Kastays Kastays was a male Aaris who lived on the planet Aaris III several thousand years before the Galactic Civil War . A noted scholar , he worked from a tower that overlooked one of the Aaris cities . Several days after the Plaque of Victory — a sentient , inanimate artifact that influenced the minds of surrounding individuals with suspicions and violent tendencies — arrived in the city , it was given over to Kastays for safekeeping . The artifact had been causing civil unrest throughout the city , and it was hoped that if the artifact was in Kastays ' tower , high above the population , its effects would be negated . Hiding it in a floor safe , Kastays recorded the events surrounding the Plaque ' s arrival and the subsequent unrest , which he dubbed " the last days , " on the bas - relief pictograph s that the Aaris used to record their history . Several thousand years later , after the fall of the Aaris civilization , his recordings were uncovered and translated by Imperial science team MS - 133 . Biography . The last days of the Aaris . Kastays was a male member of the Aaris species and lived on their homeworld of Aaris III prior to 3643 BBY . A scholar of some importance among the population , he worked from a tower that was part of the governmental complex at the heart of a city . One night , he witnessed a comet streaking across the night sky . Several days later , a military legion entered the city with a relic — a triangular metal ingot that they referred to as the Plaque of Victory . The relic was actually sentient , albeit inanimate , and it fed off the life - force of organic beings . The Plaque ' s goal was to destroy those around it , but not by any action of its own . It manipulated the feelings of individuals , causing them to act in paranoid , irrational , and homicidal ways . The Plaque was placed in a gushaz in the city . Six days after its arrival , violent crimes in the city had increased as a result of the Plaque ' s influence . Starting off as incidents where the crime often resulted in the death of the victim , it quickly escalated , until companies of the city guard were fighting one another , and killing innocent civilians whom they claimed had " betrayed " them . All those affected by the Plaque said that it had spoken to them , and all claimed to be its guardian . Eventually , one of the factions with access to the artifact removed it from the gushaz , and took it to Kastays ' s tower . They hoped that by placing it above the city , the effects of the Plaque would be negated . Kastays hid the Plaque of Victory in his floor safe , in case his tower was overrun by invaders . He then locked himself away , and began to record the fall of the Aaris civilization using bas - relief pictograph s . The Aaris had a strong tradition of oral communication , never developing a true written language . Instead they recorded their history through a series of pictographs that could emit sounds emulating their language when touched . Kastays recorded the last days of the Aaris civilization as the Plaque ' s influence directed them into a civil war , mounting the pictographs on the wall of his chamber . As he archived his recollections , he noted that the Plaque of Victory did not " talk " to him , as the others who revered it had claimed . Instead , it showed him images of clouds and shadows that threatened to assault him . Legacy . Several thousand years later , in 8 ABY , Kastays ' s chamber was discovered by Imperial science team MS - 133 , who were excavating ruins on Aaris III . The Aaris civilization had been mostly destroyed ; their great cities had fallen into ruin and been reclaimed by the jungle , and their descendants lived primitive lives in the lower levels of the ruins . Imperial scientist Grigor Tansad deciphered the pictographs that Kastays had left behind , and began to transcribe them , learning about the possible reason for the destruction of the Aaris civilization . Because the members of MS - 133 had no knowledge of the true name of Kastays ' s chamber or city , they took to calling both after him — as the Place of Kastays and the City of Kastays respectively — as he was the only Aaris whose name they had learned . MS - 133 also discovered the Plaque of Victory in the floor safe , and removed it for study . The artifact immediately set about influencing the members of the team , setting into motion a chain of events that led to the majority of the scientists deaths at the hands of the primitive descendants of the Aaris . Personality and traits . A scholar , Kastays was an important being in the Aaris city in which he lived . He was educated in the creation of the bas - relief pictographs that the Aaris used to record their history . Kastays was also trustworthy , as evidenced by the fact that the Plaque of Victory was given to him for safekeeping , even though many tried to claim it as their own . Kastays did not hear the Plaque of Victory speaking to him , as the others who sought possession of the artifact did . Instead , he perceived the Plaque ' s influence through imagery . He saw clouds threatening him , mawed creatures in dark corners , and images in the corner of his eye . Behind the scenes . Kastays was created for the adventure " Artifact of Aaris " , which was published as part of West End Games ' " The DarkStryder Campaign " . Kastays is never encountered in the adventure , since he died thousands of years previously , and is only mentioned in the translations of the Aaris language conducted by Grigor Tansad .