Born in the Voss System in 9 ABY, Meleu was born to unknown parents and left on the doorstep of an old and retired miner, Syra Meleu (from whom he was named from, adopting the name Karthdo when he was older). During his upbringing Meleu was taught how to do a multitude of things, but being the sole 'child' of Syra, and with Syra being retired, Meleu decided to follow the footsteps of Syra and became a meleenium miner. At the age of 15, during a freak accident in a mine upon Voss III, Meleu discovered that he was a Force user after saving fellow miners from a collapse. After telling his father Syra what he had discovered, he got a reaction he was not expecting, his 'father' had known all along but had not let onto it. In a fit of rage after discovering that he was too old to join the Jedi Academy, Meleu decapitated Syra, starting his path to the dark side.
After his fathers execution-style death, Meleu quickly realised that mining was not for him, he wanted power but also wanted to experience the galaxy as he had had a love for space exploration ever since he was a little boy. Stowing himself onboard a freighter ship from his mining facility who's destination was Kessel, where another mining facility belonging to the same company was. However, after being discovered by two Voss guards, Meleu quickly dispatched of the two with use of the Force, and promptly took over the ship and flew to Coruscant.
Despite having a freighter full of goods worth millions of credits, Meleu wanted more, he craved more. The dark side was getting stronger it quickly led him to Ziost, home to the Sith. However the Sith didn't believe he was a practitioner of the dark side of the Force as his ship had come from a Republic planet. The Sith decided to sentence him to death and whilst infront of the jeering crowd that gathered round him, shackled and chained, Meleu felt a sudden surge of power come from within, thus breaking the locks on the chains. Using the Force once again, Meleu pulled the executioner's vibroblade to his own hand and swiftly gave the man a taste of his own medicine. Following this, Meleu was quickly apprenticed by Kz'set and began to properly learn the ways of the Force.