Chronicles of the Old Republic: The Shadow of Freedon Nadd
3,999 BBY
*Remember, these little summaries are free and were always intended to be free, so go to the link there and read this little section and then give your thoughts as well. When something is legally free and three paragraphs long and you can get there by just clicking one link, I really think we should have a totally informed conversation.
*It is kind of humorous, me writing these pieces on the Chronicles. Because my little summaries are probably like three to four times as long as the summaries themselves.
*So, this appears only on DinoJim’s timeline and it is oddly dated there. It’s actually dated as taking place between 4,400 BBY and 3,999 BBY. I suppose this is because we don’t really have a real nailed down date for Freedon Nadd’s story. And it would have had to happen well before the Beast Wars, I suppose, given that he’s dead and buried and then appears as a spirit to King Ommin when Ommin is still young and healthy. But with stories that are dated as taking place across a span on the timeline, I like to push them back to the end of that span, even if it’s not technically the most accurate. This is because I kind of want to go ahead and keep things simple. In a case like this, it wouldn’t really have mattered that much where in the span I read it, but in others it does, so we’ll maybe talk more about why I set that rule later. Regardless, I’m dating it at 3,999 BBY because that’s when I recommend reading it.
*So, we talked about A Golden Age before and about the whole purpose of the Chronicles of the Old Republic. This is Part II of those Chronicles.
*So, we are briefly told here, in three paragraphs, the story of Freedon Nadd and then given a brief summary of Ulic Qel-Droma & the Beast Riders of Onderon.
*So, I guess the first half of this little thing is where the meat is. Nadd is, it strikes me, still a character about whom not a whole lot is known. We get some of his backstory in the Tales of the Jedi Companion, but beyond that, it’s basically just dialogue in the TotJ comics. But here we do get some more backstory.
*It’s particularly of interest because we have essentially two real sources for Nadd’s life (prior, of course, to his death and existence as a spirit), the Companion and the Chronicles. What’s really interesting about that is that the two sources really don’t mesh together at all.
*Anyway, let’s get to this version of the story. Nadd, a Jedi Knight, follows ‘intrigue and rumor’ to Yavin 4. There, he, of course, calls up the spirit of Sadow and learns of the Dark Side from him. Then, for reasons unclear, he decides to take over Onderon.
*Then we are introduced to Arca, Ulic, Cay, Tott, Amanoa, Galia, Oron Kira, etc.
*How do they decide who gets a name all in caps? Nadd does, but Sadow doesn’t, despite the fact that he did in Part I. Arca, Ulic, Cay and Tott all do, but Amanoa doesn’t. Galia doesn’t, but Oron Kira does.
*That last one really baffles me. In what possible way is Oron Kira more significant than his wife? Or Queen Amanoa? Is this sexism? Cause two women appear in this section and neither of them get their names in all caps.
*The fact that I’m even talking about this should tell you just how fascinating I find the actual story under consideration.
*Again, I don’t even know how to rate this. At least, unlike A Golden Age, it does add a detail or two to Nadd’s story.
*Ahem. As to that. Let’s just quickly run through the differences. It seems to me that the things we want to know about Nadd are: Who is he? How did he fall to the Dark Side? How did he gain his power?
*Now . . . The Chronicles say he was a Jedi Knight; the Companion said he was an apprentice frustrated by the fact that he couldn’t achieve the level of Jedi Knight. The Chronicles say he left the Jedi pursuing “intrigue & rumor;” the Companion says that he murdered one of his teachers. The Chronicles say he went to Yavin 4 and learned the ways of the Dark Side from the spirit of Naga Sadow; the Companion says he went to Ashas Ree and learned by studying there.
*Who is he? A Jedi Knight . . . or a student who had been judged unsuitable for ever becoming a Jedi Knight. How did he fall? Through curiosity about the Dark Side . . . or maybe he murdered someone. How did he gain his power? By studying under Naga Sadow on Yavin 4 . . . or doing solo research on Ashas Ree.
*You can make that scan into some kind of coherent narrative if you want, but it’s just weird that the authors weren’t more consistent with all that.
*Still, this is all more support for my theory about reading the EU as historical documents of unknown accuracy.
*CANONICAL STATUS: This retelling of an already fabricated story should obviously be viewed as even more fabricated and corrupted than the original. This work is NOT RECOMMENDED as a historical resource.
*This is bad. Warned Against. 1 star.
*Nadd casts a shadow this time, but next time he’ll be a little more concrete. Join me next time for Tales of the Jedi: The Freedon Nadd Uprising!