Faction name: The Architects
Leaders: Circle of Scholars
Number of people: 20
Theme: Revenge of the Scholars


Unique Trait: Scholars on a mission- Armed with a well-trained mind and expertise in ancient artifacts, these academics pursue a new golden age for Jedha and the Force, where knowledge reigns supreme. They will do whatever is necessary to collectively achieve their goal with the exception of harming knowledge itself. In addition, if anyone is found intentionally harming that knowledge, they have no qualms using harsher punishments. 

History: This group was born out of the ashes of Jedha but its members had individually been avid scholars long before the empire's attacks. University students and professors with shared interests came to Jedha for knowledge, using the ancient sites and what they had learned from history to advise those who would listen on Jedha. Their advice was not only about the Force but also on ancient technology and lessons learned from the past. A few even dabbled in the politics of Jedha, but they were mostly ignored. At this point in time the Architects were mostly split into competing factions. 

Once the Republic "won" the Clone wars, things changed. They saw the newly reform Galactic Empire for what it truly was and was thus targetted by the new Moff assigned to the planet. In addition, the scholars had witnessed the new regime destroying ancient knowledge. For survival of themselves and the knowledge they held so dear, the competing bands of scholars came together under one united front and did their best to convince the locals to resist the Galactic Empire's advances onto Jedha. Fear was too powerful though and all they managed to do was recruit radical extremists, who started an unending cycle of violence and destruction. Frustrated at the lack of real progress, the antics of their former recruits, and the destruction of knowledge, some of the scholars came together to make a long term plan to convince their more level-headed peers. These would one day form the leaders of the group and they called themselves the Circle of Scholars. 

Then the empire did the unthinkable and destroyed the Holy City, harming a good deal of Jedha along with it. Shortly after the casualty reports came in, the remaining members of the scholars formed themselves as "The Architects", led by the Circle of Scholars. They all pledged to win back Jedha and more esoterically the Force, but this time with some ground rules. First, they would operate from the shadows and only recruit fellow scholars, especially those in positions of power. Second, they would not share their knowledge with others unless they were given the power to ensure it was implemented. Lastly, they would not work with the Empire or anyone affliated with it.

Since the Architects founding, they have focused their efforts in two main directions. First, getting their members into positions of power on Jedha and other political bodies that have power over the planet. Second, acquiring new knowledge and actively hiding it away for safe keeping. The Architects are currently using both to build a base of power to ensure that the horrible events on Jedha will not happen again. As the Architects say, "If you want a job done well, do it yourself."