Stiydear Estate (St-eye-deer)
Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m all for a ‘fixer-upper’. But this place? You have to be desperate, crazy, or a little bit of both to live in an old B'omarr monastery.
I mean, really. The whispers in the night from the basement... just something not right there.
The Stiydear Estate, or the old Stiydear monastery depending on who is asked, has been a fixture in Chalcedon's collective memory since well before the Clone Wars. Rumors have surrounded the place for decades. Some are footnotes in the planet’s checkered history, others? They are cautionary tales given the identity of the original owners.
Jangir Toth waved a hand at the sandstone walls.
“This place? I can’t believe this is where you’re going to settle in.”
Outside, gusts of scorching desert wind spun the sand into dust devils outside the open front double doors of the monastery. A low moan, just barely perceptible, rattled through the air like a forgotten, tortured soul looking to be remembered.
“Yes, here,” Erenn Baize replied, then shrugged. “It’s out of the way. Good visibility. The walls could absorb any large amount of blaster fire short of an orbital bombardment. So, it’s almost tailor made for defense.”
The two men walked the length of the old monastery’s main corridor. Jangir had known Erenn for years, ever since he had rescued the man from being murdered by the Black Hat pirate clan.
At the time, the latter didn’t appreciate Erenn’s sense of style, or heroics, in fouling up the pirate’s attempts to rob a passenger transport. Erenn took offense to the Black Hat’s decision to sell a ship of refugee farmers into slavery.
Jangir shook his head.
“This was a B’omarr Order monastery. There’s a reason it was built for defense. You’ve heard the same stories I have. Locals living nearby vanishing in the night. Brains in jars walking around in a droid spider?” Jangir rapped his knuckles on a wall. “I’m surprised this place hasn’t already been slagged from orbit. You’ve checked the basement and closets for gooey brain jars, right?”
Erenn laughed, but the humor didn’t last long.
“As a matter of fact I have.”
They walked in silence a few steps more before Erenn spoke again.
“Jang, you know that story we heard once in Port Nevermore about B’omarr monks having ‘cells’ as part of their underground labs for certain reluctant new acolytes to their order? Networks of catacombs that spread out like a spider’s web under their monasteries?”
Jangir looked sideways at his old friend.
“Yeah?”
Erenn nodded solemnly. They walked in silence a few meters more. The sound of their footsteps rang with a muted echo off the native stone walls. He shot Jangir a concerned look.
“It’s all true.”
Purpose / Function
The original purpose of the Stiydear Estate was a monastery for members of the mysterious B’omarr Order to pursue their disturbing philosophical practices. Celco Stiydear, a merchant who made his fortune through ore shipping and commerce trade, commissioned it.
Why Celco had the monastery commission for the B’omarr monks remains a mystery. A journal has been rumored that details his involvement with the strange monks, and supposedly suggests a deeper connection than just generosity. This rumored journal, made of encrypted flimsies, was said to be in Celco’s possession at all times.
On completion of the monastery in late 12665, Celco suddenly vanished without a trace along with his journal. That journal has long been a favorite of historians and treasure hunters for decades.
The monastery remained a hub of B’omarr Order activity on Chalcedon and in the region for several years. This culminated with a series of unexplained kidnappings in moisture farms along the Girisk Rust Cliffs region in 12675 to 12681. In that same time period, the monastery’s population increased.
It was long suspected that the secretive B’omarr Order and its disturbing beliefs had some involvement with the disappearances. But there has been no evidence to support the claim.
Change in the Wind
In 12690, the building’s purpose changed when it became the center of operations for the Razorback pirate clan. Led by Jotor Sarrol, the pirates intended to take the monastery by force. Instead, the B’omarr welcomed them with open arms. This was the start of a decade-long unusual partnership between the pirates and the monks.
Shift in Purpose
By 12700, despite his success, Jotor Sarrol ran into a disagreement with Nioba the Hutt of the Yorvu Hutt Kajidic. One bloody confrontation after another led to Jotor’s demise in late 12700.
In 12705, for unknown reasons, the B’omarr Order vanished from the monastery. The building was left open, abandoned to the dry climate. In 12706, it was claimed by Nioba the Hutt as a ‘summer home’ away from his main holdings on Nar Shaddaa.
To better suit his tastes, Nioba had the old monastery refurbished. Meditation chambers, the great hall, and other former rooms were reworked. The hutt had the walls reinforced and defense measures installed. Most notably, a shield generator was added for its primary defense. It was in this ‘summer home’, that Nioba worked to control smuggling of weapons and other goods moving through Chalcedon.
During this time, Nioba commissioned an underground hangar dug out of the mesa that the estate sits on. This was the hutt’s primary transfer point for his ‘drop ship’ smuggling trade. It also was, and still is, the main part of the stronghold that connects to the remaining catacombs. At least, the catacombs that have not been sealed away.
Change in Owners
Nioba continued as owner and de facto ruler until 12722, when the Black Hat pirates turned on the hutt in a surprise attack. After executing the crime lord and his enforcers, the notorious pirates then used the old monastery as an occasional 'safe haven’ against bounty hunters and other threats. Most times during the Chalcedonian year, the building would stand empty.
Then, a prolonged conflict against a young half-human, half-bothan named Erenn Baize drove the Black Hats from the old monastery in 12724. Baize, raised on Chalcedon after being exiled there with his mother from the Tapani Sector, knew the monastery's history. Despite the location’s dark past, he saw the potential there.
After recruiting like-minded gunslingers, former smugglers and pirates, Baize formed his own ‘clan’, fashioned after his experiences as a young child among the Tapani Vor nobility. The new clan leader commissioned local talent on Chalcedon to expand the underground hangar, refurbish the monastery, and rebuild the upper levels. His goal was to make the monastery over into a livable stronghold. One that bore some resemblance to different Vor styles of architecture from Tapani.
Meanwhile, he and his clan worked to clear out or seal off the darker aspects of the monastery. Primary among this were the catacombs and bizarre underground medical laboratory, both of which had belonged to the B’omarr Order. All former owners had mysteriously left the nightmarish places untouched and preserved.
During this refurbishment effort, Erenn renamed the location to what it’s called today and gave it a new purpose. The Stiydear Estate was now the home of the Vorbaize clan. A ‘pirate’ clan that more often than not targeted underworld smugglers, corrupt Mining Guild officials, and more to redistribute the wealth to the poorest locals.
The catacombs. That ‘medical lab’. You would walk in there and your skin would crawl. I don’t care who you were.
What bothers me most is that all the former owners left that part of the monastery alone. As if they were expecting the original owners to show up again any day now…
Alterations
The Stiydear Estate has undergone many renovations over the decades. After the initial owners, the B’omarr, removed themselves from public view, most alterations were for additional storage, improved defenses, and expansions, such as the underground hangar.
Storage areas were designed to hold and preserve supplies for those living at the old monastery. These same underground storage areas are still used today. Defenses were originally to repel attackers such as Jedi, Sector Rangers, or threats from the criminal underworld. Later additions bolstered these defenses against the harsh weather and living conditions of the planet itself.
The hangar was originally intended to house one or two small craft, such as Nioba the Hutt's hoverbarge. But with each new owner, especially with Erenn Baize, the hangar has been expanded to house much larger craft such as shuttles or starfighter class ships. There are also full fabrication and vehicle repair facilities as well, perhaps the largest in the area.
Contents
Founding Date
4-10-12665
Alternative Names
Vorbaize Estate, Stiydear Stronghold, Stiydear Monastery
Type
Estate
Parent Location
Owner
Characters in Location
Related Report (Primary Locations)
Related Plots
- Episode 3.08 Kanter's War, Chapter 10
- Episode 3.08 Kanter's War, Chapter 11
- Episode 3.08 Kanter's War, Chapter 12
- Episode 3.08, Kanter's War, Chapter 3
- Episode 3.08, Kanter's War, Chapter 4
- Episode 3.08: Kanter's War, Chapter 15
- Episode 3.08: Kanter's War, Chapter 16
- Episode 3.08: Kanter’s War, Chapter 13
- Episode 3.08: Kanter’s War, Chapter 14
- Episode 3.08: Kanter’s War, Chapter 2
Defenses
- DefenStar Outpost Defense Grid and Shield Generator : Details >
- Taim & Bak H9 Dual Phase Turret Turbolaser : Details >
- Telgorn Corp "Starscream" Assault Shuttle : Details >
One point in its favor - full repair facilities one point against it - freaky medical facilities
To be fair, the freaky medical facilities were there when Erenn Baize took ownership ... and promptly ripped out and rebuilt as best as possible... cause no one other than the B'omarr Order wants things like Brain Jars sitting around.