To wield a lightsaber is to wield a legacy. An ancient history embedded in a relic of formidable power held up once again by new hands. A young girl ripped from her family and a massacred planet, and finds herself the tinkerer of a rundown drilling ship that discovers a Jedi cruiser from the old Republic. What she and her friend recover from the cruiser sets them off on a grand adventure through the galaxy to find what she seeks within: her own path.
Fairytales are for Children
An old soldier passes down stories to the young. It’s not clear whether Barun was actually at the Battle of Endor, much less even part of the Rebellion itself. One thing is for sure, if he were there, the facts about what really happened there might have been a little exaggerated. In any case, he makes for a great companion and maybe even a little bit of a father figure for Nioka, so rather than brushing off his pretentious fables, she wholeheartedly believes him and believes in the power of the Jedi. Far be it from a child to believe in something greater than themselves, wanting to be something more than just a hunkered-down old drilling ship’s mechanic.
No Such Thing as Luck
With Luke Skywalker gone, the galaxy is left without a saviour, and so the resurrection of the Jedi Order is left to the future. So it stands to reason that after Ben Solo leaves Skywalker’s school and becomes a Sith, he takes up the name Kylo Ren and creates his own school in order to indoctrinate others to serve the Dark Side of the Force, thus creating the Knights of Ren. Sending a full-fledged knight may be a bit overkill, so to speak, for this type of errand.
Better to send someone who thirsts for power than someone who already has it. Enter Itai the Ren Prospect: no lightsaber, no force sensitivity to speak of, but definitely a cunning mind, a melodramatic presence and his obedient droid RR-20 for a companion. He, being the ominous “client,” arrives in his ship, the Rivener, just in time to lay claim to the Random Luck crew’s findings. Discretion was used, and the captain and their pilot Droid were destroyed.
The First Step Towards the Light
Discovering that the stories were true, the Jedi lived and wielded awesome power. But, according to Nioka, all it takes is picking up a lightsaber. Training and experience need not apply, just power on and “SHWING! SHWING! SHWING! I’m a Jedi!” This particular lightsaber actually had a bit of a catch to it when being wielded by the “unwise”, so it took some getting used to by her. And not a moment too soon before the Ren Prospect Itai and his droid came to take what was rightfully his.
Now, at this point, Nioka, with her traumatic past laden with moments of fear and helplessness, at long last felt like she could strike back at the very things that made her feel so small and afraid. Losing her family and having been forced off-world must’ve made her feel very lost and alone. Only now she feels that she can make her own way in the galaxy.
Every Apprentice Needs a Master
After narrowly escaping capture, Nioka and Barun leave behind their old life to begin a new one: find Nioka a Jedi master. They commandeered a starfighter from the Jedi cruiser and managed to escape Itai, and with it found navigation coordinates to multiple Jedi temples throughout the galaxy. Some were forgotten, toppled over, claimed by Imperials, or reclaimed by either the New Republic or the First Order. Next stop, Archaidan, an abandoned Jedi temple converted into some sort of training ground. It doesn’t take long for them to discover this empty planet wasn’t so empty.
Bow to your Sensei!
Recruits for the Emperor’s royal guard must dedicate years of their lives honing their skills to become worthy enough for the right to challenge. The royal guards and the Jedi, with their commitment to their training, are very similar. Regardless of the fact that the guards are not force users, their very existence is to withstand an attack even from a Jedi.
The trust Nioka places in Tobue Taizen to be her master is nothing short of unbelievable, his warrior discipline for a singular purpose: to rid the galaxy of the very thing she’s trying to become, now must be put aside for his agreement to train her if it means he gets a chance to achieve a personal vendetta towards the Knights of Ren who murdered his father.
Pursuit or Pain
Prospect Itai pursues his quarry at the behest of none other than Kylo Ren, second to Lord Snoak, and leader of the Knights of Ren. Ascension into power is the bounty for Itai. Find the girl, get the lightsaber, solve the mystery of the Jedi and what they discovered/are hiding, and locate this power source from the place the Jedi have come to call “The Abyss”.
Somewhere out in the galaxy, the Jedi have located a spot where supposedly the power of the Dark Side resonates, and if he were to find that spot, Itai believes he would gain power strong enough to make him one of the Knights of Ren, or perhaps to challenge Kyo Ren and ascend to be their leader.
Final Thoughts
Star Wars: Path of the Lightsaber canonically takes place between the events of Episode VIII and IX of the Star Wars mainline movies. Kenny Ruiz is a comic artist from Alicante, Spain. He’s written and collaborated on comics since the late nineties with such works as Team Phoenix, Star Wars: The Force and Star Wars: The River. Path of the Lightsaber was his first short comic done with VIZ Media. However, as good as PotL was, this manga may be a one-shot. As of now, there’s no mention of another volume of Star Wars: Path of the Lightsaber coming out any time soon.
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