Darth Nihilus - A Wound In The Force

The era of the Old Republic was famous for the legendary war between the Jedi and the Sith. It was a time when the Sith Empire controlled much of the galaxy, and when their powers were almost godlike. Among the many powerful Sith lords within the Old Republic era, there was one who even made Darth Sidious himself look like a mere apprentice. This of course, was the world eater, the living death, the Lord of Hunger Darth Nihilus.

When the planet Malachor V turned into a wound in the Force at the end of the Mandalorian Wars, the event itself was responsible for the birth of Darth Nihilus. Who or what he was before the events of Malachor is unknown. What we know is that this pivotal event led to the creation of Nihilus. The man who was once Nihilus lost all he cared about, his family, his friends, and his will to live. The power of the Dark Side consumed him, making him essentially a Force vampire. His hunger for life force was so great that he needed to be constantly feeding, or his hunger would turn on himself. Among all the Sith lords, he was the only one who could actually consume an entire planet, and its inhabitants.

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Nihilus was not even a living man anymore. He was a creature, a phantom, Death itself. The Lord of Hunger was pretty much unstoppable. Those who encountered Darth Nihilus believed that there was nothing behind his mask. Some said that while a face existed at one point, now there was an empty void of darkness. They could not be more correct. The more powerful Nihilus became, the more his physical body deteriorated, consumed by the Dark Side of the Force. When he was close to death, he bound his dark spirit to his robes, and created a phantom with an endless insatiable hunger. Without a physical body to hold him back, he was able to cheat death, and feed for eternity.

Nihilus was the only Sith who actually did not care for the ideals of the Sith, or the Jedi. All he cared about was feeding on the Force life energy of others. Nihilus fed on both the Jedi and the Sith indiscriminately. Nihilus only turned to his master Traya in order to learn and develop his dark powers. While he primarily unleash his hunger as his weapon, he was proficient in the use of the lightsaber. He appeared to use an aggressive, one-handed style during the rare moments he chose to wield a lightsaber. He was also skilled in Dark Side powers like Force rage, Force lightning, Force resistance, Force scream, Force plague, and Force whirlwind, among others.

After many years, Traya became afraid of Nihilus as she saw that he did not care to further the Sith ideologies at all. Because he had nothing to lose, he feed on entire solar systems as his powers, and his hunger grew. The hunger that possessed Nihilus was like an inner pain that would only ease if he fed on the lives of others. She feared that he would eventually consume and destroy the Sith. Before Traya could turn on him, Nihilus defeated her and fed on her Force energy, cutting her off from the Force completely.

The Lord of Hunger came to his demise when Darth Traya and Darth Sion joined forces with Jedi Exile Meetra Surik. They were finally able to stop the Lord of Hunger once and for all. Although Nihilus was defeated, there were many who believed that a little of his essence was left in his mask. Whoever found the mask of Darth Nihilus would succumb to his power as he possess their body and return to his eternal feeding.

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Written By Christopher Giron

Source(s): Wookieepedia

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