Phase II of The High Republic kicks off with a young adult novel called Path of Deceit by Tessa Gratton & Justina Ireland. The story is set 150 years before the events of Phase I and involves a Jedi Knight and her padawan investigating the disappearance of some Force artifacts and the possible connection to a cult known as the Path of the Open Hand on the planet of Dalna. It was a good opening story for the next phase and if you enjoyed the first phase, I would recommend reading it. There will be spoilers from here.
At first, I was annoyed we were going back in time instead of continuing where Phase I left off, but after reading this one, it makes sense. This story helps explain things like the origin of the Nihil, and the Great Leveler.
I enjoyed that it was told more from the perspective of Marda Ro, who is an ancestor of Marchion Ro. The Path of the Open Hand is a bunch of religious zealots who believe the Force needs to be freed. They believe that when a Jedi (or other Force user) does something with the Force, it causes a negative reaction somewhere. So saving a bunch of kids with the Force could mean that a bunch of people died elsewhere.
I did not expect Kevmo and Zallah to die so horrifically. I guess I did not expect a YA novel to be where the origin of the Great Leveler would be introduced. When the crystal cracks and something comes out, I realized quickly what was about to happen. But I thought the Jedi might stop it or escape. This Leveler does not seem to be the same one as Marchion uses (the Jedi would become brownish husks, if I remember correctly, but Kevmo and Zallah end up calcified).
The Path also knows where more of the crystals are located, so I am guessing there will be a battle with the Jedi with more of the Levelers. Here is what confuses me. Why do the Jedi just forget about this stuff? When Jedi start dying and turning into shriveled up husks, how come none of them are like “this sounds like what happened about 150 years ago?” Especially since some of the book titles make it sound like there will be a major battle on Jedha.
Any predictions on who the Mother will turn out to be? Is she an ex-Jedi? Zallah did not recognize her, but the Mother is definitely a Force-user. Her name is Elecia Zeveron, which there is another Zeveron in the character lists who is a Jedi during this time period, who is on…you guested it: Jedha. Maybe they are sisters? Did Elecia get split up and grow to hate the Jedi for taking her sister away?
