10 Important Places Of 'The High Republic'

Star Wars

Nov 7

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, but it has also introduced a range of new planets and other key locations or has added important lore to existing parts of the Star Wars galaxy. We at CultureSlate felt it was high time to highlight these places, so today, we will run through ten of the most important places during The High Republic!

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

10. Tenoo

The planet Tenoo is the main setting for the animated kids series Young Jedi Adventures, and it is a beautiful planet covered in forests of huge Tenoo trees. The local Jedi Temple has one such tree growing up and through it, while nearby, the town of Kublop Springs sits nestled down by the tree roots and water of the frequent lakes and rivers. The planet is a beautiful environment rich in plant life, full of people from many species working together in relative harmony. Protected by Jedi like Master Zia, Kai Brightstar, Lys Solay, and Nubs, Tenoo is a thriving, positive community with faith in the Jedi and a strong spirit of cooperation. But we also know it is a target for dark forces, as a small detail from the recently released Beware the Nameless sees the Nihil plotting to send a Nameless egg to the planet! If the Nihil wants to destroy Tenoo’s defenses and society, that only enforces its importance in The High Republic.

RELATED:

Featured

Why The Star Wars Franchise Is Still Strong

9. Banchii

Once a quiet, out-of-the-way planet lush with vegetation, Banchii was the perfect place for the then-Jedi Knight Arkoff to hide the droid ZZ-10 with the journal of Azlin Rell so he could spend decades analyzing the cryptic writings the now-insane Jedi had written. Years later, the now Master Arkoff had the Jedi build one of their temple outposts on the world, helping to create a refuge from the ongoing Nihil attacks and to support the Republic’s efforts in the region while still protecting the secret project. However, aware the planet held something of significance, Marchion Ro targeted Banchii, first by spreading the Drengir to the world and later by having his forces directly attack. Destroying the Jedi outpost, Nihil forces searched the ruins, finding the still-functional ZZ-10. But, they were foiled in their effort to acquire the knowledge now in the droid’s possession. Banchii still has a group of Jedi on-planet, who have built a new, much smaller temple with a gravesite for all those lost in the chaos of prior years. Meanwhile, the native avian Banchiians have now allied with the Jedi, looking to protect their home and natural life. Banchii’s story is told across The Edge of Balance manga series, and it is a surprising epicenter of activity, seeing many characters from The High Republic visit and possibly holding more secrets in the future.

8. Valo

Homeworld of the Alcedian species, Valo is a world of great lakes and forests and was chosen for the site of the Republic Fair under the chancellorship of Lina Soh. Lonisa City, the Fair's host city, was also home to a Jedi Temple, with a new Temple nearly finished construction by the time the celebrations were to begin. But, as seen in The Rising Storm, the Nihil laid waste to the newly opened Fair and the metropolitan center while deploying the Drengir to disrupt communications. Many Jedi, from Stellan Gios to Ram Jomaram to Bell Zettifar, fought against these foes, and the devastation was greatly curtailed. However, when the Stormwall went up as Starlight Beacon fell, the planet was suddenly in Nihil territory. They descended on it with a vengeance, with many of the Jedi stationed on the world being husked by the newly plentiful Nameless.

Very few Jedi survived, and the Nihil began an occupation, only for Ram Jomaram, three Jedi Younglings, Ram’s Jedi Master, and a few of their allies to eventually liberate the world, as told in the middle-grade book Escape from Valo. The planet remains free, though The High Republic Adventures (2023) looks likely to challenge that state of affairs as the Nihil leader known as the Warden comes for a visit! The fate of Valo remains unclear, but it is a place of history and significance as a symbol, both for the Republic and the Nihil.

7. Eriadu

One of several pre-existing Star Wars locations to become prominent in The High Republic, Eriadu’s importance was teased back in Phase 1 when a Nihil Tempest Runner bungled a ransom operation. Aware of an incoming Emergence from the Great Hyperspace Disaster, he tried to extract a payment for destroying the anomaly. But his gunners missed, and one of Eriadu’s moons was annihilated. He was later killed at the Battle of Kur by Eriadu members of the Republic Defense Coalition in Light of the Jedi. In Phase 3, though, Eriadu became a key part of RDC operations related to the Stormwall, which loomed nearby.

Its importance was and still is being explored in Star Wars Insider short stories and The High Republic Adventures (2023), with many Jedi stationed on the planet. However, the Stormwall’s expansion eventually enveloped Eriadu, and a political crisis broke out within the Tarkin family over the developing situation. We also know it will be the site of a climactic battle for Phase 3, the Battle of Eriadu, which will draw the Adventures comic run to an end. Long defined for its association with Wilhuff Tarkin, this exploration of Eriadu’s past is greatly welcomed for providing depth to the world and adding to the Star Wars mythos.

6. Hetzal

A world and its moons all devoted to agriculture, Hetzal’s plight at the start of Light of the Jedi introduced us to the era of The High Republic. Led by Avar Kriss, countless Jedi deploy across the planet, its moons, and across space around the world to help the millions in peril from the galaxy’s encounter with one of the first Emergences, one of the elements of the Great Hyperspace Disaster. The solar system was saved from a colossal explosion that might have destroyed it before Hetzal settled into the growth of plants for the creation of bacta and further food resources for the Republic.

However, when the Nihil established the Stormwall, Marchion Ro marched on Hetzal, enslaving its populace to work the fields and build him a fortress, all to reject and taint the heroics of Avar Kriss and the Jedi. He based himself on this new fearsome structure, ruling from his citadel in Eye of Darkness, where the horrific treatment of the populace was casually observed by Marchion and more critically examined by Ghirra Starros, Republic senator turned traitor and a Nihil ally. Hetzal’s fate is up in the air right now, as the current state of affairs cannot persist, but exactly how much heroes like Avar might have to sacrifice to free it from its shackles is not clear.

5. Dalna

Dalna is a planet that has seen a lot of action in its past, though it has seen a lot less in recent months of The High Republic content. Introduced as having some vague negative history with the Jedi in Phase 1 through books like A Test of Courage and Mission to Disaster, Phase 2 put Dalna at the heart of the story with Path of Deceit. A humble, young world of rolling fields, seasonal rains, and grand mountain chains, it was the place the Path of the Open Hand called home. Slowly twisted by the Mother, a new religious leader, the arrival of two Jedi, Master Zallah Macri and Padawan Kevmo Zink, triggered a spiral of events. Both Jedi died, launching an investigation, while the Path left for Jedha only to then return and begin fortifying their position. Pursued by Jedi and other groups wanting answers or knowledge, the Night of Sorrow took place.

Many Jedi died, and the cult was devastated, while native Dalnans also lost their lives, and other external parties fought it out on and around the world. In the end, this event was buried in the histories of the Jedi and the native Dalnans. Returning to Phase 1 and the end of that piece of the storytelling, the Nihil forced a planetary evacuation at the end of Mission to Disaster, and we haven’t heard anything further about Dalna in Phase 3. This will soon change, as the final issue of Dispatches from the Occlusion Zone will take monster hunter Ty Yorrick there with Lourna Dee, but exactly what is happening on the world is still a mystery. Still, Dalna is a key part of High Republic history and may yet hold knowledge for the end of Phase 3 and the entire project.

4. Jedha

Much like Eriadu, Jedha was a world from wider Star Wars, which The High Republic took and added much more context to. This religiously significant moon was the site of the Convocation of the Force during Phase 2 of The High Republic, a council of several faiths and groups associated with the Force who tried to foster peaceful interactions and community. However, these different groups proved incredibly quarrelsome with each other, the other faiths in Jedha City not represented in the Convocation, and the average citizens or travelers passing through. Into this powderkeg came a summit for the signing of a peace treaty between the warring worlds of Eiram and E’ronoh,

the new arrival of the Path of the Open Hand whose stance against any use of the Force put them at odds with many groups, and in addition to it all, a festival planned by the Convocation to support their agenda. All of these elements ultimately resulted in the Battle of Jedha, a riot as the Great Leveler caused those with the Force to go mad and attack people at random, and as negotiations broke down between Eiram and E’ronoh, causing the leaders on the scene to deploy their military forces. The Jedi, led by figures like Matthea Cathley, Silandra Sho, and Creighton Sun, fought bravely against these forces. In the end, a force of further Jedi and Republic forces brought an end to the chaos, though the city would need to spend a long time rebuilding from this calamity.

3. Eiram & E’ronoh

Elram & E'ronoh — Image Source: StarWars.com

Much like Dalna, Eiram & E’ronoh were introduced at the start of Phase 1, only being fleshed out later in Phase 2. Exploring this past first, Eiram & E’ronoh were a pair of planets in the same solar system that shared a moon but little else. Where E’ronoh was arid and rugged, Eiram was a world of oceans and islands, and the worlds had fought each other various times in the past. As Phase 2 began, the so-called Forever War threatened to heat up, though the arrival of the Republic in Chancellor Orlen Mollo and Jedi like Gella Natani and Creighton Sun helped establish peace. The heirs of each world were drawn together by the Republic's arrival, and while these forces established peace through the marriage of these two heirs, many obstacles had to be overcome. However, by Phase 1, a cold war now exists between the two planets and their royal houses are split.

After a failed rescue mission by the Jedi to save both monarchs of each world in a kidnapping plot (only one survives), relations between the worlds warm, and they seek to both join the Republic and allow for the construction of Starlight Beacon in their shared space. The Beacon remains near both worlds and temporarily leaves, but upon its return, it orbits Eiram…only to cataclysmically fall into the world’s oceans during The Fallen Star. Eiram & E’ronoh are much like Dalna, key worlds in the High Republic storyline, while sadly, now in Phase 3, have not been explored further. There is also the 150 years between Phases 2 and 1 or 3, where critical information on how the two worlds drifted apart again shall hopefully be revealed one day.

2. Starlight Beacon

Starlight Beacon was the main location for Phase 1 of The High Republic. Built as one of Lina Soh’s many Great Works, the vast station was meant to serve as a hub for communication and transport to the Outer Rim to weave the galaxy together. It also featured a vast cafeteria, gardens, meeting rooms, medical facilities, as well as a Jedi presence. Its launch came at the end of Light of the Jedi. Over the following three Waves, many Jedi passed through its halls alongside countless members of the Republic, with tales of both chronicled in the Star Wars Insider Starlight short stories and across various other main books and comics. However, such a beacon of hope became the ultimate target of the Nihil, and months following their attack on the Republic Fair, Marchion Ro executed a brutal sabotage of the station that cut it effectively in two and began its slow plunge down to Eiram far below. As this happened, he unleashed a new generation of Nameless, newly acquired from Planet X, to cause chaos.

They did so, killing several Jedi, clouding the minds of many more, and ensuring significant damage. Despite the efforts of Chancey Yarrow to stop the station’s fall, a flash of anger out of Elzar Mann ended that hope and led Stellan Gios to make the ultimate sacrifice in manually guiding the immense station far away from the populated coastal centers of Eiram’s landmasses. The station ultimately fell, and its destruction was rung in with the creation of the Stormwall, an impenetrable barrier across a small section of the galaxy the Nihil claimed as their own. The fall of Starlight Beacon was a true moment of shifting narrative for The High Republic. Despite only existing for a few years, it was a home to many Jedi who have since survived and are now bent on bringing an end to the evil that is the Nihil.

1 . Planet X

The most important planet in the whole of The High Republic has to be the mysterious Planet X. Located somewhere in Wild Space, Planet X is the homeworld of the Nameless and is also a world filled with the Force. Damaged bodies, plants, and more heal in seconds, while those with Force sensitivity find their abilities greatly enhanced. Powerful creatures lurk across the world, one called the Under-Dweller guarding the eggs of the Nameless deep underground, and another called the Protector who seems to stand against the Under-Dweller but also against those who would try and leave the world. Tears of the Nameless revealed to readers that this world has been discovered and then lost countless times, many coming and taking away the Nameless, only to unleash both these creatures on themselves and trigger a mysterious blight across the galaxy. In the latest two cycles, Planet X was rediscovered by hyperspace prospectors Spence Leffbruck and “Sunshine” Dobs, with the second man betraying his partner for the glory of his discovery. Pulled into the orbit of the Path of the Open Hand, Sunshine helped the group seek out more eggs, leading to chaos and destruction on the Night of Sorrow. The location of Planet X became an old Ro family secret, and many years later, Marchion Ro returned, taking many new eggs and adult Nameless for his campaign against the Jedi and the galaxy. Now, the blight has begun to spread as it did in the ancient past, and the Jedi finding and learning about Planet X is all the more important for the finale of the initiative. Who will lead them there and what will happen is anyone’s guess and may come down to the final pages of Trials of the Jedi, set to release next summer.

READ NEXT:

Featured