- "…some teachings of the holocron can be dangerous before you are ready."
- ―Vodo-Siosk Baas to Exar Kun
The Tedryn Holocron, also known as Vodo-Siosk Baas's holocron, the Holocron of Bodo Baas, or simply the Jedi Holocron, was a Jedi holocron created over four thousand years before the Battle of Yavin, possibly by Jedi Master Tedryn.
Properties[]
Leia activated the holocron by touching the design on its side.
The Tedryn Holocron was a glowing cube that sat comfortably in the palm of the hand.[12] It was a milky jade crystal block[10] with ancient writings on its smooth surface.[13] The Jedi teaching device[1] was an interactive wisdom source,[12] that combined ancient organic[13] crystalline formations and hardware. Its metal parts were embossed with curious designs suggesting great antiquity.[12]
The inner crystals sensed the affiliation of the Force-user to the light side,[12] though any Force-talented user could activate the holocron by touching the design on its side.[1] The holocron produced a primitive green-tinted hologram of its primary gatekeeper.[1]
The knowledge contained in the holocron could be accessed by anyone to a certain extent. On the most superficial level the holocron was merely a recording device, a collection of records with interactive holograms of the authors.[12] The basic knowledge in the holocron could be accessed directly, like a computer encyclopedia, or by interfacing with the current gatekeeper.[13]
However, the greatest portion of the wisdom could be unlocked only by a Jedi. The inner organic crystals were the key to the deeper levels of knowledge. Not even a Sith Lord—such as Darth Sidious, who possessed the device for thirty years—had the power to reach its restricted information.[12] Deeper teachings and accounts were relayed directly by the Masters who added them to the holocron.[13]
The Tedryn Holocron was tailored toward helping Jedi Masters penetrate the secrets of the Force. Even beings already trained in the Jedi ways benefit greatly from such a source of learning.[14]
Gatekeepers[]
The gatekeeper was a Jedi Master's holographic simulation that worked as a search and recovery engine built in every holocron. The fact that one gatekeeper relayed certain information was not an indicator that this information had been recorded by that particular gatekeeper, as the data contained within the holocron could be accessed by all gatekeepers.[2]
Originally, the holocron was named after Tedryn, but later often was referred to as simply the Jedi Holocron, or the Holocron of Bodo Baas. The New Jedi Order called it the Tedryn Holocron to avoid confusion over Vodo-Siosk Baas and Bodo Baas, and also to honor their predecessor. Tedryn may have been the creator and first gatekeeper of the holocron. At some point before the Great Sith War, Jedi Master Odan-Urr, one of the early gatekeepers, added a record to the holocron about the Great Hyperspace War.[2]
Bodo Baas, one of the holocron's gatekeepers
The Tedryn Holocron eventually passed to Vodo-Siosk Baas, a Krevaaki Jedi Master and Jedi historian. In 3997 BBY, his hologram introduced the recent history of the Sith, including Naga Sadow and Freedon Nadd to Exar Kun.[15] Vodo's hologram introduced Exar Kun, Ulic Qel-Droma and the Great Sith War to the students of Luke Skywalker more than four thousand years after his death. Later Luke asked Baas about the fate of Exar Kun, and the gatekeeper told him that Kun slew his own master, Vodo himself, when the latter tried to bring his apprentice back from the dark side. Vodo-Siosk Baas was the last invoked gatekeeper, because the spirit of Kun destroyed the holocron before Baas could reveal Exar's fate to Skywalker.[3]
An auxiliary gatekeeper told stories of intrigues in the Galactic Republic to the apprentices of Skywalker.[16] before another gatekeeper spoke to Luke of how the young Yoda became a Jedi.[3]
The last gatekeeper of the Holocron was Bodo Baas, a descendant of Vodo-Siosk Baas.[2] His hologram explained a partial story of Ulic-Qel Droma,[12] a brief description of the dark side, and the prophecy written by Baas' master.[17] Later Baas suggested that ancient Jedi artifacts may be found on Ossus, an old Jedi teaching center, and that they could find survivors of the Great Jedi Purge.[18] Later, in the Jedi Praxeum, Luke asked Baas to explain the power classified as Alter Mind to Corran Horn in the apprentice's chamber.[16]
Contents[]
According to Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Tedryn Holocron contained thousand-year-old secrets and the some of the most secret Jedi history and teachings.[12] It held information about the origins of the Jedi and the Sith and their earliest conflicts.[2]
Vodo-Siosk Baas made a recording about the war known as the Hundred-Year Darkness, in which he spoke of the First Great Schism, dark side-mutant mounts and creatures, like Leviathans, and the final confrontation on Corbos. By the time of the recording the Jedi Order learned that the exiled dark Jedi had conquered the Sith species on Korriban, and Ajunta Pall had formed an Empire.[2]
Sometime after 5,000 BBY, Master Odan-Urr asked Jori Daragon, Anavus Svag and the Dark Holocron about the Great Hyperspace War, before making a record to preserve the full story of the war for the Jedi Order. In the record he spoke of hyperspace explorers Gav and Jori Daragon of the Koros system meeting the descendants of the Exiles, who became Dark Lords of the Sith Empire. Odan-Urr spoke of Naga Sadow launching an assault using illusions to frighten off the Republic troops. Once the Sith were defeated, Odan-Urr recovered the Dark Holocron from a ship and got to know Sadow's escape.[2]
At some point before the Great Sith War, when he was around a thousand years old, Ood Bnar recorded his prophecies in the holocron.[19] The device also contained information about Ood Bnar himself, the Neti species and the Ryyk planet.[20]
Vodo-Siosk Baas's hologram spoke of the battles of Empress Teta and Deneba.[7]
Arca Jeth made a record about the Freedon Nadd Uprising, in which he spoke of Freedon Nadd and his heirs, King Ommin and Queen Amanoa, and of Jeth's students: Tott Doneeta, Ulic and Cay Qel-Droma. Jeth noted, that Nadd gave his support to the founders of the Krath: Satal and Aleema Keto.[2]
According to Bodo Baas, three Jedi Knights[21] tried to conquer the dark side by learning its secrets, but all three of them perished.[1] Vodo-Siosk Baas made a record about the Great Sith War, caused by Exar Kun and Ulic Qel-Droma.[2] Bodo Baas retold the saga of Ulic Qel-Droma to Leia Organa Solo, but for an unknown reason, with some differences.[12]
- Bodo Baas about the Second Sith War: Mandalorian Wars, Rakata, Korriban, Revan, Malak, Star Forge, Bastila Shan, Sion, Kreia, Nihilus, Brianna, Atris, Visas Marr, Ruin[2]
- Bodo Baas about Darth Ruin[2]
c. 1010 BBY Jedi Master Pernicar about Wud Mortull, the New Sith Wars and the Sith lightsaber[2]
580 BBY Bodo Baas about the Zeison Sha[2]
580 BBY Bodo Baas about the Matukai[2]
before 796 BBY Rekpa De's many statement on lightsaber duels[2]
- Bodo Baas about the dark side[12]
- Luke found some clues in the Holocron, which made him believe that some Jedi survived Vader's program of extermination.[18]
- The Holocron revealed to Luke that the planet Ossus in the Adega system was a center of Jedi learning for thousands of years.[18]
- Stories of the young Yoda becoming a Jedi.[3]
- Bodo Baas spoke about the three areas of the Force and the power of Alter Mind.[16]
- Stories of Old Republic intrigues.[16]
- Prophecy of Bodo Baas's Master about the Skywalker twins and the reborn Emperor Palpatine.[2]
- Bodo Baas about training a Jedi[2]
- Odan-Urr about the Force Sever power[2]
- Bodo Baas about the Second Sith War: Mandalorian Wars, Rakata, Korriban, Revan, Malak, Star Forge, Bastila Shan, Sion, Kreia, Nihilus, Brianna, Atris, Visas Marr, Ruin[2]
- Bodo Baas about Darth Ruin[2]
- Odan-Urr about patience[2]
- Odan-Urr about how a Jedi must behave in public[2]
- Rekpa De's many statement on lightsaber duels[2]
History[]
Early history[]
The Holocron was created sometimes before the Great Sith War, possibly by Jedi Master Tedryn, whom the artifact was named for. Tedryn might have been the first gatekeeper of the holocron and was followed by a long line of Jedi who contributed to the Holocron. One of the early gatekeepers was Master Odan-Urr, who added a record to the holocron about the Great Hyperspace War.[2] One other gatekeeper was the then thousand years old Ood Bnar, who recorded his prophecies in the Holocron.[19][8]
By 3997 BBY, Vodo-Siosk Baas was in possession of the Holocron and became a gatekeeper by imparting it with his knowledge and memory. One day, he found his Apprentice, Exar Kun questioning the holocron about the Dark Jedi Freedon Nadd and the Sith. Baas turned off the device, feeling that such knowledge was meant only for Jedi Masters.[15]
Around 600 BBY, Bodo Baas inherited the Holocron and reorganized every single recording. By 590 BBY, using primitive hologram technology, he added the records of teachings and history of the Jedi, which was collected by a group of Jedi in the Adega system.[12]
The Holocron was believed to have gone missing some time before 290 BBY, but it was in the possession of Ashka Boda.[12]
Imperial Period[]
In 19 BBY, at the beginning of the Great Jedi Purge,[2] Emperor Palpatine's agents brought Jedi Masters before him to be questioned and tortured for forgotten secrets and cures, that could help him in his quest for immortality.[5] The Tedryn Holocron was among the belongings of Bodo Baas, who was executed by the Emperor.[22] Shortly thereafter the device came in the possession of Master Ashka Boda. The Dark Lord executed Boda as well, and took possession of the Tedryn Holocron.[5] Palpatine used the secrets in the holocron to cheat death with the dark side and cloning technology,[5] and he recorded some of the holocron's secrets in his Book of Anger.[23] However, the greater portion of the ancient knowledge remained hidden from the Dark Lord, because it was accessible only by Jedi Knights. He considered the Holocron to be only a collection of ancient record.[12] The reborn Emperor held the artifact in his study in the Imperial Citadel on Byss.[24]
At some later time, Obi-Wan Kenobi described the Holocron to his apprentice, Luke Skywalker. Kenobi thought the holocron could help reestablish the Jedi Order.[12]
Rediscovery for the New Jedi Order[]
In 10 ABY, Leia Organa Solo was captured by the reborn Emperor on his throneworld, Byss.[25] The Sith Lord showed the Tedryn Holocron to the Jedi, trying unsuccessfully to turn her to the dark side. Leia managed to flee with the holocron.[1] Onboard the Millennium Falcon she listened to Bodo Baas's version of the downfall of Ulic Qel-Droma, and wondered whether there was hope for Luke, or he had gone too far in the dark side in his effort to conquer it from within.[1]
After the battle of Mon Calamari, Leia returned to Pinnacle Base, where she again accessed the holocron. She asked Master Baas about her brother's future, but the gatekeeper answered that he could not tell because Skywalker's future was obscured. He then recounted a prophecy written by his own Master. Moments later, a fleet of Star Destroyers led by the Eclipse dropped out of hyperspace above the Pinnacle Moon. The reborn Emperor demanded that Leia and the Tedryn Holocron be delivered to him; he would discuss a truce if the Rebels complied. Leia accepted his terms, but left the holocron in her chambers. Aboard the Eclipse, she realized that Sidious's hold over Luke had become too strong, and that the dark side was consuming him. The siblings dueled until Leia managed to break Sidious's spell over Luke, and they confronted the Dark Lord together, fulfilling Bodo Baas's ancient prophecy.[17]
Later, Luke found clues in the Tedryn Holocron indicating possible survivors of the Jedi Purge. He spent many standard weeks searching for Jedi, until eventually, he found Dark Jedi Kam Solusar on the Space City of Nespis VIII. Meanwhile, Leia spent long hours with the Tedryn Holocron while Luke was away. During one such session, Baas told her that Vima-Da-Boda could help them.[18]
Luke learned from the Holocron that ancient Jedi artifacts were possibly located on Ossus. His new ally Kam Solusar was rather unimpressed with the small cube, but he was taken aback when it sensed him and activated. The image of Baas gave some cryptic wisdom, and instructed Kam and his fellow Jedi to have patience.[18] Skywalker and Solusar traveled to Ossus, where they med Ood Bnar, an hibernating Jedi Master from Exar Kun's time, whose prophecies are stored in the Holocron.[19] With the help of the native Ysanna, the Jedi found a Jedi library that had remained undisturbed for four thousand years.[26]
By 11 ABY, the Tedryn Holocron was kept in a small library, where Luke Skywalker's apprentices could study it.[16] Skywalker gathered his twelve students in the grand audience chamber of the Massassi temple on Yavin 4 for a formal opening of the Jedi Praxeum. He invoked gatekeeper Vodo-Siosk Baas to impart a teaching to his apprentices. The ancient Krevaaki Jedi Master spoke of the Great Sith War, and of Exar Kun and Ulic-Qel Droma, and he warned the students to beware of the temptations of conquest.[3]
Tionne Solusar studied Jedi history from the holocron in the month after arriving to the Praxeum, transcribing its data to tapes and holograms, with a sense of urgency.[2] Her studies allowed her to help the other students with historical examples when the instructions of Master Skywalker were not clear enough. After Gantoris constructed a lightsaber, Corran Horn suspected that he had learned how from the Tedryn Holocron, but Luke explained to him that an inbuilt restriction mechanism prevented the user from accessing knowledge for which he or she is not ready.[16]
After the death of Gantoris, Horn advised Master Skywalker on repeating the historical lessons of the Holocron to the students so as to instill a sense of history and purpose to the students, and make them less vulnerable for the corruption of the dark side.[16] Bodo Baas spoke to the Jedi hopefuls about the heroic adventures of ancient Jedi Knights and about their battles against the dark side.[3]
Corran Horn tried to get some information about the murder of Gantoris, and Baas explained to him that, at the height of the Sith Wars, Yavin 4 had been the seat of Sith Lord Exar Kun. Kun enslaved the Massassi and forced them to build temples in the jungle, as Naga Sadow had done before. Eventually, the Dark Lord was killed in a Jedi attack.[16] An auxiliary gatekeeper told the students stories of court intrigue in the Old Republic without specifying the subjects of his tales.[16]
After Corran Horn and Tionne had accessed all the information concerning Exar Kun, Luke tried to access the deeper levels of the device,[16] but the spirit of the Dark Lord, who had been imprisoned on Yavin 4 since his death four millennia earlier, interrupted Vodo-Siosk Baas by destroying the Holocron.[3]
Transcripts and copied data collected by Tionne Solusar and stored in the new Jedi library on Ossus, kept the teachings of the Tedryn Holocron alive after its destruction.[2]
Behind the scenes[]
- "The Tedryn Holocron is the one that Vodo is in possession of in Tales of the Jedi, and he's one of the gatekeepers of it. One of the gatekeepers of the Jedi Holocron is Bodo Baas. Ood Bnar is another gatekeeper of that same Jedi Holocron."
- ―Bob Cooper paraphrasing Kevin J. Anderson
The Tedryn Holocron was first mentioned in the endnotes for Dark Empire 2, which was written by Tom Veitch and was published on February 18, 1992. There it's referred to as an "ancient object" that Palpatine learned Essence Transfer from and no further information is given about what it is. It went on to be mentioned again in the endnotes for Dark Empire 4, which was published on June 23,1992 and to appear in Dark Empire 5, which was published on August 18, 1992 and in Dark Empire 6, which was published on October 20, 1992. Throughout Dark Empire and the Dark Empire endnotes, the Tedryn Holocron is referred to as "the Jedi Holocron". It's also referred to as such in Dark Empire II, the Jedi Academy Trilogy, and Firestorm. The opening crawls for Tales of the Jedi 1, Tales of the Jedi 3, and Tales of the Jedi: The Freedon Nadd Uprising 1 refer to "the Jedi Holocron", which was implied to be the Tedryn Holocron by no other holocrons being known of at the time of their publication. However, Tales of the Jedi: Dark Lords of the Sith refers to the Tedryn Holocron as "a holocron" and also refers to a Sith holocron, which went on to appear in Tales of the Jedi: Dark Lords of the Sith 4. The name "Tedryn Holocron" is used for the first time in Tales of the Jedi: The Sith War 1 and went on to be used in Jedi vs. Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force.
In The Essential Guide to Characters, the holocron that appears in Dark Empire is said to be a different holocron than the one that appears in Dark Apprentice, but this contradicts the text of Dark Apprentice and therefore is assumed to be an error.
Appearances[]
- Tales of the Jedi 1 (Mentioned in opening crawl)
- Tales of the Jedi 3 (Mentioned in opening crawl)
- Tales of the Jedi – The Freedon Nadd Uprising 1 (Mentioned in opening crawl)
- Tales of the Jedi – The Freedon Nadd Uprising 2 (Mentioned only)
- Tales of the Jedi – Dark Lords of the Sith 1
- Tales of the Jedi – The Sith War 1 (Mentioned only) (First identified as Tedryn Holocron)
"Echoes of the Jedi" (original article link) on Wizards.com (content now obsolete; backup link) (Part 1: Mission to Almas) (Mentioned only)- Dark Empire 5 (First appearance)
- Dark Empire 6
- Dark Empire II 1
- Dark Empire II 3 (Mentioned only)
- Empire's End 1 ("Rebel Writers" letters column) (Mentioned only)
- Jedi Search (Mentioned only)
- "Firestorm" — Star Wars Adventure Journal 15
- Dark Apprentice
- Champions of the Force (Mentioned only)
- I, Jedi
- Planet of Twilight (Mentioned only)
Sources[]
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 Dark Empire 5, 7-11.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20 2.21 2.22 2.23 2.24 2.25 2.26 2.27 2.28 2.29 2.30 2.31 2.32 2.33 2.34 2.35 2.36 2.37 2.38 2.39 Jedi vs. Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Dark Apprentice
- ↑ The Essential Guide to Characters
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Dark Empire endnotes, The Secret of Ashka Boda
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Jedi Search, at the end of the book
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Tales of the Jedi – The Sith War 1
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Empire's End 1 ("Rebel Writers" letters column)
- ↑ Tales of the Jedi: Dark Lords of the Sith audio drama
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Tionne Solusar's own description from Jedi vs. Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force, pg 5.
- ↑ Tales of the Jedi – Dark Lords of the Sith 1
- ↑ 12.00 12.01 12.02 12.03 12.04 12.05 12.06 12.07 12.08 12.09 12.10 12.11 12.12 12.13 Dark Empire endnotes
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 Dark Empire Sourcebook, 62.
- ↑ Echoes of the Jedi, 5.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Tales of the Jedi – Dark Lords of the Sith 1
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 16.5 16.6 16.7 16.8 16.9 I, Jedi
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Dark Empire 6
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 18.4 Dark Empire II 1
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 Dark Empire II 3
- ↑ The Essential Guide to Alien Species, 88.
- ↑ Dark Empire Sourcebook, 66.
- ↑ The Essential Guide to Characters, 9.
- ↑ Dark Empire endnotes, The Book of Anger
- ↑ Dark Empire Sourcebook, 36.
- ↑ Dark Empire 4
- ↑ Dark Empire II 4