Vara Nreem was a Human female who served as a Jedi Knight during the days of the Old Republic. Believing she could learn the secrets of the Sith without allowing herself to fall to the dark side, Nreem traveled to the planet of Krayiss II in the year 4000 BBY, where it had been previously discovered that an ancient Sith presence was located somewhere on the planet. Eventually finding her way to an age-old Sith obelisk, Nreem was able to make contact with a 10,000 year old Sith spirit. This spirit resided within the walls of a library-temple, which had been confined with the circular walls of the obelisk. Managing to communicate with the Sith specter, Nreem believed that she had been able to fool the spirit into telling her its secrets; however, the Sith had not been fooled and proceeded to attack Nreem. Just before being killed by the Sith ghost, Nreem realized that she had underestimated the dark side of the Force, and that it had been her own disparaging attitude toward her enemy that had led to her death.
Intent on learning the secrets of the Sith, and believing she could do so without succumbing to the dark side, Vara Nreem, a Jedi Knight, studied details of the planet Krayiss II where the Jedi Order had long believed that an ancient Sith presence resided. Coinciding with the outbreak of the Great Sith War in the year 4000 BBY, Nreem traveled to Krayiss II intent on discovering the Sith information hidden there.
Arriving on the surface of Krayiss II during the planet's dark night, Nreem was able to follow the Force to a black Sith obelisk that seemed to literally absorb the light from the twin moons orbiting the planet. Knowing that the obelisk was her objective, Nreem began reciting a set of incantations she had learned during the course of her travels, aimed at gaining access to the obelisk's contents. After several times reciting the words of the chant, the ground around her shook as if an earthquake had struck. Keeping her eyes on the obelisk, Nreem was aware as the ground surrounding her split open revealing an ancient Sith library-temple, with the obelisk transforming into the temple's main spire. A library-temple, she remembered reading, had once been a place where powerful sorcerers of pure Sith blood could meditate and set down the knowledge gained through their spells and experiences. Realizing that the temple had finished rising from the ground, she noticed that front of it was adorned by an enormous set of twin double doors, the edges of which were decorated with Sith markings, which she knew acted as both warnings to intruders and receptacles of dark side power.
Nreem soon discovered that the double doors were blocked by the spirit of an archaic-looking Sith Lord, whose head was adorned by a crown of spikes and its body enveloped in a massive and swelling robe. The spirit confronted Nreem, leading her to believe that it thought she was there to do battle with the dark side. Nreem, however, responded by advising the spirit that she did not believe in the lines that were traditionally drawn when classifying the Force, and that all she believed in was the one Force; a pretense she hoped would fool the spirit into teaching her the secrets of the Sith. Nreem soon discovered that her attempt to fool the Sith spirit was in vain, however, for the Sith openly mocked her, her ignorance, and her attempt to coerce information from him that had remained hidden for thousands of years. Calling upon the power of the dark side, the Sith spirit summoned the spirits of three beings, all of which were trapped for eternity in perpetual agony—beings, Nreem soon realized, who were the specters of three Jedi Masters who had previously been defeated on Krayiss II.
At that moment, the spirit of the Sith Lord advised Nreem of their true plan: it was the Sith who allowed her, and other Sith hopefuls, to find them; that it was the Sith who allowed her to call them from the depths of Krayiss II; and that it was the Sith who would decide her fate for believing she could deceive them. The Sith further advised her that she was by no means the first Jedi to attempt to learn the Sith's secrets, nor would she be last. Knowing that she would be forced to defend herself, Nreem drew her lightsaber from beneath her Jedi robes in an effort to protect herself from the spirit who wished to claim her. However, her lightsaber passed harmlessly through the ghostly specter advancing on her, and she was unable to ward off the spirit as it prepared to kill her. Understanding that the spirit of the long-dead Sith was going to kill her, and then ensnare her in a never-ending afterlife of pain as had happened to those who had come before her, Nreem was able to finally realize the ignorance with which she had approached the situation; her final thought was how she wished she could warn other Jedi from likewise underestimating the power of the dark side of the Force.
Vara Nreem was an ambitious Jedi Knight who believed that she could fool the Sith into giving her their various secrets. Believing that she possessed the talent and strength in the Force necessary to accomplish this, Nreem set out for the planet of Krayiss II where she believed resided an ancient Sith presence. Nevertheless, Nreem's own ignorance of the power of the dark side, combined with her own over-confidence in her talents, allowed the Sith spirits on Krayiss II to ensnare her in their trap, which had likewise captured numerous other Jedi before her, and allowed the Sith to claim her life. It was only at the moment before her death that Nreem realized that it had been her own failings as a Jedi that had led to her downfall.
The character of Vara Nreem was created by author George R. Strayton for the West End Games roleplaying game sourcebook Tales of the Jedi Companion. Within the pages of this sourcebook was an untitled short story that featured Vara Nreem and her encounter with the Sith spirit on Krayiss Two. This story would go unnamed until it was reprinted for Star Wars Insider 88 in an online supplement provided on Hyperspace, where it was given the title A Tale from the Dark Side. This online supplement would also provide the year the story was set in, 4000 BBY, which was originally not provided in the Tales of the Jedi Companion.
In the Star Wars Rebels episode "Twilight of the Apprentice" Ahsoka Tano reads a phrase "taka zeech ma toka duuwaj" in the Ur-Kittât from an obelisk.