y secrets in his storehouse Emperor Palpatine kept manb ntil er that went undetected uis m a h c a g n i d u l c n i , d n a l y a W on th .

So far only Leia, Mara, and I know aboutsh 24 A.B.Y rous before aring book. I want to make sure its not dangie t with the Historical Council.

Preface
BY DARTH SIdIOUs

From the context, I believe Palpatine on after assembled this volume so declaring himself Emperor, or . sometime around 19-18 B.B.Y

I have accomplished what no Sith has ever done before. I have destroyed the Jedi and subverted Coruscant. I sit on the throne of a new and unstoppable regime. I will shape the great Galactic Empire according to my own design. The Sith have dreamt of this moment since the beginning of recorded history. I could not have achieved this prize without treading on the backs of those who came before. Exploiting the failures of others is the way of the Sith. Since my days as a young noble on Naboo, long before I joined Darth Plagueis and began my apprenticeship, I collected dark side lore. These rubbings of Sith tablets and untranslatable runic scrolls were coveted and traded on the black markets by cultists, collectors, and museum curators willing to defy the Republics ban on Sith artifacts.

nts to review this book, New Republic Intelligence wan d Iella I've agreed. and as a favor to Wedge aR I's reference. N r I numbered the pages fo

The very existence of this illicit trade confirms many vital truths: Rulers seek to control information. The powerful will do anything to hoard their power. And if something is forbidden, it is likely a thing worth knowing. Getting these artifacts past the law officials and into my quarters on Naboo provided new lessons: True power brokers dwell in the shadows. Credits can buy anything, even intangible concepts such as access and silence. It is necessary to lie to achieve anything of value. And a skilled liar is nearly impossible to detect. Although my experience acquiring the texts provided a practical knowledge of how treasures and secrets change hands, as well as the roles non-Force sensitives play in keeping the galaxy running, the actual dark side tomes deepened my knowledge of the ancient Sith. I realized that I had all the tools I needed to craft my own system of power, one that fused contemporary politics with Sith ideals. Under the tutelage of Darth Plagueis, I inherited the Sith Archivesmore than a thousand years worth of teachings passed in secret from master to apprentice. But what I learned was that only a handful of figures had ever truly advanced the

cause of the Sith. Thus I made it my goal to recover their most famous writingsnot the revisions of misguided chroniclers who lived hundreds of years after them but the parchments bearing their original words and recorded by their own hands. With the fall of the Jedi Temple, I have finally recovered the last of these documents, though only fragments of each have survived the centuries. Together these pages unite one of the first Sith Lords with he who shall be the last. Each authors voice echoes the era in which he or she held power, but the Sith Order has evolved over seven thousand years. The errors made by my predecessors will not be my own. Their triumphs will be nothing compared to my omnipotence.

At the time I wrote these words, I hoped my Empire n would provide limitless reach. Yet I must still rely o sh, others to do my bidding. And they are so often fooli flawed, and disappointing.