Nield's family was part of the Daan people. Nield's mother, Leidra, and father, Micae, and his three brothers were killed during the civil war when he was just a child. He was raised by an older cousin, but she died because of the war, too. After her death, Nield didn't have anyone to look after him. He wandered in the streets of Zehava alone for some time, until he met Cerasi, a Melida girl. Together, the two youth decided to unite the Daan and the Melida orphans, to create an organization which would fight for peace, known as the Young.
After some time, during which the Young fought using guerrilla-warfare tactics, the group helped the Jedi Qui-Gon Jinn, and his Padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi, to rescue their fellow Jedi Tahl. Later, Kenobi chose to stay and fight with the Young. Under Nield and Cerasi's leadership, the Young won the war, and formed a government. Nield was elected governor and head of the New History Squad, which began to tear down the Halls of Evidence. Cerasi and Kenobi began to doubt the policy of destroying Melida/Daan's history, no matter how bloody, and moved to stop the destruction.
Nield felt that they had turned against him. He accused Kenobi of being an outsider, and tried to get enough votes to overthrow the council. The tension peaked when the elders and Nield's followers, both armed, converged on the Halls of Evidence. Kenobi and Cerasi arrived to try and stop the violence, but Cerasi, who was unarmed, was shot and killed.
Both Nield and Kenobi were deeply disturbed by Cerasi's death, but Nield blamed Kenobi for not getting there faster, mostly because he was afraid that he had himself fired the fatal shot. Soon after, Qui-Gon Jinn returned to Melida/Daan, and together with Kenobi, they investigated Cerasi's murder. The duo discovered that a member of the Young, named Mawat, had armed both sides, and placed sharpshooters at the scene, who had killed Cerasi. When Obi-Wan informed Nield of this, they left to try and stop the war being waged in Cerasi's name, although they were unable to halt the violence. Qui-Gon subsequently arrived and produced a holo of Cerasi speaking of peace. Qui-Gon was able to negotiate a cease-fire, and Nield was made one of the three planetary leaders.
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