OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: To create a temple on Kro Var for both interesting RP and to kick-start a story.
- Image Credit: Servane Altermatt, Denis Rutovsky, Jocelyn Tang
- Fantasy Concept Art
- Piotr Dura
- Canon: Guardians of the Whills
- Links: Phaiden Maez,
SETTING INFORMATION
- Nexus Name: The Great Kro Var Temple / The Kyber Temple of Kro Var
- Nexus Alignment: Neutral
- Location: Ungoth Valley, Kro Var
- Affiliation: The Guardian's of the Whills [Kro Var Temple]
- Size: Medium
- Strength: Moderate
- Accessibility:
The Kyber Temple of Kro Var was created as a refuge, one hidden away from the leering eyes of the many darkside inhabitants of Kro Var just as well as any off-world conquerors. Created some time after the reign of the Galactic Empire came to an end, this temple was founded by Guardians who had survived the massacre of the Jedah Temple by the Empire and sought to keep such an event from striking again. As such, the temple was created with the help of several earth attuned Kro Var who used their combined powers to hollow out a large mountain in the center of the fiery Ungoth Valley. The temple is possibly one of the best kept secrets on the planet.
The location was not chosen for it's safety or ability to be hidden as the primary factory, however, rather the location was a lucky convenience. The primary concern was the massive Kyber caves that had been discovered within the mountain - on top of which the temple was built. To ensure the temple remained hidden, however, the hollowing of the mountain was kept subtle on the outside - resembling meager caverns that became winding labyrinths. Only after careful navigation would you come to the globe-shaped core that'd been hollowed in the center of the mountain.
The orb, which measures at a four mile radius, is known as the "Valley of the Temple" and lies buried under several miles of solid mountainside. It is unobservable from all angles when outside the mountain. When one first enters the valley they are greeted by narrow bridges over a deep abyss before reaching a large gate with a Kyber Orb acting as a locking mechanism. This gate is constantly guarded by a Gatekeeper and his disciples. The rest of the temple is also guarded by more members of the Guardians of the Whills, a warrior monk order that is more than capable in acting to defend their home.
- Description:
The density of the Kyber Crystals near the temples has led to a lush and unique flora to develop, mostly comprising of glowing mushrooms and crystalline plant life. Hot springs from the surrounding valley have also been redirected into the Temple caves as artificial waterfalls that serve both an aesthetic and practical use as either adding to the beauty or filling reservoirs for consumption. The temple is extremely low-tech, not only because of the scarcity of technology on Kro Var but to make the temple more difficult to detect. The temple is made primarily of mountain stone and carved Kyber Crystal - the latter of which is also used in several sculptures located throughout the temple grounds.
NEXUS EFFECTS
Kro Var is a dark world, but what sets Kyber apart is its balance. Unlike temples of other origin, the Kyber Temples harness that natural forces that permeate from the Kyber Caves - a presence that is neither dark nor light, but merely powerful in the Force. As such the nature of a Kyber Nexus is mystical in nature and can be drastically different depending on who is feeling its effects. However, the Kyber caves do have generalized effects on individuals as well.
General Effects:
These effects are universal;
- Increased force power potency
- Increased feelings of comfort/calm
- Increased chance of premonition or glances into the past
- Increased capacity to retain & absorb knowledge
- The feeling of being in the presence of something more powerful than a mortal
Other Effects:
The temple can effect individuals in different ways, depending on who they and what they are. Sith may experience visions of themselves if they had not turned a dark route, while Jedi may see the reverse - watching themselves grow more powerful but more monstrous if they used the Darkside. Someone is frightened of their future may get glimpses of it, someone seeking answers may be given more riddles.
Kyber in concentrated amounts, such as it is here, doesn't act in either a dark or light manner. Instead, it fuels what is already inside the user - either consciously or subconsciously.
POINTS OF INTEREST
Mouths of the Mountain:
The Mouths of the Mountain is the name for three openings on the West side of Mount Almidor that lead to cave systems that navigate to the Kyber Temple. These three openings are the few of dozens of caverns that were purposely hollowed out that actually lead to the temple, while all the rest act merely as distraction and only lead to dead ends far from the Kyber Caves and the temple. The Mouths are small openings on the outside of Mount Almidor that are just as unassuming as any naturally occurring cave would be - jagged and generally hidden among the slopes of the mountainside.
However, when one does manage to enter one of the Mouths they are opened up to a vast cavern system with ceilings as high as twenty feet or as small as five depending on the chamber. The Mouth Cavern System runs for miles along the mountain some paths leading to peril or dead-ends with only a handful that can be successfully navigated to reach the temple. The average cave explorer could take months or years to ever find the temple, while someone who knows the path could find their way in hours.
The caverns are constantly monitored by the Guardians, some of whom act in rotating shifts to meditate on the labyrinth in order to sense anyone getting to close to the temple uninvited.
The Peace Bridges
If an individual manages to make it through the lava flows of the Ungoth Valley and then manage to navigate the labyrinths, the third line of defense are the aptly named "Peace Bridges". Three bridges link three, ringed pits that separate the Valley of the Temple from the cave network. Each bridge is a narrow, five-foot wide path that acts as a choke point that can be destroyed in the event of attack. Lava flow from the mountain runs beneath the bridges, a burning end to a fallen victim after a fifteen-story drop.
It is also at this point that an individual would begin to feel the effects of the Force Nexus created by the Kyber Caverns underneath the temple.
The Kyber Gate
After one manages to cross the three "Peace Bridges" they will arrive at the "Kyber Bridge" a final, narrow path that will take them to the foot of the Kyber Gate. The gate is built at the head of a stone pedestal on which the entire Valley of the Temple rests in the center of the mountain. The pedestal itself is adorned with massive kyber-sculpted statues of shamans - both of whom hold bowls of water that flows from the hot springs. These statues represent the shamans of the old Church of the Force and the water itself represents the Living Force that they, and the Guardians, devoted themselves to.
The gate itself is flanked by yet two more kyber-sculpted statues, these two being of robed Jedi who stand facing one another with their arms folded into their sleeves - as if standing watch over the foot of the gate. The gate itself is forged from the stone of the mountain and is centered with an orb of smoothed Kyber that acts as the locking mechanism. The Gatekeeper, a Guardian who is tasked with standing watch at the Gate, uses the force to spin the Kyber orb and unlock it for visitors to pass. Needless to say this is a rare occurrence.
It is here at the Kyber Gate that one would begin to experience stronger effects from the Nexus.
Valley of the Temple
The Valley of the Temple lies just beyond the gate and dominated by lakes of spring water and the Kyber Temple itself. A visitor would be experiencing the full effect of the Nexus at this point - with the only stronger point of contact with the nexus being in the Kyber Caverns themselves. Glowing flora, such as mushrooms and small shrubs, dot the landscape outside the Temple's face, which is carved from a combination of local stones and Kyber decorations. As it was outside the gate, Kyber statues of Jedi and other robbed figures adorn the temple and its courtyard, each radiating with the energy of the Nexus.
Several gazebos and floral beds offer meditation areas for the Guardians and their welcomed visitors. Several sparring rings and outdoor classrooms also dot the courtyard and offer a place for Guardian Disciples to learn and train together.
Kyber Caverns
The Kyber Caverns are the center on which the Kyber Temple was built upon and represent countless miles of cave systems that stretch far beneath the mountain, each system lined with countless numbers of Kyber Crystals both small and large. These crystals are also the source of the Nexus of power present in and around the temple and thus these caverns would yield the strongest effects of the Nexus itself. If all the crystals were to be stripped away or destroyed, such as the case was on Jedah, the Nexus would cease to exist.
The Heart of Kro Var
The Heart of Kro Var is the center of the Kyber cavern network. It is here that the most concentrated energies of the Kyber Crystals exist, as well as the largest crystals in the entire network. Unbeknown to the current Guardians, this "Heart" is not a abnormal construct to the other Kyber Temples and were used by the founding Guardians as a force-powered link between the temples from which the Guardians could communicate. These links are not automatic, however, and are currently useless as most of these great temples are abandoned and out of repair. Most Guardians don't even realize the Hearts are capable of such a link and lack the required knowledge or strength in The Force to reactivate them.
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
Much like the mountain on which the old Jedi Temple on Coruscant was built, the Nexus on which the Kyber Temple rests is naturally occurring. Unlike the Coruscanti Mountain, however, the nexus here is caused by the strong concentration of Kyber Crystals found in the caverns underneath the mountain in which the Temple was built. This cave network was discovered by the Guardians of the Whills nearly a century after the defeat of Palpatine's Galactic Empire and, with the help of the New Jedi Order, was claimed in name of the Guardians to act as one of the many new holy sites being built.
The original intent of the temple was to both protect the Kyber, which the Guardians revered as a holy relic, but to also help provide the Jedi Order - who were revered by the Guardians - with Kyber Crystals for the foreseeable future. While temples on other planets were more well known, the site on Kro Var was deemed to at risk to be ever be more made public. It was feared that streams of pilgrims would draw the attention of the native Kro Var who may attack the temple and claim the powerful caves for themselves.
Thus the Guardians enlisted the help of several Kro Var shapers who had been turned away from the darkside. These shapers helped hollow out the mountain the temple now rests in and were thanked by being allowed to enter The Jedi Order or the Guardians at their leisure. The caverns were a painstakingly kept secret and because of the risk involved with traveling there, Jedi rarely ever made the journey. For most intents and purposes, the Kro Var temple served as a proof on concept and a spiritual victory for the Guardians. In reality, the temple saw very little practical use in its time.
When the Gulag Plague wiped out the galaxy and severed all communication between the temples, the Guardians sealed the entrances to the cave network in what is now known as The First Isolation. The Guardians would primarily reproduce with one another with very little contact with the outside world for the entire darkness - which lead to a severe drain on the number of Guardians at the temple. When the Plague ended, the temple reopened its entrances but did little to establish outside contact. Instead, the Guardians would sent their disciples out into the Kro Var population to maintain an information network and gather general happenings on the planet.
Things stayed quiet in the temple and it would remain open, regrowing its numbers through careful recruitment of the Kro Var population. However, when the One Sith invaded the planet the Guardians sealed the entrances to the Temple in The Second Isolation, which would only end far after the One Sith had been driven from the unknown regions. Now the Temple remains open, but its order of guardian monks remain vigilant to protect the Temple's secrecy.
