Spoilers, a lot of spoilers ahead, please be warned if you don't want spoilers to KotFE, KotET or Iokath, Umbara and Copero.

 

Something just dawned upon me, something that made me see a connection of how the Order of Zildrog, Valkorion and Vitiate are all tied together. Please bear with me as I will try to explain the connections I made as clearly as I can.

 

Izax is the chief deity of all the Zakuulan gods. He is called "the Ultimate Devourer", right? Who do we know to be an ultimate devourer? Valkorion, having consumed all life on Ziost and Nathema. So Izax represents Valkorion. Izax's wife is Scyva, of whom is said to be the Mother of Sorrows and weeps alongside all who march with the Ultimate Devourer. Does that fit anyone's description we know? Yes! Senya! She was also the companion of Valkorion during his reign and she clearly has a lot she feels sorrow about. That would mean their 3 children, Thexan, Arcann and Vaylin, somehow need to be fit into the 4 remaining gods of the machine, namely Tyth, Aivela and Esne and Nahut. Here it becomes somewhat tricky, but with enough puzzling you can construct the three children of Valkorion and Senya from the gods.

Tyth is called the favoured son of Izax. Yes, Tyth is all "raaaaaagggeee" and angry, but nonetheless it would fit with Thexan who is the favoured son of Valkorion as we have seen but also it is said Tyth is the warrior god who will lead to victory against outlanders. Who waged war expertly against the Republic and Empire in the first raids on outlander worlds such as Korriban? Thexan! We saw him lead the attack on Korriban and Arcann seemed to be more in Thexan's shadow rather than both on equal level.

Alright, then we have Aivela. I would say that is Vaylin, as Aivela is the godess of passion and Vaylin had a lot of passion within her. Also, Aivela was the favoured daughter and we hear Valkorion say in chapter 2 of KotFE "Vaylin has always been my favourite". Izax favours Aivela, Valkorion favours Vaylin. The connection there becomes evident.

But then we are left with Nahut and Esne. I'd say those two make up Arcann, because like Nahut he is the hated son who has lost his way, but also is in a state of constant envy like Esne of her sister Aivela. Despite the fact that Aivela would be Vaylin, the envy for towards their sibling is something both Esne and Arcann share.

So, all the the Zakuulan gods therefore can be identified with one of the characters from Valkorion's family. There are other possibilities with the children, for example: Tyth = Thexan, Aivela and Esne = Vaylin and Nahut = Arcann. But the point remains the same, all the the Zakuulan gods fit with a member of Valkorion's family and here is where it gets interesting.

 

If the Zakuulan gods can be identified with a person tied to Valkorion, where does that leave Zildrog? While some might argue that Zildrog could be identified with Vaylin due to the chaos and madness both seem to express, let me provide a different answer.

It is said that Izax has two forms, his form of Izax and his form of Zildrog. So Zildrog is another aspect of Izax, which seems to be reminiscent of a duality. A duality that is reminiscent of one that has had players complain about it ever since KotFE that was released... the duality that seemed to exist between Vitiate and Valkorion.

Vitiate is nothing alike Valkorion and vice versa. It almost seems as if Vitiate took on another aspect of himself when we saw him as Valkorion. The mad chaotic darkness that Vitiate seemed to beam seemed gone with Valkorion. Yet that duality would make complete sense if Valkorion is Izax and Vitiate is Zildrog. If Zildrog is another aspect of Izax, then Vitiate would be another aspect of Valkorion.

What does that mean? Valkorion seemed to be destroyed for good right? Charles Boyd himself has confirmed that the subject of the Sith Emperor's original Pureblood body was as of yet left untouched. So while Valkorion and that body were indeed destroyed, Vitiate's original body as Tenebrae is still out there somewhere. That means that Valkorion's aspect of Vitiate (Izax's aspect of Zildrog) could still be alive and well. Because maybe Vitiate, as part of Valkorion, after Ziost returned to his original body and remained there biding its time.

In the meantime we have Valkorion, the other half of Valkorion's entity as a whole, who begins a chain of events that leads to a galaxy spanning war causing millions of deaths. Remember how in Shadow of Revan we learned that the Sith Emperor feeds on death? Essentially in KotFE and KotET we have caused millions of deaths, all that could have been fueling the severely weakened and sleeping entity and body of Vitiate as an aspect of Valkorion. Valkorion sought to manipulate us to continue his duality, as we saw with Revan and that duality that so long as the two were seperated the spirit of Revan as a whole couldn't find peace in becoming one with the Force. Valkorion wants eternal life, so if his duality continued then his spirit would never be able to become one with the Force, essentially allowing for him to remain in the physical world for as long as he desired. Yet the aspect of Valkorion was destroyed, thus half of the entity of the Sith Emperor was gone with it. Yet that doesn't mean that the aspect of Vitiate has perished as well.

 

How does that tie in with the Heralds of Zildrog? They are seeking to awaken Zildrog yes? If we have established that Valkorion is Izax and Zildrog is his second aspect and Zildrog is Vitiate, then essentially the Order of Zildrog is either knowingly or unknowingly seeking to reawaken Vitiate, the remaining part of the Sith Emperor's two aspects.

Yet what about the part where the map supposedly pointed to a weapon of mass destruction? Think about what the Chiss did: they stole a map that pointed to something the Sith Emperor treasured very much in case the alliance between the Chiss and the Sith Empire went sour. What could be one of the Sith Emperor's most valued treasures? His original body! Either knowingly or unknowingly the Chiss obtained a map that pointed to the location of the Emperor's original body of Tenebrae. But Theron said it was a weapon of mass destruction... well, wouldn't you say that what Vitiate did on Nathema and Ziost wasn't mass destruction? The loss of life on an entire planet? The weapon that Theron thinks he is looking for could actually very much be Vitiate's body and by extension the remaining aspect of the Valkorion-Vitiate duality.

 

Charles Boyd himself has said that he planned something interesting to happen with the Emperor's original body. Well, the entire block of text I just have written down would sound rather very interesting to me and it would return to the pre-KotFE storyline that people always wanted to see finished. Because KotFE and KotET never felt as a continuation of what happened after Ziost but rather as a complete sidestep to something else. Dealing with Vitiate as part of the Valkorion-Vitiate duality would remedy that in a sense and allow for a return to the roots of Star Wars The Old Republic.

 

TLDR: Alike Zildrog is an aspect of Izax, Vitiate is an aspect of Valkorion, reminiscent if not the same as the Revan duality from Shadow of Revan. While the half of Valkorion is destroyed, the half of Vitiate in the duality of the Sith Emperor remains, alongside with his original body that as of yet remains untouched and hidden. The map on Copero points to the body of Vitiate, who is a weapon capable of mass destruction in an abstract sense if we see what he did to Ziost and Nathema. Knowingly or unknowingly the Order of Zildrog seeks to reawaken Zildrog, in this case, reawaken Vitiate as the remaining part of the Valkorion-Vitiate duality.

Edited December 3, 2017 by Ylliarus

Interesting theory! After Copero I also think that the order must have ties to Valkorion/Vitiate/The Emperor. It's very possible that this order is seeking to resurrect him. This guy craves eternal life so much that it could only make sense that he has some back up plan stashed somewhere. Valkorion said "Remember me when your alliance burns to ash!" before he dies. This could be foreshadowing.

Interesting theory! After Copero I also think that the order must have ties to Valkorion/Vitiate/The Emperor. It's very possible that this order is seeking to resurrect him. This guy craves eternal life so much that it could only make sense that he has some back up plan stashed somewhere. Valkorion said "Remember me when your alliance burns to ash!" before he dies. This could be foreshadowing.

 

Definitely, I mean, Valkorion had a plan for everything so surely he must have also prepared some sort of back up in case he was destroyed. Because I will always say, Valkorion and Vitiate appear as two seperate persons with directly opposite characters. If they were part of a duality like Revan was or like Izax and Zildrog are said to be, then that would explain why directly after Ziost the Sith Emperor as Valkorion appears so completely different.

I think that Valkorion and Vitiate are the same person, no duality such as Revan's. But your theory about The Order of Zildrog willingly or unwillingly attempting to resurrect the Emperor is very interesting. I think it could be very well that since I remember Charles said that Zildrog could be seen as The Emperor.

A fascinating theory. This would tie things together nicely, but I don't see how it would force a new war between the Empire and Republic. A war for resources seems to be on the horizon because the leaders of both factions seem to be too stupid to figure out that endless war will eventually wipe out all they claim to want to save. I wish we could wash our hands of both of them

I think that Valkorion and Vitiate are the same person, no duality such as Revan's. But your theory about The Order of Zildrog willingly or unwillingly attempting to resurrect the Emperor is very interesting. I think it could be very well that since I remember Charles said that Zildrog could be seen as The Emperor.

 

I do vaguely recall indeed that Charles mentioned something like that. I am not sure when and where I heard him saying that but I recall it. I do think that the weapon that is being talked about in Copero is actually Vitiate's original Pureblood body and that in some way it could be awakened. It's why it would make a lot of sense to me if there was some kind of duality with Valkorion and Vitiate.

I do vaguely recall indeed that Charles mentioned something like that. I am not sure when and where I heard him saying that but I recall it. I do think that the weapon that is being talked about in Copero is actually Vitiate's original Pureblood body and that in some way it could be awakened. It's why it would make a lot of sense to me if there was some kind of duality with Valkorion and Vitiate.

 

I think it was in one of the livestreams where players asked if we'd ever see Zildrog in Gods From The Machine Raid. And TBH I'd be fine with Vitiate returning IF we saw his pureblood body, any other way and I wouldn't be much fan of it as I think his death right now is a good end to the character unless they add something new like his body and more on his early days as a Sith Lord on Nathema, how he found Zakuul, ETC.

I think it was in one of the livestreams where players asked if we'd ever see Zildrog in Gods From The Machine Raid. And TBH I'd be fine with Vitiate returning IF we saw his pureblood body, any other way and I wouldn't be much fan of it as I think his death right now is a good end to the character unless they add something new like his body and more on his early days as a Sith Lord on Nathema, how he found Zakuul, ETC.

 

Exactly, I find myself agreeing with this a lot. I love Vitiate/Valkorion and find him one of the best characters from this era (only Darth Traya from KOTOR 2 tops him), but his story needs to end at some point. Valkorion is gone and destroyed, that is why I wouldn't want for there to be a third secret body or Valkorion clawing at us from the Void, Oblivion or wherever he is now. If however his part of Vitiate is still around in the galaxy along with his original Pureblood body, then that would be fine to me. I would even enjoy having to fight this last bit of the Sith Emperor before he is truly gone for good.

 

But like many have stated, I'd love for a plot like this to also feature Scourge and Kira, they are so tied to the entire Vitiate and Sith Emperor plot that I am frankly baffled as to why they weren't there in KotFE and KotET, especially in the latter expansion. It is true that we got some new information as to what they are up to with Darth Hexid, but nonetheless, they should have been there during KotET. We return to Nathema, NATHEMA, which was visited by Scourge himself. How could he not have been there? Or at least attempted to go there too? He should have been there in my opinion.

Exactly, I find myself agreeing with this a lot. I love Vitiate/Valkorion and find him one of the best characters from this era (only Darth Traya from KOTOR 2 tops him), but his story needs to end at some point. Valkorion is gone and destroyed, that is why I wouldn't want for there to be a third secret body or Valkorion clawing at us from the Void, Oblivion or wherever he is now. If however his part of Vitiate is still around in the galaxy along with his original Pureblood body, then that would be fine to me. I would even enjoy having to fight this last bit of the Sith Emperor before he is truly gone for good.

 

But like many have stated, I'd love for a plot like this to also feature Scourge and Kira, they are so tied to the entire Vitiate and Sith Emperor plot that I am frankly baffled as to why they weren't there in KotFE and KotET, especially in the latter expansion. It is true that we got some new information as to what they are up to with Darth Hexid, but nonetheless, they should have been there during KotET. We return to Nathema, NATHEMA, which was visited by Scourge himself. How could he not have been there? Or at least attempted to go there too? He should have been there in my opinion.

If Vitiate was brought back as a plot device in some way, that would be an excellent way to bring back Kira and Scourge very smoothly. Heck, even Ashara or Jaesa. Bring all teh Force users.

 

Harboring different personalities and sustaining two bodies sound like Sith sorcery to me. Or basically, anything that resembles a Horcrux. FEET is already bringing in lots of cosmic mysticism with Zakuulian Gods. So, why not add more elements of Sith sorcery? Seeing as how Valkorion has no love toward Sith Empire, I would not be surprised if he had more superweapons capable of destroying worlds. Think that will help aid bringing the storyline to Imps vs Pubs again.

 

I like your theory though

Really interesting theory. I always found it weird how different the Valkorion and Vitiate were and this would make sense. Even though we have seen enough of the Emperor wouldn't mind hearing Doug Bradley again.

So, a couple of questions (I'm not trying to poke holes in anything, just want to hear your take on it ). When we run the Emperor off of Yavin, was that his Valkoian side or Vitiate side? Or was it both and hadn't split yet? If so, how did Valkorian turn into the immortal Emperor if he didn't have the immortal soul while it was locked away on Yavin? He talks about finding Valkorian as a powerful warrior eons before, and that he had hollowed him out for a vessel. If they are split, why isn't his other body already up and walking around? There was no ritual on Yavin to wake him up, death and destruction did that. Wouldn't all of the death caused by Arcan and Vaylin have woken the other part, if he was split already?

So, a couple of questions (I'm not trying to poke holes in anything, just want to hear your take on it ). When we run the Emperor off of Yavin, was that his Valkoian side or Vitiate side? Or was it both and hadn't split yet? If so, how did Valkorian turn into the immortal Emperor if he didn't have the immortal soul while it was locked away on Yavin? He talks about finding Valkorian as a powerful warrior eons before, and that he had hollowed him out for a vessel. If they are split, why isn't his other body already up and walking around? There was no ritual on Yavin to wake him up, death and destruction did that. Wouldn't all of the death caused by Arcan and Vaylin have woken the other part, if he was split already?

 

Maybe he was focused on the Outlander? He didn't want to go back to 'his' body when there was another potential host on order?

Maybe he was focused on the Outlander? He didn't want to go back to 'his' body when there was another potential host on order?

 

I meant beforehand. He doesn't even know who you are before Yavin (with the possible exception of the JK and SW), but the Immortal Emperor has been around since Zakul was founded practically. If he was bound on Yavin, how did he build Zakul? If he wasn't, what was the point of SoR?

Introduce the other 6 characters to the Emperor?

So, a couple of questions (I'm not trying to poke holes in anything, just want to hear your take on it ). When we run the Emperor off of Yavin, was that his Valkoian side or Vitiate side? Or was it both and hadn't split yet? If so, how did Valkorian turn into the immortal Emperor if he didn't have the immortal soul while it was locked away on Yavin? He talks about finding Valkorian as a powerful warrior eons before, and that he had hollowed him out for a vessel. If they are split, why isn't his other body already up and walking around? There was no ritual on Yavin to wake him up, death and destruction did that. Wouldn't all of the death caused by Arcan and Vaylin have woken the other part, if he was split already?

 

When we run the Emperor off of Yavin, was that his Valkoian side or Vitiate side? Or was it both and hadn't split yet? If so, how did Valkorian turn into the immortal Emperor if he didn't have the immortal soul while it was locked away on Yavin?

 

If you look at what both people in the Sith Empire have been saying as well as what Senya tells you about Valkorion in the Lady of Sorrows chapter, my answer would be the following: I'd argue that what we chased off from Yavin was his Vitiate side. The split, or at least, partial split, must have occured already before Yavin and even before the Voss part in the Sith Warrior storyline. In the Sith Empire it was said the Emperor had long periods of silence. This isn't elaborated on in detail, so we don't know if the Emperor was completely silent or whether he still had a minimum fraction of attention. Personally I think it's the latter because he must have been directing the Emperor's Hand and Imperial Guard.

Senya on the other hand tells us that when the children were growing up Valkorion grew to be increasingly more cold and distant. According to Charles Boyd this matches up with the time that the Sith Emperor was trapped by Baras on Voss. Yet, Senya didn't say "Valkorion's body sat lifelessly on a throne staring in front of him". She said "increasingly cold and distant". That means there must have been some sort of duality present, as he controlled both Vitiate and Valkorion at the same time. The same applies for other periods as well, he was both running the Sith Empire (albeit distantly) as well as the Eternal Empire. Perhaps this wasn't a true split in duality as with Revan yet and I think that a permanent split where Vitiate and Valkorion are truly separated happened when the aspect of Valkorion was destroyed.

 

To truly understand however the Sith Emperor's immortality we'd need to get more information on what had happened on Nathema during, prior to and after the ritual that made him immortal. We have to understand that the amount of power he amassed through that ritual is of an immense magnitude, one that might be difficult to understand in terms of power and strength in the Force due to its sheer magnitude. Keep in mind that Emperor Palpatine, considered to be the most powerful Sith Lord in Legends continuity, wasn't able to live longer than a century, maybe a tad longer. Both he and Vitiate mastered the power of Transfer Essence yet Vitiate's lifespan eclipses Palpatine's a dozen times. 1300 years vs 120-ish years. That says something about what the ritual on Nathema did to Vitiate. It therefore wouldn't surprise me if that magnitude of power was too much for 1 individual to handle, thus a split or multiple splits occurred in his existence. After all, he consumed the lifeforce of millions on Nathema and then again millions on Ziost. That must have had an effect on his individuality.

 

He talks about finding Valkorian as a powerful warrior eons before, and that he had hollowed him out for a vessel. If they are split, why isn't his other body already up and walking around?

 

The first reason for that would be that there was simply no need for his original Pureblood body of Tenebrae to be up and about. He had abandoned the Sith Empire to the Dark Council already subsequent to Ziost, he was no longer interested in leading it or being associated with it. To have his original be up and about within the Empire or anywhere else would have been a waste of time and attention basically, as he was focused on the showdown on Zakuul and later trying to hollow out the Commander/Outlander.

The second reason was his fear of death and his fear of losing his original body. Keep in mind, Valkorion was the last body (excluding his original body) that remained and that he could possess. Look at how easily that corporeal form was destroyed in the very beginning of KotFE. Yes, the death of the Valkorion body was intended, but nonetheless the last body that was out there that he could make his vessel was his original body of Tenebrae. If I were the Sith Emperor I would not only hide it very securely but also not touch it out of an insane fear of losing it. My last connection to the physical realm? No, I wouldn't carelessly transfer myself back into it unless it was utterly necessary or when I'd have a solid plan and be 100% convinced it was safe to.

 

There was no ritual on Yavin to wake him up, death and destruction did that. Wouldn't all of the death caused by Arcan and Vaylin have woken the other part, if he was split already?

 

Perhaps that was the very reason why he initiated the conflict between the Eternal Empire, Republic and Empire in the first place and later the conflict between the Alliance and Eternal Empire. Perhaps it was all to fuel himself and by extension his original pureblood body of Tenebrae partially. Remember what Arcann said after chapter 8 Asylum? He said something along the lines of "I have felt father's power, it is weaker". The fact his Valkorion body was destroyed must have had a more severe impact on the Sith Emperor than he had expected. Remember the message we got from the Hand when we destroy his Voice as the Jedi Knight on Dromund Kaas? Supposedly he was severely weakened by it as well and had to rest on Yavin as it appeared.

It wouldn't surprise me that Valkorion instigated all this conflict much alike he had with the Great Galactic War to fuel himself and his remaining presences throughout the galaxy. Yet, it backfired and against all his expectations the Commander/Outlander was able to best and defeat him. This was not something he had accounted for and his aspect of Valkorion was destroyed. Yet, if indeed Vitiate is another aspect of him then that one lays dormant with his original body according to my theory. If Valkorion was destroyed and Vitiate was dormant, then part of his ability to switch aspects in his duality would be completely lost because the two aspects in the duality are permanently split. Having instigated war in the galaxy again with the Eternal Empire conquest and afterwards Revolt against the Eternal Empire wouldn't have been enough to sustain or revitalise Vitiate, which was rendered dormant when he was focusing his existence with his aspect of Valkorion. Either a significant ritual performed by the Order of Zildrog (perhaps infiltrated and manipulated by the Emperor's Hand which is still around) or another Ziost would be able to reawaken Vitiate and thus, by the Heralds of Zildrog's prophecy, reawaken Zildrog to rain death upon Zakuul. Zakuul is heavily populated, sounds like a wonderful meal to the Immortal Consumer, no?

Lol you've clearly thought this through a great deal. I enjoy reading your thoughts . Give me a minute and I'll think of a few more questions

Even tho i appreciate that they are taking advantage of the whole Zildrog/Izax/Tenebrae thing, i would not like them to just bring back Vitiate that way, it would be just lazy, i mean, i would enjoy when there's a threat that was left by Vitiate in case he would die (aka: The Superweapon) because that way we can get a new villain and at the same time building a connection to the previous one, sorta like how Tim Zahn made Joruus C'baoth and the Spaarti Cylinders in the Trawn Trilogy, without bringing The Emperor back.

 

And if they do something like making Vitiate and Valkorion different personalities like what they did with Revan it would be very bad, first off, that Revan thing was just stupid story-wise, and second, they would grab all of the complexity that Vitiate has as a character and as a manipulator and throw it in the dumpster, it's clear by the final confrontation we had with him that his gentler persona was mostly an act to make us listen to him, and making it like the "good side" and "bad side" of Revan would ruin his storyline and what he meant in the KOTFE and KOTET storyline.

Lol you've clearly thought this through a great deal. I enjoy reading your thoughts . Give me a minute and I'll think of a few more questions

 

I'll gladly answer any questions! there are 2 characters that intrigue me beyond anything: Valkorion and Kreia. I love reading up on them and theorize about them as a result!

I also want to point out about the use of Valkorion's music theme. I noticed it during the spy grappling boss fight before the temple (forgot her name - sister to Valss). I think the music is not new, but reused from FEET. It certainly set the ominous tone while I was heading to the temple to have my heart broken again, ahahahaha.

 

While I don't know Valkorion himself will make an appearance, I don't think the plot device that is the Sith Emporer will disappear so easily.

I also want to point out about the use of Valkorion's music theme. I noticed it during the spy grappling boss fight before the temple (forgot her name - sister to Valss). I think the music is not new, but reused from FEET. It certainly set the ominous tone while I was heading to the temple to have my heart broken again, ahahahaha.

 

While I don't know Valkorion himself will make an appearance, I don't think the plot device that is the Sith Emporer will disappear so easily.

 

Huh. I seem to miss a lot playing with the music turned off. I need to stop doing that...

Sounds like Zildrog is the player character to me.

Wow. Mind. Blown. Very cool theory.

Wow. Mind. Blown. Very cool theory.

 

Ty I've put a lot of thought into this and I am glad others recognise some potential truth in it!

Edited December 14, 2017 by Ylliarus

I like your theory. I wouldn't mind having a final (for reals this time) showdown with Vitiate. I was never really a fan of Valkorion. But Vitiate back with Doug Bradley voicing him? Yeah, I'll take that.

I like your theory. I wouldn't mind having a final (for reals this time) showdown with Vitiate. I was never really a fan of Valkorion. But Vitiate back with Doug Bradley voicing him? Yeah, I'll take that.

 

I'm fine with his death, but if he returns as his original body voiced by Doug Bradley they could have him say "I've been reborn" and I'd still play it.

Edited December 26, 2017 by FlameYOL