Stap Magnus Praxeum

Early Life
Born to a Corellian native and a Mandolorian Supercommando, Stap Magnus Praxeum was told early on by his mother that she and her husband had already decided to separate by the time she learned she was pregnant with Stap. Sparing him the pain of knowing rogue Mandolorians had killed his father, Stap found out later in life of his mother’s lie to shelter him from the galaxy’s cruelty.

Later discovered by a Jedi Knight named Urwen, Stap was taken to the Bakuran Jedi Temple for training. His master, a Jedi named Kavar, instructed him in the intimate secrets of the Light Side of the Force. As a Padawan, Stap fostered a friendship with an area Czerka spokesman called Lexicon Sepsis. Through Sepsis, Stap received his first taste of the galactic high-life while performing special tasks for Czerka.

Jedi Career
In his developing years, Stap’s Master, Kavar, received orders from the Jedi Council to rendezvous with another Master/Padawan pair on Concord Dawn. Their mission was to investigate the murder of an up-and-coming politician crucial to Jedi peacekeeping efforts in the region. It was on the mission to Concord Dawn that Stap was first exposed to the legendary Jedi Master Asil ‘Shatterpoint’ Lekaine and her Padawan Padme Dral. While on the planet, Stap and Padme grew close as friends and remained longtime allies. He would keep secret the feelings he felt for her on Concord Dawn until many years later.

Malcontent soon overrode his training as a Padawan. As an emerging Jedi, Stap harbored more and more resentment towards Kavar. In his mind, Stap was convinced that his Master believed him unworthy and unable to become a true Jedi.

Following his ascension to the level of Jedi Knight, Stap was assigned some of the most challenging and puzzling missions any Knight of his station could receive. A valiant combatant in the campaigns against the growing Sith Empire, Stap fought alongside some of the Order’s finest generals in planetary engagements. One such battle had him again breathe the air of his native Corellia. Leading a strike team along the perimeter of the Jedi compound, Stap sent his squad on to fight the growing Sith army. It was then he discovered a nondescript home that was seeped in Force energy.

Closer investigation of the building revealed it to be the residence of his parents; his childhood home that had since grown abandoned. Meanwhile, the battle raged on beyond the walls, and his Jedi companions were killed or captured by the relentless Sith forces. But inside the house of his parents, Stap was untouched by the bloodletting. When he emerged and all that remained of the battle was scorched patches and tracks, he questioned area residents about his parents and learned of his mother’s vicious murder at the hands of a galactic crime lord.

Stap abandoned his duty to the Order and his squad, who may have been among the unidentified dead. A month-long investigation led to the discovery of an underworld cartel, a front for the larger backer: his mother’s murderer. The influential crime lord had an apartment in Coronet, where Stap waited days before his arrival and killed him in the doorway without a second thought. He made it his mission to track down all agents of his cartel and broke the spine of their operation in the black market.

The remnants of the Jedi fortress were still smoldering when he returned. Corellia had fallen to the Empire, and with it went the lives of all the Jedi in the system. Stap was smuggled out of the system by sympathetic traders and made his way to the Enclave on Bakura. His falsified report to the Jedi Council did not mention the ruthless slaughter of the criminal network or the discovery of his origins; and inside, he mourned.

The provincial government of Panta was in crisis when Stap’s life changed forever. Years passed of infrequent appearances of his friend Lexicon Sepsis, the Czerka enigma who had helped Stap amass a small fortune. In the quiet of the old Jedi Enclave, Sepsis revealed his true purpose on Bakura. Claiming to be an emissary of the Sith, this Darth Shadow was sent to recruit Stap to join the ranks of their distant empire. Leaving the Enclave unharmed, Stap frantically reported the Sith’s presence on Bakura unknowingly setting in motion the next phase of Shadow's own Dark path.

Into the Darkness
Stap’s failure to sight a Sith laid the foundation for doubt on the mission to Pantha. How had he been so mistaken about Lexicon Sepsis? It was a question haunting him while charged with the protection of Pantha’s new Queen. Laink, an assassin, succeeded in kidnapping her while she slept. Pursuing the Queen’s captor, Stap requested support from the Jedi Temple on Bakura. Upon her arrival a day later, Padme Dral joined him in investigating the kidnapping of the young Queen.

Losing objectivity near the source of his youthful passions, Stap was overtaken by his love for Padme. Confessing his love to her while continuing the hunt for Lanik, Stap was heartbroken when she chose Jedi virtues over his love. His downfall was near; then and there, Stap made the decision to find and assist Lanik in holding the Queen for ransom. Sabotaging Padme’s efforts the next day, Stap drew Lanik into the open with a pledge of loyalty. Padme was forced to hunt both Lanik and Stap with the assistance of her former master Shatterpoint, Grand Master Abba, Jedi Knights Xander Vos and Urwen. The highest priority was placed upon locating and arresting Stap for his involvement. The Jedi Order was forced to face the danger that one of their own had fallen to the Dark Side.

It was not soon after their arrival that the Jedi team tracked Stap to the nearby planet Veethkree. Leaving the vessel in orbit, Stap and Lanik took the Queen to the hostile conditions of the planet below. Following several near-fatal high-speed pursuits across the craggy surface, Stap was cornered by his love Padme and his mentor Urwen. Attacking violently and without hesitation, Stap’s rage and anger fueled his ability to wound Padme, forcing her to retreat. An epic duel ensued between Stap and Urwen, where the Dark Side of the Force began to swell after years of preparation. Taking advantage of the battle being waged inside Stap, Urwen critically wounded the new Sith disciple.

Leaving Stap as a victim of his own devices, the Jedi party left the planet with Lanik in custody and the Queen unharmed. A whisper in the Force encouraged Stap to live, that he was destined to fight again. Using the hatred and suffering he was feeling as medicine, Stap survived and made his way off-planet soon thereafter. Time passed before he reconstructed his lightsaber and returned to Bakura. The Temple guards were unprepared when he arrived, slaughtered them and freed the Sith from their prison. His yellow eyes cast a vibrant reflection in the eyes of his true liberator.

Joining the Sith
Forced to flee Bakura, Shadow led him to Kroprulu, the Sith’s seat of power in the galaxy. There, he was trained by Lord Minious in the arcane knowledge of the Dark Side he craved so dearly. He resided at the Sith Temple until he was knighted a Sith Master and the title Darth Praxeum was bestowed.