Centuries after the defeat of the Sith Empire in the Great Hyperspace War of 5000 BBY, a
young force sensitive human named Freedon Nadd was accepted into the jedi academy on
Ossus, where he trained under a number of powerful teachers, including Matta Tremayne,
a Master of lightsaber combat, and Odan-Urr who built the Great Jedi Library.
Dreaming all his life of becoming one of the legendary Knights who protected the Republic,
Nadd was hardworking and naturally talented, learning remarkably quickly and demonstrating
incredible skill with the force.
Praised by his instructors and standing out amongst his peers, Nadd was certain he would
soon be granted the title he sought.
Yet while the Masters acknowledged his skill and potential, they questioned his humility
and decided to perform one final test to ensure he was truly committed to the ways of the
light side.
And so, in 4400BBY, when it came time for the Masters to select those apprentices to
be awarded the rank of jedi Knight, Nadd was passed over, in order to see how he dealt
with failure.
Confused and heartbroken by their rejection, Nadd was desperate to learn where he went
wrong and went to master Matta Tremayne for answers.
But rather than help him, she ignored his presence for a time and then refused to reveal
the reason he was not selected.
As she spoke his rage only increased, accusing the Masters of hording secrets to secure their
own power and brazenly declared himself a Jedi, rejecting their authority.
Tremayne then challenged him to a duel to prove the validity of his claim, which Nadd
accepted, brimming with anger and resentment as he fought to keep up with his master.
When at last the student spotted an opening, he swung his lightsaber down and slew his
enemy, yet just before the it struck he noticed that Tremayne made no attempt to stop him
instead flashing a look in her eyes that told him this had all been a test, which he failed.
Devastated by her death, Nadd came to hate the jedi order, blaming them for placing him
in this situation and forcing his hand.
Guided by hatred and pain he fled the planet, and soon set a course for the old sith empire,
determined to become a powerful dark side sorcerer to avenge himself against the Jedi.
Arriving at Ashas Ree, he found the holocron of the Sith purelood King Adas, who unified
the tribes of Korriban in 2800 BBY.
Continuing to explore Sith space, he eventually heard rumors about a dark lord on Yavin 4,
and so made his way to investigate.
When he arrived, he was attacked by the Massassi worshippers of Naga Sadow, the last Dark Lord
of the old Sith Empire.
After engaging him in battle, the Massassi were impressed, and deemed him worthy of being
presented to their master.
Following his defeat in the Great Hyperspace War, Naga Sadow fled to Yavin 4, where he
established a secret base and continued his studies of sith sorcery and alchemy, experimenting
on his Massassi slaves.
After extending his life for centuries, he placed himself into suspended animation; awaiting
the day he might make up for his failure by preparing a worthy apprentice to help form
a new and stronger Sith Empire.
When the Dark Lord was awoken and presented with Freedon Nadd, he saw that such an apprentice
was finally before him, and bestowed his knowledge, revealing the ancient secrets of the Sith
which Sadow had used to devastating effect during the Great hyperspace war.
When Nadd had learned all he needed, he created his own Holocron to preserve his knowledge,
and killed his master Naga Sadow, in order to take the title Dark Lord of the Sith.
Ever eager to expand his knowledge, Nadd became a great collector of Sith artifacts before
conquering the planet of Onderon which he made into a new dark side civilization, steeping
the population in sith culture and lore.
Ruling with an iron fist from Iziz, the planets only city, any who resisted him were exiled
outside their protective walls, to be devoured by the wild beasts which roamed the land.
Yet some of these exiles survived and tamed these creatures to become Beast Riders, leading
to centuries of conflict with Nadd’s supporters.
Though his reign lasted for decades, word of a new Dark Lord of the Sith on Onderon
eventually made its way to the Jedi and Republic, leading them send their forces to defeat and
kill Freedon Nadd.
Yet the Dark Lord survived as a Sith Spirit, and the planet continued to be steeped in
the Dark Side, with Nadd’s direct descendants ruling in Iziz.
A few centuries later in 4000 BBY, King Ommin and Queen Aminoa both became students of the
Dark Lord, summoning his spirit to train under his instruction.
Yet the couple failed to meet Nadd’s expectations, as the Republic soon learned of their Dark
Side connection and joined with the Beast Riders in their war against Iziz.
First they defeated the Queen and her forces, installing a new government, before fighting
and winning a second war against the King who raised another dark side army.
Fortunately for the Dark Lord, the force sensitive royals cousins from the Empress Teta System,
Aleema and Satal Keto were now present on Onderon, as their deep fascination with the
ancient Sith led them the planet where they hoped to find help translating an ancient
text.
When Nadd realized King Ommin was soon to be defeated, he appeared before the Ketos,
in whom he sensed great potential, and named them the heirs to his legacy, giving them
a number of Sith artifacts before they fled.
After their departure the Dark Lord returned to the site of King Ommin’s defeat and defiantly
proclaimed that despite the appearance of victory, the Jedi were in fact defeated.
Dismissing his spirit, Jedi Master Arca Jeth and his former apprentice Ulic Qel Droma then
led the effort to cleanse Onderon of the Dark Side and moved the tomb of Freedon Nadd, King
Ommin and Queen Aminoa to the moon of Dxun.
Yet before Qel Droma departed the planet, the spirit of Freedon Nadd appeared before
him, and ominously prophesied that he would one day become a powerful Sith Lord.
Though Nadd and his followers were defeated, his legacy lived on through the Ketos, who
studied the knowledge bestowed upon them, and learned the arts of sith sorcery and alchemy.
Through the Krath, a secret society of their own creation, they trained others in the forbidden
arts and formed a powerful dark side army to embark upon a holy crusade, staging a coup
against the government of their parents to take control of the Empress Teta system, before
going to war with the entire Republic.
During one of their attacks, they killed a number of influential jedi, including Master
Arca Jeth, thereby achieving some measure of vengeance for the defeat of the Naddists
on Onderon.
With the Sith resurgent, the galaxy once again faced the threat of war, not only from the
Aleema and Satal, but also from two others with connections to Freedon Nadd, as Ulic
Qel Droma was enraged to learn of the death of his master and fell to the Dark Side in
his pursuit of vengeance against the Ketos.
The Jedi Exar Kun was the other light side force user who fell to darkness, travelling
to meet the spirit of Freedon Nadd who sent him to Korriban and Yavin 4 to train him as
a sith.
But Exar Kun tired of his overbearing master, and used a sith talisman to blast the Dark
Lord with force energy, destroying his spirit.
Yet before he faded away, Nadd reached out through the force to the ketos, warning them
of Exar Kun, and declaring that Satal, Aleema and Qel Droma were the true heir of his Sith
legacy.
Despite the warning, Satal was soon killed by Qel Droma, who then joined forces with
Aleema and Exar Kun to bring about the devastation of the Great Sith War.
Thousands of years later, as Darth Bane sought to reform the Sith Order, he found the holocron
of Freedon Nadd, but had little skill in Sith sorcery and so could not take advantage of
the knowledge within.
Yet when it came time to train his apprentice Darth Zannah, she used the holocron to master
the ancient arts, which she later used to kill Bane and carry on his legacy.