Star Wars Reveals New Cover Art for The High Republic Phase 2

Star Wars: The High Republic is here to remind fans that an epic new wave of storlines is coming in The High Republic Phase II. The first big promotional reveal for The High Republic Phase II is a piece of cover artwork that introduces some pivotal new characters, as well as the new creative talent coming onboard for the next phase of the series. Star Wars: The High Republic first launched in January of 2021, running just over a year with three adult novels that pushed the main plotline forward; three YA novels following the arc of several key padawan characters; and a whole bunch of mid-to-younger novels and comic books filling out some of the supporting characters and storylines.

Star Wars: The High Republic Show dropped the new Phase II cover art for the upcoming YA novel Star Wars: The High Republic: Path of Deceit. Check out the artwork below, along with a breakdown of what it shows (via StarWars.com): 

Cover art for the young adult novel Star Wars: The High Republic: Path of Deceit, written by Gratton and Ireland, features a Pantoran Jedi, a character known only as the Mother, and a new Evereni character, Marda Ro, for a story that returns us to the planet Dalna to meet a new group: The Path of the Open Hand.

"The Mother" is a name sure to elicit a big response from Star Wars fans, as "The Father," "The Son," and "The Daughter" were entities that embody the Force and its dark and light sides (respectively). So how does "The Mother" fit into that paradigm? 

The blue-skinned figure on the right of the photo is also received some special attention: Marda Ro. The main villain of Star Wars: The High Republic is none other than Marchion Ro, Eye of the Nihil pirate group – a fearsome warrior from the mysterious species called the Evereni and their storm-ridden planet. What Marda's connection to Marchion is all about is a big mystery and Path of Deciet could be the book that finally answers it... 

The history of Marchion Ro's family is connected to another great family of the High Republic era: the San Tekka Clan. Mari San Tekka was a Force-sensitive human girl with the unique abilitiy to sense hyperspace pathways others could not detect; that power allowed the San Tekka Clan to become the greatest hyperspace prospectors in the galaxy – until Marchion Ro's family kidnapped and imprisoned the girl. The Ro family and their pirate group The Nihil forced Mari San Tekka to become a sort of living navigation computer that allowed the Nihil sole ability to use "The Paths" –  i.e. hyperspace lanes only the Nihil can access. The paths are what make the Nihil such a formidable threat, able to appear anywhere, strike, and disappear again into hyperspace without a trace. 

During the events of The High Republic novel The Rising Storm, Jedi Master Loden Greatstorm (a prisoner of the Nihil) managed to make psychic contact with Mari through the Force, bringing the hyperspace savant back to awareness for the first time in a very long time. It wouldn't be surprising if the premise of Path of Deceit (set 150 years before The High Republic Phase I) helps to flesh-out that particular story.