It is said that curiosity can be dangerous, and that can be no truer than in the case of Exar Kun. Although the name is less well-known than that of Ulic Qel-Droma, Kun actually played a rather larger hand in the Sith War than Qel-Droma. Of course, the name is not unheard of. Many historians know that he was a Jedi who gave in to the dark side of the Force and assisted Ulic Qel-Droma during the Sith War. Not much more is known, however, despite the fact that Qel-Droma's involvement was documented with much more detail. Fortunately, the tale can now be told in its entirety thanks to the kindness of Jedi Tionne, the keeper of archives and lore at the Jedi Academy on Yavin IV. Mistress Tionne was kind enough to spend some time with myself and a few other scholars of the Institute and allowed us to examine some of the unique artifacts in her possession. I personally found her to be an exotic and engaging young lady. I understand that she is now the foremost expert on Jedi lore and history, so I was doubly honored when she took further time out of her busy schedule to regale us with tales of the Jedi of old. With her permission, the Institute will now place these articles in our databanks in a hope that those seeking the truth may find it.

Our tale begins 4000 years ago. As I have stated in my essay about Ulic Qel-Droma, the galaxy was, quite simply, a different place. The Republic was unchallenged in its rule, and had not experienced a major conflict since the Great Hyperspace Wars a thousand years before. The Jedi ranks were swelling, and such Jedi Knights as Ulic Qel-Droma and Nomi Sunrider were emerging into the galaxy. Nearly on the other side of the galaxy, however, a young Jedi apprentice named Exar Kun showed nearly as much promise. Kun's accomplishments in the Force were only shadowed by his unquenchable curiosity about the dark side of the Force. Often chastised by his Master for such foolish and dangerous inquiries, Kun began to obsess over the mysteries of the dark side. He eventually fled his master and traveled to the distant planet of Onderon, arriving shortly after the Freedon Nadd uprising. Posing as a Jedi archaeologist, Kun requested to study the Sith artifacts found on the planet and was denied by Master Arca. Choosing to defy Master Arca's judgement, Kun studied the artifacts anyway and learned of Freedon Nadd's followers on the planet. Searching them out, he convinced two of them to lead him to the tomb of Freedon Nadd, where he promptly dispatched the two in anger. It was then that he discovered what was drawing him -- the disembodied spirit of Freedon Nadd himself. Convinced, however, of his independence, Kun allowed Nadd to guide him to the planet Korriban, the long-lost homeworld of the Sith. There Nadd somehow blocked Kun's use of the light side of the Force and pitted the Jedi against vicious beasts. In order to survive, Kun had no choice but to draw upon the dark side of the Force.

Although he denied any dependence on the dark side, Kun's path towards darkness had already begun. Determined to drive the young man to the dark side, Nadd next caused a structure to collapse on Kun, breaking and mangling his body. Again finding the light side blocked, Kun faced the same choice - draw upon the dark side or die. Kun chose to live, and willingly drew upon the dark energies raging around and within him. Although he would still deny the darkness, the damage was done. Now finding it easier to draw upon the dark side, Kun found that he could read the Sith heiroglyphs found on Korriban. After amassing a wealth of dark side knowledge, Kun then traveled to Yavin IV, a jungle planet where Nadd's teacher, Naga Sadow, had fled centuries before.

It was on Yavin IV that the final breaking of Exar Kun occurred. Upon landing, Kun was immediately set upon by Massassi warriors. The Massassi had been genetically altered by Naga Sadow and infused with the dark side of the Force. The primitive warriors instinctively used the dark side to augment their strength and the accuracy of their weapons, and even Kun was soon overwhelmed. He was then chained in a large arena located in the center of the largest temple and was offered as a sacrifice of sorts to a creature created by the late Sadow. Again blocked by the spirit of Nadd, Kun drew fully on the dark side and accepted his destiny (as Nadd apparently phrased it, it was Kun's destiny to re-create the Sith Empire). His defeat of the creature earned him the loyalty of the Massassi, and he immediately set about the task of exploring the dark side sorceries of Naga Sadow. It was some time later when he departed the planet and traveled to the Empress Teta system. A group of dark-side adepts calling themselves the Krath had decreed themselves the rebirth of the Sith, and Exar Kun saw them only as competitors for his dynasty. Among them at the time was a Jedi by the name of Ulic Qel-Droma, a young man who had originally joined the Krath to defeat them from within, but had instead been seduced by the dark side of the Force.

When Kun arrived, he decided to show the Krath what true mastery of the dark side was when he was confronted by an angry Qel-Droma, strong in either side of the Force. Evenly matched, the two began to duel with lightsabers when the ancient spirits of the Sith appeared to them and decreed that they would be the new Dark Lords of the Sith. Kun took Qel-Droma as his apprentice and traveled with him to Yavin IV, there sharing his dark-side knowledge and boasting of his feats. At some point, Kun shared the tale of his origins with Qel-Droma, a tale which Qel-Droma later passed on to Jedi scholars after the war and is the very same tale which you are now reading. At any rate, the two quickly began plotting against the Republic and the Jedi. As Exar Kun plotted the return of the Sith Empire from the steamy jungles of Yavin IV, Ulic Qel-Droma returned to the Empress Teta system and began to capture fleet after fleet of Republic and commercial starships. Having acquired the services of the Mandalorians, Qel-Droma's forces quickly reached an apex and Coruscant itself was invaded and nearly taken. However, Qel-Droma was betrayed by his second-in-command and was captured by the Jedi.

When the Sith apprentice was publicly placed on trial for his crimes, Exar Kun saw it as a prime opportunity to show the galaxy what the Sith were capable of. Believing the leader of the Sith forces captured, the Republic was little prepared for what happened next. Kun and his Massassi warriors stormed into the Senate and he used his Sith powers to paralyze the entire Senate. Brutally murdering the Senate Chancellor, Kun then proceeded to defeat and execute Jedi Master Vodo Siosk Baas, his former teacher. Feeling that he had thus proven to the Republic and Jedi how utterly helpless they were, Kun released Qel-Droma and the Sith forces retreated back to Yavin IV. Of course, the Republic forces pursued and several fleets of both sides were spread across the galaxy. The war was not over, however. Kun had planned for no less than the destruction of the Jedi homeworld itself - Ossus. One of the Sith fleets detonated a superweapon of enormous magnitude in a system near Ossus, causing the system's primary star to go supernova. The resulting explosion and radiation caused the evacuation of several nearby planets, including Ossus.

As the Jedi evacuated Ossus and chaos ensued, several Sith ships landed and Sith forces began to plunder the Jedi temples and storehouses. Escaping with several priceless artifacts and writings, Exar Kun was protected from delay by his Massassi warriors. His apprentice, however, was not so lucky. As they escaped, Ulic Qel-Droma's ship was disabled by his brother Cay and he was forced to crash back on Ossus. The confrontation between Qel-Droma and the Jedi there on Ossus resulted in his brother dead and he blinded to the Force. A broken and repentant Qel-Droma led the Jedi and Republic forces to Yavin IV, where a long and bloody battle ensued. Finally sensing his defeat, Kun withdrew his forces into the largest temple on the planet and withheld it against any attack. Calling upon the dark side energies permeating the temple and using the corrupt machinery devised by Naga Sadow, Exar Kun then used the life force of the entire Massassi race to channel his spirit into a disembodied state. He believed himself untouchable in this state, and that the act would spare him capture and judgement. However, he did not anticipate the resolve of the Jedi.

In the largest union of Jedi in history, hundreds of Jedi directed their combined light-side energy into the temple, instantly vaporizing the bodies of Kun and his followers inside the temple. The result also trapped Kun's spirit in the walls of the temple, where it would then remain for thousands of years. The Sith War thus ended, the Jedi and Republic began the task of rebuilding. Ulic Qel-Droma was detained for over a year by the Jedi but was eventually released. His tale can be found in the article entitled The Life, Fall, and Redemption of Ulic Qel-Droma.

The tale of Exar Kun, however, had not yet ended. Mistress Tionne further stated that Exar Kun's spirit had been released by Jedi students early after the Academy had been started on Yavin IV, and that he had influenced at least two students. It was apparently this influence that led young Kyp Durron on his murderous rampage that culminated with the destruction of the Carrida system, a rampage that some still say Durron should be held responsible for. At any rate, Mistress Tionne relates that the dark spirit of Exar Kun was finally defeated by the students as they united in light-side energy. Interesting, to say the least. It would appear, then, that Ulic Qel-Droma was not the individual behind the Sith War, but it was instead Exar Kun. And yet it would seem that although Ulic Qel-Droma was eventually redeemed, he still remains a hated name, whereas Kun remained evil to the end and is not well known. The irony of the situation is uncanny, is it not?

Along with the life story of Qel-Droma, I will continue to introduce this to my students despite criticism, and will, of course, include it in my memoirs. Perhaps through my attempts, the truth will finally be made known.