Star Wars: Jedi of the Future II: Empire of Light

by HandofThrawn45

92 years after A New Hope, raiders from the Unknown Regions are destabilizing the Imperial Remnant from outside and within. As Jagged Fel and his sons consider urgent means to preserve the Empire, the Jedi and Sith alike search for the truth behind these attacks and discover an old enemy returned.

1. Introduction

Introduction

Empire of Light is the second volume of what's looking to be a trilogy bridging the gap between the Del Rey novels and Dark Horse's Legacy comics. When starting this project I knew the biggest thing that needed to be addressed was the creation of the Fel Empire and the Imperial Knights. As you might guess from the title, that's what this book is about. At the same time it also wraps up some plot threads left dangling from the Fate of the Jedi series, which means it's a long book with a lot of stuff to cover.

When writing the first volume I made a conscious effort to re-use story elements from first installments of previous SW trilogies (the climactic fight at a superweapon, the dying mentor who passes the torch, the major villain who's beaten at the end while the larger threat remains). This story strikes out on its own a bit more and picks up almost a generation after A Shadowed Peace, which means characters from the Legacy comics are starting to move into the picture.

The unique advantage of a bridge project is that the beginning and the end are already written, but there's enough space in between to create a unique story that draws on ideas from either end but can still stand on it's own. That's certainly the case for Jedi of the Future and on some level, I think, for Empire of Light too. At this stage in the story the heroes from the Del Rey novels are in their waning years and those from the Legacy comics are just getting started. That means this middle book is where the grandchildren of Luke, Han, and Leia will make the choices that define them.

Dramatis Personae

Gevern Auchs, Mand'alor (human male)
Darth Avanc, Sith Lord (Keshiri male)
Neela Avaris, Imperial Head of State (human female)
Lukas Briggs, Imperial quartermaster (human male)
Damien Corde, Imperial spy (human male)
Allana Solo Djo, Jedi Knight (human female)
Por Dun, Imperial captain (Kel Dor female)
Arlen Fel, Jedi Master (human male)
Davek Fel, Imperial admiral (human male)
Jaina Solo Fel, Jedi Master (human female)
Jagged Fel, former statesman (human male)
Marasiah Valtor Fel, Jedi Knight (human female)
Marin Fel, Jedi apprentice (human female)
Roan Fel, child (human male)
Vitor Fel, Jedi apprentice (human male)
Darth Kheykid, Sith Lord (Barabel male)
Darth Kroan, Sith Lord (human male)
Demia Lohr, Queen of Hapes (human female)
Serissa Lohr, Hapan princess (human female)
Tamar Skirata, ranger (human female)
Jade Skywalker Tainer, Jedi Knight (human female)
Jodram Tainer, Jedi Knight (human male)
Darth Terrid, Sith Lord (Chiss male)
Corrien Veers, Imperial moff (human male)