Revan was an enigmatic Jedi Knight and General. A charismatic leader, potent wielder of the Force, and unparalleled military tactician in his time, he was credited with leading the Galactic Republic to victory in the Mandalorian Wars.

After the war, however, the Republic's savior returned from the Unknown Regions in command of a vast Sith armada. Now bearing the title of Dark Lord of the Sith and deploying his forces against the Republic, his return marked the beginning of the Jedi Civil War. Swiftly conquering a significant portion of the Republic's territory, Darth Revan established a powerful new Sith Empire poised to conquer the Republic. In desperation, the Jedi set a trap for the Dark Lord, in an attempt to stop his fleet from advancing. Thanks to a Jedi named Bastila Shan and her battle meditation, a Jedi strike team was able to board the Sith flagship during the battle. Sensing his time had come, Darth Malak, the Sith apprentice of Darth Revan, ordered his ships to fire on Revan's flagship's bridge, hoping to kill the Jedi and his master. The hail of fire nearly killed Revan and the Jedi; fortunately, Bastila was able to save his life and escape with her valuable prisoner. His mind destroyed, the Jedi Council repaired it with a new identity—one loyal to the Republic. Despite eventually discovering his former identity as the Dark Lord, Revan redeemed himself by rejecting the dark side, defeating Malak, and ending the very war he had begun.

Shortly thereafter, Revan departed once again for the Unknown Regions. The memories of his former life had returned, and there was something in his past that he felt he had to confront alone. Kreia, Revan's old Jedi Master, believed that Darth Revan's brutally efficient invasion of the galaxy had been part of a complex plan to secure the Republic from a long-hidden threat known as the "True Sith", suggesting that Revan had departed on a solitary quest to defeat them once and for all.