The Sith Weren’t The First Darkness The Jedi Unleashed On The … – Screen Rant

The conflict between the Jedi and Sith is central to the Star Wars universe, however, a similar rivalry occurred with another dark-side cult before that. The Jedi and Sith often represent the battle between the light and dark sides of the Force, but given the Order's 25,000-year history, it makes sense for the Jedi to have fought other groups before the creation of the Sith. The Star Wars books and comics have explored other dark side groups before in every part of the timeline, only now it's confirmed which of them came first. This revelation makes clear that the Sith weren't the first darkness the Jedi unleashed on the galaxy.

Star Wars: Timelines from authors Kristin Baver, Jason Fry, Cole Horton, Amy Richau, and Clayton Sandell sheds new light on the galaxy's history. It provides specific dates for the entire Star Wars timeline, which includes an overview of the Dawn of the Jedi and confirmation of when the Jedi's first dark-side enemies emerged. It also affirms that this splinter group predated the emergence of the Sith, something that was largely shrouded in mystery in other Star Wars media. While much is still unknown about the Jedi's first dark-side rivals, Star Wars: Timelines does reveal new information about them in relation to the Jedi Order's beginnings.

Star Wars: Timelines reveals that the Order Aspectu, a splinter group of the Jedi Order, existed in 20,000 BBY. This dates them approximately 5,000 years after the Jedi Order was founded and 15,000 years before the Sith also splintered from the Jedi. The Ordu Aspectu, therefore, was the first confirmed dark-side cult that the Jedi fought and the first darkness they unleashed on the galaxy. That alone is a major reveal for the Star Wars canon timeline, but the fact that it happened so long ago puts the Jedi's conflict with the Sith into perspective, showing that they're only a small part of a much larger history.

Related: The Jedi Order Origin Timeline Revealed Ahead Of New Prequel Movie

The Ordu Aspectu first appeared in the Star Wars: Doctor Aphra comic series by Kieron Gillen, where the rogue archaeologist set out to find their ancient and valuable relics. The series made clear that much of the Ordu Aspectu's story had been lost to time, with Doctor Aphra's father believing they were a selfless Jedi sect, while Aphra herself thought it more likely that they were a cult who sacrificed kidnapped Padawans to gain immortality. Whatever the case, Star Wars: Timelines estimates that the Jedi attacked the Fortress of Garn in 20,000 BBY, prompting the retreat of the Ordu Aspectu.

Like the Sith who came after them, the Ordu Aspectu's quest for power ultimately became their undoing. The leader of the Ordu Aspectu, Rur, sought to gain immortality, perfecting technology that may have been the prototype of a potential Holocron. He placed his mind in this device, but it led to the creation of an insane artificial intelligence called the Eternal Rur that killed all the Ordu Aspectu and the Jedi they had finally made peace with. Thousands of years later, Doctor Aphra traveled to the Massassi Temple on Yavin 4, where the Ordu Aspectu had stored information, and used the data to find the Citadel of Rur.

After being reactivated, the Eternal Rur learned it had been thousands of years since the fall of the Ordu Aspectu, meaning he couldn't seek revenge against those he felt had wronged him. He attempted to kill Aphra instead, but she and her team managed to destroy the citadel and escape with the Rur crystal, which she later tried to sell on the black market. The ultimate fate of the Order Aspectu foreshadowed the Sith, who would wage war against the Jedi only to be destroyed. Even so, the Ordu Aspectu was the first dark side cult that the Jedi fought, making them an essential part of the Star Wars timeline.

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The Sith Weren't The First Darkness The Jedi Unleashed On The ... - Screen Rant