5 Things To Know About The Star Wars Jedi Master

The High Republic era of the “Star Wars” universe gave rise to many legendary Jedi that “Star Wars” fans have never heard of before, even as other legendary Jedi that everyone already knew passed through it. Master Yoda, for example, played a prominent role in the narrative, as did more than a few other members of the Jedi Council seen in “Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace.” Some of the most heroic and legendary Jedi of the era, however, were introduced in the novels, graphic novels, and audio books of the “Star Wars” High Republic initiative. Indeed, one of the most important and valiant Jedi in all of “Star Wars” might have been Stellan Gios, a human member of the Jedi Order who wielded a blue lightsaber blade that matched his eyes. Buw why was he so important?

Lucky for you, we’ve put together a list of the five most important things to know about him.

Vernestra Rwoh — whom you might recognize as the green-skinned, Mirialan Jedi Master from “The Acolyte” played by Rebecca Henderson — was the Padawan of Stellan Gios. They met 233 years before the Battle of Yavin in the Jedi Temple on the planet Hynestia, where Stellan dueled Vernestra (then but a youngling) in a lightsaber match and came away impressed by her skills. The pair even ran into the infamous Jabba the Hutt on one of their earliest missions (yes, Jabba the Hutt was that old.) It wasn’t long before Vernestra Rwoh was able to graduate from Stellan Gios’s training and passed the Jedi trials at the age of 15, making her the youngest Padawan in a generation to become a Jedi Knight (which spoke well of the tutelage she received from Gios himself). She always spoke highly of her mentor and the training she received from him, even though, for the first years of her knighthood, she had a tendency to feel out of her depth, which had more to do with her age than her ability.

Stellan Gios was trained by Jedi Master Rana Kant, a Duros Jedi who was a member of the Jedi Council, though she had turned down that honor twice before she finally accepted that post. Not long after the great Hyperspace Disaster that kicked off the High Republic era, Stellan’s old Jedi Master passed away of natural causes and he was nominated to replace her seat on the council, which he accepted (although it came as a surprise). He thereafter carried his old master’s lightsaber around with him, to remind him of her and her wisdom. One of the major assignments he took as a member of the council was to provide security to the Chancellor of the Republic, Lina Soh, as she went to the Republic Fair on the planet Valo. This turned into a major disaster as the Nihil struck the Fair in an effort to prove that the Jedi and the Republic were vulnerable to their predatory behavior. On top of that, they had a new weapon — the Nameless — that could turn Jedi and other Force-users into husks of dust, which was obviously alarming to Stellan.

It was at the Republic Fair that Stellan Gios witnessed something that would haunt his dreams and change his life forever. During the Hyperspace Disaster, Loden Greatstorm, a Twi’lek Jedi Master of great renown, had been taken captive by the Nihil. They unleashed the Nameless on him and he was finally discovered later by his Padawan, Bell Zetiffar, and Stellan Gios. They had believed him to be dead, but it turned out he had been a prisoner and they had unleashed these Force-consuming creatures on him. As Bell reached out to touch his master’s face, his entire form crumbled into dust, leaving Stellan Gios more afraid than he ever had been in his life; this was a feeling these creatures caused in Jedi. This motivated him to launch an investigation on the part of the Jedi to find out what could cause such a thing and how the Jedi could fight against a foe that could cause such damage to them. During his life, such an investigation would prove fruitless, but it would eventually bear fruit for those who would come after him.

The Starlight Beacon was a combination communications relay satellite and mobile Jedi Temple that was stationed in the Outer Rim. With communication in the Republic still difficult and slow to the farther flung areas of the galaxy’s frontier, Starlight was meant to bring the fringe closer to the core worlds and ensure their inhabitants knew they were protected and not forgotten. To the Jedi, their intention was to create a beacon of hope and strength as they helped patrol these regions and let everyone know they were safe. For the marauding bands of Nihil, the Starlight Beacon represented a direct threat to their control of these regions of space. As their conflict with the Jedi heated up, they wanted to make an example of it and send a message to the Jedi: no one and nowhere was safe.

To that end, they hatched a plot to destroy the Starlight Beacon.

As they did so, Stellan Gios was aboard the Starlight Beacon. It was not a fast process, and there was plenty of time for evacuations to occur, but that also meant there was plenty of time for mistakes to be made and things to go wrong. Stellan took personal responsibility for as much as he possibly could and certainly committed his share of blunders, including murdering the former Nihil who were trying to help end the disaster, before he went down with the satellite, guiding it into the ocean of the planet Eiram in an effort to minimize the amount of lives it would destroy on impact.

Avar Kriss and Elzar Mann were two other legendary Jedi of the High Republic and they had a strong connection to Stellan Gios from a young age at the Jedi Temple, even as younglings. They were considered inseparable in their training. He was not interested in the more physical intimacy that Avar and Elzar offered him during their Padawan years, and eventually became jealous of the attachment they formed over the years, but was able to overcome it. The three of them remained close over all of the years of their training and adult years. They had their disagreements, yet they felt like they kept a balance among each other, with Stellan always acting as the voice of reason among the trio.

After Stellan’s death aboard the Starlight Beacon, his seat on the Jedi High Council was open and it was quickly offered to Elzar, who tried hard to refuse the seat initially but eventually relented, taking it and doing what he could to continue his friend’s work to end the threat of the Nihil in the galaxy. For Avar, she honored Stellan by continuing the work to end the Nihil by staying in their territory after they opened up the Stormwall and defended freedom for those who could not access it in any other way. Together, Elzar and Avar held up Stellan’s legacy in a way almost no one else could.

The only other one who possibly could was Vernestra Rwoh, who often thought of her master and what he might do in the situations she found herself in — though it’s doubtful that covering up a series of murders by framing a Jedi like Master Sol (played by Lee Jung-Jae in “The Acolyte”) would’ve made the list of things Master Gios might be capable of, let alone proud of.