Ossus/Legends

"It's so peaceful here&hellip; the Force permeates everything."

- Nomi Sunrider

Ossus was the third planet in the Adega system in the Auril Sector. Originally a rich, lush world, Ossus was ravaged into an arid and toxic planet with the destruction of the Cron Cluster, and later restored by Yuuzhan Vong terraformers in the Ossus Project.

Ossus was an important Jedi site for over twenty-five millennia, serving as a repository of knowledge and a center for learning for the Old and New Jedi Orders alike. In the latter years of the Old Republic and beyond, it was home to the tribal Ysanna, descendants of Jedi who had survived the Cron supernova. The planet came under attack by the Sith twice, once in 3,996 BBY and once in 130 ABY.

Description
Ossus orbited the two stars of the Adega system, Adega Prime and Adega Besh. Unlike the other five planets in the system, which circled the center of mass of the two binaries, Ossus orbited both its suns in a figure-eight trajectory. Two moons in turn orbited it: Mim, a rocky, low-gravity satellite with no atmosphere, and Nerit, a temperate terrestrial world with high gravity and a population of Neti expatriates.

Ossus was originally a rugged, lush world with two-thirds of its surface covered in water and an abundance of flora and fauna. In 3,996 BBY it was transformed with the destruction of the Cron Cluster into a desolate, irradiated desert world. Chemical and electrical storms swept the land, and little life remained on the surface. Over 4,000 years later, this destruction was reversed with the terraforming technology of Yuuzhan Vong Shapers, who caused the planet to once again teem with life.

Before the Cron supernova, Ossus had a population in the hundreds of millions, inhabiting cities across the globe. The principle city was that of Knossa, whose spaceport was the main thoroughfare for arriving and leaving Ossus. The Cron incident destroyed most of the buildings in these cities.

Though a world of peace, Ossus was not a defenseless planet. Scattered ground emplacements protected it from aerial attack. During the various wars with the Sith, Ossus was used as a staging ground for Jedi and Republic forces. The planet also maintained a well-equipped military fleet for defense. Law enforcement consisted of Jedi Guardians who maintained security in the cities.

Early history
The unusual orbit of Ossus caused some to speculate that, like the Corellian system, the Adega system was artificially designed. However, despite the diligent efforts of archaeologists, no such evidence was ever uncovered.

The planet was home to intelligent life for countless generations. At some time before 25,000 BBY, a group of Jedi Knights from Tython established a school of philosophy there where the concepts of the light and dark sides of the Force were laid down. Here, too, the philosophies of the Living and Unifying Force were established.

Around 25,000 BBY, Galactic Republic scouts exploring the newly-discovered Perlemian Trade Route arrived on Ossus, in what was then known as Wild Space. The Jedi appointed themselves defenders of the nascent Republic. Ossus was poised to defend the Core Worlds against the forces of the Tion Cluster and Hutt Space, and so the planet became a fortress world protecting the Perlemian. With the Jedi holding back its enemies, the Republic grew apace.

Jedi stronghold


Ossus quickly became a leading center of knowledge and learning for the Jedi Order. Odan-Urr trained there under the tutelage of Ooroo, and in 4,996 BBY constructed the Great Jedi Library as a grand repository of Jedi knowledge, containing tens of thousands of texts. Pilgrimages to the world from thousands of planets were common, many of them by Jedi seeking enlightenment. Most Jedi traveled to Ossus at some point in their lives. Academics, too, were drawn to the world, seeking knowledge and research contained nowhere else. Due to its importance to the Jedi, many scholars incorrectly concluded that it had been the birthplace of the Order. Notable students of Ossus included Nomi Sunrider, Dace Diath, Shoaneb Culu, and Shaela Nuur.

This oasis of knowledge and peace was doomed, however. During the Great Sith War, Exar Kun slew Odan-Urr, stole a Sith holocron, and recruited many Jedi students on Ossus to the dark side, taking them to Yavin 4. Ulic Qel-Droma later joined forces with Exar Kun, and using Sith weaponry from Naga Sadow's ancient battleship they detonated the stars of the nearby Cron Cluster in 3,996 BBY, causing a deadly shockwave to spread out across space.



The Jedi were forced to hastily evacuate the planet, and it was during the ensuing chaos that Kun returned with Qel-Droma and a team of Massassi warriors, determined to loot the planet of its riches. Qel-Droma's Mandalorian Crusaders dived into the fray too, firing on the ships of the fleeing Jedi. Kun attempted to take a valuable collection of ancient lightsabers, but was stopped by the Neti Jedi Master Ood Bnar. Bnar transformed himself into a tree, trapping the lightsabers underneath his roots and preventing Kun from reaching them.

Ulic, meanwhile, engaged in battle with his brother Cay, who sought to turn him back from the dark side. When Ulic struck down his brother in a fit of rage, Nomi Sunrider, horrified at what he had done, stripped him of the Force, and the Jedi took him prisoner and fled the doomed planet. The shockwave hit soon afterward, searing Ossus and killing much of its life.

Post-Great Sith War


The planet was not completely scoured of life, however. Some Jedi had found protection in a cave system under the Eocho Mountains. Over time, their descendants forgot their origins, and came to see their Force abilities as a form of magic. They became the tribal Ysanna. Ood Bnar survived as well, protected from the full effect of the supernova in his new form.

Most of the knowledge of the Jedi stored on Ossus was lost forever in the cataclysm. However, much was moved as well, to locations as far spread as Exis Station, the Jedi Archives on Coruscant, and Derem City on Kamino. The Jedi learned from the disaster, and built storehouses in planets across the Galaxy to hold their most valuable artifacts. Contingency plans for evacuation were established in case other important Jedi worlds such as Dantooine were attacked.

Ossus was a popular location for archaeological teams during the time of the Old Republic. The Hanna Institute of Antiquities, Academy of Jedi Archaeology, and University of Agamar all sponsored studies and excavations of the ancient ruins. In 800 BBY, a dig recovered a lightsaber that would eventually belong to Vima-Da-Boda.

Early in the Clone Wars, several Jedi were dispatched to defend Ossus. A Separatist offensive struck, and the planet fell within days of the Second Battle of Rhen Var. The CIS established a base on the planet, which was later the target of a Republic attack as one of the opening battles of the Outer Rim Sieges.

When the Galactic Empire came into power, its crackdown on Jedi-related activity brought research to a stop. Extremely few projects on Ossus were funded on the Empire's credit, and private organizations who wanted to do research had to avoid incurring its wrath.

Rediscovery


In 10 ABY, Luke Skywalker and Kam Solusar arrived on Ossus in search of Jedi artifacts to aid in rebuilding the Order, guided there by an ancient holocron of Bodo Baas. Searching the ancient ruins, they encountered a pair of Ysanna, Jem and Rayf, who they sensed were Force-sensitive. The two Jedi were then ambushed by a band of Ysanna, whose primitive Force-enhanced attacks they easily blocked. Knowing from their strength in the Force that they could only be Jedi, the Ysanna welcomed the two men.

This new allegiance was immediately put to the test. The Galactic Empire had tracked Luke and Kam's approach to the planet, and Palpatine's Dark Side Elite Sedriss and Vill Goir were dispatched to capture or kill them. The Ysanna and Jedi fought off their soldiers, and Solusar killed Goir. Sedriss took Jem hostage, and backed up against a tree. However, this tree turned out to be the dormant Ood Bnar, who came to life and killed Sedriss, sacrificing himself in the process. Underneath him Luke discovered the ancient cache of lightsabers, which he took to be a sign of the Jedi's return. The Ysanna then revealed to the Jedi the secret location of the Great Jedi Library, which still held some undamaged texts. Before leaving, Kam and Luke asked the Ysanna if any wished to be Jedi candidates; only Jem and Rayf accepted.



In the wake of Palpatine's subsequent attacks on the Rebel Alliance with the Galaxy Gun, its leaders sought a new safe haven. Solusar suggested Ossus, believing that Palpatine would not risk destroying such a valuable repository of Jedi knowledge. The Jedi returned to the planet to ask the Ysanna, and encountered the forces of the Empire, sent by Palpatine to seize several Ysanna to clone and use as host bodies. The Jedi arrived too late to stop them from leaving Ossus, but rescued the captured Ysanna later on Vjun. With the destruction of the Galaxy Gun, the Alliance no longer needed a hidden base, and therefore never relocated to the world.

It was not forgotten, however. The New Republic and New Jedi Order began an extensive archaeological survey of the planet, unearthing its ancient ruins and learning more about the Jedi of old. The Obroan Institute for Archaeology, Hanna Institute of Antiquities, and New Republic Archaeological Corps, as well as groups from across the Galaxy sponsored excavations on Ossus. The Jedi took a particular interest, as Luke Skywalker believed it was necessary to understand the past of the Jedi before attempting to build a new future for them. The Ysanna grew more accepting of the Jedi, and it was expected that in time they would seek out their Jedi heritage again.

Ossus stood outside the invasion corridor of the Yuuzhan Vong, and so avoided the widespread destruction of the Yuuzhan Vong War. However, all official research was brought to a halt by the war. Vong occasionally visited the planet in search of ancient secrets that could help them exterminate the Jedi. The New Republic, too, used Ossus, taking advantage of its proximity to Vong territory to send strike teams into enemy-held sectors.

New Jedi Order


At the close of the Yuuzhan Vong War, the Jedi chose to distance themselves from the Galactic Alliance on Coruscant. With the praxeum at Yavin 4 destroyed, Luke Skywalker chose Ossus as the new home of the Jedi Order, on the suggestion of Kam Solusar. Not all Jedi moved there at first; Solusar, his wife Tionne, Luke, Mara Jade Skywalker, and their son Ben were amongst those who did. The Solusars became the administrators of the Ossus academy. A new Jedi Temple was built on Coruscant, but its use was chiefly formal, to facilitate communication and cooperation with the Galactic Alliance.

During the Dark Nest crisis and subsequent Swarm War, the Order used Ossus as their principle base of operations. In 36 ABY, Luke Skywalker called a meeting of the entire Jedi Order to resolve the crisis he saw facing it. He reconfirmed the Jedi's commitment to the Alliance and made an ultimatum to those present; they would put their commitment to the Jedi before all else, or they would resign from the Order. He also established himself as Grand Master of the Order in a bid to make the Masters put aside their differences in the face of his apparent power grab.

Resurgent Sith
Sometime between 40 ABY and 130 ABY, the Galactic Alliance and the Jedi allowed the Shaper caste of the Yuuzhan Vong to terraform the barren planet and restore it to its original beauty. A desolate part of the planet was chosen to test the Vong technology. Championed by Kol Skywalker, the Ossus Project was a major success and soon many planets turned to the Yuuzhan Vong to terraform their own planets.



However, sabotage by the new order of Sith eventually led to the Sith-Imperial War. In the wake of the war, the Galactic Alliance fell and the Empire ascended to power. The Jedi, refusing to follow the Empire and its Sith allies, retreated to Ossus.

The Sith, in league with Moff Rulf Yage, attacked the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, and two days later struck again at Ossus. Amongst the Ossus Academy's defenders were Kol Skywalker, his son Cade, Wolf Sazen, and Shado Vao. On Kol's urging, Cade escaped the planet on a shuttle full of padawans. Kol later fell to Darth Nihl, and most of the remaining Jedi on Ossus were slaughtered.

Inhabitants


Ossus was inhabited by intelligent life for unnumbered generations. In the days of the Old Republic before the Cron cataclysm, the planet's inhabitants were largely Jedi or other students of the Force. There was a large population of academics and scholars as well, taking advantage of the Order's tremendous wealth of knowledge. Members of nearly every species in the Republic could be found there. During times of war, the planet also played host to Republic soldiers, who used it as a staging ground to launch offensives into enemy space.

The supernova, however, changed this. Many of those who did not evacuate in time were killed when the shockwave hit. Those who had taken shelter in mountain caverns managed to eke out an existence on the now-barren planet. In time, they became the nomadic Ysanna tribes. Nearly all Ysanna felt the Force, but they were untrained, and their use of it was weak. However, it was enough to give them an advantage in their harsh environment, particularly in guiding the projectiles from their weapons to strike more accurately. A species of massive, hardy quadrupeds had survived the disaster too, and the Ysanna trained them as mounts. They adorned themselves in ritual masks based off artifacts of the dark side they had uncovered from the ruins of the Great Library. Though they had forgotten the specifics of their Jedi ancestors, they still held the ruins of the Order in reverence.

With the rediscovery of Ossus in 10 ABY and the eventual establishment of a new Jedi academy there, the planet once more became populated with Jedi. The Ysanna continued their lifestyle much as it was, now hosts to visitors from across the Galaxy. Some Ysanna chose to join the Jedi and learn the ways of the Force.

Knossa


Knossa, located on a slope of the Eocho Mountains in the far south, was the primary city on Ossus and contained the planet's largest spaceport. It held the usual venues to be found in cities, including repair bays, restaurants, and lodging, and was also host to a number of research facilities for visiting academics.

Knossa's central plaza held two important obelisks topped with Adegan crystals. When the moons of Ossus aligned with the crystals, they produced a famous and magnificent display of light. The Jedi held this time to be sacred, and used it to remember those of their Order who had fallen in combat. It is from this that the term Ossus Day originated.



Great Jedi Library
Built by Odan-Urr in 4,996 BBY, the Library was a great storehouse of Jedi knowledge, containing over ten thousand works. Located on a hill in the Eocho Mountains, the Library was a large, unadorned stone building with many of its rooms located below ground. Its entrances were unbarred, as Odan-Urr did not believe in fettering any being's search for knowledge.

Most data were stored in the main building, in a labyrinthine system of shelves. Reading rooms and classrooms filled the lower levels, as well as holograms of some of the most treasured contents of the library. Four towers held relics from the four main eras of history, as per Odan-Urr's dating system: Pre-Hyperdrive, Pre-Republic, Early Republic, and Mature Republic. More dangerous artifacts were stored deep underground, in the Chamber of Antiquities. Only those with permission from the Jedi Council and Keeper of Antiquities were permitted down there.

The Library's dense construction was likely what allowed it to survive the Cron supernova. Its location was lost until Rayf Ysanna's great-grandfather rediscovered it. He kept it a secret, not wanting the sacred ruins to be disturbed. Rayf revealed the library's location to Luke Skywalker on the Jedi's first visit to Ossus. The ancient secrets of the Jedi it still held were invaluable to Luke and his cause of rebuilding the shattered Order.

Jedi Academy
The Ossus academy was the new nerve center of the Jedi Order after the Yuuzhan Vong War, replacing the destroyed Jedi Praxeum on Yavin 4. It was designed with meditation in mind; difficult paths between the buildings forced Jedi to focus on their surroundings and rooms in the temple were arranged in a way that encouraged serenity.

Amongst the Academy's facilities were a massive lecture hall, a library, a hangar, training grounds, and laboratories. The grounds were staffed by Jedi, families of Jedi, and Ysanna.

Inspirations
There may be a connection between Ossus and the Minoan civilization. The supposed capital of the Minoans was Knossos, and it is speculated that the civilization collapsed after a huge natural cataclysm: the eruption of the volcano Thera on the island of Santorini and the subsequent tsunamis which the volcano caused.

Name
The name of Ossus may be derived from ossis, a form of the Latin word for "bone".

Appearances

 * Tales of the Jedi: The Golden Age of the Sith
 * Tales of the Jedi: The Fall of the Sith Empire
 * Tales of the Jedi: The Freedon Nadd Uprising
 * Tales of the Jedi: Dark Lords of the Sith
 * Tales of the Jedi: The Sith War
 * Shadows and Light
 * Tales of the Jedi: Redemption
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II &mdash; The Sith Lords
 * Star Wars: The Clone Wars
 * Dark Empire II
 * Empire's End
 * Firestorm
 * The Unifying Force
 * Dark Nest I: The Joiner King
 * Dark Nest II: The Unseen Queen
 * Dark Nest III: The Swarm War
 * Bloodlines
 * Tempest
 * Star Wars Legacy 1: Broken, Part 1
 * Star Wars Legacy 2: Broken, Part 2
 * Star Wars Legacy 3: Broken, Part 3
 * Star Wars Legacy 5: Broken, Part 4
 * Star Wars Legacy 6: Broken, Part 5
 * Star Wars Legacy 7: Broken, Part 6