During the Galactic Civil War a male Human Dark Jedi known as Thaum Rystra played a significant role. The Galactic Empire discovered Rystra's Force-sensitivity when he was just a child, leading to his training in the Force to serve their New Order. He experienced profound horror after slaying his parents under Imperial orders, which led him to abandon the Empire and join the Rebel Alliance. While scouting an uncharted system for the Alliance, Rystra encountered the Sith spirit Valik Kodank and, seduced by her promise of power, became her apprentice. In 3 ABY, Kodank initiated a plan to regain her physical form, tasking Rystra with capturing Caeleb, a Force-sensitive child, and obtaining the powerful dark side relic known as the Soulsaber. Following a failed attempt to kidnap Caeleb on Dalicron-4 in 4 ABY, Rystra successfully abducted the child from a secure Rebel world and, with Caeleb's unwilling help, stole the Soulsaber from a hidden cavern located on a remote Outer Rim world. Three years later, Rystra lured a group of New Republic agents to Kodank's Sith temple so that Kodank could attempt to possess the body Force adept Sha'lia. Ultimately, the New Republic operatives triumphed over Rystra and destroyed Kodank. ## Biography ### Early life During the reign of the Galactic Empire, Thaum Rystra, a Force-sensitive male Human, lived on Alderaan. As the son of a diplomat and his wife, Rystra experienced an unconventional childhood, frequently relocating due to his father's career advancements. When Rystra reached the age of eight years, his family relocated to Coruscant, the [capital](/article/capital-legends] world of the Empire. Soon after, the Empire became aware of Rystra's Force abilities and marked him for training in the Force to serve the New Order. An advisor to Emperor Palpatine informed Rystra's parents that their son would be taken for specialized training for gifted youths. Despite their objections, Rystra was forcibly taken away by the advisor and Imperial stormtroopers, crying as he was separated from his family. Rystra was then educated in the ways of the Force and indoctrinated with loyalty to the Empire. He learned to identify enemies of the regime, and as a final test, he was sent to eliminate two individuals accused of betraying the Empire. Armed with a lightsaber, Rystra infiltrated their residence at night while they were asleep. He struck them down in their bed but, at the last moment, Rystra activated a glowpanel and was horrified to discover that his targets were his own parents. Disgusted by his actions, Rystra deserted the Empire, escaping in a stolen starship. Seeking redemption and determined to fight the Empire, he resolved to join the Rebel Alliance, an insurgent group opposing the Empire. After searching for months, he found the Rebels and joined their cause. Rystra achieved the rank of lieutenant and was assigned to a team with others who shared his anti-Imperial sentiments, including a Force-sensitive Twi'lek. Uncomfortable around another Force user, Rystra eventually transferred to become a scout. On his third mission as a Rebel scout, Rystra was tasked with mapping an uncharted star system in the Abrion sector containing the Tascollan Nebula. There, he sensed the voice of Valik Kodank, the spirit of an ancient Sith adept. Guided by her call, Rystra piloted his starship into the nebula to the Temple of Pain, a Sith temple located on an asteroid within the nebula. After landing, overwhelmed by the Force's strength and driven by the dark side of the Force, Rystra followed Kodank's voice deep into the temple. At the entrance to a large chamber, Kodank's spirit appeared and spoke to Rystra's mind, claiming to know his desires and offering him power in the Force if he became her servant. Rystra accepted, succumbing to the dark side. ### Mission to Dalicron-4 Kodank promised to teach Rystra the ways of the Sith, and he became a Dark Jedi and dark side adept under her guidance. He took Tol Skaros, a Whiphid bounty hunter, as his Dark Jedi apprentice, teaching him much about the dark side. Skaros proved completely loyal to Rystra, who, preparing for future conflicts with other Force users, taught Skaros the fighting techniques of the Jedi, a Force-wielding order outlawed by the Empire. Rystra also enhanced Skaros' arsenal. In 3 ABY, Kodank instructed Rystra to bring her Caeleb, the prophesied "Child of Light," a Force-sensitive being she believed could help her regain physical form. Rystra tracked Caeleb to Dalicron-4, a sparsely populated planet in the Outer Rim, traveling there in an MRX-BR Pacifier scout vessel and landing in the village of Dalia. Skaros joined him, and over the next week, Rystra posed as a struggling freelance courier whose ship needed repairs after being mistaken for a spice smuggler by pirates. He befriended the locals, including the farmer Corvin. Rystra located Caeleb's homestead several hours from Dalia and sent the coordinates to Skaros via a hologram, ordering him to capture Caeleb and kill his guardians. Rystra reasoned that fighting the boy's Force-sensitive parents would give Skaros valuable experience against other Force users. While Skaros headed to Caeleb's home, a group of Rebel agents arrived in Dalia to take Caeleb into Alliance custody. Unforeseen by Rystra, he chose to observe their actions rather than confront them immediately. Rystra approached the Rebels at Daz's Tavern, an inn, introducing himself and maintaining his courier cover story. A storm broke out, and Rystra suggested they wait it out with him, playing sabacc with locals while waiting. During the storm, Corvin's seven-year-old son, Zanner, went missing, and the farmer asked Rystra for help, believing him to be his best hope. Rystra urged the Rebels to join the search, advising caution despite the urgency. While Rystra escorted Corvin home, the Rebels found Zanner. The next day, Rystra encountered the Rebels again, greeting them cheerfully as they passed his ship while he made repairs with a hydrospanner. Later, Skaros was killed by the Rebels while attempting to capture Caeleb. Rystra watched from a distance with macrobinoculars, observing the Rebels and his fallen apprentice's body. His plan thwarted, Rystra decided to follow the Rebels and seize Caeleb when possible. He returned to Dalia, found the Rebels leaving, and followed their YT-1300 light freighter, the Lazy Katarn. Their escape was blocked by the Imperial Nebulon-B escort frigate Harasser, which quarantined Dalicron-4. To protect the Rebel ship and Caeleb, Rystra hailed both the Rebel freighter and the Imperial warship, identifying himself as a Rebel lieutenant protecting the Lazy Katarn. He distracted the Imperials by launching four sensor decoys that projected hologram images of X-wing starfighters, and once the Rebel ship successfully fled into hyperspace he departed the system himself. ### Hunt for the Soulsaber The Rebel Alliance hid Caeleb in a secure location on a safe world, but Rystra found him. He landed and mind tricked Caeleb's protector, the Mon Calamari Kylbar, into believing Rystra was Commander Luke Skywalker, then took Caeleb and left. With Caeleb captured, Kodank sent Rystra to retrieve the Soulsaber, an ancient dark side relic she planned to use to regain her physical form. The Rebel team from Dalicron-4 was sent to find Rystra and rescue Caeleb. For months, the Rebels searched for Rystra as he sought the Soulsaber. In 4 ABY, four months after Skaros' death, Rystra learned that the Temples of Vormijj on Pamorjal contained information about the Soulsaber's location. To mislead the Rebels, Rystra contacted the Pamorjal Freeman's League, a terrorist group, to turn them against the Rebels. Rystra traveled to Nar Shaddaa to meet the group, landing in a private bay in a busy spaceport. Gangsters demanded tribute, but Rystra mind tricked a Barabel into killing them, then killed the Barabel with the Force. Rystra met his contact in a bar, warning them about the Rebels and his upcoming trip to Pamorjal. The information merchant Rat secretly observed Rystra's meeting and informed the Rebels. Arriving on Pamorjal, Rystra met Davit Berek, the Pamorjal Freemans League leader, providing descriptions of the Rebels and falsely claiming they were TaggeCo agents exploiting Pamorjal's garna trees and investigating its temples. With Caeleb close, Rystra explored the Temples of Vormijj, finding a star map showing the Soulsaber's location in the remote ZXK-100346 system in the Outer Rim. Rystra traveled to ZXK-100346.6a and found the Cavern of Light, where the Jedi had hidden the Soulsaber millennia ago. A light side Force barrier protected the artifact, impassable to those tainted by the dark side. Rystra sent Caeleb to retrieve the relic, but the Rebels, having evaded Rystra's attempt to turn the Pamorjal Freeman's League against them, confronted him. Rystra urged the Rebels to join him, claiming a common enemy in the Empire and the means to defeat it. A fight broke out, and Rystra fled with the Soulsaber, leaving Caeleb behind. To delay the Rebels, he used a thermal detonator to collapse the exit tunnel, then escaped in his ship. ### Confrontation at the Temple of Pain Returning to Kodank with the Soulsaber, Rystra spent three years studying under her tutelage, increasing his power in the dark side. He resided in Kodank's quarters in the Temple of Pain and gathered pirates to defend the temple. Rystra also studied a Sith holocron kept by Kodank. The training filled his mind, causing sleep difficulties and making him more susceptible to Kodank's influence. Rystra told Kodank about the Rebels from the Cavern of Light, and Kodank planned to possess Sha'lia, the Twi'lek Force adept. She tasked Rystra with researching how to inhabit Sha'lia, teaching him Sith sorcery. In the temple's Room of Change laboratory, Rystra performed experiments in Sith alchemy, documenting his knowledge. He developed methods to alter sentient beings, often at the cost of their sanity. He experimented on four pirates, transforming the lekku of Desvin Tor'thal into Sith poison stingers, augmenting the claws of the Wookiee Blaschowwa, and altering the Bothan Kamtis Bonai and the Dug Vobin Sobos. Around 7 ABY, Kodank ordered Rystra to lure the Rebels, now New Republic agents, to the Temple of Pain. They had been searching for Rystra since the Soulsaber theft, and to lure them, he provided information about his location to his employees. The New Republic agents followed the trail to the Tascollan Nebula to confront Rystra. Upon their arrival, Rystra sent four pirate starfighters to attack their YT-2400 light freighter, the Celestial Dancer, to test their strength. The Celestial Dancer crew evaded the pirates and landed at the Temple of Pain. As they progressed, Kodank conjured an illusory Rystra to greet them. The phantom Rystra engaged them in conversation and invited them to play sabacc, distracting them while an explosion supposedly destroyed the Celestial Dancer and other ships. The apparition urged them to continue, claiming their only escape was deeper in the temple. Rystra and Kodank awaited the agents in a cavern beneath the temple, and Kodank ordered him to treat all but Sha'lia as expendable. When the New Republic agents arrived, Kodank and Rystra observed as Sith Guardian Spirits attacked them. After the spirits were defeated, Rystra and Kodank revealed themselves, and Rystra pleaded for them to join Kodank. The New Republic agents refused, and Rystra and Kodank attacked, fighting alongside a mutated battle hydra summoned by Kodank while the Sith spirit attempted to possess Sha'lia. Ultimately, Rystra was defeated, and Kodank was vanquished. ## Personality and traits Thaum Rystra possessed blue eyes and thick, wavy black hair. He was 1.7 meters tall and weighed about 68 kilograms. Rystra was intelligent and deceptive, willing to play the role of a friendly traveler on Dalicron-4 to maintain his cover. When not with Valik Kodank, he was cheerful, with lively eyes and a crooked smile reminiscent of a Corellian. As a child, Rystra was close to his parents, especially his mother. Though he developed loyalty to the Empire and a desire to bring justice to its enemies, he was horrified by the murder of his parents and turned against his Imperial masters. He saw the Empire's New Order as evil and vowed to fight it, joining the Rebel Alliance as repentance. His actions made him uncomfortable around other Force users, leading him to dislike working with a Force-sensitive Twi'lek. He requested a post as a Rebel scout, seeking solitude and a role where he could provide valuable intelligence without constant reminders of his past sins. When first drawn to the Temple of Pain by Valik Kodank, Rystra was impressed by its dark and cool atmosphere, fueled by the dark side, and experienced an unprecedented hunger for the Force. He became devoted to Kodank, believing only she could bring stable government to the galaxy. Rystra was disappointed by Skaros' failure to capture Caeleb but patiently waited for another opportunity. He was pragmatic, threatening to kill Caeleb at the Cavern of Light but not intending to, as the boy's death would not benefit him and would only make the Rebels more determined. He was willing to kill the Rebel agents only as a last resort. In the three years after recovering the Soulsaber, Rystra visibly aged, with tired eyes, graying hair, and hard lines on his face. He fell increasingly under Kodank's control, losing control of his faculties, and sought to destroy the Rebel agents at all costs. Rystra had little regard for the New Republic, considering it too similar to the Old Republic, which had allowed the Empire to rise. ## Powers and abilities Rystra was skilled in using the Force for telekinesis, stealth, mind control, speed, healing, and sensing his surroundings. He was also adept at battlemind, Enhance Ability and empathy. Rystra knew Jedi fighting techniques, using the Force to levitate himself or others and push opponents. After training with Kodank, Rystra mastered hatred and rage. He became skilled in Sith sorcery, physically altering beings to make them stronger and more relentless, often at the cost of their sanity. Besides Basic, Rystra was fluent in Ryl. ## Equipment Rystra carried an amethyst-colored lightsaber, a DL-44 blaster pistol, macrobinoculars, a comlink, and thermal detonators. He also possessed a Sith masking amulet to conceal his Force presence. He used an MRX-BR Pacifier, a fast and well-armed scout vessel with powerful sensor capabilities, for transportation. While Rystra owned Jedi robes and a cloak, he rarely wore them to blend in. On Dalicron-4, he wore a dark green jumpsuit, a brown nerf hide vest, and matching black nerf hide boots. During the confrontation at the Temple of Pain, he wore dark robes. ## Behind the scenes Thaum Rystra was a primary antagonist in the Child of Light saga, a trilogy of Star Wars Legends roleplaying adventures by Lee Pickler.
The Role Playing Gamers Association is where Rystra was originally introduced, making his debut in Child of Light, which was the first part of the trilogy and came out in the year 2000. He then appeared in the second part of the series, the adventure titled Soulsaber, which was published in 2001, and finally in the last part, Light and Dark, which was released in 2002. There is a discrepancy between what happens in Light and Dark and how the Child of Light saga is described in Child of Light itself, specifically regarding what Rystra does when he faces the New Republic agents at the Temple of Pain. Child of Light says that in the saga's final adventure, Rystra tries to bring Kodank back to life by using the Soulsaber to change Caeleb's Force powers into dark side energy, hoping to revive her. However, in Light and Dark, Caeleb isn't there, and Rystra doesn't try to use the Soulsaber to resurrect Kodank. Instead, Kodank tries to take over Sha'lia's body to become physical again. This article describes Rystra's actions during the battle as they are shown in Light and Dark. ### Possible outcomes for role-playing In the Child of Light series, players take on the roles of the Rebel agents who encounter Rystra on Dalicron-4, and later at the Cavern of Light and the Temple of Pain. Rystra's actions can change based on what the players decide to do. In Child of Light, players can choose to wait out the storm on Dalicron-4 either at Daz's Tavern or on their own ship. If they stay at Daz's Tavern, Rystra will come to the Rebels in the tavern when the child Zanner is reported missing, asking for their help in finding him. If the players wait in their ship, Rystra and Corvin will approach the ship in the rain. Rystra will knock on the ship with a hydrospanner to get their attention, then ask to come aboard and ask for their help in the search for Zanner. He will also give advice on how to fly the ship in the stormy weather. Later, when the Rebels find Zanner injured, either Rystra or Corvin will insist that the group take the boy to the Ithorian medical professional Aloor for treatment, if the players don't think of it themselves. Caeleb's sister, Jhara, is badly hurt by Tol Skaros when the Whiphid tries to kidnap the boy. If the players tell Rystra about her condition when they return to Dalia with Caeleb, Rystra will offer to help her. During Soulsaber, if the player characters get to the Cavern of Light while Caeleb is getting the Soulsaber for Rystra, the Dark Jedi will tell the child to hurry up. If the Rebels try to persuade Caeleb not to give the Soulsaber to Rystra, the darksider will get angry and warn the player characters to stay out of it. Rystra won't start a fight with the Rebels, but he will fight back if attacked. When Rystra tries to escape with the dark side artifact, there are several ways he might do it. Rystra could lift Caeleb over a chasm and threaten to drop him unless the Rebels let him leave; use the Force to trick the player characters into helping him or forgetting about him; use the Force to knock the Rebels down; or use the Force to fly away to safety. In Light and Dark, Rystra sends four pirate starfighters to attack the player characters as they approach the Temple of Pain. If any of the pirates try to run away after the fight, Rystra will remotely destroy their ships. When Kodank creates a fake version of Rystra to talk to the New Republic agents inside the temple, if the player characters try to fight him, the fake Rystra will use his lightsaber to block their attack and then disappear. The battle between Rystra and Kodank and the player characters at the end of Light and Dark can end in different ways. Rystra could be defeated and killed, and Kodank could be destroyed, or Rystra and his master could win, and Kodank could successfully take over Sha'lia. If Kodank's spirit is destroyed, Rystra will be overcome with sadness and attack the player characters in a frenzy.