Star Wars: Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil

Twenty years have passed since Darth Bane, reigning Dark Lord of the Sith, demolished the ancient Sith order and replaced it with his Rule of Two. But Bane's acolyte, Zannah, has yet to engage her Master in mortal combat and prove herself a worthy successor. Determined that the Sith dream of galactic domination will not die with him, Bane decides to learn the secret of a forgotten Dark Lord that supposedly grants immortality, to allow him time to find a new apprentice and eliminate Zannah.

A perfect opportunity arises when a Jedi emissary is assassinated on the troubled mining planet Doan, and Bane sends Zannah to find the Jedi's murderer, while Bane secretly travels to recover the holocron of Darth Andeddu.

Meanwhile, Zannah prepares for her Master's downfall by choosing an apprentice of her own: a Dark Jedi named Set Harth. Princess Serra of the Doan royal family, is haunted by nightmares of Bane, who tortured her as a child and drove her father, the healer Caleb, to send her away for her safety. Bent on retribution for her father's murder, she hires a merciless assassin, an Iktotchi known as the Huntress, to find her tormentor, and bring him back alive to taste her wrath.

The Huntress succeeds in capturing a weakened Bane, returning him to Doan and the Princess, closely pursued by Zannah and Set. In an underground prison, Serra tortures Bane, revealing her true identity to him as Caleb the healers daughter. But, Bane escapes, thanks to Serra's bodyguard, who recognizes Bane as her former commander in the Gloom Walkers of the Brotherhood of Darkness Sith army. While Bane is escaping, Zannah nearly kills him, but the two are separated as the prison begins to collapse, and Princess Serra is killed by the falling rubble. After Set negotiates his escape with The Huntress and leaves Doan, The Huntress saves Bane and offers to become his new apprentice. Bane and the Huntress notify Zannah of their location, and await her near Caleb's old hut on Ambria. Once Zannah arrives, she and Bane begin an intense lightsaber duel, which Zannah begins losing. In a last ditch effort, Zannah uses her Sith witchcraft and summons black Force tendrils that attack Bane, disintegrating anything they touch. Bane, realizing he is about to die, lashes out with the Force and attempts to overpower Zannah's consciousness and possess her body using Darth Andeddu's essence transfer technique. For several moments the outcome is unclear as the two Sith battle in Zannah's mind for possession of her body. Finally, Zannah declares that Bane is dead, and that she is the new Dark Lord of the Sith. The Huntress, renamed Darth Cognus, swears to serve as her apprentice, even as she notices Zannah clenching and unclenching her left hand, exactly the way Bane used to do.

In an undisclosed location, Set Harth opens Darth Andeddu's holocron, ready to learn about essence transfer.

• Darth Bane; Dark Lord of the Sith (human male)
• Darth Zannah; Sith apprentice (human female)
• The Huntress; assassin; Darth Cognus (Iktotchi female)
• Lucia; bodyguard (human female)
• Serra; princess (human female)
• Set Harth; Dark Jedi (human male)

• Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil on Wookieepedia, a Star Wars wiki
• Drew Karpyshyn' Website
• Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil book status update