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I see the contestants are making their way out onto the starting grid. This article was originally created as an entry for a Tenth Great Jedi War competition and is not official DJB canon content. It is preserved here for historical purposes only.
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I see the contestants are making their way out onto the starting grid. This article was originally created as an entry for a Tenth Great Jedi War competition and is not official DJB canon content. It is preserved here for historical purposes only.
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| The Iloden Stone
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| General Information
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| Homeworld:
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Begeren
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| Birth:
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3,960 BBY
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| Known locations:
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New Tython
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| Physical Description
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| Shape:
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Wedge
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| Dimensions:
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| Weight:
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~15kilos
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| Chronology & Political Information
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| Affiliations:
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- Jedi Order
- Ma'moud al-Iloden
- The Jedi Martial Institute
- The Order of al-Iloden
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| [Source]
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The Iloden Stone, or Al-Iloden Keystone, was a keystone from the ancient Jedi Martial Institute circa 3,960 BBY founded by the controversial Jedi Master, Ma'moud al-Iloden.
History
Ma'moud Al-Iloden
Early Childhood
Jedi Master Ma'moud al-Iloden
Ma'moud al-Iloden was a Kaleesh Jedi Master active circa 3,960 BBY. Born Ma'moud Nasoor al-Ta'Pi al-Qurai al-Iloden on Kalee, Ma'moud was initially passed over for selection by the Jedi Order as an infant despite a relatively high Midi-chlorian count. Instead, he spent the first ten years of his life raised in the warrior-culture of the Kaleesh. Throughout Ma'moud's childhood, his latent, but powerful, Force-sensitivity gained him considerable standing and recognition among the warrior caste of his people. At ten years of age, he was the equal of many full-grown Kaleesh in battle.
As al-Iloden's prowess grew, so too did his notoriety. Many saw potential for the young warrior to one day lead his clan. Others saw the boy's gifts as unnatural and antithetical to the Kaleesh way of life. In either case, his rise to clan leadership would not come to pass.
The Jedi Order
- "Is that what you want? To become a god?"
- ―Klar Iberius Morbund
- "I want my people to survive. I want those who would harm them to know the first spear they cross on Kalee will be mine."
- ―Ma'moud al-Iloden
- "For that, you need only become a man."
- ―Klar Iberius Morbund
In 3,994 BBY, the Jedi Swordmaster Klar Iberius Morbund visited Kalee while researching various species' martial disciplines. Morbund first discovered Ma'moud at a tournament for Kaleesh warriors. The boy won the contest besting much older and more experienced opponents. Morbund was greatly impressed by the youth's performance as it was obvious, to him, Ma'moud was deftly employing his latent Force-sensitivity to enhance his combat acumen. Due to a severe shortage of martially competent Jedi (partly the reason for his trip) Klar set upon the idea of mentoring the boy and inducting him into the Jedi Order to become his Padawan. After several months of time together with the old Jedi Master on Kalee, Ma'moud agreed to become a Jedi and travel to Coruscant if the Order would have him.
The Jedi High Council initially balked at Klar's proposal. At that time, it was nearly unheard of for one so old to begin training. However, Morbund, as well known for his oratorical skills as his swordsmanship, pleaded the case that the boy being passed over in the first place was a grievous error on the Order's part and that it had created an imbalance in the Force which must be corrected. In light of his reasoning, and undoubtedly related to their growing need of skilled Jedi warriors, the Council relented and Ma'moud was allowed to become a Jedi.
The Influence of Al-Iloden
- "To drink the water, protect the well."
- ―Kaleesh proverb
Despite the disdain many Jedi held for Ma'moud's species' war-like ways, he nevertheless flourished in the Order and became a well-respected Jedi Knight and eventual Master. There were still some however, despite the many conflicts the Jedi were engaged in, who felt Ma'moud's--like his Master's before him--advocacy of martial solutions to the Jedi's problems tread too close to the dark side. The issue came to a head when Ma'moud proposed a new academy whose purpose would be exclusively to steep the Jedi in the arts of war. Many Jedi were deeply off-put by the idea and voiced strong opposition to the school's founding citing the potential dangers of essentially training Jedi as soldiers. Also not without weight in the matter was the fact that most known Kaleesh Force-sensitives were Sith.
These personal attacks on Ma'moud were viewed with disgust by many others in the Order and denounced as racism. The assaults intended to weaken his position had the opposite effect and rallied supporters to al-Iloden's side of the argument. The issue was indeed a polarizing one for the Council as the Mandalorian wars, the rumored threat of the True Sith, and the issues with Revan all weighed heavily on the Jedi leaders of the day. The wars had been costly and there seemed no end to the threats facing the galaxy. As such, Ma'moud's proposal was not without its supporters on the High Council. When the time for a vote came, the proposition was passed by the narrowest of margins. The academy began construction on (planet) and al-Iloden was installed as its first headmaster.
The Jedi Martial Institute
The Jedi Martial Institue on Begeren
Founding
The Jedi Martial Institute was constructed on Begeren circa 3,960 BBY. It was a spartan campus built from dark stone quarried in the region. Like its founder, the school evoked a quiet utilitarian austerity meant to focus its students on the seriousness of their studies. Upon completion of construction, a special keystone, later to become known as The Al-Iloden Keystone, was laid in the Arch of Resolve over the entrance to the school's courtyard.
Curriculum
Unlike the Jedi Academy on Coruscant, the Institute focused almost exclusively on the martial aspects of the Force. The curriculum was designed for new Knights as a martial graduate program though seasoned Knights and Masters could and did attend training. Ma'moud's upbringing on Kalee, as well as the turbulent events he witnessed as a Jedi, convinced him of the wisdom and practicality of the ancient maxim:
Those who desire peace should prepare for war.
Adhering to this doctrine, the school offered an intensive two-year program covering the following material:
- Advanced Lightsaber Forms
- Telekinetic Offensive and Defensive Techniques
- Unarmed Combat
- Conventional Weapons
- Survival-Evasion-Resistance-Escape training
- Demolitions
- Leadership of Conventional Forces
- Battlefield Medicine and Healing
Destruction
Darth Malgus allegedly pursued The al-Iloden Stone
The Institute was destroyed in 3,653 BBY by Sith Empire forces under Lords Baras and Angral during the Great Galactic War. Though the school had been founded to guard against just such a threat, the Jedi High Councilors and politicians in the centuries following Ma'moud had allowed the Institute to go under-funded and its influence duly waned. The Order had shifted away from preparing its members for war and when the Sith Empire broke The Treaty of Coruscant, it cost them dearly. Despite the Institute's destruction, survivors smuggled out many documents and artifacts including the school's now famous Al-Iloden Keystone. At the time, it was rumored that Darth Malgus specifically sought the stone as he believed it contained a remarkably rare Adegan crystal.
Rescued from the rubble after the fall of Begeren by a young Jedi Knight, the stone was smuggled off-world and handed down by generations of of Jedi who believed the Order should heed the teachings of al-Iloden lest another catastrophe like the one suffered at Begeren, or The Sacking of Coruscant befall them again.
The Order of Al-Iloden
The Order of Al-Iloden was a secret sect within the Jedi Order who followed the teachings and wisdom of Ma'moud al-Iloden. The al-Iloden Order formed informally at first following the Great Galactic War with the sole mandate of protecting The Al-Iloden Keystone from those aware of its existence who sought either to exploit or destroy it. Many Sith throughout the centuries, beginning with Malgus, sought the stone to harvest the rumored Adegan gem within. However, the Al-Iloden Order found themselves safeguarding the stone not only against treasure hunters and the Sith, but against the Jedi Order itself.
Rumors of the stone's existence, as well as the unsanctioned sect of Jedi protecting it, were seen as threats to the purity of the Jedi Order. The stone and secret sect were declared to be tainted by the dark side and any Jedi found to be of the Al-Iloden Order would be excommunicated. As a result, the Jedi Order itself became the greatest threat to the stone's existence. This hard-line, and in the eyes of some Jedi, narrow-minded, approach deepened the Order of Al-Iloden's resolve to not only protect the stone, but to ensure Ma'moud's teachings survived as well.
The Iloden Stone
Physical Description
The only known rendering of the stone
The keystone is carved from black igneous rock. Though severely worn over the centuries, the stone still roughly retains its wedge-like shape. It is approximately 35cm wide, 50cm high, and 40cm in depth. It weighs approximately 15 kilograms. The stone is rumored to reside in an oak box thought to have belonged to Ma'moud Al-Iloden himself.
Over the centuries many copies and fakes have been produced in order to protect the true Iloden Stone. Identification of the true stone is said to be possible only by members of The Order of al-Iloden or by those Force-sensitives who have discovered the stone's unique presence in the Force. The stone was a gift from Ma'moud's former Master, Klar Iberius Morbund. Klar had the stone cut and shaped to cap the Jedi Martial Institute's entrance arch from material he recovered from the planet Illum. Morbund claimed the stone was striated with veins of Adegan crystals, but it has never been formally examined.
The Crystal
A rare Adegan gem is rumored to be at the heart of The al-Iloden Stone
Though no imperical historical evidence exists that the stone indeed contains an exotic Adegan crystal, the rumor has persisted for centuries. Given the lengths and expenses gone to recover and protect it, there are many who believe that the stone's value exceeds mere historical relevancy. The legends and oral histories surrounding the stone indicate that within the dark rock rests and exotic Adegan crystal of the rarest order. Other myths hold that due to the crystal's nature, merely possessing the keystone, or a piece of it, grants a Force-user exceptional martial attunement with the Force.
Contemporary Study
Thought the controversy surrounding the stone, its namesake, and the secret order protecting it, has abated over the centuries within the Jedi Order, its significance as an archaeological curiosity has risen dramatically. Once sought by Sith Lords and Inquisitors from the Jedi High Council, the stone has been pursued most fervently in the modern era by scholars and archaeologists. Of note was the eminent scholar on Jedi history Haf Alfonse Preenor. Preenor had studied and pursued the stone over the last twenty years both professionally and as a hobby. His colleagues refer to his interest in the stone as "Preenor's Obsession."
Discovery on New Tython
The Tenth Great Jedi War led to the stone's eventual discovery
After centuries of safeguarding by the Al-Iloden Order, the stone was discovered in 35 ABY on the planet Harakoa, sometimes referred to as New Tython. Harakoa was located in the Esstran sector; a region of space within the dominion of the Dark Jedi Brotherhood, an obscure group of dark side adherents. During an internal conflict of the Brotherhood, the stone was accidentally discovered on the outskirts of Menat Ombo, Harakoa's capital city, in the ruins of a Harakoan primary school. It was recovered by members of House Odan-Urr, a paradoxical group of Light side Jedi within the Dark Jedi Brotherhood organization itself. It was unclear at the time of this writing whether the Al-Iloden Keystone remained in Odan-Urr's possession, was claimed by the Brotherhood's ruling body the Dark Council, or seized by another of the contending factions on Harakoa at the time.
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