Darth Sion Bio – The Tragic Sith Lord of Pain

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Upon playing Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, you come across three devastatingly powerful Sith lords. Each of them has a unique story with powerful abilities that your character needs to face.

The most tragic of the three is Darth Sion. His mutilated body and grim view on life make him an interesting character to interact with. I’ve always found his story to be kind of sad, almost making me feel sorry for him.

Bottom Line Up Front: Darth Sion was a Sith Lord in the time of the Jedi Civil War. He formed part of what was known as the Sith Triumvirate along with Darth Nihilus and Darth Traya. He played a major role in the genocide of the Jedi and the disbanding of the Jedi Order following the fall of Darth Malak’s Sith Empire.  

In the bio, we’re going to explore all the facets of Darth Sion. He lived a fairly long life thanks to his Force abilities, so there’s a lot to get through!

Description/Overview

We learn about Sion as a Sith Marauder to begin with. There is no information about his early life or if he was a good guy before joining the Dark Side. So, his story starts with Exar Kun and the Great Sith War.

The Great Sith War was when the Sith rose to prominence in the galaxy in 3996 BBY. It was the first mass war involving the Sith and their empire. It started with a fallen Jedi, Freedon Nadd, becoming the Dark Lord of the Sith. But it ultimately led to another fallen Jedi, Exar Kun, taking over as Dark Lord and bringing forth a new dominant Sith age.

Darth Sion was a warrior for the Sith Empire at this time. Sion developed a unique relationship with pain. He saw it as a source of strength, and it fueled his Dark Side power. This also filled him with constant hatred in his heart, and those two things worked together in his favor.

He constantly sought death in the war against the Jedi. At first, no one was able to kill him, and he believed himself to be immortal. However, he was beaten by a Jedi eventually, yet his hatred and pain allowed the dark side of the Force to bring him back to life every time he was taken down. It was then that he did, in fact, become immortal. No one was able to keep him down, so he lived through the Great Sith War. He was always in pain due to his decomposing body, but it was the price he paid for immortality.

Not much is known of what happened to him after the Sith War, but he resurfaced and fought on the side of Revan and Malak after the fall of the Mandalorians in the Mandalorian War. This was when he became a fully-fledged Sith Lord.

Seeing the End of the Jedi Civil War

He lived to see the end of the Jedi Civil War as well. Revan turned back to the Light Side and took down his old apprentice, Darth Malak. Sion was disgusted by Revan and saw it as pure weakness that he turned back to the Light Side.

Another Sith by the name of Darth Traya went searching for wounds in the Force and found Sion. Along with Darth Nihilus, the three of them formed the Sith Triumvirate. This team of Sith made it their goal to annihilate the Jedi Order.

Darth Sion was one of the biggest contributors to this goal as he traveled the galaxy and slaughtered countless Jedi. He died several times himself, but always resurfaced thanks to his Force abilities.

Conspiracy Against Darth Traya

While Darth Traya was the leader of the Sith Triumvirate, the two Sith under her conspired to take her down. This was no surprise as most Sith end up overthrowing their masters. Their base of operations was at the Trayus Academy on Malachor V. At this point in time, Malachor V was a damaged planet, flowing with Dark Side Force energy. The planet was where the Mandalorian War ended as Meetra Surik activated the Mass Shadow Generator, causing the death of thousands of Republic and Mandalorian soldiers.

Nihilus and Sion approached Traya on the planet and entered battle with her. They took her by surprise, so she was no match for the two of them. Sion beat her mercilessly while Nihilus cut her connection to the Force.

Darth Nihilus assumed the title of Dark Lord of the Sith while Darth Sion acted as an enforcer. They continued to eradicate Jedi around the galaxy. They were so effective that the Jedi Order disbanded, and the remaining Council members went into hiding.

Atris, one of the surviving Council members, enacted a scheme to lure Sion and Nihilus out in hopes of destroying them. She got Meetra Surik, who was exiled from the Jedi Order, to come back from her travels in the Unknown Regions. She alerted Sion of Meetra’s presence, causing him to hunt her down.

Assumed Identity

Darth Traya assumed her identity as Kreia, the person she was before falling to the Dark Side. She saved Meetra and got her hand cut off by Darth Sion in the process. Kreia and Meetra formed a party of people and went on a journey around the galaxy to find the remaining Jedi Masters. They did this for Meetra to get training so that she could take the Sith down. Little did Meetra know that Kreia was selfishly pulling the strings.

Sion eventually encountered Meetra again on Korriban, a planet that had an old Sith academy. Sion and Meetra fought, with Sion also trying to warn Meetra about Kreia and her intentions. Meetra was no match for Sion due to his regenerative abilities, so she escaped after Kreia reached out through the Force and encouraged her to.

Surprisingly, Darth Sion freely let her go, and he started developing an admiration for her and her strength. This fueled his hatred even more as he saw it as a sign of weakness in himself.

Betrayal

Kreia betrayed Meetra Surik and made her way to the Trayus Academy on Malachor V. She met up with Sion there after the death of Darth Nihilus. She bent Sion to her will, causing him to serve her once more. She then ordered him to kill Meetra when she arrived on the planet.

Sion’s final moments in life were when he encountered Meetra for the last time. They battled and Meetra kept striking him down. However, he kept rising as he couldn’t be killed. It eventually ended with Meetra convincing Sion that he relied on the Force for his strength, and that was a sign of weakness. She also made him realize that Kreia only respected people who could let go of the Force instead of relying on it. After a long life of pain and suffering, Sion allowed himself to finally die.

Key Moments

  • Darth Sion discovers that his hatred and pain fuel him so much that he can keep his degrading body together, escaping death.
  • He fights on the side of Revan and Malak in the Jedi Civil War, becoming a Sith Lord.
  • Darth Sion joins forms the Sith Triumvirate along with Darth Traya and Darth Nihilus.
  • Sion and Nihilus betray Traya and take over as rulers of the Sith Empire.
  • Sion kills hundreds of Jedi, dying a few times in the process.
  • He finds out that Meetra Surik, one of the last remaining Jedi, is alive. He hunts her down and sees Traya again. Traya, now known as Kreia, defends Meetra and fights Sion.
  • Sion fights Meetra in the Sith Academy on Korriban. He lets her escape and realizes that he’s developed feelings for her. He hates that about himself, fueling his hatred and rage even more.
  • They fight again on Malachor V and Meetra persuades Sion to let go of all his hatred and rage and allow himself to die.

Darth Sion Themes

Long Life

One of the most interesting things I love about Darth Sion is how he lived through multiple wars in Old Republic history. His regenerative abilities allowed this, and they allowed him to witness shifts of power in the galaxy over a 50-year span. The Great Sith War happened in 3996 BBY while the Jedi Civil War started in 3959 BBY, continuing for a few years.

As you play through the first KOTOR game, you explore through the old Sith temples on Korriban. You get to learn about the Great Sith War and how influential Freedon Nadd and Exar Kun were in the fight. After playing through these games multiple times, you realize that Sion was there when those events were going down. It adds a lot of depth to his character, in my opinion.

You can see how he grows in power and stature over all the wars. In the Sith War, he was a simple Sith Marauder, fighting on the side of the Sith against their Jedi foes. Through the Mandalorian War and Jedi Civil War, he became a Sith Lord under Revan and Malak.

After those wars, he became one of the biggest contributors to the First Jedi Purge. You can draw a parallel between Sion and Darth Vader, seeing as they both hunted the Jedi to near extinction. While Darth Nihilus consumed life through the Force on entire planets, Sion and his Sith Assassins went and brutally murdered as many Jedi as they could.

Sith Triumvirate

The Sith Triumvirate are the main bad guys in the KOTOR 2. While Sion was a vital part of the group, Darth Traya was the original leader. Kreia, a Jedi Master who trained Revan for a time, was blamed by the Jedi Order for her students leaving to join Revan in the Mandalorian War. Because of this, she was cast out and exiled.

She traveled to Malachor V and the Dark Side power of the world drew her in and led her to embrace the Dark Side, becoming Darth Traya. She became the lead teacher of the Trayus Academy, a Sith Academy on the planet that saw hundreds of Sith being trained. This is where Sion met her.

After the fall of Malak, Sion was on Koribban and witnessed everyone in the Sith Academy turn on each other. He searched for a new purpose and eventually encountered Traya on Malachor V. She started training him more in the ways of the Dark Side.

Traya was incredibly philosophical in her approach, and Sion didn’t like this as her words would constantly echo in his head. Honestly, I felt similar when talking to Kreia in KOTOR 2 and hearing her views on the Jedi and Sith.

When Sion and Nihilus betrayed Traya, they interestingly didn’t become master and apprentice as so many did before them. Nihilus ruled as the Dark Lord of the Sith Empire, but Sion refused to serve him as an apprentice would. Instead, Sion became independent, working for the same goal of eliminating all the Jedi. There’s a scene that was cut from the game where Sion expresses how he never needed Nihilus. However, Nihilus easily beats Sion down as he’s the stronger of the two.

Servitude

Something interesting, and slightly sad, to note about Darth Sion is that he always acted as a servant. Even though he didn’t bow to Darth Nihilus, he carried out the same goals and orders. Before that, he followed Darth Traya, and before that, he followed Revan and Exar Kun.

You’d assume that the goal of all Sith is to get to the top and become ruler of everything. This wasn’t the case for Sion as he was never the one making the decisions.

The other characters were similarly unique in their goals as Nihilus wanted to consume all life in the galaxy while Traya wanted to uproot both the Jedi and the Sith. These compelling stories are one of the biggest reasons that gamers love the second KOTOR game.

Meetra Surik

Meetra Surik humanized Sion a bit. While he aimed to hunt her down and kill her at first, he ended up admiring her strength and character. He even developed slight romantic feelings for her. This led him to spare her after their encounter on Korriban.

Meetra Surik single-handedly revived the Jedi Order after the First Jedi Purge. If Sion didn’t spare her in that situation, the Jedi may never have resurfaced in the galaxy. Meetra was more powerful the next time they met, and she was able to best him multiple times. However, Sion still believed that he could beat her.

He exclaimed that Traya was an irritation with her words repeating over and over in his head. Whereas Meetra just lived there. Her words weren’t repeating. She was just present.

Ironically, Meetra entered a philosophical discussion with Sion, and that’s what led him to accept his defeat. The thing that he hated so much about Darth Traya is what ended in his death. However, his admiration for Meetra brought him peace at the end of his life.

Key Quotes

  • “No longer do your whispers crawl within my skull, no longer do we suffer beneath teaching that weakens us.” – Sion speaking to Kreia after he and Nihilus betrayed her. He hated how Kreia’s philosophies played over and over in his mind.
  • “The call of Korriban is strong, but it is the call of the dead.” – Explaining to Meetra Surik how Korriban is a dangerous planet. One that is filled with Dark Sith secrets and traditions.
  • “The one who travels with you will destroy you, as she did me.” – Warning Meetra Surik about Kreia.
  • “I want her to die and see all that she has built cast down.” – Sion talking about Kreia, the person he hated the most.

Behind the Scenes

The Sith Triumvirate is never referred to as that by name in Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords. However, it was called that on Wookiepedia, the site where most Star Wars information can be found. It was later made official in a campaign guide for the game.

The game was released earlier than intended in 2004, leading a large number of files to be cut from it. This includes some dialogue scenes between Darth Sion and other characters. Thankfully, modders came to the rescue and put the cut content back into the game. If you want to experience all that the game has to offer along with Sion’s extra dialogue, you should play the game with the restored content mod.

FAQ

Question: Is Darth Sion Mentioned in the Star Wars MMORPG?

Answer: There is a brief mention of Darth Sion in Star Wars: The Old Republic. A group of Kel Dor people who are part of a tradition called the Baran Do worshipped Sion and gave offerings to him. You find these as a player and can take the offerings for yourself.
You can also buy Darth Sion’s armor on the Cartel Market. However, the armor is shaped after Sion’s DLC character design in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, and not his design from KOTOR 2.

Question: Why Does Darth Zion Look Like a Zombie?

Answer: Every time Darth Sion died, he would keep his body together using the Force. This was fueled by pain and rage. His body went through this process repeatedly throughout a span of almost 50 years.
We can assume that his body was cut up by Jedi lightsabers occasionally. So, he looks like a zombie because of all the degradation and patching up that his body went through.

Question: Who Voiced Darth Sion in Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords?

Answer: Darth Sion was voiced by Louis Mellis. He’s a Scottish voice actor who has done voice-over work for several popular projects. Sion’s Scottish accent is one of his defining features apart from his horribly mutilated body.

Question: Was Darth Sion the Apprentice of Darth Nihilus?

Answer: No. Although Darth Nihilus took over as the head of the Sith Empire after they betrayed Traya, Darth Sion didn’t bow to Nihilus. Nihilus took a Miraluka woman named Visas Marr as his apprentice.
Sion worked independently among the Sith Empire, although he followed the same goal of eradicating all the Jedi in the universe.
He was, however, an apprentice to Darth Traya. This was before they betrayed her. It was also for a short time after he fought with Meetra Surik.

Conclusion

I always found Darth Sion a bit more compelling to Darth Nihilus when playing through the second KOTOR game. It’s arguably because he has dialogue whereas Nihilus doesn’t speak any English in the game.

The idea of being not being able to kill someone because their rage brings them back to life every time is quite scary! It makes for an excellent story in the game. If you want to experience that for yourself, play KOTOR 2. Just make sure to get the restored content version so that you don’t miss anything.

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