StarWars.com takes us inside Phase III of Star Wars: The High Republic with a closer look at some of the new heroes, with commentary from Alyssa Wong, Michael Siglain, and concept art by Petur Antonsson.
Gavi, Kildo, and Tep Tep
The Phase III middle-grade novel Escape from Valo arrives January 30, 2024, written by Daniel José Older and Alyssa Wong. The tale finds Padawan Ram Jomaram on a journey into the Occlusion Zone — an area of space claimed by the Nihil marauders that’s sealed off from the galaxy. The book’s summary has alluded to Ram being joined by some Jedi compatriots; they are, in fact, younglings named Gavi, Kildo, and Tep Tep from the planet Valo, and it sounds like they’re about to get a crash course in Jedi business.
“It’s important for readers to see themselves in the Jedi. This is especially true of our younger readers,” says Siglain. “Our Padawans and younglings should be both relatable and apirational, and that’s where our Valo younglings come in. Here are three kids who are faced with incredible challenges, and who band together to help each other and those around them.”
While Gavi is still just a youngling, his story is a layered one. “Gavi is a human youngling from the Jedi temple on Valo,” Alyssa Wong says. “And he has a secret.”
In Escape from Valo, Gavi will go on a personal journey, Wong reveals. “Gavi was once the most promising youngling of his age, but when the Nihil occupied Lonisa City and murdered every Jedi they could hunt down, he saw the Nameless kill one of the masters. Now traumatized, he’s lost the ability to use the Force. He’s just trying to keep his friends alive… but the Force has always been the most important thing in Gavi’s life and he isn’t sure who he is without it. And then there are his burgeoning romantic feelings for his friend, another youngling boy named Kildo… and his complicated feelings of guilt surrounding Driggit Parse, the non-Jedi friend he left behind.”
Every class needs a clown, and the same is true of Jedi. That’s where Kildo comes in. “Kildo is an Alcedian, an avian species that originated on Valo, and his design is inspired by a magpie: black and blue feathers and an eye for mischief,” Wong says. “Sly and irreverent, Kildo never turns down the chance to play pranks. Using the Force comes easily to him, but he struggles with focus and rules. ‘Great potential, needs to apply himself,’ is his teachers’ main complaint. He’s a trickster with a heart of gold.”
Finally, Tep Tep is the animal whisperer of the group — a youngling who cares deeply about all living things. “Tep Tep’s design is based on a frillback pigeon — the fancy kind with curly feathers. She’s a shy, soft, fluffy Alcedian girl who loves animals, especially big, carnivorous ones. There’s a pack of five acklays who would die for her, and on the cover of Escape From Valo, she’s holding a baby nexu,” Wong says. “Jedi don’t adhere to family structures, but Tep Tep is basically everyone’s little sister.”
See more new character designs at StarWars.com including Jedi Master Mirro Lox and his Padawan, Amadeo Azzazzo, introduced by Lydia Kang in The Call of Coruscant, her short story included in the anthology The High Republic: Tales of Light and Life. Visit Lucasfilm’s official hub for all things Star Wars: The High Republic at StarWars.com/TheHighRepublic.
