The High Republic Adventures: Quest of the Jedi, a one-shot written by Claudia Gray, sits in a weird space within Phase Two. Like George Mann’s The Nameless Terror, knowledge of other Phase Two stories (specifically, Path of Deceit) is key in understanding the story and character motivations here. However, this single comic has vital information that will likely play a large part in Phase Three. 

The Story

Sometime after Path of Deceit, Jedi Knight Azlin Rell meets with Jedi Master Vin, the archivist, before a kyber arc where crystals honor Master Zallah Macri and Padawan Kevmo Zink. But Rell needs more than remembrance and heads to the Jedi archives to try and find more information on the stolen Force artifacts that the Jedi Order sent Zallah and Kevmo to recover. 

His quest for answers leads him to research the adventures of Jedi Master Barnabas Vim, and, like George Mann in The Nameless Terror, Claudia Gray takes us to the past, this time even further than the High Republic to a time unknown on the planet Angcord. Master Vim and his Padawan Vix Fonnick are searching for an ancient gem capable of amplifying the Force. Jedi legend states that it was hidden on Angcord to keep out of reach of the Sith Lord, Ravi, and has since sustained the small islands on the mostly oceanic planet.

Communication from the island has gone silent for many years, so Vim and Vix are unsure what to expect. They find a community that needs help as their environment is dying around them. Master Vim assures the leader, Lady of Angcord, that the Force is not turning against them but that he and Vix must investigate to find answers. It becomes apparent that the people of Angcord or using strange Force powers. When the Angcord people show the gem (the Echo Stone) to the Jedi, Vix blurts out that it is what they seek. The Angcord people get defensive, insisting that the Echo Stone cannot leave the planet as a promise their people made to it generations ago. In return for protecting the gem, the Echo Stone would protect the people of Angcord. But there is something wrong on Angcord, and the Echo Stone might be the problem instead of the solution. The Echo Stone might be an agent of the dark side.

Because this is a one-shot, there are some rushed story beats. It is unclear how Master Vin directs Rell toward Vim’s adventures for answers on the gem. What did Rell do with this information before the events of The Edge of Balance: Precedent?

I will trust The High Republic team that this story will continue in some aspect, whether through Rell or Barnabas somehow in Phase Three. If a nested tale of a time long before The High Republic connects to the Nameless, then Phase Three can return to Phase Two time to complete Rell’s arc.

The Characters

Azlin Rell is not even the main character in this comic, but it is a reminder of how severely underused he is in Phase Two. He bookends Path of Deceit, and at the time, it felt Rell was to be a central character in Phase Two. However, he had no main storyline until The Edge of Balance: Precedent, where his mind breaks from the Battle of Dalna. We also see the lead-up in Path of Vengeance and get Rell briefly in the third act. 

Now he bookends another story that seems very important to the overall High Republic mystery of the Nameless. 

It is also apparent that Rell has survivor’s guilt. Kevmo initially invites Rell to join the two on their mission to Dalna but declines to finish work and report back to Jedha. There was a missed opportunity to explore how those feelings motivated him. 

But, alas, we move on to Master Barnabas Vim, a top-tier Star Wars name and one that we have heard before. Those who have read the Star Wars Insider short, Tales of Enlightenment: New Prospects, might remember Vim’s name being dropped by prospector Saretha Von Beel. I correctly assumed that we would be hearing more from Vim, and I hope we learn more about the time in which he lived. 

Canon portrays Qui-Gon as a one-of-a-kind Jedi who lived his life as the purest form of what the Jedi were intended to be. And that if he survived the Battle of Theed, Anakin Skywalker would have never fallen to the dark side (though likely Palpatine would have found a way to get rid of him). But Qui-Gon had a way of de-escalating contentious situations. Vim’s measured approach and assuredness to the problem on Angcord reminds me of Qui-Gon Jin, and, within one issue, Gray conveys the type of character that would be renowned within the Order centuries later.

We have ANOTHER chatty Padawan Twilek in Vix Fonnick. Yet, she is far likable than Matty Cathley (probably because she calls out the absurdity of going to a strange planet based on legends instead of calling ahead to check). But there is not much for her to do other than to be an ear for Vim to discuss his concerns.

The Lady of Angcord is the exposition for the history of Angcord and the Echo Stone, and her design is quite similar to another Marvel character, Loki (so take from that what you will).

Canon Contributions

Master Barnabas Vim and Padawan Vix Fonnick’s timeline is not clarified. Now that we have had multiple references to Vim’s adventures, a plan might be in place at Lucasfilm to further develop that era. 

We get further lore about the Rod of Daybreak and Rod of Seasons, which might be connected to ancient Sith. Has Yoda also been hiding this information from the rest of the Jedi Order?

The events in this one-shot feel too significant to be isolated to a High Republic Adventure comic. I imagine some form of this story will repeat in a Phase Three novel, but this, paired with The Edge of Balance: Precedent, is so strong in their storytelling that they are worth investing time in (perhaps even more than some of the novels).