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Colonization of Orpenhalz III[]
During the age when hyperspace was developed and exploration of the galaxy was heightened, a remote star system was discovered by a lone explorer named Peznor Orpenhalz. In his primitive scout craft, it had taken Peznor years delving beyond what is known today as the Brak Sector before he had discovered signs of the star system. Far enough from the nearest trade lanes to be considered a rogue system, it was eventually adopted into the Brak Sector territory for economic and tax reasons. This information was lost forever in a data system crash, some time not long after the system was registered.
The third planet in the Orpenhalz System was a Class-M planet, consisting mostly of mountains, rolling plains, and segregated by two massive oceans dissecting two continents. A group of colonists planted the first colony on Orpenhalz III centuries, perhaps even millenia ago, and that colony eventually grew into the capital city, Orphelica City.
The House of Elders[]
Over a thousand years before the fall of the Old Galactic Republic, perhaps longer, the Jedi Order discovered the Orpenhalz III Colony. A small team of Jedi Knights were sent to oversee the growing colony, and discern whether Jedi intervention was neccessary to keep the colonists at peace. However, as the Force would deem it, the team found themselves on Orpenhalz III with a damaged ship, and the nearby colony had become so primitive in their social design that there was no way for the Jedi Knights to repair their ship, and no way for them to communicate with the Jedi Council.
Finding it in the will of the Force, these Jedi integrated themselves into the colonist society, where they began to govern the people as the cities grew. The people of Orpenhalz III named it the House of Elders, and they kept the peace and justice of the expanding cities as they grew.
Decades later, trade lanes from the nearby Brak Sector widened at the hand of hyperspace engine advancements to the point where Orpenhalz III could be included, if lightly, in trade. A meager landing pad was built so that traders could import rarities from the galaxy. This would have permitted the team of Jedi Knights to repair their ship, or find a way to send a message to the Jedi Council. However, the Jedi had realized that the local society had grown to depend upon them to maintain peace. Therefore, the Jedi decided to remain cut off from the Jedi Order, and to stay on Orpenhalz III, in order to prevent cultural contamination and the social breakdown that a missing House of Elders would create.
The House of Elders Falls[]
Centuries pass. The backwater citizens of Orpenhalz III began to embrace some of the new technologies being shipped in from traders. With it came the plague of the galaxy's growing darkness. It would seem that technology and the knowledge of otherworldly things began to tear at the fabric of the Orphelican society. Acts of violence and crime began to rise.
The affect it had on the House of Elders was dramatic. Having cut themselves off from the Jedi Order, their ability to use the Force had slowly diminished over the years, paired with the lack of any demand for their skills and abilities. As the demand upon the Elders to govern the people began to outgrow their capabilities, a disruption began. One of the older Elders began a turn to the Dark side, governing his territory out of fear and loathing. He began to force the citizens of his territory into submission by means of overwhelming justice and tyranny. Those with him turned their minds toward the Dark side as well.
A great and disastrous conflict broke out among the Elders of Orpenhalz III. Those who embraced the power of the Dark side were eventually banished, but at great cost. The leading Elders were also spent, the citizens of Orpenhalz III had suffered the effects of the Jedi war, and the House of Elders lacked solid leadership. The citizens formed their own government, and the surviving Elders resigned, hiding themselves away in the mountains for peaceful study and seclusion.
Truth begame legend. Legend became myth. The House of Elders was soon forgotten, told of only in childtime stories as ancient tales of lore.
Imperial Influence[]
When the Old Republic fell and the Galactic Empire claimed all of Brak Sector, the remaining descendants of the Elders were quietly hunted and destroyed by the agents of Palpatine, save a small handful who managed to keep themselves hidden through the Force. As for the citizens of Orpenhalz III, they saw nothing of the Empire for a great many years. The Empire didn't consider it a planet worth occupying, and if any rebels had managed to hide there, there wasn't anything they could do with the planet's meager resources to cause any trouble. Occasional sweeps would prove the lack of any rebel bases in the area, so life on Orpenhalz III went on, the citizens knowing little of the struggles in the galaxy.