Marka Ragnos

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In the Expanded Universe of Star Wars, Marka Ragnos was a Dark Lord of the Sith c. 5000 BBY. He has been featured predominantly in the video game [[Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy|Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy]] for the PC and the Xbox; in the 2003 video game [[Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic]], the player can explore his tomb on the planet Korriban and acquire his gloves for use. Intentional or not, his name is similar to the Old Norse word "ragna," meaning "gods" or "ruling powers."

Ruler of the Sith Empire

[Spoiler warningSpoiler warning]: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Ragnos was originally featured in the comic book series Tales of the Jedi. Details of his century-long reign are few, although his death marked the end of the Golden Age of the Sith Empire. It is known that he was a champion warrior, possibly due to his mixed Sith/human ancestry, with a surpassing command of the dark side. He conquered and unified the Sith Empire in a brilliant and savage series of short campaigns (but only expanded the territory of the Sith Empire by an insignificant amount); with his ascension, he maintained his grip by cannily playing his opponents against each other (much like the later Emperor Palpatine would). It is believed that knowledge of the Old Republic had been passed down to Ragnos, and his impression of the Jedi and Old Republic's strength in exiling the early Sith demonstrated that the Sith had not grown strong enough to challenge their enemies yet, and thus any major expansion ran the risk of encountering or otherwise alerting the Old Republic. Before the Sith grew powerful enough to expand, Ragnos died of unknown circumstance. Immediately following his funeral, a schism erupted between the leaders of the Sith, involving the later Dark Lord Naga Sadow. Further events led to the Great Hyperspace War with the Galactic Republic and, because the schism was never healed, ultimately the end of their interstellar empire.

Sith spirit

About one millennium after his death, Marka's spirit was summoned from the grave by a pair of Sith amulets to crown Exar Kun as the new Dark Lord of the Sith, and Ulic Qel-Droma as Kun's apprentice, all in an attempt, which would ultimately fail, to bring a second Golden Age of the Sith Empire. The resulting Great Sith War devastated the Star Wars galaxy once again.

Forty years later, the Sith Empire under the leadership of Darth Malak excavated the tombs on Korriban. Ragnos's tomb was later home to an assassin droid that defied its bloodthirsty programming. This was featured in the video game [[Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic]].

In the video game [[Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy|Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy]], approximately four thousand years after the Great Sith War, the spirit of Marka Ragnos once again returned as the Dark Jedi Tavion, Desann's apprentice, discovered the Scepter of Ragnos. Tavion stole Force energy via the scepter from places such as Byss, Vjun, Coruscant, Hoth, Yavin, Bespin, etc. With enough concentration of Force energy, it was possible to resurrect Marka Ragnos, spiritually and physically. During her campaign, Tavion transferred the energy stored inside the scepter into her disciples' bodies, in order to muster a group of dark Force-users to deal with the Jedi.

If Jedi Knight Jaden Korr (player character) stayed on the path of light, he would confront Tavion before she could resurrect Ragnos in the tomb of Korriban. Tavion released the energy in the scepter to battle Jaden but was finally beaten. She transferred the remaining energy into the tomb, resulting in the spirit of Marka Ragnos leaving his sarcophagus freely and possessing Tavion's body to confront the Jedi. Marka Ragnos wielded a Sith Sword hidden in the scepter to duel with Jaden, but ultimately lost. Jaden destroyed the Scepter of Ragnos. Losing his power, Ragnos left Tavion's body and once again went back into his sarcophagus, and Tavion died in the process. Jaden later sealed the tomb forever upon leaving.

If Jaden had turned to the dark side, he would murder the defenseless Tavion after their duel. Refusing to serve anyone, Jaden did not use the scepter to bring Ragnos back to life. After a climactic lightsaber duel with Kyle Katarn, Jaden destroyed Ragnos's sarcophagus with the scepter and left Korriban aboard a hijacked Star Destroyer.

Regardless of the choice, the ghost of Dark Lord of the Sith Marka Ragnos escaped back to his tomb on Korriban, where he remains with the rest of the ancient Dark Lords, waiting to arise and threaten the galaxy again.

References

[[Tales of the Jedi: Knights of the Old Republic|Knights of the Old Republic]], trade paperback, 1994. Tom Veitch, Chris Gossett, Janine Johnston, David Roach, ISBN 1-569-71020-1
The Dark Side sourcebook, Wizards of the Coast, 1st printing, 2001. Bill Slavicsek, J. D. Wiker, ISBN 0-786-91849-7

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