Bendu Order

Religion
''From the Ashla, we find emotion From the Ashla, we find peace From the Ashla, we gain knowledge From the Ashla, we find passion From the Ashla, we fear not Through the Ashla, we gain eternal life Through the Ashla, we find love Love is the answer to the darkness Love can ignite the stars.'' - The Bendu Code

Proverbs of Ussej Padric Bac
Before the end of his mortal life, Saint Ussej Padric Bac the First wrote in his journals fifteen proverbs that he believed all beings of the galaxy should follow. This journal was found by his son, Priest Ussej Padric Bac II, and became required studying for all Bendu Apprentices working towards Knighthood. They became known as the Proverbs of Ussej Padric Bac, and have been followed by the Bendu Order ever since the departure of Saint Ussej Padric Bac from his mortal journey.


 * 1) Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.


 * 2) As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all beings.


 * 3) Speak your truth quietly and clearly and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant for they too have a story. Avoid loud and aggressive beings, as they are the vexations to the living spirit within us all.


 * 4) If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter for always there will be greater and lesser beings than yourself.


 * 5) Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.


 * 6) Exercise caution in your dealings with others, for the galaxy is full of trickery. But, let this not blind you to the virtue there is. Many beings strive for high ideals, as even in the darkness there always rises a hero.


 * 7) Do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love, for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is perennial as the grass.


 * 8) Take kindly the counsel of years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.


 * 9) Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune, but do not stress yourself with imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.


 * 10) Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the galaxy, no less than the tress and the stars. You have a right to be here.


 * 11) Whether or not it is clear to you, never doubt that the galaxy is unfolding as it should. Therefore, be at peace with Force, or whatever you may conceive a higher power to be.


 * 12) Whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace with your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams it is still a vast and beautiful galaxy.


 * 13) You cannot escape death. Death, not just of the corporeal body, but of all manifestations of the mind is inevitable. It is the way of all things....the Way of the Force. When someone is dying of thirst it is too late to dig a well. If you wait until you are upon your deathbed to practice the Way, it will be too late. Death will not wait a moment longer than it is ready. Do not be lazy, but be steadfast as a serious, deeply committed warrior is steadfast. Life is impermanence. All things are subject to change, as nothing can last forever.


 * 14) Beware the binding tractor beam of attachment, for a being who is attached to his body, his thoughts, his feelings, his beliefs, his percepts or his consciousness is imprisoned and can never know true freedom. To commit to the Way is to give up selfish desires and to live for the benefit of all beings whether they be Gungan, Ewok, Bendu, Jedi or Sith.


 * 15) Redemption comes from the release of self, not the exaltation of self. It comes through compassion, not greed. One lone candle is enough to fight the darkness. Love is more than a candle. Love is the answer to the darkness. Love can ignite the stars.

Hierarchy
Bendu Hopeful - A Bendu Hopeful is a child no older than thirteen who shows a great sensitivity to the Force of Others. When a Bendu Hopeful reached thirteen years of age, they would meet with the Council of Priests and eventually solely the Bendu High Priest who would then determine whether or not they would be accepted for training within the Bendu Order. If accepted, the High Priest would instruct them the accepted one where, when and with whom they would begin their training. If they were not accepted, they would return to their lives within the villages, never being able to request training again. Very rarely would a candidate be turned away.

Bendu Apprentice - The first stage of Bendu training. A Bendu Apprentice is taught the powers of the Force of Others, the intricacies of the Ashla and the Bogan, the history of the Bendu Order and the philosophies that the Bendu Order lives by. A Bendu Apprentice is also taught the art of the sword, though that would come much later in the stages of training as the Bendu Order feels that the more you know about philosophies and powers then the more naturally one would be able to perform with a sword. at the end of training, a Bendu Apprentice is faced with the challenge of completing the Trial of Wills, a rigorous ordeal that tests an Apprentice physically and mentally, before ascending to the level of Bendu Knight.

Bendu Knight - Only after completing the Trial of Wills and being deemed worthy by the Council of Priests can a Bendu Apprentice ascend to the level of Bendu Knight. The Knights of the Bendu are the guardians of peace and justice within the Ashlan Expanse, though they are rarely called off of Kal’Shabbol for help in the peaceful region of space. Although a Bendu Knight has completed the bulk of his training, he would still study the ancient texts found within the Bendu Archives and would continue to receive some instruction on more challenging forms of philosophy and powers from the Bendu Priests. Should they be called upon to do so, a Bendu Knight would take on a Bendu Apprentice of their own.

Bendu Priest - After the successful training of a Bendu Apprentice, a Bendu Knight may be considered to become a Bendu Priest. However, there are only fifty Priests within the Bendu Order, one for each major village on Kal’Shabbol. If the Council of Priests deems a Bendu Knight to be a resourceful and innovative leader within the Bendu Order and feels that the Knight is truly ready to be exposed to a higher calling, they will appoint him to be a Bendu Priest. Priests do not reside in the Bendu Temple of Light, though they visit their on an almost daily basis. They reside within the village they were chosen to oversee and lead weekly religious services in and help the villagers with any problems they may encounter. Though they continue to oversee the Ashlan Expanse somewhat, their main focus is serving as the religious and political leaders of the villages. Should a Bendu Priest truly shine above the rest of his peers, he would be considered for a seat on the Council of Priests. Perhaps the most famous of Bendu Priest's is Ussej Padric Bac II, as he was credited for a major shift in thinking when it comes self-pride.


 * Council of Priests -

Bendu High Priest - Though the Council of Priests is mostly a group of equals, one will serve above the rest. This is the Bendu High Priest, and there is only one at a time. A Bendu High Priest is chosen by the Council of Priests for a life term upon the death of his predecessor and serves as the leader of the Bendu Order, as well as the unofficial “King” of Kal’Shabbol. He is responsible for all training and religious activity within the Bendu Order and on Kal’Shabbol, as well as the political activity on the planet. Perhaps the most famous of Bendu High Priest’s are Ussej Padric Bac, Ussej Padric Bac III and Ussej Padric Bac LXIV, as they were all credited with making major changes to the Bendu Order for the better.

Sainthood
Sainthood was by far the highest honor any Bendu could ever hope to attain, though in truth it was rarely thought about or spoken of in public. The honor of Bendu Saint was given posthumously to only a few Bendu High Priests, and occasionally a Bendu Priest, based on their achievements in life. The only true criteria is that a candidate brought about a major shift in any facet of the Bendu Order and that they had the love, respect and trust of not only the Bendu but of all the people of Kal’Shabbol. Few have received this posthumous honor in the history of the Bendu Order, including but not limited to:


 * Zios Malachor
 * Ussej Padric Bac
 * Laili Jeyna Rendar
 * Kit Corwin Rendar
 * Ussej Padric Bac II
 * Ussej Padric Bac III
 * Jos Corwin Rendar

Prophecies
During the forty year journey from Had Abaddon to Kal'Shabbol, many visions came to The Skywalker which led to the writing of many eight prophecies about sixteen different people throughout history, starting with The Voyager. He wrote them down within his sacred journals and when his descendants found the Whills, they gave them said journals to be the first entries within the Journal of the Whills. The eight prophecies are as follows:

Mythical Worlds
There are many worlds in the long history of the Ashlan Expanse that have played a key role in the founding of the Jedi Bendu Order and the Bendu Order. Many are known to exist, though others are still the subject of much debate. Only faith can truly prove the existence of some of these worlds, as their locations have been lost forever.


 * Ashlan Three - Not much is known about the mythical world of Ashlan Three, other than the fact that it was once a very poor and desolate world and that it was the birthplace of The Skywalker. Though the planet is believed to still be inhabited, the location of this sacred planet had been lost throughout the ages. Many within the Ashlan Expanse do not believe that it even exists, nor that The Skywalker existed, but the Bendu Order still believes it to be a real place, albeit shrouded in mystery. The only remaining record of it’s existence is a quote from the Journal of the Whills, excerpted from the Commentaries of Jedi Bendu Master Cresh, where Master Cresh states that “that majority of these facts are not in dispute my fellow Jedi Bendu Masters - that The Skywalker lived, that he came from Ashlan Three and lived on Had Abaddon one hundred centuries ago, that he and his twelve children were the first of the Jedi Bendu and that their descendants are prophesied to help form a “Galactic Republic” in which all of civilization will be unified.”


 * Ashlan Four - On his deathbed, The Skywalker told his twelve children that their “descendants will go out among the stars and find a race of great wisdom called the Whills. They will accept their destiny and follow the Jedi Bendu to this system and dwell within the light of the Ashlan Nebula. On the fourth planet, they will record our story”. By the time of The Great Sovereign Crusades, Ashlan Four had been home to the Whills for seventy-five thousand years, fifty thousand years longer than the life span of the Galactic Republic itself. The planet is not their world of origin, the name of which has been forgotten, but in deference to the Whills no other races have settled there. Most of Ashlan Four is still a wilderness. The cool, wet mountains are home to the graceful Shri Haws, high-flying avian predators who feed on the local population of Scurriers. The peaks are also roamed by sturdy, six-legged Thor Goats. The most dangerous animals, the voracious yet slow-witted giant Vlids, have long since learned not to approach the monastery. How this was accomplished is unknown, though some suspect it to be the powers of the Force of Others calling out to the beasts themselves. Much like Ashlan Three, the location of Ashlan Four was lost through the ages.


 * Kal’Shabbol - Not to be confused with the Outer Rim world of Kal’Shebbol, Kal’Shabbol was once a Jedi Bendu world and later became the sole residence of the Bendu Order. This world was the first in the Ashlan Expanse to bear life, which is why the Jedi Bendu of the Ashla were so desperate to find it before the death of The Skywalker. Because it was the first planet to bear life, the Force of Others was stronger here than on most other worlds, though it was not the strongest source of the Force of Others. When the Jedi Bendu arrived, they set up their conclave in the habitable region of what they called the Ashlan Mountains. Deep within the mountains, they buried their scriptures so that only they would know where to find them. They soon began to watch over the inhabitants of the world, introducing them to the ways of the Force of Others. Once the Jedi Bendu Order split into two, a group loyal to the old ways settled on Kal’Shabbol and formed the Bendu Order.


 * Tirnanog - Tirnanog, a planet on the edge of the Ashlan Expanse, is said in legends to be the “Planet of Eternal Youth”. This sacred world has only been stepped upon by the few and the foolish, as it is warned in ancient Jedi Bendu and Bendu lore that the lust for eternal youth can drive a person over the edge and onto the path of the Bogan. Little is known about this world other than it is a tropical paradise that played a major role in The Ashlan Wars. Few within the Bendu Order know of its location, and none outside of the Order itself know of its existence.

Behind the Scenes

 * The Bendu Order was created by Brandon Rhea based off of the limited information given by George Lucas in the original drafts of The Star Wars about the formation and philosophies of the Jedi Bendu Order. The majority of the information about the formation of the Bendu Order, which is mostly the story of The Skywalker, is based off of The Journal of the Whills, a novel by Brendan J. Whalberg.

Appearances

 * Schism: The Legend of the Jedi Bendu
 * Shadows of the Jedi: The Legend of Ussej Padric Bac
 * Shadows of the Jedi: The Legend of Ussej Padric Bac II
 * Shadows of the Jedi: The Legend of Ussej Padric Bac III
 * Lettow: The Curse of Carden Mannux
 * Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Beginning