Padawan Kesh (Jedi Renaissance)

Padawan Kesh, or the Temple of Trials was one of nine Great Temples of the Jedi Order located on Masara continent of the verdant world of Tython. A large stone structure with several bronzium cupolas and spires, the Temple at Padawan Kesh served as the Order's ceremonial temple where the Trials of Knighthood were administered and all Knights received their rank.

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. Settling in the northern foothills of the island continent Masara, the Tho Yor which would serve as the foundations of Padawan Kesh lay several kilometers inland from the vast seas which surrounded the continent. The Temple served the Order for millennia until its ultimate destruction during the Force Wars which saw the birth of the Jedi Order and the abandonment of Tython.

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. Locating the ruins devoid of any traces of the Tho Yor, 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 Human Jedi Master Mavra Zane to serve as the Temple Master for the facility. A noble fighter, a celebrated instructor, a respected teacher and wise voice among the Order, Zane had served the Order with distinction during the Clone Wars and was the High Council's first pick to lead the new Temple. Arriving on Tython as the Academy neared completion, Zane was eager to undergo the Great Journey herself before accepting stewardship of the Temple. Trekking across Tython on foot, Zane returned to the Temple a month ahead of the first Journeyers and was eager to welcome them to the finish line of their adventure before Knighthood. Crafting the tests based on modern and ancient Trials, Zane was confident that the Temple would provide a fair yet challenging series of tests for the Journeyers. As the first group arrived mid-17 BBY, Zane stood ready to commence as the sole being responsible for elevating A Journeyer to the rank of Jedi Knight.

Upon arriving at Padawan Kesh, Journeyers presented themselves to instructors for a brief introduction to the facility and an orientation to the ceremony surrounding the Trials and the Knighting process. Ascending into one of the preparation towers to fast and meditate, Journeyers would arrive at the Trials Chamber at dawn and work through a battery of five Trials administered by the Temple Master. The Trials of Skill, Courage, Spirit, Flesh, and Insight were designed to push a Jedi to the edge, forcing them to call upon all aspects of their training. If the Trials were successful, a Jedi was ushered into a chamber to clean themselves and meditate before stepping out onto the promenade on the rooftop of the Temple to engage in the knighting ceremony. Once the ceremony was complete they were free to leave Tython and return to Ossus for mission assignment.

Designed for the Trials
A large structure made from stone blocks, Padawan Kesh had a square main structure with two large rectangular towers on its back two points and two smaller circular towers at its front. The rooftops of the main structure and the larger towers were adorned with bronzium-clad cupolas and spires which shimmered in the radiant light of Tythos. The rooftop of the main building was lined with banners and flags and hosted the Knighting ceremony at the completion of each Trial.

Entering the Temple from the base, a Journeyer had access to the facility's dormitories, meditation rooms, cafeterias and dojos at all times, just as in all other Jedi temples. However, the Trials Chambers were off-limits to all Jedi beyond the administrators of the Trials and those undergoing testing. The main chamber, accessed via massive stone doors moved by the Force, was a cavernous rotunda encapsulated by the Temple's main structure. Along the curving walls of the rotunda were towering statues of the last Je'daii Temple Masters of Tython; all of whom held their palms open, grasping colored flames corresponding to their discipline. The statue of Master Ketu held presented both palms: one burned with white fire, the other black representing the Temple of Balance. The main floor of the Trials Chamber was left bare, aside from the stone mosaic tiles on the floor depicting the struggle for Balance within a true Jedi's heart. Candles burned in the corners near the alters to the Temple Masters while a distant white light shone from a circular opening in the ceiling. Several levels of balconies ringed the room, running behind the nine statues with several doors leading to smaller chambers. It was within these rooms that some of the Trials were administered.

Trial of Courage
Because courage was a vital quality in a Jedi, the Trial of Courage was seen as appropriate to give even to those who didn't specialize in combat. The Trial of Courage was the Great Journey itself; trekking across Tython, facing its mysteries and dangers, braving the seas and mountains and forests. All of these things constituted the Trial of Courage and arrival at Padawan Kesh signified the end of the first Trial.

Trial of Skill
The Trial of Skill was one of the oldest trials in the battery of tests preferred by the Order. While the test did consist of numerous displays of lightsaber technique, the test's main goal was to force a potential Knight to display an ability to avoid distraction through self-discipline. Within the main chamber, a Journeyer may come face-to-face with a simulacrum of a long-dead Sith Lord, a famed Jedi hero, hordes of Dark Side Adepts, or a skilled martial artist from another Force-based order. The simulacrum moved and acted as if it were real, and the pain it could inflict was not imagined. A masterpiece of Force-engineering, the Trials program could project an uninterrupted simulacrum anywhere within the main chamber. At other times, a visiting Master might enter the chamber to test the student's skills, dueling them with the intent on disarming them. Other students might face many opponents, some of them attacking with a lightsaber, others manipulating perception or altering the environment in the chamber. Moving tiles, attack droids, and other obstacles were often employed, sometimes simultaneously. If the student's skills called for a different sort of test, they might be drawn out to the roof of the facility where they would be made to perform acrobatic feats, while using the Force to levitate objects in the midst of deadly Force storms.

Trial of the Flesh
The Trial of the Flesh was the most trying test given at the Temple. Involving the apprentice overcoming great physical pain, hardship, or loss, the test sometimes resulted in death or dismemberment. Throughout history, the Trial was known to involve bloodshed of some form. At the height of the Pius Dea Era, the Order subjected its apprentices to burst of energy applied directly to the skin, known as the Burning. While this type of torture was abandoned by the Order, battle scars were accepted as passage during the New Sith Wars. It wasn't that uncommon for Padawans who defeated a Lord of the Sith on the battlefield to pass the Trials of the Flesh, Skill and Courage at the same time. During the Arkanian Revolution, Squire Kinning lost an arm in order to pass the tests. Prior to the Golden Age of the Jedi, the Council saw the separation of Master and Padawan at the end of their journey together as a significant trial, as the relationship was usually very close. Under Temple Master Zane's administration, the Trial of the Flesh often involved the use of a chamber off the main room. Within, the Journeyer might be confronted by their Master in the midst of battle only to be slain right before their eyes. Other chambers may draw on a Jedi's feelings of the initial abandonment of their parents to create images of the parents scolding them or defaming their deeds. In order to pass this test, a potential Knight must rid themselves of the emotions which might cloud their judgment and move past those thoughts which trouble them. If a Journeyer arrived at the Temple dismembered, a limb lost to Tython, the Temple Master would often deem that a sufficient Trial.

Trial of the Spirit
To pass the Trial of the Spirit, apprentices had to look deep within their souls, on a quest of self-discovery. This test was designed to pit a potential Knight against their most dangerous enemy: the darkness within themselves. Often times, apprentices did not like what they saw, and it could be a highly traumatic experience. Because of this grueling self-examination, this Trial was often known as Facing the Mirror. While bearing similarities to the Trials of Skill and Flesh, this test did not involve moving at all in most cases; instead a Padawan delved deep into a meditative trance to combat their inner fears and demons. Because of the ultra-personal details of the test, it is not one that even the High Council dare dictate, a Padawan must write the script for what will transpire on the journey. Because of the dangers of such deep meditation, a Master was always present to help guide a student back; after they pushed them past where they least desired to go in their thoughts. The worst that could happen following a failed trial is awakening from meditation screaming and mentally broken.

Trial of Insight
The Trial of Insight was the last test offered as part of the Trials of Knighthood. Installed in the Trials program after noting that while a Jedi could take down a Sith, they could be undone by common thieves, this test helped a Jedi to see what was really in front of their eyes through use of the Force. Seeing through illusion, evaluating an individual's true persona, and unveiling lies are essential to a successful mission. Given within one of the specialized chambers off the main Trials Chamber, one such room contained statues of the Four Sages recovered from the office of Darth Sidious. The statues would whisper the High Riddles of Dwartii and require a Padawan to analyze and decipher them else be attacked by the statues. Another chamber's floor was covered with broken text and scattered files, with one page containing the clues needed to escape the seemingly exitless chamber before it filed with paralysis gases. One chamber was filled with stones large and small, all hiding a singular grain of sand. Other tests might including negotiating with the simulacrum of a crime boss, a senator, or dealing with the shades of powerful Sith like the Sorceress Darth Phobos and seeing through their illusions and lies.

Knighting ceremony
Upon completion of the tests, the Temple Master would appear on a high balcony within the main chamber and beckon for the Journeyer to kneel at the center of the chamber. The floor there would then lift up, ascending by repuslor technology and pass through the ceiling into a sterile environment within the Temple's central cupola. Within the stark environment, they were permitted to strip and shower before meditating until a chime rang at which time they would stand back on the platform and be lowered to kneel at an even level with the Temple Master's platform. A narrow bridge would extend to connect the platform with a doorway to the outside, leading out onto the Temple's rooftop. Descending the stairs, a Journeyer would kneel at the feet of the Temple Master who would stand among a gathering of Journeyers, as well as Jedi and friends who helped the honored student on their way to knighthood. With Tythos shinning brightly at the Temple Master's back, she would ignite her lightsaber and slice off the Padawan braid worn by hair-growing species, or otherwise remove the Padawan mark with the Force to signify their ascension. Once the ritualistic words were said and the ceremony completed, the newly-named Jedi Knight was free to depart the Temple.

Reassignment
Should a Journeyer fail to complete their Trials appropriately, they were offered the chance to take a remedial course at the Temple and retake the Trials within a week of their initial failure. Should they fail twice, they were able to retake their Great Journey or join the Jedi Service Corps. While always a great disappointment to fail, the Service Corps served as a place for those individuals not cut out to be a fully-ranked Jedi to still live on the Jedi Path and grow in different ways from their Jedi brothers and sisters. Shuttles departing Padawan Kesh would deposit Jedi at the Council of Reassignment's headquarters on Ossus so that they might be reassigned.