Tomb of Freedon Nadd
The Tomb of Freedon Nadd functioned as a final resting place, housing the corporeal remains of King Ommin and Queen Amanoa of Onderon, in addition to their Sith forebear, the Dark Lord Freedon Nadd. Initially, the tomb was simply Nadd's sarcophagus situated within a chamber beneath the royal palace of Iziz; however, its potency was eradicated upon the end of the Beast Wars on the planet Onderon. Following the final defeat of Freedon Nadd's worshippers in 3998 BBY, Jedi Master Arca Jeth commanded that a new tomb be erected on the nearby jungle moon Dxun. This new structure was built to contain Nadd's remains and the lingering dark side energies they emanated. Buried alongside the Dark Lord were Queen Amanoa and King Ommin, marking the extinction of Nadd's Sith dynasty.
A year later, the Dark Jedi Exar Kun journeyed to Freedon Nadd's tomb, managing to breach its nearly-indestructible shell in his quest for forbidden knowledge. The tomb remained untouched for almost the subsequent forty years, until Sith forces aligned with the Dark Lord Darth Nihilus were vanquished by the allies of Meetra Surik. Approximately three millennia later, the Sith'ari Darth Bane discovered and explored Nadd's tomb, finding Nadd's holocron and learning of the plight of the orbalisk Force-parasite.
Structure
Onderon tomb
The original tomb of Freedon Nadd, the ancient Jedi apprentice who turned into a Dark Lord of the Sith, was simply a concealed cavern located beneath the royal palace of Iziz, which served as the capital city of the planet Onderon. Access to the tomb was exclusively through a secret, winding tunnel known only to Queen Amanoa of Iziz. This pathway, characterized by its dampness, darkness, and coldness, led to a substantial, weighty stone slab that obstructed further passage. Beyond this slab was a cave capable of accommodating only a small number of beings simultaneously. The sarcophagus of Freedon Nadd, a potent object of dark side power, transformed the tomb into a reservoir of malevolent Force energy. This energy permeated Iziz, then Onderon, and ultimately the entire Onderon system, imbuing them with the power of Sith magic. Consequently, the tomb beneath the Iziz royal palace became the epicenter of Queen Amanoa's authority, serving as her refuge during times of extreme danger, where she would summon the spirit and power of Freedon Nadd himself. Despite the secrecy surrounding its location, rumors regarding the existence of Nadd's tomb were widespread among Onderon's populace.
Dxun tomb
Following the end of the Naddist insurrection in 3998 BBY, the Dark Lord's tomb was moved to Dxun, where it was housed within an obsidian, tiered, trapezoidal fortress constructed from nearly impenetrable, mirror-surfaced Mandalorian iron. A single road led to a circular bastion, fortified with spiked emplacements and cannons designed to deter treasure hunters and looters, all encircled by a deep trench. Upon passing through the fortification's entrance, the avenue diverged in two directions. The main thoroughfare continued past colossal braziers with blazing fires at the tomb's base, culminating in a long staircase positioned between ramparts on either side, leading to the temple's entrance. At the top of the stairs, a long avenue was adorned with four statues, two on each side, depicting sword-wielding figures with their weapons extended downward. A pair of monoliths, reaching the height of the tomb's main structure, protruded upward on both sides of the building, accompanied by another set of smaller plinths flanking the entrance. The dark side power emanating from the tomb gradually distorted the building's structure. Within two years of its construction, iron outcroppings had emerged near the entrance, and subsequent centuries of malevolent influence caused dimples to form on the tomb's walls, eventually giving it a more pyramidal, yet asymmetrical, appearance. Even the monoliths were drawn closer to the building, their once prominent and upright form transformed into curved parallels of the temple's shape.
The interior of Freedon Nadd's tomb opened into a small, low-ceiling antechamber, from which passages branched out in three distinct directions. The main chamber housed a collection of Sith treasures and artifacts, including the sarcophagi of Onderon's dark side elite: King Ommin, Queen Amanoa, and their Sith Master, Freedon Nadd. The passage to the left of the antechamber led down a hall lined with various chambers, eventually splitting into several winding routes. The tunnel's terminus was the heart of the tomb, a small chamber sealed by a tight-fitting, meter-wide slab of ebony stone. Behind this black door was a circular room, approximately five meters in height and diameter, with a stone pedestal at its center, upon which rested the holocron of Freedon Nadd. This device was guarded by a colony of orbalisk parasites that covered the entire chamber. Decades after the tomb's consecration, Freedon Nadd's husk was relocated to an adjacent room, where a shrine had been established for the performance of rituals in his name. A torch-bearing statue stood on either side of a raised altar, which also housed the new sarcophagus. Three additional torches were positioned directly in front, behind which was a long rectangular pool of water. Atop the mausoleum was a massive platformed statue of Freedon Nadd, containing the Dark Lord's remains and his personal lightsaber.
History
Beast Wars
In 4000 BBY, as Iziz's forces engaged in war against the combined forces of the Jedi and Modon Kira's Beast Riders, Amanoa secretly retreated beneath her palace to Nadd's tomb, fully embracing the dark side power concentrated within his remains. Reciting his name, Amanoa invoked Nadd's spirit, utilizing its power to incite panic and terror among the Beast Rider armies. However, upon encountering the light of Jedi Master Arca Jeth, the shadow of Nadd's spirit was expelled from the tomb. Amanoa perished, the shadow having been driven from her as well.
To permanently cleanse Onderon of the dark side, Jeth devised a plan to relocate the sarcophagus, along with Amanoa's coffin, to Dxun, Onderon's nearby moon. He believed that the moon's native fauna would effectively deter any potential grave robbers. However, before the sarcophagi could be moved, they were stolen by the Dark Jedi Warb Null and his Naddist army. They ambushed the Jedi from below using a massive tunnel-boring war machine, seizing the coffins and retreating into the underground tunnels. Master Jeth and his Jedi apprentice Ulic Qel-Droma, guided by Queen Galia, pursued the Naddists underground, discovering Warb Null and King Ommin, who was alive and, to their dismay, allied with Freedon Nadd's spirit. Although Ommin managed to subdue and capture Jeth using his Force lightning, the Jedi Master was eventually rescued by a team of Jedi Knights. Ommin was killed, and Nadd's spirit was finally banished from Onderon. Jeth then transported the sarcophagi of King Ommin, Queen Amanoa, and Freedon Nadd to Dxun. Constructing a mausoleum of Mandalorian iron, Jeth sealed the tomb in a remote area of Dxun, hoping it would remain undisturbed.
Post-Naddist Uprising
Individuals deeply immersed in the dark side felt an irresistible urge to seek out the source of Dxun's potent miasma, which was the tomb of Freedon Nadd. In 3997 BBY, the Jedi Exar Kun discovered it, successfully breaching the wall with his lightsaber. Upon entering, he was confronted by Freedon Nadd's ghost, who instructed him to retrieve the scrolls hidden beneath his bones. These scrolls directed Kun to Korriban, where he would reunite with Nadd, become his apprentice, and acquire immense Sith powers. Following Freedon Nadd's second demise, his spirit was banished to Chaos, and the tomb remained undisturbed for slightly over thirty years.
Second Battle of Onderon
In 3951 BBY, the tomb played a crucial role in the outcome of the Second Battle of Onderon. Sith forces, under the command of Sith Lord Darth Nihilus and a Sith Master, utilized Freedon Nadd's tomb as a base to support General Vaklu and his forces, who sought to overthrow Queen Talia. The Mandalorians, led by Kelborn, tracked transmissions from the Sith. Mandalore the Preserver, the current Mandalorian leader, was traveling with the Jedi Knight Meetra Surik, also known as the Jedi Exile, on a mission to reunite the scattered Mandalorian clans. When Surik and her companions met with Kelborn, Kreia, a Jedi Master and companion of Surik, recognized the Sith's presence on Dxun and advised taking action against them. Before heading to Onderon to aid the Royalists loyal to Queen Talia, Surik tasked three of her companions with stopping the Sith. Surik's companions successfully prevented the Sith Masters in the tomb from performing a dark side ritual.
Approximately three thousand years later, the Sith Lord Darth Bane journeyed to Freedon Nadd's tomb in search of potential secrets for creating holocrons. Upon entering the tomb, Bane was displeased to discover that someone had been there before him, although he was unsure of when. Despite his disillusionment, he continued, eventually stumbling upon an undisturbed chamber sealed with a thick slab of Mandalorian iron. Initially, Bane was unable to enter the room, but he then used the dark side to hurl the door across the room. Inside, he discovered a holocron. However, Bane soon realized that the holocron was not the only thing contained within the room. The secret chamber was infested with orbalisk, tiny crustacean-like creatures that thrived on the power of the dark side. As Bane attempted to remove the holocron, two of the orbalisks attached themselves to him, one to his chest and the other to his back. Lord Bane remained in the tomb for four days, delving into its crystal lattices before departing from the tomb and Dxun with the holocron.
Behind the scenes
The tomb of Freedon Nadd was initially presented in the Dark Lords of the Sith story arc of the Tales of the Jedi series of comic books, published by Dark Horse Comics. The burial site was subsequently featured in the 2005 video game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, developed by Obsidian Entertainment. Nadd's tomb is a central plot point in the game's narrative. Nadd's tomb also received mention in Freedon Nadd's entry within The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia.
If the expedition's leader possesses Force training, they have the opportunity to acquire new powers within the tomb by drawing upon a pair of dark side energy nexuses located there. The first nexus offers the power of Slow, while the second can grant the power of Affliction, provided that the character has not yet chosen either power during level-up. Alternatively, if the character maintains control of their emotions and successfully resists, they can earn a temporary bonus to their strength and constitution stats. Surik's companion leading the mission to Freedon Nadd's tomb is recognized as Force-sensitive by the Sith Master and his fellow Masters. The Sith Master offered the leader the chance to embrace the dark side and the power that the Sith were using to control the beasts on Onderon and Dxun.