Invasion of Alanciar

In 2975 BBY, the Sith Tribe on Keshtah invaded the continent of Alanciar, also known as Keshtah Major, and successfully conquered the Keshiri population there, who were known as the Alanciari. The conquest of Alanciar had been one of the goals of Grand Lord Varner Hilts who had ushered in the Hilts Restoration in 3000 BBY. The Tribe managed to find a way to cross the ocean after the High Lord Edell Vrai managed to develop a fleet of airships, which were held aloft by gas-filled bags and propelled by tethered beasts known as uvaks. The invasion was preceded by a reconnaissance mission led by Vrai, which had sustained heavy losses at the hands of the Alanciari.

Unknown to the Tribe, the Alanciari were prepared for the Sith since the Keshiri Herald Adari Vaal had managed to escape Keshtah and warn the Alanciari of the threat posed by the Sith. Thus, the Alanciari developed a militaristic society based on resisting any invasion. Despite these losses and the poor intelligence available on the Alanciari, Vrai's rival High Lord Korsin Bentado chose not to await Vrai's return from the continent and instead led the Ebon Fleet on a full-scale invasion. The Ebon Fleet was a fleet of sixty military airships. As before, the Alanciari destroyed the intruders with their ballistae. However, Bentado and several Sith survivors managed to regroup and infiltrate the Alanciari capital of Sus'mintri where they slew the entire War Cabinet, Alanciar's military government. This deprived the Alanciari military of their centralized military command and enabled the Sith to control the capital's main signal station. The Alanciari were unaware about this development.

Bentado then rebelled against his liege Grand Lord Hilts and attempted to use the Alanciari ballistae to shoot down Hilts' airship so that he could create a "Second Tribe" on Alanciar. However, he was stopped by Vrai, Quarra, and his own Keshiri assistant Squab, who was actually an agent of Hilts. Squab personally executed Bentado while Vrai took control of Bentado's followers and the signal stations. Ultimately, the Sith were able to conquer Alanciar with minimal resistance after Hilts managed to manipulate the Alanciari man Jogan Halder into convincing his people that the Sith were not a threat but were in fact the benevolent Protectors, legendary deities in Keshiri religion. He also claimed that the Sith had wiped out the Destructors of whom Vaal had warned years before. As a result, the Alanciari peacefully submitted to Sith rule.

Text and facts from the “Invasion of Alanciar” article on Wookieepedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Modified for this site.