Nax Cirvan

"Baron Nax Cirvan. A jaded Jedi recruited by Count Dooku. He became a specter haunting the Outer Rim&hellip;appearing long enough to kill a Jedi general or wipe out a legion of clone troopers, and then vanishing again."

- Lieutenant Laurita Tohm, in his reports on the events at the Prism

Baron Nax Cirvan was a humanoid male Dark Jedi, formerly of the Jedi Order, who was recruited by Count Dooku during the Clone Wars. After rampaging through the Outer Rim Territories, Cirvan was finally apprehended by Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker after trying to kidnap Force-sensitive children for Dooku. Incarcerated inside the secret prison called the Prism for his crimes, Cirvan spent the remainder of the war there. He was released in 19 BBY along with the rest of the prisoners by a trio of high-ranking members of the newborn Galactic Empire&mdash;Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Vader, Moff Trachta and Lieutenant Laurita Tohm. The three had escaped from the galactic capital of Coruscant along with a wounded Emperor Palpatine, seeking refuge on the Prism from the coup orchestrated by Gentis, the Headmaster of the Imperial Academy. Vader&mdash;who used to be Cirvan's captor, Anakin Skywalker&mdash;pitted the prisoners against each other in a free-for-all battle in order to recruit the best fighters to his cause. Cirvan survived the brawl and pledged his allegiance to the Empire after being promised to receive amnesty for his crimes. The Dark Jedi helped Vader retake Coruscant, but was betrayed by the Sith Lord when the shuttle he and the other prisoners were given to leave Coruscant exploded.

The Clone Wars
Nax Cirvan, a Force-sensitive humanoid male, was a member of the Jedi Order during the waning years of the Galactic Republic. By the time of the Clone Wars, however, Cirvan fell from the Jedi path and embraced the dark side of the Force, becoming a Dark Jedi. He was recruited by Count Dooku, the leader of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, the Republic's enemy in the war. Taking up the title of baron, Cirvan created a name for himself by attacking Republic targets in the Outer Rim Territories, quickly wiping out a legion of clone troopers or slaying a Jedi General, and then disappearing once again. At one point, he claimed to have killed eight Jedi and their Padawans on the plains of Rullag. Dooku then tasked Cirvan with kidnapping Force-sensitive younglings, which gained the attention of famed Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, who finally tracked him down. During their fight, Skywalker beat Cirvan senseless and then had him incarcerated in the Prism, a secret Jedi prison facility, alongside other deadly combatants of the war.

Service to the Empire
"I do not know who you are or why you have come here, but I do know that if I defeat you the prisoners will crown me to lead them."

- Nax Cirvan, to Darth Vader

In 19 BBY, the Republic and the Jedi Order both fell beneath the machinations of the newly-crowned Emperor Palpatine, who created the Galactic Empire in their place. Shortly after this, however, Gentis, the Headmaster of Imperial Academy, orchestrated a coup, hoping to kill the Emperor, end the Empire's warmongering ways, and prevent more of his soldiers from dying on the battlefields. Palpatine was indeed gravely wounded in the attacks, but he was saved by Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Vader, Moff Trachta, and Lieutenant Laurita Tohm. The trio evacuated Palpatine from the galactic capital of Coruscant and brought him to the Prism, knowing it to be one location where Gentis's men would never find them. While the Emperor was attended to by the facility's medical droids, Tohm devised a plan to take back Coruscant by releasing the prisoners in order to create a small army. Vader, however, instead had all two hundred and seven of the prisoners, including Cirvan, released into the prison yard with orders to kill anyone they could, Tohm and Vader included, in an attempt to filter out the best fighters among of the convicts.

The ensuing fighting was brutal and indiscriminate. In the midst of it, Cirvan saw Vader battled a multitude of adversaries, striking them all down with ease. Unaware that Vader used to be his captor, Anakin Skywalker, who had turned to the dark side as well, Cirvan isolated the Dark Lord as the most powerful combatant and hoped to dispatch the Sith so that the rest of the prisoners crowned him as their leader. The Dark Jedi first used his Force powers to attack Vader, barraging him with rubble and blasts of Force lightning. Closing the distance, Cirvan used the Force to jump over the Sith Lord. However, Vader grabbed Cirvan's long braids in mid-air and slammed him into the ground, putting his lightsaber to the baron's throat. Recognizing Vader's power and position, Cirvan yielded, and Vader let him live, calling a halt to the battle. In the end, only thirty-three prisoners survived the riot in fighting condition, and were told by Trachta what it meant to serve the Empire. Cirvan and the others were promised that their crimes were now forgotten, but they would now serve the Empire in return. Cirvan followed the example of the other prisoners and knelt before Trachta, accepting the deal.

Launching their campaign to retake Coruscant from Gentis, Tohm and one of the surviving prisoners, Shonn Volta, managed to triangulate the course of Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin's personal shuttle, who, after Palpatine was presumed dead, was coming to Coruscant to assume control of the Empire as its highest ranking officer. Cirvan and the rest of the ex-prisoners, as well Vader, Trachta, Tohm, and the recovering Emperor hid themselves inside Tarkin's shuttle. Soon, they arrived on Coruscant and sprang a trap upon Gentis and his cadets. When Gentis attempted to take the Grand Moff prisoner as the final part in his coup, Cirvan and the rest of the strike team emerged from the shuttle and attacked the traitorous Headmaster's forces, supported only by a few loyal stormtroopers that escorted Tarkin. The battle was over within moments, with the prisoners' advanced combat expertise overwhelming the far greater numbers of Gentis's followers. The Emperor himself, recovered from his ailments, attacked and killed Gentis with Force lightning.

Cirvan survived the battle and ended up celebrating among the other prisoners. Unknown to Cirvan and the others, however, the Imperials that they had fought beside were at that moment trying to determine their fates. Trachta believed that they owed the prisoners a debt of gratitude, and that they should honor their promises to them. Vader thought that they should all be executed, to prevent them from becoming enemies in the future. Tohm created a third option, and the prisoners were told they would be set free but they had to exile themselves to the Corporate Sector. Before they left, they were met by Trachta, Tohm, and Vader, at the landing pad where a shuttle awaited them, and the details of their release were once more gone over. Cirvan agreed to all of the parts of the deal, and Trachta wished him luck. As the ship ascended over the Coruscant cityscape, it detonated, killing Cirvan and all those aboard. Tohm and Vader had betrayed the agreement, as well as Trachta, who was horrified by the dishonorable massacre.

Personality and traits
"By my estimates, Gentis had us outnumbered at least eight to one. But Gentis did not have a Sith Lord in his ranks. Or a bitter, exiled Jedi"

- Lieutenant Laurita Tohm, referring to Cirvan in his report on the final battle of the Ghost Prison incident

A tall, powerfully built humanoid male, Cirvan had long, black hair, styled in long braids as well as a number of tattoos covering his body. Described as bitter and jaded by Lieutenant Tohm, Cirvan abandoned the Jedi teachings and was swayed by the dark side. During his tenure as Count Dooku's hitman, Cirvan established a reputation of a ruthless assassin, who had no second thoughts at slaying Jedi Padawans or kidnapping Force-sensitive children. Cirvan was not devoid of ambition, which he demonstrated during the Prism riot when he attempted to kill Vader and claim leadership over the rest of the prisoners. However, he had enough sense of self-preservation to admit his defeat and swear his allegiance to the Empire.

Powers and abilities
Trained as a Jedi, Cirvan adept at using the Force, displaying his talents for telekinesis and ability to Force jump during the Prism riot. As a darksider, he also learned to conjure Force lightning. He was also proficient with blasters, which he used during the retaking of Coruscant.

Behind the scenes
Nax Cirvan was created by W. Haden Blackman for the 2012 Dark Horse comic book miniseries Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Ghost Prison. He appeared in the final two issues of the series and was drawn by Agustin Alessio.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Ghost Prison 4
 * Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Ghost Prison 5