It's so peaceful here… the Force permeates everything.
—Nomi Sunrider
Ossus was an ancient fortress world of the Jedi Order for nearly 20,000 years, basing all operations on the planet from the time the Order abandoned Tython, until the devastation of the Cron Supernova made life on the world impossible. Originally called Idux when it was under the control of Xim's empire, Ossus was the third planet in the Adega system in the Auril sector. When the Order arrived in 25,063 BrS, they adopted the planet as their new home and began integrating with the locals living on and around the planet to grow their numbers. Establishing their main temple on the planet, known as the Eye of Ashlanae, the Order held the planet as a place of great importance as the Jedi began working closely with the Galactic Republic. In the wake of the Republic's war with the Tionese, the Order established Ossus as the primary fortress world on the fringe of Republic space, in addition to temples on Falang Minor, Rhen Var, Paigu, Kodai and Haashimut.
Jedi culture was centered at the Eye of Ashlanae for generations, with the city of Knossa growing out from it. Eventually, the planet became home to the fabled Great Library, which stored the sum of the Order's knowledge. When the Jedi Knight Exar Kun turned to the dark side of the Force and became the Dark Lord of the Sith, catapulting the galaxy into the Great Sith War, he attacked Ossus, desiring Sith secrets hidden by the Jedi. During the events this action incited, the Cron Cluster was detonated, spreading a shockwave around the galaxy. Originally a rich, lush world, Ossus was transformed into an arid and toxic planet when the wave struck the planet. While some Jedi survived the blast, transforming over the passing generations into the Ysanna people, Ossus was largely forgotten over the millennia. It wasn't until four thousand years after the devastation of the planet's ecosystem that the Jedi Order returned to Ossus. When the galaxy-spanning Clone Wars came to a sudden end with the death of Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Sidious, newly appointed Jedi Grand Master Tomac Moorcé withdrew the Order from Coruscant and ordered all Jedi to Ossus to rebuild, grow and be healed from the tortures of war. As Ossus was rebuilt, the Order's numbers grew exponentially, and Ossus thrived once more as a center for Jedi learning. Under Moorcé's leadership, Ossus became home to Jedi representing every known Forceful species in the galaxy. Home to the Jedi High Council and their Grand Academy, Ossus, along with Tython in the Deep Core, was the heart of the Order's post-war operations.
Description[]
Ossus orbited the two stars of the Adega system, Adega Prime and Adega Besh. Unlike the other five planets in the system, which circled the center of mass of the two binaries, Ossus orbited both its suns in a figure-eight trajectory. Two moons in turn orbited it: Mim, a rocky, low-gravity satellite with no atmosphere, and Nerit, a temperate terrestrial world with high gravity and a population of Neti expatriates. The planet was home to several powerful Force vergences centered around locations, consecrated sites, and natural formations.
Ossus was originally a rugged, lush world with two-thirds of its surface covered in water and an abundance of flora and fauna. Two continents and a series of large islands made up the planet's primary land masses; each one gouged with deep canyons and gorges. When the Jedi first landed on the surface of the planet, they found a lush world of mountains, forests, and savanna land. Before the Jedi arrived, the Empire of Xim had seen the planet as a simple client state, its people numbering in the millions spread out in hundreds of cities across the world. The resources of the planet proved a great advantage to the Order, as the Iduxians possessed all of the technology advantages of the Empire. Taking over the cities, the Jedi added to the stone architecture with bronze and symbolism, painting entire canyons with runes and pictographs depicting great deeds and heroes. The heart of the Jedi Order was established in the western Eocho Mountains around the Eye of Ashlanae, where the Order established a new city that came to be known as Knossa. The Order chose this location due to the abundance of Adegan crystals found within the crystal caves that formed a labyrinth beneath the mountain range.
In 3,961 BrS the prosperous planet was transformed with the destruction of the nearby Cron Cluster. When the stars in the Cron system went suoernova due to the interference of Sith magic, Ossus was caught in the conflagration and irradiated into a desolate desert world. Chemical and electrical storms swept the land, and little life remained on the surface. Over 4,000 years later, the damage done to the planet seemed to have been reversed. When the Jedi returned to the planet in Year 16, lush foliage had grown over the fabled city Knossa which took over a month for construction droids to clear.
Ossus had been lush with life before the Cron disaster, but after those events little of it remained. One of the surviving animals was a hardy quadruped species that the locals used as mounts. By Year 75, however, plant and animal life burgeoned again. The region around the Ossus Academy was verdant, with small plots of foliage interspersed among stretches of turf making up the Academy's campus, and kingwood trees covering the lower slopes of the nearby mountains. Bambwood was also found on this world. The forests were also abundant with animal life. Gokobs, a species of friendly hairless rodents that sprayed a stinking cloud when frightened, spent much of their time scavenging off food scraps from the Jedi academy kitchens. Large brightly-colored tree frogs with sticky tongues also inhabited the treetops, and low-flying academy craft could find themselves with several frogs stuck to their undersides, a hazard to flight.
History[]
Early history[]
First named Idux by the Empire of Xim the Despot, the third planet of the Adega system was colonized by the Empire late in their history as a seat for a lesser lordling. When the Empire of Xim came into conflict with the Hutt Empire, Idux was used as a marshaling point for the armies of Xim. While the Iduxians struggled to maintain a wavering economy during war time, the Jedi Order was traveling closer and closer to the world. After over six centuries of travel aboard sleeper ships, the Jedi Ruling Council detected the planet that seemed to call to them through the Force. With a goal in their minds, the Jedi ships slowly pushed their way across the galaxy, using only the Force and the currents of space to move the vessels to a planet in what the civilized galaxy would call Wild Space. In 25,063 BrS the five sleeper ships entered the orbit of the planet Idux and found the planet in a state of disarray and conflict as the Empire's control began to fall apart. Jedi prophets looked to symbols and myth to cement the belief that the Order had been drawn to the world by the Force: the conflict raging on the planet mirrored the Force Storm that plagued Tython when the Tythans first arrived; twin moons were symbolic of the moons Ashla and Bogan; and the two suns Adega Prime and Adega Besh that the planet orbited represented the Balance, as Ossus' climate was most stable when it hung between the two stars. The planet orbited the stars in a figure-eight trajectory, causing a humid season twice a year when all of the surface water evaporate to form a dense cloud cover across the planet's surface.
Landing on the surface of the planet, the Jedi found a lush world of mountains, forests, and savanna land. Vast oceans, large islands, and two massive continents made up the new home of the Jedi. The citizens of the Xim's Empire that survived on the planet were suspicious of the Jedi at first: aliens of varying races that had never been seen before wielding strange powers descending from space were oft met with hostility across the galaxy. After several negotiations took place, the Iduxians welcomed in the wake of the news that the Empire that had once strung the planet's of the region together had collapsed. As for the Jedi, the planet held great promise as it already had many great cities, advanced technology such as starships, repulsor technology, and other abilities that resembled the advanced societies established in the Tython system. Additionally, many Iduxians themselves were Forceful and eligible for training in the Force. Established as the Holy Order of the Jedi, the Jedi Ruling Council ordered their engineers and scientists to begin reviving the Je'daii held in stasis aboard the sleeper ships. Slowly, over the course of several years, the hundreds of survivors from Tython were released and oriented to the new environment they found themselves. As the Ruling Council began to establish a governing system on the planet as a replacement body for the Empire, Jedi teachers began educating young Iduxians and Je'daii alike in the ways of the Force. Older Je'daii struggled with the new teachings, arguing that the Jedi had strayed far from their original understanding of the Force in the centuries they were sleeping. To remedy this internal conflict, the Jedi Council reorganized itself: six Je'daii Masters and six Jedi Masters would serve on the Council and begin reviewing Jedi teachings. Over the next several decades the Order grew strong on Idux, renaming the planet Ossus, in tribute to the wise Master D'jek Ossus, an early High Prophet aboard the sleeper ships. The Jedi quickly shaped Ossus into a world wholly their own, teaching the people of the world to respect life, practice a scholarly and fulfilling existence, and to value education, peace, and justice. When alien ships arrived in the skies in 24,972 BrS, the Jedi welcomed emissaries of the fledgling Galactic Republic to the planet for the first time. These explorers discovered Ossus as part of the blazing of the Perlemian Trade Route, a hyperspace corridor opening the galactic core to the Tionese throne worlds. Arranging talks with the Republic, the Jedi Ruling Council was made incredibly uneasy by the delegation, as they were informed that the Republic had already had interaction with Jedi in the past. Baffled, the Ruling Council feared that the Republic was indeed an offshoot of the Infinite Empire, explaining how the two organizations would have crossed paths on Tython. When pushed for answers, the Republic insisted that its relations with the Order had been warm and that the groups had only parted ways after the members of the Order assisted in the Unification War that forged the Republic. Ever cautious, the Jedi agreed to consider a partnership with the Republic so long as they had time to consult the Force. Giving Ossus space, the Republic pulled back from the world and the Jedi sought guidance from the Force. Eventually, Councilor Haune Tiar was dispatched to tour the Republic and bring back counsel for the Order. After two decades of exploration and discovery, Tiar returned to Ossus and emphatically implored the Council to form an alliance with the growing democracy. Inspired by the Republic's commitment to peace, democracy, and cooperation, the Order vowed to serve as the Republic's advisers, defenders, and ambassadors in 24,918 BrS.
Center of culture[]
Due to its location close to the Perlemian, Ossus' union within the Republic increased traffic to the mystic planet. As Jedi spread out into Republic space on assignment, scholars, researchers, and politicians sought out the Jedi to learn and to teach. Force-based organizations such as the Followers of Palawa, KAshi Mer exiles, Dagoyan and Dai Bendu monks flocked to Ossus to learn at the feet of the Jedi Masters. The most prominent influence was a group of Caamasi who preached the principles of justice laid forth by Hespecia Tik'kla; these teachings would lay the framework for the Jedi Order's view of galactic justice and their role as peacekeepers. At the same time, the Jedi High Council began to assert its authority over the members of the Order, limiting individuality and crafting several exclusionary regulations. Despite the fact that many Force-traditions existed in the galaxy, and their multitude of devotees and members studied on Ossus, the High Council slowly began an agenda of attrition and conversion, believing the Jedi Path to be the best. Over time those who came to Ossus left as Jedi, and their own traditions and beliefs were absorbed into Jedi teachings or obscured. Around this time a Kashi Mer exile named Xendor gained a large following on Ossus, taking counsel from a Steel Hand of Palawa named Arden Lyn who urged him to study the ancient Force traditions of the path. Believing that the Jedi were to complacent in their studies, Xendor sought to form an academy of his own where his followers would study the traditions of the Chatos Academy, the Dai Bendu, the Palawa, the Kashi Mer, the Baron Do, and the Protectorate of the Hidden. Believing that these traditions focused to squarely on the Bogan, the High Council denied Xendor's request, causing him to break peacefully from the Order to found his own academy on Lettow. As the Order witnessed a surge in renunciates following Xendor, the High Council deemed the so called Legions of Lettow a heretical group which strayed dangerously close to studies of the Bogan and the outflow of students was deemed the Great Schism. Pushing Xendor and his band of schismatics into open conflict, the Jedi Order quickly rallied an army from among the Iduxians with which to crush the Legions of Lettow. With a much larger arsenal of space-worthy craft, the Order waited for Xendor and his Legionnaires to attack first. When they landed ships on Ossus, the Order unleashed its full fury on the Legionnaires, driving them from the Jedi homeworld and sent them fleeing down the Perlemian. Chasing the Legionnaires from the Rim to the Core, the Order waged war on Chandrila, Brentaal, Metellos and Coruscant itself, while Xendor attempted to spread propaganda about the Jedi throughout the Republic as the war broke out, warning against the Jedi and their guise as peacekeepers. The Republic saw through Xendor's attempts to discredit the strange monks from Ossus and so began aiding the Jedi in the war effort. Finally, Jedi Grand Master Awdrysta Pina managed to confront Xendor at the battle of Columus and slay the leader of the Legions. In the following months, the rest of the Legions of Lettow were routed and the Great Schism finally ended.
Jedi stronghold[]
High within the western Eocho Mountains the Order erected the Eye of Ashlanae atop a Force vergence, a temple devoted to the worship of the Force and the study of its power. With the Ruling Council set within the bowels of Ashlanae, the Order's prophets began looking beyond the world for answers. From their seat at Ashlanae, the Ruling Council oversaw the construction of the city Knossa, a pilgrimage site for the Order's growing membership. As Knossa grew in size, the Order established a Praxeum atop a peak within the city limits, as well as a massive spaceport to accommodate the growing number of pilgrims to the city. At the Praxeum, the Order established a school of philosophy where the concepts of the light and dark sides of the Force were laid down, as well as the philosophies of the Living and Unifying Force.
Despite their brief military allegiance with the Republic during the Great Schism, the Order was seldom seen throughout the greater galaxy since their settling on Ossus. Because of this the Order's warnings of impending war went unheeded by the Republic government until the Tionese were on their doorstep. As the Tionese War erupted across the Perlemian Trade Route, the Order's attempts to divide Tionese allegiances were abandoned and the Jedi withdrew again to Ossus to avoid involvement in the war. From their ancient fortress world, the Jedi contemplated the war, struggling to see how they fit into the galactic crisis at hand. After a long internal debate, the Jedi High Council declared for the Republic and entered into service as commanders in the Republic Army to crush the Tionese threat. As the war was all but won, the Republic sterilized the planet Desevro in an event which horrified the Order. Meeting above the ruined world, the Jedi struck a deal with the Republic that, while they could not serve the government, they would establish a network of Watchmen to protect the Perlemian from the Tionese and Hutts from a series of fortress worlds including Ossus, Falang Minor, Rhen Var, Paigu, Kodai and Haashimut.
When the war with the Tionese had been resolved, the Republic decided to disband its military and rely on sector- and system-based defense fleets, earning back the trust and allegiance of the Jedi Order. With this new system intact, the Jedi began search the galaxy for the Jedi that the Republic scouts had reportedly worked with during the Unification War. It didn't take long for the Order to come across the remains of several Jedi colony worlds, all of different origins. Some appeared to be worlds colonized by the long lost sleeper ships that had been departing Tython centuries before the Je'daii abandoned Tython. Among these worlds, Je'daii had preserved their traditions and taught of the Balance between Ashla and Bogan. On other worlds, the Warriors of Ashla or the Knights of Bogan had overcome the Balance teachings and ruled and guided accordingly. Still other worlds had been inhabited by surviving Bogan Je'daii that escaped the cataclysms at the end of the Force Wars. The Jedi Order responded carefully to these groups, absorbing some and eradicating others. The Bogan Je'daii that had taken root on Palawa saw that the Order was blamed for the world's devastation when the Order attempted to convert them to the light. Other groups avoid detection, or simply maintained autonomy from the Jedi through contract with local governments and the Republic. Eventually, the Jedi Order was the dominant Force-using organization in the galaxy, leaving others to irk out an existence in isolation on backwaters and in private retreats.
Ruination of Ossus[]
When the Great Library was commissioned by Master Odan-Urr, Ossus' prominence reached a new height, as universities, knowledge bases, and intellectuals from across the galaxy sought to tap into the seemingly limitless collection of knowledge assembled on the planet. For a millennium Ossus was treasured as the home to the greatest library ever built; and then it all collapsed. During the Great Sith War, Dark Lord of the Sith Exar Kun slew the respected Grand Master Odan-Urr, stole a Sith holocron from the Great Library, and recruited many Jedi students on Ossus to the dark side, taking them to Yavin 4. Ulic Qel-Droma later joined forces with Exar Kun, and using Sith weaponry from Sith Lord Naga Sadow's ancient battleship, the Corsair, detonated the stars of the nearby Cron Cluster causing a deadly shockwave to spread out across space. Detecting the impending disaster, the High Council ordered the immediate evacuation of their treasured fortress world and the ancient wisdom held within its buildings. Initiating a hasty evacuation, the Order had mere days to strip the shelves of the Great Library and get its tomes and holobooks onto transports offworld, which were already filled with the residents of the planet. As the last transports left Ossus, the pall of the tomb loomed over the world's bronze domes and silent gardens. Those still attempting to leave the world were irradiated when the shockwave hit; the buildings reduced to rubble; the forests reduced to dust, and the oceans evaporated. Despite the cataclysm, life persisted. Jedi had taken shelter within the caves that burrowed deep into the Eocho Mountains. When they emerged to find the world a ruin, they formed tribes bent on surviving in the wasteland they called home. Over time, their descendants forgot their origins, and came to see their Force abilities as a form of magic. As life slowly crept back onto the world, these tribes came to know themselves as the Ysanna. Forgotten by the Order, the Ysanna lived in a perpetual state of survival, fighting against the world itself to forge ahead. Additionally, the great Master Ood Bnar survived as well, protected from the full effect of the supernova after transitioning into his tree form. In order to protect ancient lightsabers, Bnar's roots drove deep into the planet's core to sustain him over the millennia. Due to the destruction of the Cron Cluster, the hyperlanes surrounding the world collapsed, making travel to the world nearly impossible and extremely dangerous.
Most of the knowledge of the Jedi stored on Ossus was lost forever in the cataclysm. However, much was moved as well, to locations as far spread as Exis Station, the Temple on Coruscant, and Derem City on Kamino. The Order learned from the disaster, and built storehouses on planets across the galaxy to hold their most valuable artifacts. Contingency plans for evacuation were established in case other important Jedi worlds such as Dantooine were attacked.
Return of the Jedi[]
While the Ysanna struggled to irk out an existence on Ossus for four thousand years, the rest of the galaxy suffered wars and mass conflicts, as well as golden eras of peace. Following a bloody decade of war with the Confederacy of Independent Systems, the Republic and the Jedi Order emerged victorious. Jedi Master Mace Windu, the leader of the Jedi High Council, discovered that Republic Supreme Chancellor Palpatine was indeed the Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Sidious, and was able to strike down the Sith Lord after a fierce duel on Coruscant which cost the lives of three other High Councilors. With Sidious dead, Windu declared himself a triumvir of the Republic, with Senator Bail Organa and a representative from the Grand Army completing the three member leadership organ of the government. As the Republic Triumvirate began to reconstruct the Republic from the inside out and remove the trappings of the Sith plot which had been behind the war, Grand Master Yoda stepped down from his leadership position and was replaced by Council of First Knowledge member Tomac Moorcé. Master Moorcé, the Jedi responsible for the containment of dark side acolytes during the war, took up a seat on the High Council and recalled all Jedi back to Coruscant. Announcing his plan to rebuild the Order from within, Moorcé ordered the rehabilitation of Ossus and encouraged a pilgrimage to the world for all Jedi in order to help with the healing process after the war.
As construction droids began clearing away overgrown vegetation and rubble in the city of Knossa, Moorcé met with construction crews to oversee several major projects funded largely by reparations levied upon the corporations which funded the Confederacy during the war. Among the most pressing constructs, Moorcé wished to see the restoration of the Great Library and the construction of the Eye of Ashlanae and a new Grand Academy. Located at the heart of the city the Eye of Ashlanae once more stood as a meditative retreat and the new home of the Jedi High Council. Along the forested southern border of Knossa, Moorcé saw the construction of a new academy, capable of holding several thousand Initiates at a time. The academy's base was a stepped-stone pyramid, upon which was balanced an inverted pyramid; within were hundreds of classrooms, training chambers, laboratories, and dormitories in which Initiates lived and trained from their infant years until their adolescence upon which they would be selected by a Master for one-on-one training in the Force. Following years of training away from Ossus, Padawans would travel to the Great Temple of Tython for further training as a Jedi Journeyer before ascending to the rank of Knight. As Ossus thrived, so too did the Order. Over the following decade, the number of active Jedi in the galaxy tripled and new recruits promised to see the Order grow ten times it number of 10,000 Jedi during the Clone Wars. As new advances in technology and medicine were discovered on Tython, Jedi were able to further slow the effect of aging and lifespans of most Jedi reached into the late one hundreds. The High Council made strides to become more inclusive in membership. The Service Corps, operating on several different worlds and from enclaves on Dantooine, Alderaan and Coruscant, allowed Force-sensitives too old to begin the formal training previously denied admittance into the Order.
Locations[]
Knossa[]
Founded circa 24,500 BrS, the city of Knossa was a Jedi pilgrimage site and center of learning for twenty millennia. Built in the western Eocho Mountains, the city was centered around the Eye of Ashlanae, the Order's most sacred site atop the central mountain in the city. The rest of Knossa sprawled out from there, divided roughly into thirds by three large peaks spread equidistant from the central mountain. Each of the three peaks was marked by a historic landmark, the Knossa Spaceport, the Order's Praxeum, and the Shrine of Light. Mount Agorn to the north, Mount Alanon in the southeast, and Mount Rasheno in the south west, all formed a triangle around Mount Ysanna at the center of the city. The city's perimeter was marked by a sonar fence, tall permacrete pylons with sonar emitters on either end that created an invisible sonar field. Any living thing that passed through the barrier would be rendered unconscious by the sonar waves. A deactivation switch was located at variable intervals, and could only be deactivated by a specific random code.
Atop Mount Ysanna the early Jedi constructed the Eye of Ashlanae, a squat ziggurat which served as the center of Jedi culture for millennia at the heart of the city of Knossa. Constructed of stone mined at the base of the Eocho Mountains, and lifted telekinetically over the course of a month in the wake of the First Great Schism, Ashlanae was accessed by a wide staircase, which terminated at its grand entrance halfway up the pyramid. The main level of the pyramid was lined with meditation rooms where visited could reflect on those Jedi lost in the Schism. Upon its roof, the Jedi had crafted an intricate, circular vector design that was inlaid into the floor to represent 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 Ashlanae 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 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. With the return of the Jedi after the Clone Wars, the Eye of Ashlanae was rebuilt from the ruins atop Mount Ysanna. A new tower was erected along its eastern side to contain the High Council. Surrounded by a square courtyard, the tower'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. The High Councilor's private chambers were located on one of 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.
Originally established to accommodate pilgrims to Ashlanae, the Knossa Spaceport was a promenade like structure which wrapped around Mount Agorn. Over time, the city's spaceport was the hub of all regional transportation on the planet, the largest of its kind on the planet. When the planet was devastated during the Cron Supernova, the spaceport was completely decimated. Following the rehabilitation of Ossus, the spaceport was rebuilt grander then ever. Into the face of the mountain, the Order's builders erected a stone recreation of the great Duros Jedi Master Gentti Cenvax, the famed Jedi ace that founded the Jedi Starfighter Corps. Looking out over Ossus with his arms raised wide, the statue's head housed space-traffic control within the Duros' bulbous eyes.
Mount Alanon was the location that the Order built the Praxeum. A five-tiered pyramid built of local stones, the Praxeum's tiers reflected five core values of the Order that Master Odan-Urr would later refine into the most commonly recited Jedi Code. The base of the pyramid, was the largest and represented the all-encompassing nature of the Force. There, Jedi Masters instructed students exclusively in the manipulation of the Force and how to use it not only for defense, but for sustenance, insight, and to commune with nature. Above the ground level, the chambers of the Peace Level learned the art of combat and martial skills. Dojos, arenas, gyms, and weapon crafting areas were found on this level. Jedi pilgrims, Masters, and Initiates alike found quarter on the third level of the ziggurat, within the dormitories of the Serenity Level. Each dormitory complex was complimented by a suite of meditative balconies, pools, gardens, and dining halls. Above the Serenity tier was the Harmony Level which was home to the meeting place of the Jedi Masters and a secondary Council Chamber, with the primary meeting hall located at Ashlanae. Spreading out from the Council Chamber were diplomatic suites and meditation halls which honeycombed the level. The fifth and upper moth tier was home to the great Archives of the Jedi, which contained the collective wisdom of the Jedi until the construction of the Great Library. Known as the Knowledge Level, every holocron, scroll and tome the Order treasured was kept here on the Stacks. When the war with the Sith ruined the planet, the Praxeum was abandoned and reduced to rubble. When the Order returned four millennia later, the High Council ordered a new Grand Academy constructed within the benchland between the southern slopes of Mount Alanon and the neighboring ridge. Rebuilding the old five-tiered ziggurat, the Order transformed it into a museum dedicated to the Jedi of the past. Called the Edifice of Heroes, the exterior of the ziggurat was decorated along its exterior with the likenesses of several hundred Jedi. The walls of the Edifice's interior cataloged a depiction of every known Jedi to have ever served the Order arranged by era. Meticulously crafted by Jedi artisans using the vast knowledge stored in the Great Library, holocrons, personal journals, and Force writing, the collection was made up of oil paintings, sculpted busts, statues, holographic replicas and more exotic mediums such as water or smoke. The nature of the exhibit meant that the collection would continue to grow indefinitely, and thus the Edifice delved deep underground into many sublevels and had additional storage capacity in larger halls at its base.
It was Mount Rasheno that was home to the Shrine of Light, a hollowed cone-like building that encased the mountain's peak. The Shrine's inner walls were made from reflective crystal, allowing natural light to pour down through the opening in the roof and reflect all around the inner space. When the Shrine was destroyed during the cataclysm of Ossus, the ruins were moved away by the Order upon their return. Instead of rebuilding the structure, the Order constructed two squat towers built in alignment with the patterns of the planet's two moons. Known as the Towers of the Moons, both had flat, round ceilings made of lunar stones, creating a lens through which the light of the moon could be focused to illuminate each tower's massive reflecting pools. The effect of the light on the pools was believed to have a healing effect and caused more moon stones to form within the pool's basin. Healers would then collect the stones and use them within the Temple of Healing in Ossus City. Not far down the mountain from the Towers of the Moon was the Tower of Glass. A small tower with a dome of diamond crystals and silver supports, the interior walls of the tower were made of hundreds of different glasses while the floors were made from an intricate construction of glass and durasteel. Walking through the Tower of Glass was a trial many Jedi undertook before departing and returning from a mission; to pass along its narrow halls without shattering the floors or walls and plummeting to a very painful death through levels of glass. This challenge required balance, focus, and calm; all of the things necessary to complete a mission and live as a Jedi.
The city's other landmarks were located within the hills and flatland between the slopes, scattered about the cityscape. Bronze domes and square stone walls dotted the landscape, with grassy squares and open spaces made Knossa a very green city. The largest public space was the Great Plaza of Knossa, a wide stone mall surrounded on three sides by a series of stone structures. Known as the City Market, these buildings formed a fifteen-story crescent structure containing stores, administrative offices, gardens, cafes, gymnasiums, and other facilities catering to the city's population of Jedi and native Ossans and other visitors. In the center of the Great Plaza, two white stone obelisks topped with massive Adegan crystals loomed over the cobblestone promenade. When the moons of Ossus aligned with the crystals, they produced a famous and magnificent display of light. The Jedi held this time to be sacred, and used it to remember those of their Order who had fallen in combat. During Ossus Day celebrations, one of the most sacred days of Fete Week, Jedi gathered in the Great Plaza while the air was filled with colorful banners, ribbons and confetti. A massive grassy mall spotted with statues, fountains and obelisks, stretched from the rear of the City Market to the base of Mount Ysanna's western side. The mall was lined on either side with massive museums dedicated to the many wars fought by the Order in the name of the Republic and the Force. With the reconstruction of the city, the Jedi erected four massive stone statues at the city's western gates, each representing the four Masters who faced Darth Sidious in the final days of the Clone Wars. The stone likenesses of Masters Saesee Tiin, Kit Fisto, Agen Kolar and Mace Windu would dominated the western skyline and front the massive plaza.
Near to the northwestern border of the city, the Knossa Branch Library had been built atop a small hill, and served as a point of reference for Jedi that needed immediate remote access to the distant Great Library. On the oppossite side of the city was a slender spire known as the Sword of the Jedi. The tower itself was intricately carved to resemble the hilt of a lightsaber standing straight up with the emitter nozzle aimed skyward. At night, the tower could project a shaft of blue light into the night's sky to give the appearance of an activated lightsaber. The interior of the tower was a museum to the history and mechanics of the lightsaber and hosted the most expansive lightsaber construction facility within the Order rivaled only by the Temple on Ilum. The lightsabers of countless Jedi were stored here when not placed within the Edifice of Heroes, the Hall of Meditating Masters or within another monument elsewhere. The sublevels of the tower descended deep beneath the surface of the planet, delving into the crystal caves of the Eocho Mountains. Jedi could dig deep into the earth to recover crystals to power their lightsabers. The Hall of Meditating Masters was a massive monument located in a valley that cut into the eastern side of the city. Over a kilometer long, the Hall was lined by altars to the multitude of species represented in the Order. The Hall's bronzium statues were sculpted in the likeness of long-dead Jedi Masters or depictions of fictitious Jedi in some cases. Jedi would come from across the galaxy to pay tribute to their species' altar, leaving lightsabers, relics, or tokens at the kneeling Master's platform.
The Jedi Service Corps was based out of a skyscraper erected in the southeastern portion of the city. A durasteel frame building with a circular floor plans and a glass facade with diamond-shaped panels, the swirling striped pattern visible on the exterior was the result of the building's energy-saving system which allowed the air to flow up through spiraling wells. The tower's base was well integrated with an open public plaza where members of the Service Corps could rest and meditate. The top of the tower, occupied by the pinnacle chamber, was the new home of the Council of Reassignment.
Ossus City[]
A small, humble village established in the Lymanar Valley not far from the city of Knossa, Ossus City was the center for recovery among the Jedi Order. Active Jedi would visit Ossus City to recover from external and internal ailments, seeking the care of the rotating crew of Jedi healers that lived in the village. At the heart of the city stood the Temple of Healing, where visitors would receive expert care for their wounds. Containing state of the art medical facilities, the Temple was erected over a natural spring, the water of which was used as a prime source of healing energy. Surrounding the Temple were a collection of huts and cottages that slept three patients and one healer. Here, patients of the Temple would recuperate from their wounds in a peaceful environment of tree-lined paths and small stone fountains. Beyond these care cottages was a community of tents, huts and cabins reserved for elderly Jedi who had retired from active duty and sought to get away from the hustle and bustle of Knossa. These Masters welcomed visitors from the Temple of Healing and were always willing to share their knowledge. Jedi Master Stass Allie reestablished the settlement in the wake of the Order's return to the planet, bringing Jedi who were war-weary and seeking a simpler life to a place where they could serve the Force and be at peace. The exiled Confederate leader, Denaria Kee, retired to Ossus City upon her liberation from a Republic prison.