Blackguard (Mustafar)

For other uses, see Blackguard.

"The Blackguard operates from the molten world of Mustafar. They are largely recluses and have sought dark side lore since they emerged from the ruins of Sith philosophy after the Battle of Ruusan nearly a thousand years ago."

―Mother Talzin, Wild Power^[6]

The Blackguard was a dark side cult formed on the planet Mustafar after the New Sith Wars. Its members sought to increase their knowledge of power by studying other Force traditions.

Organization and philosophy

"The Blackguard clings to the principle that acquiring knowledge is superior to exerting physical power."

―Mother Talzin, Wild Power^[6]

The Blackguard was a dark side cult based on the planet Mustafar.^[3] Its adepts lived largely as recluses^[6] in the Smoking Forest's Southern Jedi Ruins.^[1]

The Blackguard emerged from the ashes of the Sith philosophy of the Brotherhood of Darkness destroyed at the Battle of Ruusan.^[6] The Blackguard believed to increase one's knowledge of the Force, one must understand the philosophies and abilities of other Force traditions around the galaxy.^[3] Members of the cult believed that acquiring knowledge was superior to exerting physical power.^[6] Nevertheless, Blackguard adepts were absolutely not pacifist.^[1]

Most of the members of the cult were skilled warriors wearing black armors.^[1] The Blackguard was better organized than other dark side cults.^[3] There were four ranks among the adepts: minion, elite minion, wilder, and elite wilder.^[2] The wilders were force users trained in lightsaber combat and Force combat techniques while minions were non-Force-sensitive cultists armed with blasters.^[1] Some wilders were known as Trinity Assassins.^[5] Elite minions and wilders usually acted as squad leaders for regular minions. These minions acted as soldiers and were the most visible members of the cult, leading many to believe that the Blackguard was simply a paramilitary organization.^[3]

History

"The primary temple is located on their side, and they won't let me anywhere near it. Their leader, San'sii, is there most of the time studying it. I told him that I could help him, but he just laughed and then I couldn't breath. He really freaks me out."

―Mi Fon Lu^[1]

The endures the trials of the Blackguard to infiltrate their group. — The dark Jedi Namman Cha endures the trials of the Blackguard to infiltrate their group.

The Blackguard was formed after the New Sith Wars^[6] by the Sith Vulta Daanat, a former member of the Brotherhood of Darkness and apprentice of Lord Skere Kaan. They set up a base in the Southern Jedi Ruins, on the planet Mustafar. Over the centuries, the cult varied drastically in size, at times growing to considerable proportions, and shrinking at other times to a handful of adepts.^[3]

The existence of the Blackguard was known of Mother Talzin of the Nightsisters during the Clone Wars as well as by Emperor Palpatine during the Imperial Era. Palpatine infiltrated his own agents among the Blackguard in order to acquire any knowledge the cult could uncover.^[6] One such agent was the Dark Jedi Namman Cha.^[7]

San'sii and his adepts engaging in a battle against a group of spacers.

During the Galactic Civil War, the cult was led by San'sii the Kursk.^[1] San'sii was the first to recruit non-Force-sensitive people into the Blackguard ranks, thereby preventing the cult to disappear.^[3] Around the time of the Battle of Yavin, a group of treasure hunters led by Colonel Narl arrived on Mustafar and contested the control of the Southern Jedi Ruins by the Blackguard. Although the Blackguard cultists were Force users, the treasure hunters outnumbered the dark side adepts who were forced to accept a truce to share the ruins between the two groups.^[1] In 1 ABY,^[8] archaeologist Mi Fon Lu of the Theed Royal Academy sought to study the Southern Jedi Ruins but the Blackguard denied him access to the ruins. The archaeologist eventually tasked a group of adventurers to defeat the Blackguard. The group managed to kill many of the Blackguard adepts in the ruins, including their leaders San'sii and Vansk, allowing Mi Fon Lu access.^[1] Around the same time, a spacer was sent to the Southern Jedi Ruins by Pann's droid Q4P3 to recover an artifact known as the Codex. The spacer fought a Trinity Assassin in the ruins and delivered the artifact, which turned out to in fact be a Sith holocron, to Q4P3.^[5]