagined KOTOR3 to be, and as we had a sense for the power that we wanted those Sith Lords to reveal, her predictions are accurate. And yes, she had a number of Sith holocrons that she had read (the ones on Telos)."

Source: http://i.imgur.com/9FkGpPb.png

Tactical Intellect/Cunning

Strategy marked Marka Ragnos's rule, as he pitted his competitors against each other to eliminate them before they could challenge him:

Strength, power and strategy marked the rule of Marka Ragnos. Descended from the original Sith inhabitants of Korriban and the Dark Jedi exiles who interbred with them, Marka Ragnos was destined for greatness. He conquered his competitors in a series of quick, ruthless campaigns and became Dark Lord of all Sith, a title he would hold for more than a century. The reign of Marka Ragnos might have been short-lived had he not displayed great strategic discipline. Instead of clashing directly with Sith challengers who hungered for his power, he pitted his enemies against each other to weaken and destroy them.

Source: The Old Republic: Codex Entry: The Tomb of Marka Ragnos

"Ragnos held power for over a century, using his cunning to turn his enemies against each other. His death left a great vacuum of power."

Source: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords
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