Darth Nostrem

**Darth Nostrem** is a brilliant tactician known for his methodical brutality; one who seems to always be several steps ahead of his enemies.

He catapulted himself from low origins to claim a coveted position within Sith Intelligence. Charged with the enforcement and protection of Imperial interests, he is held in high regard as Emperor Vowrawn's favored spymaster.

## Biography

### Early Life

The illegitimate son of a Sith Lord by the name of Vantin, Nostrem spent the majority of his childhood marginalized by his father. His mother was an attendant, whom Vantin had a brief affair with. Despite both his parents' blood purity, Nostrem's mother lacked even a hint of a connection to the Force, which motivated Vantin to neglect his son.

> "*A Sith Lord's wishes are the destiny of those lesser than him.*"
> ― Lord Vantin counsels his young son on Sith ideology
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However, it soon came to light that Nostrem did indeed inherit his father's Force sensitivity; his power in the Force first manifested itself when he was eleven years old. Before long, Vantin forcibly took his son from his former lover, setting in motion the events that would lead to him becoming Sith. Vantin discarded the name his mother gave him at birth, rebranding his son with the Sith moniker of Nostrem.

### Great War

#### A Dark Lord's Protege

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

#### The Battle of Hoth

Nostrem joined 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, 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. Nostrem, however, had been double crossed. His interceptor's systems failed, resulting in a crash landing on Hoth. He would later discover that his rival, Kroenen, had sabotaged his ship. Admiral Davos, who had been shot down by Republic forces, was marooned on Hoth alongside Nostrem for six months. Upon his rescue, Nostrem informed Arctis of Kroenen's treachery. Though he lamented over the conditions he was forced to live under for half a year, he stated that his hatred for his rival was enough motivation to push him to survive.

### Conflict's End

Arctis was impressed by his apprentice's tenacity throughout the war, at Hoth especially. After the treaty was signed, he released Nostrem from apprenticeship and petitioned his superior on the Dark Council, Darth Vengean, to grant Nostrem the title of Darth. Nostrem would become well-reputed in the Empire as one of the youngest Sith to be granted such a prestigious status.

### Cold War

#### Sphere of Intelligence

After the Treaty of Coruscant, Nostrem was reassigned to the Sphere of Intelligence at his own request, where he served under the enigmatic Darth Jadus. He also took his first apprentice during the cold war, a Pureblood Sith named Scamses.

Nostrem took part in the investigation into a group of Sith and Imperials on Dromund Kaas who studied the history and teachings of the presumed dead Darth Revan. After their loyalties were brought into question, the aptly named Revanites retreated from the public eye into the shelter of a prominent Sith Lord. Darth Charnus, who was leading the investigation, asked Nostrem to arrange the lord's "retirement" in an effort to flush out the Revanites. On Nostrem's orders, Imperial Intelligence quietly assassinated the Sith Lord. In the wake of their benefactor's death, the Revanites retreated further. Although they remained hidden for a considerable period of time, Nostrem eventually discovered the Revanites had established a base of operations deep in the Riverfall Wilds, far from Kaas City. His discovery would enable Charnus to dispatch an agent to infiltrate the Revanite ranks and identify their leader.

#### Revenge Campaign

> "*Tonight is the night this world changes forever. The night it becomes a wasteland of nightmares, a forsaken symbol of your failure, a monument to fear. And when the dawn comes, when your world lies in ruin and I turn my gaze to the galaxy beyond, the legend of your ascension will be worth nothing at all.*"
> ― Darth Nostrem, to Kroenen
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### Galactic War

#### Riots on Belsavis

When the Empire learned of Belsavis, home to a massive Republic prison complex, they quickly invaded the planet. Nostrem was dispatched there along with several other Intelligence operatives, charged with assisting the mission to rescue the imprisoned Dread Masters.

Nostrem advised the Imperial Guard Commander Calum, who had been put in charge of Imperial operations on Belsavis, to augment his forces with the planet's inmate population. When Imperial troops began apprehending Republic corrections personnel, several were brought to Nostrem for interrogation. While questioning them, he learned of a prison gang known as the Condemned. Unlike most of those whom the Republic had jailed on Belsavis, the Condemned themselves were not convicts. Instead, they had simply inherited their ancestors' prison sentences and, as such, held the Republic in great contempt. Nostrem thus deemed them exemplary pawns to lead the Empire's recruited prisoners in a charge against the Republic. He assigned Agent Feldon of Imperial Intelligence to manipulate the Condemned into striking out against their former captors.

During the riots, the leader of the Condemned, the Kaleesh prisoner Nyranos, expressed a willingness to negotiate with the Republic. Irritated by this, Nostrem commanded Agent Feldon to murder Nyranos and ensure his replacement would be one with greater "sympathy" for the Imperial cause. Feldon failed to accomplish that objective, however, when he was killed by Republic forces who had agreed to bargain with Nyranos. Despite the setback, the Empire had already conscripted hundreds of other inmates to continue the fight against the Republic.

Ultimately, Nostrem's calculations with the prisoners were proven correct; although they were eventually beaten back, their uprising had kept the Republic occupied long enough for Imperial forces to extract the Dread Masters with little interference.

#### Journey to a Dead World

Nostrem was dispatched to Ziost by the Dark Council sometime after the former Sith Emperor consumed all life on the planet.

#### Vowrawn's Regime

> "*Rooting out the Order of Revan, utterly shattering the Hydrax Network... my friend, you have quite the talent for ridding the Empire of cancerous traitors.*"
> ― Emperor Vowrawn
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Initially, Nostrem was not nearly as strong a supporter of Darth Vowrawn's ascension as his old master, Darth Arctis. He worried that Vowrawn would allow the Sith to regress to the old ways of infighting and power plays, rather than continue with the reformations that the fallen Empress Acina had implemented.

   Shortly after Vowrawn's coronation, Nostrem was informed that his appointment as operations director for Intelligence had been made permanent.

To settle into his new role, Nostrem immediately set to work in finding the means to solidify the Empire's security and stability as a nation. Vowrawn praised Nostrem's success years prior in exposing and destroying a criminal syndicate embedded in the Imperial ranks; capitalizing on that, the new emperor charged Nostrem with the additional responsibility of suppressing dissent within the Empire.

Ever determined to cleanse the Empire of those who sought to betray it from the inside, Nostrem began contemplating on how he might identify and terminate traitors in the most efficient manner possible.

   Nostrem temporarily set aside his duties with internal security to assist in gathering intelligence on the Republic's new shipyard, the Meridian Complex, on Corellia. Through a deep cover operative he had deployed in the Republic Navy some time prior, he was able to identify the shipyard's designer, an engineer named Tharan Cedrax. Believing the man's talents could be made to serve the Empire, he advised Xarion to arrange for Cedrax to be captured when Imperial forces would inevitably attack the Meridian Complex.

## Personality and traits

> "*I don't carry weak links. If you fail, I will bury you in the dirt.*"
> ― Darth Nostrem
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Utterly self-absorbed and brimming with confidence, Nostrem is an imposing figure who exults in the authority he possesses. Along with his vanity, Nostrem is known for his explosive temper and crude sense of humor. He does have a pragmatic side, however, and is an advocate of the various reformations among the Sith Order that Darth Acina introduced after naming herself empress.

Like many Sith, Nostrem sees those around him as pawns ― pieces on a game board that he may manipulate as he sees fit. He views those subordinate to him as mere tools with which he might further the Empire's glory, as well as his own; as such, he considers most underlings completely expendable. Despite that, he is not an ungenerous master; Nostrem will reward success just as quickly as he would punish failure.

## Powers, abilities, and equipment

Nostrem is a seasoned master of the lightsaber, having first demonstrated an affinity for close-quarters combat during his years at the Sith Academy on Korriban. He makes use of a single-bladed lightsaber with a curved hilt, and is also capable of performing Force cloak. He often pairs the ability with quick, precise strikes in battle to outmaneuver and exhaust his opponents. He has some knowledge of firearms; unlike most Sith, he has no qualms about using ranged weapons if it befits his situation.

A tactical genius, Nostrem is counted among the Sith Order's finest strategists. He prides himself in constantly staying ahead of his enemies; his master, Darth Xarion, describes it as his most admirable quality. Over the years, many in the Empire have sought his counsel, ranging from frontline commanders to Dark Lords.

Nostrem resides on Korriban at a private estate in the desert, situated just outside the Sith Academy grounds. He also owns a penthouse apartment in Vaiken Spacedock.