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History
Shortly after the Third Great Jedi War, House Qel-Droma initiated an internal conflict to, essentially, "cull the herd" for those worthy to hold a place as the most valuable and honored of the Krath in the House. The conflict was long and arduous, with the two Krath Phyles (Prophecy and Dark Orb) fighting to become the favored denizens of the recently constructed House Qel-Droma Temple.
For over a month in the beginning of 20 ABY, one year after The Split, tyro fought tyro amid the stone hallways and jungle surrounding of the temple, all in an effort to impress their superiors, and themselves, of who was most worthy. When the haze of battle cleared, the results were indeed very, very close. But a winner was chosen, and that winner was the Dark Orb.
Designed by Vassan Rokir, Aedile of Qel-Droma, who had also designed the Qel-Droma Temple itself, the monument rest near the entrance to the temple, displayed prominently for all who come and go. The base of the monument was carved from a block of solid, black rock mined from the nearby mountains. The plaque reads "Dark Orb," the letters made from the durable golden glitterstone and set into a base of wrought durasteel. The base also houses a repulsorlift field generator, which leads to the rest of the design.
Set on either side of the flat, square top of the monument's base are two angled spikes of polished platinum/durasteel mix. These spikes each represent 'Knowledge' and 'Power', the two basic virtues of the Krath Order. Floating between the two spikes, thanks to the aforementioned repulsorlift field, is a large sphere of violet Corusca stone. Polished to a mirror finish, the sphere is set to rotate in time with the rotation of the temple's homeworld, Arconae Primus.
Grounds
The grounds of the temple adhere to the general shape of the pre-exiting ruins. Light jungle terrain stops suddenly at a foundation of flat yellowed stone, whose ancient cracks have been filled-in with modern permacrete, giving the expanse a strange "gold-with-silver-veins" appearance in the glint of the setting sun. There are footpaths crisscrossing the jungle surroundings, a gift from generations of Journeymen, but there are no main roads through the foliage. The grass, though groomed well by the groundskeepers, has been beaten and downtrodden by hundreds of marching boots, as the younger Dark Jedi are led in their combat maneuvers in the courtyard.
First Floor
From the flat foundation one comes to a raised area, only accessible from a short but wide staircase to the main entrance. Just in front of this staircase are three perfectly intact obelisk stones; remnants of the lost civilization. The markings on these are, as of yet, undecipherable. They were preserved during the temple's construction because the Clan elders felt that, in an abstract way, the three pillars were representative of the three Orders of the Brotherhood.
Just to the right of the three pillars is a separate raised dais, whose only unique feature is a large statue of Ulic Qel-Droma. The statue had been nothing more than a plain chunk of stone leftover from the ruins. But shortly after construction on the temple concluded, a young artisan took the time to carve out a representation of the Dark Lord of the Sith, appearing in a confident stance with his lightsaber in hand. It is important to note that the temple was designed with this staircase leading to the first floor to be easily defensible, but it is rumored that the temple was actually designed with more exits to the grounds.
Ahead from the top of the stairs the main archway leads to a long, wide hallway, lined with rows of regularly spaced pillars. Most of these are original structures of the ruins, but approximately every third pillar is a durasteel replacement, most having holo-portraits of famous Arconans installed on their surfaces about 5 feet from the floor. This hall has become a symbol of strength for House Qel-Droma, with many former Quaestors honored with holo-portraits.
At the end of the main entry hall is a roughly square room whose center is taken up with what has come to be called the "Reflecting Pool." Part of the original ruins, this pool has, since its discovery, contained none but the clearest and purest of water. The Krath have yet to fully explain the source of this water, or how its purity is maintained in the shallow pool. Nevertheless, the Reflecting Pool has come to be a popular location for meditation within the temple. The bottom of the pool is decorated with a mosaic of Ulic Qel-Droma's face, his eyes replaced by perfect blood-red rubies.
Forward from the reflecting pool is a long, dark stairway that slopes gently into the earth and into the depths of the temple. Various sensors and security devices have been installed along this stairwell, programmed to detain, and if necessary destroy, anything the central computer does not recognize as authorized personnel. The stairway is completely unlit, and has no hand railings. No one is precisely sure what lies at the bottom of the large spaces on either side of the staircase; even Force-enhanced senses seem to be blocked from investigating them. One of the first tests of any initiate of the House is to reach the bottom of the staircase using the barest sense of the Force as their only guide through the treacherous darkness. Many Qel-Dromans believe that the chamber that the stairwell leads to is tied to the Shadowcrafting abilities gifted to the Clan's denizens, but this claim has never been proven.
Lower Floor A
Once reaching the bottom of the staircase, large durasteel doors open into a huge enclosed area, nearly the size of a standard city block. The majority of the area is taken up by secluded study areas, made up of large tables, comfortable chairs, and lit with soft glow lamps. But the centerpieces are the two formidable vaults at the far side of the room. These are the highly prized archives of House Qel-Droma. Case upon case, shelf upon shelf of scrolls, artifacts, and datacards hold the tales, research, and discoveries of countless Dark Jedi and Sith throughout known history. The vaults themselves are essentially huge boxes made of durasteel, seamlessly melded into the bedrock of the temple's foundation. Huge doors are programmed to seal the vaults immediately upon either threat of fire, invasion, or any other potential catastrophe.
Past the archives is a short hallway, whose most immediate destinations are the only recognizable remains of the original pre-fabricated garrison: two large barracks buildings, now part of the temple's overall structure. Each building contains two rows of living quarters, and a central area for dining, studying, and general socialization. Each private room is supplied with a bed, storage locker, and personal facilities, and can be customized to a certain extent by the current tenant. The barracks serve as the initial home for all incoming House members, up until the rank of Dark Jedi Knight is attained. At that point, the Dark Knight can opt to find or build his own dwelling outside the temple. But regardless, a handful of rooms are always kept "open" for any member's usage, should their studies require them to spend extended periods of time in the temple.
Past the barracks areas, the hallway begins a steady angled climb back towards ground level, and the next feature is the Communications Room. Here is housed the most state-of-the-art in communications technology. The Comm Room not only monitors HoloNet broadcasts and manages all incoming and outgoing communications of House and Clan members, but it has also been specially modified by the Arconan Krath. Unique to Qel-Droma is the fact that the Comm Center is also tapped into a long forgotten Imperial Ubiqtorate data stream, which not only allows for the most secure encryptions in the galaxy to be available to the House, but also provides access to many classified Imperial records. Despite this advantage, the Arconan Krath still struggle to crack into Emperor Palpatine's personal files pertaining to the Jedi and, more importantly, the ancient Sith.
Past the Comm Room is a voice coded, secure passageway. This leads to the area of the temple containing the private quarters of the House Quaestor and Aedile. A long hallway extends parallel to both rooms, and is adorned with various Clan artifacts, trophies, and intricate busts of Quaestors past. At each end of this hallway a large and powerful security droid stands guard to intercept any potential intruders. Both the Quaestor's and Aedile's chambers are large and heavily fortified, and the interiors of each are furnished to the occupant's wishes. A second, larger security door at the end of the hallway leads back to the reflecting pool, and the entrance of the temple.
Moving back to the archives room, a second passage on the south side leads to what has come to be called the Honor Room. Once the temple was completed, this room, an entirely intact chamber from the original ruins, was found to be a strong focus of dark side energy. While the reasons behind this focus is currently unknown, the plain chamber has become the location in which the ceremonies to elevate House members take place. Rumor has it that being granted a new title in the energy-filled room imparts some additional Force power to the honoree, but this has yet to be proven in any way.
Past the Honor Room, the hallway angles steeply upwards, leading back to and above ground level, terminating in the entrance to a broad staircase. This leads to the second level of the temple. The stairway was designed so that many House members could ascend at one time.
Added Facilities
Shortly after the House Qel-Droma Phyle War, the House Temple’s architect, Vassan Rokir, undertook a number of additions to the temple, to better accommodate the growing numbers in the House, as well as to mark the anniversary of the Brotherhood’s division from the Emperor’s Hammer. Over the decade since those first additions, various Quaestors have added their own personal touches, but the main plans laid down by Vassan Rokir still hold true.
Laboratory
Off a newly made hallway from the entrance to the summit quarters, the lab is a multi-purpose workspace for House members. Reserved on request, the laboratory is stocked with supplies both technological and alchemical, depending on the needs of the user. Anything from lightsabers to poisons could be created here, with the proper ingredients. Often, only Equites and above are permitted to reserve it for themselves, but a Journeyman would be allowed use of the laboratory if they have the supervision and approval of their master. This is all up to the presiding Quaestor.
Meditation Center
This hollowed-out area down the hall from the laboratory is reserved as a sound proof, secluded area for members to conduct either individual or group meditative sessions. Several members sit within this room in complete darkness, in order to better commune with the darkness that resides within, and without.
Conference Room
Down a newly made hallway from the staircase leading to the Oval Dome, a formal conference room has been added. This room is intended for use by Phyles or summit members to conduct more private conclaves than would be done in a wide public area, such as the Oval Dome. It may also be reserved by interested parties for private debate or conversation on the dark side itself, or discussion of special research projects.
Storage Room
Down the hall from the Conference Room, a storage room has been added to warehouse food supply stockpiles and extra equipment, should Arconae Primus be cut off from Clan supply lines for any unforeseen length of time. The room also acts as a supplementary archive of many non-rare items from the House archives.