The Oracle was located within an octagonal tower that stood 88 meters (ten stories) in height and was made of Dieuw tree wood, which was further supported by unknown metals. The construct possessed a complex mechanical network consisting of gears, switches, and pendulums. The Oracle itself was located deep inside a chamber within the central shaft which reached from the base of the facility to its peak. At the top of the tower was a hexagonal chamber. A spiral staircase ran up the tower.
Popular mythology had it that Xim the Despot personally visited the Oracle when he was at the height of his power. His return from his quest was recorded in The Despotica, a collection of epic plays on the Despot's life, though given the distance of the Pelgrin sector from Xim's empire in this period, the tale should be read with caution.
Though it remained a mystery in modern times, the Oracle at Pelgrin was known to some in the early Republic. As Arden Lyn told her Imperial captors in 4 BBY, she visited the Oracle immediately after her investment as a Steel Hand of Palawa, sometime around 24,500 BBY. Lyn claimed that the Oracle's clockwork instructed her to go to the Jedi fortress world of Ossus, where she would meet "a man fair of face and clever of mind," whom she ought to make her master. That man, Xendor, together with Lyn, sought to explore a new study of the Force, leading to the Great Jedi Schism. Again according to Lyn, the Jedi expunged all knowledge of the Oracle after her visit.
The Oracle was discovered at approximately 3000 BBY by a scientist from the Galactic Republic known as Ermin Phin-Mar along with an exploration team. Though it was discovered, the device was not operational at the time, but from examination, he concluded that it was created as an astronomical device. Ermin Phin-Mar also concluded that it was held by the Pelgrin people with a deep religious and symbolic nature within their culture. The Jedi Order later dispatched Shannur Darkstar to aid the exploration team in the study of the device. It was then discovered that the Oracle actually possessed a deep connection with the Force after she was meditating in the central chamber, when the machine came to life. It was deduced from this that the Oracle reacted to Force-sensitives, though there was no evidence that the Pelgrin possessed such an ability. Furthermore, the Oracle required a strong Force user to actually operate the device.
It was, at this time, that the nature of the Oracle was revealed and where it gained its name as Shannur received a vision of a great battle. She was not the only one, as other Jedi who had arrived on the planet had also received visions of the future and rumors spread that the ancient Pelgrin foresaw their own destruction long ago, even before the threat that would have caused it surfaced. However, this was simple speculation at the time as nothing indicated the fate of the Pelgrin people. Due to the powerful nature of the Oracle, the Jedi Order requested that the planet's access be restricted, which was challenged by many scientists who believed that the Jedi were attempting to keep the construct for themselves.
The Republic sided with the Jedi after several investigations were carried on the Oracle. After that time, the Jedi maintained a log of every vision that was received and decades later those visions came true. Certain visions took millennia to occur such as the one received by Shannur Darkstar making the Oracle a treasure of the galaxy. However, tragedy would strike as the Oracle was later destroyed by pirates who were secretly working for Supreme Chancellor Palpatine who feared that the device would reveal his plans to destroy the Jedi in the future.
- Power of the Jedi Sourcebook
- Xim Week: The Despotica (Part II: The Pirate Prince) on Hyperspace
- Xim Week: The Despotica (Part IV: Evocar) on Hyperspace
- The Essential Guide to Warfare