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The Eye of Ashlanae, or The Sight was the headquarters of the Jedi High Council on Ossus and a meditative retreat built at the heart of the city of Knossa. Considered a great source of the Order's power, the entire facility was a vergence within the Force itself.
History
According to a legend that existed by the time of the Galactic Civil War, the site of the battle on Ossus took on sacred importance to the Jedi Order. In the planet's Eocho Mountains, the Jedi survivors of the First Great Schism allegedly each carved a block of stone the size of a bantha[1]—a creature from the planet Tatooine averaging 2.5 meters in height[2]—and, over the span of several weeks, levitated them to the site of the battle.[1]
There, the Jedi further shaped and fitted the boulders, constructing the fifty meter–tall ziggurat-shaped structure as a monument to their comrades who had perished in the battle. It was also said that a simple stone platform situated at the center of a chamber that was located deep beneath the structure coincided with the spot where the last blow of the First Great Schism was landed[1]—although the conflict had actually ended with the Jedi forces being victorious over the Lettow at[3] the Core planet of the same name.[4]
As the Eye of Ashlanae became a popular pilgrimage site for members of the Order, additional buildings began to take form around it. Over the millennia the city of Knossa took shape on the mountain slopes and fields that surrounded the Temple, and the city quickly became the heart of the Order on Ossus. With so many Jedi meditating at the site for millennia, the Eye of Ashlanae became a power vergence within the Force, making it the ideal cultural center for the Order's members. For nearly twenty-one thousand years the shrine stood, before its destruction during the Cron Supernova.
Layout and architecture
A squat ziggurat, the Eye of Ashlanae served as the center of Jedi culture for millennia at the heart of the city of Knossa. Constructed of stone mined at the base of the Eocho Mountains, Ashlanae was accessed by a wide staircase, which terminated at its grand entrance halfway up the pyramid. The main level of the pyramid was lined with meditation rooms where visited could reflect on those Jedi lost in the Schism. Upon its roof, the Jedi had crafted an intricate, circular vector design that was inlaid into the floor to represent an outward looking eye. Jedi Masters visited this site to meditate in large groups, with the capacity to fit one hundred pilgrims at a time.
While the rooftop was one of the most sacred sites within the structure, the catacombs beneath Ashlanae were hallowed ground. Rocky caverns penetrated deep into the mountains, leading into the many catacombs of the Order. At the heart of the catacombs was a simple stone platform, where legend said the final blow was delivered during the Schism. Around this platform were set twelve stone chairs, for members of the Jedi High Council to sit in deep contemplation and sort through the problems of the era. Looking both inward and outward, Jedi sought out the vergence within Ashlanae to ensure that their decisions were free of the taint of the dark side.