Sorcerers of Tund/Legends

For thousands of years before the Battle of Yavin, the Sorcerers of Tund studied the mystical arts in their monastic enclaves on their homeworld of Tund, seeking a better understanding of the ghalaxy and the powers that held it together. While members of the Jedi Order would recognize their field of study as the training in the Force, the Sorcerers saw their abilities as a kind of magic, and presented themeslves to the galaxy at large as powerful wizards. The Jedi Council knew of the Sorcerers, and periodically sent representatives to Tund, at first to try to convince the Sorcerers to join the Jedi Order and study the Force without the trappings of mysticism and magic.

But as the Sorcerers demonstrated power oftentimes at least as great as that of the Jedi sent to recruit them, the Jedi Council discreetly chose to allow the Sorcerers to study the Force in their own way—provided, of course, they did not delve into the teachings of the Dark Side. Later representatives came only to observe and evaluate, seeking signs that the Sorcerers had become corrupted. Satisfied that they were not, the Jedi Order developed a comfortable detente with the Sorcerers of Tund. But roughly one thousand years before the Battle of Yavin, the Jedi Order became preoccupied with the Sith Lord Kaan, and following the terrible battle on Ruusan, the depleted ranks of the Jedi ceased visiting Tund and eventually the Jedi all but forgot about the Sorcerers.

In the aftermath of the Battle of Ruusan, the Sorcerers were all but forgotten. What no one realized is that, near the time the Empire was born, the Sorcerers were wiped out, and the planet Tund reduced to a glowing ball of ash by Rokur Gepta. Gepta continued to spread rumors and stories about the Sorcerers, to keep his mystique valid. Emperor Palpatine even became interested in the Sorcerers, believing that their religious teachings were based on ancient Sith doctrines.