Darth Neok (Werth Dren)

"This Sith Empire, for all its strengths, is a joke. I will follow in the footsteps of Darth Wraeth. I will become the second Neok, and under me a new age will begin. The true way of the Sith is not in the light, but in the shadows. Werth Dren has died, my Master. A new age has begun."

 was a Sith who began as a politician's aide on Coruscant. Around the age of twenty he became aide to Havert Srenn, a Fel Empire representative for a minor world. Srenn was secretive, and the young Werth eventually discovered that Srenn was in fact Darth Wraeth, a member of an alternate order of Sith to the one now threatening the galaxy. Wraeth condemned the Sith Empire as heathens to the true way of the dark, and eventually was convinced to take Werth as his apprentice. Wraeth's premature death at the hands of the Sith Empire's assassins halted Dren's training prematurely, but his possession of three Sith Holocrons enabled him to carry on his Master's work. Eventually becoming very adept at the shadows, he worked as a representative for many years until his body began to show the signs of Dark Side influence. Retreating to a small moon, Xezer IV, he disappeared for many years until 40,604, when the desperate Fel Empire launched the Big Push offensive, which Neok (looking much younger now than he did when he left Galactic affairs) took a part in, serving as a general alongside Leah Skywalker. Despite her strength in the Force, she failed to realize he was a Sith, and they actually became friends and even at times lovers. Eventually, he revealed his identity to a young Jedi, Saryl Persua, and she became his apprentice.

Early life
Werth Dren was born and raised on Coruscant to a poor family. Realizing early on that the boy had a talent for persuasion, he was able to secure a job as aide to numerous representatives until finally becoming permenent aide to Havert Srenn.

Discovering the Sith
Werth was Force-sensitive, and he began to note his strange feelings around Srenn early on. Eventually discovering a Sith relic in the Dark Lord's chamber, he confronted the older Sith. Although Srenn initially began to Force-choke Werth to prevent him from telling anyone, he sensed the Force itself resisting his attempt, and he revealed his true identity to his aide. Although it took almost a month to fully convince Werth that he was not a member of the Sith Empire that now threatened the galaxy, the young man eventually gave in, and began his training.

Death of a Master
For all of Wraeth's strengths, he failed to note that numerous Sith Empire agents had infiltrated the Fel Empire. After several mundane assassination attempts, the agents launched a full-out assault on the representative's quarters. Werth had been unable to sleep due to his senses warning him of the coming conflict, and he rushed to his Master's quarters just in time to see the last two of the nearly twenty agents overpower his Master, who launched himself out of the window in order to take the assassins with him. Searching Wraeth's quarters, the apprentice, now alone, discovered the Holocron Wraeth had been working on, along with that of Wraeth's Master, Darth Neok, and the master before him. Declaring himself the second Neok, Werth delved into study of these holocrons in earnest.

Career as a Representative and Retreat from Society
Neok was quickly elected representative in Havert Srenn's stead, and as Werth Dren served with a vigor to eliminate the Sith Empire. The planet he represented was near the contested space, and was even invaded once--his actions in this battle earned him a medal without his having to use his Dark Side powers even once. However, the politician grew older, and eventually he was forced to retreat into the Deep Core to a moon known as Xezer IV.

Return to Galactic Affairs and Becoming a General
After six centuries of the war being fought to a standstill and countless lives lost, Neok returned to galactic affairs, pretending to be Neok Dren, descendant of Werth. His now youthful appearance convinced the Fel Empire, and he enlisted as a soldier despite numerous analysts saying it was political suicide. Rising through the ranks faster than any thought possible, he was, within three years, a general serving under the legendary Jedi-turned-bounty hunter-turned-soldier Leah Skywalker. Neok's ability to shield his Force presence surpassed even her legendary abilities, and the Sith felt something close to admiration for his superior officer.

Fighting in the South and the Big Push
Neok was transferred galactic south, where a string of CIS raids forced him to revise his strategies. Eventually, he even brokered a brief treaty with the Hutts, which gave both sides a much-needed reprieve. His political sway grew as his alternate identity became more and more famous. For nearly five years, he led the southern campaigns. Finally, however, his chance came with the idea of the Big Push: a massive effort to get back much of the space lost in the first stages of the war. This time alongside Leah Skywalker, the two came to rely on each other more and more for the massive campaign. Eventually, Neok 'confessed' to being attracted to the Jedi, and the two became secret lovers. As the fight continued on and the Sith Empire gave more and more space to the unrelenting assault by Veraun Defenders, Jedi, and Imperial Knights, the galaxy was able to have hope for the first time in centuries.

Revealed Identity and Second 'Death'
Although he was growing more and more politically powerful, Neok was growing steadily weaker as the fight went on: he was required to use the Force on multiple occasions, though he always managed to conceal it in subtle ways that went unnoticed. The Jedi Padawan Saryl Persua came to his attention when her master died, and her inner dark became more and more prevalent. When the Big Push was finally over, he revealed himself to her. Although she was initially horror-struck by the idea of Sith in general, she came to realize he was not of the same breed as those who she had fought. Her training began as "Neok Dren" retired to his home on Xezer IV, where he supposedly died in his sleep several years later after Saryl was christened Darth Topritu.

Legacy
Darth Neok II was himself the creation of a Sith Order dating back only a hundred years, and he carried on that path to the original Neok's first plan. Despite his Master's early death, Neok quickly recovered to become a very powerful Sith. Although his true vision of creating a new galactic order did not come to pass in his lifetime, Darth Topritu and the apprentices after her would eventually help to reform the world. The True Sith, as his line eventually came to be called, would create a line of rulers on numerous worlds and exterminate the pretender Sith Empire. His private journals would be found a hundred years after the end of the Thousand-Year War, and an official inquiry by Jedi and other Force-using organizations revealed that this Sith Order was grey at worst: Despite the title of Sith and use of Dark Side power, the Sith Order did more to eliminate the Sith Empire than the Jedi did.

Personality and traits
Visionary and very calculating even as an aide, Darth Neok II became even more so upon learning the teaching of the first Neok. Willing to accept that he would not be the one who would see through the vision to the end, he eventually took a successor and ensured that his vision would be seen through to its conclusion.

Powers and abilities
Despite his relative lack of Force strength, the second Neok had a powerful ability to persuade and misdirect. His skill with a lightsaber was almost nonexistent, but his numerous other tricks allowed him to compensate. His skill as a marksman earned him accolades as Werth Dren, and his astute tactical decisions and ability to lead gained him great fame while undercover as Neok Dren.