History of the Jedi Order
As told by Mace Windu - Co-founder | Appended by: Obi-Wan Kenobi - Co-founder
Chapter I: The New Jedi Order
The Jedi Order is currently a Jedi Knight III: Jedi Academy gaming organization. Created by three original members in March 2000, it was originally known as the New Jedi Order. Obi-Wan and the brothers Mace Windu and Ki-Ad-Mundi had become partners and close friends, and learned much about the Jedi way and how to run a successful clan. When the time was right, the three Jedi left the ICJ on good terms and established their new clan. With their skills in diplomacy and fighting, their Jedi philosophies, noble intentions and beautiful website created by Obi-Wan, they knew that the new clan was destined to be a force in the gaming community. Realizing that having only one leader was a weakness, the 3 jedi formed the Jedi Council and took seats upon it. Some members from ICJ were accepted as the first members, and slowly but surely the NJO began to expand. NJO welcomed many new members, friends and allies into their tightly-knit community.
Chapter II: Out with the “New”…
Several months after the creation of the New Jedi Order, certain members of the clan began tossing around the idea of a change in name. The strong clan, which was now nearing its one-year anniversary, its values and its members were no longer “new” entities (and much of the clan’s base and member names were taken from the prequel Star Wars movies, as opposed to the popular New Jedi Order novel series), the idea was to make the subtle, yet powerful, identity change to “JO” – The Jedi Order. The members were very much split on what should be done. Some wished to keep the name for its traditional value, while others wanted to make the change for a practical future. After much heated debate, the change was finally made just prior to the coming of the year 2001. Despite the strong opinions and aggressive arguments, the new identity has proven quite fitting and would eventually become very popular throughout the MSN Gaming Zone and the gaming community.
Chapter III: Rivalries
As clans become more and more successful, they usually acquire more and more enemies. This was no different for the Jedi Order, who stumbled upon its own notable rivalries throughout the years. Some time after the aquisition of the new tag, two players entered a JO-hosted game and claimed that the Jedi Order had stolen their identity: that they were the first and only Jedi Order clan. Since these two players were a TCP/IP only clan and new to the Zone, they decided they would try to join the already popular Zone-based JO. They became really upset when he was denied membership on account of brash behavior and unreliable internet connections, and declared war on JO for the rights to the name. JO reluctantly accepted (as physical conflict is the Jedi’s last resort and JO had no problem with sharing the name), sending Rage, apprentice to Jedi Knight Qui-Gon Jinn, to battle the assailants. Rage easily won the battles and was awarded the title Jedi Knight. The offenders kept their word and left the Jedi Order’s name where it belonged, and would later start their own clan, the Jedi Academy. JA was a successful clan, overall, for its time. Much to the annoyance of the High Council, JA seemed to adopt many of their ideas from JO. JA survived for a long time under the leadership of Bruck Chun, and many attempts were made to establish peace between the two clans. JA did not last forever, though, and some of its members have since joined JO, while others have made attempts at reviving their beloved Academy. During the rise of the Jedi Academy, JO was about to witness the loss of several key members. Jedi Knights Rage and NightWing saw JO’s senior members (especially Obi-Wan) as corrupt, manipulative and intolerable. Eeth Koth and Saesee Tiin, two highly-skilled fighters who for the most part kept to themselves during confrontations, simply sought an environment that focused more on competition, and less on Jedi philosophy. Thus, Aeros de Pherô (AP) was born. Rai Kahn, a new addition to the Jedi Council, also contributed to the anti-JO propaganda and left JO at this time, becoming a leader in the Jedi Cynosure. Though some members were more involved in the arguing than others, there was much animosity between JO and the much smaller AP. Koth would eventually rejoin JO under good terms followed shortly by his good friend and former Apprentice, NightWing, who apologized for his emotional outbursts of hatred and disgust toward Obi-Wan.
Chapter IV: Bitter Differences
Through summer 2001, the Jedi Order began growing at an extremely fast rate, and with the vast waves of new members came vast waves of new problems. Though each candidate was evaluated thoroughly, and all would normally fit into the clan very well, it became difficult to keep track of everything. As a result of many new members, the number of students heavily outweighed the number of teachers, and a lot of students felt left behind as progression was quite slow. The creation of “Mara’s Bar & Grill,” a message board within the Holochamber where members could post and speak about anything unrelated to JO or Star Wars, became problematic as well. Questions of what belongs and what doesn’t belong, when moderators should interfere and when they shouldn’t, led to frustration, arguments and sharp differences in opinion. JO slowly began to unravel from the tightly unified clan it once was, as members seemed to gravitate toward “cliques” comprised of their closest friends. A popular member at the time was a spunky female Jedi Knight named Mara Jade. Her personality, which was like an emotional rollercoaster, allowed her to be adored by everyone – everyone, that is, except those who resented her for it. Some believed her to be manipulating other members for her own personal gain. As it would turn out, those members may have been right. Towards the end of that summer, Mara Jade confessed to have been lying about her identity and all personal information she had displayed, even her (his) gender. Once again, the entire clan was split down the middle on what should be done about the situation. Some felt that the deceiver should be removed, while others thought that the Council should show mercy as no rule was directly broken.
Chapter V: The Split
Given JO’s predicament of steeply diverse values, certain Council members had an even more controversial idea. The plan was to create a Council composed of pre-selected individuals and wipe the roster completely clean, and change the Jedi Order’s abbreviation from JO to “J.” Any member who wished to remain would have to make an official request and be re-evaluated. It was a risky step, but the selected new Councilors decided it was best. The new Council was comprised of the three founders (including Ki-Ad-Mundi, who at this time was slipping into an unfortunate state of inactivity that would end his career for a long time to come) and the members whom were considered to be the most experienced and most trustworthy. To everyone’s surprise, though, the new Council also included Bruck Chun. Chun owned the rights on the Zone to the J abbreviation, and to get obtain it from him, the new Council was forced to appoint him. Assuming his rash behavior would get him kicked out sooner or later, the Council offered Chun a position and he quickly jumped at it, leaving his JA clan behind, and the change from JO to J was official. Chun, deemed an incapable leader, due to his spiteful behavior toward others, was representative of the very reasons that JO was forced to split in half. He was removed from the Council and returned to his Jedi Academy. Within two months, the leaders of the Jedi Order felt as if they had abandoned a strong tradition, and swiftly converted back to the popular JO abbreviation. As JO (or J, at the time) was engaging in the rebuilding phase, certain members, who were unhappy with the recent events, banded together and formed their own clan. At first, they refused to remove their JO tags and angrily argued that they had more right to use them than the true Jedi Order. They then began to use the NJ0 tag, taking on the New Jedi Order name. In an attempt to resolve the dispute, Obi-Wan offered them the tag NJO and the name New Jedi Order, having kept the rights to the name from the Jedi Order's past. Among these members were Soltari, Shadius Ki-Sol, Mara Jade, Nomi Sunrider, Releana, and others. NJ0 was successful in establishing a unique Jedi Code, and offered the MSN Gaming Zone another friendly Jedi clan. Despite the natural relationship between the mother and daughter clans, peace was never firmly established. Bitter feelings still lingered between them, and although they never considered each other enemies, a mutual alliance was abandoned indefinitely after many attempts by ambassadors from both Councils. NJO rivaled JO in terms of size for some time, but its foundation did not withstand the test of time. NJO unraveled, as those loyal to JO feared it would. As NJO faded away, some of its members would come back to, or join for the first time, the still-strong JO.
Chapter VI: Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast
By 2002, Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II had been a popular, award-winning multiplayer game for five years. Countless fans were anticipating the release of the sequel, Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, especially after Lucas Arts’ plans to release Episode I: Obi-Wan for internet play had been scrapped, and it had been released as a 4th-rate console title. Although the 2002 release of JK2 had everyone excited, it meant a lot of work for the Jedi Order. Fortunately, it was announced that JK2 would be hosted by the MSN Gaming Zone, but there were still many questions to be answered. How will a new game affect member ranks? What will be done about the website? What new Force powers will members be allowed to use? What if certain members can’t purchase, or properly run, the high-powered sequel? The Council discussed for many hours, and came up with some key plans. Firstly, upon release the current Jedi Masters planned to name themselves Jedi Knights once again. Secondly, all Knights were required to pass a “certification” test, which meant their fighting skills must be up to par before they can teach others. Obi-Wan put a lot of work into a constructing website with a brand-new, eye-catching format that would last a long time. Fortunately, most members were able to switch over to the new game and were very happy with it. The Council discussed the possibility of a “JK1 Division” if a significant amount of members could not make the change, but that did not prove to be a problem.
Chapter VII: Passing the Torch
In fall of 2002, JO experienced what at first seemed to be a major tragedy. Obi-Wan, Mace Windu, Soltari and Garen, all High Councilors, gathered one day and realized that their time in JO was coming to an end. Although they all had their own individual reasons for retiring, they decided to do it all in one post on the same day. Even worse, Obi-Wan and Mace decided that the clan they had cherished for so long should and could not exist without them. The good-bye thread explained that the site would be taken down within days, and if the clan wished to continue on, they would have to start everything from scratch. But they were wrong. The eldest, most experienced members of the clan should have known that the clan they worked so hard to make so strong would not die that easily. Perhaps this seeming tragedy was a blessing in disguise: a passing of the torch. If the Jedi were to get up from this sudden blow, it would call for the up-and-coming leaders to step up and take charge. After the loss had settled in, even the youngest students were optimistic that they could make it over the hurdle laid before them, and that was the key: optimism. This optimism urged members such as Eeth Koth, Drago and Yoda to play a bigger role in Council activities that were normally handled by the senior members such as Obi-Wan and Mace. When they saw this, Obi-Wan and Mace agreed that they had been wrong, apologized, and handed full web control over to JO’s Council. Although things were looking down at first, the Jedi moved on with great resilience that would make any leader proud. Eeth Koth was an old-timer who had been around since the early days of the New Jedi Order, but was generally pretty quiet in clan affairs. Drago and Yoda were newer additions to the Council who still had much to learn, but would pass their initial tests with flying colors.
Chapter VIII: Returning Members
In the following months, JO finally seemed to be getting back on its feet. Interest and activity were at high points. While Eeth and Yoda taught in-game classes, Numa Rar held many interesting discussions about Jedi Philosophy that were quite popular. She also contributed much to the Jedi Archives, or as it was known at that time, the Council of First Knowledge. But as time went on, the clan seemed to be heading toward major division once again. Atop of this division were Eeth Koth and Yoda, two shining Jedi Masters who had respect for each other yet developed their own followings. Some members seemed more loyal to the newer, more sociable Yoda while others seemed loyal to the more experienced, yet still upcoming, Koth. Watching these events from the outside was Mace Windu (as retired influential members usually do), who had earlier left the clan with no intentions of returning. But suddenly in early March 2003, some six months after the blockbuster departure, Windu made a humble request to his old friend, Eeth Koth. After brief discussion, the Council allowed Mace back into the Jedi Order as an uncertified Jedi Knight, and offered him a position on the High Council and the Council of Reconciliation, which Mace gladly accepted. Over a month later, Mace received a message from his close friend Soltari, saying he, too, wished to rejoin. Soltari was also accepted as an uncertified Jedi Knight, and would eventually receive an offer for his old Council position. Although many members have come and gone through the Jedi Order, a large number of its retired members always return, even if for only a short while.
Chapter IX: The Dark Academy
In the weeks after Mace’s return to the High Council, the power struggle between Eeth and Yoda seemed to balance to a more peaceful level, although Yoda still seemed to have some pretty loyal followers and continued to take on a heavy load of responsibilities. Yet for some reasons, Yoda remained unhappy through the days leading to his departure. One of Yoda’s close friends was Rain: a Jedi Knight who in his earlier days was seen to have behavioral problems, and had been considered for removal. It was soon to happen again. Toward the end of March, the Council unanimously agreed to remove Rain from the Jedi Order, and several members were left confused and unhappy about this decision. Not long after, Yoda made the announcement that he was leaving the Jedi Order. Whether these two events are linked is unknown, as Yoda kept most of his reasons for leaving to himself. Following him were a few of his close friends: Knights and Students alike. Most of these former members would go on to form the Dark Academy, which, much like the New Jedi Order before, would have a hard time keeping friendly relations with JO despite their close connections.
Chapter X: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy
Lucas Arts and Raven Software had announced a September 2003 release of the newest installment in the Jedi Knight series, called Jedi Academy. The announcement came to a surprise, as Jedi Outcast was a successful sequel and only a year old. The news of JK3 was especially exciting because it boasted new features on the same engine, such as new weapons and player-controlled vehicles. Although there was less time to prepare, most of JO’s leaders at this time had gone through the process of switching games before, and were ready to make the necessary adjustments. However, it was made clear that the MSN Gaming Zone would not support Jedi Academy for internet play. While JO was still playing JK2, there had been some talks about leaving the Zone and purchasing a dedicated server for consistent internet play. Although it hadn’t happened before, it became a necessity now. Soltari and Eeth Koth put in considerable amounts of time finding a dedicated server, managing money and moderating settings, which enabled JO to play and enforce its rules much more smoothly. Again, the Jedi Masters named themselves Jedi Knights upon the game’s official release, and the Jedi Order adjusted to the new game rather well.
Chapter XII: The Rise and Fall of Obi-Wan Kenobi
The equillibrium of the Order continued for many months after Jedi Academy's release; where new talent was found throughout the gaming community, and older members such as Aayla Secura and Mace Windu came and went. Some of the most respected members of JO's time departed, such as Auron, but there was always rising members to fill their places.
It was around November 2005 when the Jedi Order would see one of it's founding members re-appear on the scene. Obi-Wan was a key member in the foundation of the Jedi Order; contributing to its code and regulations. When he returned to the Jedi Order after many, many years, he had not played Jedi Academy and there were few members who recognised him. Having spent around 2 months adjusting to the game, Obi-Wan was re-allected onto the governing body of the organization, the Council. It was not, at first, apparent that there was an unparalel mix of personalities on the Council. Everyone saw the unifying goals of the Order, but it was the methods in which those goals were attained that caused disagreement. It was from this point that Obi-Wan attempted to gain more control of the order, and was not afraid to explain that he was a founding member, so he should have his voice heard, or obeyed. Maverick, a leading Councillor up to the point where Obi-Wan returned, was asked to step down from the Council. New Councillors were allected such as Kypton Vortex and Oberon Bandon. All the while, the Council were oblivious the fact that Obi-Wan had complete control over the website and forums, so little could be done to stop Obi-Wan when he decided to resign. After weeks of deviance, the Council politely asked Obi-Wan to step down from the Council, as he had made several attempts to blackmail the other members, meaning that his bidding had to be done. Seeing the obvious aura of dictatorship, it was the Council's duty to ask Obi-Wan to step down from the Council.
Obi-Wan's reaction was expected by some, and not so expected by others. Obi-Wan chose to leave the Jedi Order. In his leaving post, he claimed the Jedi Order was a “shadow” of its former self and that because he was no longer a Councillor, he must “cleanse” himself of the JO. Which meant that the forums, the website, the server and the entire community would temporarily shut down. Thanks to the fast work of the remaining Councillors, though, a new website and forums were quickly established, with a server soon to come. Lessons were learnt. Never again would the Order put itself in a position where one member could put it back so much, despite what they'd done for it in the past.
It took weeks of dedication to get the Jedi Order back on the rails, but it survived, with the majority of the structure and roster intact. Prominent female member Serra Ketto eventually left due to time constraints, as did Oberon Bandon.
Epilogue: In a Nutshell
The Jedi Order has been running since the first quarter of the year 2000, and has remained one of the more successful Star Wars gaming clans on the internet: in terms of longevity, number of members, quality of members, and just about any applicable quality imaginable. One reason for this is the ability to learn from a long, storied past. Quality members have no problem admitting their mistakes, but they rarely make them twice. The biggest factor behind JO’s success, though, is the attitude found in each member. Even a student who has no responsibilities next to their name on the roster can play a big role in the clan’s success, simply by being sociable, enjoying the game and respecting other players. It’s a positive outlook that makes a clan fun, and the Jedi Order is definitely a fun clan for a serious Jedi.
As told by Mace Windu - Co-founder | Appended by: Obi-Wan Kenobi - Co-founder
Chapter I: The New Jedi Order
The Jedi Order is currently a Jedi Knight III: Jedi Academy gaming organization. Created by three original members in March 2000, it was originally known as the New Jedi Order. Obi-Wan and the brothers Mace Windu and Ki-Ad-Mundi had become partners and close friends, and learned much about the Jedi way and how to run a successful clan. When the time was right, the three Jedi left the ICJ on good terms and established their new clan. With their skills in diplomacy and fighting, their Jedi philosophies, noble intentions and beautiful website created by Obi-Wan, they knew that the new clan was destined to be a force in the gaming community. Realizing that having only one leader was a weakness, the 3 jedi formed the Jedi Council and took seats upon it. Some members from ICJ were accepted as the first members, and slowly but surely the NJO began to expand. NJO welcomed many new members, friends and allies into their tightly-knit community.
Chapter II: Out with the “New”…
Several months after the creation of the New Jedi Order, certain members of the clan began tossing around the idea of a change in name. The strong clan, which was now nearing its one-year anniversary, its values and its members were no longer “new” entities (and much of the clan’s base and member names were taken from the prequel Star Wars movies, as opposed to the popular New Jedi Order novel series), the idea was to make the subtle, yet powerful, identity change to “JO” – The Jedi Order. The members were very much split on what should be done. Some wished to keep the name for its traditional value, while others wanted to make the change for a practical future. After much heated debate, the change was finally made just prior to the coming of the year 2001. Despite the strong opinions and aggressive arguments, the new identity has proven quite fitting and would eventually become very popular throughout the MSN Gaming Zone and the gaming community.
Chapter III: Rivalries
As clans become more and more successful, they usually acquire more and more enemies. This was no different for the Jedi Order, who stumbled upon its own notable rivalries throughout the years. Some time after the aquisition of the new tag, two players entered a JO-hosted game and claimed that the Jedi Order had stolen their identity: that they were the first and only Jedi Order clan. Since these two players were a TCP/IP only clan and new to the Zone, they decided they would try to join the already popular Zone-based JO. They became really upset when he was denied membership on account of brash behavior and unreliable internet connections, and declared war on JO for the rights to the name. JO reluctantly accepted (as physical conflict is the Jedi’s last resort and JO had no problem with sharing the name), sending Rage, apprentice to Jedi Knight Qui-Gon Jinn, to battle the assailants. Rage easily won the battles and was awarded the title Jedi Knight. The offenders kept their word and left the Jedi Order’s name where it belonged, and would later start their own clan, the Jedi Academy. JA was a successful clan, overall, for its time. Much to the annoyance of the High Council, JA seemed to adopt many of their ideas from JO. JA survived for a long time under the leadership of Bruck Chun, and many attempts were made to establish peace between the two clans. JA did not last forever, though, and some of its members have since joined JO, while others have made attempts at reviving their beloved Academy. During the rise of the Jedi Academy, JO was about to witness the loss of several key members. Jedi Knights Rage and NightWing saw JO’s senior members (especially Obi-Wan) as corrupt, manipulative and intolerable. Eeth Koth and Saesee Tiin, two highly-skilled fighters who for the most part kept to themselves during confrontations, simply sought an environment that focused more on competition, and less on Jedi philosophy. Thus, Aeros de Pherô (AP) was born. Rai Kahn, a new addition to the Jedi Council, also contributed to the anti-JO propaganda and left JO at this time, becoming a leader in the Jedi Cynosure. Though some members were more involved in the arguing than others, there was much animosity between JO and the much smaller AP. Koth would eventually rejoin JO under good terms followed shortly by his good friend and former Apprentice, NightWing, who apologized for his emotional outbursts of hatred and disgust toward Obi-Wan.
Chapter IV: Bitter Differences
Through summer 2001, the Jedi Order began growing at an extremely fast rate, and with the vast waves of new members came vast waves of new problems. Though each candidate was evaluated thoroughly, and all would normally fit into the clan very well, it became difficult to keep track of everything. As a result of many new members, the number of students heavily outweighed the number of teachers, and a lot of students felt left behind as progression was quite slow. The creation of “Mara’s Bar & Grill,” a message board within the Holochamber where members could post and speak about anything unrelated to JO or Star Wars, became problematic as well. Questions of what belongs and what doesn’t belong, when moderators should interfere and when they shouldn’t, led to frustration, arguments and sharp differences in opinion. JO slowly began to unravel from the tightly unified clan it once was, as members seemed to gravitate toward “cliques” comprised of their closest friends. A popular member at the time was a spunky female Jedi Knight named Mara Jade. Her personality, which was like an emotional rollercoaster, allowed her to be adored by everyone – everyone, that is, except those who resented her for it. Some believed her to be manipulating other members for her own personal gain. As it would turn out, those members may have been right. Towards the end of that summer, Mara Jade confessed to have been lying about her identity and all personal information she had displayed, even her (his) gender. Once again, the entire clan was split down the middle on what should be done about the situation. Some felt that the deceiver should be removed, while others thought that the Council should show mercy as no rule was directly broken.
Chapter V: The Split
Given JO’s predicament of steeply diverse values, certain Council members had an even more controversial idea. The plan was to create a Council composed of pre-selected individuals and wipe the roster completely clean, and change the Jedi Order’s abbreviation from JO to “J.” Any member who wished to remain would have to make an official request and be re-evaluated. It was a risky step, but the selected new Councilors decided it was best. The new Council was comprised of the three founders (including Ki-Ad-Mundi, who at this time was slipping into an unfortunate state of inactivity that would end his career for a long time to come) and the members whom were considered to be the most experienced and most trustworthy. To everyone’s surprise, though, the new Council also included Bruck Chun. Chun owned the rights on the Zone to the J abbreviation, and to get obtain it from him, the new Council was forced to appoint him. Assuming his rash behavior would get him kicked out sooner or later, the Council offered Chun a position and he quickly jumped at it, leaving his JA clan behind, and the change from JO to J was official. Chun, deemed an incapable leader, due to his spiteful behavior toward others, was representative of the very reasons that JO was forced to split in half. He was removed from the Council and returned to his Jedi Academy. Within two months, the leaders of the Jedi Order felt as if they had abandoned a strong tradition, and swiftly converted back to the popular JO abbreviation. As JO (or J, at the time) was engaging in the rebuilding phase, certain members, who were unhappy with the recent events, banded together and formed their own clan. At first, they refused to remove their JO tags and angrily argued that they had more right to use them than the true Jedi Order. They then began to use the NJ0 tag, taking on the New Jedi Order name. In an attempt to resolve the dispute, Obi-Wan offered them the tag NJO and the name New Jedi Order, having kept the rights to the name from the Jedi Order's past. Among these members were Soltari, Shadius Ki-Sol, Mara Jade, Nomi Sunrider, Releana, and others. NJ0 was successful in establishing a unique Jedi Code, and offered the MSN Gaming Zone another friendly Jedi clan. Despite the natural relationship between the mother and daughter clans, peace was never firmly established. Bitter feelings still lingered between them, and although they never considered each other enemies, a mutual alliance was abandoned indefinitely after many attempts by ambassadors from both Councils. NJO rivaled JO in terms of size for some time, but its foundation did not withstand the test of time. NJO unraveled, as those loyal to JO feared it would. As NJO faded away, some of its members would come back to, or join for the first time, the still-strong JO.
Chapter VI: Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast
By 2002, Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II had been a popular, award-winning multiplayer game for five years. Countless fans were anticipating the release of the sequel, Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, especially after Lucas Arts’ plans to release Episode I: Obi-Wan for internet play had been scrapped, and it had been released as a 4th-rate console title. Although the 2002 release of JK2 had everyone excited, it meant a lot of work for the Jedi Order. Fortunately, it was announced that JK2 would be hosted by the MSN Gaming Zone, but there were still many questions to be answered. How will a new game affect member ranks? What will be done about the website? What new Force powers will members be allowed to use? What if certain members can’t purchase, or properly run, the high-powered sequel? The Council discussed for many hours, and came up with some key plans. Firstly, upon release the current Jedi Masters planned to name themselves Jedi Knights once again. Secondly, all Knights were required to pass a “certification” test, which meant their fighting skills must be up to par before they can teach others. Obi-Wan put a lot of work into a constructing website with a brand-new, eye-catching format that would last a long time. Fortunately, most members were able to switch over to the new game and were very happy with it. The Council discussed the possibility of a “JK1 Division” if a significant amount of members could not make the change, but that did not prove to be a problem.
Chapter VII: Passing the Torch
In fall of 2002, JO experienced what at first seemed to be a major tragedy. Obi-Wan, Mace Windu, Soltari and Garen, all High Councilors, gathered one day and realized that their time in JO was coming to an end. Although they all had their own individual reasons for retiring, they decided to do it all in one post on the same day. Even worse, Obi-Wan and Mace decided that the clan they had cherished for so long should and could not exist without them. The good-bye thread explained that the site would be taken down within days, and if the clan wished to continue on, they would have to start everything from scratch. But they were wrong. The eldest, most experienced members of the clan should have known that the clan they worked so hard to make so strong would not die that easily. Perhaps this seeming tragedy was a blessing in disguise: a passing of the torch. If the Jedi were to get up from this sudden blow, it would call for the up-and-coming leaders to step up and take charge. After the loss had settled in, even the youngest students were optimistic that they could make it over the hurdle laid before them, and that was the key: optimism. This optimism urged members such as Eeth Koth, Drago and Yoda to play a bigger role in Council activities that were normally handled by the senior members such as Obi-Wan and Mace. When they saw this, Obi-Wan and Mace agreed that they had been wrong, apologized, and handed full web control over to JO’s Council. Although things were looking down at first, the Jedi moved on with great resilience that would make any leader proud. Eeth Koth was an old-timer who had been around since the early days of the New Jedi Order, but was generally pretty quiet in clan affairs. Drago and Yoda were newer additions to the Council who still had much to learn, but would pass their initial tests with flying colors.
Chapter VIII: Returning Members
In the following months, JO finally seemed to be getting back on its feet. Interest and activity were at high points. While Eeth and Yoda taught in-game classes, Numa Rar held many interesting discussions about Jedi Philosophy that were quite popular. She also contributed much to the Jedi Archives, or as it was known at that time, the Council of First Knowledge. But as time went on, the clan seemed to be heading toward major division once again. Atop of this division were Eeth Koth and Yoda, two shining Jedi Masters who had respect for each other yet developed their own followings. Some members seemed more loyal to the newer, more sociable Yoda while others seemed loyal to the more experienced, yet still upcoming, Koth. Watching these events from the outside was Mace Windu (as retired influential members usually do), who had earlier left the clan with no intentions of returning. But suddenly in early March 2003, some six months after the blockbuster departure, Windu made a humble request to his old friend, Eeth Koth. After brief discussion, the Council allowed Mace back into the Jedi Order as an uncertified Jedi Knight, and offered him a position on the High Council and the Council of Reconciliation, which Mace gladly accepted. Over a month later, Mace received a message from his close friend Soltari, saying he, too, wished to rejoin. Soltari was also accepted as an uncertified Jedi Knight, and would eventually receive an offer for his old Council position. Although many members have come and gone through the Jedi Order, a large number of its retired members always return, even if for only a short while.
Chapter IX: The Dark Academy
In the weeks after Mace’s return to the High Council, the power struggle between Eeth and Yoda seemed to balance to a more peaceful level, although Yoda still seemed to have some pretty loyal followers and continued to take on a heavy load of responsibilities. Yet for some reasons, Yoda remained unhappy through the days leading to his departure. One of Yoda’s close friends was Rain: a Jedi Knight who in his earlier days was seen to have behavioral problems, and had been considered for removal. It was soon to happen again. Toward the end of March, the Council unanimously agreed to remove Rain from the Jedi Order, and several members were left confused and unhappy about this decision. Not long after, Yoda made the announcement that he was leaving the Jedi Order. Whether these two events are linked is unknown, as Yoda kept most of his reasons for leaving to himself. Following him were a few of his close friends: Knights and Students alike. Most of these former members would go on to form the Dark Academy, which, much like the New Jedi Order before, would have a hard time keeping friendly relations with JO despite their close connections.
Chapter X: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy
Lucas Arts and Raven Software had announced a September 2003 release of the newest installment in the Jedi Knight series, called Jedi Academy. The announcement came to a surprise, as Jedi Outcast was a successful sequel and only a year old. The news of JK3 was especially exciting because it boasted new features on the same engine, such as new weapons and player-controlled vehicles. Although there was less time to prepare, most of JO’s leaders at this time had gone through the process of switching games before, and were ready to make the necessary adjustments. However, it was made clear that the MSN Gaming Zone would not support Jedi Academy for internet play. While JO was still playing JK2, there had been some talks about leaving the Zone and purchasing a dedicated server for consistent internet play. Although it hadn’t happened before, it became a necessity now. Soltari and Eeth Koth put in considerable amounts of time finding a dedicated server, managing money and moderating settings, which enabled JO to play and enforce its rules much more smoothly. Again, the Jedi Masters named themselves Jedi Knights upon the game’s official release, and the Jedi Order adjusted to the new game rather well.
Chapter XII: The Rise and Fall of Obi-Wan Kenobi
The equillibrium of the Order continued for many months after Jedi Academy's release; where new talent was found throughout the gaming community, and older members such as Aayla Secura and Mace Windu came and went. Some of the most respected members of JO's time departed, such as Auron, but there was always rising members to fill their places.
It was around November 2005 when the Jedi Order would see one of it's founding members re-appear on the scene. Obi-Wan was a key member in the foundation of the Jedi Order; contributing to its code and regulations. When he returned to the Jedi Order after many, many years, he had not played Jedi Academy and there were few members who recognised him. Having spent around 2 months adjusting to the game, Obi-Wan was re-allected onto the governing body of the organization, the Council. It was not, at first, apparent that there was an unparalel mix of personalities on the Council. Everyone saw the unifying goals of the Order, but it was the methods in which those goals were attained that caused disagreement. It was from this point that Obi-Wan attempted to gain more control of the order, and was not afraid to explain that he was a founding member, so he should have his voice heard, or obeyed. Maverick, a leading Councillor up to the point where Obi-Wan returned, was asked to step down from the Council. New Councillors were allected such as Kypton Vortex and Oberon Bandon. All the while, the Council were oblivious the fact that Obi-Wan had complete control over the website and forums, so little could be done to stop Obi-Wan when he decided to resign. After weeks of deviance, the Council politely asked Obi-Wan to step down from the Council, as he had made several attempts to blackmail the other members, meaning that his bidding had to be done. Seeing the obvious aura of dictatorship, it was the Council's duty to ask Obi-Wan to step down from the Council.
Obi-Wan's reaction was expected by some, and not so expected by others. Obi-Wan chose to leave the Jedi Order. In his leaving post, he claimed the Jedi Order was a “shadow” of its former self and that because he was no longer a Councillor, he must “cleanse” himself of the JO. Which meant that the forums, the website, the server and the entire community would temporarily shut down. Thanks to the fast work of the remaining Councillors, though, a new website and forums were quickly established, with a server soon to come. Lessons were learnt. Never again would the Order put itself in a position where one member could put it back so much, despite what they'd done for it in the past.
It took weeks of dedication to get the Jedi Order back on the rails, but it survived, with the majority of the structure and roster intact. Prominent female member Serra Ketto eventually left due to time constraints, as did Oberon Bandon.
Epilogue: In a Nutshell
The Jedi Order has been running since the first quarter of the year 2000, and has remained one of the more successful Star Wars gaming clans on the internet: in terms of longevity, number of members, quality of members, and just about any applicable quality imaginable. One reason for this is the ability to learn from a long, storied past. Quality members have no problem admitting their mistakes, but they rarely make them twice. The biggest factor behind JO’s success, though, is the attitude found in each member. Even a student who has no responsibilities next to their name on the roster can play a big role in the clan’s success, simply by being sociable, enjoying the game and respecting other players. It’s a positive outlook that makes a clan fun, and the Jedi Order is definitely a fun clan for a serious Jedi.