Does Nihilus drain?
Contrary to the propaganda and ramblings of member @azronger
- I will offer a more realistic assessment of this battle.
If anybody has any doubt about the supremacy of Valkorion, please consult my blog: https://comicvine.gamespot.com/profile/s_w_legend/blog/valkorion-respect-thread/97466/
FIRST: The ability of Darth Nihilus to consume an entire world is not suspect but there is no concrete evidence for the argument that Darth Nihilus could commence a planet-wide consumption on a moment's notice. This is apparent from the events concerning Telos Four.
The forces of the Sith Triumvirate had hunted the Jedi almost to extinction. The Jedi Exile, cut off from the Force, went in search of the remaining Jedi Masters and, perhaps, an explanation. But the Exile’s mentor, Kreia, had other plans–when the Exile finally gathered the Masters, Kreia slew them all.
As the Exile recovered from this encounter, Kreia deliberately enticed the terrible Darth Nihilus to the planet Telos Four. Nihilus prepared to devour all life on the planet, and Nihilus’s dreadnought, the Ravager, was met by the Republic Navy and Mandalorian forces.
During the battle, the Exile boarded the Ravager and faced Nihilus. Unable to devour the Exile as he had so many others, Nihilus was finally defeated. With Telos safe, the Exile pursued Kreia.
From Star Wars: The Old Republic: Codex entry titled "The Battle of Telos Four."
Notice the term "prepared to" in the aforementioned revelation? This makes sense because Darth Nihilus could not muster enough strength to consume Telos Four in a span of several hours. Size of a planet might be a factor in this.
Learn more about the Battle of Telos Four from here: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Battle_of_Telos_IV
OR
You can simply play the game and see it all yourself.
Cataclysm of Katarr does not actually prove that Darth Nihilus consumed it on a moment's notice. His fleet might have remained unnoticed above the mesosphere of Katarr for substantial amount of time; cloaking devices might have been employed to conceal its presence. Katarr wasn't renowned for its defenses anyways. Visas Marr's remark does not add up to what transpired around Telos Four. In-fact, Visas was traumatized by the events in question and under spell of Darth Nihilus during the course of Unseen Unheard. Under such circumstances, we can expect a victim to exaggerate stuff.
Finally, the Jedi Council called a conclave on the Miraluka colony of Katarr. The order’s Masters, including the legendary Vandar Tokare, gathered to discuss the possibility that the Sith had returned. They did not know that Darth Nihilus, a being of pure hunger and dark side power, was approaching the colony. Drawn to the assembled Masters, Nihilus devoured the life energy of everything on Katarr. Millions of Miraluka died, along with most of the Jedi Order’s senior members. Walking Katarr’s lifeless surface later, Darth Nihilus came across the only survivor: the traumatized Miraluka Visas Marr, whom Nihilus took as his apprentice.
From Star Wars: The Old Republic: Codex entry titled "The Conclave of Katarr."
Now, a question comes to mind that how come Visas managed to endure an event of such scale and intensity anyways? Although she was unconscious when Darth Nihilus stumbled upon her on the surface of Katarr, this (nugget of) truth raises a question mark in regards to powers of Darth Nihilus being infallible in turn. You see that Darth Nihilus considered Visas suitable for 'apprenticeship' afterwards which imply that her survival impressed him.
SECOND: We have seen Darth Nihilus successfully consuming and/or killing living (mortal) beings only. We also know that he failed to consume Meetra Surik when she was a "Wound."
Now, Valkorion is an entity with the ability to cheat death - he transcended the vulnerabilities of living (mortal) beings over time. You destroy a vessel - no problem! Valkorion will bring another to bear against you. We can expect Darth Nihilus to affect something tangible but nothing implies that Darth Nihilus can affect Valkorion in his intangible form (a completely different plane of existence from mortality).
Developments on Ziost made one thing abundantly clear:
Jedi and/or Sith are known to defeat a Sith spirit under the right set of circumstances with certain abilities but they were unable to touch Valkorion in his intangible form. Sith, in particular, attempted to get a fix on Valkorion's intangible form, to no avail:
In another time, it might have been cause for celebration. It might have emboldened the Empire, breathing new life into their efforts to crush the Republic. But with the Sith Emperor’s apparent reawakening comes the common knowledge that he is no longer interested in ruling over the galaxy. Instead, he seeks to consume it. The Empire’s highest ranking officers and dignitaries are now in a state of heightened alert, and the Dark Council has assembled a contingent of powerful Sith seers to get a fix on the Emperor’s presence.
From (Star Wars: The Old Republic: Rise of the Emperor: Codex Entry titled "The Emperor's Return.")
Valkorion's extraordinary defenses could be a factor in preventing both Jedi and Sith from getting a fix on his intangible form on Ziost and otherwise. He has the ability to completely mask his "Force signature" and cloud the senses of other Force-users - apparent from the accomplishments of the First Son - prime child of Valkorion. In-fact, protagonists were unable to get a fix on Valkorion's presence on Ziost - they could only hear his voices and interact with his possessed subjects.
Darth Nihilus's senses aren't infallible actually. There is evidence that a fallen Jedi Atris outed the Conclave on Katarr to Darth Nihilus. Similarly, Darth Traya alerted Colonel Tobin (a high-ranking member of the crew of Ravager) to the presence of Jedi on Telos Four who in turn informed Darth Nihilus and they moved to Telos Four as expected - lured into a trap actually.
THIRD: Valkorion's powers are absolutely potent and his reaction-time can be astonishingly fast. He one-shotted Darth Marr before the latter could even make a move - Darth Marr who could move so fast that even a well-trained Sith (e.g. Darth Lachris) would get the impression of teleportation while trying to assess his movement.
Valkorion is known to literally bend the arc of time itself in order to alter the course of an engagement. You will find evidence of this capability in my blog.
Therefore, it is not only possible for Valkorion to make it really difficult for Darth Nihilus to assault his vessel but the former can destroy his opponent before the latter can muster an effective response. Darth Nihilus's ability to siphon energy of his crew with his mere presence is not going to make any difference in this case because Valkorion is way too powerful and capable of defending himself. It shall be noted that Mandalore the Preserver (Canderous Ordo) fought Darth Nihilus alongside Meetra and Visas and made it out alive.
We shall also keep in mind the fact that there were numerous Sith in the reconstituted ancient Sith Empire who were practitioners of Force Drain powers and none was able to challenge Valkorion in any way of form. Examples include Lord Draahg, Darth Baras and Lord Ikoral. Lord Draahg entrapped Darth Vowrawn in a web of energy that would disintegrate the latter (if not disrupted); Darth Baras fed on a Dark Entity to fuel his strength and glean meaningful information from it; and Lord Ikoral fed on his subjects to replenish his energy while contending with a Strike Team that was dispatched to assassinate him. Purpose of this disclosure is to make it clear that the ability to feed on a subject [in the context of mere presence] is not going to affect Valkorion one bit.
CONCLUSION: Darth Nihilus is a dangerous foe and his ability to consume a world is not suspect. However, it is not wise to assume that his powers aren't infallible (i.e. no-limits fallacy) and nothing implies that he can tackle an entity like Valkorion unless the latter does nothing and gives an opportunity to Darth Nihilus to bring his powers to bear against him. Valkorion is officially more powerful, capable of bending the arc of time itself to his advantage in a dire situation, capable of dampening/affecting the senses of his opponent to his advantage and also capable of striking from afar on a moment's notice - before an opponent can react.
It is safe to assume that Valkorion can prevent Darth Nihilus from mounting an effective response, and destroy his opponent in time.
As for the claim of Valkorion performing a ritual on Ziost - this is completely unsubstantiated and not a single codex entry imply as such. Please consult this blog for more information: https://comicvine.gamespot.com/profile/s_w_legend/blog/cataclysm-of-planet-ziost/105050/
Any ritual is explicitly confirmed as such in any codex entry. In-fact, cataclysm of Ziost is a clear-cut demonstration of the destructive potential of the Dark Side (taken to its extreme) from Valkorion, and a solid proof of his superiority over others in mastery of the Dark Side and sheer raw power. Keep in mind that Ziost is a huge planet, and one of the major population centers of the galaxy at the time.
Contrary to the propaganda and ramblings of member @azronger
Interesting...
Fight! Fight! Fight!
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