Darth Nostrem

Known for his brilliance as a tactician and unrelenting ambition, **Darth Nostrem** is a feared Sith Lord renowned for his campaign that crippled the early Sith Imperium and ended with the devastation of their sanctuary world, Amgarrak.

After the Sith Empire signed a peace treaty with the reformed Imperium, then under the rule of Arestenax Roderick, the Dark Council exiled Darth Nostrem as a show of good will toward their new allies. His career lost, banishment pushed Nostrem's contempt for the Imperium to a fiery hatred bordering on madness. Abandoned by nearly all his allies, he vowed to finish what he started at Amgarrak and see any trace of the Imperium crushed.

In the wake of impending disaster after Darth Marr's disappearance, Darth Acina convinced her peers on the Dark Council to rescind Nostrem's excommunication. After the Eternal Empire subjugated the known galaxy, Nostrem fulfilled his debt to Acina and worked to see her claim to the Imperial throne would go unchallenged.

Nostrem eventually moved to claim his revenge, and with an elite paramilitary force and a devastating chemical weapon under his command, he targeted the latest incarnation of the old Imperium.

Ultimately, his plot was only partly successful. Millions of Acheron's inhabitants were slaughtered during his attack, but the device dispersing his chemical weapon across the planet was destroyed. But, he did manage to slip through the Order's grasp and escape Acheron. Further, the damage done by the weapon was irreversible; the hazardous ruin of New Alexia would remain a constant reminder of the horrors Nostrem had subjected Acheron to. Regardless of that, however, the new Imperial regime under Darth Vowrawn disavowed Nostrem due to his actions; in a particularly ironic fashion, it was his own master, Darth Arctis, who broadcasted a statement condemning Nostrem on behalf of the Sith Empire.

## Biography

### Childhood

> "My first child, yes, but also the lowest of my children. He was not worth my attention... until I realized the depth of his connection to the Force."
>
> —Lord Vantin, regarding his son
>

Nostrem was conceived as the result of an affair between a Sith Lord, Vantin, and one of his attendants, a woman of Sith blood named Lara. She lacked even a hint of Force sensitivity, but her youth and beauty led Vantin to become infatuated with his servant. Lara was ecstatic over her pregnancy and expressed her desire to raise the child alongside her lover. Vantin, however, was far too conceited to continue dallying with one so far beneath his status. This, coupled with his assumption that the child would not inherit his power in the Force, led him to promptly end their affair.
Vantin did permit Lara to raise their son as she saw fit, under the stipulation that it would not interfere with her duties. Her nature was quite different than most of her people; Lara was rather gentle, even compassionate. Still, she was strong in her beliefs and kept true to them. She strived to see her son instilled with similar values. Repulsed by Vantin’s selfish rejection of her and their son, she did all she could to keep him from his father’s eyes. Though her son grew to be relatively docile, even into his adolescent years, she could not shake his interest in the Sith.

> "You have too much of your mother's heart in you."
>
> —Lord Vantin, in perhaps the first and only advice he ever gave his son
>

Much to Lara’s displeasure, her son did eventually cross paths with his father. Heavily intoxicated, Vantin introduced himself to his son and lamented over the kindness his mother had planted in him. Much like Lara had feared, her son was filled with a drive to earn acknowledgement and affection from his dismissive father. Vantin’s continued lack of interest bred anger and frustration in him, and against Lara’s wishes he continued attempting to receive attention from his father. On an occasion in which he was shooed away by Vantin outside his residence on Dromund Kaas, he first manifested a sign of connection to the Force by unintentionally pulling a lightsaber from his father’s belt. Shocked for a moment, Vantin took back the weapon then instructed his son to come with him.

Vantin immediately commanded Lara to hand their son over to him, who was at the time only fifteen years old. When Lara adamantly refused, the two delved into a heated argument that nearly led to Vantin telekinetically snapping her neck. Restrained by the soft spot he regrettably still had for her, Vantin spared Lara but had her sent offworld. When his son questioned his decision to send her away, Vantin smugly replied that a Sith Lord’s will was the destiny of those inferior to him. Declaring that his son’s future was to become Sith, Vantin told him to leave behind the name his mother had given him and bestowed the moniker of Nostrem upon him.

### Later Life

Nostrem was taken as an apprentice by Darth Arctis, who was impressed by his retrieval of a holocron that once belonged to Ludo Kressh, whom Arctis was a descendant of. He served as an enforcer for several years, carrying out tasks ranging from quiet assassinations to political subterfuge. In doing so, he became his master's favored student and earned the title of Lord of the Sith before the age of twenty.

Shortly after his rise to lordship, Nostrem met a decorated graduate of an Imperial military academy on Dromund Kaas, Ivris. Though at first indifferent toward the Pureblood Sith due to his lack of Force sensitivity, he was nonetheless impressed with the distinction the young man had earned in his time at the academy. He would later cross paths with Ivris many times during his subsequent involvement in the ongoing war.

Nostrem joined Darth Arctis in supporting the military campaign to destroy the *Star of Coruscant*, a massive Republic warship considered a "super-dreadnought."

By the time the Imperial fleet's ambush had culminated into a massive naval battle over Hoth, Darth Arctis instructed Nostrem to join Admiral Layek Davos, the fleet's commander, on his flagship and assist the admiral as needed. In an attempt to turn the battle in the Empire's favor, Nostrem took to his own Fury-class interceptor and led squadrons of starfighters on bombing runs to eliminate vessels escorting the *Star of Coruscant*. His efforts saw five Republic warships disabled. The Imperial fleet was ultimately victorious at Hoth, and it became a severely demoralizing defeat for the Republic.

A betrayal by a Sith Lord known as Keine Kallig resulted in Nostrem crash-landing on the frigid surface of Hoth. Admiral Davos was shot down by Republic forces during the battle as well; Davos and Nostrem were subsequently marooned on Hoth for six months. The two were finally rescued by Imperial forces led by Ivris, the military academy graduate Nostrem had encountered several years prior, now an officer in the military.

Darth Arctis was astonished by his apprentice's tenacity and appealed for his superiors on the Dark Council to grant Nostrem the title of Darth. He is noted as one of the youngest to attain a considerably high standing in the Sith hierarchy at such a young age.

### The Destruction of Amgarrak

Not long after the Treaty of Coruscant was signed, Nostrem convinced the Dark Council to permit him to lead the Imperial Armada's newly-formed Expeditionary Fleet into the unexplored regions of the Esstran sector. He promised the Council he would secure territory once controlled by the original Sith Empire. Although he fully intended to bring a region under the Imperial banner, Nostrem had an ulterior motive. He would strike at the sanctuary world of a hated rival who had broke away from the Empire years prior and began building his own regime. Keine Kallig, whose treachery left him stranded on Hoth over a decade prior, was finally within Nostrem's reach. He reached out to Ivris, who shared a vendetta against Keine's people, and enlisted his help in the mission to crush the fledgling empire Keine had built.

The planet Amgarrak was largely remote and thus only lightly defended. It was, however, home to billions. Keine had amassed a following larger than even Nostrem anticipated and named his faction the Sith Imperium.

> "Your crimes are punishable only by death. The Empire does not look kindly on your treason. Die with your rebellion."
>
> —Darth Nostrem, to the inhabitants of Amgarrak
>

The Expeditionary Fleet emerged from hyperspace directly into the Amgarri system, and easily tore through the fledgling Imperium's starships. Nostrem personally led the boarding party that stormed the orbital station coordinating Amgarrak's planetary defenses. From the station, he broadcasted a signal across the planet: the Sith Imperium was no more than a band of fugitives, and would face annihilation as punishment for betraying the Empire. Seven of the fleet's twelve Harrower battlecruisers had moved into Amgarrak's upper atmosphere, while the remaining five formed a blockade along with the supporting Terminus destroyers. Nostrem immediately gave the command for his dreadnoughts to commence bombardment of Amgarrak. Within several hours, the planet's surface was decimated; its continents had become scorched husks, and any ships that attempted to escape were vaporized by the fleet.

Nostrem returned to be decorated as a hero of the Empire, commended by the Dark Councilors in command of the Imperial Military for his decisive campaign that crushed an uprising of traitors and brought an entire star system into the Empire's fold. Darth Marr arranged for Nostrem to continue directing the Expeditionary Fleet alongside Darth Malgus. Ivris' involvement in the campaign saw him promoted, and he took a permanent posting under Nostrem.

Nostrem and Ivris would continue to work closely together for the remainder of the Cold War into the early years of the renewed, open conflict with the Republic.

### Disavowed

When the Empire allied with Darth Arestenax and his reformed Sith Imperium, the Dark Council banished Darth Nostrem from Imperial space. Although infuriated at the Council, Nostrem saw the Imperium truly responsible for the loss of the career, driving him to vow he would crush this new incarnation of the Imperium.

Nostrem was deserted by nearly all his allies and contacts, his old master among them. Ivris remained loyal, however, and left Imperial space alongside him. In return, Nostrem promised his longtime subordinate and friend that he would play a critical role once they were prepared to resurface and destroy the Imperium.

Despite his exile, Nostrem managed to access Dromund Kaas and entered the Dark Temple for unknown reasons. He encountered one of the Imperium's leaders, Erasis Citadel, in the temple. Erasis ordered his protection detail of Imperial Knights to detain Nostrem, who easily defeated the Knights and brutally executed them. He proceeded to engage Erasis on the temple's upper level. After an intense duel, Nostrem managed to physically overpower Erasis and throw him from the temple mezzanine to the ground floor. Imperium reinforcements arrived in time to rescue the injured Erasis, but failed to locate any trace of Nostrem.

Darth Vrahal, the Imperium's top diplomat, apparently contracted Nostrem to assassinate a High Councilor with whom he had a major dispute. Darth S'renx, the Minister of Intelligence, was privy to the diplomat's frequent scheming and had been keeping him under surveillance, but did not expect Vrahal to move so overtly against him. Unfortunately, Vrahal had unwisely chose Admiral Nezzor of the Imperium Navy as a confidante. The admiral was quick to report Vrahal's contact with Nostrem, leading to Vrahal's arrest, which S'renx carried out personally. It was ultimately confirmed that Vrahal had made an arrangement with Nostrem, but the rogue Sith Lord did not follow through on the agreement nor did he appear in person at any point during the incident.

### Return to Imperial Service

The Dark Council permitted Nostrem to return to the Empire at the urging of Darth Acina. Although her claim that such a gifted strategist would prove invaluable to the Imperial Military was indeed a valid argument, it is rumored she had ulterior motives in pushing for his excommunication to be voided.

After the emergence of the Eternal Empire and its subsequent conquest of the Core Worlds under Arcann's rule, Nostrem unsurprisingly gave his full support to Acina when she named herself Empress of the Sith. To fulfill his debt to her, he worked tirelessly to secure her place on the throne and allegedly dealt with several internal threats to her reign.

Nostrem was one of the lords chosen to oversee Sith Intelligence as a reward for his service to Acina. His responsibilities included ensuring the organization's own internal security and identifying potential dissidents within Imperial ranks. His administration, however, is marked as one of the most corrupt and unethical in Sith Intelligence's history. Nostrem allegedly used his authority to target several of his rivals and marked countless individuals, some who had done only as little as speaking of Acina in a negative light, for termination.

Nostrem had kept a close eye on the Sith Imperium, even during his time as an exile, and was ecstatic when he received the news of the Eternal Empire's incursion on their capital of Voss and the death of their leader, Darth Kharia, at the hands of the Knights of Zakuul. He earned notoriety in the reshaped Imperial command structure for the nights he spent carousing through Kaas City's cantinas, celebrating his long-hated adversaries' downfall.

### Campaign of Vengeance

Nostrem learned of the band of survivors from the Imperium who had escaped the Eternal Empire's attack and formed a new faction, dubbed the Midnight Order. Although satisfied at the near-total annihilation of the Roderick bloodline, whose first patriarch ruled the Imperium when Nostrem was exiled, he nonetheless saw the Order as a stain on his reputation. Nostrem ultimately decided it was necessary to wipe them from existence.

Using the underworld connections he had gathered during his exile, Nostrem learned that one of the Order's starships was utilizing a forgotten hyperspace lane to transport precious resources back to their territory in the Expansion Region. That vessel, the *Harbinger*, appealed as a prime target to signal the beginning of his campaign of vengeance. Nostrem began formulating a master stratagem to bring about the Midnight Order's collapse. Ivris joined him in his crusade, and the two took a leave of absence to pursue their goal of destroying the Order.

Before long, they had assembled a sizable militia of elite mercenary soldiers, and Nostrem had managed to appropriate technical schematics for the latest models of Imperial battle droids. His greatest weapon to use against the Order, however, would be a highly potent mutagen; one capable of withering a planet's ecosystem to ash and transforming living beings into infectious and violent monstrosities.

Seeking to gain an ally in the Order itself, he came into contact with a disillusioned military officer in the Order. Li'ven'a was a sergeant in a special forces unit who had come to despise the reigning empress, Si'alla Va'lenn. As such, she was eager to align herself with Nostrem and became his agent within the Order. It was through her that Nostrem and his forces would be able to access Acheron.

## Personality

> "Die with your rebellion!"
>
> —Darth Nostrem to the Sith Imperium and Midnight Order, on multiple occasions
>

Utterly self-absorbed and brimming with confidence, every goal Nostrem has set himself toward is in the pursuit of personal gain. Like many Sith, he sees those beneath him as pawns, but few can match his brutality. He considers those subordinate to him as mere tools with which he might further his own glory and, as such, views them as completely expendable.

A tumultuous childhood, marked by neglect from his father, pushed Nostrem to become embittered, but instilled an unshakable determination to see his objectives accomplished by any means. Under the tutelage of Darth Arctis, a brutal taskmaster who refused to tolerate weakness in his apprentices, Nostrem was hardened into a relentless. Regardless, he is an extremely well-versed strategist. Nostrem will analyze a foe from the shadows and strike when least expected.

Nostrem's belief in his own abilities is both an empowering strength and a crippling weakness. As his confidence and pride are sentiments he draws a great deal of power from, Nostrem can be pushed to yield if the advantage is taken away from him. Darth Arctis claims to have instilled the near-fatal trait in Nostrem as a means of undermining his apprentice's considerable power, in the event that Nostrem moved against him.

Nostrem's disdain for the original Sith Imperium and its successors are rooted in a deception by Keine Kallig during the Battle of Hoth. When he was sent into exile, Nostrem's anger was intensified into an almost insane animosity toward them.

## Notes

* Highly knowledgeable in military tactics
* Skilled infiltrator and assassin
* Total disregard for human life
* Known to operate under false names