Starlight Beacon — Image Source: YouTube

The High Republic has been running for nearly four years and ends next summer. But, in that time, it has introduced fans to a treasure trove of characters, be they Jedi, Nihil, or civilians. We at CultureSlate felt it was high time to highlight these characters through a brief rundown of some of our favorites in various categories. Today, we will run through ten of the greatest civilians or civilian groups of The High Republic!

Warning: This article will contain spoilers up to and including Wave 2, Phase 3 of The High Republic.

10. Zeen Mrala

Zeen Mrala is a very unique part of The High Republic. As a member of the Elders of the Path, a remnant of the Path of the Open Hand seen in Phase 2, this Mikkian without parents was set for a life of repressing her natural connection to the Force, even from her closest friend, Krix. However, an Emergence over her home of Trymant IV caused the Jedi to come and help, and that is where she met Jedi Padawans Lula Talisola, Farzala, and Qort, among others. Leaving with the Jedi as her natural connection caused her to be rejected by the Elders, The High Republic Adventures (2021) explores Zeen slowly falling in love with Lula and Lula returning those feelings while she battles against a radicalized Krix who has joined the Nihil.

RELATED:

Featured

'Skeleton Crew' Releases In Less Than A Month, What Do We Know?

In Midnight Horizon, she leaves Lula’s side to help their friend Padawan Ram Jomaram on Corellia, only for Lula and Farzala to vanish in the fall of Starlight Beacon. The High Republic Adventures (2023) picks up the story, revealing Lula survived, though with amnesia, and the two have rekindled their love again. They are now planning to be married in a wedding spectacular issue, due out this winter, and represent one of the initiative's most prominent same-sex couples. Zeen’s connection to the Force and alliance with the Jedi produced an interesting dynamic, and her many friendships, as well as her love story, have also created a rich, well-thought-out character to root for. We cannot wait to see how her and Lula’s story wraps up with the coming Battle of Eriadu.

9. Ty Yorrick

Ty Yorrick is one of the most unique citizens on this list in that she was once a Jedi! Padawan to a Jedi Master, Ty and a fellow student snuck away and delved into an ancient ruin of a Dark Side cult, only for her friend to become possessed by the personalities and memories of the cult members. In the fight that ensued, Ty accidentally killed him and then fled in fear of the consequences. She later became a monster hunter, working for money and all sorts of people while trying to avoid her Jedi past, using her lightsaber as little as possible. However, in The Rising Storm, she is pulled into close association with the Jedi again and helps Elzar Mann during the Nihil’s attack against the Republic Fair. She quickly leaves but is on her own when the Stormwall and Occlusion Zone comes into being. Trying to avoid the Nihil’s attention by not getting involved,

Ty continues to hunt monsters, but her new voice of reason, a “squire” named Drewen (who she met during the adventures of The Monster of Temple Peak comic miniseries), pushes her out of her comfort zone. However, she doesn’t go far enough for his liking, and when he learns that the Chancellor’s son is trapped in the Occlusion Zone with the Nihil closing in, he rushes off to save them. Ty, barely able to finish her actions against the Nihil, races off and saves them both, defeating a Child of the Storm, her former master corrupted by Baron Boolan. Returning to Coruscant, while Ty isn’t yet ready to return to the Order, a healing process has begun, and we will see more of her again soon with the final issue of Dispatches from the Occlusion Zone, which may shed light on where she is going next either within or after the initiative comes to an end. Ty’s unique status as a former Jedi monster hunter has been interesting to follow, and even if she returns to the Order, we hope to hear more stories about her time on the frontier battling all sorts of creatures.

8. Pikka And Joss Adren

Ongoing background characters to The High Republic, Pikka, and Joss Adren are nevertheless important for the normalcy and perspective they offer, which is different from most others. Both were involved in the construction of Starlight Beacon as engineers and, shortly before Light of the Jedi, helped fix a potential issue with the still unfinished station despite being off-duty. They later participated with the RDC in the Battle of Kur and performed excellently in the fighting, though it created a great deal of stress for both of them. However, over two years later, they end up back on Starlight Beacon for routine repairs when the Nihil sabotage of the station begins. Trapped aboard with hundreds of others, the Adrens take on important roles in calming the civilians and helping seek answers and solutions to various issues.

They successfully escape the station’s destruction and, understanding the threat of the Nihil, chose to join the RDC in their operations against the Stormwall, which has been thrown up around the Nihil’s Occlusion Zone. Their story continues in the Star Wars Insider short stories of Phase 3, but as they are creations of Charles Soule, it is almost certain he will bring them back for The High Republic's final novel, Trials of the Jedi. A truly loving couple, the Adrens represent the average Republic citizenry well, even if their technical skills and knowledge also mark them out as special in this era of the galaxy.

7. Tey Sirrek

Tey Sirrek made an immediate impression on readers of The High Republic (2022) when he appeared to kill the main character for the series, Jedi Master Vildar Mac. Of course, it was immediately revealed next issue that his species can temporarily paralyze people, but still, Tey left an impression. Despite this antagonistic relationship with Vildar and his guide across the city, Padawan Matthea Cathley, Tey eventually earned their trust and friendship as the Battle of Jedha consumed Jedha City. Helping galvanize the Guardians of the Whills to action, Tey joined Vildar in a mission to help Jedi Knight Oliviah Zeveron at a Jedi vault being raided by members of the Path of the Open Hand. Confronting the Great Leveler, Tey desperately wielded the Hand of Siberius and drove the eldritch creature off, saving Vildar’s life. Tey remained in Jedha City to assist with the cleanup in the wake of the battle but then rushed to Dalna to help in the aftermath of the Night of Sorrow.

After this point, his friendship with Vildar grows incredibly close and ultimately romantic, with the Jedi Master helping his partner learn how to wield the Hand still in his possession. Fast-forward to Phase 3, and Tey Sirrek makes a surprise appearance in The High Republic (2023), now much older and wiser, though still with the Hand in his possession, but also Vildar’s lightsaber given that his partner had passed on. Tey ultimately helps Keeve’s rogue mission in tracking down her old master, Sskeer, and then in a confrontation against the Children of the Storm and Baron Boolan. He looks set to appear in the comic series Fear of the Jedi, releasing in 2025, so his story isn’t over yet! Tey is a fun character who always enjoys a bit of comedy but is also a complex figure with a lot of history to him we’ve not seen but hope to soon.

6. Avon Starros/Avon Sunvale

Avon first appeared in Phase 1’s A Test of Courage and made a mark due to her status as a kid genius but also someone who lacked social graces. Stranded on a practically anonymous world with her droid J-6, Jedi Knight Vernestra Rowh, Padawan Imri Cantaros, and the Dalnan ambassador’s son Honesty Weft, she forged new friendships and bonds that would soon come into play. Absent for much of Phase 1 after this, her return comes in the book Mission to Disaster, which sees her accidentally kidnapped by the Nihil and forced into helping them while under the supervision of the villainous cyborg Dr. Mkampa. Avon is rescued, though Dalna is devastated, and she learns the strong likelihood that her mother has been in contact with the Nihil as a traitor.

Her fate is left mysterious until Phase 3’s Defy the Storm, where we learn Avon was aboard Starlight Beacon, but a team of Nihil arrived and grabbed her and Imri, who was able to hide his Jedi nature and be sent to safety with J-6. Forced to live with her mother Ghirra in the Occlusion Zone, Avon is disturbed by the repeated attempts to kill her and finds solace in bonding with her bodyguard, the Nihil warrior Deva. Fans of the 2020-and-onward slate of comics may recognize this woman as Deva Lompop, the prismatic-feather-haired woman with green skin who eats people alive. Defy the Storm ultimately shows Avon breaking away from her mother’s orbit, changing her surname to Sunvale, and looking to aid the Republic in taking down the Stormwall for good. This continues in a brief scene during Temptation of the Force, where the mother and daughter meet in a scene full of tension. Avon is an incredibly resilient young woman, forced to distance herself from an apathetic, if not poor, family structure, draw closer to found family through her friends, and choose to do what is right in a scary, dark time for her. We hope to see more from Avon in the coming books and comics that wrap up The High Republic.

5. The Vessel’s Crew

Introduced in Into the Dark, the Vessel’s crew is made up of Affie Hollow, Leox Gyasi, and Geode. Members of the Byne Guild that largely operated in the galactic frontier, the trio serves as last-minute transportation for a group of Jedi, with everyone, unfortunately, getting caught in the Great Hyperspace Disaster. Dropping out of hyperspace to avoid the debris strewn across the lanes, the group comes upon an ancient space station, and in the course of the novel, the Jedi unleash the Drengir. Meanwhile, Affie learns that her adoptive mother, the Guild’s owner, has been pushing her indentured crews to perform dangerous operations to reduce their debts to her, including Affie’s biological parents, who died attempting such a mission. With this information, Affie goes to the Republic, resulting in the woman’s arrest and the Guild’s dissolution.

The Vessel appears across the rest of Phase 1, and in The Fallen Star, they are among the civilians trapped aboard Starlight Beacon, but the group successfully escapes. Affie, seeking to help the Republic in the aftermath of the disaster, re-forms the Bryne Guild, intending to create an information network and far greater rights for its involved captains. They appear to have been successful with this effort, and the trio recently appeared in Tears of the Nameless, once again helping the Jedi as they have been since their first introduction. Affie Hollow has been an excellent person to follow, with multiple POV chapters across many stories helping to give readers an understanding of herself and her two friends, Leox and Geode. Geode is a character of stellar comedic relief, and the same is true of Leox, though there is a serious, worn side to the man with a laid-back attitude that contrasts well with Affie’s youthful energy. It will be a treat to see both more of this crew, and hopefully more of the Bryne Guild as Phase 3 comes to a close next summer.

4. The Graf Family

The Graf family is one of two major corporate-family entities in the Star Wars galaxy during this era, but much like their rivals, they existed well before The High Republic was created. The Graf family was initially introduced in the Adventures in Wild Space series of novels, where in the era of the Skywalker Saga, members of their family were initially hunted by the Empire and later joined the Rebellion. However, traces of their past wealth and status existed in these stories, and The High Republic has since expanded the Grafs into a family of wealthy industrials heavily involved in supporting the Republic but also having less scrupulous methods and greater moral flexibility than others. Some Grafs we know are good people, like Skye Graf of Phase 2, who wants to find their missing father by traveling to Planet X. However, unfortunately, we know of many less honorable Grafs whose focus is on profit and success over safety or sanity.

Tilson Graf, despite being a black sheep of his family in Phase 2 of The High Republic, was still able to acquire enforcer droids for both the Path of the Open Hand and the Eiram nobles who desired to continue the war against E’ronoh. In Phases 1 and 3, there are figures like Catriona Graf, the family matriarch who backs elements of the Nihil in their plans with assistance from her grandson, Xylan, a thoroughly complicated individual who sits between people like Skye and Catriona. The family’s overall impact on this era likely isn’t done yet, and we’ll have to wait and see if any new Graf figures appear or if the existing Grafs we know of change in significant ways.

3. The San Tekka Family

The rivals to the Grafs, the San Tekkas, were similarly drawn from existing Star Wars material, which was simultaneously more prominent yet also mysterious. The only named San Tekka we knew of for many years was Lor San Tekka, Luke’s friend and a scholar of the Jedi and Force lore, who appeared and died in The Force Awakens. The High Republic greatly expands the narrative of the San Tekkas into hard-scrabble up-and-comers who greatly benefitted from the Hyperspace Rush that was underway during Phase 2 of the initiative. We also know that, likely thanks to the power of Planet X, the young Mari San Tekka, who is born or taken into the family after the events of Phase 2, has a unique gift, the ability to chart new hyperspace routes called Paths. With this ability, the San Tekkas grew powerful, but Mari was stolen away from them by the Ro family. They used her gifts for their own ends, while the San Tekkas retained their power and prestige, though also a deep secret about Mari and her fate. The San Tekkas became so numerous that they created a cadet branch of their family line, called the Sparkburns, who many San Tekkas consider “cousins” no matter their actual relation. These figures seem more devoted to the frontier, while the San Tekkas often remain closer to the core or urban regions. In Phases 1 and 3, we find Marlowe and Vellis San Tekka leading their family, though they are keeping the truth of Mari from outsiders.

Mari herself, meanwhile, still lives in the clutches of Marchion Ro, though she is eventually found and killed as a mercy by the Jedi Vernestra Rowh. Meanwhile, members of the Sparkburn cadet branch, Jordanna and Yacek, as well as Cair San Tekka, exist on the frontier, operating far from the more upscale existence of their other relatives. Similar to the Grafs, we do not yet know the fate of the San Tekkas in this era, but keeping Mari’s secrets for so long and keeping out of the fighting in Phase 3 may end up contributing to a decline they seem to have suffered by the time we get to Lor’s period of the timeline.

2. The Greylark Family

The Greylark family was first introduced in Phase 2 but immediately made an impression through the significant power they wielded and the family issues at the heart of Phase 2 storytelling. Led by matriarch and Chancellor Kyong Greylark, her son Axel Greylark has significant emotional problems drawn from the death of his father, Lexxir. Kyong buried her grief while Axel acted out, driving a wedge between the two that allowed the Mother of the Path of the Open Hand to manipulate Axel into an agent for the Path in the halls of power. Doing terrible things in the name of the Mother, the novel Cataclysm sees the wool pulled from Axel’s eyes, as the Mother reacts with disgust to learn that Kyong has given up her power as Chancellor to go and find Axel with the Path. Realizing his mom cares and the terrible nature of the Path under the Mother’s influence, Axel allies with Jedi Knight Gella Nattai and soon finds Kyong during the Night of Sorrow.

The fates of these characters are unknown, as Axel needs to continue a period of incarceration with Kyong no longer the Chancellor, but their family does have descendants. In the Phase 3 book Beware the Nameless, we meet several more Greylarks, still in politics and still helping the Republic. The young Zenny Greylark wants to search for her missing sister, while her father is also missing, but her Senator mother has a professional, though compassionate, viewpoint that means she will not seek them out given the present circumstances in the galaxy. Still, this rift between mother and child is not as deep as that between Axel and Kyong, and hints in the text allude to the family having learned from that old tragedy. As major players in politics, serving as Senator for Coruscant and Chancellor, the Greylark name is certainly memorable and may still have a part to play in the coming final pieces of The High Republic.

1. Lina Soh

The leader of the Republic for Phases 1 and 3, Lina Soh, is a woman of great ambition, kindness, and dedication. Originally the representative of a world without much importance, Lina’s ascension was considered a mark of the attitudes of the High Republic era. She was the figure who then coined the phrase “We are all the Republic” as part of her belief that everyone was deserving of aid and focus across the galaxy who was part of the Galactic Republic. Despite some struggles with her son, Kitrep, due to her busy schedule and single-parent status (we have yet to learn of any divorce or loss of a partner), Lina carried on with her work, helping ensure the creation of many Great Works during her tenure before the start of Phase 1. While we do not have a complete list at this time, The Living Force reveals that the environmental and economic recovery of a planet was one such Great Work, while Starlight Beacon was another. Lina Soh also tried to relaunch the Republic Fair on the planet Valo soon after Starlight Beacon was completed, but the Nihil attacked the Fair, causing the loss of one of her legs.

Resolute against the Nihil, Lina Soh was nevertheless horrified by the fall of Starlight Beacon and the creation of the Occlusion Zone after it, as it trapped her son and his boyfriend in Nihil territory. Despite this loss, she remained resolute and devoted to defeating the Nihil while also avoiding any official recognition of their new “state” in the galactic south. She has been forced to deal with Ghirra Starros, a woman she despises for her allegiance to the Nihil because she serves as the ambassador for Marchion Ro’s forces in the wider galaxy. She has also become a friend to Elzar Mann, just as she was a friend to Stellan Gios before his death. While we do not know what will happen to Lina, she was recently reunited with her son at the end of the Saber for Hire miniseries, and this hopefully means she will have more time to spend with Kitrep going forward, with a long, happy life for both of them.

READ NEXT:

Featured