Star Wars Fanon
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The Eye of Ashlanae was a great temple complex erected by the Jedi Order on the garden world of Ossus. Serving as the Order's primary temple for millennia, the Eye of Ashlanae sat on the peak of Mount Ysanna in the Eocho Mountain Range. Originally constructed as a memorial to the fallen Jedi of the First Great Schism, Ashlanae was reconstructed four millennia after its destruction by Grand Master Tomac Moorcé following the end of the Clone Wars and the death of Darth Sidious. Once more serving as the headquarters of the Order and the permanent seat of the High Council, the Order underwent a renaissance on their newly reclaimed fortress world. Over the ensuing centuries, Ossus thrived as the home of Jedi wisdom, encouraging visitors from across the Republic, Confederacy, and other neutral governments to visit and study at the the Great Library and marvel at the Eye of Ashlanae's craftwork and statuary.

History[]

Cultural center[]

When the Jedi Order first arrived on Ossus, they integrated into the existing cities and villages established by the local Iduxians, who had seen their world used as a military installation under the Empire of Xim. While the Jedi primarily used the hulls of their ancient sleeper ships and surrounding buildings to house their members and teach new students, a new home was needed as the Order expanded. Taking up residence in private homes and using alms to pay their way in society, it wasn't until the upheaval of the Great Schism that the Order fundamentally began to change. After the fighting in the Eocho Mountains died down between the warriors of the Jedi order and the Legionnaires of Lettow, the Jedi Ruling Council sought to establish a memorial for the fallen. Taking to the slopes of Mount Ysanna, where the worst of the fighting had taken place, each surviving Jedi carved a massive block of stone from the foothills surround the mountain and used the Force to carry it up to the summit. Weeks of moving blocks was ended when the capstone of the monument was set in place in the mighty ziggurat. Appearing to grow out of the mountain itself, the Jedi frequently made pilgrimages to the temple, which they called the Eye of Ashlanae.

Over the ensuing years, additional buildings began to be established on the slopes of Mount Ysanna, spreading outward in concentric circles to fill the valleys and ridges of the surrounding area. The Ruling Council of the Jedi took the Eye as their seat, convening within the Temple to issue proclamations and dictates to the members of the Order and to provide counsel to the fledgling Republic. As the Eye became a popular pilgrimage site for members of the Order both on Ossus and abroad, the Council commissioned the construction of a spaceport on nearby Mount Agorn where starships could land and service the Temple. Over the millennia the city of Knossa took shape on the mountain slopes and fields that surrounded the Eye, and the city quickly became the heart of the Order. With so many Jedi meditating at the site for millennia, the Eye of Ashlanae became a power vergence within the Force, making it the ideal cultural center for the Order's members.

The Eye of Ashlanae, like all other structures on Ossus, was left in ruins during the Great Sith War, when the destruction of the Cron Cluster by Sith forces irradiated the planet and left the world nearly uninhabitable. What was left of its facade slowly crumbled away as the march of time left its mark on the uninhabited world. Eventually, the entirety of the structure gave way, until all that was left was the foundation stones of the ancient Eye. In the four millennia of its abandonment, the Eye was visited seldomly by members of the Jedi Order seeking relics and lost treasures from their heritage. Despite the attempts to plumb its ruins, lack of resources prevent the Order from reclaiming the Eye for generations.

Heart of the Order[]

Once more the Eye of Ashlanae will serve as the heart of our Order. A place of calm, quiet meditation, Jedi will pass through the halls in quiet reflection as they go out into the galaxy to serve the Force and promote justice and prosperity to all citizens, not just within the confines of the Republic.
—Grand Master Tomac Moorcés proclamation to the entire Order at the Conclave of Coruscant.

Following the end of the Clone Wars, newly appointed Grand Master Tomac Moorcé announced his plans to restore Ossus as the homeworld of the Jedi Order, relocating the Jedi academy from the Republic's capital and placing it far from the political corruption which festered in the heart of the galaxy. Closer to the lawlessness of the Outer Rim, Moorcé explained that the Order was designed to serve those in need, not those within the government and therefore a Temple on the fringes of space would better serve the beings most underserved by justice. His announcement of the move was met with thunderous applause by his Jedi peers and construction began immediately on Ossus using monies from reparations from the Confederacy. Over the ensuing months, the Order looked to the reconstruction of the lost Eye of Ashlanae as the dawning of a new era for the Order. The Temple's structure also signified a change in the way of life for all within the Order. Whereas the Coruscant Temple had served as a residence to the Jedi working and serving within, the Eye was largely a meditative retreat and place of reflection and lacked significant dormitory facilities. Instead, the bulk of the Order would reside in the surrounding city of Knossa like in days of old. The High Council ordered the construction of a tower just below the Eye, which would serve as the headquarters of the ruling body and residence for its members. If the Eye of Ashlanae was the beacon of light on the Outer Rim, the Order sought to find the dark pit from which to study the dark side of the Force and bring Balance to the teachings of the Jedi. To reflect the garden world of Ossus and the Eye of Ashlanae's importance to the study of the light side of the Force, the Order commissioned the construction of the Eye of Boganat on the shadow world of Dromuund Kaas.

Layout[]

A squat ziggurat, the Eye of Ashlanae was constructed of blocks of stone mined at the base of the Eocho Mountains and placed around the summit of Mount Ysanna. Accessed by a wide staircase on three of the four faces of the pyramid, the structure itself looked as if it arose out of the mountain, rather than being built on it. The grand staircases opened onto a veranda that encircled the building, offering access to the various entrances and doorways that pocked the exterior of the building. The rest of the facility's exterior was covered in mosaic art and thin, vertical windows that offered light into the passageways that honeycombed the interior of the Eye. Below the pyramid itself, an entry plaza on the western gates to Mount Ysanna was flanked by bronzium statues of long-dead Jedi heroes. Here, Jedi would gather informally before and after leaving the Temple, and was also utilized as ceremonial setting for the annual gathering of newly appointed Knights to be welcomed into the Order by the High Council on the first day of the calendar year.

The main level of the pyramid was a cavernous and labyrinthine maze of pillared halls lined with meditation rooms both for the individual and for groups. Higher up in the structure, secret vaults and hidden chambers stored artifacts and relics from throughout the Order's history. The halls were made of smooth stone, and lit only by torch light in most places, as the natural light let in could not penetrate to the deepest reaches of the Temple. Debate halls, dojos, and studies were present in the Eye's layout, as were small gardens, cloisters, and reliquaries. Upon its roof, the Jedi had crafted an intricate, circular vector design inlaid into the floor that represented the light side of the Force. The pattern, known as Ashlanae, resembled an outward looking eye. Jedi Masters visited this site to meditate in large groups, with the capacity to fit one hundred pilgrims at a time.

While the rooftop was one of the most sacred sites within the structure, the catacombs beneath the Eye were hallowed ground. Rocky caverns penetrated deep into the mountains, leading into the many catacombs of the Order. At the heart of the catacombs was a simple stone platform, where legend said the final blow was delivered during the Schism. Around this platform were set twelve stone chairs, for members of the Jedi High Council to sit in deep contemplation and sort through the problems of the era. Looking both inward and outward, Jedi sought out the vergence within Ashlanae to ensure that their decisions were free of the taint of the dark side. These foundation stones within the catacombs survived the catastrophe that drove the Jedi from Ossus originally; imbued by the nexus of Force energy found within the site and rendered nigh indestructible.

On the slopes just below the towers of the original structure, the Jedi Order commissioned the construction of a formal headquarters for the High Council in the wake of the Clone Wars. A slender tower in a simple, private courtyard, the spire's exterior walls were carved in the form of twelve hooded Jedi Masters supporting the tower's domed apex. Within the apex chamber was the open-air Council chamber, a circular room designed to resemble the chambers on Coruscant. Retractable windows allowed Ossus' cool air to blow through the room while native flora draped the sills. Each member of the Council was afforded a private chamber within the tower's lower levels, with each pair or rooms sharing a large refresher designed to resemble a cave and equipped with showers invoking the flowing waters of a waterfall. Between the sleeping chambers and the Council Chambers were private offices for each Master where they conducted meetings and their official duties within the Order. A large circular chamber served as a Situation Room and another as a joint conference hall where Councilors worked out treaties or planetary agreements over a broad holotable. The base of the tower was the Council's Court, where the High Council received dignitaries and petitioners in a formal setting.

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