000 wrote:On Lumiya: she's by all indications a Sith of Bane's order, whether ordained by the existing Lord or not. She was groomed as a possible apprentice, she was taught plenty of Sith lore while both reigning Dark Lords were alive, and upon the unprecedented simultaneous death of both she stayed true to Bane's edicts-- truer even than Palpatine, it might be argued. Her status as a genuine Sith is not in doubt, and I don't think there's a whole lot of argument for her not being one of Bane's order, in spite of the slight break in succession.
Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II states that Jerec's powers rivaled Darth Vader's.
The Dark Side Sourcebook indicates that he was fluent in Sith and was very familiar with Jedi and Sith arcana.
The New Essential Guide to Characters mentions that he had Sithian tattoos on his face, and even goes so far as to suggest that he would have been Darth Sidious's Apprentice if Vader hadn't already held that title. He was, therefore, a possible apprentice and extensively well-versed in Sithian lore while both Sith Lords were alive. And yet Jerec is not considered a Sith Lord, nor a member of the Sith Order, precisely because the reigning Sith Master never chose him.
Shira Brie was not 'special.' Darth Vader did not handpick her to be his Apprentice when he became the Sith Master.
The Empire Strikes Back and
Return of the Jedi make very clear that it was his son that he wanted to be the second Sith Lord, and "Evil Never Dies: The Sith Dynasties" even goes so far as to say that he trained Brie and Flint with the express intention to "pit these pupils against one another as past Dark Lords had done, taking the victor as his Shadow Hand." Consider that the same article states quite clearly that the position of Shadow Hand existed among Exar Kun's Brotherhood of the Sith (ca 3,962 BrS) and even in the Sith'ari period of the Sith Empire, nearly 24,000 years before the arrival of the first dark Jedi and the creation of the Jen'ari; being a Sith Lord's Shadow Hand is by no means synonymous with being his or her Apprentice, since it predates even the institution of the Dark Lord of the Sith.
"Lumiya: Dark Star of the Empire" only claims that she "embraced the dark path Vader laid before her," which is equally true of Procurator of Justice the Lord Hethrir (
The Crystal Star), High Inquisitor Tremayne ("Dark Vendetta"), and Inquisitors Lanu Pasiq, Halmere, and Gwellib Ap-Llewff ("Evasive Action: Recruitment") – all of whom Vader trained and none of whom were Sith Lords. It then goes on to say that she constructed her lightwhip as part of "the final test of all Jedi," having "uncovered an ancient Sith tome," but the example of Jerec has already shown that being a Sithologist does not qualify one as a Sith Lord. Nor is he the only example of non-Sith Lords having uncovered and used Sithian arcana: The Lord Cronal and Roganda Ismaren recovered Sith scrolls preserving the
mechu-deru disciplines of Belia Darzu, a Sith Lord active during the Sictis Wars of 1215 - 1195 BrS ("Evil Never Dies: The Sith Dynasties"), Cartariun learned to control Sith magic on the planet of Malrev ("Requiem for a Rogue"), the Sorcerers of Tund had incorporated Sith teachings into their religion before Rokur Gepta joined their number (
The New Essential Guide to Characters), the Mecrosa Order included Sith rituals within its initiation rites and ceremonies ("Evil Never Dies: the Sith Dynasties"), the Prophets of the Dark Side were actually founded by a Sith Lord and their Dark Force religion was heavily influenced by Sith dogmata ("The Dark Forces Saga, Part 3: Two Peas in a Pod"), and the entire world of Thule was ruled by a theocracy of priests and prophets of the old Imperial Sith religion (
Geonosis and the Outer Rim Worlds).
"The Emperor's Pawns" never even claims that Vader taught her any of the secrets of the Sith, and does not even bother to mention the Sithian weapons manual that inspired her lightwhip (and it is worth noting that using a Sithian weapon does not a Sith Lord make; consider the example of the anonymous Imperial Intelligence assassin who uses a Sith
lanvarok in "Mandatory Retirement"). It does mention that "like Bane after the Battle of Ruusan, Lumiya plunged the Sith order back into secrecy," but one immediately notes that the Sith Order did not exist before the Battle of Ruusan, because Darth Bane created it to replace the now-defunct Brotherhood of Darkness. If the comparison is to be meaningful, it demands that the Order of the Sith Lords have been destroyed, and that Lumiya create something new to be its spiritual successor – but recall too that the United Nations Organization is the spiritual successor of the League of Nations, but is nevertheless a distinct and separate entity.
It is true that "The Emperor's Pawns" says that she "has grown powerful in her seclusion, blending traditional Sith ways with new and dangerously innovative tactics," but keep in mind that the only Sithian knowledge she is known to have possessed at the time of the Battle of Endor was an ancient Sithian weapons manual, of unknown provenance – was the lightwhip the product of the Ordinal Sith, the Fraternal Sith, or the Imperial Sith? It certainly predates the Order of the Sith Lords, because a member of the Brotherhood of Darkness used one in
Jedi vs. Sith, which now presents the question of
which traditional ways did she blend with her own innovations? "Evil Never Dies: The Sith Dynasties" mentions that she obtained the ancient holocron of Sith'ari Adas from the Mecrosa Order, and that she had access to the ancient Sith Oracle at Korriban – but note again that both of these are not part of the Ordinal traditions, but rather the Imperial traditions.
Furthermore, precisely how much preparatory training did she receive from Darth Vader, after all? Consider that the entirety of her training in the dark side of the Force took place after "Shira's Story" (set after
The Empire Strikes Back) and some time before
Return of the Jedi – i.e., substantially less than a year. By her own admission, she defeated Luke Skywalker in "Duel with a Dark Lady!" because he was surprised by the fact that her lightwhip contained both physical and energetic tendrils; later that same issue, he adapted and easily defeated her, leaving her half-naked and humiliated. In fact, her performance without the element of surprise was decidedly lackluster; she actually began the second duel already in possession of Skywalker's lightsaber – only to curse ineffectually "No!! Curse you, using the Force – telekinesis," when he simply took it back. He defeated her with only one grazing blow as she tried to run past him – which is particularly unimpressive, in light of the fact that the completely Force-blind Orman, Baron Tagge, withstood such a blow in "Saber Clash!" and simply leapt over a lateral strike in "In Mortal Combat!" In "All Together Now," she brags that "my training in the ways of the Force gives me mastery over limited amounts of matter and energy, and hence – telekinesis," and manages to psychokinetically seize the Princess Leia's pistol; one might compare this to Darth Vader in
The Empire Strikes Back, except that – unlike Vader – Lumiya manages to get herself shot by two different people in "All Together Now." If this is the much-vaunted "Sith training" she received from Darth Vader, it succeeds only in putting her at the same level as Force-blind duelists like the Baron Tagge. It is certainly not comparable to the level of Sithologists and dark side mavens like Jerec and the Lord Cronal – both of whom were dark Jedi Masters. Lumiya's performance as a "Sith disciple" and would-be Shadow Hand was mediocre at best.
There is, then, no indication at all that she is a legitimate Sith Lord of Darth Bane's Order. Certainly there is a very compelling argument against her membership of the Order: viz., the Galactic Emperor intended to replace Darth Vader with Luke Skywalker, not only before the Battle of Endor but after as well. The
Dark Empire Sourcebook specifically states that "one of the key ingredients of this Shadow Hand Strategy" was "a new servant to replace Vader," and that this was the purpose for Darth Sidious's second attempt to corrupt Skywalker. How can one claim that someone is a member of a cult when she is pointedly excluded by the cult's leadership? The Sith Order was a clearly defined cult with its own culture, dogmata, and traditions. Membership was not achieved by acclamation or by consensus. She was never inducted into the Order; she was therefore never a member.
This has nothing to do with whether or not she is the spiritual successor to the Order of the Sith Lords, or with whether or not she is a Sith Lord. That is not really a matter of dispute; it takes very little to obtain the imprimatur of some Sith Lord or other, as the Krath and Brotherhood of the Sith proved. One need little more than the cooperative ghost of some long-dead Jen'ari to accomplish that, and given her cultural ties to the Imperial Sith, that seems a likely avenue of obtaining the necessary credentials. But there is a great deal of difference between being a Sith Lord – or even a Dark Lord of the Sith – and being a member of the Order of the Sith Lords. She is the former, almost certainly; she is the latter as no more than a bastard at best, illegitimate and unacknowledged.
000 wrote:There's no indication yet that she had any involvement in the Corellian crisis beyond the assassination. It's certainly possible-- she was behind Palpatine's final death, remember-- but at this point unlikely.
"Evil Never Dies: The Sith Dynasties" makes quite clear that Lumiya told Carnor Jax "of her need to now gather the necessary elements to rebuild the Sith Order" and then "disappeared on this quest." Carnor Jax was responsible for the plot that led to the destruction of the Galactic Emperor's clones; indeed, the article states that after Jax seized power as chairman of the Interim Ruling Council, he "attempted to reestablish communication with Lumiya – not to rejoin her but to lure her into a trap." They had not been in contact since she departed to 'gather resources,' and she was uninvolved in the conspiracy.
