The Shade of Korriban



"I am no one, for I am the shadow of Korriban and the call of the dead. I am the Dark Side incarnate; but the form I have taken is that of a Dark Lord who came to this world as I incubated, and she is one who I will never forget. She called herself Traya."

― The Shade of Korriban to Ardaius



The Shade of Korriban was a unique, sentient dark side phenomenon which began as a Force Nexus in the Valley of the Dark Lords, forming due to the vast amounts of dark side energy which touched that area of the planet's surface. Over the course of throusands of years, it evolved into something greater; instead of simply amassing dark side energy, the Nexus began to take imprints of the force users who travelled into the Valley, adopting their personalities and knowledge as well as their abilities. When Meetra Surik came to Korriban with Kreia in the year 3951 BBY, the imprint she left behind acted as a tipping point to the now evolved Nexus, and it took upon the full being of Darth Traya. Due to the nature of the Nexus, only her dark and neutral ideologies merged with its consciousness. The now "Dark Side Shade", as it would come to be known, roamed the Valley of the Dark Lords in the form of a shadowy mist, inducing visions in certain unwary Sith that wandered the ancient tombs of Korriban and speaking to them in the voice of Kreia.

Ardaius would encounter the Shade on his first day exploring the Valley, and a few years later was assigned to hunt down and destroy it by his master Qwenn Gallia. Ardaius travelled to the final resting place of Ludo Kresh prepared to challenge Darth Traya's Shade, but instead of carrying out his Master's barbaric wishes, chose to converse with her. The Shade echoed many of Traya's thoughts on the galaxy and the force as a whole, naturally desiring to educate the young Chiss as the actual Kreia would have. Having found great value in her words, Ardaius returned to his master and deceived her into believing the Shade had been cast out from the Valley, its energies dispersed. In reality, the infamous Dark Lady continued to inhabit Kresh's tomb, and would often be visited by Ardaius throughout the duration of his apprenticeship to Gallia. In time, the Shade of Traya would become his sole master, and most valuable teacher.