Tho Yor

Tho Yor was the name of the eight great pyramidal ships that carried the Force-sensitive ancestors of the Je'daii Order to Tython in 36,453 BBY, in what was termed the First Migration. Following their arrival on Tython, the ships spread out around the planet and deposited their passengers onto the world, where they constructed cities and temples at the spots of their arrival. For millennia, the Tho Yor remained at the site of these temples, floating mysteriously or buried in the ground. It wasn't until the Force Wars that the members of the Order discovered that the Tho Yor could be weaponized to defend the planet by concentrating a large amount of Force energy and channeling it into the Tho Yor.

History[]

On the planet Ando Prime, the Order of Dai Bendu monks discovered one of these ancient and massive pyramidal ship constructs resting half-buried within a snowy cradle high in the Andobi Mountains. Realizing that the odd pyramid was of alien origin and sensing in the Force that it contained important mysteries that would be revealed to them at some point in the future, the monks named the relic Tho Yor. To that end, the mystics continued to contemplate the artifact and meditate on it for a millennium, until in 36,453 BBY the starship finally opened itself and—using the Force to communicate with the Dai Bendu—invited the monks aboard. The Tho Yor subsequently rose from the planet's surface and traveled into outer space.^[4]

After leaving Ando Prime, that particular ship traveled to many different worlds to gather more Force-sensitive scholars, scientists, warriors, and the like. Elsewhere, seven other Tho Yor did the same. One ship had been submerged in the seas of Manaan, where Selkath scholars and scientists had long been fascinated by the strange structure. When the doors of the ship opened, they abandoned their world and boarded it. On Kashyyyk a Tho Yor had long floated deep in the Wroshyr-tree forests, protected by Wookiee warriors who guarded it with clubs imbued with glowing crystals. The war-like Wookiees also heard the call of the Tho Yor and laid down their weapons to enter the mysterious vessel. On Dathomir, a Tho Yor rested in the mist-filled valleys of the world, where it was hidden for some time. When it called out to the Dathomiri through visions and dreams, the seers and shamans located the ship and boarded it with their rancor mounts. Another Tho Yor, having been resting deep in the scorched deserts of Ryloth, called out to the Twi'leks, who emerged from their cave dwellings to seek the answers to the great philosophical debates of their time. Boarding the ship, it too traveled to more worlds to find others.^[4]

Traveling the galaxy and collecting more intellectuals, the Tho Yor had collected individuals from many different worlds. This included Humans,^[4] Sith,^[4] Iktotchi,^[4] the Cathar,^[4] Zabrak,^[4] Miraluka,^[4] Devaronians,^[4] Noghri,^[4] Koorivar, Krevaaki,^[5] Sullustans,^[6] and many others.

Able to navigate the miasma of black holes and space-time irregularities of the Deep Core, the eight Tho Yor came together in the year 36,453 BBY within a star system containing eleven uninhabited planets. Gathering on a jungle planet that was located in the fifth orbital position around a large orange star, the strange ships gathered around a larger, colossal Tho Yor which was found hovering above a monolithic stone tower. When all eight Tho Yor had assembled around the largest one, the planet heralded their arrival with a massive Force storm: a weather phenomenon wherein the planet's raw Force energy erupted in the form of violent lightning, groundquakes and high winds. While still aboard the Tho Yor, the passengers of these ships were able to sense the great tower above which they floated and were unified together as a single people. Not long after, the eight Tho Yor departed from the monolith and shot out across the jungle planet, scattering across the surface before settling in different regions of the world.^[4]

When the Tho Yor had settled in their unique regions, they disgorged their passengers who set foot on the world for the first time. Within the first millennium of their colonization of the world, the Force-sensitive among the group became united under a code of conduct and began to call themselves the Je'daii Order. Remaining close to the Tho Yor which had delivered them to the planet they called Tython, the Tythans built great cities and temples around the Tho Yor and venerated them for their role in delivering them to their new home.^[4] Eventually the Je'daii established a temple at the site of each Tho Yor, with each academy dedicated to a different aspect of the Force. On the continent of Thyr, a Tho Yor had come to rest in the air above the opening of a vast cavern system in the midst of the Silent Desert. Within those caverns, the Je'daii established the Temple of Qigong Kesh, where advanced skills in the Force were taught. On nearby Masara continent, the Tho Yor which hovered along the coast of the sea came to stand above Bodhi, Temple of the Arts. Further south on the dangerous and violent continent of Kato Zakar, a Tho Yor settled into the mountains of the Ice Giant Range. Here the Je'daii established a fortress where students would learn martial skills; they called it Stav Kesh.^[5]

Not all of the Tho Yor remained over land. One Tho Yor had submerged itself in the Deep Ocean and the Je'daii built their Temple of Healing around it, calling it Mahara Kesh. On the massive continent of Talss, several temples were built. Straddling the Chasm, Anil Kesh was ever in the shadow of the floating Tho Yor which revolved around it.^[5] Likewise in the east, the Tho Yor at Vur Tepe circled the massive volcano-top forges. Just south, the Tho Yor at Kaleth, the Temple of Knowledge hovered in the sky. Elsewhere, Padawan Kesh was built where the eighth Tho Yor settled. The largest of the Tho Yor, the one that was awaiting the other eight, remained over the tower monolith known as Akar Kesh. This became known as the Temple of Balance.^[4]

The Tho Yor remained mysterious and ever present throughout the history of the Order, with Je'daii meditating on the deep enigma of where they came from and what purpose they served. During the initial year of the Force Wars, two significant discoveries were made. Firstly, the sigil on the sides of the Tho Yor was the key to breaking through the Chaos Wall of the Chasm. This wall was an invisible barrier that caused any who passed through it to go mad. If the symbol was embedded in the mind of a traveler, they could successfully pass through the barrier unharmed. This barrier was erected by an unknown group to safeguard the Prime Gate which was constructed at the bottom of the Chasm long before the arrival of the Je'daii.^[3] Additionally, activation of the Kwa Holocron revealed that the Kwa civilization had knowledge of the Tho Yor and their purposes. The Gatekeeper of the holocron, A'nang showed Je'daii Tasha Ryo how to weaponize the Tho Yor and use them as massive cannons against the Infinite Empire. The Tho Yor was capable of firing orange beams of light from various ports on its surface, destroying several Rakatan ships in the process.^[3]

Behind the scenes[]

Translated from the Tibetan language according to the Jim Valby's Tibetan-English Dictionary, Tho Yor means "pyramid of stones heaped up as votive pile, cairn".^[7]