Pythas Lok was a quiet, intelligent Cardassian male who attended the Bamarren Institute for State Intelligence where he was given the designation Eight Lubak. He was short and slender with dark eyes and long lashes which made him look younger than the rest of the group. He came from a service family. Pythas was one of the hunted in Lubak group’s first wilderness hunt and managed to successfully evade capture and return to the institute. Pythas was something of an outsider in Lubak group due in no small part to One's subgroups efforts to force him out of the group in an attempt to deflect Pythas' obvious superiority within the group.

Their shared background and ability led to Pythas and Elim Garak becoming good friends and Pythas later worked with Elim in Barkan Lokar's team in the institutes mock battle competition leading Five and Seven into battle. With his abilities consistently proven Pythas was promoted to One Lubak when he entered the second level.

Leading his team against Barkan Lokar in the next competition Pythas was betrayed by Four Lubak resulting in the competition being a draw.

Pythas went on to become an Obsidian Order operative; he worked with Elim Garak on an operation to bring down 'The Brotherhood' (a group of powerful political and military families) by interrogating Procal Dukat. He later succeeded Enabran Tain as head of the Order after Tain's retirement.

At some point prior to the end of the Dominion War Pythas sustained serious injuries, leaving him with a severely disfigured face, he was nursed back to life by Nal Dejar, a fellow Obsidian Order operative and his close friend and companion. Shortly after the war Pythas considered aligning himself with Directorate but found the arguments of Alon Ghemor and his associates, who included Elim Garak, quite convincing and moved in support of Ghemor's Reunion Project. (DS9 novel: A Stitch in Time)