Welcome back Star Wars fans! It's time again to get your Star
Wars fix. Today I'll be discussing part 4 of the current arc of Knight Errant, Escape written by John Jackson Miller, & drawn by Marco Castiello. The last time we visited Kerra, she had gone with General Yulan to
Skarpos, where the forces of Lords Odion, Damian, and Malakite were in a
three-way battle for the Helm of Ieldis, a Sith artifact capable of giving it's
wearer incredible power. Kerra blows her cover and turns on her Sith companions
when they approach the cave where the Helm is said to be, unknowingly leading
Odion right to it.
We open on this issue with Odion
overlooking the battle. He has found the helm and Kerra is his prisoner, but
the helm isn't working the way Odion expected it too. He finds that wearing it
grants him no extra power. That is, until Yulan pulls from the caves a locket
matching one that Kerra possesses. This is a huge blow to her, as she knows it
could only have come from her parents, which Yulan says he found dead. As Kerra
falls deeper into despair, Odion starts to feel a sudden surge of power.
Odion realizes that it is the pain and despair
of others that powers the Helm. Kerra's pain alone makes him feel like a god.
He begins to use his power out over the battlefield, turning ally against ally,
controlling the fighting entirely. As more and more soldiers die, Odion's power
grows exponentially. Even Damian begins to fall under his spell, but flees
before Odion can use him as a puppet for long. With the battle won, Odion
leaves Skarpos with Kerra in chains.
Aboard Odion's ship, Yulan visits Kerra to
present her with a recording of her parents explaining the power of the Helm.
It seems that the Helm, channeling the anguish of thousands of people at once,
can destroy all life in the entire universe. Knowing this, Kerra's parents chose
to sacrifice themselves in an effort to conceal the Helm from anyone ever
finding it. This thought perplexes Yulan, who believes all life has no meaning,
and therefore can't fathom why someone would use their death to preserve
life.
This thought is interrupted by the ship’s
landing. Yulan tells Kerra that he doesn't know where they've been taken, as it
was Odion who set the course of the ship. Before they can wonder about this for
long though, they discover that they have arrived on the planet of Vanahame,
where Odion keeps the Cloister. This facility houses thousands of orphans, all
isolated from the rest of the world. Kerra comes to the realization that
harnessing the power of the children's suffering will make Odion unstoppable.
This issue did a pretty good job of setting
things up for the finale. As it is sometimes said, the night looks darkest
before the dawn. And things are certainly dark right now for Kerra and the rest
of the galaxy. There is some hope though, as it seems that the sacrifice of
Kerra's parents has awakened something in Yulan. What he'll do from here
remains to be seen though, as Odion does have a pretty strong grip on his mind.
Another thing remains to be seen, and that is how Kerra will react to the
deaths of her parents. I pointed out in the earlier issues that Kerra's
obsession with finding her parents was putting her at risk of falling to the
dark side. Why then should their death's not push her over the brink and plunge
her into darkness? Guess we'll have to return next month to find out.
Until next time Star Wars fans, may the Force
be with you.
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