Showing posts with label Fantasy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fantasy. Show all posts

18 December 2023

Kaiburr Crystal


Kaiburr crystals are Force-attuned crystals that grow rarely but throughout the Galaxy, with some areas having a greater abundance than others. The crystals concentrate energy in a unique manner through the Force, resonating with it.

Internally, kaiburr crystals are composed of both organic and inorganic matter. They are stable at temperatures and pressures found in the cores of stars and gas giants, and are thus resistant to heat and physical stresses. The crystals grow in an organized way, adding to their prismatic structure one piece at a time, and thus can be found from sizes as small as a fingernail to gigantic proportions. All kaiburr crystals are attuned to the Force regardless of their size.

Kaiburr crystals are most notably found in the Adega system, though a fair amount of these crystals can also be found on the planets Ilum, Dantooine, Halm, and Mygeeto. They are a critical component in the construction of most lightsabers, generating the energy which forms the weapon's distinct laser blade. Force adepts travel to crystal deposits to harvest their own crystals, which they then use to build their lightsabers. Crystals lack colour before they are chosen by Force adepts. Once chosen, the crystals are meditated upon with the Force, upon which they attain hues influenced by the adepts' psyches or preferences.

The crystals are noted for their unmatched ability to channel energy and generate enormous returns. If a crystal's subjected to forceful attempts to harness its innate power, it will "flee" such attempts, hindering those that seek to use it against its will. Only Force adepts can easily harness the power of the kaiburr crystal. This is done either by the adept forming a rapport with the crystal or by using the Force to dominate the crystal, bending it to their will.

The ancient Sith made prodigious use of kaiburr crystals in the construction of their warblades, amulets, holocrons, and most other technology. During the Great Hyperspace War, superweapons were developed by the Dark Lord Naga Sadow that were powered by giant kaiburr crystals. These superweapons were capable of destroying whole stars by reaching into their depths and wrenching out their cores, destabilizing them, causing them to go supernova. The modern lightsaber was also an innovation of the Sith. While the lightsaber was invented by the Jedi after the Great Schism, leaving the Exiles who became the Sith ignorant of the technology, a number of laser swords came into the Sith's possession during the Great Hyperspace War. They were quick to modify the weapons to replace the cumbersome external power packs and restrictive power cords with internally set kaiburr crystals, considerably improving lightsaber ergonomics. The Jedi adapted the use of kaiburr crystals in the creation of their own lightsabers and holocrons following the war.

After the Proclamation of the New Order and the Great Jedi Purge, Emperor Palpatine and his Empire began construction of the Death Stars, twin battle stations capable of destroying entire planets. Kaiburr crystals were used as part of the Death Stars' superlasers, looted from lightsabers, holy sites, and worlds where they could be found.

29 March 2022

Star Wars Reconstructed Timeline

25,783 BBY

  • The Jedi Order is established.

18,053 BBY

  • The Galactic Republic is established.

7000-6900 BBY

  • The Hundred-Year Darkness occurs.

5000-4990 BBY

  • The Great Hyperspace War occurs.

4990-4989 BBY

  • The Sith Holocaust occurs.

3997-3992 BBY

  • The Krath Holy Crusade occurs.

3992-3990 BBY

  • The Great Sith War occurs.

3900 BBY

  • Alderaan is colonized by the Naboo, Human settlers from Grizmallt.

1076-1060 BBY

  • The Mandalorian Wars occur.

1059-1056 BBY

  • The Jedi-Sith War occurs.

1058 BBY

  • Dessel Bane is born to Hurst Bane and his wife on Apatros.

1056-1050 BBY

  • The Sith Civil War occurs.

1050-1042 BBY

  • A task force led by the Jedi master Skere Kaan is dispatched to vanquish the remnants of the New Sith Empire. In the process, Kaan and his Jedi fall to the dark side, creating the Brotherhood of Darkness.

1042-1032 BBY

  • The Light and Darkness War occurs.

1035 BBY

  • Dessel Bane joins the Brotherhood of Darkness.

1032-1000 BBY

  • Seeking to preserve the Sith legacy following the Battle of Ruusan, Dessel Bane searches the galaxy for Sith artifacts and lore. His hunt takes him to Prakith, final resting place of the unorthodox Sith Lord Andeddu, where he acquires the Holocron of Heresies. Consulting the holocron, influenced by Andeddu's philosophy, Bane creates the Rule of Two, limiting the Sith to two members at a time, one master and one apprentice, to spare his order from the infighting which destroyed the New Sith.

1010 BBY

  • Zannah is born on Somov Rit.

1000 BBY

  • The Ruusan Reformation occurs.
  • Zannah begins her Sith training under Dessel Bane.

990 BBY

  • Zannah becomes disillusioned with the Rule of Two, finding it too restrictive. Now at odds with Dessel Bane, she leaves him, fleeing to Serreno.
  • Hetton, an aged Serrenian nobleman and Sith aficionado, begins his Sith training under Zannah.
  • The Iktotchi bounty hunter, the Huntress, begins her Sith training under Bane.

990-980 BBY

  • Believing himself too old and weakened from the ravages of the dark side to complete the Huntress' training in the time he has left, Bane dissects the Holocron of Heresies for methods to stave off death. From it he extracts the knowledge of transferring his essence into another being.

980 BBY

  • Dessel Bane and the Huntress confront Zannah and Hetton. In the ensuing fight, Hetton is slain and Bane's body disintegrates as he attempts transferring his essence into Zannah's body. The transfer initially appears a failure, with Zannah retaining full awareness and control of her body. In the months to come, his personality gradually emerges, displacing hers.

980-850 BBY

  • The Huntress becomes Dessel Bane's host.
  • Grown disdainful of Sith tradition, motivated by pure egoism, Bane deems himself to have surpassed the Sith and abandons the Rule of Two for the Rule of One, committing apostacy.

896 BBY

  • Yoda is born.

700 BBY

  • Gardulla Besadii the Elder is born on Nal Hutta.

600 BBY

  • Jabba Desilijic Tiure is born to Zorba Desilijic Tiure on Nal Hutta.

200 BBY

  • Chewbacca is born to Attichitcuk and his mate on Kashyyyk.

189 BBY

  • Hego Damask is born to Caar Damask and one of his wives on Mygeeto.

150-121 BBY

  • The Gungan-Naboo War occurs.

140 BBY

  • Sheev Palpatine is born to Cosinga Palpatine and his wife.

131 BBY

  • Jorus C'baoth is born on Bortas.

123 BBY

  • Sheev Palpatine begins his dark side training under Bane/Damask.

109 BBY

  • C-3PO is activated on Affa.

109-107 BBY

  • Jorus C'baoth attends the Jedi training centre on Kamparas.

105 BBY

  • Jorus C'baoth completes his Jedi training.

93 BBY

  • Jorus C'baoth assumes the title of Jedi master.

92 BBY

  • Qui-Gon Jinn is born on Serreno.

91 BBY

  • Aika Lars is born.

90 BBY

  • Sheev Palpatine becomes Dessel Bane's host.

87 BBY

  • Cliegg Whitesun is born to Lef and Gredda Whitesun on Ator.

85 BBY

  • Aika Lars and her parents are captured by pirates and sold into slavery.
  • Jorus C'baoth conceives the Outbound Flight Project, a massive expedition of 50,000 colonists into the Unknown Regions and eventually beyond the Galactic Rim to the Rishi Maze.

83 BBY

  • Outbound Flight departs Yaga Minor.

82 BBY

  • Acquiring cloning technology from Spaarti Creations, Bane/Palpatine discontinues the difficult and risky procedure of transferring his essence into hapless protégés, choosing now to use mindless clone bodies as hosts for his spirit.

79 BBY

  • Qui-Gon Jinn begins training under Yoda.

77 BBY

  • Shmi Warka is born.

64 BBY

  • Asajj Ventress is born on Rattatak.

61 BBY

  • The Axis of Spaarti, commanding an army of clone soldiers, secedes from the Republic.

60 BBY

  • Ben Lars (Obi-Wan Kenobi) is born to Aika Lars on C-Faroon.

58 BBY

  • Siri Tachi is born.

57 BBY

  • Gardulla transfers ownership of Aika and Ben Lars to Cliegg Whitesun.
  • Owen Lars is born to Aika Lars and Cliegg Whitesun on Taris.

55 BBY

  • Anakin and Beru Skywalker are born on Tatooine.

54 BBY

  • Bail Prestor Organa is born on Alderaan.

53 BBY

  • Nellith Arkady is born to Tan and Zara Arkady on Townowi.
  • Ahsoka Tano is born to Nak-Il and Pav-Ti Tano on Shili.

52 BBY

  • Gial Ackbar is born on Dac.
  • Anakin and Beru Skywalker are orphaned.

51 BBY

  • Yoda frees the Larses from slavery, relocating Aika and Owen Lars to Tatooine while Ben Lars accompanies him to Coruscant to begin his Jedi training.

50 BBY

  • Ahsoka Tano begins her Jedi training under Plo Koon.

48 BBY

  • Mon Mothma is born on Chandrila.

47 BBY

  • Darth Vader is born to Chlorian Vader and Shmi Warka on Jakku.
  • Asajj Ventress begins her Jedi training under Ky Narec.

47-37 BBY

  • Ky Narec is slain in battle. Consumed by rage and loss, Asajj Ventress leaves Rattatak. She eventually meets Qui-Gon Jinn, who becomes her new master.

45 BBY

  • The Mandalorian Death Watch stages a coup on Mandalore, overthrowing the pacifist New Mandalorian government.

43 BBY

  • Yoda is expelled from the Jedi Order.
  • Qui-Gon Jinn replaces Yoda as Ben Lars' Jedi master.

40 BBY

  • Several hundred systems sign the Treaty of Concordance with the Axis of Spaarti.
  • The events of Star Wars: Episode I occur.

37 BBY
  • The events of Star Wars: Episode II occur.

35 BBY

  • The events of Star Wars: Episode III occur.
  • Anakin Skywalker and Nellith Arkady are married.

32 BBY

  • The events of Star Wars: Episode IV occur.

29 BBY

  • Han Solo is born on Corellia.

24-22 BBY

  • The Rise of the New Order occurs.

22-1 BBY

  • The Great Jedi Purge occurs.

19 BBY

  • The events of Star Wars: Episode V – The Rise of Darth Vader occur.

18 BBY

  • Leia and Luke Skywalker are born to Nellith Skywalker.

17 BBY

  • Mara Jade is born.

16 BBY

  • Nellith Skywalker dies on Alderaan.

3 BBY

  • Ahsoka Tano is slain in a duel with Darth Vader on Malachor.

2 BBY

  • The Galactic Civil War begins.

0 BBY

  • The events of Star Wars: Episode VI – A New Hope occur.

3 ABY

  • The events of Star Wars: Episode VII – The Empire Strikes Back occur.

4 ABY

  • The events of Star Wars: Episode VIII – Return of the Jedi occur.

9 ABY

  • Jacen and Jaina Solo are born to Han Solo and Leia Organa Solo on Coruscant.

11 ABY

  • Anakin Solo is born to Han Solo and Leia Organa Solo on Coruscant.

19 ABY

  • The Galactic Civil War ends.

25-29 ABY

  • The events of Star Wars: Episode IX occur.
  • The events of Star Wars: Episode X occur.
  • The events of Star Wars: Episode XI occur.

27 ABY

  • Ben Skywalker is born to Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade Skywalker.

35 ABY

  • The events of Star Wars: Episode XII occur.

15 November 2021

The Legend of Zelda: Season One (Treatment)

I've only ever played Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, and a tiny bit of A Link to the Past, but I've always liked the world of The Legend of Zelda, so recently I've started delving more into the lore of the series, reading the mangas and watching walkthroughs on YouTube to beef up my knowledge. That inevitably got me to thinking how I'd go about adapting the games, either into a movie or a series. I decided TLOZ would work best in the form of a series. Then I started thinking about narrative and characterization. To me, OOT's quintessential TLOZ, but I wouldn't want to make this series a mere adaptation of that one game. I decided I'd use OOT as the basic template, keeping to the main beats, but including elements from other games/my own imagination as desired.

The following's a treatment for the first season, with character bios, lore, and the general plot.

* * *

TRIFORCE

According to the Hylian creation myth, the Triforce was created by the Triune Goddess after the foundation of the world, though its true antiquity and origins are ultimately unknown. The Triforce consists of three tetrahedrons of golden crystal: the Triforce of Power, the Triforce of Wisdom, and the Triforce of Courage. Each Triforce capable of bestowing immense power in its own right,  the combined Triforce can make its bearer a living god, though only someone balanced in power, wisdom, and courage can weild all three directly; the Triforce separates when apprehended by an unbalanced soul, two of the three Triforces dispersing to find hosts which embody their qualities.

Coveted by the ruthless and ambitious, the Triforce was the cause of many terrible wars and dynasties. To prevent further misuse, the Seven Sages sealed the Triforce away in the Dark World many centuries ago. The only entrance to the Dark World is in the Temple of Time, located deep in the Lost Woods. The gate's kept sealed by the Master Sword, which can only be drawn from its pedestal by a hero with a pure heart.

HYRULEAN CIVIL WAR

The Hyrulean Civil War was a series of armed conflicts fought amongst the kingdoms of the Hyrulean subcontinent. Instigated by the Hylian king Rhoam and perpetuated by his son Harkinian, it lasted several decades, ending with the unification of the realm under the Hylian banner. The Gorons, Rito, and Zora became vassals of the Hylians, while the Bokogoblins, Gerudo, Lizalfos, Molblins, etc. were hunted to near-extinction and dispossessed of their lands.

GANON


Ganon was born fifty-nine years before the end of the Hyrulean Civil War. His people, the Gerudo, had made their home on the Great Plateau, a lush and fertile land which had been coveted by the Hylians for ages long before the war. After the Gerudo were brought to heel, King Rhoam decreed that all Gerudo males and pregnant women be put to the sword, the surviving females exiled to the inhospitable desert to the west. Ganon's mother died with him still in her womb, but by a stroke of fate, he survived to be found by the twin sorceresses, Kotake and Koume. Raising him in secret away from even their fellow Gerudo, the sisters instructed him in their art, grooming him to become the Gerudo messiah.

At the appropriate age, Ganon took his place as leader of the Gerudo. Under his stewardship, the withering group of nomads settled in an uninhabited valley, where they were reforged into a tight-knit tribe of woman-warriors, taking what they needed in raids on the outlying settlements of the Hyrulean Empire. All the while Ganon remained in the shadows, content to let his favourite wife serve as figurehead until the time was ripe to reveal his existence to their enemies.

After Rhoam's death, long into the war, Ganon made his move. Making himself known to the Hylians, he travelled to Hyrule Castle. Kneeling before King Harkinian, he beseeched him for vassalage, offering his very life in exchange for peace between their peoples. His charisma won Harkinian over, earning the Gerudo his blessing. Following the Hyrulean Civil War, Ganon maintained the facade of a loyal vassal, but began brokering alliances with the marginalized peoples of Hyrule in secret, sowing the seeds of the Imprisoning War.

LINK


The Hylian boy Link was born towards the end of the Hyrulean Civil War. Orphaned when he was three years old, he was found in Faron Woods by the Deku, who sheltered him, raising him collectively. Essentially a feral child with only the mute Deku and telepathic/empathic Faeries of the forest for companions, Link lost whatever speech he had acquired from his parents, becoming mute. At the age of nine, Link was found by Talon, a rancher from Ordon Village. Befriending the boy, Talon took Link back with him to Lon Lon Ranch to raise alongside his two-year-old daughter, Malon.

When Link was sixteen, the Imprisoning War broke out. Drafted into the Hyrulean Forces, Link was shipped out to Central Hyrule, where he began his training at the castle as a soldier.

ZELDA



Princess Zelda grew up isolated on the grounds of Hyrule Castle. Raised largely by her caretaker, Impa, Zelda was totally unlike her indolent/indifferent parents. A precocious child, with an interest in the world beyond the castle walls, at the age of thirteen she began sneaking out of the castle, mixing with the common people under the alias "Tetra".

IMPRISONING WAR

Ganon learned of the Triforce from his surrogate mothers at a young age. He knew the talisman would grant him the power to liberate the subjugated races of Hyrule and establish a just new order. To gain access to the Temple of Time, he needed to first procure the Spiritual Stones to the sealed chamber housing the Master Sword. The Stone of Fire was with the Gorons, the Stone of Water with the Zora, and the Stone of Forest with the Royal Family of Hyrule. 

After befriending Darunia, the Goron king, Ganon was gifted the Stone of Fire. Darunia dispatched his warriors to the Zora domain to attain the Stone of Water. Harkinian sent two-thirds of his forces to assist the Zora, leaving a third behind to protect Central Hyrule. This was the opportunity Ganon had been biding his time for. With Harkinian's blessing, Ganon brought his forces to Hyrule Castle, ostensibly to reinforce the Hylian troops in the event of invasion. The Hylians were betrayed. The Gerudo staged a coup, smashing the Hylian defense and killing the king and queen. Impa, Zelda, a few knights, and a handful of trainees, including Link, escaped.

After the fall of the Zora, Ganon finally had all three Spiritual Stones in his possession. Now only the Lost Woods stood between him and the Triforce. The refugees from Hyrule Castle split into two camps; Impa would go alone with Zelda to a place of safety, leaving Link and the rest to stop Ganon at the Temple of Time.

Neither Link nor his comrades were able to prevent Ganon from penetrating the Temple of Time. With greater skills and experience, Ganon beat the boy to within an inch of his life. In a last-ditch effort to stop the Gerudo, Link grasped the hilt of the Master Sword and pulled it free, unsealing the portal to the Dark World. They were transported to the Temple of Light, finding themselves on a stone platform raised over a yawning abyss, the Triforce waiting on another platform across from them. Link came at Ganon with the Master Sword, but the Gerudo easily swatted him aside, casting the boy to the void below. Ganon then went to claim the Triforce.