quote:

By silent mutual agreement, the stormtroopers who’d accompa_nied him had declined to follow him through the woods, which suited him fine. He preferred to be alone for this.

A few more steps and the ground became soggy. The mist thick_ened. A small splash indicated that his presence had been noticed. Finally, the trees broke open onto a small lake with brackish water, bordered on all sides by forest and large black lumps like boulders, jutting out of the ground at odd angles. No, not boulders, he noted upon closer look, but rather fallen remnants of Darth Vader’s cas_tle.

An oily film slicked across the lake’s still surface. But as Kylo ap_proached, the water bubbled up in the center, sending tiny waves to lap at his boots.

A giant emerged, a hairless creature sheening with wetness, bits of lake detritus clinging to its pasty skin. Its eyes were squeezed shut, but it could still see after a fashion, because draped over its massive bald head and across one shoulder was a second creature with long spidery tentacles. The two were locked in symbiosis. Kylo sensed the giant’s pain, as though it were a slave to the spidery being that clung to it. Yet neither could it survive alone.

The spider creature spoke. “I am the Eye of Webbish Bog. I know what you seek.”

“You will give it to me,” Kylo said.

The Eye cocked its head, making an eerie squealing noise. It took a moment for Kylo to realize the creature was laughing at him. “No need for that,” the Eye said. “Do you really think my lord would have left it in the guardianship of one who could be swayed by a trick of the Force?”

No, he supposed not.

“You’ve been seeking it for a while, yes? I must warn you, our fiery planet burns away deception. If you proceed down this path, you will encounter your true self.”

Kylo was growing impatient. He glared in silence.

“Fine,” the creature said, as though disappointed that Kylo would not indulge him in ceremony. “In accordance with Lord Vader’s wishes, you have defeated my protectors and earned it. His way_finder.”

The blind giant beneath the Eye raised its enormous hand from the water and pointed toward a small island in the lake. On it was a stone structure, like an altar.

Kylo turned off his lightsaber and hooked it to his belt. He waded into the shallow lake, soaking his boots and cloak. The water was warm, and the ground beneath the water a sludge that sucked at his feet. He ignored it all, reaching for a pyramidal object. It fit satisfy_ingly in his hand, heavy and hot, and he stared at it a moment, lost in its red glow. The sides were etched glass framed in deep-gray resin. The crimson light within seemed to pulse faintly. Ren had come a long way for this, and yet he hesitated, eyeing the pyramid with distrust.

“It will guide you through the Unknown Regions,” the Eye said. “To the hidden world of Exegol. To him.”

Whoever he was. The transmission purporting to be from Palpa_tine had reached the far corners of the galaxy. Kylo had it memo_rized:

At last the work of generations is complete. The great error is corrected. They day of victory is at hand. The day of revenge. The day of the Sith.

He wasn’t sure what to believe about it, but it was a fair guess that Kylo wasn’t the only one seeking answers. Others would follow the same path and come to Mustafar sooner or later, looking for this exact object.

So surely his grandfather would have made it harder than this? Those cultists were too easy to kill. This creature too easy to con_vince. Then again, he was Vader’s heir. The object belonged to him.

Now that he had it up close, the etchings in the glass clarified into patterns. Star charts. Alignment markers. Something stirred deep within him, suggesting ancient knowledge and power, and he felt a rush of triumph. It had all been worth it—diverting ships, sending out spies, tracing old records, enduring the smug disap_proval of that idiot Hux—all to find this.

Kylo looked up, and was startled to discover that the Eye of Web_bish Bog was gone, slipped back beneath the surface of a lake so still it was as though nothing lived within it at all.

How long had he been staring at the pyramid?

Kylo Ren wasted no more time. Dried blood made the skin of his face itch, and his boots and cloak were soggy with lake water, but instead of returning to his command ship, the Steadfast, he dis_missed everyone back to their regular duties and jumped into his modified TIE whisper to make the next part of the journey alone.

No one protested.

He connected the pyramid to his navicomputer, attaching ports where indicated by the glass etchings. The nav interface lit up with new information, but it also blared a warning.

For these coordinates would take him beyond the Western Reaches into the Unknown Regions. Kylo overrode the warning and jumped his TIE to lightspeed. The stars turned to streams of matter.

The Unknown Regions remained uncharted because a chaotic web of anomalies had created a near-impenetrable barrier to explo_ration; only the most foolhardy or desperate ventured there—criminals, refugees, and, if the reports were true, remnants of the old Imperial fleet who had refused to accept New Republic rule.

A few planets had been discovered, but their populations re_mained small, and their trade with the rest of the galaxy had been throttled by the navigational risk. The Sith and the Jedi had found paths through to even more dangerous, more hidden worlds—or so legends said—and the specific, carefully stepped coordinate jumps required to safely navigate the anomalies were among their most closely guarded secrets.

The trip would be worth the risk. Someone was out there, claim_ing to be the Emperor himself, and Kylo could already sense ripples of doubt in the First Order. After all he’d done, after all he’d sacri_ficed to become Supreme Leader . . . who would dare to challenge him now?

quote: (post)

Originally posted by Zentrex
It's not like the PT was any different.

I do wonder what keeps going wrong, though. It's not like they don't have talent behind the movies, but it's always the books that are good and the movies that are bad (original trilogy notwithstanding). It might be the vision being spread thin by too many people. That was definitely the reason the ST failed. If they'd had one vision, the ideas could have worked out. Instead, they pop out of nowhere and create a retconned mess.

quote:

"As a lifelong Star Wars fan, it was an honor to be asked to be a part of wrapping up the Skywalker saga with Marvel Comics," Houser says. "We have some fun plans to add scenes and material that weren't seen in the movie."

quote: (post)

Originally posted by Galan007
Even the comic book adaption will include extra content, lol:

(please log in to view the image)



They're going full damage-control mode here...

quote: (post)

Originally posted by Galan007
Leaked page from the novel seems to confirm that Palpatine's spirit was inhabiting a clone body, and was literally breaking down due to his immense power(more or less identical to DE):
https://i.imgur.com/mAMha43.jpg

quote: (post)

Originally posted by Zenwolf
I just....I really was joking around that RoS was a watered down DE, but now...guess it's not a joke anymore. I mean, they took a storyline that only fit within the context of the OT, but made it worse and yet they still acknowledged the PT which doesn't fit with DE.

Then again this whole trilogy doesn't add up so I guess it's par the course.

quote: (post)

Originally posted by Galan007
Leaked page from the novel seems to confirm that Palpatine's spirit was inhabiting a clone body, and was literally breaking down due to his immense power(more or less identical to DE):
https://i.imgur.com/mAMha43.jpg

quote: (post)

Originally posted by xPRIMEx
The novel confirms that Palpatine was a clone
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.fo...-questions/amp/