The Lore Surrounding Star Wars: The Old Republic

Ten Ton Hammer has kicked up an editorial that summarizes the storyline presented in the first two Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic games and how it feeds into the lore surrounding Star Wars: The Old Republic. A refresher on Malak and Revan:
Malak existed 300 years before the setting of SWTOR. He was once a Jedi Knight responsible for repelling Mandalorian attacks on the outer rim systems of the Republic. He first appeared in the first KotOR video game. Malak was an aggressive fighter and though his former masters were hesitant to release him onto the battlefield because of this, the war with the Mandalorians left them little choice.

Revan, a brilliant Jedi tactician was responsible for convincing the Jedi Order to intervene in the Mandalorian War. With the help of Malak, Revan managed to push the Mandalorian assault back. However, as the two Jedi pursued the Mandalorians into uncharted space, contact with them was lost. It was later revealed that the two Jedi had fallen to the dark side of the force with Darth Revan acting as the master and Darth Malak as the apprentice.

The two new Sith Lords soon returned with a massive army and laid siege to the Republic. Revan and Malak's forces were so great that some Jedi Knights and Republic soldiers turned on their allies and joined with the new Sith Lords. In an act of desperation, the Jedi Council set a trap for Malak and Revan. Malak, the opportunist, used the situation to rid himself of Revan and usurp control of the Sith army by firing on his master's ship. Revan lost his memory as a result of the attack and was captured by a strike team.

With Revan's memory lost, the Jedi Council was able to rebuild his personality in a way loyal to the Republic. The council then used Revan to track down Malek's secret weapon, the Star Forge, a station of Rakatan design capable of building ships at an alarmingly fast rate. Once Revan had located the Star Forge, the Republic launched a full scale assault on the station, destroying it and eventually defeating Darth Malak.

After the battle, Revan began to regain more of his lost memories, recalling a more dangerous faction of the Sith. He set out on a solitary quest against what he believed to be known as the (True) Sith. To this day he is believed to have never returned.