Tython/Legends

"Though still committed to defending the Republic, the Jedi relocated to their ancient homeworld of Tython to rest, meditate, and seek guidance from the Force."

- Jedi Master Gnost-Dural

Tython was a terrestrial planet located within the Tython system of the Deep Core. The ancestral homeworld of the Jedi Order, Tython was host to the first society of Force-users in known history, sometime around 25,783 BBY.

Description
A wild and primordial world, Tython was rich with the Force and stuck in a constant battle for balance between the light and dark. Because of this constant fight for balance, the world was constantly plagued by Force storms; a violent and naturally-occurring phenomenon which made life difficult on the planet.

Across the planet unique and mysterious physical and sentient-built features existed. Two natural structures of note were the Rift and the Abyss of Ruh which existed within it; these sites were the nexus of bizarre beasts and plants which defied the natural order of the planet. Additionally the Silent Desert was a perplexing feature in which all sound died in the vast waste's sands. When the early philosophers who would become the Je'daii Order arrived on the planet in 36,453 BBY, the Old City was long abandoned, the ruins of an even more ancient civilization.

Following the planet's abandonment sometime after the Galactic Republic's Cold War, some disaster or possible unbalance in the Force left the planet in utter despair. Desolate fields of ash and death stretched to the horizon under dense fog and cloud cover, a complete departure from the world's historically lush landscapes.

Flora and fauna
A lush world of breathtaking beauty, Tython's weather was plagued by naturally occurring Force storms which tore through the landscape uprooting forests and shattering mountains. Living among the chaos were a series of beasts both docile and fierce, all living in harmony with the planet's bizarre phenomenon. Herbivores such as uxibeasts roamed the grassy plains and valleys while manka cats roamed the mountain forests hunting horranths. Deep within the caves the cut through the ridges and mountainous terrain, Dark Beasts posed a threat to unwary travelers.

Dawn of the Jedi
In the year 36,453 BBY, the Tho Yor&mdash;nine great pyramid ships&mdash; traversed the hazards of the Deep Core to deliver a massive group of Force-sensitive pilgrims to the volatile planet as a means of settling the world. Guided by the Force, the Tho Yor anchored themselves in different regions of the planet and expelled their passengers so as to begin the settling of the world. These people, consisting of Humans, Cathar, Selkath, Twi'lek, Noghri, Wookiees, Miraluka, Iktotchi, Sith, and a myriad of other Forceful individuals became known as the Tythan, one people united by the Force.

Gathered together, the pilgrims were considered to be some of the galaxy's brightest and best philosophers, priests, scientists and warriors. Realizing the hazards of Tython, the Tythans quickly discovered why that had been called together; to bring balance to the world through their own inner balance with the Force. Collectively the Tythans began to study the ways of the Force, living their lives in a constant Moving Meditation in order to master the abilities they were gifted with. Through communion with nature, the Tythans learned of the world and the Force's duality, a fact reflected in the night's sky by the astral bodies Ashla and Bogan.

As the Tythan's struggled to keep the balance, they began to call themselves the Je'daii Order; a name derived from the Dai Bendu phrase, "mystic center." As they built temples, cities and academies across the planet surrounding the original landing sites of the Tho Yor, Tython reacted to any imbalance through terrible Force storms and groundquakes. While the Je'daii could protect themselves from some of these dangerous events, not all of the descendants of the original colonists possessed the Force connection necessary to learn. Following the destruction of the city of Aurum, the Je'daii deemed the planet too dangerous to the many non-Forceful individuals living on the world. In an event known as the Second Migration, the Je'daii sent all non-Forceful individuals off Tython, beginning the process of colonizing the other planets in the Tython system known collectively as the Settled Worlds.

Conflict arose on Tython during the Despot War, when Queen Hadiya of Shikaakwa led an army against the Jedi and the Force itself. Deeming her will to be superior to that of the Force, Hadiya's army marched against Tython and several bloody battles were fought. Eventually during the final stand at Kaleth, Hadiya was killed and her armies routed, thus bringing an end to the war.

The Force Wars


For over ten thousand years the Je'daii contemplated the Force in the nine Great Temples, studying the sciences, histories and martial arts in quiet reflection; always careful to maintain inner balance. Those Je'daii who leaned too far to one side of the Force, creating imbalance, were exiled to one of the planet's moons until a time when balance was restored.

Peace was shattered, however, circa 25,783 BBY when a schism in the Order's belief system pitted those who favored the Ashla philosophy and the Je'daii who adhered more to the Bogan schools of thought. Wielding katana, metal swords imbued with the Force, the Je'daii were pitied in a bloody civil war known as the Force Wars. The Ashla philosophers called themselves the Jedi Order and were led by a High Council comprised of the greatest of their number. One of the High Councilors, the great Master Rajivari, was corrupted by the dark side of the Force and led a faction of dissidents in another savage attack against the Jedi he had helped to create. Calling themselves the True Dark Sons of Tython and aided by an army of savages known as Flesh Raiders, Rajivari's camp fortified itself at the Temple of Knowledge, called Kaleth by the Order. While the Bogan philosophers held off the Jedi for several weeks the Flesh Raider army disappeared, as did Master Rajivari himself, leaving his disciples in disarray. Weakened and taking heavy casualties, the True Dark Sons were defeated and the Jedi Order ended the uprising.

Abandonment
Initially, the Jedi believed their power was limited to Tython only, though this was later proven otherwise when a proactive group left Tython to liberate other worlds, becoming the Jedi Knights around 25,783 BBY. In the wake of the Force Wars, the victorious Jedi Order abandoned Tython in favor of Ossus, a lush planet on the edge of the Tion Cluster deep in the Unknown Regions. Despite the Order's departure, Tython was absorbed into the Galactic Republic and was held throughout the Indecta, Kymoodon and Pius Dea eras and beyond.

Following the destruction of the Cron Cluster and the ensuing ruination of Ossus, the Jedi Order had relocated to Coruscant; records of Tython's existence survived to this point, and notation of Sith experiments on the planet were made in the Archives of the Jedi Temple. Terrific beasts called terentateks, the product of alchemy, were loosed on Tython and were deemed monstrous abominations that posed as an affront to the Force by the Jedi High Council. Charging members of the Order to hunt down the creatures and execute them with extreme prejudice, the High Council initiated the Great Hunt, allowing any who wished to join in the purge to participate. Among other worlds Tython was cleansed in 3,994 BBY, riding the ancient Jedi homeworld of the terentatek threat.

Rediscovery
Soon after the Great Hunt ended, hyperlanes to the planet collapsed and the world was left abandoned for several millennium. Tython had not been forgotten, however; new hyperlanes into the Deep Core were paved circa 3,653 BBY by Jedi Knight Satele Shan in the wake of the Sacking of Coruscant by the resurgent Sith Empire. Leading Jedi scouts to reclaim the world, Shan reestablished a Jedi presence on the world, making Tython the Order's fortress world during the Cold War between the Sith Empire and the Galactic Republic. In the same time period, a group of Twi'lek Pilgrims landed on the world and established a small settlement near to the Jedi headquarters. Constructing their Temple near the ruins of Kaleth, the Jedi kept their distance from the illegal Twi'lek settlement despite pleas from the Matriarch to assist in warding off Flesh Raiders.

During the Cold War, Darth Angral of the Sith Empire destroyed the Republic agricultural world of Uphrades to issue a challenge to the former Padawan of Master Orgus Din. This Knight had come to be a thorn in the side of the Empire on several different occasions and had finally drawn Angral's wrath upon Tython. The Knight and their own apprentice, Kira Carsen entered the Angral's flagship the Oppressor and confronted Angral after disabling it. During the confrontation, the Sith Emperor possessed Carsen from afar and ordered Angral to finish off the Knight. Ultimately the Knight was able to defeat Angral while Carsen refused to be the Emperor's pawn and was able to shatter the mental link. The two Jedi were able to flee the Oppressor before it exploded, taking Angral's corpse with it. Upon their return to the surface of the planet, Grand Master Satele Shan bestowed the title, "Hero of Tython" on the Jedi Knight for services done for the Order.

Return to obscurity
Following the end of the Cold War the hyperlanes to Tython had become unstable once more and forgotten and the Temple there abandoned, though the coordinates of the planet remained recorded in the Jedi Temple Archives on Coruscant. At some point after 1,289 BBY during the New Sith Wars, the Sith Lord Belia Darzu built a massive temple that she used as one of her barracks for her army of technobeasts on the planet. Corrupting the Force which permeated the planet, Darzu perverted nature through the creation of her army; she recorded her knowledge within a Sith holocron which she kept deep within the fortress. In 1,230 BBY Lord Darzu was poisoned on Tython by the Mecrosa Order at the behest of her fellow Sith Lords and died. Following her death her technobeasts remained in the temple, waiting for the next order from their master who never returned. In the greater galaxy, the Sith Empire foundered without leadership until Dark Lord of the Sith Skere Kaan reorganized the Empire into the Brotherhood of Darkness. Warring for a decade, Kaan and the Sith were eventually purged from the galaxy in the wake of a great military campaign on the planet Ruusan.

By the year 990 BBY, no one had traveled to Tython in some time because of its location in the Deep Core. However, rebel leader and aspiring Sith Hetton had located navigational charts to Tython. He later passed these charts onto Darth Zannah, in return for a promise for apprenticeship. Zannah later betrayed Hetton, and gave the charts to her master, Darth Bane. While Zannah left for the Coruscant Temple Archives, he traveled to Tython to access information on how to construct a Sith holocron from Darzu's holocron. Upon discovering Darzu's temple he located her holocron, though it was surrounded by her technobeasts, still awaiting their master. After destroying the beasts Bane got ahold of the holocron he sought and spent the next few days studying its many secrets.

After Zannah fled from the Jedi Archives on Coruscant, Jedi Masters Valenthyne Farfalla, Raskta Lsu, and Worror Dowmat, along with Jedi Knights Johun Othone and Sarro Xaj, pursued her to Tython. When they arrived, they fought Bane and Zannah in a violent battle to the death. The two Sith Lords defeated their Jedi adversaries, killing them all to ensure that the continued existence of the Sith remained a secret. Despite the victory, Bane was seriously injured and his apprentice was forced to flee to the planet Ambria in hopes of finding the healer Caleb.

Following the Ruusan Reformation which restructured both the Galactic Senate and the Jedi Order and the mysterious deaths of the Jedi task force sent to investigate the Sith on Tython, an academy was opened on the planet and served as a place for deeper immersion in the Force, similar to another academy on Alpheridies.

Inhabitants
The planet of Tython has had a long history of colonization which began long before the formation of the Galactic Republic. As of 36,453 BBY, the Tythonian Old City had long since been abandoned; a series of crumbling stone structures surrounding a large acropolis was all that remained of the mysterious civilization which built it. Several millennium later saw the arrival of the monks and philosophers who would form the Je'daii Order, constructing several Great Temples across the planet.

Following the Force Wars between the fledgling Jedi Order and the True Dark Sons of Tython, the world was left ruined and largely abandoned. Despite the Order's departure from the world, several communities continued to eke out a living on the planet, with several different civilizations making use of the ruined Temple of Knowledge at Kaleth. These civilizations would succumb to war and disaster, eventually dying out by the time the Jedi Order returned circa 3,653 BBY. When the Order reestablished themselves on the world, a group of Twi'lek pilgrims followed them and set up a small settlement on the world. During this era Flesh Raiders, a species of sentient barbarians which were remnants of the armies of fallen Jedi Master Rajivari's dark side army, plagued both the Jedi and the Twi'leks.

After the Order moved off Tython once more, only small remnants of civilization remained. Dark Lord of the Sith Belia Darzu set-up a small fortress in a desolate region on the planet, creating a small army of technobeasts to guard over her treasure horde long after her death.

Locations
Over the millennium many cultures established several major structures on the planet. During the height of the Je'daii Order's time on Tython, nine Great Temples were constructed across the planet to serve as academies, meditative retreats, research centers, and seats of power. These temples were erected around naturally occurring Force wellsprings as well as the original landing points of the nine Tho Yor. The Je'daii temples were Akar Kesh, the Temple of Balance; Anil Kesh, the Temple of Science; Mahara Kesh, the Temple of Healing; Kaleth, the Temple of Knowledge; Bodhi, the Temple of the Arts; Vur Tepe, the Forge; Qigong Kesh, the Temple of Force Skills; Stav Kesh, the Temple of Martial Arts; and Padawan Kesh, the Je'daii Academy of Padawans.

Following the Jedi Order's resettlement of the planet, a massive Temple was erected near the site of the ruined city-temple of Kaleth. The Temple served as a base for all Jedi operations on the planet for several years; the Jedi also occupied a structure known as the Masters' Retreat located in the Tythonian Gnarls, while the Twi'lek Kalikori Village was found on a ridge just above the Temple complex.

Behind the scenes
First mentioned in the Star Wars: Rebellion video game released in 1998, Tython did not actually appear in any Star Wars material until the 2007 publication of Darth Bane: Rule of Two. Tython was later identified as the birthplace of the Jedi Order in the 2012 release of the massively multiplayer online role-playing game, Star Wars: The Old Republic, in which the planet plays a prominent role in the early gaming experience for players who chose the path of the Jedi Consular or Jedi Knight.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi 1: Force Storm, Part 1
 * Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi 2: Force Storm, Part 2
 * Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi 3: Force Storm, Part 3
 * Timeline 1: Treaty of Coruscant
 * Star Wars: The Old Republic 11: The Lost Suns, Part 5
 * Star Wars: The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance
 * Star Wars: The Old Republic
 * Darth Bane: Rule of Two
 * Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil
 * Coruscant Nights III: Patterns of Force
 * Star Wars: Rebellion video game
 * Star Wars: Rebellion video game