Telosian Jedi Academy

"Yes, it bears the semblance of an academy... but where are all the students? Curious."

- Kriea referring to the Telosian Jedi Academy

The Telosian Jedi Academy was founded by the Jedi Master Atris during the Jedi Civil War, and was hidden within a large plateau in the polar region of Telos IV. Earlier, the plateau interior had been used for the Telos Polar Irrigation System, however it was abandoned after the Bombing of Telos IV in 3,959 BBY. Though it never housed any students, it did play host to a large number of Sith Holocrons that Atris had managed to collect, along with many Jedi- and Sith-related relics. Among the collection were various materials of learning that had been saved from the Jedi Enclave on Dantooine prior to its destruction at the hands of Darth Malak.

Layout


The Telosian Academy was designed to be self-sufficient, and had every facility that was needed to retain such a state: It held a hangar large enough to accomodate a starship the size of a light freighter; storage rooms, separate quarters for any on-site personnel; a private meditation chamber for Atris; and a chamber for a Jedi Council to meet. The latter was similar in style to the one seen at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant during that era; in addition, the exterior was outwardly similar to the Temple on the Galactic Republic's capital world. Four artificially-created towers rose up around the perimeter of the academy's exterior, with one at each point on the compass. The academy itself was retrofitted from the abandoned Telos Polar Irrigation System under strictest secrecy after that planet was bombarded from orbit by forces of the Sith Empire commanded by the traitorous Admiral Saul Karath.

Inhabitants
Though the Jedi Master Atris wished to one day train Jedi at this academy, it was only inhabited by herself and six young Echani warrior-women who were collectively known as the Handmaiden Sisters. It was here that she secluded herself after the disaster at the Conclave on Katarr, during which over a hundred of the remaining members of the Jedi Order were killed by Darth Nihilus when he sucked all life from the planet to feed his hunger for Force-energy. While Atris meditated with her large collection of Sith Holocrons in an attempt to unlock the secrets to defeating them, the Handmaiden Sisters relentlessly trained themselves both in fighting techniques and in closing their minds to Force-based influences. This resulted in them being almost Force-blind, unable to use it even if they were Force-sensitive.

Origins
The Academy was intended to be a point of retreat for the Jedi Order should the Jedi Enclave on Dantooine ever fall. Telos was selected to host the academy, partly in the hope that the Sith would not devastate the same world twice, however prior to the war it had served as a place where Jedi who had failed their training would continue to serve the galaxy as farmers and laborers. Throughout the Jedi Civil War, Jedi holocrons and other materials and relics of historical value had been secretly evacuated from Dantooine to Telos. However, no one else in the Order knew that Atris was also collecting a number of Sith holocrons, delving into forbidden knowledge of the dark side in hopes of finding a way of defeating the Sith from within.

It was the ability of the Dantooine Enclave Council to be able to foresee the destruction of the Dantooine Enclave in 3,956 BBY, however they had other business to attend to; namely, the preparation of the mind-wiped Revan to be re-accepted into the Jedi Order and tracking his progress during the search for the Star Forge. Nevertheless, a number of senior Jedi Masters and Knights were able to escape the oncoming attack and help Atris spirit Jedi artifacts to Telos.

Administration under Atris
"You've got to be joking. What is a Jedi Academy doing out here in the middle of nowhere?"

- Atton Rand upon arriving at the academy

After the Jedi purge that followed the Civil War, Atris forsook the other Jedi, blaming them for their apathy and unwillingness to actively fight the threat posed by the Sith Empire. While the Order was all but destroyed by 3,951 BBY, with only a handful of Jedi left alive (due in no small part to her leaking the time and location of the Katarr meeting), she decided to bring about its rebirth on Telos. She gathered several Echani Handmaidens, daughters of the famed General Yusanis, at the Academy, demanding an oath from each that they would never be trained in the ways of the Jedi, even if they themselves were sensitive to the Force; Atris then instructed them in vigorous mental exercises that were aimed at teaching them to resist Force-based influences. The Handmaidens were intended to protect the Academy from the influence of the dark side, fighting and presumably killing any Jedi who showed signs of falling under its sway.



Atris was the only one whom the Handmaidens absolutely trusted; she was, in fact, the only Jedi to reside within the Academy. She never trained any apprentices in the ways of the Force while there, as almost nobody knew of the place's existence. Furthermore, Atris herself had never before taken on a Padawan, as the Jedi Exile pointed out to one of the Sisters when she arrived at the academy. While the surviving members of the Jedi Order knew of the secret training facility, they presumed that Atris had been killed and the academy fallen into disrepair. The only Jedi to ever come to the Academy was the Exile herself, and only because she had come to retrieve the Ebon Hawk, which had been stolen by one of the Handmaidens&mdash;however, upon securing the vessel, she immediately left Telos and Atris behind. Even when the three surviving Jedi Masters, Kavar, Vrook Lamar and Zez-Kai Ell, learned that Atris was still alive and preparing to restore the Order, the Telosian Academy proved to be of little significance to them or their plans. Instead of resurrecting the Order on Telos, they decided to meet in the rebuilt Jedi Enclave on Dantooine in the hope of fighting the threat of the Sith when it was finally exposed.

Eventually, Atris was proven to be wrong in her belief that the Sith would not attack Telos twice. Due to Kreia's manipulations of the Sith Triumvirate, Darth Nihilus brought his fleet to Telos and began to attack Citadel Station. Believing that there were a number of Jedi at the Telosian Academy, Nihilus set out to conquer the planet so that he could feed on the Jedi's Force energy. Kreia also exposed Atris's corruption and fall to the dark side, provoking her into acknowledging her own dark nature and into fighting the Jedi Exile when she returned to Telos to confront Nihilus. Although the Exile spared Atris in their duel, she was now disillusioned about her intents and agreed to voluntarily leave the Jedi Order for a time, no longer wishing to expose the Jedi to her corrupted influence.

Legacy
Atris's role of Jedi historian was later assumed by Brianna, one of the Echani Handmaidens who served Atris at the academy. Due to the vast collection of Jedi knowledge and lore that was stored in the academy, Brianna was said to have returned to the Telos Academy along with the other Lost Jedi: Bao-Dur, Atton Rand, Mira, Mical and Visas Marr, to revive and reform the Jedi Order. While the the group of Lost Jedi attempted to accomplish this task, the Exile herself traveled from the destroyed Malachor V to the Unknown Regions in search of Revan and the threat from the True Sith that he sought. Following these events, the fate of the Telosian Academy, as well as Atris, the Handmaiden sisters, and the knowledge contained therein, remained unknown.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords

Jedi-Akademie (Telos)