Jedi Order

"First comes the day

Then comes the night.

After the darkness

Shines through the light.

The difference, they say,

Is only made right

By the resolving of gray

Through refined Jedi sight."

―Journal of the Whills, 7:477

The **Jedi Order**, often referred to as the **Holy Order of the Jedi Knights**, is an ancient monastic peacekeeping organization unified by its belief and observance of the Force, beit the Light or Dark Sides. The Order had once controlled over a region of space referred to as the Tython Union, the first, and only 'Jedi Republic' and governed it for over 730 years. When the Republic was formed in 21K.400 BTC or 14K.969 CE, the Order joined it as its' new found guardians and protectors, both in peacetime and in wartime. Led by a series of Jedi Councils, the Order grew over the millennia despite facing numerous trails, most of which were schisms that often erupted due to increasingly conflicting interpretations of the Force, which eventually erupted into the Great Schism.

Over the course of the Great Schism, numerous Jedi broke away from the original Order due to these difference in how they believed the Force should be wielded, added with this was the increasing fanatism within more traditional elements of the Order which eventually sparked a century's long schism known to history as the Hundred-Year Discord, which ended with both Dark Jedi and Fanatic Jedi killed off, ensuring that the moderates of the Order continue to control the Order

While not nearly as affected by the Imperium rise as a power, it still was affected by it. Over the course of six thousand years, several more schisms occurred, one of the most influential of these was the Exar Kun War, that severely weakened the Order. And with the Mandalorian Wars erupting shortly thereafter and split it into two camps, those who wish to be involved and defend the Republic, what would become the Revanchists, and those who desired to be uninvolved. This divide between the two, along with the general feeling of the Republic failings in handling the Mandalorians turned these Revanchists into supporters of the Imperium's autocracy. Barely a year after the wars' end, the Jedi Civil War erupted between Republican Jedi and the new-found Imperial Jedi, sparking the first solely political schism within the Order, after three years of brutal conflict, Republican Jedi emerged victories from the Battle of Byss after both Raven and Malak defected from the Imperial Jedi and rejoined the Republicans. The surviving Imperial Jedi escaped Republic and entered Imperial Space whereupon they declare their loyalty to Emperor Lelouch and his family, creating the Knights of Terra in the process.

While the Jedi have had numerous conflicts over its' history, it has remained a force that no one can truly doubt, and it has remained the Republic defenders for centuries and shall remain for centuries to come.

## Organization

### Jedi Ranks

As the Jedi were instructed in the ways of the Order and of the Force, each member progressed through several different ranks.

* Jedi Initiate (or Youngling or "Jedi Hopeful"): The youngest members of the Order, these Force-sensitive children were given the rank of Initiate when they began their communal training in clans. Recruited from worlds throughout the galaxy where blood testing was required upon birth, with the family's permission, Initiates are brought to a Jedi academy for formal training.
* Jedi Padawan: After being selected for individual tutelage under a single Jedi Knight or Jedi Master, Initiates were given the title of Padawan; a word derived from the Je'daii Order. Eligible for this rank following the successful completion of the Initiate Trials, Padawans were typically taken at adolescence and completed their training away from the academy. Per tradition, Padawans of a hair-growing species would wear a long braid of hair behind their ear; non-haired Padawans were encouraged to wear a type of jewelry, a tattoo, or other body modification. A Jedi Knight or Jedi Master could have more than one apprentice but more often then not they tend to only have one apprentice at a time. The Padawan had to be promoted to the rank of Jedi Knight before another apprentice could be chosen, a practice that was formalized following the Exar Kun War. Following several unsuccessful attempts at the Initiate Trials or if a student is not chosen by a Master, the Council of Reconciliation would place the student within the Jedi Service Corps. Depending on where the student's talents lay, this might be the Agricultural Corps, the Medical Corps, the Educational Corps or the Exploration Corps. If this role did not suit a particular student, they could choose to leave the Order entirely.
* Jedi Knight: Following a period of nearly a decade of one-on-one training with a master, a disciplined Padawan was eligible to attempt the Jedi Trials. Upon successfully completing all tests put forth, a Padawan's braid was severed by the High Council and their life as a Knight began. No longer attached to a master, Knights were free to accept missions from the Council, pursue specialized training on one of the three branches of Knighthood, or take their own Padawan.
* Jedi Master: A Knight who showed great understanding of the Force and managed to instruct a Padawan and train them successfully to the level of a Jedi Knight was elevated to the rank of Master by the High Council. Self-declaration of the title was frowned upon and rare practice by the time of the Second Galactic War, but not uncommon during war times or periods of disbandment. Amongst the Order's Masters, only a select few were appointed to one of the Jedi Councils. Made up exclusively of wise, experienced Masters, the Councils of the Order had different levels of membership, ensuring fresh perspectives were expressed as new events occurred. The High Council was made up of 12 masters, five of them holding life terms, four holding long-terms, and three holding short-terms. The elected leader of the Council was known as the Master of the Order and was often bestowed upon the acting Grand Master; the mostly recognized leader of the entire Order.

### Jedi Monks

While not nearly as well known as its' Force-Sensitive members, Jedi Monks are members of the Order who are noticeably not force-sensitive. These individuals, while not able to use the force, much less connect to it, still firmly believe in the philosophy and teachings of the Jedi Order and applied themselves to it just as much as any other Force-Sensitive member. Although not as commonly seen members of the order, in fact, they typically stay in the temple for much of their life, they are every bit the Jedi as their more proactive and gifted brothers and sisters in the order, even if it is more in a limited compacity. More often then not, Jedi monks serve as the order's philosophers and teachers, in fact, a plurality of them make up the order's well known philosophers, with equally important roles of engineers, technicians, and, doctors often being made up from Jedi monk ranks. Interestingly enough, the majority (at 70%) of the Jedi Monks are often times Droids and other Artificial Intelligences, ranging from astromech to more organic looking androids, like the Cyberlife-Type Androids, with a sizable organic minority (at 30%) of organics of which the majority of them comes from the Force-Negative Terran species.

### Jedi Service Corps

The Jedi Service Corps was a group of organizations overseen by the Council of Reconciliation that was maintained as an alternative or a supplement to traditional mission assignments from the High Council. While the majority of the Corps was indeed made up of Initiates who had failed to pass the Jedi Initiate Trials, there were many Padawans, Knights, and Masters whose specializations brought them to the Corps.

#### Agricultural Corps

The Agricultural Corps was the largest of these organizations. Members of the AgriCorps would use their Force powers to care for crops all over the galaxy, aiding in the feeding of several hundreds of trillions in the Republic. Working with the Republic's Department of Agriculture, the AgriCorps spread the idea that the Living Force can overcome the horrors of drought and famine. Made up mostly of life-long members that had failed their trials, the AgriCorps had bases on Salliche, Taanab, and Ukio.

#### Medical Corps

In the Medical Corps, young Jedi learners who were not chosen as Padawans used their healing powers to tend for sick sentients in the galaxy. Unlike the AgriCorps, the MedCorps maintained only a few dozen students and their instructors at any given time. Maintaining an infirmary in the Halls of Healing on Coruscant, MedCorps members worked alongside the Galactic City Medical Center's doctors and specialists as they helped treat citizens of the massive Ecumenopolis.

#### Educational Corps

This Educational Corps consisted of students who were still in training. Overseen by the Chief Librarian, the EduCorps members stationed at the Temple on Coruscant cataloged and translated data within the Archives.

#### Exploration Corps

The Exploration Corps was responsible for exploring the Unknown Regions beyond the galaxy proper as well as the study of the history of the Jedi and the galaxy. With refueling centers on nearly every Republic Ordnance or Regional Depots, the galaxy was their territory for exploration. Working closely with the Republic Survey Corps and the Intergalactic Zoological Society, the ExplorCorps had the highest number of Knights and Masters working in its ranks.

### Jedi sub-sects

Like all religious organizations, the Jedi is equally as split and fractured, as various sects have emerged with their interruptions of the Force. More often than not, these differences often lead to schisms between the Jedi sects. However, these schisms are rare, as the Order itself is a highly decentralized and the various sects tolerant and even respect one another, as they are all Jedi regardless of their interruptions and views on the Force. But it should be known that the largest and most well known of these various sects are what is described as the Orthodox Jedi, of which largely makes up the Jedi Order found in the Republic.

## Jedi Code

There Is No Light, Without The Dark

Through Passion, I Gain Focus

Through Knowledge, I Gain Power

Through Serenity, I Gain Strength

Through Victory, I Gain Harmony

There Is Only The Force.

- Current Jedi Code

The Jedi Code is the central tenant of the Jedi Order, the religious text that serves as guidelines for Jedi to follow, but the code has changed over the numerous centuries since the order's creation. With each version different from each other in some same and form.

''Jedi are the guardians of peace in the galaxy.

Jedi use their powers to defend and protect, never to attack others.

Jedi respect all life, in any form.

Jedi serve others rather than ruling over them, for the good of the galaxy.

Jedi seek to improve themselves through knowledge and training.''

- Ancient Jedi Code

Of course, like all religious texts, the Code has been interrupted in numerous ways, all ranging from one's own takes on the force and what ways one should use it. With some versions of the code being used by one element of the Order then the other, like Odan-Urr's code, which has been widely used by Light-sided fanatics within the Order

"There is no emotion, there is peace.

There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.

There is no passion, there is serenity.

There is no chaos, there is harmony.

There is no death, there is the Force."

- Odan-Urr's Jedi Code

The Code was not necessarily a strict set of rules, but a general set of guidelines that Jedi were encouraged to keep in mind as they went about the business of the Order. Numerous Jedi teachings interpreted and expounded on the Code in subsequent millennia. These rules, created and embraced by the Jedi Masters, were essential tools in a Jedi's growth. In them, Jedi were encouraged to overcome personal obstacles such as pride and materialism, to understand their small yet important place in the galaxy, and to give every being and point of view equal consideration.