Iven was a Human male member of the Imperial Guard, the elite protectors of the Sith Emperor of the reconstituted Sith Empire. Iven first came to the attention of the Guard while a hardened slave fighting in the combat arenas of the planet Ziost; his combat skills were recognized and he was sent to the Imperial Guard Academy on the moon Yavin 4. While there, he impressed his teachers by dispatching dozens of fellow cadets and even training commandants in the duels that were a part of academy life. However, Iven resisted the Emperor's mental influence longer than any other candidate before him during the indoctrination process, and when he finally broke, his mind shattered with him. Iven became the most ruthless of the Guardsmen, never allowing his intentions to be questioned or allowing others to reason with him. In his later life, Iven served as a training commandant himself on Yavin 4, where he had a candidate kill rate of 80%. When the Order of Revan invaded Yavin and sacked the academy, Iven's fragile mind disintegrated further with the knowledge that he had failed the Emperor. He was soon captured by Galactic Republic and Imperial coalition forces, and interrogated about Revan's intentions on Yavin.