Star Wars: The High Republic Phase II Reveals New Characters

Star Wars: The High Republic is about to launch Phase II of its line, and as such, we'll be getting to meet some new characters. Star Wars is now teasing some of those new characters in the latest update on the official Star Wars website. In addition to some new character teases, we also get the official opening crawl to Star Wars: The High Republic Phase II, and the first chapter of the new phase, "Quest of the Jedi". 

For a quick recap: Star Wars: The High Republic Phase I started with The Jedi Order and The Republic achieving the milestone of launching "Starlight Beacon," the first extension of galactic civilization into the vast unknown region of the Outer Rim Territories. The celebration didn't last long, as Starlight Beacon's opening provoked the galactic pirate group The Nihil to attack both the Jedi and Republic. At the same time the Nihil were a de-stabilizing society with The Great Hyperspace Disaster and Republic Fair Massacre, the dark side was rising in the form of the plant monsters the Drengir awakening again and spreading like a plague, while Nihil leader Marchion Ro unleashed a special of Force-eating monsters that are effectively Jedi killers. Ro's plan culminated in the Nihil sabotaging and destroying Starlight Beacon, resulting in the death of many Jedi, including Starlight's marshall (and Jedi icon) Stellan Gios. Now, the Nihil are still at large (and at war with The Hutt Clan), the Jedi Order is reeling as the darkness looms, and The Republic is living in fear. 

Phase II of The High Republic will open with some prequel stories, set 150 before Phase I – or 350 years before The Skywalker Saga began. Now StarWars.com has revealed the full character design for Axel Greylark, a chancellor's son who appears in the upcoming Phase Ii novel, Convergence. 

Convergence will look at the conflict between Eiram and E'ronoh, the two planets whose history of war stopped with the Jedi's intervention. Starlight Beacon was launched as a major sign of peace between Eiram and E'ronoh – but over a century before that period of peace...

 From the opening crawl of Convergence: 

On the close orbiting planets of Eiram and E'ronoh, the growing pains of a galaxy with limited resources but unlimited ambition are felt keenly. Their hatred for each other has fueled half a decade of escalating conflict and now threatens to consume surrounding systems. The last hope for peace emerges when heirs from the two planets' royal families plan to marry.

Before lasting peace can be established, an assassination attempt targeting the couple tilts Eiram and E'ronoh back into all-out war. To save both worlds, Jedi Knight Gella Nattai volunteers to uncover the culprit, while Chancellor Kyong appoints her son, Axel Greylark, to represent the Republic's interests in the investigation.

But Axel's deep distrust of the Jedi sparks against Gella's faith in the Force. She's never met such a puffed-up, privileged party boy, and he's never met a more self-serious, relentless do-gooder. The more they work to untangle the shadowy web of the investigation, the more complicated the conspiracy appears to be. With accusations flying and potential enemies in every shadow, the pair will have to work together to have any hope of bringing the truth to light and saving both worlds.

Also revealed was a new Jedi Master character, Silandra Sho, who will appear in The High Republic: Quest for the Hidden City. Silandra comes with the notable distinction of apparently preferring a shield weapon to a lightsaber sword: "Jedi Master Silandra Sho shown here in an illustration by Jeff Thomas and based on concept art from Iain McCaig. Like her weapon of choice, Silandra views herself as a shield against evil in the galaxy."

You can visit StarWars.com for variant cover reveals for the Phase II volume of Marvel's Star Wars: The High Republic comic series. More on that series (launching in November) below: 

Set 150 years before Phase 1, Phase II of Star Wars: The High Republic will center around Jedha, a planet rich in its connection to the Force and the focus of every major faith in the galaxy. The new flagship STAR WARS: THE HIGH REPUBLIC comic series will introduce Jedi Vildar Mac, who arrives as Jedha's fragile peace begins to crumble and a nameless terror arrives