Klass (Fan) Fiction

History of Darkseid

The great demon, Darkseid is an ancient being thought to be the demon who first introduced the dark side of the Force to mortals. His name and existence were lost to the Sith for eons. The ancient religion of narcissistic practitioners lost interest in the roots of the dark side, and only recognize it and not its origins. Darkseid dwells on a shadowy plane of the Abyss, not known or ever recorded. There he has hidden and remained, tormenting souls of those he has imprisoned. It has been ages since any new Sith recognized him and devoted their souls and existence to him. Their attention and worship had become warped inward on themselves, and the desire of ‘unlimited power’ from the dark side of the Force. The Force, a non-sentient power flowed through the universe and was always recognized for either what it was or by another name such as ‘luck.’ He had been forgotten. The dark side was only recognized as a non-sentient power, like the Force, which it was. But the demon that introduced the dark side to mortals was not given credit where credit was due. Darkseid had grown enraged over the ages. He has not visited the plane of mortals, the Prime Material Plane in so long that his worshipers have become non-existent and the divine power he once wielded, was gone.

“I have not the ability to return to the realm of mortals on my own accord anymore. I must be summoned.” Darkseid realized. So, he waited, and waited. For ages upon ages, he waited for anyone who might have the power to summon him. He felt the Force in many who would have been powerful enough, but they ignored his whispers, only recognizing the whispers as the non-sentient power of the dark side of the Force, or perhaps voices of ancient Sith ghosts. Never did a dark-sider realize it was the voice of a demon beckoning to them. It was not until a Sith called out to powers beyond the known realms of the dark side of the Force that his voice was finally heard.

“I call out to the spirit of the ancients, nay, the powers within the shadows of the dark side of the Force. Show me the way to ultimate power. Show me the true purpose of the Sith and true nature of the dark side of the Force.” A Sith Lord dressed in dark robes prayed within an ancient dark side temple on the planet of Despayre.

“I hear you,” Darkseid whispered across the planes of existence with his telepathic ability. “What is it you desire?” The robed Sith Lord smiled beneath his low-draped cowl, wryly.

“Immortality,” the Sith Lord answered.

“I can grant you that and more, but to do so I must be present. You must summon me to your plane.”

“How do I summon you?” The Sith Lord asked.

“It will take a lot of dark side power to bring me across the planes. You will need the power of other Sith Lords at your side.” Darkseid instructed.

“But the ‘rule of two’ has been enforced in the code of the Sith for ages now.” The Sith Lord stated with devotion.

“In my time there was never any such rule. A coward who feared usurpers must have dictated this into the code of conduct after my time. No wonder the power and might of the Sith has waned.” Darkseid scoffed.

“Ensure I will not be usurped, and I will do what you ask,” the Sith Lord vowed.

“I can do no such thing unless I am present. Once you summon me, I will grant you immortality and unnatural control over the dark side of the force that no other mortal has ever known.” Darkseid promised.

“I will search for other Sith or those I can train as apprentices. What is your name?”

“I am the power that first introduced the dark side to mortals. I am the power the dwells in the Secret Darkness of the infinite Abyss. I am the power called, Darkseid.” The Sith Lord ended his concentration, severing the telepathic connection with the otherworldly entity. He pulled back the hood of his robes and revealed a wide smile on his face. A young Palpatine had found a new way to bring the Sith back into power and no longer worry about being discovered by the Jedi.

Several years passed and Palpatine finally returned with an entourage of Sith apprentices. There were sixty-six of them in all, gathered within the empowering sanctuary of the dark-siders temple. Palpatine motioned for his apprentices to encircle him. He stood at the center and kneeled in prayer. The dark side apprentices chanted a whispered name over and over, while concentrating their minds only on the name.

“Darkseid,” the name was whispered by sixty-six Sith apprentices over and over while Palpatine prayed quietly at the center of the circle.

“Darkseid,” he called. “Darkseid, answer my call,” he pleaded. A wave of darkness fell over the group. Many were distracted and overwhelmed with fear. Palpatine sensed their fear and fed on it. “Stay!” Palpatine commanded, and his apprentices obeyed. They feared their master more than an unseen entity.

“You have returned,” the voice of Darkseid said in the mind of Palpatine.

“I have, and I brought sixty-six apprentices to help me summon you.” Palpatine said proudly.

“That is barely enough,” Darkseid complained. Palpatine grimaced with insult.

“You never told me how many,” Palpatine retorted.

“You severed our connection before I could give you any instruction beyond what had already been relayed.” Darkseid reminded the Sith Lord.

“I was young and anxious to fulfill your will. I will not make any further mistakes. What is it you need me to do in order to summon you to our plane?” Palpatine offered his devotion without saying the title, ‘master.’

“Sacrifice them all to me. Kill them in the name of Darkseid.” Darkseid instructed insidiously. Palpatine opened his eyes. Sixty-six Sith apprentices surrounded him. None of which would allow him to sacrifice their lives. This situation put Palpatine in a life-threatening danger.

“Do not stop calling the name of Darkseid,” Palpatine said suddenly with a plan as he rose from his knees, clutching his lightsaber in hand and igniting is magnificent red blade. The hum of the empowered laser-blade intimidated the apprentices. “Darkseid demands your devotion. Kill one another before the others kill you.” Fear overwhelmed the apprentices. The power of the dark side was too great for any one of them to control. Voices whispered in their minds of their peers plans to kill them. In an instant, red lightsabers ignited all around Palpatine and struck into action.

The chanting of the name, “Darkseid,” never wavered. Apprentice after apprentice fell. Palpatine felt the power of the dark side growing around him. He began to understand how the lives and souls of the dark-siders empowered him and any other dark-sider in the area. He also realized that this power threatened him. Any of his apprentices could overthrow him with a lucky strike. Palpatine unleashed the power of Force Lightning upon them and then struck hard and fast with his lightsaber while they were stunned. With so many apprentices fighting one another, only those in the immediate area realized the true danger was Palpatine and not their peers. In a massive fray that lasted for several minutes, Palpatine proved victorious. He stood, still chanting the name, “Darkseid,” with dead Sith apprentices littering the floor all around him. A void of swirling darkness opened before him. Not even the light of his lightsaber could be seen in the darkness cast by the swirling void. It was as if Oblivion had opened to swallow him whole.

“WHAT?!” Palpatine roared defiantly, hoping to resist any sudden death he might be faced with. He saw nothing but darkness. He reached out with the Force. The violent swirling darkness of Oblivion could not hide what it was releasing into the world from the Force. A powerful aura surrounded a massive body that towered over Palpatine by twice his height. The aura showed the being’s outline as it came across the planes towards the realm of mortals, the Prime Material Plane. Details were difficult to discern, but this was no species Palpatine had ever known of or seen and it was by far more powerful in the Force than he or his former master. The violent storm of darkness dissipated, leaving behind a demon wreathed in fire and shadow. The massive demon stretched out his massive wings in a display of might and intimidation.

“I have returned!” Darkseid roared.

“What have I released into the world?” Palpatine gasped in awe.

“What is it you desire?” Darkseid asked with excitement as he glanced around at the dead bodies sacrificed to him.

“Immortality and ultimate power to defeat the Jedi,” Palpatine said reluctantly. He felt the power of the Force within the demon standing before him. His power could no compare to the power of Darkseid.

“Living forever is a tricky thing. I can grant the ability to never die a natural death, but your body will still be subject to age, damage from enemies and will rot to a putrid husk if you do not care for it through alchemical means.” Darkseid explained.

“Do it!” Palpatine commanded.

“I will grant you thins, the alchemical secrets to care for your body, and a veil to hide you from peering enemy eyes.” Darkseid stated. Palpatine smiled wide. Darkseid unleashed a wave of power collected from the fallen to grant the wishes of Palpatine, then he collapsed to his knees.

“I gave up much of my power for you to show my gratitude for you summoning me. Ask noting more of me, now without a proper sacrifice of souls.” Darkseid growled. Palpatine sensed the rage growing inside the demon and took his leave. There the demon, Darkseid remained in solitude. Palpatine would send apprentices to Darkseid that failed him too many times. Whatever became of those apprentices, Palpatine could only imagine, but he never heard from any of them again. As his power grew, Palpatine heard calls from the demon who he had ignored too long without a proper sacrifice. That was his reasoning for targeting Despayre for destruction by the prototype Death Star.

Palpatine thought Darkseid was destroyed along with the planet. He could not sense the presence of the demon after the destruction of the planet since the demon was launched across space on a chunk of the former planet and out of range of his detection.

Time passed. Wars began and battles were fought. Now, Emperor Palpatine, the Sith Lord followed the ‘Rule of Two’ but with a twisted bend on it. He had an apprentice on each corner of the galaxy, never allowing them to meet one another unless he was ready to end the career of one of them. Such was the fate of Count Dooku by the hands of Palpatine’s secret apprentice, Anakin Skywalker.

After the rise of the Empire, Jedi were scattered throughout the galaxy as were darksiders abandoned by their former master who now devoted his time to Darth Vader. An apprentice that was mighty enough to usurp the Emperor had to be controlled delicately. If he lost control over Vader, Palpatine could lose his Empire to Vader who had already developed a powerful dark legacy known throughout the galaxy. He had force users under his command, but he avoided training any Sith apprentices. Darth Vader and the scattered Jedi remnants kept Palpatine very busy.

*****

A freighter flew through the Outer Rim to avoid the Empire and Rebel forces. The crew, a group of dark Jedi were in search of a sanctuary. They knew that the Emperor hunted them and Vader, the destroyer of the Jedi would be sent to kill them soon enough. To avoid being detected, they used spies in their networks to receive intel as to where Vader and the Emperor were or would be traveling. If ever they were to be visiting the same planet or perhaps the same system, their presence might be detected by the Emperor and or Darth Vader. As the freighter full f dark Jedi streaked through hyperspace a powerful dark side presence was felt by them.

“Is that Palpatine or Darth Vader?” One of the dark Jedi asked the group suddenly. The dark Jedi all looked to one another for support.

“If it is Palpatine, he has become more powerful than before.”

I am not Palpatine, but your messiah. A telepathic voice whispered into the minds of the dark Jedi.

“Who are you?” One of the dark Jedi asked aloud. The others attempted to sense the location of the powerful dark side Force user. It was not difficult to see in their minds. Darkseid did not try to hide from them.

I am Darkseid! The demon again whispered telepathically into their minds. I can protect you, help you complete your training, and even get revenge on your former master for abandoning you. The dark-siders looked to one another again. Nods of approval were given and received by each of them. Six in all, the darksiders agreed to the terms of the unseen being in communication with them.

“We are on our way to you,” one of the dark Jedi announced before moving to the pilot controls of the freighter and changing course for a lone asteroid spinning out of control and streaking across the galaxy. I await your arrival. The voice fell silent as the freighter full of dark Jedi approached the asteroid.

“Use the landing claw or we might lose the freighter after we land.” One of the dark Jedi suggested. The pilot did just that and as they landed, the landing claw secured their craft to the asteroid. The dark Jedi felt the power of the dark side pass over them like a wave of dismay and fear. Out of instinct, they all drew and ignited their lightsabers before leaving the freighter.

“Will this being feel threatened if we approach like this?”

“If he is a Sith Lord, he will expect us to approach ready for a fight.” The lead dark Jedi remarked. With breathing apparatuses on, the dark Jedi left the freighter in search of the powerful Force user that called to them. It was cold as expected to be in the vacuum of space, but no that cold. There was a thin atmosphere on the asteroid and gravity. The spinning of the asteroid was dizzying if one looked anywhere but straight ahead. They all saw the powerful aura and moved together towards its location. Ahead was an unsettling layer of fog and at its center was a large stone shaped like a throne. Upon that throne sat a massive creature. It appeared to be wearing a long cap that resembled folded leathery wings. Its body was red like brick with unnatural shadowy flames wreathed around it. Its face was like a massive wolf with sharp teeth and strange horns, larger than any Devarion or Zabrak.

“Who… what are you?” One of the dark Jedi asked.

“I am the bringer of the dark side. I am the true master of the Sith. I AM DARKSEID!” The demon declared. The dark Jedi realized their dilemma. This being was not planning to help them.

“You didn’t really plan on helping us, did you?”

“No, foolish Jedi. I needed your vessel to get off this rock. One, or all of you will help me, or one or all of you will die.” Darkseid threatened with a wide smile on his face. Sensing the attack to come, Darkseid wanted to make an example of one of them in hopes to persuade them to helping him. He used his innate magic, arcane in nature and separate from the power of the Force. One of his abilities allowed him once per day to implode a body, provided the victim could not resist the power of the magic. With a snap of his fingers, Darkseid watched as the lead dark Jedi collapsed the rocky ground in anguish. He concentrated on his spell-like ability and watched as the dark Jedi imploded.

“So, will you help me or will you all die?” Darkseid asked. The question did not inspire the answer Darkseid was hoping for. Two of the dark Jedi charged headlong at the sitting demonic being, lightsabers leading the way. Darkseid stood up at the last second and presented his true nature as his wings thought to have been a decorative cape spanned out at twice the height of the demon in width and swung a mighty sword enchanted with both powers of the Force and magic. The blade resembled that of the ancient Sith, known as a Sith Sword, but this was much larger, and the blade was like the blade of a lightsaber but without a power source. The blade found the neck of one of the charging dark Jedi and cut the head clean from the body. The second charging darksider got inside the reach of the large demonic being and stuck hard with his lightsaber. Even with the empowered blade of his lightsaber, the dark Jedi could not cut the unnatural skin of the being standing before them. The blade of his lightsaber quite literally bounced off the body of Darkseid. Fear consumed the dark Jedi as he looked up at the towering being about to introduce him to Oblivion. The other ark Jedi attempted to use the power of the Force against Darkseid. They united in the attempt to crush the demon’s body. Darkseid attempted to maintain his concentration with hopes of imploding another of his foes with ease, but the Force disrupted his concentration. Instead, the demon chose to show off his prowess with his blade. Darkseid cut the third dark Jedi foe in half, from head to groin, then vanished from view. Before the remining dark Jedi could manage a gasp, Darkseid appeared in front of them and severed the arm of one of his foes. As he missed another foe, Darkseid frowned with distaste. I never miss! He thought to himself in frustration. Two of the dark-siders, one of them having a severed arm attempted to crush the demon with the power of the Force again. They could see ribs straining beneath the thick-skinned demon. The other darksider came in hard with a wide swing of his lightsaber which Darkseid easily slapped aside. Darkseid split the darksider down the middle as he did one of the others just moments ago. His blade was unnaturally sharp and incited more fear in the remaining enemies he faced. Darkseid, overzealous from the success of his most recent kill moved in to finish the last two and tripped over his own wings. The dark Jedi continue to use the Force to crush the powerful body of the demon. A snap was heard beneath the flesh of the demon, though they could not be sure of how severe the damage was or how hindering the wound would be to the demon. Enraged, Darkseid lashed out cutting the last arm away from the wounded dark-sider. With a wide-beaming smile across his face, Darkseid cuts the dark-sider down the middle, from head to groin, his second favorite way to kill his enemies. His first being decapitation. With a follow-through swing, Darkseid came around and cleaved through the last of his enemies, leaving no one alive. The bloodlust that drove his movements in combat dissipated. Darkseid palm-slapped his forehead. He had a freighter to escape the asteroid, but he did not know how to pilot it. The demon returned to his throne of stone after collecting the skulls and skull fragments of his fallen foes and sat down in frustration, continuing his impatient wait for the means to escape the asteroid and hunt down Palpatine.

*****

There was a great disturbance in the Force as the six darksiders were slaughtered by Darkseid. The cries of hatred and anguish screamed across the galaxy. Hidden Jedi felt their cries; their pain; their demand for vengeance. No one felt and heard them louder than Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine. The power of the dark side fed them and empowered them. The deaths of their fellow Sith echoed in their minds and called to them, acting as a beacon to the asteroid where Darkseid dwelled.

Darkseid pondered the idea of patience. If ever he passed close enough to a planet, or even a moon—something bigger than this asteroid, he could teleport himself from the asteroid to the new planetary body. The possibility of him crashing into a star or black hole was also a possibility for which he had no answer. If he crashed into such a destructive force, he would be destroyed; banished back to his home plane on the Abyss for a hundred years. There he would have to wait for another mortal he could seduce from across the planes. That idea annoyed the demon.

“I need to get off this rock!” The demon barked. His thoughts were silenced suddenly. He sensed a presence—no—two presences of dark side Force users. They were more powerful than any Darkseid had sensed before.

“What’s this? I recognize that one.” An Imperial shuttle flew overhead and landed nearby. “Palpatine. Who did you bring with you? A sacrifice I hope.” Darkseid stood up from his throne, now decorated with the skulls of his victims to resemble his thrown back on his home plane. How long had it been? There was no planetary cycle to give an idea of how much time had passed since the destruction of Despayre. Demon are immortal and time does not affect them as it does mortals. The concept has no relevance other than for the lives of mortals as far as Darkseid was concerned. In this case, he felt it had been far too long since he last seen Palpatine and vengeance was long overdue. Darkseid watched as the two dark side Force users approached. They both wore robes of the Sith. One walked with a cane, moving ever-so-slowly. The other wore full body armor of the Sith and looked as though it might be part cyborg.

“Palpatine!” Darkseid called out with hatred and excitement. Darth Vader sensed the power in Darkseid and knew he was a threat to him and his master. As they approached Vader saw for the first time the size of the demon they were about to face. He called upon the power of the Force to enhance his fighting prowess and attempted to choke the demon as he had so many others before. Darkseid realized the old man was Palpatine and not the one in the armor. He attempted to use his innate magic to implode the frail body of the Sith Lord who had summoned him. If he imploded the body, the demon knew what would happen to Palpatine. His body would finally be destroyed, and the soul would go to his layer of the Abyss for eternal torment rather than Oblivion. The immortality Darkseid had gifted to Palpatine was more of a curse. The body would still age and decay, but time would not ever be the cause of his death. He could wind up being a living slab of rotting meet, incapable of movement or anything else, forever trapped in a rotting flesh of undeath. Vader’s assault distracted the demon making the magic easy for the Emperor to resist and shake off. Palpatine smirked at eh feeble attempt to abruptly end his life. Darkseid frantically attempted to use other innate magical abilities against Palpatine as he and his cyborg apprentice approached. All his attempts were resisted. For every innate spell he used and failed, Darkseid grew angrier towards the Emperor. His power had grown immensely since the last time they crossed paths. His body was weak and frail now, but the dark side of the Force was powerful in him—more so than ever before. Darkseid drew his enchanted blade. A specially forged blade known only to the ancient Sith, fabricated to his larger size, and enchanted with a power unknown to those of this galaxy. Magic here was wielded through the power of the Force, but the magic enchanting the oversized Sith Sword was not of this galaxy and had no link to the Force. The Force, Magic, Psionics, they were all different powers derived from different sources.

“Beware his blade, Vader.” Palpatine warned as he summoned the power of the dark side to empower him and unleashed a series of Force Lightning strikes against the massive demon. Darkseid deflects the Force Lightning with his enchanted Sith Sword. Its serrated blade flickered like a brilliant energy comparable only to a lightsaber. Vader drew and ignited his feared lightsaber. The re blade thrummed to life with immense power, pulsing from the cylindrical handle to the tip of the laser blade. As his master did, so too did Vader call upon the power of the dark side of the Force to empower him. He stood in defense beside his master and raised his free hand pinching his fingers into a “C” shape, once again attempting to choke the life from the demon. The pain Vader caused him nearly dropped the mighty demon to his knees. To disrupt the two powerful Sith Lords, Darkseid used another innate ability and summoned a magical fire storm to rain down upon them. Vader was singed but Palpatine dissipated the flames from him and stood smiling back at the demon defiantly. Summoning the power of the dark side of the Force, Palpatine unleashed more Force Lightning at the demon. This time the lightning gets through the defenses of the demon. Vader charges into melee like a jet-black blur but did not foresee the threatening reach of the massive demon. Darkseid caught Vader by surprise as he charged into range. Darkseid struck Vader hard. The blow would have killed anyone else but not Vader. It did not even knock him off course as he charged, happily accepting the damage of the blow just to get close enough to strike with his lightsaber. The lightsaber cut a chunk of flesh from the tough hide of the demon, which surprised Palpatine and Darkseid both. The demon and Vader crossed blades in a blinding flurry. Darth Vader was no match for the battle prowess of Darkseid. Darkseid backed Vader on his heels—put him on the defensive. Darth Vader was the most feared Sith in the galaxy, next to Emperor Palpatine. Darkseid was not known, yet if he were, perhaps it would be him who was most feared in the galaxy. Vader’s blade was slapped out wide and the demon stabbed his blade true, piercing the dark armor of the Sith and exiting his back. Darkseid yanked his sword free of Vader’s body and let him fall motionless to the ground. The Emperor watched in dismay as his apprentice—one he thought to be far more powerful than he was so easily bested. Perhaps Darkseid was more powerful than before. Perhaps he never showed his true power. Perhaps there was so much more to learn about this demonic entity. The Emperor pushed those thoughts away. Self-preservation won every time over desire. Palpatine sensed Vader had placed himself in a Force Trance to stabilize himself long enough o heal or be healed. That was if they survived their battle with the demon.

“You killed my favorite apprentice. Why don’t you just go back to your home?” The Emperor roared as he called upon the power of the Force to levitate the demon up into the air out of reach from Vader and used the Force to pull Vader’s body across the rocky ground to his side. The Emperor double-checked with the Force that Vader was in fact stabilized and not dying.

“I’m going to rip you to pieces,” Darkseid threatened as he sheathed his sword and pulled out a whip wreathed in flames. Palpatine struggles to maintain his hold over the demon, keeping him out of range, the flaming whip cracking dangerously close to him.

“I usually prefer to pummel my victims with lightning, watching them squirm and plead for mercy. Does that sound familiar? In honor of my apprentice, I will use the Force to crush you!” The Emperor called upon the power of the dark side of the Force to empower his abilities as he used the Force, not to choke the demon as Vader did, but to crush his body so he could watch the demon in agony. Darkseid felt his body being crushed. Bones did not just crack, they were crushed into powder inside his own resilient body. The demon knew he was outmatched this time. He resisted and broke free of the hold Palpatine had on him and fell to the rocky ground. Before Palpatine could reestablish his hold, Darkseid used his innate magic to teleport away. Palpatine knew the demon was not far. He looked around for any sign of the demon. He saw nothing. He used the Force and sensed Darkseid was on the opposite side of the asteroid.

“Let’s get you healed my friend,” Palpatine said before using the Force to lift Vader and levitate him back to the shuttle. Darkseid remains on the asteroid, streaking across the galaxy in an orbit that has not found any end. Neither Palpatine, nor Darth Vader ever returned to claim the head of the demon.