The Chasm was a large canyon located high in the mountains of the continent Talss on the planet Tython.
A seemingly bottomless canyon that wound through a mountainous region of Talss continent, the Chasm was a pit wracked by Force Storms and anomalous phenomena. Je'daii scientists claimed that the gorge represented the Force at its most mysterious and never ceased in their study of its depths by way of science and the Force. Je'daii Journeyers traveling to the site as part of their Great Journey were required to go through an orientation process to help alleviated the sense of being unwell so close to the Chasm. Force Storms raged in the Chasm's depths, causing dramatic weather patterns to constantly lash at the Temple. Passageways in the rock existed in the lower levels of the Chasm, though the Je'daii kept the existence of such inroads a secret,. An invisible barrier, known to the Je'daii as the , was the farthest point in the Chasm in which a person could reasonably descend without succumbing to madness. Those trained in the Force suffered from insanity upon contact, while those without the Force became catatonic or died. Even droids could not pierce the barrier, as their circuits would melt and their power cores explode. The exploratory beam projected from the core of Anil Kesh was similarly blocked by the invisible barrier, for reasons no one could explain.
At the bottom of the Chasm, the Kwa had constructed an Infinity Gate on the floor of the canyon that connected the planet to the Kwa's vast network of transgalactic portals. This Prime Gate was the most powerful of Kwa gates, as it did not require a corresponding access point on the other side. The Prime Gate could lead to anywhere in the galaxy of one's choosing. When the Infinite Empire rose to power and the Rakata attempted to seize the Infinity Gate network for themselves, the Kwa sabotaged their technology and hid certain key gates. Placing a barrier known later as the Chaos Wall around the Tython Gate, passage through the field would drive a person mad unless they visualized a specific Kwa sigil. Even at a distance, the Kwa barrier in the Chasm was known to interfere with the senses of those strong in the Force and the interference grew even worse the deeper one went into the gorge. In this mysterious landscape, a Tho Yor had touched down in 36,453 BBY and a community of pilgrims formed around it. Eventually the Temple of Science, Anil Kesh, took form over the gaping maw of the chasm, suspended between the peaks of a trio of craggy outcroppings. As the Tho Yor floated gracefully overhead, the Temple became a place of pilgrimages for members of the Je'daii Order, where they focused their time studying the mysteries of the Chasm below.
The Chasm exercised a type of pull on Je'daii who visited the site, both sickening and charming in its mystery. During her Great Journey, Lanoree Brock wondered if all Je'daii were in love with the Chasm as she had an ecstatic temptation to toss herself into the pit. Following the Despot War Je'daii Master Daegen Lok was one of the Je'daii who became fascinated by the Chasm. He convinced his friend Je'daii Ranger Hawk Ryo to venture into the Chasm and attempt to find the bottom to fill their hunger for adventure. Undeterred by the threat of madness, believing them to be myths, the war veterans descended on jetpacks. As they descended, Ryo noticed a buzzing in his head and urged Lok to turn back. Lok insisted that they be brave and push their limits, and as they went further, the Master began to make out twinkling lights. Unwittingly touching the Chaos Wall, Lok and Ryo shared a devastating vision of the future war with the Rakata. Staring into the void, they seemingly went mad with fear and fled back to the surface to tell the Je'daii Council of their vision. Meeting at Akar Kesh, the Council deemed them mad, exiling the pair to the Bogan moon to contemplate Ashla and find his way back to balance. Ryo spent time on Bogan but quickly recanted his faith in the vision, convincing himself that Lok had gone mad and pushing thoughts of invasion and devastation from his mind.
During Shae Koda's Great Journey she trained under Je'daii Temple Master Quan-Jang in the beast pens of Anil Kesh. Practicing taming her rancor-dragon in the skies above the Chasm, Koda lost control of the beast and nearly plummeted into the pit after a projection in the Force assaulted her mind. The image, that of Force Hound Xesh, was a warning meant to alert the Je'daii Order to the arrival of the Infinite Empire.
When the Infinite Empire's Force Hound Xesh located Tython's signature in the Force, he led his master, Predor Skal'nas to the system to begin an invasion. During the fighting with the Je'daii Order, Xesh was able to capture the Je'daii Daegen Lok, who had predicted the Rakatan invasion by descending into the Chasm. Invading Lok's mind to get a clearer picture of what he had seen, the Predor was able to rip information from the Je'daii's mind that confirmed that the lost Kwa Infinity Gate did indeed lay at the bottom of the Chasm. Simultaneously, the Je'daii seers active in the war effort were gifted a vision of the coming battle at the Chasm, allowing the Order to mount a defensive in the canyon's storm wracked crags.
On the eve of battle Je'daii seer Tasha Ryo and her mentor, Ters Sendon, consulted the A'nang Holocron for answers to the question of what the Rakatan sought in the Chasm. As the battle began, the lack of balance in the Force caused the Chasm to fill with violent Force storms, and for the rocks and canyon to split and tremor from the violence. Using secret passages, Lok led Xesh and Skal'nas into the depths of the Chasm to avoid the battle above. Explaining to the Pre'dor that the Chaos Wall was impassable and that only madness lay beyond it, Skal'nas explained that Rakatan legend told of the way past the barrier: to hold in one's mind the sigil of the Kwa Empire. Carved into the side of the Tho Yor that hung in the sky above the Chasm, Skal'nas and Xesh were able to easily visualize the symbol and descend past the wall, leaving Lok chained to a rock above. When Shae Koda descended to liberate Lok from his chains, Lok joined her on her rancor-dragon and implanted the image of the sigil in her mind so that they could safely give chase. At the bottom of the Chasm, the Pre'dor and the Je'daii prepared to battle for control of the Infinity Gate, a glowing primordial pool in the ground below. Despite Je'daii Koda and Lok's efforts, Predor Skal'nas was more powerful and succeeded in activating the Prime Gate and secure it's power for his ends.
Above the Chasm, deep in Anil Kesh, seer Ryo and Sendon were able to extrapolate from A'nang's holocron the true purpose of the Tho Yor. Using the holocron as the fail-safe it was designed to be in the event of a Rakatan attack, Ryo sacrificed herself to initiate a defensive sequence in the Tho Yor, launching a devastating blast into the heart of the Chasm and destroying the Prime Gate. Skal'nas, who had finally secured the Gate, looked on in horror as the pathway to the galaxy was destroyed in an instant. Before he could contemplate his lose, his Force Hound Xesh bisected the Predor and his corpse fell into the primordial pool of the ruined gate, melting the flesh from his bone and consuming his remains.
While Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi 0 initially labeled the Chasm as the Rift, Dawn of the Jedi: Into the Void established that the two were separate canyons, with the Chasm being located in a mountain range six hundred kilometers east of the Rift and stated that it was the Chasm which affected the use of the Force.
- Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi 0
- Nexus of Power