Jedi Training. The Beginning of Darth Revan

By Kreia's account, it was she who undertook Revan's initial instruction in the Jedi Arts and, according to Deesra Luur Jada, Revan was trained on Dantooine. Even so, it is known that Revan was on Coruscant for at least a time, where he and his closest friend, Alek "Squint" Squinquargesimus, often visited Jedi Master Zhar Lestin for additional training.

The elder Jedi, though noting Revan's "insatiable" desire for knowledge, dismissed it as exuberance and eagerness, believing the youth to be a future champion of the Jedi Order. Master Vrook Lamar, on the other hand, later claimed that Revan was perhaps too eager to learn more about the Force, and had sought knowledge of ancient "Sith magics."

Revan is said to have left his first master's tutelage entirely, going on to study beneath numerous Jedi Masters, including the aforementioned Zhar, as well as Master Dorak and Arren Kae. Some years later, Mical would claim that Revan had deeply studied the process of Force bonding, among other techniques, during this period. Eventually, however, it is claimed that Revan returned to his first master when, Kreia would say, "he realized there was nothing more to be learned from the Jedi—except how one could leave them forever."

Whatever the truth, by 3,956 BBY the general consensus amongst the Jedi Masters on Dantooine was that, though a very promising Padawan, Revan had been headstrong, proud and far too quick to dismiss the dangerous lure of the dark side.

During the early Outer Rim skirmishes between the Republic and Mandalorians, Revan—by this time a well known, powerful and charismatic Jedi Knight—moved throughout the Jedi Order, arguing his case for Jedi intervention. Though at first a lone voice among the Jedi, considered the "Jedi's own crusader" by the Republic media, Revan gradually gathered something of a following. The first to be drawn to Revan's cause was Alek, who then aided his friend in further recruitment.

"Our master's an acquaintance of your Master Lucien. We were hoping to recruit some Jedi to come with us."
―Alek Squinquargesimus to Zayne Carrick

Late into 3,964 BBY Revan, now considered the honorary "Master" of those who followed him—specifically Alek, made the decision to journey to the Mandalorian front against the Jedi Council's wishes, so as to scout out the enemy lines. On the way, he and his followers briefly stopped by Taris. An acquaintance of Lucien Draay, Revan hoped to recruit more Jedi to his cause from the academy on the world, yet neither Lucien or any of the other Jedi on the planet were willing, or allowed, to oblige.

Sometime after leaving Taris, Revan left the majority of his followers on the planet Suurja while he investigated events on Onderon and Dxun. Though he reported his "disturbing" findings to the Jedi High Council shortly after the onset of the Mandalorian Wars proper, the Council told him yet again that there was "no place" for the Jedi Order in the war and sent him on a mission to rescue those of his followers that had been captured during the Fourth Battle of Suurja. As he departed the Council chambers, Revan encountered Lucien Draay once more and, after a brief conversation about an undefined "truth," he left to complete his task.

"The further the Mandalorians stab, the more traction our colleague back there will get."
―Q'Anilia on Revan

Ultimately, however, Revan's captive "learners" were saved from the experiments of the sadistic Demagol by Zayne Carrick and Rohlan Dyre. Once reunited with his disciples, Revan's campaign for Jedi intervention in the war against the Mandalorians continued, albeit somewhat differently than before. Whereas his efforts had previously been considered a curiosity at best, in the context of a larger Mandalorian War he suddenly found himself a celebrity.[8] As the Revanchist movement behind him grew, the Republic Media cast Revan in the role of crusading savior, wrongfully ignored by the aloof High Council. Though first referred to as "the Revanchist Leader" in reports, it was not long before the young Jedi Knight was given a new, "snappier" moniker: the Revanchist.

Revan continued to travel the galaxy during this time, taking his message of Jedi intervention to all who would listen. During the Battle of Serroco, whilst on the planet Cathar alongside Alek, he—along with many other Jedi across the galaxy—felt the deaths of thousands on Serroco as the Mandalorians rained nuclear warheads onto the surface. Doubled over in empathic pain, the most he could say to his best friend was: "I feel it!"

A short time later, Revan was invited to bid on the exogorth superweapons that Arkoh Adasca was selling on behalf of his increasingly large faction within the Jedi. Unable to attend due to pressing business elsewhere, Revan sent Alek in his place. Several Jedi had visions concerning Adasca's exogorths and the role they could play in the war, so Revan instructed Alek to ensure that the danger they presented was taken "out of the mix."

Shortly after the Adasca affair, the siege of Taris, and the bombardment of Jebble, Lucien Draay was appointed to the Jedi Council. He reported to the Council that Republic intelligence reports indicated that there was a blow to the Mandalorian's plans of conquest, reportedly by an insurrection within their own ranks, and stated that the "interventionist path" sought by Revan was wrong for both the Republic and the Jedi. The Council approved his motion, which ordered the recall, or if necessary, detention, of the "prowar renegades."

As the Mandalorian Wars continued, the desperate Republic military petitioned the Jedi Council for aid. Unwilling to charge into another conflict so soon since the last with Exar Kun and fearing a greater threat, the Council refused. Revan and his followers, however, didn't.

With the devastating details of the Battle of Cathar having become widely known—several years after the fact—Revan used them to his advantage. In an act of rebellion above and beyond anything he had ever done before, he refused to acknowledge the authority of the High Council and sent out a full call to arms to the Order. No longer was he arguing for Jedi intervention, he was going to intervene. As always, Alek was the first to join his closest friend, but soon hundreds of Jedi answered Revan's call.[5]

The entrance of Revan and his Jedi into the war marked its turning point. Revan's clever military strategies and tactics coupled with Malak's courage and fiery determination saw the pair becoming the foremost heroes of the conflict. Claiming victory time after time, they were propelled through the ranks of the Republic military and were eventually given direct control of a full third of the Republic's fleet. With his newfound authority, Revan spearheaded the Republic war effort and began to steadily push the Mandalorians back.

Together, Revan and Malak liberated Taris, fought Cassus Fett—Mandalore's primary strategist—at Jaga's Cluster, and defeated much of the Mandalorian army at Althir. Yet, despite such victories, there were concerns raised over the Jedi's behavior. Though Revan's tactics were near flawless and Malak's righteous fury unmatched, the pair began to adopt very similar characteristics to the Mandalorians they were fighting, growing to despise weakness and indecisiveness in all its forms.

Unfortunately for the galaxy, the growing darkness surrounding Revan did not just stem from his experiences with the Mandalorians. At some point in the year 3,963 BBY, Revan visited the ancient Sith world of Malachor V while scouting for new outposts along the embattled Outer Rim.

Word had reached him that Malachor was anathema to the Mandalorians, and he wished to know the reason why. On its surface, Revan was quickly assaulted by the destructive dark side energies that permeated the world, yet through the strength of his will, he was able to feed on the evil power without being consumed by it.

Soon thereafter, he stumbled upon the Trayus Academy, an abandoned training center built by a mysterious Sith faction known as the "True Sith." While unearthing the planet's buried secrets, Revan learned the exact location and immense significance of the planet Korriban, the homeworld of the Sith species.

Though further details of what transpired in that ancient Sith bastion remain unknown, Kreia would later imply that it was there that Revan discovered the continued existence of the "True Sith" and, "to prevent a greater evil," embraced the Sith teachings himself.