Athriel Sernen was a Nonderanian from the planet Nonderan. He was born in 51 BBY into a poor family in the city Dinskk. His family was killed when he was seven, forcing him to live on the streets. When he was ten, he was banished from civilization, and therefore was forced to live in the vast wilderness of Nonderan. In 36 BBY, when the Galactic Republic discovered Nonderan, he became a dark Jedi and led a cult called the Resistance. He led them through large conquests, destroying colonizer cities and killing over a hundred Republicans. This lasted until 35 BBY when a Jedi padawan named Kau-Ja Manew, who was also a Nonderanian, fought and killed the cultists. Athriel barely survived, having to fake his own death to do so. He joined a Sith named Darth Octillious to get revenge on the Jedi, but as soon converted to the Jedi’s side. He attacked Octillious, who stabbed him in the chest and left him to die.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Athriel Sernen was born in 51 BBY on Nonderan. His family was in constant debt, owing money to dozens of businesses and banks. When he was seven, his father, Lethier, accepted a loan from a loan shark named Komess Urmen. When he couldn’t pay Komess back a few weeks later, the loan shark sent a gang of a dozen Nonderanians to kill the Sernen family. They broke into their house in the middle of the night and beat Lethier to death with boards of metal. Next, they went to the children’s room, not realizing that they had awoken from the noise. As they entered, they beat Athriel’s two brothers and sister to death. They also assaulted Athriel, but the Nonderanian was left alive because the police arrived. Athriel left the bloody house with a broken arm and as an orphan. He spent the next few years on the street, begging for and stealing food. When he was ten, he was caught fighting an adult homeless Nonderanian. They were both exiled for doing so. When they were cast out of the city and into the forest, they assaulted each other again, but this time out of anger. It ended when Athriel force choked the adult to death. The young Nonderanian spent the next few years in solitude, before starting to come across other exiles about his age. They formed a cult in 38 BBY called the Resistance. They used the force to raid small sections of Dinskk.
Destruction of the resistance[]
In 36 BBY, their home planet, Nonderan, was discovered by the Galactic Republic. The Resistance was infuriated by the outsiders and targeted them in their new raids. The Republic sent a Jedi in 35 BBY to kill off the Resistance. The Jedi sent was a Nonderanian padawan named Kau-Ja Manew. The Resistance sent one of their members, Jalun Virnn, to kill the padawan, but Kau-Ja quickly and easily killed him. They decided to keep their distance, but Kau-Ja found another member, Neeilo Ameril. After a short duel, he too fell at the padawan’s hands. Now it was obvious that either they killed Kau-Ja Manew, or he killed them. He tracked down a third cultist, this one named Fercil Domor. After a violent conflict, Fercil fled and let his partner, Naccim Jomav fight. Jomav was also killed though, bringing the death toll to three. Athriel kept sending members in until only he and Fercil were left.
The two cultists ran into an opening, planning on fighting on familiar terrain. Kau-Ja soon spotted Athriel, and they dueled. After the long and violent conflict, Athriel realized that he couldn't defeat Kau-Ja Manew. He decided to fake his death and see what Fercil could do. He did just that and Fercil was actually stood a chance. He knocked Kau-Ja over and jumped onto the Jedi, saber pointing downward and stabbing him. He was wrong though, to think that Kau-Ja was dead, because the Jedi then stabbed and slashed Fercil repeatedly, killing the cultist. After the Jedi left, Athriel took a few days to rejuvenate and then sought out the Sith, Darth Octillious, to ally himself with.
Rise and fall of a brotherhood[]
He finally found Darth Octillious after a few weeks of searching. The Zabrak Sith made Athriel swear an oath to him, then sent him on a mission: kill Kau-Ja Manew. Athriel obeyed, but out of revenge than sheer obedience. He caused a disturbance in the force that he knew that no Jedi could resist investigating and then just waited for his prey to arrive. Pretty soon, he saw the Jedi approach the area and he plunged forward. Kau-Ja turned around, sensing a familiar being. When seeing Athriel Sernen, he said that he killed him. The Dark Jedi simply stated, “Not quite,” and attacked. After a brutal struggle, Kau-Ja’s master, Durja Lanew came, sensing the battle and drove Athriel away. He returned to his own displeased master.
Soon after the run-in with Kau-Ja, Darth Octillious told Athriel about his goal, which was attacking the colonizing city, Falmar, which was home to countless civilians. Even though not wanting to kill so many innocent lives just to scare the Galactic Republic away from Nonderan, he was loyal to his Sith master and obeyed. Octillious though, said that it was not yet the time to strike and that rivalries had to be silenced first. Then, Athriel watched as the Sith commanded 2 Dark Jedi, whom he knew personally, to assault the Jedi encampment. This was a task that even Athriel knew would be a suicidal task. He was traumatized when he heard that the Dark Jedi’s corpses were discovered several hours later. A few days later, Darth Octillious assigned Athriel Sernen on an even more vicious and troubling task: to attack the Jedi Knight, Durja Lanew, and bring him back to his master alive. He did so when the young human Jedi was on patrol. He snuck up behind him and knocked him out. The Nonderanian then dragged his victim’s unconscious body to his master’s domain, deep within the wilderness of Nonderan. Upon Durja’s awakening, Darth Octillious told Athriel to round up all of the Dark Jedi under Octillious’s command and to raze the city, Falmar, to the ground. As he ran, he heard Kau-Ja Manew arrive at Darth Octillious’s camp in the distance. Soon, he heard footsteps chasing after him. He turned his head to see Kau-Ja running after him. The Jedi quickly caught up with him and a small fight broke out. It ended with Athriel Sernen being beaten nearly unconscious and being dragged into the Jedi encampment.
Once regaining full consciousness, Kau-Ja Manew interrogated him but he wouldn’t give up any information. It was there that Kau-Ja Manew would imprint certain words that would later decide the fate of Falmar. He also overheard that Durja Lanew and a third Jedi named Ardma Suqui were going to intervene in Darth Octillious’s plot to destroy Falmar. He continued to be interrogated, but after a while, Kau-Ja, who was guarding him, sensed that Durja was in trouble and went to help, taking Athriel along. Along the way, Athriel turned on his guard, stole a lightsaber and went to fight the other Jedi. Once fighting and defeating Durja Lanew, Darth Octillious came over and told him to finish it and kill the Jedi. Athriel Sernen thought it through for a moment, thinking back to what Kau-Ja Manew told him earlier and then made the most important decision of his life. He decided that it was wrong to kill the Republicans and to be with the Sith at all. Athriel turned around, trying to stab Darth Octillious in the ribs, but the Sith blocked the lightsaber and, in turn, stabbed Athriel Sernen in the chest. Athriel fell to the ground. This filled Durja Lanew with anger, who used it to drive Darth Octillious away. The Jedi then went over to Athriel and spoke to him, before the Nonderanian passed away.
Personality and traits[]
Athriel Sernen was a sentient being that was never afraid to stand up for what he believed in. He was always ready for a fight, especially if there was something at stake. Still, self-preservation allowed him to survive the murder of his family and cult. It seemed that the more that someone beat him or put him down, the stronger and more aggressively he would rise again. The revelation that Kau-Ja Manew brought upon him in the last few minutes of his life changed his general way of thinking, but he was still a fighter at heart.
Throughout his life and especially after Nonderan’s discovery by the Galactic Republic, Athriel had always hated outsiders and any type of change whatsoever. When he was captured by the Jedi, he kept calling Kau-Ja Manew a traitor due to this hate of outsiders and the fact that the Padawan had joined those whom he hated. What Kau-Ja said though, “It was my choice to make,” changed his way of thinking by putting the situation in a whole new light. That phrase turned it into the idea that if a fellow Nonderanian, who shared the same basic beliefs as all of their species had, could join those outsiders, then the Galactic Republic might have not been as horrible as he once thought. This seed of revelation dug its roots into his mind and sprouted during a time of life-changing crossroads. He was pushed into either doing his duty and killing the Jedi Knight, Durja Lanew, or doing what his heart told him what was right and turning on Darth Octillious. In the end, the decision took his life but allowed him to die at peace.