A recent reread of the 2019 Marvel Comics miniseries The Rise of Kylo Ren had me gasping when I relaised that Charles Soule may have been planting seeds for the upcoming The High Republic series of literature before it was officially announced.
In The High Republic, fans are introduced to the golden age of the Jedi, led by powerful master’s including Avar Kriss and Stellan Gios. It is a time of peace and exploration, where the citizens of the galaxy are travelling to find their dreams on the galactic frontier. But even the brightest light casts a shadow. Foes on two fronts threaten the peace and prosperity of The High Republic. One of these is the murderous nihil, a group of marauders who’s only purpose is destruction. The other is stranger but no less deadly. Drengir. Sentient plants connected to the Dark Side of the Force.
The Drengir were first introduced to fans in Claudia Gray’s young adult novel Into the Dark, which sees Jedi Padawan Reath Silas leave behind the safety of the galactic core to face unknown challenges on the untamed frontier. Forced after the Great Disaster to take refuge on an uninhabited space station, it soon becomes apparent that the threat of the Dark Side is very real. And very leafy. Drengir are a hive mind, controlled by one, consuming everything within their path and practically invulnerable – even to lightsabers. A true foe for any Jedi.
But is this book really their true introduction? Possibly for at least naming the Drengir, but not necessarily one of their locations. In the final few pages of The Rise of Kylo Ren #1 by Charles Soule, an adolescent Ben Solo visits Snoke (no supreme leader title yet attached) in what appears like an uninhabited arboretum. The space station is unnamed. The location simply stated as “elsewhere”. However, Sliney’s art is extremely similar to Gray’s description, showcasing a spherical space station filled with a wild tangle of plants, skulls and skeletons hidden within the roots.
Snoke goes on to say that the place once was for: “the people who built it were trying to hold back the dark” which is really starting to sound like Into the Dark. Drengir are strongly connected to the Dark Side. The High Republic Jedi were trying to hold them back. And those skeletons could be the remnants of the drengir’s victims.
This is of course all speculation. However, there is further reasoning. Charles Soule is part of The High Republic publishing program. In The Rise of Kylo Ren #2, The High Republic is actually mentioned by Lor San Tekka, although this was before the official announcement of the program by Lucasfilm Publishing. Soule knew about it though as the project, codenamed Starlight, had been in production for several years, and the author is well known for being a tease. He’s also fantastic at linking different parts of the canon.
If this is of course the same, or at least a similar location (Gray hints that there are multiple of these stations built by the ancient Amaxines) however, that raises quite a few questions. The biggest one being why in the stars is Snoke in such a place? Is he hiding himself in a place with a strong Dark Side presence? Even if the Drengir are vanquished during The High Republic, the Force leaves echoes, so the place would still likely resonate with the Dark Side. How did Snoke find such a place? The questions truly are endless. But if this is really a former botanical Drengir prison, then that is Soule linking over 250 years of Star Wars canon together, which would be impressive. Most impressive.
Currently the story of the Drengir is being continued by Cavan Scott in Marvel’s The High Republic comic series. Teenage Jedi Knight Keeve Trennis is rallying to save her former Master from the Drengir’s dark influence, as well as trying to find their home world in order to destroy the heart of the hive. So maybe fans will get to see one of these space station arboretums again in the comics, and it will be interesting to see whether it matches what is within The Rise of Kylo Ren.
