Vur Tepe (Jedi Renaissance)

"Whatever Anil Kesh can imagine, Vur Tepe can make real."

- A popular saying by members of the Je'daii Order.

Vur Tepe, or the Temple of Metallurgy was one of nine Great Temples of the Jedi Order located on Talss continent of the verdant world of Tython. A large metal structure, the Temple at Vur Tepe was located along the mouth of an active volcano along the Tythos Ridge. A place of study and hard work, students learned the ways of the Force through metallurgy and the construction of tools and weapons. After the Force Wars ravaged Tython, the Je'daii abandoned the temple and the world for millennia. When the old stewards of Tython returned as the Jedi Order after the Clone Wars, the Jedi located the ruins of the ancient Forge and rebuilt the Temple to its former splendor.

Je'daii Order
When the philosophers and scholars from across the galaxy first arrived on Tython in the age of the Infinite Empire, they were brought forth from the stars on giant pyramidal constructs called the Tho Yor. These nine massive ships scattered across the planet and landed in separate locations, releasing those held within to settle the planet. The Tho Yor themselves would serve as the very foundations for these travelers' new homes and places of study. One of these Tho Yor deposited it's passengers on the slopes of an active volcano along the Tythos Ridge. The Tho Yor remained aloft in the sky looking down at the volcano as the early Je'daii Order established a massive metal and stone temple on the lip of the active caldera. A monument to the art of metallurgy, the students of Vur Tepe would craft their weapons in the fires of the volcano; the bottom of the temple formed an interior dome which harnessed the heat from the flowing lava to power the forges. The temple itself, a rust-colored zigurrat which rested on four sheer support walls, was crowned with several barrel-shaped smokestacks that belched out smoke created in the fires of the Forge.

Upon arriving at Vur Tepe, it was necessary for all Journeyers to undergo an orientation of sorts which provided them with the skills they needed to endure the adverse affects of the Force-storms raging beneath them at all times. The temple at Anil Kesh had a close working relationship with the Temple of Vur Tepe; a saying existed which claimed, "whatever Anil Kesh can imagine, Vur Tepe can make real." The Je'daii Temple Master, the Je'daii who served as steward of the facility and oversaw its functions, would see that all students practiced safely and used the forges wisely. The Temple served the Order for millennia and the weapons which were created there were the finest in the systems. When the Infinite Empire invaded the Tython system, many Je'daii were pulled from their posts at the academy to contribute to the war effort. Those who remained behind forged new weapons and war material to be used against the Rakatan invaders. When the Force Wars began after a schism of ideology tore the Order asunder, the remaining Je'daii were split over which side they would join; the Ashla-Je'daii who vowed to uphold the light side, or the Bogan-Je'daii who sought to plumb the mysteries of the dark side. When Temple Master Tem Madog supported Bogan Je'daii Daegon Lok, Ashla Je'daii Garon Jard led a small group of followers into the core of the facility and destabilized the volcano over which it was perched. Ending in a violent eruption, the Temple was reduced to ruins and much of its history lost.

Reconstruction
Many millennia removed from the Force Wars, the Jedi Order saw itself weakened after a near fatal alliance with the Galactic Republic drew them into a deadly war. On the brink of extinction the Order appointed a new Grand Master, the Purpilian Tomac Moorcé, who would reinvigorate the Order and begin a new chapter in its history known as the Jedi Renaissance. Sending scouts to Tython, the High Council ordered an exploration of the ancient ruins of the Je'daii temples with the intent of rebuilding them and using them to bolster the existing Jedi academy system. Having been familiar with the ruins of the Forge for several millennia, the Builder Corps and the Council of Site Preservation and Construction used ancient schematics and new technology to draw up plans for the Temple's rebirth.

As work was underway on Tython, the High Council selected the Besalisk Jedi Master Plun Kil to serve as the Temple Master for the facility. A powerfully-built being with a hardy laugh, Kil was cheerful yet stern and a strong Jedi Master for the job. Watching the Temple's construction from a distance, Kil quickly opened the academy upon its completion and set to work churning out new Force-imbued artifacts for use as weapons, talisman and other uses as the Jedi regathering information lost to time from the time of the Je'daii. As the first group of Jedi Journeyers arrived on Tython at the end of 18 BBY, Vur Tepe's forges were able to begin to manufacture weapons as well as small vehicles and craft. A center of learning, the Temple quickly became a necessary destination of Jedi Knights and Masters in need of specialized weaponry or survival gear that was customized to their needs.

Several years after the academy's opening one of its lead instructors, Master Kazdan Paratus led a team to the moon of Desevro to reclaim an ancient facility abandoned during the New Sith Wars. The engineering academy was situated over a mine with heavy deposits of a ore which could be imbued with the Force to produce parts necessary to build semi-sentient droids. Appointed as Headmaster, Paratus's academy served as a satellite facility to Vur Tepe and its findings were reported to Kil and his eventual successors.