Taldryan-Week3

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.

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.


The Holocron of Antiquities
General information
Type:	Jedi Holocron
Discovered:	35 ABY
Keeper:	Odan Urr
Known locations:	Ossus New Tython
Physical Properties
Shape:	Dodecahedron
Protection:	Neutral alignment, protected by riddle
Inscriptions:	"That which you hold is but a doorway, the key to these mysteries lies within."
Usage and History
Contents:	Believed to hold information about various powerful artifacts belonging to both the Sith and Jedi from the period of the Great Sith War.
Heritage:	The Jedi Order
Eras:	Old Republic Era New Jedi Order Era Dark Jedi Brotherhood Era
[ Source ]

"I remember the last words of my Master Ooroo... perhaps I can build a great learning center. A giant library of Jedi knowledge and books on the quiet world where Master Ooroo trained me. On Ossus!"

―Odan-Urr

Odan-Urr, a being who lived for many centuries before the Great Sith War, was known to have gathered and protected many antiquities throughout his long life. Before his death at the hands of Exar Kun on Ossus, he created a special Holocron with information on several of these relics, which were believed to be hidden across the Galaxy to prevent the Sith from obtaining their power. Though it was a personal Holocron to Odan-Urr, it later became referred to as The Holocron of Antiquities.

Though rumors and legends of the Holocron have persisted since the time of the Great War, it had never actually been confirmed to exist until a young Jedi pupil discovered the artifact by accident at the fledgling Jedi Academy on Ossus in 33 ABY. During the events of the Yuuzhan Vong War when the New Jedi Order re-discovered and founded a new training academy on Ossus, deciphering the clues and finding this mythical Holocron became a game for young Knights wanting to prove themselves to their masters. Found by accident, the Holocron pressured a young Initiate into returning it to its rightful Master, the long-dead Odan-Urr. To complete this trial, the young Jedi abandoned the Academy to begin his search for the one deserving of Odan-Urr's legacy.

The Holocron was eventually brought to the House of Odan-Urr, a sect of Jedi Knights who patronized the great Odan-Urr. The High Councilor of the Acolytes, a Gand named Ji, received the Holocron but was unable to solve the ancient riddles. Wary of the artifact falling into the wrong hands, Ji kept it close, but safely hidden, on the recently discovered world of New Tython.

Properties

The Holocron of Antiquities was an ancient artifact that once belonged to the Draethos Jedi Master, Odan-Urr. The Holocron was dodecahedral in shape and needed to be, due to its size, held in at least two hands. The device's exterior emitted a soft blue aura and the shape bespoke of the complexities of the information within. The Holocron was capable of projecting images in both small, hand-sized models and images large enough to fill an entire room.

Unlike other such Holocrons, which freely gave information should the powers of the holder be sufficient, the Holocron of Antiquities featured a unique, almost labyrinthine web of puzzles that needed to be solved one a at time to unlock its knowledge. Merely obtaining the artifact and having the power to activate it was not enough. To penetrate the deepest mysteries, to obtain the most powerful secrets, one had to be gifted enough to understand the complexities of Odan-Urr's puzzles.

History

Creation

The great Jedi Master Odan-Urr was a celebrated historian of the Jedi Order, having founded the ancient Great Jedi Library on Ossus and would later become the Keeper of the Chamber of Antiquities. Amongst his strongest passions though, was Odan-Urr's desire to discover, and catalogue the many Jedi and Sith artifacts that he could discover. Through his discovery and study of an ancient Sith Holocron, as well as the many Jedi Holocrons in his keeping, Odan-Urr eventually discovered a way to create Holocrons himself. Though he did not widely advertise this area of skill, he viewed it as his ultimate achievement. The longevity of his race allowed Odan-Urr to live through a great deal of history, and his life-long obsession had been to catelogue and protect that history.

It was this desire that led him to create a special, rare Holocron of his own personal knowledge. Within it was stored, not the memoirs of a long-lived Jedi Master, but a repository of his knowledge of discovered and theorized Force artifacts. He imbued within it his own personality as the gate-keeper, as well as his notes, thoughts, and any information he had obtained about certain artifacts. This made his Holocron something of a treasure map, allowing those who followed in his footsteps to continue his search for knowledge throughout the stars.

Death of Odan-Urr

"I... am old... evil is loose in the galaxy... and I cannot stop it."

―Jedi Master Odan-Urr

During the time of unrest that preceded the Great Sith War, Odan-Urr began to experience premonitions of his own death. Given the general unease of the Force, combined with the problems starting to ravage the Order, Odan-Urr knew that his life-long project was too great a treasure to be lost to agents of the Dark Side. It became vital to him that the Holocron of Antiquities not be lost, or worse, fall into enemy hands. Though the Force had not granted him knowledge of his exact time and place of death, he felt only that it was inevitable, and so formulated a plan to protect the Holocron.

Descending into the catacombs beneath the Great Jedi Library, Odan-Urr enveloped the Holocron within a force illusion and laid it to rest. Leaving subtle clues as to how to unearth the Holocron spread throughout the Library and its surrounding area, Odan-Urr felt confident that his creation would be safe, and only found by someone with the desire and respect for ancient artifacts that he himself possessed.

Then the day came, when Exar Kun overheard Odan-Urr speaking of the mysteries within the Dark Holocron. The fallen Jedi confronted the Jedi Master and Odan-Urr thought his worst fears were realized as Kun began to question him. However, Kun did not desire the Holocron of Antiquities, it's existence was still hidden from him, and only focused on unlocking the dark powers within the Dark Holocron. Exar Kun killed Odan-Urr, stealing the item, never knowing that in doing so, he denied himself a store of even greater riches.

However, it was this same defense that Odan-Urr created that nearly doomed his efforts of preserving knowledge throughout time. Whether it was a lack of the proper motivation, or simply being unable to decipher his clues, the Holocron of Antiquities was lost in time. It was not until after the Jedi Order had nearly been completely wiped out of the galaxy that Odan-Urr's dream would be realized.

Re-Discovered

Millennia later, the Holocron remained hidden as Odan-Urr had left it, undisturbed deep in the heart of Ossus, which had been abandoned by the Jedi Order ages earlier. To rebuild after the events of the Yuuzhan Vong War, Luke Skywalker decided to start his new Jedi Academy on Ossus. With beings from all across the Galaxy gathering to train in the New Jedi Order, it was perhaps inevitable that buried secrets would become unearthed.

Having heard tails of Odan-Urr's Holocron, many of the young Jedi made a game out of seeking out that powerful artifact during their free time, in hopes of earning favor with the Grand Master of the Order. By chance, a young initiate stumbled across the secret when he became separated from his friends during one of their fruitless quests for the artifact. Countless years of erosion resulted in the Holocron's cave being opened to the surface. When the Holocron sensed no darkness in him, it communicated its desire to be returned to its rightful master.

In Search of a Legacy

Prompted by the ancient Holocron, the young Jedi left the Academy to uncover the legacy of Odan-Urr. Though Ossus had once been his home and the resting place of many ancient Jedi artifacts, it held no clues as to who Odan-Urr would want to continue his mission. This left the Jedi with little choice but to expand his search to the galaxy.

It seemed an almost impossible endeavor. Thousands of years had passed since Odan-Urr had met his end and none since had been able to find the Holocron or had even truly searched for it. In a fit of drunken anxiety, the young Jedi gave himself to the Force, seeking answers by meditating. Because the Holocron was aiding him, or because he was just that inebriated, the Jedi received a vision that guided him to the Outer Rim, to the planet recently named "New Tython".

When he arrived on New Tython, the young Jedi found it was controlled by a sect of Jedi Knights he had never heard of before—the House of Odan-Urr. Upon reaching their leader, he discovered that, while they had no biological ties to the ancient Odan-Urr, the House saw the Jedi Master as their progenitor, the being they based many of their own philosophies and teachings on. Sensing he had come as far as he could with his quest, the young Jedi handed the Holocron to the leader of the House.

Unfortunately, the Holocron proved to difficult to master and Ji was unable to uncover its secrets. Before he could fully investigate the mysterious device, rumors of an imminent attack by the Dark Jedi Brotherhood began to stir the populace of New Tython. Fearing that the artifact could be lost, the Holocron was hidden in a secure location on New Tython that was hoped to remain unmolested by any Dark Jedi attackers.

Captured by the Brotherhood

In the Fall of 35 ABY, the Dark Brotherhood launched an assault on the Jedi of New Tython, a massive operation undermined by the Grand Master, Muz Ashen, who sought total destruction of the House of Odan-Urr. After blockading the planet, the

Clans and Housees of the Brother descended to the surface and began to overwhelm the meager Jedi forces.

However, do to some unknown insight, the House of Odan-Urr was prepared for such an invasion, and had enlisted the help of the Mandalorian mercanries of the Ordo Clan. As the one-sided battle became an war in earnest, the devastation wrought by the opposing forces unearthed the Holocron, delivering it into the hands of the Dark Jedi.

The contents of the Holocron of Antiquities are known only by rumors and legends. What information that can be obtained is vague and incomplete, often little more than historical notes on the subject drawn from hundreds of scholars over the years. Not only was information on the Holocron lacking, but the potential artifacts discussed in the Holocron were catalogued over 4000 years ago making the possibility that some have been found or destroyed highly likely. Still, many who know of the Holocron of Antiquities believe it still holds valuable information on many of history's greatest lost treasures.

Perversions of the Sith

Captured shortly before the outbreak of the Great Sith War, these ancient manuscripts detailed the creation of various Sithspawn, twisted aberrations created by manipulationg living creatures with Sith Alchemy. Since those ancient times, many of the arts of Sith Alchemy have been lost, ravaged by the many wars and through the meddling of the Jedi. However, these manuscripts survived, a historical record that, if discovered, could release a new plague of unimaginable horrors on the Galaxy.

Chu-Gon Dar cube

The Chu-Gon Dar cube was created by Jedi Master Chu-Gon Dar thousands of years before the Clone Wars. What made this artifact so special was its transmogrification ability. The knowledge of Jedi Master Chu-Gon Dar was so great that it was said he could completely change the properties of an object through the Force. Before his death, he created the Chhu-Gon Dar cube to aid future Force-users in duplicating this feat. When wielded by a Force-user of sufficient competence, this cube could combine two Force-infused objects into a new Force-infused object, combining the strengths of the two objects. According to legend, a Jedi Master used the Chu-Gon Dar cube to combine a powerful Force Crystal with a piece of the Vor'Na'Tu to create the Eye of the Sun.

Odan-Urr corresponded with Chu-Gon Dar while creating the Holocron of Antiquities, and the Holocron is suspected to contain these messages. The cube in question was recovered already by a group of spacers, but the knowledge contained here may provide insight to unlocking greater powers of the cube, or possibly even making a copy.

The Uset Crystal Cavern

On a desolate part of the planet Lyran IV can be found the entrance to a cavern. Deep within the cavern is said to be the only known location where Uset crystals can be found. Legend tells that these crystals can be used to create a lightsaber blade that can not be seen by the naked eye.

Odan-Urr visited Lyran IV at some point during construction of the Holocron, and through meditation was able to locate the cavern. Crystals capable of making ultraviolet blades are rare enough that certain Elders of the Brotherhood would handsomely reward anyone who could retrieve one for them.

Broken Staff of Vodo-Siosk Baas

The simple wooden quarterstaff used by the ancient Jedi Master Vodo-Siosk Baas was a unique artifact, offering more than physical support to the aged Jedi Master. It was approximately one and a half meters in length with one end off the staff wrapped in strips of fabric. In times when the need of combat arose, the Jedi Master was able to imbue the staff with the power of the Force, whereupon the cane served the Krevaaki in lieu of a lightsaber. The Force-augmented staff was also able to transfer tremendous amounts of energy into a chosen target, for example shatter rocks, or off-balance and disarm the Jedi Masters opponents with ease.

The staff was destroyed in the same battle as the former Student of Baas, Exar Kun, killed the Krevaaki with a vicious overhand strike from his double-bladed lightsaber. Vodo-Siosk Baas became one with the Force, while the newly broken staff was abandoned with his garments.

Jedi Master Odan-Urr who had sensed the death of Baas through the Force, found a way, through meditation, to single out where the broken parts of the quarterstaff had been abandoned. This knowledge too was placed into the holocron before Odan-Urr's own death in the hopes someone, someday, would start searching the artifact and again mend it together to use it against the foes of the Jedi once more.

Trivia

Uset is Danish for Unseen.
Puzzles and treasure hunts are more fun than magic rings and necklaces... just sayin' :P