 Name: Ilum
Region: Unknown Regions
Sector: 7G sector
System: Ilum system
Suns: 1: Asar
Orbital position: 5
Moons: 2
Grid coordinates: G-7
Trade routes: Metellos–Ilum hyperlane
Rotation period: 66 standard hours
Orbital period: 1,078 standard days
Class: Terrestrial
Diameter: 5,870 km
Atmosphere: Type I (breathable)
Climate: Extreme cold; planet 90% ice
Gravity: Standard
Primary terrain: Ice flows, Caverns, Icy mountains, Snow
Surface water: Shallow seas
Points of interest: Fray Landing Base, Holenesh Canyon, Imperial Firebase, Jedi Temple, Icefall Cavern, The Circle, Cross-Shelf Corridor, Crystal Caves, Republic Recon Post, Snowdrift Cave, Western Ice Shelf
Fauna: Asharl panther, Blismal, Gorgodon, Razhak, Snowfeather bird, Lisk
Immigrated species: None
Primary language(s): None
Government: None
Population: Imperial Era: 5,200; 45% support crew, 30% temporary researchers, 20% military, 5% other
Major cities: None
Major imports: None
Major exports: Ilum crystal (formerly)
Description: Ilum was an ice planet in the Unknown Regions, one of the main sources of the valuable Adegan crystals used in the construction of Jedi lightsabers. The caverns containing the crystals were long ago turned into a Jedi temple. Unlike the crystals of other planets, the crystals of Ilum were limited to blue and green in color. The planet was over ninety percent ice.
The Gree had established an enclave on Ilum and used it as a launching point for the exploration vessel Gray Secant to conduct a multi-century exploration mission. Ilum was first discovered by the wider galaxy in 22,800 BBY when a Jedi, navigating hyperspace in the Force, felt a strong pull from deep in the Unknown Regions. Following the sensation, the scout determined that the Force's call was strongest on the system's fifth planet. Reporting back to the Jedi High Council on her findings, the subsequent research teams detected no signs of previous inhabitants on the barren world, aside from local flora and fauna that had evolved to survive in the harsh environment. The real wealth of Ilum was not discovered until one survey crew was chased into a mountainous ravine by local predators and discovered the mother lode of crystals just beneath the surface. Made up largely of the rare kathracite, pontite and mephite, the trove was an invaluable source of focusing crystals used in a Jedi's lightsaber. When the High Council learned of this discovery, they dispatched artisans, scholars, and other Jedi to protect the caves and research how deep they went. Instead of reporting the discovery to the Galactic Senate per custom, the High Council deleted all records of Ilum from their ships and removed mention of it from all reports. A team of surveyors within the Order mapped out a complex route through hyperspace from Metellos that would take a Jedi team directly to Ilum. In order to navigate the course however, one would need the prowess in the Force that only a fully trained Master would possess.
With the planet protected, the Jedi built temples and enclaves over the years and the world became a destination of pilgrimage for Jedi intending to construct new lightsabers and Jedi Masters seeking a quiet place for intense meditation. Over the greatest source of crystals, the High Council commissioned the construction of a grand Temple. Upon completion, the Temple over the Crystal Caves began to host the Gathering, a formal part of a Padawan's teaching during which they embarked on a pilgrimage to Ilum to search for a lightsaber crystal and build their first weapon. After several millennia of hosting the Gathering, Ilum became the Order's primary source for the rare crystals. Some time before the Cold War, the Sith Empire attacked the planet with a force of Sith and shock troopers, killing the Jedi present there. Although the Jedi Order was devastated by the loss of Ilum, the Galactic Republic lacked the resources for a counter-attack. Intelligence suggested that the Sith operations on the world could have extended beyond the harvest of lightsaber crystals and, due to the amount of local Sith investments, Republic leaders and members of the High Council suspected that Ilum may have possessed a far more valuable resource. One of the resources turned out to be a use for the crystals to power a cloaking device for spaceships, or even a whole space station. Darth Malgus, taking advantage of the chaos in the Empire following the defeat of the Sith Emperor, rallied a primarily non-Human army and tried to establish a base in the system. Malgus's attempt was thwarted, and the cloaked armada never saw further use. A return of the Gray Secant saw both Republic and Imperial forces striving to gain influence with the Gree and learn the ship's secrets, but Ilum itself remained a contested world for the remainder of the Galactic War.
Eventually, the Order reclaimed Ilum and once again hid its location, removing records of the battles there, which only lived on as dark legends of the past. Despite the planet's overall importance, the High Council recalled all members of the Order that were living on the planet, back to Coruscant and shuttered all facilities save the primary Temple. With no one to maintain them, most of the other Jedi installations were consumed by the planet's constant snowfall or crushed under moving glaciers.
Clone Wars
In 22 BBY, Ilum was the location of a Separatist ambush. When Count Dooku, leader of the Confederacy of Independent Systems sent a battalion of droids to the planet, the Crystal Caves were heavily damaged. Jedi Grand Master Yoda aided Jedi Master Luminara Unduli and her Padawan, Barriss Offee, in defending the Crystal Caves from chameleon droids. For a portion of the war, the Jedi Order decided that it was too dangerous for Jedi Initiates to travel to Ilum to build their lightsabers, so shipments of lightsaber crystals were delivered to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. Unduli oversaw one of the shipments aboard the starship Sedawan when it was attacked by a group of Nightsisters led by Sai Sircu, who sought to pilfer the crystals to power the Devastation, an ion pulse cannon–equipped warship that they were building in conjunction with Dooku and the Confederacy.
Around 20 BBY, Yoda and Padawan Ahsoka Tano led a group of promising Jedi Initiates in the ritual known as The Gathering, where they would brave the dangers of the Crystal Cave and find crystals to make their own lightsabers. They used the Force to enter through a cave entrance.
Later history
Because its existence was not known generally to non-Jedi, Ilum was virtually forgotten after the destruction of the Jedi and Palpatine's information purges. This gave the remaining Jedi a safe harbor. After Order 66, Obi-Wan Kenobi received intelligence that his friend, Jedi Master Garen Muln, had returned to Ilum to hide in the crystal caves. Ferus Olin, a former Jedi apprentice, returned to the caves to retrieve crystals to build a new lightsaber and he also found Garen. The Jedi Master had grown weak during his time on Ilum. He gave Ferus his old lightsaber, which needed new crystals. Ferus inserted his crystals and carried the weak Jedi Master out of the caves. Obi-Wan came to their rescue before the Imperials could take them hostage. Another Jedi also took refuge there: Fy-Tor-Ana. However, according to Garen, she returned to Coruscant to see if any other Jedi had survived. She did not return, but it was rumored that she was imprisoned on Coruscant.
Ilum's secrecy was not to last. After scouring the Temple Archives on Coruscant, the Empire swiftly moved in to seize the planet. As part of Order 66, the 481st Legion was dispatched to the planet to eliminate any hiding Jedi and to secure the Temple. After the Empire was fully established, the 481st was replaced with a dedicated joint forces mission of the Imperial Navy and Army. Forming up a beachhead around the Temple and installing a giant metal door over its entrance, the army constantly monitored the facility while the Navy formed a blockade around the planet. Over time, research facilities and observation platforms were established and an entire garrison was situated there. Despite the Emperor's grave concerns for the planet's safety, more often than not the posting was used as a punishment or sort of exile for delinquent officers, rival captains, and a graveyard for derelict ships. During the Galactic Civil War, Captain Malthegn oversaw the blockade from the command deck of the Hoplite.
Places
Fray Landing Base
Fray Landing Base was a Republic Military base located on the southern end of the planet Ilum's Western Ice Shelf.
During the Battle of Ilum during the Galactic War between the Galactic Republic and the reconstituted Sith Empire, Imperial forces overran Fray Landing and decimated the Republic forces stationed there. When the base was retaken, Fray Landing Memorial was established to commemorate the lost, and Supreme Chancellor Leontyne Saresh used the story of the base's last stand to press for the largest increase in military spending since the Treaty of Coruscant.
Holenesh Canyon
Holenesh Canyon referred both to a naturally formed cleft in Ilum's surface, as well as the outpost the Jedi Order constructed at the site.
Five hundred kilometers from the Jedi Temple at the mouth of the Crystal caves, Holenesh Canyon was a deep cleft in Ilum's surface that descended a kilometer downward and spanned a distance of ten kilometers through a treacherous mountain range. Deep within the heart of the canyon was a Force anomaly, that fluctuated only every few hundred years. When the Jedi Knight Holenesh first recorded this strange event, the High Council commissioned the construction of a settlement at the edge of the canyon to study the strange fluctuations. Home to roughly one hundred Jedi, the outpost was small and unimposing in the side of the sheer valley walls. Standing for centuries, the outpost was destroyed during an avalanche that was caused by a groundquake brought on by the reappearance of the anomaly. While most of the Jedi were killed in their sleep by the collapse, some managed to flee into the freeing wilderness and hike back to the Jedi Temple. Freak storms prevented any rescue attempts, and when Jedi crews eventually located the facility it was completely buried beneath rock and snow. While the Order never attempted to reclaim the facility, natural shifts in rocks have exposed portions of the old outpost, allowing entrance into the facility's heart. Because of the cold, most of the interior that was not crushed was well-preserved and many artifacts remained in the remote facility even millennia removed from its construction.
Imperial Firebase 3
The Imperial Firebase 3 was a Imperial Military base located on the planet Ilum's Western Ice Shelf during the Galactic War.
The base was used by the Sith Empire during the fighting against Republic forces that followed the return of the ancient Gree vessel Gray Secant on Ilum. Gree vendors Trikat'k and Zilok'k operated in this base, as well as numerous Gree bodyguards.
Jedi Temple (Ilum)
The Jedi Temple of Ilum, also known as the Ilum Temple, was an ancient structure constructed by the early Jedi Order as they spread out from Tython and established training grounds across the galaxy. Selected for its isolation and placed over a massive subterranean network of caves in which the Order's rare lightsaber crystals grew. While the training grounds were eventually abandoned, Ilum's temple served as a mecca for Jedi seeking to construct their very own lightsaber.
During the Jedi Order's formative years circa 22,800 BBY, hyperspace scouts for the Order discovered the frozen world of Ilum and unearthed its hidden treasure trove of crystals, prized for their usage as a focus lens in the Order's symbolic weapon, the lightsaber. As the crystals of Adega were the primary source of crystals previous to the discovery, the kathracite, mephite, and pontite crystals found on Ilum bolstered the Order' stockpiles to these rare formations. The Jedi High Council decided to establish a temple and training center on the inhospitable world, embracing the cold and the isolation the world afforded the Order. In order to keep their solitude undisturbed, the Order kept the hyperlane and the world's coordinates a secret, per Galactic Republic law giving the Order exclusive access to all planetary discoveries.
Indeed, the route to Ilum was not only treacherous but required Force-sensitivity to navigate; this extremely difficult trek was the first test for students seeking to train on the world. As the training grounds on Ilum saw its heyday in the years preceding the rise of Exar Kun during the Great Hyperspace War, the ravages of war saw the facility downsize considerably. As the number of Jedi stationed on the world dwindled, the Temple was maintained by an honor guard while it received visitors seeking to construct their lightsabers. Treks on Ilum were known to be hazardous throughout history. One of the earliest visitors, Jedi Master Seta-Le, fell through a weak patch of ice into a dark cavern. Having broken her lightsaber during her fall, Seta-Le was able to use her knowledge of the lightsaber's inner workings and apply it to a large crystal formation in the cave. Once activated, the beam created was able to melt through the ice and enable her escape.
The Temple was threatened once more during the Great Galactic War, a conflict between the resurgent Sith Empire and the Republic. As the Empire swiftly attacked the world, the few Jedi stationed there were overwhelmed and quickly slain. As the Empire began to garrison troops on the world the Temple was made inaccessible and, due to thinly-stretched resources, the Order was unable to reclaim it for over a decade. Following the destruction of the Sith Empire the Order restored their Temple on Ilum and once more maintained a small group of Jedi on the planet to protect their coveted crystals.
Time of the Republic
During the Golden Age of the Old Republic, the Temple and the caves below were a constant journey point for members of the Order. As the caves only produced blue and green crystals, the Order's members carried weapons that reflected this as Ilum held the largest stockpile of crystals. During the final decades of the Republic, the young Anakin Skywalker, Padawan of Master Obi-Wan Kenobi ventured into the Temple's caves and sought to create his first lightsaber. Like many before him the Force-permeated grottoes induced Force visions or hallucinations, sending him into combat with a manifestation of the mysterious Zabrak Sith Lord his master had killed on Naboo. Upon defeating the manifestation, Skywalker realized his lightsaber was complete and left the Temple with his new weapon.
Several years later during the Clone Wars, a deadly conflict between the Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems, Jedi Master Luminara Unduli led her Padawan Barriss Offee into the Temple to instruct her as she crafted her lightsaber. Upon completion of the ancient ritual the pair were attacked by Confederate probe droids sent to destroy the caves by Count Dooku, the leader of the Separatist movement. During the skirmish, the caves were heavily damaged by bombs placed by the droids and the Master-Padawan team were trapped under rubble. Detecting the disturbance, Grand Master Yoda, leader of the Order, descended upon Ilum and entered the Temple in time to rescue Unduli and her student.
Following the attack, the Jedi High Council determined that the coordinates to the secret Jedi world were compromised by Dooku, a former member of the Order who had fallen to the dark side of the Force and become a Dark Lord of the Sith. Fearing that the Confederacy would use to caves' treasures against the Order or prohibit Jedi from making new lightsabers, the Council ordered that all crystals be harvested and taken to the Coruscant Jedi Temple for safe keeping. As for the Temple, reconstruction efforts would take a year before it was safe for students to reenter, while all treks were placed on hold.
The Gathering
Blue Glass Arrow Main article: The Gathering
In 20 BBY, a group of Jedi Initiates including Petro, Ganodi, Zatt, Byph, Katooni, and Gungi came to collect their Lightsaber crystals for the construction of their Lightsabers.
When the war concluded with the overthrow of the Galactic Republic and the dissolution of the Jedi Order, the newly-formed Galactic Empire took control of the coordinates to Ilum. Several Jedi found their way back to Ilum, assuming it would be safe and hiding in the Temple's caves. Among the survivors were Masters Fy-Tor-Ana and Garen Muln; Master Ana soon departed for Coruscant while Muln wasted away inside the caverns. Within months of the start of the Great Jedi Purge, former Jedi Padawan Ferus Olin went searching the caves and discovered Muln ill and near-death. Rescuing the Jedi Master, Olin escaped offworld before the Imperials secretly stationed on the world were able to reach the fugitive Jedi.
Construction
Constructed in the icy face of one of Ilum's frozen mountain cliffs, the Jedi Temple was snow-covered and bare. The vast entrance was hidden behind large sheets of ice which adhered to the Temple facade after long periods of disuse. Large transparisteel windows let in the pale light from the snow-swept world, illuminating the cave-like interior of the Temple. Inside the main tower of the Temple, the Jedi Order carved long elegant pillars into the circular chambers high walls, and adorned the room with tall statues of Jedi. Along the upper walls of the chamber, circular windows could be opened to allow in natural light using the Force. When the light shined through, it refracted through a series of massive crystals suspended in the chamber and when focused with the Force, would melt the ice which formed over the entrance to the Crystal Caves. This crystal array was originally used by the trapped Jedi Master Seta-Le several millennia before the rise of the Galactic Empire. When melted, the ice wall ran down like a waterfall to reveal the massive gates leading into the darkness. Beyond, tall and slender black rock formations stood like pillars in the main hall; embedded in each were hundreds of small crystals that appeared to shimmer in the dim light. Spiraling ramps stretched into the darkness of the place, leading to seldom used rooms and construction galleries.
Deep within the heart of the Temple were other paths into the caves, caverns made of natural shiny black stone; a rock that swallowed light instead of reflecting it. As time progressed and the Jedi Order grew, the many Jedi that visited the cave recorded their histories on its walls, expansive cave etchings that seemed to come to life during the Force-induced hallucinations many Jedi were known to succumb to while constructing their weapons. The caves of the Temple held many secrets such as a hidden entrance that led into the subterranean grottoes. During the later centuries gorgodons began to nest in this area, making the entrance more of a hazard then a shortcut.
Icefall Cavern
The Icefall Cavern was a cave located in the Western Ice Shelf area of the planet Ilum.
During the events that followed the return of the Gree vessel Gray Secant on Ilum during the Galactic War, a huge wampa known as Gravak'k that used to live in the cave was studied by Gree droids until the beast was killed by Republic and Imperial forces.
Circle (Ilum)
The Circle was a circular building located in the center of the Western Ice Shelf area of the planet Ilum.
During the events that followed the return of the Gree vessel Gray Secant on Ilum during the Galactic War, the Circle saw heavy fighting between Republic and the Imperial forces.
Cross-Shelf Corridor
The Cross-Shelf Corridor was carved in the ice of the planet Ilum and connected the Western Ice Shelf and the Western Jedi ruins.
Around 3632 BBY, the miners of the Minos-Mestra Corporation established several mining operations in the Eastern Ice Shelf and built the Foreman's camp in the Cross-Shelf Corridor. During the Revolt against the Eternal Empire, they accidentially desecrated the burial cite of Xivhkalrainik's father and his son, Sith Lord Xalek, slaughtered all people in the mining camps and then attacked the Foreman's camp. Miner Zon worked in this camp by that time.
Crystal Caves
The Crystal Caves of Ilum were a legendary pilgrimage site for the Jedi Order from the time of their discovery circa 22,800 BBY until the destruction of the Order in 19 BBY. Located deep within the side of Ilum's largest mountain range, the caves stretched untold kilometers into the planet and contained a wealth of precious crystals which were vital to the construction of the Order's lightsabers. Erecting a Temple at the mouth of the cave, Ilum's caves became a traditional journey point for many Jedi over the centuries.
Located within Ilum's largest mountain range, the Crystal Caves were a potentially tens of thousands of kilometers-deep labyrinth of winging tunnels, bottomless shafts, and narrow corridors that wended their way through the heart of the mountains and deep below the surface of the planet. Despite their importance to the Jedi Order during the millennia over which they were mined, the caves' total area remained unknown. The Jedi kept charts of the paths near the entrance, but beyond that was a series of dead-ends, crevasses, or a maze of confusing, winding passageways. The largest natural entrance to the caves is the site of the Order's primary Jedi Temple facility on the world. The interior of the caves were made of natural shiny black stone; a volcanic rock that swallowed light instead of reflecting it. As time progressed and the Jedi Order grew, the many Jedi that visited the cave recorded their histories on its walls. A variety of Adegan crystals grew unimpeded in the walls, floors, and ceilings of the tunnels, and could easily be removed by hand or with hand-held excavation equipment. In some areas the crystals were so common they littered the floor.
The caves themselves were a powerful nexus of Force energy, creating a vergence within the Force itself. Due to the potency of the Force within the close confines of the caves, the place had a disorienting effect that was high distressing to most who entered into the depths. Many who entered suffered from vivid hallucinations, and the occasional Jedi has been lost forever in the darkness. Another effect that the caves often created in the minds of the young Jedi searching for their first lightsaber crystal masked the presence of the crystals. Padawans would journey through the tunnels following the Force to the crystal that called to them, and only that one was visible to their eyes.
History
Discovered by scouts for the Jedi Order circa 22,800 BBY, the frozen world of Ilum was discovered to hold a number of hidden treasure troves where crystals grew naturally. These crystals, prized for their usage as a focus lens in the Order's symbolic weapon, the lightsaber, encouraged the Jedi to found a Temple and training ground at the mouth to these caves so that members of the Order could mine the rare kathracite, mephite, and pontite crystals.
During the Great Galactic War between the resurgent Sith Empire and the Republic the caves were taken by the Empire in a swift battle. As the Empire began to garrison troops on the world, the Temple was made inaccessible and, due to thinly-stretched resources, the Order was unable to reclaim it for over a decade. Following the destruction of the Sith Empire the Order restored their Temple on Ilum and once more maintained a small group of Jedi on the planet to protect their coveted crystals.
The Caves were once more made inaccessible several millennia later during the Clone Wars, a deadly conflict between the Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems. During a skirmish between Confederate probe droids and Jedi, several bombs were placed throughout the Temple and damaged the entrance to the caves. Following the attack, the Jedi High Council determined that the coordinates to the secret Jedi world were compromised, the Council ordered that all crystals be harvested and taken to the Coruscant Jedi Temple for safe keeping. Yet Jedi Initiates were still taken to the Crystal Caves to find their lightsaber crystals in the ritual known as The Gathering.
As Order 66 was executed by the Grand Army of the Republic and the Order systematically wiped out, Ilum's prized crystal caves were seized by the Galactic Empire. Blocking access to the Temple at the mouth of the caves, the subterranean depths were largely inaccessible. In the months following the Great Jedi Purge, two surviving Jedi, Fy-Tor-Ana and Garen Muln sought refuge from the in the Crystal Caves. Fy-Tor-Ana eventually left for Coruscant, while Muln remained behind. Ferus Olin rescued Muln a few months later.
Republic Recon Post
The Republic Recon Post was a Republic Military base located on the planet Ilum's Western Ice Shelf during the Galactic War.
The base was used by the Republic during the fightings against Imperial forces that followed the return of the ancient Gree vessel Gray Secant on Ilum. Gree vendors Birak'k and Rodok'k operated in this base.
Snowdrift Cave
The Snowdrift Cave was a cave located in the Western Ice Shelf area of the planet Ilum.
During the events that followed the return of the Gree vessel Gray Secant on Ilum during the Galactic War, a huge k'lor'slug known as Surgok'k was studied in the cave by Gree droids until the beast was killed by Republic and Imperial forces.
Western Ice Shelf
The Western Ice Shelf was a region on the planet Ilum.
The Gree vessel Gray Secant landed in the area during the Galactic War after an exploration travel that lasted thousands of years. The Western Ice Shelf then saw heavy fighting between the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire as they tried to uncover the secrets of the Gree starship.
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