In 3997 BBY, a group of Sith spirits of ancient Dark Lords of the Sith led by Marka Ragnos were summoned from the grave by Exar Kun and Ulic Qel-Droma with the help of a pair of Sith amulets as part of an ancient prophecy. Awakened once again, the spirits instructed them in the dark side of the Force. Ragnos' spirit crowned Exar Kun as the new Dark Lord of the Sith, his initiation into the dark side complete—with a single touch, Ragnos burned a mark of a Dark Lord into the center of Kun's forehead, and Qel-Droma with that of a Shadow Hand, whom Ragnos said would become Kun's first and foremost apprentice, all in an attempt to restore the lost Sith Empire of a thousand years prior. The Great Sith War devastated the galaxy once again, but the Sith Empire was not restored.
The Jedi historian Gnost-Dural mentioned the group centuries later when he researched Qel-Droma, Kun, and the Great Sith War as part of a timeline of galactic history. He speculated that the fact that they supported Exar Kun suggested that they did not support the Sith Emperor.
The Sith group, albeit unnamed, first appeared in the sixth issue of Dark Lords of the Sith story arc of the Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi series of comic books, written by Tom Veitch and Kevin J. Anderson, penciled by Art Wetherell, and published on March 14, 1995.
While Dark Lords of the Sith 6 established the image of the Dark Lords as a message carried through centuries from the time of the Post–Great Hyperspace War counterinvasion, multiple sources established that they were Sith spirits. This article assumes the latter sources are correct.
- The Essential Guide to Characters
- Star Wars Encyclopedia
- A Guide to the Star Wars Universe, Third Edition, Revised and Expanded
- The Dark Side Sourcebook
- The Official Star Wars Fact File1
- "Heritage of the Sith" — Star Wars Insider 88
- The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia