The Cdari Order (Earth-30)

*The Cdari Order was one of the crowning achievements of the galaxy. But as you know, heavy is the head that bears the crown.*

* **Korvine Nova explaining The Cdari Order.**

**The Cdari Order** was a monastic and nontheistic religious order that was united under the belief of The Force. Later, it would become the belief in the Light Side of The Force after The Great Schism. Having humble beginnings that date back to the late start of the galaxy, the people who would become known as Cdari Knights -noted for their lightsabers and extreme gifts in The Force- were peacekeeping monks in the Magia system, then later in the neighboring systems as well. Originally, The Order began on the mountain planet of Magia where the Cdari Sanctuary was created to be a hub for all Cdari and Force-users in the galaxy. This place also served as the home base for many young padawans and newcomers who were Force-sensitive as well as the governing body of The Cdari Order known as The Cdari High Council. The Grand Master of the Order is ranked as the leader and head of the High Council.

The emergence of the Sith within the ranks of The Cdari Order caused much damage both internally and to the public image after **The Great Schism**. With these problems, The Cdari Order was forced into secrecy as they did not have the numbers nor overall strength to combat the Sith. However, this brought more temples to be created but this began what became known across the galaxy as **The Sith Crusade**. With the rise of The Cdari Order's numbers, the Sith and their Inquisitors, and a new faction known as The Mandalorians, this became a cross-way war between the three of them over control of several systems. The Mandalorians wanted the complete extinction of all Force-Sensitive individuals, while the Sith wanted the destruction of The Cdari Order, and The Cdari Order wanted to maintain peace within the galaxy. This resulted in many Cdari Temples being destroyed and the near-complete desolation of both The Cdari Order and The Mandalorians.

Forced underground again, The Cdari Order suffered from infighting, and another Great Schism occurred whenever Korvine Nova left The Cdari Order and founded **The Bôa**, a sect of The Cdari Order that did not subscribe to the Order's monk lifestyle and their reductionist view of The Force. The Cdari Order has been attempting to rebuild from heavy losses from both **The Second Great Schism** and The Sith Crusade but is failing to the powers of the Sith.

## **History**

### **Early Years & The First Great Schism (1555X-1500X)**

In 1555X, the natives of the planet Magia discovered a strange connection that could be manipulated in the universe. Deeming it The Force, they began to study and experiment with it. This group became known as The Cdari Order, formed by the original member's Grandmaster Hatamoto, Cdari Master Goshi, Cdari Master Gaijin, and Cdari Knight Daimyo. It revolved around maintaining peace within the neighboring planets of the Magia system. However, this would be its downfall. Hatamoto believed that the Force should be a safely guarded secret due to if the knowledge of The Force fell into the wrong hands, it could cause untold destruction, a sentiment the young Daimyo disagreed with. Hatamoto's rigid stance on the knowledge of The Force and with the backing of Cdari Master Gaijin, Daimyo fled the Cdari Temple on Magia with many sacred texts that detailed The Force and different fighting stances and landed on an unknown planet in the Nue system.

Hatamoto disavowed Daimyo and Gaijin who would leave after this to join Daimyo. However, in 1500X, Daimyo and Gaijin returned to Magia with new apprentices and a new style of The Force which has been called The Dark Side of The Force, beginning war with The Cdari Order, dubbing themselves The Sith. This event ended with the death of Cdari Master Goshi and the rise of what became known as The Sith Dark Lord graduation system. As The Cdari Order fled Magia, Gaijin dubbed Daimyo: Darth Caedo and Gaijin took the name Darth Solace. This event became known as **The Great Schism** as it is the birth of the Sith and their defection from The Cdari Order.

### **Middle Years (1500X-501X)**

The Cdari Order would find refuge on the planet of Saena where they made an agreement with the native people to protect them at all costs in exchange for their specialized crystals that naturally were created on their planet. However, the Order would discover that the Saenians created the crystals by causality because of their latent Force abilities and had an elongated life span. The Order would use these crystals to create The Cdari Holocrons. However, a new Cdari Knight named Jakar Maydu theorized that the crystals could be used in a different way rather than simply Holocrons. With this new theory, Jakar would become the progenitor for what all Force-users would use, *lightsabers*. These crystals were later dubbed Kyber Crystals as a result.

During this time, Grand Master Hatamoto created what would become known as The C'dari Code, named after a close friend of his who perished during The Great Schism, C'dari Devin. The code detailed all the things that a Cdari should strive for and be, creating a base point for all future Cdari. While there was contention on the creation of The C'dari Code, it has been widely respected and agreed upon by future Cdari, with a few notable exceptions. Unknowingly though, this would cause problems in the future.

In 501X, the new Grand Master of The Cdari Order was a Mordian female named Kell Evas who ushered in a new system of training. Whereas padawans had to prove themselves to the High Council to attain the rank of Cdari Knight, Kell began to match padawans with Cdari Knights and had the padawans train with the Cdari Knights until they believed that the padawan was ready to become a Cdari Knight. This revolutionized The Cdari Order and allowed for a much more deep connection with both children, Cdari Knights, and the High Council. However, Kell did not realize that she would need all the help she could gain.

### **The Sith Crusade (500X-1XX)**

#### **The First Skirmish**

On the eve of a new cycle, Saena was blindsided by an invasion of The Sith who laid waste to the Cdari Temple. However, as The Sith were still using simple blades, they were beaten back by the combined efforts of The Cdari's lightsabers and the Saenians. As the Sith retreated, a Sith Lord named Darth Null killed the Cdari Knight Keem Himari and stole his lightsaber, resulting in the secret of the lightsabers falling into the hands of the Sith. Now embedded in war, The Cdari Order recalled all Cdari and their padawans back to Saena but only a handful returned. Here, it was revealed that a new faction known as The Mandalorians began to pick off Force-users. Flanked on all sides, Kell gathered the greatest fighters among them and created the Cdari Strike Team, nicknamed "Wicked Games". This group carried out missions to take out Sith strongholds and Mandalorian camps on several planets.

#### **The Battle for Saena**

However, the war worsened during an event known as **The Battle for Saena**. After the Sith reverse-engineered Keem's lightsaber, they began to scour the galaxy for kyber crystals. They discovered a planet that the Sith named Solace that produced them but could not continually reproduce them as Saena could. With this information, The Sith invaded Saena for the kyber crystals with lightsabers. Now on an even playing field, The Sith sadly won due to their superior capabilities in The Dark Side of The Force. However, The Sith raided the Cdari Archives and discovered that it wasn't the planet itself that created the crystals but instead, the Saenians. The Sith harvested the kyber crystals and the Dark Lord of The Sith, Darth Tyrannis used a device known as a Mass Shadow Generator to make the planet uninhabitable, turning it into a collection of broken planetoids that were clustered together by the gravitational field of what **was** the planet of Saena. The Cdari Order narrowly escaped with only a handful of Saenians.

#### **The Desolation of Solace**

The Cdari Order ended up on the planet of Nex where they established a new headquarters with their diminished numbers. It was here that they began to regroup and stay hidden as The Mandalorians fought the Sith endlessly. However, after the death of Kell Evas in 465X, a new Grand Master arose who was a Saenian Cdari Knight named Ken Dagan who became militarized after the destruction of his planet. With revenge in his mind, he began to make plans to attack the Sith stronghold on Solace to gain back some power to The Cdari Order and also understand how the Sith are so powerful with The Force. During this time, Ken would marry the Saenian Cdari Knight named Jaina and the two would bore a child named An'eah Dagan. And in 1X, they launched their invasion on Solace. However, unbeknownst to the Cdari, The Mandalorians were already attacking Solace and it became a free-for-all battle on the surface of Solace on the steps of the Sith Cathedral.

Ken and his wife Jaina invaded the Sith Cathedral as the Cdari army fought back against the Sith and the Mandalorians where they learned the secrets of The Dark Side. However, the more horrid revelation was that Darth Caedo was still **alive**. Darth Caedo attacked Ken and Jaina, killing Jaina with ease but began to have trouble with Ken as he fled the cathedral with the texts that he had stolen. After handing them off, Ken found the Mass Shadow Generator that the Sith used on Saena as Darth Caedo revealed his hand. He planned to bring all three parties together to perform a Sith Ritual to drain all life and Force essence from the planet of Solace and the people on it. Faced with certain death either way, Ken made the call and sent a small ship out of orbit that contained the Sith texts and his lightsaber to pass onto his daughter when she was ready. And lastly, Ken activated the machine while holding his dead wife in his arms.

Solace was decimated as was much of The Cdari Order, The Mandalorians, and The Sith. However, Darth Caedo fled moments before the Mass Shadow Generator was activated. This ended the war between the three, but Darth Caedo still vowed to destroy the Cdari no matter the cost. The ship that escaped from Solace returned to Nex and delivered the information that Ken died for. In a more heartbreaking moment, newly minted Grand Master Dutan Mel was forced to tell An'eah what became of her parents. This event is considered a key point in the history of Shadows/Donuts and from here, the years changed to become 1XX.

### **Rebuilding Phase (1XX-10XX)**

As the galaxy continued to move forward, as did the Cdari. Their numbers slowly returned but were nowhere near the numbers they had during The Sith Crusade. This was due to Grand Master Dutan's belief in isolationism which was born out of caution as he did not wish for another war to occur. His teachings and imparted wisdom lend themselves more to the idea of the original Cdari Order's belief. A reductionist view on The Force, that Cdari could not indulge in love, mating or marriage, and more. While the elders who survived before rejoiced these concepts and saw this as a new beginning for The Cdari Order, many of the newer members rebelled against these ideals and argued that The Force was in shades of gray, inside of it being simply black and white as The Force encompasses life and life is not black and white. Dutan was pressured by the High Council to cause an even bigger rift between the elder and younger generations because of these rebellions. Dutan began to disavow Cdari who would speak out against the Order's views which bore what became known as **The Second Great Schism**.

### **The Second Great Schism (10XX-Present)**

Most of the newer generation of Cdari detested the reductionist and isolationist views of the Order but none more than Korvine Nova, a young and new Cdari Knight. She forced upon the Cdari Order a proper rebellion whenever she led a group of Cdari Knights and padawans to the steps of the Cdari Temple on Nex to seek an audience with the High Council. While they were granted one, they refused to change their views except for one. A Cdari Master named Hela Mordover believed that the Cdari should play a more active role in the universe and that they should be free to love who they wish. When the High Council voted against this change, Korvine and her collective left and Hela would leave with them, surprising all members of the High Council.

This new group of individuals would go on to become known as **The Bôa** and begin to assist The Galactic Federation in keeping peace throughout the galaxy. Having lost numerous members to either The Bôa or simple desertion, The Cdari Order fell into dismay but still function with their limited numbers.Later, they would be called to join The Galactic Federation as advisors and peacekeepers. It was here that during this time, Dutan and Korvine settled their differences to work together as The Cdari organized the training and recruiting of young Cdari Padawans and The Bôa handled the strike teams such as Skeleton Crew, Bruiser Brigade, and The Shogun which was a council of members consisting of both Cdari and Bôa. This would prove fruitful as The Mandalorians settled their differences with The Cdari and began to assist them in their galactic affairs.

## **Organization**

### **Leadership**

During the creation of The Cdari Order, Hatamoto formed a governing body to keep himself and all Cdari in check called The Cdari High Council. It is a collection of the brightest and strongest members of the Cdari Order that will make decisions that they believe best will help the Cdari Order currently and in the future. The council is typically made up of 5 members at any given time and has monthly meetings, however, emergency meetings or unscheduled meetings can occur. This was highlighted whenever Korvine Nova demanded an audience with The Council and they had an unscheduled meeting to decide on the future of The Cdari Order.

The membership of the High Council depended on a series of factors but most notably, the next Council members were decided by the current members. Becoming a member of the High Council was a lifetime commitment as it required all present members to be there and it was not chosen by democracy. However, two of the five members were regularly switched out and these were voted in democratically in order to keep opinions and voices fresh for the overall council. However, the requirement was that a Cdari needed to be given the rank of Master to sit on the council in **any** capacity. Though there have been exceptions such as during The Sith Crusade, Ken Dagan was chosen by Kell Evas to become the Grand Master of The Cdari Order even though he was only a Cdari Knight at the time.

The High Council, for several generations, has had two councils under them to handle the other subgroups of The Cdari Order. These include The Council of The House which oversaw The Cdari Academy and The Council of Choosing which oversaw The Cdari Recruitment Initiative. While they both do answer to The High Council, they do not need the High Council to make decisions regarding what they oversaw. However, if a problem did become too big, they would be forced to seek The High Council.

### **Cdari Ranks**

* **Novice**: These are typically the youngest members of the Order and have just recently learned of their Force abilities. Novices are taken across the entire galaxy to the Council of Choosing to see if they truly possess The Force. However, Novices are taken from their families at a young age but upon graduating into a Cdari Knight, they are allowed to return to their homes, if possible.
* **Padawan**: Once being accepted into The Cdari Order, Novices are given the rank of Padawan. Before Kell Evas overhauled this system, Padawans would go through the natural training from The Cdari Academy and then perform a trial before The High Council to test if they are ready to become a Cdari Knight. Kell would change this system drastically by assigning a Padawan to a Cdari Knight to allow the Knight to train the Padawan and then report to The High Council of their Padawan's progress. However, as a Padawan, they are forced to participate in the ceremony known as ***In Search Of*** where they are placed near the Crystal Caves on Nex and forced to find a kyber crystal to create their lightsaber.
* **Cdari Knight**: Once the Padawan had become ready enough to move onto the next rank, their Master will report to the High Council and present a trial by combat known as **Knighthood** for the Padawan. The goal for the Padawan is to disarm their Master who is attacking them by using nothing but The Force. If successful, the Padawan is given the rank of Cdari Knight.
* **Cdari Master**: If the Cdari Knight has shown great skill in all aspects of The Force, The Cdari Code, and combat prowess, they are gifted with the rank of Master by the High Council. In some cases, like during wartime, the title will be bestowed upon a person without needing to be perfect in all of the aforementioned aspects (ie. Ken Dagan). However, dubbing one's self a master is frowned upon by The Order and it is hardly done with the notable exception being Korvine Nova (while The Bôa uses a different set of ranks, she is considered the "master"). A secondary trial is required to attain the rank of Master which is the Stance Trials. This will force Cdari Knights to show mastery over all fighting styles and only then, if they are successful, will they be able to specialize in one.

## **The C'dari Code**

*They became so detached from reality that they had no **concept** of the larger galaxy. They believed in **The Force** and what it **willed**. Damning the rest of the galaxy to whatever happens.*

* **Korvine Nova**.

Grand Master of The Cdari Order Hatamoto created The C'dari Code as a way to instill discipline and structure into the new coming Cdari in order to remove all preconceived notions. However, it was written in the original language of Magia and after The First Great Schism, the language became dead as only a few Magia remained. Add onto this the different races who began to serve on The High Council which has led to many different translations. Below is the original translation of The C'dari Code as it was intended.

*Emotion, yet peace.*
*Ignorance, yet knowledge.*
*Passion, yet serenity.*
*Chaos, yet harmony.*
*Death, yet the Force.*
Later translations would skew and twist this into something that it wasn't supposed to be. While the original translation lasted for many years, Dutan translated it once more and it came out different but it was this translation that caused The Second Great Schism and subsequently, the near downfall of the modern Cdari.

*There is no emotion, only peace.*
*Ignorance is the absence of knowledge.*
*Passion is the vague feeling of serenity.*
*Chaos cannot exist without prior harmony.*
*You are one. Alone with your blade.*
***Trust only in The Force.***
Naturally, this translation is more militant and dark. However, its interpretation was driven past its meaning (even if it is not the original translation).

## **Behind The Scenes**

The Cdari Order for Donuts was created by Morpheus, NeoFantasy, and with input from Tony. Morpheus and NeoFantasy wanted to create a different Cdari Order from the natural canon and began to weave together the story that is Donuts' Cdari Order. These included elements like The Great Schisms and The Sith Crusade.

Interestingly, many elements of The Cdari Order came from a story that NeoFantasy and Morpheus were writing called "***Nine Types of Light***". These concepts were reworked but kept the same name such as The Sith Crusade, the planet of Magia, the original High Council member's names, and the subgroup called the Advance Team, or "Wicked Games".