Ilum

== Ilum ==
Ilum is a snow-covered planet located in the 7G sector of the Unknown Regions, within the Ilum system. Ilum was the fifth planet from its parent star Asar, a blue dwarf, located roughly equidistant from Asar and the system's cometary cloud. Ilum had a kyber crystalline core, and had been utilized by the Jedi Order for the Gathering, a rite of passage in which Jedi younglings had to find and harvest kyber crystals for their lightsabers, which had existed for thousands of standard years.
When the Jedi Order was exterminated by The Separatists Extermination Plan, The Empire occupied Ilum and began excavating it for its vast supply of kyber crystals. The over-mining of the planet caused its core, and later a massive Imperial Trench, to open up along Ilum's equator.
== Description ==
Ilum is a terrestrial astronomical body smaller than a dwarf planet. With a kyber crystalline core and a frigid climate, it's considered a planet despite its size. The planet is situated in the eponymous star system located in a part of the Unknown Regions known as the 7G sector. Ilum is an arctic world; nearly the entire planet is covered in ice and snow, and is therefore inhospitable to most species, though it was populated with a few animals.
Hidden beneath Ilum's frigid surface is what came to be known as the Crystal Cave. Within the maze-like caves grew kyber crystals, which brought the Jedi Order to Ilum so they could harvest the crystals in a rite of passage known as the Gathering, in which Jedi initiates harvested their crystals by attuning themselves to the Force. As such, Ilum was a holy site for the Jedi Order for centuries.
Also located beneath the surface of Ilum are geysers, formed by volcanic activity on the planet. These geysers warmed some bodies of water under the ice and their size or duration could change due to volcanic episodes or mineral deposition. Geological formations are also present in the caves of the planet, formed over billions of years by accumulated mineral matter, deposited from hydrothermal fluids.