Astaroth Orvax

> "*How long will you struggle? How long will you try to enforce order upon a galaxy whose natural state is chaos and despair?*"
> ― Astaroth Orvax
>
>

A forsaken Sith Lord, **Astaroth Orvax** came to embrace the principles of anarchy during his years in exile. Having turned against the Empire after losing his power, Astaroth was declared a traitor and labeled a terrorist. His ideals were warped into a zealous devotion to the belief that the galaxy can only be brought out of its present dark age through the destruction of its current societies.

Astaroth was reduced to a violent extremist, and would go on to plague the galaxy until he was finally killed by his son Skatherin.

## Biography

### Father vs. Son

At the direction of Darth Nostrem, Skatherin hunted Astaroth for months before finally tracking down his errant father on Yavin 4. He had established a sanctuary for himself on the moon, and tapped into the energies of the dark spirits who lingered there in order to conceal his presence from Sith seers. Astaroth previously explored the Temple of Sacrifice, curious if he could salvage the Sith Emperor's artifact there to craft his own weapon of mass murder. The effort was in vain, however, as the artifact had been irreparably damaged during the Revanite conflict.

When Astaroth was confronted by Skatherin in his camp, he quipped that he knew death would wear a familiar face, but did not expect it to be Skatherin's. Although he could sense his son's murderous intent, Astaroth incorrectly assumed Skatherin was acting on the orders of Nergal rather than Nostrem. He lamented that Skatherin clung to the Sith ways, but accepted that his son would never join his crusade. As father and son drew their lightsabers and clashed, Astaroth continued to pontificate about the flawed ideologies of the Jedi and Sith. The galaxy, he claimed, was naturally a place of chaos and despair, and any attempt to enforce order upon it was pointless. Skatherin stalled, knowing his father's aggressive fighting style would see him eventually grow fatigued in a drawn-out fight. As Astaroth tired, Skatherin seized the advantage and disarmed him before mortally wounding his father with slashes to the chest and back. As he lay dying, Astaroth declared he was proud of the warrior his son had become. With his final breath, Astaroth cursed his brother Nergal before succumbing to his wounds. Skatherin collected his father's dual lightsabers and delivered his corpse to Nergal's agents, pursuant to the deal he struck with his uncle and Nostrem.

### Legacy

Nergal encased his late brother's body in carbonite and had it placed on display in his manor. Astaroth would be remembered long after his death; his fall from power and betrayal were chronicled by Inquisitors in the Sith archives. Skatherin later said that he believed his father truly died when he lost the Kaggath to Nergal, and the man he struck down on Yavin 4 was merely a deranged traitor.

## Personality and traits

Originally, Astaroth was a model for his fellow Sith; he adhered to the Sith Code in every aspect of his life and upheld Imperial traditions to the letter. Much like his father, he believed the Empire must spread its ways to the farthest reaches of the galaxy. He saw the Republic and its Jedi defenders as diseases for which the Sith were a "cure."

The shame brought on by his defeat at the hands of his brother eventually began corroding Astaroth's faith in the Sith Order and thusly the Empire as a whole.  The humiliation shook him to his very core, twisting the once-steadfast loyalist into a vindictive anarchist who believed the very foundations of both Imperial and Republic dogmas were flawed and self-destructive.  His views gradually became more and more extreme, until he was ultimately convinced that the galaxy could achieve true peace and prosperity only after it first endured a "great suffering," through the violent eradication of the existing galactic governments.  He devoted himself to those ideals, vowing to bring about this "golden age" by any means necessary.

Callous and cynical, Astaroth cared little for the collateral damage his activities cause.  In fact, he went to considerable lengths to maximize the damage and casualties he inflicts, as he felt he must sow as much chaos as possible to bring about peace.  Even before he embraced anarchy, he pursued his tasks relentlessly; he was never above killing bystanders, and dismissed any individual he strikes down as an obstacle that needed to be overcome.

## Powers, abilities, and equipment

Astaroth was an unmatched swordsman, once held in high regard by his Imperial compatriots as the greatest assassin House Orvax had produced in generations. He was familiar with several forms of lightsaber combat, but uses Form IV, or Ataru, most often. As such, he was capable of wielding two lightsabers simultaneously.

His father saw to his extensive training in the arts of assassination and infiltration. Despite that knowledge, however, he will almost always make a direct confrontation, preferring to overwhelm his opponent with brute force rather than stealth.