98
Ochi’s Dagger
Location: Pasaana
Date: Unknown
Inscribed in Ur-Kittât, the runic language of the Sith—an ancient tongue forbidden since the days of the Old Republic—this ornate dagger was a ceremonial object in service to the dark side. The dagger was formerly owned by the Sith occultist and assassin Ochi of Bestoon. It was forged in a manner that seems to vibrate through the Force itself, bestowing a personality of sorts upon the weapon.
Those that have encountered the dagger and lived to tell the tale speak of an insatiable bloodlust that seems to emanate from the blade. Those with sensitivity to the Force could touch the weapon and glimpse its dark deeds. This tragic catalog of death includes the parents of Rey Skywalker, Dathan and Miramir, murdered by Ochi around the year 21 ABY. Those who dared to grab hold of the leather-wrapped handle maintained that the blade would speak to anyone willing to listen. Storytellers of old claimed that as it sliced through flesh, the blade would become hot to the touch, as if drinking the blood of its victim. Whoever wielded the blade could commune with the dagger as if joined with its spirit. It was almost as if the being who held the weapon was at the mercy of its whims.
A full translation of the inscription on the weapon is forbidden, but it concludes with a key phrase: “Only this blade tells.” In the knife’s crossguard nestles a measurement arc that provided a way of pinpointing Palpatine’s most treasured artifacts more than three decades after wreckage from his second Death Star landed on Kef Bir, the Ocean Moon of the Endor system. In 35 ABY, Rey used the dagger to gain access to Palpatine’s Imperial Vault.
The Sith Eternal are no more, but the dagger remains, a reminder of their quest for total domination. But venture close to the blade and you can almost sense that it is longing to return to its old, evil ways. A thrum seems to emanate from it that evokes blood-curdling incantations and beckons a new master to call the weapon into service. Even those who scoff at the arcane ways of the dark side would be wise to keep their distance from this relic of a perilous bygone era.
