Bombing at the Temple of the Kyber

The **Bombing at the Temple of the Kyber** was an attack on the Temple of the Kyber by the Path of the Open Hand in the lead up to the Battle of Jedha. The Path had infiltrated the Temple while stealing their Force artifacts, planting an explosive device nearby Archivist Zumeg's office in the hopes that the explosion would be a source of further conflict that the Path could use to turn the people of Jedha against one another, sparking what became the Battle of Jedha. The Path's plan worked perfectly. The bomb detonated and Tey Sirrek was the prime suspect in the immediate aftermath. The Convocation of the Force attempted to cover up the presence of a thermal detonator, which allowed The Herald to arrive and create distrust between the Convocation and the people of Jedha, alerting the people to the deception of the Convocation.

## Prelude

##### The Path Arrival

Following their departure from Dalna, the Path of the Open Hand had made their way to the holy city on Jedha. Once there they immediately began to accumulate at their houses of worship and spread their word through the streets of the city. They had also begun stealing numerous artifacts from across the city, creating a widespread mystery across the city. One of the many artifacts that they had stolen was from the Temple of the Kyber, stealing the Firebird of Colsassa. While inside the Temple, agents of the Path placed a thermal detonator nearby the office of Archivist Zumeg.

##### Vildar's Investigation

About a month after the arrival of the Path, Jedi Knight Vildar Mac arrived on the planet for Convocation duty. Once he had arrived he was immediately met by Matthea Cathley, who introduced him to the chaotic and busy nature of the streets of Jedha. He was also immediately brought into an investigation into a robbery from the Shrine of Sarrav. The Path were responsible for the robbery and had killed V'Kara in their process. Without help from the Convocation of the Force, V'Kara had gone to ex-member of the Guardians of the Whills Tey Sirrek who began an investigation of his own into the robbery. As he discovered V'Kara's death, Vildar and Matthea entered the Shrine of Sarrav, spotting Tey above the body. Vildar Mac attempted to arrest Tey on suspicion of killing V'kara, only to have his heart stopped by Tey who had used hunting aroma's designed to halt a predators heartbeat.

Vildar chased down Tey after quickly recovering from his heart stopping still. He chased him to the local bar "Enlightenment". It was here that he learnt that Tey was trying to investigate the missing artifacts also and used to be a member of the Guardian of the Whills. Vildar continued to follow Tey as the Sephi continued his own investigation, leading to the discovery that a stolen kyber artifact had been stolen from the Temple of the Kyber. Together with the Jedi, Tey went to the Temple of the Kyber to inform them of the robbery.

## Recount

##### The Guardians of the Whills

Upon immediate entry to the Temple of the Kyber, the Jedi and Tey were faced down by the Guardians of the Whills with their lightbows aimed at them. The Guardians specified that their issue was with Tey, whom they deemed a traitor for having left the order. Not wishing to cause an issue, Tey left the Temple. The Jedi continued the purpose of the visit without him, telling the Guardians about the robbery of their artifact. They were proven right when the display plinth that once held the item now stood empty.

##### The Bombing

Tey Sirrek had broken back into the Temple of Kyber through an open window, finding his way back to where the Jedi spoke with the Guardians about their security, hoping to find any leads to solving the mystery of all the missing artifacts. Tey was spotted by Vildar at the same moment that Tey spotted an explosive device hidden under a bench. He picked it up, startling Vildar Mac. Mac pushed away the bomb using the Force, causing it to explode outwardly in an attempt to save lives. In the explosion, Vildar used the Force to push the flames away from the Archivists. He succeeded in protecting Archivist Oranalli, however Archivist Zumeg was caught and killed in the blast. Vildar was also viciously injured and taken to the Convocation Chambers where he was healed back to health by Representative Susalee using tragia leaves. After waking up, Vildar was informed of Archivist Zumeg's death. Tey Sirrek was taken into custody by the Guardians of the Whills on suspicion of the bombing.

## Aftermath

##### Next: Battle of Jedha

While Tey remained in a cell in the Temple of the Kyber, the Guardians of the Whills began conducting investigations into Tey's guilt. Vildar Mac and Matthea Cathley went to the Convocation, speaking to them in hopes of starting an investigation of their own, feeling that there was potential that the Guardians of the Whills had jumped to condemn Tey to guilt to early. The Convocation denied the possibility that the Guardians would jump to such accusations so quickly. The official story told to the public across Jedha was that the explosion was caused by a gas buildup in the catacombs beneath the Temple.

##### The Herald

During their conversation, the Convocation was interrupted by The Herald who strode in, followed by Yana Ro and Sunshine Dobbs, who had come to the Convocation days earlier to introduce the Convocation to the name of the Path of the Open Hand and their presence on Jedha. The Herald made clear that his wishes were not to join the Convocation, but rather, call for the council to disband. He explained the Path's beliefs that the usage of the Force in one place denied the Force presence elsewhere. He called the council "abusers" of the Force. When the council refused to disband, The Herald proposed a prohibition of Force usage until the Path's theory could be investigated.

When this too was denied, The Herald went outside the Convocation Chamber where he spoke out to the passers by of Jedha's streets. He announced that he had been turned away for holding opposing views to that of the Convocation and that he had overheard a plot to deceive the individuals of the truth about the explosion at the Temple of the Kyber, making use that the Path's explosive had been kept a secret by the Convocation. He revealed that in truth the explosion had been caused by a thermal detonator. The Herald proposed the question that why would the Convocation lie to the people of Jedha as the Guardians of the Whills were called to take him away. He fought long enough to continue to preach that he was being silenced for revealing the truth. This started a small riot that threatened the Guardians of the Whills and members of the Convocation. In secret, Yana Ro had been using the Rod of Seasons to lure in the Great Leveler through the streets of Jedha, bringing it to the square in which the riot started to form. It watched from the shadows. Jedi Vildar Mac and Sorcerer of Tund Tarna Miak leapt into the crowds to try and control the rioting, however this brought them closer to the Great Leveler. Tarna Miak was deeply effected by the presence of the Leveler, too far away to be petrified, but close enough that it caused her to hallucinate, seeing the crowds people as monsters. She lashed out with her force powers, creating lashing fire that caused widespread danger. This attack by Tarna Miak spurred on to begin the Battle of Jedha.

## Timeline of Event

* Tey Sirrek, Vildar Mac and Matthea Cathley go to the Temple of the Kyber to investigate the loss of one of their items.
* Tey Sirrek is removed from the Temple.
* Tey sneaks back into the temple, finding a thermal detonator.
* Vildar Mac pushes away the detonator, saving himself and Tey Sirrek.
* Archivist Zumeg is killed in the explosion.
* Tey Sirrek is arrested.

## Appearances

1. Star Wars: The High Republic (2022) 3
2. Star Wars: The High Republic (2022) 4 (In flashback)