Colette wrote: If any Star Wars nuts think they can help explain the Great Galactic War, the circumstances leading up to it, the reborn Sith Empire and the Council in general, or my character, that would be appreciated.
Prepare for spoilery wall of text.
Well, the Sith Empire is vaguely similar to the Imperium of Man from Warhammer 40k - immortal emperor with inquisitors and special bonded bodyguards and a vast war machine that doesn't care about collateral damage or casualties. The emperor is a ravenous evil guy who out of fear of death wants to eat the rest of the universe (he consumes the force connection of things to power his immortality, leaving a dead [in a more fundamental way than most forms of death, given that he essentially eats the force presence of a person, place, or thing] husk behind). The council (compare to high lords of terra maybe?) either don't know or don't care. Elements within the empire fear that the emperor will eventually destroy everything (which is his ultimate plan), leaving them both dead and not having anything to rule, so are plotting against him. The Republic is (as always) highly corrupt and ineffective, with the jedi simultaneously exiled from Coruscant (their temple is in ruins and they are not allowed back since they failed the Republic and let the Sith take the capital in the opening part of the war) and the only really meaningful source of opposition to the empire (though apparently the republic plotlines in many cases make you wonder just how effective they really are). A seat on the council is generally gotten by having the emperor decide that you get it, or maybe the other (surviving) councilors pick you. I'm not sure on that one, but generally you only leave the council if you die. I also suspect that various powerful sith who have disappeared over the centuries were eaten by the emperor.
The (ostensible) reason for the war itself is that the jedi attempted to eliminate the sith when they first began to investigate the dark side. This forced the few survivors into exile, when they found Korriban and the sith species. There they learned sorcery and interbred with the true sith, resulting in the rise of the first sith empire and their subsequent attempt to reclaim their rightful place and punish the jedi who tried to kill them. The Great Hyperspace War was a defeat, resulting in the sith being exiled again. The emperor was the son of a sith lord of the time, and was terrified from death from an early age. He experimented on his dad's planet (the sith lords all ruled planets at that time I think), while sitting out the GHW. When the sith empire was defeated, he leveraged his position of relative power (one of the few sith with an intact power base) into broader political influence, whereupon he claimed to be able to find a safe haven where the jedi would not find them. Before leaving, he ate the planet and became sort of immortal. Then he united the remaining sith and headed into the unknown where he located Dromund Kaas. There he rebuilt the empire and prepared it for another go at revenge against the jedi who had exiled his people in the first place. Revan and Malak found them and got brainwashed, but Revan broke his programming with the help of a little betrayal, mind snuggle, and sweet Bastilla luvin'. Revan then returned and tried to assassinate the emperor to stop the invasion permanently, but was defeated (his ally the Exile died in the process), and was kept prisoner by the emperor (who tried to feed off of his force essence but in so doing allowed him to influence his mind, thereby delaying the invasion by a century or so).
Dunno if any of this is helpful, but there you go.
0 Lord, save Thy people and bless Thine Inheritance. To our Rulers grant victories over the barbarians, and by Thy Cross protect Thine own Estate.