Hayden Ragnos-Sakaros was the artificially grown "son" of Tak Sakaros and Valadyn Ragnos. Lost from the control of his "mother" early in life, he became a Jedi Master of the New Jedi Order, serving as a member of the Jedi High Council and Master of the Order until the Sith-Imperial War. He was the master of Souv Tanake and the half-brother of Tariun and Rin Sakaros.
Biography[]
Wayward Son[]
Valadyn Ragnos, biological sister of the late Dark Lord of the Sith Khrado Ragnos and blood sister of Tak Sakaros, was both a scientist and an alchemist to rival her brother. Though she did not share Khrado's dream of restoring the Sith race on a broad scale, she did seek to pass on her family's genes. Having lost her own half-Human son to his biological father, she sought to create more reliable progeny.
Though Khrado had been more powerful than any other Sith she knew, Valadyn doubted her ability to control for the damaging effects of what would effectively be inbreeding. However, she was operating from aboard the Vengeance, a warship provided to her by Tak and with some of his own data aboard. Using Tak's genetic material and own of her own eggs, she created a fetus and grew it in laboratory conditions. She named the resulting child Hayden.
At some point in Hayden's infancy, the New Jedi Order obtained custody of Hayden through means unknown. However, they also took the blanket the boy was wrapped in, which bore the clan symbols of Clan Ragnos and Clan Sakaros. Ignorant of his heritage, Hayden was raised as a Jedi student by the New Jedi Order. His instructors considered him a promising student and an intelligent, generally compliant child. He was given the surname "Shysa".
Like many Jedi younglings during the Yuuzhan Vong War, Hayden was kept secreted away, traveling the Great River from safehouse to safehouse before finally being secured at Shelter.
The Truth[]
In 31 ABY, Hayden was apprenticed to the Qua Jedi Master Ye`keb Millennium. He grew to know her family as well—Jedi Master Viprous Auroras and Jedi adept Jasmine Auroras. Viprous, like Hayden, was a Sith pureblood who had nonetheless become a Jedi, and Hayden took some inspiration from him.
By 33 ABY, Ye`keb and Hayden were stationed at the small Jedi praxeum on Naboo. There Ye`keb encountered the Sith Lord Tak Sakaros, Tak's apprentice Lorelai Whitesun, and Hayden's own half-brother Tariun. Tak and Ye`keb fought on numerous occasions, but also served as occasional allies against other, more pressing threats. Ye`keb eventually allowed Tak to meet Hayden, and Tak recognized Hayden as a pure-blood Sith and identified the Ragnos crest on Hayden's blanket, which he had kept as a memento, but was at a loss to explain it.
Valadyn returned to Naboo shortly thereafter, and Tak was appalled when she revealed how she had created Hayden; given the blood brotherhood between him and Khrado, he considered Hayden's creation a form of collateral incest. However, he was even more disgusted that his son was a Jedi, and tried to convert Hayden away from the Order.
Hayden was disturbed by the truth, but remained committed to the light side, feeling uneasy and disquieted by the dark side. However, he did maintain contact with his father, trying to discover more about his heritage and subtly lure Tak toward the light. Neither succeeded in moving the other, but they kept up contact anyway. Tariun also spent time with his brother; the two were not close, but, like Tak, Tariun insisted that their blood bond made them important to one another anyway. The idea seated itself deeply in Hayden's understanding of the world; having never known his family (unlike many modern Jedi), he felt the connection was important despite his disapproval of his father and brother's leanings. Though he had little time with his mother, Hayden established a connection with his mother's side of the family through his first cousin, once removed Andromeda Keane.
In the chaos throughout the galaxy in the wake of the Yuuzhan Vong War, many Jedi remained ignorant of the goings-on at Naboo. Of the few aware, such as Jedi Watchman Maximus Kironis, many disapproved of Hayden's connection with his father but were unable to convince Ye`keb otherwise; others considered Tak something of a half-hearted Sith Lord at worst both because he had aided the Alliance during the Vong War and because he had bypassed numerous opportunities to kill both his cousin Kay Larr and Jedi Master Ye`keb Millennium. After coming to terms with his family history, Hayden embraced his heritage to prevent fear from sapping him of his strength in the light. To show that what he was did not determine who he was, Hayden deliberately abandoned the surname "Shysa" and began going by both his family surnames.
Life and Death[]
Around 33 ABY, a Dark Jedi named Teeron besieged Naboo, and Masters Millennium and Kironis forged an uneasy alliance with Sakaros and his Sith faction. During the battles, Teeron unleashed a plague into Naboo's swamps which propagated in the water. Many fell ill, including Hayden. While Tak unleashed a revenge campaign against the Dark Jedi, Ye`keb attempted to treat her Padawan, but Hayden died.
He did not, however, stay dead. Unwilling to accept the loss, Ye`keb managed to resurrect Hayden with the unwitting assistance of other Jedi. Hayden found the experience deeply jarring, but recovered in time, while the Jedi/Sith alliance finally ground Teeron's forces to dust.
Jedi Discretion[]
In 35 ABY, Hayden's biological mother Valadyn died. Shortly thereafter, Tak killed Viprous Auroras in a duel, to Hayden's fury. Within months, Tak and fellow Sith Lord Gav Daragon fell into an internal dark side conflict which lasted nearly six years, and Tak fled Naboo ahead of Gav's larger armada. To Hayden's confusion, his master Ye`keb relocated as well, and transferred Hayden to another Jedi's tutelage. Despite his frustration, Hayden and his new master traveled the galaxy on behalf of the Order, Hayden alert for snippets of information concerning his master or his father. During the Second Galactic Civil War, Hayden and his master fought on behalf of the Jedi Coalition, though they had several close calls with the Galactic Alliance Guard.
While on leave to Naboo shortly after the war's end, Hayden discovered his father had returned and was poised to become Naboo's senator, having earned the queen's good will. He was more surprised, however, to find he had a new sister, Rin, the product of an adulterous union between Tak and Ye`keb; she had sent him away because she herself had to flee into hiding to protect her child. Hayden could sense Rin's power and realized the Jedi would want to make her one of them, just as Tak wished to make her a Sith Lord. He endured a crisis of conscience, still vexed with his father for killing Viprous and disappointed in his former master Ye`keb for the affair, and he struggled with whether to report Rin's existence to the Masters Council, but ultimately decided against it, not wanting to both see his sister torn between two factions and possibly get his father and brother (and many Jedi) killed.
Over the last years of his apprenticeship and into his Knighthood, Hayden visited his family in the Naboo embassy on Coruscant as often as he could. He trained with his father and brother, both of whom he considered exceptional warriors and who helped him refine his swordplay. Rin enjoyed his visits, and Hayden often read her stories; on at least one occasion he actually spent the night, and Rin went to Hayden for comfort rather than either of her parents when she had a nightmare. Hayden tried to bolster Ye`keb's efforts to inculcate some measure of compassion in Rin.
Knighthood[]
Hayden was Knighted in his early twenties and immediately embroiled in the conflict surrounding the entity known as Abeloth. Though he had been present at Shelter during the Yuuzhan Vong War, his broad training with Ye`keb and his understanding of the dark side from his father allowed him to avoid the worst effects of the Force psychosis that befell some of the other Jedi at Shelter. Tak, who had stayed out of the conflict to keep Rin safe, offered Hayden shelter in the Naboo embassy during the Liberation of Coruscant, but Hayden refused and actually fought in the Assault on the New Jedi Temple, dueling and cutting down two Sith in the process. Hayden survived the conflict unscathed, for which he wryly thanked Tak the next time the two met.
Over the following years, Hayden served all over the galaxy, proving himself an able negotiator and a capable warrior. Jasmine Auroras had by this time long since left the Jedi Order, and Hayden kept an eye out for her when he was on Coruscant. Hayden sensed his former master Ye`keb's death in 60 ABY, and though he suspected his father's involvement, he lacked enough information to prove it. When Rin left Tak in 65 ABY, Hayden was aware of it, though he did not manage to see her before she departed the capital. Over the following twenty-two years, a handful of reports about the traveling red-skinned "witch" made it past the "idle rumor" stage. Moved by his early-ingrained determination to be loyal to and protect his family, Hayden worked to suppress these stories, and as a result the Jedi remained too ignorant of Rin's odyssey through the galaxy to appreciate its seriousness.
Though otherwise loyal to the Jedi and committed to the principles of both the light side and the Galactic Alliance, Hayden's exposure to his Sith father and brother had given him a slightly different perspective on the galaxy, and many Jedi considered him creative and clever but unorthodox; a few went so far as to consider him a Gray Jedi. However, he was widely respected by his fellow Jedi, even senior Masters.
Despite his proficiency, at some point during his Knighthood Hayden fell victim to the "Sakaros curse", losing his first lightsaber on a mission; he subsequently built another.
Mastery[]
By 80 ABY, Hayden had been promoted to the rank of Jedi Master; his Sith biology kept him youthful and powerful despite his age, and he alternated between teaching assignments and fieldwork. He frequented the minor Jedi academies throughout the Core, and became aware of the Arkanian Jedi child Souv Tanake. Monitoring her progress during her youth, he took her as his Padawan at the uncommonly young age of ten.
Hayden and Souv traveled together for eight years, and Souv picked up more than a little of her master's unorthodox approach and willingness to choose the best solution in a given situation rather than waiting for a perfect one. He also trained her to be an expert in Makashi and a powerful telepath. Due to Hayden's instruction and her own gifts, she was Knighted at the age of eighteen.
In 110 ABY, Hayden was invited to a seat on the Jedi High Council. As a Council Master he was often seen as one of the more "radical" Masters, in that he encouraged the Jedi to do what was right rather than what the Galactic Alliance wanted when the two were in conflict. Despite the occasional divisions caused by his politics, he remained well-respected even by his opponents. He served alongside such Jedi Masters as K'Kruhk, T'ra Saa, Kol Skywalker, and Jextar Cyern-Star. Jex's mother Jadian was an erstwhile ally of Tak's and a lifelong friend of Rin's mother, and Jex and Hayden often worked separately to keep the very few stray reports of Rin and her Golden Empire leaking out of the Unknown Regions from the ears of the Council. Hayden eventually intuited what was going on, but opted not to speak to Jex on the matter, figuring some things were better left unsaid.
Though Rin remained beyond his sight and Tak had vanished from public life, Hayden kept an eye out for as much of his family as he could. He was aware of Andromeda's survival, her daughter Alexandra, and her grandchildren Mirum, Axelia, and Jarek Solios, though only Andromeda knew Hayden was their relative. When Mirum joined the Jedi Order in 111 ABY, Hayden took a careful interest in his training and helped his young cousin overcome the grief of his parents' death in 117 ABY.
Final Years[]
Hayden served for some time as Master of the Order, though he eventually ceded the position to Kol Skywalker.
Having been influenced by his brother Tariun, who had been a Yuuzhan Vong slave during the Yuuzhan Vong War, Hayden was initially skeptical of the Ossus Project, though he eventually overcame his prejudice and voted to support it. When the One Sith's manipulations sabotaged the project, Hayden was among the Jedi who investigated; he suspected the influence of the dark side, but could not prove it. He urged Jedi restraint in the Sith-Imperial War that followed, both convinced the real face of the enemy had not been revealed and not eager to see his cousin Axelia (now an Imperial Knight trainee) endangered.
When the One Sith openly declared themselves, Hayden felt vindicated in his beliefs, and occasionally took the field himself to duel Sith Lords. Despite the contribution of the Jedi, however, the Alliance was largely defeated and the Jedi withdrew to Ossus. There they were attacked by the Sith in 130 ABY. Hayden fought in the battle, acquitting himself well against his enemies, but eventually died fighting Darth Nihl, who stabbed him through the chest; Hayden died with his normal stoic look, accepting his fate.
Legacy[]
With Hayden's death, the last pureblood Sith member of the Ragnos family died.
Light-years distant, Rin received a vision of Hayden's death at Nihl's hands. She was heartsick and outraged, but Tariun talked her down from seeking revenge; the Golden Empire was preparing for war with the Chiss Ascendancy, and Rin could not attack the newly-triumphant One Sith without exposing her Empire.
Souv Tanake became Master of the Jedi Enclave on Nar Shaddaa in the last years of Darth Krayt's reign, and there forged an uneasy alliance with Hayden's father Tak, now a crime boss of the Merquise Syndicate. After Tak's death, Souv (influenced by the memory of Hayden) became an ally of Rin and the Golden Empire, and eventually a Centurion. Both Rin and Souv speculated that Hayden had been preparing Souv for the decision, if only subconsciously.
The Sakaroses finally received their vengeance for Hayden's death in 148 ABY, when Rin killed Darth Nihl on Dromund Kaas.
Powers and Abilities[]
Hayden's fellow Jedi considered him insightful, inventive, clever, and uncommonly powerful; Tariun Sakaros felt that Rin was more powerful and Khrado Sakaros could have rivaled Hayden, but that Hayden was more powerful than Tak or any of the other Sakaros siblings (including Tariun himself). He devoted much of his training to the use of the Force, and could occasionally perceive the future in visions. He was sufficiently skilled in the mental aspects of the Force to prevent other Jedi from perceiving his sister Rin's existence in his thoughts, even as a later-stage Padawan. By the time he died his mind was basically inscrutable to anyone, even his apprentice Souv.
Somewhat influenced by his father and brother's combative nature, Hayden chose to master Makashi rather than a more passive form. Other Jedi regarded him as a brilliant swordsman, though he was ultimately unable to overcome Darth Nihl.
Hayden spoke several languages, including Basic, Huttese, Bocce, and Sith. Tak thought Hayden got Valadyn's brains, and many beings considered him both extremely intelligent and uncommonly well-informed about a broad range of issues.
Appearance and Personality[]
A lab-created Sith pureblood, Hayden had his species' red skin, facial tendrils and bone spurs, and, despite the deep recession of the gene on his father's side, yellow eyes. He had a more lithe build than most male Sith, fit without being clearly athletic, and wore his black hair neatly cut. Many Jedi described him as appearing stoic and serious. He carried a curved-hilt lightsaber with a green blade to mark his status as a Jedi Consular.
Souv Tanake believed her master had a sharp and lightning-quick wit. Many Jedi regarded him as wise and intelligent but unorthodox. Despite his stoicism, most beings found him kind and supportive as well. He displayed bravery in his final duel with Darth Nihl and after suffering a mortal wound, keeping his solemn, grave expression until becoming one with the Force.
Hayden's connection with his dark sider family did not lure him away from the Jedi, but gave him a somewhat broader perspective on the galaxy. However, it also gave him the trademark Sakaros commitment to family, leading Hayden to use his position as a Jedi to keep the rest of the Order ignorant of his sister Rin's activities in order to protect her.