1032 BBY: Knight Errant: Influx

After a successful run with the Knights of the Old Republic comic series, JJM has taken another kick at the comic medium, and has given Star Wars fans a new series that further explores the wide wide world of Star Wars. Set a generation before the events of the Bane trilogy, Knight Errant tells the story of Kerra Holt, and newly minted Jedi Knight bent on challenging the evils of the universe.

The first narrative in this new story arc is Influx, a short story written by JJM which is available at Hyperspace. It tells the story of Kerra’s first mission into Sith space where she accompanies the titans of the Jedi Order on a mission to disrupt the war machine of Daiman –a Sith Lord who believes he is the creator of the universe.

What caught my notice in this particular piece was the readiness of the Jedi to kill, the mention of Chancellor Genarra, and the addition to this story – the Knight Errant Essential Atlas Gazetteer, written by Dan Wallace, Jason Fry, and JJM.

Firstly, what grabbed my attention at the beginning of this story was the readiness of the Jedi to cut down their enemies. When Holt and Treece’s plans for subterfuge had gone awry they immediately turned to their lightsabers to deal with the situation. Initially, the Jedi did try to deal with the Sith in a humane manner, as is shown by Kerra Holt’s attempted mind trick, but when her trick didn’t work, it was straight to the Jedi handing out death sentences against the Sith. The Jedi’s action can still be defendable in that when the mind trick failed the Sith immediately set upon them with the intent to kill, but when the situation took a turn for the worse, where were the Jedi’s temperance? Did any of them think that perhaps what they were doing was wrong, or perhaps there was another avenue to explore before it went straight to killing?

I know Jedi try their best to hold up the ideal but it seems that the Jedi in this story are too comfortable with the notion of bringing their lightsabers in to bear. Did the Jedi on this mission explore every avenue to avoid a death filled outcome, or did convenience (it is simply better to kill them rather than tie them up) – not their moral imperatives – guide their actions?
As I read this I wondered why there wasn’t a back-up plan should the mind-trick fail? Even more, why wasn’t the mind-trick attempted by Master Treece, one presumably more versed in such a passive and usually effective tactic? Wouldn’t the Jedi want to avoid the needless loss of life, I wondered? But I think this was the point which I had missed. After I read the story I realized that I wasn’t dealing with Jedi I as fan of the movies was familiar with. Nor was I dealing with Jedi who took to heart a philosophy of non-violence proffered by luminaries like Master Yoda. I quickly realized I was dealing with a different type of Jedi in this story – I was dealing with Jedi hardened by war, Jedi who have to look past moral imperatives and righteous absolutes in order to get the job done and restore peace in the galaxy. In short – Jedi who believe that ‘the ends justify the means’.

If this was my first dance with JJM, I’d label him as a poor writer and say he doesn’t know what it means to be a Jedi, and point to this opening scene. But this isn’t my first dance with JJM, and I know better. I learned my lesson with the whole Rohland/Demigol story-line. JJM understands exactly what it means to be a Jedi, and I think this story, Influx, is setting up the overall theme of the Knight Errant arc - that a Jedi – in the purest understanding of the word - is not one who cuts corners or only takes the easy way out, as it seems the first group of Jedi we met in this story did. I’ve come to realize JJM knows what he’s doing, and I think he’s going to show his audience what being a morally ambiguous Jedi leads to, not only for the individual Knight (possibly Kerra), but possibly for the Order as a whole as well.

With that being said though, I don’t want to label Kerra with the “morally ambiguous” label, as we’ve only been introduced to her and it is my hope that she emulates the classical traits of a hero. But I was a little shocked at her callous consideration of the slain crew chief: “Hair dripping, the girl knelt over the dead crew chief's body. "'Little missy?' Is that how Sith swear these days?” There is no remorse in her words. She is irritated that she was insulted by a Sith. She is not kneeling over the body to show repentance for her actions – to look at the face of a fellow being and consider the gravity of her choices. Kerra, it seems, is already hardened by war.
Miller sets up this ‘act first and consider your actions second’ attitude amongst the Jedi in describing for us how they are being trained during this time period. As he explains of Kerra’s training, she never had time for ‘tradition’ on her path to Knighthood: “Dorivan liked tradition, but Kerra never had time for the trappings” – in this instance Kerra sounds like Bane’s adversaries when the future Dark Lord was at the academy. Bane’s adversaries never had time for tradition. Instead they wanted to fast-track their skills at the feet of a Sith Lord. Unlike Bane who spent the time researching and discovering his Sith heritage. I think this introduction to our new Star Wars heroine is interesting, as it seems like her actions and her training was quicker, easier, and more seductive. It seems she was trained to get immediate results and to dismiss the purpose of the journey involved in training and learning and growing as a Knight.

Continuing in this line of thought, JJM writes: “trying to learn the skills the Jedi could teach her as quickly as possible – it was the better path” or is it? JJM continues: “A lot of the regular ways of doing things had changed by necessity in recent times. With Knights needed at the front, there simply weren't enough teachers to go around; Padawans tended to apprentice for short periods under whoever was available.” I think maybe that JJM is showing that this ‘learning as quickly as possible because we’re at war’ theme is how all Jedi are behaving in this period, and maybe JJM is going to show us exactly how difficult it is to be a Jedi, and how difficult it is to carry the moral ideals that such a title and responsibility holds.

Moving on to my next point, I thought the mention of chancellor Genarra – a female Jedi chancellor – very cool. Again, this ties in to the Bane trilogy and the character of Farfalla. It was assumed that after the Russan Reformations that Farfalla would naturally take the role of chancellor of the Republic, but in that particular text it mentioned that the role had gone to a non-Jedi, breaking with four-hundred years of tradition. We are lead to believe in the Bane trilogy that this break was surprising, and in my post regarding that text I spilled much ink on the notion of Jedi chancellors. I also looked into the history of chancellors of the Republic and was shocked to find that one of the Republic’s greatest chancellors was a Hutt. Needless to say, I was fairly excited when Genarra was mentioned. Firstly because I think this is the first time in Star Wars history that there is mention of a female chancellor, and secondly, this mention shed light on the topic of chancellorship and further flushed out some of the history of this role. I wonder how old she is, and if maybe she’s another older woman portrayed in a positive light, like the older woman who appeared in the Exar Kun timeline (for a further explanation of what I’m talking about here see my post on the Kun timeline).

I also thought it interesting that in talking about the chancellor, Dorivan referenced the Jedi role of consular as an uncommon choice among the recruits of the day. Dorivan brings this up as he asks Kerra if she would follow that particular path of Jedi wisdom.

Taking into account the role of a Jedi counselor, a counselor is one who: “sought to perfect the art of diplomacy and mediation, hoping to calm a tense situation or mend hurt feelings through civil discourse, reasoning, and parley, rather than drawing their lightsabers and cutting down an attacker” (definition of Jedi counselor on wookieepedia) it’s no wonder that this particular form of Jedi mastery is nowhere to be found. Who needs a bunch of reasoned diplomats in a time of war? It seems that in 1032 BBY most Jedi recruits pursue the role of Jedi Guardian – the warriors of the Jedi Order.

As it is, I enjoyed the first story of this particular narrative, and I’m now looking forward to picking up my copies of the Knight Errant comic at my local comic shop this weekend.

But the Knight Errant material available on Hyperspace does not end there. Last week we were treated to a supplementary piece of material that further flushed out the backstory of Influx: the Knight Errant Essential Atlas Gazetteer. This, however, isn’t the first time I’ve dealt with material in the style of the Essential Atlas. My first encounter with this particular style of Star Wars material came in the collection of Xim stories from last year. The text I engaged with at that time was a piece titled Xim and the Tion Cluster. There, Fry delineated the galactic history of the Tion cluster and how the Pirate Prince Xim affected historic events in that particular space in the galaxy. Likewise, in this particular piece, Fry, Wallace, and Miller give a picture of the area of space Holt and the Jedi strike team are heading to, along with a preface written by Master Treece to chancellor Genarra about the history of the Sith in that region.

What I love about Fry and Wallace’s work in these bits of Star Wars chronology are what Plaristes refers to as their ‘throw away lines’. Take for example their excerpt on the planet Sarrassia: “The religious war that has devastated Sarrassia since the rule of Chancellor Am-Ris is reportedly at an end under the rule of Lord Bactra, who has kept the Grumani Hierophants in check and barred Spumani Crusaders from pursuing their typically sanguinary quests.” This piece of text is absolutely pregnant with Star Wars history. Where does one even begin to engage with this? With an investigation into chancellor Am-Ris? With Lord Bactra? With the Grumani Hierophants? Or perhaps maybe with the Spumani Crusaders? What’s a lover of Star Wars history to do when faced with such extreme sub-text?

I also enjoyed this particular bit because it reminded me of our own real-world events. Attempting to stop the sectarian violence ravaging Sarrassia, Lord Bactra placed the planet under his dictator thumb, subduing needless conflict which interfered with his own plans of dominion. In this line I couldn’t help but think of Saddam Hussein, and how during his reign he managed to keep the bloodshed amongst the Sunni and Shi’ite Muslims to a minimum. That’s not to say he didn’t exact some bloodshed of his own, but he did manage to quell the sectarian violence in Iraq. Hussein – a minor Sith Lord indeed.

The last bit of the Gazetteer was by far my most favourite. The Children of Mani post-script was completely awesome to a theology academic like me. I’ve placed a special note on this bit of information, as I hope to use this passage and its implications in my own Star Wars writing eventually.

I look forward to examining the Essential Atlas when I get to in, and with regards to the Star Wars Chronology Project, it will be the last source I engage with.

On a personal note, it might be a while before I post again. My wife is seven months pregnant with our second child (another boy) and unfortunately this pregnancy has been hard on her. Her doctor has placed her on bed rest which means all household duties are now my sole responsibility. This, as you can imagine, has made my life very busy. I try to complete all my daily tasks with joy in my heart, but these last few weeks have become very wearisome for me. I still try to find pockets of time to continue with my Star Wars quest, but in doing so, I’m taking away precious time from other tasks I should be fulfilling. But still, if I didn’t have this little project of mine I’d fear my life would be totally devoid of “me” time. As it is, I’m not sure when I’ll post again.

With that being said however, my next post (whenever I’m able to get to it) will be on the Knight Errant comic material. As I said earlier I’m heading to the comic shop this weekend and I’ve placed myself on a monthly subscription. I’ll engage with as many issues as I can, and then move on in the project to Tales #17, The Apprentice. Until then my friends, may the Force be with you.

3960 BBY: The Lost Tribe of the Sith: Purgatory

The Lost Tribe of the Sith series has grown on me.

I like what JJM is doing with these small e-novellas and the fact that they are being produced on a nearly tri-annual basis. I was a little wary of the series after the third installment Paragon. I thought JJM was going to write a small little trilogy about some lost Sith and that was that. I enjoyed Savior, the last installment, but at the time I thought it was a little gratuitous because I wasn’t sure what JJM was going for or what the purposes of these novellas were. With the completion of the fifth title in the series, Purgatory, I think I see what JJM is doing: he’s exploring the story of Sith culture as it grows in isolation from the rest of the galaxy, and he’s connecting in novella form all of his Star Wars tales. I at first thought he was only going to tell a short story about some abandoned Sith, but his Lost Tribe series is more than that – it’s an exploration of the Sith mindset, Sith governance, the Sith people, and an exploration of a culture that glorifies the individual and places societies’ emphasis on the “me” and not the “we”. I see now that JJM will weave these stories through his already established ones in the KOTOR series, and will most likely entwine these novellas into his new story cycle Knight Errant.

JJM has recreated something new in Star Wars literature that resembles and reminds me of the early work of famous American writers. Artists like Henry James and Mark Twain used to have their short stories regularly published in magazines. At the time of these small publications James and Twain weren’t the literary giants they are today (with that being said though, they were recognized by their contemporaries as excellent artists), and had to produce something to make ends-meat. Many famous writers of American and English literature would write short stories and look for a magazine to publish them in, and they were usually paid by the word. If I remember correctly (and I’m not sure I do), I think James’ novel The Golden Bowl was originally published in a magazine in parts over the span of many months. It was a way for these writers to showcase their work, and generate interest so they could sell novels. Once a writer had written the entire story over the span of many magazines, he would then find a publisher to run the complete story in book form.

It’s only a matter of time before all of JJM’s novellas are collated and made into paper and print format for us to buy. And once this is done I myself will buy a copy because, as I’ve said before, I like to have a hard copy of Star Wars stories, complete with book jacket and pretty cover page sitting on my bookshelf. I like to have a material item I can flip through, reference, and handle.
Again, it is this reason that I love the format of the Star Wars Adventure Journal so much. It was a quarterly publication that contained five to six short stories per issue with some characters from these short stories included in many of the journals. The stories of Alex Winger, for example, run from Adventure Journals one through seven, and she appears again in issue twelve.

I know I’ve harped on about this before, but I would truly love to see the Adventure Journal format get picked up again because it’s a format which is conducive to what JJM is doing with his Lost Tribe series. I think JJM’s work is showing that Star Wars storytelling needs this medium (the short story medium) to come to life again. The e-format is nice because it’s free and easy to access. But at the same time I'm not a fan of the electronic formate becuase I’m not one of those in the literary world prognosticating the end of print media as we know it. I also don't subscribe to the idea that eventually all books will be placed in electronic format for our iPads to download. No matter what is said, I don’t believe any piece of electronic media can replace the book. Maybe I’m not seeing the writing on the wall, but I don’t feel like I actually own a story the way I do when it’s on my shelf as opposed to my hard-drive.

I suppose for the Star Wars Adventure Journal to be re-born a new company has to come along and purchase the Star Wars RPG license since it was originally West End Games who published the Journals. Since Wizard of the Coast has discontinued producing Star Wars RPG material, the fate and future of the game is in question. Does anyone reading this blog know what is happening or what might happen with the Star Wars RPG license? Has it been picked up again? Will Star Wars RPG material be produced once more? I’ve daydreamed of starting a gaming company with a bunch of other people, pooling our money, and buying the license so the Star Wars RPG can come to life again. I know this is a pipe-dream, considering the 800 pound gorilla in the RPG gaming world, WOTC, couldn’t handle the license itself. If not WOTC who is supposed to step in and take over?

Take a look at the fan fiction being produced at theforce.net. There must be hundreds of stories there with the archive going back nearly 10 years. This is the Star Wars Adventure Journal in seed form. I would love to see the most highly rated stories from this archive printed in a book (five or six stories per issue), complete with artwork (artwork which could also be fan produced. Head over to the swtor forums and see some of the brilliant Star Wars art being produced there) coupled with RP stats of the main characters involved. I’m sure the rights to these stories could be purchased and a low cost, the benefit to the writers and artist being their work becomes Star Wars canon. It could also have the added benefit of launching some of these fabulous writers and artist into possible Star Wars careers.

One man’s wild dream, that’s all.

I think in this post I was supposed to talk about JJM’s Purgatory, wasn’t I?

Alas, funnily enough, I haven’t much to say about it. Brining the legacy of the stranded Sith on Kesh ahead a millennium and into the history of the KOTOR comic series, JJM introduces us to Jelph Marrian, a Jedi shadow on the run. Ultimately I thought it neat that JJM included in this narrative the character of the Jedi Shadow. I wonder if he was one of the faces shown on Lucien Draay's holo-screen from KOTOR voulme 5 (Vectors 1)? Presumably in the employ of Lucien Draay, Jelph Marrian, a knight in the Jedi Covenant, knew he couldn’t return to the Covenant after its defeat at the hands of the Jedi Order. Sending himself into self-imposed exile he headed for deep space, only to find himself marooned on a planet full of Sith: his worst nightmare come true. The story of Purgatory ends with Jelph caught up in the affairs of Ori – his love interest and a disposed member of the Sith ruling class. As JJM writes: “He was a lone Jedi on an entire planet full of Sith. His existence threatened them—but their existence threatened everything.”

I’m looking forward to JJM’s next instalment of the series. In the meantime I’ve decided to read and comment on Knight Errant, so for my next post I’ll engage with Influx, the new Knight Errant story by JJM found on Hyperspace. Until then my friends, may the Force be with you.

3998 BBY - 3996 BBY: The Fall of Exar Kun (BTC 347)

Exar Kun has no relation to the Sith Empire, nor does he connect his Sith linage to the emperor of the ‘True Sith Empire’. This much was established in the TOR timeline The Fall of Exar Kun. This, the tenth timeline in the series, and set in BTC 347, tells the story of Exar Kun’s fall from the lightside of the Force and his rise to the mantle of Dark Lord of the Sith. The events contained in this timeline are not new to us, as most of this history we are already familiar with in our examinations of The Dark Lords of the Sith and The Sith War.

Though not much new is revealed in the way of history, there were certain aspects from this piece I found remarkable.

At the start of the timeline an interesting threesome of Jedi are depicted. Part of the Jedi council, these three were seen discussing amongst each other what to do about Kun’s newfound interest in all things Sith. I wonder who these three are. What is more, the older woman with the short white hair looked interesting, as she reminded me of a grandmother type figure. I liked that an old woman was included as part of the council, and in doing so, the writers at TOR placed aged women in a positive light. When we come across an old woman in Star Wars she seems to fit into the character type of crafty old hag (Kreia) or evil witch (Queen Amanoa). If a woman is on the council she tends to be young and nubile (Adi Gallia), or if she is older, she is an alien (Yaddle). Old women in literature seem to get a poor presentation. It seems that old stereotypes die hard. If an old woman has power – any kind of power – she must necessarily be evil, or a witch, or out to destabilize the power structures of men. And if she is knowledgeable or powerful or good (Jocasta Nu) she must be placed somewhere where she can’t really have input on any important decisions. Needless to say, it still seems like old woman with power can’t be trusted – even in the Star Wars universe. Kudos to the writers at TOR for including an old woman on the council.

Old women aside, there were some events and people in this timeline that were notably absent; namely, Nomi Sunrider and the circumstances surrounding her and Ulic. As Master Gnost-Dural says: “Qel-Droma abandoned the darkside and betrayed Exar Kun”. This description is not accurate, as we know that it was Ulic’s epic confrontation with Nomi, and his subsequent stripping of the Force, that coloured his relationship with Kun. I found it remarkable that the Sever Force ability perpetrated by Sunrider was not mentioned at all. If I were to hazard a guess at this, I think on the surface the writers did not want to include this detail so as to not create speculation that this might be an ability players may have in-game. But who knows? It could be a stun ability used by the Jedi Wizard. Still, I was a little disappointed that this, the most powerful lightside attack, was glossed over. As stated by Master Odann-Urr it is the most devastating attack in the entire arsenal of Force powers, both light and dark.

My buddy and I had a discussion about the Sever Force ability a few weeks back. Knowing how powerful the ability is, I wondered why more Jedi did not use this spell on darksiders. It was my stance in this discussion that the Jedi should use it more often. Jedi are absolutists, I argued, and since they are absolutists they must necessarily see it as their mission to rid the universe of the darkside. Since Severing the Force does not kill the person the ability is enacted upon it is the ultimate weapon of the light – respecting the sanctity of life, all the while stripping those of power who use it selfishly and irresponsibly and who endanger innocent lives. Why wouldn’t the Jedi use this ability all the time?

My friend countered with a wise and prudent point. He said: “Sever Force is the most powerful ability the Force has to offer – as a matter of fact, it’s absolute power – and absolute power corrupts absolutely. If used too often and too recklessly, this power of the light could quickly lead a noble Jedi with the best intentions down the dark path. It’s a terrifying ability, not because of what it does to the darksider on the wrong end of the spell, but because of what it does to the Jedi who enacts it”.

His answer gave me pause, and helped me understand why the Jedi are so weary of this capability. In my examinations of Star Wars history thus far, this power has been used on two occasions (Sunrider and the Jedi Exile), and at the time I was examining this material I felt the warnings by Master Odan-Urr were too cautious: “To block a Jedi from the Force—even a Dark Jedi—is a terrible thing." I couldn’t understand his warning, and I didn’t understand why it was such a terrible thing. I think I do now.

As far as timelines from SWTOR go, The Fall of Exar Kun was interesting, but it didn’t reveal much surrounding the figure of the Sith emperor, except to say that the Sith spirits that supported Kun don’t seem to support the emperor.

One can speculate as to why the writers at Bioware would include this timeline which does not reveal much historically, and on its surface, does not seem to further the plot of the TOR story in too great a capacity. Perhaps Kun appears in the game as a foil to the Sith emperor – a path a “Gray Jedi” could explore while aligned with the Republic? Maybe he is a raid Boss? Maybe he is a quest giver? Like I said, we can speculate as to why this timeline is important to the game, but until the game’s release all discussion surrounding this lays on the pitch of supposition.

Again, I think the Exar Kun timeline is interesting, not because of what it reveals, but because of what has not been mentioned in TOR’s timelines to date; namely, any consideration for the events of KOTOR 2 and the Jedi Exile. Granted, Malachor V was mentioned in the previous timeline, but not in any great detail, and the story of the Jedi Exile’s contribution to galactic history seems to be going ignored. Many questions arise from this absence. What did the Sith triumvirate have to do with the Sith emperor, if anything? (and if nothing, then why not mention the negative relation as in Kun’s timeline?)

I know a number of fans from the SWTOR forum pages have become fairly hot and bothered over this perceived snub on the part of Bioware regarding Obsidian’s contributions to the Star Wars mythos and its work on KOTOR 2. And even though I find their approach to discussing this lack of KOTOR 2 material aggressive, arrogant, combative, and ultimately disrespectful of other people willing to engage with them on this topic, their questions and inquiries are relevant. Why has Bioware seemed to have ignored the events of KOTOR 2? This is a valid question.

Rob Chestney attempted to address this question on the SWTOR forums, basically saying ‘the events of KOTOR 2 happened behind the scenes and most people in the galaxy were unaware of the events of the (Dark) war’. He goes on to say that he thought a timeline on the events of the Dark War were important, but in the context of the timeline series would confuse players. This answer, I think, only further irritated players and fans of the KOTOR franchise, and even though I believe Chestney was being genuine in his answer to the community, he response seemed to be somewhat dismissive of the communities concerns.

I myself have a few problems with this statement. Firstly, calling the near complete destruction of the Jedi Order by the hands of Nihilus a ‘historical footnote’ is problematic at best. Secondly, in the story of KOTOR 2 there is a historian present by the name of Mical. One would think a historian contained within the KOTOR 2 story would record these events to keep for posterity. What is more, the narrator of these timelines, Master Gnost-Dural, is himself a historian, and taking his character into consideration, one would think he would have uncovered the events of the Dark War, and he most likely would want to address the almost complete destruction of the Jedi Order at the hands of the Sith. For an in-depth look at fans reactions to Chestney’s statement, check out the Star Wars discussion forums at www.swtor.com

Ultimately I wish that the developers at Bioware would have taken the time to address the important events of the KOTOR 2 story, and not worry about ‘confusing’ me. I’m a smart lad, as are all the other fans on the swtor forums – we can connect the dots.

For my next post I’m going to look at JJM’s fifth installment of the Lost Tribe of the Sith series: Purgatory. Until then my friends, may the Force be with you.

580 BBY - 232 BBY: Jedi vs. Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force

A word of warning to would be Star Wars Chronology writers or those interested in investigating in great detail the workings of this world: this path is not for the faint of heart! All stones must be overturned along your journey! All paths, those clearly marked and those hidden from first sight must be explored and trod upon. All avenues must be investigated if one wants to encounter the full wonder of this magical realm. Heed my advice: begin your adventure with the writings of Abel Pena, for he is a shaper of this world, and his knowledge of this universe knows no bounds!

In my post today I’ll be going over some minor details of Star Wars history found in the text of Jedi vs. Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force. The pages I’ll be covering are 192-192, page 197, and 133-134.

Pages 192-194 and 197 deal with the Teydryn holocron, and the words of Bodo Bass and his encounters with other Force schools. Meanwhile pages 133-134 deal with the planet Almas and a Sith fortress found there.

The first story from these particular pages is an interesting tale of abandonment and the development of the Zeison Sha school of the Force. In or around 2000 BBY some friends and family of the Jedi settled upon the planet of Yanibar believing a group of Jedi was close behind to assist with the settlement of the planet. However the Jedi relatives who knew of this mission were all killed and knowledge of this settlement mission was forgotten. This small band of pioneers was quickly forgotten and had to then fend for themselves. Unfortunately, the settlers believed the Jedi forgot them on purpose, and over time resentment and suspicion of the Jedi grew on this colony. In the year 580 BBY, Jedi Master Bodo Baas rediscovered this lost mission, and attempted to persuade this thriving force-sensitive colony back into the Jedi Order – to no avail. Master Baas, in the Teyndryn holocron describes this unique school of the force, commenting on their impressive telekinetic power, along with their ability to wrap themselves in the force to protect themselves from harmful incoming objects.

The Zeison Sha reaction to Bodo Baas reminded me of the millennia old suspicions between the Roman Catholic Church, and the Orthodox churches of the east. When Baas warned the elders of Zeison Sha about the epitomizing of self reliance, Baas says to them “self-sufficiency can quickly turn into selfishness”. Wise words I agree. The ZeisonSha’s response was interesting as well. A warrior stepped from the crowd to challenge Baas’ words and said: “‘If not for our self-reliance, our ancestors would have died shortly after your ancestors left them here’. Because this warrior’s elders did not reprimand her, I could only assume they agreed with her assessment.” Baas laments the failure of his mission, and ends his report with his respect of the Zeison Sha’s wish to remain independent of the Jedi Order.

Page 197 tells the story of Baas’ second encounter with another school of the Force: The Matukai. Bodo Bass’s reaction to this particular school of the Force left me quite shocked. Upon hearing of this school and meeting with its leader, Baas says: “I believe we should be content to let the Matukai exist as an autonomous organization, provided that they continue to steer clear of the darkside”. I was taken aback by the arrogance of this statement. ‘let them exists!?!’…How kind of the Jedi! It makes Mendor Typhoons comment (the leader of the Matukai movement) to master Baas that: “…the Jedi method of teaching the Force was both elitist and ineffectual” hold some sway. Anyway, still interesting stuff.

Pages 133-134 are remarkable, because it is a story which begins with the character of Darth

Rivan, a Sith decedant of Revan, and the namesake of this particular Dark Lord. Rivan is famous for building a Sith fortress on the planet Almas – a fortress which was still standing after the Clone Wars. I’m not certain how long this fortress lasts in Star Wars history, but it’ll be something I’ll keep my eye on as I progress forward.

The small story on pages 133-134 tell of an explorer finding the planet in 232 BBY. Reidi Artom, the explorer in question, was wise enough to leave the fortress she rediscovered alone. Eventually the Jedi arrive on Almas, set up an academy, and begin to struggle with unlocking the fortress’ mysteries. Later on in the narrative, Jedi Master Lanius Qel-Bertuk tells a harrowing story of betrayal and murder, initiated; it would seem, from the evil aura of the fortress.

The story aside, what is most remarkable about this little tale is that we find the machinations of Abel Pena once again operating in the background of the Star Wars universe. Upon researching Darth Rivan on Wookieepedia, I came across Pena’s article titled “A Darth by any other name, Part 3”. In these blog posts from starwars.com Pena explains to fans the Darth names he’s responsible for creating, and connects for us the history of the Sith Lords from Sadow to Bane. In this third installment, Pena explains how Zannah came by her name, and how she and Bane link their Sith names to the Dark Lords of the Sith before them. What I find most remarkable about Pena’s work is the depth of thought he puts into the elements of the Star Wars universe he adds to, and how very little is placed there haphazardly. This is why I began this post the way I did. Pena’s work in the Star Wars universe has had a deep and lasting impact on the mythos of this realm, and any explorer of this universe needs to familiarize themselves with his essays, thoughts, and contributions. As it is, the events after 2000 BBY to 1000 BBY are filled with history and intrigue, especially for the Sith and their ilk, most of it courtesy of the imagination of Pena and other Star Wars shapers – events which found their way, imperceptibly, into the pages of Jedi vs. Sith.

October, as it turned out, was a very busy month for me and I can’t really explain why. It seemed like I had something going on every day of the week this month, and this particular post took me over a week to complete because my energies and time were constantly being placed in other areas of my life. After this post I’m not really sure if November will be any different. But who knows, maybe I’ll find myself with a little more free time after classes in the coming weeks.

For my next post I’m going to examine the latest installment of the SWTOR timeline titled The Fall of Exar Kun. After that, I’m going to make a post on Dan Wallace’s The Jedi Path. I received my copy this week but haven’t had the chance to hide-out somewhere and read it cover to cover. After that, I’m going to rejoin my chronological journey and examine the story The Apprentice found in Star Wars Tales volume 5. Until then my friends, may the Force be with you.

671 BBY: The Despotica: Part IV: Evocar

If you are reading my blog concerning the Xim material and have not read the material yourself, please stop reading this right now, and read all of the Xim material, for if you have not read any of it, you are missing out on some of the most original writing to be found in all of Star Wars literature.

My first suggestion for getting your hands on the material is to pony-up the money and buy a Hyperspace membership. Don’t be cheap, it’s only 15 bucks. Hyperspace has awesome Star Wars stories. It’s a membership that is well worth it. If a membership to Hyperspace is honestly not a financial reality for you, send me an e-mail and I’ll see how I can help engage with the Despotica. You can leave your e-mail here, or you can send me a PM on the SWTOR forums. My handle there is Iscariot.

Michael Kogge, the author of the Xim material, in the words of Abel Pena, is one of the most innovative writers of Star Wars today, and fans of Star Wars literature should take notice of his work. I’ve gone in length about the Xim material before, and covered the predecessors of Evocar in my earlier posts on March of 2010.

Now, to the text itself, Xim: The Despotica (Part IV: Evocar)…

What I found of most interest in this text was the introduction to the play, the mention of a (presumed) bounty hunter, the invocations of divinity, the Oedipal nature of the Xim material, the prevalence of intertexuality in Star Wars literature(again!), and the story’s ending.

The historical preamble leading up to Evocar, written by our old friend professor Skynx, is worth the price of admission alone. Detailing the history of this audiophonic production, and how this play singlehandedly began a revolt in Hutt space, Skynx gives his readers a solid contextual understanding for appreciating the effect this work had on the history of the Hutts. What struck me most in this introduction was Skynx’s remarks that: “Nikto warriors chiselled dialogue from Evocar on their tuskbeast pikes. Klatooinian desert seers committed the entire series to memory so as to recite them at festivals of the Fountain. A troupe of Evocii refugees from Nar Shaddaa even performed a couple episodes on public hyperspace radio as a desperate plea for Republic aid, before being silenced by hired guns”. Like religious adherents memorizing their sacred text lest the words be forgotten or mis-written, Nikto, Klatooinian, and Evocii beings did everything in their power to preserve what they deemed the sacred truth of this audioplay. To these aliens, Direus’pei will always be remembered as “The Good Hutt”.

After the introduction by Skynx, we get to the meat of the play and the story itself. Evocar picks up where Xim at Vontor left off. Defeated, betrayed, and “blinded” at Vontor, Xim is now held in a Hutt dungeon on Evocar where Kossak the Mighty (a Hutt) rules supreme. Xim is eventually brought to the Hutt for trial. Xim’s crimes, in the eyes of the Hutts, are for tyranny and the destruction of species and planets. He is sentenced to death by the Hutt, and in the middle of his execution, is saved by the Evocii, who believe Xim to be the savior of their prophecies. Kossak the Hutt’s palace is brought to ruin, while Xim escapes to fight another day.

Without getting into too much detail over the story, there were lines here and there I want to highlight which caught my attention.

Shool, the prosecutor of Xim, says to the pirate prince before he was brought before Kossak: “To think we scoured the stars, even hired Lirdarc himself to hunt you down, and there you were, Xim the Deposed, lurking right under our feet, breaking stones. “ Unbeknownst to the Hutts, Xim was labouring in their dungeons as a common prisoner. It was only until Xim’s faithful servant Oziaf realized where his master was and brought him to the attention of the Hutt did Xim finally get released from the catacombs. But what caught my attention in this line was the name Lirdarc. When we read this, we are supposed to know who Lirdarc is – but we don’t. Oddly, this is what I enjoy about Kogge’s writing. His presumed audience is not us, Star Wars fans reading his work circa 2009, but his presumed audience is people listening too or watching the holoplay in the Star Wars universe circa 670 BBY. Kogge name drops people and places and events he assumes his presumed audience knows, and makes historical references his presumed audience will understand, but leaves us who are actually reading the work scratching our heads. I can only guess that Lirdarc is the Cad Bane or Boba Fett of his time, and oddly enough, I hope some Star Wars writer down the line picks up on this obscure reference and flushes out the history of Lirdarc, whoever he, she, or it, may be. I think this is a novel approach to Star Wars writing, creating a work for an intended audience which doesn’t exist. Brilliant if you ask me.

To continue with lines which stood out to me in Evocar, I was highly intrigued by the oath Indrexu had to take before giving evidence at Xim’s trial. Being sworn in by Shool, the prosecutor asked: “Your Majesty, do you swear that the testimony you are about to give is the truth and nothing but, by the Original Light so help you?” This line just about made me gasp. Is this a reference to God? The God? The Original Light? Do the Hutt’s believe in such a thing? Do the Hutt’s have religion? I always find references to gods or divinity interesting in Star Wars, because on some level the idea challenges the supremacy of the Force – the Force being the de facto God of the Star Wars universe. I remember a divine power other than the Force being referenced to or evoked before somewhere in one of the other mediums I’ve already addressed, but I can’t seem to remember where I read it. As it is, I wonder what can or will be told about the Original Light.

Moving on, the Oedipal natures of these works keep coming to the foreground of the Despotica. First with Xim’s self-blinding in Xim at Vontor, and again in epic form in Evocar. While giving evidence and verbally sparring with the prisoner, Indrexu, Xim’s former consort, mistress, and Queen says in bombastic Star Wars fashion: “Xim, I am your mother”. Memories of Darth Vader at Bespin aside, I was almost bowled over by this statement. The emotions I felt while reading this were similar to the emotions invoked in me the first time I read Oedipus Rex. I was disgusted, I was revolted, I was surprised – but not Xim. His response: “So?” A twisted reply, revealing the truth that Xim may have knew the entire time, but had no problems with his incest. Kogge should be winning awards for his work here.

Coupled with the Oedipal nature of Evocar, is the literary device of intertextuality. Kogge owes some thanks to Brian Daley, author of the Han Solo Adventures, and the originator of the story of Xim the Despot. I remember reading this trilogy back in the early 90’s after I had finished the Thrawn trilogy. I enjoyed Daley’s work more than Zahn’s in this case. One of my favorite aspects of Star Wars literature is the way texts shape other texts. We’ve encountered it time and again on our journey through the history of Star Wars, and this will not be the last time we see how one Star Wars text forms another. Indeed, the entirety of Star Wars canon is built upon this idea, and is shaped by the nature of intertextuality.

Finally, the ending of Evocar was absolutely brilliant. Our own professor Skynx, nothing but a bug in its larval stage, is knowingly leaving behind his love of Xim scholarship – his fanciful childhood – to cocoon himself for his transformation into a winged creature with Chroma-wings, looking to discover a new love in his adult stage of life. This picture filled me with a deep melancholy. At the end of his post-script he asks his readers to continue with his work, to “take his torch and dare the dark of Xim”. What a sad sad happy ending.

Every lover of Star Wars literature needs to read Kogge’s work. You don't know what you’re missing.

For my next post I’m going to go over some brief references in JvS that deal with Star Wars history after 671 BBY, and before I get to the years 300-100 BBY. Until then my friends, may the Force be with you.

700 BBY: Star Wars Tales Volume 4: Heart of Darkness

Minch is not Yoda.

I was disappointed by this fact, as I thought Heart of Darkness was going to reveal something of Yoda’s youth – a fact I both bemoaned and appreciated. I appreciated it because I think it’s for the best that Yoda’s past remain shrouded in mystery. There has to be something mysterious left in the Star Wars universe, and Yoda is one of those characters which hasn’t lost his mystery. I also bemoan this fact because I thought a simple story from Yoda’s knighthood would not subtract from his mystery – but then again, maybe it would. As it is, Heart of Darkness is still an origin story which links itself to the Empire Strikes Back.

After reading this comic I, at first, thought Minch was just another name Yoda went by in his youth: a name later to be changed to Yoda. But as Leeland Chee said on wookieepedia “Minch is not part of Yoda’s name”, putting any debate that this character is a young Yoda to bed. Interestingly, Minch was originally Yoda’s first name in the early drafts of the Empire script, but was later dropped for the simple name ‘Yoda’. What is more, in Jedi vs. Sith, on page 132, there is a picture of Yoda “battling Bpfasshi Dark Jedi”. I wonder if Edwards received the inspiration for the picture from Heart of Darkness.

We’ve moved ahead another 280 years in Star War history, to a time where the Galactic Republic rules strong and the Jedi Order looks robust and healthy. In this time-frame it seems the Jedi Order is taking threats of the Sith and Dark Jedi seriously, and not simply burying its head in the sand believing the Sith to be extinct, but actively going and meeting these threats head-on.

Written by Paul Lee and penciled by Paul Lee and Brian Horton, Heart of Darkness, Tale #16 which appeared in Star Wars Tales volume 4, tells the story of Jedi Knight Minch, and his defeat of a Bpfasshi darkside Master. The defeat of the master took place in the famous cave on Dagobah, where Luke received his vision of Vader. Fighting past the dark Master’s use of Dun Moch, Minch managed to cut down the dark leader. As the Bpfasshi Master lay dying, his final words to the Yoda-like creature were eerie: “You will make a great addition to the Dark Jedi…one day”. I wonder if the words of this dark master come to fruition sometime in the future, or if this was simply his continued use of Dun Moch on Minch.

Regardless, as the end of the text states regarding the cave: “A new place of power, anointed with the sweat of the just and the blood of the wicked, is founded”. It is this cave that Yoda later comes to during his self-imposed exile. If I remember correctly, it is because of this Dark Master’s black mark on Dagobah that Yoda felt he could hide his presence in the galaxy – away from the searching eyes of Palpatine and Vader.

I enjoyed the art in this piece, and I thought it especially sinister the way the Bpfasshi adept committed suicide rather than being captured. Still, if this story was about Yoda, I don’t think it would take anything away from the Jedi Master’s mystery. This was a neat little tale which further detailed the universe we love. For my next post I’ll be engaging with our old friend Xim once more. Until then my friends, may the Force be with you.

1010 BBY - 980 BBY: Miscellaneous Missings from Jedi vs. Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force

In my final post regarding this time period in Star Wars history I once again turn to the pages of Jedi vs. Sith: The Essential guide to the force. I mined all possible pages which referenced the epoch of Darth Bane. The pages I covered were 9, 10, 27, 158-159, and 160-167.

As Jedi vs. Sith is a secondary reference text, very little new information was revealed. The information contained in these pages mostly went over what we already knew about this space in history. There were, however, little tidbits of historical interest.

Darth Andeddu’s holocron seems to have withstood the test of time, and over the mellinial made its way from the hands of Set Harth, to Count Dooku and the era of the Clone Wars. I look forward to exploring this era of Star Wars history, as I am slowly closing in on the era of the prequel trilogy.

I also thought it interesting that the Thought Bomb is eventually destroyed by Kyle Katarn and the spirits of the trapped Jedi (and Sith) are eventually released from their prisons of hell.

The most interesting component of these pages though, was the story told by Pernicar, and his encounter with his former apprentice on Russan. I found this story tragic as Pernicar had to cut down his former student, who had now turned to the darkside and joined Kaan’s Brotherhood of Darkness. The purpose of this story was so Pernicar could discuss Sith lightsabers and how they differ from those of the Jedi. What I found absolutely mind blowing in this discourse was the fact that a synthetic red crystal, and naturally occurring red crystals which power Sith sabers, have the ability to break the blade of a Jedi’s saber. This fact must play on the minds of Jedi when they encounter a Sith in lightsaber combat. I would assume this rare occurrence must be trained for by the Jedi, lest they be caught by surprise.

Moving the discussion in a different direction, the words of Palpatine, reflecting on the teachings of Seviss Vaa and his discussion of Sith worlds, brought my studies of this final stage of history in a different direction. It is the first time in Star Wars source material that Darth Millennial is mentioned – the student of Darth Cognus, herself the student of Darth Zannah. I think it appropriate then at this point to engage with Pena’s essay Evil Never Dies, and his handling of post Bane/Zannah history.

Pena goes into detail about the happenings of the Sith order after Darth Bane, and the schism created within the Sith, predicated by Darth Cognus’ inability to inculcate in her apprentice an appreciation for the rule-of-two. Cognus’ failure is further exemplified by her inability to dispatch her apprentice once Millennial had proved himself a heretic from accepted Sith philosophy. Millennial then goes on to found the Prophets of the Darkside. An organization living contravene to the rule-of-two.

I liked Pena’s essay, as it was very similar to what Kogge and Fry did in their dealings with the Xim material. My only complaint with the work is that it wasn’t written “in-universe” and I would have preferred it if the narrator was an in-universe character – and therefore could be dated by someone like Joe Bongiorno. Somewhat like what Kogge did with the narrator of his works being professor Skynx, I think Evil Never dies would have been better if another such professor of Sith history was narrating the text instead of Pena himself.

This essay also reveals the origins of Plaristes moniker – a reference to a Pre-Republic thinker. There’s some narrative that should be explored I think.

Most of all, with regards to Evil Never Dies, I thought it interesting how the Prophets of the darkside later reconnected with Sidious in the future, thereby bringing Bane’s broken lineage in line with his dynasty once again.

Moving back to the text Jedi vs. Sith, pages 160-167 only went over the history we are already familiar with, and did not reveal anything new to Star Wars history.

On a personal note, I apologize for the lack of posting this month. Work became very busy as mark reporting was expected of us a month earlier than expected, which meant I had to move my timeline of projects and assignments up, which means I was chained to my desk marking said projects and assignments. I hope to pick up my posts now that early reporting is out of the way.

For my next post I’ll be venturing ahead a few centuries to the comic short Heart of Darkness found in the pages of Star Wars Tales volume 4. Until then my friends, may the Force be with you.