The Kashi Mer talisman was a Force artifact from the ancient Kashi Mer monarchy. It was used by Arden Lyn, the consort of Xendor, to preserve her body for thousands of years before she was restored. It was later sought after by the Dark Jedi Durrei, in competition with the Rebel Alliance.
The talisman was a prism-shaped piece of gray rock, measuring approximately 20 by 10 centimeters. The artifact was endowed with dark side powers and radiated an aura of evil. The rock was cool to the touch, and conveyed a sense of power to its holder, endowing them with the knowledge of the relic's full potential. This was believed to be the ability to tap directly into the dark side.
Arden Lyn was resurrected by the power of the talisman.
The talisman belonged to the Kashi Mer dynasty for many years, becoming something of a family heirloom. However, the artifact was stolen by Reda Jalooz, a young student of the Force. Jalooz had discovered a "dark secret" about the talisman that motivated her to steal it. Having experimented with the item over a number of months, she became convinced of her wrong-doing, and was able to conquer the power of the talisman. She voluntarily returned to Kashi—though without the relic—and begged forgiveness of its people. Her contrition brought no peace to the planet, though, as the system's sun went supernova shortly after her arrival, destroying all life on the planet and obliterating its thousands–year old culture.
The talisman was then somehow obtained by the Kashi Mer exile, Xendor and his consort Arden Lyn. Xendor was a Jedi Knight who left the Order, taking a number of Jedi with him to form the Legions of Lettow, in what became known as the First Great Schism. The Jedi hunted down Xendor and killed him, and later the Jedi Master, Awdrysta Pina, cornered Arden Lyn on Irkalla in the Unknown Regions. There, Lyn unleashed the relic's dark powers to kill Pina by shattering his sword and driving the fragments into his body. However, Pina, in his dying moments, used the Jedi art of morichro to arrest Lyn's bodily functions, seemingly killing her. In actuality, Lyn, a member of the Followers of Palawa, used their Force-trance ability to create a form of suspended animation—aided by the talisman—to stave off death.
The relic fell nearby, where it was to lie undiscovered for some 250 centuries, until the time of the Great Jedi Purge. A group of scouts discovered the planet, and found the relic in a tomb lying near a desiccated, but well preserved, corpse—that of Arden Lyn. They inadvertently brought the relic close to the body, causing it to restore life to Lyn with a searing scream. Lyn believed them responsible for the death of her lover, Xendor, and set out to kill them.
Arden Lyn was evidently successful in pursuing the scouts, as she soon had the talisman back in her possession. However, off-world, she encountered the Inquisitors Antinnis Tremayne and Ameesa Darys. She severely injured the former, and killed the latter before Grand Inquisitor Laddinare Torbin cut off her arm and apprehended her. She was taken to Emperor Palpatine, who promised to revive Xendor from Chaos in exchange for her becoming one of his Emperor's Hands.
While Lyn served the Emperor for many years, she soon realized he had no intention of keeping his promise, something that should have been capable through the power of the talisman. As a result, Lyn allied with Grand Admiral Demetrius Zaarin and attempted to kidnap the Emperor in 4 ABY. Despite the plot's initial success, it was ultimately foiled by Darth Vader and Maarek Stele. Fearing reprisals, Lyn fled the Empire, pursued by a feuding Tremayne. She began searching for the talisman, in the hopes of resurrecting Xendor herself.
The Dark Jedi Durrei sought the relic.
The Emperor was killed soon after at the Battle of Endor, and the talisman disappeared. It resurfaced in the Corva sector, five years later. The Gotal crime lord, Mahk'khar obtained the relic on the planet Tuulab. He planned to trade it with the Dark Jedi, Durrei who was working for an Imperial faction in the Outer Rim. The New Republic Intelligence Service had also heard of the talisman and dispatched a team to locate and retrieve the artifact. The team attacked Durrei and Mahk'khar during their exchange on the planet Jandoon, but were unsuccessful in preventing Durrei from making off with the artifact. The New Republic team continued to pursue Durrei.
Arden Lyn, however, was never able to recover the talisman, as one year later, she was captured by the resurrected Emperor and was executed for her betrayal.
This talisman first appeared in the Star Wars Adventure Journal article "Relic," published on May 1, 1995. Its only other appearance has been in the Star Wars Gamer 5 article "The Emperor's Pawns," released on May 1, 2001 and written by Abel G. Peña.
The only published image of the talisman appears to differ from the description of the artifact. The image is light in coloration, rather than dark or gray and is curved rather than being a prism.
- Classic Adventures: Volume Four — The Best of the Journal
- "The Emperor's Pawns" — Star Wars Gamer 5
- The Essential Guide to Warfare