After discovering the lost Sharu people and besting a dangerous sorcerer, Lando Calrissian and his droid partner Vuffi Raa yearn for easier ways to make money. Unfortunately, Lando has made enemies far and wide, and none will rest until he is destroyed! Join the Legendary Adventures as we arrive at Lando Calrissian and the Flamewinds of Oseon!
For those who have been part of the Legendary Adventures for a while, we’re starting to see some weird stuff. Well, yes, Star Wars has always been weird, what with its fantastical creatures, dangerous fauna, and varieties of aliens, simply in the movies alone. So far in the Legendary Adventures, we’ve seen sentient plants, attempted body take-overs, living(???) starships, and cults who harness vibrations to control slaves. Listen, Star Wars, and our experiences with these Adventures, are better when Star Wars is weird. And we’re in luck! In the middle of the Lando Calrissian trilogy, we’re seeing some of the weirdest, most vibrant, most out-of-this-world parts of the galaxy. The middle chapter may be the most “normal” of the three, but there is still plenty of weird to go around. A bit of introduction for the plot may be necessary first, though.
Due to his success in his last adventure, Lando Calrissian is rich! Well, almost. His ship, the Millennium Falcon, is loaded with life crystals from Rafa IV. The native Sharu people, in an act of thanksgiving, offer Lando the crystals as a “thank you” for helping restore their place in the galaxy. Unfortunately, not very long after getting the crystals, Lando comes into loads of trouble: the Falcon needs repairs. On top of that, an unexpected, and vicious, pirate attack causes even further damage to her hull. A timely invitation from Lob Doluff, an administrator on Oseon, invites Lando to a friendly (and high-stakes) game of sabacc! Normally, this type of convergence of events would cause some people to grow suspicious. Not our Lando, though! He sees this as his luck turning around yet again.
Happy to accept the invitation, Lando travels to Oseon just before the legendary festival celebrating the native Flamewinds. During the sabacc tournament, Lando hears that the Falcon is on fire. Upon returning to the ship, he is attacked, but quickly disposes of the attackers with his stingbeam. Unfortunately, despite the fact that he killed these attackers in self-defense rather than in an act of aggression, Oseon has a strict no-weapons policy. Violators of this policy are to be punished by death! Administrator Doluff offers Lando the chance to escape the death penalty with a hair-brained scheme, as always. Turns out local millionaire Bohhuah Mutdah is hooked on a drug called lesai, a highly illegal substance. If Lando and two of the Oseon’s best officers can take Mutdah in, Lando gains clemency and can leave the system in peace.
Unfortunately, in order to succeed in his mission and avoid the death penalty that hangs over him, Lando has to overcome two dangers: the Flamewinds of Oseon and sorcerer Rokur Gepta! First, we’ll look at the Flamewinds, one of the environmental wonders of the galaxy. The Flamewinds are a colorful cloud of radioactive energy that become visible once a year in the space around Oseon and remain visible for about three standard weeks. These “clouds” are made of wave-lengths, composed of different types of wave-lengths varying from infrared waves to ultraviolet rays. These rays combine to make an extremely colorful display in the sky. Despite the beauty, there is also danger associated with them. They also emit a huge electrical discharge. These discharges make communication on Oseon or communication between ships in the space near Oseon next to impossible. They also frequently disable or injure ships. The rays also cause emotional reactions in different types of beings, and the color of the rays may affect certain emotions more strongly than others. For example, one of the officers sent with Lando on his mission is knocked out by a ray. While unconscious, he feels an intense feeling of nostalgia for home.
Most of the planet’s inhabitants celebrate the Flamewinds with festivals and parties, but the system can’t shut down completely. Unfortunately, the police force must remain ever-vigilant as smugglers and pirates, emboldened by the chance of getting away with more crime, actually schedule drops and missions during the Flamewinds. The danger only provides them extra cover, as most would be afraid to pursue them into deep space with the threat of Flamewinds shutting down your ship. This makes a perfect cover for Doluff to send Lando into the Flamewind to capture Mutdah.
Not far behind is Sorcerer of Tund Rokur Gepta, who survived Lando’s attack that prevented him from using the Mindharp of Sharu to control the minds of every being in the galaxy. The sorcerer is out for revenge, starting with silly plans like planting bombs on Lando’s ship. He also sent the men whom Lando killed, their failure making the sorcerer even more mad. Now, with Lando on a mission to capture Mutdah, he sees another chance to strike. Gepta uses some of his sorcery to disguise himself as Mutdah, revealing himself after trapping Lando in Gepta’s former office. Using even more advanced magic, he begins to torture Lando with some Force trickery.
The Flamewinds aren’t the only unique (read: weird) aspect of the trilogy! The novels have yet to explore different sides of the Force, but the Clone Wars series has already introduced us to the Nightsisters of Dathomir. The Sorcerers of Tund and Nightsisters are unique in that they practice magic rather than following traditional Force-sensitive groups’ teachings. These magicks do seem to be connected, in some respect, to the Force, but their relationship is dubious. To torture Lando, Gepta uses a magical ability to force Lando to relive all of his worst memories. (Darth Wyyyrlok will use this ability 100 years from now in Star Wars: Legacy.) The Jedi may be dead and buried, but in their absence, we are starting to meet new and different groups who interact with the Force differently than we might be familiar with. This story feels like the first in the novels to set us down a different course, where the galaxy and its relationship with the Force are explored in much more depth.
One more thing: one of the men tasked with killing Lando on Oseon seems to recognize Vuffi Raa. This makes two different groups who recognize the droid, despite the droid’s lack of memory why he should know them. What is the big secret of Vuffi Raa and what role does he play in the lives of two completely separate life forms?
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