The Old Republic: Revan
The Old Republic: Revan is the third novel in a series that draws inspiration from the Star Wars: The Old Republic MMORPG. It centers around the character of Revan, who gamers will remember as the playable protagonist of the 2003 video game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Drew Karpyshyn is the author, and the book hit shelves on November 15, 2011. Readers also get a sneak peek at Darth Plagueis within its pages. Marc Thompson lends his voice to the audiobook version. The paperback edition became available on September 25, 2012.
Publisher's summary
Back cover
A looming evil threatens to overwhelm the Republic, and only a disgraced Jedi can stand against it.
Internal flap
Darkness descends; resistance is futile.
Revan: a figure of legend, both hailed as a hero and condemned as a villain. Once a Jedi who ventured beyond known space to confront the Mandalorians, he returned as a Sith Lord, intent on the Republic's destruction. The Jedi Council granted him a second chance, but at a steep price: his memories. Now, only fragmented nightmares and a profound sense of dread remain.
What horrors did Revan encounter in the Outer Rim? He struggles to recall, yet cannot fully escape the past. He unearthed a terrifying secret that endangers the Republic's very existence. Without knowing the nature of the threat or how to combat it, Revan faces almost certain failure, confronting an enemy unlike any he has encountered. Only death will prevent him from trying.
Plot summary
The story picks up two years following the events of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Revan is now living on Coruscant, married to Bastila Shan, but estranged from the Jedi Order. He suffers from debilitating insomnia, plagued by nightmares he attributes to his suppressed memories as the Sith Lord Darth Revan. Desperate to uncover his past, he seeks out Meetra Surik (The Exile, the protagonist of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords), a former subordinate from the Mandalorian Wars, only to discover she has been exiled from the Jedi Order and fled Republic space. A meeting with his old comrade Canderous Ordo offers another path to recovering his memories: Mandalorians are searching for the mask of Mandalore, the symbol of Mandalorian leadership. Revan had claimed the mask after defeating Mandalore and concealed it to prevent the Mandalorians from uniting and to demoralize them. Before his departure, Bastila reveals her pregnancy. Despite her objections, Revan insists she remain behind, unsure of how long he will be gone.
Meanwhile, on the planet Dromund Kaas, unbeknownst to the Republic, the Sith Empire has been rebuilt in secret after its defeat in the Great Hyperspace War a millennium ago. A Sith Warrior named Scourge finds himself embroiled in the power struggles within the Sith's Dark Council and is eventually recruited by Darth Nyriss to eliminate threats and traitors. Scourge fulfills his duties, despite growing suspicions that Nyriss intends to have him killed. After gaining Nyriss's confidence, the Sith Master reveals her plan to overthrow the Emperor, whom she believes is insane and will doom the Sith Empire. She takes Scourge to the Emperor's homeworld of Nathema, a place utterly devoid of the Force. Nyriss explains that one thousand years prior, a Sith Lord impregnated a farmer's wife, resulting in the birth of the Emperor. Initially known as Lord Vitiate, he murdered his parents upon learning the truth of his origins and, through violence and intimidation, ousted the ruling Sith Lord. Following the Sith Empire's defeat by the Republic, Lord Vitiate salvaged the remnants and maintained the Empire's unity. Seeking immortality, he and other Sith performed a ritual that eradicated all life on Nathema (including the participating Sith), transferring their life force to Vitiate. Nyriss fears that the Emperor's plan to invade the Republic will destabilize the Empire and endanger the remaining Sith, who were relentlessly hunted by the Jedi.
After finding Mandalore's mask, Revan discovers a recording he left behind, revealing that Mandalore the Ultimate was manipulated by the Sith into attacking the Republic. Upon arriving at Nathema, Revan's ship, the Ebon Hawk, is shot down, and Revan is captured by Scourge and Nyriss. Revan's droid, T3-M4, eventually repairs the ship and returns to Republic space.
The narrative then jumps ahead four years, immediately after the Dark Wars. Meetra Surik arrives at Bastila Shan's home, accompanied by T3-M4, who presents Bastila with a recording of Revan's abduction by the Sith. Despite her jealousy of Meetra's past relationship with Revan, Bastila is relieved to learn that Meetra intends to retrace Revan's steps and find him. Meetra travels to Nathema and, after searching a municipal building, learns of Dromund Kaas and sets out for that planet. Arriving on Dromund Kaas, she poses as a mercenary and eventually connects with Scourge, who, having witnessed Nathema and spoken with Revan, now believes the Emperor is a threat to the Sith and must be stopped. After leaking information to the Emperor about Nyriss's treachery, the Emperor orders the purge of the entire Dark Council, unleashing his personal army upon them. Amid the chaos, Scourge and Meetra manage to free Revan from his prison. Meetra gives Revan the mask he wore during the Mandalorian Wars; putting on the mask restores all of Revan's memories. After the Mandalorian Wars, Revan and his friend Malak searched for the Sith Empire, but their corruption during the war made them vulnerable to the Emperor's influence, and they were converted to the Dark Side and sent back to weaken the Republic for the Sith Empire's return. Meetra and Scourge are attacked by Nyriss, but before she can kill them, Revan intervenes and effortlessly defeats the Sith Lord by redirecting her Force lightning back at her.
After resting and watching a message from Bastila and his son Vaner, the trio sets out to assassinate the Emperor. Scourge, however, is plagued by inexplicable visions of a Jedi Knight and the Emperor. They fight their way into the Emperor's throne room, and Revan engages him in combat. The Emperor proves incredibly powerful. Revan is nearly killed by the Emperor's Force lightning, but T3 intervenes, setting the Emperor ablaze with his flamethrower. The Emperor retaliates, destroying the small droid. At this moment, Meetra and Scourge intervene. Scourge then understands his vision: he is witnessing the Emperor's death at the hands of a Jedi Knight, but it is neither Meetra nor Revan. Realizing what he must do, Scourge betrays Meetra, killing her instantly. Scourge lies to the Emperor, claiming this was a ploy to expose traitors within the Empire, and Revan is placed in a stasis tank, where he is constantly interrogated and tortured by the Emperor for information about the Republic. Unbeknownst to the Emperor, Revan subtly influences him, delaying his planned invasion of the Republic to protect Bastila and his son from war. Scourge is rewarded with immortality by the Emperor.
The book concludes decades later with an elderly Bastila speaking with her son. They discuss Revan, and Vaner questions whether his father would have been disappointed that he chose politics over joining the Jedi Order. Bastila assures him that he made the right choice and that, despite not knowing Revan's fate, she believes he succeeded because they survived, and the darkness Revan feared never materialized. Bastila then goes to sleep, dreaming of her lost husband.
Media
Editions
- ISBN 9780345511348 ; November 15 , 2011 ; Del Rey ; US hardcover [3]
- ISBN 9780345511355 ; September 25 , 2012 ; Del Rey; US mass market paperback [4]
- ISBN 9780593498934 ; November 1 , 2022 ; Del Rey; US trade paperback, The Essential Legends Collection edition [5]