Legendary Adventures: Lando Calrissian and the Mindharp of Sharu

An ancient civilization, lost to time, carries a great secret. A dangerous wizard takes control of a local system’s government to try and get his hands on this secret, conscripting random smugglers into his service. Join us as a famous con artist and swindler joins the hunt for this secret as the Legendary Adventures catch up with Lando Calrissian and the Mindharp of Sharu!

When you’re going on an Adventure, you never know what you’re going to find. In this case? I learned that the Lando Calrissian trilogy, which is, on the face of it, a fun little trilogy showing some of the oddities of space and helping us to get to know Lando better, is actually part of a larger story thread in the Legends canon. We’re about to be introduced (in the novels, at least) to the Celestials, an ancient race, pre-dating even the Rakatan Infinite Empire. Keep them in mind: they play a pivotal role in the creation of Centerpoint Station and the Fate of the Jedi series. It’s easy to think that the Empire, which has been reigning for about 17 years now, is the biggest metanarrative of the Legends canon for now. Not so: Lando stumbles onto something far more ancient and far more dangerous than anything Sheev Palpatine could devise…

The Mindharp of Shaur from the Essential Readers Companion — The Mindharp of Sharu from the Essential Readers Companion

Long ago, hundreds of thousands of years before the birth of the Empire, a race of star-fish like creatures created a race called the Sharu. The Sharu were a highly advanced and intelligent species, possibly involved in the creation of hyperspace travel and ancient machinery. The Sharu created massive pyramids across the Rafa system, in which time and space were themselves distorted. While inside a pyramid, a being might notice that time moved differently, mass changed size and shape frequently, three-dimensional objects became two-dimensional, and one might even wind up on another planet in the system! The Sharu were threatened by a powerful group of ancient, supreme beings known as the Celestials. (You do recognize that name, and no, they are not Marvel comics characters: the Mortis gods were Celestials, and we will encounter more of the legacy of the Celestials as the Legends canon continues.) Unable to fight this threat, the Sharu retreated underground. They created a device known as the Mindharp of Sharu, a musical device that would allow an outsider to signal them when it was safe to come out. Finally, they used a native tree to sap their own intelligence, which would lead the Celestials to believe that the system was not inhabited by sentient beings, hoping to be left alone.

Fast forward to the present story: as war simmers across the galaxy, Rebellions are born, and the Jedi are being systematically hunted and destroyed, some people just need to make a living. For example: smuggler, con artist, or, as he might want you to address him, entrepreneur, Lando Calrissian is in need of a few credits. On a trip to the Oseon system, Lando hits it big: he wins a droid, Vuffi Raa, and some information. He learns that the penal colony of Rafa IV is harvesting Sharu life crystals, which would make anyone who can get their hands on them dirty rich. Lando, unbeknownst to him, is being pulled into a large spider web of narratives, the likes of which he couldn’t even begin to fathom…

As he meets his droid, Vuffi Raa, Lando is beaten and arrested by local police on trumped up charges. Turns out, the head of police is being blackmailed into helping a sorcerer named Rokur Gepta into finding the legendary Mindharp of Sharu. Rokur Gepta is the last acolyte of the Sorcerers of Tund, an ancient group of Force users who were considered a Jedi sect thousands of years ago. Now, Gepta alone remains and wishes the control the power of the Mindharp. For non-Sharu beings, the Mindharp has the incredible power to control their mind, making the wielder the ultimate power in the universe! Even Sheev couldn’t dream of power like this. Rokur uses the trumped up charges as a means by which he could “control” Lando now to get the Mindharp from Rafa IV.

As Lando lands on Rafa IV, he encounters Mohs, the High Singer of the Toka, the race that lives on Rafa IV now. The High Singer believes that Lando and Vuffi Raa are the emissaries that were foretold to bring peace to the Toka using the Mindharp. It is, of course, a trap, as no one that Lando encounters would be friendly to him! They lead him to the Pyramid (after trying to kill him, naturally), where Mohs, Lando, and Vuffi experience the time-and-space-dilating powers of the Pyramids. At times, Lando grows to an immense size, and at other times, Vuffi Raa shrinks to the size of a gnat. Oh, and the entrance? It’s a two-dimensional door on the side of the pyramid. (Star Wars should be weird, and they should absolutely keep following this books’ example!) They seem to be gone for four months, but only a few days have passed back on the Oseon system.

Back on Oseon, Lando learns about the extremely dangerous side effects of using the harp. (Other than the mind control powers.) Sorcerer Gepta uses the Harp, creating earthquakes all over the planet, threatening all of the life in the system. Lando does stop it, but the event unearths a new secret: the Toka of Rafa IV are actually the Sharu! The race survived the Celestials’ onslaught, but lost their sense of identity in the process. Thanks to Lando, the Sharu have been restored to the galaxy…but why does Vuffi Raa seem so familiar to them? Join us next time as we figure that out!

You can follow Chris on Twitter @ChrisWerms, and of course, you can follow the Manor on Twitter @MynockManor!

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The Last Jedi