Lady of Patience
-= THE TEMPLE OF ANNIHILATION =-
BEEPLE: “INFINITE SOLSTICE”
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Intent: To create use my Codex Contest award and create Force Nexus with an interesting premise for future roleplays.
Image Credit:
“Infinite Solstice” by Beeple
Canon: N/A
Links:
Codex Contest VI Results
Salis Sterili
SETTING INFORMATION
Nexus Name: The Temple of Annihilation
Nexus Alignment: Neutral
Location: Salis Sterili
Affiliation: The First Order
Size: Small
Accessibility: The Temple is not outwardly hidden. But it is isolated from the rest of society. Located on the all but uninhabited world of Salis Sterili, and the site was only recently discovered. A low, sprawling settlement known as Solomon’s Flats has sprung up around the Temple for worshippers and clerics, as well as smugglers hiding from the First Order, but there is no established form of transportation to routinely bring people to the isolated site.
Security: The temple is protected by a group of clerics numbering roughly 100, who’ve travelled to the Temple, settled, and are now dedicated to protecting it from outside interference. Occasional inspections from First Order forces are tolerated, but as a general rule outsiders are unwelcome.
Description: The Temple of Annihilation is made up of several ancient stone rooms and chambers, each interconnected by a series of winding passages. The structure extends a few floors under the ground, and likewise above the ground. However, most of the upper floors have been lost due to time, and the corrosive effects of the salt flats on which the site is situated. One part of the temple does remain intact, and that is the central courtyard, a huge ring of stone supported by worn pillars, and with an elegant tree in its centre. This is generally perceived to be the centre of the Nexus, and the source of its power.
NEXUS EFFECTS
Increased connection to the Force. The temple grounds are saturated with strong Force energies. Because of this, Force Sensitives in the area around the temple will feel a stronger attunement to their chosen path of the Force. Practices like meditation or mind reading, will become easier for the user. Similarly, abilities like telekinesis or Force Lightning will become more powerful while within the influence of the Temple. These effects are only active while within the temple, and do not continue once the Force User leaves the site.
Objects imbued with special characteristics. Items left to soak in the pools and channels of underground salt water beneath the temples will gain unique properties over time. Ancient weapons found bathed in the waters beneath the temple have been found to be particularly powerful in the force. A stronger edge and a ethereal glow are just two of the effects studied in artefacts recovered from the waters below the nexus. Note: All items found or created at the Nexus must still be submitted and approved in the Factory.
Annihilation of living beings. If one were to look carefully at the temple, they may notice that despite the many cracks and crevices, holes in the walls and forgotten corners, there is not a spider or rat in the entire complex. This is due to a peculiar effect of the Nexus, in which a living being is slowly absorbed into the Living Force. Those who spend an extended time in the temple complex may find their physical grip on reality weakening, and those who spend many weeks or months there may fade away entirely. It is believed this is a result of the event thought to have created the Nexus, when a large number of Grey Jedi sacrificed themselves in a ritual to join the Living Force as Force Ghosts. Note: Player characters can decide the specifics of the Nexus effects for themselves.
POINTS OF INTEREST
The Centre Garden: The highest surviving point in the ruins of the Temple of Annihilation is the ancient garden at its centre. A ring of shrubs and flowers surrounds a wide circle of flagstones, at the heart of which is a clearing with an ancient tree. It is believed that the garden is the exact location where the order of Grey Jedi transcended the physical world and joined the Living Force. As such, it is perceived to be the centre of power for the entire temple complex.
The Force Pools: Below the temple, and seeping into the ruined lower rooms, runs a network of pools and streams. The water is saturated with salt, and the influence of the Force. In the years after the discovery of the temple, it was discovered that items left in these pools and streams could be imbued with special properties. These properties could be further strengthened or changed by the influence of a skilled Force user.
The Temple of Annihilation was built somewhere between 100 ABY, and 350 ABY. It was settled by a group of Grey Jedi seeking shelter from Galactic conflict, and a place to unlock the secrets of the Force. As time went on, the goal of the sect of Force users became to unlock the secrets of the Living Force, and thus preserve their consciousness as Force Ghosts. Many years after its creation, the Temple became a Force Nexus. This is due to the actions of more than 50 Grey Jedi, who sacrificed themselves simultaneously in the temple’s centre garden in an attempt to connect with the Living Force, and live on as Force Ghosts. The order within the temple never recovered to its former numbers, and the dwindling population of clerics were wiped out by the Gulag Plague, leaving the temple abandoned.
The temple was rediscovered many years later, as people once again began to settle the Outer Rim. As the First Order began to take control of territory in the area, Salis Sterili was largely ignored, written off an unimportant and of little value. However, the establishment of scattered mining operations by the First Order lead to the accidental discovery of the dilapidated temple complex. Researchers exploring the site were able to find some written accounts of the life of the Greys, and thus piece together a fragmented history.
Soon after its rediscovery, a group of neutral Force Users secretly occupied the temple, building a ramshackle settlement known as Solomon’s Flats around it. Today they work to maintain the temple grounds, protect it from outsiders, and research its many artifacts and texts. Their presence is tolerated by the First Order government, as they maintain the site, and do not interfere with the planet’s mining operations.
It is not public knowledge that the Temple of Annihilation is a Nexus of the Force. Only a limited number of officials are privy to that knowledge, as well as some of the elite amongst the Knights of Ren.
