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Army of Light

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Click here for Wookieepedia's article on the Canon version of this subject.  This article covers the Legends version of this subject. 

"An Army of Light to face the Brotherhood of Darkness."
―Skere Kaan[3]

The Army of Light was an army of Jedi within the Jedi Order established near the end of the New Sith Wars by the Jedi Lord Hoth to combat the machinations of Dark Lord of the Sith Skere Kaan's Brotherhood of Darkness. Made up of those Jedi Knights and loyal constituents of the galaxy's many Jedi Lords, as well as troops of the Galactic Republic tired of its ineffectual leadership, the Army of Light fought to a hard-won victory during the Ruusan campaign. Following the defeat of Lord Kaan and the Brotherhood of Darkness, the Galactic Senate and the Jedi High Council effectively disbanded the Army with the ratification of the Ruusan Reformations.

History[]

"We conjured an army from nothing... We turned freighters into warships... We traveled through many systems, conquered all that the dark ones placed in our way, and arrived on Ruusan. Here we fought seven terrible battles... Battles in which thousands of Jedi died. In spite of their superior numbers, in spite of their brutality, in spite of their willingness to invoke the dark side of the Force, the Brotherhood of Darkness lost all but two of those engagements. Only one choice remains to them... and that's surrender."
―Lord Hoth[4]

Prelude[]

For nearly a millennium the Galactic Republic and the Jedi Order suffered relentless attacks from the New Sith Empire and its allied Separatist factions. Pushing in on Republic territories, the Sith managed to take control of the Outer Rim Territories and continued to move closer and closer to the Core Worlds. As the Republic lost control of entire regions of space, adventurous Jedi Knights struck out into the galaxy, clearing whole star systems and sectors of Sith influence. Established as hereditary Jedi Lords in their constituent sectors and systems, these Jedi kept the peace for centuries in an attempt to hold back the darkness of the Sith Empire.[1]

Establishing the Jedi Grand Council, a council of Lords working independently from the Jedi High Council on Coruscant, these Lords assumed control of local system and sector armies, having earned the respect and fealty of those living under their rule. While the Lords kept the peace, the High Council on Coruscant attempted to raise their own champion, Jedi Master Skere Kaan. Despite their best efforts to reign in his radical beliefs, Kaan separated from the Order and formed the Brotherhood of Darkness in 1010 BBY.[1]

Mustering of the Lords[]

Armored Knight

A member of the Army of Light

Disgusted with the Jedi High Council's utter failure to control Kaan, the Jedi Temple's own battlemaster, Lord Hoth, left Coruscant with a band of followers and rallied the banners of all those Jedi Lords loyal to him. Of high repute among his fellow Lords, Hoth's call to arms was answered immediately by the Lords of Corellia, Cularin and Kamparas. The swell of calls-to-arms reached its peak when the Grand Council of the Order declared that all Lords had pledged their baronies to Hoth and flew under the banner of the Army of Light. In addition to those loyal to their Jedi Lords, Republic soldiers dissatisfied with the government's inability to fend off the Sith joined the ranks of the Army, fighting gladly under the command of their Jedi superiors.[1]

Hoth led his army directly to the Outer Rim Territories, liberating a number of Sith strongholds in a methodical attack pattern which avoided a direct conflict with Lord Kaan. While the Army of Light was able to grow in numbers as Hoth's strategy of attacking the flanks of the Brotherhood succeeded, Lord Kaan was meanwhile able to strengthen his central authority and lead a focused attack on the Galactic Core. Striking swiftly at Brentaal IV, Lord Kaan forced the Army of Light to meet him head-on at Ruusan for a final showdown.[1]

The Ruusan campaign[]

Rallying his banners to march upon Ruusan in a final campaign against the Sith, Hoth and his Lords fought seven vicious battles against the Brotherhood. Supported by a force of three hundred additional soldiers under the command of Lord Valenthyne Farfalla, Hoth's forces fought on despite overwhelming odds and poor planetary conditions. Ultimately, the Army of Light converged on a system of caves in which the Brotherhood's leadership had reportedly gathered. Led by Hoth himself, the Army located the Sith Lords only to discover their terrible weapon too late. A thought bomb, the Sith detonated the weapon and the Force essence of all present was absorbed within, killing their mortal bodies and ending the war.[1]

The only surviving Lords of the battle, Masters Farfalla and Berethon led their troops off of Ruusan and reunited with the rest of the Army in orbit. Farfalla reported to Coruscant at the behest of Supreme Chancellor Tarsus Valorum as the leader of the Army of Light, replacing Lord Hoth after his death on Ruusan. Chancellor Valorum outlined his plan to reform the Republic which had decayed and foundered over the past two millennium, and requested that the Jedi Order use the time to reform as well. In agreement with the High Council and the Grand Council, the Ruusan Reformations passed through the Galactic Senate without contest. Per the agreement, the Army of Light and the Grand Council were disbanded and their forces ordered to downsize. Jedi Lords and other veterans of the Army were shunned by their brother and sister Jedi on Coruscant as a political embarrassment to the Order. Lords holed themselves away within castles and fortresses, maintaining control of their baronies for several decades. The treatment of these veterans caused certain factions of the Order, such as the Teepo Paladins and the Corellian Jedi, to remain away from Coruscant, even in the times following the Great Jedi Purge.[1]

Organization and structure[]

Army of Light flag

Army of Light banner

The Army of Light was an ad-hoc military force hastily assembled and provisioned to combat the sudden unity of the Sith, now led by Lord Kaan and his Brotherhood of Darkness. The Army consisted of the baronies and warships of the multiple Jedi Lords who made up the Army, supplying both Force-sensitive and non-Force-sensitive soldiers to wage war against the Sith.[1]

The bulk of the Army's forces was made up of the Seven Legions of Light, each of which was commanded by the greatest Lords of the Jedi Order; including Lord Newar Forrth, commander of the Third Legion of Light.[4] Each legion consisted of loyal Jedi Knights and the many esquires, warriors, and servants from the different baronies.[1] With them these common folk brought an array of skills and knowledge, wielding swords, clubs, morningstars, and a variety of other weapons.[2] At the command of the entire Army of Light stood Lord Hoth, the Seneschal of the Army as recognized by the Jedi Grand Council, a Council of High Lords of the Jedi Order.[1]

Jedi Camp Ruusan EGTF

Army of Light recruitment camp

Under Hoth's leadership the Army rounded up all Force-sensitive individuals in nearby space, hoping to prevent Lord Kaan and the Brotherhood from recruiting more to the Sith cause. While Hoth had originally been against separating children forcibly from their homes, his aide Pernicar advised him of the wisdom of preventing their enemy from getting stronger in ways they could prevent.[1] Despite their heavy recruitment, the Army suffered greatly during clashes with the Brotherhood; by the time of the seventh Battle of Ruusan, the Army was merely the bedraggled remnants of the army they once were, with rumbling within their own camps dubbing the force the Army of Mud.[2]

Following the detonation of the thought bomb and destruction of much of the Army's forces, those who remained retired to their Jedi Lord's holdfasts as the war came to a close. The Army was disbanded during the Ruusan Reformation and those Lords who survived and kept their titles remained in power for many decades, mending the wounds the war had caused on their constituent worlds.[1]

Behind the scenes[]

Symbols worn on the armor of members of the Army of light and present on flags resemble the Fleur-de-lis. They also carried large Mandalorian beskar shields.

Appearances[]

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Sources[]

Army of Light
Republic Army

←		 1010 BBY–1000 BBY
Army of Light (concurrent)		 Grand Army of the Republic

→

Notes and references[]

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 The Essential Guide to Warfare
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Star Wars: Jedi vs. Sith
  3. ↑ Darth Bane: Path of Destruction
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Dark Forces: Jedi Knight
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