I am going
to address whether Valkorion and Vitiate are the same person, who has control
of the other, and what are their goals.
Background
I don't
think Valkorion is used by Vitiate (like most theorists believe), actually I
believe Vitiate is Valkorion's Voice of Emperor or at least a persona, which he
used to rule the Sith Empire. Vitiate was needed to
wage the Great Galactic War on the Republic by using the Sith
Empire. The Sith Empire was winning against the Republic and if the war
didn’t end at time it did, the Sith Empire would have defeated the Republic and
become stronger. That is why the Treaty of Coruscant was signed. Vitiate
also withdrew from the Sith Empire at this time, presumably to focus on the
Eternal Empire. Valkorion didn’t want the Sith Empire to win, cause problems
when the Eternal Empire invaded, and he could quickly conquer both the Republic
and the Sith Empire if they stalemated and focused on each other.
If you kill everyone in the galaxy? What's
the point of all this?
Revan,
Scourge, and the Jedi Knight thought they understood Vitiate. They were under
the impression that Vitiate wanted to cheat death and remove any threat to him
by destroying the galaxy. During the Jedi Knight’s fight with the Emperor’s
Voice, the Jedi says that Vitiate is a“threat to every living being in the
galaxy.” Vitiate responses: "You are a blind insect, contemplating the
void of space."
Everyone who
thought they knew what Vitiate planned were blind and had no clue on what his
true intentions were, but if you ask
"If you
kill everyone in the galaxy, you'll be Emperor of nothing. What's the point of
all this?"
Vitiate’s
response
"You
discern a fraction of reality. Beyond these stars exist other galaxies, other
worlds, other beings. I will experience or ignore them as I wish. I will spend
eternity becoming everything: a farmer, an artist, a simple man. When the last
living thing in the universe finally dies, I will enjoy peace and wait for the
cycle to begin again."
Vitiate may
want to kill everyone in the galaxy and the Jedi Knight is able to “discern a
fraction of reality,” but that doesn’t seem like it is his true goal. Vitiate could
be referencing the Eternal Empire with “other galaxies, other worlds, other
beings.” Also note, Vitiate says “eternity,” which is interesting.
On Ziost Vitiate
says
“I have
already cheated death. I have other plans now-as you will see.”
Vitiate
seems to not be afraid of death anymore and has other plans. After that, Darth Marr heads out to Wild
Space searching for Vitiate.
Here I am. What do you want?
Valkorion
and his Eternal Fleet invade and bring the Outlander and Darth Marr who were
searching for the Sith Emperor, Vitiate, to Valkorion who reveals that he was
the mastermind all along.
At first,
both the Outlander and Darth Marr believe Valkorion to be “A new name, a new
face” and it is “not enough to hide from us.”
“The Sith
Emperor… your presence is unmistakable.”
Both the
Outlander and Darth Marr believe the Sith Emperor has taken a new body.
Valkorion
responses by saying “Oh, I think a mistake has been made… but by whom?”
Valkorion is
implying that the Outlander and Darth Marr have made a mistake about his true
identity. The Emperor has been Valkorion all along.
Darth Marr
asks “Your constant silence across our history… this was your distraction?”
To which
Valkorion replies “This was my focus. Everything else… the means to an end. You
claim to have come all of this way to find me. Here I am. What do you want?”
The Eternal
Empire is important to Valkorion, it is his focus. The Sith Empire and other
projects were the means to an end. He now tells the Outlander and Darth Marr,
they finally found him, the Emperor that they were searching for, and asks them
what they want.
The
Outlander could reply: “To destroy you. Once and for all.”
Valkorion
laughs and says “You say you know me-if that is true, then you know the depths
of my power. Whatever you hoped to achieve here, you know-deep inside-that you
cannot succeed. But you do not have to stand against me. Instead…you can kneel.”
Valkorion
voices confidence in his superior power and offers a way out for the Outlander and
Darth Marr: Kneeling. Darth Marr refuses to kneel and Valkorion shows off his
power.
After
Valkorion kills Darth Marr, he says to the Outlander:
“No, you are
different. In all my centuries, you alone have merited my full attention. You
leave your mark upon the galaxy wherever you act, just as I do. Look around
you, Zakuul is poised to become the greatest civilization in the history of the
galaxy. I have forged this empire to surmount all of my pervious works. To span
eternity. The Eternal Throne commands a fleet more vast than any ever built. It
has the power to reshape the galaxy into any image that I choose. That we
choose. I will share all of this with you… if you will only kneel.
Valkorion is
actually offering the Outlander not only a place in his empire, but
co-rulership. Valkorion could want the Outlander to join him, so he could have
a partner who could also help “reshape the galaxy into any image”. Maybe
Valkorion wants to bring the Outlander to his side, so the Outlander is not a
threat to him?
In the
Outlander’s dream, Valkorion could say.
“I am no
Sith.”
“This Republic is not worth saving any more
than my [Sith] Empire. We have a greater purpose.”
The Outlander
could ask
“To take
back your Eternal Throne?”
Valkorion
smirks.
Valkorion
outright claims he is not a Sith. This implies that he really doesn’t care much
about the Sith Empire and the Eternal Throne is what he truly wants.
In the Star
Wars The Old Republic: Galactic Timeline 10: The Exar Kun War, Jedi Master
Gnost-Dural suggests that Vitiate was not supported by the ancient Sith Lords.
“We can
learn much from Exar Kun’s story. Of greatest interest is simply the fact that
he was not aligned with the Sith Emperor, in exile, on Dromund Kaas. The fact
that spirits of the ancient Sith Lords supported Exar Kun suggests they did not;
perhaps do not support the Sith Emperor we face today.”
Why wouldn’t
the Sith Lords support Vitiate? He is the Sith Emperor who at the very least
restored the Sith to greatness. Is it possible that the Sith Emperor didn’t
receive the support of the ancient Sith Lords because he wasn’t originally a
Sith to begin with?
“I am no Sith.”
Valkorion is
clearly the one in charge and wants to recruit the Outlander to his cause to
make the Eternal Empire stronger, so he and the Outlander can rule and reshape
the galaxy.
The only
argument against Valkorion being the mastermind behind all of this that I currently
can think of is in the Revan novel, when Revan is fighting Vitiate, Lord
Scourge sees many visions of the outcome of Revan and Vitiate’s battle. In some
Revan triumphed, Vitiate was destroyed and the galaxy was saved, and in the
rest, Vitiate won and the galaxy was turned into an empty wasteland. This may
suggest that Vitiate is really the true form of the Emperor. Unfortunately, the
Revan novel was written before SWTOR came out and has probably been retconned,
so I don’t know how much value the novel has now. Hopefully Vitiate will show
up at some point in KOTFE and clear everything up.
Let me know
in the comments on what SWTOR topic, you may want me to cover next.
