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Templars of Sha
History:
In the younger years of Alsakan, when the Alsaks themselves left behind their cities on the ground and took to their city of Xenvaer in the sky, many were discontent with simply leaving earth and ground behind, despite it being the will of holiest Shalharra. The longing for the feeling of earth on bare feet, or of lying on the grassy plains remained strong within the Alsaks. Xenvaer. Many feared Shalharra's wrath were they to tread once more on the earth and marr it as they had done so previously. Many more wished to disregard the warning issues by the Vicar Lharra and walk the earth once more, though as tenders and carers, working with the wilds to create a symbiotic and mutually beneficial relationship.
In this way the fragile sense of contentment that the Alsaks had lived with for so long was marred, and the quiet arguments filled Xenvaer with much tension. Before long, quiet arguments became louder arguments, which soon escalated into conflict. Xenvaer was divided into two parties, and neither would back down, such was their pride and sense of right in their own beliefs, for the Alsaks are a proud and stubborn people.
The unrest was quelled for a time, however, with the arrival of the Republic and the pilgrimage of the Vicar Lharra to Coruscant, and while her death on her return home shocked and united the Alsaks for a time, the rift soon re-appeared, and the feud continued.
In the end, those who wished to walk the Earth left in shame and out of love, not wishing harm upon their brethren any longer. They took to ships, many vessels great and small, and with great store of people and produce, they left Alsakan forever. Guided by the hand of a select few Alsaks whose sight was far and keen, these exiles found a new world, indeed in the same system as Alsakan, and so the settled the world, naming it Tae'sha, which is the Temple of the Voice in the Alsak tongue. Tae'sha, like Alsakan, was a most bountiful world, almost unnaturally so, and the Tae learned to live with the bounties of Shalharra to mutual prosperity. Every tree cut down for a home was replaced by two others. Great groves and parks of wildlife were built in every city, allowing the native creatures to continue to live in their native habitat. And the Tae prospered.
By some strange chance, however, it seemed that the nebula that blocked the sun and bathed the Alsakan world in light also had strange effects on the Tae. The so-called farsight of the Elders, once a rare occurence only in old age, was discovered in mere infants. Furthermore, claims of strange and fantastic happenings began to appear suddenly and without reason - levitating elders, children creating terrible beasts out of thin air. One man even burst into flame suddenly, but was unscathed when the fire died.
The Tae were both frightened and curious. The tales of ancient Alsakan had nothing of this sort of thing happen before. And so the Tae gathered all of these strange magicians, and these magicians discussed their art in an attempt to understand what was happening. Eventually the Tae came to the conclusion that such power was a gift of Shalharra, whom they had worshipped and revered, and lived in mutual prosperity with her creatures, the true path Shalharra wished the Alsaks to take.
In time, the Tae magicians grew ever more numerous until nearly the entire populace had at least some affinity for Shalharra's gifts. And so those founding theorists on the Gift formed the Templars of Sha, defenders of all the followers of Shalharra. And they vowed that due to their mutual beliefs in the Vocie of Lharra, should the Alsaks seek the Tae out and request aid, it would be given without question. Such was the will of Shalharra.
Locations and Funding:
The Templars of Sha are located primarily and solely on their homeworld of Tae'Sha, acting as a governing body for the Tae, as well as religious leaders. As the official governing body of the Tae, the Templars have access to all government funds if need be, though they are largely self-reliant. The majority, if not all Tempalrs, are either housed within the Templar Enclave within Tali Shalharra, the Taen capital, or the mysterious Monstery of the Voice, a hidden temple to Shalharra where the highest echelons of the Templars convene to discuss matters with the Master of the Templar, who chooses to keep their identity secret...
Beliefs and Powers:
All Tae hold the same belief that their strange and unique powers come from Shalharra as gifts, and everyday use of the Art is incredibly common. Worship to Shalharra is also an everyday practice of all Tae. Ceasing worship of Shalharra may result in one being cut off from the Art, Tae belief holds.
The Tae also beleive themselves the chosen of Shalharra, granted the gifts of the Art while their Alsakan cousins remain largely Force-Insensitive, and therefore consider them slightly inferior. However, the Tae still maintain that they are of the same stock, and so keep that in consideration when dealing with the Alsaks. Any other race, including the Zarathustrans, are considered more inferior than the Alsakans, though the Tae maintain respect for those Sensitive to the Force.
The Tae also have access to much different powers than those of the Jedi. With the use of ancient Rakatan technology and texts found in ruins scattered across Tae'Sha, the Tae have managed to discover enough of the Force to tap into what later became known as Sith Magic. By tapping into a different aspect of the Force in a different way to that of a Jedi, a Tae has much more freedom in their application of the Force.
In addition to having much greater mastery and finesse with telekinesis, Templars also have access the numerous other powers, including but not limited to elemental control, energy manipulation, enhancement of the senses and even to a certain extent, flight and teleportation. However, the greater and more ambitious the power, the more taxing it is on the user. Extreme cases have resulted in immediate death.
Common practice is also to use handsigns or verbal components to focus the mind on the 'spell', especially when learning the Art. Higher ranking Templars tend to discard these, but it is not uncommon for a high ranking Templar to still at least mutter a focusing mantra, or make minor gestures with the hands.
Telekinesis is the art of moving objects with the mind, great and small. Examples of this are throwing objects at a target, levitation and even flight.
Elementalism is the art of using the elements of Fire, Ice, Sound, Wind and Electricity for many purposes. Examples of this are creating a campfire, freezing a target or sending words and sounds over great distances.
Wild powers are pure energy, the simplest and most basic of the arts, but still quite versatile. Examples of Wild powers involve cutting through objects, offensive projectiles or temporary shields.
Miscallaneous powers are largely information gathering, such as scrying, alchemy and the creation of farseekers, small gates used to converse over long distances and even from one star system to another. Groups of Templars can also come together to create greater Farseekers to allow travel over great distances.
Above all, Templars promote creativity in harnessing the powers of Shalharra, creating trademark powers that can immediately be identified as a particular Templar's incantation. Most often is the manipulation of Wild or Elementalism powers to form a shape, such as a beast or image, like a Kath Hound or Rancor, but alternatives also exist - trademark illusions and shields are also popular, as is manipulating wild energy to appear in a certain manner or colour.
Roster:
Master of the Templar
-Zara-El Qaraasi
High Templars
Templars of Sha
-Indigo
-Alcyone Etauri
Disciple
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