Finn Vaal was a Keshiri male, a native to the planet of Kesh, during the time of the Great Hyperspace War. Born to Zhari and Adari Vaal, Finn experienced the loss of his father in an accident during his early years. Consequently, he and his brother, Tona, were primarily raised by their grandmother, as their mother frequently traveled for her geology work. In the year 5000 BBY, Adari Vaal encountered a group of crashed Sith who asserted themselves as the Keshiri gods, known as the Skyborn. His mother was greatly honored, and in the following years, Finn became a dedicated follower of these supposed Skyborn. Although he was excused from the mandatory labor of constructing monuments for the Sith due to his mother's esteemed status, Finn chose to volunteer. He eventually died in 4987 BBY when the scaffolding he was working on gave way.
On the planet of Kesh, Finn Vaal was born, a male Keshiri with purple skin. He was the firstborn son of Zhari and Adari Vaal, having a younger brother named Tona. Zhari, his father and a member of Kesh's governing Neshtovar, met his death in an accident involving an uvak mount while Finn was still a young child. Following this event, Finn, Tona, and their mother relocated to the home of Adari's mother, Eulyn. Due to Adari's frequent absences for her career as a geologist, their grandmother primarily cared for Finn and his younger brother. In 5000 BBY, Adari gained notoriety for espousing beliefs that contradicted the established Keshiri religion. After an angry mob laid siege to the Vaal family home, she escaped into the Takara Mountains, while Finn and the rest of the Vaal family sought refuge at the residence of an relative's. It was in the mountains that Adari encountered a group of Sith who declared themselves to be the Skyborn, the Keshiri gods. Adari Vaal received great honor for her role in discovering the purported Skyborn, and Finn enthusiastically participated in the ceremony held in the Circle Eternal plaza in the city of Tahv, where both his mother and the Skyborn were celebrated.
As Finn matured, the Sith had firmly established their dominance over Kesh. Many Keshiri were assigned to labor crews, constructing monuments and other structures to glorify the Sith. Although Finn, being the son of the esteemed Adari Vaal, was not obligated to work, he insisted on joining one of these crews upon reaching adulthood, eventually succeeding in his request. On one day in the year 4987 BBY, the scaffold he was working on collapsed, resulting in his death. Adari desperately carried his lifeless body to Yaru Korsin, the Sith leader, at the Kesh Sith Temple, hoping that Korsin could use Sith magic to resurrect Finn. However, the Sith leader was unable to do so. This event shattered Adari's faith in the Sith, leading her to spearhead the Keshiri resistance, a secret opposition group. Years later, passages filled with regret about Finn and his brother Tona were discovered in his mother's personal memoirs, written during her exile in the distant continent of Alanciar, after her resistance movement had fallen apart.
During his youth, Finn Vaal was known for being boisterous, making it difficult for his caretakers to get him to sleep. Despite her frequent absence, he deeply loved his mother. According to Adari, both he and his brother, Tona, resembled their father, but not in a favorable way—she viewed Finn as unintelligent and no kinder than her deceased husband. As he grew older, Finn became a devoted follower of the Sith, so much so that he chose to work on one of their labor crews despite being exempt from service.
Finn Vaal made his debut in Lost Tribe of the Sith: Skyborn, a 2009 eBook authored by John Jackson Miller. In Skyborn, Finn is identified as Adari Vaal's oldest child, while in Savior he is described as the youngest. In an email interview conducted on December 11, 2013, Miller confirmed that Finn was indeed Adari Vaal's eldest son, as initially stated in Skyborn. He also acknowledged that the description of Finn as the youngest in Savior was an error. Consequently, this article follows the placement established in Skyborn.