Pirate Prince
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: To sub a holocron and add to the lore surrounding Chaldea.
- Image Credit: ertacaltinoz
- Canon: No
- Permissions: N/A
- Links: Chaldea | Potentium | Path of the Open Hand | Holocron
- Holocron Name: Bartych Halcorr's Holocron
- Alignment: Neutral
- Origin: Bartych Halcorr (pictured above), an exiled Jedi and one of the founding members of the original Potentium.
- Affiliation: Chaldean Potentium
- Gatekeeper: The gatekeeper of the holocron is an imprint of Bartych Halcorr, the holocron's creator. A Bothan-esque humanoid alien with shaggy golden hair/fur and leonine features, his clothing is a hodgepodge of various styles and fabrics from different cultures and time periods. He looks like he raided a thrift shop. Incredibly soft-spoken, he speaks in a gentle whisper and is overall very mild-mannered.
- Description: The holocron is shaped like a cube with an outer frame constructed from a bronze metal. It glows with a blue inner light.
- Accessibility: The holocron may be accessed by a Force User physically touching or holding it and meditating. No other ritual is required.
- Security: By nature the gatekeeper cannot consider a would-be pupil "unworthy", nor does he have any interest in attacking them. Even if he senses malicious intent, he will not necessarily refuse to teach them. That said, the gatekeeper cannot be forced to give up his secrets if he does find a reason to withhold his knowledge.
- Instruction in the rare Sever Force ability.
- Detailed explanation and outline of the beliefs of Potentium, along with Bartych's own interpretation of them—that the Force is ultimately too easily misused and that kind of power should not be in the hands of ordinary mortals.
"Believers of Potentium said that the potential for light and dark sides resided in the user, not the Force itself, and that the Jedi were merely afraid to explore the full potential of the Force. They also thought that the Jedi Masters refused to believe in the Potentium view because it would mean the Jedi were not needed to fight evil, for evil would not exist. And since there was no dark side, there were no dark side actions or Force techniques; in effect any action, good or evil, could be performed without risk as long as the intent was not evil..." — Wookieepedia article on Potentium
"Intent, intent—there is much talk of intent. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Study history, not just of the Jedi and the Sith, but galactic history in general, and you will see countless men and women who only wanted to help, to use their power for good. But power corrupts. Not just absolute power, but power itself, by its very nature, will bring out the worst in you. Good people make sure to use their power sparingly, but even then there is always the fear of losing control, or of not doing enough... It can only lead to ruin." — Bartych Halcorr
"Intent, intent—there is much talk of intent. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Study history, not just of the Jedi and the Sith, but galactic history in general, and you will see countless men and women who only wanted to help, to use their power for good. But power corrupts. Not just absolute power, but power itself, by its very nature, will bring out the worst in you. Good people make sure to use their power sparingly, but even then there is always the fear of losing control, or of not doing enough... It can only lead to ruin." — Bartych Halcorr
In 132 BBY, a concept was theorized among a sect of the Jedi that would become known as Potentium. Followers of Potentium rejected the orthodox conceptualization of the Force as split between Light and Dark, and instead saw it as a whole, without duality. They typically explained their beliefs by stating that the "Light Side" was just the Force itself, which they often instead referred to as "Potentium". Thus, evil came from within the Force User as a result of selfish or malicious desires, not any "Dark Side" which corrupted them or fed into their negative emotions. Many members of the Potentium were less interested in serving as guardians, which was the traditional role of the Jedi, and instead wanted to explore the limits of the Force, stretching their powers into realms forbidden by the Jedi.
As a result, they were expelled from the Jedi Order. The Council made their decision on the grounds that Potentium followers were not true Jedi due to their rejection of the traditional Jedi role and duties. While the Gray Jedi were deemed "misguided", Potentium was considered enough of a threat that it was even suggested that it may have originated as a Sith plot to subvert the Jedi.
At the time of their expulsion, the leader of the group was Leor Hal, who had recruited many students from prospective Jedi among the aristocratic families of Coruscant and Alderaan. But there was already another split in Potentium between those who, while respecting Hal as a man, resisted the idea of having a single leader, or "Magister" as Hal would come to call himself. Thus, while Hal and his followers settled on Zonama Sekot, other Potentium members, among them Bartych Halcorr, settled on Chaldea with a smaller but no less fervent group.
Bartych Halcorr, who had spent much of his life struggling to control his bestial rage and passion in order to conform to the Jedi Code, took a very different view of Potentium. While he agreed that it was the Force User's responsibility to use their power responsibly, he also acknowledged the folly of striving for moral infallibility. Weaknesses and vulnerabilities are found in everyone, and a "dark side" does exist in the heart of all living beings. This inner darkness can only be successfully controlled by the most strong-willed of beings. The vast majority of Force Users inevitably fall short.
Over time, Bartych's views would become influenced by the Path of the Open Hand, a much older anti-Force User religious group. He eventually came to believe that the Force/Potentium was an inherently dangerous entity, and that its power didn't belong in the hands of mere mortals. The power given to Force sensitives was too much for them to bear without succumbing to their flaws. In addition, he felt that the Jedi and the Sith both became too dependent on the Force, to the point where they could not live without it. In his view "Potentiates" should devote themselves not to learning more about the Force, but to finding ways of blocking it out and removing it from their lives. Permitting only strictly practical uses, even then it is preferable to cut oneself off from the Force, lest one become dependent on it. It is more of a burden or curse than a gift.
Bartych's holocron was made after his move to Chaldea, and it has since been housed in the archives of the Chaldean Academy in Nezamiyeh, where it has been studied extensively. His teachings have been fully incorporated into the belief system of the Chaldean Potentium, which credits him as one of its official founders and the holocron as a primary "sacred text".
Last edited:
