Naga Sadow

"Your progressive ways will ruin the Sith Empire, Naga Sadow!"

- Ludo Kressh

Naga Sadow was a powerful Sith Lord during the first Sith Empire. After the death of Marka Ragnos, Sadow competed with Ludo Kressh to become the new Dark Lord of the Sith, playing on the Sith Lords' fears of the Galactic Republic to gain their support.

Sadow masterminded the Great Hyperspace War in an attempt to expand the borders of the Sith Empire at the expense of the Old Republic. However, the war ultimately led to the destruction of the Sith Empire by the Republic and the Jedi. Sadow fled to Yavin 4 with his remaining Massassi warriors and hoped to rebuild the Empire.

Failing in his goal, Sadow entered a Sith sarcophagus to await the rebirth of the Sith. Revived 600 years later, he would instruct Freedon Nadd in the ways of the Sith, but was killed by his apprentice.

The death of Marka Ragnos
"You have held us back long enough, keeping the Sith Empire from its great destiny."

- Naga Sadow to Ludo Kressh



Naga Sadow lived circa 5,000 BBY, 20,000 years after the formation of the Old Republic. Sadow was descended from the Dark Jedi who had fled the Republic after the Hundred-Year Darkness, with only minimal Sith blood to dilute his Human lineage.

As Sadow grew, he was trained by the Sith Lord Simus, one-time rival of Marka Ragnos. Sadow would develop his own rivalry with fellow Sith Lord Ludo Kressh, leading to severe confrontations between the two several times. After the death of Marka Ragnos, the two Sith Lords emerged as favorites to succeed him as Dark Lord. During the funeral of Ragnos on Korriban, Sadow and Kressh engaged in a duel of Sith swords, after a disagreement as to who would better serve the Empire as Dark Lord. They were interrupted by the spirit of Marka Ragnos, who told of a great past and an uncertain future for the Sith Empire, encouraging the Sith to band together.



Moments later, hyperlane mappers Gav and Jori Daragon arrived, hoping to establish a trade relationship with the Republic. They were quickly captured and sent to the underground Sith prison on Ziost soon after.

Fate of the Daragons
Naga Sadow, meeting with nine other Sith Lords on Ziost, the central world of the Sith Empire, discussed the Daragons' ultimate fate. Ludo Kressh demanded that they be killed immediately, citing that they would return to the Republic, which would attack with a large military force. As was usually the case between the two, Naga Sadow (along with his former master Simus) passionately disagreed with Kressh, outlining the possibilities of keeping them as prisoners to his fellow Sith. Precisely what he said at that point is unknown, though it apparently won over many of those present.

Sadow later sent a group of his loyal Massassi guards to the impound dock of Ziost, where the Daragons' ship, the Starbreaker 12, was being held, to steal a distinct Republic blaster from the cargo hold. He gathered tens, possibly hundreds, of his Massassi and infiltrated the Ziost prison, freeing the Daragons, killing anyone in their way, including Sadow's former mentor Simus. After purposefully leaving the Republic blaster behind, Naga took the Daragons to his private fortress on Khar Shian, the moon of Khar Delba.

Dark Lord of the Sith
"The Sith Empire will burn brightly, like a supernova, dwarfing the complacent Republic. We shall hold the entire galaxy in our grasp."

- Naga Sadow



Naga Sadow returned to Ziost to find a meeting underway regarding the recent attack. The other Sith Lords, most of all Ludo Kressh, were angered by the apparent Republic rescue of Gav and Jori Daragon, and Sadow, pretending to be shocked at the death of Simus, insisted that they must retaliate against the Republic. Further, he insisted that he be crowned the new Dark Lord of the Sith, promising to not falter in the face of the "new threat." He was unanimously (with the exception of Ludo Kressh) given this title, and was soon given the ceremonial circular mark on his forehead to signify this.

It was around this time that Naga Sadow transported Jori Daragon to his decoy fortress on Khar Shian's host planet of Khar Delba, to isolate the siblings from each other. His aim in doing this was to begin teaching Gav Daragon ancient Sith magic, sensing his innate strength in the Force. Before long, Gav began forming images out of thin air, noting the dissimilarity between it and what the Jedi attempted to teach him when he was a child.

Naga Sadow once again sent his Massassi to Ziost, this time to capture the Daragons' starship, the Starbreaker 12, and transport it to Khar Delba. In the bloody massacre that preceded the ship's commandeering, the Massassi once more left behind a clue, this one being Naga Sadow's emblem. It wasn't long after this that, upon seeing the evidence left behind, Ludo Kressh attacked Sadow's decoy fortress on Khar Delba.



Ludo Kressh, along with allied Sith Lords Dor Gal-ram and Horak-mul, bombarded the icy planet with a large fleet of battleships. Naga Sadow, planting a homing beacon on the Starbreaker 12, encouraged Jori Daragon to flee to safety. She was hesitant to leave without her brother, but Naga was able to convince her to leave. After confirming her leap to hyperspace, the Dark Lord called upon his fleet on Khar Shian, surprising and overwhelming Kressh's forces. Naga Sadow, with the press of a button, commanded apparent Massassi spies on Horak-mul and Dor Gal-ram's ships to kill their captains, and they did so without question. Following this and brutal attacks from the Khar Shian fleet, Ludo Kressh had no choice but to retreat.

Later, as Naga Sadow's Massassi workers attempted to repair the considerable damage done to the Dark Lord's decoy fortress, Gav Daragon was transported to Khar Delba at Sadow's request. Once he arrived, Naga Sadow began to convince him to assist the Sith Empire in his invasion of the Republic; Gav, tied up in the whereabouts of his sister, was easily manipulated. Shortly thereafter, during a meeting in the Dark Lord's war room, what was unbeknownst to Naga Sadow a decoy fleet of ships arrived at the fortress on Khar Delba, relaying a hologram message of Ludo Kressh. Sadow ordered Gav to press a button on the wall, causing what would seem to be Kressh's flagship to explode. Ignoring Gav's shock from killing someone, Naga Sadow began preparing his forces for their invasion.

Assistance in his war effort came from all across the Sith Empire, perhaps most notably from Ch'hodos and its ruler, Sith Lord Shar Dakhan. Gathering a massive fleet of warships, each carrying thousands of Massassi warriors and gigantic war beasts retrieved from various Sith worlds. The Dark Lord himself sat in his comparatively small meditation sphere, ominously shaped like an eye. As his fleet converged over Khar Shian, Naga Sadow appointed Gav Daragon to Commander of the attack on Koros Major, Gav's home planet. And with that, the fleet made the jump to hyperspace, prepared for anything the Republic might throw at them.

The Great Hyperspace War
"The powers of the Sith give me more weapons than the Republic could ever imagine!"

- Naga Sadow



The Sith fleet's first encounter was with the Starbreaker 12, under new ownership of Ssk Kahorr, who had recently gotten it as recompense for damages done to his business by Jori Daragon. The Sith promptly destroyed the Starbreaker 12, and Sadow assured to Gav, who feared for his sister, that there were no Human lifeforms aboard. Gav's ships then made their way to Koros Major, with Naga Sadow traveling to the massive star Primus Goluud to meditate.

From here, Sadow formed great illusions on the battlefields of Koros Major, Coruscant and Kirrek, creating mirages of war beasts and Massassi troops, weakening the resolve in his Jedi and Republic opponents, as well as those planets' civilians. This meditation was eventually interrupted by Gav Daragon, who, piloting one of his capital ships, fired upon the Dark Lord's meditation sphere, breaking his concentration and causing his magical illusions to fade, eventually leading to Sith defeats on all three planets.

Naga Sadow lured Gav to his meditation sphere, asking to discuss the matter peacefully. Gav agreed, taking his personal shuttle to the damaged craft, but the Dark Lord was gone by the time he arrived. As a small fleet of Koros ships, commanded by Empress Teta herself, and including Jori Daragon, arrived, Gav transmitted coordinates to the Sith Empire to the Empress, citing that all of their defenses were away invading the Republic. Moments later, the regrouped Sith fleet led by Naga Sadow arrived, apparently focusing the Force through his flagship into Primus Goluud before withdrawing to hyperspace. As explosions started to ripple all over the supergiant, Gav yelled at Jori to leave, and reluctantly, she and the opposing fleets did so just before the star went nova.



The Dark Lord's fleet came out of hyperspace over Korriban, and were quickly confronted by a large contingent of Ludo Kressh's ships. Ludo Kressh declared himself the new Dark Lord of the Sith, casting Naga Sadow out of the Sith Empire forever. A brief space battle ensued between the two, until Naga Sadow crashed one of his own ships into Ludo's flagship, killing the self-proclaimed Dark Lord.

Moments later, Empress Teta's forces arrived above Korriban, and attacked Sadow's fleet. The Koros ships quickly took advantage, crippling the Dark Lord's flagship. As a last resort, Naga Sadow ordered the Massassi on two of his ships to kill their captains, forming a barricade between himself and the Republic ships. A small squadron of starfighters followed Sadow however, but he once again used the Force to manipulate solar flares, this time on the nearby Denarii stars, causing them as well to go nova, destroying the starfighters and their pilots. Empress Teta, presuming Sadow to have died in the explosion, recalled her fleet and returned to Koros Major.

Naga Sadow, with his lone ship, retreated to the remote moon of Yavin 4, fourth moon of Yavin Prime. It was here that he conducted Sith alchemic experiments on his Massassi warriors, causing them to mutate from red-skinned Humanoids into fearsome, savage, hunchbacked predators. Despite these abuses, his Massassi slaves treated him like a god, building huge temples to honor their Sith Lord. Naga Sadow had hopes of reconstructing a new base to form a new Sith Empire, but this was never realized.

Legacy of the Dark Lord
"I cannot fail like this! Conquest is the destiny of the Sith Empire!"

- Naga Sadow



Sadow encased himself in a suspended animation chamber, beneath the focusing chamber of a primary temple, where he remained in a coma-like trance for centuries, waiting for someone to call upon his power and continue the history of the Sith. He remained in suspended animation until 4,400 BBY, when a dark-hearted Jedi named Freedon Nadd arrived on Yavin 4, awaking the Dark Lord. Sadow taught him in the ways of the Sith, and Nadd became a force to be reckoned with. After his training, for a reason unknown at this point, Naga Sadow was killed by Freedon Nadd, which likely brought the Sith race to true extinction.

During Sadow's reign the Sith constucted a tomb for him on Korriban. Though there is no indication that he ever occupied it, the tomb did house a Star Map left behind by the Infinite Empire. During the Great Hunt, Shaela Nuur died in this tomb while fighting two terentateks. This tomb was later used by the Sith Academy Master Uthar Wynn as a final test for Sith hopefuls to join the Sith Order, in which a student would have to retrieve a lightsaber from the furthest room in the tomb, where the Star Map was located. Here it was that Revan and Malak found the Star Map, and later Revan returned after his memory was wiped to again find the Star Map. During his second visit Revan may also have recovered a powerful poison blade. After Revan retrieved the Star Map and the lightsaber, he killed Master Uthar Wynn as Wynn's treacherous apprentice, Yuthura Ban, looked on. Revan also defeated Ban in a duel immediately afterwards, but spared her life and allowed her to return to the light. The tomb was also later visited by the Jedi Exile, though she could not enter it as its door was blocked. Sometime in his life he wrote a treatise about the use of alchemy and poisons which would one day be read by Darth Bane.

Personality and traits
Ambitious and ruthless, Sadow would stop at nothing to achieve his goal of becoming Dark Lord of the Sith and pursuing the expansion he felt necessary for the Empire's survival. His willingness to kill his own mentor, Simus, in the process demonstrated the lengths to which he would go. He was also intelligent and manipulative, framing the Republic for his actions to gain the support of the other Sith Lords and luring Ludo Kressh into a trap in an attempt to eliminate his rival, while at the same time tricking the Daragons into thinking he could be trusted.

However, Sadow was also overly confident, and it was this that led to his downfall. The Republic was much larger than the Sith Empire and Sadow overexerted his forces during his invasion. At the same time he left the Empire undefended and, therefore, returned to find his power usurped by Kressh.

Sadow commanded loyalty from those who served him but appeared to care little about them, frequently sacrificing his Massassi in order to further his goals. On Yavin 4, he demonstrated his contempt for them by conducting his experiments with apparently no remorse for the side effects of his actions.

Powers and abilities
One of Sadow's greatest strengths was his ability to create illusions. From his meditation sphere Sadow could focus his abilities to generate illusions of large Sith forces on remote worlds. If it was not for the intervention of Gav Daragon, this may have been enough to deliver victory for the otherwise outnumbered Sith forces.

Sadow also demonstrated an ability to manipulate solar activity through the Force, giving him the power to destroy stars and twice using this to escape from Republic forces. However, it is possible that this ability was not his own, but granted to him by the Sith Crystal held on the Corsair's bridge.

Equipment


Naga Sadow had a sword which was simply called "Naga Sadow's Poison Blade". It was a mystical Sith sword. This blade carried an unknown poison which poisoned the victim when it inflicted injuries. During the Jedi Civil War when Revan searched for the Star Maps, he retrieved a poison sword in the tomb of Naga Sadow.

Whether this Poison Blade was the Sith sword Naga Sadow used to duel with Ludo Kressh is unclear.

Behind the scenes


Naga Sadhus are Hindu ascetics. Nāgas are a mythological snake-like creature found in Hinduism and Buddhism. "Sadow" also suggests "Shadow." Ajunta Pall seems to have a South Asian-inspired name as well.

His original appearance and backstory in Tales of the Jedi: Dark Lords of the Sith contradicts his later exposition. In Dark Lords of the Sith, despite appearing Human, Sadow is stated as being pure Sith, and not claiming any descent from the exiled Dark Jedi. He was also stated to have been only a Sith acolyte and powerful magician, and to have been banished to Yavin IV by the ruling Dark Lords of the Sith.

Appearances

 * Tales of the Jedi: The Golden Age of the Sith
 * Tales of the Jedi: The Fall of the Sith Empire
 * Tales of the Jedi: Dark Lords of the Sith
 * Shadows and Light
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords
 * Darth Bane: Path of Destruction
 * Darth Bane: Rule of Two
 * Star Wars: Empire at War