The Ark of Ryloth
The Ark of Rylothh
| Ark of Ryloth | |
| |
| Type | Fabled item |
The Ark of Ryloth, known also as the Twi`lek Ark, is a sacred chest plated with pure aurodium. On the lid of the Ark, surrounded by aurodium crowning, sit a pair of solid aurodium Twi’lek seraphim.
Two aurodium-plated poles, strung through a pair of rings on each side, allow the Ark to be carried by a team of bearers. Some ancient legends suggest that the bearers must be barefoot when carrying the Ark, but there is no modern confirmation of this.
History
It is not known when or why the Ark was created. Some believed it to have been a divine object from Twi’lek mythology, a legendary but non-real focus of old tales. Throughout history, other religions and sects have claimed it as their own. One theory suggests that the Ark allows sapient beings to commune with the Force. Much like its origins, its contents remain a mystery. Tales of unworthy individuals who tried to open the Ark suffering a particularly unpleasant death persist to this day. Some believe that it is an object that is not meant to be disturbed, and is to be feared like some haunted relic.
The Ark was lost for thousands of years, until Ryloth was occupied during the Clone Wars. At that time, a Separatist archaeological expedition discovered it in the Chamber of the Sacred Light, a secret subterranean temple located deep beneath the Jixuan Desert in Ryloth’s southern hemisphere. The location was guarded by a particularly fierce nest of lyleks and thousands of poisonous serpents, which explains why it had been lost to recorded history.
The Separatists took the Ark to Tanis Station, a clandestine deep-space facility used for storing war materiel. Almost forty years later, after a tip-off from a Separatist veteran, a special expedition was mounted to recover the Ark. The adventurers arrived at Tanis Station to find that the entire crew had vanished, leading some on the expedition to claim that the Ark itself destroyed the unworthy.
The Curious Story of its Current Owner
Currently, the Ark is in the possession of noted Force artifact collector Belloq Tull. Rumors persist that an unscrupulous art dealer sold the Ark to Belloq in Year 19, stored inside a ship drifting not far from the system of Concord Dawn.
Curiously, the dealer would not makeover the inexpensive ship along with the sale, which is standard procedure when making such sales. Waiting in secrecy aboard that ship was an agent of the Zann Consortium, whose mission was to trap and execute the Whiphid. Belloq was able to confirm the ambusher was present by performing a simple ship scan before he attempted to board the repository. Belloq also confirmed the presence of additional Zann ships lurking in the same area, ships that would otherwise have served no purpose in such a desolate location.
Using the otherwise unrecorded Force skill of Shadow Walking he'd learned during his study with the Disciples of Twilight, Belloq managed to sneak aboard the ship, retrieve the Ark -- using Force Telekinesis to move it by himself -- and make it back to his own ship without ever being spotted by the would-be assassin.
The Ark is currently displayed in a heavily protected room aboard Belloq's Kandosii ship known as the Traveling Meliorist Museum & Artifact Collectorium. A special honor guard of Tusken Raiders are entrusted with its safety. No unauthorized personnel are allowed to get close to the Ark.
It's been noted by select visitors that the Tuskens entrusted with the Ark's care are routinely seen without footwear.