A new excerpt fromStar Wars: The High Republicprovides more insight into what happens when an individual leaves the Jedi Order. Since the novelLight of the Jediby Charles Soule was published in 2021, theStar Warsfranchise has featured many stories exploringthe High Republic era, including the Disney+ live-action seriesThe Acolyte. The era explores the Jedi and the Republic long before the events of the prequel trilogy and the Skywalker Saga.
Colliderhas now shared an excerpt from the upcomingHigh Republicyoung adult novelTears of the Namelessby George Mann, whichshows what happened to Cohmac Vitus after he left the Jedi Order and the unsettling truth he has discovered about the Jedi. Cohmac left the Jedi Order at the end of a previous novel,Midnight Horizon, by Daniel José Older.Tears of the Namelessalso features Cohmac’s former Jedi Padawan, Reath Silas, who tries to unlock the secrets behind the creatures known as the Nameless.
What Does It Really Mean To Leave The Jedi Order?
Cohmac Vitus Encounters Harsh Truths
Cohmac is far from the first Jedi to leave the Order.Ahsoka Tano famously left inThe Clone Wars, and Count Dooku left long before his introduction inAttack of the Clones, with his departure being explored in the audio dramaDooku: Jedi Lostby Cavan Scott and inthe animatedTales of the Jediseries. Nevertheless, Cohmac’s experience is unique as it is the first time in canon that a story has truly delved into the mind of an ex-Jedi Knight so soon after cutting ties with the Order.
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The excerpt reveals that Cohmac feels unmoored now that he is no longer a Jedi, as it has been his identity since he was a young child. He is still grappling with the pain of the difficult decision he made because he lost faith in himself and the Jedi, and the one person who could have understood his choice is now dead. Cohmac has lost nearly everyone and everything he believed in, and all he can bring himself to do is investigate the threat of the Nameless, ashe is still attached to helping the Jedi and the galaxy.
Cohmac’s Experience Reveals The Lie At The Heart Of The Jedi
The Jedi Cannot Rid Themselves Of Attachment
Cohmac’s struggles further expose the lies that the Jedi Order tells about attachment.The Jedi claim to practice non-attachment, which is why Anakin Skywalker felt that he had to keep his relationship with Padmé Amidala a secret. It is because of this practice that Cohmac was unable to mourn the death of his Jedi Master, Simmix, and was unable to openly grieve his mentor’s passing due to the Jedi’s emphasis on non-attachment, the frustration of which festered within Cohmac for years.
As seen whenAhsoka conquered Anakin’s biggest weakness,the lie at the heart of the Jedi Order is that they can never completely rid themselves of attachment. The Jedi instead substitute personal relationships by becoming religiously attached to the Order’s tenets and fearing what happens when they abandon them. Cohmac’s experience proves the inevitability of personal attachment and that it is secretly part of all Jedi before, during, and afterStar Wars: The High Republic.
