Summary
One subtle moment inStar Wars: The Clone Warsfeatures a secret nod to a Legends Sith Lord, rewriting the history of the entire Sith Order.Star Wars: The Clone Warsseason 3, episode 15 set up one of the most intriguing arcs in the show’s history. Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Ahsoka Tano responded to an ancient Jedi distress code dating back over 2,000 years, and stumbled on Mortis - aplanet rich in the Force. There, they encountered theMortis gods, avatars of the Force itself.
Thirteen years later, there’s still intense debate over the nature of the Mortis gods and what they mean in terms of understanding the Force. But one surprising clue has been missed for all these years; the age of that Jedi distress code. The Mortis gods are known to have encountered the Jedi before - the ancient Jedi texts inStar Wars: The Rise of Skywalkerallude to them - but this strongly suggests they last crossed paths with the Jedi two thousand years before the Skywalker saga. What does this mean?
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What Happened To The Jedi 2,000 Years Ago?
The answer lies in Legends
InStar Warscanon, little is known of the history of the Jedi Order 2,000 years ago. But to understand the Mortis reference, you have to look beyond canon; becauseStar Wars: The Clone Warssits in an odd place, as part of both Legends and Disney canon. Looking to Legends, 2,000 BBY was an important period involving a Jedi named Phanius who fell to the dark side. Even as a Jedi, Phanius was known for a self-centered philosophy in which he believed his own will superseded all of existence. He became a Sith,taking the name Darth Ruin.
Darth Ruin was first mentioned in Terry Brooks' novelization ofStar Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, where he was referred to as the very founder of the Sith Order. Later works clarified that he wasn’t the founder of the Sith, but rather their re-founder, in that the Sith had been wiped out but Phanius discovered some of their Holocrons and created them anew. In terms of the Sith timeline, he’s as important a figure in Legends as Darth Bane, creator of theSith Rule of Two.
Did Darth Ruin Encounter The Mortis Gods?
He may have been influenced by the Son
Darth Ruin’s downfall is a mystery, but it’s surely not a coincidence that the last encounter with the Mortis gods - beings whose very existence speaks of the unending battle between the light and dark sides of the Force - happened at the moment he re-established the Sith. One of the Mortis gods, the Son, is best understood as an avatar of the dark side itself; he works tirelessly to spread his corruption out into the galaxy. What’s more, it’s easy to miss, but there are runes written in theSith languageon Mortis.
It’s chilling to imagine the possibilities. The ancient Jedi knew of Mortis, and a self-centered being like Phanius would surely seek to control such power - not least because he’d hope to use it to control reality itself. If Phanius traveled to Mortis, discovering the Son, then he would potentially have learned of the Sith through him. The Son could well be the one truly responsible for restoring the Sith, meaning everything done by the Sith since then - up to and including Palpatine’s rise to power - would flow from his actions.It’s a subtle but fascinating rewrite of Sith history.
How Important Are The Mortis Gods To The Sith?
Star Wars canon is doubling down on this too…
All this does not, of course, mean that Darth Ruin exists inStar Warscanon. Surprisingly fewSith Lords have been named in canon, and Darth Ruin isn’t one of them - at least not yet. But, oddly, recentStar Warsstories have doubled down on the idea the Mortis gods are somehow tied to the history of the Sith.Ahsokasaw dark Jedi Baylan Skoll claim the extragalactic planet Peridea was the place where the war between light and dark began, and statues seen inAhsoka’s finale prove a link between the Mortis gods and Peridea.
Even the Sith language, often described as the “Old Tongue,” has been redefined of late. Delilah S. Dawson’sInquisitor: Rise of the Red Bladerevealed these very runes are charged with the dark side, exerting a corrupting influence, whileAhsokalinked them to a dark side intergalactic empire that predated even the Jedi - and that originated from Peridea. Whether Darth Ruin is canon or not, the influence of the Mortis gods on theStar Warsgalaxy remains, and is only getting stronger.
