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Gates of the Cathedral, one of many lost entrances to the city.
The Cathedral
of Kyber
The Mid-Rim moon of Jedha is commonly associated with the holy city for which it is named - Jedha, home of the Temple of the Kyber, a holy pilgrimage site for all followers of the Force due to its ancient connections to the very birth of the Jedi Order. However, beneath the sandy plains, countless more sites, artefacts and treasures lie unseen. The city of Jedha, in fact, is but a remnant of a planet covered in archaeological treasures and secrets. For those who know where to look, the dusty plains offer much more than certain death.
Of the countless sites of mystery and intrigue that dot the surface of Jedha, none are more elusive - or sought after - than the fabled Cathedral of Kyber, an ancient underground complex of immeasurable dimension and scope, said to host thousands of devotees to the Force in ancient times. More akin to a lost city than a holy site, the Cathedral is said to have gained its name from the enormous vaulted caverns carved from stone, which both allowed sunlight to pour in through a complex series of lightshafts hewn into the rock, as well as allowing the air to be fresh and the usual gloom of the underground to be absent. The people of the Cathedral drank from freshwater springs deep within the earth, and it was said that even hanging gardens yielded fruit, safe from the dust, wind and heat that bleached the surface of Jedha, making the Cathedral truly a wonder to behold.
But most remarkable of all, the Cathedral of Kyber was the heart of Kyber crystal trade in ancient times. Rumoured to have been established as a mining community millenia before the founding of the Republic, the wealth of the people of the Cathedral grew as they uncovered great caverns filled with Kyber crystals. Over the millenia, the people mined away these crystal and instead filled the caverns with homes, markets, plazas, gardens and temples due to the prosperity of their trade.
Of the countless sites of mystery and intrigue that dot the surface of Jedha, none are more elusive - or sought after - than the fabled Cathedral of Kyber, an ancient underground complex of immeasurable dimension and scope, said to host thousands of devotees to the Force in ancient times. More akin to a lost city than a holy site, the Cathedral is said to have gained its name from the enormous vaulted caverns carved from stone, which both allowed sunlight to pour in through a complex series of lightshafts hewn into the rock, as well as allowing the air to be fresh and the usual gloom of the underground to be absent. The people of the Cathedral drank from freshwater springs deep within the earth, and it was said that even hanging gardens yielded fruit, safe from the dust, wind and heat that bleached the surface of Jedha, making the Cathedral truly a wonder to behold.
But most remarkable of all, the Cathedral of Kyber was the heart of Kyber crystal trade in ancient times. Rumoured to have been established as a mining community millenia before the founding of the Republic, the wealth of the people of the Cathedral grew as they uncovered great caverns filled with Kyber crystals. Over the millenia, the people mined away these crystal and instead filled the caverns with homes, markets, plazas, gardens and temples due to the prosperity of their trade.
A section of the Cathedral.
The wealth of the Cathedral - and the people of Jedha - became known across the galaxy. As galactic trade boomed under the fledgling Republic, the wealth of Jedha - and the abundance of the fabled Kyber crystals - came to be the envy of the Old Sith Empire. Though the city of Jedha was spared, the Cathedral's surface passages were buried beneath deep the earth as a result of orbital bombardment. Safe from the attacks, but without light to sustain life, the people hid in the darkness, buried and starving as their gardens wilted and died - lost to memory, their great works forgotten and reduced to mere rumour of a lost refuge.
In truth, the city does indeed exist - though lost and buried, recent archaeological digs on Jedha suggest that passages to the ancient city may soon be re-opened for the first time in millenia. The seemingly endless Kyber caverns still hold a rich bounty and, given sufficient manpower, the city could once again be bathed in light once more. Dangers do abound, however - the labyrinthine passages of the ancient metropolis seem to seek to ensnare would-be adventurers, and the dark caverns are riddled with steep and sudden falls into chasms hundreds of feet deep. So massive is the city that dehydration and starvation are real threats as well, and the decaying ruins of the city provide many an opportunity to injure oneself while exploring.
But even moreso, something more insidious lurks within the city. It is said that some of the ancient Jedha survived by feeding on the Kyber crystals themselves in the dark, and were twisted and warped by the Force as punishment for their aberrant behaviour. From the moment one steps inside the ruins, there is an unshakeable feeling that one is being watched, but by who and how many, remains a mystery...
Just one of the many caverns of kyber crystals found throughout and beyond the city.
INTENT: This is intended to be a setting I plan on discovering, exploring and establishing with other RPers as a fairly oldschool dungeon crawl style adventure (with the promise of treasure in the form of 'as many Kyber crystals as you can reasonably carry and then sell'), but ideally beyond that I'd also like to look at maybe establishing the city as a safe haven members and possibly even an enforced 'neutral ground' or combat-free location like we used to have with the Daedelus , Bar Bar Drinks, Outlander Club etc. if it gains enough traction.
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