Join The Infernal Brotherhood of the Scruffy Looking, Nerf Herders as they explore Star Wars lore via their own personal Holocron. This episode will focus on The Rakatan’s Infinite Empire.
Transcript
Cold Open
Long before the Jedi or the Sith… before the Republic… even before the Je’daii themselves… there existed a power so ancient, so ruthless, and so technologically advanced that the galaxy would spend millennia trying to forget it. The Rakata did not simply conquer worlds—they drained them. And their empire, despite its name, was anything but eternal.
Intro
Welcome back to The Infernal Brotherhood of the Scruffy-Looking Nerf Herders. In today’s episode, we’re continuing our deep dive into the ancient powers of the Star Wars Legends universe. This week, we turn our eyes toward a civilization older than almost any other… A civilization whose rise shaped the very foundations of the galaxy we know. This… is the story of the Infinite Empire.
Discussion
THE ORIGINS OF THE RAKATA
The Rakata began as a primitive, aggressive species on Lehon in the Unknown Regions. Their fate changed the moment the Kwa arrived—an ancient reptilian, Force-sensitive species capable of instantaneous galactic travel through their Infinity Gates. As they had done on countless worlds, the Kwa became mentors to the Rakata. They shared technology. They shared knowledge of the Force. They attempted to guide them toward balance.
But the Kwa quickly made a horrifying discovery: The Rakata were cannibalistic, deeply aggressive, and utterly enthralled by the dark side. They ignored every teaching of harmony and instead used the Force to amplify their lust for domination. Empowered by Kwa technology, the Rakata surged outward from Lehon. The Infinite Empire had begun.
THE BATTLE OF LEHON & THE STAR FORGE
When the Kwa realized the Rakata planned to seize the Infinity Gates, they attempted to stop them. A brutal conflict erupted on Lehon as the Kwa fought desperately to destroy their own gateway before it could fall into Rakatan hands. They succeeded—but at terrible cost. Most Kwa perished in the battle, and their civilization would never recover.
The Rakata, however, only grew stronger. Soon after, they constructed one of the most infamous superstructures in all of galactic history: The Star Forge. Suspended above the star Abo, this massive, semi-sentient factory fed on the dark side itself—and on the emotions of its Rakatan creators. It produced warships, droids, and weapons in numbers no organic workforce could match. Fueled by fear, hatred, and domination, the Star Forge became the beating heart of the Infinite Empire.
ERA OF CONQUEST
By 35,000 BBY, the Rakata had swept across the Unknown Regions and into the eastern galaxy, enslaving entire species and reshaping worlds to suit their needs. They targeted planets strong in the Force—worlds like: Kashyyyk, where they installed a terraforming computer that would later malfunction and cause the wroshyr forests to grow into massive vertical jungles. Dathomir, home of their once-teachers, the Kwa. The Rakata subjugated the planet completely, driving the Kwa into a degenerated animal state—the Kwi. Gamorr, where they introduced rancors as curiosities, unintentionally birthing Gamorrean legends. Belsavis, transformed into a prison world where they entombed monsters and warlords in stasis—most famously the apocalyptic entity known as the World Razer, a being said to have consumed a thousand worlds.
At their peak around 30,000 BBY, the Infinite Empire consisted of more than 500 Force-rich worlds—the maximum their hyperdrives could target. Their domination reached even the Core Worlds. They enslaved the ancestors of modern Humans on Coruscant, though those early Humans still managed to experiment with sleeper ships and spread across the surrounding systems. Their influence even brushed the proto-Sith. On Korriban, the Rakata attempted to subjugate the Sith species, but King Adas led a heroic defense, driving the invaders from the planet. His victory would echo as a defining moment in Sith history.
RAKATAN SLAVERY & CULTURE
Slavery was not just a practice—it was the foundation of the Empire. The Rakata relied heavily on Force-sensitive slaves to power their technology. They created machines that converted dark side emotions into usable energy, effectively feeding on suffering.
Slaves were: Stripped of identity. Tattooed with Aurebesh letters so pieces of their bodies could be identified. Consumed alive when they displeased their masters. From these enslaved populations, the Rakata selected and trained Force Hounds—dark side hunters used to locate new Force-rich planets to conquer.
And all of this—every ship, every prison, every atrocity—was built on the backs of subjugated species ranging from Humans to Selkath, Nikto, Duros, Hutts, and more.
THE BEGINNING OF THE END
For all their power, the seeds of the Empire’s downfall were of their own making. The Star Forge, drawing on their negative emotions, amplified the Rakata’s aggression and paranoia. Slave uprisings erupted. Factions within the Empire warred for dominance. And then… the final blow struck.
Around 25,200 BBY, a plague swept across the Rakata—possibly engineered by one of their enslaved species. Because the Rakata had genetically engineered themselves for uniformity, the disease spread with devastating speed. But worse still… a mutation severed their connection to the Force.
Without the Force, they could no longer operate their own technology. Their weapons, hyperdrives, even their day-to-day infrastructure failed. Enslaved worlds rose in rebellion. Korriban expelled its Rakatan overlords. One by one, the systems of the Infinite Empire broke away.
Finally, as the remnants retreated to Lehon, the Rakata turned on each other. A cataclysmic civil war shattered their cities and reduced the surface of their world to scattered island chains. Most surviving Rakata devolved into primitive tribal societies, their history forgotten even by themselves. Only a secretive caste known as the Elders preserved the truth.
Within a few short centuries, the Infinite Empire—once the mightiest civilization the galaxy had ever seen—was erased from the records of its former slaves. It became nothing more than myth… until the time of the Jedi Civil War, millennia later.
CONCLUSION
The Rakata left behind: The terraforming scars of Kashyyyk. The horrors imprisoned beneath Belsavis. The mutated Kwi of Dathomir. Semi-sentient Star Maps. And the ruined husk of the Star Forge itself. Their empire was built on domination, fear, and the dark side—and in the end, those same forces consumed them.
The Infinite Empire was never truly infinite. It was a monument to hubris, a warning buried in the ancient past… And the galaxy only survived because the Rakata destroyed themselves.
Outro
And that’s all the time we have today to explore the mystery of the Rakatan’s Infinite Empire.
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Until The Infernal Brotherhood convenes again, my fellow scruffy-looking Nerf Herders —
May the Force be with you.