Monastery/Legends

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"As you may know, the Sacred Circle is a religious order. On our home planet, Monastery, we worship the eternal, ever-renewing circle of life. We try to do so peacefully... far removed from the normal traffic and turmoil of the galaxy."
―Domina Tagge[3]

Monastery was a planet in the Mid Rim that was home to the religious order known as the Order of the Sacred Circle, who originally settled the world and ruled it for thousands of years. Distinguished by its massive ring, Monastery had a number of dangerous native predators, and its topography itself could be deadly—for instance, the planet's Crystal Valley could mean certain death to most visitors, as jagged crystals burst from the ground without warning. Monastery remained cloistered and neutral from most galactic affairs throughout much of its history, but Sacred Circle priestess Domina Tagge brought it into Imperial intrigues during the Galactic Civil War. In 0 ABY, it hosted a lightsaber duel between Rebel hero Luke Skywalker and Tagge's brother Orman, which Skywalker won in deadly fashion.

Description

"T- that crystal...! Seemed to burst from the ground! Moisture from this heavy drew and mist must cause some sort of chemical reaction—makes them grow fast... almost explosively!"
―Luke Skywalker, attempting to traverse Monastery's dangerous Crystal Valley[4]
Luke Skywalker attempts to navigate the treacherous Crystal Valley.

Located along the Reena Trade Route in the Mid Rim's[2] Haserian sector—[1] between Haseria and Masterra—[2] the ringed planet Monastery was covered in vast rainforests that housed a number of fierce predators.[3] Among the dangerous beasts that called Monastery's forests was the deadly saber cat, which was often tamed by the Order of the Sacred Circle pilgrims who settled the world,[5] as well as the imposing, avian nightshrike.[3] Outside the planet's rainforests, Monastery's topography tended towards the bizarre and inhospitable. One example was the deadly Crystal Valley, where ever-present moisture and dew caused chemical reactions within the soil that prompted massive, jagged crystals to burst from the ground with no warning.[4]

History

"It was devastating enough to be dumped from their homeworlds like out-of-season sandals, but to end up on such dismally dull worlds as Naboo and Monastery?"
―Dyslogia Twang, during the Separatist crisis[src]

Like many worlds in the Mid Rim, Monastery was colonized as a religious haven, originally being settled by the Order of the Sacred Circle. The Order wholly owned the planet for almost its entire history,[2] using Monastery as the center of its worship of the ever-renewing circle of life.[3] By the era of the Great Galactic War, Monastery's pilgrims had become known for techniques of relaxation and concentration that attracted students from across the galaxy.[7] In 3661 BBY,[8] the Jedi Master Ngani Zho brought his young charge, future Republic spy Theron Shan, to Monastery to learn better focus. Shan remained on the world for a year and a half, during which time he learned to ignore all pain and distractions, before he left the service of the Order of the Sacred Circle.[7]

The Order's hold on Monastery continued for millennia, through the era of the Clone Wars[6] and the Galactic Civil War.[3] In 22 BBY, Monastery was one of 10 Mid Rim worlds to loosen immigration restrictions in the wake of the Separatist Crisis, although it required all incoming citizens to convert to surrender all weapons and convert to the Order of the Sacred Circle.[6] Monastery officially remained neutral throughout the early stages of the Galactic Civil War, but by that time the Order had come under the control of Priestess Domina Tagge, who involved the planet in Imperial intrigues around 0 ABY. A member of the wealthy and powerful House of Tagge, Tagge was contacted by the Sith Lord Darth Vader, who claimed to her that her elder brothers Orman and Silas Tagge had died at the hands of Rebel hero Luke Skywalker, the destroyer of the Death Star. Wanting revenge, Tagge lured Skywalker to Monastery, inviting him to present the Rebel Alliance's case for the Order's support—Vader was there waiting, ostensibly as the Empire's representative in the bidding.[3]

Domina Tagge, Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader overlook Monastery's Crystal Valley.

At Tagge's request, Skywalker traveled to Monastery alone, although his friends Han Solo, Leia Organa and Chewbacca followed behind in case he needed help.[3] But when Skywalker arrived at the Temple of the Sacred Circle to plead the Rebel Alliance's case, he found a vengeful Tagge denouncing him and the Rebellion, and Vader, smirking under his mask, challenging him to a lightsaber duel. Skywalker accepted, but Tagge would not permit them to battle in the temple, instead forcing them to fight in the dangerous Crystal Valley.[9] Tagge hoped that the valley's unpredictable topography would eliminate both combatants—although she had worked with Vader, he was a long-time rival of her beloved brother Orman, and she held him considerable ill will. However, their descent into the valley was interrupted by none other than Orman Tagge, who had in fact survived the catastrophic Battle of the Corridor and had, until recently, been kept in stasis aboard Vader's Star Destroyer. Orman had found his way aboard Solo's Millennium Falcon and forced it to land on Monastery: he had only revenge on Vader on his mind.[4]

But without the Force to guide him, Tagge had little chance of navigating the Crystal Valley successfully. Vader saved his life from a falling crystal, but in return forced Tagge to battle Skywalker in his stead, disguised as the Sith Lord through use of illusion. Skywalker bested and slew the Baron of House Tagge in single combat, but fled another encounter with Vader and departed the planet with the Rebels. The saga ended Domina Tagge's reign over the Order of the Sacred Circle, and afterward, Monastery continued to remain neutral in the Galactic Civil War.[4]

Inhabitants

"Monastery is a cloistered world... usually not open to visitors."
―Domina Tagge[3]
The Order of the Sacred Circle mainly resided inside its Temple, located among the planet's verdant rainforests.

By 22 BBY, Monastery had an official population of approximately 35 million, of which all were members of the Order of the Sacred Circle—incoming residents were required to join the religion,[6] although the planet had been more open to curious outsiders interested in learning the Order's teachings in the past.[7] By the era of the Galactic Civil War, the planet was cloistered, and generally did not permit visitors unless they were specifically invited by the Order.[3]

Locations

"The Temple of the Sacred Circle...! It is where we worship and abide."
―Domina Tagge[3]

The center of the Order of the Sacred Circle was located in Monastery's opulent Temple of the Sacred Circle, which housed most of the Order's membership amidst the planet's dense rainforests.[3] As according with the Order's policy of nonviolence, fighting was not permitted within the temple—in 0 ABY, Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader were instead forced to fight in the nearby Crystal Valley, one of the most dangerous features of Monastery's landscape, where deadly crystals blasted through the planet's surface with no warning.[4]

Behind the scenes

Monastery first appeared in Star Wars (1977) 35, written by Archie Goodwin and released in 1980. The planet went on to be featured as the main setting of the next two issues of the Marvel Star Wars comic series, during which time it was illustrated by Carmine Infantino.[3][9][4] The planet was occasionally misspelled "Monastary" in several later sources, namely HoloNet News Vol. 531 #52, where it is spelled correctly and incorrectly just paragraphs apart.[6]

Appearances

Sources

Notes and references

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 StarWars.com Star Wars: The Essential Atlas Online Companion on StarWars.com (article) (backup link not verified!)
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 The Essential Atlas
  3. ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 Star Wars (1977) 35
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 Star Wars (1977) 37
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 The Unknown Regions
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Mid Rim Worlds Open Ports to Refugees — HoloNet News Vol. 531 #52 (content now obsolete; backup link)
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 The Old Republic—The Lost Suns 4
  8. ↑ In The Old Republic—The Lost Suns 4, Theron Shan mentions that Ngani Zho took him to Monastery at the age of five. The Old Republic: Annihilation sets Shan's birth year at 3666 BBY, meaning that he visited Monastery around 3661 BBY.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Star Wars (1977) 36
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