The Essential Guide to Force Exile/Aspra Serpaddis

"A teacher, and a preserver, and a facilitator. I am the one who empowers others to act on their desires."

- Aspra Serpaddis

Aspra Serpaddis was a Force-sensitive Thisspiasian male. Born into a family of nobility, he was raised during the rise of the Empire and saw Imperial xenophobia first-hand even as he became a teacher. When the Empire bombarded the planet and subjugated it, the young Thisspiassian was left furious and angry. His family had perished in the struggle while he was trapped at the university he taught at. Disconsolate over his helplessness at their loss, he began to seek out the means to ensure such a tragedy never happened again. He spent much of his time brooding and searching for power.

The Thisspiasian began to research the dark side of the Force, hoping to tap its power while hiding himself from the Empire. The money he had inherited from his parents funded his research, while he maintained his teaching position. He had no desire to be affiliated with the institution that had wrought such devastation on his homeworld. Instead, he focused his efforts on researching the arcane knowledge of the past.

Over the years, he learned more and more and specialized in his knowledge of minerals and the effects of the Force in each one. He even learned how to build a lightsaber and constructed four of them, one for each arm. However, while he was deep in knowledge of the dark side and even some of the secrets of the Sith, his ability to practically wield the Force was limited.

As the Empire crumbled, he began to seek out those who had such knowledge and could teach him. He resigned from the university in 10 ABY and fell in with a group of Dark Jedi, which included the Gotal Sha'laam Psykith and Humans Krakadas and Therior. Together, they searched for dark side artifacts and teachings while training themselves to further unleash the power of the dark side. The rise of the New Republic meant that they had to carefully conceal their teachings, particularly when Luke Skywalker began to rebuild the Jedi Order.

Aspra made a significant breakthrough when he tapped into the power of the Ilnash crystal, a mineral that was closely attuned to the Force. Its presence when properly refined and shaped amplified any nearby usage of the dark side. Aspra kept the secrets of his mineralogy to himself, but used them to serve the needs of the group, allowing them to grow increasingly powerful. He was their teacher, the one who knew the most about the artifacts and texts they uncovered, but Therior, a former Inquisitorius trainee with his own frigate, was their leader.

In 27 ABY, Psykith was slain by a group of Force-using Elite Guardians from Yanibar, who had learned of his activities and confronted him. Before Psykith fell, he sensed the burgeoning darkness in one of them, a Wroonian woman named Ariada Cerulaen and tempted her with the power of the dark side and knowledge of the others, telling her to seek out "the Thisspiasian." Ariada eventually fell to the dark side, her resolve worn down by the horrors of the Yuuzhan Vong War, and fled Yanibar.

Remembering Psykith's message, she journeyed to Thisspias, where after dealing with a local Anzati criminal in spectacular, dominating fashion, her Force-use attracted the three Dark Jedi: Aspra Serpaddis, Therior, and Krakadas. Though she told them that Psykith had sent her, they were distrustful. To test her, they put her through a series of excruciating tests to prove both her identity and her dedication to the dark side. Ariada was first tortured until near death and only the willful choice to instead inflict that torture on another innocent in order to survive saved her&mdash;instead, the other prisoner was killed. She was also implanted with ilnash crystals near her knuckles, shoulder blades, and kidneys that helped focus the dark side through her body. During these ordeals, Aspra Serpaddis stated his confidence in her and tried to see that she was treated well after she passed each test. Though he knew the need to test Ariada, he also sensed a greater power and calling in her, as well as her zeal to wield power to stop injustices, just as he had once been.

Lastly, Therior required her to lead them to something that proved the existence of the Yanibar refuge of which she had told them. She reluctantly took them to Revan's tower, an ancient source of strength known to the Yanibar Guard, onboard their frigate Umbra's Edge. There, they found the Yanibar Guard placing a defensive mass shadow mine network around the location. Only Ariada's quick warning allowed them to escape being trapped there forever, though the Yanibar Guard ship there was also able to flee and thus warn Yanibar of the impending danger. Ariada's mind was forcibly entered by Therior during the incident, allowing him to take the technique needed to see through Force camouflage from her. However, denied his prize of the Force nexus, he insisted that she take them to Yanibar, using Force camouflage to hide the Umbra's Edge from the Yanibar Guard. She was dragged down to another room in the ship and chained to a chair near a group of dark-side focusing Ilnash crystals which would amplify her power to protect the ship.