The Eternity Vault is the first Operation available to players in Star Wars: The Old Republic; an elaborate prison created to contain an ancient evil. To understand the significance of the Eternity Vault, players must understand the evil contained within. BioWare gave us a sneak peak at the final boss of this Operation; a powerful Rakatan Force user, who has been imprisoned for many millennia. This revelation brings us to the Infinite Empire, a powerful civilization that players were first introduced to in the original Knights of the Old Republic.
The Infinite Empire was established in 35,000 BBY, nearly ten thousand years before the formation of the Old Republic. The Empire was created by the Rakatan civilization, a humanoid species with amphibious features. The Rakatan evolved in isolation on their homeworld of Lehon for many years, creating advanced technologies and developing a connection with the Force. Years of exposure to the dark side of the Force corrupted their society, breeding a desire to seek out and conquer other worlds.
The Rakatan used their Force-powered hyperdrives to seek out worlds with a strong presence in the Force, attacking and enslaving many developing cultures. These cultures included early Human, Sith, Wookiee, Hutt, Selkath and Duros civilizations. At the height of their power, the Infinite Empire controlled over five hundred worlds and one trillion slaves. Their crowning achievement came with the creation of the Star Forge, a massive factory that fused advanced technology with powerful Force energy.
The Star Forge was an automated shipyard, designed to create an essentially limitless army for its creators. The device drew power from a nearby star, as well as the Force abilities of its Rakatan masters. Due to the evil nature of the Rakata, the Star Forge was inevitably corrupted by the Dark Side and remained in existence long after the fall of the Infinite Empire. The Star Forge survived for more than twenty-five thousand years before ultimately being destroyed by Revan during the Jedi Civil War.
The Infinite Empire was ruled by a Priest caste, which included some of the earliest known users of the dark side of the Force. The powerful influence of the dark side of the Force was evident in all aspects of their culture. The Rakata committed many crimes against the rest of the galaxy, enslaving or killing anyone they encountered, and stripping worlds of their resources to fuel their own needs. During the height of their power, the Rakata displayed little remorse for their actions, though the surviving members of the Elder Caste would attempt to atone for their actions many years later during the time of Darth Revan.
Many factors contributed to the eventual collapse of the Infinite Empire, but their fall from power can be primarily attributed to three simultaneous events. The first was a widespread uprising by many of the cultures they enslaved, in which some civilizations - such as the ancient Sith - rose up and defeated their masters to gain independence. The second was the creation of a virus which spread rapidly through the Rakata due to the genetic uniformity of the species. This resulted in the death of most of their population. The final event, which was later revealed to be a direct result of the second event, was the loss of the Rakata's Force sensitivity. With their population decimated, and the survivors unable to harness the power of the Force to fight their enemies and control their technology, the Rakata were soon defeated by their former slaves.
Though the Rakata were defeated, the legacy of the Infinite Empire endured for many years. They were among the first civilizations in the galaxy to harness the power of the Force, as well as master hyperdrive technology. Their transplantation of slaves resulted in the colonization of many worlds, in addition to bringing other species into contact with each other. The surviving members of the Rakatan species would go on to play a critical role in the Jedi Civil War, while others would pose a threat to both the Republic and the Empire during the Galactic Cold War.
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Posted 10/20/2011 1:56:38 AM- View User Profile
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Posted 10/19/2011 11:35:14 PM- View User Profile
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Posted 10/19/2011 8:22:51 PMIf he had just been one that had killed a few other Rakata, pillaged a planet here and there and so on, he would have been killed by the rest. But that didn't happen.
Charming... yes? http://imgur.com/r6WrI
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Posted 10/19/2011 7:38:23 PMProbably most of this will be answered in game, codex and story.
Thanks for well written article Darth Hater. :)
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Posted 10/19/2011 9:20:45 PM