Jedi Knights

Nature of the Force

1. Introductory Lesson: The Force
2. The Path of Darkness
3. The Nature of the Force
4. The Jedi Code
5. A Jedi's Greatest Ally
6. The Nature of the Dark Side

Jedi History 

1. Historic Locations Concerning the Jedi
2. Old Republic Timeline

Jedi Training 

1. The Calming Breath Technique
2. Jedi Meditation -- Basic Technique
3. A Jedi's First Battle

Advanced Lessons 

1. Technology of the Lightsaber
2. The Dangers of Training Jedi

Nature Of The Force

Concentrate. Feel the Force flow. Not outside or inside, but part of all it is. Through the Force, things you will see. Reaches across time and space it does. Other places. The future... the past. Old friends long gone. Always in motion is the future. Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you? And well you should not. For my ally is the Force. And a powerful ally it is. Life it creates, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Luminous beings are we... not this crude matter. You must feel the Force around you. Here, between you... me... the tree... the rock... everywhere!
Yoda

In balance is the Force. The Dark and the Light. With out one, there is no other. The Dark Side, tempting it is. Quick, easy at first, but a trap is the Dark Side. Corrupting, evil. Once you start down the Dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny. For the Light Side, patience you need. Control. Peace and harmony it is. The force is an energy field generated by all living things. It surrounds and penetrates everything, binding the galaxy together. Like any energy field, the force can be manipulated. Knowledge of these manipulation techniques give Jedi Knights their power. There are two sides to the force: light and dark. Both sides are part of the natural order, life-affirming and destructive. Through the force a Jedi Knight can see far off places, perform amazing feats, and accomplish what would otherwise be impossible.

To use the Force, one must be at harmony with it. Only when calm, at peace, can one act with assurance of control. When one is at harmony with the universe, one acts as one must to maintain harmony. The will and the Force are one; the actor and the acted upon, the same. There is no contradiction: there is unity. That is the path of Light.

There is another - the path of Darkness. The universe is an angry morass of power. To release that power, one must harness one's basest emotions: hate, anger, fear, agression. By releasing one's own anger, one releases the anger of eternity. Only when filled with hate, can one perform the most hateful of acts. The will and the Force are one.

That is the choice of the Jedi: serenity or hatred; peace or anger; freedom or tyranny; learning or power; the Light or the Darkness. Because the use of the Force and the way the Force uses its user are one, the choice is inescapable. A Jedi who starts down the path of the Dark Side will forever be dominated by it. That is why the Jedi must follow a strict code.  Emporer Palpatine.... Darth Vader.... are all Followers of the Dark Path.

Intelligent beings questioned the universe, and when they were clever enough to ask the questions in the right way, the universe answered. The Force became stronger, more sophisticated, as intelligence spread and sapient's knowledge of the universe deepened. Yet the nature of the Force is hidden and subtle. Questions about the nature of matter and energy are more easily answered. Intelligent beings developed a high technology by understanding of physical law - yet understanding of the universe's mystical nature lagged behind. Intelligent beings built advanced cultures which were cold, cruel, ignorant of the beat of reality's heart.

So stood the galaxy, until the rise of the Jedi. They studied the Force; they took first few steps on the road to universal harmony. As their mastery deepened, as their fame spread, and as their works began to bring harmony and freedom to the galaxy, they were betrayed. For the Force is not itself good or evil; it is a reflection of nature, and nature itself can be cold and cruel. Evil ones can harness the force to their will - and, by doing so, lose something of their humanity, becoming virtual avatars of the Dark Side of the Force. For the Master of the Dark Side, as for a Master of the Light, it cannot be said whether one controls the Force, or the Force the Master; to ask which is the actor and which the acted upon is a question of no meaning. It was inevitable that some would use the Force to slake their base lust for wealth and power. The Dark Side is easy and seductive; the first successes brought thirst for more. These evil ones brought the great Jedi low, hunting down and killing all of their ancient order. All - or almost all.

To use the Force, the Jedi must remain at harmony with it. To act in dissonance depletes one's power. The Force is created and sustained by life. The Jedi acts to preserve life. To kill is wrong. Yet it is often necessary to kill. The Jedi may kill in self defense or the defense of others. You may kill if, by doing so, life is preserved. But you must know, always, that killing is wrong. When you kill, you commit a crime against the Force. Though you may know that you do so for the greater good, and the greater good justifies your act, you must also know that the death remains as a stain upon your spirit.

The Jedi does not act for personal gain, of wealth or of power. You must act to gain knowledge; to sustain freedom, life, and learning; to defeat those who would impose tyranny, death and ignorance. Sometimes, wealth or power is needed to achieve the Jedi's goals. Money is required for the purchase of goods; power is required to obtain the help of others. To achieve one's goals, a Jedi may obtain wealth or power, but is not interested in it for its own sake, and will surrender it once those goals are achieved. A Jedi never acts from hatred, anger, fear or aggression. A Jedi must act when calm, at peace with the Force. To act from anger is to court the Dark Side, to risk everything for which the Jedi stand.

The Jedi's use of the Force is his greatest skill and most difficult achievement. The Force is a powerful field created by all living things; it surrounds and penetrates the entire galaxy ...but it does not fall to everyone to use it as a source of insight and power. A Jedi from the beginning must do what most men cannot; develop a sensitivity to this Force. He must actually feel it, feel his oneness with it, feel it tangible flow through him, then his conscious awareness must join the Force so that the knowledge through the Force will become his own.

At some point a Jedi learns to abandon reliance on his own mind and its effort. He learns to stretch out with his feeling , to let go of his limited idea of himself, and to move with the deeply instinctive levels of his being. By listening, by becoming peaceful, by turning his attention to the Force, he finds that place where his individuality is joined to the knowledge and power of the universe. At some point a Jedi becomes one with the force. It consumes him, penetrates him, makes him part of all living things.

Many are attracted to the Dark Side because its selfish nature allows great and showy deeds. The ease with which power is summoned belies its danger, for anger and hatred consume the individual even as one dominates one's surroundings. Ultimately, the Dark Side rejects the very celestial nature of life itself.

To the Jedi, the Force is not a part of their existence; it is their existence. To a student of the Dark Side, this is incomprehensible. It is not uncommon for Dark Side students to go into the wilderness, much as their Light Side counterparts do. The crucial difference is that the Light Jedi goes into the wilderness to commune with the wild. The Dark Side follower goes to separate himself from the community of life. There, in isolation, a Dark Side follower can perfect his or her own oneness with the Dark Side, and revel in that corruption. Yet in the Dark Side are anger and hatred and isolation and...fear. That fear drives the Jedi to isolation, jealousy and desire to be the most powerful of all. This very predatory nature sparks battles of dominance when several Dark Jedi or Dark Side Adepts gather. Sometimes these are violent confrontations, other times they involve subtle mind games or diplomatic discussions; but make no mistake, there will be some attempt to assert control over each other. The violent nature of the Dark Side often leads to betrayal and bloodshed. Not only does this fratricidal tendency discourage long term cooperation among Adepts, it has also hindered the passing of knowledge. Whereas the Jedi and other servants of the Light Side have established great libraries and oral traditions to advance their work and educate succeeding generations, those of the Dark Side have few such institutions. Many never record their knowledge for fear it may aid an enemy. Others are too arrogant to allow others to learn from their mistakes.

Jedi History

• Ambria- The ringed, desert planet Ambria is located in the heart of the Stenness node. Animal life on Ambria includes herds of staga, small lizards called neeks, and strange, evil creatures from Lake Natth, a place strong with the Dark Side of the Force. Thon, a Jedi master who lived four thousand years ago, made his home on Ambria and instructed several Jedi including Nomi Sunrider and the Vultan Oss Wilum.
• Arkania- Arkania is a world covered with tundra and diamond mines, where miners extract melon-sized gems from the planet's crust. Four thousand years ago, the Jedi master Arca established a Jedi training outpost in the wilderness of Arkania. Animal life on the planet includes the Arkanian dragon and jellyfish.
• Bortras- Jorus C'baoth, the Jedi Master, was born in the city of Reithcas on the planet Bortras on 4/3/112, Pre-Empire date.
• Bpfassh- A double planet with a complicated system of moons in the Bpfassh system, located near Praesitlyn and Sluis Van in the Sluis sector. During the Clone Wars some Bpfasshi Dark Jedi created trouble throughout the sector, and a Jedi task force (including Jorus C'baoth) was formed to oppose them. One Dark Jedi made it as far as Dagobah before his death. Because of the insurrection, most Bpfasshi today dislike all Jedi. Bpfassh was also the target of a hit-and-fade attack by Grand Admiral Thrawn and the site of an attempted abduction of Leia Organa Solo. During their search for Delta Source, Leia and Winter analyzed an intelligence report from the Bpfassh system suggesting the Star Destroyer Chimaera was at Anchoron.
• Dagobah- An uncharted, mist-shrouded swamp planet in the Dagobah system, Dagobah contains no cities or advanced technology yet teems with a wide variety of life. The thick cloud layer surrounding the planet cannot be penetrated by sensors. Dagobah was home to the Jedi Master Yoda, who instructed both Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker before his death at the age of 900. Many years earlier, a Dark Jedi from Bpfassh created trouble throughout his sector before being stopped on Dagobah, presumably by Yoda. A dark cave near Yoda's home could be a vestige of the Dark Jedi's power, and it may have served to shield Yoda during the Emperor's Jedi purge. Luke Skywalker returned to Dagobah five years after Yoda's death and discovered a ship's beckon call that could have belonged to the Bpfasshi Dark Jedi.
• Dantooine- An olive, blue, and brown-colored planet with no industrial settlements or advanced technology, Dantooine is far removed from most galactic traffic. Its surface is covered with savannas of lavender grasses and spiky blba trees. The planet has two moons and abundant animal life, including herds of hairy beasts, simple balloonlike creatures, and mace flies. Primitive nomadic tribes move along the coasts, though their numbers are so few the planet is essentially uninhabited. Four thousand years ago, the Jedi Master Vodo-Siosk Baas established a training center among Dantooine's ruins, where he instructed Exar Kun and the Cathar warriors Crado and Sylvar. Millennia later, Dantooine served as a primary base for the Rebel Alliance. When interrogated by Imperials aboard the Death Star, Leia Organa revealed the base's location, though it had been safely deserted for some time. During the New Republic's war against Grand Admiral Thrawn, Admiral Ackbar planned to visit Dantooine following his inspection of the Farrfin and Dolomar defenses. Two years after that, fifty colonists from Eol Sha were relocated on the planet until they were wiped out by a group of Admiral Daala's AT-AT walkers.
• Dathomir- Located in the Quelli sector, Dathomir is a low-gravity world with three continents, a wide ocean, and four small moons. The planet is covered with a wide variety of terrain including mountains, deserts, purple savannahs, and forests with eighty- meter trees and vines bearing hwotha berries. Indigenous life on Dathomir includes flying reptiles, piglike rodents, long Whuffa worms, burra fish, and the feared rancors. Semi-intelligent, two-legged reptiles live in the desert and call themselves the Blue Desert People. Humans came to Dathomir hundreds of years ago when a group of illegal arms manufacturers were exiled to the planet by the Jedi Knights. Several generations later, a rogue Jedi named Allya was also exiled to Dathomir. Allya began to teach the Force to the planet's inhabitants and to her descendants, who also learned to tame the wild rancors. Some time later the two-kilometer Jedi spaceborne academy Chu'unthor crashed in a Dathomir tar pit, and the Jedi force sent to recover it was repulsed by the witches-- those female inhabitants who had learned to use the Force. Different clans of the witches (such as Singing Mountain, Frenzied River, and Misty Falls) were formed, including a group following the Dark Side calling itself the Nightsisters. Life among the clans followed a pattern of female dominance, where males were largely treated as property and not allowed to act in important decisions. Imperial forces later constructed orbital shipyards and a penal colony on the surface. Following the failure of the Emperor's attempt to destroy the Jedi enclave on Belsavis, several designers of the "Eye of Palpatine" were reassigned to punitive duty at Dathomir. After the Emperor learned the power of the Nightsister leader Gethzerion, he ordered all the prison's ships destroyed from orbit to prevent her from leaving the planet. The stranded Imperials at the prison were then enslaved by Gethzerion and the other Nightsisters. Four years after the Battle of Endor, Han Solo won the planet Dathomir in a high-stakes sabacc game from Warlord Omogg, who claimed it had been in her family for generations. Han's subsequent adventures on the planet resulted in the destruction of both the Nightsisters and of Warlord Zsinj's forces. Nineteen years after Endor, a new order of Nightsisters based in the Great Canyon emerged on Dathomir. This clan, allied with the Empire and founded by Luke Skywalker's former student Brakiss, treated their males as equals and sent their best Force students to be trained on the Empire's Shadow Academy.
• Deneba- A red planet, Deneba was the site of a meeting of thousands of Jedi knights and masters within Mount Meru 4000 years ago. The land surrounding the cavernous Mount Meru and the nearby Meru Spaceport is covered with tall, flowing grasses. During this meeting the Jedi, who had taken on the responsibilities of guarding the Core systems, discussed the problem of the Krath takeover of the Tetan system and the failed Jedi/Republic mission to save Koros Major. Ulic Qel-Droma announced his intentions to join the Krath in order to learn their secrets. A subsequent war droid attack, planned by the Krath, resulted in the death of Jedi Master Arca.
• Dxun- Dxun, one of four moons orbiting the planet Onderon, is home to numerous bloodthirsty monsters. Due to Dxun's erratic orbit, several of the creatures were able to migrate to the surface of Onderon ages ago during a brief period in which the two worlds' atmospheres intersected. Four thousand years ago, after Queen Amanda of Iziz was defeated by the Jedi, the inhabitants of Onderon built a Mandalorian iron tomb on Dxun to house the remains of the Queen and the Dark Jedi Freedon Nadd. Exar Kun later visited the tomb, where the spirit of Nadd helped him discover some hidden Sith scrolls.
• Endor- Located in the Moddell sector, the forest moon of Endor (also called the Sanctuary Moon) is a temperate, densely forested world. The moon's low axial tilt and the regular orbit of its gas giant primary helps ensure a comfortable climate suitable for its many native lifeforms, including the Endorian pony, the Endoran vethiraptor, and the primitive Ewoks. The Ewoks make their communal dwellings high in the trees, which are considered the spiritual guardians of the Ewoks and can reach heights of 300 meters. Music plays an important role in Ewok culture, and each tribe has a shaman who interprets mystical signs. A natural enemy of the Ewoks are the large humanoid creatures called Gorax, who search the trees for Ewok dwellings low enough to grab. Other predators on the forest moon are numerous but primarily nocturnal. Endor was chosen as the construction site for the second Death Star, and an Imperial base was established on the surface to generate a protective shield for the orbiting battle station. The superweapon and much of the Imperial fleet were subsequently destroyed in what is now known as the Battle of Endor. A cloud of Darkside energy (a residual effect of the Emperor's first death) is now located in Endor's orbit at the site of this destruction. Throm Loro, a leader of the resistance on Cilpar, helped liberate an Imperial base on Endor and saved the life of a Wookiee prisoner.
• Hapes Consortium- A cluster of sixty-three stars with sixty-three inhabited planets, the Hapes Consortium is an old and very wealthy society that had almost no contact with the rest of the galaxy for three thousand years. It was settled thousands of years ago by a pirate group called the Lorell Raiders, who seized beautiful women from their victims to serve as their mates. The male descendants continued to serve as pirates for generations, until their forces were eliminated by the Jedi Knights. The women then took control of the cluster, and the inherited leadership title of Queen Mother began. The first queen mother began construction on the Star Home, an enormous castle-like spaceship, four thousand years ago. The worlds of the Hapes cluster include Arabanth, Charubah, Dreena, Gallinore, Reboam, Selab, Terephon, Ut, and Hapes itself, which is orbited by seven moons. Frequent encounters with pirates occur on the cluster's borders, partially because many you ng Hapan males turn to piracy as a means of rebellion. Hapan naval forces include the feared Battle Dragon and the newer Hapes Nova-class battle cruisers. Queen Mother Ta'a Chume broke Hapes' long isolation when she offered her son Prince Isolder to Leia Organa in marriage. Isolder later married Teneniel Djo of Dathomir, who bore a daughter, Tenel Ka.
• Kamparas- The Jedi Master Jorus C'baoth attended a Jedi training center on Kamparas for two years, from 2/15/90 until 8/33/88, Pre-Empire date.
• Koros Major- One of seven planets in the Teta system, Koros Major was the last planet to resist the system's brutal subjugation by the Krath. The Krath leaders, headed by Satal Keto and Aleema, dispatched hundreds of ground troops to the planet and clashed with a joint Republic/Jedi space force in Koros Major's orbit. The Republic ships were badly damaged in the battle and were forced to retreat.
• Korriban- A hidden world, Korriban holds the mummified remains of many Sith lords within great temples located in a deep valley. The temples' exterior is guarded by human skeletons, activated through a combination of machinery and Sith magic. Within the temples was an immense crystal, which held the trapped spirits of Jedi Masters who had dared oppose the Sith. Exar Kun visited Korriban to learn Sith secrets and was tormented by the spirit of Freedon Nadd. Nadd destroyed the crystal and unleashed guardian creatures on Kun, who eventually surrendered to the Dark Side of the Force.
• Mandalore system- The Mandalore system was home to the warlike Mandalore, who exterminated the Ithullan race several hundred years ago. During the Clone Wars, a group of warriors from the system were defeated by the Jedi Knights. The notorious bounty hunter Boba Fett wears an armored suit similar to those worn by these Mandalore warriors. Mandalorian battle harnesses are designed to be operated by R2 units, Mandalore prison ships were built to confine Jedi, and Freedon Nadd's tomb on Dxun was constructed from Mandalorian iron.
• Myrkr- Although Myrkr has been settled for 300 years and was well within the Old Republic's boundaries, both the Old Republic and the Jedi always avoided the planet. As a result, Myrkr is unknown to virtually all galactic citizens, with the exception of smugglers and other lawbreakers. The historical aversion of the Jedi was due to one of Myrkr's native life forms, the tree- dwelling ysalamir. The ysalamir has evolved a defensive mechanism allowing it to push the Force from itself in a protective bubble, and many ysalamir grouped together can create a vast region in which the Force does not exist. Another of Myrkr's animals, the predatory vornskr, uses the Force to assist in hunting and tracking prey. The high metal content of Myrkr's trees make sensor readings unreliable, which is one reason why the smuggler Talon Karrde built his chief base deep in the western part of the Great Northern Forest. This base was overrun by Grand Admiral Thrawn's forces after Karrde helped Luke Skywalker escape in Hyllyard City, Myrkr's major population center. Myrkr is located about 350 light years from the planet Wayland. Ood Bnar, a five thousand-year old Jedi master, was a member of the Neti-- an alien species that evolved from trees on Myrkr.
• Onderon- Onderon, in the three-planet system of the same name, circles a yellow sun and has four moons with widely-varying orbits. The closest moon, Dxun, is home to numerous bloodthirsty creatures who were able to migrate to the surface of Onderon ages ago, due to a brief period in which the two worlds' atmospheres intersected. The human inhabitants of Onderon evolved defenses against the beasts, culminating in the enormous walled city of Iziz. 4,400 years ago the Dark Jedi Freedon Nadd brought the power of the Sith to Onderon, and those who opposed it were cast out into the wilderness where they tamed the beasts of Dxun. Hundreds of these "beast riders" created their own kingdoms in the wild, and fought continually to overtake Iziz. About 4402 years ago Onderon was first contacted by the Old Republic, and a delegation of Jedi was sent to make peace between the beast riders and Queen Amanda of Iziz two years after that. Following the death of Queen Amanda her daughter Galia took the throne. A subsequent uprising by the followers of Freedon Nadd was put down by the Jedi. Satal Keto and his cousin Aleema, members of Tetan royalty, traveled to Onderon to learn the secrets of Sith magic, which led to their formation of the Krath and the political takeover of the Tetan system. Following the Naddist uprising, a permanent Jedi outpost was built on Onderon from the remains of Nadd's ancient starship. Native life on the planet includes the deadly dragon-bird.
• Ossus- Ossus, located in the Adega system (one of the six remaining Auril systems), orbits the twin Adegan suns in a figure-eight trajectory. It was an important Jedi stronghold and learning center in ancient times, and there is some speculation that the Order of Jedi Knights began on this planet. Ossus was once covered with many cities, and a range of rocky mountains was located near the Knossa spaceport. The steep canyon walls are still covered with elaborate murals, and the planet's atmosphere is charged with occasional electrical storms. About 4000 years ago all the cities of Ossus were abandoned during the Great Sith War. The Ysanna, a tribe of warrior-shamans who use the Force to guide their primitive weapons, took up residence on Ossus following its abandonment. A 10,000 year-old lightsaber, given to Leia Organa Solo by Vima-Da-Boda, surfaced 800 years ago in an archaeological dig on Ossus. Luke Skywalker visited an arid, sandy portion of the planet during the Emperor's reappearance and discovered the Ysanna tribe, an ancient Jedi library, and a vault of lightsabers hidden beneath the roots of the Neti Jedi master Ood Bnar. At the time of Skywalker's departure, the New Republic was planning to send in excavation teams to explore Ossus' ruins. While on an undercover mission to Borgo Prime thirteen years later, Skywalker and Tenel Ka claimed that they needed Corusca gems to open a sealed treasure vault located on Ossus.
• Ottethan system- Neema, daughter of the Jedi Vima-Da-Boda, was executed in the Ottethan system for attempting to use the dark side of the Force against her husband, an Ottegan warlord. The Ottethan system was the ruling system of his twelve-system empire, located on the far perimeter of the galaxy. She was fed to the rancors that run wild in the Ottethan forests.
• Reboam- A harsh, sparsely-populated world in the Hapes cluster, Reboam once served as a hiding place and as the supposed location of a training center for a group of fifty Jedi Knights. After one year the knights were discovered by Darth Vader and a group of Dark Jedi, who killed them and had them sealed in Reboam's ancient ruins.
• Shadow Academy- A torus-shaped space station located near the Galactic Core, covered with weaponry and protected by a functional cloaking device. Shadow Academy, capable of hyperspace travel, can move to a new location at a moment's notice. Built for the express purpose of training Jedi in the dark side of the Force, the station is stark and austere, with harsh, spartan accommodations for its students, locks on every door, and chrono chimes marking every quarter-hour. Brakiss, a former student of Luke Skywalker's, leads the Academy with the assistance of the Nightsister Tamith Kai. Various sections of Shadow Academy include the docking bay, a large meeting room, a holographic training chamber, and Brakiss' private office. The entire station is riddled with chain-reaction explosives, set to detonate if the new leader of the Empire is displeased with Brakiss' progress. Consequently, Brakiss is never allowed to leave the station.
• Tatooine- A harsh, desert planet orbiting a double star in the Outer Rim, Tatooine is far out of the galactic mainstream (near the Ryloth system) and is ignored by almost everyone. The G1 and G2 stars of the system are referred to as Tatoo I and II, and the planet is orbited by two moons. The two native alien species of Tatooine are the meddlesome Jawas and the fierce Tusken Raiders, commonly called Sandpeople. The Jedi knight Dace Diath, who lived four thousand years ago, was a native of Tatooine. Millennia later, the Jedi knight Obi-Wan Kenobi came to the desert planet to place the infant Luke Skywalker in the care of Kenobi's brother Owen Lars and his wife Beru. Several years after that, a message from Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan, whose ship had been captured above Tatooine, helped bring Kenobi out of his life as a hermit near the Dune Sea and into the service of the Alliance. Immediately before the Battle of Endor, Luke Skywalker and his friends returned to Tatooine to free Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt's palace, which resulted in the death of the crimelord.
• Teta system (Empress Teta system)- A system of seven carbonite- mining worlds, including Kirrek and Koros Major, named for the female warlord who conquered the system during the early days of space travel. The raw carbonite produced in the Tetan mines is a vital ingredient in the construction of hyperdrives. The royal descendants of Empress Teta rule the system, sharing power and profits with the leaders of the influential Carbonite Guild. Four thousand years ago, the privileged sons and daughters of the Tetan royalty began experimenting with the Dark Side of the Force, introduced to them by the royal heirs Satal Keto and Aleema. They formed a group known as the Krath, which used Sith magic and military force to quickly conquer the system. Public executions of rebellious carbonite miners were held in the central plaza of the ruling Tetan city of Cinnagar. The Krath took up residence in Cinnagar's iron citadel, which contains an inner city and an opulent palace behind its walls. Beneath the citadel are underground dungeons and a vast cavern, where th e Krath hung political prisoners. The Jedi knight Ulic Qel-Droma, following a Tetan attack on a Deneban Jedi assembly, traveled to Cinnagar in order to learn the Krath's Dark Side secrets. A Jedi attack force later attempted to rescue Qel-Droma from the iron citadel, but he insisted on remaining in Cinnagar.
• Vjun- The planet Vjun contains Bast Castle, once the private refuge of Darth Vader and later the headquarters of the Emperor's Dark Jedi. The planet is lashed with acidic, burning rain, and no plant life can survive on its bleak surface. Kam Solusar served as a Darkside warrior on Vjun, before Luke Skywalker turned him to the light side on Nespis VIII.
• Xappyh sector- Jedi Master Jorus C'baoth was named ambassador at large to the Xappyh sector by the Senate on 8/21/62 Pre-Empire date.
• Yavin 4- The fourth moon of the planet Yavin houses the temples and ruined buildings of the now-vanished Massassi race, and once served as the primary base for the Rebel Alliance. The moon is covered with a wild, largely unexplored jungle composed of towering Massassi trees. Over four thousand years ago the Sith magician Naga Sadow, under a death sentence from the current Sith Lord, fled to Yavin 4 with his followers where he could practice his Dark Side alchemy in peace. Sadow hid his starship and his alchemic equipment beneath the Sith Temple of Fire. Sadow's alchemy helped create many monsters, including a warrior species called the Massassi designed to guard Sadow's Yavin 4 legacy. The Massassi, the mutated descendants of the ancient Sith, gradually devolved into a primitive but dangerous people, using the Dark Side to augment their archaic weapons. When the Dark Jedi Exar Kun arrived on Yavin 4, he enslaved the Massassi and had them construct new temples as focal points for Sith power. When a united group of Jedi tried to stop him, the resulting battle caused the destruction of most of the moon's jungles and the deaths of the remaining Massassi-- Kun was forced to trap his spirit within the temples in order to survive. Thousands of years later, the Alliance constructed its primary base within the abandoned temples. The first Imperial Death Star was destroyed (in what is now referred to as the Battle of Yavin) as the station attempted to fire its superlaser on Yavin 4. During the fighting, an Imperial pilot named Qorl crashed his damaged TIE in the moon's jungles and fruitlessly awaited rescue. The Rebel base was abandoned following the battle, but the Great Temple was used eleven years later as the location of Luke Skywalker's Jedi academy. The pyramidal Great Temple lies between two broad rivers and lies near the ruins of the Palace of the Woolamander. The top of the Temple houses an observation deck, and below that is the vast grand audience chamber. Below the chamber are housing levels, and the ground level contains the Communications Center, common rooms, and the Alliance's former War Room. The Temple's hangars are located underground. Yavin 4's flora includes nebula orchids, feather ferns, and blueleaf shrub. Indigenous life in Yavin 4's jungles include the social (and edible) woolamanders, mucous salamanders, purple jumping spiders, piranha beetles, lizard crabs, whisper birds, fur-covered runyips, crystal snakes, stump lizards, ravenous stintarils, a six-legged, tusked beast with tentacled eyes, and flying, two- headed reptiles created during the time of Exar Kun.

• -25,000 The first hyperdrive is invented. The Old Republic, the first galaxy-wide government is formed; the Jedi Knights appear, and a period of galactic peace and expansion begins.
• --5,000 Naga Sadow rules as Dark Lord of the Sith
• --4,990 Fall of the Sith Empire Naga Sadow leads the Sith into hiding on Yavin IV.
• --4,400 Freedon Nadd comes to Onderon to rule, bringing with him dark Sith power.
• --4,350 The Beast Wars of Onderon begin.
• --4,000 Jedi Knights, including Ulic Qel-Droma, intercede in the Beast Wars of Onderon. Andur Sunrider dies.
• -3,998 The Freedon Nadd uprising.
• -3,996 The Krath lead a political coup in the Empress Teta system. An assembly of 10,000 Jedi Knights accurs at Mount Meru on Deneba.
• -3,991 Exar Kun becomes a dark Lord of the Sith. The trial of Ulic Qel-Droma. The Sith War and destruction of the Cron system.
• -896 Yoda, the Jedi Master, is born.
• --200 Chewbacca, the Wookie, is born on Kashyyyk.
• --112 C-3PO is activacted.
• --60 Obi-Wan Kenobi is born.
• --55 Anakin Skywalker is born.
• --48 Mon Mothma, Senator and Alliance leader, is born on Chandrila.
• --35 The Clone Wars end.
• --29 Han Solo born in the Corellian star system. The Fall of the Republic- A dark period of corruption and social injustice sweep through the Republic, paving the way for Senator Palpatine's rise to power.
• --18 Luke and Leia are born.
• -0 Luke Skywalker meets Obi-Wan Kenobi. The Battle of Yavin occurs, resulting in the destruction of the Death Star.

Jedi Training 

Preparation
Wear loose fitting attire, so that you are comfortable. Make sure that you can breathe through your nose. If you have a cold, do not practice this exercise until you can breathe clearly.

Step One

• Lie flat on your back. Put one hand on your stomach, and the other hand on your chest.
• Relax.
• Inhale so that the hand on your stomach rises, while the hand on your chest is still. Exhale so that the hand on your stomach goes down again, and the hand on your chest remains still.
• Repeat for 5 breaths.
• Now, when you inhale, breathe in so that the hand on your chest rises, while the hand on your stomach is still. Exhale so that the hand on your chest goes down again, while the hand on your stomach remains still.
• Repeat for 5 breaths.
• Alternate between stomach and chest breathing for 5 minutes. Make sure you've mastered this step before moving on.

Step Two

• This step combines stomach and chest breathing into one breath. This is the Calming Breath.
• Lie flat on your back. Put one hand on your stomach, and the other hand on your chest.
• Relax.
• Begin by stomach breathing.
• When you feel you can't inhale any more in this manner, switch to chest breathing, until the upper part of your lungs are filled. Then exhale by chest breathing first, progressing to stomach breathing so that you empty the lungs fully.
• Repeat for 5 minutes.
• Breathe slowly. If you feel dizzy, slow down, you are breathing too fast. If you are out of breath, you are breathing too slowly. Listen to your own body's messages.
• If you are having difficulty distinguishing chest breathing from stomach breathing, go back to Step One.

Step Three

• Stand or sit with your back straight.
• Use the Calming Breath and follow this pattern.
• You will have to count the rhythm in your head. I will teach you the rhythm 4-4-4.
• Count to 4 while inhaling, hold your breath and count to 4, then count to 4 while exhaling.
• Once you've mastered this you may use a 4-4-4-4 rhythm is you prefer. It adds and extra step of holding your breath after exhaling and counting to 4. Take care not to hold your breath too long.
• Again, listen to your body. Repeat for 5 minutes, or until you are calm.

The basic technique teaches you to control your own mental process, and allows you to focus your thoughts on one object, thought, or goal, the object of your meditation. This object must have a clear objective or subjective reality to you, so it is easiest to begin with a physical object such as a ball or a candle. After you have mastered meditating on physical objects, you may proceed to mental objects such as mental images or goals. Make sure your mental object is clearly defined in your mind.

How to start:

• Sit in on the floor, or on a cushion, with the spine and neck kept straight . Place your hands in your lap, palms upward.
• Relax your entire body deeply and quickly, using the Calming Breath Technique. After you are relaxed, regulate your breathing to a calm and peaceful rate.
• If you are using a physical object, focus your vision on the object, otherwise close your eyes.
• Begin to shut out distractions (noises, etc.), as you focus your attention inward. Try to keep your thoughts from wandering, shutting out stray thoughts.
• Concentrate your thoughts upon the object of your meditation.

One of the major themes running throughout Master Skywalker's tale is Luke's battle with himself. Luke finally won the battle when faced with killing his own father, he said no and turned away from the dark side of the force. At this point the emperor knew that he was lost to the Dark side and decided to have him killed. Luke had to overcome the hatred, fear and anger (emotions of the darkside) he felt toward his father and forgive him for all that he had done (destroyed the Jedi, tortured his friends, killing Ben, though probably most importantly abandoning Luke as a child and failing to be a father to him).

Fighting the battle with the darkness within was the lesson of the tree where the dark side was strong. When Luke entered he asked "What is in there?" and Yoda replied "Only what you take with you.". In other words the tree merely reflected and brought out the place were the dark side resided within Luke, that is his feeling towards his father. Striking Darth Vader down in the tree, signified Luke killing himself or more importantly failing the test of a Jedi to turn away from the Dark side.

As already mentioned, when Luke latter forgave his father and refused to kill his father he successfully turned away from the Dark side. If you wish to become a Jedi, you must face those places of pain, anger and mistrust within you, places where the dark side of the force grows and lingers. You must forgive those that have harmed you in the past and truly Love them. For unless you do this, no matter how much physical and mental training you will do you will be at risk of falling to the ways of the Darkside. You must first battle the foe within before you can help others.
May the Force be with you...

Advanced Lessons

The lightsaber is the elegant weapon of the Jedi Knights. These power swords project blades of pure energy capable of cutting through most materials. Considered archaic when compared to blasters and other modern weapons, lightsabers are nonetheless impressive and powerful personal weapons that require extensive training to use effectively. Tradition dictates that lightsabers be constructed by their Jedi owners as part of the knighthood training.

Although the exact details of lightsaber operation remain shrouded in mystery, the general technology is known. All the controls and components fit into a compact handle 24 to 30 centimeters long. When the lightsaber is activated, a tremendous charge of pure energy flows from the power cell. Through a series of multi-faceted jewels that focus the energy into a tight parallel beam.

Each saber beam has a unique frequency which determines the "feel" of the blade, how it handles when cutting something or contacting a force field or another saber blade. The frequency of each saber blade can be calculated from its blade colour and pitch it generates. Sabers use between one and three jewels to give their beam a specific frequency.Sabers with a single jewel have a fixed amplitude, which determines the blade length. Other sabers with multiple jewels can alter their amplitude, and thus the blade length by rotating or varying the separation between the jewels. The best sabers use natural jewels, but, evidently, the Jedi can forge synthetic jewels with a small furnace and a few basic elements.

The beam emits from a positively charged continuous energy lens at the centre of the handle. The beam then arcs circumferentially back to a negatively charged high energy flux aperture, usually set in a disk that also serves as a handguard. The power amplitude determines the point at which the beam arcs back to the disk, setting the blade length. The tight, arcing beam forms a blade of amazing strength.A superconductor transfers the power from the flux aperture to the power cell. Almost no energy is lost in the process - the beam doesn't even radiate noticeable heat, though it does fluoresce and hum. The saber loose power only when it cuts through something, but not when contacting another saber blade. The Jedi must use his strength and skill to force his blade against another saber blade, no lightsaber can cut another's beam.

Controls at the hilt of the saber adjust the power cell capacity and allow periodic recharging. Though exact duration figures are not known, it is clear that Jedi can use their sabers for years at a time before recharging becomes necessary.

The Ancient Jedi masters knew that Jedi training must proceed at a slow pace. Too much power gathered too quickly can corrupt even the most selfless and devout Jedi apprentice. A Jedi student must be properly humble in his powers, and mature enough to embrace the tremendous responsibility that comes with wielding the Force. A student impatient with the slow pace of the tutorship, a gifted student eager to dispense with "pointless exercises" and embrace the true power of the Force misses the entire point of being a Jedi.

The Jedi does not crave power, but seeks to serve others, without the expectation of becoming "great in the Force." The true Jedi is cautious, and reluctant to learn too much too quickly. Overeager students run a fearful risk of opening themselves up to the temptations of taking the deceptively easy path of the dark side. In the days of the Old Republic, the Jedi teachers kept a careful watch on their apprentices, ever alert for the telltale signs of the headstrong apprentice who wanted more than they were ready for.

Every Jedi disciple soon heard the dreadful cautionary tale of the gifted Jedi Exar Kun, and how he was lost to the dark side by the arrogant belief that he could embrace Sith teachings and not be dominated. If a great Jedi Master could fall, their teachers told them, they themselves must tread with special care. While Jedi teachers in the past could draw upon centuries of tradition an experience in training Jedi, we have fewer resources available to us, it is an  awesome responsibility that comes with being the teacher of a new generation of Jedi.

The Force will be with you, always.

Allow Artoo to take you Back.