Hello All, Ric here with another video looking at a planet of Star Trek and this time
we’re looking at the Klingon Monastery world of Boreth. This is a weird one,
as I have covered bits of it here and there in various different videos, but never really
consolidated it all into one, so here it is. Back in the 9th century, by Earth’s calendar,
the Klingon homeworld was in the midst of the events that would go on to shape it’s
ideology and future in a time that would later become known as the Time of Kahless,
the Unforgettable. Kahless’ life is shrouded in myth and legend, and while there is definitive
proof that he existed, his accomplishments and actual history are warped by centuries
of retellings and typical Klingon hyperbole when it comes to telling tales. His life and stories
are now less a matter of Klingon history, and more parables tied to their beliefs and faith.
Klingon history is replete with stories of Fek’ihri demons, Fek’lhar and Hurq,
all of which Kahless is said to have battled. Considering the Hurq turned out to be real aliens
that attacked Qo’Nos in antiquity, perhaps the stories of Kahless are not as farfetched as they
seem. Did he really cry enough tears to fill an ocean on the death of his father? Probably
not. But did he stand with Lady Lukara at Qam’Chee and defeat Molor’s forces of 500 warriors? Maybe.
Kahless earned great respect in life, spreading the Klingon interpretation of honour and valour.
He, himself was from humble beginnings, not of noble birth and belonging to no Great House, so
his achievements were his own, and perhaps because of his independence and strength of conviction, he
stood against the current era’s norms, and forged his own warrior’s ethos, his own martial arts, and
eventually his own sword to suit it, the Bat’Leth. So it was, that when he was approaching death, he
took his followers to a point where he could see the firmament, and point to a single star saying,
“Look for me there, on that point of light”, prophesising his return one day before he
departed for the afterlife of Sto-Vo-Kor. Not long after, his followers managed to develop
interstellar flight, many speculate it was stolen from the Hurq invaders and reverse engineered.
They travelled to the star that Kahless had indicated and found it was a planetary system.
One of the planets was even M class, well barely M calss, and this would become the
site for the Klingon Monastery, a world of ice and fire, Boreth. His followers became the
first Monks of the temple there, and for over 1500 years, they awaited his return. In 2369,
this prophecy came true, in a way, as the clone of Kahless was created by the monks from DNA left on
the Knife of Kirom, but whether or not this fits the criteria is a matter of personal opinion.
So the planet has great historical significance for the Klingons which is most of the reason it
was settled by them, because Kahless knows it wasn’t for the weather. It’s surface
temperature is low enough for near constant snow storms and icy winds. The coldness may be due
to the position of the planet in system, or perhaps the nature of the cloud cover,
which is likely from volcanic activity. Juxtaposing the icy climate, are the
streams of lava, running across its surface as burning veins. It’s not known if these
are caused by shifting plate tectonics, or some tidal force applied by Boreth’s singular moon,
but it’s the combination of these extremes that makes the planet somewhat habitable
to humanoid life, even if it’s a bit harsh. Then again, Klingons don’t really shy away from harsh.
On its surface is the temple of Boreth, formed both of natural caverns and ancient Klingon
architecture, built from stone and hewn into the mountain peaks. These tunnels run deep and not
only provide shelter from the storms, but house active magma pools deeper within their network.
The constructed parts of the temple are made from heavy stonework, formed into very gothic style
pillars replete with arches and vaulted ceilings internally. The windows too were
typically gothic in style and heavy doors sequestered long passages behind them.
Much of this gothic style was seen in Star Trek Discovery, while the external shots we
have of it from prior episode of Star Trek show the spires and peaks atop the mountain
to resemble the concentric circles of spiked towers of other Klingon architecture. These
could be different sites, but I simply think that the gothic architecture is supposed to be
older, while the spires atop the mountain were added centuries later,
after all, the temple in its entirety is over 15 centuries old, and so expansion and renovation
would explain a divergence of styles at some points.
The deeper you went, the less natural light made its way inside, so fires from braziers, torches
and candles lit the way. Eventually you can come across rooms and shrines dedicated to Kahless
for private or group mediation, and many of these house relics and artefacts relevant to the
Time of Kahless. As the worked stone gives way to natural caverns, you can even find these lit with
flame and by natural magma streams, churning by. The heat within these places would be stifling,
to say nothing of the fumes possibly being given off. That may go some way as to explaining the
frequency with which Klingons find enlightenment and hallucination within these deeper halls,
as their constitution is taxed by periods of long concentration, heat and self-imposed starvation.
Although Klingons tend to believe that pushing their body to its extremes
forces them closer to Sto-Vo-Kor and puts them in contact with their ancestor’s spirits.
However, there resides a discrete chamber, within the halls of the Monastery,
where Time crystals natural form. These green hued mineral formations have an odd relation with
temporal mechanics and the local area around them is also subjected to an unnatural flow of time.
You could spend hours within the proximity of one, and find that years passed by outside,
while the inverse may also be true. The corridors leading to the crystals even have irregularities
shaped by the flow of time, such as plants sprouting from spilled seeds.
Time crystals themselves provide prophetic visions of the future,
and it has been the observation of those who tend to them, that when a crystal is taken from Boreth,
usually any glimpses into the future it provided are rendered immutable. On a side note,
I have a theory that the orbs of Bajor may be constructed of the same substance as
these crystals, perhaps generated from within the wormhole itself? There’s a lot of similarities.
The existence of these crystals is a guarded secret by the monks of Boreth,
and only the highest among the Klingon Empire even know of their existence.
This decree was to remove the temptation to use them, and maintained only by the reverence for
Kahless and the respect that the monks of Boreth are granted by the Empire, not even the Chancellor
is allowed to interfere with matters of Boreth. The fact that these crystals even reside on this
planet, also gives some credence to the notion that maybe one day,
the real Kahless may return, I mean anything is possible if time travel is involved, so who knows?
The monks, or clerics as they are also known dress simply in robes and the most ardent followers of
Kahless and his teachings. Their roles were to maintain the temple,
guard the time crystals and most commonly, provide spiritual guidance and advice to those Klingons
who sought them out. They would guide meditations, perform religious services and recite the parables
of Kahless all in the aid of helping Klingons in the matters of the spirit, mind and heart.
They have access to a myriad of relics from ancient history, making Boreth a trove of
knowledge too, but these clerics are also the only ones allowed to have access to much of it,
sharing only at their discretion. For all their spiritual beliefs, the clerics of
Boreth are still Klingon and the teachings of Kahless do not shy away from combat, so its
shown in apocrypha (as well as generally a safe bet), that they are able to defend themselves,
probably using the martial arts of Mok’Bara and the Bat’leth, both legacies of Kahless.
So I expect there is a dojo in there somewhere as well as accommodations for long time guests
at the monastery, storage rooms and all the usual amenities you would need to survive.
The world of Boreth features several times in Star Trek lore, and it is seen as the spiritual
heart of Klingon space, so it seemed only fair to give the planet its due.
Thanks for watching this video on world, if it wasn’t for Kahless,
I doubt anyone would have given it a second look. I’ve been Ric, thanks again and goodbye!